Chapter 26: The Search! A Secret Revealed
Disclaimer: I had this wonderful dream that I was the owner of these items, I woke up and the illusion was shattered. Alas they still belong to their rightful owners and here I am just a poor fanfic writer playing in the sand box.
The search began as agreed with Elizabeth's Room and all her possessions that she had with her. Not that the search took long overall as she still did not have much to her name. Even though she had been earning money, other than clothes and books, she had little in the form of trinkets and possessions having no need to get any just yet. The Heads of the four houses, Sprout, Flitwick, McGonagall and Snape worked together to search and cast detection spells on items. Other than the runestone kit Bathsheda had given to her last Christmas, nothing else was enchanted, not even a robe which in hindsight, Elizabeth felt the need to remedy, Scotland became pretty cold during the winter.
While this had happened, Elizabeth had pulled Harry aside in the Ravenclaw Common Room, at first, she received several curious looks from the otherwise trapped Ravenclaw students but as a whole they were used to the two of them dragging each other off to have conversations. The two were in the corner, a very hasty and whispered conversation covering the search part of the meeting to which Harry agreed when he learnt who the victim was and knew it would most likely lead back to him or Elizabeth, once the topic was covered she turned, left the room back to the Head Room just as the staff were finishing up.
"It's clean, as expected." Flitwick said with a smile to Elizabeth, "I believe Mr Potter is next?" Getting several nods, Elizabeth re-opened the door to the Common Room, stepping back through it and holding it open for the Professors.
The rest of the students had no clue as to what was going on. The only information that had come their way was to stay in their Common Room and wait until further notice, Lessons were cancelled, and food was being brought to the Common Rooms at the times that Breakfast and Lunch had occurred. Having just seen Elizabeth leave the Common Room they were just as surprised to see her return, they were even more shocked when the Four Heads walked in after her, catching them completely off guard. For a moment there was silence, then whispers broke out almost as quick as Flitwick moved to the centre of the room. "Students, if I may have your attention?" He called out and silence fell, the Ravenclaws respected their head of house a lot, the man may have lacked in height with his part goblin ancestry, but he made up for that with skill, compassion and a sense of humour. He called for silence and the Ravenclaws were happy to give it. "I know you are all anxious to find out what happened and why you are all confined to the Common Room." He started and paused a moment as mutters started up again, after several seconds he held up his hand. "Last night there was an incident, a student was attacked and petrified." Another pause from Flitwick as he gave the students a moment to digest the news. "We believe that an artefact of dark origin has been brought into the School, either knowingly or unknowingly, as such we four will be performing a search of every students belongings."
Flitwick had to stop as he heard sounds of protest at the invasion of privacy, "I understand," he started, raising his hands and making a calming gesture, "I understand that it's not ideal and many of you feel that it may be crossing the line but I assure you, we do not do this lightly and we hope that we are wrong about the cause of this incident but the safety of you all is our primary concern." There were still some disgruntled mutterings, but many were more accepting of it. "We have no interest in any pranks or personal items, we are only interested in the potential threat to the school and the students inside. All property will be handled with the utmost of care and discretion."
"Who was the student?" Roger Davies questioned from where he was sat.
"The student that was attacked was Blaise Zabini, a second year Slytherin student." Flitwick identified. As Elizabeth had predicted several of the Ravenclaws turned to look directly at her and several also looked at Harry.
"I knew I should have placed bets on this." Elizabeth joked, drawing a couple of snickers in amusement and a small smile from Professor Flitwick. The dislike between the two and the Slytherin was known but many doubted they would do anything. "To put everyone at ease I volunteered myself and Harry to go first." She explained and Harry nodded in acceptance of what was to come.
"Very well, if all students would wait in their dorm room while we begin our search. Again, it is not ideal I know; however, you are the first dorm to be searched and even know what is going on, the others will be told when we move to search their dorms." Flitwick finished and students started filtering to their respective rooms. Harry was the last to leave as he was followed the four professors and Elizabeth to the Second Year Boys dorm room.
