Narcissa looked at the huge crowd that had gathered around their tent area. They were all respectable wizards and witches, of course. Narcissa couldn't help but notice, though, that those that were the closest to their tent were former Death Eaters. And they were all gathered around Lucius, who was clearly talking to them about something as he occasionally took a sip from his glass of wine.
Lucius suddenly looked up, and he met Narcissa's eyes. He turned to the gathered Death Eaters for a moment, most likely to tell them that he would be back in a moment. Then, he made his way over to Narcissa, who took a sip from her own glass of wine.
"I did tell you earlier that I ran into some of my former colleagues while I was out on my walk," Lucius said, "and I also promised that I would give you more details about that."
"You are all planning on doing something," Narcissa spoke matter-of-factly. "What are you planning on doing, Lucius? You're not going to do something reckless, are you?"
Narcissa could not stop the worry from appearing in her voice.
"That Muggle we met at the gate," Lucius smirked, "we're planning on teaching him a lesson."
"With so many Ministry officials around?" Narcissa replied sharply. "Don't get me wrong, Lucius. I wanted to hex that Muggle as well when he called us 'weirdos,' but what you're suggesting is dangerous. I really don't understand you sometimes. Most of the time, you are so cautious, cunning, and calculated. But then, at other times, you are so bold and brazen. We're known each other for most of our lives, yet there are still times when I don't know what to expect from you."
"Well," Lucius drawled, "I would hate to be predictable, and I have always found the element of surprise to be very useful. There's no need for you to worry, Narcissa. I've planned this all out. It will be chaos, but it will be controlled chaos."
"You are always telling me not to worry about you," Narcissa hissed, "but goodness gracious, Lucius, someone has to worry about you. Especially since there are times when you don't seem to care at all if something horrible happens to you."
Narcissa took a sip of wine in an attempt to calm herself down, but it wasn't fully successful.
"I can't believe you would put yourself at risk like this, Lucius," she then spoke, "especially after all the time and planning you put into making yourself look respectable after the Dark Lord's fall."
"We are living in a world where we are being forced to interact with Muggles and others that are inferior to us," Lucius snarled, "and I've had enough of it. It's time for us Purebloods to make a statement that won't soon be forgotten."
"Believe me, Lucius, I can understand how you're feeling," Narcissa sighed, slowly coming to the realization (as much as she still didn't like it) that this was one argument she wouldn't be able to win with her husband, "but this idea of yours still worries me."
Narcissa paused for a moment before saying, "At least promise me that you will Apparate away if any of the Ministry officials get too close to you. Don't let yourself get caught just because you want to prove yourself to the others. You have nothing to prove to them, Lucius. Let them be idiots if they want, but don't you be one as well."
"I have no intention of getting caught, Narcissa," Lucius spoke soothingly, "and I promise you that I will not take any unnecessary risks. I know that I have nothing to prove to anyone."
Lucius then grinned. "I just can't wait to see the expressions on everyone's faces when they see us in our masks. They won't know how to react. They won't know how to deal with the fact that their world is not as peaceful or as controlled as they would like to believe."
Narcissa could not help but smile slightly. "I imagine they will look like chickens with their heads cut off, especially our beloved Minister."
"And let's not forget dear Crouch," Lucius smirked. "I expect he will be so outraged by the sight of so many free Death Eaters that he won't be able to form a coherent word or thought."
Narcissa glanced over at the Death Eaters that were standing nearby. They were talking amongst each other and drinking from their own glasses of wine. Most of them, though, were not talking small, proper sips. No, they were practically chugging down their wine.
Narcissa frowned slightly before turning back to her husband.
"When do you all plan on acting?" she asked.
"When almost everyone, except for those doing patrol of course, are asleep," Lucius answered. "And by the sound of all that awful singing going on around us, a lot of the people are horribly drunk. As for those doing patrol, well, I seriously doubt they are expecting a Death Eater attack, especially after all these years of peace. It's going to be chaos and panic, Narcissa. No one is going to know how to react."
Lucius looked over at the Death Eaters. "I better return to them," he muttered, "before they get themselves drunk. Avery especially is horrible at handling his alcohol. Please, Narcissa, try not to worry. I really have planned this all out."
"I know you do," Narcissa muttered, "but you know I'm still going to worry about you."
"And I truly do appreciate that," Lucius replied. He then gave Narcissa a quick kiss on her lips before making his way back over to the gathered Death Eaters.
Draco, meanwhile, also had a small crowd gathered around him. He occasionally glanced enviously at all the adults, most of whom were holding glasses of wine.
"I can't believe we're being forced to drink punch," he grumbled. "I'm going to be a Prefect next year. I should be allowed to have some wine."
"Yes, we're not little children anymore," Pansy remarked.
