A/N: The face-claim for Colton Taylor is Jonathon Lipnicki. Colton Taylor has been created by gaywhovian93.
"Don't tell your mother you've been gambling," Mr Weasley ordered Fred and George as they slowly made their way down the purple-carpeted stairs.
"Don't worry, Dad." said Fred sounding really gleefully. "We've got big plans for this money. We don't want it confiscated."
Mr Weasley looked like he was going to ask what those big plans were, but when it looked like, he thought about it, he decided that he didn't want to know. Hailey remembered that Ginny told her that Fred and George wanted to open a prank shop.
They were caught up in the crowds now flooding out of the stadium and back to their campsites.
"Hold my hand," Michael said to Eva. "So, I don't lose you."
"What about me?" Mandy asked teasingly.
"You'll be fine," Michael said, waving a hand at her.
Mandy scoffed, "Fine."
The group retraced their steps along the lantern-lit path, hearing raucous singing and Hailey kept feeling breezes because the leprechauns were shooting over their heads, cackling and waving lanterns.
They finally reached the tents, Hailey didn't feel sleepy, along with everyone else, although given the noise around them, she was sure that it would've been hard to fall asleep. Mr Weasley decided on that they could all have one last cup of cocoa together before turning in. Soon they started arguing enjoyably about the match. Mr Weasley ended up getting into a disagreement about cobbing with Charlie and when Ginny fell asleep at the tiny table and spilled hot chocolate over the floor, Mr Weasely decided that everyone should go to bed. Hermione, Mandy, Eva, Hailey, and Ginny went into the next tent, where they changed into pajamas, although Hailey put the baggy grey shirt on, leaving the skirt and tights on.
Eva had the bottom bunk and she was on her knees in front of the bed, hands clasped together, elbows on the mattress, and her eyes were closed. Eva was mouthing something. Hailey remembered that Eva always did that before she went to bed, when she and Mandy where at Michael's flat.
Hailey laid on the top bunk, listening to the distant sound of singing and an odd echoing bang, which sounded faint, like it was on the other side of the campsite.
"So, Hailey…" Ginny started, sounding tired.
"What is it?" Hailey asked, staring up at the ceiling of the tent, watching the occasional glow of a leprechaun lantern as they flew overhead.
"What is up with you and Michael?" Ginny asked, sounding very curious.
Hailey felt her cheeks heat up and turned her back to the red-haired girl, who was staring at her from the top bunk. "Nothing, we're just friends."
"Just friends?" responded Ginny, sound incredulous. "You two were flirting this morning when we walked up Stoatshead Hill." She sounded like she was accusing Hailey of murdering Eva's pet puffskein or something equally worse.
"We act like that all the time," Hailey countered, wishing Ginny would drop the subject. "It's no big deal."
Ginny started, "Do you—?"
"Please drop the subject," Hailey interrupted, a little too harshly.
"All…right," Ginny replied, confused. She sounded cheerful when she said, "Hey, Eva…"
"What, Ginny?" asked Eva.
Ginny started, "Do you think Michael—"
"I don't know the answer to that," Eva interrupted, obviously knowing where Ginny was going with that question. "He doesn't tell me everything and I know that he doesn't want to tell me every problem that he's been having. Besides, he has Terry and Anthony for that."
"Oh," Ginny replied. "Who's Terry and Anthony?"
"His other friends," Mandy said. "Now shut up and get your asses to bed, before I kick you all in the shins."
At that, everything went silent.
Hailey wasn't sure what she was dreaming or fantasizing about, but she remembered seeing herself in robes that had her name on the back.
"Get up! Mandy—Hailey—come on now, get up, this is urgent!" Mr Weasley yelled.
Hailey sat up, hitting her head on the canvas. She had a lock of hair in her mouth and slurred, "'S' matter?" The singing had stopped, she heard screams, and it sounded like people were running. Hailey wasn't sure what changed, but she jumped down from the top bunk. She noticed that Mr Weasley had pulled jeans on over his pajamas and reached for a shirt, "No time, Hailey—Mandy, just grab a jacket and get outside—quickly!"
Hailey pulled the grey jacket on and hurried out of the tent with Mandy, Hermione, and Ginny following her. They ran into Fred, George, Ron and Michael standing together, looking at the chaos surrounding them.
A few fires were burning and she saw people running into the woods, fleeing something that was moving across the field toward them. There was something emitting odd flashes of light and banging that sounded like gunfire. There were loud jeering, roars of laughter, and drunken yelling. A burst of strong green light illuminated the scene.
A tightly packed group of wizards with wands pointing upwards were marching slowly across the field. Hailey squinted at them, noticing that they didn't seem to have faces…and she realized that their heads were covered with hoods and they had masks on. High above them, there were five floating figures, which were being contorted into grotesque shapes, as if the wizards on the ground were puppeteers, and the people above them were marionettes, attached to invisible strings. Two of the figures were very small, while one looked to be no older than twelve.
Wizards were joining the marching group, laughing and pointing up at the floating bodies, as tents crumpled and fell as the marching crowd grew. Hailey was sure that a few times a wizard blasted a tent away as several caught fire. The screaming was growing louder.
