"Don't tell your mother you've been gambling," Mr. Weasley implored Fred and George as we all made our way slowly down the purple-carpeted stairs.

"Don't worry, Dad, we've got big plans for this money. We don't want it confiscated," Fred said gleefully.

Mr. Weasley looked for a moment as though he was going to ask what those big plans were, but seemed to decide, upon reflection, that he didn't want to know. I shook my head at him anyway. He really didn't want to know what the twins were up to. In the meantime, I grumpily shook my head at them. They had nearly given me a heart attack by losing all of their money. If they had really needed it that badly, I would have given it to them. But I also knew that they would have never taken it from me.

The twins appeared at my side about halfway down the stairs. I crossed my arms huffily. "You two have no idea how lucky you are," I snapped at them.

"It wasn't luck," Fred said.

"We knew what we were doing," George added.

"Liars," I hissed.

Fred and George exchanged a quick grin. "Always so mistrusting," Fred teased, slinging his arm over my shoulders.

Rolling my shoulders to push his arm off of me, I turned and shoved the twins back a few steps. "You two morons almost gambled away all of your savings!" I shouted.

"But we didn't," George pointed out.

"It worked out," Fred said.

"Because you're the luckiest bastards in the world," I seethed.

"Language, Tara," Fred teased.

"Shut up," I snapped, shoving him back again. He grinned. We walked down a few more flights when I remembered something. "Hey! Remind me to try that Wronski Feint when we're back at Hogwarts."

"Remind us to watch when you fly right into the dirt," Fred shot back.

"I'm a better player than you!" I barked.

"You absolutely are not!" Fred hissed indignantly.

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"I got on the team in my First Year!" I said proudly.

"Because you broke the rules!" Fred argued.

It didn't take the others long to yell at us to shut up about our seemingly pointless argument. But I really didn't care to stop. I was better than Fred was and I would prove it to him. We ended up spending much of the walk back arguing about which one of us was the better Quidditch player. It must have eventually turned comical because I could hear the others laughing at us. Neither one of us was willing to admit that the other was better. As we walked out of the stadium, something distracted me.

"Does it feel like people are staring at us?" I whispered to the others.

What could we have possibly done to be drawing all of the stares from people across the field? "They're not staring at us. They're staring at you," Bill pointed out.

"Do I have something on my face?" I asked worriedly.

What the hell had the twins done to me while I wasn't paying attention? Bill laughed under his breath as Mom fell into step with me. "Not too often someone in the crowd catches the eye of a professional Quidditch player," she explained.

Oh... Everyone was staring at me because of Phil... "He was just being nice, honestly," I mumbled awkwardly.

That was the last thing I needed. My face in the Daily Prophet stating that I was the newest girlfriend of a professional Quidditch player. Dad was likely to get even angrier over that. Not to mention how Cedric would feel about his girlfriend being rumored to be someone else's. Then there was everyone back at Hogwarts. This would definitely manage to get around since so many people were here tonight. I rolled my eyes and walked with my head aimed toward the ground. Maybe they would forget about tonight if I managed to avoid the spotlight.

They were sure to forget once Phil Troy headed back to Ireland and continued training where I was sure he would manage to find some girl to fawn over him. That would be my plan in the meantime. Just avoid any attention on me for the next few weeks. It should have been easy enough. We were soon caught up in the crowds now flooding out of the stadium and back to their campsites. Thankfully it seemed that everyone had the game to be thinking about and not my relationship status.

Raucous singing was borne toward us on the night air as we retraced our steps along the lantern-lit path, and leprechauns kept shooting over our heads, cackling and waving their lanterns. I smiled and began humming along with them. It definitely added to the excitable air throughout the camp. When we finally reached the tents, nobody felt like sleeping at all, and given the level of noise around us, Mr. Weasley and my own parents agreed that we could all have one last cup of cocoa together before turning in.

We were chatting back and forth as I seated myself in between Fred and Harry. "So, who's better between you and Diggory?" Fred asked, drawing my attention over to him.

We must have been back on the Quidditch conversation. "Definitely me," I said.

"On that much, we agree," Fred teased.

We both started laughing. There was no doubt that Cedric was a very talented Quidditch player. In fact, I was willing to bet that he was one of the better players at Hogwarts. But I knew that I was better than him. As a Chaser, at least. I was still a lousy Seeker. We all sat around the table, laughing and chattering away as we had our late-night drinks. I was sipping on my tea, enjoying the calm air after the excitable day, as everyone else talked about the game. It didn't take long for the conversation to shift to Krum, who Ron seemed to idolize.

The twins were hooting and howling as they ran around the living room, Irish flags hanging off their shoulders. "There's no one like Krum," Ron growled, hopping up onto the table. "He's like a bird, the way he rides in the wind. He's more than an athlete, he's an artist."

The twins began running back and forth, flapping their arms around like a bird, just the way Ron had described. We all began laughing at them. The adults had all backed off, allowing us some time to enjoy ourselves. It took the twins less than ten seconds to begin bumbling about the tent. Harry was leaning back against the stakes of the tent as I placed myself on the edge of the table. Fred threw an Irish flag over Ron's shoulders and I laughed as he then threw it down to me. The twins were hanging over their younger brother's shoulders, muttering Krum's name.

"I think you're in love, Ron," Ginny teased, walking up to Ron's side and patting his leg.

"Shut up," he snapped at her.

"Viktor I love you!" George sang, hopping on the table with Ron.

"Viktor I do!" Fred continued, grabbing Ron's hand.

"When we're apart my heart beats only for you!" I sang, joining in alongside Harry.

Ron growled under his breath as George whacked him with a pillow. We all laughed as something that sounded a bit like an explosion along with some cheers echoed outside the tent. "Sounds like the Irish have got their pride on," Fred commented.

"Are you honestly surprised? They're not exactly known for being humble," I pointed out.

"You should be out there, then," Fred told me.

"Hah," I snapped, shoving him away from me. "You're hilarious."

One of these days I was really going to punch Fred dead in the nose. But that day wasn't today. Instead, we all jumped about the living room for a little while longer. I was sure that Ron was going to kill us all with our constant teasing about his love for Viktor Krum. I smiled as I caught sight of Mom and Dad curled up by the fireplace. I could tell that he was a lot more relaxed with the World Cup officially done with. In the back of my mind, I wondered if he might finally let up on the Cedric situation.

We were all soon arguing enjoyably about the match; Mr. Weasley got drawn into a disagreement about cobbing with Charlie, and it was only when Ginny fell asleep right at the tiny table and spilled hot chocolate all over the floor that Mr. Weasley called a halt to the verbal replays and insisted that everyone go to bed. Half of us were still complaining about having to go to bed. I wasn't really tired yet. From the other side of the campsite, I could still hear much singing and the odd echoing bang. Everyone else was still partying.

"Oh, I am glad I'm not on duty. I wouldn't fancy having to go and tell the Irish they've got to stop celebrating," Mr. Weasley muttered sleepily.

"Doubt they'd listen to you anyway," I said.

Hermione, Ginny, and I headed into our section of the tent. I was about to pull on my pajamas, simultaneously trying to finish the little bit of hot chocolate I had left, when there was a soft call from the outside of the tent. I arched a brow, wondering who it was. Everyone peeked their heads out of their rooms to see who it was. As Dad got up and opened the tent flap, I had to walk out of our section of the tent to actually see who it was. The boys' heads were in my way. Fred and George immediately began laughing.

"Phil!" Dad called happily. My face drained of color. I found myself glad that I wasn't in my pajamas yet. "Glad you stopped by."

"You've got to be joking," Harry scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Do you think I wanted this?" I snapped at him.

"Had to take you up on the opportunity to talk about Marcus Nox's adventures since leaving the Stars. Might be a good time to get some advice," Phil joked.

"You'll understand if I'm still a little biased," Dad said.

"Absolutely," Phil laughed.

Maybe there was a chance that he was only here to talk to Dad... That would definitely be preferable. I wasn't quite in the mood to have my best friends watching a professional Quidditch player flirt with me while I was trying to find a way to sneak out to see my boyfriend. Why can't I have just one part of my life be normal? I blushed as Phil walked into the tent. Harry and Ron looked interested to see him up close. Hermione and Ginny were giving me a long stare. Fred and George were still laughing. I found myself baffled by the entire evening.

To my surprise, Phil walked straight up to me. "Tara," he greeted. "Good to see you again."

"You, too. Not joining in on the celebrations?" I questioned, throwing my head toward the tent flap.

"I will just a little while later."

"But we're so important?" I teased.

Phil smiled. "Could be."

At that moment, Dad called Phil off. He walked toward the table and his spot was taken by Fred a moment later. "If you wanted to make him disinterested in you, that was not the way to go about it," Fred said.

Shit... "Who asked you?" I snapped.

Fred grinned. "Just being helpful."

Dad called out to everyone else, pulling us back to the table. No one looked tired anymore. Except for poor Mr. Weasley. But even he looked interested in the newest addition. "Everyone, this is Phil Troy. One of the Irish Chasers. We used to see each other on the pitch from time to time. One of the youngest players in the league," Dad explained.

"Hello," everyone called out.

"Nice to meet you all," Phil said.

It didn't take long for Mr. Weasley and Dad to invite Phil to sit for a cup of tea and chat. Nearly everyone was thrilled to not have to go to bed yet. Although Ginny looked like she would have loved to just go to sleep. For a while, we all sat around the table and had a long conversation about the game and all of the plays throughout. I was likely one of the loudest people in that conversation. Each time Dad or Phil would explain a new move I could try, I got even more excited to get back to Hogwarts.

As we all woke up (it was just past midnight) from our previously drowsy states, we all chatted back and forth with each other more and more excitedly. Phil never even seemed to notice that he had kind of woken us up. Phil ended up spending much of the night sitting at my side and talking to me about how his own career had started. It was needless to say that I was absolutely fascinated by his life. I loved hearing about how someone so young had become a professional. He seemed more than willing to talk to me about it.

The conversation flowed effortlessly and no one interrupted us. I was kind of surprised to see Dad letting me have a conversation with a boy who had been clearly flirting with me earlier. But he didn't seem even moderately concerned with our conversation. I ended up telling Phil a little bit about the Gryffindor Quidditch Team at Hogwarts when I got up to do the dishes and he offered to join me, leaving us mostly alone. He had gotten quite the laugh out of the story of how I had gotten on my team.

We had been washing the dishes in silence for a little while when Phil spoke again. "You were saying that you're an alternate on your House Team at Hogwarts?"

"Yeah. I'll be a regular next season," I told him.

"You ever played on a regulation pitch before?"

"Yeah. My dad's brought me back to the Stars Pitch a few times to let me fly around on it."

"Nothing beats it."

"Absolutely. There's something about being up there. It's magical," I said dreamily. As Phil smiled at me, I realized just how stupid I must have just sounded. "I know that's a stupid way to put it."

Phil waved me off. "No, it isn't. I understand what you mean."

We stood in silence for a moment. "You've been homeschooled your whole life then? Never been to school?" I asked curiously.

"Missed out on that much I'm afraid."

"Do you ever wish you had gone?"

"Sometimes," Phil admitted. I let out a sad breath of air. That could have made for a depressing childhood. "But I'm grateful that I got this opportunity. Get to meet a lot of interesting people."

"I'll bet," I said.

"Might I ask you something?"

"Sure."

Phil turned over toward the table, where mostly everyone else was still sitting. "The redhead over there -"

"Which one?" I interrupted teasingly.

We both laughed as Phil pulled me over toward him and motioned toward the table. "One of the twins," Phil said. I nodded. They weren't looking in our direction anymore. "One of them doesn't seem to like me very much." Of course... "Were they supporting Bulgaria?"

"That's Fred and George. Don't take them too seriously," I said, waving Phil off. "They don't really like anyone who -"

"Who?" Phil asked.