Gregory and Vincent nodded their heads in agreement.
"You're being strangely silent, Blaise," Draco remarked, a hint of a smirk on his face.
"Shut up, Draco," Blaise snapped.
"Oh, someone is a sore loser," Draco taunted. "You should have known better than to challenge me, Blaise. I expect my money soon, by the way, and I expect it to be real money."
"Don't worry, Draco," Blaise replied, his face gloomy, "it will be real money."
Draco turned to Theodore, who was once again reading the book that he had borrowed from Narcissa.
"Honestly, Theo, what is your problem?" Draco asked. "Everyone else, with the exception of poor Blaise of course, is celebrating. I know you don't care for Quidditch, but neither does my mother and even she's doing a little celebrating."
"I don't see any reason for anyone to celebrate," Theodore responded. "Ireland did not deserve to win the Cup, and Krum was an idiot to catch the Snitch before his team had enough points to win."
"You are really a depressing person, Theo," Pansy commented. "Are you ever happy?"
"I would be happy if you all left me alone," Theodore returned sharply.
"You heard the man," Draco spoke. "Let's move this party elsewhere."
Narcissa, meanwhile, was talking with a group of women that had gathered around her.
"How was the view from the Top Box, Narcissa?" Iris Parkinson asked, the envy in her voice clear.
"It was nice I suppose," Narcissa replied, "but it would have been nicer if we didn't have to share it with that Potter boy, that Mudblood Granger girl, and those Weasleys."
"The Mudblood and the Weasleys were in the Top Box," Iris spoke in a voice of clear outrage. "What has our world come to? It's not fair. No Mudblood or Blood-Traitor should be having a better seat than me."
The other women nodded their heads in agreement.
While their mothers were talking, Draco, Blaise, Pansy, Gregory, and Vincent were walking around and talking excitingly about the match.
"Did you all see how Krum pulled out of that dive at the very last second?" Draco asked.
"It was a sick move," Gregory said.
All around them, fireworks were going off. The air was also filled with the sound of singing and excited chatter.
"Almost everyone is tone deaf," Pansy giggled. "They are all so drunk. I say, if you can't handle your alcohol properly, you shouldn't drinking."
"I could handle my alcohol properly," Draco insisted.
"I have no doubt of that, Draco," Pansy agreed.
"Oh, hi, Mother," Draco said, seeing that Narcissa was making her towards him, closely followed by the other teenagers' mothers.
"Are you having a good time, Draco?" Narcissa asked.
"Not too bad," Draco replied. "What about you?"
"Not too bad either," Narcissa responded.
"Come, Pansy," Iris spoke sharply, stepping forward, "it's time to return to our own tent."
"Yes, it is starting to get late," Georgina Goyle commented.
"But I'm not tired yet," Pansy protested. "None of us are tired yet."
The other teenagers nodded their heads in agreement.
"Well," Iris spoke, "I'm ready to turn in for the night. You children will have plenty of time later on to talk about the match."
"Are you upset about something, Mother?" Pansy asked. "You're usually not like this."
"Yes, I am very upset," Iris answered. "Guess who all was in the Top Box instead of us? That Potter boy, that Mudblood Granger girl, and the Weasleys."
"What?" Pansy exclaimed angrily. "How did they get seats in the Top Box?"
"Apparently, Arthur Weasley did a favor for Ludo Bagman's brother," Iris hissed. "Now, let's go."
Pansy barely had time to nod her head in farewell to the other teenagers before her mother grabbed her arm to drag her away.
The other mothers, however, gave their children time to say goodbye to Draco before whisking them away.
"It looks like everyone is slowly going back to their own tents," Lucius remarked. "We should all do the same. We don't want to raise any suspicion. You all know where to meet me. And do make sure that none of the Ministry officials see you leave your tent."
"We know, Lucius," Avery responded in a slightly slurred voice. "We're not stupid."
Lucius gave Avery such a severe glare that the man backed away a few steps.
"You better not drink any more" Lucius hissed. "And don't expect us to come save you if someone from the Ministry gets too close to you because you're too drunk to see them coming. The same goes to the rest of you."
The other Death Eaters just nodded their heads.
"Do I really have to go to bed, Mother?" Draco asked. "I'm too excited to sleep. Besides, there's so much noise going on around us."
"No, I'm not really expecting you to fall asleep," Narcissa replied, "but you need to look like you were in bed."
"Is something exciting going to happen tonight?" Draco asked, immediately brightening.
"You could say that," Narcissa responded, "especially considering that your father is going to be involved. But Draco, it's important that we play our parts. We cannot do anything that could potentially raise suspicion."
"Of course, Mother," Draco returned, even though he was only partly paying attention.
The night's excitement was clearly not going to end for quite a while, and that was all that mattered to the teenage boy.