CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE SECRET DUTY

Methods of interrogation have evolved over the years, so the locations in which they take place in turn reflect those evolutions. In medieval times, elaborate machines occupied dank dungeon cells and would be used in various fashions to extract information from prisoners. These days, things hadn't much changed, with more advanced tools being employed by any law enforcement office. By comparison, the magical community's means extended beyond vials of Veritaserum and the Cruciatus Curse. But there was one method that had always proved effective for either side of the human race: unbearable silence.

It was exactly what Harry was experiencing at the moment as he sat in one of the unremarkably gray Interrogation Rooms of the Auror Office, waiting for the rounds of questioning he knew were coming. Harry knew that isolating a suspect for a certain period of time and letting the silence slowly unnerve them into a weakened, vulnerable state was one of the approaches most Aurors seemed to favor, but Harry's training had taught him to become impervious to such situations. So rather than let the stillness in the air get the best of him, Harry calmly passed the time thinking of how he was going to get in touch with Cornelius Fudge.

Unlike all other suspects who were brought in for questioning, Harry wasn't bound to the steel chair by restraints. But it didn't carry any importance, because even if he did try and escape, the guards stationed just outside the door would have prevented him from getting very far.

It came as no surprise that it was Barnes who walked in through the door, fixing Harry with his sternest gaze the moment he stepped foot inside the room. Without saying a word, Barnes pulled the chair opposite Harry out from underneath the table and sat down. Still not breaking his wordless trance, Barnes reached into his pocket, took out his wand and placed it directly in the middle of the empty table between himself and Harry. This gesture told Harry what Barnes's intentions were.

"Both of us have seen enough in the field that we know how everything goes," Barnes said in a matter-of-fact tone. "So I think it only prudent that we dispense with the perfunctory skirting of answers. All I'm asking for is the truth."

Harry nodded curtly to show that he was on the same page.

Barnes connected his fingers in front of him and leaned forward, into the narrow beam of light cast by an overhanging blue torch directly above the table. "You depart from your duties here with no word of where you're going, directly after Lucius Malfoy stages an attack here and your fiancé turns up dead. The very next night, the house belonging to Hermione's parents nearly goes up in flames. And then, earlier today, Lucius Malfoy is abducted from his mansion just hours before you and Hermione are found at a possible crime scene. And in the company of Draco Malfoy, I might add. Now, the pieces of the puzzle are all here, I merely need help assembling them."

Harry shrugged, trying to keep his expression as casual as possible. "What do you want to know?"

"I want to know if you have your own operation going on without authorization. It seems to me you're using Ginny's death as a reason to finally settle your vendetta against Lucius Malfoy."

Harry rose to his feet, but not in the expected angrily violent way. "That's what you think?" His voice quavered with emotion. "You think I'd let Ginny's death serve as cause to bring in Malfoy? If there's one thing I've learned from you, Liam, it's that you never let personal feelings keep you from doing your job. The reason I abducted Malfoy concerns an entirely different matter."

"Which is?"

Harry sank back down into his chair, internally debating what he should divulge to Barnes.

"Nobody's accusing you of anything. If you're pursuing a lead related to the Malfoy case, I need to know what it is."

Out of impulse, Harry was on the verge of telling Barnes all about the plot involving The Book of Merlin, but then the theory of there being a traitor in the Auror Department prevented him from doing so. All this time, Barnes had been the prime suspect to be the leak, but Harry's infallible ability to read people's eyes was telling him that Barnes would rather die than betray what he believed in. The patient curiosity in Barnes's gaze betrayed the notion of him being a double agent. How, Harry wasn't sure, but he just knew treachery was beyond Barnes.

"How much do you know about The Book of Merlin?"

Barnes straightened up in his chair, his eyes narrowed. "More than you might expect." Harry's expression made him continue. "It was something of interest to The Magical Artifact Recovery Office years ago."

"Was it found?" Harry asked, perking up a great deal.

"Unfortunately, no. The closest they ever got to it was learning about one possible resting place. When a few Recoverables arrived at the scene, they couldn't find anything, despite having scoured the entire area."