My voice dropped off as my face paled. I had realized almost too late what I was about to say. I couldn't just blatantly tell him that I knew he was flirting with me. "Don't worry about it. They're weird," I said awkwardly.

Phil sensed my hesitation and changed the subject. "Will you be back at Hogwarts this year?"

"Yeah. Term starts September 1st."

"Perhaps I'll see you."

That baffled me. "At Hogwarts?"

Wasn't he done with school since he had been homeschooled? "Yes. My younger sister is in her Sixth Year at Beauxbatons. My family preferred her to go there rather than Hogwarts, despite her protests," Phil explained.

"What does her being at Beauxbatons have anything to do with -?"

"Phil!" Dad interrupted me, running in between the two of us. He pushed me back a step and I stared at him blankly. "We haven't actually been telling anyone about that just yet."

"Oh," Phil said, looking a little embarrassed. "My deepest apologies. I wouldn't have been able to keep my mouth shut."

"We can see that," Dad teased.

They both laughed, but I was beyond confused. "What are you two talking about?" I huffed.

"You'll see soon enough," Dad said.

"That's not fair," I snapped.

It didn't make any sense. I didn't understand what Phil's younger sister, who was in Beauxbatons, had anything to do with him possibly visiting Hogwarts. The two schools were in different countries. Dad and Phil laughed at my annoyance as I huffed and walked off. I had always hated being kept out of the loop about things. Dad and Phil laughed at me as I walked off and headed over towards Mom. She smiled at me as I walked off. Maybe there was a chance that I could get her to tell me what was going on.

"Mom!" I barked. "What's going on at Hogwarts this year?"

"You'll see soon enough darling. It's only two weeks," Mom said sweetly.

"That's not fair!" I huffed.

"Relax, darling," Mom said, patting my hand. I was still annoyed but managed to calm down with some more tea. Mom was watching me closely the entire time. "Phil Troy seems to have taken to you."

My face burned with embarrassment. "He just knows Dad. He's being friendly," I mumbled.

Phil Troy didn't care about me in the slightest. He was just being nice to me because of Dad. "You have a big head about a lot of things. You got that from your father," Mom said, making us both laugh. "But you also need to realize that you are a very pretty girl, Tara. Cedric Diggory notices. Phil Troy notices. And I promise you that a few other boys have noticed."

My face burned stupidly. I hadn't really ever thought of someone else liking me. "Doesn't matter. I like Cedric," I muttered.

"Good for you. I like him too," Mom said. "He's around right now, isn't he?"

"Somewhere," I said carelessly.

"Uh-huh," she hummed.

Had to get that habit of sneaking around from somewhere... "Speaking of, what time is it?" I asked her.

Mom glanced down at her Muggle watch. "A few minutes to midnight."

"Thanks," I said, hopping up from my seat at the table. "Hey!" Dad turned to me. "We're running kind of low on water. I think I'm going to head out and get some."

"That's a good idea, Tara," Dad said.

"Bring two pales, will you?" Mom asked.

"Sure."

Gathering two of the water pales from the kitchen, I headed back toward the flap of the tent. Mom met me just before I could leave. "Don't forget to actually get the water," she warned quietly.

Damn it. "What are you talking about? That's what I'm doing," I said.

"Have fun," Mom laughed.

"Always," I giggled.

"I can escort you if you'd like?" Phil offered, standing from the table.

Definitely wasn't betting on that one... "Well," I mumbled, "I -"

"That would be wonderful, actually. It's late and dark out there," Dad said happily.

No! That was not the way this night was supposed to go. "There are a hundred thousand people out there. I think I can manage to not get killed," I teased, trying to keep a teasing face.

"I was planning on heading out soon anyway. I don't mind walking with you," Phil offered.

"There a problem?" Dad asked suspiciously.

"Uh… no. No problem at all," I said. I would figure things out later. "Come on."

Phil motioned for me to head out of the flap. "After you."

"Thanks," I said, heading out of the tent. Phil took one of the pales as we headed out into the throng of people who were still celebrating Ireland's win. "You staying here for the night?"

Phil nodded, motioning back toward where the stadium was. "The players have a campsite on the other side of the stadium. We're all staying there for the night before heading back home. We have a few months off before the new season starts," Phil explained.

"Will you still be training?" I asked curiously.

"Of course."

"You'll have a hell of a season to live up to."

"That we do."

At some point, I was going to have to get away from him, but I figured that I could be nice for a little while. "Some days I really wish I could become a professional player. Follow in Dad's footsteps," I said. Phil smiled. "But other days I want to do something like an Auror."

"You can be whatever it is you'd like. You seem skilled enough to do either. You have time to think about it," Phil said.

"When did you know you wanted to be a Quidditch player?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, I knew from when I was a young child that this was all I wanted to do."

"Hmm…"

We walked in silence for a little while before Phil spoke again. "Your father tells me you have quite the penchant for breaking the rules."

A little grin turned up on the edges of my lips. That was the understatement of the year. "It's always for a good cause," I pointed out.

"I would love to hear those stories one day," Phil said, grinning.

"Um," I mumbled. Backpedal, Tara. "Maybe if you're ever around Surrey."

Was I making things worse? "That would be nice. Your father actually invited us to stop by one day," Phil told me. Of course, he did... "Perhaps you can tell me all about your wonderful stories."

"I'll actually be at -"

"Tara?"

The familiar voice made both of us whip around. A shot of relief went through me at the sight of Cedric. I grinned, meeting him halfway. "Cedric!" I chirped happily, wrapping him in a hug. "There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Sorry. Got held up at the counter. Someone insisting that I buy their -" Cedric broke off, realizing that I was giggling at him. "Doesn't matter, I suppose."

"Now you've got me curious," I teased. I was kind of curious now. Cedric grinned down at me before stepping back and realizing that I hadn't been alone. His face dropped slightly when he saw that it was Phil. I awkwardly stepped between them. "Oh, uh, Cedric, this is Phil Troy. Chaser for Ireland."

"Well played. Congratulations," Cedric said, shaking Phil's hand.

"Thank you," Phil said.

It didn't take me long to notice that Cedric had taken a somewhat tense stance. It was easy to pick out when he was normally so relaxed around everyone. There was no doubt in my mind that he really didn't like Phil. I could only assume that it was because Phil was obviously flirting with me right after the end of the game. He must not have liked the idea of the two of us being together. He obviously didn't know that I hadn't wanted this. I tried to figure out something to say to them but I couldn't figure out for the life of me what would have been acceptable.

"Shall we move on and get the water?" Phil offered, sensing how awkward things had gotten. "I doubt your parents will be happy if I keep you too long."

"Umm…" I muttered dumbly.

"I can escort her back," Cedric said, pulling an arm around my shoulders. "Thank you."

Phil finally smiled. "Oh, I see. This is the boyfriend, isn't it?"

"Yes," I said guiltily.

Had I accidentally been leading him on? Phil smiled again. "That makes sense. That's nice," he said. Maybe he wasn't bitter about things. "How long have you two been together?"

"Uh… a while," I answered stupidly.

I didn't even know our anniversary date. "About ten months, I think," Cedric answered for me. "There really wasn't an official date."

"Sweet. It genuinely is," Phil said. I could tell that he was being honest. He then turned to Cedric. "In that case, I'm sorry about earlier."

My eyebrow shot up. I was honestly shocked that Phil was apologizing to Cedric for having flirted with me when he hadn't even known that we were dating. "No apology necessary. I'm sure you didn't know," Cedric said, waving his worry off.

"No, I didn't," Phil said.

"Sorry. It seemed like a weird thing just to blurt out to someone you just met," I said.

"It would have been," Phil agreed, laughing. "No hard feelings then?"

"None at all," Cedric said. "Well-played game."

"Thank you," Phil said.

As Phil prepared to leave, I stepped in front of him. I didn't want him to feel like this had been a complete waste of time for him. "It really was nice to meet you. If you're still willing, I would love to talk about how you fell into playing in the professional league so young. I think I'd love to do it but I don't want to use Dad's name to get me there. I want it to be on skill," I explained.

"That's a noble feeling you have," Phil said, smiling at me. "Send me an owl if you ever want to talk about it. They'll find me."

"Okay," I said.

"And I have a feeling we may all be seeing each other sooner than expected," Phil added, smiling mysteriously.

"More of that damned mystery," I teased.

Phil laughed. "Goodnight, Tara. Cedric."

"Night, Phil. See you around, I guess," I said.

"Good to meet you," Cedric said.

The three of us moved forward and shook hands with each other. Phil gave me a quick hug before heading off. He had actually been quite nice to me today. Although I did realize after he had left that I should have asked him not to mention my meeting with Cedric to Dad. Oh well... I would figure things out later. It wasn't long before the crowd noticed who Phil was and surrounded him excitedly. I laughed. He would be just fine without me. I turned back to Cedric, who was watching the entire thing bemusedly.

"At least you found me," I teased Cedric, turning back to him.

"Almost thought I wouldn't, considering the crowds," Cedric said.

There were so many people around us, we almost had to shout to hear each other. "Maybe we should try heading somewhere a little quieter," I offered.

"Works for me," Cedric said.

As we walked off, I glanced up at Cedric. "You're not mad?" I asked curiously.

"That someone else has noticed you're pretty?" Cedric asked. I merely stared at him. He smiled at me. "Not particularly. I expected it would only be a matter of time. Phil Troy doesn't know you and he certainly doesn't know me. Nothing to be angry about."

For some reason, I flashed back to earlier in the evening when we had been entering the stadium. Fred had told me that I was pretty and that was the reason that Phil Troy was speaking to me. Even Mom had mentioned that I was big-headed about everything other than the way I looked. She, too, agreed that I was pretty and other people were starting to notice it. How long ago had Cedric noticed my appearance? How many other people had noticed? Was this a recent event? Cedric must have noticed my confusion.

"You're surprised that people have noticed you're pretty?" Cedric asked.

"Guess I never thought about it," I said dumbly.

"You are, Tara. I'm not the first person to notice and I'm certainly not the last," Cedric said, laughing.

"Well I somehow doubt that I'll ever see Phil Troy again, so I wouldn't worry about that," I told him.

Cedric laughed again. "That's not who I was talking about."

My head snapped over to him. "What? Who are you talking about?" I asked, completely lost.

Cedric met my eyes, looking dumbfounded. "You're joking."

"No."

"You're adorable, Tara. You really are," Cedric said, throwing an arm over my shoulders. I let out a puff of breath in annoyance. "I guess you need someone to blatantly say it."

"Yes, I do, but who are you talking about?" I asked.

Cedric shook his head. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure it'll come out eventually."

"You're so frustrating," I snapped.

"You really want to know that badly?" Cedric asked.

As we walked, I remained silent. I thought about it for a little while. Did I really want to know who else had a crush on me? Apparently, Cedric knew, but I definitely didn't. I didn't have the slightest clue. No, I was pretty sure that I didn't want to know who it was. Because it might have ended up changing the way I looked at or interacted with someone. Either a friend or enemy or complete stranger. It could have made things awkward. I would have rather not known at all. Besides, I cared about Cedric. That was who mattered to me.

"No. I don't care," I said firmly.

"Good answer," Cedric said teasingly, making us both laugh. "Have you honestly never noticed that you were pretty?"

"Guess I never thought about it," I answered honestly. "I don't know, when it came to you, I always thought that it was my personality you were attracted to. I thought that you always thought of me like a little sister."

"For a while I did," Cedric admitted.

"When did it change?" I asked curiously.

"It was in your Second Year," Cedric said. I nodded at him. That was when I had started to get the idea that he might have liked me. "When Gilderoy Lockhart was mentioning something about you and Harry possibly being together. Up until then, you'd just been my friend. But the thought of having to see the two of you together, I think I realized that I cared."

