1. A Monster
"Crucio!"
Powerful red sparks flew from the tip of a wand and the curse knocked over a blonde man together with the chair on which he had been sitting. Scorpius Malfoy fell onto the damp floor and screamed in pain as the curse shot though his body, tearing his organs, freezing the blood in the veins, setting his head on fire, and making him unable to draw a breath. His spine twisted as if trying to break and end his life together with his suffering. He could not control his arms and legs, which repeatedly hit the floor. His neck turned at a weird angle enabling him to look into the eyes of the one pointing the wand at him. Time seemed to stop, and he had to twitch for an eternity in pain, unable to close his eyelids, forced to watch as his torturer's lips curled into a cruel smile.
The other pale blonde man lifted the curse and lowered his wand. It was enough for the first time; a sufficient amount of pain to make Scorpius reconsider his choice to lie. Being only twenty, Hugo Weasley was the youngest in the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol; nevertheless, he had already gained enough experience in making criminals reveal their secrets. This was a hard case. He had questioned Scorpius Malfoy for three hours and it did not yield any results. Veritaserum was not working, so he had to take more desperate measures.
Hugo waited for Scorpius to stop trembling and get up from the floor. "I want to hear the truth," Hugo said, emphasizing the last word.
"I already told you the truth under Veritaserum! You cannot do this to me! You cannot use the Unforgivable Curses! You will go to Azkaban when my father finds out about this!" Scorpius yelled in rage. He had clenched his fists and his arms were very tense, ready to strike if he lost control.
The Malfoys were known to be a hard job. They had even managed to come out of the war clean and avoid Azkaban. At those times laws were very gentle and easily manipulated. This was no longer the case. Hugo had worked hard on catching the Malfoys. Even though he had not expected the youngest one to break the law, it was better to teach him a lesson before he got deeper into the Dark Arts like his relatives had.
"Draco Malfoy personally helped me to push the law allowing any means, even the Unforgivable Curses, for getting the truth out of criminals." Hugo clarified and smirked, noticing the confused look on Scorpius's face.
"He would not do such thing." Scorpius shook his head slightly which was throbbing with pain. He could not think very clearly, but he knew that there was no reason for his father to do something like that.
"Nevertheless, he did," Hugo stated firmly. "I do not want to waste time on this conversation. You can ask him yourself, why he helped me, when he visits you in Azkaban," Hugo told him calmly. He wanted to get back to the main topic. He had already wasted too much time on Scorpius.
"Azkaban?" Scorpius asked in a husky voice and his eyes suddenly changed to wide blue orbs, which fully expressed his horror.
"Yes, criminals go to Azkaban, nowadays even if they are the Malfoys." Hugo cocked an eyebrow, realising that Scorpius had not understood how serious his crime was. Nevertheless, it was not surprising. The Malfoys were not used to take responsibility for their actions. "I suppose that your grandfather has told you stories about the lovely time he had spent there."
Scorpius had just got home for his first Christmas holiday at Hogwarts. He quickly shook the snow off his coat and ran to the east wing of the Malfoy Manor, ignoring the confused looks on his parents' faces. They had already noticed that something troubled the eleven year old boy. He was uncharacteristically silent since he had got off the Hogwarts Express. Scorpius ran through the hallways covered in magnificent carpets, taking as long steps as his small feet allowed. Portraits lining the walls looked at him disapprovingly and told shaming remarks; however, the boy wanted to know the truth. He could have asked his parents, but he wanted to hear it from his grandfather in person. Scorpius pushed open the heavy oak door of Lucius's room and went inside, stopping in the middle of the room.
Lucius was surprised by the ill-mannered behaviour of his grandson. He was going to say what his punishment would be for such an intrusion, when Scorpius asked what was on his mind.
"Is it true?" the little boy inquired in a small and shaky voice.
"What do you mean?" Lucius asked and waved his wand to magically close the door, which had remained open.
