Chapter 6

Author's note: This story may not please everyone as it is not the usual fluffy Christmas story. The scenes depicted in this story may be offensive and objectionable to some readers for their explicit violence and gore. This story deviates from my usual writing. Emphases are in italics and titles of books &ca are underlined. Some readers may find my characterisation OOC, but I assure you, this is how I see them in the dark distant future. I assume that Dumbledore's death in Book 6 was staged and that's why he's still alive in this story.

Christmas Presents Undisguised

Chapter 6

For the next two days, excitement ran high in wizarding London over the news that a large reward was offered for the capture of Antonin Dolohov. 'A thousand galleons!' whispered the gossips to each other. 'Imagine what we could do with the money! If only we could catch Dolohov! Oh, a thousand galleons!'

The unfortunate man's old wanted posters adorned every available surface in every district and constituency of wizarding London. The Daily Prophet, the premier British wizarding newspaper, also devoted two pages to the increased reward for the capture of the gutting murderer, and reported daily sightings (all apocryphal of course) of this runaway Death Eater. The public's avarice was inflamed so much so that all it could talk about was the capture of Dolohov and the large windfall that would befall it if they could be the fortunate ones to apprehend the alleged killer. All this talk of apprehending Dolohov ironically pushed the coming Christmas season out of the minds of the mobile vulgus.

Conveniently for him and the Ministry, Dumbledore mentally noted, the members of the wizarding community had neglected to pay attention to the full clauses of the reward – one had to personally apprehend Dolohov; if one had sighted him and called on the Aurors to make the arrest, no reward money would be forthcoming. Oh well, he shrugged, more money for the Secret Department of Unspeakable Unspeakables to use in their investigations, then. With the talk of the price on Dolohov's head, all Christmas chatter died and was replaced by a rash of false accusations where neighbours reported alleged sightings of the wanted man in each other's homes. The Daily Prophet, as could be expected, lapped up the drama eagerly, publishing widely on these feuding neighbours, leading other small wizarding presses to print and distribute pamphlets explaining what to do should the reader come across rogue Death Eaters.

Following the speculation on the reward money and Dolohov's capture, people came to show an interest in the places where the murders were committed. This drove tourists and curious onlookers to the eight known and publicised sites (information on the other similar slayings in the Chardobis districts was not released to the press). A circumstance that led many fingersmiths to plumb their own pockets for the Yuletide season. More than one known felon silently thanked Dolohov for drawing attention away from his nefarious activities. The murder sightseers who flocked to the disreputable part of wizarding London in exhilarated trepidation discomfited the usual residents there. While they were pleased that the series of sensational murders in their area so close to Christmas had brought the much needed tourist knut into the dingy denizens, they were displeased that the disruption of their everyday lives. As such, the inhabitants of Morosia, Alkane and Discedes were glad that the murderer – whoever he was – was still on the loose, for this meant they could have their districts to themselves come sundown.

Hermione and Severus observed these events with jaundiced eyes from the relative comfort of their respective homes, not bothering to stir outdoors lest they too meet these sensation-hungry mobs. Both Unspeakable Unspeakables dismissed Harry Potter's personal effort to thank them via Floo and declined his invitation to supper. Instead, they chose to remain secreted in their studies thinking about the investigation. Hermione returned to her flat in wizarding Banbury, Oxfordshire, stationed herself at her desk, writing, making extensive notes, thinking and making extensive Arithmantic calculations as to where the killer would next strike. There was something about the investigation that dissatisfied her – it was as if it were still incomplete. Despite the announcement of the increased reward money for the capture of the Morosia-side murderer, Hermione was still pacing her flat with her notes on the case firmly in her hand and mind.

She was interrupted in her thoughts by a Floo-chime. Clicking her tongue in annoyance at the unwanted interruption, she turned sharply to the offensive Floo-caller with a ready insult only to find that it was Severus. He began brusquely without preamble, 'I have received a communiqué from one of my contacts. The game's still afoot, Dr Granger. Come over to Spinner's End. I need your expertise.'

