LOST ↝ G. WEASLEY [1]

28 | The Weird Ones

"Merlin's beard!" Joey exclaimed as she caught sight of Monty, Michael Corner, Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein entering the Room of Requirement, faces beaten and bloodied, "What the hell happened to you four?"

"What do you think?" Michael asked.

"Carrow," Terry said, brushing his hair out of his face.

"Apparently, our dear professor isn't fond of those who don't feel the need to write essays on when the Killing Curse is essential." Monty explained. "So he asked to see us after class, and... well, you see how it ended up."

"Brutal bastard, isn't he?" Anthony asked, grinning and baring his bloody teeth.

"Well, go sit down, all of you." Joey ordered, gesturing over toward one of the benches, where Luna was ready with her wand and watching them leave before wandering over to where Rowan lay in one of the hammocks doing homework.

Since Rowan received the news of his father's death, he hadn't left the Room of Requirement. He took his meals when Joey, Hannah or Arden brought them to him, either from the kitchens or from Aberforth's, and got all of his assignments from either of the Hufflepuff girls. 

When Joey reached where he sat he looked up, a small smile crossing his face as he set down his ink and quill.

"Hey Joey," he said softly.

"How are you?" she asked, and he shrugged.

"Oh, I don't know." he said. "I mean, I guess a part of me always knew it was bound to happen after he went on the run. The rest of me just thought that day would never come. That one day we'd all be back together as a family when this was all over and he didn't have to run anymore."

Joey nodded, taking a seat on the hammock next to him.

"How did you do it?" he asked. "When your dad died?"

"I stayed in bed for a week." she admitted, a sad smile on her face as she recounted the previous summer. "George would bring me my meals, and I wouldn't see anyone. But then I just remembered what he died for. Our fathers both died fighting this war, and trying to make a difference. If anything, it fueled a fire in me to continue what he was fighting for, what we're all fighting for. Do it for him."

He nodded. "Thanks, Joey,"

"Of course," she said, leaning over and giving him a tight hug. "and just know you're not alone. Me, Nicolette, Tommy, Magnus, Neville. We all know what you're going through."

"And we're a badass group because of it." Nicolette said, walking up behind them. "Welcome to the weird ones."

"Where's Rowan?" a voice called, and they turned to see Arden and Tommy hurrying into the Room of Requirement.

"I'm here," he said, standing up slowly from the hammock.

"This letter came for you during breakfast," Arden said, handing it to him.

"It's from Remus," he said, eyebrows furrowing in confusion as he noticed the handwriting scrawled across the envelope, nearly ripping it in the process to get it open. "probably something else about my father."

Rowan pulled the piece of parchment over the envelope, nearly shaking in anticipation as his eyes scanned over it. All of a sudden his jaw dropped, eyes sparkling in excitement as he looked back up at everyone watching him suspiciously. 

"My sister just had her baby." Rowan said, his smile widening. "I'm an uncle. Hey everyone, I'm an uncle!"

The room burst into applause as Rowan jumped off the hammock, unable to keep the smile on his face as Arden pulled him into a tight hug. He couldn't help jumping up and down a few times in excitement before turning back to the letter. 

"His name is Edward Remus Lupin," Rowan read from the parchment. "after my father. They call him Teddy for short. They say he looks just like Dora, meaning he got the good looks from the Tonks side of the family." he said with a wink and a beaming smile.

"Yep, there's the Rowan we all know and tolerate," Nic said with a smirk.

"I'm just glad it wasn't any more news about You-Know-Who." Neville added. "At this point, no news is good news."

In the days since the news of Ted's death, it had been quiet. If it were even possible, they were seeing Snape even less than usual, and no other news had come in, either by form of letter or word of mouth from Aberforth when the kids would go to his house for supplies. It seemed to them that, whatever You-Know-Who's next move was going to be, he was doing it in secret.

"Hey, look who looks good as new again." Nic said as Monty rejoined the rest of the group, along with Terry, Michael and Anthony. 

Where the boys' noses had seemed broken before, they were back to looking in the right place. The blood was nearly gone, and their black eyes seemed to be fading away, bringing back the familiar smiles.

Suddenly, a crackling sound burst into the room, drawing everyone's attention over to the wall where the old radio sat, the sound crackling again before bursting to life.

"Woody!" a familiar voice called over the radio, causing Rowan to run over to the equipment. "Woody, this is River, do you copy?"

"River!" Rowan called back to Lee Jordan, holding the mouthpiece to his face. "River, this is Woody."

"We have news coming all the way from the Seaside," Lee reported, "It seems there are clear skies once again by the Seaside. All signs of thunder and lightning have left."

"Thunder and lightning have left?" Dean muttered. "What the bloody hell does that mean?"

"Alright, thank you, River." Rowan said before disconnecting the radio, and it fell silent once again.

"Rowan, what's going on?" Dean asked again, stepping forward towards the boy.

"Seaside is the code for Shell Cottage." Rowan explained. "The code name they have for Harry is Lightning, for reasons I'm sure are quite obvious." Rowan traced the shape of the lightning scar over his forehead, imitating Harry's. "Clear skies means there's no thunder and lightning. Harry and the others have left Shell Cottage. They're on the move again."