It felt like mere minutes had passed by the time Mr Weasley was stood in the opening of the girls' tent, shouting, "Girls, wake up! I'm coming in, we have to go!"

He didn't need to wake them any more, the urgency in his voice was enough to rouse them from their light slumbers and, confused, they all peered round their open tarp doorways.

"Get dressed. Now," Mr Weasley insisted. He ducked back out of the tent and Poppy quickly grabbed her wand while Ginny and Hermione found their coats and did the same. Waving her wand, Poppy dressed in an instant, donning a bra and adding her green jumper over her grey camisole vest top - she was glad she'd opted for black pyjama trousers to sleep in this night.

She slipped her feet into her trainers before she left the tent, emerging just after Hermione and Ginny.

Ron, Harry, Fred and George were standing outside already, and Ginny and Hermione rushed over to them just as Bill, Percy and Charlie exited the main Weasley tent, all fully dressed.

Poppy moved forwards and had just opened her mouth to ask Charlie what was going on when she heard screams and yells behind her. At first she thought it was more partying, but one look at Mr Weasley's face as he pushed Ginny towards Fred and George told her otherwise.

"We're going to help the Ministry," Mr Weasley announced as Bill, Charlie and Percy ran past Poppy, in the direction of the cackling laughter, loud bangs and flashing lights. There was a loud bang and in the distance a group of marching people were illuminated. Their wizards hats stuck up, making them look like members of the Muggle KKK, and Poppy glared. There was no way she'd be able to not do anything now that she'd seen that.

"Get to the woods and stick together," Mr Weasley ordered the younger kids.

"Gin, Hermione, will you be okay?" Poppy called to the girls as she began to take purposeful steps backwards.

"Go," Ginny replied.

Poppy nodded and began to run towards the large group of marching wizards and witches. With a swish of her wand she pulled her curls back into a ponytail so that she could concentrate on the battle.

"Poppy? Poppy!" Mr Weasley called after her, but Poppy didn't stop - she was of age, and so he couldn't stop her from helping.

A light flashed ahead of her and she saw the Muggles who owned the field - Mr Roberts and his family - held high, sixty, seventy feet in the air. She looked back to the crowd beneath them, not wanting to watch as the Muggles were spun round and round. Her hatred of the cloaked figures fuelled her run and soon enough she'd made it to where Charlie, Bill and Percy had joined the ranks of Ministry wizards and witches attempting to quell the crowd.

"Go back," Percy called out, glancing at her as he deflected a spell.

Poppy didn't stop. "I'm of age," she replied simply, running around the edge of the group, disappearing into a sea of people who had come to help.

She stopped at the side of the still marching group and cast a few protective shields to stop some of the spells shooting out towards her.

It seemed that the Ministry was having trouble deciding how to get the Roberts family down, and now Poppy would see why – there was no way of telling who was actually casting the spell holding them high in the air.

"Stun them if you have to," someone shouted over her shoulder.

She turned her head to see Crouch running past, shouting instructions.

"Just protect the Muggles!" someone else shouted.

Poppy joined the surge and began to try and stun the masked and unmasked mob as they continued to move, causing explosions and setting fire to tents as they went.

It quickly turned into much more of an all out fight, and Poppy began to duel as best as she could, finding that, thankfully, the defensive spells she'd learnt in school and from her own research came to mind quickly.

An older woman with curlers in her hair who was duelling next to Poppy began to struggle, and Poppy sent a shield around the witch to give her a quick breather. The witch, who was obviously not used to combat, shouted a quick "Thank you", and then continued on.

Poppy, distracted, was hit with a hex which caused a cut on her leg. She winced and looked down at the black fabric of her trousers, which were now slashed just above her left knee.

Suddenly, the air around her stilled, and the screams and shouts reached a crescendo, changing from offensive to horror stricken.

The masked and unmasked mob began to Apparate away almost immediately, and a puzzled Poppy watched them go, popping into the night one by one.

As if in slow motion, the family above them began to fall, and ministry officials sent spells to slow their descent.

But Poppy wasn't sure what they would fall onto - looking around she could see mud, hard ground, or even the Disapparating witches and wizards who had attacked the Muggles. Knowing none of those were good options, and worrying for the children, she ran forwards and just managed to catch the children before they hit the ground, letting out an oof as their weights slammed into her chest. They'd been slowed down immensely by the Ministry's spells, but they were still heavier than she'd anticipated.