He walked in, stopping at his trunk and unlocked it for them. The examination of his stuff was just as quick as Elizabeth's, other than the invisibility cloak and school related gear, he had nothing overtly magical. A few enchantments on a winter cloak to help keep warm, (which Elizabeth commented that she was missing.) but aside from that nothing.
Professor Snape had tried to confiscate the cloak but the other three were quick to put a stop to it. It was not what they were there for and if they started taking unrelated items and family heirlooms then they would see the students kick back and cause all kinds of problems. The fact that it was a family heirloom that both Flitwick and McGonagall knew about was also a point taken into consideration. After that disagreement they moved on the staff searched quickly as Elizabeth remained with Harry, giving him updates on the meeting that she had been part of.
It would take them an hour to do the search, the Ravenclaws were nothing if not accurate and tidy so their items were quick to organise and search. With everything coming up clean, the professors were quick to make their departures, requesting that the students remained in the tower until the rest of the search was done. Elizabeth in her position as assistant was given a choice to either stay or leave depending on what she felt was needed to be done. She chose to stay and now was sat with Harry in his dorm room, continuing their conversation from before.
"They don't want to see it as a creature?" Harry asked, his mind flashing back to the yellow eyes that he had seen in that dark and damp cave.
"It's not that they're dismissing it, they're looking for what is controlling it," Elizabeth started and could see the other second years listening to the conversation. "Okay, gather round and I'll update you all." She said as she sat on Harry's bed, legs crossed, and the other students moved over. "There was a message found above Blaise's body, 'Enemies of the Heir beware, the Chamber of Secrets is open again.' According to legend the Chamber was built by Salazar Slytherin back when the School was founded and inside, he placed a creature of unknown power and origin in it, part of me is curious as to what his intentions were but for now that doesn't matter. What matters is that we don't know what it is or how it is being controlled. We have a few theories, one of those being Parseltongue." She stopped as she saw flinches from the boys except for Harry who didn't know what that meant.
"It'd make sense." Anthony said, "Parseltongue was an ability that the Slytherin family had, but there hasn't been a Parseltongue in the UK since..." He trailed off as the little colour that was in his face drained away.
Elizabeth nodded slowly as the rest of them saw his look. "Yes, the last dark lord. Or so Dumbledore says." She sighed, the next part was going to be key, "Dumbledore has a suspicion that there is an item that is either controlling or being used by someone to open the chamber. This is why the staff are searching, at the moment, the Heads of Houses are going to search the dorms while the rest of the staff are doing a sweep of the school."
"But they don't even know what they're looking for..." Terry interrupted getting a nod from the others.
"Correct, but there's a chance that they can find something and if they can prevent injuries from happening from this search then it's something that needs to happen. With all four of them working together, each specialised and with their own views on the task if there is something hiding then we can only assume they'll find it."
"Why are they all searching together? would it not be quicker to split up to search each of the dorms at the same time?" Anthony asked and Elizabeth nodded her head.
"In a way yes, but this prevents accusations of bias either for or against people. take the Slytherins for example. With their reputation and the reputation of Professor Snape, would many people trust him to do a thorough search of his students?" Elizabeth asked, knowing that the group along with the majority of others didn't trust Snape or the Slytherins.
"True, they would accuse him of covering it up or even helping them to hide the evidence."
"That is covering it up." Terry said bluntly in response to Anthony's statement.
"Well yeah... I knew that." He laughed, "what I meant to say is that he'd help cover up the evidence but also try to help guide them on how to perform whatever task they're doing."
"We went down this route last year." Harry said dismissively, "Snape may be an ass but he's on our side. Remember, we thought he was trying to steal the stone and kill me? Draco proved that he didn't."
"Erm... actually I didn't know that, any of that for matter." Anthony said with a raise of his hand drawing the rooms attention on to him. "What? You barely spoke to me last year... I wondered if I had done anything to offend you." Anthony stated semi seriously, and Harry laughed nervously.
