Where The Beginning Of The End Begun
Chapter 2-
I've never given much thought to being from a rich family, or just a rich mother, rather. I wouldn't say that I take it all for granted, I'm just used to it. Unlike Hermione who is still semi-excited from just being dropped off at the Burrow by my personal flying carriage. A personal flying carriage. It seems normal to me but apparently they aren't very common among my friends. I've had it since I was nine years old; it's not a big deal to me.
Hermione and I trudge through the grass to get to the front door of the Weasley home, trying to control our laughter as to not wake anyone up. I'm not quite sure what we're laughing about anyway but I finally compose myself enough to knock on the door.
It's early in the morning so the air is crisp and chilly as we wait for someone to answer the door. My teeth stop chattering as soon as the door swings open to reveal Molly Weasley.
"Good morning girls! How are you? Come in, come in." she invites us into the warmth of the cosy house. Molly pulls me into a hug as soon as my foot is through the threshold. She lets go and proceeds to give Hermione a hug as well.
"I'm great, thanks. It's good to see you Molly." I tell her as I take a seat at the table, followed by Hermione.
"Yeah, it's lovely to see you Mrs Weasley." Hermione smiles at her.
"Oh, look at the two of you. Even more grown up since last school year." Molly gushes as she touches both of our cheeks.
I smile at her and look around; noticing no one else is here.
"I presume the boys are still asleep then?" I ask Molly, already knowing the answer.
"Of course, lazy sods. The lot of them. I thought maybe they would wake up at the smell of breakfast but alas, they haven't." Molly sighs. "Would you two mind going up there and giving them all a kick, tell them breakfast is ready now if they want it while it's hot?"
"Not at all. Come on Magenta." Hermione grabs my arm as I grab a bit of bacon off of the table and stuff it in my mouth. Hermione just laughs at me and continues to drag me up the stairs.
"You get Harry and Ron and I'll go get Ginny and the twins." I tell Hermione before heading off in the opposite direction of her.
When I find the twins door I waste no time in barging straight in. I go to Fred first shoving him as hard as I can and then do the same to George.
"Get up the two of you. Your mum's already made breakfast." They both groan as I yank the blankets from on top of them.
"Bloody hell women. Let us sleep." They mumble at the same time. It's strange how they always seem to do that, answer the same thing simultaneously.
"No. Up, now. If you want to be there on time you need to stop being lazy gits and get up." I tell them sternly before exiting the room and heading over to Ginny's.
I politely knock on the door of the younger girl's room, because I respect that girls need privacy.
"Ginny, you up?" I call as I walk into her room. She turns around as she's putting on her coat and smiles at me.
"Of course I am." She replies and walks over to me. We walk out of the room together and follow the twins-who decided to get up- down the stairs.
"I honestly don't know how you do it Gin." I whisper to her jokingly.
"What? Live with a bunch of boys? I've been wondering the same thing for quite a while now." She says back to me, without whispering.
"Oi!" George calls out.
"We're not that bad." Fred finishes. I chuckle at them both and go to stand at the side of the table.
"I find that very hard to believe." I say to them. "Especially with Ron in the house." I add on as I see him come down the stairs. He glares at me and I smirk in response.
"Dad…where are we going?" Ron complains as we're walking through the woods.
"You'll see. Keep up." Arthur replies. I speed up my pace a tiny bit, as do Hermione and Ginny. I'm curious myself to see where we are actually going, but I'm patient enough to wait and see.
"Arthur!" a voice calls out from somewhere in the distance. We all look to see a man standing beside a tree. "It's about time!"
"Sorry Amos," Arthur apologises to the man. "Some of us had a bit of a sleepy start." He looks over his shoulder, as do I, to give Ron and Harry a pointed look. They take no notice and just yawn again.
"This is Amos Diggory, everyone." Arthur introduces the man when we finally approach him. He smiles at us all and I jump back a bit when I see a boy I recognise to be Cedric Diggory, jump out of the tree.
I turn to Ginny and Hermione and the three of us share a knowing look before sighing and following behind Cedric.