She placed them both on the ground – the older child was awake and terrified, the younger was asleep (at least Poppy hoped that he was) - and pulled off her jumper, wrapping it around them.

"Stop!" A witch shouted, and Poppy gasped when a wand was thrust into her neck.

She held up her hands. "I'm trying to help!"

"Who are you?" the witch asked, her wand unyielding.

"Jacobs!" Poppy cried. "I'm-"

"Let her go," came a gruff voice. "She was camped with Arthur Weasley. One of his lot."

"You got them?" the witch asked hurriedly, kneeling next to Poppy and lowering her wand. Poppy nodded dumbly, confused at the witch's change in demeanour. "Good. Stay down until I get back."

The woman's words were almost lost in the loud melee and Poppy watched her run away, shouting orders, finally disappearing into the crowd.

A stray spell zoomed past Poppy's head, singeing a few of the baby hairs at the nape of her neck. She gasped and braced her forearms on the ground, moving to kneel, hunched over the children, protecting them from any more stray spells or from being trampled in the chaos.

She didn't have time to think properly other than that as she felt on such high alert. The trio stayed like that for what felt like hours but could have been minutes - Poppy was too busy whispering that it was all going to be okay to the shaking child who was still awake.

Eventually, the shouts lessened and the smaller child opened his eyes, staring up at Poppy.

"Are you okay?" Poppy whispered. "Does it hurt anywhere?"

The boy nodded and whimpered, and his sister placed a kiss on his forehead. "We're okay now," she whispered. "Mummy and Daddy are coming to get us."

Poppy tried to school her features and nodded. She hadn't focused on the parents at all, and so didn't know if they were fine or not.

A woman's scream filled the otherwise eerily silent air, and Poppy realised that she couldn't hear the light pops of Disapparation anymore. "My children! Where are my children?!"

"Mummy!" the little girl called, and Poppy readjusted, pulling back to sit on her ankles so that the little girl could get up. The boy, instead of running to his parents, wrapped his arms around Poppy's neck and seeing this, the little girl followed suit.

"Over here," Poppy called, her voice breaking slightly as she adjusted again and sat the kids on her lap while their mother ran over to them, accompanied by two Ministry workers. Poppy recognised one of them was the woman who'd told her to stay there.

Behind Mrs Roberts, Mr Roberts looked worse for wear and was lying on the ground a little way away with a group of Healers already crowded around him.

When Mrs Roberts reached them, she assessed her children while the Ministry workers stood back, and then she pulled them into her own embrace. "What did you do to them?" she asked frantically.

Poppy shook her head. "Nothing," she replied. "I was just trying to help."

"Come here," the Ministry witch said, pulling Poppy to standing. "Go with Rikkark," she said, pushing her towards the other wizard. "I'll stay here."

"Come on," Rikkark said, motioning for Poppy to walk with him. They stopped at the side of the chaos, next to a burning tent which he extinguished with a lazy flick of his wand. He looked tired, but there was an intensity in his gaze. "You hurt?" he asked, looking down at her leg.

"It's okay, I can't feel it…"

"That'll be the shock. You here with anyone?" he asked, looking around.

"Uh," Poppy followed suit and noticed Charlie and Bill, who were standing a while away, assessing an annoyed and bleeding Percy. "Yeah, them." She waved at Charlie when he looked around, and motioned towards the man she was talking to.

Luckily, the wizard named Rikkark had a pad and a quill in his hand, so seeing this Charlie nodded, and then motioned that he'd be over in a minute. Poppy waved her hand and shook her head, mouthing, 'I'll be back soon,' and pointed back in the direction of the tent. Then she turned back to Rikkark.

"Right, I need to know everything that happened to those children between the drop and now," he said, his face hard.

Poppy relayed everything she knew, and then explained about who she was, and why she was there.

"Jacobs?" he asked, shaking his head.

"Uh yeah, why?"

"Nothing. Just remind me of someone I used to know. Right. That's all. I'll be in touch if we need anything else," he said, tilting his chin up to indicate that she could go.

She turned and, for the first time since she'd watched the Roberts family fall from the sky, she looked up. And she gasped.

A gigantic green serpent was snaking its way out of a skull, high above the ground.

She stepped forwards. And again, and again, until she was running, running as fast as she could towards the tents. She needed to know who it was who had been killed.

She knew all about the Dark Mark. When Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban the previous year, she'd read up on the last wizarding war. She'd kept reading and reading until seeing a picture of the dark mark in the books she'd read had affected her so much that she'd started having dreams about seeing it floating in the air above her old family home that she'd shared with her father before he'd remarried, and so she'd blamed her overactive imagination and had to stop researching.

