Chapter 25: Aftermath - the law of the jungle

For disclaimer and author notes please see chapter 1. (Also, apologies for missing my update last week!)

WARNING: this chapter contains descriptions of muggle torture. I don't think it is too graphic, but that is subjective; YMMV.

1988-06-23 13:30 UTC, Kithurst Close

Eventually, they managed to get two copies of each child's pensieve memories, and Hobby left. In both of them, they stopped at the torture; they did not reveal Hermione's status. (If asked, they would say she must have gone into shock on seeing the torture and not being able to understand how it was happening, her memory ended there).

He went to Skeeter's offices as the Phantom, and told her what to do: print a running description of everything she thinks looked like readers would like to know. He told her there were some personal conversation between the two kids, but she was not to print that. He also reminded her that even if it looks like Harry violated the statute of secrecy, it was actually Dolohov who did that already.

He then took the other set of vials to Grimmauld.

1988-06-23 15:00 UTC, dungeons beneath 12, Grimmauld Place

"Kreacher", he called. "Let's get our audience ready for the show, shall we?", he said when Kreacher appeared.

They quickly setup a projection pensieve, and arranged a couple of dozen or so chairs in front of it. The entire area was warded against most wizard magic, so the prisoners couldn't apparate out or escape in some other fashion. They brought in the prisoners (well, rats, actually, and thank God for the meticulous labelling they had done!), all except children less than eight, turned them back into people, and sat them down.

(He had debated with himself if he should leave out all the children less than eleven. But then, Harry was not even eight, and he had actually been tortured, so he set that as the age limit. No harm adding to the guilty feeling the parents may have on seeing this, he thought cruelly).

He quietly told Kreacher to watch the reactions of people when Harry's torture was being shown, and started the show.

"You are all here because one of your fellow death-eaters, one of your fellow followers of the half-blood bastard who calls himself Lord Voldemort, kidnapped the boy-who-lived, and threatened to kill him".

There were shouts of outrage, though it wasn't quite clear what the outrage was for. For some, it was because they last remembered themselves being at home, and now suddenly there were in some strange dungeon, along with several more people. For some, it was that this was the Phantom, who had killed some of their comrades.

But at least the most vocal of them appeared to be angry at his use of their precious Dark Lord's name, and calling him a bastard on top.

"How dare you use the Dark Lord's name, and how dare you call him a bastard? You will suffer for this", said Rowle.

"Because he is a half-blood bastard. Look up Tom Marvolo Riddle when you get some time; he is the son of a muggle and a near-squib. But that is not what we are here for. We are here because I want to show you what Dolohov did to Harry Potter, and I want to then show you what I will do to people who try that sort of thing again".

He silenced their protests, and started the pensieve. He showed only selected segments - the whole thing would be too long, and pointless for this crowd.

The children were aghast. Some of the younger ones were weeping at the sight of Harry's torture, and their mothers seemed to be equally affected, though it was less visible.

He played the torture in a loop, while he conferred with Kreacher. They finally came up with a list of women and children who appeared to be suitably affected by this - some had gone from disgust to anger, and were looking daggers at some of the more well-known death-eaters, as if they were responsible. (And really, they could have been; it just happened to be Dolohov, but by all accounts at least three others would have been able to do this, thought Hobby).

Hobby pulled those women and children out, and had Kreacher take them to the second dining room, and provide them food and beverages. He briefly addressed them there, saying "Soon most of your husbands will be with you and you can all go home". And despite a flurry of questions ("Most? What do you mean 'most'?"), he did not hang around, going back to where all the menfolk were.

There were also two men who seemed to be badly affected by the torture. He recognised them instantly, of course - Goyle and Crabbe were the spitting images of their children, except for looking their age.

Finally, he took a good, long, look at Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy. Both of them had been whispering to each other quietly, although neither of them looked exultant or happy - whether they were truly repentant of their old ways, or whether the idea of doing this to a child who was a wee bit younger than their own, was anathema, Hobby did not know. In other words, not a clean chit in general, but just for this episode. Well, to be honest, I have not heard much of their sinister planning at the dining table lately, so who knows, he mused. (If only he had know why that was...)

He gathered all these people together, and addressed them in a slightly (very slightly) friendlier voice.

"I have one thing to show you all, then I am letting you all go. I am also explicitly recanting my previous statement that if anything bad happens I will kill Lucius and Narcissa, because it is very clear that they had nothing to do with Harry's kidnapping, and that they are not gloating to see the torture of a child, and instead appear to be unhappy about it. For whatever reason.

In the meantime, please wait here, and watch and listen".

He then spoke to the rest of the men.

"You people appear to not be too badly affected by this. I am going to give each of you veritaserum, and ask you only one question. The answer will decide whether you live or die today."

