Oh my Merlin, five days late! It's horrible I know but I actually had no internet for the whole long weekend, apart from being on holiday, and I only got to update this now through my phone's wifi. Most of the other one is typed up already though so I think it won't take as long. Please don't be angry at me if it does though!

Chapter Four- Burn the Bright Lights

"I still can't believe that you won that bet," Grace said, shaking her head.

"Believe it, baby," Fred said. "You'll be getting an amazing Christmas present this year."

"I thought you told your dad that you had plans for that money?" Grace frowned.

"Yes, Gracie dear, money making plans." George said. "By the end of the year an Irish win is not the only thing we'll have to celebrate."

Grace laughed, moving closer to the twins so as to not get swept away in the crowds of spectators pouring out of the stadium. The game had just finished, with a spectacular result of Victor Krum catching the Snitch but Ireland winning the match, exactly as the twins had bet it would. Grace couldn't believe it herself. According to Charlie, it was a rarity and hadn't been seen in a World Cup game for decades.

She had to admit she had enjoyed herself though. Even if she attended most of the Gryffindor Quidditch training sessions and all Hogwarts games, she wasn't a hard-core Quidditch fanatic like most of her friends. There was something about this game that made it that much better. Maybe it was the atmosphere of 100,000 people screaming for their team, maybe it was that the Irish and Bulgarian players were better than she had ever seen, which was saying something considering how good the Gryffindor team was, or maybe it was just the fact that she was surrounded by people she loved. No, it couldn't be that; it was just a great game, Grace thought.

Grace and the twins trailed after the rest of the Weasleys along the path in the woods, joining in on the raucous singing of the Irish national anthem at the top of their lungs. Leprechauns fly over their heads, shouting rude declarations of victory at the Bulgarians and sprinkling them with green glitter. When they made it back to the tents, nobody felt like sleeping and there was no point trying with the chaos that the Irish supporters were creating so Mr Weasley let them stay up, drinking hot cocoa.

Grace ended up curled up in George's lap, listening to him argue with Fred and Bill over the English Quidditch teams. He stroked a hand through her hair and smiled at her as she laughed at them.

It was only when Ginny fell asleep at the table, spilling her hot cocoa onto the floor, that Mr Weasley announced it was time for bed. Grace, Hermione and Ginny said their goodnights and crossed to the other tent. None of them bothered to turn and light on so they slipped into their pyjamas in the dark and fell into their beds clumsily. Full of chocolate, finger food from vendors during the match and a settling happiness after the Irish win, Grace fell into an easy sleep.

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At first, Grace wasn't sure what was happening. Something had woken her from her sleep.

It wasn't until she heard the bangs echo across the night and the bright flash light up the tent that she knew what had woken her. The noise was followed by loud jeering, drunken yells and roars of manic laughter.

"Get up! Ginny, Grace, Hermione, its urgent! Quickly!" Mr Weasley's voice cut through the tent, making Grace sit up and peer around in the dark. "Grab a jacket and shoes, girls and get outside!"

For a moment they fumbled with their clothing until Grace pulled out her wand and whispered, "Lumos!" The tip of her wand illuminated their bedroom, casting an eerie light over Ginny and Hermione's frightened faces. In a matter of seconds they had shoes on and coats shrugged on over their nightgowns.

"Come on, let's go," Grace said, slipping her hand into Ginny's smaller one as they emerged from the tent to a chaotic scene.

Another flash of horrible green light flashed across the sky, revealing a group of tightly packed wizards marching across the field in unison, wands pointing up. Their long, dark robes had pointed hoods and there were silver masks covering their faces.

Floating in the air above the group were four people, writhing against invisible ropes while being forced into different positions. Two of them were small children.

Along their way, the group picked up more masked and hooded wizards, joining in to laugh up at the group twisting above them. Tents crumpled beneath their feet, some even being blasted away. Grace saw a couple catch on fire. The screams were ringing in her ears.

There wasn't much time to even take in what was happening as the girls rushed over to where Harry, Ron and the twins stood. At the same time, Bill, Charlie and Percy ran out of the other tent, fully dressed with their wands out.

"We're going to help the Ministry!" Mr. Weasley shouted over all the noise, rolling up his own sleeves. "You lot - get into the woods, and stick together. I'll come and fetch you when we've sorted this out!"

