Harry Potter : Reincarnated as The Greatest Wizard

Shrugging off Yaxley's unsettling response, Alex turned his attention to the next subject of his experiments: Crabbe. He rummaged through his bag and pulled out a new tool. It looked like a small meteor hammer—a metal ball about the size of a baseball, attached to a thin metal chain.

This wasn't a weapon, though; it was a prototype alchemy device Alex had recently crafted. He wasn't entirely sure how effective it would be, as it was still in its testing phase. The design was incomplete—there was supposed to be a small metal suction cup on the other end of the chain, engraved with an energy-absorbing rune. However, Alex was still experimenting with different rune structures and had prepared seven variations to test.

The metal ball itself was an optimized energy storage device, capable of storing magic for a limited time. While there was natural energy loss, it boasted a longer storage duration and greater capacity than most alchemy devices available on the market. Alex quickly attached one of the suction cups to the chain and secured it onto Crabbe's arm, preparing to collect data.

He jotted down his findings: "No. 3, No. 1, No. 0.6, and No. 0.2 runes are ineffective. No. 1 absorbs 0.3 Lum of magic power every 0.3 seconds, stores 2 ticks, and has an energy efficiency of 1 Lum per second. No. 0.8 absorbs 0.4 Lum per second, stores 5 Lum, and has an efficiency of 1.25 per second. No. 7 absorbs 0.6 Lum every 0.5 seconds, stores 8 Lum, and has an efficiency of 1.6 per second."

Alex tapped his pen against his notes, muttering to himself. "Looks like Rune No. 7 is the most efficient, but Rune No. 6 has a faster absorption rate. Maybe I could combine their strengths to create a better rune structure." 

While he pondered potential improvements, Alex decided to set aside further refinement for now. His experiments were complete, and it was time to move on to the next phase: information gathering.

Without hesitation, Alex grabbed Torquil by the neck and dragged him into the bathroom. Torquil winced as pain shot through his body. His injuries had left him in a numb, dazed state, but fear still flickered in his eyes as he glanced at Alex.

After locking the door, Alex tightened his grip on Torquil's neck, forcing him to look directly into his eyes. "Let's see what you're hiding," he said coldly, activating Legilimency.

To Alex's surprise, Torquil's memories were partially shielded. He could only access superficial memories, while the deeper ones seemed to be protected by some kind of spell. It wasn't Occlumency—this was different, more like a specialized memory-locking enchantment.

"Huh, interesting," Alex mused. He smirked and delivered a sharp punch to one of Torquil's wounds. The man's body twisted in pain, but he was too weak to scream. Alex tried probing his mind again, but the magical barrier remained intact.

"Well, if brute force doesn't work…" Alex pulled a small vial of Veritaserum from his pocket. He forced the potion down Torquil's throat and waited as the man's eyes glazed over, his expression turning slack.

"Name?" Alex asked, his voice calm but commanding.

"Torquil Travers," came the dull, monotone reply.

Satisfied that the Veritaserum was working, Alex leaned in closer. "Do you know Sirius Black?"

"Yes, he's a member of the Order of the Phoenix."

"Did he betray the Potters? Did he give their location to the Dark Lord?"

"Betray? I don't know."

Alex frowned. He had expected more useful information. "Was Sirius in contact with Death Eaters after Christmas?"

"After Christmas, the Dark Lord ordered us to capture Sirius. We searched everywhere but couldn't find him. He was in hiding."

"You're saying Sirius never betrayed the Potters?"

"I don't know. I only learned about it from the reports."

"It seems Torquil doesn't know the whole story. Let's change the topic," Alex muttered to himself before continuing.

"You know the names and current locations of the Death Eaters as well, don't you?"

Torquil began rattling off a long list of names, spilling every detail he knew about the Death Eaters. Alex diligently recorded each name and relevant piece of information, organizing them on a slate. Many of the names belonged to individuals already arrested, while others had fled abroad or somehow avoided prosecution.

"Barty Crouch Jr.?" Alex's eyes stopped on a specific name. "The son of Barty Crouch, the Head of Magical Law Enforcement? A Death Eater?"

The revelation caught Alex off guard. In his mind, Barty Crouch Sr. was known as a strict and no-nonsense figure, someone who despised Dark Magic and its followers. Could this be a façade? Or was the man genuinely unaware of his son's allegiance?

Still, Alex set the thought aside. There wasn't time to dwell on it now. He had more questions to ask. "What magic protects your memories?"

"Slytherin Protection Charm," Torquil answered.

Slytherin? Alex's interest was piqued. Could this be some kind of legacy curse tied to Slytherin himself? "How did you learn it? Where did you learn it? And what's the incantation?"

"I didn't learn it. I don't know the spell," Torquil admitted.

"Then where did the protective magic on you come from?"

"After I was released on bail, Yulia cast the spell on me using a magic book to keep me from revealing family secrets."

"What magic book?"

"It's called the Salazar's... Ugh!"

Before Torquil could finish, his expression twisted in agony. It was as if an invisible force clamped down on his ability to speak. He struggled, his face contorting in fear, as though even mentioning the book's name triggered some terrible consequence. Alex narrowed his eyes. "So this protection spell isn't just protective—it's a curse. A seal, even."

It became clear that asking any deeper questions about the Travers family secrets would be futile. Torquil's anguished screams and eventual collapse confirmed that the curse was doing its job, rendering him incapable of spilling anything important. Even after Alex tried to revive him, Torquil remained unconscious.

With Torquil out cold, Alex turned to the other captives—Goyle, Crabbe, and Yaxley—extracting information using a combination of Legilimency and Veritaserum. Each interrogation yielded useful intelligence about the Death Eaters. 

From Yaxley, Alex uncovered a critical letter. It was addressed to his brother, who had fled to Europe after Voldemort's fall. The letter described plans to regroup overseas, gathering strength among the Dark Lord's remaining loyalists. "Good thing I got to this first," Alex thought with satisfaction. "These guys would've bolted if I waited any longer."

Finally, it was Karkaroff's turn. By now, the man was visibly terrified. He'd witnessed what happened to the others and clearly imagined the worst.

When Alex dragged him into the bathroom and removed the gag, Karkaroff didn't wait to be questioned. "Please, don't hurt me! I'll cooperate! I'm not with them—I swear!" Tears streamed down his face as he begged.