I don't really know Cedric, as he is a few years older than us but, Merlin is he gorgeous. I wouldn't be surprised if I just ended up gawking at him this whole trip. And by the look on Hermione and Ginny's faces, I know they're in the same boat as me.
Eventually, I end up walking beside Cedric and we start talking about the game and who we think will win. Just talking to him causes butterflies to erupt in my stomach. I internally scold myself for acting so immature. But I really can't help it, I'm a fourteen year old girl and one of the best looking lads in the school is talking to me.
As we walk up a hill I see a random boot sitting at the top of it.
"What in the bloody hell is that?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. Cedric chuckles at me and I give him a questioning look.
"It's a port-key." He tells me simply. I've never used a port-key before; I had been told that they could be made out of anything but a boot? Really?
Everyone catches up quickly and we all stand around the old boot/port-key.
"How does it work then?" Harry takes the words right out of my mouth.
"You just touch it." Cedric tells me. I see everyone else putting their finger on the boot and I follow suit. I feel someone take my hand and I look to see Cedric smiling at me. I of course can't help but blush, like the school girl I am. As soon as Harry touches the boot, we all start spinning through the air.
"Hold on to me!" Cedric shouts to me. I do as I'm told without question just as Arthur shouts 'let go.' Taking my hand off of the boot I wrap it around Cedric's waist as we start falling. I cling to him tightly and shut my eyes, not liking the falling sensation.
Soon enough we slow down and float to the ground where Hermione, Ron and Harry are lying face down, groaning in pain. Cedric lets me go gently as our feet reach the grass and I stumble a bit before regaining my balance.
I glance at the trio on the ground before looking at Cedric.
"Well, thank you for that." I smile at him.
"Not a problem." He chuckles before going to help Harry up.
We walk across the field and look out over all the tents and people in amazement.
"Well kids, welcome to the Quidditch World Cup."
There are people everywhere, flying on brooms, talking to one another, dancing. There's loud music playing and a fairly happy atmosphere surrounding the place. Everyone is dressed up in either Irish colours or Bulgarian colours, depending on who they're supporting. It's like a festival really. It's very crowded though and I would hate to get lost amongst all of this, so I stick close to Hermione.
"Look!" Ginny points to some house elves riding llamas. I let a laugh escape me at the sight.
"See you later then Amos." I hear Arthur say and I turn around to see Cedric and his father heading off in another direction.
"Bye Ced!" I wave to him and he waves back at me before walking off. I turn to face Hermione again. She is staring at me with wide eyes but she soon returns to normal and smirks.
"I think we have the future Mrs Diggory amongst us." She jokes, bumping my shoulder with her own.
"I wish." I sigh and walk on with the rest of the group. We arrive at a tent and Arthur pulls back the curtain.
"Home sweet home." My face drops. The tent is bloody tiny. How are we all to fit in there?
My face brightens up as soon as we walk in though. Inside of the tent is massive and quite luxurious.
Hermione, Ginny and I all go to one side of it and start unpacking our things.
As I'm walking by Harry I see him looking around in amazement.
"I love magic." He says to no one in particular.
"My sentiments exactly." I say as I walk around the tent.
"Watch it Ron!" I scold him as he rudely pushes past me to get up the stairs.
"My apologies Blake." He brushes it off and starts talking to his dad. I roll my eyes at him before continuing up the stairs. "Blimey dad, how far up are we?" Ron asks Arthur as he looks out at the stands and the pitch.
"Well let's put it this way," I hear a voice drawl from below us. I look down to see Lucius Malfoy talking to us, the wind making his long bleach blonde hair blow behind him, making him look ridiculous. Draco appears behind Lucius and his eyes lock on me. I inhale sharply at seeing him and quickly look away. I had been trying my best not to think about him all summer but now…he's here and any thoughts about Cedric I'd had all day are completely gone and my mind is filled with Draco. I casually look back over the rail again as he looks at everyone else in disgust. He's wearing an all- black suit and he just looks so good. It really isn't fair, at all. I bite my lip as I look at him before realising what I'm actually doing and I stop immediately. "If it rains, you'll be the first to know." Lucius' arrogant voice pulls me away from drooling over Draco.