She nodded to the head in the greenish flames briefly, grabbed her cloak, wand and papers and entered her fireplace before Severus could close the Floo connection. Eyeing her slightly sooty cloak with haughty disdain, Severus silently cast a cleansing spell over her and gestured for her to sit. 'My contact from Northumberland has alerted me to something which I think you will find interesting, given your penchant for the method of "thinking simply".'

'Am I right to assume then that you do not think Dolohov to be our man?' she asked, looking at him as he paced the length of the study.

'It must have occurred to you, Dr Granger, that the evidence against Antonin is entirely circumstantial. Something does not fit with the evidence.'

Hermione frowned. 'That puzzled me as well. My private enquiries have yielded nothing new.'

'You do not have my contacts, Dr Granger.'

She rolled her eyes. 'Your contacts? Very well, Professor Snape, what did your mysterious contact say?'

'He informs us,' Severus began, shuffling through the papers in his hands until he came to the right one, 'there had been a spate of violent attacks in the one of the Muggle districts in Northumberland some four hundred years ago. These attacks are of the same nature, bloody, brutal and senseless. The killings went on for nearly two years and the perpetrator was surprisingly indiscriminate in his choice of victims, more so than our mysterious Morosia-side man. The Northumberland fellow gamely included children in his repertoire of farmhands and shop girls. All the victims there had their necks broken, their tongues torn out, their bodies mutilated and indecently assaulted. According to the Muggle reports, not all his victims had the misfortune to die. There were three survivors who were severely mauled. However, they were in too much shock to be of any use to the investigation. The local authorities at that time combined what little rationality they had and came to the conclusion that supernatural forces were at work. They initiated a hunt for the infamous loup-garrou – as the original records stated – and uncovered nothing.'

Hermione held out her hand for the papers he held and after scowling darkly at her, he reluctantly slapped them in her palm. Severus smirked at himself when she gave no further indication of wishing to interrupt him and duly continued, 'In case you are unable to read late medieval English handwriting the papers inform the careful reader that the authorities eventually found a suspect who was neither a wizard nor a werewolf. He was caught after someone saw him leaving a faintly moaning whore in some alley. He was as much of a mortal human being as you and I. As soon as this Guillaume Wydevyll was caught, he readily admitted to the crimes. Naturally, being the catholic thinkers that they were in those days, they believed that a man was incapable of such deeds and used various unorthodox means to obtain Wydevyll's confession that he was a werewolf or wizard.* Despite the torture and the threat of death that was held over his head, Wydevyll maintained that he was neither a werewolf nor wizard. He was in fact, a beggar by trade, not a prosperous one, and enjoyed going about in his dirty ragged clothes. He was not particularly remarkable and could have slipped through the streets of any 16th century England town without drawing attention to himself. According to the accounts in your hands, his countenance was not frightening and he was not very strongly built. He only wanted an outlet for his urges and any being fortunate enough to fall within his vision was prey for his needs. The surviving witnesses confirmed him as the murderer when they cowered away at the sight of him. He was subsequently tried, found guilty and burnt at the stake.'

Severus noted Hermione's thoughtful silence and approached her sofa. 'Well, Dr Granger,' he purred, leaning forward, tightly grasping the armrest, thereby fencing her in her seat. 'What conclusions can you draw from this cautionary tale?'

Affecting a nonchalant air, she met his obsidian eyes coldly. 'There are some astounding similarities – the belief that a demon or monster was responsible for the killings, the modus operandi of violent killing for its own sake and so on. What strikes me,' she said, chewing on her thumb, 'is the discovery that the killer was an ordinary man whom no one suspected. No one would even pay attention to him for he was one of the nameless, faceless people in the town. That's frightening.'

'Precisely,' answered Severus, sweeping away to his desk. 'Now, we need to find a modern wizarding equivalent to Guillaume Wydevyll. Once we find this man who is so much of a nothing that he strikes out at those who are something, we have our man. Power is a drug and if killing and torture inspires fear in the victim, little wonder that our man is addicted to it.'

'This disqualifies Dolohov from our list then.'

'Do you think that stupid Minister would allow Dumbledore to call off the hunt for Dolohov? Of course not!'

'I sincerely doubt anyone would believe us if we told them that the criminal they seek is somebody yet nobody,' said Hermione, leaning back into the sofa.

'Somebody yet nobody... That is an interesting turn of phrase and apt, very apt,' murmured Severus, bending over his books. "Do you think..."

