Chapter 26: Coming to a Boil
August 24th, 1994
Harry held Ginny close to him, his mind unable to accept what she had just said.
"I'm a Horcrux?" said Harry.
"Your scar is a Horcrux!" said Ginny, "But you might as well be! It's in your head, Harry! We can't use basilisk venom or fiendfyre on your head! Just imagine us using the killing curse on you! Again! Oh, Merlin, what are we going to do?"
"What about what you did?" said Harry. "You absorbed a Horcrux."
Ginny stopped crying. "Maybe, just maybe that would work. But I don't know-how! We'd have to figure out how to connect your mind to the Horcrux."
"We need a book on advanced mind magics then, don't we?" asked Harry.
Ginny nodded. "And that'll be so easy to get," said Ginny sarcastically, "There might be something in the Restricted section at school, but anything touching on magic this dark was likely taken out by Dumbledore."
"Maybe if I tell Dumbledore that I want to boost my Occlumency…" mused Harry. He stopped that thought cold. Had Dumbledore known that he had a Horcrux in his head this whole time? The thought was chilling, but it would explain why Dumbledore hadn't told him about the Horcruxes if he was trying to hide this from Harry.
"Why would he agree to that?" asked Ginny.
"I forgot to tell you," said Harry, "I felt Voldemort's mind in France." He quickly described his dream to Ginny.
"The Horcrux must be giving you this connection to Voldemort," interrupted Ginny after he explained the circumstances.
That made sense to Harry. He continued on. When he described the horrible baby thing, Ginny hissed.
"A homunculus," said Ginny, "it's a form of artificial life, created by alchemy. They usually take years to make. I have a feeling that Riddle sped up the process."
"How would you do that?" asked Harry.
Ginny visibly hesitated."You use the appropriate living tissue," she practically whispered, "In this case, from a baby."
Harry couldn't even comprehend what she had just said for a moment. And then the true horror of what she had said set in. "That fucking monster," raged Harry, "I… I ... "
And he couldn't speak anymore. He just clung to Ginny like a lost child.
XXXXX
August 25th, 1994
The next day they had to make an early start. Their portkey left very early in the morning. As they made the hike, Robert stopped and pulled Harry aside.
"Ginny seems rather down this morning," said Robert to Harry in a voice that sounded angry, "Did you sneak into their tent last night?"
Harry shook his head. "That... I did sneak out to the woods with Ginny. We had a conversation. The two of us… well, I don't think we're going to be together at any point. And then I told her about my Voldemort dream a little later."
Robert's anger vanished off his face. Harry hadn't told him that the dream was real, only that he thought it meant Voldemort was on the move. "Oh," he said lamely, "I guess I overreacted there a bit."
"More than a bit," said Harry, "Listen, I've not said anything so far, because you're Hermione's dad. But everything we've done this summer had been because she asked me to. I can deal with you being angry with me for what I've done. But you haven't just been doubting me when you've acted the way you have. You've been doubting your daughter's judgment as well."
Robert hung his head, "You're right Harry. I know Hermione trusts you. I guess I'm playing the overprotective Dad a bit too well."
Harry patted his arm, "Don't worry, you have nothing to worry about," Harry said before pausing and grinning, "Yet."
"Oh, now you are asking for it Potter!" shouted Robert. But he was joking. Probably.
XXXXX
The campgrounds for the Quidditch World Cup final were buzzing with magic users using magic. "No wonder they are using so many memory charms on the gatekeepers!" said Arthur, "can't these people control themselves?"
"I have a real problem with the casual way he was memory charmed," said Robert.
"As do I," said Harry, "Memory charms are dangerous. If they have to memory charm him, why not just wait till the end and do it once?"
"I agree with you," said Arthur, "Unfortunately the current head of the Obliviators office is a proponent of the 'Obliviate early, Obliviate often' mentality. Fudge's influence no doubt."
"The magical world is pretty screwed up, you know that right?" asked Helen.
Percy nodded. "I've only worked in the Ministry for a short while, but it seems obvious that Fudge's influence has had a very detrimental effect on things. The only Department that has any independence left is the DMLE, and that is almost entirely because of Amelia Bones. My boss, Mr. Crouch, hates Fudge, but doesn't dare oppose him publicly."
