Second anniversary

The Death Eaters on the far right yelled, "Elakard, you bastard! Spineless coward!"

Moody looked at Dolohov, who was shouting insults.

He knelt there, his face covered in blood, his eyes sinister, staring intently at Moody, showing no fear whatsoever, even a cold smile playing on his lips.

Moody grinned cruelly. "The leader?"

Dolohov raised his head. "It's me. So what, Moody? Go ahead and kill me if you dare!"

Moody remained unmoved by his reaction, seemingly having anticipated it, and simply asked, "What has Voldemort been doing lately? How many people in the Ministry of Magic are your people?"

Dolohov sneered and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Die, Moody! You'll be killed by your Master sooner or later. You can't stop Master great cause. I'll be waiting for you in Hell!"

Moody's eyes grew even colder. "Cruciatus Curse!"

A burst of light erupted.

Dolohov's body arched violently, convulsing, and he let out an uncontrollable cry of pain.

A moment later, he raised his head, his face a mixture of blood and sweat. "I... I won't tell!"

Moody replied nonchalantly, "Okay, fine, Cruciatus Curse!"

Several tens of minutes later, Dolohov's robe was soaked with cold sweat, but he still did not say a word.

"Moody, what are you doing...?" Lupin entered at this moment, seemingly having finished the dinner.

"Isn't that obvious enough?" Moody raised an eyebrow. "Torture, you know."

At this moment, Dolohov had collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, his face ashen white.

"This guy's got a tough tongue," Moody scoffed, turning to the other prisoners. "And you? Who knows?"

But no one dared to answer; the Death Eaters all kept their heads down, and several of them were trembling.

"No, don't waste your energy," Dolohov breathed softly, "They know absolutely nothing... Heh heh... Kill me! Go ahead and kill me if you dare!"

"A bunch of useless trash," Moody cursed, then turned to Lupin. "Remus, you're just in time. Go get me some Veritaserum from next door."

Lupin paused for a moment, then said, "Alastor, since you have Veritaserum, why did you...?"

"Don't ask anymore, just go." Moody waved his hand, and Lupin left with a somewhat helpless expression.

Dolohov, lying on the ground, was dumbfounded— Veritaserum? What was the point of him holding on then?

So Moody did this just to torture him?

Lupin returned quickly and handed Moody a small, dark green bottle.

Moody walked up to Dolohov, pinched his chin, and poured a few drops of liquid from the bottle into his mouth.

Dolohov struggled weakly, unable to resist at all.

The liquid flowed down his throat.

A few seconds later, Dolohov's eyes began to glaze over.

His body stopped convulsing, and his expression quickly became blank, as if his soul had been emptied.

"Name?" Moody asked in a deep voice.

"Antonin Dolohov." Dolohov's voice was hollow and mechanical.

"For whom do you serve?"

"The Dark Lord."

What are your recent tasks?

"Search for the Appleby... capture them, and take them hostage..."

Moody's eyes narrowed. "How many people in the Ministry of Magic are on your side? Tell me everything you know."

"Rarely..." Dolohov's voice trailed off, "Aldrich... at the Ministry of Magic... the Department of Magical Law Enforcement... Atwood... and..."

His voice grew softer and softer, and his body began to tremble violently.

"Who else?!" Moody shouted sharply.

"I don't know... I only know this much..." Dolohov's voice grew weaker and weaker until he finally collapsed and fainted.

Moody stared at him for a few seconds, then turned around, pulled out a piece of paper, and wrote down a few names and departments, "At least we have a list now."

Lupin took the list, his expression turning serious. "I'll give it to Professor Dumbledore immediately."

At Hogwarts, the dinner party ended close to eleven o'clock.

The House-elf quickly tidied up the long table, while Slughorn, tipsy, was helped back to the teachers' dormitory by several students.

Before leaving, he patted Will on the shoulder and mumbled a message, "Come talk to me about Potions later."

Will smiled and agreed, then left with Sylvia.

The Corridor was nearly deserted, illuminated only by the candlesticks on the walls, casting flickering shadows as people walked by.

Sylvia, her cheeks still flushed, linked arms with Will's.

"Will." She suddenly stopped and looked up at him.

"Um?"

You just said... you're leaving after Christmas?

"I need to take care of some household chores," Will said softly, reaching out to tuck her wind-blown hair behind her ear. "It won't be long."

"Family matters?" Sylvia frowned. "You can fool Professor Slughorn, but don't fool me."

Sylvia's eyes were filled with worry.

"Sylvia." Will sighed, gently cupping her face in his hands. "It's my private matter, okay?"

Sylvia bit her lip. "The Wizarding World isn't safe right now."

Will looked at her and remained silent for a moment; he knew Sylvia was worried about him.

On the surface, the Wizarding World is not at peace right now; Voldemort's power is resurging, so it's natural for Sylvia to be worried about him.

However, Will now has to face Voldemort.

Will said softly, "Okay, darling, I'll be careful, and I'll be back soon."

Sylvia suddenly threw herself into Will's arms and hugged him tightly.

"You kept your word." Her voice was muffled. "I love you, Will. Today is our two-year anniversary."

Will patted her back gently. "I promise I'll keep my word. I'll bring you an anniversary present when I come back."

The two of them stood there in that embrace for a long time in the empty Corridor, the candlelight flickering on them, while the wind and snow continued to howl outside the window.

A moment later, Will released her and gently kissed her forehead.

"Let's go back, it's getting late."

Sylvia nodded, but instead of letting go, she hugged her even tighter.

"Stay a little longer," she whispered.

Will smiled helplessly and pulled her into his arms again.

"Let's go sit in the Room of Requirement for a while." Will ruffled Sylvia's hair.

"OK..."