Foreign shoulders brushed against his own as a throng of witches and wizards of all ages skipped past him. Harry kept his head low even as a rational part of his being urged him to stop acting so suspicious. He couldn't help it though. Even with the knowledge that the charms on his face were enough to disguise him from even those who had known him for years, a small part of him was unseasonably paranoid.
"All right there, Harry?"
A hand dropped down on his shoulder from behind and subtly guided him to match its owner's rhythm.
"Yeah," answered Harry. "I guess I didn't really believe you when you told me how bloody packed it would be."
"Language," reminded a third, softer and calmer voice.
"Let the boy be, Remus. He's fourteen years old for Merlin's sake, let him swear a little." Harry was about to thank his godfather when the man added, "It's the most he'll get away with anyway."
The two men continued ribbing Harry as they strode down the dirt path towards two seemingly normal looking wooden poles. These stood about ten metres and marked the entrance to the Quidditch World Cup camping ground. Five Aurors stood guard by the entrance, vigilantly observing the oncoming crowd.
As they approached the Aurors, the three wizards felt the hairs on the backs of their necks stand on end and a shiver of warning go down their spines. Remus' hand twitched towards the wand concealed beneath his belt. Sirius tightened his hand on his godson and loosened his stance. Harry likewise felt the change in the air and gripped the end of his shirt to stop the urge to fidget as they waited in line for their turn to pass through security.
"This was a bad idea," muttered Remus.
"You don't know that yet, Moony. We have to be here not just because this is little Harry's first time watching the big boys play," —a polyjuiced Sirius ruffled the boy's blonde hair playfully— "but because this is probably the last time in a long while that we'll get to do something like this."
The vision Harry had came unbidden to the forefront of their minds. The reminder both sobered them up and softened the tension they carried.
The line to the Auror checkpoint moved slowly. The couple in front of them had a child who preened under the Auror's attention and lengthened the standard proceedings but they too joined the tittering masses on the other side.
"Next!" cried the Auror.
They walked up to him.
"Name, wands and tickets, please." The man in the burgundy robe looked like the last thing he wanted to be doing on a Saturday evening was babysitting Quidditch fanatics. His voice was dull and unappealing, his tone a monotone that matched his expression.
They gave him the three names they'd decided on before their arrival and handed over the fake wands Remus had procured from a special friend he'd made from his years before teaching at Hogwarts. The wands were manufactured to pass a mediocre inspection and nothing more, they couldn't be used to make magic and they certainly wouldn't hold up under more vigorous analysis.
"All seems to be in order. Living sectors A to F can be found to the right, G to L to the left. Stadium is straight ahead, past the merchandise stands. Enjoy the game." He handed back their wands and waved for them to hurry along, not sparing them a second glance before yelling out, "Next!"
For a strange second as he was walking away from the Auror, Harry didn't know whether he should be glad or appalled at the ease with which a fugitive and the runaway Boy Who Lived could pass the security of the magical world's most popular and populated events, Harry decided to count his blessings and not tempt the fates for once.
If he thought the entrance to the World Cup was crowded with people, it was nothing compared to what greeted them on the other side.
There were no streets, not any paved ones. It seemed as though the wizarding population had unanimously created their own boundaries and set their own rules here. Tents of all shapes, sizes and colours seemed like they had dropped from the sky itself, leaving no regard for any sense for organization. So many things were happening at once that Harry didn't know where to look to first. It reminded him of his first trip to Diagon Alley, he'd been so overwhelmed by all the new sights—even new smells—at the time that his senses had been working overload to process it all.
Harry's attention was being pulled from so many different directions that he was left clueless where to start exploring. He was walking past a man selling magical figurines of all the Quidditch players from both teams when he was brought to a standstill as a small, thin body crashed into his legs and fell over backwards on a patch of grass. The house-elf wasted no time in picking herself up and hurriedly curtseying to Harry.
"Winky apologizes deeply, young sir," she squeaked. "She did not see you there and it is only her fault she caused young sir to stumble. Bad Winky." Harry knew from experience where the situation was leading to as the elf dropped down on her knees and braced her hands against the ground, ready to administer her own punishment.
"It's quite all right," he said, then hastened to add, "I wasn't looking where I was going either so we could say it was both our faults. And no one got hurt so I see no reason for you to change that now."
Slowly, so as not to startle her, Harry bent down and grabbed her by the shoulders to gently pull her back upright. She blinked up at him with huge eyes and began twisting her legs like she was unsure how to they worked now that she was back on her feet. Winky gathered all her courage and locked eyes with Harry.
