Coup de Foudre [Fred Weasley] [7]

⚡️ Chapter 28 ⚡️

"Three Horcruxes left," Ron kept saying. "We need a plan of action, come on! Where haven't we looked, Vega? Let's go through it again. The orphanage..."

Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, the Riddle House, Borgin and Burkes, Albania, every place that they knew Tom Riddle had ever lived or worked, visited or murdered – Vega, Ron and Hermione raked over them again, Harry joining in only to stop Hermione pestering him.

"You never know," was Ron's constant refrain. "Upper Flagley is a Wizarding village, he might've wanted to live there. Let's go and have a poke around,"

While Vega doubted them immensely, she agreed just for the sake of looking somewhere. These frequent forays into Wizarding territory brought them within occasional sight of Snatchers.

"Some of them are supposed to be as bad as Death Eaters," Ron said. "The lot that got me were a bit pathetic, but Bill recons some of them are really dangerous. They said on Potterwatch –"

"On what?" Harry asked as Vega looked up in surprise.

"Potterwatch, didn't I tell you that's what it was called?" Ron asked. "The program I keep trying to get on the radio, the only one that tells the truth about what's going on! Nearly all of the programs are following You-Know-Who's line, all except Potterwatch... I really want you to hear it, but it's tricky tuning in..."

Ron spent evening after evening using his wand to beat out various rhythms on top of the wireless while the dials whirled. Occasionally they would catch snatches of advice on how to treat dragon-pox, and once a few bars of 'A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love.'

While he taped, Ron continued to try to hit on the correct password, muttering strings of random words under his breath, "They're normally something to do with the Order. Bill had a real knack for guessing them. I'm bound to get one in the end..."

But not until March did luck favour Ron at last.

Vega and Harry were sitting in the tent entrance, on guard duty, staring idly at a clump of grape hyacinths that had forced their way through the chilly ground, when Ron shouted excitedly from inside the tent.

"I've got it, I've got it! Password was 'Albus'!
Get in here, Harry, Vega!"

When the two of them entered the tent, Vega found Ron and Hermione kneeling on the floor beside the little radio. Hermione, who had been polishing the sword of Gryffindor just for something to do, was sitting open-mouthed, staring at the tiny speaker, from which a most familiar voice was issuing, and was speaking something peculiar –

"... apologise for our temporary absence from the airwaves,
which was due to a number of house-calls in our area by those charming Death Eaters,"

"But that's Lee Jordan!" Hermione said and Vega moved closer, holding her breath at the sound of the familiar voice, and she felt a strange feeling rush through her.

"I know!" Ron beamed. "Cool, eh?"

"... 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," replied one of them.

"Evening, River," said the other.

"'River', that's Lee," Ron explained. "They've all got code names, but you can usually tell –"

"Shh!" Hermione interjected.

"But before we hear from Royal and Romulus," Lee continued onward. "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. It is with great regret that we inform our listeners of the murders of Ted Tonks and Dirk Cresswell,"