"Did we really not talk that much?" He asked, getting completely side tracked from the serious topic that was at hand. "Wow, that was a mistake." Harry muttered in disbelief. "tell you what, current crisis and then fix that?" Harry offered with a surge of confidence, he had tried to make friends with everyone in his dorm and although it seemed to have worked, there was definitely people he had spoken to more than others. They'd have to fix that now moving into the rest of the year.
"That sounds good." Anthony responded with a small nod before waving it off again. "But we're getting off track, so if it's not Snape, nor Draco then there's someone organising this. How do you even look for that?" He asked getting shrugs in response. "Actually... wait," Anthony spoke, turning his attention to Harry. "You know it is a creature." He said with realisation crossing his face. "How do you know it?" He questioned and Harry shared a glance with Elizabeth who just sat silently waiting to see how Harry would react, not giving anything away. "I know you're not the one behind the attack." Anthony cleared the air quickly a shadow of relief crossing Harry's face as he did so. "But you seem to know what is doing it when the Professors don't."
"Would you believe me if I said I saw it through those rifts that have been appearing?" Harry asked weakly, the look of doubt on Anthony's face being relatively clear.
"Perhaps if you didn't start with 'would you believe me' I could have but with what you have and how you said it... nope." Anthony countered with a grin. "Now, how do you know?" He asked again and Harry again found himself looking to Elizabeth who shrugged her shoulders.
"It's your decision," she said calmly, between the two they knew that eventually the secret would come out. So far, the circle was small, a handful of the professors and unfortunately Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy, although that had working well for Elizabeth at the moment, her attempts to keep things going towards a positive outcome was so far all she was trying to use it for. Here it was Harry having to decide how much he wanted to tell and how much he could reveal. These were people he shared a dorm with, studied with, shared meals with. for ten months of the year they lived with each other.
If they couldn't trust each other, then who could they trust?
"I'm not lying in a way." Harry responded after several more moments of silence. "Those rifts or tears, I've been seeing them longer than they've been appearing for everyone else. I can't even remember when it started, but those rifts are doorways. I..." He trailed off with a small gesture with his hands, trying to find the right words, a look of frustration on his face as he tried to be evasive with his answers. "The headmaster with his announcement was right, they're alternate versions, stuff that could have happened, may have happened or will happen depending on actions taken." He said trying to be clear but the looks of confusion on their face showed that he was being a bit confusing with it. "Have any of you ever heard of alternate dimensions?" He questioned
"There's plenty of theories in the Muggle world about, and all those that appear in comics." Terry said as he finally clicked with what Harry was saying. "Wait, all that is real?" He asked in amazement.
"Yes." Harry admitted and the other boys just looked stunned from the revelation. "These tears are a doorway, well a window to them. I saw one, end of last year after Quirrell left, I saw something big, something scary with yellow eyes and I don't remember what happened afterword's. It was the end of the year so I kept it quiet, I warned the Headmaster but without proof it was literally just that what could have been. No way to act on it. So, he's been quiet, I've been quiet but now that it's happening..."
"But there's no evidence, nothing linking it other than chance and coincidence." Elizabeth chimed in acting as the voice of reason. "Without evi..." The door to the room slammed shut, the windows of the room that had been open closed just as quickly, the panes of glass rattling in the frames at the sheer force.
They could hear cries of surprise and fear and the students in the room looked confused as Elizabeth moved over to try the handle only for it to vanish as her hand reached for it. "What's going on?" She asked, nervousness tinting her voice as she looked back to the others. The thought of being trapped, even if it was only temporary unsettled her a lot.
"Lockdown." Terry explained, "it's mentioned a few times in a couple of the history books, if Hogwarts is attacked or there is a threat to the School, they can implement a lockdown, seal all the doorways and windows to prevent entrance or exit, the only ones that have access to the school are the professors, only because they're tied into the wards." A look at Elizabeth got a small shrug. "I guess an assistant didn't rate high enough." He said semi apologetically.