Draco smirks at his father's unwanted comment before he decides to start talking himself. I see everyone else glaring at him but my face remains neutral.
"Father and I are in the Minister's Box, by personal invitation of Cornelius Fudge himself." Draco calls out. "Care to join us Blakewood?" he asks me with a smirk.
Yes.
"No, I actually rather like the company I'm in now." I say, glancing at Hermione. She nods at me, as if to say that staying with them was the right thing, which it was. Although, I would've loved to watch the game with Draco. But first of all it would be rude to just leave the people who brought me here considering they are my good friends and second, it would bode well with no one. Especially not Hermione. She had already given me quite the row earlier this summer when I told her how much I actually liked Draco. I respected her reasons to hate him and I didn't want to upset her so I just never brought it up again.
Ignoring the question Draco had asked and my reply, Lucius whacks Draco in the chest.
"Don't boast." He tells his son. I roll my eyes at him. Lucius Malfoy was practically the king of boasting. "There is no need for these people." How rude. Draco shoots me another glance before walking away with his father. I sigh and turn the other way with Hermione.
When we reach the very top of the stands, I can see everything. There are so many people here. Everyone is constantly cheering and shouting.
"It's the Irish!" Fred and George shout at the same time as the Irish players fly out, trailing green smoke behind them.
Fireworks are set off in the air and they transform into a dancing Leprechaun.
I steal Harry's big red hat and put it on as someone screams "Here comes the Bulgarians!"
I cheer loudly as the Bulgarians fly through the pitch, as I am supporting their team tonight. The drums start playing as one of the players shows off on his broom.
"Who's that?" Ginny shouts over the noise.
"That sis, is the best seeker in the world!" George tells her, while pointing to the seeker. His picture is put up on the stands as everyone starts chanting 'Krum.'
"KRUM!" we all cheer at the same time.
"Good evening," Everything goes quiet as the Minister starts speaking from his box. "As Minister of Magic, it gives me great pleasure to welcome each and every one of you to the final of the 422nd Quidditch World Cup. Let the match…begin!" He releases the snitch and the match starts as the crowd goes wild.
We're all singing in the tent as Arthur puts the fire on. Fred and George are attempting to do Irish dancing and making fools of themselves, much to my amusement.
"There's no one like Krum," Ron says dramatically as he stands up. He starts babbling on about how great Viktor Krum is.
"I think you're in love Ron." Ginny pats her brother's leg as she walks by him.
"Oh shut up." Ron grumbles as I erupt into a fit of laughter.
The twins and Harry start teasing Ron about loving Viktor as I continue to laugh at the boys. I really do love being with all of them.
Everyone stops as we hear a bang outside.
"Sounds like the Irish have got their pride on." Fred jokes. But when Arthur comes in and seriously tells them all to stop, I stand up quickly and listen to what he's saying.
"It's not the Irish." My eyes widen at his statement.
"What do you mean it's not the Irish? What the hell's happening?" I ask in a panic.
"We've got to get out of here, now!" Arthur rushes us all to start getting our things. I grab my bag as quickly as I can and grab onto Ginny, running outside with her and everyone else.
Outside is chaos. Everyone is running around and it's hard to see anything but I can hear explosions going off not too far away.
"Get back to the port-key." Arthur commands us all. That's when the real panic sets in and we all start running. I let go of Ginny and let Fred and George take her and they run off in the opposite direction.
I try and follow Ron, Hermione and Harry but it's hard to concentrate on where I'm going when I can barely see. There are just so many people, all screaming and stumbling over each other. I look back to where the fires are being set and see a group of cloaked figures wearing masks. Death Eaters. Great.
I try to fight my way through the crowds as best I can but then Harry gets pushed in the opposite direction so I go after him since he is the closest one to me.
