Search:

SIYE Time:9:27 on 28th March 2024
SIYE Login: no


Strangers at Drakeshaugh
By Northumbrian

- Text Size +

Category: Post-Hogwarts, Post-DH/AB, Post-DH/PM
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Drama, Fluff, General, Romance
Warnings: Mild Language
Story is Complete
Rating: PG
Reviews: 849
Summary: The locals in a sleepy corner of the Cheviot Hills are surprised to discover that they have new neighbours. Who are the strangers at Drakeshaugh?
Hitcount: Story Total: 251851; Chapter Total: 4183
Awards: View Trophy Room






ChapterPrinter
StoryPrinter


Interlude: Paperwork

AO/MIT/0387 FI013/1/HJP/SB/CT
Transcript of Formal Interview with: Sidebotham, Frances: Ministry of Magic, Security Support Officer


‘Head Auror Harry James Potter, black quill.’

‘What is this?’

‘Senior Auror Susan Bones, red quill. Harry has just told you, Miss Sidebotham, but you weren’t paying attention. We use Auto-dictation quills to record formal interviews. For the benefit of Auror Office records, please identify yourself and state the colour of ink your quill is using.’

‘Is this how you carry out all of your interviews? You record absolutely everything everybody says? The paperwork must be a complete nightmare.’

‘Auror Camelia Tepes, blue quill. It’s a completely accurate recording, Miss Sidebotham. We use the system for formal interviews. You still have not complied with Harry’s request, despite the fact that Susan has just repeated it.’

‘Tepes! You’re the vampire Auror, aren’t you? No offence, but I don’t want to be locked in a room with a vampire!’

‘Why do people feel the need to use the words “no offence, but…” to precede an offensive remark? I am an Auror, and I am offended.’

‘Camelia is one of the Aurors who’ve been investigating your actions, Miss Sidebotham; she’s staying. Will you please confirm that your words are being recorded in green.’

‘But… Sorry, sir. Yes, that’s me.’

‘For the last time, Miss Sidebotham, do what Harry asked. Please identify yourself and state the colour of ink your quill is using!’

‘Aagh! Frances Sidebotham, green ink!’

‘Put the fangs away, Camelia.’

‘Sorry, Harry!’

‘Miss Sidebotham, Senior Auror Bones will carry out the interview. Auror Tepes will assist her. Address your replies to Auror Bones. I’m simply here as an observer.’

‘Susan Bones! Weren’t you married to Jonny Summerby, that dreamy Tornadoes’ Chaser? It said in Witch Weekly that…’

‘It said a lot of things about my marriage in Witch Weekly, and all of it was wrong!’

‘We’re not here to discuss Susan’s poor choice in men, Miss Sidebotham, we’re here to discuss yours!’

‘Camelia! Enough!’

‘Sorry, Harry, but… Sorry, Susan, that was unkind of me. Go ahead.’

‘You are Frances Sidebotham, and you were employed as a security witch here at the Ministry, correct?’

‘Were! What do you mean, were? I am a security witch.’

‘Correspondence–thanks, Camelia. For the record, Auror Tepes is showing Miss Sidebottom document reference AO/MIT/0387 cor.097. This is a copy of your letter of suspension. It was delivered to you three days ago. You signed for it. This is your signature, isn’t it?’

‘Yes, but…’

‘This letter informed you that you’d been suspended for gross misconduct and advised you that you’d be subject to a formal interview with the Auror Office. You are not, currently, a security witch. Surely you read the letter, why do you think you’re here?’

‘You sent me another letter, yesterday; it said you wanted to me to come in for interview at nine this morning. When I arrived… Ah! That’s why the security arch trapped me, isn’t it?’

‘Camelia–thanks. For the record, Auror Tepes is now showing Miss Sidebottom document reference AO/MIT/0387 cor.101. This is a copy of the letter which called you in for interview. You’re here, so you must have read it, though not, apparently, the part reminding you to use the visitor’s arch. Did you read any of the first letter?’

‘It was five pages long.’

‘Yes or no?’

‘Some of it.’

‘But you now understand why you’re here?’

‘Yes. I can explain…’

‘You will be given an opportunity to explain, but first I’d like to establish the basic facts. We’ll start with–thanks, Camelia–Miss Sidebotham, this is photograph AO/MIT/0387 pua.27FB, and this is evidence item AO/MIT/0387 p.ev.142, an official Ministry Identity Badge. Do you recognise the man in these two images?’

‘Yes.’

‘The man in the “prisoner under arrest” image–PUA.27FB–is the same person as the man whose photograph is on the ID badge, is he not?’