When the floating people passed over a burning tent, they were shown. Hailey felt sickened when she saw that one of the levitating people was Eva. She recognized Mr Roberts, the campsite manager, and the other three was probably his wife and children. One of the marches below flipped Mrs Roberts upside down with his wand making her nightdress fall down to reveal voluminous drawers and Mrs Roberts struggled to cover herself up, while the crowd below her screeched and hooted with glee.
Hailey felt like she was going to be sick when one of the marchers made Eva pirouette nonstop sixty feet in the air, as if she was a ballerina, her cheeks was shiny with tears and the smallest boy began to spin like a top, his head flopping limply from side to side.
"That's disgusting," Mandy said sounding both horrified and sickened. "That's really disgusting." Ron made noises of agreement, however Michael was pale, shaking, and looking horrified as Eva continuously pirouetted.
Mr Weasley came hurrying right behind them while Bill, Charlie, and Percy emerged from the boys' tent, fully dressed, with their sleeves rolled up and their wands out.
"We're going to help the Ministry!" Mr Weasley shouted over the commotion, rolling up his own sleeves. "You lot—get into the woods, and stick together. I'll come and fetch you when we've sorted this out!"
"And get Eva down from there!" Michael shouted, but Bill, Charlie, and Percy were already sprinting away towards the oncoming marchers; Mr Weasley tore after them. Ministry wizards were dashing from every direction toward the source of the trouble. The crowd beneath the Roberts family and Eva was coming ever closer.
"C'mon," said Fred, grabbing Ginny's hand and starting to pull her toward the woods. George, Hailey, Hermione, Ron, and Mandy followed. Hailey had to grab Michael's wrist and tugged on him, to get him to move. He didn't budge, because he was staring helplessly up at his cousin, who was pirouetting for the sickening amusement of other wizards.
"Come on, Michael, move!" Hailey ordered, pulling on his arm.
Michael pulled back, "I can't just leave her up there!" He was looking up at Eva.
"They're coming closer!" Hailey said, watching as more people joined the crowd of marchers or to help the Ministry. She pulled on Michael's arm.
"I have to do something!" Michael replied, staying rooted to his spot. He was watching Eva pirouette continuously, however there were tears rolling down her cheeks.
"There's nothing we can do," Hailey said, grabbing Michael's hand.
"There has to be something," Michael said quietly, looking sickened.
Hailey pulled on his hand, "We can't do anything to help her. I would love to help, but there's nothing we can do." She pulled on Michael's hand a little harder, "Come on!"
Michael finally moved and they ran to the trees; however they stopped to look back. The crowd beneath the Roberts family and Eva was now larger than ever. She could see the Ministry wizards trying to get through it to the hooded wizards in the center, but it looked like they were having a difficult time getting to them. They were probably terrified of trying to perform a spell that might make the Roberts family and Eva fall.
Michael pulled Hailey inside the trees.
It was dark inside the woods since the lanterns were now extinguished. Hailey could see dark figures blundering through the trees, she could hear children crying, there were anxious shouts and panicked echoing. People were jostling them as they walked, trying to spot their friends.
"My mum told me to never let anything bad happen to Eva and now…" Michael trailed off, sounding troubled.
There were two lights ahead and Hailey could see the outlines of Mandy and Hermione. They ran forward to see that Ron was lying on the ground. Mandy and Hermione had their wands out, which was giving off the living.
"What happened?" Hailey asked, confused when she saw Ron lying sprawled out on the ground.
"Tripped over a tree root," Ron said angrily, getting to his feet.
"Well, with feet that size, hard not to," said a drawling voice from behind them.
They turned around to see Draco Malfoy standing alone nearby. He was leaning against a tree, looking utterly relaxed and at peace with himself. His arms were folded, probably watching the scene at the campsite through a gap in the trees. Hailey was sure that he was pleased with the chaos, which was sickening.
Ron told Malfoy to do something that Hailey knew he wouldn't have dared to say in front of Mrs Weasley.
"Langauge, Weasley," said Malfoy. "Hadn't you better be hurrying along, now? You wouldn't like her spotted, would you?" He nodded at Hermione and a blast that sounded like like a bomb came from the campsite. A flash of green light momentarily lit up the trees around them.
Michael's eyebrows were furrowed, indicating that he was thinking hard about something.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione demanded, defiantly.
"Granger, they're after Muggles," said Malfoy as if they were all stupid. "D'you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Or dancing stupidly? Because if you do, hang around…they're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh."
"Hermione and Eva's are witches," Hailey snarled out.
"Have it your own way, Potter," said Malfoy, grinning maliciously. "If you think they can't spot another Mudblood, stay where you are."
"You watch your mouth!" shouted Ron, because they all knew that "Mudblood" was a derogatory term for a witch or wizard of Muggle parentage.
"Never mind, Ron," said Hermione quickly, seizing Ron's arm to restrain him as he took a step toward Malfoy.
There came a bang from the other side of the trees that sounded louder than anything they heard. It caused several people nearby to scream and Malfoy chuckled. "Scare easily, don't they? I suppose your daddy told you all to hide? What's he up to—trying to rescue the Muggles?"
"Where's your parents?" countered Hailey, her temper rising. "Out there wearing masks, are they?"
Malfoy turned to Hailey, still smirking. "Well…if they were, I wouldn't be likely to tell you, would I, Potter?"
