Orion Black (novus_orion) wrote in novus_sceptrum, @ 2009-09-19 19:55:00 |
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Entry tags: | rating: pg-13, when: september 1999, where: london, who: npc, who: orion black, who: regulus black |
Characters: Orion and Regulus Black (also NCP Death Eaters)
Date: September 19, 1999
Location: Diagon Alley, London
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Regulus meets a rather unexpected member of the family.
Status: Complete
Orion had left Grimmauld Place that afternoon on a very personal mission of sorts. He had told Harry the day that he and the other boy had looked over the maps of London that he would help him in charming the section that portrayed the Ministry, and despite the fact that they were not at all on good terms, Orion tended to stick to his word. He still intended to go to Remus for help, and would then pass the information on to Harry. Before he could go about asking, however, he needed to pick up one of the enchanted star charts from the little Astronomy shop in Diagon Alley, mostly just to use as a prop so his asking wouldn't seem so suspect.
Gathering up his wand and his money (his dad had started giving him an allowance, and while it wasn't a lot of money just yet it was more than enough for what he needed), he left Number 12 and started walking. He found an empty play park that suited his needs, disapparting and appearing again across the street from the Leaky Cauldron. Walking with his head held high, he dodged across between the line of muggle traffic and into the pub, the place now slightly familiar from his previous visits.
Nodding a hello to Tom the barkeep, Orion didn't bother to stop for a drink or to mingle. Ever since he and Harry had dodged the over quizzical Aurors the day they'd discussed the maps, he was less keen on hanging around unless he had a just cause or reason. Instead he went straight out into the little courtyard and opened up the doorway into Diagon Alley, glad that he'd had the foresight to put on attire that was not so obviously muggle in design. He only owned two pairs of robes, and he had outgrown both so that they were rather too short. Sirius had promised that they would pick him up new ones, but until that point he had resigned to wearing plain old slacks and jumpers when going out among other wizards. He got off rather easily with this choice, being a teenager, and was pleased to see that he fit in as there were other robeless wizards out and about.
Head still up and a simper on his face, Orion easily maneuvered the crowds and very quickly reached his destination. Ducking into the shop, he was thankful to be off the street at least and relatively out of sight, collecting his star chart from the display in the front window. He paid for it and tucked it into his pocket, wanting to get the actual process of doing so out of the way. Once it was in hand he decided to have a bit of a look around, not for anything specific but just because he really didn't have a reason to rush home, and he was already here so there was no real harm in taking his time.
He was lost in thought, examining a mobile display of the solar system under a large glass dome, when the bell over the door jingled and another patron walked in. Orion was vaguely aware of the man speaking to the shop owner, the pair of them muttering back and forth for a moment before the man began to survey who else was in rather small space. It was clear from the blokes robes and very authoritative stance that he was an Auror, possibly even a Death Eater, out on patrol. If he had been closer, Orion would have seen the badge pinned to his collar and this affirmation would have been confirmed but as it was the boy was scarcely paying attention.
The other two shoppers were, however, much more aware of the situation and both nodded to the man as he took them in with his eyes. His gaze barely lingered on the elderly man and women before they fell on the teenager, doing a quick sweep of his profile. It was not Orion's looks that immediately caught his attention, he looked a bit haughty but not particularly special, no, it was the ring on his right hand that stood out. It was heavy and gold, a black onyx crest imprinted in the facing and inset with very tiny and intricate stones of ruby. The Auror, who's name was Artemis Dering, had seen that very ring plenty of times before on a chain around the neck of his supervisor and a red flag immediately went up.
As this was his last patrol of the day and Artemis hadn't had anything particularly interesting happen, he decided to investigate further. The shop keeper watched wearily as the man made his way across the wooden floor, heavy black boots creating an ominous hollow sounding thud with each step. He loomed over Orion in a rather imposing fashion, a sneer on his face as he spoke in clipped, cold tones.
"You, boy. Where did you get that ring on your hand?"
Startled at first, as he had not been paying attention and hadn't been aware that anyone was even approaching, Orion flashed his blue eyes up and gave the man a look of confusion. "My mother gave it to me," he said slowly, the reality of the situation not catching on quite yet. "It belonged to my father."
Grabbing Orion's hand, the Artemis got a closer look at the ring before looking back at the boy's face. "It was belonged to your father, aye? What's your name then?"
"Black," Orion snapped, not at all like how the man was touching him without invite. He pulled his hand back, a knee-jerk reaction, and stood up at his full height. "What business is it of yours?"
