Author's Notes: I'm getting such a kick out of reading all your reviews, so
I'm going to take to doing what many other authors do, and answer reviews
at the end of each chapter.
Disclaimer: As the other parts; the only things that belong to me are the things you don't recognise.
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Exercise in the yard, I soon found out, was basically a joke. After two minutes I knew all I needed to. After five minutes I was bored stiff and even found myself wishing to be back inside, away from the rain that started after only a few moments.
For the first hour we jogged around the yard, keeping carefully on the white lines that were painted on the ground, supervised by guards. The lines were all straight, painted in squares within the square made by the walls, and there were dozens of them. Every now and then the guards would yell out for us to change squares, and we all shuffled around to a different square. Every five minutes - I guessed at the length of time - we were told to change direction and jog around the square the other way.
I think I had more stimulating exercise with *him*.
Then we stopped for a couple of minutes and waited for the 'lockers' to join us. They did, stretching limbs that weren't used enough, and the jogging started again.
The whole situation would have been relentlessly unbearable if it wasn't for Rubber, who kept on making strange faces at everyone. I didn't know whether he always did this, whether he did this for my benefit, or whether he was trying to make up for having got Harry put into isolation.
I suspected the latter, because almost everyone was ignoring him.
Thankfully, the two hours of 'exercise' ended just as the skies really opened on us and it began hailing. The guards seemed just as anxious as us to get inside, as we were hurried through the door as quickly as possible. The lockers were taken back to their cells, and the rest of us were free to do what we wanted - within reason, of course. There was no way any of us were going to be allowed to attempt mass murder, for example.
I had wanted to ask Harry about some things - especially after having seen that display of magic earlier - but as he was now in isolation that was impossible. I would have followed one of the men I had met this morning, but they all disappeared quickly to their own cells or to each other's. I walked slowly down Alley C - Helga Alley - to my own cell.
Things in Talsgate were certainly not what I had expected, even though I hadn't really expected anything much. But Harry...Harry was the one thing that was most unexpected. He could do magic without a wand, a thing that has always been drilled into us as dangerous and practically impossible. Even Dumbledore had only been able to perform a very few spells without his wand - even *he* had needed a wand. And Harry was *his* equal in every way, if what I thought was true...yet Harry could perform wandless magic - with a prevention bracelet on, no less!
Well, it certainly explained a few things, like why everyone in the prison listened to Harry, even if they didn't all like him. It also explained why the guard had left he and I alone last night when I had first entered Talsgate.
I sat on my bed, and took a deep breath. I was really here. I was really in prison, and there was no way I could leave. I knew...I knew when I did it that I'd end up here, but they were so desperate, they needed the information so badly, and it was for Harry, it was all for Harry, he wasn't there anymore but he would want me to help...I couldn't bear it anymore, *his* hands on my skin, touching, probing...I needed to get out, and they'd said that they'd help me...that bastard...
Someone shook me roughly, and I was harshly broken out of my trance. I looked up at Claw, who was watching me anxiously.
"You alright?" he asked carefully. I sat there, my mouth partly open, and shook my head. "It's sunk in then, has it?" I would have nodded if I could; as it was, I leant back against the wall and closed my eyes. Claw was still watching me; I heard the sound of feet shuffling and assumed it to be him. "I'm no good at this sort of stuff," he muttered. "Damnit, if Harry wasn't in isolation..."
"I don't want to talk to Harry," I said, too quickly to be believed. "I..." I shook my head blindly. "I can't tell him why I'm in here."
Claw gave me an oddly calculating look. "So why are you in here, Malfoy?" I wouldn't tell him. I couldn't tell him. I shook my head again, and he sighed. "Alright," he relented. "Come on, I'll show you the showers."
"I don't...I don't want to have a shower," I muttered. All I wanted to do was stay here and wallow in my misery.
Which Claw obviously saw, because he heaved me to my feet, folding up my bed easily with his other hand. "Right," he agreed, with just a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "You want to stay in your cell for as long as possible, ignoring everyone who tries to drag you out and make you enjoy life in here as much as it can be enjoyed. Believe me, I wanted exactly the same." He shrugged. "I had Harry to drag me out of my cell. Since Harry's in isolation, and since no-one else is likely to do it, I'm gonna do the same for you."
I stared at him. "Why?" I choked. "Why would anyone care for me?"
"Because we have to care for each other in here. Because we are all we have."
Well, that made sense, I supposed. Regardless of my current feelings, I didn't want to spend the next twenty years alone. But...but I really didn't want to leave my cell right now. And those were words I'd never thought to be thinking.
Claw was still watching me, his brown eyes lazily taking in every single tiny movement that I made. He lifted one eyebrow in query, and slowly I nodded. With a grunt of satisfaction, Claw stepped out of my cell. Slowly I followed him.
The showers were on the other side of Row A, and faced the windows. The toilets were there as well. There was very little privacy...but there was more than out in the alleys and cells. The showers weren't communal, which I had been half expecting, and they were more clean than not, so I supposed that counted for something. There were a couple of men in there showering, and Claw took one look at them and dragged me from the showers.