"You know damn well that your parents are out there," Mandy snapped.
"Oh, come on," said Hermione, giving a disgusted look at Malfoy. "Let's go and find the others."
"Keep that big bushy head down, Granger," sneered Malfoy.
"Come on," Hermione repeated, pulling Ron and Mandy with her up to the path again.
Hailey and Michael followed, but Michael stopped in his tracks, turned around, and punched Malfoy in the face, startling everyone. Hailey wondered when Michael stopped holding her hand, but they hurried away before anything could happen.
Ron was looking at Michael with something akin to respect and Mandy's eyes were wide in shock.
"You shouldn't have done that," Hermione fretted. "Your mum—"
"Can find a new job," Michael said, shaking his hand.
Ron started, "You—"
"He insulted my cousin and he was beginning to get on my nerves," Michael said. "Where are the others?"
Fred, George, and Ginny were nowhere to be seen. The path was packed with plenty of other people, all looking nervously over their shoulders towards the chaos back at the campsite. A huddle of teenagers in pajamas was arguing a little way along the path.
The pajama wearing group suddenly noticed the five. A girl with thick curly hair, turned to them, and said, "Où est Madame Maxime? Nous l'avons perdue—"
"What?" Mandy dragged the word out, confused.
"Er—what?" asked Ron at the same time as Mandy.
"Oh…" the girl who had spoken turned her back on them. Her and her friends walked away and they heard her say, "'Ogwarts."
"Beauxbatons," muttered Hermione.
"Sorry?" asked Hailey, confused.
"They must go to Beauxbatons," said Hermione. "You know…Beauxbatons Academy of Magic…I read about it in An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe."
"Oh…" Hailey responded, remembering that she may have read about it, some time in one of her years at Hogwarts.
"Fred and George can't have gone that far," said Ron, pulling out his wand and lighting it.
Michael pulled out his wand, lighting it as well. "Malfoy's lucky that I didn't hex or curse him."
Hailey reached in her pocket on her jacket, to get her own wand—but it wasn't there, because the only thing she can find was her Omnioculars. "Damn it…I've lost my wand!"
"What?" Mandy and Michael exclaimed.
"You're kidding!" said Ron.
They raised their wands high enough to spread the narrow beams of light farther on the ground; Hailey looked around her, but she didn't find her wand.
"Maybe it's back in the tent," Ron suggested.
"It probably fell out when we were running," Michael suggested.
"Yeah," responded Hailey, unsure of that, "maybe…" She always kept her wand with her at all times in the wizarding world, and finding herself without it in the midst of a scene like this made her feel very vulnerable.
There was a rustling noise nearby that made them all jump. Winky the house-elf, was fighting her way out of a clump of bushes nearby. She was moving in a peculiar fashion, apparently with great difficulty; it seemed as if as though someone invisible were trying to hold her back.
"There is bad wizards about!" Winky squeaked sounding distracted as she leaned forward and looking as if she was having trouble running. "People high—high in the air! Winky is getting out of the way!" She disappeared into the trees on the other side of the path, panting and squeaking as she seemed to fight the force that was restraining her.
"What's up with her?" asked Ron, looking curiously after Winky. "Why can't she run properly?"
"She probably doesn't have permission to hide." Hailey pointed out, thinking of Dobby beating himself up when he didn't have the permission to do something.
"You know, house-elves get a very raw deal!" said Hermione sounding indignant. "It's slavery, that's what it is! That Mr Crouch made her go up to the top of the stadium and she was terrified, and he's got her bewitched so she can't even run when they start trampling tents! Why doesn't anyone do something about it?"
"Do you think she was under the Imperius Curse?" Mandy asked Michael and Hailey as Ron and Hermione started arguing about the lives of house-elves.
"But can it affect creatures?" Hailey wondered.
There was another loud bang that echoed from the edge of the wood and Hailey grabbed Michael's arm, startled.
"Let's keep moving, shall we?" asked Ron, glancing edgily at Hermione.
When they started walking down the dark path, Hailey kept searching her pockets, even though she knew that her wand wasn't there. They kept an eye out for Fred, George, and Ginny.
A figure came bursting from some tree, startling them. The boy had sandy blond hair, he wore glasses, and he was wearing a green kilt and green shirt. He had a calf-sheath on his right leg, because he looked like he was sweating a little.
Hermione and Ron looked confused at the sight of him.
"Colton?" Hailey, Mandy, and Michael asked confused.
He was Colton Taylor, Luna Lovegood's best friend and the cousin to Neville, through their mothers. He was a fellow Ravenclaw, but he was a year below them.
"I lost my dad," Colton said. He was Scottish, "My mum went to go deal with the marchers."
Hailey remembered that his mother was a champion duelist who dueled for fun, while Colton's dad did caber tossing, because he was a Muggle.
"Well, we lost Fred, George, and Ginny," Mandy said.
Colton pointed behind him, "I think I saw Ginny go that way."
"How do you know Ginny?" Ron demanded, sounding a little overprotective.
"She's Luna's friend," Colton replied, confused.
"And he's Luna's best friend," Mandy stated to Ron.
"We really should find Fred, George, and Ginny," Hailey said.
