A Hand is Not a Heart

Torture

"Go on." He urged. His snakelike eyes dilated as they fixated on her.

Her hand was shaking. Tears were were on the verge of spilling out of her eyes. On the other end of her wand lay a shaking professor Flitwick.

"Go on, little crow." He said again, angrier this time.

She couldn't. Not to him.

She took a deep breath, lowered her wand, and faced the Dark Lord. "I think my curse deserves a... fresh... victim. I want to show it off properly." She forced a smile onto her face. It was disgusting. Her heart ached for the man on the floor, but she was getting used to this. Eat or be eaten.

His face lit up. His presence pushed closer to her. "Confidence suits you, little crow." His icy finger was under her chin quickly, as if he owned her. Perhaps he did.

A crooked smile made Voldemort's face even more threatening. He led her out of the cell, leaving behind her old professor. It was a relief to know that she didn't have to hurt him anymore; at least for now. The Cruciatus curse she had been forced to cast on him for five minutes had left him barely breathing.

"Pick one you like." A haughty voice whispered close to her ear. Waves of disgust rolled over her back. The Dark Lord was in a good mood today. She couldn't shake the terrible feeling that was rising inside of her.

"Thank you, my Lord." The sound of her heels clicking against the dungeon floor reverberated through the cells. Her eyes scanned possible victims. She didn't really know what she was looking for. No one deserved to be put under the curse she had developed.

She saw a skinny woman with hollowed cheeks and all of the colour drained from her face. That was a definite no. There was a child. Absolutely not. An old man who looked to be a second away from death. She considered him, but then believed him too old for her curse's purposes. The Dark Lord would want to see suffering, not death.

Then she saw a man behind the silver bars. He looked decently strong. She wondered how long he had been locked up here. And what he had done to the Dark Lord.

She had made her choice. No beating around the bush. She had practiced this in her room. Empty mind. Quick actions. No emotions. Just her completing her task. "This one." She looked at Voldemort and he opened the door with a smirk.

The man she had chosen wore a black shirt and ripped pants. He looked worse from up close than what she had seen from far away. When her guilt and empathy threatened to take the overhand, she knew she had to Occlude; enough to lock her emotions away for a short time. With her mental walls up, she was ready to go.

"Please." She heard the man plead.

Why was he challenging her? She probably looked soft. He saw a chance and he was taking it. Why was he making it worse for her? Shit. Even without her emotions, it was still incredibly wrong.

"Impress me, Petronella." The Dark Lord hissed in her ear.

She wanted to vomit. She was angry at life for forcing her into the situation. She wondered what she had done to fate to deserve this. And for a split second, only a second, she thought about ending herself. It felt like the best solution to all of her problems. But when that second was over, she realised she couldn't. She would never follow through. Weak.

So she raised her wand, trembling but steady. Her eyes went cold. This was the moment she turned into another person. She turned into a monster. After casting this curse, she wasn't sure if she'd ever quite be the same again.

"Cibum es." She said. Her voice was flat, hard.

Like a savage, her victim's eyes turned wild. She could see the battle going on in his mind and she wondered how long he'd last. She noticed the twitching of his lips and the curling of his fingers. His frantic eyes looked around the cell in an attempt to find a way out of the battlefield that must be his mind at the moment. Then they went to his hands. Tears began to form in his eyes as he brought it closer to his mouth. He held it off. But the curse pushed him, she was still holding it. "Please, please stop!" He screamed. It echoed through the whole dungeon.