complicity [tom riddle]

vii.

a/n - hey guys what's up im back

The ministry sector was dark and hollow, eerie, much like the dungeon from earlier.

The professor dragged her along a kaleidoscope-looking hallway with a number of interesting artifacts relating to occulemency and mishapen brains in chloroform liquid jars.

"Sir, those jars, are those real brains?" Heidi whispered.

He feigned a smirk, "Yes dear, they are indeed, failed test subjects," Professor DuLac subtly scanned the surroundings, "That's why, why, it's so pesky getting in here. Someone could be watching us right now."

Heidi's eyes widened in fear.

He clutched her hand for reassurance.

"Don't worry, I made sure to the best of my ability that the coast was clear. Like I said, I don't need to be getting you into any trouble."

The place was a long, dark, and vast hall with illuminating lights and more "test" subjects scattered along the perimeter. They walked and walked a seemingly non-ending path when suddenly he stopped her after what felt like hours of walking.

A muggle television.

Small, scrawny, black, and rusted it was. With grey white noise spouting from what appeared to be the volume outlet. It was truly foreign in the young witches eyes - what is this interesting artifact? She didn't spend much time in Muggle studies, not due to prejudices really, just a lack of interest.

"Now Heidi, this here, is an interesting specimen. They call it a television. It shows moving pictures, they've caught it in a certain space of time to follow storylines - it's entertainment for Muggles these days." Professor DuLac explained patiently.

She scrunched her nose, "Like our photographs? Have Muggles somehow integrated wizarding things into their world?"

"No." He said sternly.

With that, he stepped forward, his dress heels clicking on the black marble floor and muttered a spell pointedly at the television.

Suddenly, the static grey turned into what looked like footage from a freakish basement. A subject, on a cement block stool and a wizard in front wearing beaten up grey dress robes that looked almost institutional.

What Heidi saw next was egregious. The wizard proceeded to use a combined therapy of the legilimens spell, shock treatment to the brain and bodies nerve endings, and boiling water occasionally poured on the subject for what seemed like a test of provoking their bodies natural shock reaction.

It was the most horrifying thing to have ever graced her young eyes.

"I can't do this anymore." Heidi squeaked faintly.

The professor only grabbed her chin and forced her to look further. And then what she saw was absolutely magnificent. The subject seemed to reach a sort of — climax? The body crumpled and failed but a projection emerged from their mind with an inexplicable scene of colour, much like the kaleidoscope beams that colour the dark hall they were standing in. Then flashes of memories upon memories, images of faces morphing into anguish then euphoria, childhood, the playground, then death. The colours failed and the person on the stool was...unrecognisable.

She hadn't even realised it due to being so illuminated by the projection but the man in the stool had gradually contorted into a folded being. Dismembered, twisted, and failed. Failed by the doctor, master, torturer? She wasn't sure.

Professor DuLac turned to her with a sick, sick smile. He raised an eyebrow expectantly and turned the television off returning it to its white noise static screen.