She retreated back three steps on shaky legs. Her elfin eyes saw past the glamours to Harry's real features and she had instantly recognized the scar on forehead. Winky had only heard stories about the wizard responsible for saving the world from You Know Who; to actually meet him in person was more than she could have ever hoped to achieve.
Like the wizarding world, the house-elves had also found hope in the baby that had defeated the Dark Lord and years after the fact, as the little boy joined Hogwarts, more stories started circulating the underground of magical England. Whispers of his kindness, his courage and his power had travelled from mouth to mouth and grown to such proportions that they had reached Winky too.
"Ha-Harry Potter sir, it's you," whispered Winky. "Oh what has Winky done! She nearly caused Mr Potter to get injured! Winky is truly a terrible, terrible house-elf." She began to cry in earnest. Her cries were so loud that they started drawing attention from passers-by. Harry exchanged quick looks of panic with Sirius and Remus and received two separate looks which conveyed the same message: Stop her. They couldn't call attention to themselves.
As Harry bent down on his knees to comfort Winky, Remus discreetly took out his wand and cast a Silencing Charm on the four of them while Sirius performed a Notice-Me-Not Charm which took care of the wandering eyes.
"Winky—that's your name, right? Winky." The elf worked in a weak nod in between sobs. "Winky, listen to me very carefully. I need you to calm down, all right? Nobody knows I'm here and if you keep crying, they'll start to really notice and they'll find out about me, so you need to stop."
Winky succeeded in reducing her cried to sniffles and then to jumpy hiccups. She took out a handkerchief from a pocket to blow her nose and produced a sound of unsettling similarity to a foghorn. Her ears flopped against her head as she did so, idly reminding Harry of a golden retriever.
"Better?" he asked. It was the wrong thing to say as her eyes filled with tears again.
"H-Harry Potter is too kind to Winky. The stories about him are all true."
Harry forced a laugh and said, "I wouldn't be too sure about that."
Winky smiled. "Winky has kept Harry Potter from his duties for far too long and she must be getting back to serving her master."
"It was a pleasure meeting you, Winky."
The house-elf had turned to leave but whirled around on a sudden thought and announced, "Winky will keep Harry Potter's secret, she swears it" then hurried off to be swallowed in by the crowd.
Remus and Sirius took down their respective spells and continued their stroll of the grounds as if nothing had been amiss. Harry was inspecting a pair of magical binoculars that boasted all sorts of interesting functions when he saw Remus sidle up to him.
"Are you sure that was wise, Harry?" he asked. "With a house-elf you can never be sure about anything you tell them unless they belong to you. Otherwise their allegiance lies with their master only, she'd have no choice but to obey his command if he asked her about this."
"I know that, Remus, but short of obliviating her there wasn't much more we could do. Besides, you saw how she reacted to seeing me," Harry added reluctantly. "She won't say anything unless they ask her point blank if she saw me tonight. And what are the chances of that happening?"
"With you concerned? I'm afraid to find out," Sirius retorted.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Let's keep moving."
They were first to arrive at the Top Box. Both Harry and Remus had been hesitant in purchasing such high-level seats when they were trying their best to keep a low profile but they had been swiftly overrun by Sirius.
The privacy gave them time to search through the Top Box without any interruptions. They fanned out across the small room and ran their wands over the walls, seats, tables and windows, leaving nothing uncovered as they muttered spells and incantations under their breaths.
Satisfied that nothing was amiss, they plopped down in their seats just in time to hear an adolescent voice droll up to them from the stairs.
"I just don't understand why the Minister would not give you the entire box, father," whined Draco Malfoy. "Salazar only knows the sort of people we'll be stuck with for the entire game."
Harry closed his eyes. Behind the veil of darkness, he marveled for a moment at the universe's sick sense of humour which would have him locked in a small room with Draco Malfoy for the duration of what promised to be one of the best Quidditch matches of the decade.
"You know I cannot control the Minister's actions, Draco. How he deems fit to distribute the tickets, as misguided as it may be, is none of my concern and it should be none of yours either. You are a Malfoy, these ordinary," he laced that word with disdain, "people are of no matter to us." Malfoy Senior pushed the door open with his staff, his wife following behind him with their son entering last. "Do you understand, son?"
"Yes, father.".
Sirius tensed ever so slightly as the Malfoys entered the room. They found their seats quickly and ignored the other three people already seated in the box.
Shortly after the entrance of the Malfoys the Top Box started filling up with more people. Tall, dark haired men marched in in arrow formation with a single man dressed in heavy, rich robes ensconced between them. They had barely finished occupying the middle row of seats when Minister Fudge and Ludovic Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, casually walked in while in the middle of a conversation.