"I don't like your attitude," Artemis hissed, eyes flashing in a pleased sort of way. Suddenly his boredom with the day was fading and fast; he could tell that this was going to be amusing. "Let me see your identification. What's your status?"
Reaching into his back pocket, Orion fished out his identification and handed it over to the man. His heart was starting to beat rather hard now, and he caught himself wondering if these situations had gotten routine enough for people that they didn't even get worked up over them anymore. "Pureblood, obviously. Do you think a Black would be anything less than?"
The corner of his eye twitching, Artemis glanced the paper and then grabbed Orion by the wrist, jerking him towards the door. "No, I don't. Then again I don't think you're a Black at all. You better have way of proving it, lad, or you're in a whole mess of trouble. I know that crest, and I know that ring, and I know that I've only seen one of them and it sure as hell don't belong to you."
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Orion hissed, trying to jerk his hand back again. The man had him rather tightly by the wrist now, however, and it probably wasn't wise to start a scene in the middle of a shop anyway. He just resigned to let Artemis drag him out of the shop and down the street, turning the corner at Knockturn Alley. It wasn't nearly as crowded here and much more subdued, and they came to a stop in the little narrow alleyway between Borgin and Burkes and an abandoned old building.
"What am I doing? Protocol. Any person who is suspect or may be presenting false identification may be subjected to further...questioning," Artemis smirked, wand out and at the ready. He was still holding Orion's papers in his other hand, and while they were actually legitimate, apparently this man didn't find them suitable enough. "Who are your parent's, then?"
Orion suddenly remembered everything Harry had told him, it just came flooding back to him. How having something old from within the family usually was enough to keep them off your trail, though sometimes if they were on their toes looking for someone specific they got a bit more pushy than usual. If you acted affronted at the notion that they would dare question someone of your stature, they generally took that as a hint and backed off. He decided that was probably the best approach, and decided to just go with it. Not that it was hard, as being pompous came rather naturally to him.
"Well my father was, obviously, a Black," Orion said, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes. His free hand was in his pocket, also wrapped around the handle of his wand. "You may have heard of him. Sirius? My mother was a Meadowes, she was a descendant of Acturan Meadowes and Mathilda Avery. She bit it and he was a blood traitor, so I was raised by my grandmother, Alectavia Meadowes, under the supervision of a governess. She will not, by the way, be pleased at how you're treating me."
"Oh really?" Artemis asked, studying Orion carefully. Something about the kid just seemed off, and he didn't like it one bit. Not to mention he was tired of people and their damn attitudes, and he'd about reached his limit for the day. Instead of speaking again immediately, he raised his wand and muttered a spell before Orion could react. It sent the boy flying back and he slammed into the brick wall of the alley, his head bouncing off the bricks. When he bounced he hit the other wall and stumbled a bit, his bottom lip sufficiently busted open. A thin trickle of blood was trailing down over his chin and this momentarily satisfied Artemis. "Don't lie to me! Sirius Black is your father, is he? Do you know he's wanted for extensive crimes against the Ministry? Being a Black doesn't mean shit to me boy."
Wiping at the blood on his chin, Orion really only succeeded in smearing it a bit. He looked absolutely furious now, not at all liking being picked on. He knew immediately in the back of his mind that he shouldn't do it, that it would get him into a whole mess of trouble. He couldn't help it though, the need to react was too prominent, and he quickly called up a spell he had read in one of the books from the library in Grimmauld Place. If this bloke wanted to play nasty, well, Orion would play right back.
He hadn't lied about being a rather fast dueler (he had rather prided himself on being quickest in his group of friends), and his wand was out before Artemis fully realized. Orion cast the hex and then threw up a shield charm, watching with a sinister look of glee as the man's nose began to gush blood like he'd been punched very hard in the face. Despite the pain of it, Artemis made to cast back at him, but it deflected off the shield charm, much to his great annoyance.
Orion made a quick decision, it was either lower the charm and go at him again or keep it up wait for Artemis to think quickly enough to pull something nasty on him. He wasn't about to give the man any sort of advantage, lowering the charm quickly and hexing him again. This time Orion aimed lower, a series of deep gashes appearing on Artemis' ankles. Artemius howled in pain, losing focus for a moment and fumbling.
Well aware that he was up against a fully trained Auror, Orion knew that whatever happened would not turn out to his advantage. He might have been a good duelist, yes, but he was not optimally trained to fight people of this stature, and he knew it. Not to mention now he'd probably just further provoked the other man, but it was too little too late.
Oops.