"They say that you have been in Azkaban!" Scorpius cried.
"Who says?" Lucius asked.
"Everyone! Everyone says that I will end up in Azkaban just as you did, because I have bad blood in my veins." The child was shaking slightly and Lucius could not understand whether it was of fury or because he desperately tried to hold back tears.
"You are not going to end up in Azkaban! Whoever said this nonsense are not in their right mind. The Malfoy blood is one of the purest in the country. You have to be proud to be a Malfoy, and you know it!" Lucius was surprised that the child doubted his family's ideals.
"So it is true then?" Scorpius shrieked and a tear broke from his left eye.
"Yes, I have been in Azkaban, although many of my generation have. It is nothing exceptional and worth discussing," Lucius stated angrily, being furious that the subject had been brought up.
"You are lying!" Scorpius yelled and saw his grandfather's hand make an upwards movement. He shut his eyes awaiting a slap for his behaviour; however, did not receive it. Lucius controlled himself. "Only parents of Slytherins have been in Azkaban. I am not able to make friends from other Houses because of my family name," Scorpius said.
"You do not need friends from other houses. Slytherins are the ones who are going to get far and be remembered," Lucius said. He had always told Scorpius that Slytherins were the greatest and the child had doubtlessly believed him, but half a year in Hogwarts had changed his mind. The school was no good anymore. He had heard about the unreasonable things happening at Hogwarts. Slytherins had a hard time and purebloods lacked respect even in their own house. Lucius had warned Draco that it would be better to send the child to Durmstrang, but he had not listened. Lucius planned a serious discussion with Draco.
"I know what you think!" Scorpius snapped as angrily as the child could. "And those are all lies. Slytherins are not the greatest. We are the outcasts!"
"You are too young to understand these things. You have to trust your family!" Lucius raised his voice.
"Should I be proud that you have been in Azkaban?" Scorpius asked and folded his arms across his chest spitefully.
There was no point in lying, even Lucius realised it. "No, it's nothing to be proud of. I got caught and it should not have happened. Never risk it with Azkaban, Scorpius. It does not matter how long the sentence is. The time spent there will always be remembered as the worst time of your life."
"Why?" The child never found an answer sufficiently informing.
"Because the only thoughts that survive are those of death. It is possible to resist Dementors for some time, but after that they suck any hope out of you and everything that remains is a dirty, inhuman shell. You have to either become so evil that even Dementors will be scared or learn to welcome death as Dementors will not suck that out of you. I managed to get through it with a clear head, but many do not."
"I am not a criminal!" Scorpius roared. He could not comprehend how Hugo managed to catch him. Everything had gone according to plan, without any slips. He had even forgotten. Why now, four years later, was the case brought up? Hugo had frightened him. Azkaban was too harsh even without Dementors. It just could not be happening.
"Should I go over it again?" Hugo lifted a silver locket with a letter "M" made of diamonds in the middle of it. "Do you deny that this locket belongs to you?" he asked.
"It was my locket," Scorpius admitted, emphasizing the word 'was', but it seemed not to catch Hugo's attention. The plan had had no faults, because no one knew that the locket was his possession. It had remained in his room at all times. "How did you find out that it was my locket?" Scorpius dared to ask.
"Does it matter?" Hugo asked casually.
"Yes, it does matter!" Scorpius said. Only one person besides his family knew about the locket. It seemed highly suspicious that of all the people Hugo was the one who was interrogating him. Was Scorpius betrayed? Had he put too much trust in the girl? "Did she tell you?"
"Did she know? Then she's an accomplice!" Hugo was shocked. "I will have to question her, too. What can she tell me?"
"Leave her out of this. She has nothing to tell you," Scorpius told him and started with a deadly expression into Hugo's eyes.
"I thought you would be happy to have some company in Azkaban," Hugo said and raised en eyebrow.
"Do you mean what you just said?" Scorpius asked. He could not believe that Hugo would put everyone in Azkaban if he had a chance.