"Where was this?"

"An abandoned castle somewhere in Scotland. Ever since, The Book has evaded any who try to find it." Barnes paused for a moment, his eyes scanning Harry's face. "Is Lucius Malfoy looking for it?"

"At the behest of someone else, apparently. He wasn't too subtle in telling me that."

Barnes leaned back in his chair, only starting to absorb the tidal wave of information that had just crashed over him. Before he spoke again, he rubbed his temples furiously. "If the wrong people get their hands on The Book…"

"They could unleash black magic powerful enough to wipe out entire civilizations," Harry finished for him. "I've been acquainted with what The Book can do." Harry took a breath, giving Barnes a minute to organize his thoughts. "Liam," he said calmly, "what I'm about to tell you…I need you to promise me you won't tell anyone else about it."

Barnes looked back at Harry bemusedly. "You're giving me an order?"

"Liam, this isn't the time to engage in a wand-measuring contest. This is serious. If there is a leak in this office, and this information reached them, then all chances of finding The Book before Lucius Malfoy would be lost."

"Am I to take it to believe you have a way of locating The Book?" Barnes's voice was tinged with anxiousness.

"Two Recoverables approached Draco Malfoy with certain…tools that can point the way."

Barnes's expression darkened somewhat at the mention of Draco. "This brings up an interesting point. Where do Draco Malfoy's loyalties lie, exactly?"

"He's on our side," Harry answered almost instantly. "I'm sure of it."

"How?"

"Draco's a scarred man. I haven't come across anybody who can fake wanting redemption so well."

"You'd be surprised how many men can act convincingly enough."

"Lucius Malfoy killed his wife in cold blood. He took Draco's mother away from him, and Draco despises him for it. You can think I'm merely sympathizing with his pain all you want, but I believe Draco Malfoy genuinely wants to atone." When Barnes displayed minimal acquiescence, Harry jumped back in. "Look, at least give him a chance. He deserves the opportunity to prove himself. I'll keep a constant eye on him."

Barnes tapped his forefinger to his lips. "If he attempts anything, he goes straight to Azkaban."

Harry knew that was the best he was going to get out of Barnes on the matter, so he nodded his head in agreement.

"So what's the next step in finding The Book?" asked Barnes.

"During an attempted interrogation, we were able to get a name from Lucius Malfoy: Cornelius Fudge."

"What?" Barnes sputtered incredulously. "The former Minister of Magic?"

"Yes. Now, we're unsure of the extent of his involvement, but whatever that may be, we need to question him. In case he knows anything vital."

"I can send agents to his residence to escort him here."

"Do it fast," advised Harry. "Malfoy could be going after Fudge at this very moment."

Barnes nodded and both he and Harry got up from their chairs. Barnes scooped up his wand before he led Harry out into the hallway where two muscular Aurors stood guard at the door. The Aurors snapped to attention the moment their boss faced them and diligently parted company after Barnes had issued his orders.

"Where's Hermione?" Harry asked the minute he and Barnes were once again alone.

"Right next door," Barnes replied. "We questioned her first to make sure your stories checked out."

Harry gave Barnes an inquisitive look over the top of his glasses. "Questioned?" he said before a lingering pause. "Or interrogated?"

"Harry, you have to understand that until I spoke with Hermione, I believed you were somehow in collusion with Malfoy. It was a possibility I needed to eliminate."

"Damn it, Liam!" Harry exclaimed. "Who do you think Hermione's loyal to? The Ministry or--…"

"She's loyal to you. That much was obvious when I started to question her. And, no offense, but sometimes loyalty can work against those who practice it."

Harry angrily turned his back on Barnes, pacing shortly in an attempt to calm his nerves. The thought of Hermione being forcefully interrogated made both his blood boil and his heart ache at the same time. He whirled around to face Barnes again.

"I swear, if you used anything invasive…" Harry's voice trailed off weakly.

"Legilimency," Barnes replied evenly. "Although it took a bit of work, since Hermione is so accomplished with those methods."

