Chapter 5: Dark Reunion
Cody had not slept long, less than a half hour, before Fred was shaking him awake. "Cody, get up...something's happening. Come on, quick!"
The child grumbled something not-quite-coherent, and sat up, scowling. He had just been about to hit a Bludger right at Wood's ugly face, and then Fred had to wake him up! "'S goin' on?"
"I dunno, but Dad says it's on, kid." Fred and George actually looked worried, which made Cody worry, too. A little more awake, clad in his ThunderCats pajamas, he followed the others outside. There were screams and shouts out there now, instead of the singing and carrying on from the Irish, and the other various celebrations that Cody had fallen asleep to.
Outside was rather a chaotic scene. He heard yells and shouts, as well as some rather obnoxious jeers and yells. There was a burst of green light, which got rid of some of the eerie shadows flickering across the campgrounds, and let Cody see what was happening.
There was a crowd of wizards who seemed to be hiding their faced behind cloaks and hoods, and had their wands pointed upwards. Cody's eyes widened in shock as he saw what drifted several feet in the air; people. Four people, who was struggling against the manipulations of those carrying wands. They were being twisted and spun around, and Cody saw with horror that two of the figures were children. "Hey!" he cried, outraged, and started to run at the figures. "Leave them alone!"
Cody's small voice was lost among the general din, and he didn't get far before Mr. Weasley snagged the collar of his pajama top and yanked him unceremoniously back. "Cody, no!" came his worried voice, as a hand grasped his arm firmly.
"Those're kids, they've got kids, we gotta stop them!" Cody cried. He was near tears, fearing for the poor children that were being manipulated by the wizards on the ground. As they neared, he could see that it was Mr. Roberts, and likely his family. The children looked terrified.
"I know, I , listen," said Mr. Weasley as the smallest of the children began spinning so fast that Cody was sure he would break his neck. "Listen to me, child." The man's voice was gentle, but Cody could hear the urgency behind it. "It will be all right, the Ministry is coming in to help. I admire your desire to help, but these are highly skilled wizards, and it would be wise to let those trained for this kind of thing deal with it. We will save those Muggles, okay?"
Calmed somewhat, Cody bit his lip and nodded. He glanced up at the Roberts family and hoped fervently that they would get them down soon.
Mr. Weasley smiled a little and put his hand on Cody's head. "Good boy." They both looked up as the three eldest Weasley brothers emerged from the tent clothed, and with their wands out. "Okay," said Mr. Weasley, drawing his own wand. "Okay, we're going to help the Ministry!" he said to the others. "You lot, get into the woods, and stick together! I'll come fetch you when we've sorted this out!"
Cody was quite inclined to stay and watch, wanting to make sure, to be assured that the Roberts would be unharmed, but George picked the boy up off the ground and slung him over his shoulder. Cody made a yell of surprise as they followed the other youths into the trees, and only then was he set down.
"Those jerks!" Cody spat furiously, clenching his fists and making a violent gesture in midair. "I wish...I wish I could...punch them all out!"
"You and me both, mate," said George. He sounded as helplessly furious as Cody felt.
Even in the woods, there was a fair bit of chaos. Children were crying aloud (and Cody had to wipe his own eyes) and it was as dark as pitch in the woods. "Look, there's a light over there, I think someone's got a lantern," said one of the twins. "We should head over there."
"Yeah," said George. Or maybe it was Fred. In the dark, Cody couldn't tell. "I see a couple of lit wands, too. Hold onto me, kid, you don't want to get separated in all of this."
"Okay." Cody reached out and felt for a hand, but encountered one of the twins' pajama shirttails. He seized this, and the trio made their way toward the lights.
"You've got Ginny?" asked a twin.
"I'm right here." Ginny sounded scared, but seemed to be holding up all right.
"Hey, where'd the others go?" George asked.
As they moved into the light they looked around, only to see that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had gotten separated from them. "I hope they're all right," said Fred anxiously.
"Oh, I'm sure they will be. After all, they're not thick enough to stick around where all the trouble's coming from," George said. "Besides, most the Ministry is out here, trying to deal with all this."
