The wedding of William Arthur Weasley and Fleur Isabelle Delacour had gone off without a hitch, and the reception was in full swing. The reception was not, however, going as smoothly as the wedding had. The renowned Bulgarian Seeker Viktor Krum had almost come to blows with Xenophilius Lovegood (the publisher of The Quibbler) over an amulet that Lovegood wore. Harry Potter was disguised with a Polyjuice Potion and was passing himself off as Bill's cousin Barny Weasley. He had spent several uncomfortable minutes trapped between Elphias Doge and Muriel Weasley, listening to their rather heated discussion about Albus Dumbledore and his tragic sister Ariana.
Harry sat, overwhelmed by everything he had just heard. He was furious with Dumbledore, and couldn't believe that the man he had trusted with his life had lived for several years in the same village where Harry was born but had never once mentioned that they had this in common. What else did he know that he couldn't be bothered to tell me? he wondered.
"I just can't dance another step," Hermione Granger sighed as she sat in an empty chair next to him. Hermione slipped her shoes off under the table and started to rub her feet. "Ron's fetching us some more butterbeers." She looked over her shoulder quickly, then leaned forward. "Do you know what's going on with Viktor and Luna's dad? They looked like they were arguing."
Harry said nothing, as though he wasn't even aware that Hermione was there. He blinked quickly before he looked at her. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"Barny, are you okay?"
He shook his head, not sure where to begin. "Can we talk somewhere?" he said, pushing his chair back and standing up. Hermione, a concerned frown on her face, had just slipped her shoes back on and stood up herself when a large silvery lynx came down through the canopy. "The Ministry has fallen, and Scrimgeur is dead," it said in Kingsley Shacklebolt's deep, sonorous voice. "They are coming!"
It took several seconds for everyone to realize what he had said. Harry and Hermione drew their wands as they looked around. Pandemonium reigned as they forced their way through the crowd, looking for Ron.
Masked and hooded figures began to appear in the crowd, wands drawn. Just as quickly as they arrived, they were greeted by those wedding guests not running around in a blind panic or had not Disapparated at Shacklebolt's warning. Harry could hear shouts of "Protego!" and "Expelliarmus" mixed with the "Crucio!" and "Avada Kedavra!".
Harry ducked as a streak of green light passed by, accompanied by a scream of "Exterminate!", and struck Muriel. She screamed in agony, her skeleton visible through her skin, before falling to the ground.