The first thing that Tonks felt was overwhelming pain, spanning from her head to the end of her toes. It felt like every inch of her skin was on fire. She tried to scream but found that she couldn't even make a sound. Someone had muted her.
Through the haze of her suffering, she was able to feel that she was lying on the cold, hard ground. How had she gotten there? Had she taken a nap? But if so, why did it feel like she was being eaten alive by a million starving fire-ants?
Suddenly, her memories came rushing back to her. Tonks frantically tried to rise despite the pain, but she couldn't move either. For the next few moments, she desperately tried again and again to roll over, move, do something, anything, to relieve herself of the torture her body was being subjected to, but nothing worked.
What spell could have possibly caused such agony? Rudy Wexley had cast the Cruciatus curse on Tonks numerous times during the Auror training program, which he had justified under the excuse of 'forcing her to find a way to cope with the symptoms'. Yet Wexley's Cruciatus was not nearly as excruciating as this.
"She's awake," said a raspy voice from above.
Tonks heard footsteps from behind, and a few moments later, a warm, steady breath pressed itself against her ear. She tried to flinch away from whoever it was that hovered over her, but she remained paralyzed.
"We are going to release you from the spells," a second voice whispered. "If you try to scream, fight, or run away, you will regret it. Do you understand?" The voice was far more soft and delicate than the first one had been.
She felt both the pain and the pressure around her neck recede, and her head lolled towards the ground. She tried to let out a sigh of relief, but she was still muted, so she instead craned her neck around, trying to identify her captors. However, she was facing straight down, and the rest of her body was still frozen, so she only managed to see directly to the side of her. But what she saw only heightened her misery.
Doom and Gloom were sitting criss-cross on either side of her, but judging by the strained looks on their faces, they weren't doing much better than her. They still bore no obvious signs of injury, though that didn't mean they were entirely unharmed. At least they weren't dead, which was a consolation. Norgard would have had a field day with her if they were.
There are more important things to worry about right now than Dryden fucking Norgard!
The pain abruptly began to return, albeit to a milder degree. "He asked you a question," hissed the raspy voice. "Do you understand, yes or no?" Tonks struggled to maintain her composure and managed to do her best impression of a nod.
"Excellent," said the softer voice, which had moved back a few paces. Tonks felt the block on her vocal cords lift, and she immediately gasped out in panic. She fought the urge to yell for help since there was no one else nearby. And judging by the heat on her back, the sun was still in the middle of the sky, meaning that her shift was nowhere near over. No help would come.
"Turn over," the voice commanded. Tonks felt the rest of the paralysis spell fade away, and her body thudded face-first against the dirt. She spat out a mouthful of grass before obliging her captor's orders.
"Sit up," said the raspy voice. Tonks complied, and slowly raised her upper body, which was still shaking from the aftermath of whatever torturous spell they had cast on her. The moment she was sitting upright, she felt the paralysis spell take effect again everywhere but her head - without a verbal casting. She tried to fight it off, but it was far stronger than any body-bind she had ever felt before.
Tonks was able to see the small clearing in the middle of Stonehenge now, which faced away from the now-quiet arches. She pivoted her neck to the left and right and was just able to make out Doom and Gloom, who were now both glaring at her. Tonks quickly broke eye contact and focused on the two strange figures in front of her.
They were both tall, though the figure on the left stood slightly higher. Their faces were obscured by some sort of gray cloth, but when she squinted hard enough, she was able to make out the shape of their eyes. They were both wearing strange, pointed caps with sides that jutted outwards and upwards, like wings on a bird.
Their clothes were made mostly out of a combination of brown, black, and white leather that looked both fancy and flexible. Tonks had forgotten most of what she had learned in her Muggle Studies class, but she had taken a keen interest in historical Muggle fashion trends. And the two figures in front of her were dressed as if they had stepped straight out of Victorian England. To say they looked peculiar would be an understatement. Yet even stranger were the objects they were brandishing.
The person on the right was clutching what appeared to be a cane, though the longer Tonks looked at it, the more she realized that it was less a walking stick and more a weapon. The cane was metallic, and its end was razor sharp, like the blade of a sword. The knob at the top of the stick was embroidered with a strange emblem that she couldn't quite make out from her current position.
