The Interrogation

And even when the rain falls
You and I will stand tall,
No matter what you go through
I'll never leave you.

At the end of the day
Some you win, some you don't,
So I'm glad that I'm here
With some friends that I know
Que Sera- Justice Crew

"The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming."

A woman screamed in the background as the Patronus faded and almost immediately chaos erupted in the middle of what had only a minute ago been the picture of happiness.

Kingsley had gotten them a warning, they had to make good use of it. There was an ominous rumble overhead as the protective enchantments surrounding The Burrow were broken and Arthur pointed his wand at his throat and his loud "Everybody out of here!" was amplified over the din.

Witches and wizards were Disapparating all over the place as seconds later Remus and Tonks shouted a shield charm in unison and the attack began.

Death Eaters surged into the crowd and curses flew everywhere as people fought or fled. The Order sprung to life and leapt immediately to the defence as Hermione turned on her heel and took Ron and Harry with her, vanishing in a swirl of colour.

Fleur clutched at her husband's arms as he produced his wand from his sleeve and shielded her.
"Go, love! Where I told you!"

"I will not leave zis family, Bill!" She protested, her heart breaking as their wedding was destroyed around them and turned him around by the elbow to face her. Fleur tenderly cupped his scarred face and rested her head against his. "I am part of eet now."

"Then you'll do what I ask, Fleur. Run! I will come for you. I promise."

Fleur searched his blue eyes and found them pleading for her to stay safe and she could not deny him that any longer. A silver tear ran down her cheek.
"I love you." They whispered in unison and kissed once before Fleur vanished with a twirl and a pop and a curse shot through the very spot she had stood an instant ago.

With a growl, Bill leapt to arms and deflected a curse aimed for his head as a Death Eater appeared beside him.

"Molly!" Arthur roared, charging through the mess of scattered glass and overturned tables towards his wife who was struggling to hold her own as a spiral of Dark Magic came hurtling toward her. Flicking his wand, he sent one of the tables flying into it and knocked the wizard off his course into a pile of fabric.

Lupin was releasing the wolf in him with a wild growl of anger as he duelled alongside Charlie who was battling to shield Ginny from the curses, trying to keep the attack at bay and praying that they had not seen the Trio Disapparate.

Tonks' hair had turned red as she sent a jet of fire at a Death Eater who turned it to sand in the air and stormed toward her.

Fred and George were back to back, ducking and weaving around each other in perfect synchronisation as they kept all angles covered. As one they both froze, wands raised and squaring off with a wizard one each side. As one, at just the right moment, the twins ducked down behind an overturned table, and heard a satisfying scream of pain as the Cruciatus curse hit the wrong target.

Tables were being overturned, every tablecloth and chair torn apart as they searched for their target who was nowhere to be found. There were at least a dozen intruders that Fred could see, a mixture of Death Eaters and Ministry wizards who were under the Imperious curse, and still worse, Ministry Wizards who were not under the influence.

Suddenly Charlie's wand went flying by Fred's head and, at his side, George barely twisted in time to avoid losing his remaining ear.
There were getting to be too many of them when someone bellowed "Stop! Wands down!"

Everyone went quiet and there was a tense ceasefire as all eyes turned to the middle of the dance floor where Yaxley had Arthur's wand beneath his foot and he and another Death Eater held him at bay with two wands digging into his throat.

"Unless you want Daddy to get what all bloodtraitors should get." He finished with a sneer and without hesitation they all dropped their wands at their feet.

"Hm..." Rabastan Lestrange sneered from where he stood, his wand aimed unwavering at Bill's head, who was glaring at him wildly. "Comradery was always the Order's weakest link."

"Or its strongest asset." Remus snapped across the marquee and edged toward Tonks who stood by Ginny and was restrained by two wizards.

Yaxley ignored this and turned to Arthur, leaning in close and turning his wand to point at Molly warningly.
"I'll ask this nicely once. Tell me where Harry Potter is and no one needs to get in any trouble."

"I don't know." Arthur replied steely, his jaw set as he drew himself up. "Now leave us alone."

"Wrong answer." Yaxley replied softly and turned to Molly who was being held back by Alecto Carrow. "Cruc-"

"Mum!" Ginny cried out, struggling forward a few steps and sufficiently distracting Yaxley who sneered and lowered his wand.

"Take 'em all and search the house." He ordered, grabbing Arthur by the back of his robes and marching him forward out of the marquee.

Fred fought against the grip the wizard had on his coat as he was pushed toward the Burrow, earning him a sharp poke in the back and a warning snarl from the Death Eater. He cast a glance around frantically, trying to see if anyone had been hurt.

