Orrin knew a lot about Thea-even Thea had to admit that. He had made a point in observing her, watching her, getting to know her from a distance, so he knew how she would respond in different situations. He knew that if he locked her in the basement with a bunch of books that she would read them. He knew that if he dangled notes about reversing the dais under her nose, that she would examine them, look for mistakes, and ultimately figure out how to do what they needed to be done.
Locked in the basement alone with nothing to do but read, Thea found herself pouring over the books, the notes, everything that Orrin had provided, and she was beginning to get a picture-a very clear picture-as to how it could be done. That's when she heard voices from upstairs.
Thea crept up the stairs to listen in.
"You still didn't need to come here, Liam," Orrin said calmly. "An owl would have been sufficient."
"He was pretty insistent," Liam pushed.
"You can't handle one treasure hunter?" Orrin pushed back. It seemed that Jax had done as she had asked.
"What am I supposed to tell him?" Liam asked. "He wants to meet the man in charge."
"And where exactly am I supposed to meet him?" Orrin spat out. "I can't very well go to the ministry, now can I? And he's not coming here. How much money is he offering?"
"A fair amount," said Liam. "But aside from what he gave us yesterday, he won't give us a sickle more unless he meets you."
"You should have told him you were in charge of the experiments," said Orrin. "Now I have to clean up your mess. Tell Jax that we will meet him at his place of residence at precisely 9 AM tomorrow. If he wants to meet me, he will be there. There will be no second chances. And if you show up here again uninvited, you will not have any further chances either. I no longer need you as I have the one the prophecy refers to."
"You have Thea?" Liam asked.
"That's right. I had forgotten that you were assigned to her," said Orrin. "Yes, she's here. I don't think it will take her long to figure out what you failed to do, do you?"
"Um...uh, no, sir."
"Well, you'd better reach out to this Jax, so I don't end up wasting my time tomorrow," said Orrin, dismissing him.
"Oh...yes, sir! Right away, sir!" Thea heard the crack as Liam disapparated.
Thea heard footsteps coming towards the basement door, and she backed away. The door swung open. "Thea!"
Thea started back up the stairs. "You called?"
"Have you figured it out yet?" Orrin asked her.
"In one day?" Except for the fact that she had.
Orrin stepped onto the stairs, closing the door behind him and gripped Thea's arm, maneuvering her down the stairs. "See that's the thing," he said releasing her. "I think you have figured it out."
Thea took a step back. "I told you before, even if I managed to figure it out, I'll never help you."
Orrin sighed. "I had expected more from you, Thea, honestly. Have you forgotten that I'm a legilimens?" He reached into her mind to find the answers he sought...but he was met with a wall. He raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps I spoke too soon."
He pulled out his wand and cast a non-verbal spell, but Thea was ready for him and blocked him. "Impressive."
"You haven't seen anything yet," said Thea.
"We'll see," said Orrin. They began throwing spells at each other left and right. They were too evenly matched to make much progress...that is until Nott came down to see what was going on. He joined the fray.
Thea managed to stun him, but that left her open to attack from Orrin. He disarmed her.
"Now," said Orrin, walking towards her. "You will give me the formula. It's just a matter of how much it's going to hurt."
"I'd rather die," Thea told him, and she meant it. She didn't really want to die, but if her dying would stop Voldemort from coming back, then so be it.
"Oh, I'm not going to kill you," said Orrin. "I'm just going to make you suffer. Crucio!" He turned to Nott. "Gather the others. She's strong, but even the strong eventually break."