The other figure grasped a much cruder object, one that Tonks was only able to recognize because of her study of Muggle weaponry during the Auror program. It was a cleaver, its edge more serrated than anything she had ever seen before. Its handle, strangely enough, was situated right behind the blade; the two appeared to be connected by some sort of hinge at one end. The figure's hand was gripping the cleaver in the small space between the blade and the handle. Tonks briefly wondered how such a design could be effective, but the entirety of her thoughts soon diverted towards a couple of burning questions.
Who the hell were these people, and what did they want? They had to be wizards, or they wouldn't have been able to get through the Muggle-repelling charms. But unless they were keyed into the wards, they couldn't have come from outside the perimeter either, for the wards had still been as strong as ever when she had checked them that morning. Besides, what wizard would ever use a Muggle weapon, let alone one as medieval as a cleaver or a cane? And how had they managed to ambush them? Tonks cursed herself once more. She should have just followed the protocol and apparated away when she had the chance, but she had let Norgard's gibes influence her into making a stupid decision. And now she was paying the price.
The figure with the cane cleared his throat. "I do apologize for all this, but we need to ensure absolute discretion in this matter. Rest assured, if you follow our directions, you will be free to go about your day in no time." He threw a pointed glance at the other figure as he said this. Tonks recognized the speaker as the one with the soft voice, and now that he wasn't whispering, she was able to hear just how young he sounded.
"Who are you? What do you want?" she demanded, hoping to glean some information.
The first figure shifted slightly. "I'm afraid we will be the ones asking the questions, miss, for time is short." He brandished his cane afterwards and slammed it against the ground as if making a statement. Tonks decided to refer to them as Cane and Cleaver for now.
"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked warily.
Her head instantly lolled over as she felt another wave of agony wash over her. "It means you shut up and stop asking questions," rasped Cleaver, who advanced towards her menacingly. Cane, however, stepped in his path, and whispered something. After a moment, Cleaver nodded, and the pain subsided.
Tonks let out a choked gasp of relief even though her entire body was still stinging from the aftermath of the spell. Perhaps outright asking her captors for information about who they were wasn't the smartest strategy.
Cane looked back towards them. "Forgive my friend, he still needs time to adjust. Until then, he unfortunately won't be in a rational frame of mind." Cleaver shook his head at that but said nothing else.
"Right," Cane continued. "I'll just cut to the chase. We need information about everything that happened on the night Harry Potter disappeared."
Whatever Tonks had been expecting, it certainly wasn't that. By now, the story of the Bloody Solstice was common knowledge across the entire magical world and the fact that they didn't seem to know it was even stranger than their apparel. Tonks wasn't going to tell them that to their faces though, for she had learned her lesson the last time she had opened her mouth. Doom and Gloom appeared to share that sentiment, as they too remained quiet.
After a few moments of silence, Cane sighed and twirled his stick in his hands. "Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. We need information, and if you do not supply it, my friend here will gladly subject you to the same spell you've been under already. But I'm sure none of us want that, so I would advise you to start talking."
That loosened Tonks' tongue. "Everyone knows what happened that night, including you. As you just said, Harry Potter vanished without a trace."
Cane's eyes flashed briefly, before his veneer of calm returned. "Yes, but what else?"
"I mean, besides the obvious, there isn't -"
"Stop. Assume we know nothing about that night, and explain everything."
Tonks hesitated and craned her neck to look towards Doom and Gloom for support, but both of them were now staring straight ahead, looking at nothing. Given that they were Unspeakables, it seemed that she would have to be the one doing the speaking. She decided to go along with whatever game her captors were playing, although it didn't seem like she had much of a choice anyway.
"You want to know the whole story?" Cane nodded. "Fine," she said, clearing her throat.
"Six years ago, on the summer solstice of 1988, Harry Potter, his brother Samuel Potter, and their adoptive family, the Greengrasses, took a family trip to Stonehenge. After the sun had set, Lord Cyrus Greengrass was taking a walk around the site when he spotted a shimmering arch that looked exactly like the one behind me," Tonks said pointedly, hoping to prompt Cane into revealing something about himself. Unfortunately, he remained silent and gestured for her to continue.
"Lord Greengrass quickly called for his wife, Lady Cecelia, and the two investigated the arch. But as they were doing so, they were attacked from behind. Meanwhile -"
"What happened to Lord and Lady Greengrass? Did they survive?" Tonks did not miss the note of anger that had crept into Cane's voice.