But what she'd learnt had prepared her. Prepared her so that she hadn't been surprised tonight by the 'revellers' and their actions. And, prepared her to know that when a Dark Mark shone in the nights' sky, death was near.

When she finally reached the Weasley tents, she ran straight past her own, and into the boys' one.

There, huddled up around the table in a hug were Fred, George and Ginny. Bill sat near them, dipping a cloth into a small bowl. He had a large cut on his arm which he seemed to be tending to.

Percy was holding a large piece of cloth to his nose which was still bleeding profusely. Charlie was standing by the unlit stove, speaking to the trio of his younger siblings. When he saw Poppy, he stepped forwards.

"Poppy!" Ginny cried, launching herself at her older friend, pushing Charlie back in her haste to get to her. "Charlie said you had to stay back and talk to the Aurors. He said… you're… you're all muddy… are you okay?"

Poppy nodded and inspected Ginny wordlessly, prodding and poking her until the redhead laughed and shoved her away, breaking her shock for a moment.

"Do you know who cast the Dark Mark?" Poppy asked Percy, Charlie and Bill, wrapping an arm around Ginny's shoulders. "Do you know if anyone's been…"

The men shook their heads and Bill began to gently place the rag over his wound. "No news yet. Dad's gone into the forest so we should hear soon."

"You shoulbnd of gomb," Percy said, shaking his head. "You could av beeb hurb."

Poppy, despite knowing that he'd said, 'You shouldn't have gone, you could have been hurt,' frowned and, raising her wand, pointed it at Percy's nose and said, "Episkey."

There was a crack that made everyone wince and Percy's eyes water.

Poppy replaced her arm around Ginny's shoulders and asked, "Sorry, didn't quite catch that."

"I said," he began, rubbing his now fixed nose and placing his bloody rag to it again.

"I know what you said," Poppy said, glaring openly now. "I was being sarcastic. But like I said, I'm not a child."

"No, you most certainly are not," Ginny whispered, pulling Poppy to the side of the living space. They sat down on one of the sofas and Poppy frowned, asking what Ginny meant wordlessly. "I don't think I've seen a more badass Hufflepuff. You look really cool."

Poppy scoffed and shook her head. "You're blind." Nevertheless, she looked down and, noticing that her top was a little snug, tried to stretch it out a little, but it didn't work. She sighed, realising that she'd left her jumper with the children.

"Really," Ginny said, looking up at her. "I was thinking about it in the forest. The way you just ran straight at them… it was brilliant and brave," Ginny said, cutting through her thoughts.

"I'm going to let you keep talking because it's good for my ego and for your shock, but I want you to know that I didn't think, I just went. I'm lucky I came out in one piece."

Poppy rolled up her pyjama trousers and summoned a rag and some water to start to wipe the mud from her legs and arms. Ginny's smile fell slightly when the grazes and cuts which littered Poppy's arms and legs came into view, especially when she finally got round to uncovering the hexed cut which was much bigger and deeper than Poppy had first realised.

"Here," Bill called, sending over a fresh rag which he'd dipped into the solution he was using. "It'll help."

She thanked him with a nod and then grabbed the rag from the air, wrapping it around her thigh where the wound was. She wanted to swear when the solution hissed and released smoke into the air, but she held it in - Ginny was worried enough already without seeing her pain.

So, trying to focus on something other than her skin which felt like it was knitting itself back together, she set about healing her other cuts and bruises.

"You're good at that," Ginny said, watching her.

Poppy shrugged and tried to keep her tone nonchalant. It hadn't escaped her notice that Ginny's face had become even more pale and sallow since Poppy had revealed her injuries. "Cass doesn't really like the Hospital Wing and she gets injured a lot in Quidditch practice."

She worked in silence after that and managed to get through about half of her minor injuries before Charlie walked over to the door and ducked his head out, muttering about his dad and wondering where everyone else was.

A moment later, Mr Weasley strode back into the tent followed by Harry, Ron and Hermione.

They explained what had happened - that the Dark Mark had been cast from Harry's wand (which had been stolen earlier in the evening), and that it had been determined that Mr Crouch's House-Elf, Winky, had been the one to cast the mark into the sky (even though Hermione believed that it was not Winky at all).