Ginny spoke up. "I wonder if we've been away long enough for the trouble to have died down, 'cause this is getting silly."
Cody and the twins had joined a large group of people milling about, looking nervously back at the faint commotion from the campsite. Discussions in at least three different languages were going on, people were crying or yelling in various parts of the area, and the faint ruckus from the campsite only added to the din.
The twins and Ginny began a conversation on who the masked wizards were, and how the Ministry would get the Roberts down without harming them. Exhausted by this point, Cody only staggered along, pulled forward every now and then as the owner of the pajamas he was holding onto made a particularly long stride. George, as it turned out to be, finally picked Cody up and carried him. Cody was a little surprised - and touched - by this gesture. Yawning, he leaned his head on the older boy's shoulder.
It was strange, seeing the twins act seriously for so long, and even stranger to see them looking worried. It seemed like a very little thing, but it brought home to Cody just how grim this situation was.
For a few moments, Cody felt himself drifting off, and at one point he felt George passing Cody off to his brother. Cody was small for his age, but he was still a nine year old boy, and got fairly heavy for a teenager to carry after a while.
Cody didn't hear much until a frightened shout nearby made him start, and sit straight up. Fred nearly dropped him from the sudden movement. Several people around them screamed, looking up into the dark sky. Cody followed their gazes, and his eyes widened at what he saw. A huge mass made of glowing, green dots was forming in the sky. "Lookit, what is it?" he cried, pointing. "What is it?"
As the twins looked, the dots formed a colossal skull, from which a snake protruded. The unnatural formation made Cody shiver, so malign was it.
"Blimey!" George said, his own eyes widening. "That's not...that's not You-Know-Who's mark, is it?"
"I-I dunno," said Fred. He looked about as happy to see it as anyone else. In fact many people seemed almost on the verge of panic, simply from the sight of it. "I think it is!"
"Come on, Fred," said George worriedly. "Let's get back, make sure Dad and the others are okay."
Fred nodded, and still carrying Cody, he began to run after his brother. Ginny followed close behind, her eyes wide.
Cody was worried, too. That was Voldemort's mark, he remembered that, but where were Ron and the others? Where was the person that had sent up that threatening mark? From his vantage point, not having to concentrate on keeping up with the twins, he was able to watch what was going on. The Dark Mark still blazed a brilliant green in the sky, casting a sort of sickly light on the entire scene. Most of the adults were the ones who looked the most terrified, and Cody's wasn't entirely sure why.
The foursome got back to the Weasley's campsite unharmed, to the scene of many smoldering tents, and a lot of damage. There were not very many people back yet. "Bill?" Fred called, setting Cody down on the ground. "Charlie? Percy?" By good fortune, the Weasley's borrowed tents had taken very little damage.
"We're here," came an exhausted-sounding voice.
They looked to see the three wizards making their way towards the tent, looking somewhat the worse for wear. Cody felt a chill of alarm as he looked them over; Charlie had come out of it the best, he only had a ripped shirt. Percy's nose was leaking blood almost as badly as Victor Krum's had, and Bill clutched at his upper arm, blood seeping between his fingers. "A-are you okay?" Cody asked.
"Yeah, we're all right," said Bill wearily. "Nothing that can't be fixed."
"What happened?" Fred asked, looking a good deal younger than sixteen years for the concern on his face.
"Come on inside," said Charlie, heading for the tent. "We can mop up Percy and Bill, and tell you what hap..." Charlie broke off, looking startled, as he realized they were alone. "Where's Ron and the others?"
"We dunno," said George grimly. "It was pitch black in the woods at first, and we got separated."
Charlie let a big breath, and nodded. "I hope they're all right. Maybe Dad's run into them. Let's get inside."
Cody was so weary he was shaking, but still shook his head when Percy suggested that he should lie down and get some sleep. "Aw, he's all right," said Fred, sitting at the table and letting Cody sit on his lap. Cody yawned and lay back against him, wanting to hear Charlie's tale. The lamps cast a rather comforting light on the room as everyone settled down.