"Those who break the law have to be punished, and I will not make any exceptions," Hugo stated firmly and made Scorpius's headache stronger.
"You have tuned into a monster," Scorpius whispered.
"I am merely doing justice!" Hugo yelled.
"You are a monster!" Scorpius cried desperately seeing how Hugo was destroying his life.
"I would say the same about you. I always knew you had something up your sleeve, but I could not catch you. You, Malfoys, are experienced in breaking the law. I suspected that an investigation of dark objects would yield results." Hugo smirked.
"You investigated this with intention? Why are you doing this to me?" Scorpius asked. He felt helpless, seeing that Hugo wanted him in Azkaban no matter what. "Is it because of her? Will you never get over the fact that we love each other?"
"Let's deal with your crime and then have a chat about all other matters. I'm afraid that you might forget why we are here if we change the topic. You have such a short memory. It is not even lasting four years into the past. Four years ago you personally showed me this locket. You can imagine my surprise when I found this dear thing in the dark object section." Hugo laughed and saw recognition in Scorpius's eyes as his mind switched back four years in time to an event long forgotten.
"Master Scorpius." Boggy, a house elf, kneeled before him. "Master Draco asks you to bring him the locket Master Lucius gave you for your last birthday."
Scorpius was surprised by such a request. The locket had lain tucked in the furthest corner of his room since Lucius had given it to him. Scorpius opened a dusty box with some valuable possessions and retrieved a silver locket with a short chain and diamonds forming the letter "M".
He ran downstairs and entered his father's study when he saw a blonde boy with an icy stare standing face to face with Draco.
"What is the albino Weasley doing here?" Scorpius could not hide his surprise.
"I am not an albino," Hugo said through gritted teeth, but his remark received no attention.
"Mind your own business," Draco told Scorpius, "Just give me the locket and leave," he ordered and snatched it from Scorpius's hand. The door slammed in Scorpius's face.
He was very confused. Why did his father need the locket? Why would he want to harm the boy? Would he really do it? His last question was answered when he heard a scream coming from the room he had just left. He immediately cast a silencing charm on the door, unwilling to listen to the suffering of Hugo.
"Did you know of the curse placed on the locket?" Hugo asked, even though he was aware of the answer.
"Yes," Scorpius said. Lucius had given him the locket as a means of self-protection and to diagnose enemies. Lucius thought that it would be very amusing if someone wanted to try the locket on and got cursed, but Scorpius did not want anything like that to happen, and he did not feel a need for additional protection. His grandfather had always been concerned about safety and overprotected, but it had not protected him against a common Muggle flu from which he had died. Scorpius found it more absurd than tragic that the noble pureblood was defeated by something that most Muggles were able to fight. After Lucius died, Scorpius did not feel obligated to like the locket, so it had lain covered in dust in a box with other just as useless, yet very precious to the Malfoys, possessions.
"Do you want to know what is written in the record?" Hugo asked and continued without an answer. "Description: Silver locket with a silver chain and diamond letter "M" in the middle. Classification: Highly dangerous dark object. Properties: identifies particular family's blood. When worn by someone from another family inflicts pain similar to the Cruciatus Curse. Found on: 07.08.2024. Location: London, Muggle neighbourhood. Damage inflicted: A Muggle woman was approximately two minutes under the curse. Consequences – shock, lasting pain. Owner: unidentified. Curse: cannot be removed," Hugo read from the record.
"I already told you under Veritaserum that the locket had never been in the Muggle's house. The record you have is falsified," Scorpius tried to explain once more even though he had understood that Hugo would not believe him. It seemed to Scorpius that Hugo actually wanted him imprisoned, because Hugo's hatred was too intense.
"You are lying. Records cannot be falsified," Hugo spat.
"They can!" Scorpius exclaimed helplessly.
