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This is a longer chapter, and very action-packed ! So I hope you like it!
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wildest dreams
VOLUME I

CHAPTER FOUR

After the breath-taking, most amazing Quidditch match I had ever witnessed ended, we made our way back to the tents to celebrate Ireland's victory – and also the twins' victory. They ended up being right about Krum catching the Snitch, and therefore won a lot of Galleons.

"What are you two going to do with all that money ?" I asked them while we were walking back to the tent.

"Save it for the shop, of course" said George.

"Maybe we can get that place on Diagon Alley after all" said Fred.

They exchanged enthusiastic grins, and I couldn't help but smile too. I was happy to see them so optimistic about their future.

We finally got back to the tent, and Arthur prepared us hot chocolates. We sat down, sighing in relief. My feet were killing me. I stretched my legs and laid them on Fred's knees, leaning down against George. That felt good. We sat there for a while, just talking about the match. Then, suddenly, Fred stood up, making me spill my drink on my shirt.

"Fred !" I shrieked.

But he ignored me, lifting his arms in the air. I rolled my eyes.

"KRUM!" he yelled.

"DUMB KRUM!" screamed back George.

Suddenly, I felt myself being lifted up from the couch. I screamed in surprise as George held me by the waist.

"George, put me down !" I shouted.

But he had other plans, and started twirling around like we were dancing. I struggled against him, unable to hold back my laughter. Finally, after a few minutes, he put me down, and the twins started singing, and soon we were all dancing and singing in the tent. Well, except Percy, who looked very much annoyed, and Ginny, who looked half-asleep.

"YAY KRUM!" screamed Fred.

"He's more than an athlete !" said Ron. "He's an artist !"

"Ron, you're in love !" I said, laughing.

"Viktor, I love you, Viktor I do !" sang the twins. "When we're apart my heart beats only for you !"

Ron only blushed, and shot the twins a dark look.

"Oh, leave it…"

Suddenly, a loud noise made everyone stop talking. We all turned to Ginny, who had just fallen asleep on the kitchen table, spilling her hot chocolate.

"Very well !" declared Arthur, cleaning the mess with his wand. "I think it will be enough for tonight… Time for bed, everyone !"

Nobody argued with him. I was still in the mood for celebrating, but I felt quite tired. I wished the boys goodnight and followed Ginny and Hermione to our tent. After I changed into my pyjamas, still unable to stop smiling, I snuggled into my little bed and instantly fell asleep, my head filled with the memories of the past day.

It seemed like I had only been asleep for a minute when someone woke me up, shaking me by the shoulders. I opened my eyes to see Arthur looking very pale. As soon as he saw I was awake, he turned to Hermione.

"Wake up, girls ! Quickly !" he said, his voice trembling.

I could tell something was wrong – very wrong.

"What's wrong ?" I asked.

"Grab a jacket and get out, not time for questions !"

The alarmed tone of his voice convinced me it was not some kind of joke. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I slipped into a jacket and followed the girls outside.

It felt like I had just stepped into a nightmare. Everywhere, I could see people running, screaming – tents were on fire, spells bounced all around us. It was horrifying. I ran to Fred and George, seeking their presence – they were looking up at the dark sky, so I lifted my head and saw what they were looking out. I gasped – four people were floating in the air, like dishevelled puppets.

"Bloody hell" I whispered.

"That's sick" muttered Ron behind me.

I couldn't look away, and suddenly felt a hand grab mine. I looked down to find George staring at me, and I clenched his hand tighter, feeling slightly better. I wanted to smile to thank him, but I couldn't find the strength. I felt sick.

"We're going to help the Ministry" Arthur told us. "You lot – get into the woods, and stick together. I'll come and fetch you when we've sorted this out !"

With a nod, he turned around and ran away, followed by Bill, Charlie and Percy. I saw a blast of green light from the corner of my eye, shot from the wand of a man dressed all in black and wearing a weird mask – and I knew that we had to get away from here, and fast. Fred was the first to react.

"Let's go" he said, grabbing Ginny's hand.

He started running towards the woods, and we all followed him closely. We ran across the field, trying to ignore the screams and all the people running away around us. I didn't let go of George's hand – I couldn't.

We finally got the woods, which were very dark. I was wondering how much further we had to run when I tripped over something. I felt my hand slip from George's as I fell forward, hitting my head on something hard. I groaned in pain.

"Addy !" exclaimed George.

He was back beside me in an instant, grabbing my hand again.

"You're all right ?" he asked.

"I'm okay" I answered, getting back up clumsily.

"You sure ? Can you still run ?"

I could barely figure out his face in the darkness, but he held my hand tight, and it made me feel safe. I nodded, ignoring the pain in my head, and we ran to catch up with the others. When we got to an empty clearing, a few minutes later, Harry, Ron and Hermione were nowhere in sight. I collapsed next to a tree, closing my eyes to try and chase away the pain.

"What is happening ? Who are these people in black ?" asked Ginny.

"I have an idea" said Fred. "But I hope I'm wrong."

"Death Eaters" nodded George, looking at his brother.

"Death-what ?" asked Ginny, confused.

"Death Eaters. You-Know-Who's soldiers" explained Fred.

