Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews and thank you for sticking with my through my rather lengthy (for me) pause in posting. Hopefully it won't happen again!
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Chapter 43"So mate, are you worried about Halloween?" Ron asked an exhausted Tallis.
Tallis looked up at Ron, completely confused. "Halloween?" he asked blankly.
Ron rolled his eyes. "Yes, you know, that day that Voldemort likes to make your life more difficult than usual? Halloween?"
"It hadn't actually occurred to me that it was so close by. We've been working so hard on the potion that I've lost all track of time."
"Are you getting enough sleep?" Hermione tutted, fluffing the pillows around her friend who had collapsed on the floor of their study room. He had only come because it was time for their usual Wednesday night gathering and he didn't want to miss a week, regardless of how desperately he needed sleep.
"'M fine. Go 'way." Tallis snuggled deeper into the soft pillows, eyes drifting closed even as he spoke.
"Go on to sleep, Tallie. We'll be here when you wake up." Tallis' eyes were already closed and he didn't even make it to the end of Hermione's sentence before he was in a deep sleep. "What do you think he has planned this year?" Hermione asked Ron anxiously.
"I don't know. He's been quiet…too quiet. He knows that Harry is away somewhere training and he hasn't been able to unearth anything at all about the location. He's got to be getting angry…and desperate," Ron said, reasoning through the situation aloud.
Hermione nodded. "But how desperate?"
"Pretty bad. I'm expecting a string of attacks on muggle towns, probably all somehow linked with Harry. I'm sure he's blaming it all on him and he'll want to lure him out of hiding. Whatever he does it will be designed to torture Harry and hang on every bit of compassion that he has. I'm sure he's learned by now to count on Harry's heroics rushing in to deal with a situation and will use this as a chance to try to lure him out. I'm guessing that means captives."
Hermione sighed deeply and looked over at her quietly sleeping friend. She knew that his chance for sleep would end soon with the holiday approaching. "So what do we do?"
"Not much we can do about potential muggle attacks. Most of those who are on our side or who else sympathize with the muggle and muggleborn plight know by now to be on the lookout, especially this close to Halloween. As for what we can do to help them? I can't even tell where to start."
"You and I are going to start by being more careful about ourselves in particular. Voldemort knows of exactly two people who are guaranteed to bring Harry running—you and me. Don't go anywhere with anyone you aren't completely certain is safe. Try not to be alone ever. In fact, let's try to stay with each other as much as possible. We work best in teams since we've practiced so much fighting together."
"We'll need to stay focused," Ron said, understanding the danger of either one of them being kidnapped. They didn't fear the torture or potential death. They feared Harry running foolishly into a situation he could not win, resulting in his death and with it the death of the hopes of the light. "I hate to say it Mi but we'd better not even have sex or anything unless we are somewhere we know we are safe. We can't take any kind of distraction, especially one like that and especially one that we can avoid."
Hermione nodded. "You're right. It would be far too easy to sneak up on us if we are that distracted. I also think that the three of us should sleep down here in lockdown on Halloween night. Just to be safe."
"Good luck getting him to agree to that," Ron said, nodding toward Tallis.
"I'll work on it. Just leave it to me. Voldemort's up to something, I can feel it."
"How's the potion coming along?" Ron asked. He still wasn't allowed anywhere near the lab when they were working so he didn't know too much about it. He and Hermione usually were busy doing other things when they could steal a free moment away from the others and so they didn't typically discuss their work.
"Pretty good. We've gotten it stabilized and now we're just tweaking it."
"It really ruins Veritaserum?"
Hermione rolled her eyes at his simplification. "It renders Veritaserum unstable, allowing for the person in question to stretch the truth and prevaricate, something that is impossible while under the effects of true Veritaserum."
"But wouldn't that be obvious? I mean, if someone could lie or at least prevent an answer from coming?"
"No, it still keeps the same effects that Veritaserum has…the glassy eyes, the clammy skin, the monotonous voice. The only thing that changes at all is within the mind of the person. It sort of short circuits their brain, allowing for a split second between comprehending the question and blurting out the answer. That second gives you enough time to stretch the truth or to twist the question in your mind."
"I see. Have you guys tested it yet?"
"We were supposed to later tonight but Tallis seems to tired. Maybe we should wait 'til later. Speaking of, though, I'm supposed to go let the Professor and Bill down here. They're waiting to come test it. I'll explain everything to them on the way. Just let Tallis sleep a bit more, won't you? He hasn't been sleeping well."