Ginny was kicking and swearing at her captor who had the girl by her elbow and was having a tough time controlling her. He got sick of it after a minute and roughly picked her up, pinning her arms to her sides as the underage witch shouted and struggled.

"Leave her alone!" Tonks snapped from behind, her hair was still red in her anger.

Remus was the calmest of them all, and knew better than to fight when they were unarmed and outnumbered. But the Death Eaters knew that Remus Lupin was probably the most dangerous, and had taken precautions accordingly, two wands were always trained on his head.

Fred craned his head over his shoulder to find his brothers. Bill, who was usually so in control of himself, looked frantic. Who could blame him? This was his wedding day and he had sent his bride away to safety, he looked sick with worry.

Charlie was alongside Bill, with Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange keeping them secure. The Lestrange brothers were sadistic and cruel, and Rodolphus was taking great pleasure in making Charlie hop every few steps by firing a curse at his feet.

In front of Fred, George was being marched along by his shoulder and was leaning lopsidedly toward the left.

xxxXxxx

They were all marched into the kitchen and the table flew away and crashed carelessly into the wall, opening up the space.

Roughly, the captors released their charges but did not lower their wands. In a matter of seconds, despite despairing cries from Molly, the kitchen had been torn apart. Every cupboard was opened and emptied, every chair was thrown about the room.

Fred's fists were clenched so tight that his knuckles went white, and he could sense that George behind him was much the same.
No one needed Lupin or Arthur to tell them to keep their mouth shut and not tell them anything. Thankfully, no one knew any specifics like location to give away anyway, and Molly hadn't even known Harry, Ron and Hermione were planning on leaving in the first place.

Yaxley, who seemed to have appointed himself in charge of the search, stepped forward again and looked slowly from one Weasley to the next before his eyes lingered on Remus and Tonks.

"Who wants to step forward and tell me where Harry Potter is?"

No one moved and his cold eyes narrowed. With a jerk of his head, one of the Ministry workers stepped forward with a roll of parchment and milky eyes. He was undoubtedly under Yaxley's Imperious Curse.

"Who do we have?"

The wizard, a man with a short but broad stature and a prominent moustache, stepped in front of Arthur and unrolled the scroll.
"Weasley, Arthur, 47. Pure-blood. Occupation: the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. Married to Molly Prewett, seven children, two youngest still of Hogwarts age. Known member of the Order of the Phoenix."

He moved along to Molly whose hand was tightly entwined with her husband's.
"Weasley, nee Prewett, Molly, 47. Pure-blood. Married to Arthur Weasley, seven children. Known member of the Order of the Phoenix."

He moved along again to where Ginny stood scowling, but frightened between her parents and her brother.
"Weasley, Ginevra, 15. Pure-blood. Begins sixth year at Hogwarts as of September. Youngest child of Arthur and Molly Weasley."

"Weasley, Charles, 24. Pure-blood. Occupation: Dragonologist. Resides in Romania most of the year. Known member of the Order of the Phoenix."

"Weasley, Fred, 19. Pure-blood. Occupation: Co-owner and co-founder of Diagon Alley's 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes'. Identical twin of George Weasley. Known member of the Order of the Phoenix."

"Weasley, George, 19. Pure-blood. Occupation: Co-owner and co-founder of Diagon Alley's 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes'. Identical twin of Fred Weasley-"

"Less identical now by the looks of things." One of the Death Eaters interrupted with a sneer and Fred felt his skin prickling with anger.

"-Known member of the Order of the Phoenix."

He finally moved along to the last of the family and peered at Bill, taking note of the new ring on his finger.

"Weasley, William, 26. Pure-blood. Occupation: Curse-breaker for Gringotts. Eldest child of Arthur and Molly Weasley. Married. Known member of the Order of the Phoenix. May show occasional lycanthropic tendencies."

As if to illustrate the last point, Bill growled quietly and tried to repress the urge to try and wrestle a wand off the man as he moved on to the last two.

"Lupin, Remus, 37. Half-blood. Formally a Hogwarts professor. Known member of the Order of the Phoenix. Werewolf."

"And finally; Tonks, Nymphadora, 24. Half-blood. Occupation: Auror. Known Metamorphmagus and member of the Order of the Phoenix."

Having finished, the wizard rolled up the parchment and stepped back into the throng of Death Eaters.

"Well, well, well…" Yaxley drawled. "Blood traitors and werewolves. But I only counted five ginger children. There should be seven." He raised his wand and traced Ginny's face with it. "Where are the others?"

"Ill." George had the foresight to answer, his thoughts immediately going to the ghoul they had disguised in Ron's bed. "Spattergroit. I wouldn't go up there."

Yaxley narrowed his eyes and lifted his head to the ceiling before drawing them down to George slowly. "Really? See, I don't think I believe ya. I think you're lying to me. I think the other kid's with Harry Potter." He jerked his head toward the living room and the staircase.

