Dose of Darkness | Tom Riddle |

Chapter Nineteen: Make A Deal

Eleanor had never really experienced the symptoms of a hangover.

Most of her friends did though; Julius and Cormac in particular. She understood it was absolutely draining and especially painful in the head. Sometimes people would become sick and throw up, even if there was nothing left, and desire sleep. 

On day two of captivity, that was exactly how Eleanor felt except possibly ten times worse. 

In a room of the same jet black elegance as the main chamber of this fortress, she sat at a long table under the scrutiny of nearly a dozen men she shared the table with and the blinding pale sunlight that shone through the stain glass windows that gaped from the floor to the ceiling.

Gellert Grindelwald sat directly across from her, a buffet of food separating them.

Yes, Eleanor was invited to breakfast this morning with Grindelwald's most trusted advisers like she were the new toy pet on display.

A plate of eggs benedict and steamed vegetables remained untouched in front of her as she stared directly at Grindelwald who listened to his various members. She sat there wishing she could be asleep even if it was on the cold hard ground that caused the aching in her back. 

Even while her stomach roared, drawing the energy of her sense of focus because of how empty it was, she refused to eat. 

These men in their suits and ties seemingly just arrived here for this breakfast so nonchalantly discussed the vile things they had accomplished under Grindelwald's name. It sounded so horrific to her that she wondered if his regime had covered as much as Hitler's, if not more. 

"Eleanor, why aren't you eating?" asked Grindelwald, making her chest leap.

"Oh, so this delicious looking plate isn't cursed to kill me?" she retorted with a scratchy voice.

A few of his men snickered and rolled their eyes. She glared over them, recognizing some of them even.

They were traitors to their own country.

Some were diplomats, bankers, Aurors but essentially traitors.

By the conversations she heard she could make the assumption that were were from all across Europe.

"Oh that would be an inhumane way to treat a valued prisoner of mine! Go ahead, eat up, Ms.Peverell any meal here could potentially be your last." he mused, his grin fading as he raised his cup. 

Eleanor caved in.

The hunger was gnawing at stomach, shrinking into nothing as the time passed and pulling her last bit of strength apart into little pieces.

Grindelwald had really treated his prisoners, or at least her, quite different from the way she expected.

This morning she had been greeted by two woman who said nothing and merely gave her the privacy of a bathroom to shower and clean herself. They cleaned her clothes with a simple wave of their wands and then led her here to breakfast. 

Even though the atmosphere of this crude evil had deterred her from her appetite, she modestly tore into her food because if she were going to escape to, she'd like to have something to hold her down until then.

"So, Eleanor, I recognized something in Hogsmeade. You were not the only student who fought back even as your Aurors arrived. Did I miss something?" he asked, raising his frosted eyebrow at her. 

Eleanor gulped down her food, her mind reeling back from the mere conversation he was trying to start. She wished she could keep her calm but at the very least, she was able to maintain her composure. But the fear of giving a wrong answer lingered in the back of her mind and hung around her chest.