Midday's Break

[Housei Meitoku]

Housei’s fingers gripped tightly around the crossbow in his hand. He pressed it close against his chest, his eyes darting from side to side on the lookout for any Death Eaters prowling about the crimson red hallway. It was midday on a bright summer day, but the Death Eaters were holed up inside their rooms most likely. That, or they were having a meeting with their “Lord”.
Pssh, they were so stupid, ruining a great day to be alive.
This is exactly what the thirteen year old runaway thought: Everyone should enjoy the day, including his self-proclaimed pal Xavier Murder. It made Housei so angry that Voldemort kept Xavier locked in practically a prison cell all day, every day. Xavier was a good guy as unresponsive as he may be, but all he needed was a little attention. No one could sit in a room alone for years and years.
Housei stopped at the door that he slipped food under everyday, secretly having conversations with the Death Eater within. He didn’t quite understand why Xavier was a prisoner kept in a small, dark room, but he didn’t care. He liked him.
The young boy’s hands quickly and quietly unlocked the numerous locks with all the keys he had been given. Normally such would be locked with magic, but if that was the case, Housei would never be able to do his job. Xavier’s locks changed every few weeks or, so keeping a spell would be pointless for both Squib and wizard alike.
“Hey,” Housei whispered, his dominant hand turning the weathered gold knob beneath it. He stuck his head in through the crack in the door, leaning into the room with a devious look on his face.
“I got an idea. Look, I’m comin’ in…”
It was so dark and gloomy inside. Only a window overhead was built in to illuminate the dreary, messy room. Inside were many scratched, partially demolished items such as a leaning dresser with some of the shelves missing, his bed sheets were torn, the mattress wounded with holes. Only the maplewood nightstand was in the best condition, and withheld only a few scrapes and dents.
The walls were worst. The green wallpaper had been completely shredded off, exposing the wood beneath a few flakes of blood. The stained, dirty carpet had to be next. Most of it was ripped from the floor, a few clumps of it here and there, but mostly no where to be seen.
Just the sight of these terrible living conditions made Housei frown. This was the first time he had actually stepped inside here, and already he felt saddened by the sight. He couldn’t imagine living here day by day, something Xavier was forced to do…
“Xav?” he called, stepping farther inside the small, packed room. “Where are ya? We’re gonna go have some fun. I’m bustin‘ ya outta here!”

[Xavier Murder]

The corner in which he sat was shrouded with shadows. He could hear footsteps in the hall, moving in the direction of his cell. He could feel his hands shaking as the locks clicked from their places. No one ever unlocked the door. No one that didn't seek to punish him for something he couldn't have possibly done. And without his wand, he had no way of defending himself.

A voice whispered around his room, so low he couldn't distinguish the voice. The door cracked open, and a body slipped in. He jerked to his feet, keeping his spine pressed painfully against the marred wood. He could feel the bones slipping into one of the deeper scratches as his eyes locked on the person within his room.

He could see the guy scanning his room. The torn carpet, the ripped walls, the trashed sheets and mattress. His ruined cabinets. And then he spoke again, and he suddenly recognized the voice. This was the kid that slipped him his food. This was the kid that kept him informed on the happenings within the manor, despite his inability to comprehend most of it.

"Busting me out? I haven't been out of this room for nine years..." His voice trailed off, thinking back to the last time he had been out. They had locked him in here during a transformation, and he had awoken the following morning in a swirl of paper and feathers. The door locked, his wand gone. That had been the night they said he attacked his nephew. He had accepted his punishment without fight, expecting to be released within the week. But here he was, nine years later, still locked inside the same room. "Do you know where my wand is? I need my wand. They took it, they took my wand."

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[Housei Meitoku]

The young boy’s gaze redirected towards the broken down man in the shady corner, standing far more tall than he had expected him to. Housei hadn’t seen Xavier fully before. It had always been the prisoner’s shadow, and at most a slumped over silhouette. But now in the flesh, no matter how dark, he could make out the features that had consumed him.
It was clearly seen by Xavier’s facial features that he used to be a good-looking guy. Of course, those had been ripped away from him with years of seclusion and neglect. The man had the infamous five o’ clock shadow on his face, and his eyes were slightly sunken in from sleepless nights and fatigue. Xavier’s body was lanky underneath the clothes that hung over his bones. Housei figured this must be what happened to a malnourished individual locked away for nearly a decade. It was unimaginable… Xavier still looked somewhat young.
“Nine years is a long time…” Housei mumbled, venturing deeper into the man’s room. “Sorry, but I don’t know ‘bout your wand. I got a lotta keys, but I bet the big guy’s got it if anything, since you’re still locked up here.”
He gave Xavier a wide grin, standing in front of him with his hands clasped to his waist.
Housei sighed. “I’m nothin’ but a Squib, and I don’t know much ‘bout wands, I bet it‘s with the big guy.” He laughed.
“Guess that doesn’t help ya out any. All I can do for ya is getcha outta this place. Maybe even forever if ya want. I know those woods back here like I know my own name, and thought it might be good for ya to get outta here once and awhile, so what do ya say?”
Housei blinked up at the window above their heads, his eyes not even squinting from the light that shone through. No wonder Xavier was so pale…
“You must wanna see the light again, right?”

[Xavier Murder]

He listened quietly as the kid spoke, his body starting to shake with excitment. Exciment? Since when did he get excited? It hadn't happened in a long time, and he felt again like a child. Experiencing excitment now was like experiencing for the first time ever. His eyes darted to the door, shut tightly against the frame. If Voldemort found out about this kid breaking him out, he kid would be dead inside the hour.

Watching him carefully, he slipped from the shadows, the miniscule light highlighting his sunken in features. He expected suprise, maybe fear from the kid. He hadn't looked in a mirror in years, but he knew he had to look horrible. The years of entrapment hadn't been good to him. He knew that much without a mirror. The extent of the damage, he did not know.

Keeping his back to the wall, he edged to the door. Without human contact for so long, he had grown envious and his heart had filled with hatred for every free person. They didn't know what they had. Even something as small as freedom was taken for granted these days, and those Death Eaters prancing around the manor acted as though nothing would ever happen to them. He had acted like that; carefree and happy. Content in his position as a high ranking Death Eater. He had enjoyed controlling the lesser vessels, ordering them around, watching them scurry away in fear. Not many made it to that height in their lives as Death Eaters. But he had, and now he was suffering for it.

But the others weren't werewolves that accidentally attacked their nephews. The others weren't him. "You c-can't escape from t-this place, kid. Once V-v-voldemort has his c-claws in you, the-theres no hope. Y-you're stuck here," his voice shook as he drew closer to the door.

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