"NEXT!"
The rough voice brings Amelia out of her daze. The spot before her was empty. She blinks as she feels a pull at her body, Marcus ushering her to take a hop forward in the line. The auror was grumpy, not pleased with the fact that he needed to stay on the island with Amelia until he could drop her of into her cell. The fact that other criminals were burning their eyes into his body with hatred wasn't helping his mood either. His uniform sticking out between all the gray overalls even in the dark room they were in.
"NEXT!"
The two of them were almost at the front. Amelia's eyes feel heavy and the darkness of the room makes her zone out again. Her mind taking her back to the moment with Bonneville before.
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"You silly, reckless girl."
Marilyn Bonneville leans against a desk, arms crossed as she inspects Amelia. Marcus was tilting Amelia's head up so she faced the head auror. The woman was grinning, looking far to smug and if Amelia hadn't already lost her fake leg, the witch would have taken it off herself so she could beat the woman with it. Or knock herself out, whatever she could hit first.
"I'm thirty years old. I'm pretty sure that earns me the title 'woman'."
Smack. Amelia's face falls to the side, Marcus forcefully grabs her head and tilts it back faced forwards. Lia's vision blackened for a moment but it still caused a smile to appear on her face, paired with a feeling of satisfaction. Bonneville's hit hurt, but she remembered that she gave Loki three of those. Well, she gave them with a fist but that only made it better, it meant that he had felt pain too. Now that she thinks about it, she remembers giving Bonneville a punch as well. Her smile only getting brighter.
She lets out a small laugh, an overly dramatic scandalized look on her face, "A slap? How muggle of you Bonneville, I didn't know you had it in you."
"Amelia."
"Yes?"
"Do shut up!"
"Oh I don't think that I will."
She laughs again, even as Bonneville surges forward and squeezes her hand around her chin. Her nails digs deeply into Amelia's face, the grip harsh enough to draw blood. The words spoken between them were so similar to those on the day she had gotten her assignment. Only then she still admired the woman before her. Now, however, she spits into her face.
The grip on her face tightens. Her body squirms unconsciously, her flight instincts appearing without her say so. She scolds her body for reacting that way. Didn't it know that it couldn't run anywhere with only one leg? Bonneville uses her other arm to wipe away her spit, too angry to think logical.
"Don't tell me you just wiped it on your sleeve?" Amelia mocks her, the words repeating the ones from Bonneville before in a nagging childish voice.
The hand on her face was suddenly around her neck. Breathing was failing her as the woman squeezed and lifted her up, staring straight into Amelia's eyes with her crazed ones. Even when the edges around her vision were slowly turning black she couldn't make herself seem to care. Amelia was just glad that she could get under the vile woman's skin.
"Madam Bonneville!"
Marcus' voice seemed to shake the head auror out of her daze. She replaces her hand with her wand, digging the weapon into her neck.
"You disgust me."
And Amelia believed her. How could she not when the words were spoken with such venom.
The woman steps away but not before pushing Amelia backwards into Marcus causing them both the stumble. Bonneville takes a moment to compose herself, a grin back on her face once she does so.
"Marcus, you can take miss Martin towards the portkey. I'm finished here."
"Madam Bonneville, she hasn't had her wounds looked after by the heale-"
"I know." The woman says, "Like I said, take Martin to the portkeys."
Marcus clears his throat, "She has the rights to-"
Bonneville turns back around, "That was an order, Marcus."
The man stays quiet for a moment, "Very well."
An arm settles itself on her waist and her arm gets placed around Marcus' neck. Together they ungracefully stumble their way to the exit.
"Oh, and Amelia?" The two of them stop. They don't turn around and Amelia grids her teeth in annoyance, glaring forward to the door, "It was awful knowing you."
"Likewise."
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Bonneville almost straight up told her that she thought that Amelia wouldn't make it, that they wouldn't meet again. Amelia was almost scared to admit to herself that her boss might be right for once. She didn't feel good, everything hurt. There were only five days until her trial. Surviving for five days, It didn't sound like a lot but the witch wasn't even sure if she would reach that deadline outside of Azkaban. Not with the state that she was in.
"NEXT!"
