Review Responses:
T-chan: Thanks, and yes, the Dursleys are going to get hell from the Order. Tonks has always been one of my favorite minor characters – she's just so cool!
LadyBlackIce01: Voldemort will find Harry very soon – this chapter, in fact! ;-)
Midnight Silver Shadow: I'm trying to make this a good balance of the clichés we love (superpower Harry, of course) and originality.
B.B.T.W.: Yes, there will definitely be more hints into Harry's growing powers. ;-)
I forgot…, SSC, and Drusilla: Thanks for your reviews!
Author's Note: I believe I owe everyone an apology. Two weeks late! I could die. So embarrassing. Sorry for those of you who were waiting! High school (and parents) were on me and I barely had time to write!
Petroselinum
Chapter Five: Interrogation
Humor brings insight and tolerance. Irony brings a deeper and less friendly understanding. – Agnes Repplier
"Okay, Mr. Dursley," Remus began with forced calm, but none could miss the threat in his tone. "You talk, and you talk now."
The room was large and institutional, with cement floors painted white walls. It was furnished only by a single table in the very center of the room. Gathered around the table were four chairs, three on one side and one on the other. One Mr. Vernon Dursley was currently shackled to the lone chair. Vernon looked around wildly, and thrashed against his bonds. His beefy face was a strange color, somewhere between puce and fuchsia, and his wrists were rubbed raw from his struggles against the chains. His petrified (both literally and figuratively) wife and son had been taken into a separate room for individual question, but Vernon Dursley was the main concern at the moment.
"I – I'm not telling you anything!" The muggle cried, a mixture of fear and defiance. Tonks narrowed her eyes from where she was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over her chest.
"C'mon, Dursley. You don't think we're going to let you get off with just that, do you?"
"You can't prove anything!" He screeched desperately.
"Mister Dursley." Remus cut in, sounding very Snape-ish. He was sitting across from the large man, elbows on the table, Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody on his left. He scrubbed his face with his hands, rubbing his five o'clock shadow, and let loose an agitated, wolfish growl. "I feel it fair to warn you that the full moon is very close to beginning its cycle, and I'm not in my best temper. Maybe you could stop, and take a deep breath, and begin again."
Vernon looked shocked, and then he paled.
"So you're – you're a –"
"A werewolf, yes." Remus said wryly. Vernon gasped and tried to squirm away from the thin interrogator.
"You're – you're even more of a freak than I thought you were! You're disgusting, you're a freak, you're a – a monster!"
In a sudden outburst, Tonks pushed herself off the wall and stamped forward, pulling back her fist and punching Vernon right in the mouth. His head flew to the side and hit the back of the chair with a crack, and his eyes watered. He looked around disoriented for a moment before he finally realized what had happened. Tonks stood before him, breathing heavily and scowling.
Remus blinked. He looked taken aback, but then gave Tonks a half-smile.
"Um, thank you, but that was… that was quite unnecessary, Tonks."
"Nice right hook there, lassie," commented Mad-Eye gruffly.
Tonks blushed, chagrinned, and Vernon's formerly angry demeanor seemed to have multiplied tenfold. Already a large, painful looking bruise was purpling one side of his jaw. He let loose a roar.
"HOW DARE YOU LAY A HAND ON ME! IF YOU'RE DOING THE SAME TO PETUNIA AND DUDLEY I'LL HAVE THE LAW ON YOU, YOU –"
"That's enough, Dursley."
Startled, Vernon looked at the grizzled old man next to Remus.
"I've had enough of this nonsense. If we can't get you to talk the politically correct way, we'll just have to do it my way."
Before the terrified Vernon could do anything about it, Mad-Eye had stood and rummaged through his knapsack, withdrawing a small vile of completely clear liquid. He limped around the table, his wooden leg "thunk"-ing as he went, and he roughly grabbed Vernon's head, forcing open his mouth and pouring in the Veritaserum.
"Ha! Best idea you've had all day, Mad-Eye." Tonks approved heartily, taking a seat on Remus' right side.
"Okay," said Remus. "Let's begin. What is your name?" He said to the cuffed perpetrator.
"Vernon Francisco Dursley." Vernon answered, monotone.
"Francisco?" Said Tonks and Mad-Eye simultaneously. Rather unprofessionally, they exchanged an incredulous look and Tonks raised a hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh while Remus looked on with a disapproving gaze not unlike that of a mother whose children were misbehaving. Tonks caught his eye and the corners of his mouth turned upward before he continued the questioning.
