Malignant ••• George Weasley

Chapter 48 - X Marks The Spot

"Bombarda."

The old wooden door exploded, sending splinters into all corners of the dirty room not quite reaching where Fred sat - who was still unresponsive despite the heavy noise. There was no furniture in the room besides a broken chair, a thin and holey blanket that lay discarded to the side and a bucket that sat in the corner. The paint was peeling off the walls and wind howled loudly through the unsealed window. Blood splatter dotted the floor and walls where Fred had clearly been beaten and abused as he was forced to remain helpless chained to the wall.

Juna remained where she was and let George move past her with his hands outstretched, his face etched with grief.
"Fred! Freddie can you hear me?"

George ran to his brothers side and kneeled down, shaking his shoulder with one hand and patting his sickly looking face with the other.
"Wake up Fred. We have to go."

After a few more moments, George looked up at Juna desperately.
"He's not waking up!"

"Is he breathing?"

George nodded but also pressed his fingers to Fred's neck to feel for a pulse as he did so.
"Yeah, yes there's a pulse! It's weak... He's really cold but he's alive. We need to all get out of here."

Juna agreed, it had been all too easy to find Fred, the sooner they got out of here the better. She glanced back down the hallway for any sign of movement, but nothing appeared. She quickly walked over to Fred and knelt next to him too, inspecting the chains that bound him to the wall.

"These don't seem enchanted. He doesn't have his wand and I'm sure they ensured he remained weak at all times so I guess they didn't need them to be..."

She pointed her wand at each lock and cast Alohamora. The locks popped open easily and fell away from Fred. She then held out her hand to George while taking Fred's scarred and bony hand in her other.

It was the first time she properly looked at Fred. He was so skinny, the bones she could see in his wrists, face and chest popped out dramatically, his eye sockets were sunken and dark, his lips chapped and split and he was covered in scars, cuts and bruises.
He looked like he could be dead.

"I'll apparate us out. Hang on." She said, closing her eyes for concentration but also not wanting to look at Fred anymore and the damage she herself had caused. She focused on visualising the MIU.

But nothing happened. The twisting and soaring sensation never came. Juna opened her eyes for a second with confusion, double checking she wasn't imagining it. She closed them again and concentrated harder, visualising her flat this time.

Nothing.

"What's going on?" George whispered, looking at Juna with concern.

"I don't... I can't apparate. There must be a blocking spell placed on this building."
She let go of George and Fred and stood, looking up to gaze out of the tiny window placed high on the wall, then around the room and back out the door.
"We have to get out ourselves. Can you levitate him or should I?"

"I'll do it."

She nodded.
"I'll go slightly ahead and make sure nobody surprises us. We need to keep Fred away from any more danger, I'm not sure how much more he can take..."

Without further discussion, George cast his spell making Fred rise easily into the air at about shoulder height, still unconscious. Juna then led the way down the corridor, checking the rooms again quietly as she went just in case someone was waiting around a corner. Once they made it to the end, she pushed the door open silently and slowly peered round to check for signs of anyone.