"You do *not* want to get involved with that lot," he informed me. "Zabini's crowd. It's that lot that are against Harry, not that any of the rest of us put up with that nonsense. Most of them were Slytherins at Hogwarts - all wizards, of course - and they're all dead set against Harry and anything or anyone to do with him, and that's despite having been put in here by the Dark Lord."
"But they take it out on other men," I murmured, trying to understand the mystery that Harry had turned into over the past six years - or perhaps he had always been a mystery and I had merely seen him in my old black and white vision. "They don't dare touch Harry, because he can do magic."
Claw threw me a sharp glance. "Oh, some are stupid enough to try," he disagreed. "No-one tries twice though." He hesitated, then bluntly asked, "Are you going to try?"
I gazed at him curiously. "Why should I?" I queried. "I'm not against Harry, I don't much care whether he's against the Dark Lord or not, since I'm neither with him nor against. All I care about is..." I trailed off, and shrugged. "I don't care about anything much," I lied easily.
Perhaps my ability to lie was slipping. My experiences over the past three weeks had made me suspect so, and it was clear from Claw's expression that he considered me an amateur liar. I remained stony-faced, and he looked away after a moment or two.
"Whatever you say," he said easily. "I'd supposed to meet Gary and play cards with him - you want to come?"
"Sure," I agreed. "Why not?" Cards would at least occupy my mind until after lunch, when I fully planned to do one of the workshops Claw had told me about for as long as I could, then go to bed after supper. That way, I mused, I would be able to happily avoid thinking about things until I was in my cell - and maybe until after that.
Tomorrow I could talk to Harry, and maybe get some answers - even if I had to get them using finger-tapping code again.
I followed Claw to Gary's cell, on the bottom level of row A, on Godric Alley. Gary, Rubber, Claw and I played cards all morning. I lost every game.
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To be continued.
Replies to reviews (of chapter three only):
Ice - thank you, and thank you for all your other comments also!
Hana-chan - Thank you - and you won't find out about Ron for at least a couple of chapters, sorry!
Sisi - thank you!
silentkaos - creepy? Hmm, I guess that's about what I was aiming for!
QuidditchChick21 - You'll find out what happened to Ron in forthcoming chapters, I promise. As to Sirius and Hermione...you'll just have to wait and see. Simple? What's that?
janibo - thank you - and Harry may or may not get into a fight soon :) I can't tell you!
Sirius - thank you! I wasn't aware that it's *completely* original, but thanks for saying so!
Demeter - well, hooked is fine. Yes, the wandless magic aspect is very important for the story, which *is* slashy, but not necessarily Harry/Draco. Sorry, can't tell you yet! Wait a couple more chapters, then all will be revealed...somewhat.
Disclaimer: As the other parts; the only things that belong to me are the things you don't recognise.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Exercise in the yard, I soon found out, was basically a joke. After two minutes I knew all I needed to. After five minutes I was bored stiff and even found myself wishing to be back inside, away from the rain that started after only a few moments.
For the first hour we jogged around the yard, keeping carefully on the white lines that were painted on the ground, supervised by guards. The lines were all straight, painted in squares within the square made by the walls, and there were dozens of them. Every now and then the guards would yell out for us to change squares, and we all shuffled around to a different square. Every five minutes - I guessed at the length of time - we were told to change direction and jog around the square the other way.
I think I had more stimulating exercise with *him*.
Then we stopped for a couple of minutes and waited for the 'lockers' to join us. They did, stretching limbs that weren't used enough, and the jogging started again.
The whole situation would have been relentlessly unbearable if it wasn't for Rubber, who kept on making strange faces at everyone. I didn't know whether he always did this, whether he did this for my benefit, or whether he was trying to make up for having got Harry put into isolation.
I suspected the latter, because almost everyone was ignoring him.
Thankfully, the two hours of 'exercise' ended just as the skies really opened on us and it began hailing. The guards seemed just as anxious as us to get inside, as we were hurried through the door as quickly as possible. The lockers were taken back to their cells, and the rest of us were free to do what we wanted - within reason, of course. There was no way any of us were going to be allowed to attempt mass murder, for example.
I had wanted to ask Harry about some things - especially after having seen that display of magic earlier - but as he was now in isolation that was impossible. I would have followed one of the men I had met this morning, but they all disappeared quickly to their own cells or to each other's. I walked slowly down Alley C - Helga Alley - to my own cell.
Things in Talsgate were certainly not what I had expected, even though I hadn't really expected anything much. But Harry...Harry was the one thing that was most unexpected. He could do magic without a wand, a thing that has always been drilled into us as dangerous and practically impossible. Even Dumbledore had only been able to perform a very few spells without his wand - even *he* had needed a wand. And Harry was *his* equal in every way, if what I thought was true...yet Harry could perform wandless magic - with a prevention bracelet on, no less!
Well, it certainly explained a few things, like why everyone in the prison listened to Harry, even if they didn't all like him. It also explained why the guard had left he and I alone last night when I had first entered Talsgate.
