Chapter 42: The Consequences of Choice
"Oh? And why was that?"
"Because I said so. Or rather, my instructor was supposed to tell you, but you were too arrogant to listen."
He gave a contemptuous snort.
"So now I am going to take this girl and her sister. Your parents and hers will be killed, that mangy half-goblin will have his throat cut, and you will be left a cripple who spends the rest of his life without arms or legs."
"Is that so?"
"Yes!"
"Then you are declaring a blood feud against me?"
"Ha! You are not worth the honor. We will simply do it and be done with it."
"And how do you intend to deal with the Russian law enforcement? From what I know, they don't tend to worry too much about the condition of those they detain at events like this."
"Ha! Look at him!"
The boy looked thoroughly relaxed, and his dogs looked more than happy about what they apparently thought was about to happen. His instructor, on the other hand, was scowling and glancing back and forth between Flitwick, Mother Bella, and Fleur's father.
"I am in a generous mood, so I will explain exactly what is going to happen. Before coming here, I purchased emergency Portkeys from a local law enforcement officer that will pull us out of this place even through the anti-Portkey barriers. So no one will be able to catch us, and Cuba will not extradite us."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Starting to understand now? Boys, deal with him."
Two short flicks of my wand, and a spherical shield snapped into existence around our table, drawing roughly half my reserves in one go. A third flick sent a wordless Disarming Charm at my opponent, the Cuban boy, pouring the remaining half of my reserves into it.
The shield absorbed several fairly powerful spells without giving way. The Disarming Charm, however, was blocked by a shield raised by the boy's instructor, so all I had accomplished was forcing one of the opponents to defend his charge.
Even that was more than enough. Bella had already drawn her wand, and the very instant the first of their spells struck my shield, she sent something dark at one of them. He literally began to wither where he stood. Cissy took the second man, which I had not expected.
Not that I was unaware that Mother Cissy could defend herself. She was a Black, and she could certainly hold her own. But she was a Healer first and foremost, and I had not imagined she would take part in a brawl. The fact that the second brute was literally cut into several pieces by her favorite combat spell told me she was very, very angry.
A cold snarl appeared on Flitwick's lips as the boy produced a small piece of wood and tried to activate his Portkey. But Portkeys were not so simple, and while his had been configured to slip through the permanent security barriers around the tournament venue, passing through even the most basic ward on a specific room still required either the key to that ward or a ward-breaker. I had already noticed Flitwick quietly casting a ward on the room the moment things turned violent.
"Well then..."
Jean-Paul rose unhurriedly from his seat and drew his wand, leveling it at the boy and his one remaining guard.
"Ahem... negotiations?"
The instructor asked in a distinctly uncertain voice, clearly aware that the odds of anyone agreeing to negotiate, after everything this miserable little wretch had said, were not particularly high.
"Young man, would you be able to lower the shield?"
I glanced at Fleur's father, who had made the request, and raised an eyebrow.
"Are you certain? This particular... ill-advised... impulsive... representative of Cuba may very well have accomplices, or a bribed officer waiting outside."
"I am certain. Should anything arise, I am quite capable of protecting everyone here. Do not concern yourself."
I gave a very slow nod, then flicked my wand to cancel the shield. As its creator, I could dismiss it with almost no magic, but I could not help wincing at the distinctly unpleasant sensation of casting anything when my reserves were all but empty.
"Fleur..."
"You didn't have to ask."
Fleur shook her head and transfigured the two chairs we had been sitting on into a small settee, then shifted and helped me lie down with my head in her lap.
"Fleur, this is..."
"Stay still. You need it right now."
"Mm..."
I closed my eyes but tried to keep track of what was happening around me.
"He attacked first!"
"Oh, that is an entirely indisputable fact..."
Jean-Paul's voice carried a dry edge of sarcasm.
"...however, as head of the French Auror Office, I am prepared to give sworn testimony that you threatened my family, both Ladies Black, their son, and Master Flitwick. I believe both Ladies Black could confirm my account under Veritaserum, as could Master Flitwick."
I opened one eye and saw both my mothers nodding in agreement. I suspected Flitwick had done the same.
...after which a very unpleasant fate awaits you. I would say an extremely unpleasant one. Things might have gone differently if you had challenged Mr. Black to a formal duel and sent one of your now-deceased companions in your place. But you not only provoked us, you confessed aloud to having bribed a member of the local Auror service.
There was something that almost sounded like pity in Delacour's voice as he said it.
"My family will not let this stand! Lower your wands this instant and let me leave!"
He had already taken one step back, apparently retreating, or perhaps imagining his words would make us stand down. At that same moment, a very small fire arrow, sent by Bella, passed just above his head.
"Sir, I would strongly advise against that."
At that moment, the doors burst open and law enforcement officers flooded the room.
"Nobody move! Aurors! Wands on the floor! Now!"
"I am the Cuban representative. They attacked me and killed my escorts!"
The boy turned toward the officers, but he moved too quickly and was hit by a powerful Stunning Spell that sent him crashing into the nearest wall.
"Gentlemen..."
Jean-Paul took his wand between two fingers, set it on the table with great deliberation, and raised his hands. Bella, Cissy, Flitwick, and even Apolline, who apparently had her wand out as well, though I hadn't noticed her draw it, did the same. Fleur placed her wand on the table too. The boy's instructor simply let go of the wand he had been holding, and it dropped to the floor.
