Truth Will Out

Sr listened as Robert, and Michael spoke. It was too much for him to take in. It wasn't his fault, none of it. He could feel himself letting go, he felt relief. I don't think I'll be able to do that for you Khaat. I'm afraid I'm going. he said, turning to Khaat.

As much as he'd love to go scare the werewolf who attacked Khaat, he knew he didn't have much time.

Going, going where? Jr asked.

On. Thaor Sr said as he began to disappear. I love you all, each and every one of you. Get this bastard. he said just before he completely vanished, going 'on'.

Did he just...

"He's crossed over finally. He's free. His guilt held him here," Robert said. "The night he turned his wand on himself, he thought it was because he had hurt the ones he loved. He believed it was all his fault. It kept him trapped. As much as Thaor liked the dark arts, it wasn't his nature so much as it was to protect and respect all live. To protect the ones he loved. To shorten the life or lessen the quality of live of anyone he loved was more than he could bear."

He looked at Michael for a moment and then looked back at Junior. "Michael probably panicked because, first, he thought he knew how upset I would be with the news of what he'd learned in the thought threads, but he also saw clearly what it was doing to you. Nothing means more to Thaor than to know that the ones he loves are living full lives. That means if you feel any duty or responsibility to him to honor him, its not to chase after Pierce. Its to live your life to the fullest. That's what really honors him. And, if you're up to joining the case, then fine, but chasing Gideon Pierce is not primarily what he wants for you."

Thaor took it all in. His father took his own life, to save the ones he loved. That's just like him isn't it, always playing the hero. he said with a smile. He knew his father would have appreciated the humor in it all. That was their family trademark after all, sarcasm in place of feeling emotions.

His father was gone, there was nothing he could do to change that. Pierce was still at large, he could do something to change that, however, Robert was right. Throwing himself at Pierce without a plan, without teamwork, would be counter-productive.

You're right Minister. However, I will be chasing down Pierce, I will be capturing him. Thaor said, pausing as he realized the pain in his chest was, for the most part, gone. The only question that remains unanswered is, will you stand behind me and help me. I will track him down, whether it's in my official capacity as your Undersecretary, as an Unspeakable, or as a Wizengamot member, following all laws and procedures already in place for those positions. If not, I'll happily resign from all of my positions, and track him down using whatever means necessary.

I don't mean any of this as a threat, nor am I going to gun after him without a plan. I just need to know where we stand, we will get a lot more accomplished together, than separate.

Robert bristled. It was a threat--kindly worded but a threat nonetheless. Thaor's son seemed to be forgetting that Thaor had killed himself. Hadn't given anyone a chance to help him. Nor did the young man have a single clue about what Robert had lived through as a result of Thaor's actions. Nor, apparently, had he been read in on the damage that Pierce had done, not just to Thaor Sr but the whole of the wizarding world.

"Oh, wait right there," he said coldly. "I do know your father was the one who was cursed. I get it, but I really do need you to get things in the right order here. I don't need to stand behind you. The last I looked, I was the Minister, not you. You need to be standing with me, not the other way around.

"Let me be abundantly clear," Robert said. Michael drew in a breath, hoping that Robert was going to keep his cool. Rarely did Robert ever display anger, but the young man had touched a very deep wound in Robert that Robert was working very hard to conceal. "Your father's curse was just one crime that Pierce has committed. You're not the only one who wants him. I have not forgotten he exists. Nor are you properly read in on what all he's done or what we're doing to catch him.

"He didn't just affect your father. He's threatened international security, for starters. The last thing I need is you deciding to go all vigilante to try to get him. I don't need you acting alone. He's a problem, not just for you, not just for England, but for the entire wizarding world all around the globe. You don't get to claim him for your own personal target. You can be part of the force pursuing him--so long as you can be professional and objective because if you're not part of the solution, you're definitely a problem."

"The issue might not be settled for you or for any of us," Khaat said, more gentle in her tone, "but your father surely considered it completed enough that he moved on into the light, and actually very quickly. That would not have been possible if he still needed revenge for Pierce's crimes. Your father was part of our family too--since they were all in Hogwarts together. Nobody has any intention of forgetting him, or in letting Pierce get away with anything."

Do, not, cry. Thaor kept telling himself. Years of bottled up emotions came flooding out. He had held on for too long. He was quickly losing his composure. He thought the only thing that could get his mind off of all of this, was working the case, and putting everything he had into it. He was wrong, he remembered something Michael said to him as he started uncontrollably wailing.

The pain in his chest was quickly regaining it's stronghold on him, his right hand clenched his left arm.

I'm....sorry. he said between sobs. I need it gone, I need it all gone. I only want to remember what is important to the case, so I can work the case, and work with Robert. he said, referring to being obliviated.

