"From an energy storage perspective, Number Seven is superior, but Number Six has a faster absorption rate. Perhaps they can be merged—combining the advantages of both rune structures to develop a perfected variant." Alan recorded the data meticulously, his mind already racing with possibilities.
However, the luxury of research would have to wait. The primary experiments were concluded; it was time to extract intelligence.
He grabbed Torquil by the collar and dragged him roughly into the lavatory. Torquil was currently a wreck of stinging sensations and growing numbness, but the raw terror in his eyes remained undiminished. Closing the door, Alan gripped the man's neck, staring intently into his eyes as he initiated Legilimency.
"Hmm? Memory protection?" Alan scanned the surface thoughts but found nothing of value. The moment he tried to delve into the core of Torquil's history, he hit a barrier—a slick, resilient membrane shielding the deeper mind.
This was a first for him. It wasn't the disciplined mental wall of Occlumency; it felt like a structural enchantment. The fact that it remained active even after the subject had been broken and stripped of his will to resist piqued Alan's academic interest. Refusing to be deterred, Alan delivered a few sharp strikes to Torquil's existing wounds, but the man didn't even have the strength left to wail, merely twisting his face in instinctive reflex.
Alan attempted to breach the barrier several more times, but the "membrane" held firm.
"In that case, we use Veritaserum."
He pulled a small vial from his robes and forced the liquid down Torquil's throat. The reaction was immediate; the man's eyes glazed over, becoming dull and vacant.
"Name?"
"Torquil Travers," the voice replied, stiff and toneless.
The serum was working, which re-energized Alan. He pivoted to the question that had haunted him for months.
"Do you know Sirius Black?"
"I know him. He is a member of the Order of the Phoenix."
"Did he leak the information about the Potter family to the Dark Lord?"
"Leak? I do not know."
*He doesn't know?* As a high-ranking Death Eater, Travers should have been in the inner circle.
"After Christmas in 1980, did Sirius have any contact with Death Eaters?"
"After Christmas, the Dark Lord ordered a manhunt for Sirius. We were all searching for him, but he hid well. We never found his trail."
"You were unaware that Sirius betrayed the Potters?"
"I was not aware. I only learned of it from the reports afterward."
Alan frowned. He had been searching for the truth of that betrayal, and this response only deepened his suspicions. If the Death Eaters were hunting Sirius during the height of the war, the narrative of him being a long-term spy felt increasingly fragile.
He shifted his focus, realizing Torquil might not hold the key to that specific mystery. "What other Death Eaters do you know? Recite their names and current locations."
Torquil began a long, monotonous list. Alan recorded them one by one. Some had been caught, others had fled abroad, and a few had successfully bribed their way to freedom.
"Barty Crouch Jr.? The son of the Head of Magical Law Enforcement is a Death Eater?" Alan looked at the name with genuine surprise. This was a massive revelation. In his few encounters with the elder Crouch, the man had seemed the epitome of righteous, iron-fisted justice. Had he been a hypocrite, or was he simply blind to his own son's darkness?
Alan didn't dwell on it. Time was slipping away. "What is the spell protecting your memory?"
"Slytherin Spirit Protection Spell."
*An ancient family ward?* Alan's interest flared. "How did you learn it? What is the incantation?"
"I did not learn it. I do not know the incantation."
"Then who placed it on you?"
"After I was bailed out, Julia feared I would reveal family secrets. She cast the spell on me using a specific magic book."
"What magic book?"
"It is the... Uh!"
Torquil's face suddenly contorted. The words seemed to be physically stuck in his throat, held back by an invisible force.
*The protection has a built-in gag reflex?* Alan wondered. *Even Veritaserum can't bypass a core family seal?*
He tried a different angle. "What treasures are held by the Travers family?"
"All treasures are in the vault guarded by Julia. The Slytherin manuscript, five ounces of refined mithril, and the most valuable is the... the... Ah!"
Torquil's eyes rolled back, and he let out a strangled scream. His expression became one of absolute, primal dread. The protection spell wasn't just a shield; it was a curse that triggered a mental seizure if he attempted to speak of forbidden topics.
"This isn't protection; it's a leash," Alan muttered, watching as Torquil slumped into unconsciousness. Not even a physical jolt could wake him now.
He dragged Torquil out and systematically interrogated Goyle, Crabbe, and Yaxley using the same combination of Legilimency and Veritaserum. He gathered a wealth of internal Death Eater politics, including the contents of the letter Yaxley had been writing—a plan to rendezvous with other exiles in Europe to rebuild their strength.
"It's a good thing I acted tonight," Alan thought. "They would have been across the Channel within the week."
Finally, it was Karkaroff's turn. The man had been spared the worst of the physical experiments, but witnessing the others being dragged into the lavatory only to emerge as hollowed-out shells had left him paralyzed with fear. He had spent the last hour imagining every possible horror Alan might inflict upon him.
It was a reasonable assumption. Beyond the interrogation, Alan had been roughly editing their short-term memories, ensuring that when they finally woke, the night would be nothing more than a blurred, terrifying haze.