Harry, Remus and Sirius tried not to be too obvious as they observed Mr Bagman walk up to the viewing balcony and walk along it to the far corner where a small podium had been set up in the open air. He spent a moment taking in the Quidditch stadium before he brought his wand to his throat and cast the Sonorus Charm.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Boomed Ludo Bagman. "The Quidditch match will be starting shortly. Please, find your respective seats and prepare to bear witness to one of THE BEST MATCHES IN QUIDDITCH HISTORY!"
Harry was unsure whether Mr Bagman knew that there was absolutely no need to yell, or if he took some enjoyment out of leaving thousands of people deaf. As the man went on to list the sponsors of the game and regale everyone with an abridged version of the origins of Quidditch, Harry heard the stomping feet of new arrivals approaching the box.
"Blimey, dad! This is bloody amazing!"
"Ron! Would you please watch your language?"
"I barely said anything, Hermione. Who am I offending with saying 'bloody' anyway? It's just a word."
"It's a crass word used indiscriminately by boorish people."
"What did you just call me?"
Undoubtedly anticipating the fight that was about to unravel, Mr Weasley was quick to intervene.
"All right kids, remember which seats you're in and hurry to sit down. The game will start at any moment now."
Even though he had known about the Weasleys' plans to attend the Quidditch World Cup, Harry had thought that he would be safe from interaction with them when Sirius had chosen to buy the expensive seats. He'd figured there was no way the Weasleys would spend so much money on them.
As the family came through the door, Harry made a careful inventory of who was present. He immediately recognized the twins wearing ridiculous hats and sporting mischievous grins on their faces as they whispered behind Percy's back. Mr Weasley was accompanied by his two eldest sons, Charlie and Bill. Ron was staying close to Hermione and although she had clearly done her deal of growing during the summer, he towered over her and had to scrunch his shoulders and droop his head to make eye contact.
His gaze shifted from Hermione to the only other girl in the group walking up behind the twins. Ginny had done her hair in a long braid which ran the length of her back and stopped just shy of her bum. She was dressed aggressively in green and had even painted stripes on the apples of her cheeks. If it weren't for the top hat with a dancing leprechaun on the front, he would say she looked like a forest nymph out exploring the human world.
Harry's mouth went dry. He was forced to look away as the Weasleys took their seats in front of him and readied themselves to watch the game.
Drums beat in the distance and music blared in the stadium, almost rocking them in their seats with its intensity.
The game had officially started.
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"Viktor Krum has caught the snitch! Ireland wins!"
Cheers erupted throughout the entire stadium. Caught up in the moment as they were, even Harry, Sirius and Remus let loose for a moment and jumped up to cheer with the rest of the fans. They hugged each other joyously, high on the team's win and even received a few back slaps from the twins who were so out of their minds with glee that they didn't notice they were interacting with strangers.
Harry had no problem admitting that it was one of the best games of Quidditch he had ever seen. It was so full of action, speed and competition that it really put into perspective the matches they had at Hogwarts. Comparing the two was like putting an iguana next to a dragon. The two animals were so completely different that they didn't even belong in the same world.
He'd taken care to keep an eye on his friends every so often during the game and was happy to note that they were enjoying themselves as well. He was embarrassed to admit that he may have spent a few seconds too many staring at Ginny's profile as she watched the Chasers throw the Quaffle around but there was not much he could do about it as it appeared to be entirely out of his control.
The crowd carried them along as they exited the stadium and headed towards the tents. Earlier in the week Sirius has reluctantly rummaged through the forgotten rooms in his house and had come down baring a magical tent the proportions of which only a Pureblood family would own. Together, they had done their best to rid it of any unsavoury pieces of furniture and décor and had left only the essentials.
For safety reasons they had dismantled any previous charms, hexes, spells and wards that had been placed on the tent and had armed it with a combination of their own. Harry was sure the enchantments they'd used were not as effective as something a Curse Breaker like Bill could've come up with but was rather pleased to find out that on top of being an excellent Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Remus was also very gifted in Charms.
The flap to the tent shoved aside, Harry invited the other two to go in ahead of him as an excuse to keep a lookout on the Weasley family. With their flaming orange red hair and large numbers they were rather easy to spot. They were talking excitedly to each other about the match and continued to discuss the highs and lows of the game as they entered their burgundy coloured abode five tents down Harry's own.
Relieved that he could get to them quickly if something happened—his past experiences having proved to always expect the worst out of any given situation—Harry retired to his own tent. He gazed around the interior with the same amount of silent wonder he had the first time round. Upon entering the tent one was met with a small entryway with a coat closet to the right and an umbrella stand to the left. A sheer curtain and two small steps separated this from the large living room. The kitchen was further down the way and comprised of a table which could seat five people comfortably, though there was also a separate dining room that could dine many more. A study, small library, play room with a bar and a bathroom completed the first floor.
