With her senses hightened in the darkness, Ginny was careful even to breathe. She walked slowly, pressing against the walls of the spiral staircase in case someone was waiting downstairs. Her map was no help at this point since she was too far away from the actual room to know what was in there. At least she could be comforted that Voldemort was still occupied elsewhere.
As Ginny turned the final corner after an endless amount of steps, she froze, horror stricken. No wonder Ron had such scars...
Ginny had wandered into a large room filled with every torture device known to mankind and several that few had even dreamed of before. There were slow burning acids, hooks, chairs covered in spikes, iron maidens... everything. Somewhere in the room, Ginny heard a low whimpering. Immediately, she checked the map for names. RON!
Seeing no other person on her map in the vicinity, Ginny rushed over to the cage that held her brother. His trademark Weasley hair was only visible now in patches. The majority of his skin was bruises, matted blood, and jagged red scars. Only the sad desperate hope in his eyes let Ginny know that it was indeed still her brother.
"Don't worry, Ronny! I'll get you out!" she whispered as she scrambled for the lock.
"No! Don't Ginny! He said that if I get free, he will kill Harry for sure!" Ron managed to gasp out.
"Do you know where Harry is?"
Ron shook his head. It was obvious that every movement was excruciating pain. "The last time I saw him... I was under a curse... It's my fault he's even here! If I hadn't-"
"Shhh..." Ginny cut him off. "Now is not the time for if only's. I can get you out. Then, I'll be back for Harry. Mum would skin me alive if she knew that I had left anyone I cared about in a place like this!"
Ginny's vain attempt at humor went unnoticed by Ron. Finally, finding the lock, Ginny opened it with a quick 'alohamora.' Grabbing Ron under the arms, she shrugged him up and out of the cage. A glance at her map showed that the spell had not gone unnoticed. Several dots were rapidly approaching them. Without hesitation, Ginny apparated her and her brother to the best location she could think of, Hogsmede. "At least there are still enough traps and tricks to hide at Hogwarts."
Arriving in front of the Shrieking Shack, Ginny apparated again to the entrance of the tunnel back under the Whomping Willow. "At the very least, we might be able to hide out in the dungeons for a bit."
Carefully placing her tormented brother on a conjured stretcher, Ginny said, "Locamotor Ron" and started off towards her alma mater.



Thank you! I'm sorry I'm so slow between chapters. Sorry, WanderingWolf. I wanted to get the story a little more complicated before letting Ginny find Harry. Thanks for reading though!