Into Darkness - Moment by Moment Book #1 (Harry Potter, Drarry)

A Storm after the Calm

Boredom had never been an option Harry had considered when he had thought about his possible fate at Voldemort's hands. Yet, as he stared at the ceiling for the umpteenth time in what he guessed was about two days, he realised that it was setting in. Since Draco's visit there had been no sign of father or son, and Harry was trying not to dwell on the why, but just be thankful for a chance to recover from the emotional and physical abuse. During the respite he had been given, his mind had drifted from the immediacy of defiance, and he'd found himself listening intently to the dripping of water on the tower steps, which told him it was raining outside, or working out the path of a beetle across the floor. The young man had no idea why he'd been left alone for so long, neither Villainous, nor the temporary replacement for Brutus had said anything about Lucius' absence from the tower. So it was that he had slowly lulled into the uneasy calm, which saw him sleeping most of the time.

Now, he thought it was night again: Villainous tended to be grumpier when it was dark outside, and he'd lashed out on both of his previous visits, so Harry assumed darkness. Water sounded like it was pouring onto the steps further up the tower, so Harry was imagining a storm raging outside with all its lightning flashes and thunder claps. It wasn't Quidditch Weekly, but it kept his mind active.

However, the storm did not stay inside Harry's head.

Harry threw himself into a sitting position as the door slammed open. Brutus was stood in the opening, and his whole demeanour spoke of vengeance. Quite aware he was now prey, Harry raised his arms in defence as the heavy man charged over to him, but decided that, considering the near homicidal look in his assailant's eyes, saving his strength was a safer option than fighting back. Brutus grabbed his prisoner by the collar and literally threw him towards the door. Harry crashed into the wooden panel, and landed in a dazed pile at its foot.

"Hello, Pup," the gaoler snarled, grabbing him before he could move from his heap and snapping on the chain. "I got a bone to pick wiv you."

Harry knew this was going to be rough, but could do no more than go with the pull which sent him flying out of the doorway and into the corridor wall. He groaned this time as he saw stars; Brutus replied with a satisfied hrmph. The stairs proved even more painful as his captor proceeded to bounce Harry off every available surface, some of which had corners. Bruised, and uncoordinated, the captive was dragged into the light of the old common room and collapsed onto his hands and knees in the wide-open space in which his subjugator placed him. The chain was slipped through an iron hoop on the floor, and then Harry realised the format had changed again. Nervously, he looked up at Brutus, who was stood, hands on hip, a little way off; behind him stood Lucius Malfoy and Villainous, and yet further back the wall glowed with Voldemort's presence.

"Our little family is complete again, Harry," the Dark Lord greeted. "Brutus is all better, and he wants to show you how he feels about what you did."

The large man drew a whip from his belt, a grimace of anticipation on his bent features.

"Get up, Pup," he ordered, his relish for his work telling in his voice. "I'm gonna make you dance."

Slowly, Harry climbed to his feet, eking out the moment as best he could to gather his wits for what was to come next. He met Brutus' hot stare, the adversarial nature of this encounter enhancing his resolve. His opponent was an ignorant, loutish bully, and the look in Brutus' eyes reached right for the captive's fighting spirit. He twitched only once as the whip was cracked inches from his feet: whatever pain this man was going to inflict, Harry decided there and then that he would not give him the satisfaction of capitulating to his will. The second strike caught him on the ankle, but the young man trapped an exclamation in his throat, and shivered away the hurt.