There was a short awkward silence in the room.
"Did the dark lord share his quest with anyone?", asked father Paul.
"We don't think so. We can't be sure in that. But we are sure that he is personally looking for the wand. He would avoid telling his minions about something so powerful. Perhaps Bellatrix Lestrange, his most trusted follower. She might know, at least parts of it."
"So...", started Sarnowski, "You are trying to tell us, that one of the most powerful wizards in existence. A self-proclaimed dark lord, that has masterminded a takeover of the wizarding Britain, sent you into hiding and plans to eradicate humanity... is wasting his time trying to find a legendary wand, just so he can personally kill a boy who has just finished school? And instead of using his minions to find the wand, he is doing it alone. The only thing I don't understand is why do you expect us to believe this story."
"Because it's the truth.", interrupted Hermione calmly. "Whether you believe us or not does not change the facts. And you can make the story sound however you like. He is doing it, and he is not stupid. Even if there is no wand, it still makes sense for him to stay in the shadows, even travel a bit outside the country. After all, he has already won over the wizarding Britain through deceit."
"There is another clue.", Harry added, "Some time ago, he kidnapped and imprisoned a wandmaker. The most famous wandmaker in Britain, Olivander. We know he tortured him to get information about the wand. And from what we know, Olivander did give him enough to point him to the next person in the quest, a Bulgarian wandmaker called Gregorovitch."
"You seem to know a lot about his movements."
"I have spent most of last year learning about Riddle. That is his given name, Tom Marvolo Riddle. He changed it, in Hogwarts when he decided to become the next dark lord. His current name I cannot say. A Taboo spell has been placed on it. Saying his name alerts the Ministry to your location and seems to dispel protective spells. That is how the Snatchers found us, before you killed them. I learned about his childhood, his school years, early life and his first rise to power. I understand him better than even he might. He lost his humanity in his lust for power, perhaps even some of his memories."
"This does not explain how you know details of his current actions. How do you know exactly what the wandmaker told him?"
"It goes back to that bond he formed when failing to kill me seventeen years ago. When he is emotional, usually angry or murderous, I can see glimpses of his mind. That's how I saw him talking to Olivander, because he was happy torturing him."
"You see in his mind? Am I to assume that he can also see in yours?"
Hermione understood at once. Harry was too into his story, he should never have said that. He was now an obvious risk for the Inquisition. And there was one very simple and deadly way they can stop Voldemort from looking into Harry's mind. They are going to shoot them right here and right now. At this point she was panicking. They have to say something fast, really fast.
"There is no mind reading. The practice of entering another person's mind is called Legilimency. And it's not mind reading. It's more like walking through a house. Some rooms might be full of memories long gone, some might be fleeting present thoughts. Correctly interpreting what you see is the most difficult part of Legilimency. And the mind can resist. The opposite skill is called Occulmency.", Hermione hoped that this would be enough to stop them from getting rid of them this moment.
"I trained in Occulmency during my entire sixth year.", Harry decided not to mention he was really lousy at it.
"Obviously, you understand what I have to do now. Guards! Take him away. Put a blindfold on him at once, and put him in a holding cell next to mister Weasley. He is to be blindfolded at all times.", Paul turned to Harry, "Go peacefully mister Potter, or I will make sure we don't have to worry about your mind being ever read."
"What about the girl Paul?", asked Sarnowski.
"She stays. There are many more questions that need answers."
The guards quickly circled Harry. Some of them remained at a distance, weapons ready. Hermione noticed that while most were pointing at Harry, she was still covered from 3 different angles. Obviously, it was better to let this happen. At least for now it was just imprisonment. The guards quickly blindfolded Harry.
"Piotr, you should go with them."
There was an obviously flash of anger over the younger priests face. But he silently stood up and led the group out of the hall.
Hermione and the old priest were now almost alone. Only the father's young aide and a single guard were left in the room. She wondered if she could use this opportunity and try to escape somehow. But they were still three men, probably trained in hand to hand combat and she was a witch without a wand. She took this brief pause to look at the old priest more closely. He was older, at least 60 years old, maybe even more. But he was incredibly tough for his age. You could see scars on his face, like he was bitten, clawed and cut on multiple occasions. But his eyes were not evil. They were serious, like only eyes that have seen too much can be, but they were calm. You could look at them and feel a certain tranquility. "Here is a person who has seen the dark of this world.", they seemed to say, "But there is still hope in them.". If he wasn't responsible for imprisoning her friend and shooting Ron, she might even like him. But he was.
"Miss Granger, what am I going to do with you?"
"You could let us go. I could cast a memory charm on them. Ask Harry to blank my mind, and just go. We would not be any danger to you then."
"We protect people from such things. You could convert... Leave behind your life as a heretic and become a muggle."
"You know I wouldn't. And even if I would, Harry couldn't. You see, there is a prophecy that says that either Harry kills Riddle, or Riddle kills Harry."
"There have been many false prophecies in the history."
"It doesn't matter if the prophecy is true or false. The only thing that matters is the choice Harry makes. And he will never abandon his friends. Even if he believes the prophecy to be false, he will still face him. Even if it means sacrificing himself."
"What happens if you lose?"
"The wizarding world falls. And then the real war starts. The previous Dark Lord was Gellert Grindelwald. From what I have read in the history books, that wizarding war fueled the Second World War. And, for a Dark Lord, Grindelwald didn't even hate muggles. He wanted to break the secrecy and enslave them, yes. But Riddle... Riddle wants to KILL every muggle, half-blood or blood traitor in the world."
"So you see why I cannot let you go. You are in no position to fight this war. You almost got captured when we collected you."
"That was a mistake! We have been hiding for months now. We just didn't know about the Taboo."
"What is Taboo, anyway? How does it work?"
"I don't know. If you would give me my books, I could try to research it. But from experience, I think it's a tracking spell and a disillusion charm. When you say the dark lords name, somehow the death eaters know where you are and our defensive spells went down."
"What if I say it? Does it work on non-magical people?"
"I don't know. Give me my books, and I will find out."
"I think I have a better idea."