Beta: None [everyone seems busy]
Original Release Date: 12/25/16
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the canon Harry Potter universe or any other universe. Now AU.
Chapter Fifty Five – The Unsettling Event
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Daphne" remarks Harry making eye contact.
"I would prefer it if you would refer to me as 'Miss Greengrass', Mr. Potter" answers Daphne coldly.
"Of course, Miss Greengrass. May I inquire as to why you are hanging around in the early morning in a forest?" inquiries Harry keeping voice as neutral as possible.
"If it isn't obvious enough, to stay away from the lunatics that are marching around out there carelessly brandishing their wands" scoffs Daphne as she points towards the splotch of red horizon beyond the woods amongst the black sky.
"Anyways—" begins Harry before a gruff voice shouts from the woods behind Daphne, "MORSMORDRE!"
Seconds later Harry instinctively drops to the ground as the sound of bubbles popping all around them and voices yell, "Stupify!" and the red beams of light streak across the small clearing.
"Stop! There are students about!" commands a female voice near to Harry.
Still holding onto Luna's knees, Harry proceeds to stand up and look around him before finally reaching the lone female in the circle of adults.
"Hello Ame-err, Director Black" begins Harry when a voice interrupts, "Ginny? Is that my daughter on the ground?"
Turning to the speaker, Harry briefly looks at the three girls knocked out before turning back and answering, "Yes, Mr. Weasley, alongside Hermione and Daphne Greengrass."
"Kingsley, please go with Mr. Crouch, and check for someone who might have cast the Dark Mark in the woods" demands Amelia as Mr. Crouch enters into the woods.
"Now, Mr. Potter, why is Miss Lovegood on your back?" inquiries Director Black looking at him.
"I-uh" begins Harry before Luna speaks up, "I was unable to walk and Harry offered to carry me to safety", her usual dreaminess gone and pain laced throughout her voice.
"What is ailing you, and I will attempt to help heal you since I'm down to my last PRT unit that goes directly to St. Mungoes and fortunately you're not in a dire medical situation to need one" answers Amelia nearing Harry and Luna.
"It's my ankle, the right one" answers Luna still being carried by Harry.
Lifting the edge of Luna's pajama pants to expose her right ankle, Amelia murmurs, "Ferula", and taps her wand gently against the ankle, causing two splints and bandages to blossom forth and bind the ankle. "I'm afraid that I'm not able to do much more than that. I do recommend checking with someone with much more experience in medical spells when you get a chance" remarks Amelia straightening up.
"Director, we didn't find anyone in the woods, just this wand" states Kingsley holding up a light colored wand.
"Oh, that's my wand. It must have fallen out of my pocket while Harry was carrying me" remarks Luna.
"Miss Lovegood, I will need to check your wand for the previous spell cast before I can return it" states Amelia before casting, 'Priori Incantato', and a miniature version of the dark mark billows forth from the tip of Luna's wand.
"Miss Granger, Miss Weasley, can you two confirm that Miss Lovegood could not have cast the Dark Mark? More specifically, was Miss Lovegood able to cast a spell without your notice?" inquiries Amelia with a piercing look at the two girls that had been hit by stunning spells.
"No ma'am, I saw Luna's arms wrapped around Harry's neck while he was carrying her, so I don't believe that she could have cast the spell" answers Hermione respectfully.
"Miss Weasley, what do you say?" asks Amelia facing the redhaired girl.
"This is getting out of hand. Someone here must have cast the Dark Mark. Maybe it was the Greengrass girl—" begins a voice from the circle of adults.
"Amos! Without any proof I will not bring charges against someone. If you find my line of questioning to be unfair or lacking in quality, you can be my guest and speak to Cornelius Fudge about my questioning tactics. Otherwise, aggressively accusing students of heinous acts is uncalled for and I WILL not stand for such things" states Amelia coldly, facing Amos Diggory.
"Fine" mutters Amos.
"Back to business, did anyone hear or see anything unusual, such as twigs breaking while you were entering the forest or while talking?" inquiries Amelia facing the students once more.
Looking at her fellow students shaking their heads, Hermione speaks up, "No, we haven't. Sorry."
"No worries Miss Granger. Anyways, I'm finished with my questioning, so you are free to return to your conversation or preferably return to your respective guardians shortly. Oh, and Miss Lovegood, please keep better track of your wand" states Amelia with a smile, handing Luna her wand before walking a short distance and then apparating away, closely followed by the other adults except for Mr. Weasley.
"Well, we need to find the others—" begins Mr. Weasley before the sound of something or someone crashing through the underbrush interrupts.
"I'm telling you that they have to be this way" argues a familiar male voice.
"And I'm telling you that you're wrong" argues a similar sounding voice.
"You're right Fred, they are this way" remarks Ron as he appears several feet away from the group with Fred and George shortly behind him.
"Hello dad, fancy meeting you here" quips George with a laugh.
"That saves me the time and hassle to find you three. We're grabbing our belongings and heading back to your mother. I'm sure she's worried sick about us" states Mr. Weasley.
"What about Bill and Charlie?" inquiries Ron.
Turning his head around briefly, Mr. Weasley answers, "They are packing up the men's tent and any other supplies. The ladies will have to gather their supplies quickly so we can make it to the portkey in time."