Silence followed his words. I felt cold, and dizzy. That couldn't mean anything good. Ginny sat down, closely followed by Fred. We were all silent. There was nothing to say, after all. We just needed to wait. I looked up at the dark sky. It was quiet here, almost too quiet. I thought about the others. Were they safe ?

"How are you feeling ?" asked George.

He sat down next to me, looking worried. Thankfully, it was brighter in the clearing than in the woods, so I could see his face, dimly lit by the moonlight.

"I'll be fine. I just hit my head."

"I can see that. You have a nice scratch there. Does it hurt ?"

"A little" I said.

"You should rest, then. You can use my shoulder as a pillow."

I chuckled.

"That's very nice of you" I said.

"I'm always nice."

I finally accepted his offer. However, he was taller than me, so my head only reached his forearm, but I settled my head there. I closed my eyes, enjoying the quietness, trying to chase away the sound of the screams that still echoed in my head. I didn't understand what was happening. Why would these people ruin such a happy event ? And what did their presence mean ? I tried not to think about it too much – it scared me a lot more than I would ever admit. A few minutes later, I heard George's voice.

"Hey, you should take a look at this" he said.

I opened my eyes and looked up to where he was staring. I felt cold shivers run through my body as I observed the black sky. I knew exactly what that was.

"What is that ?" asked Fred, frowning.

"That's the Dark Mark" I said.

"The what ?"

"The Dark Mark. You-Know-Who's mark. My uncle told me that he used to make it appear in the sky, just like that, after doing something horrible, like… murder or… you know. It scared everyone, because it always meant bad news."

"That's horrible" sighed Ginny. "Do you think something happened ? Like… do you think someone got murdered ?"

"I hope not" I replied in a small voice.

I felt really bad. How could this day turn into such a horrible nightmare ?

"I think we should get back. It must have calmed down by now" said Fred.

"Yeah, let's go" agreed George.

He helped me up and we silently walked back to the tents area – everything was destroyed, but it was quiet again. The air smelled like ashes. When we reached our tent, who was miraculously intact, only Bill, Charlie and Percy were there. They let out a sigh of relief when they saw us.

"It's good to see you" said Bill.

"Did you see Ron, Hermione and Harry ?" asked Percy.

"No. We lost them on our way to the woods" sighed Fred.

"Addy, what happened to your head ?" said Charlie, grabbing my arm.

He made me sit on a chair, and I noticed that his jacket was torn. Looking around, I realized that Bill was holding a bandage on his arm and that Percy's nose was bleeding.

"What happened to you all ?" I asked.

"Later. We need to take care of this first" he said, motioning to my forehead.

"But the others –"

"Leave it, Addy."

With a swift move of his wand, he made a wet cloth appear, and gently pressed it against my forehead. I hissed in pain.

"I'm sorry if it hurts, but I have to clean the wound" said Charlie.

I nodded, knowing he was right.

"Someone, hold that."

George quickly appeared, looking pale. I noticed his hair was messy on his head – well, more than usual.

"Just hold it there, without pressure" explained Charlie. "I'll be right back."

George nodded, and took his brother's place. I observed Charlie as he started to tear up the sheets from the nearest bed, probably to make me a bandage similar to Bill's.

"You all right ?" asked George.

I looked at him.

"Of course I am."

I smiled, and I was glad to see him smile back. Charlie reappeared next to me, and when George removed the cloth, he carefully wrapped the tissue around my head. When he was done, I was already feeling much better.

"Is that how you take care of your dragons ?" I asked him.

"It's a bit different" he said with a smile. "They're certainly bigger, and they're more… unpredictable."

"So how is that different from Addy, specifically ?" asked Fred, looking innocent.

I threw a pillow at him, chuckling. Then, Arthur appeared in the tent with Harry, Ron and Hermione. We all let out a sigh of relief – now, everyone was safe.

"Did you get them, Dad ? The person who conjured the Mark ?" asked Bill.

"No" answered Arthur. "We found Barty Crouch's elf holding Harry's wand, but we're non the wiser about who actually conjured the Mark."

"What ?"

"Harry's wand ?"

"Mr Crouch's elf ?"

It took a while for them to explain to us what had happened in the woods. I frowned - nothing made any sense. I couldn't believe everything that was happening.

"Dad, we met Draco Malfoy, and he as good as told us his dad was one of those nutter in masks ! And we all know the Malfoys were right in with You-Know-Who" said Ron.

"But what were Voldemort's supporters –"

I flinched, as did everyone. I wasn't used to hear that name spoken aloud.

"Sorry" apologized Harry. "What were You-Know-Who's supporters up to, levitating Muggles ? I mean, what was the point ?"

"The point ?" answered Arthur with a laugh. "Harry, that's their idea of fun. 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."

The thought made me shiver. Killing for fun ? I couldn't help but think of my parents. They were Muggles. I couldn't understand why someone would kill Muggles just for fun. But it was You-Know-Who and his servants we were talking about.

"But if they were the Death Eaters, why did they Disapparate when they saw the Dark Mark ?" asked Ron. "They'd have been pleased to see it, wouldn't they ?"

The discussion went on for a while longer, but I could feel myself dozing off. At some point, we all decided to go to bed, and to go back to the Burrow early in the morning. I fell asleep quickly, my head buzzing, filled with images of men dressed in black and deadly marks in the dark sky.