‘Yes.’

‘Please tell us who he is.’

‘He’s… Jason Wallace… I… He asked me out… We were… I thought he was my boyfriend, but he was lying to me. When I found out…’

‘We’ll get to what happened when you found out. Are you certain this is Jason Wallace?’

‘Yes, of course!’

‘Thank you. Now, can you please read the name on the ID badge.’

‘Um…’

‘It’s not difficult, Miss Sidebotham. Please read the name on the ID badge.’

‘Jason Jones.’

‘Jason Jones, correct. But you’ve just identified this man as Jason Wallace. This is a genuine Ministry ID badge, but it carries a false name. Do you know who issued it?’

‘Um…’

‘Would it help if I told you that we already know the answer to that question?’

‘Okay… It was me, but… but…’

‘You should know how the Ministry’s Security Arch system works, Miss Sidebotham, but perhaps you need reminding. The Arches are Mapped. People walk into an Arch and state their name. The name they give is magically matched to the name on the Map. If the names are different, the portcullis drops. If they speak their own name correctly, but the name on the Map isn’t on the master list of Ministry employees–this morning you discovered that yours has been removed–the portcullis drops. If someone tries to pass through an arch without speaking, the portcullis drops. If someone speaks, but the arch appears to be empty, the portcullis drops. The system is supposed to keep out all non-ministry employees. Visitors must use the guest arches, where they’re identified, screened, and issued with a temporary visitor pass. The system detects people who are using Polyjuice, or are invisible, while allowing staff to enter freely. Even if someone manages to somehow get through the arches, without an ID badge that person would trigger an alarm the moment they left the Atrium.’

‘You make that sound more complicated than it is. It’s really simple–only staff can get through the staff arches!’

‘Except that Jason Wallace could, and he wasn’t staff. You gave him access, and an ID badge, although the name on it is false. We have checked Ministry personnel files; Jason Jones is not a Ministry employee, nor is Jason Wallace. However, the name Jason Wallace appears on the Employee Master List. Two separate security systems were bypassed. He could use the staff arches unchecked, and the badge allowed him unrestricted access to the Ministry. We know you issued the badge; did you also add his name to the employees list?’

‘Erm. I… Don’t you know?’

‘No. Though you are our prime suspect. I will remind you that you are currently suspended on full pay. It’s my job to assess your answers and recommend either reinstatement, or dismissal. Should we discover at a later date that you’ve lied to us during this interview…’

‘It was me!’

‘Why did you do it?’

‘Because he asked me to.’

‘Jason Wallace asked you to add his name to the list.’

‘Yes.’

‘Did he give a reason?’

‘He said he wanted to be able to visit me without having to queue at the visitors’ arch.’

‘Why does his badge say that his name is Jason Jones and that he works in the Department of Mysteries?’

‘Because that’s the name he asked me to put on it.’

‘Did he specifically ask to be assigned to the Department of Mysteries?’

‘Yes.’

‘You didn’t question this?’

‘No.’

‘Did you carry out any security checks on Jason Wallace before you compromised Ministry security by adding his name to the employees list?’

‘I didn’t mean to compromise security!’

‘Did you carry out any security checks on Jason Wallace?’

‘Of course not. I knew who he was!’

‘Who is he?’

‘What sort of a question is that? Don’t you know?’

‘Indulge me.’

‘He’s Jason Wallace, his dad is Hereward Wallace, owner and curator of the Marvellous Magical Menagerie.’

‘That’s what you believe, is it?’

‘Believe? It’s the truth! I know he’s not really called Jones. He told me that he only chose Jones because it’s the second most common last name in the country.’

‘Do you have any idea how many times Jason Wallace entered the Ministry?’

‘For the record, Miss Sidebotham shrugged her shoulders. Please verbalise your replies. Does that shrug mean you don’t know? Did you ever check?’

‘Check? How?’

‘You know that all movements through the arches are recorded by an AutoQuill, don’t you?’

‘Recorded? Oh, you mean the daily scroll! Yeah, but come on, Auror Bones, no one ever looks at that! It’s just a really long list of hundreds and hundreds of names. Every night at midnight the duty security officer starts a new scroll and sends the old one down to Central Filing. I’ve no idea what happens to the scroll after that.’

‘Auror Tepes can tell you. Camelia…’

‘The daily scrolls are filed securely. Access to them is restricted to senior Ministry staff and all Aurors. The scrolls list the names of everyone who enters and leaves the Ministry, and they show the time that they passed through the arches. Trainee Auror Cattermole and I searched through four months of scrolls and annotated them. Do you know when Jason entered and left?’

