"What is he doing?!" Blair whispered in a seething tone, struggling against his grip. "Get off of me, George!"
"Just trust us for a second," he said into her ear, keeping his arms clamped around Blair's figure and inching his head over to look in through the window of the barn. Fred appeared barely three feet away from Antonin Dolohov who was words away from killing Jasper. Even though Blair couldn't see what was going on, she knew that Fred was just asking to be killed. She knew his wand was down by his side and he was standing with that irritating grin on his face. With Bellatrix Lestrange and Antonin Dolohov in the room, Fred should be absolutely terrified to be defenceless even for a moment.
"Who the hell are you?!" one of the nameless Death Eater's sneered, looking Fred up and down with narrowed eyes.
The sight of a tall, redhead man in a brown suit appearing next to a black cat on stacks of hay was certainly something the group wasn't expecting. Dolohov didn't move from his position in front of Jasper but the cat had other ideas. Jasper jumped down from the hay with a strong leap before smothering his face against Fred's leg, unaware of the glares he was receiving from the other people in the barn.
"This your cat?" another Death Eater questioned, jerking his hand down to Fred's feet. Bellatrix stood silently with her menacing stare solely on Fred, which made him unease inside. But he appeared as if he didn't notice and continued to smile at the other men who glared at him like he was an unwanted weed in the garden.
"Sure is!" Fred chirped, bending down to pick Jasper up and keep him locked under his arm. Jasper let out an unfinished meow and squirmed once more, only to stop once Fred gave a warning squeeze. He may like the cat now, but he had put the both of them in more danger than anyone's worth. Fred hadn't intended to be facing four Death Eaters on his own with Jasper under his arm, but the situation couldn't be changed now. He had to think fast and to get everyone he wanted out alive, he'd have to be the trickster that he and his brother were known for. Death Eaters were still people no matter how evil they were, and people could be fooled.
"What are you doing here, kid? Get lost on your way to the village, did you?" Dolohov stepped away from the hay that was not used as a platform for Jasper any longer. Instead, he fiddled his wand through his fingers and kept his slits for eyes trained on Fred. He didn't like him and questioned every part of him; right down to his goofy grin.
"Kid? I'll have you know that I recently turned nineteen!" Fred straightened his shoulders and feigned a joking roll of his eyes. "I know I have this baby smooth skin and dashing good-"
"I know you."
Fred stopped and George stiffened in his place under the window sill. Blair had stopped struggling in his hold and was sharp enough to notice that George's body had gone rigid. His grip wasn't as tight from the distraction and allowed Blair to twist in his arms, poking her eyes into view to see half of the situation. She saw that the grin that she thought Fred would be still wearing was gone and replaced with what could be taken as a puzzled frown. He stared back at Lestrange who had lowered her head to allow a strand of frizz to fall in front of her eye. Her lips had been pulled into a pout that wasn't in any sense cute or innocent. Her hands stuck out by her sides which emphasised the tightness of her black, laced corset.
"I'm sorry?" Fred dared to say, adjusting Jasper against his side.
"I. Know. You," Bellatrix said again with pauses in between her words that stabbed Fred's heart every time. "Blood traitor."
"What are you on about?" Dolohov turned his crazed head towards his considered co-worker. If he had looked inches to the right, he would see Blair and George's eyes peeking over the window sill. The two feared for Fred's life and prayed that he knew what he was doing. They were prepared to apparate to his aid but were trusting that he had gotten into this mess with some sort of a plan. When he had looked at George as he stopped Blair from jumping inside to save her pet, he had a glint in his eyes that usually meant he had an idea. And with an idea came a plan. But George had forgotten that Fred wasn't the best with plans and had made it a custom in the past to leave them up to Blair or himself to decipher instead.
"This one's a weasel," Bellatrix pointed a pointy, witch-nailed finger at Fred, the disgust evident in her black irises. "The clan that breeds like rodents. Blood traitors! The whole lot of them!"
"Weasleys? Order? You lot are bringin' up some wild accusations," Fred laughed, the nervousness painfully evident in his voice. Fred hoped that his fingers couldn't be seen twitching around Jasper's tiny body and the sound of his heart pounding against his ribcage not being loud enough to hear. He thought that he had them fooled for one measly moment, but he could see that he had convinced no one.
"You're here with the Order, aren't you weasel?" Bellatrix's tone had turned mocking and she started to take steps forward, her boots clicking against the wooden floorboards of the barn.
Her cheeks were hollow from the prominence of her skull and Fred couldn't help but compare her to a skeleton. While black eyes always seemed to have a special mystery about them, like Blair's were often compared to the night sky with the twinkle that was seen in them when she was often with George, Bellatrix's were disturbing. They were cold and looked to have nothing behind them besides a maniac with a blood lust. Fred's skin crawled as Bellatrix got closer and closer to him, allowing the intensity of her wild hair and sickly skin to be visible.
"Where are the rest of the Order, then? You got us surrounded, have ya'?"
"Maybe he thought he could take us on his own."
"Either way," Bellatrix spat over her shoulder at the loudly deliberating men behind her. "This weasel is eavesdropping. And we don't like eavesdroppers. They're rats that fester and tattletale. If they're more of them outside, they wouldn't want one of their little friends to die alone, would they?"
Blair gulped and couldn't stop her body from shaking with fear. Bellatrix was hinting towards something that she'd thought she'd never have to face. She wanted them to come out of their spot and stand with Fred like prisoners on a stand. Otherwise, she would kill him just for the fun and satisfaction of it. But something else Blair hadn't considered was Lestrange's reputation for torturing her victims. She could torture Fred to taunt her and George out. The Order had warned them to never be faced with a situation where such a choice would have to be made. They had experience with woman as they had lost two of their most trusted members to madness. But the Order didn't know Fred and George for the impulsive boys they were.