"I guess not." She muttered, pacing the room. "So, they've found something and are locking it down to prevent it moving or escaping." She stopped and turned to Harry, a serious look on her face. "Stay here, do not go anywhere." She ordered and before any could react, she turned, disappearing through a circular rift that appeared that showed a reflection of the Great Hall.
"What!?" Anthony cried out as he stepped towards it, but it was already closed. "Where did... How did..." He asked in confusion. He turned to Harry. "She can do that!? You can do that!?" He shouted and Harry reluctantly nodded.
"It's... it's a long story."
"It's not like we've got anywhere to go." Michael chimed in, he had been silent during all of this, listening to everything that had been said, all the information that had been thrown about had been difficult to keep track of, but the final bit had been clear to all of them.
Both Elizabeth and Harry had powers that they weren't talking about. "Fine." Harry muttered, "but it stays between us." He said sharply, refusing to allow even a hint of refusal. "If the wrong person hears about this then we're both in a lot of trouble."
The fact that Narcissa Malfoy knew about this and by extension her husband was left unsaid.
HPCVHPCV
Elizabeth stepped out into the Great Hall, walking determinedly towards the stairs, the main hallway had little in the way of doors to block access so it should be a clear route for her to make it to the Headmasters office. Hopefully with Dumbledore there to assist with whatever was going on, to explain just why they had locked the school down so solidly. Around her she could hear suits of armour marching, no doubt to the battlements thanks to the old protective magic that still resided in the castle. "Defend your home from threats without but never forget the threats that lie within." She muttered as she walked by the surprisingly empty portraits and landscapes. "Is this another part of the lockdown? to protect the pictures and the history they have?" She asked, taking a moment to pause as she thought back. "Why didn't I wait?" She muttered to herself, "Why am I doing exactly what?" She stopped herself from that train of thought, pushing herself away from them before they could settle in.
Because the last thing she wanted to be thinking about was the illusion created by the boggart. If she started second guessing it could lead to all kinds of situations. She arrived at the Gargoyle that led to the Headmaster, Calling the password, she cursed as it didn't budge. "Of course, the lockdown, why would I think the password would work so simply." She muttered to herself. Another moment passed and she rolled her eyes, opening another tear and stepping through to the bottom of the stairway. She walked up the stairs, brushing her robe to straighten it a little bit before knocking on the door at the top of the staircase.
"Enter Miss DeWitt." the voice of the Headmaster called out. She opened the door, relieved that it didn't vanish before she could touch it and opened it.
The circular room was rearranged, the desk that the headmaster sat at now against the wall, in the centre of the room a chair rested, and a man was tied to it, slumped unconscious along with the Heads of Houses with their wand drawn on him. "Is this him?" She asked and Dumbledore took his attention away from the man in question to look at Elizabeth.
"We are unsure, the man for all intents and purposes is a ghost, he was found in the Gryffindor Dormitories, a rat belonging to Ronald Weasley." Dumbledore explained as he turned his attention back to the prisoner they held. Elizabeth walked around, taking a position at the back of the room, leaning against the wall as she studied the man, with her lack of skill in magic it was better for her to be back and out of the way.
Bathsheda was placing runestones down around the room in an intricate pattern, Minerva looked torn as she did this, unsure of what was going on or if what she was seeing was accurate. Sprout and Flitwick both had looks of grim determination and Snape, positioned behind the unconscious man was looking on in concern, though whether that was for himself or the man in question was up for debate. "The runestones are in place." Bathsheda commented, straightening up, stretching as she did so. "He won't be able to transform when he's revived."
"Transform?" Elizabeth asked and Minerva was the one to speak up.
"He's an Animagus, we found him as a rat on the bed of Mr Weasley, I don't think he realised what was happening as he was quite soundly asleep when we started to search the room." She explained coldly. The man was chubby, his hair frayed, and his face held rat like qualities, "he's been with the Weasley Family for years now, Albus is this really him?"
"It would seem so, though questions must be asked." Dumbledore said as he lifted his wand, "ennervate." He called and the spell hit the man centre mass, he awoke with a gasp, looking around quickly eyes alert and already looking for an escape. "Hello Peter." Albus said softly, though the cold and steely edge underneath was evident to all in the room.