Bill and Percy sat down while Charlie hunted up a bedsheet to use as a makeshift bandage for Bill's arm. Percy had dug out a handkerchief from his pocket and was holding it to his nose. "Well, for a while it was just chaos," said Charlie. "Those masked..." He seemed about to say something less than polite, but he caught Cody's eye and settled for knew we couldn't do anything much without endangering the Muggles' lives. We were trying at first to separate the crowd that was supporting the masked blokes, and egging them on."
"I still can't believe that they were condoning that. I never knew there were that many wizards with no sense of morality." Bill scowled as he took the sheet Charlie had found and held it to his arm.
Charlie nodded, and went on. "Dad was doing his best to help get the Muggles down, but the masked blokes were attacking the Ministry members, and we were limited in what we could do back. We couldn't put everyone else in danger. Percy caught a fist from one of them, and I only barely ducked the same kind of curse that caught Bill on the arm. And then – hold on, I think I hear Dad! Stay here, I'm gonna take a look." Charlie darted to the entrance of the tent and peered out. Apparently he had heard correctly, for he called, "Dad, what's going on? Fred, George, Ginny, and Cody got back okay, but the others..."
"I've got them here," said Mr. Weasley's voice from outside. There was a collective sigh of relief from inside. He crouched down to enter the tent, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed after. They all looked fairly unharmed.
"Did you get them Dad?" Bill asked eagerly. "The person who conjured the Mark?"
"No," said Mr. Weasley. He went on to tell them that Mr. Crouch's house elf had been found holding Harry's wand, but they didn't know who had actually conjured the Mark. Percy, Charlie, and Bill all seemed astonished at this.
"Harry's wand?" asked Fred.
"Mr. Crouch's elf?" This was Percy, who seemed more shocked than anyone else.
Mr. Weasley and the others began to tell what happened, that they had seen Winky the house elf running into the forest and into the trees. How they had heard someone shout an incantation, and how a group of Ministry officials had sent Stunning beams into the forest. How they had found Winky, with Harry's wand, and how Mr. Diggory and Mr. Crouch had interrogated her. How Mr. Crouch had fired the elf (there was a lot of indignation from Hermione during the telling of this) and that they could not find who had actually done the spell.
Percy, of course, who thought that his boss could do no wrong, said that he was quite right to sack and "elf like that". How she'd been wrong to run away when she'd been told not to, and how she had embarrassed him. Cody blinked and looked at him, shocked at how callous Percy was being!
This sparked an argument between Percy and an enraged Hermione, who defended Winky's actions. Cody personally thought she was right.
Ron interrupted the verbal row. "Look, can someone just explain what that skull thing was? It wasn't hurting anyone, why's it such a big deal?"
"Yeah, but it was creepy," said Cody, his words slurred in the slightest from fatigue.
Hermione's answer was impatient. "I told you, it's You-Know-Who's symbol, Ron. I read about it in The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts."
"And it hasn't been seen in thirteen years," added Mr. Weasley. "Of course people panicked. It was almost like seeing You-Know-Who back again."
Ron frowned. "I don't get it. I mean it's still only a shape in the sky."
"A creepy shape in the sky," Cody corrected.
Ron rolled his eyes. "Okay, a creepy shape in the sky."
Mr. Weasley looked grimly at them. "Ron, You-Know-Who and his followers sent the Dark Mark into the air whenever they killed." Cody's eyes widened. "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. Everyone's worst fear, the very worst..." Mr. Weasley winced, and Cody shuddered at the vision that suddenly ran through his mind. Of him coming home, perhaps from a term at Hogwarts, and seeing the awful thing casting its sick green light on his house, of running inside and seeing his mom and Samantha lying on the floor...
Swallowing hard, Cody closed his eyes tightly to banish the image, and wrapped his arms around himself. Fred surprised him by giving him a brief, reassuring squeeze.
After a few minutes of silence, Bill spoke. "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 Robertses before they hit the ground, though. They're having their memories modified right now."
This, Cody did not protest, especially the kids. Them having to remember such a horrible thing would be worse than the magic spell that would take the memory from their minds. In this case, Cody felt the Obliviate charm was justified.
Harry asked what Death Eaters were, and Bill told him that's what You-Know-Who's supporters called themselves. A really gross name, in Cody's opinion. "They didn't really...you know...eat...eat dead people or anything did they?" he asked, his voice a little faint from the sheer disgustingness of the idea.
