john's imminent torture

[johndawlish]

YOU WERE YOUNG AND YOUR HEART
WAS AN OPEN BOOK, YOU USED TO SAY LIVE AND LET LIVE

John was groggy as he came to his surroundings. His head felt as if a weight had been pressed hard against it, and his temples throbbed with a jabbing pain as the blood circulated around his body. What had happened? Where was he?

The world was dark around him. He'd lost perception of which way was up, which way was down. All he could think about was lying down, and finding some water. His lips were cracked and parched, threatening to bleed the tighter he pulled. How long had he been out for?

"Hello?" he said, his uncertainty lining the edges of his voice as he called out into the darkness. Was he alone?

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[willdavies]

Albert stared through the Charmed wall at Dawlish as the man began to move and slowly started to wake up. His nephew, Albert thought, had perhaps been slightly overenthusiastic with his Stunning spell - their captive had been out for almost two hours now. But the man was now newly awake and vulnerable, and it was time to begin the tedious business of interrogation.

Conjuring a light to hover above his head, Albert opened the hidden door through the wall with a series of passes and gestures and stepped into the cell. Directing the light to hang on the ceiling, Albert stepped forward and considered Dawlish. The man was clearly still half-unconscious, in a good amount of pain, and from the look of his lips quite thirsty as well.

Perfect.

"Good evening, Professor Dawlish. My apologies for the indignity of your arrival, but this little meeting could not wait." Conjuring a table and a pair of chairs, Albert took a seat and Levitated Dawlish into the seat opposite him, continuing to talk to trick the Auror into making the instinctual eye-contact people sought in conversation, "Now, I understand this cell is not very comfortable - it does not have to remain so. All you need to do is deal with me in good faith and I will be very willing to act in the same manner."

Left unstated was the implied threat; refuse to cooperate and Albert would be forced to resort to other measures.

[ooc: ITS SO BAD I'M SORRY D:]

[johndawlish]

YOU WERE YOUNG AND YOUR HEART
WAS AN OPEN BOOK, YOU USED TO SAY LIVE AND LET LIVE

Just as John had called out a tentative 'hello', an unknown figure stepped through the door that had just appeared in the wall. The figure had a halo of light surrounding his head, and as he conjured a table for the two of them to sit at, John felt a gush of fear flow through his veins. This wasn't good.

Before he could protest, the man had raised his wand and levitated John towards the table. Biting down hard on his chapped lip, John tentatively put his clamped hands on the musty wooden surface. Was this man threatening him? Alarm bells started ringing in John's ears, but as hard as he tried to remain calm, panic rose in the back of his throat.

"I see," John said, his throat still thick from not speaking for the last few days. His blue eyes met with the man's brown ones, and John knew that this was going to be trouble. "What can I help you with?" he asked, his voice quavering.

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[willdavies]

"Threatening you, Professor? I do apologize if I have somehow given you that impression - it is as I said; co-operate and you will find me a most generous host."

Conjuring a glass of water, Albert pushed it across the table towards John, deliberately flourishing an empty hand over the glass as if spiking the drink. If Dawlish missed the gesture, no harm done, but if he saw it... Fear and paranoia could go a great distance towards weakening any Occlumency a target might possess. Of course Albert could get the information either way, but he didn't want to do any undue damage to the Auror's mind. He could prove a useful tool later.

"What can you help me with?" Albert mused, "Oh, a great number of things. For now, let us make a deal to show our good faith. If you will answer a single question, I will have your bed made much more comfortable and allow you to write a single letter to one of your many friends at Hogwarts."

Albert gave a chill smile, keeping his eyes fixed on John's and skimming through the surface layer of the man's thought with the gentlest touch imaginable.

"Do we have an accord?"

[johndawlish]

YOU WERE YOUNG AND YOUR HEART
WAS AN OPEN BOOK, YOU USED TO SAY LIVE AND LET LIVE

John took a deep breath and took in the man's words. All John needed to do was cooperate, and everything would be spared.

The only question was; how far was he willing to compromise the safety of others?

With a shaky hand and a wary eye, John reached in front of him and took the glass of water, feeling the cool liquid pass against his lips and rehydrate him. The man might well have poisoned the drink, or done something to it, but John's parched mouth did not care. He gulped down the drink in one swift motion and was left to endure the belly-ache of consuming too much water.

He took in the man's words slowly. His friends at Hogwarts? John knew exactly what he meant. He could write to Katherine.

"We have a deal," John said after a moment of deliberation. "What is it that you want me to answer?" His deep voice was coming back in full strength, the water having cleaned out his parched tongue.

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[willdavies]

Smiling genially, Albert snapped his fingers. He’d left instructions with one of his House Elves to prepare a light meal; nothing that would be too tough on the stomach of someone who hadn’t eaten in a few days. The last thing Albert wanted was to try and interrogate a prisoner who was upchucking all over his boots.

”We have a deal….” Albert mused, ”For you; clean bedding, regular food, a larger cell – maybe even with a little natural light. And possibly a drink of something a little stronger than water. And all I get is the answer to a single question.” His lips quirked into a small smirk, ”Well, until we negotiate our next deal that is.”

His House Elf appeared next to Albert with a low popping noise holding a tray of food, and he Levitated it across the table to sit in front of Dawlish.

”You must be hungry – eat. I’ll take a moment to consider my question while you rebuild your strength.” It was a bluff, of course. An elaborate mind game designed to confuse Dawlish enough that Albert could pick the answer clean out of his skull without the Auror ever knowing.

Albert knew exactly what his question would be – had been planning it ever since Tom Riddle had given him the assignment. It wasn’t even a question he wanted or needed answered. It was just a question to take the measure of the man before him and allow him to discover the best approach to getting the answers he truly needed.

A minute or so later, when Dawlish was around half-way through his meagre little meal, Albert struck. ”One question, I said. And you agreed. Very well then,” Albert leaned forward towards John over the table, forcing eye contact and enunciating very clearly.

”Which of the Professors at Hogwarts have membership in the illegal vigilante organization known as the Order of the Phoenix?”

[johndawlish]

This was different. Something that John had never been partial to before in his life. Was this what his brother had experienced in his dying moments? Comfort from one of the bad guys? As if the feelings all came crashing back, he realised his brother didn't make it through the process. He was dead - and John was as good as dead if he didn't answer the question that the man asked for.

He was in a strange place with a strange man, his future relying on the answer he would give to the question. He knew it wouldn't be something simple like, what's your favourite colour. No. He needed to provide names - to compromise the safety of the others in the Order of the Phoenix.

John drained the glass of water, wondering if the man sitting opposite him had indeed poisoned it. He stared down at his fingers, waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. Pressing his lips in a hard line, his mind screaming at him not to answer, he reluctantly looked up and into the man's cold, grey eyes.

"Surely you know this already?" he mused out loud, confused as to why that question in particular would be so pressing. He shrugged and clamped his hands around the glass in front of him tightly, as if he were scared it was going to disappear. "Other than myself, there are three others that I know of."

He lowered his eyes to look back at the glass in between his fingers. "Albus Dumbledore, Filius Flitwick and Minerva McGonnagall."

John's heart gave a tight clench. He was giving this information away so freely - in fear of his own life. Wasn't that the coward's way out? Other members had died before him for relenting to give the information out.

If he ever made it out alive, it was not going to be good.

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[ ooc: how about we do a montage thing about all the memories being extracted or something? i dunno. ][/font]