"Yes, they were only knocked unconscious." Cane visibly sneered, which Tonks made a mental note of. "Anyways, when Lady Greengrass went to investigate, she had left the Potter and Greengrass children alone in the tent, under strict instructions not to go anywhere. I don't know what exactly caused him to do it, since the information was never publicized, but Harry ended up leaving the tent. He was never seen again." Cane and Cleaver exchanged a fleeting look at that.
"A few minutes later, Lord and Lady Greengrass woke up and called in the Aurors. Then, while the Aurors were investigating the attack and Harry's disappearance, the Big Fish appeared."
Cane quirked an eyebrow. "The Big Fish? Elaborate."
Now Tonks was really confused. Perhaps there was a slim chance that her captors genuinely didn't know the story of the Bloody Solstice, but there was no possible way they had never heard of the Big Fish.
Seeing her confusion, Cane's expression softened. "I know this situation must be terribly frightening and confusing for you all, but we simply must know what happened."
Tonks gathered up her courage. "And why don't you already know all this? It's been common knowledge for over six years now." She prayed that she would not have to suffer the spell again as punishment for her question.
Indeed, Cleaver snarled and raised his hands, but Cane was at his side in a flash. After a brief exchange, Cleaver grudgingly relaxed and continued to stare a hole through her. Cane turned back towards her and sighed.
"Let's just say that circumstances beyond our control have limited our access to information these past few years," he said solemnly. Tonks made another mental note of that response. "Now, what is this 'Big Fish' you were referring to?"
Tonks looked towards Doom and Gloom, thinking that they might finally speak up. The Big Fish was a huge part of the Department of Mysteries, after all. Still, they remained silent, and Tonks had to swallow her frustration. Why were they doing nothing to help her?
"Officially, it's called the Mare Bestia, but everyone refers to it as the Big Fish. To put it bluntly, it is a giant alien creature that resembles a sea creature. Or rather, a giant alien corpse that resembles a sea creature. The Unspeakables eventually determined it was already dead from the moment it appeared, though to this day, no one knows what killed it, where it came from, or what it is. Anyways, it materialized in mid-air out of nowhere and then proceeded to impact the ground. Most of the Aurors in the vicinity were crushed as a result. Afterwards, the Unspeakables arrived and took it to the Department of Mysteries for study," she explained.
A brief expression of fear passed over Cane's face, though it was gone in the blink of an eye. "I see. What else happened that night?"
"That's everything important, there really isn't -"
"I didn't ask you whether you thought it was important or not. I asked you what else happened that night," Cane said, a hint of menace creeping into his voice.
Tonks swallowed. "There were, of course, Muggles on the scene. Stonehenge is - was - a popular attraction, especially during the summer solstice when the site was open at night so that people could see the sunrise through the arches. None of the Muggles were hurt by the Big Fish's impact, for the Aurors and obliviators had already cleared them out. But, after the chaos had somewhat died down, it was discovered that three Muggles had gone missing before the Aurors had even arrived."
"And who were these Muggles?" interjected Cleaver, peering at her for the first time with a look of interest rather than anger.
"Their names were Colin, Elizabeth, and Joe Thompson. Colin and Elizabeth were married, and Joe was their adoptive son. The Aurors discovered Colin and Elizabeth's natural son all alone in the aftermath, a seven-year-old boy named David. Apparently, if the Daily Prophet can be believed, he was asking where his family was, which tipped the Aurors off that the Thompsons were missing."
"And what happened to David afterwards?" Cleaver asked. Tonks couldn't help but notice that they still hadn't asked the obvious question of what it was that had caused Harry and the Thompsons' disappearance. A question she also wished she knew the answer to.
"I'm not sure. The Ministry kept that information confidential."
"You are a Ministry worker are you not?"
"Yes, but I wasn't six years ago."
"Hmm, you certainly are young. But these two aren't," Cleaver said, gesturing towards Doom and Gloom. "Tell us what happened to David Thompson after that night."
The Unspeakables remained unspeaking.
Cleaver abruptly raised his hands, and both Doom and Gloom began crying out in searing agony. For the next few seconds, Tonks' ears rang from the shrillness of their screams, until Cleaver eventually ended the spell. "What happened to David Thompson after that night?" he repeated impatiently.