His words were cut off at that moment by Ron Weasley's head in the Floo. 'Hey, 'Mione,' the Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement greeted her, excitement bubbling in his voice. 'And you too, Snape,' he added coldly before cracking a grin at his friend. 'We have Antonin Dolohov in custody.'

'He must be the – what – tenth one today?' snorted Severus, with his fingers a delicate steeple under his chin.

'This one is the real thing all right. He's at Azkaban. He surrendered himself to Neville at Azkaban!' Ron chattered excitedly.

Hermione and Severus exchanged meaningful looks of alarm. 'Then that's where we're going,' the Unspeakable Unspeakables declared, simultaneously rising from their seats.

* * *

While the investigators managed to keep whatever private sentiments they had at the surrender of Dolohov to themselves, they could not help but lash out at the Chief Warden at Azkaban on learning that Dolohov was already in the deepest recesses of the South Wing racking room.

'I knew you were stupid, Longbottom, but not this stupid! You were supposed to wait for orders from either Dr Granger or myself! Did I order you to put him to torture?' Severus barked at the cringing Neville as he was led down the winding stairs to Dolohov's holding cell.

'B...but Dumbledore's office said we were to begin interrogation immediately,' stammered Neville, looking to Hermione for support. 'He said that we had to do whatever we could to extract the how and the why of the killings.'

'Precisely,' snapped Severus, his eyes narrowing dangerously into slits. 'The orders were to interrogate NOT torture. Have you no dictionary you might perhaps use to remedy your ignorance?'

'If he's the man you're after, he'll crack sooner or later and you'll have your confession,' squealed Neville, nervously wiping his brow.

'The Department of Magical Law Enforcement offices are incompetent!' rejoined Severus angrily. 'Aren't you all trained in the wizarding common law of the British Isles? The wizarding common law plainly states that there is to be no torture in criminal enquiries! A person will often say anything under torture, surely the Voldemort years must have taught you that!'

'But I thought that because he was your man and all, getting the detailed confession was of the utmost urgency,' offered Neville weakly as he trembled in his shoes.

'Precisely, Mr Longbottom, you didn't think!' spat the Alchemist.

'Have you thought of using Veritaserum?' interposed Hermione as quickly as she saw her colleague stretching out his hand, presumably to throttle her friend.

'The Department of Magical Law Enforcement limits the use of chemical influences to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement offices, not Azkaban. As you know, Azkaban rules are clear that no magic is to be allowed. This means no wands, no potions,' Neville explained. 'Even if we could slip him a little Veritaserum, we would require Ministry approval. A Ministry appointed Potions master must brew it for us in our premises witnessed by the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and a representative from Dumbledore's office. The process to secure Veritaserum use can take up to a month!'

As the Unspeakable Unspeakables were ushered into Dolohov's holding cell at that moment, they had to keep their opinions on the bureaucracy to themselves. The cell was a sparsely decorated room with the stench of blood and human waste. The most notable feature, observed the investigators, was a steel frame three metres long and one metre across housing the stretched body of Antonin Dolohov. His wrists and ankles were manacled to the rusted pulleys at all four ends and his body severely whipped. Severus approached the accused and stared at the face and the sunken eyes and cheeks. His limbs and body, the alchemist noted, were more bones than flesh and his face bore signs of heavy beating.

Gudgeon, who was in the corner working the racking device, ceased his ministrations on the machine and looked up at the newcomers with a twisted grin on his lip. Dolohov's limbs were already fully extended and the chains holding him down were so taut that Hermione thought they might break at any minute. From the awkward twist of his left arm and right leg, Hermione surmised that those appendages were already broken. As he turned his head to better view the investigators, a trickle of blood fell from his mouth down his chin as he convulsed slightly.

'Antonin, we meet again,' said Severus tonelessly.

Dolohov bared his bloodied teeth in a greeting. 'So the two-headed snake still lives!'

Neville sniffed in mild disgust. 'You see how unrepentant he is! Stubborn Death Eater Swine!'

'Isn't this torture extreme?' asked Hermione. 'We just want to question him.'

