Into Forever

“I ‘ope you like zees room, Ronald,” Fleur said, opening the door to one of her guest bedrooms and stepping aside to let Ron inside. He gave her a grateful smile, dropping his rucksack onto the floor beside the bed. “Dinner will be ready in a few meenutes,” she said as she backed out and shut the door.

Ron quickly went to the small bathroom inside his room and washed his face of the angry tears that streaked his mud-covered cheeks. Once his hands were rinsed of most of the grime, he trudged downstairs. Bill and Fleur were at the table, eating quietly. Ron took his seat across from his brother and gave Fleur a weak smile; she’d already filled his plate for him.

“Thank you, both of you, for letting me stay here,” he said gruffly, taking a heaping bite of the pulled pork on his plate. Bill gave him a smile, saying,

“You’re welcome here any time.” Ron could sense that Bill and Fleur wanted to ask him more, but Ron was glad that they were considerate and let him be.

As the three of them finished their quiet dinner, Ron got to his feet and asked,

“Do you have a radio? There’s a show I’d love to listen to…”

“Which show?” Bill asked, his eyes flicking to his brother.

“It’s called PotterWatch. Fred, George, Lee and Kelsey run it-“

“We leestin to eet all ze time!” Fleur exclaimed, wiping her hands on the dishtowel and rushing to the living room, with Bill and Ron right behind her. Taking out her wand, she tapped the dial once, murmured Padfoot, and sat back as the station crackled to life.

“Welcome back devoted fans to this nights episode of PotterWatch,” Lee exclaimed. “I’m your host, River. Along with the usual cast of misfits, we also have two guest speakers in the studio tonight. With me I have Royal, say hi, Royal!”

“Hello everyone,” Kingsley’s deep voice said, a hint of humor to his voice. Ron and Bill, their jaws dropped, exchanged a stunned glance. “It’s wonderful to be here, River.”

“And wonderful to have you, Royal!” Lee said jubilantly.

“And now to introduce our other guest,” Kelsey said, her voice bringing a smile to Ron’s face, “please welcome to the show MoonChild!”

“It’s Romulus, actually,” Remus Lupin said dryly, “But thanks for that lovely flashback to my childhood, Roundie.

“Anytime, Romulus,” Kelsey said with a laugh, making Ron chuckle; Fleur and Bill settled down onto the couch, smiling as they listened.

“To begin the show, we wish to start with the regrettably long list of confirmed deaths,” George said, his voice solemn. After nearly five minutes of reading off names, many of which Ron and Bill recognized, George called for a moment of silence. After a minute, he said with less sadness,

“Though these losses are tragic, we need to remember that they’re the reason we’re fighting, everyone. Don’t sit around and mope- stand up for what you believe in, and keep your lost loved ones in mind.”

“Thank you for that, Rodent,” Fred said, his voice a warm contrast to the past few minutes of sadness. “As always, I’m proud to update you on the roundess of Roundie. She’s now 38 weeks pregnant, and definitely ready to pop! I’m not sure how they make shirts large enough for her…”

“And, ladies and gentlemen, this will continue Rape-her’s banishment from our bed,” Kelsey cut in, her voice sparked with irritation. Fleur, Bill, and Ron all burst out laughing. “He must really love the couch.”

“The couch doesn’t roll over and threaten to suffocate me,” Fred added; there was an audible smack in the background.

“And now, fellow listeners,” George said, his voice very grave. “Please join me in a heartfelt prayer that my niece or nephew won’t be called Squallimer Galbertrose. I don’t think I could ever look that kid in the eye.”

“Is it Roundie that’s picked out that name?” Remus asked, humor in his voice.

“You’ll all be surprised to know that, actually, it was Rapier who picked this lovely name combination.”

“And he says I can’t name things,” Kelsey huffed. Ron was grinning ear to ear.

“My accusation still stands,” Fred cut in. “And now, we’d like to do a quick Q&A with Royal and Romulus.”

“Fire away, Rapier,” Kingsley said, his voice deep and reassuring.