Several minutes later the group arrives at their campsite, undamaged.
"Hey Greengrass, why hang out with Potter when you could be hanging with us?" drawls a familiar voice as it grows slightly louder by the moment.
Turning around, the large group finds Draco accompanied by Pansy Parkinson. "I'm not certain what you hope to gain from a bunch of Gryffindors, but you're better off with us" states Draco giving the Gryffindors a quick scowl before returning to a more neutral facial expression with Pansy smirking.
"Well, thanks for accompanying me" remarks Daphne controlling her tone to be as neutral as possible, before continuing on away from the forest with Draco and Pansy.
"That reminds me, Luna do you need to meet up with your father?" asks Harry with an arm around Luna's shoulders as she limps along.
"Harry, let me go along with you while everyone else finishes cleaning up" offers Mr. Weasley before following Harry and Luna as they lead the way slowly back to her campsite.
Half an hour later the group of Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry quickly and quietly make their way towards the table with the officials with the portkeys, and exchange just a handful of terse words before taking their portkey and disappearing in the pre-dawn hours. Trekking on quietly, no one speaks until a voice calls out, "ARTHUR!"
"Looks like mum's awake, maybe we can get breakfast then" remarks Fred brightly.
"That honestly sounds amazing right now" adds Harry before a growl is heard from his stomach.
Arriving at The Burrow, Mrs. Weasley promptly gives everyone a hug as they file into the kitchen.
"Sirius…Remus?" says Harry spotting two of his guardians in the Burrow's becoming cramped kitchen.
"Harry, we're glad to see you and everyone else alive after the events that transpired earlier this morning" answers Remus with a smile as Sirius grabs Harry in a tight hug before releasing him.
"It's good to see everyone alive and well" states Sirius smiling as he looks around the kitchen at everyone.
"Did Susan make it home alright?" inquires Harry as Sirius and Remus begin to turn towards the door.
Turning around, Sirius answers, "You know that she didn't go to the world cup, but yes, she's fine."
"Good. I didn't know if similar events had happened elsewhere, so I was concerned" remarks Harry, silencing all chatter in the kitchen.
As silence continues, everyone's face drains of color as Sirius begins quietly, "I don't think anyone had given that any thought honestly Harry. I'll pass your thoughts along to Amelia and then it's in her hands. Thank you for providing a thought that none of us had. Anyways, now that I've seen that you're safe in person, I'll leave. Enjoy your time amongst friends", before heading towards the door and saying to Mrs. Weasley, "Thanks for letting Remus and I stop by Molly, and thanks for all you've done for Harry and Hermione."
Exiting The Burrow, Sirius digs his Omni Play out of a robe pocket before initiating an audio call to Amelia. A minute or so later Sirius slides the device back into the pocket before walking towards the edge of wards alongside Remus.
"A spot of breakfast then off to bed with you all" chastises Mrs. Weasley gently.
Sitting down at the table, plates zoom from their places in the cabinets to each person's spot at the table, dishes laden with pancakes, scrambled eggs, and various breakfast meats make their way by magic and set themselves down on the table. A quiet but occasional burp filled half an hour later and as hints of the sun's rise crack the horizon, the tired world cup goers sleepily make their way up the stairs to their respective rooms, falling into bed and almost instantly falling sleep.
Several hours and a missed morning exercise routine later, the occupants slowly make their way out of bed and down to the kitchen to eat their meals, with no sign of Percy and Mr. Weasley.
"Ready to go back to Hogwarts in a few days?" asks Mrs. Weasley serving the mid-day meal.
"Another year of learning? OF course!" answers Hermione with a smile.
Exchanging a few quick looks with Fred and George, Harry says, "I think it'll be another interesting year. And I can't wait to get back to playing Quidditch with the rest of the team."
"It would be nice to have some more privacy" remarks Ginny quietly.
"Supply lists arrived earlier today, except for Harry and Hermione's of course. I'll be going out tomorrow to get your supplies—" begins Mrs. Weasley.
"Mum, we'd like to come along and help everyone get fitted for new robes for the new year" states George after exchanging a look with Fred and getting a nod.
"Nonsense!" states Mrs. Weasley with a steely tone.
"We'll grab ours at least then" states Fred standing up from the table.
"Nothing says Fred and I can't purchase our own supplies, especially dress robes" adds George also standing up from the table.
Gasping, Mrs. Weasley asks, "H-how do you know what is on the list?"
"Mum, we simply know things. Let's comprise and let us pick up the cost of the robes for Ron, Ginny, and ourselves, especially with the dress robes portion. Ron's grown again and his robes are a bit short. You and dad can pay for the books" answers Fred in a compromising tone.
Pausing to think, Mrs. Weasley sighs before answering, "Fine. I'll reluctantly agree to that. But what is going on at Hogwarts that would necessitate dress robes?"
Shaking his head, George answers, "Fred and I can't tell you that, but it has our interest piqued. Tomorrow morning then?"
Nodding her head, Mrs. Weasley answers, "Tomorrow, yes."
Author note: And that's where I'll end this chapter as I'd like to grab some sleep before meeting up with family. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Thanks for reading, reviewing, etc! My apologies for how Daphne speaks, I'm not certain about her speech patterns so I'm just winging it at this point.