One by one, he pulled up each of them. There were nine, all men.

Avery. Gibbon. Jugson. Mulciber. Nott. Rowle. Selwin. Travers. Yaxley.

One by one he administered veritaserum and asked them the all-important question.

"If you had an opportunity to kidnap and torture Harry Potter tomorrow, would you take it? Remember he is a seven year old child".

Three of them said "no" reasonably emphatically and without any struggle. Gibbon, Jugson, and Nott were sent to sit with the Malfoys, Crabbe, and Goyle. He told them the same thing - he needed to show them something, then they were free to go.

Two of them - Avery and Mulciber - were borderline. They appeared to struggle a little, but eventually said "no". Hobby decided to do the same with them, but monitor them regularly.

The last four - Rowle, Selwin, Travers, and Yaxley - said "yes".

Hobby turned to the eight men and one woman waiting on the side, watching what was happening.

"These four men, as you have seen yourself just now, are willing to torture a seven year old child if they had the opportunity. At the age of seven, a child is neither dark nor light; which means - if they deem the situation to be such - they would have no problem torturing your children either, at least three of whom are the same age as Harry."

They looked a bit sceptical, so he decided on another demo.

He again dosed the four men with veritaserum, and, again, one by one, asked them this question: "If there was a possibility - but not a certainty - of gaining favour with your dark lord by torturing Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, Vincent Crabbe, or Gregory Goyle, would you take a chance and do it? Remember they are seven years old".

All of them answered "yes".

Hobby turned to the five parents (four fathers and one mother) and raised an eyebrow.

"You have seen what I have seen. I am sure you will not turn against the light side now, but here is what will happen to you if I am convinced you are turning to the dark, and I catch you before you do something really bad".

With that, he turned all four men into rats, and made the transformation permanent with a parseltongue password. Since the only other person who could speak parsel was Tom, he used an insulting phrase that Tom would die rather than speak, if he even guessed it in the first place.

"This is now their permanent form". He gave Malfoy his wand. "Lucius, try to turn them back, you probably consider yourself the most powerful wizard here".

Of course, since the parseltongue password was spoken in a very low voice, they did not even know there was a password, leave alone being able to guess it and say it.

He gave Narcissa the same chance, and then Avery and Nott. No dice.

"The fun part is this: inside, they know who they are, and know what I have done to them. They can see and hear everything, but cannot respond. They have no magic, and cannot do anything to retaliate". He then called Kreacher and told him to put the rats in their special cages, and arrange them to also be spectators to the next part of the program.

"Now I will sh-", began Hobby, before he was interrupted by Narcissa. "Kreacher", she said loudly. "Why and how are you following orders from the Phantom? Is the Phantom actually Lord Black?"

Kreacher looked at Hobby. Hobby just shrugged his shoulders; he had already coached Kreacher - long ago - on what he was to say if this ever came out.

"Oh no, Mistress Malfoy, this is not Lord Black. Lord Black is elsewhere. I follow the Phantom's orders because he was once Lord Black".

And try as they might, that was all they could get out of him on that subject, which left them even more confused, because - as everyone knows - all the Lords Black before Sirius were blood purists and would not have even blinked at torturing a half-blood child.

Hobby waited for that issue to fade, then resumed what he was saying.

"Now I will show you what happens to people who actually manage to harm innocents, once I catch them."

Dolohov was looking alright, for someone who nearly died last night. Of course, Hobby was not going to mention his past injuries to the others - no point revealing how he was thwarted.

He gave him veritaserum, and had him admit that he had kidnapped and tortured Harry, just in case there were any doubts.

Then he started the torture. Without using a single curse, using only muggle methods and tools - the cigar cutter, used on each segment of each finger, was particularly gruesome - he reduced Dolohov to an agony filled wreck.

In the hour or so that followed, Hobby was a maniac. Later, he would sit by himself, almost catatonic, for several hours, but right now, he had a very important message to send, and being squeamish would not help at all.

He did not spare Dolohov, not did he spare his audience the horrifying visuals. Bones. Teeth. Tongue. The soles of feet and the palms of hands. Knee and elbow joints. All were subject to systematic torture and excruciating pain. Hobby was not above subtly amplifying the screams too, for effect, because - ultimately - this was for the audience, not for Dolohov himself. He was a dead man anyway.

All through, Hobby kept him awake and aware, magically forcing pepper-up and other such potions down his throat when it seemed he would faint away.

When he noticed Goyle retching, he stopped. He fed some more veritaserum to Dolohov, then asked him, "Shall I continue this, or would you prefer the good old cruciatus?"