Harry looked at the closed door to the room where Hermione was and took a calming breath. "You should tell our MI5 liaisons to pass word along on Lucius Malfoy. We're gonna need all the help we can get."

Barnes didn't say anything, merely nodded and departed, knowing full well Harry was subtly asking for some privacy. When Barnes was a good distance away, Harry opened the door to Hermione's interrogation room and entered.

He found Hermione sitting in a chair similar to the one he'd had in the adjacent room, and her head was slightly slumped down. Harry turned his attention to the two Aurors standing guard in the shadows, fixing them with a piercing glare.

"Get out," he said curtly, his voice like a knife slicing through the air.

"But, we were told to--…" began the first Auror.

"Barnes wants you back out on the main floor. I suggest you not keep him waiting."

The Aurors looked as if they wished to argue petulantly, but they knew that if Barnes made a request, it needed to be carried out. They swept out of the room swiftly, glancing uncertainly over their shoulders at Harry as they did. Once Harry and Hermione were alone, Harry instantly went to Hermione's side, kneeling down beside her.

He cupped her chin and turned her face toward him. "Hey," he muttered gently. "Hermione."

It looked as if she were caught in that moment where sleep slowly starts to recede and consciousness gradually lifts your eyelids. Hermione's eyes fluttered open, glazed over at first, but coming into focus within a matter of seconds. Harry kept his left hand on Hermione's face while he squeezed her shoulder affectionately with his right.

"I'm sorry," Harry said genuinely. "I had no idea they would do that."

"It's not your fault, Harry." Hermione's voice surprisingly wasn't trembling or weak, as Harry thought it would've been. Instead, it contained the firmness of someone who could withstand extreme exertion of any sort. Definitely something new for Hermione. "Not at all."

Harry couldn't resist. He pulled Hermione into a passionate kiss, all his feelings of relief escaping from his lips. "Come on," he said as they each rested their heads against one another. "We have work to do."

Harry and Hermione exited the interrogation room and came out into the narrow, windowless hallway that led to the bullpen.

"So what's happening?" asked Hermione as they stepped out into the main gathering area for the Aurors.

"This has become an official Auror mission, authorized by Liam Barnes himself," Harry said in a mock-announcing tone of voice. "He's sent men to pick up Cornelius Fudge."

Once they reached Harry's desk, Harry crouched over it, resting his hands on the wooden perimeter. Then, Harry swiped one of his hands across the center of his desk, which turned into a hazy screen similar to a Muggle computer. Through a series of complicated movements involving both his wand and hands, Harry was able to pull up information on Cornelius Fudge. He quickly began to scan lines of text for any indication of a connection to The Book.

At the same time, Hermione leaned backward against the edge of the desk, her arms folded. But instead of reading along with Harry, she focused on the empty desk beside Harry's; the one that used to belong to Ron. She noticed how a cluttered mess of ink bottles, quills and papers it was, and couldn't help but crack a smile. Ron wasn't known for his cleanliness, something Hermione regularly pointed out but now, she was having bittersweet feelings over this sight.

"I kept telling him to straighten that all out." Harry's voice broke Hermione out of her reverie. When she looked over at him, Harry was staring at Ron's desk with the same expression as Hermione. "But as usual, he kept putting it off."

"We can't just avoid them." There was no need for Hermione to emphasize who she meant by "them". "The Weasleys will want to talk to us. We owe them that. They deserve the consolation."

"When all this is over, we will. I promise." Harry rubbed Hermione's arm affectionately while his other hand slipped inside his pants pocket and fingered Ginny's memory vial. He then cleared his throat. "There's nothing even remotely resembling a connection between Fudge and The Book."

Hermione tucked some of her hair behind her ear and examined the information being presented on the desk. "I don't get it. But whatever's going on here, it must be far bigger than we thought."

Harry and Hermione sensed the sudden presence of someone else behind them and turned around to see Draco standing there. From the way his face was mildly contorted, it was clear that he was relatively uncomfortable being inside Auror Headquarters.

"Never thought I'd see this office," Draco remarked.