Thaor was quickly losing his ability to breath, he was having another heart attack, on top of an anxiety attack. Between tonights events, and the years of hurt, anger, and pain he bottled up, his body was finally breaking down, letting it all out. He knew he needed help.

Robert didn't say a word. He merely reached over and touched Thaor's forehead, casting a powerful calming spell. He let the spell seep in slowly, over a matter of seconds, rather than a sudden blindsiding burst. In a matter of minutes, the young man should, most likely, be unable to fight the spell and would have to sleep to let his heart rest.

"We're out of potion in the cabinet," Khaat said quietly, deliberately lying to her father.

"I'll get some from the lab. I'll only be gone a moment," Robert said. He turned and left briefly. Khaat knew he wouldn't be gone more than two minutes at best.

She looked at Thaor. "You both needed a breather. There's a lot you don't know," she told him. And he didn't. He didn't know much more than the fact that his father was gone. But the story went so much further. "You hurt because Thaor's gone. So does my father. So do we all. Thaor was one of his best friends. But Thaor's curse wounded my father too. And right now, you're both pushing each other's buttons. You both just need to take a minute to breathe. He'll let you work with him--when you're able to do it. But he wants the case clean. He doesn't want any chance Pierce will escape--not ever again. And he wants him alive. He wants him to feel all the pain he caused everyone else. So it has to be right."

A sudden calm feeling took over Thaor's body. He was able to think clearly for the first time since viewing the threads in the pensive. Robert, Khaat, and Michael were right. He needed to calm down, take care of himself, and work with the team.

Surely he wasn't the only one who was hurting, and who wanted to get Pierce. They couldn't afford any mistakes. They needed to get Pierce clean, and without any drama.

Read me in. I want to help, and I can handle it. I want to be in the know. he said. He knew there was a lot he didn't know, and he felt he had the right to know it. Not only did Pierce essentially murder his father, he nearly destroyed everything and everyone he loved, most of whom, were standing in this room.

"You know your father and mine and Michael have been almost inseparable friends for, well, almost their entire lives. We were all with him when he died that night--Michael, my father, me. He truly believed that the only way to end the insanity he felt was to turn his wand on himself," Khaat explained.

"The curse turned him into someone he didn't want to be. As near as we understand it now, the curse acts as a parasite in a wizard' magical system. The curse played on your father's attraction for the dark arts. The curse made him kill people, curse people. He wasn't the only one who suffered, though.

"The night he tried to assassinate my father, he passed fired the curse at him, wanting to kill him with it. But, he miscast it. And it cost my father a year of unconscionable suffering. We were able to figure out that it could be passed, particularly for energy workers, just by touch alone. For a year, he was in nonstop pain, was completely mute, and couldn't so much as touch anyone he loved.

"Your father didn't know how much my father was suffering until the night he attacked the school. We we were only hoping to stop him, to try to help rid him of the curse. He wasn't even close to being himself that night," she sighed. "He had a rare moment of clarity, and, before we could stop him, he fired his own wand upon himself to stop himself from hurting anyone else."

"But we now know," Michael said, "that Pierce wasn't aiming for that. He used your father because of his friendship with Robert. His real target was Robert, and he hadn't been able to hurt Robert any other way.

"I think, and I could be wrong, but...Pierce's own father was rumored to be a very strong man with a strong personality. He was supposedly a man with leadership qualities. There are some rumors that he was involved deeply into some weird dark arts stuff and had a pack of followers. Pierce seems to resent strong father figures. He's announced to the world how much he hates old men--and particularly Robert. I think Robert reminds him of his own hatred for his own father. Doesn't make it any more right. In fact, it just makes him more dangerous."

"The spell he used the day that the Ministry building fell," Khaat said, "is rare, dark magic. Stuff I'm betting he learned from his father's dark stuff. It keeps him elusive. Almost impossible to catch. I've seized all his monies and all his properties in England. We've had some intelligence reports that he's gone to the continent and has bought a massive stash of polyjuice. He's not going to be easily found. But there is a warrant for his arrest, and the list of charges is almost endless."

"The bottom line is that we've got no way to find him until he makes another move," Michael said. "Robert has considered offering himself as bait, but England needs him in a different position than that. It needs him to undo the damage and rebuild us. Pierce wrote so many laws and specifically designed them so that only Robert can undo them. He has to devote himself to that or we'll all be condemned to more of Pierce's madness without end. We can't afford to let Robert try to find Pierce."

"But we will find him," Khaat promised, trying to hide her anger at it all, trying not to reveal how much she wanted revenge. "I want him to spend every ounce of the rest of his life with a dementor eating away at his soul. He doesn't get to die. He needs to pay for it very, very slowly--with everything he's got."