Pilfered Progeny - Stolen Dreams

LATER…



"One at a time, one at a time!" Tonks snapped, and the room quieted. Before her in the room that had held the children the night before were at least three dozen adults demanding the return of their children.



A woman stepped forward, her face a mask of fury. "You have no right to steal our children away from us in the middle of the night!" she snapped. Her statement set the others off once more in an outraged roar of agreement.



"SILENCE!" Tonks snarled, using the sonorous charm to magnify her voice and drown the others out. It worked; she was rewarded by total silence from the parents. She allowed the charm to lapse and glared at them. "We will be interviewing you, one at a time… YES ONE AT A TIME!" she repeated loudly to head off the rumblings of protest once more. "And each case will be seen by the Wizengamot and considered BEFORE any child is returned!" She snapped.



"Why did you take them?!" the first woman demanded.



"All will be explained as you are interviewed! Now if you will kindly assemble yourselves into a queue, you will be seen as soon as we can get to you."



There was much protesting and complaining, but the witches and wizards did form sort of a queue… and some seemed to simply fade out of view. There were only twenty-five or so in the room now.



Tonks glanced at the fellow he was working with; a rather nondescript wizard she had been told worked in the Department of Mysteries. She didn't remember ever seeing him before… but she knew she could depend on what Shacklebolt told her, and he had stated this fellow was powerful, quick, and quite skilled. Not to mention highly trustworthy.



Nymphadora rose and escorted the first parent into first room. All three of the little connecting office rooms had been adapted according to her specifications as a simple interviewing room with two witnesses present. She escorted the woman to a seat and gestured for her to have a seat, then closed the door behind her as she slipped out of the small room.



The witch was in her forties and looked very nervous as well as angry as she moved to the seat hesitantly. "What is this…? Why am I being treated like a criminal? I just want my child returned…!"



"Your child; perhaps. But not your husband's child." The first interviewer said, pouring half a teaspoon of veritaserum into a cup of tea. He was narrow-eyed with an olive complexion and was glaring at the woman. "We will be administering you a strong dose of veritaserum; do you consent to this?"



"What do you mean not our child…? Of course she's our child! And why would I have to consent to Veritaserum?" she asked, looking frightened.



The second witness in the room was a witch, round and sweet-faced with friendly eyes. Her blonde hair was bound in a bun at the nape of her neck but it did little to control the wild little curls that surrounded her face. "We only want to ensure the safety and well-being of the children, Mrs. Harper."



She hesitated, glancing at the man then gazing at the woman for a long moment. The blonde witch smiled and nodded encouragingly and the mother reached for the glass. "I would never do anything to harm my little Trillby…" she said,



"Drink it all. We are bound to ask you questions only about the children, and a particular clinic." The wizard growled.



She paused a moment more, then drank the potion. The two watched, and waited for it to take effect. Two minutes later they began the questioning her directly about what she knew of the purchased sample at the clinic and the treatment she had given the child who had resulted from that insemination.



"She thought the samples were voluntary." The man said, looking particularly sour at the thought of not having caught one of the ones they wished to stop. "And her testimony and memories tested through Legilimens show no mistreatment whatsoever of her child. She is not who we want."



The sweet-faced woman rose to her feet and dosed the woman with the antidote which was also laced heavily with sleeping potion. She opened a door to the other side of the room that had been hidden behind a panel and levitated the body, taking the woman out.



Tonks glanced at the door and gestured the next one forward to be interviewed.



"We will be administering you a strong dose of veritaserum; do you consent to this?"



"You have no right to insist that I do any such thing. Do whatever testing you wish; my child is my child!" the young woman in her early twenties stated, eyes narrow, arms folded. "You have no right to take my child from me!"



"On the contrary, we have every right to take back stolen goods." The witch countered, eyes narrowed. She got to play the 'bad cop' this time.



"Stolen..?! I have stolen nothing!"



"No, but Miss Parkinson did! Just because you paid her for the goods does not make it your property; it was taken without consent!"



"What?!"



"Pansy Parkinson is a wanted criminal and you purchased stolen goods from her!" She snapped.



"I'm not culpable for what she did! I will go to the Minister of Magic himself! I want my child returned!" she countered.



The blonde witch smirked at her. "The Minister of Magic has approved our whole operation… a refusal of veritaserum testimony from you means you will NOT have possession of any child taken in last night's raid returned to you! The true father of the child will have taken possession and following the rules of custody for wizarding families, they will keep custody of your child unless you comply with the testimony requirements!"