"What did you do to your nephew, Mr. Dursley?"
"I got rid of him."
There were three sharp inhalations of air, and Remus made sure his words were steady.
"What do you mean exactly, Mr. Dursley?"
"I put him in my car and dumped him in a field out of town."
"What!" Snarled Mad-Eye, standing abruptly. His chair scraped on the floor, and his colleagues were having similar reactions, but all eyes stayed on the drugged Vernon, who continued as though nothing had happened.
"Yeah. The freak was glowing and speaking in tongues. Nearly killed Dudley and Petunia! He'd eat nothing and sleep for days like a bum on the street, and then he'd come out jabbering different languages… the freak, he threatened my family! I finally had enough of it and I told him he had to leave.
"He didn't listen to me, though. That spoiled brat never did listen to any one, never had any good sense at all. None. Just like his good-for-nothing drunken parents. I had to drag the thing out of the house. He collapsed in pain when we got to the garage, screamed some wizard things and when he passed out, I put him in my car – my brand new car, which, by the way, he managed to scratch, probably out of spite even after everything we've done for him.
"I drove for about an hour or so and then pulled him out of the backseat. I pushed him down the hill and watched him roll, and then went home."
While a shocked Mad-Eye stood frozen, the duo beside him was another story.
By this time, Remus and Tonks were seething with anger. Remus, the elder of the two and with decidedly more self-discipline, was trying desperately to set a calm, collected image. However, he was failing miserably, overcome by both his horror at what had happened and could be happening to Harry during all this time, his incredible anger at the slanderous accusations against the Potters coming from this worthless shell of a man, not to mention his canine instincts. The latter of which, unfortunately for Vernon, were much more prominent than usual. He let out a horrifying snarl, was out of his seat and almost across the table by the time Tonks had wrapped her arms around his chest from behind and held him back.
"Uh!" Tonks grunted. She gave a straining tug and Remus fell backward, away from the still impassive Dursley. At the sudden movement, the always-clumsy Tonks stumbled backward, almost falling over if it hadn't been for Remus' quick reflexes. Remus cleared his throat.
"Yes, sorry for that… Sort of, um, lost control…" He apologized. He shot a glance toward Vernon, who was staring into space, apparently waiting more questions.
"Cheers," Tonks assured him, brushing herself off and taking her seat again. Mad-Eye looked on with disdain, his magical eye whirling in its socket.
"We've got a muggle loaded up on Veritaserum here." He said in his low, gravelly voice. "Are we going to get our answers or what?"
"Yes, yes," Remus said, sucking in a breath and sitting straight in his seat. "Mr. Dursley, what did you do after you… got rid of Harry?"
"I drove home and tried to make myself a sandwich, that's what! We were out of salami but it was okay. Until Petunia tells me about that threat the boy's teachers gave us, I'd forgotten all about it… So we (Dudley, Petunia and I) packed our things and put them in the car."
"What next, Mr. Dursley?" Prompted Remus.
"This bloody storm started. Thunder and lightening out of nowhere, really. We drove on and the highway started to get too flooded, so we pulled over to an inn for the night. People everywhere, we needed a room and when I demanded one, the receptionist gives me cheek. And no wonder, she was a witch. Then, you crazy freaks tied me up and gagged my family and put them in another room."
"So that's it?" Asked Mad-Eye.
"Yes," said Vernon. The Veritaserum was beginning to wear off, and he shook his head in a stupor. He seemed to suddenly realize where he was and he shot a scandalized look at the trio before him, clearly disgusted. He opened his mouth to speak, but Tonks waved her wand lazily, hexing him. Vernon opened and closed his mouth like a fish, forming words but never speaking them.
Remus sighed wearily and rubbed his temples. Tonks put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Right now the most important thing is to find Harry." Remus finally said.
"So what's the plan, Lupin?" Mad-Eye growled.
"Tonks and I will head out to find Harry. There aren't that many fields he could be talking about. You can interrogate Mrs. Dursley and Dudley Dursley, Alastor, and give us any information you find that could help us narrow down the search.
"Before we go, I need you to contact the Order, Tonks," He added to his orange-haired friend. She nodded grimly. "Maybe get Bill or Charlie Weasley out to help us, or Kingsley Shacklebolt."
With a quick nod that he had acknowledged and approved Remus' decisions, Alastor turned and clucked off to the seperate holding room where the other members of the Dursley family were currently being held. Tonks patted Remus on the shoulder once more and moved farther away from him to perform the spell that allowed Order members to contact each other.
