"Crack~~"
A strange sound suddenly came from the cell door, and Bellatrix looked up in confusion.
She had heard the "murmuring" outside earlier, but it hadn't caught her attention. Hit Wizards came by all the time; she was used to it.
But this was the first time since she'd arrived that she'd heard the lock turning. The sunless days in Azkaban had left her with no idea how many years had passed.
"Creeeak~~~"
The door opened with a harsh squeal. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw someone walk in...
The person she'd seen not long ago. Was he a new Hit Wizard? Or was he here to move me to another cell?
Bellatrix watched the person before her, puzzled.
He didn't move. He simply stood in the doorway, staring straight at her.
"Senior Quirinus, are you all right?"
A voice came from the corridor. Its owner sounded as if he were standing some distance away.
"I'm fine, Mad-Eye. Make the check-ins less frequent, or I won't be able to talk to her."
The person before her called back loudly, then tossed the key in his hand away and shut the cell door from the inside.
"Click."
The door closed. The two of them were alone in the cell, and neither spoke.
Bellatrix cautiously backed away. After so long without seeing daylight, her nerves were unusually sensitive. She couldn't even bring herself to speak to the person before her, though she desperately wanted to.
The person's expression was complicated, shifting several times, but Bellatrix had gone so long without talking to anyone that she couldn't make sense of what it meant.
"Hoo~~"
The person before her let out a long breath, as if setting down every burden on his mind.
She was a little confused. He'd been looking at