"Fudge has Crouch over a barrel," said Harry, "Crouch was the one who sent Sirius to Azkaban without a trial. So long as Crouch is in the Ministry, Fudge could cover up his complicity in the scheme by dumping it all on Crouch." And Harry hadn't forgotten that Voldemort mentioned "the younger Crouch".
"Bagnold was so weak Fudge could have stood up to her if he'd wanted to," said Arthur, "He just never saw any advantage in it."
"Here's our site!" said Bill, who was ahead with Ginny.
"Time to pitch the tent!" said Arthur. Looking at Helen and Robert rather nervously, he attempted to set up the tent without magic. This was a horrible failure of course. Finally, he gave in and asked for Bill, Charlie, and Percy to help him. With magic, they managed to set up the tents in just a few minutes.
The inside of the tents was well appointed, as they had full bedrooms inside. They were much larger on the inside than on the outside. Hermione, Ginny, and Helen had their tent, while the boys all stayed in the other tent.
"It's a bit windier than I anticipated," said Hermione, "I'm going to change my shirt quickly."
She went into her tent. Moments later four girls walked up to the Weasley campsite. Two of them were Daphne and Tracey. But Harry was shocked to see that the other two were Fleur and her little sister Gabrielle.
"Fleur!" he shouted, "How wonderful to see you."
Hermione poked her head out of her tent. "Fleur!" she said running to greet the girl with a hug. Unfortunately, she had already taken her shirt off, so she was only in her bra.
Daphne and Tracey started to giggle. Fortunately, most of the Weasleys were still in the tent with Helen. Unfortunately, Robert chose that moment to come outside.
"Hermione!" he yelled. Hermione looked at her father as if he was crazy.
"'ermione," said Fleur, trying to contain her laughter, "Maybe you should go put a shirt on."
"Oops," said Hermione with a slight blush. She walked quickly back into the tent.
Robert gave Harry a rather dirty glare. "You don't look all that surprised to see her like that."
"Of course he isn't surprised," said Daphne quickly, "Hermione gets excited like that in the Slytherin dorms all the time. This isn't the first time she's gotten so excited she didn't put on some article of clothing."
"In any case, Hermione's underwear covers far more than her bikini did," noted Harry.
"Unfortunately, I see your point," said Robert, "But you don't have to stare."
"Harry can stare if he wants to," said Hermione, emerging wearing a slightly heavier shirt, "It isn't any of your business."
Robert grumbled.
"What was the commotion?" said Fred, who left the tent, followed by George and shortly afterward by Helen.
"Oh, you just missed seeing me in my bra," said Hermione, "Not that I'm upset that you missed it mind you."
Both of the twins snickered.
"You need to keep better track of things, Hermione," said George.
"I mean we know you always remember the big things like when the sixth Goblin Rebellion started," said Fred,
"Or what the properties of flobberworm spit are," continued George.
"But you need to keep your eye on the little things," segued Fred.
"Like covering your lady parts," finished George.
Hermione grinned evilly. "I'm going to enjoy being a prefect, you know. I'm going to make your lives hell."
"She wouldn't!" insisted Fred.
"You know she might," said George thoughtfully.
"Our deepest apologies," they both said, bowing to Hermione. Hermione smiled slightly.
"Have you seen Blaise?" Harry asked Daphne.
"Oh I saw him talking to Seamus," she said, with a knowing tone.
"Ah," said Harry and Hermione. Fleur also nodded, though how she had figured out what was going on was beyond Harry. Even the twins snickered a bit.
Gabrielle began speaking to Harry in French. Harry was stunned to realize that he could still understand her! The spell Hermione had cast had not worn off yet.
"How are you doing Harry! This is my first time in Britain. Is it always so grey here?" she said, speaking incredibly quickly.
"Very often it is," replied Harry in French, "And I am doing fine," Harry realized that there were some large holes in his French vocabulary. He still remembered the French that he had learned and used in France while under the spell, but everything else was gone. Still, he had managed to learn a huge chunk of French in a very short time.
"I didn't know you spoke French Harry," said Daphne in flawless French.
"I couldn't," said Harry, "But using that translation spell all the time left the stuff I used in my head."
"Brilliant!" said Daphne, in English.
"We will be sitting in the Minister's Box with you Harry," said Fleur, "As my father is senior Undersecretary to the French Minister for Magic, he was able to get us tickets there. We will be sitting right by you."
"That's great!" said Harry.
