#180 in Fanfiction || #1 in Hermione ||
In the language of literature, there exists a seemingly-concrete, antonymous relationship between good and evil, light and dark, hero and monster. And yet, we often disregard the transition from one to anothe...
If not obvious in itself, the fact that the Malfoy Manor has a dungeon is not a reassuring notion of righteousness. Honestly, Tom Riddle wonders whether the Ministry of Magic has ever inspected this home, especially after the First War with Voldemort. Surely, that would have been a good idea, and maybe then, the Ministry might not have put so much faith in the goodness of the Malfoy family.
But, it could be worse. As far as dungeons go, this one is not too bad with fairly clean cells, thick block walls, roomy space, and many friends. Then again, it might just be the lack of light in the dungeons that has Tom thinking positively for once in his life.
But, again, there ought to be a certain rulebook for keeping prisoners under the regime of Lord Voldemort. Tom is sure that the other version of himself would kill Wormtail if he knew that he paraded Harry, Ron, and Tom into the same cell without accounting for other objects on their persons or any ideas of their identities. Sure, their wands are not present, but Tom is extremely capable of wandless magic and Harry still has his magic mirror. But again, Tom is not bagging on that for salvation. Honestly, it's not his salvation that matters so much, but that of Hermione, silent above them.
There is a massive bang as the rat-faced traitor slams the door to the large cell, echoed like a heartbeat by the clang of Ron throwing himself against the metal. Does he think it will break under conviction? Well, if that idea passed through his head, it is soon gone, the red-haired teenager turning to Harry with a desperate gleam in his eye.
"Harry! What're we going to do? We can't just leave Hermione alone with her!" Ron cries the obvious, all three innately knowing that Hermione is not safe even with their hopes. But, to the same breath, Tom and Harry realize they cannot do much about it, a hurting notion. Without their wands, they are not capable of taking on the full Malfoy family, Bellatrix Lestrange, Wormtail, and whoever else is lingering. No, this will require a greater amount of leverage than the weight of Tom's wandless magic.
"Ron? Harry...?" a voice whispers from the depths of the dungeon darkness, all three males--named, or not--turning to the general area with a sense of ease despite the unknown identity. It is more shadowed with each step away from the door, but even Harry's near blindness can perceive movement from the darkness near the back wall.
"Luna...?" the Boy Who Lived wonders, matching a name to the voice--still soft and wondrous in quality, but with a sharp edge that imprisonment brings. The darkness taints even the best of us.
//////////
After a particularly nasty shove, Hermione finds her head ringing with the pain of impact against the marble tiles, shoulders aching from the woman's claws. Bellatrix Lestrange, devil incarnate, idly stands above Hermione with a particularly crazed and angry look, a silver dagger swinging between her fingers in a synchronised dance of carpal and phalangeal joints.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
