My summer in one word?
Amazing. Fantastic. Perfect. Simply, extraordinarily brilliant.
Okay, so that was more than one word, but who cares.
I stayed with the Weasleys the entire time, and I'm almost positive that I have gained at least ten pounds thanks to Mrs. Weasley's cooking. I played my keyboard frequently, even though Fred had given up entirely. There were late nights with Fred, and more than a few times where I was tricked into testing a new 'harmless' invention from the brilliant minds of Fred and George Weasley. Sarcasm.
But you should have seen it when we found out we were going to the Quidditch World Cup. Considering I spent the most part being forced to play the damned sport with everyone, I was glad I would actually be doing the watching this time. Harry and Hermione arrived early that morning, but that doesn't really matter considering we were all up at the crack of dawn. After a restless breakfast, we all headed out to the Portkey.
"Ron, Harry, keep up!" Mr. Weasley yelled toward the back of the group at the two sleepy fourth years.
"Ah, Amos!" Mr. Weasley acknowledged a man, tall, with a pair of glasses placed over his round brown eyes.
"Arthur!" The man, Amos, greeted him. I raised an eyebrow at Fred, who shrugged.
"Kids, this is Mr. Amos Diggory-" Mr. Weasley was cut short when a tall boy with curly brown hair and hazel eyes fell from the tree next to us, landing on his two feet. I jumped at the sudden appearance, earning myself identical smirks from the twins.
"And this must be young Cedric!" Mr. Weasley clapped Cedric on the shoulder before engaging in another conversation with Amos, and leading us up the rest of the hill.
I distinctly saw Hermione and Ginny exchange more than a few giggles over our newest member. I rolled my eyes.
"You girls seem excited." I whispered as I fell back with them.
"Shut up Dee!" Ginny groaned as we came up the top of the hill. I blinked as I took in the torn and patched boot that lay in the grass in front of us.
"What's that?" I heard Harry ask.
"That's a Portkey Harry!" Ron answered, excitedly joining the circle around the shoe. We all gathered, placing a hand on it.
"Everybody ready?" Mr. Weasley questioned. "1…2…3!" I felt an unpleasant tug around my navel, and felt as if I was being pushed into a small hole. My constricted chest was loosened as I feel with a hard thump on the ground next to Fred.
"Well that was fun." I grumbled, picking myself off the ground in time to see Cedric, Amos and Mr. Weasley come floating down like feathers.
"Come on Dee, I'll race ya!" Fred and George yelled, sprinting down toward the field of tents ahead.
"No fair! You guys got a head start!" I whined, bounding off after them.
Soon, we found our way into our tent, a small flimsy thing that proved to be quite large on the inside. Now we walked up scaffolding staircases.
"Geez Dad, how high are we?" Ron asked, looking down over the edge I was making sure to avoid. Heights are not something I particularly enjoy, and it was pretty obvious from the way I clung to the handrails.
"We'll put it this way, if it rains, you'll be the first to know." The cold mocking voice of Lucius Malfoy rose from the stand below us. I watched as everyone of the Weasleys' ears turned red, and placed a comforting hand on Fred's arm.
"Father and I are in the Minister's box, by invitation of the Minister himself!" Draco Malfoy added. I rolled my eyes at the fourth year's statement.
"Don't boast Draco, there's no need with these people." His father added, turning away. Now I felt my own anger rise in me, and Fred placed an arm around my shoulders as I felt my vision begin to blur. Once I could see clearly again, I followed the rest of the pack up a few more stairs. I know I'm still not in what some would call total control of my Animagus abilities. It hasn't been a major priority, and I got a letter from McGonagall telling me that I have to be extra careful, apparently it gets worse in the months that follow. Great.
We took our seats, settling in as Fred and George took bets from Fudge, and Harry and Ron excitedly discussed the match ahead. I was more focused on trying not to throw up. Well, lets get this thing over with.
Now we were all celebrating Irelands win over Bulgaria, after a rather heartwarming speech about the Bulgarian seeker Viktor Krum from Ron. I sat in one of the large armchairs, laughing as the twins and Harry sang about Ron and Viktor. Then a large explosion came from outside, making me jump.
"Seems the Irish are having a good time." Fred smiled. Just then, Mr. Weasley came charging in the tent, yelling.
"Its not the Irish!" He shouted. "Fred, George; Ginny and Dee are your responsibility! Everyone get to the woods!" Panic set in as Fred grabbed my hand and we ran out of the tent. Immediately other witches and wizards pelted us. Screams pierced the night air, and I could just see a group of people, all in some kind of pointy hats. Deatheaters. An involuntary shiver spread through me as we all ran along with the crowd. We took a sharp turn, and some one ran into me, head on, knocking me to the ground. I hit the dirt with a thud, the crowd closing in around me. People trampled me, and my vision stated to blur again. I tried to stop it, I really did, but then I felt the familiar numbness, and then was sitting on four paws, my tail swishing behind me. Crap. I darted through legs, narrowly avoiding stomping feet. I skipped toward the sound of Fred, calling my name frantically. From a distance, I saw them slip into the woods, and ran as fast as my legs could carry me. Now, if you've ever been a fox, and had to run into the pitch-black woods, it a lot easier than expected. My vision was clear, even in the dark, and I easily spotted the two tall redheads, standing around Ginny protectively. I ran up to them, and circled Ginny's ankles.
"Fred, George, I found her!" She screamed, picking me up. I still wasn't used to people doing that.
"Dee!" The twins yelled in unison. I looked up at Ginny expectantly.
"Oh yeah. Here." She placed me on the ground. I closed my eyes, and soon I was sitting Indian-style on the ground. I quickly scrambled to my feet, a bit unsteady, only to be strangled in a hug from Fred and George. Our reunion was cut short by a chorus of high-pitched screams, and I looked into the sky, shocked into silence. There, hovering morbidly above us was the Dark Mark. Something I didn't think I would see, ever.
I felt my own grip slacken, as we all stared, horror-struck, at the sky above us.
"Kids!" Mr. Weasley yelled, catching our attention.
"Go to the Portkey, tell your mother what happened!" He shouted at us. We immediately took off running, bolting toward the top of the hill. Surrounded by a flood of people, we all frantically grabbed at the Portkey and were transported out of the chaotic scene.
We all landed on the peak of the small hill outside the Burrow. I opened my eyes to see Fred, struggling beneath me. I quickly sat up, forcing a blush down. I did a speedy headcount, making sure everyone was here.
"Come on, we better get back to mum, she'll want to see us." George grabbed Ginny by the hand and led us down the hill. We walked all the way home in a silence, catching our breathe as our minds raced. When we reached the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley gave each of us a bone-crushing hug before sending us to wait upstairs for the others. We all waited in a tense silence, and when we heard the door open, I think we all jumped about a foot in the air. After being reassured everyone was okay, we were all off to bed. I don't think I'm the only one who had trouble sleeping that night; the memories were haunting. But the start of school was tomorrow, so I closed my eyes tight as a wave of dreamless sleep crashed over me. Hopefully tomorrow would be better.
A/N: Sorry I took so long guys! I am moving to Malaysia in exactly six weeks, so things have been pretty hectic.
You guys like it so far? I'm trying to stick to the books a bit more, so tell me what you think. And remember, every time you Review, a unicorn is born, so Review please? ;)