And Remus put his head in his hands and hoped that wherever Harry was, he was okay.
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The rainstorm was torrential.
At the same time that the Dursleys were packing and getting ready for a hasty retreat from wizarding folk, storm clouds were gathering. The atmosphere was black and purple, covered effectively by stormy clouds that spread across the sky, painting it with steely, metallic grays. Thunder boomed, followed almost instantly by golden, shimmering bolts of lightening. They lit the black background in a strobe-light fashion. The lightening raced down in jagged, slanted shafts of light that exploded into being, illuminating everything in gold and white in the blink of an eye before blackness overtook the world again.
Night had fallen and the sky was still open, letting loose its fury in sheets and gales, flooding low areas and destroying buildings. The wind roared and pushed the rain into stinging whirlpools that pounded the ground mercilessly, miniature nails drilling into the sopping mud. The foliage was drowning in dirty water, limp and bent as they were hit again and again by the thrusts of downpour.
The sodden marsh grasses were pressed deeper into the foul-smelling quagmire as a giant, serpentine form slithered along the ground, splashing a scooped, flattened grass pathway behind it. Its tail lashed out behind it, creating tidal waves of brown in its wake. Due to its dark green color, almost black, it blended into the watered down habitat with ease. Its smooth scales were pounded by water, cooling it most uncomfortably, but it steadily made its way across the field. Her large red tongue slipped from her mouth and tasted the droplets and the icy air, looking for scents in the storm.
"Ugh… Ooh…"
The faint groan of pain reached the serpent's ears, followed by a loud clap of thunder, and she lifted her sleek head from the ground. Raising half of her body into the air, she swayed like a snake charmer's pet, scanning through the area for the source of the noise. Slowly, she lowered again, moving forward with a swiftness shown only in her species. Taken off of her normal course, her tongue tasted the air furiously as she moved. A strangled cough sounded and she quickened her pace.
She came to a halt, and stared down at the choking boy. He was painfully thin, covered in mud and water. The rain pelted at his body and Nagini felt a small tinge of pity for the human before her. He was shivering, half-unconscious and nearly frozen. He was battered and bruised, and short, nonsensical mutterings came from his mouth.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open. His pupils were dilated, and almost no brilliant verdigris could be seen. He stared up in horror at the half-Basilisk that towered in shadow above him, and then bent over coughing, coloring the mud invisibly with dark red blood.
"Help –" He gasped. Rain fell into his eyes and mouth, making him sputter and blink, but others froze into gold drops of crystal as his breath touched them. He achingly rolled onto his front, clutching his sides. "I – just help me –" A bolt of golden lightening pierced through the sky, and the rain picked up its pace, beating on the terrain.
Nagini's thin eyes widened. The boy… he could speak the Language? She slithered forward, and nudged the boy with her head. He shuddered, but didn't respond. He was unconscious.
Nagini's tongue flickered out and brushed his ashen cheek, tasting, sensing. He was familiar to her, and had a familiar taste. When had she seen him…? Part of him vaguely reminded her of her master, and it was this and this alone that compelled her to veer from her designated course and bring him with her. After a moment's indecision, she slipped forward, pulling her powerful tail around and lifting the boy with it. Holding him securely between the powerful muscles of her lower end, she resumed her journey. She faltered every now and then, her tail not able to help her keep balance and thus inhibiting her movement.
The snake stumbled along in an uncharacteristically inelegant manner, sloshing through the floodwater, and golden lightening striking much too closely for comfort. She finally halted in front of a towering building.
The structure was ominous and gloomy, dark and shrouded with neglect and haunted memories. The strobe light effects of the lightening gave tantalizing glimpses of the foreboding House, and Nagini twisted once to glance at the teenager in her grasp before slithering toward the entrance, past a wrought iron fence with metal serpents curling around its poles.
She reached a cleverly concealed door to the left of the front entrance, hidden by tall, outward spreading trees. They bent low and whistled as the wind rushed through them, audible even over the cracks of thunder and lightening and the roars of the rain. It blended into the outside walls of the house with ease, a task made even easier by the overcast, stormy darkness of the night. Nagini rose up a few feet to hiss the password at the heavy wooden door, and slipped inside when it opened to admit her and her passenger.
