43 - Investigation
Ms. Amelia Bones took in the information with a stern expression, her eyes narrowing as I told her the details. As I finished my account, she turned to her fellow Aurors, directing them to secure the perimeter and gather evidence.
"Rennard, Darrow, begin cataloging the bodies and examining the room for any clues," she ordered, her authoritative tone cutting through the tense air. The two Aurors, experienced in crime scene investigation, immediately set to work.
Turning back to me, Ms. Bones spoke with a sense of urgency, "I don't know how long we have, about now Lord Nott should be aware of our activity. He could apparate at any moment."
She surveyed the room again, her gaze lingering on the still unconscious bodies. "We'll need to know what happened, fast. Dawkins get any information you can about possible attackers or failed experiments out of the survivors."
One of the Aurors, a seasoned investigator named Dawkins, specialised in memory spells and extracting information from witnesses approached the first body. With a practiced swing of his wand he placed it on the temple of the unconscious wizards. He concentrated shortly and carefully pulled his wand back. Contrary to our expectasions only some white sparks jumped out of the person's head, not the usual white glowing string of memories.
Dawkins frowned, a rare expression for someone accustomed to the mind arts. He tried the same procedure on another body with similar results — no coherent memories, just sparks.
"This is unusual," Dawkins muttered, his brow furrowed in concentration.
Ms. Bones, sensing the gravity of the situation, approached Dawkins. "Can you retrieve any information at all? Anything that might give us a clue about what happened here?"
Dawkins sighed, frustrated. "No, not from these ones. Their memories are completely destroyed without any signs of someone deliberately tampering with them, its more like someone froced a mixer into their minds and stirred for a while. I only get a few disorganized millisecond at a time. Whatever was done to their memories, it's nothing I have seen."
Ms Bones exchanged a concerned glance with me. Our time was running out.
As Dawkins continued to work on the memory extractions, Rennard and Darrow methodically cataloged the bodies, documenting every detail that might yield some information about the events leading to the tragic scene.
Not one of the wizards present had any memories Dawkins could work with. He then moved on to the house elves. The two that were in this room had at least some useable memories, if only a few seconds at a time. It would take a lot of work to stick them back together in the correct order.
Dawkins, undeterred by the challenge, moved on to the house elf beside me. To our luck she had the most intact memories, if you could call minutes that. With methodical precision and sweat dripping down his face, he delicately copied and extracted everything he could. One small white glowing string after the other landed in a flask.
The sudden sound of footsteps echoed through the room, causing everyone to tense, even Dawkins looked up for a moment, but Ms. Bones simply nodded to him to continue. Everyone else turned in the direction of the approaching sound, wands raised and ready. No one dared to make a sound.
Through the doorway stepped Lord Nott, his features a mix of curiosity and irritation. His dark eyes swept across the room, taking in the sight of the Aurors, the bodies, and the lingering magic in the air. His gaze finally settled on Amelia Bones.
"Amelia, what is the meaning of this intrusion?" he demanded, his tone carrying a dangerous edge.
Amelia, unfazed by the imposing figure before her, stepped forward. With the laws favouring the nobles she had no leeway here, but what she could do was stall for time. "Lord Nott, we are here on official Ministry business. We have reason to believe that illegal and dark magical activities have taken place on your property."
Nott's expression darkened further, and he took a step closer. "Preposterous. According to magical law any magic conducted inside any property belonging to any Noble and Most Ancient House is to be considered family magic. So I will ask again, what is the meaning of this."
Amelia held her ground. "We have received reports of your house elves breaking the Statue of Secrecy, Lord Nott. I think that should be reason enough to warrant this house examination. We've also reason to suspect a murder took place that's why we need to question you about what transpired here."
Nott's eyes flickered with a mix of anger. He glanced at the tortured wizard chained to the ground, his jaw clenching. "What nonsense are you speaking off? I assure you, this is clearly just a failed ritual. Nothing illegal would require your presence here. I will pay for any damage my house elves are supposed to have done."
Dawkins, who had finished his work just moments ago, hastily hid the evidence, before exchanged a significant look with Ms. Bones. The memories he had extracted from the house elf were still fresh in the flask, and they had to be kept a secret from Lord Nott under any circumstances.
"If that is what happened here, then we have no reason to stay." Amelia said, backing down, she knew we wouldn't get anything else out of here with Lord Nott present. "We are done. Pack up!"
The Aurors, though reluctant, began to wrap up their activities, carefully securing the evidence they had gathered, or rather lack of. Rennard and Darrow stopped cataloging the bodies, while Dawkins discreetly concealed the flask containing the memories of the house elf.
Amelia Bones, maintaining a stern facade, addressed Lord Nott once more. "Lord Nott, as you've stated, you will take responsibility for any damage caused by your house elves. However, as they expressed a rather unusual behaviour, our investigation is not yet concluded. We will be in touch with the Ministry regarding the outcome of our findings. I trust you will cooperate fully with any further inquiries."
Lord Nott, still seething with restrained anger, nodded curtly. "Do what you must. But do not think you can interfere with the affairs of my house without consequence."