Before Poppy could start to agree with Hermione and chastise Percy for his views in regards to Winky and Mr. Crouch's treatment of her (which was generally rather bigoted), chatter turned to the meaning behind the Dark Mark - which Bill explained to Harry - and then to bed.

Poppy was shaken awake just an hour after she'd finally managed to get to sleep. It was still dark outside and she sleepily dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

"Aren't you cold?" Hermione asked as they all stood on the path and watched Mr Weasley use magic to put down the tents and pack their bags.

Poppy shrugged and shouldered her backpack. "I left my jumper with- I uh… I lost it last night."

"You can have mine," George said, pulling a spare out of his pack. "Payback for the rosette."

Poppy smiled gratefully and pulled it on, smiling down at the 'G' which adorned the front.

"Thanks," she whispered, grabbing her backpack again.

They walked in near silence to the edge of the camping site. When she saw him, Poppy wanted to ask Mr. Roberts how his children were, but she didn't - she was too worried that it might mess up his memory charm which seemed faulty at best.

They made their way down to the Portkey point in good time and stood in line. Poppy listened to the witches and wizards in front of them arguing about why they should be able to go next, and sighed deeply. Part of her wanted to Apparate away, but she didn't want to leave anyone behind, not even for a moment.

Mr Weasley stepped forwards to argue their case, and while he was gone, a middle-aged witch approached her and said, "You did well last night. They won't remember it, but I will."

Poppy took a moment to recognise her as the witch she'd been fighting alongside last night who Poppy had saved from a rogue spell. She looked very different without her curlers in her hair.

"If you need anything, send me an owl," the witch continued, and Poppy nodded silently, too bemused to point out that she had no idea who the woman was so wouldn't be able to owl her. "Don't worry, the shock will wear off soon. I've got the kids and a Portkey waiting so I have to dash but I just wanted to say thank you again. Stay safe," she added, rubbing Poppy's arm in a comforting gesture.

"You too," Poppy said now, finding her voice. She was embarrassed that she'd been singled out by the woman, and could feel not only the Weasleys watching her but also other random witches and wizards around them. "See you later."

"Merlin," Fred exclaimed when the witch had disappeared using a Portkey, "that was Glynnis Griffiths! How d'you know her?"

Poppy shrugged, confused as to how Fred knew who she was. "She was there last night. How do you know her?"

"How do we know… how do we know her?" Ginny stammered. "She played for the Holyhead Harpies! She's a legend!"

Poppy clapped a hand to her head. "Of course! I thought I recognised the name!"

"You just happened to fight alongside Glynnis Griffiths and you didn't recognise her?" Ginny asked incredulously.

Poppy shrugged. "It's not like she's Ian Wright."

"Who?" Bill asked, frowning. It seemed as though this was exactly what the Weasleys and Hermione needed – a complete change of topic.

"He's a footballer," Poppy answered simply.

"I still find football mental," Ron said, frowning.

Poppy pursed her lips and sent a look of, 'ah, wizards,' to Harry and Hermione who smiled back.

She felt a hand on her lower back and jolted.

"Sorry," Charlie said quietly. "I was going for comforting, not creepy…"

Poppy sighed and smiled over shoulder at him. "Announce yourself next time?" she asked, grabbing his hand and placing it back onto her lower back again. "It's comforting when I know it's you."

Charlie sent her a half-smile, which she returned, feeling her tenseness ebb away. They all stood in silence, and it was only when Mr Weasley returned that she realised that Charlie still hadn't moved his hand.

"Ten minute wait," Mr Weasley said, handing Ginny a canister of water. "Not long now and we'll all be home, okay?"

They all nodded, and then Charlie's hand dropped from her back when his dad came closer, and he took a step away from her, ducking his head. Poppy frowned and looked to Percy, who was eyeing his brother up suspiciously. Fred, standing next to Percy, was trying not to laugh at Charlie's embarrassment.

She sighed and frowned, looking through a gap in the hedge at the field to their left, watching the sheep in the green expanse move in and out of view slowly.

By the time they'd caught their Portkey back to Stoatshead Hill they were all in much better spirits, although all incredibly tired, and the chatter soon calmed down to an amicable silence broken only by their stomping footsteps until they reached the lane which led to the Burrow.

Then, Mrs Weasley's shouts echoed around them and before she knew it, Poppy was sitting at the kitchen table sipping tea, listening to extracts from the latest Daily Prophet, and wishing she too could have a bit of Mrs Weasley's Firewhisky.

