Chapter 11 – Undoing Oblivion
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Previously on The Forgiven: Dumbledore ordered Grimm, Liar, and Norse from rescuing Kingsley with the Unbreakable Vows. In response, the Forgiven sent a message to Mad Eye, asking him to countermand it. Meanwhile, Liar reveals that he Obliviated his own memories prior to joining The Forgiven.
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"Norse…! As much as I appreciate the thought, I can feel my rib cage collapsing on itself…!"
The large glowing witch had tears in her eyes as she suffocated Liar in a tight embrace.
What brought on the sudden surge of affection was the wizard's telling of his past, or lack thereof. The boy confessed everything to his teammates. He also revealed the parting words his father, Rabastan Lestrange, left him before they disappeared with Kingsley and the Longbottoms.
Grimm leaned back on the wall with her arms crossed. She thought deeply on what she just heard.
"'Safe house by the cliff'," she repeated. "Don't suppose you remember where that is?"
"No. I've been trying to recall anything related, but all I can summon is a big, fat blank."
"Shite. Never easy, is it?"
"Perhaps I could better recollect, if you could get Norse off of me—!"
Liar's legs dangled helplessly off the floor, while his blonde teammate continued to suffocate him.
"You wanted to get along with us, right? You should just enjoy your wish being granted."
"Would this be an inopportune time to tell you I fibbed all that?"
"Ill-advised considering Norse has you in a bear hug."
"Okay, I believe that's my bladder she's crushing now. I will be urinating shortly."
Norse immediately dropped him to the floor.
"Honestly, if I knew telling you two about my…condition would have won your sympathies, I might've done it sooner." Liar stood up and began brushing himself off. "Feels rather underhanded, though. To abuse my tragic past to gain your friendship. If I didn't have some dramatic excuse, it's likely your attitude towards me would have remained unchanged."
"When we gain a greater understanding of each other, we open ourselves to change. That can be for the worse, or the better. In this case, I think you should just be happy it's for the better. Forget about what's fair and what's an excuse. The important thing is we're on working terms."
"Well, I'm not about to argue with that."
You are still a coward, but I am willing to accept your weaknesses.
"That is all I could ever ask for."
Norse began hugging Liar again.
"Guh! She's a bit like—! A giant puppy…isn't she?!"
Grimm smiled.
"Come on, Norse. Let him go. Now that that's out of the way, it's time we get to the business at hand."
"We need to get my memories back. At least the ones pertaining to the safe house they mentioned," Liar groaned.
Is that possible?
"Anything is possible if we are optimistic, stupid, and naïve enough!"
If that is jest, it does not bode well with the situation, Liar.
"I see our warm fuzzy moment of camaraderie is over. Good. I was beginning to chaff under all that. But yes, recalling Obliviated memories is possible. Dangerous and dreadful process, but possible. A risk I am willing to undertake."
How noble~, Norse wrote sarcastically.
"Don't make me blush. There are two primary ways to do it. One, is by experiencing excruciating amounts of pain, usually…the Cruciatus Curse."
CRUCIO!
Liar flinched at the sudden spell attempt, but felt no trace of its effects. He and Grimm threw Norse a narrow eyed look. Norse only shrugged with a it-was-worth-a-try smirk.
"Which none of us can perform. Especially after you made us feel all sorry for you," Grimm commented.
*Ahem* "So brings us to our secondary, more accurate method: Legilimency."
"Shite. Can't we just have Norse repeatedly and affectionately bludgeon you till you remember?"
"Unfortunately, we are short on time o' great and kind leader, who cares deeply for our well-beings. And since Norse is inept in the ways of mind magic, it is you who will have to navigate yourself through my mind."
Grimm breathed a heavy sighed. The witch moved over to Liar, uncrossed her arms, and drew her wand.
"I'll try not to make you a vegetable then."
"That would be much appreciated, as I hate vegetables. Steer clear of any embarrassing memories and blackmail material, if you would be so kind."
"I make no such promises," Grimm snickered.
"Norse, be ready to kill me if it becomes necessary."
Kill you?!
"There's no telling what he might be like after sifting through his memories. It's possible his pre-Obliviated self, who is an actual Death Eater, might attack us," Grimm explained.
"Precisely."
Norse looked at them both with a conflicted expression, but nodded all the same.
I understand. I will grant you a quick and painless death should you awake insane.
"A warm and comforting thought, if there ever was one. Oh, yes. And hey. Both of you…" Liar shifted his eyes embarrassingly. "Thank you…..If this is to be the last time 'I' see you. Well—you know."
All three went silent for a moment.