Huh... So, it had been the idea of Harry and me possibly being together that had driven him to realize his feelings for me. I guessed there was one thing to thank Gilderoy Lockhart for. "Trust me when I tell you that you never have to worry about that," I told Cedric.

"I didn't think so. What about you? When did your feelings change?"

"Are you joking?"

"What?"

"They never changed, you dope!" I said, whacking him on the shoulder. "I had a crush on you from the moment we met in Madam Malkin's."

Cedric looked at me for a moment. Was he really that clueless? His face suddenly turned up in a grin. "Oh, I know. I just wanted to hear you say it," he teased.

"Cedric!" I gasped, embarrassed. "You knew this entire time?"

He was laughing at the bewildered look on my face. I was such a moron. "You didn't exactly hide it very well," Cedric pointed out. Yeah, he was right about that. "I only had a hunch during your First Year but you were just a kid then. I thought you'd grow out of it." There was no way that I would have ever grown out of that monstrous crush. "But… yes… I always had a feeling."

"That's mortifying," I mumbled.

"Turned out to be not such a bad thing," Cedric said.

There was absolutely no way that I would have grown out of my crush on him. I would have always needed some time to just explore our relationship and see what could have come of it. But I was still furious that he had known about my crush. I'd thought that I'd hid it better than I had. I scoffed as Cedric began laughing louder and louder. I whacked him on the stomach as he continued to laugh. My face burned a bright red. I tried to walk away from him but his hand wrapped around my wrist, pulling me back into him, where our lips instantly met in a surprisingly heated kiss.

We remained locked together, largely ignored by the mostly inebriated crowd, for a few seconds before Cedric released me, grinning down at me. "See? It all worked out," Cedric said.

"That's still embarrassing," I hissed.

"Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"Why do you have to ruin the surprise?" Cedric shot back.

"I hate surprises," I mumbled.

"Shut up," Cedric said.

"Hey!" I gasped.

There was no need to be rude... We both laughed again as Cedric wrapped an arm around my lower back and pulled me along with him. We brushed past a number of celebrating families and couples, all darting back and forth over the yard. We laughed at the sight of a few young men staggering around, trying to impress a few of who I assumed were the Bulgarian Veela. I rolled my eyes at them as Cedric tugged me toward the trees, away from the bulk of the crowds.

"I still can't believe you knew," I growled.

"You're so bitter about it," Cedric laughed.

"I never wanted you to know. That's the point of a crush. They're supposed to be secret."

"But what would have happened if I had never known? I might have never asked you out."

"There is that."

"I could have never done…"

Cedric trailed off, looking down at me. I smiled as Cedric leaned down over me and wrapped an arm around my lower back. He pulled me toward him in a loving kiss. I laughed softly as he pressed a simple and sweet kiss against my mouth. It was nice to be able to relax while kissing him again, finally not being nervous that Dad would see us. My heart raced slightly as my hands traveled up Cedric's stomach and latched onto his chest, wrapping around the edges of his shirt. I tightened my grip and pulled him back a few steps into the darker parts of the woods.

The corners of his lips turned up against mine in a smile, likely at my rather bold actions. But if this was one of the only moments we would get until we were back at Hogwarts - under the watchful eyes of the teachers - I would enjoy it. I could feel his hands slip underneath my Ireland shirt to rest in the dip of the small of my back. My breath came out in a slight pant as he flattened his hands against my spine. His right hand dropped after a moment to rest against the back of my thigh. He walked up against me, pushing me back into the tree almost roughly. I grunted my approval.

My heart was racing in my chest. This was definitely one of the more heated moments we'd had. That wasn't even to mention how things became more and more heated. My heart was hammering against my ribs almost painfully. But the moment was too exciting to stop. I giggled softly as Cedric left my mouth for a moment. Much to my surprise, his mouth dropped over my cheeks and trailed down over my throat. My hands dropped off of his shirt against their own will. I was about to close my eyes when I noticed something.

"Whoa," I gasped, pushing Cedric back. He stared at me in surprise. "The Irish look like they're having a seriously good time over there."

There were screams and bangs echoing from all over the camp. Cedric turned back to see what was going on. His head tilted to the side. "Does that seem a little… manic to you?" he asked me slowly.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Maybe we should head back," Cedric said, grabbing my arm and pulling me away.

"They're heading toward our tent," I said.

"Come on. Your parents will see them coming."

"Harry… He's still there. They're all still there."

"Tara, we need to go," Cedric said. But I couldn't leave my friends and family in the middle of danger. Knowing that it was a stupid move, I darted off. "I meant the other way! Run away from the fight, not toward it."

"All of my friends are over there. You go. I'll meet you in the woods," I told him.

"Nice try," Cedric said, wrapping an arm around my wrist. "We're going together. Come on."

If he wasn't going to let me go alone, I would just have to bring him with me. By the light of the few fires that were still burning at the campsite, I could see people running away into the woods, fleeing something that was moving across the field toward them, something that was emitting odd flashes of light and noises like gunfire. Loud jeering, roars of laughter, and drunken yells were drifting toward us; then came a burst of strong green light, which illuminated the scene. I gasped softly, almost halting in my spot.

"Are those..." I trailed off.

"Death Eaters..." Cedric muttered.

"Oh..."

A crowd of the Death Eaters, tightly packed and moving together with wands pointing straight upward, was marching slowly across the field. I squinted at them. They didn't seem to have faces. Then I realized that their heads were hooded and their faces masked. High above them, floating along in midair, four struggling figures were being contorted into grotesque shapes. It was as though the Death Eaters on the ground were puppeteers, and the people above them were marionettes operated by invisible strings that rose from the wands into the air. Two of the figures were very small.

What the hell was going on out there? What were they doing to those people? Cedric pulled me along the crowd, just barely staying out of sight of the Death Eaters. More wizards were joining the marching group, laughing and pointing up at the floating bodies. Tents crumpled and fell as the marching crowd swelled. Once or twice I saw one of the marchers blast a tent out of his way with his wand. Several caught fire. The screaming grew louder. People banged into me as they ran in every direction, desperate to get out of sight of the Death Eaters.

The floating people were suddenly illuminated as we passed over a burning tent and I recognized one of them: Mr. Roberts, the campsite manager. The other three looked as though they might be his wife and children. One of the marchers below flipped Mrs. Roberts upside down with his wand; her nightdress fell down to reveal voluminous drawers and she struggled to cover herself up as the crowd below her screeched and hooted with glee. I nearly halted in my spot when I saw that. They weren't people. They were monsters.

"Those are the Muggles from our campsite!" I told Cedric, running toward them.

All of a sudden, I didn't care about the Death Eaters. I just cared about those helpless people. "Don't go toward them!" Cedric yelled, just barely grabbing me in time. I turned back to him. "Everyone will be heading away from them. All of your friends will be somewhere else. It's likely that our parents will be heading out there."

"That's sick," I muttered, watching the smallest Muggle child, who had begun to spin like a top, sixty feet above the ground, his head flopping limply from side to side. "That is really sick..."

"That's who they are," Cedric said.

"They need help," I gasped.

"Trust me, Tara. Someone's going to help them."

"Assholes."

"They're monsters. Come on," Cedric said, pulling me with him.

The last thing I wanted was to leave those Muggles strung up there, but I knew in the back of my mind that I couldn't fight all of the Death Eaters. I was nowhere near powerful enough. Everyone was already sprinting away toward the oncoming marchers. I was halted dead in my spot, unsure of where we were supposed to go. I could see that Ministry wizards were dashing from every direction toward the source of the trouble. My parents must have been somewhere in there. The crowd beneath the Roberts family was coming ever closer.

"Where should we go?" I asked Cedric desperately.

"The woods. Let's try and get some cover," Cedric said.

"Where do you think your father is?" I asked, suddenly remembering that he had family here, too.

"Probably over there," Cedric said, pointing to the Death Eaters.

Cedric tightened his grip on me and tugged me after him again. We both looked back as we reached the trees. The crowd beneath the Roberts family was larger than ever; I could see the Ministry wizards trying to get through it to the hooded wizards in the center, but they were having great difficulty. It looked as though they were scared to perform any spell that might make the Roberts family fall. If the family fell there was a good chance that they would die. They were incredibly high up in the air.

The colored lanterns that had lit the path to the stadium had been extinguished. Dark figures were blundering through the trees; children were crying; anxious shouts and panicked voices were reverberating around them in the cold night air. I looked back and forth, desperately trying to find any of my family or friends. Where was everyone? As we tried to get deeper into the woods, I felt myself being pushed hither and thither by people whose faces I could not see.

Suddenly I noticed one of the hooded figures pulling off to the side of their group. My eyebrow arched. What the hell were they doing? Why weren't they with the rest of their friends? I merely stared at them for a moment. But in that one moment, I found myself getting torn away from Cedric by one of the running wizards. I shouted for Cedric but my voice was lost in the shrieking crowd. It took me a few moments but I finally pulled myself out of the crowd. I stumbled back a few steps, somehow getting further and further from the crowd.

I'd thought that I might have been able to spot Cedric from a distance, but instead, I had managed to find myself locked in a staring contest with one of the hooded figures. My hand dropped to my wand, but I wasn't fast enough. The Death Eater launched a spell at me that I couldn't quite hear. But I felt it hit me. The pain was so intense, so all-consuming, that I no longer knew where I was. White-hot knives were piercing every inch of my skin, my head was surely going to burst with pain; I was screaming more loudly than I'd ever screamed in my life.

There was a vague sound of someone coming near me. "Expelliarmus!" There was a shout of pain and the sound of a scuffle. A few seconds later, I could feel someone pressing against my face. "Tara! Tara! Are you all right?"

"Shit..." I gasped, leaning up and meeting eyes with Cedric. "Oh, that hurt..."

Most of the pain had faded, but there was still a lasting burning feeling. "You're alright. Come on. You're alright," Cedric said, trying to drag me back to my feet.

"What the hell was that?" I asked.

"A spell. I'm not exactly sure what happened or which one they used," Cedric said. "But it was cruel. Come on."

"Who did it?" I asked breathlessly.

"I don't know. I hit them and they vanished," Cedric said.

"Why did you cast a spell at them? You're underage," I said.

Cedric stared at me as if I had just lost my mind. "You honestly think that's what was on my mind when I saw you on the ground, writhing in pain?" Cedric asked me. I merely stared at him. I was concerned about him using underage wizardry... "Don't be nuts, Tara. I don't care about underage wizardry. I just care about you. How are you feeling?"

"Tired but better," I said.

"Come on. Let's get to the woods," Cedric said.

As we both rose to our feet and walked off, I glanced around, desperate to know where the Death Eater that had attacked me had gone. But there was no sign of him anymore. Cedric must have scared the man off. He wrapped an arm around my back, trying to keep me upright, as we walked off. Cedric kept his wand up and at the ready, just in case someone else tries to find us. We were walking deeper into the woods, both breathing heavily, debating on if we should try somewhere else. Then I heard someone I was sure was Ron yell with pain.

"That's Ron," I gasped.

Had one of the Death Eaters found him? "How do you know?" Cedric asked.

"I've heard him scream before," I answered. "Ron!"

"Tara!" Ron screamed.

"Tara!" Harry and Hermione's voices chimed in after a moment.

"Over here! Harry, Ron, Hermione; over here!" I shouted.

"Are you alone?" Harry's voice called, slowly coming closer.

"Cedric is with me!"

"Follow our voices!" Cedric yelled.

"Call out again!" Harry called.

"Over here!" I shouted.

"What happened?" Hermione asked anxiously. "Ron, Tara, where are you? Oh, this is stupid - lumos!"

Her wand lit the path and I smiled at her, glad to see that they looked quite tired but otherwise unharmed. Hermione and Harry darted up to me. Ron was lying sprawled on the ground. "Tara... What happened to you? You're bloody," Hermione said.

