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  THEY WERE ON THE RUN. They were always on the run. Seven often wondered if she'd been born running. Her impermanence was permanent.
  Seven couldn't imagine a life settled in one place, she didn't even know where she would stay if she could — the Lust District maybe?

At this point they'd been travelling for three days, on foot to the Greed/Gluttony border, where they'd caught a ride across the barren farming district in the back of a truck carrying more spices than Seven even knew existed. The two refugees had had to hide amongst the burlap sacks as they'd crossed the border from Gluttony into Greed, not wanting to risk being caught — but much to their luck the truck was stopped and ID'd by the Crawlers but not searched.

  Seven closed her eyes, pretending that brief flashes of light from the flickering oil lamp was the blaring of scarlet strobe lights from her favourite bar in Lust. If she closed her eyes hard enough, she could almost taste the liquor on her tongue amidst the overbearing scent of spice.

When she opened her eyes again Draco was staring at her. "What?" She scowled and he smirked, "Nothing."

The truck slowed to a halt, Draco stood at once, "Time to go Sleeping Beauty — grab your stuff."

The truck doors swung open, and Seven instinctively shielded her eyes from the harsh glare of the streetlights as she snapped back, "I wasn't sleeping."

Seven grabbed her bag and jumped out after Draco. For a brief moment his hand brushed hers as they both turned in unison to shut the doors.

Draco jerked away as if scolded by her touch but recovered it quickly as he handed a bag of golden galleons to the driver with a mutual nod before turning back to her, "Yeah, yeah — whatever you say Princess."

The nickname made Seven's chest tighten. "Don't call me that." Then something caught her eye; the greying horizon. " — Where exactly are we?"

The spice truck roared to life, taking off down the road and clattering as it collided with the potholes. The scent of smoke burned their lungs and Draco held out an arm as if inviting her forwards. "Welcome to the Sloth District."

  The sky was dark but not black; instead grey and miserable. Seven could not tell the time through the thick smog that cloaked the air, as there was no sun to be seen.

  She'd been to the Sloth District many times, even lived there for a short period not long after the war. Though she'd never been to this end before. Sloth had been where almost all the rebels had gone to hide, due to its dense population and vast cityscape. Nobody would ever be found here, and there in lay Seven's issue.

  Reaching into her back, she pulled out the now heavily crumpled poster she'd taken from the Lust District weeks ago, and attempted to smooth out some of the wrinkles against her thigh before holding it up for Draco to see.

  A pale faced boy stared back at them through watery-blue eyes, red hair appearing faded by time in the dim light of the poster.

  "Ronald Billius Weasley." Seven read aloud before looking up at her partner. "So where do we find him?"

  She watched Draco's throat bob as he swallowed before saying, "I think I know where to start."

  They walked for what seemed like hours before they reached what had originally caught Seven's eye on the skyline.

Huge factory columns stretched from the ugly square buildings, expelling billows of black smoke into the sky. The closer they got the more Seven felt the urge to cover her nose with her sleeve to escape the overwhelming scent of fumes.

Machinery clattered and crashed in the distance, a dull metallic thudding that was enough to drive anyone insane.

The land where the city begun was dense tower blocks; a never ending concrete jungle for as far as Seven could see, and the brief stretch of dirt they'd travelled across from the border was a wasteland.

For a while the wondered through the city, and Seven couldn't help but feel unease by the lack of people. Sloth was never quiet — and as by far the most populated district it was never short of a crowd either, and yet, there was nobody to be found.

"Where is everybody?"

His eyebrows knit together, "I'm not sure..."

Unconsciously they found themselves moving closer to one another, so close that her shoulder occasionally brushed his arm. Above the metallic cry of the factory machines, Seven could've sworn she'd heard something else not all that far off...

However as they rounded the corner of yet another block it became clear. Plastered the entire length of one of the buildings was a huge billboard-like screen and on it played their explanation.

  "Is this live?" Seven asked in horror and Draco nodded darkly, taking her arm and trying to drag her away from the sight.

  "No Draco — wait, where is that?"

  "It doesn't matter." He said gruffly, practically pulling her along behind him. "We need to go. Now."

  — But try as she might, Seven couldn't tear her eyes away from the screen, even as she was dragged away.

  A crowd of civilians stood solemn and silent before the gallows that Seven knew to stand in the centre of Sloth. Nobody moved, as if frozen in time. She would've thought it a picture if it weren't for the body that hung lifeless from a rope, slowly rotating and swaying slightly in the breeze.

  " — Seven don't look." Draco said firmly as he pulled her round the corner of a building so that the screen was obscured from view. But it was too late, she'd already seen.

  "Who was that?" She asked wide-eyed, no longer resisting as they began to run down the street.

  Draco didn't answer. He didn't even look at her.

  Their feet pounded against the cobbled streets, only slowing once they reached a particularly run-down looking area of town.

  Draco ducked down an alleyway that Seven hadn't even noticed, and began winding their way through the warrens until it came to a dead end.
  He pulled out his wand and tapped it three times against the ashen bricks. At once they fell away to reveal an entrance, sort of like the one to Echo's lair that Seven had accidentally fallen into back in Lust.

  The two of them stepped in side, Draco first, Seven following slightly more cautiously after. Her fingers twitched, resting on her own wand, ready to pull it out at any given moment.

  The sight that beheld her caused her to relax a little, though only for a moment. The wooden cavern had opened up to be a bar, and several men lay about, drinking at the bar or playing pool at the felt-lined tables.

  Draco strolled straight up to the bar, as if he'd been there one thousand times before, leaning over and whispering something to the barman who then nodded in the direction of a door.

  "Draco, what the fuck's going on." Seven hissed lowly, following close behind and feeling greedy eyes linger in places they shouldn't, "Have you been here before? — What even is this place?"

  "Just trust me." He whispered back, hesitating for a moment as he rested his hand on the golden door-handle the barman had indicated. Draco took a breath, as if readying himself. Then he swung it open and they both stepped inside.

***
Who/what do you think's inside? Who do you think was being executed?