Ron tuned in the radio and whispered the current password. Hermione laid back in bed, and rolled her eyes. She would never understand the comfort Ron took from hearing Lee's updates.
Usually, they brought news of loved ones deaths, and Hermione curled into a ball every time they listed recent victims. She was terrified of hearing Fred's name, but she let Ron listen to it anyway, knowing she could never explain why it upset her.
After nearly an hour of dull static, Lee's voice broke through.
We apologise for our temporary absence from the airwaves, which is due to a number of house-calls in our area by those charming "Death Eaters". But now, we're back! So, let's move to news concerning the wizard who is proving just as elusive as Harry Potter. We'd like to refer to him as "Chief Death Eater". And here to give us his views on some of the more insane rumours circulating about him, I'd like to introduce our new correspondent, "Rodent"!
I'm not being Rodent! I told you, I want to be, "Rapier"!
It was Fred. The three of them sat up very quickly, and leaned closer to the radio.
Oh alright, "Rapier"! Could you tell our listeners the various stories you've heard about the Chief Death Eater?
Yes I can. As our listeners will know, unless they've taken refuge at the bottom of a garden pond, You-Know-Who's strategy of remaining in the shadows is creating a nice climate of panic! Mind you, if all alleged sightings of him are genuine, there must be nineteen You-Know-Whos running around!
Which suits him of course, the air of mystery creates more terror than actually showing himself.
Agreed. So people, let's try and calm it down a bit, things are bad enough without inventing stuff! For instance, this new idea that You-Know-Who can kill you with a single glance from his eyes. That's a Basilisk, listeners! One simple test: check whether the thing that's glaring at you has legs: if it has, it's safe to look.
Although, if it really is You-Know-Who, that's still likely to be the last thing you ever do.
Hermione had to admit, she was impressed with his knowledge of the basilisk. But then again, when your little sister is nearly killed by one, you probably learn a little about them.
Well, thank you for that update, "Rodent"!
"Rapier"!
And don't forget to tune in again listeners, for more stories, tales, updates, and advice. In the meantime-
Stay safe!
And support Harry Potter!
The update ended and Ron shut the radio off. Hermione stood from her bed, and excused herself from the tent, on the bases of searching for food. She had walked less than ten feet when the tears began to fall. She leaned against a nearby tree, and sunk down to the ground. So Fred was alive then, and seemingly healthy. She wrapped her arms around her knees, and let her head rest upon them. She had been so worried about him, it had been killing her. Just hearing his voice... It was the greatest gift she could have asked for. She missed Fred terribly. Her heart ached for him, and her arms clung to her shoulders, wishing it was him hugging her instead. Hermione whimpered, and thought back to the last time she had seen Fred.
It had been at his brothers wedding, they were dancing when the warning came. They hadn't even gotten a chance to tell his family about them yet. Her eyes had widened, and she had dashed away from Fred. She ran for Harry and Ron, dragging them away to apparate to safety. She had caught Fred's eye right before they had disappeared. He looked distressed, but seemed to understand they had to leave. In that moment, she wanted to Harry and Ron to get lost, this wasn't her battle. She wanted to run back to Fred, and hide away with him instead. As much as she wanted to, she knew she couldn't. She had closed her eyes, and grabbed onto her best friends' wrists.
She couldn't bring herself to regret leaving, she would have been targeted as a muggleborn, and it would have brought more danger to Fred just for being with her. No, she knew it was better this way. She just wished it didn't hurt so much to be away from him.