Chapter 12 - Interrogation

Hogwarts Castle, Somewhere in the Scottish Highlands

November 22nd, 1992, 10:14 PM

*sigh*

Director Amelia Bones was starting to have a headache. Just thinking about the repercussions that this man being found alive will create was making her head hurt. But she had a job to do, and if half of what Croaker had told her about this Lord Ravenclaw was true, then the British Wizard Community was about to be taken off their feet.

"Robards, search him. Moody, keep an eye on him."

Auror Moody casts another stunner on the already stunned Peter Petigrew. The other Aurors just looked at him with blank faces.

"Constant Vigilance! He could have been playing possum."

Said Auror Moody, keeping his wand pointed to the stunned Peter. Auror Robards then got down on one knee by Pedigrew's side and started to search his robes. He quickly started pulling some items from Pedigrew' robes, putting them by his side on the floor.

"Clear, Director Bones. Found a piece of rope, a potion that appears to have 'gone bad', 5 sickles and 14 knuts, and two wands."

Moody one good eye is staring at the items, especially the wands.

"I would recognize that wand anywhere. The bone white one. I am pretty sure that it is You-Know-Who's wand…"

The wizards in the room gasp at that. Professor Snape approaches a little to look at it, and says.

"Indeed, it is the Dark Lord's wand."

The atmosphere got stale in the room, just for it to be broken by a melodious feminine voice, Leona's.

"I don't know who."

Erik chuckles at his wife, and explains it for her.

"You-Know-Who was a calling name given to a megalomaniac terrorist dark wizard that called himself 'Lord Voldemort'. He terrorized the British islands about 13 year ago."

Leona's nods at Erik's explanation, and notices the obvious flinch that the wizards had when he said the guy's self given name. She continued to ask.

"But why the 'you-know-who' calling name?"

"The terrorist put a taboo on his 'Voldemort' alias that helped him track the people that talked about him. That, together with the guerilla tactics that he was using and the genocide that he and his follower preached and commited, helped to plant a seed of fear inside the British people of saying his name. Even eleven years after his defeat, people still call him 'You-Know-Who', 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named', or 'Dark Lord' in fear of saying his name. Such was the fear that the guy generated."

Erik explained. Leona again nodded in understanding.

"Now I understand why most of them flinched when you said Voldemort."

"Yes. But the real problem is that their fear of a man was passed down to the next generation. It's like the older generation is training the new one to have fear. Even their history books from recent events don't have the guy's name written on it, just the given calling name."

Erik commented. Even if he and Selena were not involved so much with the British Wizard community, they still received news from it and read some of the new printed books.

"It's a stupid name, 'Voldemort'. It means 'flight of death'. Really smug of him. But to each his drug…"

Joan commented about the terrorist's name. The wizards in the room were looking at the group with wide eyes in silence, just for it to be broken by a bark like laugh from the rugged Auror Moody.

"I'm really starting to like you people."

"That's enough. We have a job to do here. Auror Shacklebolt, secure Pettigrew for immediate interrogation."

Director Bones interrupts the trade, bringing the focus back to the task in hand. Shacklebolt then conjures a chair and levitates Pettigrew, seating him on it. He then secures him to the chair using summoned ropes. While he is finishing it, Director Bones gives her next orders.

"Auror Tonks, bag the items recovered from him. Auror Hammer, cast the reversing spell on the wands before bagging them."

Tonks takes out a plastic like zip lock bag from inside her robes and starts to bag the items. Auror Hammer then takes the first wand with her left hand, a brown short one, and with her own wand in the right hand, while touching the tip of the brown short wand, casts the reversing spell, murmuring the incantation.

"Prior Incantato."

Moving away her own wand, the brown short wand starts to spill ghostly like forms representing the spells previously casted with it.

"Max bombardment curse, a modified cheering spell, a cutting curse, followed by two apparitions."

"Noted."

Tonks then says, noting down on a parchment the results of the reversing charm and sticking it on a new 'evidence bag', opening its mouth so that Hammer can deposit the brown short wand inside it. That done, Director Bones looks with intensity to the next wand.

"Next wand, Auror Hammer."

