one day in march, everyone was doing their own thing when ron shouted excitedly.
"i've got it! i've got it! password was 'albus'! get in here, harry!"
the other four hurried to his side, kneeling in front of the radio.
"-apologize 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!"
"i know! cool, eh?"
"-now found ourselves another secure location, and i'm pleased to tell you that two of our regular contributors have joined me here this evening. evening, boys!"
"hi."
"evening, river."
"river, that's lee. they've all got code names, but you can usually tell-"
"shh!" hermione shushed ron.
"but before we hear from royal and romulus, let's take a moment to report those deaths that the wizarding wireless network news and the daily prophet don't think important enough to mention. it is with great regret that we inform our listeners of the murders of the murders of ted tonks and dirk cresswell."
the golden trio discreetly glanced at the twins, who both had different reactions.
phoebe sighed, sending a small smile in their direction while maddy just froze.
"a goblin by the name of gornuk was also killed. it is believed that muggle-born dean thomas and a second goblin, both believed to be traveling with tonks, cresswell and gornuk, may have escaped. if dean is listening, or if anyone has any knowledge of his whereabouts, his parents and sisters are desperate for news.
"meanwhile, in gaddley, a muggle family of five has been found dead in their home. muggle authorities are attributing the deaths to a gas leak, but members of the order of the phoenix inform me that it was the killing curse--more evidence, as if it were needed, of the fact that muggle slaughter is becoming little more than a recreational sport under the new regime.
"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, gornuk and the unnamed, but no less regretted, muggles murdered by death-eaters."
silence fell, and none of them spoke a word.
"thank you," lee spoke, "and now we return to regular contributor, royal, for an update on how the new wizarding order is affecting the muggle world."
"thanks, river," a deep voice said.
"kingsley!" ron burst out.
"we know!" hermione hushed him once more.
"muggles remain ignorant of the source of their suffering as they continue to sustain heavy casualties. however, we continue to hear truly inspirational stories of wizards and witches risking their own safety to protect muggle friends and neighbors, often without the muggles' knowledge. i'd like to appeal to all our listeners to emulate their example, perhaps by casting a protective charm over any muggle dwellings in your street. many lives could be saved if such simple measures are taken."
"and what would you say, royal, to those listeners who reply that in these dangerous times, it should be 'wizards first'?"
"i'd say that it's one short step from 'wizards first' to 'purebloods first', and then to 'death eaters'. we're all human, aren't we? every human life is worth the same, and worth saving."
"excellently put, royal, and you've got my vote for minister for magic if we ever get out of this mess. and now, over to romulus for our popular feature: pals of potter."
"thanks, river," another voice said, and hermione forestalled ron in a whisper as he began to speak.
"we know it's lupin!"
"romulus, do you maintain, as you have every time you've appeared on our progamme, that harry potter is alive?"
"i do," lupin spoke firmly, "there is no doubt at all in my mind that his death would be proclaimed as widely as possible by the death-eaters if it had happened, because it would struck a deadly blow at the morale of those resisting the new regime, the 'boy who lived' remains a symbol of everything for which we are fighting: the triumph of good, the power of innocence, the need to keep resisting."
"and what would you say to harry if you knew he was listening, romulus?"
"i'd tell him we're all with him in spirit, and i'd tell him to follow his instincts, which are good and nearly always right."
"nearly always right," hermione repeated, her eyes full of tears.
"--and our usual updates on those friends of harry potter's who are suffering for their allegiance?"
"well, as regular listeners will know, several of the more outspoken supporters of harry potter have now been imprisoned, including xenophilius lovegood, erstwhile editor of 'the quibbler'."
maddy shifted uncomfortably, and the two other girls shared a knowing look, being aware of the promise the older one made with luna's father.
"we have also heard within the last few hours that rubeus hagrid-"
they all gasped, missing the rest of the sentence.
"-well known gamekeeper at hogwarts school, has narrowly escaped arrest within the ground of hogwarts, where he is rumored to have hosted a 'support harry potter' party in his house. however, hagrid was not taken into custody, and is, we believe, on the run."
"i suppose it helps, when escaping from death-eaters, if you've got a sixteen-foot-high half brother."
