Into Your Gravity ( Luna Lovegood & Tom Riddle )

Chapter twenty-six: Prisoner

"Within yourself deliverance must be searched for, because each man makes his own prison."
-Edwin Arnold
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"Wake up."

Luna tried to do as she was told, but her mind seemed determined to keep her in a state of blissful unconsciousness.

"Wake up, you little bitch!" The harsh female voice was followed by abrupt slaps across Luna's face.

Finally, Luna peeled her eyes open, only to promptly shut them again. She was fairly certain Bellatrix Lestrange was hovering over her, and she was also fairly certain that was the last thing she wanted to wake up to.

"Look at me!" Bellatrix hissed at her. "The Dark Lord wants you. Immediately."

Luna kept her eyes shut, taking in as much of her surroundings as possible before opening them again. She was lying on the floor, a stone floor, judging by the coldness and the hardness of it. It was cold in the room, and dark too. And it was quiet, meaning that she was far away from Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. She had no idea where she was.

"Look at me." Bellatrix's voice had grown more angry, if that was possible.

"I don't want to," Luna murmured sleepily, without thinking.

Another sharp slap across her face was the response she got. "I don't care. Get up."

Forcing her eyes open, Luna swallowed hard. "You're the one who was at Hogsmeade, weren't you?" she asked, staring at Bellatrix's black eyes.

A scowl spread across the other woman's face. "Yes. I caught you. Now get up."

Luna tried to move into a sitting position, but her body felt so weak. She collapsed back onto the floor again, unable to move.

Bellatrix lost whatever patience she had. "Get up!" Wrapping her hands around Luna's thin upper arms, Bellatrix yanked Luna to her feet. Luna wobbled unsteadily and collapsed again. Bellatrix kicked her in the stomach. "You're fucking useless," she said, before turning to two Death Eaters, shrouded in cloaks, standing by the doorway. "Avery. Mulciber. Carry her if you have to. I don't care. But the Dark Lord wishes to see her immediately." Luna could hear the resentment in Bellatrix's voice.

The two men moved without hesitation towards Luna. Each of them grabbed an arm, again forcing her to her feet. Supporting her this way, they dragged her out of the room and down an equally gloomy hallway. Luna wondered disjointedly if they were underground.

She tried vainly to walk on her own, but gave up, allowing her feet to drag behind her as the two Death Eaters pulled her along. Her mind felt muddy, like her thoughts were stuck in paste. Trying to comprehend everything that had happened was proving to be very difficult.

The last thing she remembered was being in Hogsmeade and then there was screaming and fighting. And then Bellatrix was there. And then she woke up here. And now she was on her way to see the Dark Lord. She knew these things, but didn't fully understand them until several minutes had gone by.

Then it hit her. Suddenly she had a hard time focusing her eyes on anything. She felt very light and confused and terrified all at once. She was a prisoner. And she was Tom's prisoner. The Death Eaters carrying her felt her go even more limp in their grip, but did not stop.