‘I’ve already asked you once, Miss Sidebotham, don’t shrug. Can you give a verbal response to Camelia’s question?’

‘Why? If you’ve looked, you must know.’

‘I want you to tell us... Don’t shrug, answer the question.’

‘Jason was waiting for me in the Atrium every Friday afternoon when I finished my shift. The records should show that. But on that last day, when I saw him… It was early on Friday morning, that’s why…’

‘We’ll get to that last day soon. Every Friday, for how long?’

‘Since I put him on the list. About three months. He was there a few other times, too. I didn’t see him that often, because his dad was keeping him really busy at the menagerie. He’s had access to the Ministry… three months. So… say five–maybe six–times a month, to account for the extra few days. That’s… um… maybe about fifteen times. Definitely less than twenty.’

‘This is document AO/MIT/0387 p.ev.45. It shows that Jason Wallace used the access you gave him on seventy-one separate occasions.’

‘Seventy-one? Never!’

‘On many of those occasions he was in the Ministry for at least eight hours.’

‘Eight hours? What was he doing?’

‘Interfering with an Auror Investigation, tampering with Ministry equipment in the Department of Mysteries, Confunding an Unspeakable, and–on his final visit–attempting to steal an invitation containing the Head Auror’s address.’

‘I stopped that. I helped you!’

‘True, but he could only do those things because you had given him access.’

‘If I’d know what he was going to do, I wouldn’t have given him a pass.’

‘But that’s the point. You didn’t need to give him a pass. You’ve just told me that you always met him in the Atrium. Putting his name on the employees list was all you needed to get him into the Atrium, but you gave him an ID badge, too. You applied to be an Auror, you work in Ministry security, and yet you didn’t even realise that he didn’t need the badge to meet you. He needed it because he wanted access to the Department of Mysteries. You’re personally responsible for a major security breach!’

‘Sorry.’

‘Five people are dead, and you’re sorry.’

‘I had nothing to do with the murders.’

‘No? Are you certain? I don’t think you grasp the seriousness of your situation, Miss Sidebotham.’

‘That’s not fair. When I realised, when I saw Jason, I followed him. I investigated!’

‘And you were Obliviated and almost captured. If it wasn’t for Gaheris Robards, you’d be dead, or at least completely unaware of what had happened to you.’

‘But… I… Look, I said I’m sorry, okay?’

‘Let’s move on. This is a copy of witness statement AO/MIT/0387 WS092, the statement you signed once your memory had been recovered. I’d like to go through it with you and make a few notes.’

‘Okay.’

‘Your statement begins on your last day in the Ministry; the day you were Obliviated. Although it is mostly accurate, you omitted a number of significant details.

‘Not really…’

‘You omitted a number of significant details. Among many other things, you neglected to mention that you were the person who issued Jason–we’ll call him Jason Jones for the moment–with his Ministry ID badge.

‘You never asked about that. I can’t tell you everything. I was Obliviated!’

‘You state you were away from your post, with permission, because you had been to the Administration Office to collect an MJO.32 “Replacement Uniform” form. You were heading back to the Atrium when you saw Jason Jones talking to Michael Corner. That part of your witness statement is true. You saw them get into the lift together, watched the floor indicator, and realised they’d gone to level nine. You then took the lift to level nine yourself. Why?’

‘It’s in my statement! Because it’s the Department of Mysteries! Jason wasn’t supposed to go there.’

‘Why not? You had issued him with a pass that allowed him access to that level.’

‘He wasn’t supposed to use it!’

‘Are you really so naïve? Sorry, you don’t have to answer that. Let’s get back to the statement. You had never been in the Department of Mysteries. You got lost. Rather than ask anyone for directions, you simply wandered around the place, looking for Jason Jones. You saw Michael… Mr Corner. He was alone. You claim that he looked rather confused. You then asked him if he knew who Jason Jones was.’

‘How do you know that?’

‘Michael… Mr Corner agreed to allow us to explore his memories with him. Why did you approach him?’

‘When I saw them get into the lift, it looked like they knew each other. I wanted to know… I… Okay, I wanted to know why Jason hadn’t told me he actually knew one of Dumbledore’s Army! And I was worried. I wanted to know if Jason had been into the Department of Mysteries before.’

‘Worried about a security possible breach, or worried about your job?’

‘That’s not fair! I was investigating. If you’ve seen Mr Corner’s memories, you know what happened.’

‘We know what Mi… Mr Corner thinks happened, but Jason had been Confunding and Obliviating him for months. We’d like corroboration.’

