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

A Different Lesson

The quiet of the cell did not help Harry to sleep as he had been instructed by the Healer who had removed any sign of Lucius' revenge. He had become accustomed to the warmth of the fire and a soft mattress beneath him, and the boards of his make-shift bed were hard and uncomfortable, and the chill of the room made him shiver uncontrollably. Harry was curled into a ball, huddling under his blanket and trying to make the world go away, but his mind could not let go of the contrasts, nor the new uncertainties in his harsh surroundings. He was feeling sick, both from the healing tingle still running through his limbs and the horrible possibility that he had been abandoned running through his head.

The sound of hobnails on stone did not help Harry's mood, especially not because he recognised two pairs of boots. If both his gaolers were coming to his cell, it was no ordinary check on their prisoner, and as the door opened, Harry tensed into his foetal ball and closed his eyes, hoping they'd think he was sleeping. Yet the young man was not as good at deception this time as he had been during his first escape attempt, and chuckles told him his disquiet had been seen for what it was.

"Pup isn't pleased to see us," Villainous mocked, and Harry gave up the pretence: he opened his eyes and looked up at the two hulks looming over him.

Villainous sunk down into a crouch and took Harry's whole attention. The prisoner knew something was up by the confident expression on his captor's face, and he lay very still, hoping whatever it was would be over quickly.

"We've decided to have a little chat with you, Pup," Villainous disclosed coolly.

"Yeah, a li'le chat," Brutus added his weight to the mix and sniggered.

"Y'see, you running like that made us look bad, and we don't like looking bad in front of the masters."

Harry didn't like the look in his gaoler's eye and he glanced quickly at the open door, calculating the odds of fighting his way out of the cell. The odds were miniscule, and they went to nothing as Villainous' face broke out into a knowing smile, and, leisurely, he reached behind and shut the only way out.

"Now, now, Pup, this is between you and us," the man continued, like he was giving a light telling off. "You need to say sorry, and relearn you lessons."

Under the blanket, Harry balled his hands into fists: he was exhausted, but he was damned if he was going to give in to these bullies any more than he would Lucius. He looked from lout to lout, assessing how much pain he could inflict before he was over-powered. Villainous continued to smile, unaware of Harry's thoughts, and explained, "We did not know that you were a fairy, but since you are a nonce, we decided that you should be generous with your affections."

Every defensive cell in his body fired at that suggestion, and Harry snarled, 'No', and was flying at Villainous before his thoughts had caught up. Sense had made him think of knocking the smaller man off-balance and going for the larger, but the smug surety of the head gaoler made Harry forget sense. This man had destroyed his hopes and was now threatening what he had left, and the prisoner wanted to hurt him. Villainous was not taken by surprise, he actually laughed as Harry dived into him, falling backwards like he'd been planning to do it all along. Growling incoherently, Harry hit out with his fists with any energy he could muster, sliding further off the bed as he did so. His opponent showed no concern for the attack, he just raised his hands to protect his face: that made Harry madder.

Yet the enraged fighter had little time to make his objections known, because the hulk that was Brutus grabbed him round the neck and hauled him off his quarry. Harry struggled, grabbing for the tree-trunk of an arm that closed on his windpipe, and he kicked as he was bodily lifted off the ground, but he was still weak with healing and could do nothing as he was thrown back down onto the cot.