"That's a bold claim," Madam Bones challenged.
"But an accurate one," he answered back with growing confidence before adding. "It also helps explain the headmaster's actions and motives in recent years, which I'm sure you'll find extremely useful."
...
The next couple of minutes passed in total silence as Madam Bones considered his words and request. "Leave us," she ordered. The pair of aurors grumbled in protest before their boss sent them a dangerous look that said 'Now, or else.' After the two disgruntled aurors had left the room, she turned back to face him. "You better not be messing me about, I don't take kindly to having my time wasted," she warned, sending him a warning look with her one good eye.
"I would never dream of it," he voiced smoothly, but truthfully, since he had no desire to go to jail, and avoiding that fate relied solely on Madam Bones' good graces. "It was not she that was You-Know-Who's primary target, but her newborn child."
"What do you mean by that? Why would You-Know-Who be interested in a newborn?" she asked.
He took a deep breath before replying to her question, "There was a prophecy, that foretold of You-Know-Who's possible downfall and/or defeat," he told her emotionlessly, as he remembered the news of Lily's murder. "The prophecy spoke of an individual that had the potential to defeat Lord Voldemort, However there were several candidates that fit the terribly ambiguous specifications of the prophecy. Of course, somehow, Lord Voldemort found out about the prophecy's existence and his possible defeat," he explained, keeping quiet about his own involvement.
"He then moved into action to kill these chosen children before they could become a real threat. However, he did not have the full wording of the prophecy, so by acting on it, he inadvertently set the prophecy into motion. If he had left those harmless children alone, deciding that divination was utter rubbish, the prophecy would have likely been void."
"Neville Longbottom," she finished for him, before giving him a curious look.
He neatly folded his hands on his lap, "Indeed. He was one of the possible candidates that fit the prophecy," he confirmed with an approving nod.
"Do you have any proof of this prophecy? How do I know this is not some overly elaborate story you cooked up to save your own arse?" she asked, just like he expected she would.
"The Hall of Prophecy in the Department of Mysteries has a copy, of course," he answered back calmly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He knew that the head of law enforcement would verify this the moment his questioning ended. "I think you should check it out and see that I am indeed telling the truth and fully cooperating with you. But there is more, much more," a knowing smile emerged on his features.
"I think I'll do that," she replied, while getting up from her seat, before suddenly adding. "But I still don't see why you shouldn't stand trial for what you did during your time serving You-Know-Who willingly, before you defected and turned spy. Of course that fact would be taken into account when you were sentenced."
His smile didn't disappear, but instead grew at her words, "Who said You-Know-Who is dead?" he asked the shocked head of law enforcement, privately enjoying her expression even as he held up his right arm and pulled down his black robe sleeve to reveal the faded dark mark.
"He is still out there, somewhere, we can still feel him," he admitted, as the colour drained from Madam Bones' face and fear grew in her eyes. "The dark mark beats like a pulse, a heartbeat. The stronger he is, the darker the mark becomes. It has been growing stronger of late, much stronger," all the colour drained from Madam Bones' face at this, the head of law enforcement turning sickly white like a ghost.
"This is another reason why the Chief Warlock keeps me close at hand, so that I can relay any changes in the dark mark's status, to warn him. We have expected for a long time that Lord Voldemort put safeguards in place to prevent his death, but we didn't have any real evidence until last year.
If I stand trial Madam Bones that knowledge of how he is alive will spread, hastening his return to full power. Loyal death eaters that remained out of prison will rally to him, some out of loyalty, others out of fear, others out of self interest, and others out of the empty promise of power and riches.
Then that long forgotten dark magic Lord Voldemort used to cheat death will come out and spread like a wild fire. Before you know it, you will have hundreds of dark wizards and witches using the same forbidden and near forgotten magics to cheat death. You will also have to deal with mass panic. So is my freedom too much of a price to ask for my silence in this serious matter?" he smugly asked.
He realized too late that he had oversold it and had stepped well over the mark, as a spell rocketed towards him with pin point accuracy tying him to the chair, with his limbs going numb and nonresponsive with how tightly he was being held. Before he could even sputter a curse, Madam Bones was already standing over him with a potion vial in hand.
