"Or we could talk about why you're still staying here, if you disagree with what McLaggen is doing."
"I've already told you; he owns the land. If we booted him out, we would have to move. And not everyone agrees that he is hurting the group badly enough to remove him. As I said, many people love what he's promising. Your turn."
What could Albus tell her about the Knocker that he hadn't already said? He wanted to trust Sophia, but they had all been told to keep the chains a secret at all costs.
"Please believe me when I say that you don't want to know. I want to throw up just thinking about it. I was also told not to talk about it. We rarely get orders like that, despite what you might think. I've already told you more than I should have."
"Does it involve controlling animals with some sort of chain?"
Albus jumped up in shock and pointed his wand at Sophia again.
"How did you know that? Have you lied to me?"
Sophia sighed. "Please calm down. You're so jumpy. I told you I wanted to help you, and I searched for him online. One of the websites I found mentioned chains that can give shocks, but I didn't really grasp exactly what it was about. How is that a new thing?"
"It's worse than that. It gives the owner complete control. It gives a shock every time it disobeys. It can give a constant shot of pain, and it can make a boundary that it is impossible for the creature to cross without being in constant pain. It bends the will of any creature after a while. We have confirmed that it has been used on a Chimaera, and rumours of a dragon. The worst is that the Knocker brags that the chain is impossible to remove, once it has been in place for three days."
Sophia looked sick.
"I told you, you didn't want to know," Albus said with downcast eyes. He didn't tell her about how Rose had been able to remove the chain from the Porlock. They still had no idea how she had done it.
"Has he… what about your colleague?"
"We don't know, but we suspect he has got one as well. Mainly because he hasn't escaped yet. Whether it will force him to obey though…"
"Torture someone long enough, and they will do whatever you say. Let's hope your colleague has a strong will."
"Oh, he does. Among the strongest ones I know. But as you say, with enough time…"
"But why the huge secrecy?"
"Can you imagine what would happen if this got out? Even disregarding the obeying part, it restricts where a person can go, without any other physical restraints. And they can't take the chain off themselves. The potential for abuse is tremendous. For now, it seems the Knocker is content to have this technology for himself, but if he gets desperate enough, he might try to sell it."
Sophia was quiet for a long time. Then the computer started beeping and she started typing furiously on it. A grimace came on her face.
"McLaggen has started to become suspicious. He's pacing around outside, waiting for the moment we drop the defences. I need to let him know we're still here."
"Why is he so against me?"
"I don't know. Maybe he just doesn't like Aurors? Or maybe it is because you're the first person in quite some time to come here without his specific invitation. Either way, he can't throw you out now."
Albus wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Even with Greg's story over dinner, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong here. He watched from the background as Sophia walked over and reassured McLaggen. He didn't hear exactly what they said, but neither of them seemed particularly friendly towards the other. What had he become involved in? It seemed this group was divided among themselves, maybe Sophia just didn't know about the dark things the other people in the group did? Or was it like he hoped, a case of mistaken intel. Albus really needed to find out, preferably before he became a member himself. He really hoped McLaggen wouldn't turn out to be another one whose actions was largely guided by hatred towards his family or the Ministry. Because if he really was trying to turn this group into something to use against the Ministry, they could all be in big trouble.
Albus had to work hard to contain his smile as he was led towards the guest room again. He looked forward to spending the night testing what would and would not trigger a Caterwauling charm. Sophia and Greg had both all but confirmed that nothing was actually happening in the night, so he didn't have to be quite as alert as he was the first night. Ideally, he would have spent the night outside the room, trying to see what went on behind the closed doors, but he didn't want to risk that just yet. Maybe that could happen tomorrow, but it would require Sophia's assistance.
He started by doing the same sort of workout routine that he had done in the morning. Knowing Sophia was probably watching, he made sure to vary a little from what he did this morning. It was important to work different muscle groups after all. He reminded himself that this wasn't about impressing a girl. Just like in the morning, every time he touched the floor, he heard the wail. He also thought he heard a faint chuckle, but that could just be his own imagined mirth.
After his workout, it was time for more subtle tasks. He made sure to lose several items of clothing on the floor, that he then had to get up to pick up individually as he got ready for bed. The clothing alone did not cause the charm to go off, unfortunately.
He spent the night like that, in and out of the bed and the chair. It was probably obvious what he was doing, but he would still claim insomnia and that he usually had issues sleeping more than one night in a row. They wouldn't be able to know whether that was true or not.
It was a long night, but he imagined it was even longer for Sophia and Jack. He felt a little guilty for doing this to her. Maybe he could consider it payback for the trick with the truth serum. He found he trusted Sophia, despite her residing in a place like this. If anything illegal was happening here, she didn't know about it. Their heart to heart earlier had only served to strengthen that belief. He hoped he wasn't wrong.
Whenever there was a quiet moment, there would be a sound from outside again, meant to make him react. He jumped a few times, especially when he was then able to activate the charm again but didn't really pay attention to what they were trying to do. He knew they wouldn't do anything to him.
Now he just needed to figure out what these people wanted to hide. Why was McLaggen so upset that Albus was here? It sounded like they were all mostly doing magical research, that wasn't illegal in itself. Though that depended on the type of research. What little he had seen so far wasn't illegal. But who knew what happened behind the closed doors? He really needed free reign of this place, and he doubted he would get it. Completing the three nights in this room wouldn't even get him access, it would just allow him to stay. He especially needed to know what McLaggen was up to. If there was anything illegal happening here, it was in his area. Which was extra off limits even to the other members.
His thoughts were going a million miles a minute while he continued to test the Caterwauling Charm and annoy the people outside. Several ideas and plans were forming in his head, but it all depended on how much Sophia was willing to trust him.