Was I? I brushed off my forehead and blood spread all over my hand. "Someone hit me with a spell. Cedric attacked them. I'm fine. A little sore and still in some pain but I'm feeling better," I explained.

"What spell?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know," I answered.

Harry grabbed me around the waist, pulling me into him. "Thank you," he told Cedric.

"Of course," Cedric answered.

"Come here," Harry told Ron.

I pulled out of Harry's grasp to allow him to help Ron back to his feet. "Ron, what happened?" I asked him.

"Tripped over a tree root," he said angrily, getting to his feet again.

"Well, with feet that size, hard not to," a drawling voice from behind us said.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I turned sharply. Cedric raised his wand, ready to curse a potential attacker. Draco Malfoy was standing alone nearby, leaning against a tree, looking utterly relaxed. My blood boiled. Was it his father who had just attacked me? His arms folded, he seemed to have been watching the scene at the campsite through a gap in the trees. Ron then told Malfoy to do something that I knew he would never have dared say in front of Mrs. Weasley - the same thing I had told him last year.

"Language, Weasley," Malfoy teased, his pale eyes glittering. "Hadn't you better be hurrying along, now? You wouldn't like her spotted, would you?"

Malfoy nodded at Hermione, and at the same moment, a blast like a bomb sounded from the campsite, and a flash of green light momentarily lit the trees around us. We all gasped slightly, turning around to see what was happening. I could vaguely hear the Death Eaters chanting something in what I assumed was Latin. There were still screams and bangs echoing from all over the campsite. Fires still appeared to be raging as the Ministry workers tried to end the fight.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked Malfoy defiantly.

"Granger, they're after Muggles. D'you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Because if you do, hang around... they're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh," Malfoy told her.

"Hermione's a witch," Harry snarled.

"Have it your own way, Potter," Malfoy said, grinning maliciously. "If you think they can't spot a Mudblood, stay where you are."

"You watch your mouth!" Ron shouted.

Everybody present knew that 'Mudblood' was a very offensive term for a witch or wizard of Muggle parentage. I noticed Cedric take a slightly protective stance in front of Hermione, almost shielding her from Malfoy's view. Malfoy's gaze looked over the rest of us. His eyes briefly flitted over Ron and Harry before coming to a rest on me. They briefly flickered onto Cedric - giving him a sharp glare - before shifting back to me. They seemed to be firmly focused on the blood trail going across my forehead.

"You look a little relaxed, Malfoy," I sneered.

"I've got nothing to worry about. Neither do you," Malfoy replied.

"Not even for a blood traitor?" I asked.

His eyes traveled up across the cut on my forehead again as his lips formed a smirk. "On second thought, maybe you do have something to worry about," he said.

"Never mind, Ron, Tara," Hermione said quickly.

She reached over and seized Ron's arm to restrain him as he took a step toward Malfoy. Cedric had an arm wrapped back around my waist as I stared at Malfoy. Partially to keep me from attacking him and partially to keep me upright. My head was still spinning from the Death Eater attack slightly. Suddenly there came a bang from the other side of the trees that was louder than anything I had heard so far. Several people nearby screamed. I jumped slightly. Malfoy chuckled softly.

"Scare easily, don't they? I suppose your daddy told you all to hide? What's he up to - trying to rescue the Muggles?" Malfoy asked us lazily.

My temper was rising at his taunts. "Where are your parents? Out there wearing masks, are they?" Harry asked Malfoy.

Malfoy turned his face to Harry, still smiling. "Well... if they were, I wouldn't be likely to tell you, would I, Potter?"

"We all know they are. Might as well admit it," I hissed disgustedly.

They had been back in the day and likely still were. Malfoy opened his mouth to say something back to me when he was cut off. "Oh come on, let's go and find the others," Hermione said, throwing a disgusted look at Malfoy.

"Keep that big bushy head down, Granger," Malfoy sneered.

"Asshole," I snapped.

"Come on," Hermione repeated, and she pulled Harry, Ron, and me up the path again.

Cedric followed us closely. "Where are the others?" I asked, finally noticing that Fred, George, and Ginny were missing.

As were the rest of the Weasley's and my own parents. But I had assumed that the adults had taken off to try and fight the Death Eaters. "Fred and George took Ginny and headed off," Ron explained. I sucked in a breath. Had they made it to safety? "Everyone else was heading for the Roberts' to try and save them from the people in masks. Did you see them?"

"Yeah. We did," I answered.

"I'll bet you anything his dad is one of that masked lot!" Ron said hotly.

Of course, he was talking about Malfoy again. Ron likely hated Malfoy more than any of the rest of us did. "Of course he is! He was a Death Eater back in the day!" I shouted back.

"A what?" Ron asked.

"They were -"

"Later, Cedric," I interrupted.

It would take Ron forever to figure out what we were talking about. "Well, with any luck, the Ministry will catch him!" Hermione said fervently. "Oh, I can't believe this. Where have the others got to?"

Fred, George, and Ginny were nowhere to be seen, though the path was packed with plenty of other people, all looking nervously over their shoulders toward the commotion back at the campsite. Ron mentioned to us that they had lost the others not long after they had headed toward the woods. I could only hope that they were safe and far from here. A huddle of teenagers in pajamas was arguing vociferously a little way along the path. When they saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, Cedric, and me, a girl with thick curly hair turned and ran up to us.

"Oü est Madame Maxime?" she asked. "Nous l'avons perdue -"

"Er - what?" Ron asked.

"We're not from Beauxbatons. Hogwarts," I explained to the girls, motioning down our line.

"Oh..." The girl who had spoken turned her back on us, and as they walked on I distinctly heard her say, "Ogwarts."

Didn't I just say that? I rolled my eyes. "Beauxbatons," Hermione muttered.

"Sorry?" Harry asked.

"They must go to Beauxbatons. You know... Beauxbatons Academy of Magic..." Hermione said. The boys stared at her blankly. "I read about it in An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe."

"Oh... yeah... right," Harry said.

They were such morons. They knew that there were other wizarding schools! "It's in France. Another magical school. I guess Madam Maxine is the headmistress," I explained.

"Fred and George can't have gone that far," Ron said, pulling out his wand, lighting it like Hermione's, and squinting up the path.

"Lumos," I said, lighting my own wand. Cedric followed suit a moment later.

Harry dug in the pockets of his jacket for his own wand - but it didn't seem to be there. The only thing he pulled out was his Omnioculars. "Ah, no, I don't believe it... I've lost my wand!" Harry barked.

"You're kidding!" Ron gasped.

"What?" I hissed.

Of all of the times he could have lost something, it had to be right now and it had to be his wand. He was a complete and utter moron. If I wasn't already concerned about underage wizardry, I would have hexed him for being such an idiot. Ron, Hermione, Cedric, and I raised our wands high enough to spread the narrow beams of light farther on the ground. I could only hope that it was around here somewhere. We needed everyone to be armed just in case. Harry looked all around us, but his wand was nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe it's back in the tent," Ron said.

"Maybe it fell out of your pocket when we were running?" Hermione suggested anxiously.

"Yeah, maybe..." Harry said.

But we all knew that it hadn't fallen out. Witches and wizards were notoriously secure when it came to knowing where they had put their wands. I was sure that my wand had only been out of my possession once - in Second Year when Tom Riddle had briefly snatched it. Harry usually kept his wand with him at all times in the Wizarding World, and finding yourself without a wand in the midst of a scene like this was enough to make any witch or wizard feel very vulnerable.

"Where are my parents?" I asked suddenly, remembering that they weren't with us.

"They went off with the Ministry wizards to help," Harry explained.

At least I knew that they were surrounded by other people. They were all going to be out there protecting each other. Cedric wrapped a hand around my wrist, clearly sensing my nerves. A rustling noise nearby made all five of us jump. I whipped back around to see that Winky the house-elf was fighting her way out of a clump of bushes nearby. She was moving in a most peculiar fashion, apparently with great difficulty; it was as though someone invisible was trying to hold her back. I arched a brow. What was that about?

"There is bad wizards about!" Winky squeaked distractedly as she leaned forward and labored to keep running. "People high - high in the air! Winky is getting out of the way!"

And she disappeared into the trees on the other side of the path, panting and squeaking as she fought the force that was restraining her. "What's up with her?" Ron asked, looking curiously after Winky. "Why can't she run properly?"

"Bet she didn't ask permission to hide," Harry said.

That made perfect sense. House-elf's new how much trouble they would get in for blatantly ignoring orders from their masters. But Winky didn't exactly seem like she had an understanding master. Mr. Crouch had never seemed very understanding. Hadn't he forced her to go up to the Top Box without caring about her fear of heights? I was thinking of Dobby: Every time he had tried to do something the Malfoy's wouldn't like, the house-elf had been forced to start beating himself up.

"You know, house-elves get a very raw deal! It's slavery, that's what it is! That Mr. Crouch made her go up to the top of the stadium, and she was terrified, and he's got her bewitched so she can't even run when they start trampling tents!" Hermione cried indignantly. Cedric gave me a glance and I nodded at him. That was just the way that she was. "Why doesn't anyone do something about it?"

"Well, the elves are happy, aren't they? You heard old Winky back at the match... 'House-elves is not supposed to have fun'... that's what she likes, being bossed around..." Ron said.

"It's people like you, Ron," Hermione began hotly, "who prop up rotten and unjust systems, just because they're too lazy to -"

"Is this seriously the time to be having this argument?" I interrupted them angrily.

Another loud bang echoed from the edge of the wood. "Let's just keep moving, shall we?" Ron offered, and I saw him glance edgily at Hermione.

Perhaps there was truth in what Malfoy had said; perhaps Hermione was in more danger than we were. No matter what, Ron and myself were from old Pureblooded families. We were likely in very little danger. Didn't Voldemort want to preserve magical blood, no matter who they were? Harry and Cedric were Half-Blood's. Harry was only in danger because of his name. But in the darkness, it would have been hard to make him out. Would they know that Hermione was a Muggle-Born? We set off again, Harry still searching his pockets, even though we all knew his wand wasn't there.

We followed the dark path deeper into the wood, still keeping an eye out for Fred, George, and Ginny. We passed a group of goblins who were cackling over a sack of gold that they had undoubtedly won betting on the match, and who seemed quite unperturbed by the trouble at the campsite. Further still along the path, we walked into a patch of silvery light, and when we looked through the trees, we saw three tall and beautiful Veela standing in a clearing, surrounded by a gaggle of young wizards, all of whom were talking very loudly.

Did they not realize that a Death Eater attack was happening just yards away? "I pull down about a hundred sacks of Galleons a year! I'm a dragon killer for the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures," one of them shouted.

"No, you're not!" his friend yelled. "You're a dishwasher at the Leaky Cauldron... but I'm a vampire hunter, I've killed about ninety so far -"

A third young wizard, whose pimples were visible even by the dim, silvery light of the Veela, now cut in, "I'm about to become the youngest ever Minister of Magic, I am."

Harry and I snorted with laughter. The others were merely staring at us. We both recognized the pimply wizard: His name was Stan Shunpike, and he was, in fact, a conductor on the triple-decker Knight Bus. We had met him when we were on our way to the Leaky Cauldron last year at the end of summer when Harry had blown up his Aunt Marge. Stan was sweet if not a little clueless. Certainly not the next Minister of Magic. I turned to tell Cedric that, but Ron's voice distracted me.

His face had gone oddly slack, and next second Ron was yelling, "Did I tell you I've invented a broomstick that'll reach Jupiter?"

"Oh, shut up!" I barked.

"Honestly!" Hermione hissed, and she and Harry grabbed Ron firmly by the arms, wheeled him around, and marched him away.