Harry didn't have the energy to think about the second floor. It was safe to say that the Blacks had no qualms spending money and making sure everyone else knew it. Or rub it in your face, as Harry liked to think of it.
"Just how rich was your family, Sirius? We could fit in ten Quidditch teams in here and still have room to spare."
"Don't joke about it, pup." Sirius shouted from the kitchen, his voice getting louder the closer Harry walked. "This is only the half of it, and barely even that if I'm being honest with you. My family had more money than they knew what to do with and the worst part is that after living your entire life surrounded by," he made a wild gesture with his hands, "this, it's hard to get used to anything else. That's the way it was for me, at least I can admit it now, I was pretty spoilt as a child."
Remus howled out a laugh as he strode in the room.
"You were nothing short of a nightmare our first few weeks at Hogwarts," he said. "He'd charm the robes off every professor and then turn around and whine about the food being too salty or the bed sheets being the wrong kind of fabric or the bathroom! No one hated sharing a shower more than your godfather, Harry."
Harry grinned as the two older men continued to poke fun at each other and regale Harry with stories of their school days as the infamous Marauders, and even some tales after Lily and James had become a couple.
As the clock struck midnight they all parted ways and went to get ready for the night. It had been decided before coming to the game that they would be taking turns sleeping. The first shift would be taken by Remus and he was to stay awake until three in the morning when Harry would take his place only to then wake up Sirius and go back to sleep himself three hours later.
Slipping in between the covers, Harry dropped his glasses on the bedside table and kept his wand under his pillow, one hand grasping it tightly. He was more tired than he thought and was pulled into sleep before he knew it.
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His alarm blared out ten minutes before three in the morning. Being the light sleeper that he was, he immediately woke up and jumped to his feet. Harry gave a violent shiver as the cold of the night settled into his bones and quickly put on his glasses and laced boots to his feet. Jacket in hand, he shuffled down the stairs to the ground floor and stepped out into the night air.
He'd barely taken a step out of the tent before Remus removed his Disillusionment Charm and stepped up to the young wizard.
"All's been generally quiet through the night except for the odd drunk or two." Hours of keeping silent had left Remus' voice scratchy from disuse. "There's really not much to do but you have to keep an eye out all the same."
"OK, don't worry. You go to bed and I'll wake up Sirius later."
They hugged sleepily, Remus dangerously close to falling asleep on Harry's shoulder as the man's head dropped from exhaustion and his weight settled uncomfortably in Harry's arms. Harry shook him awake and watched him disappear up the stairs one heavy step at a time.
Disillusioning himself with a wave of his wand, Harry settled down on the ground in front of the flap to the tent and kept his eyes peeled for anything and everything. He waited in that same position for an hour before something far off into the distance caught his attention. On his feet, he shifted to the side and strained his eyes to see past the lines of tents to the soft orange glow getting brighter and bigger.
He didn't raise the alarm yet, he didn't know what he was waiting for, but he knew that he'd know it when it happened. There was an electricity in the air, a current that swept through him and gave him gooseflesh. His breathing was loud in his ears, he was half convinced it was a beacon calling to whatever danger was about to approach.
Come on. What is it? What's the matter?
A jolt zapped through him and turned him to the right. Wand held straight in front of him and stance ready for a fight, he watched as a half a dozen hooded figures with white masks apparated in on the grounds. They converged for a moment or two, then went for the closest tents and, without any provocation or warning, began lighting them on fire.
Harry's wand was already touching the bracelet on his wrist to activate those worn by Sirius and Remus—just in case, they'd said—when more cracks of apparition rang in the distance. He watched with mounting worry as another set of masked wizards apparated close to the Weasleys' tent and felt no small amount of guilty relief as they bypassed it completely to wreak havoc elsewhere.
His bracelet warmed up against his skin, a sign Remus and Sirius had gotten his warning.
Three tents down, a small group of the masked figures had broken off to head into one of the tents and came out balancing something above their heads. They used their wands to levitate the thing higher in the air and when Harry caught sight of the terrified faces of the family they were playing with, he knew he couldn't wait for Remus and Sirius to arrive.
The screams of the family and the loud explosions as the fires spread beyond the tents had started alerting people that there was something amiss. Women, men and children were rushing out still wearing their nightclothes and were forced to duck, run and sometimes duel for their safety as the masked wizards evolved to violence and began attacking wildly.