Said Auror gulps hearing the order. She then picks the bone white wand gently with her left hand, like it would attack her on its own. Approaching her own wand to the bone white one slowly and touching tips, she intones the reversing spell.

"Prior Incantato."

Moving away her own wand, the bone white wand starts to spill ghostly like forms representing the spells previously casted with it. The wizards around watch it with trepidation in their hearths while the ghostly smoke takes shape.

"T-Two torture curses, followed by three k-killing curses."

The wizards in the room had somber looks at the revelation, like they were remembering and imagining the horrors that the wand caused. The atmosphere in the room was turning more and more depressive, until it was broken.

*long low whistle*

"Yep, that's definitely a terrorist dark wizard's wand."

Said Lord Ravenclaw, awakening the wizards. Director Bones gives a thankful look at Erik, knowing why he broke them from bad memories, and gives her next order.

"Bag the wand, Aurors, we have an interrogation to start."

Auror Tonks quickly notes down the result of the second reversing charm, sticks it to a new 'evidence bag', and opens its mouth to Hammer, who deposits the bone white hand inside with haste, like it was a hot piece of metal in her hands. Summoning a cardboard box, they put all 'evidence bags' inside after sealing each one. Director Bones then approaches the box, and especially seals the white bone wand's bag with a wave of her own wand. She then turns to the professors and retrieves from inside her robes a small transparent flask, and shows it to them.

"Professor Snape, please identify the potion."

Professor Snape, in turn, walks near Director Bones and looks at the flask on her hand with a measuring look. The contents of the flask was a crystal clear liquid, very much like water, and the flask itself was sealed with a dropper cap.

"Veritaserum."

Said the man, walking back to where he previously was standing. Director Bones nods at the man and says.

"Thank you for your help. Auror Shacklebolt, please, administer the standard dosage to the wizard identified as Peter Pettigrew."

Auror Shacklebolt takes the flask and gives the stunned wizard the standard dosage of the truth serum, three drops.

"Auror Tonks, wake him up."

With a nod, Auror Tonks points her wand to the stuned Pettigrew and casts the reviving spell.

"Rennervate."

Peter Pettigre, the ragged ratty wizard, wakes up and looks around in confusion, but soon he stays still with vacant looking eyes. Director Bones then starts talking.

"What is your name?"

"Peter Pettigrew."

"Date of birth?"

"May 12th of 1960."

"Truth serum is confirmed to be working. Wizard in custody identified as Peter Pettigrew."

She gives a small pause and continues to question.

"Are you an animagus?"

"Yes."

"Are you a registered animagus?"

"No."

"What were you doing in the 2nd year male dormitory of Gryffindor's tower?"

"I was hiding as a pet rat."

"From who were you hiding?"

"From other Death Eaters."

At that answer, Director Bones frowns having noticed the 'other' word that was used. She then pressed on.

"Why were you hiding from OTHER Death Eaters?"

"Because I caused the Dark Lord's demise when I guided him to the Potter's hidden home.

The wizards in the room took an intake of air at that answer. Director Bones continues to question with a blank face.

"Are you, Peter Pettigrew, a Death Eater?

"Yes."

"When did you join them?"

"February, 1979."

Director Bones then signals Auror Robards to the bound man's arm. With a flick of his wand, Pettigrew's sleeve is torn, exposing a black tattoo-like mark resembling a skull and snake on his forearm. Guiding a hand to her head, Director Bones massages her temple with her fingers slowly. The headache seemed to be intensifying.

"Who was the secret keeper of the Potter's home?"

"I was."

"Not Sirius Black?"

"No, Sirius Black was just a decoy. To give James' home an additional layer of protection, Sirius convinced James to change the keeper of the secret to an unsuspecting person and he would act as the secret keeper to attract the focus from the actual keeper, me."

"How would you describe your wand?"

"Short and brown, chestnut wood with a dragon heartstring core, 9¾ inches long."

"Who is the owner of the bone white wand?"

"The Dark Lord."

"How did you come to obtain it?"

"I was waiting in the corridor outside baby Harry's room just after having heard Lily pleading to the Dark Lord to kill her in place of Harry, what he did, when I heard an explosion and felt the house shaking. I entered the nursery and saw an enormous hole on the ceiling of the room. Baby Harry was passed out in his crib, and there was a pile of fuming black robes on the floor. I recognized them as being the Dark Lord's ones. The wand was by its side. Then I heard heavy footsteps entering the house. I picked the wand and apparated away before they saw me there."