"You just want to spend time with my sister because she is a part-veela!" said Gabrielle in French again, though her tone indicated she was teasing him.
"I do like spending time with your sister," said Harry, "But it is not just because she is a part-veela. She was very kind and hospitable to us in France, and I wish to return the favour."
Gabrielle seemed to become thoughtful at that.
It was at this point that Blaise arrived. "Hey everyone! I got waylaid by Seamus on the way over here," he said before he stopped and saw Fleur and Gabrielle, "Well, I have to say that I haven't had the pleasure, my name is Blaise Zabini. And who might you lovely ladies be?"
As Fleur introduced herself and her sister to Blaise, Harry sidled next to Daphne. "What do you know about Fleur?" he asked.
"Her father is one of the most important people in the French Ministry, and an ardent opponent of pureblood supremacy," said Daphne, "My father gets on well enough with him, as my father's foreign policies are generally more pro-muggleborn than his domestic policies."
Harry thought about it for a second, "Maybe we should let her in on the war council then. Having the Senior Undersecretary to the French Minister on our side might be helpful."
"So you've heard about the Triwizard tournament then?" said Daphne. Harry nodded.
Ginny approached them quietly, "I think we need to fill in Daphne, Percy, and Bill on what's going on," she said to Harry.
Harry nodded, "Hermione should probably be there, but her parents might be suspicious. It's one thing to tell them that we have secrets, it's another thing to hold secret meetings when they're present."
"She needs to know though," said Ginny.
Harry sighed. "Maybe we can get Fleur and Blaise to distract them for a few minutes."
"Well Fleur can distract my dad," said Hermione, "Poor guy is completely defenseless against her."
"Maybe we should have Blaise do that one then," said Daphne.
"That's a good idea," said Harry.
XXXXX
It proved quite easy to get Bill, Percy, and Daphne alone for a few minutes in the girl's tent.
"So what is this about?" said Bill, "You've all been super secretive."
"We have reason to be," said Ginny, "We've decided that everyone here is trustworthy. So we are going to let you in on all our secrets."
"All of your secrets?" said Percy.
"Well the marriage contract Mum signed for me and Harry is the less shocking thing," Ginny admitted.
"What!?" shouted Bill.
"We're taking care of it," said Daphne, "I can't say anything else, and it would just make you madder if I did."
"The bigger problem is that Harry didn't destroy Tom Riddle's diary with a basilisk fang," said Ginny, "I absorbed it, and now I have Riddle's memories."
"Okay, that is so much worse than the marriage contract," said Daphne, "And it explains so much of why Harry defers to you."
"Anyway, Harry has a link to Voldemort with his scar," said Hermione. "And when we were in France he felt Voldemort."
"And I still occasionally feel his presence now," said Harry, "He's returned to Britain."
"How is he not dead?" asked Percy.
"He created Horcruxes, items which store a piece of his soul," said Ginny, "They keep him alive no matter what. The diary was a Horcrux but it wasn't his only one."
"The news which we haven't even told Hermione, is that we've found another Horcrux," said Harry.
"Where?" asked Bill.
Ginny pointed directly at Harry's scar. "It's there," she said.
"My scar is a Horcrux," confirmed Harry.
Everyone stared at Harry. "Well, fuck," said Percy.
XXXXX
Harry had to admit he was disappointed. He'd hoped that Bill Weasley would know how to deal with his Horcrux problem. But Bill was completely mystified. They'd have to come up with another solution.
As Harry and his new confidantes left the tent, they saw Arthur was talking to two men. One Harry recognized as Ludo Bagman, primarily from Tracey's rather bizarre crush on the man he had seen in her thoughts. Bagman had looked m7ch younger in her thoughts though. The other he didn't recognize, but Percy dealt with that.
"Hello Mr. Crouch," said Percy.
Harry tensed. That was Barty Crouch. That man was responsible for Sirius being sent to Azkaban. Hermione put both of her arms around his arm.
"Hello Weatherby," said Crouch to Percy's extreme annoyance.
"You do need to find poor Bertha Jorkins," said Arthur to Bagman, "Even for her, this disappearance is odd."
Harry gasped. Bertha Jorkins was the woman Voldemort had killed.
Crouch had noticed Harry's reaction. "You know something Potter?" he asked.
Harry shook his head, "Bertha Jorkins is almost certainly dead," he said sadly, "I think she fell into the hands of Lord Voldemort's shade in Albania."
