Augustus Rookwood
The world is full of secrets, and Augustus has always been entranced by them. Secrets, and lies . . . .
What is a lie, really, but a secret by another name? What is evil, really, but power by another name?
So many secret things, in the world, and Augustus had wanted to know all of them. Had wanted to overturn every stone and dissect the worms beneath, to find the meaning behind every smirk and the story behind every smile.
He made a career out of it, in the end. Exploring hidden truths and hallowed secrets, deep in the Department of Mysteries.
And then he met him.
The Dark Lord.
And the Dark Lord showed him different secrets, things he could never have imagined.
The places a mind can go, when pain is applied just so, here and here and here, and the things a person can do, when you sweep aside the boundaries society has set, when you threaten to twist and torture the things that have been decreed untouchable. Lovers. Children. The sanctuary of the mind.
So many secrets. He has seen people driven to madness, has been fascinated by the single sublime moment when they lose their sanity. He has seen agony beyond all description, when parents, under the Imperius Curse, murder their own children. Oh, the things the Dark Lord has shown him.
And all he asked for was a few secrets in return.