Director Bones continued to massage her temple, and asked again.

"What happened after you apparited out of the house?

"I hid. Then I got news that baby Harry had survived and that the Dark Lord was dead. I knew that Sirius Black was going to hunt me down, and I was right. We started a game of dog and rat, with Sirius chasing after me. Three days later, he cornered me down in a street full of muggles. I saw that the only way for me to get out of there alive was if I forged my death. So I came with a plan. I yelled at Sirius, accusing him of betraying James and Lily, asking why had he done that. Then I casted a bombardment curse on the ground near the muggles and ended up hitting a gas pipe, causing an even bigger explosion. While Sirius was distracted with the explosion, I hit him with the mad laughing charm, but down my own little finger, transformed into a rat, and escaped through the sewer system in time to hear the 'crack' sounds of apparition."

"And then the Aurors found Sirius Black madly laughing in the middle of a hole from an explosion and the bodies of muggles."

Director Bones completed the puzzle with the reports that she had heard of the incident from the Aurors that attended the 'call'.

"Then what did you do after having escaped?"

"Knowing that the Death Eaters would kill me if they saw me again, I resolved to hide within a pureblood house to bide my time and keep tabs on the news. The Dark Lord always said that he would be back, that he had taken action to ensure that he would never die. I ended up choosing the Weasley family because their patriarch was a Ministry employee, and would always have fresh news. That the matriarch ended being a gossiper helped a lot to harden my decision. Then, one day when I was foraging for food, one of the sons of the Weasley family found me, and decided to keep me as a pet."

Director Bones then signals to Auror Moody, who immediately stunned the ratty wizard again. Massaging the head with more vigour, she was thinking about the shitstorm that this prison would generate. A man, a pureblood Lord, of house Black above all, was imprisoned in Azkaban for eleven years while being innocent. The question was why was he imprisoned if he was innocent. Director Bones started giving orders again.

"Aurors Moody and Tonks, take Pettigrew to a cell in the ministry, enter him with a different name, and keep an Auror vigil all time on his cell. No visits, and only I can enter it."

"Yes, lass. Wake up, Tonks, grab the rat!"

Moody then answered and barked to his protegee/trainee to wake the girl up. The young Auror had a pale complexion, and her hair had lost its color during the course of the interrogation. Shaking her head and returning the color to her hair, Auror Tonks fixed the rat's sleeve, and used a 'mobilicorpus' on him. She then grabbed him by the arm and was ready to follow her mentor with the prisoner. Moody then started to march to the room's exit followed by Tonks when Erik stopped then.

"You can use the Common Room's fireplace."

Erik said while pointing at the fireplace. Professor McGonagall then said.

"But the fireplace is not connected to the floo network."

Erik raised one eyebrow at that.

"All the Common Rooms' fireplaces are connected to the floo, but they are blocked. It was installed when the floo network was introduced so the Professors had not to waste time if an emergency occurred inside the dormitories and needed to move a student immediately to the hospital. I just had to remove the block so the Aurors could use it to exit the castle. Being Hogwarts' Lord allows me to manipulate it. I will close it again as soon as they pass through it."

Looking at the professors' faces, he imagined what happened.

"I take that you didn't know? Remember me to give you, the houses' heads, the password to open the fireplace."

Professor McGonagall and the other heads nodded weakly at that. Auror Moody then changed the direction of his march to the room's fireplace, followed close by Auror Tonks.

"Thanks lad, peg legs and stairs are not a good combination."

He then took a pinch of floo powder, his own stock because 'Constant Vigilance', and gave it to Tonks. Then he took a pinch of the green powder for him, and threw it in the fire while calling 'DMLE, Ministry'. The flames in the fireplace grew and took a green color. Moody walked into the tall green flames and disappeared in it. Tonk waited for ten seconds and did the same as Moody, disappearing in the middle of tall green flames while dragging a floating and stunned Peter Pettigrew after her.

"Wizards really have some very strange ways of transportation."

Leona's comment got a chuckle from Erik and a small giggle from Selena and Joan.

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