Cedric was laughing quietly as I reached for his hand and pulled him with me. By the time the sounds of the Veela and their admirers had faded completely, we were in the very heart of the wood. I wondered how the Veela weren't even slightly worried about running into the woods. Did they think their beauty would keep the Death Eaters away? We seemed to be alone now; everything was much quieter. I looked around. As all began looking around for a sign of what to do, I glanced at Cedric. Something had occurred to me.

"Did those girls not affect you?" I asked him quietly.

"The Veela?" Cedric asked.

"Yeah."

Cedric merely stared at me for a moment before shaking his head. "Don't think so," he answered. "I mean, like everyone else I felt something when the Veela started to sing and dance. But I don't feel the need to dive off the stadium balcony to try and impress them." I smiled brilliantly. How is he even a real person? Cedric grinned down at me. "I have someone else to impress."

"You just did," I told him honestly. "You're a good man, Cedric Diggory."

"You're worth it, Tara Nox."

"I think you want something," I teased.

Cedric chuckled softly, pulling me into him and brushing some blood off my forehead. "You were just hit by some terrible spell. The only thing I want right now is for you to be okay."

"I'll feel better once I've found my parents," I said.

"They'll be okay, Tara. They're probably out with the Weasley's and maybe my father."

My eyes widened. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't even think about him," I gasped.

I'd completely forgotten that Cedric's father was likely out there fighting the Death Eaters too. "That's alright. I think you've had a few more things to be concerned about," Cedric said, obviously referencing the Death Eater attack. "He'll be okay. I'm sure he's with everyone else."

"I reckon we can just wait here, you know. We'll hear anyone coming a mile off," Harry suggested.

Everyone was already nodding their agreement. The words were hardly out of his mouth when Ludo Bagman emerged from behind a tree right ahead of us. I whipped back around in surprise. Even by the feeble light of the four wands, I could see that a great change had come over Bagman. He no longer looked buoyant and rosy-faced; there was no more spring in his step. He looked very white and strained. What had happened to him? Was it from the attack? Why was he not helping the Roberts' or the rest of the Ministry wizards?

"Who's that?" Bagman asked, blinking down at us, trying to make out our faces. "What are you doing in here, all alone?"

We all looked at one another, surprised. He didn't know what was going on... "Ludo, you haven't seen the attack?" Cedric asked him quietly.

He looked bewildered. "Well - there's a sort of riot going on," Ron said.

Bagman stared at him. "What?"

"At the campsite... some people have got hold of a family of Muggles..."

Bagman swore loudly. "Damn them!" he said, looking quite distracted, and without another word, he Disapparated with a small pop.

"Not exactly on top of things, Mr. Bagman, is he?" Hermione said, frowning.

There was no doubt that Bagman was a good personality, but was absolutely clueless about everything having to do with the Ministry. "He was a great Beater, though," Ron said, leading the way off the path into a small clearing, and sitting down on a patch of dry grass at the foot of a tree.

"No, he was on a terrible team," I said.

"The Wimbourne Wasps won the league three times in a row while he was with them," Ron snapped back.

"But they never got to the Quidditch World Cup," I put in.

"So they're not as good as the Stars. Or Ireland," Ron huffed. "We all know how much you like Ireland."

Everyone laughed. I rolled my eyes. Cedric leaned into me and wrapped an arm over my shoulder. "Who can blame him, really?"

"Just remember that I liked you first. I still like you," I told him, giving him a slight hug.

Ron threw a small rock at me that I ignored. They were never going to get over my relationship with him. In the meantime, Ron took his small figure of Krum out of his pocket, set it down on the ground, and watched it walk around. Like the real Krum, the model was slightly duck-footed and round-shouldered, much less impressive on his splayed feet than on his broomstick. I was listening for noise from the campsite. Everything seemed much quieter; perhaps the riot was over. Or maybe we had gotten too far away to hear anything.

"I hope the others are okay," Hermione said after a while.

"They'll be fine," Ron said.

"There's gonna be a lot of people out there all looking out for each other," I added.

"Imagine if your dad catches Lucius Malfoy," Harry said, sitting down next to Ron and watching the small figure of Krum slouching over the fallen leaves. Cedric took a seat on the grass with me, opposite them. "He's always said he'd like to get something on him."

"That'd wipe the smirk off old Draco's face, all right," Ron said.

"Lucius Malfoy's got way too many strings to pull in the Ministry. It's not good enough for him just to get caught. Something truly terrible would have to happen with him in the center of it," I said.

"This isn't terrible, is it?" Cedric asked me.

Not compared to what Lucius Malfoy would really have to do to get himself in trouble. "Just a touch," I said, looking over my shoulder worriedly. "Think they'll be okay?"

"Everyone's gonna be okay," Cedric said.

That was all I had to keep telling myself. Everyone was going to be okay. My parents, the rest of the Weasley's, and all of my other friends who had been at the Quidditch World Cup. I reached over and locked hands with Cedric as we all sat together, wands at the ready in our laps. After a while, I leaned over and pressed my head down against Cedric's shoulder. Now I was tired. I'd been anticipating being asleep by now. Instead, we sat in silence, waiting for any word that the attack was over.

"Those poor Muggles, though. What if they can't get them down?" Hermione asked nervously.

"They will. They'll find a way," Ron said reassuringly.

"Mad, though, to do something like that when the whole Ministry of Magic's out here tonight! I mean, how do they expect to get away with it?" Hermione asked curiously. "Do you think they've been drinking, or are they just -"

But she broke off abruptly and looked over her shoulder. Harry and Ron looked quickly around too. I followed their gaze. For a moment I didn't see it. That was when I realized that there wasn't anything to see. Instead, there was a sound that I could barely make out over the deafening silence. It sounded as though someone was staggering toward our clearing. I tensed up slightly. We waited, listening to the sounds of the uneven steps behind the dark trees. But the footsteps came to a sudden halt.

"Hello?" Harry called.

There was silence. It was the only answer we got. I got to my feet to see if I could figure out what was going on. Cedric followed a moment later. He raised his wand but the faint light from his wand barely showed the shadows of the tree. Harry then got to his feet and peered around the tree. It was too dark to see very far, even with the light coming from our wands, but I could sense somebody standing just beyond the range of my vision. Someone was here. Was it one of the Death Eaters or someone too scared to try and find safety?

"Who's there?" Harry asked.

I was about to yell at Harry for asking such a stupid question. When had anyone ever answered that question before? That was usually a sign to stay silent. For a split second, I saw the shadow of a man. He had a mop of dark hair but that was all I saw before he vanished. And then, without warning, the silence was rent by a voice unlike any we had heard in the wood; and it uttered, not a panicked shout, but what sounded like a spell.

"MORSMORDRE!"

Immediately I jumped back. I had already been hit by one spell today from one of the Death Eaters. I wasn't overly fond of getting hit by another one. Cedric threw me back behind him, obviously thinking the same thing I was. The last one had hurt me badly enough. From the spell, something vast, green, and glittering erupted from the patch of darkness my eyes had been struggling to penetrate; it flew up over the treetops and into the sky. I stepped back to try and see what had just happened.

"What the - ?" Ron gasped as he sprang to his feet again, staring up at the thing that had appeared.

"The hell was that? I asked.

For a split second, I thought it was another leprechaun formation. But that was stupid. That was a spell from one of the Death Eaters. This wasn't anything friendly. Then I realized that it was a colossal skull, comprised of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue. As they watched, it rose higher and higher, blazing in a haze of greenish smoke, etched against the black sky like a new constellation. The snake appeared to be slowly slithering out of the skull's mouth.

"Merlin..." I gasped. Anyone raised in the Wizarding World would know what that was. "That's the -"

"Dark Mark..." Cedric finished.

"Tara," Harry said, "what is -?"

He never got to ask his question. Because suddenly, the wood all around us erupted with screams. Of course. It must have been over a decade since the last time anyone had seen the Dark Mark so obviously displayed. Harry obviously didn't understand why, but the only possible cause for all of those screams was the sudden appearance of the Dark Mark, which had now risen high enough to illuminate the entire wood like some grisly neon sign. I scanned the darkness for the person who had conjured the skull, but I couldn't see anyone.

"Who's there?" Harry called again.

"Harry, come on, move!" Hermione said, seizing the collar of his jacket and tugging him backward.

"What's the matter?" Harry asked, probably startled to see her face so white and terrified.

"It's the Dark Mark, Harry!" Hermione moaned, pulling him as hard as she could. "You-Know-Who's sign!"

"Voldemort's - Harry, come on!" Ron barked.

Cedric wrapped an arm around my wrist to pull me off with him. "Those are his Death Eaters out there! His followers! They're marking his return!" I gasped, motioning around us.

The Death Eaters and Dark Mark together in a single night... That didn't mark anything good. There was certainly no coincidence in those two events happening within minutes. I turned - Ron was hurriedly scooping up his miniature Krum - the five of us started across the clearing. I noticed that Cedric kept himself in front of everyone else, but before we had taken a few hurried steps, a series of popping noises announced the arrival of twenty wizards, appearing from thin air, surrounding them.

For a moment I thought that they might have been the Death Eaters. I opened my mouth to scream at the others to arm themselves and fight back as hard as they could. Someone would come to our aid in time. I had to believe that. Cedric pushed me back a step. I whirled around, and in an instant, I registered two facts: Each of those wizards had his wand out, and every wand was pointing right at myself, Harry, Cedric, Ron, and Hermione. That was when I realized that we were all trying to avoid the same people.

Without pausing to think, Harry and I yelled, "DUCK!"

Harry seized Ron and Hermione and pulled them down onto the ground. I grabbed Cedric with me. "STUPEFY!" twenty voices roared.

There was a blinding series of flashes and I felt the hair on my head ripple as though a powerful wind had swept the clearing. I could feel Cedric's arm over my head, protecting me from the blasts of the spells. Raising my head a fraction of an inch - still mildly terrified that a spell might hit me straight in the face - I saw jets of fiery red light flying over us from the wizards' wands, crossing one another, bouncing off tree trunks, rebounding into the darkness. It was a good thing that we had all dropped. I hoped that no one else was standing near us.

"Stop!" a voice I recognized yelled. "STOP! That's my son!"

It was Mr. Weasley. I was sure that it was. Ron raised his head first to see his father. My hair stopped blowing about. I raised my head a little higher. I was still desperately hoping that I wouldn't get whacked in the face by one of the spells. I'd had it with getting injured. The wizard in front of me had lowered his wand. He was staring at us blankly. I wanted to motion to Harry' scar, letting them know that we weren't going to hurt them. I rolled over and saw Mr. Weasley striding toward us, looking terrified.

"Ron - Harry," Mr. Weasley's voice sounded shaky, "Hermione - are you all right? Tara! You're here. We were worried."

"Yeah. I... ran into a friend..." I muttered stupidly, looking at Cedric.

"Tara!" Dad's voice yelled.

"There you are!" Mom shouted.

They were going to kill me once they realized that I had snuck out just to meet up with Cedric in the middle of the night after I had specifically promised that I wouldn't see him for another year. Both of my parents ran up, breaking through the crowd of Ministry wizards, to smash into me and envelope me in bone-crushing hugs. That was when I realized that I had been holding Cedric's hand and his arm had been firmly wrapped around me to protect me from any free-flying spells. They would have definitely seen that.

Once they had released me, they seemed to finally realize who I was standing with. "You were with each other?" Dad asked, looking between Cedric and myself.

"Wait a second," I gasped. This was the wrong time for another fight. "It's not what you -"

"Thank you," Dad interrupted me, speaking to Cedric.

"What?" I asked, baffled.

Even Cedric looked confused. "Thank you for watching out for her," Dad told him.

Finally, Cedric seemed to be able to shake himself of his confusion. "Of course. There's no way that I was going to leave her," he told my parents.

"Thank you," Mom gasped, wrapping Cedric in a hug.

"Out of the way, Arthur," a cold, curt voice said.