The voice sounded closer and it's only when she lifts her head that she notices that it was her turn. She gives Marcus a sheepish grin for having to drag her forward when she wasn't focusing.
A man removes her handcuffs and encloses separate metal cuffs on her arms and leg. With a wand wave the man controls the cuffs and Amelia gets moved to stand in front of the camera. She blinks, her mind still catching up with the fast movement before she gives the magical camera a small smirk. Her right hand forms a peace sign and she adds a little wink. Might as well make it memorable. Maybe, if she were to make it out of this, she could hang the mugshot on her wall.
They move her to the left and right, Amelia annoying the cameraman by turning her head to the front when she wasn't supposed to. Marcus catches her as they finish her pictures and together they 'walk' towards the only opening in the room. The portkey had brought them into the chamber so that the only way out of the room was into the prison.
It made the room more secure and made it so that criminals were less likely to escaping. Not that there was a way of escaping. The cuffs on her body were enchanted, making it so that if someone with them was to near the end of the property they would be teleported back inside. The ministry wasn't taking any chances after the mass breakouts, and the escape of Sirius of course.
It was the only room in Azkaban that held humans, the rest of the prison was too inhuman for people to work in. As they near the opening she felt the temperature of the room drop.
Normally the dementors took the prisoners to their cell. However, as Amelia couldn't walk herself, Marcus was tasked to drop her of. The opening didn't have a door but magic protections instead. As they pass through the veil Amelia almost falls from the depressive pressure that engulfs her body. Her fingers dig into Marcus and she feels herself slightly sink through her knee. She faintly notices that the auror beside her was shivering as well.
When she raises her head she almost falls back down again. Two dementors stand before her and her grip on Marcus tightens again. She had seen them before of course. When she was eleven and in her first year at Hogwarts. The black monsters had surrounded Hogwarts, but they had never targeted her personally. No, they had enjoyed bothering Harry and Sirius. She had never seen them from this close. She shivers and tries to think of something neutral so they wouldn't feed on her happy thoughts straight away. One of the dementors glides away from them and down the dark, dirty hallway.
Marcus pulls her upright and then they are moving after it, the other dementor sliding after them. Screams of pure horror, crazed filled yells and hysterical laughter sets a psychotic atmosphere as they walk past the cells. A hand stretches out of a wall and grabs onto her bicep. Amelia lets out a small yelp in surprise as she looks down onto the dirty hand, yellow and dirtied nails digging into her skin. Marcus almost drops her as the hand suddenly pulls her towards the wall.
"Remember me, little auror lady?!" A hoarse and sharp voice yell causes Amelia to face the man with her eyes wide, "You put me here! I remember you!"
Amelia didn't recognize the man, his body to dirty to make out his features. But she should be able to recognize him, she remembers all of the people she arrested. So this man was either bluffing and crazy or dirtied so much that he wasn't recognizable anymore.
There was an injury on his head. Cuts and scrapes filled with dirt and blood, yellowish puss coming out of the infected wounds. His skull almost seemed busted from all the self-inflicted harm the man gave himself in a time of boredom or panic. His face was mostly covered by his long, unruly hair. The locks sticking together by blood and grim. She couldn't even make out what color it was. The features that she did see were sickening. A sunken face, hallowed cheekbones and eyes circled with dark purple rings. Almost a Tim Burton character, but worse, and that was saying something. That was her future, that was how she will look after a while.
The dementor chased the man away from her and Marcus pulls her back into the middle of the hall. The prisoner continues to scream and cuss, setting off all the other criminals in the hall. The sounds were suddenly deafening but the group continues walking. Screams, yells, cussing, laughing and the sound of objects (or heads) being banged against the wall.
They continue for a while, staying on the same level but in another corridor. Or at least she thinks so, she had a feeling that the halls were filled with magic to confuse the prisoners. And then the dementors stop causing Amelia to gulp. Marcus leads her into a small cell. The witch notices cracks and holes in the wall, not big enough to escape but way too large if you knew that there were dementors on the other side of it. She got a quick look at the ocean and noticed that she was higher than she first thought, confirming her earlier guess. The room was bare.
No bed. No toilet. No table. No shower. No blanket.
Nothing.
