Ambivalent → Hermione Granger [3] ✔

I 12 I A Cramped Room

✎

Warnings for violence.

~*~

A faint, bright light appeared before his eyes, his vision gradually becoming clearer though the blurriness remained. Alexander groaned quietly and raised a hand to his temple, which throbbed incessantly against his fingers. Where the actual fuck was he? And what happened? His head pounded and he felt strangely disorientated. He hardly knew a thing; his mind was a blank slate.

He blinked several times, ignoring the vague dizziness spell. Why can't he remember? Is this a dream? Something conjured in his imagination perhaps? Flashes emerged like a half-forgotten memory. He remembered red hair, a sweet aroma, and multi-coloured packaging. Oh. That's right. He was in Hogsmeade trying to look for something for Harry on their trip. Ron was with him. He went outside, he was sure of that. Because. . . because he wanted to avoid - Helen. Yes, of course.

Wait. And then something hit him, hard. Or someone rather. A harsh, panting breath belonging to a man echoed in his ear.

Alexander sat up quite fast and grimaced as a dizzy wave crashed over him like fierce ocean tides upon a sandy beach. He tugged at his right hand and discovered to his shock that his wrist was wrapped around a rope tied up on a hook on the wall. What in the-? The more he tugged, the tighter it became until it was digging into his wrist painfully, cutting off his blood circulation. Alexander winced at the sharp pain.

No, no, no, no.

His breath hitched and his heart rate quickened, beating in his throat. Don't panic, he reminded himself. It'll do no good to panic. Eliot taught him that. It'll just make things worse so there's no point. No one has killed him. Yet, whispered a sinister voice. He forced it away. Where was he?

Alexander glanced around, desperate for anything that would reveal where he was. It seemed to be a rundown, ramshackle room with a single bed in the corner. A grimy cooker lay a few steps away from it, appearing like it's never been used, with a single cupboard directly parallel to it. The wallpaper was torn and dilapidated, frayed at the edges and drooping down like a flower that had fallen to its knees. Well, he certainly wasn't at Hogwarts anymore. He wondered if he was still in Hogsmeade or if whoever brought him here apparated them elsewhere.

Alexander placed his foot down on the panelled, wooden flooring to steady his balance and tried to rise to a standing position, but the noisy squeak of his shoes attracted the attention of a huddled figure in the room. He hadn't spotted him in the first place as he was hidden in the shadows, squatting in an uncomfortable position with his back turned.

Alexander was instantly on edge and narrowed his eyes. His hand reached for his wand located in his jeans pocket. Rising panic enveloped his throat as he patted the front and back of his trousers in a frantic manner, including his jacket, praying he sensed a lump somewhere, anywhere. He peered around, thinking maybe it dropped out as he was tied up, but the floor lay bare and unhelpful.

What the fuck was going on? Where was his wand? And why was he here? Who was the man?

"Oi," he yelled, mustering up as much braveness as he could, which wasn't much. He tried not to let the encroaching fear consume him - it'll eat him alive. Alexander clutched to the remnants of his anger and confusion like a ship to an anchor. "Who are you?" he demanded, "What am I doing here?"

Alexander watched as the figure turned around, movements sluggish, and rose from his squatted position, stepping into the single slant of light that beamed from the only, circular window in the room, appearing more like a ship's porthole. His gaze fell on the man and a bell of recognition shuddered through him like someone'd jerked his hand until it clicked painfully. The man's features were sunken and wrinkled, still sagging with even more exhaustion and an even older look. His clothes were still shabby, and his hair had more white streaks than before, but he was decidedly very much sober. Alexander couldn't tell if this was worse or not.