"Well, then the case is getting even more interesting. A charge for harming a Muggle would get you a small sentence in Azkaban, but a charge for falsifying restricted Ministry records is much graver," Hugo told him, "Why would you have to falsify the record anyway? This is the worst excuse I've ever heard."
"Scorpius!" a yell echoed throughout the Malfoy Manor. Scorpius startled and quickly hid the letter he had been writing. He wanted to be left alone, but his father kept an eye on him at all times since he had returned from school. He quickly got downstairs and found his father at the bottom of the stairs impatiently waiting for him.
"What took you so long?" Draco snapped. Scorpius decided not to comment. His father was never pleased with anything he did.
"How can I help you, father?" Scorpius asked wanting to deal with it quickly.
"I heard news from my friends at the Ministry. They will do massive raids soon. Our house is one of the first on the list," Draco told him and looked upset. Scorpius knew that they had retained many Dark artefacts.
"Do you want me to surrender them to the Ministry of Magic?"
"Are you insane?" Draco yelled at the top of his lungs and looked down at his son, making him feel small and miserable. "We have surrendered too many items to the Ministry already. The Ministry does not suspect our possessions to be even half as harmful as they are, and it has to remain so. We came as clean as we could out of the war and we will remain so. Final!" Draco stated with authority and Scorpius knew that there was no use in arguing.
"Then just hide them in the secret room below the drawing room," Scorpius suggested.
"The Ministry knows about the room. They are not safe in this house," Draco told him.
"I do not want to get involved," Scorpius stated.
"This is not a matter for discussion," Draco told him strictly, "There are two boxes with our possessions on the table. I want them well hidden. I cannot do that myself as people from the Ministry might question me. It's preferable if I do not know anything about their faith. Moreover, it should keep you occupied for some time and take your mind off that filthy girl."
"It has to do with the massive Ministry raids three years ago," Scorpius told Hugo.
"So you let the poor Muggle woman get cursed just because you had to get rid of your Dark possessions and were too proud to give them to the Ministry?" Hugo was disgusted.
"No woman was cursed. Everything written on the record is false!" Scorpius yelled in frustration.
"Prove it!" Hugo spat.
"What will happen if I do?" Scorpius asked and his voice trembled slightly.
Hugo seized Scorpius's collar and pulled him close. "Then whoever helped you will keep you company in Azkaban. And I mean it! It does not matter if it is your father with a pile of money or even my own sister. Messing with Ministry's records is a severe crime and whoever attempts to do it does not get out clean." Hugo did not need to speak loudly to make the desired impact. Soon the boy was trembling with fear.
"Who helped you?" Hugo questioned.
Scorpius broke loose from his grasp and fell back to the chair breathing heavily, his wide eyes focused on Hugo.
"Was it your father?" Hugo asked. Draco did not have any connections in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as far as Hugo knew; although, he could manage to do something like that.
Scorpius stared at him with blank eyes. His attitude infuriated Hugo who was losing patience.
"Crucio!" the sharp word was pronounced the second time that day. Scorpius fell down on the ground again and felt the pain ripping his body with twice as strong force as previously. Remains of the previous curse had hidden in his body, gaining strength and awaiting an opportunity to unleash pain. He screamed with a force which broke through the silencing spell on the room and Hugo had to lift the spell.
Hugo approached Scorpius's hovering body and grabbed his collar again, lifting him forcefully from the ground. "Speak!" Hugo furiously demanded, being ignorant of the impact the Cruciatus Curse had inflicted on Scorpius's vocal cords.
"I lied!" Scorpius coughed.
"That much I know!" Hugo yelled into his face. "More details would be useful."
"Filthy Muggles have to be punished. She deserved it!" Scorpius spat and put a frown on his face which only a Malfoy could master.
"Welcome to Azkaban!" Hugo laughed victoriously. It had taken a repeated Cruciatus Curse get the truth out. It had to be documented. His sentence could be even longer than Hugo had initially thought, when taking into account his unwillingness to tell the truth.
***
A/N: So who is the monster?
