Amelia now turned her attention to interrogating Avery. Amelia forced a few drops of Veritaserum down Avery's throat and unstunned him.
"What is your name?" asked Amelia.
"Avery," replied Avery simply.
"Were you ever a Death Eater?" inquired Amelia.
"Yes," confirmed Avery, "I was fascinated by Dark Magic while I was a student at Hogwarts and I served as a Death Eater for the Dark Lord before his downfall?"
"Were you ever tried for a being a Death Eater?" grilled Amelia.
"I was," smirked Avery, "But, I avoided Azkaban by claiming to have been hoodwinked under the Imperius Curse."
"But you actually served Lord Voldemort of you own free will?" prodded Amelia urgently.
"Yes," grinned Avery.
Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Susan, Lily, Arthur, Sirius, Remus, and especially Amelia all felt their hearts sink a bit. This was now the second Death Eater they'd heard confirm under Veritaserum that they'd gotten off by claiming the Imperius Curse when in fact they'd been making their own choices.
"Did you ever search for Lord Voldemort after his downfall?" wondered Amelia.
"No," said Avery honestly, "I slipped back into my pre Death Eater life without thinking much about the Dark Lord after his downfall."
"So, you don't believe Lord Voldemort will rise again?" Amelia asked Avery to confirm
"It is my belief that the Dark Lord is finished and I do not expect him to rise again," said Avery calmy, though sounding far less certain of the Dark Lord's demise being permanent than Yaxley had been, "I'd say there's a ten percent chance that that the Dark Lord will return in the future. Way too low a percentage to lay my neck out for him."
"What was your role in Lord Voldemort's regime?" asked Amelia.
"Gathering information was one of my jobs. However, unlike Yaxley, who would only take jobs to help provide the Dark Lord with information if said jobs were easy and safe, I was willing to endure far more dangerous tasks and assignments in the quest for information," exclaimed Avery boastfully.
"Did you ever kill anyone?" grilled Amelia.
"Only in cases where it was collateral damage," piped up Avery, "I love the Dark Arts and I love to torture people. But, well, I much prefer torture over killing. My victims don't suffer from my pain if they aren't alive to feel it."
"So, you're a pureblood supremist?" assumed Amelia.
"The Averys are one of the Sacred Twenty Eight and I do believe in blood purity, " admitted Avery, "What's worse than the muggles and mudbloods is purebloods who refuse to take pride in being purebloods. If there's one thing I hate more than any other, it's a blood traitor pureblood that lacks proper wizarding pride. "
"What have you been up to lately?" was the next thing Amelia wanted to know about Avery.
"Living my life out as an extreme loner wizard but still practicing magic and especially Dark Magic regularly. Not wanting to arouse suspicions by attacking people, I've been keeping my Dark Magic sharp by practicing on dummies."
Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Sirius all felt a little squeamish at that, remembering that dummies had helped them learn and practice magic over the summer.
"You were brought here under an Imperius Curse imposed upon you by Dolohov to try to help him capture Harry Potter and take him to the Dark Lord so that the Dark Lord may use Harry's blood in a Resurrection Potion, " Amelia informed Avery.
"I can see Dolohov attempting that," explained Avery, "The Dark Lord's old favorites are either dead or out of the country so Dolohov probably thinks there's an opening to become the Dark Lord's Right Hand Man."
"You would not have attempted something like this on your own," realized Amelia.
"Of course not!" declared Avery, "My only true loyalty is to Avery and Avery doesn't have anything to gain by searching for a master he believes is finished."
"I think that's enough for now," decided Amelia, restunning Avery.
"It sounds to me," reasoned out Luna, "That Avery doesn't expect Voldemort to return but is still preparing as though he could return."
"He seems to be clinging to that ten percent hope," piped up Lily, "He doesn't believe Voldemort will come back but he can't quite bring himself to give up that last little bit of hope."
"It sounds like the Imperius Curse was a convenient excuse for Death Eaters to worm their way out of trouble after the war ended," observed Harry.
"That's the problem," said Sirius wryly, "Voldemort did in fact use the Imperius Curse to force people to do his bidding, but, there were plenty of Dark witches and wizards who were delighted to do Voldemort's bidding of their own accord."
"Here's the rope," said Amelia wearily, "We've got to sort out the liars. It looks like we've got a lot of retrials coming up. Only Dolohov will be held responsible for the events of today since he had the others under the Imperius Curse, but, that doesn't mean the others should be let off the hook for their past crimes."
"Avery," explained Remus, "Was always a little more fearless than other Death Eaters."
"He was also less certain about things," added Arthur, "He was a Risk Lover to a degree, but he always maintained awareness of the odds and if they were with him or against him."
"Aunt Amelia?" asked Susan curiously, "Who was Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the time of Voldemort's downfall?"
"Barty Crouch Sr, " replied Amelia coldly, "And he wasn't a very good Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement either. He was cruel and inhumane to those whose guilt he felt certain but those whose cases weren't so obvious could easily manipulate him into believing they were the real victims."
"So there were no proper trials?" snapped Hermione disapprovingly, "If he was sure of your guilt, you weren't given a chance. If he wasn't sure, it came down to how well you played the victim? That wasn't justice."
"I know dad has never been fond of Crouch and he has told me that most people at the Ministry consider him hard, harsh, and with nary a soft spot at all," said Ginny clearly.
"He had me sent to Azkaban without a trial," spat Sirius bitterly, "He was passionately anti Voldemort, but the war brought out the worst in him."
"Is Avery a threat?" Harry asked Amelia.
"We do need to weary of him given his fondness for torture and the Dark Arts combined with the fact that he's been practicing magic. He will be retired, but, as of now, I'm more urgently concerned about Dolohov."
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