Saturday, 31 Mar, 03:10 GMT awake
Mediwizard Malfoy looked up at his Uncle Harry as both heard voices from the young man's room. They entered it quickly.
"Look who's up," Draco Malfoy, Sr. said, nodding at the two arrivals.
The younger Malfoy nodded at the patient as he waved his wand over the young man. A small hologram of the young man hovered above him. "I'm just checking your vitals."
"Phillip, you remember Drew's younger brother, Draco and her Uncle Harry," Mr. Malfoy asked.
"Terribly sorry that we seem to always be meeting under distressing circumstances," the scarred wizard said as he shook the patient's hand.
"Am I going to be okay?" Phillip asked, half-jokingly.
"Yeah, you should be," Draco, Jr. said as he closed out the hologram. "Your ten broken ribs should heal fine. No internal injuries anymore. Your abrasions and lacerations have healed. You show signs of exhaustion, though.
"And that's just the physical injuries," the mediwizard said. "Your mental health is in question as well. You were hit with a Category 5 Obliviate Memory Charm."
"I guess I've had a rough night," Phil said.
"I want him resting within the hour," the young mediwizard nodded at his father. He added before leaving, "Don't grill him for too long."
The platinum blonde wizard studied the young man in the hospital bed. He already had an inkling as to what was going through the athlete's head.
"Phillip, I'm glad you're okay. We'll take your statement later in the day," Mr. Malfoy began.
"What time is it?" Phillip asked.
"A little after 3 a.m." Auror Potter answered. "Like Mr. Malfoy said, we can take your statement when you're a bit more lucid."
The young man whimpered. He blew out a breath. "I think I'm as lucid as I'll ever be, Mr. Potter. I want to give my statement while it's fresh in my head."
"Okay," Harry said as he sat on one of the chairs next to the hospital bed. Draco stood at the foot of the bed, pacing slightly.
"Just like the last time," Draco said as Harry pulled the roll of parchment out and enchanted it along with the self-inking quill.
"Just speak naturally and the quill will take down everything that is said," the bespectacled wizard said.
o-o-o
"We got home from dinner about a quarter to ten," Phillip hesitated. "We had been arguing when ... when Grandfather and his men appeared.
"I'm not exactly sure how many of them there were. They surrounded the both of us. Then it felt like I was being turned inside out."
"They used four torture curses on you, Phil," Mr. Malfoy said.
"It was painful," the young man looked at the two older wizards. "They were hurting Drew, too. I couldn't do anything to stop them.
"Then things got a bit hazy. We were suddenly in a different place. There was a lot of activity in the room; guns and bullets. Then they dragged me into another room.
"Grandfather walked in. He took some time to convince me that I was his grandson. I tried to keep telling myself that I was Phillip Martinez. But his magic was too strong.
"The next thing I know, I was Kourtney Schield, wielding my mother's wand, heading down to the dungeons. I was tasked to torture Drew. I entered the cell and did as I was instructed; trying to avenge the Schield family name."
"You mentioned your mother's wand. Tell us a little more about that," the scarred wizard interrupted.
"The wand felt comfortable in my hand. The spells that Grandfather taught seemed to come naturally."
"It's the wand that chooses its master," Mr. Malfoy nodded, remembering the adage the venerable wand maker always mentioned. "What spells did he teach you, Phillip?"
The young man hesitated. "He showed me the levitation spell, the summoning spell and he walked me through the Unforgiveables. I was … I was to use the killing curse after I finished … after I was done torturing Drew."
"It's okay, Phillip," Mr. Malfoy reassured him. "Full disclosure, alright."
The young man nodded. He took in a breath before he continued. "I entered her cell. She tried to hug me. I shoved her away and proceeded to physically assault her using both magic and regular means."
He whimpered. Phillip looked at his best friend's father. "Grandfather blamed your family for my mother's death. So I was tasked to avenge the Schield family name by making sure your family felt the same type of loss.
"I continued to beat her, all the while explaining to her the Schield family secret; that we're able to drain our enemy's magical gift as we over power them."
The two wizards looked at each other. Harry nodded at Draco as if to ask if he knew about Roxanne and her family's secret. Draco shrugged his shoulders denying any knowledge of it.
"I pulled a modified handgun on her and asked her if she had any last words before I killed her," he gulped.
"She tried to convince me that you and Mrs. Malfoy had nothing to do with my parents' death. She talked about the Ministry raid almost 30 years ago. She talked about you and my father fighting while Mrs. Malfoy and my mother were challenging each other.
"She mentioned how my father was the one who had hurled the Killing Curse meant for Mrs. Malfoy that killed my mother. She talked about how my father used the Torture Curse on your wife and how she broke his wand."
"I didn't believe Drew at first," he said looking up at the ceiling. "It was when she mentioned how my father had used the torture curse on her … on a two year-old.
"How could anyone in their right mind ever think that would be acceptable?" Phillip said as a tear fell. "My father used an Unforgiveable on an innocent child.
"Drew started to give up. She asked me to end things," he said, searching the platinum blonde's face. "That's when my memories of her came rushing back. My head felt like it was about to explode. I slid the gun away from us.
"And then I saw my dirty work. She was relieved to know that my faculties returned. Her only thought was to make sure the Ministry was to get the information about the stolen weapons and how the new potion killed in half the time.
"She tried to convince me to leave her there while I go to get help. I wouldn't hear of it," he said as Mr. Malfoy nodded an unspoken thank you. "We had to figure another way out. We had no cell phones to warn the Ministry. And Grandfather didn't teach me how to apparate. That's when Drew tried to explain how the Wand Tracking System worked.
"My mother's wand was in the system but she's dead. In order for the Ministry to track it, it would have had to be used to commit a major crime. I tried to use the Cruciatus on Grandfather when he came to check if I had completed the task.
"He deflected it," he said. "Then he hit Drew and me with the same curse. I tackled him into the ground and broke his wand.
"That's when he took hold of the handgun and fired. Drew and I were on the floor and then I saw Mr. Malfoy. Everything after that was a blur."
"You did good, Phillip," Auror Potter nodded at the patient. "I'll process your statement at the Ministry offices."
"Phillip, one more thing," Mr. Malfoy said. "You mentioned using the Cruciatus on your grandfather. But that was the second Unforgiveable that registered. Five minutes earlier the Killing Curse alerted the Wand Tracking System.
"Seeing as my daughter was alive when I arrived in the dungeon," Mr. Malfoy looked at the young man. Harry delayed his exit, looking at the pair intently. The young man closed his eyes for a moment.
"There was a rat in the corner," Phillip whimpered.
The two older wizards couldn't suppress their laughter. Harry nodded at the two, exiting the room. Draco squeezed the young man's hand.
"I'm sure he died for the cause," the platinum blonde smiled. Phillip smiled as well. His eyes fluttered. "Get some rest, Phillip. You've had a long night."
"I want to be awake when …" he drifted off. Draco blew out a breath. He shut his eyes for a moment before he, too, headed out the door.
The veteran Ministry Auror looked at his watch again, 3:20 a.m. He scanned the waiting room. His family was all there, getting in some shuteye. He headed to the bench where his Muggle-born wife lay. He took his place right next to her. He rested his head right up against hers as he, too, tried to get some rest, if only for a moment.