Captured In The Night || Tom Riddle

10: Confero Veritas

Original Timeline
Six Days Before The Attack On Sofia's Family

Newt grabbed some toast from the kitchen.  His younger sister was sitting at the table sipping her coffee.

"So, do I get a tour of the ministry today?" Sofia asked casually.

Newt turned with a smile on his face. "Nope."

Sofia's face fell. "You promised."

"Nice try." Newt countered

Sofia slammed her coffee mug down, spilling the liquid everywhere. "I want to see where you work."

"Oy! Don't start or I'll give you a smack. You know you don't have the clearance." Newt warned. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.

"I'm not five anymore. You could sneak me in." She grumbled.

"Next time. You know the reporters are coming to the ministry today for an interview about my new spell," Newt said.

Sofia sighed. "Fine. I wish dad were still alive. He would be proud of you."

"Yeah, I know. I miss him too," Newt said.

He grabbed his toast and headed out the door. "You just want a share of the limelight. We can't all be as famous."

Sofia gave Newt a fake glare and threw a shoe at her brother. "Jerk."

He ducked, chuckling. "Laters."

Newt rushed into the Ministery as his supervisor, Edgar Brown greeted him. "You're late. Are you ready? The reporters are all set and waiting for you."

Newt nodded, smoothing over his robes. "Sorry, Sofia was being a pain. Yeah, I'm ready."

Edgar smiled as Newt smoothed over his robes. The reporters were set up in the main lobby, waiting. "Nervous?"

"Excited." Newt grinned.

Newt walked out to the podium as cameras snapped several photos.  Several reporters were already shouting questions.

"Welcome. If everyone will quiet down please, I'll begin."

The reporters sat down, quills ready to take down information. Edgar stood in the back, watching.

"As you may have heard, I've discovered a magic technique. This new spell lets the witch or wizard collect memories from objects and view them. The memories are formed from the history of events surrounding it. Once the proper spell has been used on the objects, you can then absorb the memories of that object. You don't need to view these memories in a Pensieve like human memories." Newt explained.

"Can you give us a demonstration?" A wizard reporter called out.

"Yes, of course. Would anyone like to volunteer an object for demonstration?." Newt replied.

An older witch held up a gold necklace with a small gold owl attached to it. Newt took the necklace, thanking the woman. He set it dangling from the podium so everyone could see it. He stepped back and drew out his wand.

"Confero Veritas," Newt said.

A flash of violet light hit the necklace, causing it to glow.

The audience was on the edge of their seats, watching Newt's every move.

Newt walked up and with the tip of his wand, small violet pieces of light were drawn from the necklace to Newt's mind. He was silent for a moment, the memories of the necklace merging with his own memories.

Newt smiled. "It's almost like I'm dreaming, but I'm awake. I can clearly see the memories attached to the necklace. I can almost feel emotions from the people in the past as well. I see two young people in a park. A boy and a girl smiling at each other. He's in a Gryffindor robe, she is in Ravenclaw. He gives it to her as a gift and asks her to be his girlfriend. She accepts and is very happy. They are on their first date. They've been together ever since."

The woman beamed happily. "Yes, that's right. My husband and I met in Hogwarts. He gave it to me on our first date and I've never taken it off."

The crowd clapped as Newt smiled and gave the witch back her necklace.

"Any questions?" Newt asked.

"How is this different from the art of psychometry?" A reporter asked.

"Good question. Psychometry relies on touching an object and using extrasensory perception. It's an impression. My spell draws accurate memories. There are no impressions or guesswork."

Another reporter held up her quill.

Newt pointed at her. "Yes?"

"When will the spell be cleared with the Ministry for public use?"

"It's scheduled in five days," Newt said.

"Can the memories collected be viewed by more than one wizard? Or does it have to be one memory at a time?" A male reporter asked.

"It is not limited by one memory per wizard. More than one person can view the same memory." Newt said.

Everyone clapped and more photos were taken. Newt thanked everyone and left.

The Morning Of The Attack

Newt yawned, wishing he had drunk some coffee before work. He was over dark magic artifacts. They had been taken by the Aurors. It was Newt's job to make sure they were sorted, added onto the list, and secured so the public couldn't access them.

Newt placed a finished box onto the shelf. He turned, as a wizard in a black robe stood directly behind him. He had most of his head covered. Newt's eyes widened. He drew his wand, pointing it at the intruder.

"This area is restricted. You can't be here." Newt warned.

The wizard drew out a shiny black cube from his robes. "I heard you have created a new spell. I need you to use that spell on this."

Newt didn't lower his wand. The man's voice sounded strange. Like layers of voices. He must have altered it with magic. 

"Who are you?" Newt demanded.

"My name is Merrick. I promise you It will be worth your time." He said.

The cloaked wizard drew out a bag, emptying the contents on the floor. Galleons spilled out as Newt's eyes widened. It was more galleons than he earned in six months. He and his sister needed the money too. He hesitated, considering.

"That's half. I'll give the other half after you have completed the spell." Merrick said.

Newt frowned. This didn't feel right. That was a lot of money. "Is it a dark magic artifact?"

"No," Merrick said.

"I'll do it." Newt decided.

Merrick handed him the black cube. Newt set it on a table and stood back. He took a deep breath, hoping this wasn't a mistake and cast the spell. The cube activated and Newt began absorbing memories from it. He frowned deeper as the memories hit him.

"What is this?" Newt demanded.

Merrick remained quiet.

Newt tried to draw away from the object but was unable to stop the flow of memories taking over his brain. Strands of violet light flowed out of the cube, invading Newt's brain. He grabbed his head and fell to his knees.

"What are these images?" He asked.

Newt fell backward on the floor, twisting and writhing. He screamed in agony, holding his head.

"Make it stop!" He begged.

The cube suddenly stopped as Newt lay unconscious on the ground.

Merrick stood over Newt with a sneer. He picked up the black cube and apparated out, leaving Newt all alone.