Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and any other parts of the Harry Potter Franchise. I own Cedrella Weasley, and any other character that you do not recognize from the books.
Back at the tent, Ron could not stop praising the very existence of Krum. The twins and Harry were all ganging up on him and teasing him. Hermione, Ginny, and I laughed from our spots in the living area. Ginny wrapped both of us in a blanket and we both sipped on hot chocolate. Laughter and gaiety filled the tent.
"Viktor, I love you!" Fred sang.
"Viktor, I do!" George joined in.
Harry joined the twins in singing. "When we're apart, my heart beats only for you!" I laughed along as Ron's ears burned pink.
There were sounds like fireworks outside. Everyone looked towards the tent flap.
"Sounds like the Irish have got their pride on." Fred muttered. I nodded in agreement.
Suddenly dad came running in with Bill, Charlie, and Percy behind him. "Stop! Stop it!"
"What's up, dad?" I asked, getting up from where Ginny and I sat.
"It's not the Irish!" Bill said, motioning for us to get our coats. "Don't forget your wands."
"Get out, it's the Death Eaters!" Dad said.
"What?" Harry asked.
Hermione grabbed his sleeve, "Death Eaters are Voldemort's followers."
"Get to the woods, hide there until I, Bill, Charlie, or Percy comes and gets you." Dad told us. "And stick together. Fred! George! Ginny is your responsibility. Ron, Hermione is your responsibility. Cedrella, Harry, take care of one another. Go!"
We ran out of the tent and towards the woods. I looked over my shoulder to watch my brothers and father run towards the group of figures clothed in dark robes and silver masks on their faces. I gasped at the sight of three limp figures suspended in midair. They were the family who owned the grounds where we had camped.
We finally made it to the woods. I could hear screams, whether of pain or of fear, I didn't know. But they scared me. My heart was pounding in my ears as we ran further into the forest. Somehow, Harry, Ron and Hermione disappeared and I was running on my own. I stopped and whirled around as the screams came nearer. I was completely alone.
"Fred!" I cried out. "George! Ginny!? Ron!"
"Lost, Weasley?" a sneering drawl surprised me. I whirled around, my wand out and ready to attack. "Careful there, Weasley, you might put out an eye with that." I came face to face with the blond Draco Malfoy. Now that I was looking right at him, I found that he had grown taller, leaner, with more muscles. No longer was he the spoiled boy, he was growing up into a young man. He was even becoming slightly attractive. Wait, this was Malfoy. No way, this was happening right now.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" I spat half angry with Malfoy for just being Malfoy and half scared that I was going to die. "And, no, I'm not lost. I lost my family."
"Ha, your family was lost before it got started." Malfoy mocked. I could feel my ears get red as the blood pumped in my ears.
"Don't you dare say anything against my family! Where's your parents, Malfoy?" I shot back. "Out there, among the black robed, silver painted fools, too scared to show their faces? What kind of cause is that? That you're scared to show your faces, instead hiding behind metal painted faces."
Malfoy glared at me with such a deep hatred I felt my blood run cold. Never in my life, had I seen a look like that. I backed up a step under his stare. Malfoy smirked and turned to watch what was happening with the dark robed figures. Taking that moment, I sprinted out of the clearing and away from Malfoy as far as I could. I looked over my shoulder to see how far I was getting away from him when I ran into someone or something. I literally bounced off of whatever I had run into and fell to the ground. I looked up and saw a black robed figure with a silver mask. My scream died in my throat as it turned to look at me. I groped for my wand that had fallen a couple feet away from me.
"Help!" I finally found my voice. "Somebody, help me!" I heard footsteps running my way and saw a curse fired at the figure. The figure dodged and disappeared on the spot.
"Ced!" Cedric Diggory came running up to me. I looked up at him. "Ced, are you all right?"
I didn't have time to answer him. In the sky above Cedric's head, a horrible gruesome sign appeared in the dark sky. It was a green tinted skull with a snake erupting from its mouth.
"What is that?" I gasped. Cedric looked at me.
"Ced, that's the Dark Mark." Cedric said. "You-know-who would cast it over every site he killed someone."
I gasped. "We have to find them!" I got up. "We have to find them!" I started to run in the direction of the Dark Mark.