Only the holes in the wall for the dementors to feed upon. A few gaps were on the shared walls, some about as big as a walnut and Amelia really hoped that her neighbors wouldn't be able to look through it. Marcus leads her to the wall on the right and lowers her onto the floor. The witch inhales sharply through her teeth at the movement. Her breaths are quick, in and out through her nose as she tries to regain her vision. She felt woozy and she vaguely feels her body sway. A hand on her shoulder makes her jump. She raises her head and lays eyes on Marcus.
The witch had thought that that the man would be long gone by now, but it seems that he was set on surprising her. She gazes around and notices that the dementors had left, leaving Marcus alone with her.
"Amelia."
"Hmm?"
He had placed his arms on both of her shoulders so that she would focus on him. His eyebrows were frowned which made her frown as well.
"Where are you hurt?"
Amelia hums again, not really hearing the question so he repeats it.
"Where aren't I hurt?" She scoffs. "Why?" She weakly questions.
"Because every person has the right to get all wounds treated before their departure. You weren't giving yours so I want to give it to you now."
"Why would you help me?" Her words quiet and slightly slurred.
"Even though I really don't like you, and you have been such a pain in the ass." He says, letting out a sigh, "I'm a man of honor. I swore an oath when I became an auror to follow the rules. Bonneville can't order me any different."
"Besides, look at you. You look like shit." He adds.
Amelia almost tears up and a chuckle leaves her mouth. The words Marcus said weren't kind, not at all. But he made the choice to help her. He could have just left. The man continued surprising her today. It warmed her heart that Marcus held his job so highly, that his personal feelings didn't effect his judgement. Of course the man was rude and mean when he came to arrest her but as she thinks back she remembers him talking about the rules and protocol.
He was kind of like a cocky nerd. She almost laughs at the thought.
She tells him of her wounds and he begins healing the painful area's to the best of his abilities. His eyes were wide as Amelia finishes listing her wounds. He says nothing but Amelia swore that she saw an almost impressed look in his eyes, like he didn't expect her to still be alive after all those injuries. After he healed the last wound Amelia could finally breath again. She was still sore, and some of the healing spells wouldn't last but for the moment she felt way better. Still weak, hurt and tired, but better.
Amelia thanks him and gives him a genuine smile which made him raise his eyebrows in surprise.
"I still hate you."
"The feeling's mutual."
Marcus walks towards the door but seems to change his mind. Amelia watches as he inspects her body.
"Like what you see?" She playfully asks.
"No."
She snorts at his serious reply and out of the corner of her eye she saw the small lift of the corner of his mouth. It was gone as soon as it came. Amelia raises her eyebrows as the man begins removing his coat.
"Woah, I thought you weren't interested. No offence Marcus, but you are not my type."
He gives her a deadpanned look, shaking his head as if asking himself 'why do I even bother' but still moves to cover Amelia with his auror coat. The witch blinks in surprise and clutches it tightly to her body. Had Marcus just done something... nice?
"I hope you thought that through, 'cause you ain't getting it back now."
Marcus rolls his eyes as the woman adjusts the coat, "I only gave it to you so the criminals would stop bothering me."
"Sure you did."
Her colleague turns around and walks to the door without sparing her another glance. After he knocks three times it opens and right before his figure disappears he speaks for the last time.
"Good Luck, Martin"
Amelia leans her head back against the wall as she hears Marcus' footsteps become quieter and quieter before she couldn't hear him at all. She pulls her leg towards her chest, her other incomplete one still laying limp on the floor. She was alone now. As she circles her arms around her leg she feels a sudden movement under her jumpsuit.
She yells, thinking it to be a spider or even worse, the man from the cell next to her. But it feels cold. Amelia reaches into her suit and her fingers grab around a cylinder shaped object. She pulls it out and laughs. It was a bottle of water. Charles must have spelled it under her armpit when he was leaving the room earlier.
Maybe Timothy wasn't her only friend at work.
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Author's note:
First of all: Thank you so much for 5,84 K!!! I'm in shock every time I look at the number. This is insane to me, so thank you all so, so, so much!
Second of all: I just finished binge watching WandaVision and I loved it so much! It was such a creative concept and it was done so well! Did you guys watch it? What did you think?
Have a nice week and I hope to see you later!
Lots of love, Leentjekat x