"...I am the head of the French Auror Office. I am familiar with law and procedure, and I propose that I give an official statement here on the spot regarding what has occurred. My companions are willing to take a few drops of Veritaserum to confirm my account. We had reserved the entire restaurant to celebrate Mr. Black's victory in the eleven-to-twelve age group, but I imagine at least part of the altercation was also audible to the establishment's staff."
"Very well. No sudden movements."
Jean-Paul gave a slow nod and recounted everything that had taken place. Meanwhile, one of the officers had already produced a glass of water and added a single drop of Veritaserum to it in plain view of everyone.
"All at once."
He held the glass out to my mother.
"As you wish."
Bella calmly drank it down, and a diagnostic charm was applied to confirm it had taken effect.
"One minute," said the officer monitoring the potion, and with that, questions came quickly.
"Your name?"
"Bellatrix Black."
"Your reason for being in Russia?"
"Accompanying my son, who won the championship for the eleven-to-twelve age group."
"Was Jean-Paul Delacour's account of how the conflict began accurate?"
"Yes."
"Is it true that your son used a shield and a Disarming Charm only after determining that an attack order was about to be given?"
"Yes. I believe so."
"Is it true that the complainant stated he had obtained, through bribery, a Portkey calibrated to pass through the tournament's official security Portkey barrier?"
"Yes."
"Time."
The young officer nodded to the man monitoring the Veritaserum and looked around at us all.
"Young man, are you able to take the potion?"
"If it assists the investigation..."
I gave a slow nod, then pushed myself upright. A glass was brought over with a considerably smaller drop of Veritaserum in it.
"All at once."
"I know."
I smiled, a little pallid around the edges, and drank it down in one go. Almost immediately I felt a strange lightness, and a pressing desire to answer every question with nothing but the complete truth.
"Three minutes."
"We will not need that long. Prepare the antidote. Are you Draco Black?"
"Yes."
What a peculiar question. But if he wants me to confirm my identity, I shall naturally oblige.
"Did you initiate the attack on Mr. Adré Sali in this restaurant?"
"No."
"Wha... kh..."
"Oh, they seem to be arguing over there, which is rather entertaining. But I genuinely was not the one who attacked first."
"Mr. Black, do you consider the threats issued by Mr. Adré Sali to constitute an attack upon yourself, your family, and your companions, and is that why you do not consider yourself to have struck first?"
"Yes."
He was a perceptive officer. He grasped the situation quickly and asked exactly the right question.
"Were you capable of using something lethal?"
"Yes."
"What specifically?"
"Fiendfyre."
And, in truth, I could have. But after a spell like that, I would have been unconscious on the floor and would probably have taken several years off my life in the process.
"Kha!"
"Why did you choose a shield and a Disarming Charm instead?"
"The shield was developed by my family. According to the library sources, it is capable of withstanding spells carrying ten to fifteen times more magical force than was put into the shield itself. I judged it an effective means of absorbing the opening attack while our opponents underestimated us. I used the Disarming Charm because I calculated it would distract at least one opponent for a moment, drawing their attention away from my mother, Flitwick, and Mr. Delacour, all of whom I was certain would intervene."
"Did Mr. Adré Sali state that he had obtained, through bribery, a Portkey calibrated to the local barrier?"
"Yes."
"Give him the antidote."
The antidote was administered, and I winced slightly as control settled back over me and the urgent need to speak nothing but the whole truth began to ebb.
"Very good. You are all free to go. We have no further questions for any of you. We do, however, have a great many questions for you, Mr. Kushmin, and for your apprentice."
"I will cooperate fully with the investigation."
David Kushmin gave a nod, and shortly afterward he and his charge, along with the remaining heavyset men, were gone from the restaurant.
"I expect none of us are in much of a mood to celebrate this evening?"
Flitwick asked this with great caution.
"I expect not."
Jean-Paul gave a slow nod, and with that we all drifted off to our respective rooms. I reached mine, fell face-first onto the pillow, and was asleep before I could think another thought.
I opened my eyes slowly.
What was all that about?
The words were meant for my dreams. I had been chasing someone, fighting someone, then, for some reason, playing chess with the Dark Lord, who kept attempting to philosophize but invariably ended up back at the same refrain: Muggles must be destroyed, all dissenters must also be destroyed.
Then I had been building a palace out of Lego bricks, a full-sized palace, as it happened, using standard-sized Lego bricks.
All in all, it had been a fairly eventful night of dreaming, and I could not easily say which part of it had left me most at a loss.
I stretched out in bed and turned my attention inward, and quickly established that my recovery was not quite complete. I was restored, broadly speaking, but clearly not at my best, which meant I would need to push myself today to win. At least I no longer had to hold back and restrict myself to four spells. I was genuinely not confident I could beat this German girl under those constraints.
A quiet knock at the door broke the silence, and I got out of bed, confirmed that I was still in my dueling robes from the previous day, tidied myself up with a spell, walked to the door, and opened it to find Fleur.
"Hello."
"Morning. Are you... coming down to breakfast?"
There was a faint awkwardness in her voice as she said it.
"Of course."
I nodded and stepped out of the room, locking it behind me. We went downstairs together and found everyone else already assembled in the restaurant, greeting our arrival with expressions of considerable amusement.