Bill shook his head. "I don't think so, Cody. They just picked a name that would be intimidating. Anyway, I think we saw what was left of them tonight. The ones who managed to keep themselves out of Azkaban, anyway."
"We can't prove it was them, Bill," said Mr. Weasley with a sigh. "Though it probably was."
"Yeah, I bet it was!" Ron said, his eyes widening. "Dad, we met Draco Malfoy in the woods, an he as good as told us his dad was one of those nutters in masks! And we all know the Malfoys were right in with You-Know-Who!"
"But what were Voldemort's – " Harry broke off as everyone but Cody flinched. "Sorry...What were You-Know-Who's supporters up to, levitating Muggles? I mean what was the point?"
"The point?" Mr. Weasley laughed, though there was little humor in the sound. He told them that it was simply their idea of fun, that half the Muggle-killings when You-Know-Who was in power had been for fun. Cody thought that was horrible. He was going to send a letter to his mom as soon as he could and make sure she and Samantha were okay.
Ron asked why the Death Eaters were afraid, rather than pleased, at seeing the Dark Mark. And Bill said that when Voldemort had been defeated, a lot of the Death Eaters lied, saying Voldemort had forced them to torture and kill people. That they would be more scared of seeing him back than the general public, as they denied ever being involved with him and gone back to their normal lives. "I don't expect he'd be overly pleased with them, do you?"
After thinking on this for a moment, Hermione asked if he who had conjured the Mark had been showing support for the Death Eaters, or trying to scare them away.
Mr. Weasley did not know. "But I'll tell you this. It was only the Death Eaters who 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."
Cody tried in vain to stifle a yawn. "But couldn't anyone learn the right word?"
Mr. Weasley shook his head. "You know that there's a lot more than just a word to getting a spell right, Cody. You have to concentrate, and channel your energy. You have to have the right mindset, and the desire to see the spell work. And there were few that had such a dark desire." He sighed, and addressed his children. "Look, 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 get an early Portkey out of here."
As this point, Cody did not protest in the slightest, as he was so tired that his head was beginning to pound. He slid off of Fred's lap and stumbled towards the bunk he was sharing with the twins. He crawled into bed and listened to Fred and George settle in as well.
While Cody was never afraid of the dark, tonight it seemed oppressive and threatening. The faint sounds of people returning to their tents, cries of anger or anguish at seeing the destruction of their properties, and the other assorted sounds in the aftermath of the incident unnerved him a great deal. He was very glad that he was not sleeping alone that night. Finally, he slept.
---
The group had slept only three and a half hours before being wakened. Cody was too tired even to be grouchy as he was shaken awake. "Come on, Cody," said Mr. Weasley's voice. "Time to get up." The boy sat up and yawned, stretching. Everyone else was up already, and had their overnight bags packed and ready to go. Cody climbed down from the bunk and dressed in his clothing, putting his souvenirs into his own little bag, ready to head for the Burrow. He rather wished he was home at the moment.
Magic was used to pack up the tents, and the group began walking towards the portkey site, in the damp, chilly England morning. Mr. Roberts stood at the door of his home, looking a little dazed. He wished them a Merry Christmas as they passed.
"He'll be all right," said Mr. Weasley quietly to the worried group. "Sometimes when a person's memory's modified, it makes him a bit disoriented for a while...and that was a big thing they had to make him forget."
There were a lot of wizards in the moor, wanting portkeys back home. Mr. Weasley spoke quietly to the keeper of the portkeys, and he and his group were able to take one back to Stoatshead Hill while the eastern horizon was still gray.
Cody was asleep on his feet, and Charlie ended up carrying him back to the Burrow. Having worked with dragons so long, he was quite strong, and so it was not a huge effort to carry the boy. Cody slept with his thumb in his mouth until they arrived back at the Burrow, where Mrs. Weasley's relieved cry echoed across the foggy morning air. "Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness!"
Blinking, Cody sat slowly up and peered at the woman through half-closed lids.
