"Severus! Severus, I beg you... please kill me. I'm sorry for everything I said before!"
Evan stared at Snape with desperate, bloodshot eyes. His entire body trembled uncontrollably as he pleaded for death.
Snape hesitated for a moment before speaking in a low voice.
"Liam... it's enough."
"Understood."
Liam nodded calmly. "Then I'll heal him, and after that he can be sent to Azkaban to answer for his crimes."
"The injuries are gone."
With a casual wave of his wand, the fingers and toes Evan had lost to Liam's Cutting Curse reattached themselves perfectly. Flesh knitted together, bones fused, and skin sealed as though the wounds had never existed.
For a moment, Evan simply stared.
Then he burst into hysterical laughter.
"Hahaha! I can go to Azkaban! I can go to Azkaban!"
The sound echoed through the room.
To most wizards, Azkaban was a living nightmare. To Evan, however, it felt like salvation.
The suffering Liam had inflicted upon him had gone far beyond anything Dementors could ever accomplish. Under Liam's hands, death itself had seemed preferable. He had tried to kill himself multiple times during the interrogation, only to be stopped every single time.
At least prisoners in Azkaban still had a chance of surviving.
There was hope there.
There was none here.
"But before that," Liam said casually, "you'll repeat everything you confessed to Dumbledore. Of course, if you'd rather not, I can always recreate the experience you just enjoyed."
The color drained from Evan's face.
"I'll do it! I'll tell him everything! Just don't torture me anymore!"
Liam chuckled and lightly tapped Evan's cheek with his wand.
"Really? A few minutes ago you were still proclaiming your loyalty to Voldemort. Where did all that devotion go? Aren't you going to protect your master?"
Evan lowered his head in silence.
It wasn't that he lacked loyalty.
It was simply that Liam's methods were too terrifying.
Even Voldemort had never tortured anyone the way Liam had.
Snape had witnessed the entire interrogation from beginning to end. Yet instead of fearing Liam or viewing him as some dark wizard, he found himself thinking the exact opposite.
He understood why Liam had done it.
Everything had been for him.
A trace of bitterness crossed Snape's heart.
If only I had met someone like Liam when I was young...
If someone had stood beside me back then, James Potter and his friends would never have humiliated me without consequence.
If I had possessed the strength to fight back, Lily Evans might never have turned away from me.
Those regrets belonged to a past that could never be changed.
"Professor Snape," Liam said, glancing toward the trembling Death Eater, "should we take him to Dumbledore now?"
Snape looked at him quietly.
"Call me Severus from now on."
Liam raised an eyebrow.
The meaning behind those words was obvious.
Snape no longer viewed him merely as a student.
The relationship between them had changed.
"Fine," Liam said with a smile. "Either way, we still need to investigate the other two Death Eaters who infiltrated Hogwarts."
He flicked his wand.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
Evan rose into the air like a sack of potatoes.
Together, Liam and Snape headed toward Dumbledore's office.
After hearing Evan's complete confession, Dumbledore's expression grew increasingly grim.
Once the interrogation was finished, he immediately sent an owl to Azkaban informing the Dementors to prepare for a new prisoner.
Only after everything was arranged did he pull Liam aside.
"Liam," Dumbledore said quietly, "we have a problem."
"What kind of problem?"
"Tom didn't die."
Liam's eyes widened.
"What? You didn't destroy his soul?"
A look of regret crossed Dumbledore's face.
"That was my mistake. I wanted to study the remaining fragment of his soul and uncover the secret behind his immortality. Before transferring it to the Ministry, I was still conducting research."
"And then?"
"The Ministry lost it."
Liam stared at him.
"The Ministry lost Voldemort?"
Dumbledore sighed heavily.
"Not exactly. A Death Eater infiltrated the Ministry and secretly stole the container holding Voldemort's soul fragment. Before anyone realized what had happened, he Apparated away."
For several seconds, Liam simply stood there.
Then he covered his face.
"The Ministry really needs stricter hiring standards."
Even he couldn't help feeling frustrated.
He had nearly destroyed Voldemort completely.
Everything had gone perfectly.
And somehow the Ministry still managed to ruin it.
If it had been left entirely in his hands, Voldemort's soul would already have ceased to exist.
Instead, a fragment had escaped.
Again.
Liam silently made a note to himself.
If he ever built an organization of his own in the future, quality would matter far more than quantity.
A single traitor could destroy years of work.
And Voldemort was precisely the kind of enemy who thrived on mistakes.
Cunning.
Patient.
Difficult to track.
Opportunities to eliminate him permanently were exceedingly rare.
Still, there was little point dwelling on it now.
According to what Dumbledore and Snape had already uncovered, Voldemort's immortality remained tied to some deeper secret. Even if this soul fragment were destroyed, another piece might still survive somewhere.
Until that mystery was solved, killing him completely would remain impossible.
Thinking about it that way made the situation slightly less frustrating.
Changing the subject, Liam asked, "Professor Dumbledore, what exactly is the Philosopher's Stone? Why does Voldemort want it so badly?"
"The Philosopher's Stone is an alchemical creation made by my old friend, Nicolas Flamel."
Dumbledore slowly began explaining.
"It possesses many remarkable properties. It can be used in advanced magical research, including the creation of artificial bodies capable of housing souls. It is also capable of producing the Elixir of Life."
Understanding flashed across Liam's face.
"So Voldemort wanted it to build himself a new body."
"That is my conclusion as well."
Dumbledore nodded.
"I originally concealed the Philosopher's Stone inside the Mirror of Erised. Unfortunately, someone leaked information about its location. The Death Eaters learned of it and stole the mirror from Hogwarts."
His voice carried obvious self-reproach.
The theft had happened under his watch.
As Headmaster, responsibility ultimately rested with him.
Liam wisely chose not to mention that the genuine Philosopher's Stone was currently sitting safely inside his own storage space.
Comforting Dumbledore was hardly worth exposing that secret.
Especially when the old wizard had previously attempted to probe his memories.
"Then Anthony Dolohov escaped with the mirror?"
"Yes."
Dumbledore looked tired.
"He had hidden a broomstick near the river. By the time I reached the area, I found only traces of magical flight. He escaped before I could intercept him."
Liam nodded slowly.
That was troublesome.
To avoid suspicion, the three Death Eaters had assumed the identities of Hogwarts students.
In order to maintain their disguises, they had murdered the original students and taken their places.
Three students.
Three innocent children were dead.
Soon their parents would learn the truth.
And when they did, grief would quickly become outrage.
As Headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore would inevitably bear the blame for failing to prevent the tragedy.
....
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