"it would tend to give you an edge. may i just add that while we here at potterwatch applaud hagrid's spirit, we would urge even the most devoted of harry's supporters against following hagrid's lead. 'support harry potter' parties are unwise in the present climate."
"indeed they are, romulus," lee said, "so we suggest that you continue to show your devotion to the man with the lightning scar by listening to potterwatch! and now let's move to the news concerning the wizard who is proving just as elusive as harry potter. we like to refer to him as the chief death-eater, and here to give his views on some of the more insane rumors circulating about him, i'd like to introduce a new correspondent: rodent."
"rodent?" another familiar voice asked.
"fred," maddy chuckled, feeling a rush of safety that she felt whenever she was at the burrow just by hearing his voice.
"im not being 'rodent', no way, i told you i wanted to be 'rapier'!"
"oh, alright then, rapier, could you please give us your take on the various stories we've been hearing about the chief death-eater?"
"yes, river, i can. as our listeners will know, unless they've taken refugee at the bottom of a garden pond or somewhere similar, you-know-who's strategy of remaining in the shadows is creating a nice little climate of panic. mind you, if all the alleged sightings of him are genuine, we must have a good nineteen you-know-whos running around the place."
"which suits him, of course," kingsley joined in, "the air of mystery is creating more terror that actually showing himself."
"agreed," fred continued, "so, people, let's try and calm down a bit. things are bad enough without inventing things as well. for instance, this new idea that you-know-who can kill with a single glance from his eyes. that's a basilisk, listeners, and as one of my favorite people would say-"
"-that snake thing, medusa, whatever," fred and maddy said in unison.
"one simple test: check whether the thing that's glaring at you has got legs. if it has, it's safe to look into its eyes, although if it really is you-know-who, that's still likely to be the last thing you ever do."
"and the rumors that he keeps getting sighted abroad?" lee questioned.
"well, who wouldn't want a nice little holiday after all the hard work he's been putting in? point is, people, don't get lulled into a false sense of security, thinking he's out of the country. maybe he is, maybe he isn't, but the fact remains he can move faster than severus snape confronted with shampoo when he wants to, so don't count on him being a long way away if you're planning on taking any risks. i never thought i'd hear myself say it, but safety first!"
"thank you very much for those wise words, rapier. listeners, that brings us to the end of another potterwatch. we don't know when it will be possible to broadcast again, but you can be sure will shall be back. keep twiddling those dials: the next password will be 'mad-eye'. we'll try to get more information about the taylor twins, but until then, keep each other safe: keep faith. goodnight."
the radio's dials twirled and the lights behind the tuning panel went out.
"good, eh?" ron beamed.
"brilliant."
"it's so brave of them. if they were found-"
"well, they keep on the move, don't they? like us."
"but did you hear what fred said? he's abroad! he's still looking for the wand, i knew it!"
"harry-"
"come on, hermione, why are you so determined not to admit it? vol-"
"harry, no!"
"-demort's after the elder wand!"
"the name's taboo!" ron bellowed as maddy cried out in pain, her dark mark stinging, spreading to the rest of her body.
the red-head stopped talking when the sneakoscope lit up and began to spin.
"sounds like the lord is trying to summon somebody," a low voice chuckled.
"come out of there with your hands up! we know you're in there! you've got half a dozen wands pointing at you and we don't care who we curse!"
knowing there was no point of hiding, they reluctantly walked out of the tent, their hands up in the air.
fenrir greyback loudly laughed as soon as he got a glimpse of a maddy who was searing with pain.
"i've been waiting for the moment where i got to meet the traitor. the taylor twin who inherited more of salazar slytherin's power," he lauded, glancing over at phoebe, "we all know madison is more powerful."
"glad you think that," maddy choked out, preparing to shoot a jinx at the werewolf, who quickly understood what she was attempting to do.
not even a second later, he lunged at her, slashing her shirt open with his claws and cutting her stomach.
the last thing the girl could remember was four distinct voices calling out while she came in and out of the darkness.
word count- 1777
date written- december 9, 2020
quick question, please answer:
would you like the battle of hogwarts to be one long chapter or for it to be split into multiple chapters?