The Silver Cauldron

Chapter 24 - Interrogation

"Filth. Absolute filth." The Auror circled the chair threateningly. Only in Dumbledore's eyes could I see the faintest glimmer of pity. Disappointment. But yes, pity. I found I could not look at him any more and stared at the ground. Something invisible suddenly hit me hard across the face. Snape's hands clenched violently on my shoulders but he said nothing. The Auror lent on the arms or my chair and put his face close to mine.

"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" I stayed silent.

"Nothing?" he said sarcastically. "You have nothing to confess?." What was I expected to say, I thought. That the Dark Lord has risen and we must all worship him for ever? They already knew. Either way it wouldn't make any difference to what would happen to me. Fudge's voice rang out, slightly impatient and pompous.

"You won't admit to it?" I looked at him scathingly.

"No. I do admit to it. But I am not sorry." My hair was suddenly grabbed and pulled hard, although nobody but Snape was close to me. I screamed, and saw the Auror open his clenched fist. A strand of my own hair fell onto the floor, a black, venomous snake at my feet. I bit my lip. Of course I knew what was going to happen. I knew the procedure, the game they played with you before...It was for this reason that only the most desperate of people turned to Lord Voldemort. People with nothing left to lose.

"We...want...names" my tormentor said quietly. "And you are going to give them to us."

"No" I muttered sullenly.

"How...nice. Such loyalty to your comrades. But it won't help you now."

How could I give names? I didn't know them all anyway. Malfoy's name sprung to mind. I could name him, get out of here...no. No I couldn't. At that same instant I saw a picture of Draco. I'd tear a family apart. But if I didn't give names...the Auror made a swift, movement in the air, there was a crack, and a thin line of blood began to seep through my white nightdress. I took a sharp breath; it hurt. God it hurt.

"There is no need for that" Dumbledore said sharply. Fudge turned on him.

"She's a traitor. She'd murder us all if she had a chance. She wouldn't show you mercy."

"I believe she would" he said quietly. "And our job, Cornelius, is not to force her to lie but to find out what drove her to it. Only then can we prevent others going the same way." Fudge looked at him as though he was mad.

"You can't feel sorry for them Albus. Pity is a weakness they will seize on."

"Torture is completely unnecessary. It will; merely strengthen her conviction that we are the enemies and render her unredeemable". Fudge looked lost for words. He turned back to me angrily.

"All right then. Why did you do it?" Behind me Snape shifted uneasily. I said nothing but gazed defiantly back at him. This was too much for Fudge.

"Very well then. Give her Veritaserum."

There was a swift murmur of black material as Snape removed a glass bottle from his pocket. My head was jerked viciously back by the Auror as Snape undid the stopper. I noticed Snape's hands were shaking as he held the bottle over me. At first I thought he was scared of what I might tell them, but as soon as the liquid touched my lips I realised why. It was water.

I didn't know what to do. I was released, and Snape's hands returned to my shoulders, positive, comforting. I had seen people under the influence of Veritaserum before and had sampled some once as part of my training. I tried to recall the feeling, making my features go slack and vacant. I had to pull this off, I simply had to. The Auror stood directly in front of me, staring into my eyes. I heard Fudge pull out some parchment and a pen to record everything I said.

From the Interrogation of P. Almanay, convicted Death Eater.

Why did you join the Dark Lord?

I want to be accepted. I hate muggles. I wanted to join someone who would help me take revenge on those who have hurt me.

Who brought you to Voldemort?

No-one. I found him within myself. Through my mother.

Your mother is dead. How could she have shown you the dark ways?

Her cauldron is enchanted.

Where is this cauldron?

In my room.

Why did you betray Professor Severus Snape?

I was asked to before I came to Hogwarts. So I could become a Death Eater.

What made you go through with it?

I was raped. ...Snape gasped slightly behind me, but only Dumbledore noticed.

Who raped you?

A Death Eater.

Name him.

We are never told names. ...The Auror looked slightly suspicious but continued.

How did you contact the Dark Lord from inside Hogwarts?

The cauldron.

Where did you go to get the Mark?

The Forbidden Forest.

How did you get yourself and Professor Snape there?

We took a transmorgifing potion. ...The Auror looked at Snape quizzically. He simply said "I trusted her."

What work did the Dark Lord give you?

I am to find a potion that will cheat Death. Then he will reign forever.

The Auror spat on the floor in disgust. "That is all we need to know. Give her the antidote. She needs to be in her original frame of mind before we decide what to do with her." Snape poured two drops of burning liquid into my mouth. I gagged and coughed; clearly the antidote was not designed to be used on someone who had not taken Veritaserum. I had got through the whole process telling only one lie.

"Fetch me her cauldron and wand Severus" Fudge said. Snape reluctantly left the room. Dumbledore let out his breath slowly.

