Once everyone was seated, Liam stepped up to the front of the room and to the demonstration table. "Thank you all for coming," said Liam. "As your invitations have stated, we are trying to achieve something momentous, and we are inviting you all to be a part of it." He turned to the side. "I present to you a house-elf."

There was an awkward silence because really, who was interested in a house-elf? Everyone there knew what a house-elf was, and it was anything but momentous, but for Thea, she was concerned about the elf. It was the same elf from the day before-apparently, Liam liked this elf. He was more cooperative after all.

"I know it's just a house-elf," said Liam, "but we've learned that house-elves' powers tend to be underrated. Wizarding magic cannot bring someone back from the dead, it's true, but the magic of a house-elf is just now being explored." He turned to focus on the elf. "House-elf!" And he gestured toward a ladder set up beside the table. "You are to climb to the top of the ladder and then dive off. After you land on your head, you will heal yourself and climb back up onto the table."

Thea had to stifle a gasp as the elf croaked, "Yes, Master," and began to climb.

Thea watched in horror as the elf took each step up the ladder. Finally, the elf reached the top and dove, head first, crashing onto the concrete floor. Thea turned away as the elf moaned in pain. He let out another whimper, and then there was silence.

Thea peeked a glance at him, fearing that he was dead, but it turned out he had just healed himself as ordered-just in time for Liam to give another order. Thea watched, sickened by the display, as the elf followed order after order that Liam gave, and over and over he survived certain death. Unable to watch any longer, Thea began looking around at the crowd. Neither George nor Jax were happy with what they were seeing, but there seemed to be a lot of people watching eagerly.

"It's just a house-elf," some of them said.

"It's for a really good cause," others said.

Thea shook her head and headed for the love room. George and Jax were on their own for a few minutes. She should've stopped him before. Why hadn't there been a way to stop him? What if there wasn't a way to stop him now?

Before she could even get out her wand, a voice called out from behind her, "There you are!"

Thea jumped, blinking to find Liam standing there. Great. Just great. The demonstration must have been over, and Liam had apparently not wasted any time in trying to find her.

"So, I've been thinking over your new salary." Liam handed her a folded slip of paper.

Thea didn't open it-the paper was just an excuse.

"Of course," Liam put his arm around her, "if you would be willing to consider reigniting old flames, that number could go even higher."

That was what Liam was after. Luckily, before Thea had a chance to respond, George appeared. "Are you all right?" he asked her.

Liam removed his arm. "Your charming date and I were just going down memory lane a bit. Did she tell you that we knew each other back at Hogwarts?"

"It might have come up," George said lightly.

Liam offered a sardonic smile. "Well, I have a few other investors to speak to, but can I count on you for a donation?"

"Of course," said George, and Liam seemed satisfied with that, heading over to a group of investors that seemed to be waiting for his attention.

"Amor revelare." When the door opened, Thea headed straight into the love room, George following closely behind. With a flick of her wand, she closed the door.

"This is just as hard on you as it is on me, isn't it?"

Thea turned to look over at George. She took a breath. "It's bad enough having to be around him, remembering what he did, but having to sit there and watch him torture that elf..." Her voice broke, tears welling up in her eyes. "Maybe it's silly...getting that upset about a house-elf, but torture is still torture."

George took a step closer and used two fingers to tilt her chin up, so she was looking at him. There was only concern for her in his features. "I don't think it's silly," he said quietly. "I think he needs to be stopped. That's why we're here, isn't it?"

Thea nodded. "It is." She sighed, wiping away the tears. "Maybe we should get back out there."

"Or we can wait a few minutes," he said, leading her over to some chairs near the wall. "You should have a chance to settle."

Thea sat down beside him. "Thank you."

"What was he blathering on about before I rescued you?" George asked.

Thea sighed. "Oh, he was telling me about my raise for bringing you here," she held up the paper as evidence, "but really, he was attempting to try it on with me. Luckily, you showed up before I had to do anything drastic." Although the idea of a guy coming to her rescue bugged her to no end, that was essentially what he had done.

George rolled his eyes. "He's a right git, you know that?"

Thea laughed. "Funnily enough, I did know that," she told him.

"We can get out of here if this is too much for you," said George. "I don't like the way he was looking at you."

Thea shook her head. "We're not finished yet."

"Well, then let's finish this and get the hell out of here," said George, coming to his feet. He offered his hand to Thea, which she took, and the two of them headed back out to finish the mission.