“It’s your turn to check on him!”
‘What?’
Cedric tried to twist his neck, but not even his pinkie toe would budge. ‘I guess I’m not supposed to be walking around. Enough light streamed through the cracked large, metal door studded with bolts for Cedric to see it. He didn’t need any light to see the cold, hard stones he had been sitting on for hours. He could also feel the place where his head smacked against the floor of the church.
“My turn?” a boy hissed.
‘I know that voice.’ Cedric focused his throbbing mind to concentrate on the two speakers hidden behind the prison door.
“Just in case you forgot, I checked last time!” Ron Weasley yelped. ‘I knew I was right! It’s Weasley . . . but what is he doing down here?’ Unable to do anything else, Cedric continued to listen to the conversation between Ron and the young woman.
“I was running an errand, so it would have been my turn, but you had to take it for me,” the woman murmured. “Therefore, it’s your turn.”
“Okay, come off it! You’re just as spooked as I am.” Ron paused, and then whispered, “What if he’s awake?”
“Well, that’ll be your problem, but “ ”
“Oh yeah, right!” Ron squeaked. “It’s always my problem! You sit around and take the credit, but it’s always Ron who “ ”
“What is going on?” a deep, base voice barked through Ron’s complaints. Ron yelped, but then all was silent for a moment.
“Ron was just going to check on the prisoner,” the woman said.
“I-It’s her turn!” Ron stammered.
“The two of you are the most useless apprentices. This is how you check on a prisoner,” the man grumbled as he flung the door open. It banged against the wall and the hollow clang echoed around the cell and through Cedric’s body. Cedric found himself staring at a tall Auror with a buzz cut and a salt-and-pepper beard.
Cedric looked past the Auror to the two red robed young people hesitating at the doorway. ‘Ron and one of the Indian twins . . . can’t remember her name . . . and wow, they look older. They’re Aurors?’ Ron turned and mouthed, ‘He’s awake!’ to the Indian girl, who stood stiffly in the shadow of the older, gruff Auror and didn’t enter the room.
“Well, you’re awake. Nice of you to join us,” the man barked as he strode over to Cedric, who meet the steely gaze of the older Auror. Cedric wanted to wrench his gaze off the intimidating man, but the commanding presence standing over him was overwhelming. ‘What did I do?’ Cedric wondered, but he couldn’t unhinge his mouth to speak. The man knelt down and stared Cedric in the eyes. An uncomfortable prickling sensation passed through Cedric’s forehead, but the Auror only scowled.
“Stop using Occulemency on me.”
Now, it was Cedric’s turn to frown. ‘I’m not doing that intentionally. If he can’t read my mind . . . oh, that would have been too easy. He could have just looked and seen what happened, but if he can’t see . . . ’
The Auror turned away from Cedric as a group of loud voices began to get closer. The first thing Cedric could make out was a woman’s crisp voice saying, “You are just here for observation purposes, Venturini.”
“Do you realize what we’re dealing with? This is bizarre, even by wizarding standards,” a man’s voice answered. The shuffling of feet let Cedric know they were on the threshold to his prison cel. The two Auror apprentices scattered out of the doorway to let the party of three Healers, two Aurors, and a woman dressed in a very fine and stately black velvet robe pass into the room.
‘Quite a crowd.’ The Aurors and healers gathered around Cedric, but the two Auror apprentices hung in the background. ‘I can’t blame them,’ Cedric thought as the black robed woman stepped forward.
“Interrogate him so we can take him to Azkaban,” the woman snapped. Her white hair, pale skin, and black velvet robes seemed to turn her into a harsh, contrasted monochrome figure. The woman seemed like a giant to Cedric, and he noted her and the handsome, blonde male Healer were the tallest people in the room.
The male Healer with the thick, blonde hair spoke again. “At least I know what this is all about now. No games with you, Madame Thackery.”