"My father is going to have your heads on a platter for doing this!" she growled, glaring at them.



"Threaten all you like, Miss Urqhart; it hasn't a chance in hell of changing your current situation." The blonde witch answered acidly. "Either drink the veritaserum or leave." The dark-haired witch glared at her, challenging her to make her do it. "No? Then get out; we have plenty of other parents who wish to regain their children."



"This isn't right! You can't do this!"



"It's being done. Leave, or take the serum." She ordered coldly. The woman took the cup, glaring at them, then drank it down in one shot. Her eyes closed as the effect swept over her. "You purchased sperm from Pansy Parkinson…?"



"No. I did not." She said with a sneer.



"You knew the sperm was being purchased?"



"Of course I did. All the sperm in that establishment is for sale; its what they do…!"



"Did you know the sperm you purchased was Draco Malfoy's?"



"I chose him specifically, yes." She answered easily.



"And were you aware that the sperm was attained without his consent or knowledge?"



The woman fought to keep her lips shut, paling slightly as the effects of the veritaserum forced the truth out. "Y…yes…" she stuttered, face twisted with the effort to try to prevent that truth from escaping. She pressed on, trying to cover herself with some truth that lay in her favor. "But I had no hand in its taking! You can't hold me or an innocent child responsible for what someone else did!"



"Why did you specifically choose Draco Malfoy?"



Again she tried to stifle the truth and keep it from escaping. "P… power…" the word dragged itself out of her gritted teeth.



"And the child… I understand you have a girl…?"



"Yes." She hissed, still trying to resist but the triple dose of veritaserum drug every answer out they required.



"How are you raising this child? Is she getting proper education or is she being groomed for something…?"



"She… she has a right to her inheritance as a Malfoy! She is being trained in the Malfoy manner and will someday take her place…"



"And this training? What does it involve…?"



Before long the woman was silenced, and being taken away out of the room under the effects of a Petrificus Totalus spell.



The blonde witch looked perfectly disgusted. "Who would use the Cruicatus on a child to 'toughen' them…?" she murmured.



"Several of the old wizarding families, believe it or not." Her partner responded in a quiet tone. This is not the first time I have heard of such a thing…"



"Madness. Simple madness…"







Tonks watched the line in the room slowly dwindle; she knew they were being taken out the back doors of the rooms as their interviews were completed. Tiny scraps of paper flitted to her from the rooms as each of the interviews was completed; this child would be returned, and that child would not. She had to present her evidence before an emergency assembly of the Wizengamot before she would approach the heads of the families involved and let them know what the decision of the council had been.



She watched three more of the waiting adults slip out of the room by the entrance door without being interviewed; she smiled faintly to herself. None of them were going to get out of the Ministry of Magic without some sort of an interview, whether they liked it or not. Aurors were waiting by the lifts and would escort them to where they would await their interviews in front of the Wizengamot this afternoon. She reached for her drink, fighting off a wave of weariness. She hadn't slept at all and it was starting to catch up with her.



Dora rubbed her eyes wearily. "You should go and get some rest before this afternoon." Kingsley Shacklebolt said, moving up behind her.



She looked up at him, then realized she was going to have a VERY long day still ahead of her. "Will you take over for me here…?"



"You didn't even have to ask." He said, limping forward to take her chair. He was more than up to the task of handling the few waiting for their own interviews. Dora left him to the task, moving out briskly with the information gleaned so far in her hand. Out of the children that had been Draco's sperm had been used to create, all but one would be returned to their parents. From those that were Harry's children, one so far would be returned. Most of the other children, except three of the Weasley and one of Professor Lefevre's would be returned to their mothers.







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Pansy walked into the hotel, glancing about. She had never been here but she knew that it was where her father had told her to come were there to be any emergencies. She turned once inside and headed to her left to the restaurant. She walked right on by the other patrons and the restaurant staff, ignoring them as if they weren't there.



Her father sat where he had said he would be, in a private room in the back. He was scowling when she came in and shut the door behind her. He had his wand out, and spat a silencing charm, locking charm, and a confundus charm toward the door in case she had been followed.



"Ugh; what are you wearing…?" she asked, wrinkling her nose as she looked at his khaki pants and simple shirt. "You look like a muggle…!"



"I don't plan on being hunted down…!" he scowled at her. "I'm dressed this way because of you!"