Dolohov, blind, his eyes having been destroyed - painfully of course - what to him seemed a decade ago, turned to Hobby's voice, and gasped out in agony. "Cruciatus, please".

Hobby finished him off with a reducto, then turned to Malfoy and company, who were staring open-mouthed.

"As you can see, I can do things that will make the cruciatus look like the better alternative. This is what awaits you if you stray from the path I have set out for you. I will be watching".

He told Kreacher to take the four rats to the special holding cells in the dungeons. He then made a portkey out of a large towel, and had the other nine, as well as the women and children waiting in the second dining room, all touch it. He whispered a word and they were all whisked off to the front gate of the Malfoy estate. They would sort themselves out from there; he didn't need to go overboard on being nice to them.

1988-06-24 05:00 UTC, Kithurst Close

Hermione had asked to sleep-over the previous night. The Grangers were reluctant to let go of their little child so soon after the horrific experience, and they had stayed over the night before anyway (though the adults did not really get much sleep - a few winks snatched on a sofa here or a couch there was about it, while the kids were recovering).

Mooney suggested that Harry should go over to the Grangers instead, but Sirius looked equally uncomfortable with letting Harry go.

Tacitly acknowledging that Sirius was being just as logical (or otherwise) as she was, Mrs Granger invited him and Remus to come over and spend the night. "We have one guest room with two beds, and another with one", she said.

But Mooney had other things to do anyway, so he had begged off, and, after a while, left.

So Sirius and Harry spent the night in the Grangers' guest room. Sirius had half a mind to not sleep, but keep watch over Harry - however unreasonable and unrealistic that was (and really, how long could he have kept it up?). Even if his mind told him to do that, his body betrayed him - within an hour he was fast asleep, the stress of the events having taken a toll.

Harry, for his part, was unable to sleep much, and found himself awake very early in the morning. He had, after all, slept very late the previous day, plus all the nutrient and healing potions had worked. Physically, he was feeling in top form.

His mental state was another matter. Several emotions were warring within him. What Sirius and Remus had told him of the events of Halloween 1981 had not - till now - really percolated into his consciousness. It felt more like something that happened to someone else, because he couldn't see any immediate impact to his life.

Sure, Sirius and Remus warned him to be careful of strangers and so on, but that wasn't so much different from what muggle schools taught children anyway. It certainly did not convey any sense of him being a bigger target.

But more than this sudden realisation that he was apparently a magnet for various kinds of low-life magical people, what hit him really hard was that he had dragged his friend into it.

Harry was obviously too young (way, way, too young) to feel anything but friendship with Hermione. Neither he, nor Hermione, were anywhere near what - unbeknownst to them - Hobby was hoping they would eventually become.

But that did not mean his feelings were not strong. For someone at that age, a strong emotional connection is usually with a parent or a sibling. Having had neither all these years, Hermione represented the single biggest emotional attachment Harry had. Even Sirius was second to her, albeit a very, very, close second.

Sirius and Remus would be offended. Well, Sirius at least would be. But if they sat and thought for a bit, they'd realise this did not mean Harry had no place for them in his heart; it only meant that he gave higher priority to someone who was an equal than someone who was a parental figure, an "adult", if you will. And after all, he had known Sirius only a few months more than he had known Hermione, so perhaps that was a factor too.

And so he thought of Hermione, pulled into his world without being given a choice. Oh sure, she was a witch, and would eventually be a part of the wizarding world, but this was more - she was a part of Harry Potter's world, which - apparently - was significantly more dangerous than the wizarding world in general.

He wondered briefly if he should stay away from her, for her own safety, but he knew he could not. Firstly, he didn't think he could bear being alone and friendless again. That is to say, sure he had a few classmates he got on OK with, but they were not really friends in any meaningful sense, and certainly were absolutely nowhere near Hermione.

Secondly, and more importantly, he knew what her reaction would be if he tried to stay away. He'd already seen it back in that dungeon, when she had said, most emphatically, that she would not let him go for whatever stupid reason he came up with.

While he was thinking of all these things, he felt someone quietly knock on his door, so quietly that if he were truly asleep he would not have been disturbed. He got up just as quietly and opened the door, to find Hermione standing there.

"You woke up too early too, huh?", he said.

"Yeah. Let's go down to the living room; we can always come back to our rooms to brush and wash later".

Once they had settled themselves on a sofa in the living room, she said, "Harry, I know we've started learning martial arts, but shouldn't we also start learning magical fighting?"

"We are not allowed to have a wand till we are eleven, Hermione, and even then we are not allowed to do magic outside of school till we are seventeen", he reminded her.

"Hmm, that would be a problem", she acknowledged. "But how do people find out? Can we do it without them finding out?"

"I don't know. We'd have to ask Sirius I guess", he said.