"How could you know such a thing?" Crouch scoffed.
Harry snarled. "I had a dream. Lord Voldemort's… shade was talking about all the things she had told him. To… one of his servants."
Barty Crouch went white. "Do you have prophetic dreams often?" asked Crouch.
"No, but this is the very first time I'd heard the name Bertha Jorkins outside of that dream," said Harry.
"Harry mentioned the dream to me at the time," said Hermione.
Crouch grew visibly anxious. "Excuse me, We must look into this."
Crouch wasn't worried about Bertha Jorkins, realized Harry as the man walked away. He was worried about what she might have told Voldemort. Did this have to do with the Younger Crouch? That was just terrific. All Harry needed was another mystery.
"That was odd," said Bagman, "Plenty of time to follow this up tomorrow. Not much we can do now with the World Cup on. Anyway, anyone wants to place a wager?"
Everyone (including a very shocked Tracey) glared at him.
XXXXX
The Minister's Box was probably the very best place to see the match. It was perfectly situated so that the field below could be seen but at the same time was on the level at which most of the play would probably occur. Harry and his friends were among the first to arrive, with Fleur and Gabrielle in tow. On the way to the stadium they'd purchased omnioculars, which were like binoculars, but more magical. Particularly useful was their ability to slow down the action to get a better view of a particular play.
The box began filling quite quickly. A house-elf arrived soon after Harry and his friends had arrived. Hermione tried to talk to her, but aside from giving her name (Winky), she seemed uninterested in talking. Other wizards began to file into the box shortly thereafter, mostly foreign dignitaries or Fudge cronies. But about 10 minutes before the introductions were about to start, Harry saw Ginny go tense.
Lucius Malfoy had entered the Minister's box, along with his wife, Narcissa, and Draco. The Minister had also entered the box at about the same time, though from the other side. He was accompanied by another man whom Harry guessed was the Minister for Magic from Bulgaria.
"Potter," said Lucius, his nose flaring somewhat, "What a… pleasant surprise."
"My thoughts exactly," said Harry.
"Lucius Malfoy," said Ginny quietly, her eyes hard as diamond, "It's been a while. I don't have a cauldron on me, so if you are going to try and murder me again you won't be able to just drop a Horcrux in it and let it possess me. You'll have to try something new."
"How DARE you…" started Narcissa, but Harry cut her off.
"I agreed I wouldn't cause a fuss over this, but Ginny didn't," said Harry, "But I would be very willing to add my testimony to hers. And to Dobby's. So by all means, cause a scene in front of TWO Ministers for Magic."
"You broke your word a day after you gave it," said Lucius.
"Because your moron son publicly asked me about it," said Harry. Lucius and Narcissa looked at Draco sharply.
"I haven't said a word since then," Harry continued.
"But understand that I haven't forgotten anything Lucius," said Ginny, "The day WILL come when I make you pay for what you've done. I look forward to showing you some of the things your master taught me."
Lucius went white. That was a possibility he had never considered apparently.
Harry put his arm around Ginny and shepherded her back to the group. "Well said," he said to her.
"Malfoy tried to stay in the background last year," said Ginny, "but he won't this year, not after that."
"We'll have to be vigilant," agreed Harry.
Upon rejoining his friends, Harry soon found himself up against the front railing of the Ministers box wedged between Blaise and Gabi. Hermione was talking quietly to Daphne, Tracey, and Fleur, and from their giggles and glances at him, it was quite obvious that he was the subject of their conversation. He didn't think he would be welcome there right now.
Gabi looked at Harry oddly. Finally, she spoke up, again in French. "I think my sister likes you," she said.
"I think she does too," said Harry, "But she's too old for me and she knows it."
"Age is less important to a Veela than some other things," said Gabi, "But I don't think she intends to pursue you either. I don't know why though. Is it because you are with Hermione?"
"I'm not with Hermione exactly," said Harry, "Maybe I will be soon, I don't know, but right now we're trying to see other people."
"A full-blooded Veela would see how you felt for each other, but to me, it feels as if you two are pulling towards each other if that makes sense," said Gabi.
"It doesn't, but that's okay," said Harry, "I'm pretty dense sometimes."
Gabi smiled at Harry. "Somehow, I don't think that is true," she said mysteriously.
"Looks like things are starting!" said Tracey.