"Maybe I might run into my dad, along the way," Colton said.
They walked deeper into the wood, trying to keep an eye out for the others. They passed a group of goblins who were cackling over a sack of gold that they had won betting on the match and didn't seem to care about the chaos that was happening at the campsite. They walked along the path and walked into a patch of silvery light.
"Where is that light coming from?" Colton asked and walked to the trees. He looked through the trees and sounded bored as he said, "Oh, it's just the veela."
The others walked to the trees to see three tall and kind of bland looking veela. They were standing in a clearing, surrounding by a gaggle of young wizards.
"I pull down a hundred sacks of Galleons a year!" one of them shouted. "I'm a dragon killer for the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures."
"There are no dragon killers in there," Mandy whispered, sounding annoyed at that.
"No, you're not!" yelled his friend. "You're a dishwasher at the Leaky Cauldon…but I'm a vampire hunter, I've killed about ninety so far—"
Colton snorted. "If he did that, then I drive the Knight Bus."
Speaking of the Knight Bus, Hailey saw Stan as he said, "I'm about to become the youngest ever Minister of Magic, I am."
Hailey snorted with laughter and looked at Ron, ready to tell him that, but Ron's face had gone oddly slack. Ron yelled, "Did I tell you I've invented a broomstick that'll reach Jupiter?"
Colton started laughing at that, probably at how random it was.
"Honestly!" said Hermione, and she and Colton firmly grabbed Ron's arms. They wheeled him around and marched him away.
"I'm glad I don't find them attractive," Colton said. "I don't want to think about how I would make a fool out of myself, if I was."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.
"Their charms don't work on gays or children, or someone who has more willpower," Colton said, grinning. "I think they also attract lesbians and bisexuals, though. So…" he shrugged.
Hermione and Ron looked at Colton, stunned. They probably didn't know that Colton was out and proud, or they were surprised at how he would just say something personal to two complete strangers. Hailey had the same stunned reaction because she thought that it was odd that he said something that she was thought was personal to complete strangers.
They made it to the heart of the woods and Hailey looked around. She said, "I reckon we just wait here, you know. We'll hear anyone coming a mile off."
Ludo Bagman emerged from the behind a tree right ahead of them.
Hailey could see that a change had come over Bagman because he no longer looked excited and rosy-faced, and there no spring to his step. However, he looked very white and strained.
"Who's that?" he asked, blinking down at them. "What are you doing in here, all alone?"
"Uh…" Colton started and thumbed behind him. "There's a riot going on at the campsite."
Bagman stared down at Colton, caught off guard, "What?"
"At the campsite…some people have got hold of a family of Muggles and Eva…" Ron explained.
Bagman swore loudly, "Damn them!" he was looking distracted, and without another word, he Disapparated with a small pop!
"Not exactly on top of things, Mr Bagman, is he?" Hermione pointed out, frowning.
"He was a great Beater, though," said Ron, leading the way off the path into a small clearing, and sitting down on a patch of dry grass at the foot of a tree. "The Wimbourne Wasps won the league three times in a row while he was with them."
"I wonder what he was doing, though," Colton said, sounding thoughtful.
"Probably drinking," Mandy replied. "He looks like the type to get drunk. He looked like he was drunk."
Hailey was listening for noises coming from the campsite, but everything seemed much quieter. Maybe they were so far away from the noise or maybe that the riot was over.
"I hope the others are okay," said Hermione, after a moment of silence.
"They'll be fine," said Ron.
"Imagine if your dad catches Lucius Malfoy." said Hailey sitting down next to Ron and watching the small figure of Krum slouching over the fall leaves. "He's always said he'd like to get something on him."
"That'd wipe the smirk off old Draco's face, all right," said Ron, sounding gleeful at the thought.
"Those poor Muggles and poor Eva, though," said Hermione nervously. "What if they can't get them down?"
"There's a spell for that," Colton said. "Forgot what it was, though."
"Mad, though, to do something like that when the whole Ministry of Magic's out here tonight!" exclaimed Hermione. "I mean, how do they expect to get away with it?"
"Lots of money," Colton said, before Hermione can go on. "They're probably rich and my mum says that the Ministry is—" He turned around because it sounded like someone was staggering towards where they were at. They listened to the sounds of uneven steps behind the dark trees and then it stopped.
"Uh, hi?" said Mandy, as she looked around for the source of the footsteps.
"Morsmordre!"
Something vast, green, and glittering flew over the treetops and into the sky.
"What the—?" gasped Ron as he jumped to his feet. They stared up at the colossal skull which were comprised of emerald stars. Its mouth opened and a greenish smoky serpent slithered out from its mouth like a tongue. It rose higher and higher, blazing in greenish smoke. It looked like it was belonged against the black sky as if it was a new constellation.
Screams erupted from the wood all around them. The skull rose high enough to illuminate the entire wood like it was some grisly neon sign. Hailey looked for the person who conjured the skull, and back up at the skull, knowing that it looked familiar. She was sure that she had seen it somewhere in a book that she had once read.
"Let's go! We don't want to be seen under the Dark Mark!" Michael said, grabbing Hailey's arm and dragging her to the trees.
It clicked at that because it was Voldemort's sign. She had read about it in The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts.