It was enough to break us all apart. Mom stepped back from Cedric, allowing him to come to stand at my side. I supposed that we would deal with their odd reaction to our sneaking out to be together later. Mom and Dad turned back to see what was happening. I turned with them. The cold voice had been Mr. Crouch. He and the other Ministry wizards were closing in on us. Harry and the others got to their feet to face them. Mr. Crouch's face was taut with rage, which was somehow being directed at us.

"Which of you did it?" Mr. Crouch snapped, his sharp eyes darting between us. "Which of you conjured the Dark Mark?"

"We didn't do that!" Harry yelled, gesturing up at the skull.

"Are you nuts?" I asked loudly. He was the Minister of Magic. He didn't understand that we couldn't have done that? "That's way beyond the magic of a Fourth Year!"

"We didn't do anything!" Ron yelled, rubbing his elbow and looking indignantly at his father. "What did you want to attack us for?"

"Do not lie, sir!" Mr. Crouch yelled. His wand was still pointing directly at Ron, and his eyes were popping - he looked slightly mad. "You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!"

"Barty," a witch in a long woolen dressing gown whispered, "they're kids, Barty, they'd never have been able to -"

"Where did the Mark come from, you five?" Mr. Weasley asked quickly.

"Over there," Hermione said shakily, pointing at the place where we had heard the voice. "There was someone behind the trees... they shouted words - an incantation -"

"Oh, stood over there, did they?" Mr. Crouch asked her nastily, turning his popping eyes on Hermione now, disbelief etched all over his face. "Said an incantation, did they? You seem very well informed about how that Mark is summoned, missy -"

"Don't be stupid! Everyone knows how incantations work!" I shouted, completely forgetting that I was talking to the Minister of Magic. "He said something like... Mordes... Mordesmore... I don't know. Something like that."

"Here, look." Mr. Diggory - whom Cedric had held a brief reunion with just moments before - held up a wand and showed it to Mr. Weasley. "Had it in her hand. So that's clause three of the Code of Wand Use broken, for a start. No non-human creature is permitted to carry or use a wand."

"Dad, are you losing your mind?" Cedric asked. "That's Harry Potter. I was with them the entire time."

"Stay out of this," Mr. Diggory snapped at his son.

"You're accusing your own son?" Dad asked Mr. Diggory.

Mr. Diggory sneered at Dad, ignoring the looks he was getting from Cedric. "I'm gathering the facts," Mr. Diggory said.

That wasn't exactly saying that he wasn't blaming his son. I knew Cedric and I knew Mr. Diggory. I knew that he loved his son but there was no way that he wasn't going to just believe him. That wasn't fair. Just then there was another pop and Ludo Bagman Apparated right next to Mr. Weasley. I jumped back in surprise. Looking breathless and disorientated, Bagman spun on the spot, goggling upward at the emerald-green skull. He looked horrified at the sight of it. He really was behind on things.

"The Dark Mark!" Bagman panted, almost trampling Winky as he turned inquiringly to his colleagues. "Who did it? Did you get them? Barty! What's going on?"

For a bunch of adults who were running the Ministry of Magic, they really didn't have much of an idea what was going on. We were the ones who had heard the spell for the Dark Mark get cast. We were here for the entire thing. Bagman hadn't even known that there was an attack. Mr. Crouch had only just appeared. Not to mention that Mr. Crouch had returned empty-handed. He - like everyone else - had no idea what was happening. His face was still ghostly white, and his hands and his toothbrush mustache were both twitching.

"Where have you been, Barty? Why weren't you at the match?" Bagman asked, not giving him a chance to answer before continuing. "Your elf was saving you a seat too - gulping gargoyles!" Bagman had just noticed Winky lying at his feet. "What happened to her?"

"I have been busy, Ludo," Mr. Crouch said, still talking in the same jerky fashion, barely moving his lips. "And my elf has been stunned."

"Stunned? By you lot, you mean?" Bagman asked, pointing to us. "But why - ?"

Did he seriously think that we had done this? These people were absolutely insane. They couldn't have seriously thought that we were the ones who had done this. We weren't talented enough to do this! This was something that fully grown adults had done. Not a few Fourth and Sixth Years. We were just caught in the crossfire. Comprehension dawned suddenly on Bagman's round, shiny face; he looked up at the skull, down at Winky, and then at Mr. Crouch. He seemed to have put together what they were blaming on the house-elf.

"No! Winky? Conjure the Dark Mark? She wouldn't know how! She'd need a wand, for a start!" Bagman said.

"And she had one. I found her holding one, Ludo. If it's all right with you, Mr. Crouch, I think we should hear what she's got to say for herself," Mr. Diggory said.

Cedric was staring at his father as if he had never seen him before. I assumed that he had rarely seen his father in working mode. Right now it was a little strange. Mr. Diggory had always been a little sterner than anyone else I had known but it was weird right now. Things were so tense. Mr. Crouch gave no sign that he had heard Mr. Diggory, but Mr. Diggory seemed to take his silence for assent.

Mr. Diggory raised his own wand, pointed it at Winky, and said, "Ennervate!"

Winky stirred feebly. I could only assume that the spell wasn't very pleasant. I had never had someone else it on me and I was hoping to keep it that way. I would rather wake up naturally. Winky's great brown eyes opened and she blinked several times in a bemused sort of way. Watched by the silent wizards, she raised herself shakily into a sitting position. For a moment I thought about moving toward her to help her back to her feet, but the others must have sensed what I was planning to do because Harry and Cedric put their arms out to stop me.

Winky caught sight of Mr. Diggory's feet, and slowly, tremulously, raised her eyes to stare up into his face; then, more slowly still, she looked up into the sky. Cedric exchanged a quick look with me and I let out a soft breath. I could already tell that this wasn't going to go well for the house-elf. Looking back at Winky, I could see the floating skull reflected twice in her enormous, glassy eyes. She gave a gasp, looked wildly around the crowded clearing, and burst into terrified sobs.

"Elf! Do you know who I am? I'm a member of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures!" Mr. Diggory asked sternly.

That was a rude way to speak to someone... I had always hated anyone speaking to house-elves like they were less than the dirt on the bottom of their shoes. Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed that even Cedric was looking at his father in disbelief. Winky began to rock backward and forward on the ground, her breath coming in sharp bursts. She must have known that she was in trouble. I was reminded forcibly of Dobby in his moments of terrified disobedience.

"As you see, elf, the Dark Mark was conjured here a short while ago. And you were discovered moments later, right beneath it! An explanation, if you please!" Mr. Diggory yelled at her.

"I - I - I is not doing it, sir!" Winky gasped. "I is not knowing how, sir!"

"You were found with a wand in your hand!" Mr. Diggory barked, brandishing it in front of her.

As the wand caught the green light that was filling the clearing from the skull above, I recognized it. Don't say anything, you moron. "Hey - that's mine!" Harry gasped.

Did I not just say not to say anything? Actually, I hadn't said anything to him. I was just hoping that he would have the sense not to say anything in front of a bunch of powerful wizards. I had a feeling that Harry's wand had been the one to cast the Dark Mark and that would cause a lot of stir if his was the one to do such a thing. I wanted to slap Harry, but it was already too late. He had said it. I could only hope that people would ignore it. Everyone in the clearing turned to look at him. I rolled my eyes.

"Excuse me?" Mr. Diggory asked incredulously.

"That's my wand! I dropped it!" Harry said.

"You dropped it?" Mr. Diggory repeated in disbelief. "Is this a confession? You threw it aside after you conjured the Mark?"

"Dad!" Cedric gasped.

Was Mr. Diggory kidding? He was talking to Harry Potter! "Amos, think who you're talking to!" Mr. Weasley said, very angrily. "Is Harry Potter likely to conjure the Dark Mark?"

"Er - of course not. Sorry... carried away..." Mr. Diggory mumbled.

"I didn't drop it there, anyway," Harry said, jerking his thumb toward the trees beneath the skull. "I missed it right after we got into the wood."

"So," Mr. Diggory said, his eyes hardening as he turned to look at Winky again, cowering at his feet. "You found this wand, eh, elf? And you picked it up and thought you'd have some fun with it, did you?"

"I is not doing magic with it, sir! I is... I is... I is just picking it up, sir! i is not making the Dark Mark, sir, i is not knowing how!" Winky squealed, tears streaming down the sides of her squashed and bulbous nose.

"It wasn't her!" Hermione shouted. She looked very nervous, speaking up in front of all these Ministry wizards, yet determined all the same. "Winky's got a squeaky little voice, and the voice we heard doing the incantation was much deeper!" She looked around at the rest of us, appealing for our support. "It didn't sound anything like Winky, did it?"

"No. It definitely didn't sound like an elf," Harry said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, it was a human voice," Ron said.

"It was a man," I said suddenly. "He looked about middle-aged. Maybe a little younger."

The others turned to me, shocked. "You saw someone?" Harry asked.

"For just a split second, but I saw someone. I'm assuming that it's the same person who sent up the Dark Mark," I said.

"Well, we'll soon see," Mr. Diggory growled, looking unimpressed.

"Dad, I saw him too," Cedric said. I turned to him curiously. Had he really seen him or was he trying to back up my story? Mr. Diggory stared at his son. "They're telling the truth."

"There's a simple way of discovering the last spell a wand performed, elf, did you know that?" Mr. Diggory continued, trying to ignore us.

Why weren't they taking our word for it that something had happened and we hadn't had a thing to do it? I supposed that it was because adults never liked to believe that kids knew what we were talking about. But just this one time, we did. There really had been a man and we'd had nothing to do with it. Cedric was right... We really did have a penchant for getting ourselves into trouble. Winky trembled and shook her head frantically, her ears flapping, as Mr. Diggory raised his own wand again and placed it tip to tip with Harry's.

"Prior Incantato!" Mr. Diggory roared.

I heard Hermione gasp, horrified, as a gigantic serpent-tongued skull erupted from the point where the two wands met, but it was a mere shadow of the green skull high above us; it looked as though it were made of thick gray smoke: the ghost of a spell. The spell was used to redo the final spell used by that particular wand, but at a much smaller scale.

"Deletrius!" Mr. Diggory shouted, and the smoky skull vanished in a wisp of smoke.

The air was still silent. "Okay, so it could have been anyone who had picked up Harry's wand. They could have cast the spell and then tossed the wand off to the side where Winky would pick it up," I explained.

But Mr. Diggory wasn't having it. "So," Mr. Diggory said, with a kind of savage triumph, looking down upon Winky, who was still shaking convulsively.

"I is not doing it!" Winky squealed, her eyes rolling in terror. "I is not, I is not, I is not knowing how! I is a good elf, I isn't using wands, I isn't knowing how!"

"You've been caught red-handed, elf! Caught with the guilty wand in your hand!" Mr. Diggory roared.

"Elves don't use magic! They don't use wands, at least! They use their own specific kind of magic," I sneered at Mr. Diggory angrily. "I would think that you would know that, considering you work for the Control of Magical Creatures Division."

"Tara. Hush. Don't make things worse," Mom whispered, pulling me back.

"Sorry," I muttered.

Mr. Diggory was glaring at me. "He needed to hear it," Cedric told me, ignoring his father.

"Amos, think about it... precious few wizards know how to do that spell... Where would she have learned it?" Mr. Weasley asked loudly.

"Perhaps Amos is suggesting that I routinely teach my servants to conjure the Dark Mark?" Mr. Crouch asked, cold anger in every syllable.

There was a deeply unpleasant silence. Amos Diggory looked horrified. "Mr. Crouch... not... not at all."

"You have now come very close to accusing the two people in this clearing who are least likely to conjure that Mark! Harry Potter - and myself. I suppose you are familiar with the boy's story, Amos?" Mr. Crouch barked.

"Of course - everyone knows -" Mr. Diggory muttered, looking highly discomforted.