‘I didn’t know! Wait a minute: Confunded and Obliviated? He’s married, didn’t his wife notice?’

‘Yes, but he was working with us and she assumed his eccentric and forgetful behaviour was due to the stress the case was placing him under. What did you say to Mr Corner?’

‘I wanted to find out why Jason had gone to the Department of Mysteries. I asked Mr Corner if he knew him. Things got really weird, said something about “random security” and told me Jason was his assistant. That’s when I knew something was really wrong! I told Mr Corner that Jason wasn’t anyone’s assistant, that he wasn’t even an Unspeakable. I thought he was going to collapse. He started to shake, and then he went crazy. He shouted, “He’s been interfering with the system,” and ran off. When he ran, he dropped something. It was the invitation to your… to Mr Potter’s party. I picked it up, but I didn’t know what to do, so I left.’

‘So that’s how you got hold of it! Michael didn’t realise that he’d dropped it. Thank you for clearing that up. Then, you left. You knew there was an unauthorised intruder in the Department of Mysteries, but you left the Ministry without raising the alarm. Ministry Security Regulations state that, upon discovering an intruder, you should have immediately summoned aid. Instead, you lied to your manager, telling him that your mother had been rushed into St Mungo’s. Then you fled from the Ministry, leaving Michael alone with an intruder!’

‘I… I… I didn’t want to believe Jason was involved in anything bad. I had to check, so I went to his flat…’

‘Which is in Nether Edge, Sheffield.’

‘Yes, he moved there to be closer to me!’

‘And after he moved there, he asked you about Muggles, and if you knew of any empty or abandoned buildings in Sheffield. You told him about the industrial buildings in Burngreave, the place where the murders were committed, and you told him about the derelict hotel where Auror Protheroe was killed.’

‘I… How do you know that?’

‘You did, didn’t you?’

‘Yes, but how did you know?’

‘He was raised in Kent. He didn’t know Sheffield. You, however, are Sheffield born and bred. It seemed very likely. Thank you for confirming my suspicions.’

‘Oh.’

‘Tell me what happened when you went to Jason’s flat.’

‘It was really untidy. He had old copies of the Daily Prophet all over the floor; there were lots of words ringed. There were loads of notes, too. It looked like Arithmancy, but I didn’t understand it. There was something about altering input to redirect predictions. From all the lines and arrows, it looked like Jason was trying to make something point towards Mr Robards. That was when I remembered that Mr Robards worked at the Menagerie with Jason. And I found another clue! There was a Sheffield A-Z on the table, and the old Hallam Hotel was ringed. Jason asked me about the place, so I went there. I tried to rescue Mr Robards.’

‘You failed and got yourself Obliviated. You had proof of Jason’s involvement. When you found the evidence at his flat, you should have called us.’

‘I thought I’d get into trouble!’

‘You knew you were already in trouble! You’d allowed Jason access to the Ministry, and you were certain…’

‘Not certain, never certain.’

‘You strongly suspected that he was somehow involved in the murders. You didn’t call us because you thought that, if you could find and rescue Mr Robards, you’d be the hero, and you might not get fired. Am I right?’

‘Yes, no, I… It wasn’t like that, not really. I was confused. I was in love with Jason, but he’d betrayed me! You of all people must understand how that feels.’

‘I made a mistake, put it right the moment I realised, and I accepted the consequences.’

‘That’s what I was trying to do!’

‘No, you were trying to avoid the consequences of your actions.’

‘I told you where Mr Robards was! You rescued him!’

‘An Auror died during the rescue! We recovered your memories too late. This “evidence” you’ve just told us about, the map, the diagrams and calculations, it doesn’t exist.’

‘Of course it exists. I saw it. How else could I have found Mr Robards?’

‘If it did exist, then Jason destroyed it. Because you went off alone, and didn’t tell anyone what you were doing or why, Jason had the opportunity to clean up. And, in addition, his brother had time to set up a trap in the hotel. Your incompetence prolonged a murder enquiry and cost at least one, possibly three lives! You were invited here for a formal misconduct interview, so you have not been cautioned. However, given your actions, I believe that we are justified in treating you as an accessory to murder, and…’

‘Noooo! Please! I…’

‘Have a tissue. Dry your eyes. I am now suspending this interview. Camelia!’