They sat quietly for some time. Then, just as they were about to go back to their respective rooms (even though they still were not feeling sleepy), they heard a quiet pop.

Hobby appeared in front of them, and Hermione almost shrieked. Harry quickly put his hand over her mouth, quieting her.

Once he was sure she had calmed down, Harry removed his hand from her mouth, and put his hand around her shoulders. "Easy there Hermione, that's Hobby, an elf, and he's a very good friend of ours".

Hermione looked at him with eyes wide. Harry gazed calmly at her and answered her unasked question. "Yes, really!", he said. Seeing that Hermione still appeared to be a bit out of it, he pulled her closer and hugged her.

"Hermione, listen to me. Humans are not the only magical beings; there are several other kinds. Two that I have met so far are goblins and house-elves, but there are other kinds too", explained Harry.

He would probably have explained some more, but Hobby coughed gently, and both kids turned to him. Hermione still looked a wee bit uncomfortable, but not too much. Harry was grinning broadly.

"Hi Hobby, how are you?"

"I'm good, Harry! Hello, Hermione, my name is Hobby. Pleased to meet you", and he held out his hand for her to shake.

Hermione slowly held out her hand and shook Hobby's hand, saying, "Pleased to meet you too, Hobby. I'm sorry for my initial reaction".

"I quite understand, Miss Hermione. Why if I were a muggle-born and never met or heard of an elf I would probably do the same", he smiled.

"Harry, would Hobby know the answer to what we were discussing?", asked Hermione, who had by now recovered her poise enough to let her natural curiousity out again.

"Let's ask!", grinned Harry. "Hobby, Hermione and I want to practice magic, including magical fighting. We're already learning muggle fighting, which is called martial arts, but after what happened now, we want to learn magical fighting too. Do you think that is possible?"

Hobby stared at them for a second, then asked, "Was this your idea, Harry, or Hermione's?"

"Well, it was hers. Then I said we're not allowed to. And Hermione wondered how anyone finds out, and if we can somehow find a way to do it without people finding out."

Hobby turned to Hermione. With a small smile on his face, he asked, "Hermione, let me get this straight. You asked if it were possible to get around some rules or do something without being caught?"

Hermione was hesitant at first, then quickly turned defiant. "Yes. I think it's a stupid rule. In any case, such rules should not be applied blindly and universally."

"Oh I completely agree, Hermione, but I want to understand your reason for wanting to break this rule", prodded Hobby.

"Because of what happened yesterday, of course. Isn't that enough?"

"You were only involved by chance. No one is out for you; you could stay away from all this".

"And leave Harry alone to deal with it? What kind of friend do you think I am?", she retorted heatedly.

Hobby looked at her shrewdly. "Would you ask to break the rules if it was only you yourself in danger?"

"I don't know. Maybe", she replied. "It depends on what kind of danger it is. I hardly think I would attract the same kind of danger as Harry apparently does".

Hobby pulled up a chair and sat down, thinking deeply. He knew a lot of people in his world thought of Hermione as someone who did everything by the book, followed all the rules, respected authority figures, etc., during her Hogwarts years. He had always found it difficult to reconcile that image with the girl who set fire to Snape's robes. Less then six months into her first year, no less. He could remember other incidents too, if he put his mind to it. But then, very few outside his small group knew of these incidents, so it was an easy mistake for ill-informed people to think of her as a rule-follower. More fool them!, he mused.

He was suddenly hit by an epiphany. Hermione followed rules and respected authority, as long as he (Harry) was safe and happy. When that was threatened in any way, she was willing to break any rules that needed to be broken, and suddenly respect was in scarce supply. He grinned to himself as he realised this.

And if I myself did not realise this sufficiently in time to make her my girlfriend, can I really blame the rest of the world for thinking she was a strict rule-follower?

Meanwhile, the two kids were looking at him, waiting for him to say something.

"We both know where we can do that, Harry, though you seem to have forgotten", he looked at Harry askance. "However, we need to get permission from them, as well as Hermione's parents and Sirius, first".

He looked off into the distance for a few seconds, then smiled, as if he were having a private conversation with someone.

"Alright, kids, I have asked Kreacher to get us all some hot chocolate. Drink up, then go back to your beds, even if it is only for an hour or so. Once everyone is awake, I will deal with this".

Just as he said it, Kreacher popped in with a tray, on which there were four (yes, four!) mugs of steaming hot chocolate. They all took one cup each, including Kreacher (albeit a bit hesitantly, as if he were doing something not quite legal!), and sat silently sipping the drinks. When done, Kreacher popped away with the mugs, and the kids went back to their rooms, although not before Hermione had introduced herself to Kreacher with a bright smile, and forced him to introduce himself too.