They got a few steps away when there was a series of popping noises announcing the arrival of twenty wizards Apparating to surround them.
Hailey looked around to see that each of the wizards had their wands out and pointed straight at them.
"Duck!" shouted Hailey, dragging Michael and Mandy down to the ground with her. Colton had pulled Hermione and Ron down right as the wizards yelled, "Stupefy!"
It felt like wind passed over them. Hailey looked up a little to see fiery red light flying over them. The lights bounced off tree trunks, rebounding into darkness in the trees—
"Stop!" yelled a voice. "Stop! That's my son!"
"Ron—Hailey—Mandy—Michael—Hermione—" the voice sounded shaky, "are you all right?"
"I'm all right, too," Colton said looking up, his glasses askew. Hailey looked up to see Mr Weasley who was looking terrified.
"Out of the way, Arthur," said a cold, curt voice. It was Mr Crouch. He and the other Ministry wizards were closing in on them. Hailey got to her feet to face them and saw that Mr Crouch looked furious.
Mandy started, "We—"
"Which of you did it?" Mr Crouch snapped, his eyes looking from between the six. "Which one of you conjured the Dark Mark?"
"You must be mad if you think we did it," Mandy said.
"We didn't do that!" said Hailey, gesturing to the skull.
"We didn't do anything!" said Ron, rubbing his elbow. He looked at his dad in indignation. "What did you want to attack us for?"
"Do not lie, sir!" shouted Mr Crouch, pointing his wand at Ron. His eyes were popping and he looked slightly mad. "You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!"
"Barty," whispered a witch in a long woolen dressing gown, "they're kids, Barty. Colton's my son and I know he'd never would—"
"Where did the Mark come from you six?" interrupted Mr Weasley.
"Over there," said Hermione shakily, pointing at the place where they heard the voice. "There was someone behind the trees…they shouted words—an incantation—"
"Oh, stood over there, did they?" said Mr Crouch, turning his popping eyes on Hermione now in disbelief. "Said an incantation, did they? You seem very well informed about how that Mark is summoned, missy—"
"I know how it's summoned, too, but I don't go around summoning it!" Colton snapped, sounding indignant.
"I do, too," Michael said.
"Me three," Mandy said.
"Is that a confession?" Mr Crouch asked, looking at them.
"No," Michael said. "The three of us are Ravenclaws and learning how to do stuff like that is what Ravenclaws do."
Apparently none of the other wizards, apart from Mr Crouch, seemed to think it remotely likely that they summoned the Dark Mark. They raised their wands again and were pointing them in the direction that Hermione had pointed to.
"We're too late," said Colton's mother. "They'll have Disapparated."
"I don't think so," said Amos Diggory. "Our Stunners went right through those trees…There's a good chance we got them…"
"Amos, be careful!" said a few wizards as Mr Diggory squared his shoulders, raised his wand, and marched across the clearing, disappearing into the darkness. Hermione had her hands over her mouth.
"Yes!" Mr Diggory shouted. "We got them! There's someone here! Unconscious! It's—but—blimey…"
"You've got someone?" shouted Mr Crouch, sounding like he was in disbelief. "Who? Who is it?"
Mr Diggory returned holding a tiny, limp figure in his arms. Hailey recognized the tea towel as the one Winky wore.
"A house-elf?" asked Colton in disbelief.
Mr Crouch didn't move or speak as Mr Diggory put Winky on the ground at Mr Crouch's feet.
Crouch stared at her and then, "This—cannot—be—" his voice sounded jerky. "No—" He moved around Diggory and walked to the place where Diggory had found Winky.
"No point, Mr Crouch," Diggory called after Crouch. "There's no one else there."
Crouch didn't want to hear a word of it, as they heard him moving around and pushing shrubs out of the way as he searched.
"Bit embarrassing," Diggory said grimly, looking down at Winky's unconscious form. "Barty Crouch's house-elf…I mean to say…"
"Come off it, Amos," said Mr Weasley quietly, "you don't seriously think it was the elf? The Dark Mark's a wizard's sign. It requires a wand."
"Yeah," said Diggory, "and she had a wand?"
"What?" said Mr Weasley.
"Here, look." Diggory held up a wand and showed it to Mr Weasley, "Had it in her hand. So that's clause three of the Code of Wand Use broken, for a start. No non-human creature is permitted to carry or use a wand."
There was another pop, and Ludo Bagman Apparated right next to Mr Weasley. He was looking breathless and disorientated as he spun on the spot. He stared up at the emerald-green skull. "The Dark Mark!" he almost trampled over Winky as he turned to look at his colleagues. "Who did it? Did you get them? Barty! What's going on?"
Mr Crouch had returned empty-handed. His face was still white, and his hands and toothbrush mustache were both twitching.
"Where have you been, Barty?" asked Bagman. "Why weren't you at the match? Your elf was saving you a seat too—gulping gargoyles!" He just noticed Winky lying at his feet. "What happened to her?"
"There's something seriously wrong with him," Mandy whispered to Hailey, shaking her head.
"I don't think he's drunk," Michael whispered to the both of them. "It could be drugs."
"I have been busy, Ludo," said Mr Crouch, still talking in the same jerky fashion, barely moving his lips. "And my elf has been stunned."