Ron nodded and busied himself with his charms homework as Hermione slipped from the room. She returned shortly with the two older men in tow, still explaining everything to them in low tones. She had expressed her concerns about Halloween first off and was only now telling them that Tallis was finally getting some much needed sleep.
Just as they entered the room though Tallis shook himself awake with a start, looking around himself wildly as he tried to place himself. "Hey mate, have a good nap?" Ron asked brightly, trying to help him out. He knew that Tallis often calmed down when he heard a recognizable voice.
Tallis' breathing instantly slowed and he sunk back into the pillows. "I need to get up anyway. We have some testing to do tonight."
"I believe we would be better off waiting for another time," his Father's silky voice proclaimed, making Tallis look up in surprise. He hadn't noticed their presence yet, thinking he was still alone with Hermione and Ron. "You are too tired for this to be an accurate test."
"But is it not likely that we would have the most call to use the potion in similar situations? Situations where you aren't at your best, where you aren't rested, relaxed, and recently had a full meal? Shouldn't we be testing it under all sorts of circumstances?"
Bill looked at him closely, trying to tell exactly how exhausted he was. He knew that Tallis hadn't been sleeping well recently but he wasn't sure how much of a toll the recent stress was taking on him. "You do have a point, love," he said slowly. "Are you sure though? Are you up to this? The potion might not work at all or it may have adverse effects. We really don't know what to expect."
"I'm sure it will work, I just don't know how well. We need to start testing the boundaries. If we are going to have a trial then we all will need this potion. Dumbledore will surely try to tell the world that I am Harry Potter and we will need to lie convincingly enough to have the world believe us over him. That means that we need to lie through Veritaserum."
Severus sighed and stepped forward. "Drink this and then take three drops of the Veritaserum. Tell us exactly what everything feels like so we can document it."
Tallis nodded and downed the new potion. "Yech. Tastes like carpet."
"And you know what carpet tastes like?" Severus asked dryly.
"OK so maybe not carpet, but definitely gross. It feels almost like time has slowed down, like everything is taking me twice as long to do. It is very surreal," he said, slowly moving his fingers and staring at his hands in wonder. Everything felt so odd.
"Now the Veritaserum," Severus ordered as Hermione spelled a quill to write everything down.
Tallis obediently took three drops of the clear liquid and closed his eyes as the potion took effect, rapidly changing his perception. "Everything has sped back up. It feels almost like it is going faster than reality now. Is that normal?" he asked, starting to get worried.
"Usually the effects of Veritaserum are somewhat akin to moving at double or triple speed. That is why you answer questions unhesitatingly and truthfully no matter what you may wish to answer. It is impossible to take any time to think up a lie, even one that was well rehearsed," Severus explained.
"I see. Well, let's go."
"What is your full name?"
"Tallis Anthony Snape," Tallis answered immediately, easily able to side step the question.
"What year were you born?"
"1980" Tallis said, surprised that he managed to get that one out. He had nearly answered 1981 but caught it just in time.
Ron seemed to notice it. "What date were you born on?"
"July 31, 1980," Tallis said.
"Damn. We never thought about the fact that you still have the same birthday. I guess you managed to get the correct year out though so that's all that really matters. It might look fishy though to be born on July 31, just like Harry Potter" Ron commented.
Hermione jotted down some additional notes about this weakness. Evidently Tallis could only lie about things that were at least true in some form. His name was Tallis Anthony Snape now and as far as everyone knew, he had been born in 1980. Since he had never put thought into a new birthday though he hadn't been able to make one up on the spot.
"Have you ever met the Dursleys?"
Tallis shifted uncomfortably, sweat starting to bead on his forehead. "Yes," he finally said reluctantly.
"Do you know them well?" Bill asked.
"No," Tallis said in all truthfulness. Even though he had lived with them for most of his life he didn't know much about any of them, apart from their favorite methods of hurting him.
"How well do you know Harry Potter?"
"Not very," Tallis replied easily.
"Are you Harry Potter?" Severus asked.
"No," Tallis said immediately.
"Were you ever Harry Potter?" Ron suddenly asked, seeing the necessity of proper wording for the questions.
Once again, Tallis struggled to answer. "No," he finally got out.
Severus nodded and whispered something to Hermione to jot down. She asked the next question. "Were you ever known by the name Harry Potter?"
The sweat dripped down Tallis' face as he struggled to lie. He couldn't think quickly enough to get out of this one. "Yes," he finally admitted.
"Hmm…it looks like we need to find a way to slow the thought process even more to allow time to prevaricate."
