𝔅𝔢𝔞𝔲𝔱𝔦𝔣𝔲𝔩 𝔓𝔞𝔦𝔫

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔗𝔴𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔶-𝔰𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫

𝔎𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔞𝔫𝔞'𝔰 𝔭𝔬𝔳

I trail my fingers over the spines of the books in the large library, wondering what it would be like to be able to grab one and read it in this open library without the fear of consequences.

I scoff at the hope. Hope gets you tortured in a place like this.

Still, I finished the stack of books I stole two weeks ago. I will not stare at a wall for the next few years I am in here. I need something to take up my time when I am not in class. Everyone else is allowed radios, books, and other things that occupy their time. I should be allowed the same thing.

Plucking a book called "Pride and Prejudice" from the dark shelf made of wood from the birch trees that surround this school, I examine the cover. It looks interesting. I tuck it under my arm and grab another one called "Wuthering Heights." I grab a few more books before heading toward the exit of the library.

My books drop to the floor when the headteacher turns a corner, ending up right in front of me. "Interesting seeing you here at such a late hour," he smiles, tilting his head to the side. My eyes flutter and bile makes its way up my throat, threatening to come out. "Please," I beg as if my pleading would somehow convince him not to send me to the dungeon where I will be tortured for his sadistic amusement. He just smiles, his rotten teeth showing. "We both know what's going to happen, Kritana. Either you come willingly or you can struggle. I'm sure you remember what happened the first time you received a lesson," he tells me.

"Okay," I whisper, tears threatening to spill from my face. I close my eyes to suppress the tears that I know are about to fall. I know that I cannot possibly get out of this. I could cast a spell to incapacitate him or try to run, but I would be caught eventually, and it would only make my punishment worse. "Please show mercy," I beg. His head tilts, his face contorting in confusion. "Why would I do that?" My heart stops at his words. But I don't know why I expected a different response. He gets off on my pain.

I just allow my head to fall, a tear slipping from my right eye. My most recent punishments were a few minutes of the cruciatus curse. Every time I go through the punishments they administer, it's worse. The last time was ten minutes. I nearly went insane.

I don't even want to think about what I am going to have to go through this time. My last punishment was because I didn't bow my head when walking out of the dark arts classroom. I got ten fucking minutes of the cruciatus curse because of that. This time, I left my room and broke into the library. A regular student would get the cruciatus for that, even if it was a first-time offense. Knowing those things causes another tear to slip from my eye.