BREAK// Fred Weasley x OC

𝑋𝑋𝐼𝐼𝐼

Either no time, or years had passed since she had been captured.

Charlie couldn't tell.

All she knew was, she needed to get out.

There was a constant taste of acidic vomit in the back of Charlie's throat. The dark cellar smelled of burnt flesh and blood.

All Charlie had to listen to was the sound of herself struggling to breathe. She hoped her lungs would collapse soon.

She couldn't scream or shout or speak at all. Her throat was raw and bloodied. She didn't know if she'd ever speak again.

Her ears were ringing.

Constantly.

Charlie felt weak, she couldn't tell how long she'd gone without food. Her hair was falling out and she could barely move the few inches the shackles gave her.

Surely her body would give up soon.

She spent the next while falling in and out of the blackness.

The next time she was shot out of the darkness, there was screaming.

She could hear voices faintly shouting. Spells were being thrown. A small glimmer of hope appeared in her heart. Before she could hold onto it, she was out again.

Her wrists were free. She could feel it. Her eyes shot open, a girl who looked familiar was unchaining her. Charlie wanted so badly to ask what was happening but she still couldn't speak. She tried, tried asking the woman who she was. It was no use.

She didn't care what happened to her at this point.

The woman's hair was black. Charlie flinched as she picked her up, trying to crawl away from her. Charlie's limbs would hardly work. Any pressure on her arms was too much. "Charlie, it's Tonks. Remember me? I'm here to help." The woman said in a small voice.

Tonks. T-O-N-K-S. Charlie was supposed to trust this person. She couldn't remember Tonks. Although, the more she thought of it, she could hardly remember anything at all.

Charlie fell into the blackness once more, no matter how hard she fought it.

The feeling of apparition sent Charlie back into her consciousness. She was in Tonks' arms but no longer in the cellar. There were lights here. It was too bright. Charlie covered her eyes in pain. She didn't know how long it'd been since she'd seen light.

A glass shattered, Charlie flinched. Someone screamed. Someone else said "Oh my god."

What was happening?

"We have to take her to St. Mungos." A third person said.

Charlie was in a hospital bed. A needle was in her arm.

The lights were dim, many people around her.

Her throat was still raw.

She tried not to look at the people around her when she woke up. They were speaking to her.

She pointed to the curtains, the window. She wanted to see what the outdoors looked like. Someone pulled the curtains. It was summer. A whole season had passed.

Charlie nodded to herself, continuing to block out everyone around her.

She looked at her arms. They had casts on them. They were much bonier than she had remembered.

Eventually, everyone left St. Mungos. Someone had tried to touch her, she flinched terribly, batting their arm away.

Charlie wanted to sleep.

The nightmares kept her up.

"Alright." Dr. Watkins spoke. Over the week Charlie had been in St. Mungos, she only acknowledged Dr. Watkins. "You can speak again, would you like to try?"

Charlie looked at the people in the room. Remus, Fred, George, Harry and Arthur were all in the room. Swallowing, Charlie shook her head. She didn't want to speak. Not to them. She didn't know why.

Dr. Watkins asked them kindly to leave, then asked her to try and speak again.

"H-Hello?" She grabbed her throat in surprise as soon as the word left her mouth. She looked with wide eyes at Dr. Watkins' joyful face.

Charlie sobbed. Tears fell from her wide eyes as she held her throat. She sobbed loudly. She wanted to scream just because she could.

Her voice was still very raspy, yes but she could speak.

She was beyond grateful.

Charlie was told she'd have another week, then, she could be transferred to 'Charlotte's Ward' for another month. Whatever that was.

For the next week, Charlie still didn't speak to anyone. Occasionally, she'd acknowledge them but, what was she to say?

As soon as she got out, she was leaving London. She wanted to go to Italy or Paris or anywhere but London.

As it turns out, Charlotte's Ward was a place for torture victims. It was the place she had created alongside Angela and Theo. She had funded it and now she was here.

She had a 'mind healer' aka a therapist. And nurses checked on her every night.

She would only be here a month and then she'd leave, on her own accord. Many patients stayed longer but she didn't want to. She wanted to leave, go somewhere.

At Charlotte's Ward, no one visited her. She spent her time there healing but she wasn't healed. In the back of her head she had been clinging onto it. She wouldn't be healed until she was out of the country.

Italy and Paris, she had realised, were both kind of stupid options. She was not bilingual. New York. That's where she wanted to go.

She couldn't look at anyone's faces. It hurt too much.

They all felt sorry for her.

As soon as she got back to her apartment, she sent an owl to Remus before apparating away. The owl was short.

I'm leaving. I'm safe, not in the country. Don't try to contact me.

Goodbye. Tell everyone I love them, I do love them, I just can't stand to be here anymore. If I'm needed for the order, inform me. Other than that, bye,

Charlie.