"Stunned? By you lot, you mean?" Bagman replied, "But why—?" He looked up at the skull, down at Winky, and then at Mr Crouch, finally figuring it out. "No!" he sounded horrified. "Winky? Conjure the Dark Mark? She wouldn't know how! She'd need a wand, for a start!"
"And she had one," said Mr Diggory. "I found her holding one, Ludo. If it's all right with you, Mr Crouch, I think we should hear what she's got to say for herself."
Crouch didn't say anything and Mr Diggory seemed to take the silence as a means to go ahead. He raised his own wand, pointed it at Winky, and said, "Rennervate."
Winky stirred feebly. Her great brown eyes opened and she blinked several times in a bemused sort of way. She raised herself shakily into a sitting position. She saw Mr Diggory's feet and slowly, tremulously, raised her eyes to stare up into his face; then more slowly still, she looked up into the sky. Hailey could see the floating skull reflected twice in her enormous, glassy eyes. Winky gasped, looked wildly around the crowded clearing, and burst into terrified sobs.
"Elf!" said Mr Diggory sternly. "Do you know who I am? I'm a member of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."
Winky began rocking backward and forward on the ground, her breath coming in sharp bursts. Hailey was reminded of Dobby in his moments of terrified disobedience and cringed at the sight and memory.
"As you see, elf, the Dark Mark was conjured here a short while ago," said Mr Diggory. "And you were discovered moments later, right beneath it! An explanation, if you please!"
"I—I—I is not doing it, sir!" Winky gasped. "I is not knowing how, sir!"
"You were found with a wand in your hand!" barked Mr Crouch, brandishing it in front of her.
The wand caught the green light that was filling the clearing from the skull above, Hailey recognized it. "Hey! That's mine!" She winced when everyone looked at her.
"Excuse me?" asked Mr Diggory, skeptical.
"That's my wand!" said Hailey, "I dropped it!"
"You dropped it?" repeated Mr Diggory, incredulous. "Is this a confession? You threw it aside after you conjured the Mark?"
Michael opened his mouth, but Mr Weasley said, "Amos, think who you're talking to!" He sounded angry, "Is Hailey Potter likely to conjure the Dark Mark?"
"Er—of course not," mumbled Mr Diggory. "Sorry…carried away…"
"I didn't drop it there, anyway," said Hailey, pointing at the trees beneath the skull. "I lost it right after we got into the wood."
"So," said Mr Diggory, turning to look at Winky again, who was cowering at his feet. "You found this wand, eh, elf? And you picked it up and thought you'd have some fun with it, did you?"
"I is not doing magic with it, sir! Squealed Winky, tears pouring down the sides of her squashed and bulbous nose. "I is…I is…I is just picking it up, sir! I is not making the Dark Mark, sir, I is not knowing how!"
"Is wasn't her!" said Hermione. She looked very nervous speaking in front of all the Ministry wizards, but she was determined all the same. "Winky's got a squeaky little voice, and the voice we heard doing the incantation was much deeper!" She looked at her friends and Colton for support. "It didn't sound anything like Winky, did it?"
"No," said Hailey, shaking her head. "It definitely didn't sound like an elf."
"Yeah, it was a human voice," said Ron.
"It sounded like a man," Colton added.
"Well, we'll soon see," growled Mr Diggory, looking unimpressed. "There's a simple way of discovering the last spell a wand performed, elf, did you know that?" Winky shook her head frantically, her ears flapping as Mr Diggory raised his own wand again and placed the tip of his wand, to the tip of Hailey's wand. "Prior Incantato!" he shouted.
A gigantic serpent-tongued skull erupted from the point where the two wands met, but it was a mere shadow of the green skull high above them;' it looked as though it were made of thick grey smoke: the ghost of a spell. Hermione gasped.
"Deletrius!" Mr Diggory shouted and the smoky skull vanished in a wisp of smoke. "So," he had a kind of savage triumph, looking down at Winky, who was shaking.
"I is not doing it!" she squealed. "I is not, I is not, I is not knowing how! I is a good elf, I isn't using wands, I isn't knowing how!"
"You've been caught red-handed, elf!" Mr Diggory shouted, "Caught with the guilty wand in your hand!"
"Amos," said Mr Weasley, loudly, "think about it…precious few wizards know how to do that spell…Where would she have learned it?"
"Perhaps Amos is suggesting," said Crouch, angrily, "that I routinely teach my servants to conjure the Dark Mark?"
There was silence, which is broken by Amos sounding horrified as he said, "Mr Crouch…not…not all…"
"You have now come very close to accusing the two people in this clearing who are least likely to conjure that Mark!" barked Crouch. "Hailey Potter—and myself! I suppose you are familiar with the girl's story, Amos?"
"Of course—everyone knows—" muttered Mr Diggory, looking uncomfortable.
"And I trust you remember the many proofs I have given, over a long career, that I despise and detest the Dark Arts and those who practice them?" Mr Crouch shouted, his eyes bulging again.
Oh, so that's why he freaked out, Hailey thought.
"Mr Crouch, I—I never suggested you had anything to do with it!" Amost muttered again, turning red behind his brown beard.
Hailey couldn't help but think that Mr Weasley was the one who kind of suggested it.