After it came to light that Mr Weasley had accidentally become a 'source from the Ministry' in an article written by Rita Skeeter (for telling a worried group of scared magical folk that all was well), Mr Weasley and Percy made their way upstairs to get changed into their robes so that they could run to the office for some damage control in Mr Weasley's case, and to 'help' in Percy's case.

Hermione, Ron and Harry followed soon after, walking up the stairs for a private chat.

Ginny, who looked as tired as Poppy felt was sent to bed next, leaving Poppy, Bill, Charlie, Mrs Weasley, Fred, and George in the kitchen.

To try and cheer up their mum, the boys began to tell her about the match, and Poppy took the opportunity to pull out her train timetable – she wanted to see if she had enough time for a nap and something to eat before she had to return to her little rented room in London, and she didn't trust herself to Apparate so far at the moment.

Her finger traced down the numbers and she was relieved to see that she still had four hours until the next train.

"You're leaving?" Charlie asked from his perch across the table from her, furrowing his brow.

Poppy nodded. "I was only meant to stay until the cup ended," she said distractedly, double-checking the timetable.

"Mum, Poppy's leaving," Bill said, cutting across the twins.

"What? Why?" Mrs Weasley asked, a concerned expression on her face. "Are you feeling alright, dear?"

Poppy hadn't been expecting that reaction at all. "Oh, well, yeah, I just… I just assumed I'd be outstaying my welcome," she said honestly, "and I've still got my flat in Diagon Alley, so I was just… going to go there…"

"Diagon Alley?" Bill asked, frowning. "I thought Ginny said that your parents were Muggles?"

"Oh, uh, they are," she said, ducking her head as heat rose to her face and her skin prickled uncomfortably under her arms.

"Well then," Mrs Weasley said after a moment. "If you want to go, that's fine. But I was expecting you to stay until the first. Harry and Hermione are. And I really would rather you stayed, I'd like to make sure you're okay. We've all had a great shock."

"Pop was right in the action too, Mum. She ran in with us," Bill said, lifting his mug to his mouth.

"Oh!" Mrs Weasley said, sitting back in her seat. She looked terrified.

Poppy didn't know what to say. She wasn't used to this level of concern. Not since she'd started at Hogwarts at least.

"I'm okay," she whispered. "I wasn't too hurt."

"Yes, well, I still don't think you should have been anywhere near the scene," Percy said, frowning.

Poppy tried not to roll her eyes in front of Mrs Weasley. "Do you mean because I'm a Muggle-born and they were blood purists? Or because I'm too young to be in a fight? Because if it's my age, I'd like to remind you, you're only two months older than me… and if the Muggle-born thing, then I wasn't going to just sit there and wait. Not when I could help. And anyway, I'm used to it."

"You're used to fighting?" Fred asked.

Poppy let out a small laugh. "No, not outside duelling club or Defence class." She wasn't going to say more, but with everyone staring at her, she felt like she needed to. "The uh…" She didn't know how to say that she was used to the panicked feelings and fear that came from someone hating you for what you couldn't control, or explain why her first reaction was to grab the kids and protect them with her body. That she spent years not fighting back so now that she could, she wouldn't back down. She sighed. "I guess what I meant is that I'm used to people, both Muggle and magic, thinking that what I am is wrong. I've got used to having to deal with that in one way or another."

Sets of blue eyes widened and stared at her and she shifted awkwardly in her seat.

"If it makes you feel any better, Charlie and I are also staying," Bill said, breaking the silence.

Poppy tried not to look at him - she was too embarrassed that she'd revealed something about herself and brought the mood down.

"Yeah, now you definitely can't leave," George added.

"Well, I mean, all of my things are already here, and I'm not going back for work," Poppy reasoned - she'd not known how long the match would last, so she'd just packed everything up and resigned from her jobs just in case.

"It's settled then," Mrs Weasley said, smiling and standing on slightly shaky legs. "You'll stay with us for the rest of the summer. Now," she said, "I think I should make a start on some breakfast. You must be starving."

"I can help," Poppy said, standing up immediately.

"It's fine dear, you sit down. You've had an awful night," Mrs Weasley said, smiling kindly at her.

"I was in the action. I reckon you had a worse time of it, being here and not knowing if we were all okay," Poppy replied.

Mrs Weasley's bottom lip wobbled, and she turned to the sink, busying herself with washing her hands. But nothing could disguise her sniffs.

Poppy also thought that if she helped Mrs Weasley she could avoid the boys' questions about her living arrangements for the summer, or her experiences. She didn't want to explain about her family.