"Du... Du... Dumbledore!" The man squeaked in horror, his eyes darting around the room even more, locking with each of the professors in turn. "Does this mean it's safe for me to return?" He asked and Elizabeth tilted her head as she studied the man. he had been hiding for so long, but what was he hiding from. She stayed silent, without knowing anything of the situation she wouldn't speak, just observe.
"Peter Pettigrew... you're supposed to be dead." Severus Snape said behind the rat man, he flinched, trying to shrink into the chair but was held tightly.
"I had to hide, there were so many after me," He quickly pleaded, eyes darting around between them, terror very clearly etched into his features.
"Who would be after you Peter? The Dark Lord was dead, Sirius arrested, the death eaters were rounded up." McGonagall questioned harshly. "The only ones to hide from were your friends."
"But were they really gone? Malfoy, Nott, Avery, Crabbe, Goyle. All of them are free, how many others would try to find me?"
"But why would they come after you and break their cover? You're a survivor of the war but you weren't involved in anything that would specifically single you out." Dumbledore stated calmly; eyes locked with the man in question. "So that again leads to the question, why the need to hide for so long among friends."
Pettigrew didn't know how to respond; he was again looking between the professors and Elizabeth. "I... I... I didn't know who to trust," he whispered weakly, "With Sirius betraying Lily and James, who could I turn to? Everyone already suspected Remus and then there was just me. I... I just wanted to disappear."
"But there was someone you could come to." Elizabeth butted in, she felt sorry for him and the fear must have been great but there was something that just felt off with everything, the looks on the other professors showed the same thing. "Dumbledore, he's been there all this time, he's been in this building for all those years that you've been hiding and you're telling me that not once did you think that you could trust him? Or Professor McGonagall?" She stopped as Dumbledore looked at her and raised his hand.
"There have always been questions about that night, Hagrid found Sirius Black at the house, Harry in his arms, we never knew what he wanted, never knew why he had betrayed the man that was essentially a brother to him even if not by blood. He never had a mark when they checked him. No, there's something going on that isn't being told." Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully before looking to Severus. "I assume you have Veriatserum?"
"I can get some from my office." Severus spoke and Dumbledore nodded.
"I will alert the Aurors as well."
"But I didn't do anything!" Peter cried out and Dumbledore shook his head.
"While I understand your concerns and fears at the current situation, the situation is currently dire. You, a man believed dead for twelve years were found after a student was attacked and petrified, hiding in the dorms of young children, I would be remiss not to involve the authorities."
"That and the Animagus part," Bathsheda chimed in. "Forget everything else and there's still that crime." She pointed out with a small chuckle. "Oh, don't try transforming again, the runestone pattern around you will prevent changing again, if you try to force it, I can't guarantee the results that might come up." She warned, amusement leaving her voice and turning deadly serious.
"But what about her!" Peter cried out, gesturing towards Elizabeth. "What do you really know about her!" He cried out and there were many looks directed to Elizabeth. "She doesn't even belong here! She doesn't exist!"
"I assure you I exist, for if I didn't how could I be here?" Elizabeth asked pointedly and turned to Dumbledore. "Perhaps all this time spent pretending to be a rat has left his faculties diminished?" She questioned calmly, Dumbledore knew the situation, at least as much as she had been willing to tell him, he didn't ask, and he knew there was more to it. The others were a bit more out of the loop though they knew she was anything but your standard witch. At least they knew enough to know that she wasn't against them.
"You trust her with Harry! What do you really know about her? What have you learnt that she hasn't told you?" He continued, distracting them completely by the tangent of the topic. "Don't you think I've heard things? How did she defeat that troll, someone with no magical lessons?" He asked and again there was a slight hesitation.
"They already know about that." Elizabeth responded just as calmly, "though at the time it was kept a secret, they know now."
"But what about how you got here?" Peter questioned and Elizabeth stopped, caught off guard. "I know who you were chasing!" Peter cried out and Elizabeth looked shocked.