"Wouldn't that make it obvious that he had taken a potion or something?" Ron asked.
"Part of the beauty of this potion, Mr. Weasley, is that as far as the Wizarding World is concerned, it doesn't exist. No one would suspect a potion. Even with that though, I doubt it would be discovered. The long gaps were noticeable today because the potion wasn't doing its job well enough. Tallis was having to fight too hard to get his answers out. By slowing his mind down more he wouldn't need to fight as much and could actually answer more quickly in the end."
"How long have you known your Father?" Bill asked, returning again to the questions.
"Since I was born," Tallis said slowly.
Ron looked confused but Hermione smiled. "I suppose you were reborn in some ways this summer, Tallie."
Tallis smiled as much as was possible given his highly drugged state. Severus hid a smile as well but pushed on nonetheless. He needed to see how well this worked. "Who was your mother?"
"Mirada Jurow."
"Was Lily Potter your mother?" Bill asked, seeing another potential problem.
"No."
Severus stepped in, well aware of how his son had sidestepped that one since he himself had often insisted on correcting her name when people called her that. "Was Lily Evans your mother?"
Tallis paused for a long moment. "No," he finally said.
"Are you able to change your mind mid way through the question series in order to answer them correctly, Tallis?" Hermione asked, wondering how he had managed to sidestep both of those questions. "Can you believe your mother to be Lily Evans at one moment and at the next question believe her to be Lily Potter?"
"A bit, but it is more of always thinking of a third alternative rather than the two that are more likely to come up. Lily Evans Potter was my mother."
Ron wanted to see how much it could be pushed. "Was your mother known by the name Lily Evans, Lily Potter or Lily Evans Potter during her lifetime?"
Tallis visibly struggled for a moment and then gave in. "Yes."
Hermione jotted down some additional notes alongside those that the enchanted quill was taking. The quill would only note the words spoken, not visual reactions or long pauses. "Theoretically, Professor, he could sidestep that question simply by knowing a name that you personally called her…a pet name or a nickname."
Severus blushed lightly. "We'll test that at a later date."
Hermione nodded, understanding how difficult it would be for her Professor who was a very private man to let them into such an intimate aspect of his life. "You certainly don't need to tell us what it is, it would just help Tallis if the examiner thought to ask him that question."
"But could we all get through that same question that Ron just asked?" Bill asked. "If someone worded it the exact same way and put it to any of us, would it be possible for us to lie?"
"We'll check that next time as well," Severus said.
Hermione turned to her friend. "Tallis, I need to ask some of the hard questions. Is it ok to do that tonight?" Tallis nodded slowly, clearly nervous in spite of his drugged state. Being nervous at all should have been impossible given the sheer amount of mind altering potions he currently had in his system. Hermione decided to move slowly. "Very well. Have you ever been attacked?"
Tallis paused for a moment. "No," he finally said.
"Have any of the Dursleys ever hurt you?"
The pause was longer. "No."
"Have they ever hit you?"
"No," Tallis said quickly.
"Have they ever struck you?" his Father said, again wanting to be sure that they wouldn't be caught on something as small as a change in vocabulary.
The pause was only slight this time. "No."
"Have they ever withheld food from you?"
"No."
"Have they ever starved you?"
"No."
"Have they ever locked you up?"
The pause for this one was as lengthy as the pause over Lily's name. "No," he finally managed.
Hermione looked nervously to the men who all nodded their support. The question needed to be asked since it would certainly be asked on the stand, if he was ever called to testify. Even if everyone thought Dumbledore to be insane they might still give him the benefit of the doubt and call Tallis anyway to make sure. They needed to be prepared. "Have you ever been raped?"
Tallis visibly reeled from the question, unable to speak. His eyes started darting back and forth nervously and he became alarmingly pale. He started gasping for breath. "Tallis?" his Father asked nervously. He knew that even hearing the word was hard for his son but he also knew that if they went to court and if Dumbledore managed to convince the judge to pull Tallis onto the stand that he would definitely be asked that question. Tallis started shaking almost violently and then dashed to the bathroom, physically ill from his struggle.
Bill rushed after him to help him. Ron, Hermione, and Severus all looked at each other. "The potion will need to be good enough for him to get through that question without alerting anyone to the truth. If he can answer that question in the negative then he can answer anything," Ron said softly.
Severus sighed. "We have a lot of work ahead of us."
Hermione nodded. "We've come a long way though. We'll get there."
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A look ahead: Draco finds out who Tallis used to be in the next chapter and the Halloween chapter will follow soon after.