"Move!" People shout as they shove me about. I shove them right back, not at all interested in being trampled to death.
"Harry! Magenta!" I hear Hermione screaming for us but I can't see her anywhere.
I lose sight of Harry and start looking around frantically, my heart racing faster and faster. I can't find anyone and the frustration and fear starts to take over.
I let out a scream as someone grabs my arm tightly and yanks me out of the crowd of people. I can't make out who it is but as some of the smoke clears I'm relieved and surprised to see Draco gripping my wrist tightly and dragging me along with him.
"Draco!" I cough out. "Draco!" I say again but he won't stop pulling me along. I grab his arm and pull as hard as I can, making him stop and turn to face me. He grabs my face and inspects it quickly.
"What happened to you? Do you feel alright? Shit, your lip is cut." He touches my bottom lip gingerly as he speaks to me. I take his hands off of my face and start looking around again.
"No. I am most certainly not alright! I have no bloody idea what's going on, I've lost my friends and in case you have noticed, this place is being set on fire…by Death. Eaters." I didn't mean to snap at him but I'm just nervous and I don't like what's going on right now.
"Breathe, Blakewood. Just breathe." He tells me slowly. I hadn't even realised I was hyperventilating but I did what I was told and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. I take a look around and notice that we're standing in between two tents and there is nobody else here.
Well, maybe I spoke too soon. I see a figure walking through the tents, kicking things. I go to see who it is but Draco pulls me back into him, clamping a hand over my mouth and making me crouch down beside him.
"Shh." He whispers in my ear and I remain quiet. Despite everything that just happened and not being with my friends, I can't help but love the feel of being near Draco. I relish in this moment, knowing that it probably won't happen again, for a while at least.
I hear a spell being cast and look up to the sky to see the Dark Mark appearing in green smoke. My eyes widen and I make a noise that sounds an awful lot like a whimper as fear floods through me. That mark was a bad thing. A very, very bad thing.
"Harry!" I hear a voice call in the distance. I stand up quickly and look around so that I'm face to face with Draco.
"Magenta!" I hear Hermione's unmistakable voice call out. I don't pay attention though as all my attention is focused on the fact that my face is literally inches away from Draco's. I keep my eyes locked on his beautiful silver ones and feel like I'm in a trance.
He leans down a bit, as if he's going to kiss me but he doesn't.
"You should get to…them, Blakewood." He whispers, his breath hitting my lips.
"What about you?" I ask quietly when I find my voice.
"I know where I'm going." He smirks back at me. He untangles his arms from around my waist and steps back.
"Thank you Draco." He gives a curt nod and I watch him walk away before following Hermione's voice.
"There you are!" Hermione pulls me in for a tight hug and I return it. "Where were you? Oh no, your lip's bleeding." She says sympathetically. I lick my lip and taste the blood, showing her that it's really not a big deal.
"I'm fine Mione, thanks. I just got out of the way until everyone else cleared out." It wasn't a total lie but I certainly didn't want her to know that it was Draco who had practically saved me. "You alright Harry?" I ask him cautiously. His face is quite cut up and he really doesn't look too good.
Before he can answer Harry starts hissing in pain and touching his scar. We hear a spell being said and then red sparks fly at us and we duck down before we hear Arthur telling whoever it was to stop.
Barty Crouch points his wand in our faces, rambling on about us being at the scene of the crime.
"Crime?" Harry asks. "What crime?"
"That's the Dark Mark Harry." I tell him gravely.
"It's his mark." Hermione explains further.
"Voldemort?" Harry asks, confused. I nod at him. "Those people tonight, in the masks. They were his followers." Harry says finally putting the pieces together.
"Death Eaters." Arthur tells the people from the Ministry.
"Follow me." Barty says to the other men.
"There was a man, earlier. Over there." Harry points to where I saw the man before.
"Follow me now, all of you." Barty orders his men.
"What man?" Arthur asks.
"I saw him too. I couldn't tell who it was though." I tell them all. We all stare up at the Dark Mark that remains in the sky. A reminder that Voldemort will be back.