While Bellatrix waited for the appearance of more members or some sort of confession from Fred, the Weasley looked towards the window through an almost unnoticeable shift of his eyes. He saw his brother and Blair staring at him with a strain in their stares. They wanted to help him and would if it came to it, but he wouldn't let them. For his own convincing and attempt to have a good enough reason to be stupid, he was the oldest of the three. He felt like he had a responsibility to save the others if it meant sacrificing himself. The Order was counting on them and they got what they needed. Someone had to go back and tell them that the attack on Muggles would be tomorrow during the early hours of the morning.
George had understood what Fred was going to do. It came with being twins to understand each other without saying a word. George tightened his lips and strengthened his grip around Blair once more, keeping her secure against his front with his wand clamped in his palm. He hated to leave his brother alone in this situation but he too knew that the Order had to be told about the Death Eater's plans. And with them being Blair's supposed bodyguards (even though she never really accepted it), they had a responsibility to uphold.
"W-Wait, Fred no-"
Blair had realised what was happening too late. She was whisked away into the feeling of apparition with Fred being seconds away from his potential death. The tugging and yanking notion affected Blair for a moment before she stumbled on to the ground of the flat above the shop. While she tried to straighten herself, George headed straight for the front door, locked it and muttered protection spells that pulsated from his wand to the walls on either side of the kitchen. Blair spluttered and started to choke on the tears that she hadn't realised had fallen down her face.
"G-George... we have to go b-back..." she whimpered, barely able to keep her weight. She swayed and put her hands against the counter top, leaning over it as if she was ready to vomit up her insides. The blank look with a touch of fear on Fred's face stuck in her mind and made Blair tremble. She imagined his convulsing body on the floor from Lestrange's torture spell and Jasper being blown to bits by a Reductor curse.
"We can't," George replied, his tone not raising nor lowering from emotion. He kept his back to Blair as he continued putting spells around the flat to stop them being followed. He hadn't wanted to leave Fred any less than Blair, but it had to be done. And whatever became of his twin because of that, was just a part of the job. George just had to keep telling himself that he had a job to do. Because that's what adults did. They do things regardless of what has to be sacrificed.
"Why?! Fred's there by himself! He could-"
"I know, alright?!"
Blair stopped and looked at George's pain-ridden face that had looked so tight; she thought it had been pulled over his bones. His maroon eyes didn't hold the mischievous glint they always had. They were riddling with the burden of having to watch his twin be faced with his possible end. They held the regret of leaving Fred alone while he was safe with his girlfriend back in their pretty little flat that they had made so god damn nice for all three of them.
"I know... he knew... I thought he knew what he was doing..." he put his hand to his face and huffed into it, feeling the sweat start to sink into his button-up shirt. He could feel his energy deteriorating and the wildest of assumptions sinking in. Would he now have to smash all the mirrors in the flat from the fear of his own reflection? Had one of his worst fears finally become a reality? Would he be alone as the last of the Weasley twins?
"George... we-"
"Oh my fucking god!"
The two whipped around towards the living room where Fred collapsed with Jasper yowling loudly. Fred's cheeks had turned to the shade of his old Quidditch robes and his breath came out in long pants. His lanky limbs spread out beside him to make a perfect 'x' on the rug, his chest heaving and his skin slick with perspiration. Jasper slipped out from his arm and glanced to and from the Weasley and the other two in the room. Apparition must seem weird to a cat and if the situation hadn't been so stressful and dire, the three would have tried to imagine what must be running through Jasper's head.
"Fred! You're alive!" Blair wiped her nose and let the man stand to his feet, only to tackle him with all her strength. Fred let out an 'oof!' as she enclosed herself around his torso and he lost his balance momentarily. But he regained himself fast and swallowed down his dry throat, putting his hand against the space between Blair's shoulder blades and gave it a good pat. He accepted the glass of water that was levitated over by his brother and consumed its liquid in one gulp.
"How'd it go?" George asked as he stepped forward, his hands in his slack pockets and enclosing Blair in between him and Fred.
"Pretty well, I'd say," Fred answered after a breath of satisfaction. "Got away when they heard you two apparate. But I could only think of places that were fresh in my mind. So I apparated to three metres away from where I was, to outside the door and then in the middle of that bleeding field. Bella tried following me but I got away. Jasper may have lost a claw or two, though."
"You nearly got yourself killed, you twit!" Blair shouted as she shoved Fred away from her, tears still flowing down her face and hysterical. "You-You... You were seconds away from death! And you just-"
"Hey, I saved your cat! I believe a thank you is in order," Fred pointed down at the bawling girl and glancing towards the said feline. Jasper started to thread his body through Blair's legs and through his like a maze of poles. Blair looked at Jasper who was well and healthy, before looking back to Fred who raised an orange eyebrow at her. Even though he was barely bothered, she had seen the fear and anxiety in his eyes back at the barnhouse. And even now, she could see the lining in between his low-maintenance and disinterested attitude. He had been terrified yet he knew what he was risking. He did it for her, George and even Jasper.
"Thank you..." she whispered and wrapped her arms around his middle again, clinging to him with immeasurable gratitude. She felt weak from the intense amount of stress and fear suddenly draining away from her."Thank you, Fred... Thank you..."
"It was nothing, Rosier. Really," Fred hugged her properly this time and eyed his brother, seeing George grateful and relieved to have his brother breathing and in front of him.