"Find who, Ced?" Cedric asked, racing after me.
"My family!" I said, tears welling up in my eyes. "I lost them." I continued to run towards the evil sign in the sky. Branches and shrubs snagged my clothes but I paid it no mind. I needed to find my family.
"That's my son!" I heard my father's voice.
"Dad!" I cried out and sprinted towards the voices.
"Ced?" I heard Ron's voice. I ran into the clearing, my hair flying behind me. I flung my arms around Ron's neck and began to cry into his shoulder.
"I'm okay," Ron said. "I'm okay, Ced."
"Did you see anything, son?" Mr. Diggory asked Cedric.
"Ced and I ran into a Death Eather back there." Cedric replied. "I don't remember which way he ran."
Bill, Charlie and Percy came running up. Mr. Weasley turned to his three oldest boys.
"Charlie, take Ced back to the tent. Fred, George, and Ginny are there." Dad instructed. "Get her a cup of tea to calm down. I'll send Bill with these three later." Charlie nodded. I sniffled and let go of Ron. I thought I had lost my twin. I would never wish that on anyone. It was a horrible feeling. Charlie pulled me close and guided me out of the dark forest. Angry with myself for breaking down, I furiously wiped the tears away from my eyes.
"It's okay, Ced," Charlie comforted me. "It's okay to be scared."
"I didn't know what to do, Charlie!" I confessed. "I froze. I'm not going to survive if I keep freezing. Plus Malfoy wasn't helping me, making fun of me and my family."
"Wait, you saw Malfoy, you mean Draco Malfoy?" Charlie stopped and looked at me. "Just Draco Malfoy?"
"Yeah, just Draco." I confirmed. "I said something about his parents hiding among the cowards with masks and he went all quiet. I bet his parents were out there with the Death Eaters."
We got back to the tent. Ginny launched herself at me as soon as Charlie and I walked into the tent. Fred and George came hurrying up to us. Their faces were white.
"Any news from dad?" George asked.
"We saw the skull and the snake." Fred said.
"Is Ron all right?" Ginny asked me. She knew that I would know if my twin was in trouble.
"He's fine," I assured her. "Ron, Harry, and Hermione are with dad and Bill."
Charlie walked towards the kitchen and put on the kettle. "I'll make some tea. Dad should be back soon and then we are all going home." I grabbed the discarded blanket and wrapped Ginny and me up in the large blanket. The shock of what just happened was dissipating. We were all calming down by now and so the waiting began.
Minutes crept by as we all sat there in the tent, waiting quietly for dad to come back. Ginny slowly fell asleep on my shoulder and George was snoring softly, his head on the table. Fred was pacing softly from the kitchen to the door to the kitchen again and Charlie was just sitting on one of the bunks, flipping a Knut and catching it. The early rays of a sunrise peeked through the tent flap when Dad came walking into the tent, followed by Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and Bill.
"Right, pack up!" Dad ordered. "We're going back home. Your mother must be worried right now."
"What about the clock, dad?" Fred asked, nudging his twin awake. I got up and ran towards Ron, flinging my arms around his neck. He was all right. No scratches at all. Ron patted my back and smiled softly at me.
"Your mother will worry, no matter what the clock says," Dad said.
In fifteen minutes, we were all packed and ready to go. Dad led the group to where the portkeys were being handed out. Few seconds later, we were walking up the hill towards the Burrow. Mum came running out of the house and crashed into Dad, kissing him and sobbing into his neck.
"I thought you were all dead," Mum cried. "It's all over the Daily Prophet."
"We're fine, Molly." Dad led mum into the kitchen and motioned for all of us kids to go upstairs to our rooms. I followed Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny up to Ron's room. We sat in a circle on the two beds and stared at the ground.
"I hope something like that never happens again." Harry whispers. All of us looked at The-Boy-Who-Lived and nodded our agreement. All I could think of for the rest of that day was Malfoy and the look on his face when I mentioned his parents being among the Death Eaters. Was that affirmation or denial in his eyes? I would never be able to guess.
As I fell asleep that night, my mind left the thoughts of Malfoy alone and turned towards Hogwarts, looking forward to September 1st, when term would begin.