The front row of the box had been given over to Harry and his group. Gabi was on the right-hand end of the row, sitting next to Fleur. Fleur had sat next to Hermione, who was on Harry's immediate right. On his other side was Tracey who had pushed her way into that spot, and Harry suspected that it had something to do with Ron's presence on the other side of her. Daphne had similarly pushed her way next to Ron, leaving Ginny and Blaise on the other end. The Malfoys had sat a couple of rows back, in the center, just in front of Winky, and next to the Minister and his Ministerial guest from Bulgaria.
Harry was starting to get a little worried about the situation with Ron, Daphne, and Tracey. It had all the makings of a love triangle forming. Their little group had just avoided one with Hermione, Ginny, and himself. They didn't need another one starting up now.
The arrival of the mascots from Bulgaria, however, caused quite a stir. It was a whole troupe of stunningly beautiful women. As soon as they entered the pitch, Harry could feel the pull of their allure. Veela.
Fleur seemed a bit angry. "They are not supposed to use their allure in that way, to influence a Quidditch match. It goes against everything the Veelas has done to advance ourselves over the last century," she said. Harry supposed this was hitting some hidden fault line in Veela society, but he had no idea what it was.
Ron was rather agitated, and Harry laughed at Draco's contortions. Draco was trying very hard to get the attention of the Veela and nearly dived through Harry and his friend's party to leap out of the Minister's box. Luckily Narcissa was able to pull him back. There were plenty of adult men who were having similar problems. Blaise seemed rather unaffected though.
"My Dad is probably having fits," said Hermione glumly.
"Don't worry, Arthur and Bill can probably keep him in check," said Harry.
"You are doing very well this time," said Fleur, looking rather astonished.
"I can feel it," said Harry, "But I guess I know how to shake it off now."
Fleur just shook her head. "Do you understand how rare that is in someone your age?" she finally asked, "At your age most are either completely vulnerable or not affected at all. I suspect you have a strong resistance to mind-controlling magic."
The Irish mascots came on the field next, and they were leprechauns. They sprayed leprechaun gold all over the stadium.
"Look at all this gold!" shouted Ron excitedly.
"It isn't real," said Blaise, "It'll disappear in a few hours."
"Oh, did Seamus tell you that?" asked Daphne suggestively.
"Just because the bloke's Irish, it does not mean he knows everything about Leprechauns," said Blaise, "My Mum told me that one. She's had some troubles in Ireland, and she loves to tell me horror stories about the place. Course she doesn't go there anymore, not since the Irish magical underworld put a kill on sight order on her."
"So what do we do with this gold?" said Ron.
"We throw it at Malfoy," said Ginny, who pointed at Lucius and Fudge, who had moved away from the box for a moment to have a private word.
And before Harry could say anything, Ginny, Ron, Blaise, and Tracey were throwing Leprechaun gold at Draco. He wasn't expecting it, so he was knocked back into the aisle behind him, right in front of the seat, Winky had been saving. Winky seemed to take this rather badly, wailing loudly, and helping Draco back to his feet quickly.
"Oh stop it!" said Hermione, "You're behaving like hooligans."
Ron and Tracey both looked a bit shamefaced, but Blaise and Ginny seemed defiant. Fortunately for them, Draco didn't know the secret of Leprechaun gold and was scrambling to pick up the pieces.
"Poor Draco," said Harry sarcastically.
XXXXX
The World Cup final match was Quidditch, unlike any Harry, had seen played before. The speed of the players, the precision of the passing, it was all far beyond the level played at Hogwarts. The Irish chasers were good. So good that Harry couldn't understand how anyone could stop them. Both on offense and defense they dominated the pitch. The game was going to come down to whether the Bulgarian seeker could catch the snitch before Ireland got an insurmountable lead.
The Bulgarian seeker was Viktor Krum, and Harry knew why they called him the best in the world. He was possibly the most skilled flyer Harry had ever seen. He pulled a long dive called a Wronski feint perfectly, causing the opposing seeker to slam into the ground. His skill at avoiding bludgers was amazing. And he was the first Seeker who consistently saw the snitch at around the same time Harry did. Unfortunately, the opposing beaters managed to keep him away every time. And when the Irish team finally went up 150 points, Krum knew that they were beaten. Moments later he saw the snitch and caught it, ending the match.
"Why'd he do that?" asked Daphne.
"The Irish chasers weren't going to be stopped," explained Tracey.
