Albus came to consciousness. He vaugely remembered being stupified, but that was it. Now, he was in a dimly lighted room; his hands were magically bound behind his back, and his siblings and mother stood next to him. Albus looked at Lily, who was crying. Ginny tried to whisper encouragements to her as James silently peered around. Suddenly, Denver came back through the room's door. He walked over to Gwen and Jimmy.

"He won't talk," Denver reported.

"Does he know what we need?" Jimmy asked.

"Yes. But that was all I could get out of him."

"Maybe if you had gone a little longer…"

"No, Gwen. Any mor eof the curse, and his mind would have snapped."

"Fine," Gwen muttered. "Will he be joining his family?" Right on cue, the door of the room opened again. Two people dressed in the Death Eater attire dragged Harry across the room. When they let go of him, he slumped to the floor, barely conscious. Albus glanced at his father, but quickly looked away. Wasn't his father the one who had defeated Voldemort? If so, why was he powerless? Why was he so weak he couldn't stand or defend his family?

That night, the Potters had to sleep in the room, with their hands behind their backs. It was uncomfortable, and while Lily, James, and Ginny finally fell asleep, Harry and Albus could not.

"Albus?" Harry asked. It was after midnight. Until now, Harry hadn't even spoken to his son. Albus thought it was because he was too tired. But it was more. Harry was ashamed.

"Dad?" Albus answered, still looking away. It made his insides squirm to watch his father lying there on the floor with no strength.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"This isn't your fault," Albus said.

"Yes, it is. This wouldn't be happening to us if it wasn't for…my past."

"You couldn't help that. But Dad, why are they here for us? Isn't Voldemort gone?" Albus asked. Harry stayed quiet, and for awhile, Albus thought he was too weak to answer.

"These are just strong followers, that's all," he explained. "But I've faced worse before. It'll work out. Now, I must rest. The Death Eaters, er, tired me out pretty bad today."

"Did they, you know, torture you?" Albus said. Turning to Harry, he saw his father nod. "Why? Did they want information?" Again Harry nodded, but he didn't explain. The two stayed silent; eventually, Albus became aware that Harry had fallen asleep.

The next morning, Albus became aware that the members of his family were being tortured one by one. Harry was being tortured repeatedly though. The order went: Lily, Harry, James, Harry, Ginny, and now Harry again. Albus took an unsteady breath, aware he was up next.

Suddenly, Harry was tossed back into the room. He managed to walk over to Ginny before collasping. She sat down, and though her arms were tied up, she was able to position herself so that Harry's head was on her lap.

From across the room, James watched his brother in amazement. The entire day, the Death Eaters had been torturing the Potters. But his brother, Albus, had been spared. He crinkled his eyebrows in confusion.

Lily sat next to Albus, sniffling.

"Are you ok?" Albus asked her. She nodded.

"It was horrible," she explained. "They went into my mind, and tried to search for images or things I knew about Voldemort. If they got to anything useful, they said 'crucio', and I felt a pain stronger than any I'd ever felt before…" Lily stopped midsentence, lost in her thoughts.

The next day, it was Albus's turn. Shoved roughly to his feet, Jimmy had taken Albus out of the room while it was still dark. He was taken down a dark hallway, before being pushed into a smaller room.

"How strong do you consider your father, the great Harry Potter?" Denver asked, who had been waiting in the room with Gwen. "Strong enough to defeat a combination of torture and mindreading?" Albus nodded.

"He's not," Gwen sneered. "We have what we needed. Of course, you probably know what we wanted, don't you? After all, your father knew all along."

"Why would he tell me this information?"

"Because Albus," Denver said, "your life depends on it. So, did he tell you or not?" Suddenly, Albus had a flashback of last night.

"Dad, why are they here for us? Isn't Voldemort gone?"

"These are just strong followers, that's all. But I've faced worse before. It'll work out. Now, I must rest. The Death Eaters, er, tired me out pretty bad today."

"Did they, you know, torture you? Why? Did they want information?" And as Albus remembered, Harry had only nodded.

"No," Albus answered Denver. "He didn't tell me."