It was all such a blur. Before Grace knew it, the older Weasleys had disappeared and her grip on Ginny's hand loosened as Fred tugged her away. She, Ron, Hermione, Harry and George followed them towards the woods. They paused for a second at the tree line to glance back at the horrible mess enfolding in front of them. Grace looked over at Harry; meeting his eyes for a second. She tried to smile, tried to convey that everything would be alright but she couldn't even manage that.

Instead she nudged him further into the trees. There was no longer any light to see by except for the occasional flashes of green. Figures blundered around in the dark, calling after one another. Cries of children came from every direction, accompanied by panicked shouting.

Grace moved closer to George, reaching for his hand. Her feet slipped on the ground and other people barged into her but he kept pulling her along. His large, warm hand was the only thing giving her comfort, like a lifeline dragging her to safety. Together they made their way through the swarms of people crying for help, heading for somewhere safer. Grace thought the night might actually be making a turn for the better.

Until his hand wasn't there anymore.

One second it was and the next, she had to duck beneath a low hanging branch, someone slammed into her side, her hand was slipping in his and then, it was gone.

"George!" she cried out.

Even as his name left her lips, she knew it was pointless. Her cry got lost in thousands of others, never to be heard by her best friend.

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Grace was left stumbling around without a clue, unable to see where she was going and bumping into someone every single time she tried to grab her wand. There were still flashes of light coming from the campsite and the marching sounded louder than before. Sounds of fighting rang through the air, terrifying Grace.

Finally she broke free of the crowds, gasping for breath, only to realise that the ground was disappearing beneath her feet. Arms failing and feet frantically trying to regain balance, she fell. The ground inclined steeply while she rolled down it. Over and over, her hands unable to grab anything as she passed.

Grace came to a stop in a heap at the bottom of the hill when she crashed into something solid and warm.

"Lumos!" she hissed, able to pull her wand out at last.

The wand gave her enough light to see the clearing she had fallen into. She could see the crowds of people mingling at the top of the hill, merging together into a mass of dark shapes. There were large trees around her, spreading their roots across the forest floor.

A low moan alerted Grace to the fact that she was still lying half on top of someone. Quickly she rolled away, jumping to her feet and dusting down her ruined nightdress. Grace observed the boy kneeling in front of her and gasped when the recognised the tousled golden hair and slight build.

"Cedric?"

"Grace?" he questioned. In a second he had leapt to his feet. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she said, looking him over in the dim light. There was a bleeding cut on his forehead that veered off into his hairline and his pyjamas were ripped in a couple of places but other than that he seemed fine. Grace didn't want to know what she looked like after her little tumble. "Here, let me help you with that."

Grace tore the sleeve off her nightgown, making sure it wasn't covered in dirt, and approached Cedric.

"I'm fine, really, it's nothing," he protested.

"You're bleeding, Cedric," she told him firmly. "I volunteer with Madam Pompfrey; I know what I'm doing."

"I know you do," Cedric said, making her frown. "I wasn't doubting you. I just don't think you need to worry about it."

"Oh, please, it'll just take one second."

Cedric stopped arguing and allowed Grace to step forward and clean the blood off his cut before waving her wand over it to start the healing process. She gave him a smile when finished, holding her wand between them for light. He was about to return it when his whole body froze.

"Did you hear that?" he whispered.

"Hear what?" Grace said with a laugh, unease having slipped away in the few minutes she was with Cedric. Her laugh echoed around the clearing but just as it faded away she heard something too. The sharp crack of a twig followed by a maniacal laughter in response to her own.

Grace looked up at Cedric with wide eyes.

"Can't let them have all the fun out there. Must be more somewhere around here."

Grace frowned at the horrible statement. She recognised that cold, heartless voice from school. Callidus Minos. Of course he would be running around laughing at Muggles on a night like this.

"Come out, come out wherever you are," added another, older voice; one that Grace didn't know as they sung out in delight.

"Let's get out of here," Cedric murmured, taking Grace's hand and tugging her away. She stumbled over the soft ground, twisting her neck around to stare behind them.

They were just creeping out of the clearing when a shout rang through the woods.

"Hey, Call, look who we've got!"

Grace and Cedric exchanged horrified glances. It was only when they could hear the sound of running that Grace realised.

"Shit! My wand's still lit! Nox."

As she cast the counter charm, the woods they were standing in were plunged into darkness. The grip on Grace's hand tightened. The shouts behind them increased in volume and proximity.