Ron agreed, "If he'd waited any longer, the Bulgarian team would have probably lost by over a hundred points. Krum just stopped the bleeding."
"Are we partying over at the Weasleys' tents?" asked Blaise.
"The more the merrier!" said Ron excitedly.
"Unfortunately, Gabi and I must return to our parents," said Fleur, "But I will see all of you later this year."
"Goodbye, Fleur!" said Hermione, hugging the older girl.
The group made their way back to the tents. Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise had all made arrangements to spend the night in the Weasley tents. Daphne's family was there as well, but according to her she and her father were still at loggerheads. Tracey's parents were working, while Clarice Zabini was not a Quidditch fan.
Still, the Weasleys had no intention of going to bed so early. They'd mostly been rooting on the Irish, and as such, they were in a mood to celebrate. Fred and George were particularly exuberant as they'd bet a large number of galleons on Ireland winning and Krum catching the snitch. Arthur tried to send them to bed, but with Blaise, Daphne and Tracey there he eventually decided to let them celebrate a bit longer.
There was a lot of noise coming from the rest of the camp. It would be a mess for the Obliviators to deal with in the morning. Then there was a subtle change in the sound. Harry and Ginny noticed it first. What had originally sounded excited, suddenly shifted to sounding hectic. Harry and Ginny both ran to the entrance to the tent.
Outside they saw fires cropping up all over the place, and could hear the faint sounds of screams and people casting combat spells.
Harry ran back into the tent. "Someone's started a riot!" he said urgently.
"And it's heading this way," said Ginny seriously.
Arthur stood up and ran for the door. Looking outside they ran back in. "We need to get out of here," he said. "Bill, Charlie, Percy, we need to join the Ministry response, they'll need all the help they can get. The rest of you need to get away as quickly as you can. No heroics."
"Right,' said Harry as he pulled out his wand. The rest of the kids did likewise. If there was a riot, this qualified as a life-threatening situation. They could use magic to defend themselves if need be.
As Arthur and his group made their way away, Harry gestured with his wand and the rest of his friends formed a ring around Helen and Robert.
"What's that for?" asked Helen.
"You're completely defenseless," said Harry, "And at any rate, I bet we know who is causing this riot. There's only one group in Magical Britain that would."
"The Death Eaters," said Hermione.
"You stay in the middle too Hermione," said Daphne, "To them, a muggleborn is no better than a muggle."
As they moved through the tents, they saw the main group of Death Eaters. It was indeed making its way towards them. The could see the masked and cloaked Death Eaters marching down the streets. They were levitating several people in the air, spinning them around and holding them upside down. They were all wearing sleeping gowns. Harry recognized the gatekeeper who had let them into the grounds the day before. The others must be his family, including his wife and children. Harry's blood ran cold. He was about to charge the Death eaters when he felt an iron grip on his shoulder.
It was Ginny. "We can't Harry, we have to protect our friends," she said.
"Let's move!" he said, his voice disgusted, "If those Death Eaters get too close to us though…"
Everyone nodded at him. None of them were thinking of stunning spells at this point.
Their group made way towards the nearest cover, a small wood on the edge of the camp. Right before they got there, they ran into a familiar face. It was Draco and his goons, Crabbe and Goyle. Draco was complaining about something.
"I don't know where my wand went, It's not like I use the damned thing outside of school," said the blond boy.
Harry laughed, casing Malfoy to spin around suddenly. "Has poor Malfoy lost his wand?" he asked mockingly, "Not able to join in the fun with your father?"
"Potter!" shouted Draco, but he was nervous. Harry and his friends had him very outnumbered, and without his wand, he had to be feeling rather vulnerable.
"If my father was out there, and I'm not saying he is, he's smart enough to not get caught," said Draco, "But you should all hang around. They're heading this way. I wouldn't mind seeing Granger's knickers again."
Robert tried to lunge at Malfoy, but Fred and George both held him back. Harry simply nodded towards Daphne. Daphne and Blaise suddenly raised their wands and stunned Crabbe and Goyle. Harry didn't bother with magic. He simply walked up to Malfoy and punched him in the face. Malfoy fell to the ground bleeding from his now broken nose.
"Thanks for reminding me what a scumbag you are," said Harry, "But the good news is, I'm done beating you up. The bad news is, you're staying with us. What do you want to bet that pointing a wand at your head stops those Death Eaters cold?"