Harry skirted along the edges of the pandemonium, keeping his Disillusionment Charm intact as he rushed to the family's aid. Their attackers had lost interest in listening to their screams as they tossed them through the air and had lowered the crying mother to the ground. Two of the wizards circled the woman while the third kept her husband and child hovering above her head.
"Stupefy! Stupefy!"
The spells caught the two men in the back and had them crumbling to the ground. Husband and child were dropped aside as the third wizard reacted to his partners' defeat and braced himself for an attack.
Harry knew that the Disillusionment Charm only worked if the subject was standing still and he had already lost the element of surprise. There was only one thing he could do.
Harry charged the man.
"Stupefy! Expelliarmus! Stupefy! Impedimenta!"
Ready for an assault, the masked wizard put up a shield in time to deflect Harry's first two spells but as the magic weakened his defences and the attacks kept coming, the shield flickered and failed. The Impediment Jinx smacked him in the face and gave Harry the time to stun him.
Harry turned to the family next and noticed that though they had pushed their child behind their back and faced Harry head on, neither mother nor father had pulled out their wands. They were Muggles.
"Run," Harry told them. "Run as fast as you can and don't stop until you've reached the woods. You can't protect yourselves here, but you'll be safe as long as they can't find you." The family stood frozen in shock. "GO!"
Harry stayed put long enough to see the family safely out of his sight. Evidence of fighting all across the camping ground had gotten louder since last Harry had checked. He ran back the way he had come.
He knew he had been extremely lucky to have caught those three wizards by surprise when he came upon Remus and Sirius outnumbered and duelling against four masked wizards. His godfather was bleeding from a gash on his forehead and Remus was favouring his right side slightly more than the left.
Harry thought quickly and aimed a minor explosion at the feet of one of the men duelling Remus. The curse didn't do any damage to the wizard but it caught his attention and he changed tactics to attack Harry instead. Harry traded spells with his opponent and was just about to turn the ground under his opponent's feet into quicksand when a Cutting Curse from behind surprised him and sliced his shoulder.
Harry ducked as the next round of curses—this time from two different sides—were hurled at him and performed a quick tuck and roll to get into a better position. Soon, he was trading off spells against two adversaries instead of one.
As one of his attackers fell to a stunner, Harry heard several distinctive cracks amidst the screaming. Aurors had started apparating into the area and were seen running around putting out fires, tending to the wounded and battling the masked wizards.
The wizard that Harry was fighting realized they were becoming severely outnumbered. He dodged Harry's next spell and yelled, "Fall back! It's time! Let's go!".
Following the man's advice, the masked attackers started disapparating. The ones left standing rushed to the fallen ones and held onto them as they transported them out of the scene.
In the distance, the sounds of fighting continued—not everyone had gotten the message to retreat.
"We have to get out of here!" shouted Sirius.
"What? No! There are still some of them left and the muggles can't fight—"
"The Aurors will take care of them, Harry," Remus interrupted him. "You can't save everyone and we have to leave before the situation calms down and they put up Anti-Apparition wards."
As though heeding to Remus' warning, a wave of magic rushed over their heads and settled a bubble textured dome across the sky.
"I think it's already too late."
Remus' eyes widened in alarm. He twisted his feet to try to apparate and failed.
"Come on! We have to get out of here. The ward can't extend everywhere, I say we head for the woods." Sirius led the way as they ran to the forest.
Soon they were bursting into the trees, coming to a stop when the lights from the spells and fires were out of sight.
"Do you think we've run far enough?" Remus panted.
"No, I can still feel it," said Harry.
"Feel what?"
"I think it's the wards. The magic from the wards, I can feel it and I felt it when someone performed the spell before." Despite the situation they found themselves in, Harry felt uncomfortable admitting something he'd kept to himself for so long.
"You can feel magic?" asked Sirius. "How is that possible?"
"I don't know, I couldn't do it before and I think I can see the magic in the wards sometimes too," he added as he remembered their visit to the Ministry of Magic and the patchwork of strands on the ceiling. "I take it it's not something everyone can do and that I'm just late on the uptake?"
"You could say that, yeah," snapped Sirius, then shook his head forcefully. "Now is not the time."
They trudged further into the forest. They hadn't been walking for long when the forest was bathed in green and a light emerged between some trees and shot for the sky.
They looked up.
"Oh God."
There was a skull etched into the sky. Its edges were joined together with streams of emerald smoke. The skull moved, opened its mouth and a snake slithered out, twisting under the skull's still image. The woods all around them broke out in screams.
Harry didn't know it yet—he had no reason to—but that day was the first time since his parents' deaths that the Dark Mark was to be found tainting the sky.