The Sight Of Eternity With You

The World Is Falling Apart

"The world is falling apart
I swear I'll be there to catch you
When the world is falling apart
Stay where you are
They put you through the ringer
Sand slips through your fingers
No such thing as an easy way out
Circle the bodies and pick them off
One by one
Say that your sorry, but another day sets
Nothing done
What have you done?"
-The World Is Falling Apart, Speelburg

****

He's late."

"We don't know that."

Harper watched blurred versions of Narcissa and Fenrir pace the small shop front, glancing over to where the vanishing cabinet that sat still broken. The low lighting of the shop burning her eyes as she tried to refrain from squinting-if she showed she was in pain, things may get worse, Fenrir enjoyed watching the seer tortured to the brink of death by Bellatrix on a daily basis.

Harper was pushed in the shoulder, Fenrir shoving her from her chair.

"Go on and test it," Fenrir muttered, he gripped her elbow and shoved her in front of the cabinet. "Inside."

"No, what if she gets lost? We don't know what will happen, the Dark Lord will never forgive us-"

"He won't care! She's useless, he's said it countless times now. The nonsense prophecies she mutters every time she's been allowed out of that cellar are irritating. Let me just shut her up a bit."

"She can't even speak with the torture Bellatrix puts her through anymore," Narcissa countered.

"Yes, which is why when she does it's awful. Sounds like a mandrake's scream."

The vanishing cabinet was opened, Harper was shoved inside before another word was spoken, the tight space would immediately trigger a panic attack in any typical person, but Harper felt nothing. She gently traced the grain of the wood, waiting to be transported somewhere, she felt a surge of magic but it was quickly gone. The claustrophobia of the cabinet was a comfort to Harper, she felt safe in the tight space, knowing that right now nothing was going to hurt her, there was no impending mystery spell for her to test or the random unforgivable curse shot at her back. Harper secretly hoped that they couldn't open the cabinet, that she could spend the rest of her life in there-she had no friends and by still being held captive, clearly no family to speak of.

"Please take me home," Harper stuttered to the grain, resting her forehead on the paneling, the cool feeling of the wood seemed to buzz in response.

There was a surge of magic, she felt it envelop her, traveling down her arms to her hands where she felt something break against her middle finger. Clasping her hands in the dark, she felt the band that had been on her left hand was now gone, a tear escaped her eyes as she bit her lip. That ring had meant something to her, a comfort that someone in the world had cared enough to gift it to her.

It had been the only connection she had left to any sort of family outside of this hellscape, and it was gone.

"See? Told you she'd still be alive," Fenrir growled when he pulled her out of the darkness, Harper losing her footing and falling to the ground where she stayed, like a doll waiting to be picked up by its owner.

"We'll have to report that your son is still not making progress," Fenrir said, the slight joy in his voice sent a chill down Harper's spine. Fearing for the boy in question. "Interested to see what happens when he steps off that train for the holidays tomorrow."

She was the overall test subject and magic eight ball that would ultimately receive the wrath of Draco's still failed attempts on fixing the vanishing cabinet. Keeping her eyes closed, she felt Narcissa's fingers trail across her head, over the peach fuzz hair that refused to grow in the abysmal conditions she was kept in an almost motherly way.