Littered With Stars {Book 7 in the Star of Gryffindor Series)

Act III

"Take hope, for the morning shall dawn."

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April 9th, 2024

The girl sat alone in a cold, gray room. Matted hair hung in her face, black with streaks of some long-forgotten color that appeared to have faded to greenish-white. She sat on the floor, legs pulled up to her chest and hands clenched around her knees. Though she was staring at the far wall, it was like she wasn't seeing it. It wasn't clear if she was seeing anything at all.

A door at the end of a long, empty corridor flew open with a bang, but the girl didn't startle. She didn't move as footsteps approached down the hall. She didn't look up as two men stopped outside her cell, though the expressions on their faces seemed cruel. It was as if she had no idea they were there.

"Are you ready to cooperate?" the taller of the men asked.

Still, the girl didn't move. She didn't give any indication that she'd heard the question at all, still staring at the stone wall across from her. After several moments of silence, though, she asked, "Where is he?"

"I've already told you. He's gone."

A particularly astute observer may have noticed her jaw clenching slightly, but otherwise she gave no sign of comprehending. The men outside her cell exchanged a glance. Somehow, a draft blew through the corridor.

"I take it you're still being resistant?" the taller man asked after a moment.

"I take it you haven't gone to hell yet?" the girl replied in a monotone. No fire, no anger, no emotion. Just a resigned disrespect.

"You do realize you have a guest, don't you?" the taller man said.

She didn't respond, just stared blankly at the wall. The man narrowed his eyes, then whispered a spell and watched her cell door spring open. The other man, who had been watching the interaction with intrigue, stepped forward.

As he crossed into the girl's line of sight, the color drained from her face, and it was clear that she was fighting to not move, not look up, as if she had an idea of who this man was but did not want to confirm it.

The man moved to stand in the middle of the room. He held his hands open in a would-be friendly gesture and offered a practiced smile. "I must say, I've been waiting a long time to meet you."

The girl's breath caught, seemingly in spite of herself. Slowly, her eyes raised to the man's face—though not his eyes—the expressionless look on her face finally giving way to fear.

That seemed to be exactly what the man had hoped for, as his smile turned crueler. "You will do what I say. Or you will die."

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