422nd Quidditch World Cup
Daphne and Astoria Greengrass were both in attendance of the 422nd Quidditch World Cup celebration. By looking at the two of them, nobody would have guessed that Daphne and Astoria were sisters, let alone, related by blood. Astoria had naturally dark and wavy hair in contrast to Daphne's natural blond and straight hair, which was ok because they behaved more like best friends anyway.
Lucius, Draco's father, pointed out the girls to his son. "How about you go ask your future wife to join us? Try not to embarrass me." He hit Draco in the chest with his walking cane.
Draco forced a smile. He found the future wife a bit too presumptuous, but he had to admit he liked the thought of it. Daphne definitely had plenty going for her. She is rich, beautiful and a pure blood witch. He thought offering the most luxurious seats in the place would be a sure thing that she would accept.
"Hey, Daphne," Draco called out as she was about to go up the stairs for a higher level on the stands. "Want to join me in the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge's luxury box? We got the best seats in the house."
"Oh, that is so nice of you, but we were actually hoping to get the top row. That is where all the action is anyway," Daphne replied.
"Ok, then. I will look for you later," Draco said with a bit of a disappointed scowl. He didn't really want to return to his father, but he felt like he had to.
Daphne wasn't really paying attention, nor listening for a response. She just made her way to the stairs. Astoria looked back at Draco and couldn't help but to grin. She definitely liked what she saw. When she turned around she realized her sister already got well ahead of her. She hurried to catch up.
"I don't get it! You don't want to sit with the hottie," Astoria panted. She was a bit out of breath from racing up the stairs. "Dad would approve…"
Daphne suddenly stopped and stared back at her sister. "Yeah, I am really seeking dad's approval!" Daphne said sarcastically.
"Right, what was I thinking?" Astoria asked.
The girls finally got to the top row like Daphne wanted. "Check out the view from here!" Daphne pointed out where the fireworks were taking place.
"Ok, I see your point. This is awesome!" Astoria stared at the spectacle in the sky as Viktor Krum, the best of the Quidditch players, did a handstand on his flying broomstick. The audience went wild with applause.
They projected an overly large image of Viktor in the backdrop. "Ah," Astoria's eyes opened a bit wider and her mouth dropped open ever so slightly. "I would like to get on his board."
"Yeah, I bet you would," Daphne chuckled.
"It was nice of dad to get us tickets to this." Astoria's eyes remained glued to Viktor's enlarged image as she swooned over him.
"Maybe, but it doesn't make up for what he did." Daphne shook her head.
"No, but it is a start," Astoria nodded. "Despite everything, it is still going to be a great year. You will see."
"I guess," Daphne forced a small smile.
"Krum! Krum! Krum!" Astoria joined in the audience's chant.
Once the game ended, Astoria wanted to meet the players, especially Viktor Krum. She did her best to follow and find out where they went.
Daphne returned to her tent where she had more important things to do. She pulled out a book on curses that was written in Latin along with her Latin to English translation book. She looked back and forth and translated a few things. "No, that is an actual curse," she mumbled to herself. She skipped down to the next header and looked up more words.
The very noisy celebration outside made Daphne realize she wasn't going to get much done, so she put her books away. She pushed back the flap of her tent and looked outside. The laughter and music gave way to death, despair and devastation. Flames engulfed the tents around hers. People screamed and ran. Death Eaters, lots of them, were storming the campsite.
In the midst of the chaos, she heard the torture curse being used against Robert, a muggle-born wizard.
She had dated Robert before, but her father was enraged at the notion of his daughter dating a non-pure-blood wizard, and did everything in his power to push them away.
There were many Death Eaters surrounding Robert. She had to help him. She had to put a stop to this cruelty. But her legs wouldn't move. She was utterly terrified. Deep down, she knew that she would most likely become another victim of this curse herself if she tried to help him, and just wanted to run away. She wished she was a much stronger and braver witch.
Her legs and hands were shaking. "I gotta be brave. I gotta help him!" She whispered with determination, trying to overcome her fears. But it was too late now.
One of the Death Eater's slit Robert's throat.
"No," Daphne screamed which caught the attention of some of the Death Eaters. Daphne cried and reclosed the flap of her tent as though she thought that would protect her and looking again would change what she saw. She shook with fear and for a few moments found herself unable to move. She grabbed for her wand and her golden chalice, which doubled as her port key. She thought about using it to go home, but then she realized that would leave her sister stranded. She wasn't brave enough to help Robert, but she had to be brave for Astoria. She wouldn't forgive herself if something were to happen to her sister.
The flaps of her tent ripped open as several Death Eaters poured in. Daphne screamed and ran for the other side of her tent and made her way out into the chaos.
Her path was blocked by several Death Eaters. "Everte Statum!" Daphne waved her wand. Several Death Eaters flew back which at least temporarily cleared her a path in front of her. The Death Eaters grunted as they got up. Several of them chased her.
Daphne spotted an unoccupied broomstick, which she knew belonged to her now late ex-boyfriend. Although she wasn't a skilled Quidditch player, she did know the basics of flying on one of these things. She jumped on and took to the air as fast as she could.
Looking down, she tried to spot her sister and, after a few moments of scouring the area, she noticed her. Unfortunately Astoria was surrounded by about eight Death Eaters, each of which had weapons drawn and were advancing rapidly. "Astoria, catch!" Daphne threw the chalice to her.
Astoria caught the chalice. She hesitated to use the portkey. "Go!" Daphne demanded. Astoria triggered the portkey, then disappeared in a brilliant flash of blue light which returned her home safely.
One of the Death Eaters threw a spear up at Daphne. She wasn't skilled enough to dodge it completely. It raked across her arm, which caused a bad cut. Daphne was bleeding worse then she thought. She tried to stay steady, but her flight path became erratic. She forced a crash-landing nearby.
Daphne began to hyperventilate. She began to feel dizzy and confused. The blood loss was getting to her. She felt someone's hand on her back. She screamed. She felt certain she was going to die. She turned around slowly. She recognized the very famous boy who lived. "Harry!" She smiled at him, relieved that he wasn't a Death Eater.
"You are bleeding. Let me," Harry tore off part of his own shirt.
"It isn't that bad," Daphne tried to convince herself more than anything. Harry tied the torn cloth from his shirt, passing it around her arm in an attempt to staunch the bleeding. Then, she spotted an approaching group of Death Eaters. "Look out!" She yelled! Daphne remembered her sister, just a few hours ago, telling her that this would be a great year. Now she questioned if she would still be alive within the next five minutes.
Both kids feared this would be their last day here, but to their relief, the cavalry arrived in the form of the Ministry of Magic, they, between them, finally repelled the invaders.
Even though the immediate danger had passed, Harry and Daphne both looked on horrified at the glowing image of Voldemort that dominated the night sky. This wasn't over yet.
A/N
I would like to thank CSGT and Loki God of Evil for beta reading this for me.
This is my first ever Harry Potter story. Thank you for taking the time to read it. I would love to know what you thought of it. Please leave a review. Feedback is always appreciated.