"It's time we had a good long talk then," she announced, before pouring the vial's contents into his mouth, the potion's magical effects immediately overcoming him.
"Is Lord Voldemort alive?" she asked, not even bothering with the test questions in her rush to get answers.
He fought the urge to reply, he reminded himself that the dark lord's true name was Tom Riddle, but veritaserum forced him to answer the question anyways, the truth quickly spilling from his tongue. "Yes, to a point," he replied in a monotone.
"How is Lord Voldemort still alive?" she pressed quickly.
"He made a magical device called a horcrux," he answered in the same empty tone.
"What is a horcrux?" the head of law enforcement asked.
...
( Bones Manor )
Madam Bones dropped herself into her office's armchair before quickly pouring herself a large helping of extra strong firewhiskey before downing it in a single gulp, the day's shocking events lying heavily on her mind.
Already she had taken a calming draught to quiet her raging nerves and rising fears, as she considered the nightmarish truth of the situation. You-Know-Who, the most feared dark wizard of recent times was still alive, and was currently wandering the dark forests of Eastern Europe as a disembodied shade, desperately trying to find a way back to a body of its own.
Her troubled mind turned towards the horcrux diary that had been found in the possession of Miss Weasley, a shiver of dread running down her spine at the thought of her own precious niece falling prey to such a malevolent creation. She was still reeling from the even more shocking truth of the previous school year, when she had learned how the fallen dark lord had already infiltrated Hogwarts in an attempt to steal the philosopher's stone, only to be stopped at the last second.
To make matters even worse, the dark wizard had made multiple horcruxes to prevent his death, thus anchoring him to the living world, if Professor Snape and the headmaster's theories were true. And as much as she hated to admit her own ignorance, she knew that the Chief Warlock was far more qualified in this matter than her, and was probably correct in his assessment.
Then there was that cursed prophecy to consider that stated that Neville Longbottom was the only one capable of defeating the dark wizard, which complicated matters even more. Personally, she held no love for the subject of divination, but she knew well enough that that branch of magic was very real and that true prophecies existed. It also explained the Chief Warlock's unusual interest in the Boy-Who-Lived, and why he maintained such a strong political alliance with Lady Longbottom despite their often opposing political ideologies.
'Did lady Longbottom know of the prophecy?' she asked herself, or had the Chief Warlock kept that knowledge to himself? If that was the case, she wondered if she could use the knowledge to strengthen her position with the Lady Longbottom.
The knowledge of the prophecy also explained the elderly wizard's interest in Mr. Potter, who was the other candidate the prophecy could have applied to, or as Professor Snape so elegantly put it, he was the 'spare saviour.'
At least that bit of information would be valuable, since she was sure that Sirius and Harry would be interested in knowing about the Chief Warlock's plans for Harry, the existence of the prophecy at all, and why the dark lord had wanted to kill Harry and his parents, as well as the shocking knowledge that Lord Voldemort was still alive. She poured herself another good sized glass of firewhisky at that lengthy list.
But sharing that dangerous bit of knowledge could wait until the currently unfolding drama was sorted and done with. She knew that she couldn't share the knowledge of You-know-Who still being alive with the corrupt minister, as it would undoubtedly leak and cause a mass panic amongst the populace, and could very well hasten the dark lord's return if his followers began to assist him in getting a new body.
Professor Snape and the headmaster both believed that would happen if they knew their master was currently alive. She knew what she had to do; but ultimately the only thing she could do was to keep her silence and prepare the best she could for the inevitable dark times to return.
When the time was right, though, she would approach the Chief Warlock demanding answers. She would also have to keep a closer eye on Hogwarts for the foreseeable future. She considered possibly striking a deal with the aging headmaster by loaning him one of her aurors to the fill the role of Defence against the Dark Arts professor on a yearly basis.
Perhaps that would keep the curse from affecting them? Why the old man hadn't hired the best cursebreaking teams the goblins had to remove it long ago was truly beyond her.
...
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