The darkness was suffocating, pressing in from every side. Her eyes fluttered open, her body aching in ways she couldn't begin to describe. The cold, uneven stone floor bit into her skin, and when she tried to move, a jagged bolt of pain shot up her arm, making her cry out weakly. She lay there, gasping, fighting to hold on to consciousness. Everything was a blur. The last thing she remembered was Bellatrix—her wild eyes, the cursed knife, the searing pain as it cut into her flesh. Hermione's heart clenched as the memory flashed before her eyes: Bellatrix carving the word "Mudblood" into her arm, each slice of the blade filled with dark magic and malevolence. She blinked, trying to focus, but her vision kept swimming in and out. The room around her was dim and shadowed, a miserable hole carved into the bowels of Malfoy Manor. The walls were damp and cold, covered in grime and years of neglect. A single flickering torch cast weak, distorted light across the cell, illuminating the dark stains that marred the stone floor. Blood, old and dried, turned the stones nearly black, and the sour stench of sweat, vomit, and other bodily fluids hung thick in the air, making her stomach churn. The place reeked of despair and suffering. She could almost feel it seeping into her skin, wrapping around her like a shroud. Hermione tried to push herself up, but her body refused to obey. Pain shot through her again, this time originating from the jagged, raw letters carved into her arm. The wound throbbed, sending fresh waves of agony through her nerves. She gasped, tears springing to her eyes. Blood was still seeping slowly from the deep cuts, dripping onto the filthy floor beneath her. Her whole body was trembling, uncontrollably shivering as if she were lying in the snow instead of a dank, dark cell. Was it shock? Hypothermia? She didn't know. All she knew was that she couldn't stop shaking, and each shudder sent new ripples of pain through her joints. Her wrists ached, her knees felt like they were on fire, and her vision kept narrowing to a dark, suffocating tunnel.