"Shut up, you big baby. You'll be fine."
Norse and Grimm gave him a soft shove.
Have confidence, Liar. We will not fail you.
"…Hurry up and do it before I start sobbing like an idiot again."
Grimm smirked and pointed her wand at Liar's head.
"Legilimens."
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Grimm wasn't sure how long she had been there.
Like an interactive video tape, she walked through Liar's memories as they fast forward and rewound at random. Dark mists would swell and take the form of people and buildings. They reconstructed, dissolved, swirled into storms, and then dissolved again. It was a maddening experienced that tested one's sanity.
On most occasions, Grimm brandished her wand and helped the memories take form. Sometimes, they took hours, or even days. But slowly, bit by bit, the pieces began to fit together like jigsaw puzzles.
After certain recollections were repaired, they broke down almost immediately after viewing them. A few stayed in place, even after Grimm finished her work. It seemed the stronger memories were the more vivid ones.
I wonder how much Liar will remember once I'm done here.
She was learning much about his past.
Apparently the young wizard had been a Death Eater since the moment he was born. Liar never attended school as a child. His father deemed it a waste of time. Instead, he was put to work as soon as he could walk and speak. Since he was too young to take part in battle, the Death Eaters had him deal with monetary issues, or work as thief and spy.
Explains why he's such a good sneak with a warped personality. Not that I'm one to talk about other people's childhoods.
As Grimm continued to wade through the memories, sometimes the mind's host himself would appear and guide her. Liar would take the form of a wisp of light bouncing down a street to a conversing group of people. Sometimes he was a lizard perched on the right street sign or the right rooftop in Knockturn Alley to watch something unfold.
Eventually, Grimm found a fragmented memory that was most unusual compared to the ones she'd come across before.
In an empty lot, a suspended tornado of splinters floated slowly through the air. The witch didn't understand what she was seeing and tried to decipher the hovering debris.
On closer inspection, it turned out they were all extremely small fragments of a whole house.
As she touched some of them and attempted to join a few pieces together, Liar's lizard form perched himself on her shoulder. His voice rang clear in Grimm's mind.
This is it….This is the reason I Obliviated my memories.
Grimm looked at the green creature on her shoulder and then at the shattered recollection.
It doesn't have anything to do with the safe house.
No. It does not.
….Do you want to remember? I can help you reconstruct it. Time seems meaningless in this place, so we have the moments to spare.
I'm afraid of what I might find.
For a while, Grimm waited for a clear response. With a minimal nod from her small companion, the two began working on the memory…
This is like really shitty Tetris.
What is Tetris?
Never mind. We're almost finished. I'll show you when we're done with this mess. I think you'd like it.
Ever so slowly, the last pieces of the house fell together like bricks sliding into position.
The two then watched the memory play out…
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Oh…
You okay?
Not really.
No, I suppose you wouldn't be.
It is fine. Let us be off to the safe house already. Ironic as it may be, I find my own mind to be not so comforting a place.
I doubt anyone likes revisiting their most traumatic memories. Especially the embarrassing ones. I mean really! The other thing with the…
AHHHH LA LA LA LA LA!
That was hilarious.
When you see something particularly embarrassing, the proper response is to pretend like you didn't see it!
In any case, it seems putting together that memory was the key to unlocking a great deal many of them.
Good to know even that one served some purpose.
Yes….Indeed.
Grimm gave the lizard a sympathetic look and pet his small head.
….You're not going to Obliviate your memories again, are you?
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No. I believe I find myself a tad tired of running away. Better to just leave it all as is. Besides, the Death Eater memories we've unlocked may prove useful for future endeavors.
Grimm nodded and stared at the reconstructed memory of Lynus's mother standing in front of his old house. She was a simple woman with humble looks and clothes. Nothing one would expect of a Death Eater or the wife of one. Just a round face and a homely smile.
Norse and I are here for you. We won't abandon you. I'd make an Unbreakable Vow to promise that.
She couldn't tell if the reptile was smiling, but felt like he was.
I would extend the same promise to the both of you.
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Outside of Liar's mind, only a few minutes had passed.
Norse watched over her companions like a sentinel. Her wand aimed at Liar, never dropping for a moment. She wondered how much longer it would take.
Suddenly, she saw their chests heave.
Grimm and Liar took a deep breath of fresh air and opened their eyes. Both of them acted like they had just taken a long dive underwater and were coming up to the surface for the first time in a long time.
"You can put the wand away, Norse. He's good," Grimm waved her off.
You did not go insane?
"Nope. I remain myself, I believe?"
Did you obtain the location to the safe house?