Doom let out a choking breath. "We don't know either," he said slowly. "David Thompson was handled internally by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. We work for the Department of Mysteries."
"You can do better than that," snarled Cleaver, lifting his hands.
"Enough! We discussed this beforehand, did we not? Remind me who it was that said our personal histories had to wait until after!" Cane yelled towards Cleaver.
Cleaver seemed unwilling to back down. "I don't appreciate your double standard, especially seeing as you already asked about the Greengrasses."
Cane growled, and stalked towards Cleaver. "Say that a bit louder, why don't you? In case you forgot, we aren't exactly alone."
Cleaver scoffed. "Please, even though you might deludedly believe otherwise, we cannot simply let them go free. You heard what she said. The story of that night is apparently common knowledge, and any reports of our return will bring this entire world down upon our heads before we even have a chance to finish the task."
"What are you suggesting we do then?"
"Enough with the damned secrecy. Perhaps they would be more forthcoming if they knew who we were. Besides, I can barely breathe in this cloth."
"And how, exactly, would we ensure our identities then remain secret?"
Cleaver looked Tonks straight in the eye. "By killing them."
Tonks renewed her efforts to try and break free of the spell. She refused to die like this, paralyzed and at the mercy of a pair of mysterious criminals.
Fortunately, Cane seemed unhappy with that suggestion. "No. Absolutely not. You might not give a rat's ass about who we trample underfoot, but I do. Whatever we do here will affect me for the rest of my life. Actions have consequences, something it seems you've forgotten these past few years."
Cleaver ballooned. "As if I am to blame for that!"
The two stared at each other for a few moments, until Cane looked away. "No, no you are not. But I will not kill people just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"That's funny, you were threatening them not two minutes ago."
"Only to get them talking, not because I wanted to kill them! Besides, how exactly would promising to end their lives make them more forthcoming?"
Cleaver conceded that point with a grunt. "Fine. No killing. But surely there must be some spell that will prevent them from revealing anything about this encounter?"
Cane thought about it. "I do in fact remember such a spell, but I forgot what it was called, for I never got around to casting it," He sighed. "Do you maybe think you could use your magic to do something like that?"
"I doubt it. You know she never fully finished teaching me. Maybe there's some sort of vow they could take to ensure their silence."
"What, like an Unbreakable Vow?" interjected Tonks. Doom and Gloom immediately hissed in disapproval, but she ignored them like they had done to her the past two months.
Cane pondered this. "An Unbreakable Vow, you say? That rings a bell. Remind me again how that is performed."
"Stay silent, Auror Tonks," snarled Gloom, but Tonks shook her head. Doom and Gloom had been utterly useless thus far, so why on earth should she listen to them?
"Two wizards clasp each other's arms, while a third wizard casts the spell. One party then makes the other swear upon certain conditions. If any of these conditions are broken, the offending party dies immediately."
Cane considered this, then nodded. "This will do. Are there any other caveats we should know about? It sounds pretty simple."
Tonks hesitated and put on a brave face. "The two people that will form the Vow must each state their full names before agreeing to any conditions," she said, praying her lie would go unnoticed.
If Cane picked up on it, he didn't let on. "I suppose knowing our names won't matter if you can't tell anyone else. Very well, we shall proceed. Of course, there is the small problem that neither of us knows how to cast this spell."
Tonks couldn't help herself. She needed to find out who these people were. Perhaps she could manipulate them into creating a loophole in the vow that would allow her to inform others of what had happened here today. "I can cast it, as can they. It isn't a very complicated spell. However, I'd need to be standing to act as the Vow binder - and I'd need my wand as well."
"Fair enough," Cane said. He strode over towards her wand, which had landed a few feet away from her, and slowly picked it up.
"Before I give you your wand, I would once again warn you not to try anything rash, like attacking us, or attempting to teleport away. I promise that it will not end well for you if you do," he said coldly, before he subtly inclined his hands.
Tonks felt the paralysis spell dissipate, and she hesitantly rose up from the ground. Her body occasionally twitched from the aftermath of that blasted pain-inducing spell, but she managed to stay upright. Cautiously, she accepted her wand from Cane's outstretched palm.