"Harry…" said Helen nervously.
"Oh I'm not going to hurt him anymore," said Harry, "But Lucius doesn't need to know that."
"You'll pay for this!" said Malfoy.
Harry nodded. "I might. But…"
Suddenly a voice from some way off said "Morsmordre!"
And the sign of a skull swallowing a snake flew in the sky.
Harry gasped. "The Dark Mark!" he said, his voice horrified.
"The Dark Mark?" asked Robert puzzled.
"You-Know-Who's mark," said Hermione grimly.
Suddenly they heard the crack of disapparating as all the Death Eaters began to flee.
"Why are they fleeing?" said Draco in disbelief.
"Because if Voldemort was back those Death Eaters would be in big trouble," said Ginny with a twisted grin, "They all denied him to keep their freedom. The only Death Eaters who wouldn't be in trouble are those who went to Azkaban for him."
"You dare speak his name?!" demanded Malfoy angrily.
"Thanks to your father I know Voldemort more personally than you ever will," said Ginny contemptuously.
"We should head back to camp," said Harry, "No Death Eaters would stay around after that, and we might be able to lend a hand if people are hurt."
Everyone agreed. The mystery of who cast the Dark Mark could wait till tomorrow. They left Draco behind with an unconscious Crabbe and Goyle.
When they got back to the campsite, they immediately noticed that the girls' tent had been trampled. The other tent was still standing though. Moments after arriving, Bryant Greengrass ran up with Tracey's father as well as Clarice Zabini.
"Thank Merlin you're all right!" said Bryant.
"I wasn't in much personal danger," said Daphne, "But I guess if the Death Eaters had caught us we'd have probably had a firefight on our hands."
"Because you were with muggles of course!" said Clarice angrily. Harry saw Hermione clench her fists.
Blaise wasn't having that though. "No, because some pureblood bastards decided to attack muggles!" he said angrily, "Let's put the blame where it is due, not on the innocent people just trying to have a good time!"
"Well said, Blaise," said Bryant, "This sort of barbarism is a huge step back for the whole magical community. It makes us look worse than anything the Muggles have done to us since the witch burnings."
Harry recalled that Bryant was opposed to muggle baiting. It was a politically convenient position, and Bryant's comment had sounded rather empty. Like a practiced statement. Looking over at Hermione, he could see she was still enraged. She caught his gaze, and he saw that she needed to talk to him for a bit.
Blaise, Daphne, and Tracey all apparated home with their parents. This still left all the rest of the Weasleys, Grangers plus Harry to fit in one tent. Things got easier when Bill, Charlie, and Percy arrived. Bill expanded Robert's bed so that Helen could share it with her.
"Ginny, you can take my bed," said Harry, "I'll take the couch."
"Where is Hermione going to stay?" asked Robert.
"Well…" said Hermione, trailing off as she tried to figure out how to put this.
Ginny decided to cut through it. "She's staying on the couch with Harry," she said, "The two of them need to talk."
"She is not…" started Robert, but Ginny cut him off.
"You know that what happened tonight was bad, but you don't understand how bad," said Ginny quietly, "Your daughter is scared and enraged. Do you know what to say to her?"
Robert hung his head as he shook it. "Sorry, it was just a reaction," he said sadly, "Of course you can stay on the couch, Hermione."
And with that, they all went to bed.
XXXXX
August 26th, 1994
Everyone was rather exhausted when they woke up the next morning. Harry had talked to Hermione for a while, but she had gone to sleep angry. He'd felt her quivering next to him. Neither of them had been willing to tempt her father's wrath by trying to sleep on the same side of the couch. As a result, they'd slept on opposite sides of the couch and Hermione had kicked him in the chest multiple times. He might have done the same actually, at least going by her giggles. She'd been a bit calmer when she woke up but was still visibly upset.
Arthur had helped with the aftermath of the riot, and he was even more exhausted than everyone else. "We found a house-elf near the site where the Dark Mark was cast," he said, "Her name was Winky. There was also a wand nearby. It had cast the Dark Mark. You'll never guess who the wand belonged to though."
"Draco Malfoy," said Harry.
Arthur looked at him with a stunned expression. "How did you know?" he said incredulously, "I thought you said Malfoy was with you when the Dark Mark was cast?"
"He was," said Harry, "but Winky was sitting right behind Draco in the Minister's box during the match, and he didn't have his wand when we met him near the forest."