"If you accuse my elf, you accuse me, Diggory!" shouted Mr Crouch. "Where else would she have learned to conjure it?
Diggory answered, "She—she might've picked it up anywhere—"
"Precisely, Amos," said Mr Weasley. "She might have picked it up anywhere…Winky?" he sounded kind, turning to the elf, but she flinched as if he too was shouting at her. "Where exactly did you find Hailey's wand?"
Winky was twisting the hem of her tea towel so violently that it was fraying beneath her fingers. "I—I is find it…finding it there, sir…" she whispered, "there…in the trees, sir…"
"You see, Amos?" said Mr Weasley. "Whoever conjured the Mark could have Disapparated right after they'd done it, leaving Hailey's wand behind. A clever thing to do, not using their own wand, which could have betrayed them. And Winky here had the misfortune to come across the wand moments later and pick it up."
"But then, she'd have been only a few feet away from the real culprit!" said Mr Diggory impatiently. "Elf? Did you see anyone?"
Winky began to shake, her eyes were flickering from Mr Diggory, to Bagman, and onto Mr Crouch. She gulped and said, "I is seeing no one, sir…no one.."
"Amos," said Mr Crouch curtly, "I am fully away that, in the ordinary course of events, you would want to take Winky into your department for questioning. I ask you, however, to allow me to deal with her."
Mr Diggory looked as though he didn't think much of this suggestion, but it was clear to Hailey that Mr Crouch was a very important member of the Ministry that he did not dare refuse him.
"You may rest assured that she will be punished," Mr Crouch said coldly.
"M-m-master…" Winky stammered, looking up at Mr Crouch, sounding near tears, "M-m-master, p-p-please…"
Mr Crouch stared back, his face was hard, and each line on his face were more deeply etched. Slowly he said,, "Winky has behaved tonight in a manner I would not have believed possible. I told her to remain in the tent. I told her to stay there while I went to sort out the trouble. And I find that she disobeyed me. This means clothes."
"No!" shrieked Winky, throwing herself at Mr Crouch's feet. "No, master! Not clothes, not clothes!"
Hailey knew that to set an house-elf free was to give them clothes, and she felt bad seeing Winky clutching at her tea towel as she sobbed over Mr Crouch's feet.
"But she was frightened!" Hermione shouted angrily, glaring at Mr Crouch. "Your elf's scared of heights, and those wizards in masks were levitating people! You can't blame her for wanting to get out of their way!"
Mr Crouch stepped backward, freeing himself from contact with Winky. He was looking at Winky as if she were something filthy and rotten, which were contaminating his overly-shined shoes. He looked at Hermione and coldly said, "I have no use for a house-elf who disobeys me. I have no use for a servant who forgets what is due to her master and to her master's reputation."
Winky was crying so hard that her sobs were now echoing around the clearing. There was a silence, which was ended by Mr Weasley quietly saying, "Well, I think I'll take my lot back to the tent, if nobody's got any objections. Amos, that wand's told us all it can—if Hailey could have it back, please—"
Mr Diggory handed Hailey her wand, who pocketed it.
"Come on, you five," Mr Weasley said quietly. Hermione didn't move because her eyes still upon the sobbing elf. "Hermione!" Mr Weasley said, urgently. Hermione turned and followed after the others, out of the clearing and off through the trees.
"What's going to happen to Winky?" asked Hermione, the moment they left the clearing.
"I don't know," responded Mr Weasley.
"The way they were treating her!" said Hermione furiously. "Mr Diggory, calling her 'elf' all the time…and Mr Crouch! He knows she didn't do it and he's still going to sack her! He didn't care how frightened she'd been, or how upset she was—it was like she wasn't even human!"
"Well, she's not," said Ron.
Hermione rounded on him. "That doesn't mean she hasn't got feelings, Ron. It's disgusting the way—"
"Hermione, I agree with you," interrupted Mr Weasley quickly, beckoning her over, "but now is not the time to discuss elf rights. I want to get back to the tent as fast as we can. What happened to the others?"
"We lost them in the dark," said Ron. "Dad, why was everyone so uptight about that skull thing?"
"I'll explain everything back at the tent," said Mr Weasley sounding tense.
When they reached the edge of the wood, their progress was impeded. A large crowd of frightened-looking witches and wizards where meeting there. When Mr Weasley stepped toward them, many of the witches and wizards surged forward speaking at once:
"What's going on in there?"
"Who conjured it?"
"Arthur—it's not—Him?"
"Of course it's not Him," said Mr Weasley sounding impatient. "We don't know who it was; it looks like they Disapparated. Now excuse me, please, I want to get to bed."
He led the five teens through the crowd and back into the campsite. Everything was quiet now; there was no sign of the masked wizards, though there were several ruined tents that was still smoking.
Charlie's head poked out of the boys' tent. "Dad, what's going on?" he called. "Fred, George, and Ginny got back okay, but the others—"
"I've got them here," said Mr Weasley, bending down and entering the tent, the five following after him.
Bill was sitting at the small kitchen table, holding a bedsheet to his arm, which was bleeding profusely. Charlie had a large rip in his shirt, and Percy was had a bloody nose. Fred, George, and Ginny looked unhurt but shaken. Eva was sitting on a bed, her knees to her chest, she had tears rolling down her cheeks. Ginny was sitting next to Eva, trying to comfort her, but when Eva saw Michael, she got to her feet and ran over to hug him.
