Daisy Potter and the Fallen Angel (Book 7, Harry Potter ff)

Chapter 37 - The Beginning

"So now we have a plan?" George hissed to me as we hurried back up to the Room of Requirement.

"Absolutely." I said. "Someone gimme their wand."

Terry handed me his again, and I raised it. I'd seen Sirius, Emily, and Lupin communicating this way, and I only hoped I'd learned it by association enough...

But I needn't have worried. I was a pro at the Patronus Charm. "I'm here, bitch." I spoke to my shimmering puppy. "Get ready to have extreme banter back in your school. Oops, sorry, I meant MY school. You dumb whore."

Then I waved Terry's wand, sending my Patronus off to relay my message to Snape.

"Perfect." I said.

The three boys stared at me.

"Wow." Fred said simply.

"I love you, Softpaw." Terry told me, and I beamed as George pushed open the door to the Room of Requirement.

It was packed, far more crowded than when we had last been in there. Kingsley and Lupin were looking down at me, as were Oliver Wood, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, Bonnie and Connie, Cedric, Cho, Lewis, Kurt, Bill and Fleur, and Mr and Mrs Weasley.

"Daisy, what's happening?" Lupin said as I hastily stepped away from George at the sight of his parents.

"Voldemort's on his way, we're triggering Snap so that he'll get everyone down into the Great Hall - what're you doing here? How did you know?"

"We sent messages to the rest of Dumbledore's Army." Lee explained. "You couldn't expect everyone to miss the fun, Daisy, and the DA let the Order of the Phoenix know, and it all kind of snowballed."

"Okay, well, Snape'll be calling everyone down soon, because he'll know I'm here." I said. "But Riddle's coming. So change of plans, we're not just chasing Snivellus out anymore; we're fighting."

The room was quiet, solemn, an air of determination and resolve hanging around us all.

Then there was a scuffling and a great thump. Someone else had clambered out of the tunnel, overbalanced slightly, and fallen. He pulled himself up on the nearest chair, looked around through lopsided horn-rimmed glasses, and said, "Am I too late? Has it started? I only just found out, so I -"

Percy spluttered into silence. Evidently he had not expected to run into most of his family. There was a long moment of astonishment, broken by Fleur turning to Lupin and saying, in a wildly transparent attempt to break the tension, "So - 'ow eez leetle Teddy?"

Lupin blinked at her, startled. The silence between the Weasleys seemed to be solidifying, like ice.

"I - oh yes - he's fine!" Lupin said loudly. "Yes, Tonks is with him - at her mother's -"

Percy and the other Weasleys were still staring at one another, frozen.

"Here, I've got a picture!" Lupin shouted, pulling a photograph from inside his jacket and showing it to me, Terry, and Fleur, who all saw a tiny baby with a tuft of bright turquoise hair, waving fat fists at the camera.

"Awww!" Terry and I cooed.

"I was a fool!" Percy roared, so loudly that Lupin nearly dropped his photograph. "I was an idiot, I was a pompous prat, I was a - a -"

"Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron." Fred said.

Percy swallowed.

"Yes, I was!"

"Well, you can't say fairer than that." Fred said, holding his hand out to Percy.

Mrs Weasley burst into tears. She ran forward, pushed Fred aside, and pulled Percy into a strangling hug, while he patted her on the back, his eyes on his father.