"And I trust you remember the many proofs I have given, over a long career, that I despise and detest the Dark Arts and those who practice them?" Mr. Crouch shouted, his eyes bulging again.

"Mr. Crouch, I - I never suggested you had anything to do with it!" Mr. Diggory muttered again, now reddening behind his scrubby brown beard.

"If you accuse my elf, you accuse me, Diggory!" Mr. Crouch shouted. "Where else would she have learned to conjure it?"

"She - she might've picked it up anywhere -"

"Precisely, Amos. She might have picked it up anywhere..." Mr. Weasley said.

"Why don't we ask her?" Dad suggested.

"Winky?" Mr. Weasley asked kindly, turning to the elf, but she flinched as though he too was shouting at her. "Where exactly did you find Harry's wand?"

Winky was twisting the hem of her tea towel so violently that it was fraying beneath her fingers. "I - I is finding it... finding it there, sir... there... in the trees, sir," Winky whispered.

"You see, Amos? It's just as Tara said. Whoever conjured the Mark could have Disapparated right after they'd done it, leaving Harry's wand behind. A clever thing to do, not using their own wand, which could have betrayed them. And Winky here had the misfortune to come across the wand moments later and pick it up," Mr. Weasley reasoned.

"But then, she'd have been only a few feet away from the real culprit! Elf? Did you see anyone?" Mr. Diggory asked impatiently.

"She has a name, Dad," Cedric said quietly.

He really was one of the best people I had ever met. I smiled slightly at Cedric, astounded by the way he was willing to speak to his father in front of all of these people. I was honestly so pleased that even Cedric cared for the well-being of a house-elf that he didn't even know. Especially considering his father's treatment of them. But he was better than his father. I noticed that even Hermione was giving Cedric a slightly surprised look before her lips split into a grin. I grabbed Cedric's arm, ignoring the look I was getting from Dad. Cedric glanced down and smiled at me.

Winky began to tremble worse than ever. Her giant eyes flickered from Mr. Diggory to Ludo Bagman, and onto Mr. Crouch. Then she gulped and said, "I is seeing no one, sir... no one..."

"Amos, I am fully aware that, in the ordinary course of events, you would want to take Winky into your department for questioning. I ask you, however, to allow me to deal with her," Mr. Crouch said curtly.

Something seemed a little strange about Mr. Crouch. He seemed to be a little angrier than normal. Maybe not angry, but definitely tenser than normal. Was it just because of the attack and Winky or was there something else going on? Mr. Diggory looked as though he didn't think much of that suggestion at all, but it was clear to me that Mr. Crouch was such an important member of the Ministry that he did not dare refuse him. Which was probably a good idea, considering Mr. Crouch seemed to be very angry about something right now.

"You may rest assured that she will be punished," Mr. Crouch added coldly.

"M-m-master..." Winky stammered, looking up at Mr. Crouch, her eyes brimming with tears. "M-m-master, p-p-please..."

Mr. Crouch stared back, his face somehow sharpened, each line upon it more deeply etched. There was no pity in his gaze. "Winky has behaved tonight in a manner I would not have believed possible. I told her to remain in the tent. I told her to stay there while I went to sort out the trouble. And I find that she disobeyed me. This means clothes," Mr. Crouch said slowly.

"No!" Winky shrieked, prostrating herself at Mr. Crouch's feet. "No, master! Not clothes, not clothes!"

There was no doubt in my mind that Winky was one of the most loyal house-elves I had ever met. Most house-elves were upset at the thought of freedom (save Dobby) but Winky seemed to be taking it to a new level. I knew that the only way to turn a house-elf free was to present it with proper garments. That was exactly how we had freed Dobby from the Malfoy's back in Second Year. It was pitiful to see the way Winky clutched at her tea towel as she sobbed over Mr. Crouch's feet.

"But she was frightened!" Hermione burst out angrily, glaring at Mr. Crouch. "Your elf's scared of heights, and those wizards in masks were levitating people! You can't blame her for wanting to get out of their way!"

Did Hermione really just say that? She had just yelled at Mr. Crouch in front of some of the most important witches and wizards in the Ministry. She was definitely getting bolder - especially when it came to something she was passionate about. Mr. Crouch took a step backward, freeing himself from contact with the elf, whom he was surveying as though she were something filthy and rotten that was contaminating his over-shined shoes. I almost wanted to pick up Winky and reassure her that everything would be alright.

"I have no use for a house-elf who disobeys me," Mr. Crouch said coldly, looking over at Hermione. "I have no use for a servant who forgets what is due to her master, and to her master's reputation."

Winky was crying so hard that her sobs echoed around the clearing. There was a very nasty silence, which was ended by Mr. Weasley, who said quietly, "Well, I think I'll take my lot back to the tent if nobody's got any objections. Amos, that wand's told us all it can - if Harry could have it back, please."

Mr. Diggory handed Harry his wand and Harry pocketed it. "I'll be back to the tent soon," Cedric muttered to his father.

"Hurry along," Mr. Diggory responded.

"Come on, you four," Mr. Weasley said quietly. But Hermione didn't seem to want to move; her eyes were still upon the sobbing elf.

"Wait one second," I said.

"Tara! Hermione!" Mr. Weasley said, more urgently.

"Hang on!" I hissed. I would be along in just a moment. But there was something I had to do first. I walked up to Cedric and smiled awkwardly. "Guess this is goodbye for a little while."

"See you at Hogwarts. Make up for lost time there," Cedric said.

"Exactly," I chirped.

"Hang on, Cedric," Dad said, walking in between us and stopping him from leaving. "Can we speak before you leave?"

My heart jumped into my throat. Too many people were standing around for us to do this right now. "Wait a second. Dad, please don't. I'll explain everything later," I said quickly.

"Quiet, Tara," Dad reprimanded.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," I muttered to Cedric.

"It's okay," he said.

Dad walked up to Cedric, giving him an even stare that I couldn't read. He let out a soft breath before saying, "You're good for my daughter."

We all stared at each other for a second. I knew that Cedric wouldn't speak so I said, "Really?"

"Yes. Unfortunately," Dad added, giving Cedric a regretful look.

"Thank you, sir," Cedric said disbelievingly.

"Don't thank me. Just keep your hands to yourself," Dad told him sharply.

"Yes, sir," Cedric said immediately.

Dad gave Cedric a brief nod before walking off. I smiled at him before turning back to Cedric, who still looked as shocked at the change of events as I was. "So... I suppose I'll write to you once I'm back at the Burrow," I told him.

"I'll be waiting," Cedric said happily.

"Bye," I told him.

Things were finally looking up for the two of us. It hadn't lasted long but it had definitely been a very tense past few days. This would lead to a much easier next few months. I smiled at Cedric and leaned up to press a kiss against his cheek, deciding immediately that I wasn't going to do anything more than that. Not when Dad had finally allowed us to be together. I wasn't really fond of having Dad see me kiss someone anyway. Cedric smiled at me as he pulled away, shook hands with Dad, and walked off with Mr. Diggory.

"Did you know what I was planning to do?" I asked Dad curiously, walking back up to him.

"I had a feeling," Dad said, shrugging.

"Damn," I mumbled.

I'd really thought that I was being clever. Apparently not. "You've never exactly been one to listen to us before," Dad pointed out. I laughed. "Maybe I reacted a little harshly before. Just because of the way I found out."

"It should have never been done that way," I admitted. "I'm sorry."

It was the truth. I should have owned up to our relationship long before I had. "We agree on that much. But I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I should have listened to you," Dad admitted. My jaw almost dropped. My own father was admitting that I was right... "Cedric Diggory clearly is a good man. He took care of you when we couldn't. Even though you don't need it. You truly care for him?"

"I do," I said immediately.

"Invite him to dinner over the weekend," Dad offered.

"Really?" I asked nervously.

"Yes."

"Thank you!"

We both laughed as I jumped over and wrapped Dad in a tight hug. He was finally listening to me. "What a nice sight this is," Mom teased, walking up between us. "The fight is finally over."

"This one, at least," I teased.

Whether or not this fight was finally over, I knew that we would end up fighting again sometime over something else. That was just the way we always were. Fighting over something - usually something quite stupid that could have been avoided. We all laughed as we walked back over to the Weasley's, Hermione, and Harry. Hermione still looked upset over what had happened with Winky, but at my insistence, she turned and followed Harry and Ron out of the clearing and off through the trees.

"What's going to happen to Winky?" Hermione asked the moment we had left the clearing.

"I don't know," Mr. Weasley said.

"The way they were treating her! Mr. Diggory, calling her 'elf' all the time... and Mr. Crouch! He knows she didn't do it and he's still going to sack her! He didn't care how frightened she'd been, or how upset she was - it was like she wasn't even human!" Hermione yelped furiously.

"Well, she's not," Ron said.

Hermione rounded on him. "That doesn't mean she hasn't got feelings, Ron. It's disgusting the way -"

"Hermione, I agree with you but now is not the time to discuss elf rights," Mr. Weasley said quickly, beckoning her on. "I want to get back to the tent as fast as we can. What happened to the others?"

"We lost them in the dark," Ron explained. "Dad, why was everyone so uptight about that skull thing?"

"I'll explain everything back at the tent," Mr. Weasley said tensely.

My eyebrow raised to the top of my forehead. "You seriously don't know what that is?" I asked Ron.

"Well, you said that it was the -"

"Not here," Mr. Weasley interrupted his son.

Perhaps he was right. There was no reason to be talking about the Dark Mark out here. It was unnerving to everyone in the Wizarding World. We walked through the silence for a little while, unobstructed as we headed back to the campsite. But when we reached the edge of the wood, our progress was impeded. A large crowd of frightened-looking witches and wizards was congregated there, and when they saw Mr. Weasley and my own parents coming toward them, many of them surged forward.

"What's going on in there?"

"Who conjured it?"

"Arthur - it's not - Him?"

"Of course it's not Him," Mr. Weasley said impatiently. "We don't know who it was; it looks like they Disapparated. Now excuse me, please, I want to get to bed."

"Calm down. We'll all explain everything later," Dad reassured them.

No one looked happy that they weren't going to explain what was going on, but they knew that it was late. It was time to go to sleep. Even I was ready to pass out. Mr. Weasley and my own parents led Harry, Ron, Hermione, and myself back through the crowd and back into the campsite. All was quiet now; there was no sign of the masked wizards, though several ruined tents were still smoking. In fact, large parts of the camp were completely destroyed. Thankfully our part had been mostly untouched. Charlie's head was poking out of our tent.

"Dad, what's going on?" Charlie called through the dark. "Fred, George, and Ginny got back okay, but the others -"

"I've got them here," Mr. Weasley said, bending down and entering the tent.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered after him. Mom and Dad held open the flap to allow me through after them. Bill was sitting at the small kitchen table, holding a bed sheet to his arm, which was bleeding profusely. Charlie had a large rip in his shirt, and Percy was sporting a bloody nose. That was when I noticed that Mom and Dad were also slightly bloody and dirty. Fred, George, and Ginny looked unhurt, though shaken. I instantly walked over to the twins. They didn't seem nearly as excitable as they normally were.

"Did you get them, Dad? The person who conjured the Mark?" Bill asked sharply.

"No. We found Barry Crouch's elf holding Harry's wand, but we're none the wiser about who actually conjured the Mark," Mr. Weasley said.

"What?" Bill, Charlie, and Percy asked together.

"Harry's wand?" Fred asked.

"Mr. Crouch's elf," Percy said, sounding thunderstruck.

They all stared at us for a moment. I stood underneath Fred and George's arms with Ginny underneath my own. I could feel that she was still shaking slightly. At least she'd had her older brothers to keep her safe. With some assistance from Harry, Ron, Hermione, and myself, Mr. Weasley and my parents explained what had happened in the woods. When we had finished our story, Percy swelled indignantly. I rolled my eyes, already knowing where this one was going.

