Malignant ••• George Weasley

Chapter 59 - Holding Hands

Juna wasn't sure what she was meant to do. She stared after George and heard his bedroom door gently click closed. Fred was pacing in front of Ara, occasionally mumbling an insult in her direction as she still sat twitching, tied up to the chair.

They had got very few answers out of Ara, the only confirmed thing being that she did use Tenent Insitum Amori to take advantage of George. Juna was 99% sure it had something to do with Perseus and if she was right, this then meant this was also her fault.
Fred and George both had now experienced traumatic and potentially life-altering things because of Perseus and by extension - her. The guilt was overwhelming.

Juna was deep in thought and didn't even notice Fred had come up to stand beside her.

"I know what's going through your head. It's not your fault. Don't you dare, even for a second, think that any of this is because of you. Are you hearing me?" He nudged her gently.

Juna nodded, only to appease him. She didn't believe a word he said.

"Listen, I think you should go see George. I would, but honestly I think he would prefer you." Fred smiled softly.

"I really don't know-"

"Well I do. Go in there and just hold his hand, ok? I'll keep an eye on this bitch" he nodded in Ara's direction.

"What're we going to do with her?"

"I was hoping you'd know." Fred chuckled

They both sighed after a moment of contemplation.

"Just go check on Georgie and we will deal with it afterwards."

Juna nodded, her stomach roiling at the thought of having to see George. She desperately wanted to comfort him but she was frightened of how he might react to her. He had just had a lot to digest, not only finding out he had been coerced into doing things he didn't remember, but to then watch Juna torture someone in his dining room.

With timid steps, she approached the closed door that led to George's room. Juna sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes, stilling her mind, packing it all tightly to be whisked away to some place where she could deal with it later.
Tenderly, she knocked.

"Yeah?" George's voice was soft.

"Hey, it's Juna. Can I... would you mind if I came in?" Her voice shook ever so slightly.

"Come in."

Straightening herself, Juna opened the door and saw George sat at the foot of his bed, his shoulders slumped and looking intently at his hands as they fiddled with a paper clip.

"You ok?" She paused as she closed the door behind her. "I'm sorry, that's a dumb question."

Surprisingly, George cracked a smile but didn't look at her.
"Just a lot to process."

"I bet." She stood awkwardly by the door. "Sorry, I'm so shit with this kind of thing. I never know what to say. Audrey once came to work crying about her boyfriend cheating on her and I just froze up, I nearly Flipendo'd myself out of there."

George laughed, that put Juna slightly more at ease and she went to sit by him, making sure to keep a good distance between them.

"It's ok, Juna."

The two sat in silence for a bit, the only sound being the occasional click from the metal paper clip George still fiddled with.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Juna's voice was hardly above a whisper.

"No. I don't want to talk about it and I'm not sure I ever will. It's... it's just strange." He sighed and put the paper clip next to him on the bed. "I'll be honest, I'm mostly thinking about how you... Crucio'd her. You have to really mean a unforgivable curse to be able to cast it."