Malfoy Manor, The Dungeons
Severus Snape gasped as the curse was finally released. He was trying desperately not to cry out in pain, but thirty seconds of cruciatus was enough to make anyone whimper like a child. This was the second time in three days that he had been punished brutally, and neither time had been his fault.
Though it was Pettigrew who discovered Ollivander's body, it was Snape who took the brunt of the punishment for that failure. The old man had destroyed a small fortune in rare wand cores and potions ingredients before he had killed himself. Snape longed to tell the creature in front of him that it was his own fault, but he knew it would be the last thing he ever said.
Now he was being tortured for "allowing" Harry Potter to escape from Hogwarts. Snape dearly wished that he had been at Hogwarts at the time, but he had been checking up on a series of long-brewing potions at Malfoy Manor when the alarm was sounded. He and Dumbledore had decided it was necessary to tell the Dark Lord of Potter's departure from Hogwarts, but Snape hadn't expected to take so much of the blame.
"This smells like a trap to me, my dear Severus," the Dark Lord intoned silkily. "Why would the boy leave the safety of Hogwarts?"
"I do not know for certain, my Lord," Snape replied, still trembling. "But as I have told you, Dumbledore planned to use the boy as some sort of weapon against you. I can only surmise that the brat wised up and decided to escape."
"Perhaps…" Voldemort murmured, eyeing Snape critically.
"Rise, Severus, and approach," he commanded.
Snape struggled to a standing position and moved slowly toward his Master. He knew what was coming, and prayed that his skills would be up to the task.
Voldemort lifted his Potions Master's chin and looked him directly in the eye. "Legilimens," he whispered, pointing his wand in the direction of his head.
Snape felt his memories assaulted with brutality for the next three minutes, until he was finally let go and dropped carelessly to the floor. He was breathing heavily and would need a headache reliever and lots of sleep after this encounter.
"You speak the truth, Severus, luckily for you," the Dark Lord stated, reseating himself in his throne. "The boy is foolish. Wormtail, find McNair and send him to me. We will organize a search of our own."
Peter Pettigrew stepped out of the shadows and bowed. "Yes, my Lord; it will be done."
Before he rose, Pettigrew held a quick debate within himself and decided to bolster his courage for a chance at freedom. "My Lord…" he began hesitantly. "May I have the honor of searching for Potter as well? I know the boy's scent, and my animagus form could be useful…"
Pettigrew waited in silence, expecting a crucio for his trouble.
"Very well," the Dark Lord answered after a few seconds. "You shall search during the day and attend me at night."
Pettigrew groaned internally. This was not what he had asked for. Had he just sacrificed every last ounce of sleep? There was nothing to be done for it now.
"As you wish, my Lord," he replied, rising with Snape to exit the presence of their Master. If only I can find that damned boy, thought Pettigrew, then maybe I will be treated with some bloody respect. Were it not for the example of Igor Karkaroff, Peter would have fled from his torment at Malfoy Manor long ago.
"Severus," Voldemort said, his attention returning to the panting man at his feet, "you are to tell me every last detail about the Headmaster's search for Potter. I want to know where he's looking and why. If we can kill the boy before we reveal ourselves, it will destroy the hopes of the mudblood fools."
"And Severus," he continued menacingly, "I want to know the rest of that prophecy immediately. Do what you must, but find out what the old man knows."
"As you wish, my Lord," whispered Snape, mentally cursing Harry Potter for having the temerity to remain among the living.
Ministry of Magic, Department of Magical Law Enforcement
Junior Auror Nymphadora Tonks sat at her small, disorganized desk and stared in bewilderment at the parchment in her hand. She always walked away confused from her encounters with The-Boy-Who-Lived, and it appeared as though that streak was going to continue.
Twenty minutes ago, just as she was returning to the Ministry building from an assignment in Derby, a house elf had popped right in front of her, surprising her enough that she drew her wand on him. She thought she recognized him as the elf who had wailed frantically over Harry Potter in Little Whinging. When the elf stopped shaking in fright, he had given her a letter—which he claimed was from 'Harry Potter Sir'—and begged her not to read it until she was alone. She had complied warily, and wondered just what was going on.
Yesterday Alastor Moody had contacted her and told her that Harry Potter was missing. Someone, probably a Slytherin, had concocted a story about Dumbledore that somehow frightened him enough to flee Hogwarts. She and the other Aurors in the Order were to keep an ear to the ground within the Ministry, and to be prepared for a rescue operation at a moment's notice. Moody had given her a charmed galleon that would vibrate in an emergency.
Now Harry Potter himself had made contact with her, and, just as Mad-Eye had said, the boy believed that the Headmaster was conspiring against him. She looked at the letter a fourth time, trying to discern if it was legitimate.
Has Potter been kidnapped? she wondered. Has he been imperioused to flee the Headmaster's protection? Is this some kind of trap for me? Her instincts were warning her to surrender this letter to Professor Dumbledore immediately, but there was something about its tone that gave her pause. He was clearly desperate, and had even asked her to bring veritaserum to a secret meeting.
Tonks' Hufflepuff loyalty was being pulled in several different directions by this letter. On the one hand she was dedicated to stopping You-Know-Who, and the Headmaster was the leader in that fight. On the other hand, she had grown somewhat fond of Harry Potter during her summer guard duty, and he was making some truly disturbing claims against Albus Dumbledore. Could there be any truth to them?
Complicating matters further, she was duty-bound to uphold the law, and holding a secret meeting with a missing fugitive was a breach of Auror protocol. Didn't Director Bones need to know about this? The biggest thing about the Order of the Phoenix that she didn't understand was the Headmaster's insistence that Amelia Bones could not be told about the Dark Lord's return.
One thing she knew for certain was that she couldn't go into an unknown situation such as this one without backup.
Frowning as she made her decision, Tonks penned a quick reply to Harry's letter and set off toward the exit. She needed to call that crazy elf.
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