"Who?" She questioned, stepping forwards, Bathsheda moving from her position to stop Elizabeth if she tried anything drastic. Elizabeth took another step then stopped, her hands coming up in frustration, her features scrunching as she resisted the urge to grab him. she let out a sigh of frustration and stepped back. "No, that's not needed to be known right now... how do you know about it is the bigger question? That all happened..." She stopped as something in the back of her mind clicked. The date they had to be there, the time that she was sealed away in the glass box, the runes, all of it had to be carved in a short amount of time, they had to know it was going to happen, they had to know when and where Harry would be and the wards that were going to be in place.
"The only way you could know something about that is if you were involved." Flitwick spoke, drawing all their attention back to Peter, the question remained unspoken, just how was he involved.
"Because he's the reason I'm still alive!" Peter protested loudly, "the Dark Lord came for me to get at James, he was going to kill me and then this person appeared out of nowhere! It wasn't apparation or anything like that, he just appeared through something," Peter tried to explain as quickly as he could. "He was going to kill me and then the person stopped him, grabbed his wrist moments before the spell and stopped him," There was silence in response, not many anticipated this turn of events, that someone had actively manhandled the Darkest Wizard of recent years to save Peter Pettigrew. the level of fear in Peter's voice was the only reason that they weren't calling him a liar, this person scared Peter more than Voldemort did. "He knew it all!" Again, there was more confusion, but Peter continued, not giving them any time to question him further. "He knew secrets that the Dark Lord had told no one, he told him he knew the dark rituals that he had done, that he knew who the Dark Lord had been before he became what he was." Peter tried to get the story across quickly, if Elizabeth had to guess, he wanted to tell his story to clear his name, to throw away the shadow of guilt that covered him like a shroud. "He knew where James and Lily were, he told him that there would be a window for him to act, He knew about the charm that you were about to cast." A few surprised gasps from the professors were the response to this, before the Potters had died, it had been a tightly kept secret, no one had known what they had done to go into hiding. It was only after the event and the arrest of Sirius Black that the truth had come out.
"How did you survive?" Dumbledore asked calmly, though if anyone had looked at his eyes there was anything but calmness in his voice, the veneer of the gentle grandfather that he tried to maintain all throughout the years cracking away to show the powerful leader of the light that rested underneath.
"It was him, he did something, then I was somewhere else, I don't know where but he promised me safety if I helped him set up a room, he prepared all these runes, I only saw some of them and I didn't understand what was going on but all he asked was that I just prepare the first charge so that he could activate them when he needed to." Peter explained quietly. "After that he let me go, I woke outside Diagon Alley and I couldn't think about that time, every time I tried to recall what happened it was just blank."
The revelation rocked Elizabeth, the person who she had been hunting, the person who had trapped her in that glass coffin had been interfering with the events that were meant to be playing out here. The man had to be someone who could see what was going to happen but what was his goal here? what was the outcome that he was looking for? Why had it been so important here, why had they set it all up and then abandoned it?
"But what happened with the Potters?" Bathsheda said after several moments of silence. "The story is that Sirius Black betrayed them, that he sold them out to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named! You're telling us that didn't happen. Then he went on to kill thirteen Muggles and you and blow up the street! So, what did happen!?" Bathsheda snapped harshly, when everything you're told has just been turned upside down and inside out, it can lead to multiple things. In Bathsheda's place it was confusion and anger.
"Sirius was meant to be the Secret Keeper but at the last minute he backed out, he suggested I do it. He thought I'd be the better option because they wouldn't expect me to do it when Sirius was so much like a brother to James." There were nods in agreement, it made sense, Sirius could be the diversion and Peter would be able to be hidden away easily enough. "But I couldn't do it! My best friend needed me, but I couldn't do it." He cried out and now there was confusion back again, "I was never as brave as James, or as reckless as Sirius or even as smart as Remus, I couldn't do it. James understood, he didn't force me, and he didn't judge me for it." Peter stopped again, his body shaking as he tried to control himself emotionally, Dumbledore and Elizabeth could see tears at the corners of his eyes and knew it must be hard for him to deal with all of this. "But with how the Dark Lord had been approaching Werewolves and with how Remus had been acting the put the spell on hold. It's all my fault they're dead." He whispered painfully, "They're dead because I was a coward and they never found a replacement in time."
