October 5, 1995 – London, England; Auror Safe House
Amelia Bones knocked three times in rapid succession on the door to one of the Auror safe houses in London. She was extremely busy, and was irritated that one of her junior Aurors had practically demanded her presence. She carried an evidence pensieve in the crook of her left arm, and her right was ready to draw her wand. It was extremely rare to be summoned by one of her subordinates in such a manner.
She relaxed a little when the door was opened by Nymphadora Tonks; she was fond of Tonks—one of the few other female Aurors—but often grew impatient with her relaxed attitude to duty. Amelia was a strict disciplinarian, and rarely relaxed when she was performing her official duties.
Tonks opened the door wider to admit her, and Bones was surprised to find Harry Potter—the very boy whom she had been investigating in recent weeks—seated at a table in the small sitting room. What is going on here? she thought in sudden dread. Why is Harry Potter in an Auror safe house and not in Hogwarts?
Looking from Harry to Tonks, she asked with some impatience, "Auror Tonks, what exactly is going on here? You brought Harry Potter to a secret safe house, and now demand my presence and a pensieve? Explain yourself."
"I apologize, Director," responded Tonks in a meek tone that Harry had never heard from her, "but this is an emergency of sorts. I just had a meeting with Harry, and, well—he insisted that I question him under veritaserum—and you need to know what he told me. Something really strange is going on."
Director Bones' eyebrows had shot up sharply at the mention of veritaserum, a restricted potion, and she looked from Tonks to Harry in incredulity. Shaking her head, she said, "Start from the beginning, Auror Tonks. This is not making sense. Why is Mr. Potter not in Hogwarts?"
"Er," interjected Harry, clearing his throat. "Madam Bones, I'm sorry to inconvenience you. Tonks is just trying to help me. I left Hogwarts two days ago because I discovered that, um, Professor Dumbledore is trying to get me killed. I know how ridiculous it sounds, but it's true. I had to leave, and I made contact with Tonks and demanded that she give me truth serum. She hasn't done anything wrong."
Madam Bones digested this new information in silence, not knowing how to respond to such seemingly absurd claims.
Tonks took over for Harry. "Director, that's why I wanted you to bring the pensieve. You can see the, er, interrogation, and then decide what we should do…"
She hesitated here, and Director Bones noticed.
"Yes, Auror?" she prompted.
"Well, ma'am," Tonks breathed reluctantly, "I…can't really tell you. I swore an oath to Professor Dumbledore not to reveal something to you…"
Tonks looked at Harry pleadingly, and he obliged her.
"Madam Bones, you'll see in the memory that I wasn't lying about Voldemort's return. He really is back. What Tonks can't tell you is that Professor Dumbledore has been gathering a group of people to fight him, but for some reason—I don't know why, exactly—he demanded that they not tell you."
"I'm sorry, Director," Tonks added to his narrative, wondering whether she had just destroyed her career as an Auror.
She had thought hard about what to do after questioning Harry, and she was convinced that he was telling the truth. The Headmaster was doing some things that were highly illegal and made little sense, and this was something that she could not in good conscience withhold from her boss.
Bones looked between the two of them several times, trying to discern if this was a prank of some kind. Shaking her head in confusion, she drew her wand and tried to detect other presences within the small flat. Finding nothing, she said, "Fine, I don't know what's going on here, but I want some answers. Auror Tonks, please place your memory of the veritaserum questioning in the pensieve, and then all three of us shall enter."
When the three of them emerged from the pensieve twenty minutes later, Bones had an unreadable look on her face. She looked between Harry and Tonks, and then spoke to Harry.
"Mr. Potter, I need to see your memory's of Voldemort's rebirth. You need not relive it, but Auror Tonks and I need to see it. I want you to bring your memories of it to the forefront of your mind, and close your eyes."
Harry nodded and closed his eyes, shivering a little when he felt Bones' wand make contact with his temple. He could feel something wet and cool being removed from his head, and it was the oddest sensation he'd ever experienced, even stranger than being sucked into a small bowl to relive his earlier conversation with Tonks.
"Thank you, Mr. Potter. Now please have a seat and wait while we view it."
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