'It may seem extreme to you,' answered Neville, patting his former schoolfellow on the shoulder bracingly. 'But this is absolutely necessary. These idiotic Death Eater pigs can hold out against the rack for days. Pity Dolohov isn't doing his own torture.'

'Mr Longbottom,' Severus drawled deliberately with false civility. 'Need I remind you that he is not here because he is Death Eater spy? He is here because he is accused of murder.'

Dolohov looked imploringly at his former comrade and twitched his lips into a friendly smirk, blinking away the wetness in his red-rimmed eyes. Neville could only stand aside and gape at Severus's injunction, while the alchemist favoured him with a contemptuously curling of his lips. Cowering at the sight of his former Potions master's quelling gaze, Neville flushed hotly and stammered, 'Murder is very bad, very bad indeed. I will tell Gudgeon to cease applying the rack if you want it. But we dare not do so lest we are deemed to be neglecting our duty.'

'Duty?' laughed Severus ironically. 'Do you know what duty is?'

Hermione hastily interjected. "What Professor Snape means to say is that while we understand the reasons for your usage of this device, for we are cognisant of the fact that certain occasions do merit specific methods, we view the rack and any torture device to be left as the instrument of last resort only."

'Do you want me to release him to your custody then, Hermione?' offered Neville.

The two investigators glanced briefly at each other; one set of eyes glittering and unfathomable, the other enquiring and soft. Whatever their eyes communicated to each other, they both were aware of the uses of torture in Azkaban; thus, they shook their heads at the Chief Warden. 'Not yet,' said Hermione, breaking the silence.

'Tell us how he came to be here, Mr Longbottom,' demanded the Alchemist.

'He knocked on the gates of the prison and said that he wanted sanctuary before someone caught him,' Neville stated. 'He was dressed in tattered robes of black and wore an omega chain around his neck. It was as if he wanted to give the impression that he was repenting for his damnable deeds in life.'

'Yes,' whispered Dolohov bitterly. 'The ancient sign of repentance for wizards was to mark my regret for the things I've done under the Dark Lord's orders. They took my omega away from me, Severus.' He grimaced in pain. 'When I was in Azkaban in this great fat oaf's position, I was doing what he's doing to me now – only what I did was far worse, far worse.'

'Impudent dog!' shouted Gudgeon. 'How dare you compare us to you!' To further emphasise his opinion¸ he drove a hammer into the device's crank-handle and turned it slowly so much that all present heard the cracking of bones and Dolohov's howls.

'Stop it!' commanded both Hermione and Severus, much to the surprise of the prisoner.

'Antonin, tell me something to convince me of this change of heart. Tell me why you gave yourself up after years of hiding. If you want me to help you, you must help me in this murder mystery,' Severus pleaded in his former comrade's ear.

'I came here on my own free will when I saw the posters at Mornay. From the day of my release many years ago, I lived like a beggar on the streets, ignored by people at best and beaten by those who thought I got in the way. Without a wand, I was no different from a Muggle. I didn't know how to live like one. One day, I came across an out-of-the-way farmhouse. I slept every night in the stables there. The farmhouse was owned by a mud...Muggle-born witch, a widow. Normally, I would reject any charity from their kind. I always thought they hated our kind. However, she was different. She didn't look on me as if I was a loathsome beggar. She always gave me something to eat every night. She never asked any questions and it suited me. Sometimes, she would ask me to run into town to get something for her and I did. I lasted for I don't know how many years like that. Living like that made me think. What it was like to be a mendicant and friendless and suddenly someone who clearly knows you are and what you have done, feeds you. It made me feel like a bloody bastard.'

'Which you are,' added Neville hotly.

Gudgeon snorted and laughed savagely. 'Doesn't sound like a Death Eater to me!'

'You could have continued your life there, why did you surrender to us?' enquired Hermione gently.

'I want to show that I am innocent,' whispered Dolohov weakly.

'Stupid move,' commented Severus with something akin to regret in his voice

'Right you are there,' chuckled Neville. However, the grave look on the faces of the Unspeakable Unspeakables disconcerted him and he asked, 'You don't mean to say you believe him!'