Harry and Hermione quickly shared a look. "Have you been brought up to speed?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. If I try anything sneaky during the course of this operation, I'll be sharing a cell with my father's former friends." Draco's voice contained a slight hint of disgust, which suggested he was disappointed his new loyalty to the law was still in question.

"Don't dwell on these old grudges," said Hermione. "Just prove yourself to them. That's all it'll take."

Draco nodded, stepping forward. "Any leads?"

"Not yet," replied Harry. "But we're gonna question Fudge to see what he knows."

"Speak of the devil," Draco muttered, his eyes affixed to the fireplace built into the far wall of the bullpen.

A sudden outburst of emerald light alerted Harry and Hermione to the arrival of Cornelius Fudge, who was accompanied out of the green flames by two bland-looking Aurors. Fudge had an expression plastered across his face that communicated his feelings of confusion and fear very clearly. As Fudge was marched right on by Harry, Hermione and Draco, he shared a look with the three young people that showed something different: regret. Evidently, he was still ashamed of himself for not believing Harry and Hermione five years ago about Voldemort's return, and ashamed that he hadn't recognized Lucius Malfoy for the traitor he really was.

As Harry, Hermione and Draco pivoted to track Fudge's path, they then became aware that Barnes had now joined them.

"He'll be waiting in Interrogation Room 1," Barnes informed them. He extended his left hand, holding a vial of Veritaserum out to Harry. "To help speed along the process."

Harry took the vial and gripped it tightly.

"Liam," he said, "why are you helping us all of a sudden?"

"Lucius Malfoy killed an Auror," answered Barnes as he glanced over at Ron's desk. "That there is reason enough, seeing as how we both want to bring in the same man. However, The Minister did have a word with me before we caught up to you. He emphasized finding The Book is now Priority One."

At that moment, an Auror approached Barnes and whispered something in his ear, to which Barnes nodded and replied, "Show him over." He looked at Harry and Hermione's confused faces. "The Minister also provided us with the help of a Ministry official with a rather extensive knowledge of Arthurian myth and legend, thus information pertaining to Merlin himself."

Almost on cue, a handsome and regal-looking man with dark hair came up beside Barnes. He sported a black business suit rather than robes and had the kind of eyes that could be warm with kindness one moment, but cold with cruelty the next. Encircling his mouth was a neatly trimmed goatee that was dark just like his hair, yet flecked with tinges of gray. His build was rather broad and he seemed to radiate authority. In fact, it wouldn't have surprised Harry if he had reflexively stuck out his hand for the man to shake.

"May I introduce Rene Garrett, Senior Ministry Staff member, former Auror and resident expert on medieval magic."

Once Barnes had introduced him, Garrett nodded respectively toward Harry and the others. "Quite a pleasure, Harry." Garrett's voice sounded just as regal as its owner looked. "I personally think it's a crime we haven't met until now."

He held out his hand and without even thinking, Harry took it.

"Senior Ministry Staff member?" Harry gave Garrett a quizzical look. "Forgive me, but what exactly is the Senior Ministry Staff? I haven't heard of it."

"Well, we're quite like our own version of what's known as the Cabinet in America. We're the ones who help the Minister run everything. In fact, sometimes, I guess you could say we're the brains of the organization. Why, there are even times when we could run things without the Minister."

Immediately, Harry got a vibe from Garrett that made his impression of the man uncertain. In general, he was turned off by the smug air of superiority Garrett demonstrated. Harry didn't know whether to respect Garrett or resent him.

"Right, well, if you'll excuse me, I have a questioning to conduct."

Harry, Hermione and Draco moved to walk toward the Interrogation Rooms, but were stopped by the sound of Garrett's voice.

"I heard about Ronald and Ginny Weasley. My deepest condolences to you and Miss Granger."

"Thank you."

Unable to think of any other way to sustain the conversation, Harry walked with Hermione and Draco to where Cornelius Fudge was waiting. Once they approached the Interrogation Room, Harry put his hand on the handle, but paused and turned back to Hermione and Draco.

"I think I should take care of this by myself. Fudge will be more inclined to cooperate if he thinks it'll gain back my trust."

