One night in the middle of winter, Lee and I realize we have to broadcast from somewhere even more secure. We announce the password for the next one at the end of each broadcast, and thus far it's been working—but we soon become aware that one only has to know one password in order to get access to the rest of them, and that puts us in danger. If the Death Eaters don't know that Potterwatch exists in the first place, then everything is good, and they don't know; that doesn't stop Lee and I from becoming increasingly wary.
The show is even more popular than anticipated. When more people listen, more people report information. Listeners tell us so much of what we need to know, and we often broadcast messages for loved ones that have been separated. Mostly, though, we report on Harry and those around him—we're the ones to announce that Hagrid went to try and convince the giants not to side with Voldemort, and that he was subsequently captured. The thing most people listen in for, though, is the list. Every broadcast, we read out a list of confirmed missing witches and wizards. Sometimes, it's short. Only twenty names.
More often, there are over a hundred.
My personal favourite part, though, is when we have guests on. People like Shacklebolt are particularly helpful in providing useful information, and his intelligence is greatly needed as he can talk about facts with logical support behind him. Still, I prefer when Fred is on. He's just... light. How he manages to remain compassionate and caring while being so funny is beyond me—every episode, he makes me laugh. He is on regularly, and his segment revolves around providing information on the Chief Death Eater. Once, he talked about how a lot of people believed Voldemort was out of the country and said that he can move faster than "Severus Snape confronted with shampoo."
Things are getting dangerous now, and so tonight we decide to move somewhere further away. Somewhere no one would think to look—we know the broadcast tonight will be long, so we need somewhere secure. We say goodbye to Lupin and Tonks and leave to look for somewhere to go. Lee suggests Hogsmeade, in our old apartment, but it's crawling with Death Eaters now that Snape is reigning as Headmaster at Hogwarts. Before I can suggest another place, I'm given the list of the missing witches and wizards. I almost fall over.
"Lee, this list... it'll take us the whole broadcast to read it."
"Shit," he breathes, running a hand over his face. He glances at his notes. "There's not much to say—nothing urgent enough that it can't be lumped into the next show."
"What's that?" someone says from behind us, and we turn to see Fred, grinning as he brushes some of his wild hair back against the wind. We stand on the moor not far from the cottage, and Fred has come to meet us for the broadcast.
Lee is the one to explain. "The list is going to take up the whole broadcast."
Fred's face falls, but he regains his composure, looking over at me. I barely notice; I stare at the list, my eyes blurring as I will myself to look at the names. Today, knowing the list is so long, I'm truly terrified of who I may see. Fred knows how nervous I get sometimes—not only of who I may see, but also of the fact that we're the ones delivering such terrible news to everyone listening. Without saying a word, he grabs my hand and squeezes it. I take a breath and say, "I think I know where we should go."
**
Our parents' grave is small and modest, and as Lee sets up the microphones and Fred checks the perimeter, I withdraw my wand and wave it in a small circle at the patch of grass in front of me. A tiny wreath of baby's breath blooms at the base of the headstone, and I smile to myself.
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chaos ~ fred weasley
Fanfiction"What are you doing?" "What does it look like?" "It looks like you're putting eggplants in a pile outside my room." "That's exactly what I'm doing." ~ Venus Jordan hasn't been to school with her twin, Lee, in years - and Ilvermorny just isn't a...