Hermione spoke for both herself and Severus when she honestly declared that they were presently undecided in their views. Severus turned away from Dolohov and rubbed his brow as if nursing a headache. This was very different from the Dolohov he knew in his Death Eater days. Could he be the murderer or couldn't he? A part of him wanted to believe that the note of sincerity in his voice was genuine. However, try as he might, he could not put aside the knowledge that the Dolohov he knew enjoyed torturing others. Did this then mean that he was the perpetrator of the murders? Severus did not know.

'If you two don't know what to think, I do!' announced Neville, resuming the full weight of his authority as Azkaban's Chief Warden. "Gudgeon, I want a confession out of him as soon as possible. Proceed with the next stage!"

Unable to bear the sight any longer, both the Unspeakable Unspeakables swept indignantly out of the cell. Puzzled by the case, which only seemed to be yielding indefinite answers, Hermione and Severus stayed the night at Azkaban. During the course of the night they went down to Dolohov's cell to beg him to tell them the truth. However, all Dolohov did was to repeatedly protest his innocence at the Unspeakable Unspeakables questions. Neville, it would seem, was convinced of his guilt. Despite Hermione's protests over the torture methods he ordered Gudgeon to put the prisoner through, Neville remained steadfast in maintaining his point-of-view. Whenever she objected to the torture on grounds that Dolohov was too weak to withstand further questioning without fainting away, Neville told her that his experience at Azkaban had taught him that prisoners always broke down in the end and confessed to their crimes, it only took some time and physical persuasion. This comment earned him a look of scorn from Severus and a shocked look of repugnance in Hermione's eyes. The backbone he had apparently grown in his tenure as Chief Warden did nothing to recommend him to the Unspeakable Unspeakables, however amiable he might be towards them. Revolted by the gross techniques that Gudgeon applied on Dolohov, the Arithmancer and alchemist begged him to confess: if he did kill those witches and wizards, he could be guaranteed a swift death at the gallows. He need not fear disembowelment for his crime was not treason. Even if he were innocent, they pleaded, he should confess so as to stop the torture. They even promised to plead for a quick death on his behalf. Dolohov chose not to heed their petitions and staunchly remained true to his story – he maintained his innocence, defiantly claiming he did not commit any of the murders of which he was accused. At first, they had assumed him to be delirious and questioned him about the individuals he had tortured while in Voldemort's service. Nevertheless, when he readily confessed to torturing those in his care to death, Hermione and Severus grimly conceded that he was speaking the truth.

At three o'clock in the morning, it became noticeable to Hermione and Severus that Dolohov was looking very ill indeed. He passed out frequently, writhing his chained body in pain. His limbs were no longer grey but bluish black and were scarred with bloody welts. All four limbs by then had twisted grotesquely out of shape and appeared to be broken in many parts. His nose had begun to peel with the continual onslaught of mucus and blood, and his eyes no longer rained tears but little rivers of blood. Unable to bear with it anymore, Hermione confronted Neville. 'I do not care if Dumbledore and Harry sanctioned this! This is inhumane. You can see that it's getting nowhere. He gives us the same answers to everything. If there's anything I've learnt in my position, it's this – consistency is usually the truth.'

Nonplussed by her statement, the Chief Warden shrugged and ordered Gudgeon to remove the prisoner from the devices. Severus cast Neville an evil look as soon as Dolohov was brought down from the iron maiden. 'So, this is what the Chief Custodian does! No wonder the administrative paperwork of Azkaban is so much in order,' he said.

'I'm very glad you realised that,' said Neville, wiping the sweat off his brows and rolling down the sleeves of his robes. Hermione noticed with a wry twitch of her lips that Severus's insult slid neatly off her friend's self-contained complacency of his position. She looked up at the mouldy stone ceiling and privately wondered whether the air of cruelty inherent at Azkaban turned their Chief Wardens into obsessive creatures who only cared for extracting confessions from their prisoners.

'Has it ever occurred to you that information extracted through torture is most likely unreliable and untrue?' Hermione asked, saying the first thing that came to her mind.

Neville nodded briefly at the veracity of her utterance. 'But it is a just way,' replied he with a slight smile.

'Really? Pray, Captain Longbottom, edify me. What is the "just way"? Why is it "just"?' sneered Severus. Sensing something awry, for her colleague had addressed the custodian by his Department of Magical Law Enforcement rank for their first time in their investigation, Hermione gently placed her hand at the crook of his folded arms to stay him from any violent outburst.