"Tear the wreck apart if you have to. Search it all!"

In a flurry of dark magic, they all dispersed. Furniture was overturned, and even the chimney was searched thoroughly.

Leaving two Death Eaters to keep them all in the kitchen, the rest nearly did tear up the whole house. Not a bed was left with sheets on it, not a closet or chest of drawers was left with clothes inside. Anything that looked suspicious or anything that looked like Harry Potter had been using it was seized immediately.

Only when they reached Ron's attic bedroom, did the invaders hesitate. Two Death Eaters and two Ministry officials stood frozen in the doorway as they gazed at the grotesque shape in the bed that was the disguised ghoul.

"They weren't lyin', Yaxley! Somethin's got spattergroit for sure!" The shout carried down a few floors to where Yaxley and Amycus Carrow had overturned the twins' old bedroom.

Leaving most of them to continue the search, Yaxley, and the Carrow and Lestrange siblings stormed back into the kitchen.

"You've all been lying." Rodolphus seethed, and thick cords poured from the end of his wand wrapped around Lupin, squeezing tightly. "Liars! All of you! Where is Harry Potter?!"

Not a word answered him. Tonks leapt forward, trying to break the spell binding her husband and was promptly sent sliding back into the wall with a thud.

Then movement from Amycus caught George's eye and he subtly nudged Fred beside him. The Death Eater was turning over a small, golden telescope in his fingers.
Getting the message, Fred took the lead and moved as if to snatch it away. "Don't touch that!"

Amycus looked up and Yaxley snapped his attention to the twin that was looking quite uncomfortable and like he had just said something he shouldn't have.
"What are you hiding, boy?" He snarled, an inch away from Fred's face faster than any of them could have blinked.

"Nothin'." Fred said hastily, and swallowed, edging back as far as he could. "It's really not anything more than a telescope."

Yaxley looked suddenly suspicious, and was not so quickly taken in. Amycus Carrow, however, was taken in by the guise and looked altogether triumphant. Before Yaxley could bark at him not to do it, he had lifted the thing to his eye.

Bang!

There was a great puff of black smoke and everyone but the twins jumped a mile and stared wide eyed at the scene.

With a pained roar, Amycus flailed his wand wildly to clear the smoke and had been left with a great, shockingly purple bruise over his eye. The boxing telescope lay on the floor, a little boxing glove sticking out of the end.

Fred and George were twitching with the mammoth effort it took not to laugh as identical grins started to creep over their faces. And then George couldn't hold it in and snickered aloud. It was a small victory, but it was a victory none the less.

"You think that's funny?" Amycus fumed, his wand drawn as he stalked over in front of Yaxley and seized the front of George's dress robes in one hand. "I'll give you somethin' you won't be laughing about!" He pressed the point of his wand hard to the side of George's head, right where his ear had been.

And then George was screaming and Molly was shrieking for her boy as he started to sink down toward the ground trying to get away from the searing, burning pain that was like a knife digging into the wound and twisting.

Carrow followed him and kept the pressure on hard as the bandages began to turn scarlet.
"Is it still funny, laughing boy?! Because I think this is hilarious."

"Get off him!" Charlie and Fred both shouted in unison, bristling with anger. Fred's eyes were filling with angry tears as he watched George trying desperately to writhe away all the while screaming in agony.

"Crucio!"

More screaming. Charlie was on the floor twisting at angles that no human body was ever meant to twist in as Yaxley sneered down at him.

"Stop it!" Ginny was screaming and Molly was trying not to sob at the sight, her hands covering her mouth.

George couldn't hear any of it. The pain was so intense he felt sure he was dying and the blood rushing in his head had rendered him completely deaf to any sounds around him. His eyes were closed tightly and he felt the blood beginning to flow through the bandages and down his neck again. And then suddenly the wand was gone and he took a deep, gasping breath and dissolved into whimpers and groans as he slumped on his hands and knees on the floor.

He managed to open one very watery blue eye and his hearing slowly began to return. Then he realised he wasn't the only one whimpering with aftershocks.

Charlie scrambled to his feet, pale and trembling so badly he had to lean on Ginny's shoulder until his legs stopped shaking enough to support him again.

Fred struggled from the restraining grip the sneering Rabastan had on him and dropped to his knees beside his twin, covering the wound with his own hands to try and stem the bleeding.
"George….George, are you-"

George nodded very slightly and slowly raised his eyes to glare fiercely at the Death Eaters. Letting Fred support him, he forced himself to get to his feet. He refused to be so low to these people.

"Liars and blood traitors the lot of 'em."