I sat on my bed, and took a deep breath. I was really here. I was really in prison, and there was no way I could leave. I knew...I knew when I did it that I'd end up here, but they were so desperate, they needed the information so badly, and it was for Harry, it was all for Harry, he wasn't there anymore but he would want me to help...I couldn't bear it anymore, *his* hands on my skin, touching, probing...I needed to get out, and they'd said that they'd help me...that bastard...
Someone shook me roughly, and I was harshly broken out of my trance. I looked up at Claw, who was watching me anxiously.
"You alright?" he asked carefully. I sat there, my mouth partly open, and shook my head. "It's sunk in then, has it?" I would have nodded if I could; as it was, I leant back against the wall and closed my eyes. Claw was still watching me; I heard the sound of feet shuffling and assumed it to be him. "I'm no good at this sort of stuff," he muttered. "Damnit, if Harry wasn't in isolation..."
"I don't want to talk to Harry," I said, too quickly to be believed. "I..." I shook my head blindly. "I can't tell him why I'm in here."
Claw gave me an oddly calculating look. "So why are you in here, Malfoy?" I wouldn't tell him. I couldn't tell him. I shook my head again, and he sighed. "Alright," he relented. "Come on, I'll show you the showers."
"I don't...I don't want to have a shower," I muttered. All I wanted to do was stay here and wallow in my misery.
Which Claw obviously saw, because he heaved me to my feet, folding up my bed easily with his other hand. "Right," he agreed, with just a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "You want to stay in your cell for as long as possible, ignoring everyone who tries to drag you out and make you enjoy life in here as much as it can be enjoyed. Believe me, I wanted exactly the same." He shrugged. "I had Harry to drag me out of my cell. Since Harry's in isolation, and since no-one else is likely to do it, I'm gonna do the same for you."
I stared at him. "Why?" I choked. "Why would anyone care for me?"
"Because we have to care for each other in here. Because we are all we have."
Well, that made sense, I supposed. Regardless of my current feelings, I didn't want to spend the next twenty years alone. But...but I really didn't want to leave my cell right now. And those were words I'd never thought to be thinking.
Claw was still watching me, his brown eyes lazily taking in every single tiny movement that I made. He lifted one eyebrow in query, and slowly I nodded. With a grunt of satisfaction, Claw stepped out of my cell. Slowly I followed him.
The showers were on the other side of Row A, and faced the windows. The toilets were there as well. There was very little privacy...but there was more than out in the alleys and cells. The showers weren't communal, which I had been half expecting, and they were more clean than not, so I supposed that counted for something. There were a couple of men in there showering, and Claw took one look at them and dragged me from the showers.
"You do *not* want to get involved with that lot," he informed me. "Zabini's crowd. It's that lot that are against Harry, not that any of the rest of us put up with that nonsense. Most of them were Slytherins at Hogwarts - all wizards, of course - and they're all dead set against Harry and anything or anyone to do with him, and that's despite having been put in here by the Dark Lord."
"But they take it out on other men," I murmured, trying to understand the mystery that Harry had turned into over the past six years - or perhaps he had always been a mystery and I had merely seen him in my old black and white vision. "They don't dare touch Harry, because he can do magic."
Claw threw me a sharp glance. "Oh, some are stupid enough to try," he disagreed. "No-one tries twice though." He hesitated, then bluntly asked, "Are you going to try?"
I gazed at him curiously. "Why should I?" I queried. "I'm not against Harry, I don't much care whether he's against the Dark Lord or not, since I'm neither with him nor against. All I care about is..." I trailed off, and shrugged. "I don't care about anything much," I lied easily.
Perhaps my ability to lie was slipping. My experiences over the past three weeks had made me suspect so, and it was clear from Claw's expression that he considered me an amateur liar. I remained stony-faced, and he looked away after a moment or two.
"Whatever you say," he said easily. "I'd supposed to meet Gary and play cards with him - you want to come?"
"Sure," I agreed. "Why not?" Cards would at least occupy my mind until after lunch, when I fully planned to do one of the workshops Claw had told me about for as long as I could, then go to bed after supper. That way, I mused, I would be able to happily avoid thinking about things until I was in my cell - and maybe until after that.
Tomorrow I could talk to Harry, and maybe get some answers - even if I had to get them using finger-tapping code again.
I followed Claw to Gary's cell, on the bottom level of row A, on Godric Alley. Gary, Rubber, Claw and I played cards all morning. I lost every game.
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To be continued.
Replies to reviews (of chapter three only):
Ice - thank you, and thank you for all your other comments also!
Hana-chan - Thank you - and you won't find out about Ron for at least a couple of chapters, sorry!
Sisi - thank you!
silentkaos - creepy? Hmm, I guess that's about what I was aiming for!
QuidditchChick21 - You'll find out what happened to Ron in forthcoming chapters, I promise. As to Sirius and Hermione...you'll just have to wait and see. Simple? What's that?
janibo - thank you - and Harry may or may not get into a fight soon :) I can't tell you!
Sirius - thank you! I wasn't aware that it's *completely* original, but thanks for saying so!
Demeter - well, hooked is fine. Yes, the wandless magic aspect is very important for the story, which *is* slashy, but not necessarily Harry/Draco. Sorry, can't tell you yet! Wait a couple more chapters, then all will be revealed...somewhat.