‘Frances Sidebotham, I am arresting you for aiding and abetting a suspected offender, namely Jason Wallace–also known as Jason Jones and Jason Hume–by knowingly and fraudulently providing him with access to the Ministry of Magic. This is an offence under sections 12a, b, and d, and section 17 of the Ministry of Magic Security Act 2006. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. You have the right to legal counsel and you may, if you wish, be questioned under Veritaserum. Notwithstanding this, any replies you give while under the influence of Veritaserum can be contested. Do you understand?’

‘Noooo… Please.’

‘Do you understand?’

‘Yes, but I’m not… I helped! I escaped, I found my way to Harry’s house and told him–and you–everything I knew as soon as you got my memory back.’

‘And that’s why we’re arresting you. It would be unfair of us to allow you to further incriminate yourself in a formal interview. If you don’t have legal counsel, please let the Sheriff’s Custody Officer know. Counsel will be provided. The time is nine-twenty-one, it is Tuesday, the twentieth of October. Any future interviews will be held under caution. Formal interview zero-one-three-slash-one is now suspended.’




AO/MIT/0387 SS092/AJW/DP
Signed Statement of: Gaheris Robards, Magizoologist (retired), Volunteer Cataloguer at the Marvellous Magical Menagerie.


Interviewer: Senior Auror Aloysius Jonah Webb. (Also present: Dyddgu Phillips, Sheriff of Wales.)

Location: St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Preliminary Notes: Mr Robards was recovering from his kidnap ordeal when this statement was taken. He was severely malnourished and still recovering from his Obliviation. The Healers, and Mr Robards himself, assured us that his memory of events has been fully restored. While the interviewer had never previously met the interviewee, Auror Webb worked alongside Prof. Robards brother, Gawain (Head Auror 1996-2007) for more than thirty years. As all but the most junior of Aurors have worked for Gawain Robards, Dyddgu Phillips, Sheriff of Wales, observed the interview to ensure probity.

Statement of: Professor Gaheris Robards F.R.M.S., Memb. E.C.C.E.N.T.R.I.C.

I am Gaheris Robards, Professor of Magizoology, Fellow of the Royal Magizoological Society, and Member of the European Cryptozoological and Cryptobotanical Explorers, Naturalists, Technicians and Researchers Institute and Collegium.

I live alone, at [ADDRESS REDACTED by Harry J Potter, Head Auror].

Auror Webb has told me that I am required to provide information regarding my marital status. I have refused. My husband, Declan, is Muggle-born. He was “arrested” in November 1997, apparently by Fenrir Greyback. Declan is one of “the Missing”. No corpse, or any evidence of his death, has been discovered. Despite my objections, and appeal to the Wizengamot, his death certificate was issued in July 2005. This was only seven years after his disappearance. I object to being classified as a widower; I thank Auror Webb, both for allowing me to make this statement and for his courtesy and understanding.

I am, technically, retired. I no longer have a paid teaching or research position. However, I volunteer as a cataloguer at the Marvellous Magical Menagerie (hereafter MMM), where I examine and document the various stuffed creatures in Mr Hereward Wallace’s collection. While many deride the MMM, there are a number of endangered and extinct creatures in the collection, particularly in the store rooms.

I had always assumed that the “stuffed werewolf” on display was simply an altered wolf and ignored it. My reasons were simple humanity–I could not believe anyone would practice taxidermy on a human being–and practicality–werewolves revert to their human form upon death, and I could not conceive of a method to retain the form during the process of taxidermy. I still have no idea how it was done.

On the morning of Thursday, the twenty-fourth of September, I noticed a man–who I now know to be my interviewer, Auror Webb–carefully scrutinising the exhibit. This event, coinciding as it did with the reports in the Daily Prophet about the so-called “werewolf murders”, piqued my curiosity. I waited until Auror Webb left, and then carried out my own examination.

My detailed analysis left me in no doubt. The exhibit was, as claimed, a real werewolf. I was appalled by this discovery. While I was trying to decide what to do, Mr Wallace’s son, Jason, chanced upon me. He asked what I was doing. I told him. He seemed very upset by my discovery, and he begged that I keep it quiet. He promised that he would discuss the exhibit with his father. Because of his anxiety, I agreed.

The following week, on Tuesday 29 September, at approximately quarter to nine in the evening, Jason Wallace called on me at my home. He claimed that he wanted to talk about the werewolf, but when I opened my door to him, he Stunned me. (1)

When I next woke, I was supine, wandless, shackled, and locked in a windowless room. My legs were chained together, and the chain was magically bonded to the wall. The chain restricted my movement to only a few feet. The only door was well out of my reach; I could not even reach the centre of the room. In addition, I had been Obliviated and, although I knew who I was, I had no recollection of my examination of the wolf and no idea how, or why, I had been imprisoned. At the time, I wondered if my kidnap had something to do with my husband.

