Discovery

99.

My days in hiding were quite repetitive. As the weeks went by, Sirius became more hesitant about letting me out of the house, meaning I couldn't visit Tonks and Andromeda. To make things worse, Fred was rarely able to come over, seeing as Muriel needed a new house cleaner since I was gone. These unfortunate circumstances left me incredibly bored.

When I wasn't knitting the Muggle way, I was reading Muggle books left behind by my grandparents. Occasionally, I would practice spells or play with my appearance, but that didn't provide much relief from boredom.

As the snow melted, so did everyone's hope. More people were going missing by the day, and no one seemed to be doing anything about it.

"That's how these things go," Mum assured me at lunch one afternoon. "Both sides are working quietly."

"But are we really working?" I asked.

"Of course we are!" Sirius protested. "The Order is trying to get as many people on our side as possible. These things take time."

But time seemed to be dwindling. I had a feeling something bad was going to happen, and soon.

"I've got to get going," Sirius said, rising quickly from the table. "I'll be back soon. Love you both."

Before I could ask where he was off to, he had gone.

Ever since Christmas, Sirius had been disappearing for hours each day. I had no idea where he was off to, or what he was doing, but I was extremely curious.

"Another 'mission'?" I asked my mother.

"Something like that," she nodded, scrubbing the dishes.

Suddenly, my ring lit up, and I heard Fred's voice loud and clear:

"Tune in tonight. Password is 'Albus'."

Sirius returned just as Mum and I began fiddling with the dials on the radio.

"Potterwatch?" he asked.

I nodded, turning the dial once more and finally hearing the familiar voice of Lee Jordan.

"...our temporary absence from the airwaves, which was due to a number of house calls in our area by those charming Death Eaters. We have now found ourselves another secure location," Lee was saying, "and I'm pleased to tell you that two of our regular contributors have joined me here this evening. Evening, boys!"

"Hi."

"Evening, River."

"But before we hear from Royal and Romulus," Lee went on, "let's take a moment to report those deaths that the Wizarding Wireless Network News and Daily Prophet don't think important enough to mention."

All three of us held our breath.

"It is with great regret that we inform our listeners of the murders of Ted Tonks and Dirk Cresswell."

My chest tightened. Ted Tonks...

I watched a tear roll down my mother's cheek. Sirius held his head in his hands.

I thought of Tonks. She was about to have a baby, and now her father was gone...

"Finally, we regret to inform our listeners that the remains of Bathilda Bagshot have been discovered in Godric's Hollow. The evidence is that she died several months ago. The Order of the Phoenix informs us that her body showed unmistakable signs of injuries inflicted by Dark Magic. Listeners, I'd like to invite you now to join us in a minute's silence in memory of Ted Tonks, Dirk Cresswell, Bathilda Bagshot, and the unnamed, but no less regretted, Muggles murdered by the Death Eaters."