"Well that should clear Draco's name then," said Arthur, "Though I find it hard to believe that the elf stole the wand. She was Crouch's elf apparently, and he fired her on the spot."
Harry also didn't believe that Winky had stolen Draco's wand. He remembered how flustered she had been when Draco had fallen right in front of the seat she'd been saving.
"Winky said she was saving a seat for someone," said Harry, "But I think that someone was there. I think they were either disillusioned or under an invisibility cloak. She was trying too hard to prevent people from entering the physical space of that seat. That's who cast the Dark Mark."
Arthur shook his head, "I do not doubt that you're right Harry, but proving it will be impossible. And why would a guest of Mr. Crouch's cast the Dark Mark? Barty Crouch hates Death Eaters more than anyone. He sent his son to Azkaban as a Death Eater."
"Could it have been his son?" asked Fred.
"No way," said Percy, "Barty Crouch Jr. is dead. Died in Azkaban. His mother followed him soon after."
Harry suddenly realized what Voldemort had meant by "the younger Crouch". Looking over at Ginny he saw that she was having the same thoughts. The fact that Winky had been Crouch's elf was too convenient. No, this all had to be linked.
"How soon after?" asked Ginny.
"She died as soon as she got the news," said Arthur sadly.
"So what you mean to say is that Barty Jr. died, and then no one saw his mother again after that," said Harry.
"Mrs. Crouch was very ill," said Arthur.
Ginny's eyes widened. "So she was going to die anyway?"
"Oh, bloody hell!" said Daphne as she realised where Harry and Ginny were going.
"What?" asked Arthur.
Suddenly Percy seemed to get it. "Polyjuice potion," he said, "His wife and son switched places with polyjuice potion."
"The Dementors can't see!" said Harry excitedly, "A corpse is a corpse to them. They can only tell living people apart."
"And they sometimes have trouble telling living people apart," said Hermione, "I bet it is even harder with family."
"I bet you Crouch kept his son captive this whole time!" said Ron
"Winky was saving a space for Barty Crouch Jr." concluded Blaise, "And he stole Malfoy's wand, and he summoned the Dark Mark..."
"And now he's loose," finished Charlie.
"And Voldemort's back in the country," said Harry.
"We have no proof," said Arthur.
"No we don't," said Bill, "But do you doubt our conclusions?"
Arthur shook his head. "No, I don't. Not that it matters."
"We can't prove it," said Harry.
XXXXX
Hermione was slated to stay at the Burrow for the remainder of summer break. After the attack, the Grangers were hesitant to let her do so but ultimately relented as they had few other options. Logistically, they both had to work on the first, so neither could take her to the station. Still, before her parents left Hermione and Molly gave her parents a more detailed rundown of the Death Eaters and what they stood for. Ginny sat watching the whole thing grimly.
On the 28th, they all went to Diagon Alley to get their school things, where they met Daphne and Blaise. The trip was rather uneventful. Harry met with Brokgut, and he had indeed finished the arrangements for the rebuilding of Harry's ancestral home. After a bit of light haggling, Harry signed off on the plans and set the rebuilding in motion.
Harry also noted that his list of supplies included dress robes. He supposed this had something to do with the tournament. Still, it took a little extra time to get fitted for them. Daphne had given him some advice on the styling, so Harry was confident that he would look moderately stylish. As it was, Harry was more than prepared for what was to come this year.
One small hiccup was that Molly and Arthur had refused to sign Ginny's Hogsmeade letter. Supposedly it was punishment for her sneaking out of Hogwarts last year. Still considering that Ginny had saved Hermione, Justin, and even Harry's life by doing so, he thought it was a little unfair.
So he managed to find a spot that was in full hearing of Mrs. Weasley but where he couldn't see her, where motioned for Ginny to come over. She seemed curious as to what he wanted to say. He put one finger over his lips in a shushing gesture.
"It's too bad you can't go to Hogsmeade,' said Harry so that Mrs. Weasley could easily hear him, "How am I going to get you out on a date now?" Harry winked at Ginny.
Ginny barely managed to stifle her laugh. If that didn't get her mother to change her tune, nothing would.
Author's Note: I don't have much to say over this chapter. Some of you seem to think Harry and Hermione are going to be having sex soon. They aren't. It definitely doesn't happen in fourth year.
Next time school is back in and the plot finally starts moving again.