"Arthur, I've been so worried...so worried!" She threw her arms around her husband's neck, the newspaper she clutched falling to the ground. Cody peered at it and asked Charlie what it said.
"It says..." Charlie looked down at it and rolled his eyes. "Oh for... It says 'Scenes of Terror at the Quidditch World Cup.' Why reporters have to over dramatize things is beyond me."
"'Cuz they're a big pain in everyone's butt-end," said Cody, looking down at the twinkling picture of the eerie Dark Mark. "Can I keep this picture when you guys're done with it?" He almost added "It's kinda cool", but decided that it wouldn't be a wise thing to say.
"I don't see why not," said Chralie.
Mrs. Weasley looked everyone over. "You're all right...you're alive. Oh, boys..." And with that, she grabbed the twins around the neck and squeezed them tightly to her. Their heads banged together.
"Ouch! Mum, you're strangling us!" one of the twins sputtered in shock.
Mrs. Weasley began to cry. "I shouted at you before you left! It's all I've been thinking of! What if You-Know-Who had got you, and the last thing I ever said to you was that you didn't get enough O.W.L.s? Oh Fred, George..." Cody rather thought that she wouldn't have to worry about You-Know-Who if she didn't let go of them soon. She was going to strangle them herself.
Mr. Weasley stepped in them, gently separating her from the twins' necks. "Come on now, Molly, we're all perfectly okay." As he led her towards the Burrow, he asked Bill to snag the paper so he could read it.
"I've got it, Dad," said Charlie.
They crammed into the little kitchen, where Mr. Weasley made his wife a cup of tea. He poured some firewhiskey into it, which Cody assumed was to help her calm down. Interested, he peered into the bottle. "Could I try a sip?" he asked.
"Yes," said Mr. Weasley distractedly, picking up the Daily Prophet and paging through it. "Go ahead."
Surprised, Cody picked up the bottle and sniffed it. It smelled very weird to him. Most of those in the kitchen paid him no mind, but he noticed Bill and the twins glancing his way to see what would happen.
Cody carefully tipped the bottle so that he caught a little sip of the booze, and swallowed it down. At first he almost panicked, as his breath was taken away, a fierce burning sliding down his throat. He coughed and set the bottle down, retreating from it as if it was a poisonous reptile. "Yuck!" he gasped in shock, staring at the bottle. That had been the most horrible thing he had ever tasted!
This drew a few others' attention to him as the twins shook with restrained, silent laughter. His cheeks turning a little red, Cody slunk to the opposite side of the table and poured himself a glass of apple juice. He glared at the bottle of whiskey every now and then as if it had assaulted him of its own free will.
Charlie chuckled and leaned over to give Cody's shoulders a brief squeeze. "Don't worry too much, kid. That's pretty stiff, there's adults who don't even like it." He winked, and sat back in his chair, pouring himself a cup of tea.
Mr. Weasley scowled at the paper and its contents, muttering about the uncomplimentary things that had been written about the whole affair and wondering who had written them. His eyes cut upwards, where the reporter's name was typed, and he nodded. "Ah, of course. Rita Skeeter."
"That woman's got it in for the Ministry of Magic!" spat Percy. "Last week she was saying we're wasting our time quibbling about cauldron thickness, when we should be stamping out vampires! As if it wasn't specifically stated in paragraph twelve of the Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans - "
Bill yawned, less than impressed. "Do us a favor, Perce, and shut up."
"I'm mentioned," said Mr. Weasley.
"Where?" Mrs. Weasley demanded. "If I'd seen that, I would have known you were alive!"
"Not by name," said Mr. Weasley. He went on to quote the paper's having said that a Ministry official had come from the woods after the Dark Mark appeared, saying that no one had been hurt, but saying nothing else. And speculated on whether that statement would have been enough to quash the rumors that several bodies were removed from the woods an hour later. "Oh really," said Mr. Weasley in exasperation. "Nobody was hurt, what was I supposed to say? ' Rumors that several bodies were removed from the woods'... Well, there certainly will be rumors now that she's printed that!"
"Boy, she sure is a git," said Cody from his glass of apple juice.
"You said it," said Bill.
Mr. Weasley sighed. "Molly, I'm going to have to go into the office; this is going to take some smoothing over."
