Cherry Red - George Weasley

30 - Acceptance

Autumn was down there, she had been for days on end and she'd probably hardly eaten, God knows what he'd done to her, if he had been trying to get answers from her he couldn't guess what type of torture would be used.

"Wood, Jordan, you two will stay out of sight, you need to hide yourselves through the trees, be there when Fred and George bring Autumn back, get her to her dormitory immediately" after speaking Draco looked to Pansy, "Daphne will be here to let you in, Pansy and I cannot distract him for long so you must be quick"

Autumn felt her skin crawl at the sound of heavy boots making their way down the stair-set. Closing her eyes and sucking in a breath, promising herself she would do what had to be done to protect George.

When swallowed the lump in her throat it felt like shards of glass had been what she'd swallowed, going hours upon hours without water and even longer without food had started to catch up with her, she had started to feel just how weak she'd became since being here, physically of course.

She had never had the option to be mentally weak, not when her father was Amycus Carrow.

Speaking of, her father had been the one to appear, she'd open her eyes to see the one person she wished not to beside him.

Bellatrix, the evil spineless witch who would do anything to watch both Autumn and her mother suffer. She wouldn't hesitate to prove her worth to men, those being Amycus and the Dark Lord. Autumn had always noticed how willing Bellatrix was to impress the men in her life, she used to feel pity but now she only felt anger.

"Stand up girl" her fathers voice was always demanding but when everything had been heightened due to her lack of energy, it was noticeably worse, "now"

Autumn lifted her head to find her fathers eyes, smiling slightly, "I can't" she was being spiteful.

"On your feet" this time he was yelling, telling her he had no guests, at the current time, "I will not ask again, I will simply have to demonstrate the magic I used on you friend yesterday" the reminder had the image of Adrian fall lifelessly flash in her mind.

Swallowing again and feeling the pain she'd felt previously, she moved herself to the gated door, using it to pull herself up.

Her fathers hand grasped her jumper tightly to ensure she wasn't able to move, "my patience is wearing thin girl, who was the boy?" Autumn smiled at the thought of George.

"I don't know what you're talking about"

Autumn hadn't had time to prepare herself for the force of her fathers other hand meeting her lower cheek, near her jaw, the force along with her weakened nature had her fall to the ground, clutching at her face, blood sprouting from both her tongue that she'd bitten and her lip. Her teeth coated in crimson liquid.

"Get up"

Spitting out a small puddle of blood she managed to push herself to her feet without using the gate, ensure to stand back far enough that her father couldn't touch her.

"Tell your father" Bellatrix finally found her voice, "because if you don't I will have to show you how to respect your superiors"

Autumn felt herself laugh while she swayed trying to hold herself up, "respect?" She repeated "superior?"

Autumn had accepted her fate, she would die in here, possibly from starvation, possibly at the hands of her father or his bat-shit crazy girlfriend, and so she knew what she had to do. She had to keep George and her mother safe. She'd die either way, even if she told him everything she knew, he still thought her to be a traitor and that wouldn't change. His views on her blood traitor of a mother never had.

When she smiled now her teeth were red.

"Who - is - the - boy?!" Bellatrix spoke each word as if it were a sentence on its own.

Autumn watched as Bellatrix held her wand out as a form of threatening her, Autumn was too far passed caring now, "father, it is time for me to be honest" she ran her tongue over her top teeth tasting nothing but iron she continued, "I know you lied" she watched as her fathers expression showed a hint of confusion, "mother wasn't the villain of my story, you were" she smirked, "you still are, you turned her in because she loved another" Autumn felt her body nearly give in, refusing to let it and steadying herself, "Sirius Black" she looked at Bellatrix who only scowled, "a man who would've been a better father than you ever have-"

Autumn hadn't been able to finish her sentence before dropping to her knees while clutching her stomach.

The words of Bellatrix finally catching up to her, "Crucio!"

Her favourite of the unforgivable curses.

Autumn's limp like body dropped in an instant, the feeling of the excruciating pain had been worse than it would've been normally due to her state. In fact, it was the worst pain Autumn had ever been subjected to, her screams came out sharp and piercing, sounding more like a cry. It had almost been a terrifying sound to her father, how strong her cry had been even in her condition.

The pain filtered through her entire body like a fire spreading with the help of gasoline, it would've made her dizzy if she hadn't already been. It was ripping her apart in a way that made her believe she was dying for mere seconds after realising she couldn't be dying because if she had the writhing pain would cease and it was far from doing that. In her clutching of her stomach and shaking on the ground she hadn't noticed nor heard the two that inflicted this torture on her had left. Bellatrix being dragged away by the arm. Autumn started sucking in any breath she could, feeling like it was getting stuck half way down and stopping her from being able to breathe.

She felt as though thousands of scorching hot knives had been plunged into her abdomen and twisted individually to elongate the pain she felt.

Her cries slowly turned into desperation to breathe.

Her chest that had been pounding at an exceptional rate started to slow while she breathed in and out, it felt like she had been hyperventilating with her rapid and uneven breaths between her cries.

She tried to think about George. Tried to think of anything which could take her mind of this torture, she was lying on the cold, damp cobbled floor, cheek flat against the ground while she heaved her chest trying to control her breathing while the excruciating pain faded to a dull but still torturous throb in her stomach where she'd been hit.

She just hoped that her death would come swift and soon, she hoped that she wouldn't be held here much longer to suffer. She hoped that when death welcomed her she'd be greeted by Sirius Black who she knew would be proud of her, he always had been when she was young.

Perhaps when she is enveloped by the darkness, she will finally feel peace.

She just hoped more than anything that George would forgive her, because she couldn't fight much longer.