In the room were an old mattress and a chamber pot. On the mattress was a rather flimsy orange bag on which was printed the word “Sainsbury’s”. It was made from a strange material; I have since been informed it was a Muggle material called plastic. Inside the bag were three cardboard packages of sandwiches and four large bottles of water–they weren’t glass bottles. I’ve been told that they, too, were plastic, although this seems unlikely as they were a very different material to the bag. There was also a small piece of paper (2), which, together with the orange bag, I placed in my pocket.

Auror Webb and Sheriff Phillips have shown me Crime Scene Image AO/MIT/0387 CSI.33FB. I can confirm that this is the room in which I was held.

The place was magically illuminated. The light was dim, but constant. My watch was missing and I was fed only sporadically. Consequently, I had no idea how long I was in captivity. Hunger and thirst were my only constants. At what seemed to me to be random intervals, a wand was poked around the door, and I was Stunned. Every time I awoke, the chamber pot had been emptied and the food had been replaced. On several occasions, I tried to free myself from my shackles; I only succeeded in injuring myself. (3)

I was very hungry when the young woman arrived. I have no idea when that was.

I have been shown evidence item AO/MIT/0387 p.ev.141, an official Ministry Identity Badge. I can confirm that the woman I saw was the person on the badge, Security Support Officer Frances Sidebotham. When she opened the door, she simply stared at me. From her worried expression, it was apparent that she was not my captor. I suggested that, instead of staring, she use her wand to free me. She tried, but failed.

I was certain that I would be able to use the Blasting curse to free myself from the chains, so I asked the woman–Frances Sidebotham–to give me her wand. She did so, and I succeeded in freeing myself. I then returned her wand to her. In retrospect, that was a mistake.

We were making our way from the building when a man Apparated into the foyer. He was only a few feet away from us. I immediately recognised him as Jason Wallace. I was, I regret to say, pleased to see him. Because I had been Obliviated, I had no idea that he was my kidnapper.

Frances Sidebotham screamed. Jason raised his wand and pointed it at her. From Frances’ reaction, I knew something was wrong. I was wandless, so I did the only thing I could. I jumped at Jason, hoping to distract him. I knocked his hand aside, and his Stunning Spell missed Frances. I then tried to wrestle his wand from him, but he is both younger and stronger than I. The young woman appeared to have forgotten how to use her wand, and I knew I was losing the fight. I told her to run. She did so. She was almost out of the door when Jason managed to Obliviate her. She stopped, confused, and I was convinced that she was going to come back to try to help me. I again told her to run. Fortunately, she did. Jason and I continued to struggle until he was finally able to stun me.

When I next awoke, I was again in chains. Jason had gone, but for some reason he had not Obliviated me. This time, I was not alone in my cell. The man with me was not in chains. Nor was he Jason, although his features bore a distinct resemblance to Jason’s. At first, I wondered if Jason, unable to procure the ingredients for a Polyjuice potion, had simply tried to magically alter his appearance. I soon realised that I was wrong. Jason had always been quiet and polite, even deferential. This man was angry, assertive, and he seemed several years older than Jason.

The stranger attempted to be friendly, to gain my trust. Frankly, it seemed that the very idea of friendliness was alien to him. He certainly wasn’t very good at it. Despite my misgivings, I went along with his attempts to ingratiate himself with me, and he began an unsubtle attempt to question me. As I listened to his questions, I had an epiphany. I knew both Jason and his father, Hereward Wallace, well. Despite this, I had never realised that there was no family resemblance between them. Rather than answer the man’s question: “The woman who tried to rescue you, what does she know?” I asked him if he was Jason’s brother.

That was a mistake. He drew his wand and used the Cruciatus Curse on me. He was utterly deranged, wild-eyed and furious. He pushed his wand against my forehead and demanded that I tell him how I knew. I said, “there’s a family resemblance.” He swore, and yelled, “Family! I have no family. Greyback took my parents, and Fawley took my memories of them!” Then, he once again used that Unforgiveable Curse on me. When I recovered consciousness, he was gone.

I remained alone in my cell until the Aurors arrived. They were freeing me when he returned. I believe that he expected to find Miss Sidebotham, not four Aurors. He blasted the floor, and while the Aurors were trying to stop the collapse, and to protect me and themselves, he used the Killing Curse and Disapparated.

Addendum: Auror Webb has shown me photograph AO/MIT/0387 PUA.29 (Pelias Fawley). I can confirm that this was the man who questioned me, and killed Auror Protheroe.

