Yang was forced awake by another high-level jolt of pain. He wondered how many of those his heart could take. His ability to move was slowly deteriorating, as his muscles cramped up more and more. He didn't even need the restraints of the cage; he couldn't move even if he wanted to. Maybe his body had gotten used to the stimulation, or they were just tired after being in constant movement for days with hardly any food. Yang had hoped to die from malnourishment, but so far, his body had stubbornly refused to give in.
The Knocker, whatever his actual name was, had long since given up trying to get him to cooperate. Now he seemed determined to break him. Whether he died in the process didn't seem to matter much to him.
One of the few bright spots for Yang was when he saw signs of stress from his captor. Most of the creatures that had been there when he was first captured were still here.
A torrent of water came down from the ceiling. This was the Knocker's way of trying to keep him hydrated. Yang had tried to end his suffering by not eating or drinking, but the Knocker had several ways of feeding reluctant creatures. This shower was one of them. The Knocker had delighted in telling him all the details of how he kept even the most stubborn of creatures alive despite them losing all hope. Force feedings were the smallest part of it. Several times already, the man had poured half a bottle of baby food into his mouth, then held his nose until he swallowed. That was the only time he touched him. Yang didn't even have the strength to try and hit him and they both knew it. He had tried to choke to death by refusing to swallow, but his body wouldn't let him.
Why was the Knocker so keen on keeping him alive? If he wasn't negotiating for his release, why keep him alive at all? If he died, no one would know for quite some time. The only conclusion he could come to was that the Knocker liked to torture him and wanted his suffering to be as long as possible.
Another sharp jolt went through him. Then he felt his body being magically lifted into a seated position. The chain seemed to attach itself to something behind him, though he knew there wasn't anything there. This was new. He tried to keep his head up, but he lacked the strength for even such a small thing. The Knocker came towards him, smiling.
"Have you lost complete control over your body already? And here I thought you would actually break the record. Some of the other creatures kept themselves up for weeks, if not months."
Yang didn't say anything. He didn't even know if he would be able to say anything if he tried. It seemed the Knocker wasn't there for him though. He went over to one of the other cages and got the Wampus Cat out of it. It walked calmly beside him, looking completely tamed. Could there be more to the chains than just shocks? He didn't know how intelligent Wampus cats were, but how hard had it been tortured, to make it not even attempt to bite its captor?
Yang felt himself gliding down on the floor again, as the magical bonds were removed. Behind the cage Yang saw a mirror with several shadows lurking in the background. What had that been about? His mind was too muddled to think. Why couldn't he just die?
***
"Potter, do you have a moment?"
"Dawson! Of course, come in. How's the investigation going?"
"It's going. I have good news and bad news, which would you like first?"
"Just tell me in the order that makes the most sense."
"Very well. Let's start with Piers. I have tried to ascertain why he was in that alley at the same time that we were there doing a raid. He was on leave at the time, and had no ties to anyone in the area, or so we thought."
Harry nodded. That had been the strangest part of all. Why had Piers placed himself in the line of fire, knowing the procedures for a standard raid? And why had he attacked Albus? He wished Albus would have at least stayed to tell his side of the story before he ran. He could have waited to detain him, or at least just had him in house arrest at home. Now they had no idea where he was, or what he had become mixed up in. He had escaped the situation with Foley, but that just raised more questions. Had he gone searching for the man on purpose? If not, how had he found him? The small note attached to Foley said very little. And there had been no sign of him since.
"As it turns out, our information about that area was vastly misguided. The activity there has nothing to do with the Knocker, or anything related to his network. Instead, it is a place where intellectuals gather to test ideas that are… slightly unorthodox. I suspect Piers was hired there as a form of scout or lookout."
"But why would he then place himself in a vulnerable position? Why not retreat and warn whoever he was working for? And why would they scatter when the Ministry are coming?"
"Wouldn't you run, if you are suddenly set upon by a large number of unidentified people with wands out? I understand your desperation to find the Knocker and Yang, but is this really the best method? Who knows how many witnesses you have scared away by this aggressive tactic." Harry didn't say anything, but he found himself agreeing. This tactic yielded less and less results every day, but what else could he do?