"Don't move," Cleaver ordered, as Cane stalked his way towards Doom. Tonks contemplated trying to fight or flee but decided against it. Whoever these people were, they clearly outmatched her in terms of magical prowess. It would be best not to unnecessarily tempt their anger again, especially since Cane had made clear that he had no intention of killing them. Instead, she turned towards the arch and was disappointed to see that it looked completely ordinary once again. Why had it been shimmering in the first place? Perhaps her captors knew, but they had conveyed that they weren't going to answer any of her questions at the moment.
Cane repeated to Doom the same warning he had given her, before undoing the spell. He then gave him some additional instructions, before offering him his wand.
Doom snatched it up and immediately fired a hex at Cane. He then turned his wand towards Cleaver and yelled, "Petrificus Totalus!"
In the blink of an eye, they were on him, both seemingly unaffected by the spells he had cast. Cleaver smashed his fist straight into Doom's gut, while Cane slammed the blunt end of his cane right above his left kneecap, forcing Doom to a kneeling position. Doom's other knee buckled soon after, and he flopped unceremoniously into the grassy turf, wheezing in pain.
"Do not try that again," Cane said softly, before he and Cleaver forced Doom to his feet. They dragged him over to where Tonks was standing and shoved him in front of her.
"Now what?" asked Cleaver impatiently, not sparing Doom a second glance.
Tonks did not want to be the first one to go. "Grab his right arm with your right arm."
Doom managed to recover enough to send her a look of loathing before Cane forcefully clamped down on his forearm.
Tonks extended her wand. She once again considered attempting an escape, but quickly came to the conclusion that it would be futile, given the way they had so easily incapacitated Doom. Instead, she approached Doom and Cane and lowered her wand to the point where their hands connected.
"Now, ask him if he will uphold whatever conditions you want in the Vow. You also have to use his full name when you do so," Tonks explained.
"And what is your name?" Cane asked Doom.
"Jamie Fletcher," Doom said after a moment.
"Will you, Jamie Fletcher, do everything in your power to keep all aspects of this encounter an absolute secret from everyone?"
Doom wasted no time. "I will."
When nothing happened for a few seconds, Tonks hesitated. She knew that a new thin ring of fire was supposed to form around their wrists after each condition had been agreed upon. Had she performed the spell incorrectly?
Cane picked up on her hesitation. "What is it? What's wrong?" he asked innocently.
Tonks tried to cover it up. "Nothing's wrong. You should be able to continue."
Cane's neutral look quickly darkened. "You're a terrible liar." He looked towards Doom. "And so are you, Mr. Fletcher. I vaguely remember reading about this spell when I was younger, and I know that a band of flame is supposed to surround our wrists after each condition. Yet I see no such band. That leads to the conclusion that you gave me a fake name. Not very wise." He nodded towards Cleaver, who once again cast his spell. Doom fell and writhed on the ground for a good thirty seconds, howling like a madman. When the spell finally ceased, Doom was forced to his feet, before being slammed once more by the blunt end of the cane, causing him to double over, retching. Finally, after a good minute, he managed to recover to the point where he could stand.
"If you lie again, you will be subjected to the same spell for twice the duration. Do you understand?"
Doom nodded, still twitching from the aftermath of the spell.
Cane nodded. "Good. Now, tell me what your name is."
Doom remained defiantly silent, but when he saw Cleaver take a menacing step forward, he quickly folded. "Tobias Everhart," he conceded.
"Will you, Tobias Everhart, do everything in your power to keep all aspects of this encounter an absolute secret from everyone?" Cane repeated.
It took a while, but Doom eventually croaked out a response. "I will." After he said this, a thin tongue of flame appeared, wrapping its way around their wrists like a tiny red snake. Cane acknowledged its presence with a nod, before continuing.
"And will you, Tobias Everhart, agree to never speak of or otherwise hint at this encounter in any way, shape, or form once we leave?"
"I will."
Cane swiveled his head to Tonks. "There, I think that's good enough. What do I do now?"
She swallowed. "State your full name, and then say that you agree."
"How do we even know she's not lying through her teeth? This Unbreakable Vow thing could very well be a trick," Cleaver interjected.
Cane shook his head. "It isn't. I do remember parts of this spell from my time here. That's one reason why I was able to detect Mr. Everhart's deception so quickly."
"And are you sure about this?"
"I am." He turned back towards Doom and took a deep breath. "I, Harry Potter, hereby agree to the terms of the vow."