"Because of me?" she moved to take a seat, her gown swishing about her feet. "You're being ridiculous."



"Am I? You had to go and attack not only Harry Potter, but Blaise Zabini and the Weasley boys as well! Don't you pay any attention? Potter and Zabini are INVESTIGATORS, Pansy!"



She looked distinctly disinterested. "Why should I care?"



"You nearly killed Blaise!"



She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Am I supposed to feel guilty or something? Why? My entire future was snatched away from me and you didn't do anything about it! I was supposed to be Mrs. Draco Malfoy, remember…?"



"Merlin, you're still on about that? It was out of my hands; Malfoy isn't exactly interested in women!"



"I didn't care then, father, and I don't give a damn about his preferences now." She said, scowling at him. "He could have been just like his precious father, with lovers on the side to keep him happy. I would have been quite satisfied with a marriage of convenience!"



"Well it will never come to pass now; you need to leave the past behind you!"



"I think I will father. You're the one who's stuck in the past, not me." She said with a sneer.



"My project is important! It will save the wizarding world!" He snarled at her angrily.



"I don't give a damn what your project is. But I want you to know that I'm not financing it anymore. Nor will I work one second more with that little leech, Bebel. He's thoroughly disgusting and I can't stand how he looks at me. He's not even pureblood and he's a squib to boot!"



"We have to use who we have to, in order to achieve what we need! I told you that…"



"Over and over and over, yes, I know but I don't have to listen to you anymore…!" She said, rising. "You look like you're going to go hide in the muggle world… I won't be joining you."



"Oh, yes you will! You're my daughter, and…"



"And I'm of age! I don't care if you never had a son; I don't have to take over any 'family' business!"



"You could have at least provided me with an heir…!"



Pansy's eyes turned hard and she looked hurt and angry. "That wasn't my fault! I tried, you know I did!"



"Your child does not have to be Malfoy's!"



"As if that was any of your business…" she scoffed.



"Of course it was my business! I don't want Lucius Malfoy having the right to take away my only heir!" He growled at her.



"He never would have known…!" she snapped. "I hate that I lost the babies!" she said, too angry to even think of crying. "The second one was a boy, too…!"



"It would never have mattered. If Lucius even suspected he could claim family rights you would have lost them anyway!"



"I'd have left the country! He would never have found them…"



"You would have done whatever I told you." He retorted. "You know your place is by my side, Pansy…"



"Oh, no; I'm finished with you and your mad schemes…"



"What…?"



"You heard me!" She said, rising. "I'm done with you. I won't have any more of your commanding me about and spending my money for any more of your schemes…"



"You don't have any idea what you're throwing away!"



"I don't CARE, father!" She said, turning her back on him to leave.



"Petrificus Totalus!" he snarled and she froze, body and clothing seeming to be sheathed in ice as her body went rigid and she fell to the floor. "You aren't going anywhere, my daughter. You are my property and I will never allow you to leave me, Pansy my dear." She stared at him, unable to move or speak. "You will forget all about any sort of dreams of having a child with Draco. As you eliminated his child with Harry, so I eliminated your children with Draco." He told her, taking a sadistic delight in the shock and disbelief in her eyes. "It was idiocy to waste his sperm on such an attempt. You will have a baby to give me an heir, but that heir will be with someone of my choosing. Now; we have to get into hiding immediately…!" he said, pointing his wand at her again. "Only one way to ensure you cooperate… sorry about this, my love…" he smiled sweetly at her and said in a firm voice "IMPERIO!"


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Review from: serpantstongue 2010-11-11

Hi, I just started reading PP-SD today, only a few hours ago actually, and I'm downright hooked! It's not often we see Hermione in any way shape or form being the "bad guy", even if she is just a cover she totally knew what she was doing wasn't right. I love male/male pairings (especially Draco/Harry) but most of them are all smut and no plot. That's ok some of the time, but when the grammar and spellings are so awful it makes your head hurt and you're stuck reading "OOOoooHHH Harry i ned ur bod" and other lines like that it really is nice to read such an original story such as this. I'm truly a fan of this tale and I hope you continue on as you have and stay true to your plot. The twists and turns are unexpected, yet not far fetched.

Thanks for putting such a great story out here! *fingers crossed* hoping for more chapters soon! :D

Response from the authors:

You bet; we have several ready to go up. I just wish we'd get more reviews to make us more confident of our storyline. Tbank you so much for your comments!