"They made me dance so stupidly," Eva said, busting into tears. Michael hugged her back tightly, looking relieved that she wasn't hurt.
"Did you get them, Dad?" Bill asked. "The person who conjured the Mark?"
"No," said Mr Weasley. "We found Barty Crouch's elf holding Hailey's wand, but we're none the wiser about who actually conjured the Mark."
"What?" said the eldest Weasley boys at the same time.
"Hailey's wand?" repeated Fred.
"Mr Crouch's elf?" said Percy, sounding stunned.
Together, Mr Weasley and the five explained what happened in the woods.
When they finished explaining, Percy seemed to swell indignantly before he said, "Well, Mr Crouch is quite right to get rid of an elf like that! Running away when he'd expressly told her not to…embarrassing him in front of the whole Ministry…how would that have looked, if she'd been brought up in front of the Department for the Regulation and Control—"
"She didn't do anything! She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time!" Hermione interrupted. Percy who looked stunned because she had always got on fairly well with Percy—better than any of the others.
"Hermione, a wizard in Mr Crouch's position can't afford a house-elf who's going to run amok with a wand!" said Percy pompously, recovering himself.
"She didn't run amok!" shouted Hermione, sounding indignant on Winky's behalf. "She just picked it up off the ground!"
"Look, can someone just explain what the skull thing was?" demanded Ron, sounding very impatient. "It wasn't hurting anyone…Why's it such a big deal?"
"It's You-Know-Who's symbol," Mandy said, before Hermione can explain.
"It also hasn't been seen in thirteen years, according to The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts," Michael added.
"Of course, people panicked…It was almost like seeing You-Know-Who back again," Mr Weasley stated quietly.
"I don't get it," said Ron, frowning. "I mean…It's still only a shape in the sky…"
"Ron, Voldemort and his followers usually sent the Dark Mark up into the air whenever they killed someone." Hailey explained, ignoring the flinch that the Weasleys did.
"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," Mr Weasley said and winced.
"Imagined how I felt when I was lifted sixty feet in the air and forced to dance in front of a jeering crowd down below," Eva said, through her sobs. She was still shaking.
"Or how I felt seeing her and not being able to do anything to help her," Michael said to Ron.
"Or the terror of having your dad almost die by a grindylow," Mandy replied, sounding sad.
It was silent after that. Bill removed the sheet from his arm to check on his cut, said, "Well, it didn't help us tonight, whoever conjured it. It scared the Death Eaters away the moment they saw it. They all Disapparted before we'd got near enough to unmask any of them. We caught the Robertses and Eva before they hit the ground, though. The Robertses are having their memories modified right now."
"What's Death Eaters?" Eva asked, sounding confused.
"It's what You-Know-Who's supporters called themselves," said Bill. "I think we saw what's 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 Weasely. He sounded helpless when he added, "Though it probably was."
"Yeah, I bet it was!" said Ron. "Dad, we met Draco Malfoy in the woods, and 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!"
"I'll bet my dog that Lucius was the one leading the charge," Mandy said, which was surprising because Mandy loved her dog.
"So, what were You-Know-Who's supporters up to, levitating Muggles and me? What was the point?" Eva asked.
"That's their idea of having a good time," Hailey responded.
"Half the Muggle killings back when You-Know-Who was in power were done for fun. I suppose they had a few drinks tonight and couldn't resist reminding us all that lots of them are still at large. A nice little reunion for them," Mr Weasley finished, sounding disgusted.
"But if they were the Death Eaters, why did they Disapparate when they saw the Dark Mark?" said Ron. "They'd have been pleased to see it, wouldn't they?"
"Use your brains, Ron," said Bill. "If they really were Death Eaters, they worked very hard to keep out of Azkaban when You-Know-Who lost power, and told all sorts of lies about him forcing them to kill and torture people. I bet they'd be even more frightened than the rest of us to see him come back. They denied they'd ever been involved with him when he lost his powers, and went back to their daily lives…I don't reckon he'd be over-pleased with them, do you?"
"So…This person who conjured the Dark Mark," started Mandy. "Did they conjure it to support the Death Eaters or was it to scare them away?"
"Your guess is as good as ours, Mandy," said Mr Weasley. "But I'll tell you this…it was only the Death Eaters who ever 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…Listen, it's very late and if your parents and Molly hears what's happened, they'll be worried sick. We'll get a few more hours sleep and then try and get an early Portkey out of here."
Hailey, Hermione, Ginny, and Mandy went to the girls' tent. Eva didn't want to be apart from Michael, still traumatized from her ordeal.
Hailey got in the bunk, thinking about the past incident where three days ago, she had awoken with her scar burning, and today, for the first time in thirteen years, Lord Voldemort's mark appeared in the sky. She didn't know what it all meant.
"Who was it that conjured the Dark Mark, though?" Mandy whispered. "And why did he do it? I…I don't think he was just scaring the Death Eaters away. It's just a feeling, you know?"
Hailey nodded, even though Mandy couldn't see it. Hailey wasn't sure how long it took, but she finally dozed off.