Looking all important, Percy said that he would come as well, as they would need all hands on deck. "And I can give him my cauldron report in person."
Mrs. Weasley did not want her husband to leave, to go into work on a vacation. But Mr. Weasley insisted, saying he had made things worse.
Harry asked if Hedwig had come with a message, and upon finding she had not, nodded to Ron and Hermione to speak privately. They headed out of the kitchen and curious, Cody followed. Ron frowned, and glanced at Harry. "Okay if Cody comes along?"
Harry looked for a moment, distracted, and then said, "Oh, yeah, he's fine, he already knows about him."
Ron nodded, and the foursome made their way upstairs. "What's up?" Ron asked once they were in the room with the door closed.
"There's something I haven't told you," said Harry, mostly to Ron and Hermione. Cody felt a bit like someone's little brother. He didn't know if he liked that feeling or if he resented it. "On Saturday morning, I woke up with my scar hurting again."
Cody wasn't sure why this was a huge deal, but the other two seemed shocked. Hermione began suggesting about a million people (and books) to reference to see what he should do about it, and Ron asked if You-Know-Who had been near Harry's house.
"I'm sure he wasn't on Privet Drive," said Harry. Cody listened over his glass of juice. "But I was dreaming about him, him and Peter. You know, Wormtail. I can't remember all of it now, but they were planning to kill...someone."
"It was only a dream," said Ron. "Just a nightmare."
"What did he look like?" asked Cody interestedly.
"What, You-Know-Who?" Ron asked, looking like he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Cody nodded.
"I didn't see him," Harry said. "Only heard him. He's got this strange, high voice. Not like a woman's or anything, just...kinda eerie. It's weird, though. My scar hurts, and three days later, the Death Eaters are on the march, and Voldemort's sign's up in the sky again."
Ron grimaced, his face pale. "Don't say his name!" he hissed.
Cody looked at Ron for a moment, and just to see what would happen, said, "Voldemort."
Ron turned to him, his eyes wide, as if he couldn't believe what he just heard. "Cody!" Cody looked innocently back.
"And remember what Professor Trelawney said?" Harry went on. "And the end of last year?"
Hermione was less than impressed by this, asked Harry if he was going to listen to the old fraud.
"You weren't there," Harry said, shaking his head. "You didn't hear her. This time was different, I told you, she went into a trance. A real one. And she said the Dark Lord would rise again, 'greater and more terrible than ever before.'" Cody shivered, but he grinned. This was all very scary, but he liked scary stuff. A little more awake now, he leaned forward and listened. "And he'd manage it because his servant was going to go back to him. And that night Wormtail escaped." There was silence for a moment as everyone digested this information, then Hermione asked what Harry was expecting Hedwig to bring. Harry said he had written to Sirius about all of this.
"Good thinking!' said Ron. "I bet Sirius'll know what to do!"
When the conversation ended, Ron suggested a game of Quidditch in the orchard, said the twins and Bill and Charlie would likely play. Cody asked if he could come along, too. He wondered how they could play, though, without the right balls. "Bill or Charlie can enchant a stone, or something..." said Ron. "Cody, maybe you can try out Seeker against Harry!"
Cody snorted. "Yeah, right! I'm not that good!"
Harry looked flattered. "Come on, I'll even let you ride the Firebolt for a bit."
Cody's expression lit up. "Okay, awesome!" The boys left the room, leaving a disapproving Hermione behind, muttering about boys.
The game was fun. There were seven people, and so with two teams of three, there was one that would be left. The odd man out played the part of referee, and the others sort of switched positions every once in a while. It was fun, trying out the other positions; Cody did try Seeker against Harry, and even with Cody on the Firebolt once he learned to control it a bit, and Harry on Cody's old Nimbus 1700, Harry easily won that game! "How do you keep your eye on the stupid thing?" he demanded, glaring at the small rock that Charlie had enchanted, and Harry had just chuckled. Cody tried Chaser and Keeper, and decided that he definitely liked Beater best! Still, being referee was fun. (The twins tended to cob a lot!) Needless to say, that night he went to bed on the couch very early and slept until late the next morning.