Neville adjusted his robes and stomped on the dry hay to remove the muck and blood from under his shoes. 'It's actually very simple. When person is put through pain, we will know whether he is truly good and innocent. If he is good and innocent, then he will have the strength of mind to come out of it. Justice will prevail. So long as this good and innocent person holds out, something or the other will happen to add to his strength of character and the real guilty party will be caught. If a person is bad and guilty, then he'll crack. The fact is, innocents are never sent here now that Harry is the Minister of Magic. Every heinous felon sent here is guilty of something. It says so in our Custodian's Guide to Azkaban, "Every man is guilty of something; he just needs help remembering what it was". We here at Azkaban only highlight the guilt in our methods. It is our duty to see that we help the law. Thus, the torture will serve its purpose.'

Severus and Hermione exchanged glances. 'So,' began Severus, not bothering to hide his disdain. 'Let us say, hypothetically, you have an innocent man incarcerated here. How long would he have to proclaim his blamelessness through torture before you are convinced of his innocence? A week? A month? A year? Or do you take the simple route and torture him until he "cracks" and proves himself to be a bad, guilty felon so that you might call off the instruments of pain?'

'You know I just follow the system,' Neville said quietly, stammering and cringing a little at Severus's uncomfortable line of questioning. 'It's the way it has been done and the way I do it. Simple as that – I do my duty.' With a final look at the cell so as to ascertain that he did not leave anything behind, the Chief Custodian of Azkaban proceeded to lead them out of the deepest recesses of the South Wing.

Footnotes:

The title of this tale is a pun. 'Presents' is a double entendre. It means (1) gifts and (2) shows. If you take its latter meaning and dissect it, you will realise that I could mean it as a masque or pageant (in the 17th century understanding of the term). Think about it. I'll leave you to figure out how it fits with the story. 'Presents' could also mean 'current' – which would be another pun for Christmas now under the Potter Administration and Christmas then, under the Voldemort administration.

I kept the Victorian term for thief/pickpocket, 'fingersmith', because I like it. Besides, the wizarding world is a little behind the Muggle world and an old-fashioned word (in my opinion) gives it a little charm.

"The game's still afoot, Dr Granger." pays homage to Sherlock Holmes' remark to Watson in The Abbey Grange, where Holmes says, "Come, Watson, come! The game is afoot!" http://www.classicreader.com/read.php/sid.1/bookid.397/sec.12/

* Paragraph 11 – 'Naturally, being the catholic thinkers that they were in those days, they believed that a man was incapable of such deeds and used various unorthodox means to obtain Wydevyll's confession that he was a werewolf or wizard.'

Catholic here has several meanings: (1) open-minded, wide-ranging, broad, all-embracing, broadminded – in which the usage in the context of Severus's speech would be ironic, (2) Christians – holy communion for the Anglicans and Methodists (I'm not sure about the rest), refer to all Christians as 'Catholics'. It is NOT a reference to the Catholic Church, (3) Catholic as in the Catholic Church. All three meanings are implied herein.

'So long as this good and innocent person holds out, something or the other will happen to add to his strength of character and the real guilty party will be caught...' is a reference to the Salem witch trials. According to my beta, the old trials went something like this - if the witch drowns when dunked under the water, she's innocent. If she lives, then she's a witch and put to death. She addes, 'Either way, at least in Puritan-time Massachusetts, the accused died.' Now, think about how this applies to the Potter administration of this story and how disturbing it is...

Neville's line from his fictitious handbook, "Every man is guilty of something; he just needs help remembering what it was", was actually a popular proverb in Stalinist Russia. My beta informs me that it was heard in the television show Man from Uncle, don't you love Ilya Kurakin (sic) in that show...

The usage of the standard Nazi answer of 'I just follow orders' in Neville's response in the last paragraph is intentional.

And yes, Harry is Minister of Magic and his administration (as mentioned frequently in this tale) is terrible. As that's how I envision the actual game of politics, little wonder that I prefer to be a political philosopher trying to teach people aware of the self from within rather than dabble in politics. I can't play power politics for now, as attested by my problems with the poli sci department where I'm at.