Chapter 4: Excitement Turned Into Horror
Mr. Weasley, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Harry had found their tent near the Quidditch Stadium. They waited eagerly until Mr. Weasley announced, "It's time to go kids". They rushed outside to find a large crowd of people marching towards the Stadium. They followed suit.
Draco looked at the grandfather clock in the corridor. He had half-an-hour to get ready. He went into his room and opened his cupboard. His mother had got his suit dry cleaned and it was hanging in its cover. He unzipped the cover and looked at the suit. He took a deep breath and started to dress. He stood in front of the mirror and carefully combed his hair. Taking a last look at himself, he went downstairs. Luscious was waiting for him. "About time you showed up" he said irritably. He produced an old picture frame. Draco placed his hand on the portkey and felt a tug around his navel.
"Dad how far up do we have to go?" Ron asked impatiently. Luscious turned around and said nastily" Well put it this way, if it rains you'll be the first to know." Draco smirked from behind him. Mr. Weasley glared at Luscious. "We have seats in the VIP Box, given by the Minister himself" Draco sneered. "Come along Draco, there's no need to talk to…such…people." Luscious and Draco left. An exiting match ensued between the Bulgarians and the Irish teams. The Irish won but the Bulgarian seeker Viktor Krum caught the Snitch.
Celebrations were in full swing. Draco was sitting in his tent. His father had told him not to go out. He had been sitting in the empty tent for over an hour. Just when he thought he could not just sit there any longer, Luscious entered the tent. "Here, this will take you home." He shoved a broken teapot on his face. Draco stepped back, scared of being in such close proximity to him, in a tent at that. He grabbed the teapot, eager to be away from him.
The Weasleys, Harry and Hermione were celebrating in their tent. Fred and George had let loose their newest invention, firecrackers in ever-changing colors. Ron ducked, narrowly missing a cracker. "Oi can you be careful not to fry me alive" Ron said glaring at them. "Now we wouldn't want that would we George" Fred said turning to his twin. He replied, "After all mum will wonder what happened to Ickley Ronnincks." Suddenly, they heard screams. Harry and Hermione immediately look concerned. "Dunno, could be the celebrations went out of hand" Ron offered. Mr. Weasley came in, his face contorted. "Everybody go now!" They rushed outside. The sight which met them chilled them to the core. There were Death Eaters everywhere. They were hanging people upside down in mid air just for the fun of it. People were running everywhere. (I'm sure anybody who read the series will know what happened next. I'm not going into it.)
Draco was absent-mindedly flipping through a book. He wondered what tricks his father is playing at the Stadium. He stifled a yawn. He threw the book on the floor. His thoughts wandered and landed on Hermione. Draco let out a yelp, sitting upright and shook his head. What the hell was he thinking? You listen to me Draco Malfoy; he told himself sternly, Granger is way beneath you. She's a mudblood for God's sake! You have high standards. Pansy is a nice girl. True she's a complete cow sometimes but she's nice right? I mean…A new thought entered Draco's mind. He knew it was true. She's not Hermione, he whispered in the cold, empty room. Saying her name immediately filled him with warmth. True she hated, no, she loathed him. But that day, when he saw her furious face, he had felt sick in his stomach. He had gone straight to his bed and pulled the covers on his face, snarling at anybody who disturbed him. He had not eaten that night. His mates thought he was scared of Hermione hexing him or something. But if truth be told, he was upset to make her so furious. He stood up and went to his full length mirror. His face looked exhausted. His shoulders were hunched, defeated. He stared into his eyes in the mirror. They were cold, dead. They had lost all feeling. Draco heaved a sigh and went back to his bed. He fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.
Hermione was curled up on an armchair in the living room of the Burrow. In her hand was a steaming mug of coffee, which had become cold. Her unseeing eyes stared at the wall opposite to her. Death Eaters had attacked and the You-Know-Who's mark appeared in the sky. This year was not starting on a good note. She had seen Luscious; his mask had slipped off. But however much she pleaded with the Minister, he was adamant at not believing that Luscious was part of the attack. Got them in his pocket, Hermione thought angrily. And couldn't Draco do something. Maybe he doesn't have his way with his father the way he has at school. But I wonder if Luscious treats him alright. I mean his upbringing may have played a part in him being such a foul person. Hermione continued to muse over these thoughts until Ron came in and broke through her thoughts. "Mione, mum baked cookies and cupcakes. C'mon before it finishes off. I swear I had no idea that Fred and George had such huge stomachs. C'mon." Ron tugged at her sleeve. "You okay, you've been pretty quite since we came back." Ron looked at her, concerned. Hermione shook her head and gave a small smile. She followed Ron into the kitchen.