"Either way, Piers had a very good reason for reacting the way he did. I was lucky enough to find a forgotten Muggle surveillance camera that covered the incident in detail. That is the good news I wanted to show you." Dawson continued.
A camera? Why hadn't he said so at once? Harry had quickly realised how useful it would be to have access to Muggle security cameras. Hermione had set up a deal with the Muggle Prime Minister so that the Department of Technology could have access to the Muggle Police servers. It was a rather complicated process, but in practice it meant that Harry and his department could access the same cameras that the Muggle police could. It had proven useful on more than one occasion. It also helped the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, since they could be alerted whenever a camera recorded proof of magical activity and delete it before anyone could see it. Most CCTV "malfunctions" were actually Ministry officials deleting signs of magic that were caught on camera.
Not every Auror had mastered the new technology. In fact, some of them stubbornly refused to use it except when they had no other choice. Dawson had resisted at first and not included it in training, but he had changed his mind once he saw how detailed some of the cameras could be.
They both sat down next to a screen. Dawson had a video ready to show with the help of a member of the Technology department. The scene was clear at first. Piers was standing guard next to something. A young woman came out, pointed at something, most likely the camera they were looking through, then went out of frame. Piers then shot a spell or similar at the camera, clearly thinking he had destroyed or frozen it. Was this why all other cameras in the place had strange periods of malfunction as well? That was why Harry had chosen that place to raid, anything with suspicious activity could be a target.
Then another woman came walking. She had the same colouring as Piers, maybe she was a relative. Piers certainly smiled at her in a way he had not at the first woman. Then they both heard something. Harry suspected it was the raid starting. They both ducked down, but Piers kept his wand at the ready. A dark shadow started coming around the corner. Piers sprung to his feet just as Harry recognised Albus' figure. Then a strange fog appeared out of nowhere, obscuring the actual confrontation. But the woman's reaction made it clear what happened. She shouted something, but the other woman held her back, before they both Disapparated. Albus still had his back turned to the two women, so all he saw was Piers dead at his right side. Albus looked down on the body, frozen in shock.
Then Scorpius came running from another direction. He also looked shocked, then said something. Rose came just behind him. Neither of them moved, before Albus Disapparated. That was consistent with what Rose had written in her report. But what exactly they had said was harder to know. Then a large group of other Aurors came running as well. They lifted Piers's dead body onto a stretcher and then the video stopped.
"Well, that told us something, and nothing at all," Harry said with a sigh.
"At the very least, it showed that young Potter did not attack first."
"Did it? Or do we just hope that's what it shows?"
"Potter was standing with his back against Piers. Though the fog is suspicious, it doesn't last for long. Whatever happens, happens quickly. I doubt Potter would have time to turn around, then attack before turning back around again before it was gone."
"But why would Albus then flee? Why not come back to the Ministry and explain? And why hasn't he at least contacted any of us later on and explained?"
"I cannot read Potter's mind, but I suspect he acted on instinct. He ran away from his problems, possibly also to avoid putting you in an uncomfortable situation."
"Running away also puts me in an uncomfortable situation."
"Potter, if your son had come back and confessed to killing an Auror, even in self-defence, what would you do?"
Harry hadn't thought about that. The protocol was clear. He would have had to arrest or detain Albus. He probably wanted to avoid that.
"To me, the fact that he ran away proves that it was an accident. Young Potter strikes me as the sort of person that would, if he truly had mistakenly killed Piers, have turned himself in. The fact that he has not, means he is still trying to figure out what happened that day."
Harry hoped that was true. And that wherever his son was, he was safe. He hadn't asked most of the family if Albus was there, he didn't want to scare him off, if he had gone there. But the fact that he had encountered Foley, seemingly by accident indicated that he hadn't just gone to some family member. He had tried to leave the country, but most likely failed. He hadn't been able to keep this from Ginny either, apparently, she had met Albus on his way out. She was also very worried but didn't say much about what she thought. Would she tell him, if she found out where her son had gone? He would feel better if he just knew he was safe. He didn't need the details.