(1) On the morning of Wednesday 30 September, Aurors Protheroe (decd.), Corner, and Creevey followed “Gaheris Robards” to MMM. According to Mr Robards’ account, he had already been abducted. The working hypothesis is that the person the Aurors followed was, in fact, a Polyjuiced Jason Wallace. They watched “Robards” enter the MMM grounds, but, according to the Surveillance Map of MMM, he did not enter the building. These facts are consistent with “Robards” being Jason Wallace. This appears to be the most logical explanation for his last reported sighting.

(2) Prof. Robards retained similar pieces of paper from other bags of food he was given. They were Muggle receipts for the food. Detective Inspector Roberta A Wood (Auror Liaison Officer) has acquired both “fingerprint” and “CCTV” (4) evidence that prisoner Jason Wallace (AO/MIT/0387 PUA.27) bought these items.

(3) Images of Prof. Robard’s injuries (AO/MIT/0387 CSI.39FB) were taken for evidentiary purposes by Imager Fenella Boot.

(4) CCTV is a Muggle system for recording moving images.




AO/MIT/0387 MN094/1 Notes of Preliminary Meeting with: Wallace, Hereward: Marvellous Magical Menagerie, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director.

Auror Attendees:
Senior Auror Terry Boot, Trainee Auror Amber Skoll.
Location: Hereward Wallace Office, The Marvellous Magical Menagerie.

Mr Hereward Wallace was first asked about his son, Jason’s, whereabouts. He informed us that Jason had argued with his parents and moved out from the family home. Hereward Wallace stated that there had been an argument and that he believed that his estranged son was staying with Pelias Fawley, who is Jason’s biological brother. He agreed to be questioned under Veritaserum.

During the course of the interview with Mr Wallace, the following facts were established:

Pelias and Jason Hume were brothers. They were orphaned when their parents were murdered by Fenrir Greyback. Jason was adopted by the Wallace family as a baby and was raised with no knowledge of his parents or brother. This was at the express request of Mr Wregan Fawley, who adopted Jason’s seven-year-old brother, Pelias. The boys are Pureblood (according to Mr Wallace, this fact was very important to Mr Wregan Fawley).

Several months ago, Pelias contacted Jason. When the young men met, Pelias claimed to have been Obliviated by his adoptive father and to have only discovered Jason’s existence by breaking into his adopted father’s study. Hereward Wallace confronted Wregan Fawley, who admitted this.

Hereward Wallace appeared extremely distressed by his adopted son’s arrest. He claims that Jason must have been acting under duress. He stated that, until Pelias arrived in their lives, Jason had been polite and well-behaved. It is recommended that both Mr and Mrs Wallace be invited into the Auror Office and subjected to separate Formal Interviews.

Agreed, arrange the interviews asap.

Harry Potter (Head Auror)





AO/MIT/0387 IUC005/3 — Wallace, Jason: Marvellous Magical Menagerie, Junior Assistant. (Also Known As: Jones, Jason, and: Hume, Jason.)

‘Auror Dominic Strang, Blue Quill.’

‘Senior Auror Phillipa Fortescue, Black Quill. I will be carrying out this interview, Mr Wallace. As you were told in your two previous interviews under caution, you have been arrested for murder, which is an offence under common law. The formal caution you were given still applies. Would you like me to repeat it?

‘For the record, Mr Wallace shook his head. If neither you, nor your legal counsel wishes to say anything regarding the charges, we shall continue. I’m sure that counsel has informed you that, because of the seriousness of the offences, we have been granted a three-day extension by the courts. We can now hold you for a total of ninety-six hours from the moment you were arrested. At that point, now some forty hours away, you will either be charged or released. Do you understand?’

‘Beauregard Fitzherbert, legal counsel to Jason Wallace, Red Quill. Auror Fortescue, my client declines to answer any questions. He will not speak and has instructed me to make “no comment” responses to every question you ask.’

‘Mr Wallace, will you at least confirm that you are Jason Wallace, also known as Jason Jones, and born Jason Hume?’

‘As you can see, my client has no comment to make.’

‘Do you intend to “no comment” on behalf of your client throughout this interview, Mr Fitzherbert?’

‘Those are my client’s instructions, Auror Fortescue.’

‘Then I won’t waste anyone’s time with further questions. It seems that we did not need the extra time to question him. No matter. Dominic.’