“Azkaban?” Cedric wheezed through his cotton mouth. Now, all eyes turned towards him again. ‘You couldn’t keep silent? For just another moment?’ Cedric asked himself as he mentally squirmed under the appraising gazes. The two other Healers, a middle aged woman and a younger man, wore the same uncomfortable expressions as the two Auror apprentices. The two Aurors that came with the stern woman kept their stoic composure, but the gruff Auror scowled.
The woman scrunched her lips together. “Come now, of course you’re going to prison. Dawlish, what did you find?”
“I can’t read his mind,” Dawlish, who had lead the apprentices into the room, growled. ‘I can’t help that,’ Cedric thought dully as he looked up at his towering judges.
“Hmmm, well, we can side step that problem,” the woman replied sharply. “Come now, bring the Veritaserum.”
“I object to the use of Veritaserum,” the blonde Healer announced as he kept his eyes trained on Madame Thackery.
“Why is that?” Dawlish snarled.
The Healer launched into an explanation. “I hope, since you are all employees of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, that you would be interested in following the magical protocols regarding the use of Veritaserum. For instance, if one has been interrogated with Veritaserum before, interrogation with Veritaserum is not allowed again unless one has a life threatening injury and has not had the opportunity “ ”
“ “ to provide a confession to be used during trial,” the woman snapped. “As the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I am well aware of my department’s own rules!”
“And the only reason you’re here, Healer Venturini, is because one Healer, one Auror, and one other Ministry official need to be present at the interrogation of a suspect when they are detained in the Ministry of Magic,” the one bald, stoic Auror replied in an even, almost monotone, voice.
“I think that if Veritaserum cannot be used, we simply send him back to prison,” Dawlish suggested.
Healer Venturini spun to face Dawlish. “Have you ever heard of an incident like this? We don’t know what we’re dealing with! Shipping him back to Azkaban is a colossal mistake of closed mindedness!”
“I spent my life chasing down Dark Wizards, and we have one of the nastiest sons-of-a-bitch that ever followed You-Know-Who!” Dawlish stepped forward, and the air cracked between the Healer and the Auror. The bald Auror put his hand on Dawlish’s shoulder, and the surly Dawlish stepped back from the Healer.
“I think Venturini has a point.”
“Robards “ ”
“No, Dawlish, we have no idea what has happened. I, however, would support the administration of Veritaserum to the suspect.”
“Criminal,” Dawlish snarled in response to Robards’s calm logic. ‘What the hell are they going to do to me? What did I do?’ Cedric kept his mouth shut as he thought about the administration of Veritaserum that seemed likely to come sooner rather than later.
“I petition to administer the Veritaserum after the suspect has had a proper medical evaluation,” Healer Venturini snapped during the lull in conversation. Dawlish bristled at this comment, but Robards appeared non-fazed.
“Send him to my ward, and after examination, I will gladly invite all of you to examine the suspect.” Venturini spat out the last word, and Robards stepped between a reddening Dawlish and a very smug Venturini.
“What would this accomplish? Retrieve the Veritaserum and finish this nonsense,” Thackery snapped as she shot an icy glance down at Cedric that made him advert his gaze to the ground.
“While I’m sorry to ruin your plans to send your suspect to Azkaban, I think it would be prudent to study this phenomenon.” Cedric’s gaze returned to Venturini’s face. “Besides, I also brought the adequate number of Healers to transport a suspect to Saint Mungo’s, just like you brought the adequate number of Aurors to take a criminal to Azkaban.”
Thackery turned and gave Venturini the same cold stare she had given Cedric. “I would side with Venturini for the time being. We will be keeping tabs on our suspect until . . . until Healer Venturini has adequate answers,” Robards replied in his monotone voice. Then, he gave Venturini a sharp look.
“I expect full cooperation from you. Healer Venturini, you will figure out your answers on a timely scale, or I will assure you we will do that for you.”
After Robards spoke, he pulled out a black bag. Cedric stared at it, and he instinctively knew what they were going to do, but he didn’t try to struggle because it was pointless. The bag slid effortlessly over his head and mercifully removed the scene before his eyes.