"Well, Mr. Crouch is quite right to get rid of an elf like that!" Percy yelped. "Running away when he'd expressly told her not to... embarrassing him in front of the whole Ministry... how would that have looked, if she'd been brought up in front of the Department for the Regulation and Control -"

"She didn't do anything - she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time!" Hermione snapped at Percy, who looked very taken aback.

Everyone went silent without warning. Hermione had definitely become a lot bolder over the last few months. Perhaps it was because she was getting older and growing into her own. Or maybe it was because we were finally starting to rub off on her. Either way, I was proud of her. Hermione had always got on fairly well with Percy - better, indeed, than any of the others, including myself. It was nice to see someone call him out. He had deserved it since the moment we'd met him.

"Hermione, a wizard in Mr. Crouch's position can't afford a house-elf who's going to run amok with a wand!" Percy finally said pompously, recovering himself.

"She didn't run amok! She just picked it up off the ground!" Hermione shouted.

"Look, can someone just explain what that skull thing was? It wasn't hurting anyone... Why's it such a big deal?" Ron asked impatiently.

"It's the Dark Mark, Ron! You're a Pureblood! Honestly, read a book!" I snapped irritably.

He turned to me with a shocked look. "I told you, it's You-Know-Who's symbol, Ron," Hermione said before anyone else could answer or respond to me. "I read about it in The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts."

"And it hasn't been seen for thirteen years. Of course, people panicked... it was almost like seeing You-Know-Who back again," Mr. Weasley said quietly.

"I don't get it. I mean... it's still only a shape in the sky..." Ron said quietly.

"Ron, You-Know-Who and his followers sent the Dark Mark into the air whenever they killed. The terror it inspired... you have no idea, you're too young. Just picture coming home and finding the Dark Mark hovering over your house, and knowing what you're about to find inside..." Mr. Weasley winced. "Everyone's worst fear... the very worst..." Mr. Weasley said quietly.

There was silence for a moment. We were all very panicked over the thought of Voldemort potentially returning. Then Bill, removing the sheet from his arm to check on his cut, said, "Well, it didn't help us tonight, whoever conjured it. It scared the Death Eaters away the moment they saw it. They all Disapparated before we'd got near enough to unmask any of them. We caught the Roberts' before they hit the ground, though. They're having their memories modified right now."

"Glad to hear that they'll be okay," I said.

"By morning they won't remember anything," Bill insisted.

"Death Eaters? What are Death Eaters?" Harry asked.

"It's what You-Know-Who's supporters called themselves. I think we saw what's left of them tonight - the ones who managed to keep themselves out of Azkaban, anyway," Bill explained.

"We can't prove it was them, Bill," Mr. Weasley said.

"You know it was them though!" I gasped.

"You are right. It probably was," Mr. Weasley added hopelessly.

"Yeah, I bet it was!" Ron said suddenly. "Dad, we met Draco Malfoy in the woods, and he as good as told us his dad was one of those nutters in masks! And we all know the Malfoy's were right in with You-Know-Who!"

"But what were Voldemort's supporters -" Harry began. Everybody (with the exception of my own family) flinched - like most of the Wizarding World, the Weasley's always avoided saying Voldemort's name.

"Harry, honestly," I muttered.

"Sorry," Harry said quickly. "What were You-Know-Who's supporters up to, levitating Muggles? I mean, what was the point?"

"The point?" Mr. Weasley repeated with a hollow laugh. "Harry, that's their idea of fun. Half the Muggle killings back when You-Know-Who was in power were done for fun. I suppose they had a few drinks tonight and couldn't resist reminding us all that lots of them are still at large."

"So many of them were never convicted of their crimes because of their power within the Ministry," Dad explained.

"A nice little reunion for them," Mr. Weasley finished disgustedly.

"But if they were the Death Eaters, why did they Disapparate when they saw the Dark Mark? They'd have been pleased to see it, wouldn't they?" Ron asked.

"Use your brains, Ron. If they really were Death Eaters, they worked very hard to keep out of Azkaban when You-Know-Who lost power and told all sorts of lies about him forcing them to kill and torture people. I bet they'd be even more frightened than the rest of us to see him come back. They denied they'd ever been involved with him when he lost his powers and went back to their daily lives... I don't reckon he'd be over-pleased with them, do you?" Bill pointed out.

"So... whoever conjured the Dark Mark... were they doing it to show support for the Death Eaters, or to scare them away?" Hermione asked slowly.

"Your guess is as good as ours, Hermione," Mr. Weasley said. "But I'll tell you this... it was only the Death Eaters who ever knew how to conjure it. I'd be very surprised if the person who did it hadn't been a Death Eater once, even if they're not now... Listen, it's very late, and if your mother hears what's happened she'll be worried sick. We'll get a few more hours sleep and then try and get an early Portkey out of here."

Mom smiled down at me and brushed my hair back off my forehead. "Why don't you get to bed? We'll head back in the morning. We'll have to go straight to the Ministry to help set everything right," she said.

"Okay." We exchanged a quick hug as I turned back to my bedroom. Before I could, I looked back. "Dad!" I shouted.

He turned back. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for finally admitting that Cedric is a good guy," I said happily.

Despite everything that had happened tonight, I actually had come out of things ahead. "Honey, I don't love your relationship with Cedric. I still think he's too old for you. I still would really like for you two to push it off for another year. But you're my daughter and I know that you'll do whatever you want to," Dad said. We both laughed, well aware that he was telling the truth. "I'd rather you at least be open with it. He came to your aid. He wouldn't leave you alone out there during the attack. He cares for you. You care for him. It's fair."

"Thank you. I really do appreciate you finally coming to your senses," I teased.

"Please don't let me catch the two of you -"

"No! Wonderful talk, glad you're both okay, I'll see you in the morning," I gasped, darting off.

Dad laughed as I ran back over to Mom. She wrapped me in another hug. "Goodnight, love. We'll see you in the morning before you head back to the Burrow," she said.

"Night," I chirped.

We all waved each other off. I hadn't been sure if they were going to sleep in here after everything had happened with the Death Eaters or if they were planning on heading back to their own tent on the other side of ours. Mom gave me a brief kiss on the cheek and I hugged Dad again, letting them know that I would see them in the morning before we went home. As they left the tent, I went to head to bed. Almost everyone else was already asleep. But Fred was standing near the kitchen table, looking like he wanted to speak to me.

Fred met me halfway and immediately pulled me into a hug. "Glad you found your way back to the others," he said.

"Did you see everything?" I asked curiously, pulling away.

"A little bit," Fred said.

"It was terrifying. I hate thinking that any of those people could be back," I admitted, a chill sweeping over my arms.

Fred let out a soft breath and rubbed over my arms, trying to warm me up. "Doubt it's for anything more than just making a show out of themselves. There hasn't been any word of You-Know-Who's location or any attempt of another rise to power," Fred reasoned.

"Were you three okay?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah. We managed to make it into the woods pretty fast," Fred said.

"Good."

We stood in silence for a few seconds before Fred spoke again. "Sounds like your parents have finally gotten over Diggory."

A small smile tilted up on the corner of my lips. "Yeah. They realized that Cedric was there for me during the attack and he's been there for me before all of that too," I told him.

"You're happy," Fred commented.

"Yeah, you know, I am happy. It's kind of nice. To finally be in a relationship where I don't have to hide it from someone," I said happily. That was when I noticed that Fred was merely staring at me. "You still don't like him, then?"

"How surprised are you?" Fred asked.

We both started laughing. "Not at all. Can you two ever get along?" I asked desperately.

They were some of the most important people to me. I wanted them to get along. "Probably not," Fred said.

We both started laughing. "I appreciate your honesty, at least," I said.

Fred smiled. His eyes then turned up to my forehead. "What happened to your forehead?"

"Oh, I was hit by some spell by one of the Death Eaters, I think," I said, trying to shrug it off. I didn't want anyone to worry about it. Fred's eyes widened with panic. "It hurt like hell. Got cut by a branch when I fell."

"You were hit by a Death Eater spell? Why didn't you say anything?" Fred asked worriedly.

"I didn't want to start freaking people out, like so," I pointed out.

"Come here," Fred said.

He pulled the two of us over into the kitchen, grabbing a towel that was sitting on the counter. He ran it through the remaining water that we had and gently pressed it up against my forehead. I hissed in pain for a moment before smiling as the pain faded. He wiped away the blood before setting the rag back down on the counter. He pressed one hand underneath my chin to tilt my head up to look at him. His thumb very slowly traced up to the side of my face to gently press against the cut. I jumped back slightly in surprise.

"Sorry. Sorry," Fred said quickly. "I know it doesn't feel good."

"No, no, it's okay," I said, waving off his concern. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Fred said.

He placed his hand back up against my cut, gently wiping off the new blood that was forming there. "Tara! Fred!" Mr. Weasley barked. We instantly jumped back. "Get to sleep. We're going to be moving out at first light."

"Right. Sorry," I told him, stepping past Fred. "Night, Freddie."

"Goodnight, Tara," Fred responded.

That had definitely been a rather odd way to end the night. That was saying something, too, considering the way the rest of the night had gone. So was my life. Things always seemed to be strange. I gave Fred a quick hug before joining Hermione and Ginny in the girls' room. They were both already asleep. I crawled up into my bunk with my head buzzing from the pain of the Death Eater's spell and confusion. I knew that I ought to feel exhausted: It was nearly three in the morning, but now I felt wide-awake - wide-awake, and worried.

Four days ago - it felt like much longer, but it had only been four days - I had awoken with that birthmark on my hand burning. Harry had awoken with his scar burning. Both of which were normally signs that Voldemort was near. I hadn't even thought to ask Harry if he was thinking the same thing. The stupid Cedric situation had distracted me. But tonight could have been a huge warning sign over what was to come. Because tonight, for the first time in thirteen years, Lord Voldemort's mark had appeared in the sky. What did those things mean?

Were we really in the countdown to when Voldemort returned to power? The thought made goosebumps rise over my entire body. I wrapped myself tighter in the blankets. I thought of the letter I had written with Harry to Sirius before leaving Privet Drive. Would Sirius have gotten it yet? It would depend on how far away Sirius was hiding. When would he reply? I lay looking up at the canvas, but no flying fantasies or dreams of Cedric came to me now to ease me to sleep, and it was a long time after Charlie's snores filled the tent that I finally dozed off.

A/N: Next time... Leading up to Tara's return to Hogwarts, her family deals with the utter chaos following the Death Eater attack on the Quidditch World Cup and Cedric visits for a family dinner. Here's the new chapter and I hope that you all liked it! I'm very excited to write the next one. Thanks for the follows and favorites! Please review! Until next time -A

Ghostie1701: Always good to get in some Draco! Thank you! Trust me, there's no way that Phil Troy can compete with Cedric, but it's always fun to throw in some extra drama. Happy holidays! Hope you enjoyed them and the new chapter!

Son of Whitebeard: It is a great match! Hope you liked this one!

stephanielau: Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoyed it! I'm so glad that you enjoyed the last chapter. That's quite alright, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

crazy lil weirdo: Thank you! I love the game (I feel like it was one of the best written scenes in the series) so it would be a crime not to write it out. It was so wonderful. Phil Troy will appear again a little while down the road but I won't say when. As you see, Cedric earned major brownie points! Happy holidays to you as well! I hope you enjoyed this one!

pottersimpala67: Thank you! I'm so glad that this was a good Christmas present! I'm glad that you liked Phil Troy's addition. He's fun to throw a little added drama in. I had a wonderful holiday! How about yours? Hope you enjoyed this one!

Guest: I'm so glad that you love this story! I love writing it. It was a long chapter and this entire story is so long, but I'm so glad that people are still reading and enjoying because I put so much effort in. I hope you liked this chapter!