"Run!" Cedric hissed.

Even as the trees whipped her in the face, Grace kept running; this time keeping a tight hold on the hand encasing her own. Without any lights it was hard to know where they were going or when they would be able to stop. The woods seemed to be never ending. At this time of night Grace wasn't sure how long she would last. Cedric, on the other hand, seemed like he could run all the way to Hogwarts without stopping for breath.

On the off chance that they would find some escape soon, Grace began scanning the woods, looking at the trees, the ground, anything. It was all a black blur.

"There!" Grace exclaimed, before flicking her eyes back to check the pair chasing them hadn't heard her. There was a flowery bush near them that rose higher than both of their heads. Without another word, Cedric dragged Grace behind it, pulling her close.

A minute later and two tall wizards in dark robes without masks sprinted past them. One of them was definitely Callidus Minos and the other looked enough like him to be his older brother or cousin. Grace watched them disappear with baited breath, squeezing Cedric's hand so tight that she was sure it must be hurting him.

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It was over an hour later when a calm seemed to descend over the woods. Grace and Cedric were still crouching behind the bush, their legs starting to cramp and their hearts aching. Cedric had one arm around Grace's shoulders, resting there as they waited.

"It sounds like everything's alright now," Cedric said, peering around the bush.

"Yeah, yeah, we should probably get back," Grace said, getting to her feet and stretching her arms behind her back. "Fred and George will probably be worried. I know they don't seem like it but they actually do care a lot."

"Is that why they don't like me?" Cedric asked. He sounded both disappointed and curious at the twins' horrible behaviour.

"Oh no, that's just them being pricks," Grace explained. "They never got over that one time you beat them at Quidditch."

Cedric chuckled. They walk side by side in the dark, heading back towards the campsite. There were still a few stragglers running back to their families, many of them with bruises, cuts or torn clothing. They were all sending worried glances up towards the sky, where an eerie green shadow covered the woods.

"What's that?" Grace asked, frowning curiously at the tops of the trees that prevented her from seeing the sky.

"It looks like- well never mind- I can't see it properly to be sure," Cedric replied worriedly.

Grace's heart stopped. She was sure that it was all over for the night. It had to be over. But there was something in Cedric's voice, something that he wasn't telling her, that made her think that there was more to come.

They made the rest of the surprisingly short walk in silence. Cedric's eyes were now flicking up whenever he thought that Grace wasn't looking but if she caught his eye, he would give her a reassuring smile and keep walking.

A crowd of despondent families waited for them at the end of the woods. Grace scanned through the different faces, trying to find two identical heads of red. She caught sight of the huge group huddled together in front of their tent right when George brought his head up and saw her.

"Grace!" he exclaimed, running forward and hugging her tight. "Oh, Godric, I thought you were gone."

"George!" Grace laughed. "I'm fine!"

"Just making sure I didn't lose my favourite girl," he whispered in her ear before releasing her and letting Fred envelop her in his arms. Grace smiled and hugged him back.

"What happened?" George demanded. "One second you were there and then you had just disappeared."

"I don't know George. There were heaps of people there; I just lost grip of your hand. Then Cedric was there and some more Death Eaters. Its fine, really, Cedric heard them and we got away. It's really not that bad. I wouldn't have done it without Cedric though."

"Thanks mate," Fred said to Cedric in awe.

"Yeah," George echoed. "Guess you're not as bad as we thought."

"George!" Grace scolded, whacking him on the shoulder.

"What? That was a good thing! Damn it woman, stop hitting me!"

"I should go. My dad's probably looking for me," Cedric said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'll see you at school."

"Thank you," Grace told him. "I don't think I would've made it through this night alone."

"It was nothing, I'm just glad I could be there for you."

Grace gave him a tight smile. Cedric gave the twins a final wave before he turned and made his way through the throngs of people to the next field over. She turned to the twins and looked over the group, gasping when she noticed that it was smaller than before.

"Where are Ron, Harry and Hermione?"

"They're not back yet."

"What?"

"Grace," Fred said hesitantly. "Haven't you seen the sky?"

At last, after all that time walking under the trees, Grace bent her neck back and saw what was causing the green shadow. There, hovering in the sky, was a skull with a giant snake sliding in and out of its mouth, casting a horrifying light over the fields.

"Oh Merlin," Grace breathed.

Please review with any comments, questions or advice! Next one won't take as long I promise.