“We’ve heard several reports of muggle sacrifices. Can you give us a little more detail?”

“I’m sad to report, Rapier, that wizards around the country have turned to sacrifice in hopes to earn them a safe spot with the Dark Lord.”

“And what are your views of this?”

“Well, being perfectly honest, not only is it disgraceful and horrifying, it won’t do a thing to earn you points with He-Who-Must-Be-Renamed, as you’ve dubbed him.”

Bill and Fleur burst out laughing; Ron raised an eyebrow at them.

“We almost died from laughter, mate,” Bill laughed, wrapping an arm around Fleur. “When Fred announced the name, I was sure Fleur was going to drown from her cup of tea.”

“Eet vas a close zing,” Fleur laughed, wiping at her eyes; Ron grinned even wider. He hadn’t realized just how far reaching the humor and hope PotterWatch was going.

“On a similar, but not closely related note,” Fred said, cutting into Ron’s thoughts. “Romulus, I’d like to ask you on this very first episode of ‘Pals of Potter’, do you really believe that Harry Potter is still alive?”

“I do, Rapier,” Remus said, his voice turning from lighthearted to serious in a heartbeat. “I know, with all my being, that Harry Potter is alive and doing everything to defeat the Dark Lord.”

“And what would you say to those who doubt that Harry’s still trying to defeat the Dark Lord?” Lee asked. Remus gave a chuckle, then said,

“I’d say they’re full of bollocks, River. Harry Potter is the bravest, most determined man I’ve ever met. If I know Harry, I’d say he’s out there right now, gathering his own army, just planning for the perfect moment to start the real uprising.”

“Well put, Remus. Well put!” There was a collective cheering in the background of the radio. Ron’s stomach twisted at the words Remus had spoken; had it been his worst mistake to leave Harry and Hermione…?

“We’d like to clear up another mental rumor we heard the other day,” Kelsey said, the disbelief clear in her voice, “because really people, we’re a little concerned you’re believing this stuff.”

“The latest rumor floating around town happens to be that the Dark Lord has the ability to create Death Eaters out of thin air,” Fred said, the laugh evident in his voice. “Apparently civilians are worried that they’ll run into He-Who-Must-Be-Renamed and he’ll produce an entire army out of his arse.”

“While people do have the ability to create life,” Kelsey said, laughing as well, “rumor has it that it’ll take about nine months, and a woman is definitely needed.”

“Roundie here’s working on our own army of gingers,” Fred laughed, a light thumping sound indicating he was patting her stomach. “So, while it’s highly likely that Moldy Voldy is a woman, it’s very unlikely that he-or she- could find someone to… assist the process of baby making. So rest assured, the Dark Lord-or Lordess- hasn’t harnessed that army-making ability just yet.”

“And now, listeners, I’m sad to say this brings us to the end of PotterWatch,” Kelsey announced, her voice still light from laughter. “And as always, before we go, I’d like to pass out a word of luck to my close friends, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I know times are tough right now, but you have each other, and together, you all can conquer anything.”

Ron’s face flushed a brilliant red, and tears threatened to spill from his eyes as Kelsey’s words tore through him.

“As always, listeners-“ Lee began, but he never finished his sentence.

In the background, the sound that resembled a door being blasted off its hinges took over the radio; immediately after the blast, Ron heard someone shouting,

“Avada kedavra!”

Ron’s eyes were wide with horror as he sat up and turned to look at his brother, the screams from their friends and family pouring from the radio. Bill met his eyes, the same fear and dread on his face that was currently flowing through Ron’s body. Fleur had tears in her eyes, one hand clamped over her mouth.

Ron heard more curses being shouted; he heard Fred shout,

“Get her back! Get her out of here! Keep her safe!”

He heard Kingsley yell,

“The Death Eaters found us! Get out of here, quickly!”

“She can’t apparate! Not this far along-“

“Then run! Run before-“

And the radio went silent; the light behind the tuning panel slowly faded away as the dial spun, and then slowed to a stop.