With that ominous warning, the Aurors, along with Dawkins and the evidence, began to exit the Nott manor. The tension lingered in the air as they passed through the doorway, leaving the noble wizard standing alone in the room filled with the aftermath of whatever had happened.
As we made our way out, Amelia turned to us, her expression conveying a mix of frustration and determination. "This investigation is officially over now. I don't want any of you to ever talk about what happened here in any letter or with your family. Dawkins will examine the memories and tell me, and only me, what he has found. I will then inform you all one after the other. No one else is allowed to talk about it, only I. If Lord Nott finds out that we didn't follow that stupid law, you can be rest assured that every single one of you will loose their job."
The Aurors and I nodded in understanding, fully aware of the delicate situation and the potential consequences of violating magical laws regarding noble families. As a Lord myself, it wouldn't affect me as bad as for the others if we were to be found out, however, I wouldn't be totally immune against this law.
"It will take a while. In the meantime return to your post. Lord Potter if I may have a moment."
Now that we were back outside the others apparated away, while she and I leisurely walked in a random direction.
"I had no time inside, but I wanted to tell you something. You might already have figured out what I wanted to talk about. The abnormal house elf behaviour wasn't unique to this mansion. You probably overheard when I told Lord Nott, but some of his house elves broke the Statue of Secrecy. They did that by openly casting magic while, how do I put this best, 'fleeing' Britain. I had hoped we would find some answers in there, but unfortunately we didn't. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that a Wizengamot meeting will be held shortly, regarding their unusual behaviour."
"…"
"I know this might bring up bad memories, but are you certain that these ones were different to the ones created back then."
"Definitely. If they weren't, I doubt Elena and Vance would have made it out alive."
"I understand. Until next time Lord Potter."
*pop*
"Sigh, what a shitshow."
*pop*
----
Back in the manor Lord Nott stood over the cold and liveless corpse of his third son and nudged him with his foot. Then he looked at the tortured wizard. "Is this why you wanted me to stay away? How disappointing."
"Get rid of this mess," he ordered one of his remaining house-elves, not all were present when the incident happened after all. The creature nodded and, with a snap of its bony fingers, began the process of disposing of the lifeless body.
----
Lucas couldn't help but feel a twinge of concern and curiosity at the news of the attack. The news intrigued him, and he couldn't help but think back on Erasmus. However, he knew better than to fully get involved in the affairs of the Noble Houses or the ministry this early, especially considering Dumbledore's threat.
Torn between his desire to know more and the caution instilled by recent experiences, Lucas decided to focus on his original plans. He had a ritual to perform. With the stack of books and the enchanted bag in his possession, he went back home. Nothing good would come, if he got himself involved in the attack any further than he might already have done.
Upon reaching home, he found his mother engrossed in her activity, her hands deftly arranging flowers into beautiful bouquets. Lucas approached her with a warm smile, eager to surprise her with the magically reinforced dark oak he had purchased.
"Hey, Mom. I got something for you," he said, pulling the wooden piece from the magically expanded bag.
His mother looked up from her work, her eyes widening in surprise. "Lucas, what's this?"
"A new living room table. I thought ours could use an upgrade," he explained, setting the dark oak on the floor for her to see, before transforming it into a beautiful table.
His mother's face lit up with gratitude and joy. "Oh, Lucas, it's gorgeous! Thank you, sweetheart."
Lucas felt a warm sense of satisfaction at seeing his mother happy. It was a simple gesture, but it meant a lot to both of them.
----
Later in the evening, Lucas, seated on his bed, meticulously prepared for the ritual. The ingredients were carefully arranged on the floor as he mentally reviewed the procedure. Taking a deep breath, he rose and picked up the bowl containing the Salt of Purification.
Evenly sprinkling the salt in a clockwise direction around him, Lucas formed a perfect circle. Following that, he placed the Crystallized Moonlight at two opposite spots within.
The next step involved pouring the Essence of Binding over his arms. As the amber liquid flowed down, Lucas visualized a resilient, invisible bond forming around his body. Placing his hands on top of the blue crystals, he felt the heat in his fingers as the two ingredients connected. The liquid turned a deep orange and traveled through his veins, reaching up to his shoulders. Quickly, he drank the Essence of Consent before the light could reach further, allowing the green liquid to spread in his chest. The colors mixed, engulfed his head and then slowly descended.
Simultaneously, he applied the already mixed Grounded Earth Ash and Essence of Boundaries to his feet. Visualizing roots extending into the earth, Lucas established a stable connection to the ground just in time for the light to reach his legs. A new light traveled up, dyeing the existing one a caramel brown.
As the brown light reached his head, Lucas turned his attention to the Essence of Intention. Willing it to float up, the blue liquid formed a blob at eye level. Stretching out his hands, the blob split into ten equal portions, flying to his fingertips, where they hovered.
Meanwhile, the brown light had reached his head and was running back down his arms. A blinding flash forced Lucas to close his eyes as the brown met the blue. When he opened his eyes again, his body had stopped glowing. Instead, the blue liquid had crystallized and changed color.
One by one, the crystallized portions fell to the ground as Lucas halted his magic.
Regardless of the fact that he had performed the ritual alone, it was a success: henceforth, any body parts or fluids outside of his body would be rendered useless if not willingly given.