"Are you sure?" asked Draco.

"Positive. Fudge is a politician. Politicians always want to get in somebody's good graces."

Hermione and Draco made agreeable gestures. "Good luck," said Hermione as she and Draco started towards the room where they could observe through the one-way mirror.

Once they were gone, Harry pushed down on the door handle and entered the room. He found Cornelius Fudge seated behind the table, the same confused expression still on his face. Rather than sitting down opposite him, Harry chose to lean against the wall, next to the dark reflective mirror that blocked the people on the other side from view.

An uncomfortable, tension-filled silence pervaded the air until Fudge finally broke it, unable to stand it any longer.

"H-Harry, what is going--…"

"The Book of Merlin," Harry stated flatly. "What do you know about it?"

"The Book…" Fudge's voice was almost a whisper. Whether it contained recognition or just more confusion, Harry wasn't sure, but he had little time to waste in finding out.

"May I remind you that if you do know something about it and choose to lie, that's an obstruction of justice. Dangerous people who have the same question are after you right now as well, and trust me when I say what they'll do to you won't even compare to what I will do if you don't start talking."

From behind the glass, Draco regarded Hermione with curious eyes. "Seems like being an Auror has toughened Harry up a bit."

"It's part of an Auror's training," Hermione replied. "Interrogating a suspect can require getting your hands dirty from time to time. And trust me, Harry isn't lying about being able to do far worse."

"Yeah, but I don't think it'll take much to break Fudge."

In the Interrogation Room, Fudge was still keeping quiet. Finally, Harry shrugged and began walking back to the door. "Fine. We'll just keep you here as long as it takes to get you to talk. And I'm sure that'll slow down your attempts to get another job at the Ministry."

"Wait." Fudge's voice halted Harry in his tracks as he was in the process of walking out the door. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

Harry smirked as he closed the door. He knew the threat of keeping Fudge from his career would be enough to get him to talk. As he passed back in front of the mirror, he gave a look of satisfaction he knew Hermione and Draco could see from the other side. "Start talking," he said curtly.

Fudge sat up straighter in his chair, clearly attempting to compose himself better, but it didn't help. "You no doubt know about my Order of Merlin, First Class?"

Harry recalled the award, which was bestowed upon witches and wizards who achieved great deeds in the magical community. The award originated from an organization in the Middle Ages that was founded by Merlin himself in order to promote laws that would benefit people in both the Muggle and magical communities. Somewhere down the line, the organization turned into an award, the kind of award Harry thought Cornelius Fudge was undeserving of.

"Yes, I know," Harry replied dryly. "What about it?"

"It's more than a reason to gloat," said Fudge. "Along with the fancy plaque comes a responsibility. A secret duty, if you will. The Order of Merlin was initiated by Merlin himself and in addition to their known goals, the members of the Order were also given the task of ensuring the protection of Merlin's spell book. A task that still remains a priority."

"So how is The Book protected?" asked Harry.

"The Book lies buried in a secret catacomb, protected by various enchantments. It would take a skilled witch or wizard to navigate such death traps." Fudge surveyed Harry carefully. "Of course, I probably shouldn't have doubts about you."

Harry stepped closer to the table. "How do we find this resting place?"

"How do you think? Through the usual means of treasure hunting…you use a map."

"Where is it?"

"With the person still living who has the highest Class of the award. In this case, me. But it's not that simple," Fudge added quickly upon seeing Harry's reaction. "As an extra measure of security, the map was split in half and the second half was and still is entrusted to the member with the second highest honor."

Harry stiffened at the same time Hermione and Draco shared an uneasy glance. Harry leaned over the table so that his face was inches from Fudge's. "So you only have half the map." He let the statement hang in the air as if it were a person hanging from a cliff's edge. "Who has the other half?" Fudge didn't answer, but instead looked down sullenly, which caused Harry to slam his fists down on the table. "WHO HAS THE OTHER HALF?!"

Fudge looked back into Harry's eyes bleakly. "Like I said…the next surviving Order recipient." Fudge took a deep breath. "Gilderoy Lockhart."