The metallic sound of chains rattling together echoed through the empty corridor, accompanied by the sound of tired, shuffling feet. A dementor floated along silently, barely causing the air to stir in the creature's icy presence. Not far behind was a woman, who was being led by chains gripped in the dementor's grey hands. Her mind reeled with the idea that she would likely undergo starvation, torture, and even death during her confinement. Trying to stay positive, she quickly dismissed those thoughts.
After ascending multiple flights of spiral staircases and twisting passageways, the young woman was led to the cell block where she would spend the next fifteen years of her life. There was an empty prison cell at the far end of the stone hallway, containing nothing but more chains and manacles. With a flick of the wrist, the dementor slid the cell door open and motioned for the convict to go inside. She did so without hesitation, for she knew that provoking a dementor meant certain death. The dark creature locked the door and left as silently as it had come, the metal bars slamming shut.
Checking to make sure that she was alone, the inmate plopped down and sobbed into her hands, still in disbelief that someone as smart as her could end up in prison. Her light brown hair fell over her face as she hugged her knees to her chest. She whined to herself for a while, hearing only the echo of her voice bouncing off of the cold walls.
"I was just trying to help… I did the right thing… This wouldn't have happened if Muggles weren't so violent… Damn it all…" she said to herself, already fearing that her sanity would be lost by the end of the week.
"Will you shut it? I'm trying to sleep" a voice said. The woman instinctually jumped and reached for her left pocket, where she normally kept her wand. To her dismay, her wand was gone, taken away upon her arrest. She squinted through the dim lighting, trying to find where the voice had come from.
"Who's there?" She demanded, her voice threatening.
"Who's here? Well I'm here… I have been for nearly a decade." The stranger responded sarcastically.
"I meant who are you?"
"You know me… I'm the one they all talk about, the one that they accused of killing a dozen Muggles in a single night."
"… Sirius Black!" The new inmate's eyes widened in shock. Through the flickering light of the torches on the wall, she could see the other inmate shifting around in the cell next to hers. He smiled wickedly, revealing two rows of yellowing teeth.
"Surprised? You should feel honored to be in the same cell block with me," he said gruffly, "but then again, judging by your pitiful sniffling, you aren't exactly a hardened criminal."
"Oh please, I bet you did the same thing on your first day here." She replied coolly. Sirius looked over at her through the iron bars that separated their cells.
"No, I kept it together. I've known for a while now that I'm doomed to spend the rest of my life here for a crime I never committed. But chin up, kid. I'll keep you company." The brunette woman smiled halfheartedly, grateful that she had someone to talk to.
"Thanks. And you're right: I'm not a criminal. My name is Yvonne, and I definitely don't belong here."