"Why, yes, we did. A dear old family villa in the middle of bloody nowhere. All we require now is—"
The three of them looked up with a start.
They could hear Moody's voice calling to them from a distance. At the same time, the Forgiven felt something akin to a gale course through them. When the wind-like sensation passed, they found a certain weight lifted from their joints.
They all understood what it meant.
Moody had countermanded Dumbledore's orders.
"Thanks, Mad Eye," Grimm whispered.
Fortune smiles on us.
"But for how long, I wonder. With so much going well, we're likely to arrive at the hideout and find Kingsley dead," Liar joked.
"That would put a dampener on all the wonderful things happening so far." She started untying and retying her ponytail. "Time to go. Liar, take us there."
"You got it, boss. Bodyslide for three."
For blood and war!
Liar grasped Grimm and Norse's shoulders and Disapparated them.
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On the edge of a cliff standing high above the shore below, was the Lestrange family villa.
The vacation house had been thoroughly modified since its original construction, and now stood as a fortress rather than a getaway home. Formidable walls surrounded the complex and watch towers were erected at each corner of the estate. Along with physical defenses, the villa possessed layers of magical security constructed by the owners, and even some by Liar himself in the past.
Usually absent of all life, Bellatrix, the Lestranges, and Crouch Jr. had populated the fortress with Death Eaters. They knew a great battle with the Ministry was soon to come and made the necessary preparations for a perfect siege defense.
While the Death Eaters waited, the four leaders decided to busy themselves with the prisoners in the dungeon.
Kingsley sat in his cell, chained up to a wall. He looked on helplessly at the scene unfolding in front of him.
"Crucio!" Bellatrix cackled with insane glee. Her wand pointed at the witch lying on the floor.
Alice Longbottom had long lost her ability to scream. Her vocal cords ripped hours ago, as only noiseless, painful gasps escaped her. The woman's nails were torn off and bloody from scratching the stone floor. Even in the gaps between Bellatrix's casting, Alice's muscles no longer relaxed. They had flared so repeatedly that every fiber of flesh was frayed like broken twine.
Her husband, Frank, was experiencing torture more mental than physical, but just as intense. Rudolphus was his tormentor.
The Longbottom experienced imbalanced levels of emotions and thought. Hallucinations, which simulated unrealistic methods of torture. At the moment, he felt as if his body was being roasted over a giant fire, but freezing, cold water boarded him from above.
The couple had been exposed to the Cruciatus Curse for hours on end. There was no rhyme or reason to it. At first, the torturers sought information: intel on the Ministry, the Aurors, and even suspected they might hold a clue to Voldemort's resurrection. But as the interrogation went on, it became clear the prison wardens only wanted the couple to suffer for their own sick amusement.
Kingsley pleaded to take the places of either of them. He screamed the words until his voice went hoarse. Bellatrix and Rudolphus only watched the cries with twisted joy. It seemed letting him see the two people he swore to protect suffer was its own torture.
Also in the dungeon, Rabastan and Crouch Jr. had joined the "interrogation", but only briefly. They opted to observe instead, concentrating more on the impending battle with the Ministry than the suffering of their prisoners. They considered if worse came to worse, the Longbottoms and Kingsley could be used as hostages.
*Toom!*
A distant tremor sent dust falling from the ceiling.
The four Death Eaters turned their eyes up and tried to tap into the villa's security charms. When they found they couldn't, Rudolphus and Crouch Jr. went upstairs to investigate. Their first thoughts were the Ministry had arrived, but it wouldn't explain how they had penetrated the defenses so quickly.
Rudolphus grabbed hold of one of the Death Eaters running through the villa and demanded an explanation.
"You! What is going on here?! Is it the Ministry?!"
"We don't know, sir! Someone's sabotaged the security enchantments!"
"That's impossible! How many are there?!"
"The reports are mixed. Some say there is one assailant, while others say there's a whole squadron."
"One lone magus couldn't have done all of this. Alright. What we're going to do is—"
But before Rudolphus could finish giving out his orders, another Death Eater ran to them. The cloaked witch was out of breath and sweating profusely.
"What is it now?!"
"Sir! Magical Law Enforcement have appeared in the nearby village. They will arrive here in a few hours."
"So the attack right now isn't the Ministry? What in blazes is going on?!"
"More of the security enchantments are being sabotaged. If this continues, by the time the government gets here, we'll hardly stand a chance!"
"Alright! TRACK DOWN THE INTRUDERS AT ONCE! Be wary! There is likely at least ten or twenty of them running around here!" Rudolphus barked.
The truth of it was there were only three.