‘Jason Wallace, also known as Jason Jones, and born Jason Hume, you are charged with the following offences:

‘Despite the fact that you are not, and have never been, employed by the Ministry of Magic, you conspired with Frances Sidebotham to obtain a Ministry of Magic Identity Badge for the Department of Mysteries. You used this badge to enter, under the name Jason Jones, restricted areas of the Ministry. This is an offence under sections 12a, b, and d, and section 17 of the Ministry of Magic Security Act 2006. It carries a maximum penalty of ten years in Azkaban.’

‘While inside the Ministry, you interfered with, and wilfully obstructed, an ongoing Auror investigation. This is an offence under section 60 of the Magical Law Act 1806. It carries a maximum penalty commensurate with the crime whose investigation you attempted to obstruct. In this case, murder, which carries a life sentence.

‘On separate occasions, on dates to be ascertained, you stunned and unlawfully took or carried away the following five people: James Phillipson McLuckie, Eleanor Fearn, Caitlin Satterley, Jack Tuffnell, and Gaheris Robards, thereby infringing their personal liberty. Kidnapping is an offence under magical common law that carries a maximum life sentence.

‘You delivered the aforementioned James Phillipson McLuckie, Eleanor Fearn, Caitlin Satterley, and Jack Tuffnell to your brother, Pelias Fawley, born Pelias Hume, in the knowledge that he intended to kill them. Murder, and abetting murder, is an offence under magical common law that carries a maximum life sentence.

Mr Wallace, you have refused to answer any questions, but you have now been formally charged with eleven offences, ten of which carry a life sentence. Do you wish to make any comment?’

‘My client has no comment to make.’

‘As you wish. We’ll provide you with the most recent evidence we have gathered against your client. I believe that his loyalty to his brother is misplaced and that he’d be better off telling us his side of the story. If not, your client is likely to be in Azkaban for a very long time. I’m sure you’ll advise him of the best course of action, Mr Fitzherbert. Interview terminated.’




AO/MIT/0387 AON195 — Note of First Encounter with Mr Wregan Fawley, by Auror Dennis Creevey

Detective Inspector Roberta Wood and I arrived at Mr Fawley’s house at 13:00 hours on Sunday, 25 October. The door was opened by Mr Fawley’s house elf, Narckie, who refused to allow Det. Insp. Wood and I entry to the property. I explained who we were, and why we wanted to speak to Mr Fawley, but despite this, the house elf, Narkie, closed the door on us.

We continued to knock at the door. After several minutes, Mr Fawley came to the door himself. He told us that he did not wish to answer any questions regarding Pelias Fawley. During a very short, and frank, discussion he referred to Pelias Fawley only as, “the ungrateful wretch I foolishly adopted.” When I suggested that he might be able to assist us in our enquiries, and asked if we could enter his home, he told us that under no circumstances would he allow a scrawny little Mudblood into his property and that he considered the fact that I was accompanied by a filthy good-for-nothing Muggle was an unforgiveable insult to an important Pureblood wizard of independent means, such as himself. He them told us that if we didn’t leave the grounds immediately, we would hear from his solicitor. At that point he slammed the door in our faces.

Det. Insp. R A Wood and I saw no point in continuing our attempt to interview him.

Signed
Auror Dennis Creevey
D.I. Roberta A Wood

(Attached)

Arrest Warrant Authorisation

Reason for warrant: “Obstruction of an ongoing murder enquiry.”

Notes: Property search under this arrest warrant is considered essential.

Aurors Assigned: Squad δα (Creevey, Baines, Wylde), Squad βα (Bones, Strang, Tepes), plus: Detective Inspector R A Wood (Muggle Liaison), Imager F Boot, Analysis Unit Supervisor A White, Cursebreaker H McLeod.

Signed
Harry Potter (Head Auror)

PS Dennis: Contact Angelina Weasley in the Sentient Entities Rights Authority, and make sure Mr Fawley’s house elf (elves?) are SERA registered.

Reviews 849
ChapterPrinter
StoryPrinter




../back
‘! Go To Top ‘!

Sink Into Your Eyes is hosted by Grey Media Internet Services. HARRY POTTER, characters, names and related characters are trademarks of Warner Bros. TM & © 2001-2006. Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions on this site are those made by the owners. All stories(fanfiction) are owned by the author and are subject to copyright law under transformative use. Authors on this site take no compensation for their works. This site © 2003-2006 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Special thanks to: Aredhel, Kaz, Michelle, and Jeco for all the hard work on SIYE 1.0 and to Marta for the wonderful artwork.
Featured Artwork © 2003-2006 by Yethro.
Design and code © 2006 by SteveD3(AdminQ)
Additional coding © 2008 by melkior and Bear