Weasley Charm | Fred Weasley

Chapter 5-11: Letters & Spells

"Hey Neville," Delaney ran up to him in one of the seventh-floor corridors.

"Oh, hi Delaney," Neville turned his head to greet her.

"I was wondering if you've found anywhere for the D. A. yet?" she asked in a quiet tone in case anyone had been listening to them.

"No nothing really. I've been looking all over but I can't seem to find anything," Neville looked down at his feet.

Just as they passed a bare wall they heard something behind them. Almost as though something was being carved into the wall. Delaney looked at Neville with a confused expression before the two of them turned to the empty wall. Only the wall wasn't empty anymore. It now bore a door that opened to reveal a large, spacious room.

"Neville we've got to show the others." Delaney quickly grabbed hold of his sleeve and walked down to the entrance of the Great Hall. The closer they got the louder Umbridge's voice rang out.

"All student organizations have henceforth been disbanded. Any student who fails to comply will be expelled," the voice sounded across the castle.

Delaney immediately found Harry, Ron, and Hermione standing with Fred, George, and Ginny who watched the new decree be nailed to the wall. "Guys, Neville's found something. Come on."

"What do you mean, found something?" Hermione asked on their way up to the seventh floor.

"He found the perfect place. Go on Neville, show them," Delaney said in an encouraging tone.

"I'll try," Neville closed his eyes to concentrate on what he had been thinking of before. They all watched as the door began to form again.

"Neville you've found the Room of Requirement," Hermione said in awe as they stepped into the room.

"The what?" Ron asked.

"It's also known as the come-and-go room," Hermione said. "The Room of Requirement only appears when a person has a real need for it."

"And is always equipped for the seekers' needs," Delaney finished. "I remember reading about it. I never thought it actually existed."

"So, say you needed a toilet," Ron suggested.

"Charming Ronald," Hermione chuckled. "But yes, that is the general idea."

"It's brilliant! It's like Hogwarts wants us to fight back!" Harry said in an excited tone. "We'll meet on Wednesday. Be sure to spread the word."

Delaney looked at Fred with an excited smile. They finally did it. It was finally time to fight back.

Wednesday morning was met with excitement for Delaney. She couldn't wait to start learning new magic. It was even more exciting since it would be right under Umbridge's nose.

"Harry, how are we supposed to all get in without raising suspicion?" Delaney asked in a low voice during breakfast. Though the thought of defying Umbridge excited her, she still had to think logically.

"You'll probably have to go in pairs or small groups," Harry suggested.

"Hey look, mail's here." Ron looked up at the owls flying into the Great Hall.

A letter dropped in front of Delaney. She hoped it was a letter from Sirius. She wrote to him about hers and Hermione's idea about forming the D. A.—of course, that was weeks ago yet she still hadn't gotten a response. She hurried to open the letter.

I heard of your genius plan to form a secret group. While I think it's a good idea for you to be learning how to defend yourself, I feel it is my duty to remind you to be careful. With the Ministry interfering at Hogwarts now it could cost a lot more if you were to be caught. Now moving on from my warning, I want to tell you how proud of you that I am. You remind me more and more every day of your mother yet you show that you are a force of your own as well. As always, be safe and remember to write.

- Remus

"Who's it from?" Fred asked, peering over her shoulder.

"It's from Remus," she looked at him with an expression that showed she was let down. She loved that Lupin wrote her. He was always there for her. She just wished Sirius would write back.

"Don't worry. I'm sure he'll write to you. He's probably just busy trying to avoid the Ministry." Fred brought his arm around her, pulling her close to her for a moment before tracing her back with his hands. The gesture was comforting.

"Yeah, you're probably right," she grinned, feeling slightly better. A letter then dropped in front of Harry. Everyone thought it was weird that he was getting a letter.

"Who's it from?" Hermione asked as Harry began reading his letter.

"It's from Sirius," Harry said absentmindedly. "I wrote to him when we formed the D. A. to let him know what we were doing."

Delaney felt her smile drop. She had written to him weeks before Harry yet she hadn't gotten a response. A pit formed in her stomach. All of the signs she had seen over the summer, the things she thought she was imagining, were now becoming reality. He was choosing him over her. He was choosing Harry over his own daughter.

"Hey," Fred grabbed her hand. "I'm sure there's a reason behind it."

"Yeah, and I already know it," Delaney stood up from the table and walked out of the Great Hall. She knew she needed to calm down before she went to class.

Fred followed her, waiting until they were in a quiet corridor before he stopped her, "Delaney, wait."

He grabbed her wrist, making him face her. She could feel her eyes starting to sting. She hated crying, and she'd be damned if she did it in the middle of a corridor.

"Talk to me," he urged gently, grabbing her cheeks.

Delaney's voice was nothing more than a whisper, "He's leaving me."

Fred's face crumpled in understanding. "No, he's not."

"He is," Delaney urged. She knew it deep down. "I wrote to him with the same news weeks before Harry. He couldn't even write to me on my bloody birthday, for Merlin's sake."

Fred stood silent for a moment, releasing a sigh before wrapping Delaney in his arms. He pressed his lips to the top of her head, "It'll be okay."

The rest of the day carried on like most of the others. Delaney had managed to calm down and force those feelings down. She convinced herself that she was overreacting. That Sirius was just busy avoiding the Ministry as Fred said. Besides, she'd always have Lupin to write. That was all she could do to keep her mind at ease, and not play into her worst fears.

Delaney now stood in the Room of Requirement for the first ever D. A. meeting with her friends at her side.

"Okay, it looks like everyone is here now," Harry began.
"First, I'd like to thank you all for coming. Second, I'd like to remind you that what goes on here and what we are has to stay a secret if we plan on continuing," he paused as he looked at each person.

"Oh that sucks I was planning on telling Umbridge tomorrow," Delaney chuckled sarcastically to Fred.

"Without me? It really is the ones that are closest to you." He shook his head as he chuckled.

"Okay, I thought the first thing we could go over is a simple disarming charm. It's what I used against Voldemort in the graveyard." After Harry went over how to do Expelliarmus everyone formed a line in front of the stone statue they were going to practice on.

It was divided into how successful everyone was in performing the spell. Some did well, others not so much. Delaney stepped up to the front of the statue and took a deep breath. "You've got it, Delaney."

"Expelliarmus!" she shouted. The wand of the statue immediately flew out of the statue's hand and into hers. Everyone looked at her in shock. Others had managed to do the spell successfully but none of them had managed to make the wand fly into their hand.

"Well done, Delaney," Harry said excitedly. Delaney smiled before walking to the back of the line. Fred was now up. Much like Delaney, he managed to disarm the statue but did not get the wand to fly into his hand. Only Delaney had managed to do the spell with such success.

"Remind me not to make you mad anymore," Fred laughed as he walked behind Delaney. Delaney playfully rolled her eyes as she chuckled. Things were going to be alright.