Surprising turn - a turn for the better? Or into madness ... (Draco Ff)

Chapter 65 ~ How the waves broke on the rocks....

Vik's pov.

...
it was so cold
So quiet and yet so loud.
The banging on the bars drove me crazy.  The beating brought back memories of the Battle of Hogwarts - the last moments I was free.
And the wind howling through the cracks and holes in the walls, like the agonizing screams of dying people.
My nerves were so tense that they began to tear.
The screams from the other prisoners pierced marrow and bone.
I was slowly and agonizingly losing my mind.
Crouching in the corner, staring
I look at the opposite wall.  As if I believed that with the power of my mind it would be possible to make the wall crumble.
A cold shiver ran down my spine.  My fingers were blue and numb.  I hardly felt anything anymore.
My whole body was shaking.  Repetitive twitching kept me from falling asleep.
My eyelids were so heavy, but I couldn't close my eyes.
My knees kept banging together from the shaking, and blue bruises appeared on my legs.
Was this the end?
Is that it?
I can't say how long I've been here now.
At first I counted the days... But if every day was the same, there was no point in pretending that you could tell them apart by counting.
I had lost my sense of time and all last hope disappeared...
Every damn day I thought that things could have been different - every damn day...

I couldn't get Draco's scared and panicked look out of my head.
How he ran towards me and screamed my name.
so full of pain...
How Blaise took him away.
Get away from me.
Away from the person who caused him so much suffering and pain and broke him..
I missed him every day and every night.
Every hour I spent here in this cell.
Every minute, even every second...
I don't want to forget him.
Wanted to remember the beautiful moments.
Despite everything that happened to us, there were moments that made you forget everything...

You will be waiting for your hearing here for a few days, maybe a few weeks or months.  Maybe even longer... We will make sure that you never leave this cell again and perish miserably here...
Those were the last words anyone exchanged with me.  It was the Auror who arrested me.
One thing I could say for sure now, the "a few days or maybe a few weeks" part was definitely a lie.  The competence of the Aurors was always admirable that I don't laugh.
I've been stuck here for months awaiting my hearing.
If there really is a hearing...

I got up agonizingly and arched my back.  All my bones cracked.
My left leg was tingling and my neck was stiff.
I dragged myself to the wall on my left and cupped the bars of the small window in my white, skeletal fingers.
I peered through and felt the icy wind blow through my much shorter hair.  They were now chin-length again.  They had cut them off just before I was brought here.

The robe of Azkaban hung heavily on my limbs, making it difficult for me to stand upright.
I could not anymore.
Couldn't stand, couldn't sit and breathing became harder with each breath...
I kept staring out the window, watching the waves break on the rocks.  The sound of the breaking and raging ocean distracted me from the hysterical voices.  I stayed in a trance, thinking how relieving and easy it would be to jump in the water and stop fighting.  Just let go.
Just let go...

"Lestrange!" I heard a voice addressed to me for the first time in months, "Get off the bars and clasp your hands behind your back. Don't even try!"
I turned my head slightly to see who was speaking to me.
Several Aurors stood in front of the cell door and waited for me to follow their orders.
I freed my cramped fingers from the window bars and clasped my hands behind my back.
With a loud squeak, the door flew open.
I was pushed against the wall while my hands were forcibly handcuffed.
My body was rotated 180° so that I could now look the gentlemen in the eye.
A grin crept onto my lips and my eyes sparkled madly.
"Your dirty grin will go away!" the Auror snapped, who had already raised his voice earlier.
I was violently pushed out of the cell on shaky legs.
I kept my head down and counted every single tile on the floor.
I was maneuvered through endless corridors until I felt the familiar feeling of being squeezed through a hose and Disapparated side-by-side.