Once the door had shut securely behind her, Nagini gently shifted her grasp on the boy. With one quick glance at Harry, who was still, the serpent made her way clumsily across the dusty halls. She went through dim corridors with wooden wall paneling, stirring up tiny sandstorms of particles that had settled on the upholstery from ages of neglect. Candles in various stages of use sat on mottled candelabras upon the walls, dripping scalding wax onto the rugs and casting shaky orange lighting.
A sudden turn opened into a large sitting room. A fire crackled and the rain was loud on the roof. A lone armchair sat at an angle facing the fire, its occupant staring meditatively into the flames. His outline was black and the light behind him showed his sharp, angular features and his white, noseless face.
"Master," Nagini hissed in greeting.
The figure did not appear to be startled at all by her presence. He sat relaxed but straight-backed in the armchair. His elbow was on the armrest, and his head rested on his fist. His robes were black. Not the dull, drab black of his follower's robes, but a hue darker than pitch, making him seem one with shadows and terrifying even in serenity.
"Nagini," He hissed in response, eyes still locked on the fire. It lapped desperately at the air, orange tongues licking out and daringly trying to light the hearthrug aflame. 'How very… Gryffindor
"You have brought someone with you." It was not a question. It was a statement. The man's voice was cold and level even in Parseltongue. "Someone with incredibly high levels of dangerously unstable power. Someone who has thwarted me much longer than I can permit. Someone who angers me greatly. His magic is familiar. Nagini, my pet… why have you brought my greatest enemy to my very threshold?"
The snake's thin eyes widened.
"Harry Potter…" She hissed, realization striking her.
Voldemort stood and suddenly he was in front of her, glaring down at the giant serpent. His eyes almost mirrored hers in shape, but the unnatural red pierced more cuttingly than any knife. He towered over her despite her size and he advanced, wand held high between brittle white fingers.
"Nagini…" He said dangerously, beginning with false sweetness and raising his voice to a roar that would lead a grown man to tears. "Why, why have you brought Harry Potter to the abode of the Dark Lord!"
"I… I was unsure of his identity," Nagini explained cautiously. Her tongue whipped in and out as she spoke. "There was something about the boy that reminded me of you, my master."
Voldemort stepped backward, his face hidden in shadows now. He let out a hum of thought and fingered the smooth wooden grooves of his wand. Then, with a wave of the wand, muttered a spell. A loud crack echoed and a puff of cerulean smoke clogged the room, distinguishing the desperate fire that had been warming the room. A damp chill settled slowly, and as the sluggish fog cleared, a fifteen, soon to be sixteen, year old boy lay unconscious in the middle of the floor.
Voldemort leaned forward, inspecting his enemy with interest.
Harry Potter was waterlogged, soaked to the bone. His hand-me-down, oversized clothing hung off his frame, the soggy material sinking into the indents that were his ribs, showing his lack of sustenance. His jetblack locks were plastered to his face, and his skin was white enough to rival even Voldemort's. He was shivering, twitching, arms wrapped around his stomach as though in pain. He was breathing heavily, exhaling golden mists.
"This is the boy to save the world?" He snarled icily, taking in Harry's appearance. With much self-control, he prohibited himself from killing the boy off right then and there. Besides, it would have been… unsporting. "And I thought he was pitiful at the Ministry of Magic…"
Voldemort reached forward and ran his finger across Harry's forehead.
The teenager gave a startled cry, and outside in the roaring storm the downpour picked up, wind howled along with him and the lightening flashed golden, striking a tree in the front yard of Riddle House and leaving it nothing but a shriveled, smoking trunk. A sudden wave of magic rolled off of Harry, causing Voldemort to stumble backward in surprise.
"He is powerful, Master," Nagini said quietly from where she was watching near the doorway. "I know that you can sense his potential, as I can… He is obviously ill, and in such a condition, he may be easy to use… to your advantage."
"My pet," Voldemort said in his intimidating, high voice. "Are you suggesting that I take advantage of a mere child, a poor orphan, and use him to manipulate and overpower his own peers, his own family, his own side?"
"Only if you wish it," said the serpent.
"Nagini, my dear…" said Voldemort with an evil satisfaction. "Great minds really do think alike." He cast his scarlet eyes to Harry. "The irony… to be saved by your greatest foe."
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Author's Note: Oh god. I hope the next chapter wait isn't as long. Please review and forgive my extreme lateness! Voldemort was hard to write for me… I hope I got him right… Also, I was desperate to get this up, so please forgive any minor errors, I'll go back and fix them soon.
I'm sure most of you have noticed the more prominent developmental power Harry's receiving: If you haven't just note the weather changes.
Please Review!