"Well...you have the truth you wanted Cornelius. What do you propose to do now?" Fudge looked at me with intense dislike.

"Azkaban is the only place fit for Death Eaters" he said shortly. Panic gripped me. Merely the name of that place sent fear into my heart.

"Without a trial?" Dumbledore said mildly.

"There is no need for one. She is condemned by her own word. What is there left for a jury to bring out?"

"I should warn you, Cornelius, of what happened to the last unfortunate minister that promoted imprisonment without a trial."

"Are you suggesting my family is going to get involved with scum like her? We have to be firm. There can be no tolerance."

The door opened again and Snape entered. He handed the cauldron and my wand to the Auror. I struggled in my chains, desperately wanting to get to them. The Auror smiled nastily.

"Clever... very clever. This is an immensely powerful tool of Black Magic. All concentrated into one solid silver object..." He handed it to Fudge who looked at it with interest.

"Its quite beautiful" he said. The Auror glared at him.

"Under the surface it is scarred and twisted with darkness. Beauty is deceptive."

"Like its owner" Snape whispered quietly. I looked at him sharply, remembering the crow incident.

"Destroy it" Fudge said, giving it back to the Auror. My heart gave a jolt.

"It is all I have left..." The Auror ignored me.

He placed the cauldron on the floor.

"Stand back" he ordered the others. The creatures flickered quietly in the light of the torches. They were dancing their last dance, a funeral march. A strangled sob broke from me and Snape, unobserved, let his hand lightly brush mine. The Auror lifted his wand high into the air a screamed out a curse, something I didn't recognise. A jet of purple spun from his wand and pierced the cauldron. It emitted a long, wavering shriek, the sound of nightmares, before shattering. Shards of silver splintered across the room. At my feet there lay the broken form of the little crow, stripped from its fellows. I closed my eyes and lent my head in desperation on the back of the hard chair. A sharp snap echoed around the chamber, followed by the final crunch as the two pieces of my wand hit the floor. My head hurt with pain, chest tight with grief. There, on the floor, lay the remains of my entire magical life. Broken. I wanted to cry but my eyes had become painfully dry. There was a long silence.

"So. Now we have to decide what to do with her." the Auror growled. Dumbledore stepped forward determinedly.

"You can't send her to Azkaban." he said firmly.

"Why not?" Fudge asked. I became acutely aware of the power struggle between him and Dumbledore. Both were trying to assert their authority over the other. It would have been farcical had it been put in any other context. Dumbledore's eyes flickered over to Snape briefly.

"She is pregnant. You can't kill the innocent child."

Fudge looked as though he was about to explode.

"Pregnant?! I'm sorry Albus, but that is one of the oldest excuses in the book. How can she be pregnant?"

"She was made pregnant by the Death Eater that raped her" Snape said softly. Fudge looked at him in disbelief.

"You see, Cornelius, I don't think we will be helping either her or ourselves by throwing her into that place" Dumbledore continued calmly. Fudge stared at me for a long time.

"She is clearly highly disturbed. They all go mad in there anyway. Well then, what do you suggest we do with her?"

"I think..." said Dumbledore slowly "...that she needs to learn to differentiate between bad and good." Fudge snorted.

"It is all very well talking about that, but will she take it? You've been wrong before, Albus. How do you know she won't be another Crouch?"

"We have to restore her faith in us. So far she has seen nothing but evil. She should be taught that we stand for far more than anything Voldemort can offer. She needs someone she trusts to help her...Severus." Snape stepped forward in shock.

"You...you mean give her to me?"

"You know her better than any of us, Severus."

"Yes. Yes I do."

"But this is silly!" Fudge interjected. "How is he going to control a dark witch like her? Why should she listen to him?"

"Oh, I know her all right" Snape said bitterly. "She's very simple, very easy to break."

"No!" I said quietly. "He will kill me." Snape spun around.

"Would you rather die in Azkaban? Would you?" I didn't trust myself to speak. He turned back to the others, forcing his voice to be calm.

"Term finishes in two weeks time. I suggest you imprison her until I have finished my work here and then send her to me." I closed my eyes in despair. It would just be another repeat of what had already happened. I fleetingly wondered what it was like to be mad. Then I wouldn't know how mad I was. Could Azkaban really be better than the last two months I had endured under Snape? And why would he want me back anyway, not after what had already happened. I closed my eyes again to block them out. Right then I didn't care what happened to me. I knew I deserved it.

When Fudge and the Auror had left the room Dumbledore looked at Snape and then at me. When he spoke his voice was sorrowful.

"Why didn't you tell me before Philoma? I knew you wanted to." I looked him directly in the face and told the truth.

"My loyalty to the Dark Lord was Severus' ransom. If I told you, he would have been killed." Snape collapsed into a chair and held his head in his hands.