"Take 'em one at a time." Yaxley smirked, his wand drawn. "Actually…two at a time. If one won't talk, we'll take it out on their family. They'll break…everyone breaks."

xxxXxxx

"I don't know! I don't know!" Molly wailed from the living room and another harsh smack sounded as they struck Arthur across the face hard. Stray books and quills began to tremble and shake as Molly was both bristling with anger and nearly bursting with the pain of watching her family beaten in front of her as she was interrogated for answers she did not have and would not give.

"Harry Potter has stayed here in the past. He was here very recently, wasn't he?" Yaxley growled as cords burst from the tip of his wand and bound Arthur's wrists tightly to the arms of his chair.
"Wasn't he?!" He shouted.

No matter what, she could not say anything about Harry. Not a word to indicate they had been in contact with him at all, let alone living in the same house.

"No." She repeated stubbornly and the book on the floor at her feet trembled again with unstable magic and emotions.

"Crucio!"

xxxXxxx

"You're a close friend and confidant of Potter, don't pretend otherwise. Where. Would. He. Go?"

"You'll have to kill me. I don't know where he is." Lupin growled, a low rumble deep in his throat as he pulled and strained against his restraints.

Bill yelped as an invisible hand wrapped around his throat and his breathing was cut off.

"I don't know." Remus spat, his knuckles going white as he looked over at the man struggling desperately for air beside him. The freckles on Bill's face were standing out more and more against his rapidly paling skin and he was nearly turning blue before Alecto Carrow ended the spell and brought her wand down over Remus' face instead. It left a long, thin scratch behind that stung and bit.

"Harry Potter was never here." Lupin barely even flinched at the blow and remained as steady as he could while Bill next to him was hacking and coughing trying to regain his breath.

"Crucio!" The witch snarled and left Remus screaming as she turned back to Bill.

"Unless you want me to track your pretty little bride down and kill her one silky hair at a time, you'll tell me where you last saw Harry Potter."

Bill screwed up his face in a fierce glare and the gruesome scars stretching down his face stood out as much as at the freckles as he set his jaw and shook his head.
"In the Daily Prophet, I 'spose."

Whack.

xxxXxxx

"If you touch one hair on my sister's head again I'll-"

"What? Set a dragon on me?" The Death Eater sneered and brought his hand down hard across Charlie's face.

"Maybe." Charlie panted, sweat dripping down his brow as he willingly took the punishment for Tonks and Ginny.

"Crucio!"

He screamed again, writhing in the chair in pain and trying in vain to get away from the torture.

Tonks had her eyes closed and was trying to keep her composure listening to Charlie screaming. When she opened them they were black and angry and she glanced over at Ginny who was staring straight ahead, a tear running silently down her cheek.

The older witch was sure she knew just how Ginny was feeling knowing Harry was somewhere out there and not knowing if they had been found or hurt. It was how she felt listening to them try to beat information out of Remus. Her heart was breaking with worry and when Charlie's screams subsided into whimpers and panting, Tonks willed with all her might to be able to use wandless magic well.

xxxXxxx

"Harry who?"

Whack.

"Harry who?"

Whack.

"Harry who?"

An irritated hiss and another whack.

Fred spat blood onto the floor and looked Rodolphus in the eye again. "Harry, wh-"

"Say it one more time, and your brother loses the other ear."

Fred shut up with a sigh and blinked away the light-headedness he was starting to feel. He was bleeding from a small gash along the top of his head and still trembling from aftershocks of the Cruciatus curse.

In the living room he heard his father scream again and clenched his jaw stubbornly, trying not to show how badly this was affecting him.

Lestrange glowered down at Fred and then turned his attention to George whose bandage was entirely coated in crimson and looked all the more pale for it. Pointing his wand at the side of his head and then moving it down to his chest and back up again, Lestrange reached out and wrenched the twin's head back by his bright red hair.

"Where would Potter go?"

George breathed heavily and swallowed a lump in his throat as he felt the point of the wand at his temple and replied without further hesitation.
"Harry who?"

"Crucio!"

And there was the white hot pain again, and George was screaming. As suddenly as it came, it passed and then Fred was screaming instead and thrashing madly in his chair. And that almost hurt more than the torture itself.

"Even if we knew anythin', which we don't…" George panted as soon as his twin's cries had subsided.

"You'd have to kill us before we told you." Fred whimpered, his voice hoarse and dry.

xxxXxxx

So it's been a while since I dipped my pen into the wonderful world of Potter fanfic and boy am I glad to be back here. I missed these boys!

This was originally supposed to be a two-shot, but (as has happened before) it will now have at least three parts and possibly more if I find myself continuing where I planned to stop.

I have several new ideas in the works as well so by all means click that lovely little button down there and join team if you would like to read those when they worm their way out!