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Chapter 17: Veritaserum

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Ron came around. He felt like he had been hit by a Bludger. He couldn't remember anything clearly. Where was he, and why was he here?

The details were vague: he and Fred were doing something... they heard someone coming... that's all he could remember.

He tried to move around only to find that he was chained to a wall. He looked around him to find that he was alone. When he looked down, he wished he hadn't. There were spiders crawling everywhere. Oh, how he hated spiders.

He wondered what happened to Fred. He had been with him... and what about Hermione? He would kill himself if he found out that something had happened to her.

The door opened. Three cloaked men entered. One had red eyes glowing under his hood, who coughed lightly every now and then. Ron knew this one to be Voldemort. He was immediately terrified. Was he going to be killed?

But his terror didn't come out the way he wanted. He yelled out, "Whoa, UGLY! How on earth did you get red eyes? That's so weird! You look like an alien!" His fear immediately dissipated and a reckless bravery took over. He thought about what Hermione would say...

"Silence! Are all Gryffindors like this?"

"Want a cough drop?"

"NO! Silencio!" Ron mouth kept moving, but no sound came out. Voldemort wondered why he hadn't thought of that before.

"I've been waiting to do that on Potter for so long. Brilliant, my lord," said one cloaked voice and the other said, "Haha, Weasley... m-my l-lord." Both sounded familiar to Ron.

"Yes, yes," said Voldemort indifferently. "Do you know what is in this bottle?" he asked Ron, holding up a crystal vial with a clear liquid in it.

Ron's mouth moved, but no sound. Voldemort lifted the charm.

"Woo, thanks, thought I was going insane."

"Maybe you are," muttered one cloaked man. He sounded an awful lot like...

"Draco? Malfoy, is that you? I knew your dad worked for him, but you? You, who got beaten up by Hermione... haha... you..."

Draco lunged towards him, but Voldemort held out a hand quickly- "No, Draco, don't waste your energy on this blood traitor. You shall soon know his innermost thoughts, and then you shall have power over him."

Ron looked at him quickly. "What you talking about, Voldy?"

"This potion. Its power. Don't you recognize it?"

Ron studied it. "Nope, not in the least... Hermione might know though... I called you Voldy, haha... can't wait to tell Harry!"

"No wonder you do so poorly in Potions. This is Veritaserum. Do you know what it does?"

"Uh... Hermione said something about it once... it makes you... tell the truth, right?"

"Yes, put in the words of a 5-year-old."

"And this has to do with me how?"

"Well, Weasley, the truth will set you, your siblings, and your friends free...maybe."

"I've heard something like that that before... 'and the truth shall set you free' or something like that..."

"It's great to hear that your brain gets put to use once in a while. Well, by telling the truth, you will help me."

"What if I don't want to help you?"

"Your friends and you all die, slowly, painfully, and unmercifully, starting with the Mudblood. I'll torture her the longest."

"Like I said, when do I start?"

Voldemort laughed. Ah, the ways of the weak-hearted, he thought. "Right now." Voldemort opened the bottle and gave it to the anonymous yet still familiar cloaked man, who put a drop of Veritaserum into Ron's mouth reluctantly. Ron, upon receiving it, immediately had a glazed look in his eyes.

"Alright," said Voldemort, "Let's get right to the point. Are you or are you not in love with Granger, the Mudblood?"

"Yes," said Ron in a monotone.

Draco cringed at the thought. But somehow, deep down, he didn't find it so unreasonable... Draco shook off the thought, disgusted with it. He thought about Pansy...

"That was simple. Ah, but why stop there?" Voldemort said greedily. "Draco, you may leave, and Severus, you accompany him... wait, didn't I tell you to leave? Well, whatever (Felix Felicis was still working well for Severus). You know what you must do now. Give Draco all the needed ingredients and a room to make it in... preferably a secluded room, you know I can't stand the smell of love potion. I shall continue in interrogating Weasley."

Draco and the cloaked man left.

"So, what is Harry Potter's weakness?"

"Dementors."

"Can he produce a Patronus?"

"Yes. It takes the shape of a stag. It is a full-blown Patronus."

"Is there anything else?"

"Yes. I believe that he might be in love with Ginny."

"Really? Excellent. This is much better than what I expected. You're done for now, Weasley. But I can't have you remembering this... any of this..."

Voldemort used a memory charm on Ron, as he would do with the rest of them... but not Harry or Ginny. He would also use a Confundus Charm on them to make them believe that they had outsmarted him (Like that would ever happen, thought Voldemort) He would set all but the two free. That was where the Polyjuice Potion would come in. Voldemort's plan was going brilliantly, even better than he imagined. He called in Bellatrix Lestrange and MacNair for a new assignment.