Wasn't torture like this supposed to have a face you can remember? Someone who used to be beneath you now your tormentor, familiarity driving home the punishment for being a good person. Nice guys finish last and all that, so somebody must be finishing first.
But there isn't. Nameless faces as anonymous as he's been told to become, the foreign ache that tells him it's what he /wants/ to become. Of course, that ache tells him that no, he really shouldn't fight back when the ugly man with the blond hair decided to be particularly cruel, so he knows he shouldn't listen.
The the ache becomes a searing burn and reminds him that direct rebellion isn't tolerated. Whups.
But at least that pain's better than the other one, the hole seemingly carved into his heart and soul with a... well, something not particularly good at carving, so it takes a lot longer to complete and hurts like hell afterwords and never really heals and he'll never be whole again so why are you fighting, it's better to give in, it only hurts if you fight, Harry --
-- can't tell if it's the ache or the source of his pain that calls his name but when he hears it his spirit cries, because /yes/, he isn't crazy, he has a name and it's Harry --
And before he knows it, he's fallen a bit farther, and the curses rachet tighter around his mind and the next time? The next time, resistance will come a second slower, he'll fall to the lies and the pain and the truth and the whispers to just submit and be a nice little magiclessfacelessmindless bit of flesh a little bit faster.
The next time, he won't remember it's his name when something says Harry.
But there isn't. Nameless faces as anonymous as he's been told to become, the foreign ache that tells him it's what he /wants/ to become. Of course, that ache tells him that no, he really shouldn't fight back when the ugly man with the blond hair decided to be particularly cruel, so he knows he shouldn't listen.
The the ache becomes a searing burn and reminds him that direct rebellion isn't tolerated. Whups.
But at least that pain's better than the other one, the hole seemingly carved into his heart and soul with a... well, something not particularly good at carving, so it takes a lot longer to complete and hurts like hell afterwords and never really heals and he'll never be whole again so why are you fighting, it's better to give in, it only hurts if you fight, Harry --
-- can't tell if it's the ache or the source of his pain that calls his name but when he hears it his spirit cries, because /yes/, he isn't crazy, he has a name and it's Harry --
And before he knows it, he's fallen a bit farther, and the curses rachet tighter around his mind and the next time? The next time, resistance will come a second slower, he'll fall to the lies and the pain and the truth and the whispers to just submit and be a nice little magiclessfacelessmindless bit of flesh a little bit faster.
The next time, he won't remember it's his name when something says Harry.