"Why didn't Sirius just take the roll after you refused?" Dumbledore asked and Peter shrugged, as much as he could with how he was still bound.
"I don't know, I didn't see him again until that day, in the street."
"Are you telling us he didn't betray the Potters?"
"I don't know," Peter replied, "when he confronted me in the street, he blamed me, he said I had betrayed James and Lily. I don't know! I don't Know! He was angry, I was scared, we both went for our wands. I thought, maybe if I defeated him then I could explain but everything exploded around us." He stopped, breathing deeply, the constant explanation and the riptide of emotions that he had gone through had left him physically and emotionally drained. "I woke up and just knew it had to be him trying to kill me, because I had helped with what he was doing, I knew parts of what he was up to. So, I cut my finger off and hid as a rat, I hid with the Weasleys because they'd hear if anything would happen but that's all I did, I swear!" Peter tried to get his thoughts across, and the professors stood silently.
Emotions were torn through the room, many not knowing what to think, they had believed for twelve years the events had played out as they had been told, Sirius Black had been the Secret Keeper, he had killed all those people and had betrayed everyone to Voldemort.
But now they were being told that this was all a lie, that it was all wrong, that there was someone else who had been pulling the strings at least near the end of it all, someone that no one knew anything about. "Peter, I hope that this is true and that you are just as innocent as you say, but you have to understand, we can't just take your word on this. There's too much at stake for it to be taken to chance." Dumbledore said in resignation, "Severus, please fetch the Veriatserum, I will personally bring Minister Fudge and Madame Bones back here to witness the questioning. For now, though, you will have to remain bound, no risks can be taken with this. I truly hope you are right, but I am also horrified by the ramifications of what you say."
"If what he says is true..." McGonagall whispered in horror, her wand slowly lowering. "Then Sirius has been..."
"Yes, stuck in Azkaban for the past twelve years for a crime he didn't commit." Dumbledore finished and Elizabeth watched the shudder sweep across the room.
"What is Azkaban? outside of a prison?" Elizabeth asked in confusion, looking to Bathsheda as Dumbledore and Snape exited the room.
"That incident you had with the Boggart, picture that but ten times worse or even a hundred, Azkaban is the Wizarding Prison for the UK. It's guarded by the most horrifying guards, they're called Dementors, the black cloaked monsters of the island. They feed on positive thoughts and drain them from their victims, leaving them with nothing but their worst memories." Bathsheda explained quietly to Elizabeth, the two standing off to the side of the room. "Insanity is all you can hope for with having to constantly relive all their worst memories constantly. Most people wouldn't last a week."
"That's horrible." Elizabeth whispered with a look of dread; she had enough ghosts in her past that there were plenty of horrible memories to drag up.
Not all of them were her own either.
"But there's something else, there is one punishment reserved for the worst crimes imaginable, the Dementor's Kiss." She paused, colour draining from her face as she even thought about it, Elizabeth knew it had to be horrifying if the mere mention of it was enough to do this to Bathsheda. "Under their hoods, they have a mouth of some description, their final act to a person is to as much I hate to call it what it is, kiss their victim and drain their soul, removing it and leaving them like a lifeless husk."
Now Elizabeth found herself even more concerned by how the events were playing out. One questioned that lingered in the back of her mind was now creeping to the forefront.
Why hadn't she just taken Harry and got the hell out of dodge after the end of the first year?
TBC
SURPRISE
Pettigrew revealed and all is not as it seems. I had been thinking about this since I started the story, that I wanted to turn what we knew upside down and on its head. Not dramatically mind you, just little bits that could play out similar with only some slight variations. Because who said manipulation of fate and destiny was only in the hands of one person?
I hope you enjoyed the chapter.