Chapter 4 Death-eaters and Dangers

BANG!

Harry awoke with a start, telling himself that everything would be okay, which worked until the warm Ginny-shaped lump moved off him. Soft, pale hands put his glasses on his face, and his eyes focused on her for a second, then Harry pulled himself up. Fred and George gave the two young friends a brief telling look, 'You two be careful.'

"What's going on?" Asked Alex, confused.

"Death-eaters…" muttered Percy reverently, as though he were preparing for an exorcism.

Harry grabbed Ron, who grabbed Hermione. Alex ran after them.

"Lumos!" The three whispered. Alex followed suit. Percy, Mr. Weasley, and every adult wizard they saw, was rushing towards Harry saw Mr. Diggory run past, and Mr. Crouch stopped, eyeing him warily.

"Harry Potter…" he barked, "Time to get along, children. There's no way we can attack the death-eaters while they are holding those hostages aloft." He shouted this last part to his co-workers.

Harry stopped, looking back at the crowd of death eaters. The villains were levitating innocents. Suddenly, a young wizard came running up, yelling his approval of the idea of those who were flying around mid-air. He then jumped into the trail of magic, flying up to a young girl, which he grabbed.

"Max! Get over here!" Yelled a voice, which Max ignored, soaring across the darkened sky, taking the girl to safety.

Every wizard and witch in the area paused as a whoop of triumph sounded.

Screw running… said Harry to himself. I want to fight back! He passed a couple of dark figures struggling on the ground. He ignored the smaller problem in favor of facing against off against the followers of Voldemort.

"Stupefy! Stupefy!" He screamed. Death-eaters crumbled one by one. Justin appeared at his side with Alex, bellowing his own spells.

"Mosmorde!" A deep voice bellowed. A giant green skull erupted from the sky. Silence erupted, and then panic set in, people disapparating away, death-eaters and innocents alike. Ministry members surged forward to collect the fallen.

"What's this then?"

Harry looked up in wonder, only to be accosted by ministry members in seconds.

Alex had been restless. Harry and Ginny were cuddled together as if made to fit each other. Sleeping over had been surprisingly unsettling to her. Her father's snoring, her mother's complaining about snoring, odd sounds coming from Max's room that nobody really wanted to think about…

Then there was Justin. It was reassuring to know he would always be around to help her. If she woke up, and the Nazi/zombie apocalypse had finally happened, this was her order of things to grab; fashion magazine, Justin, snacks, clothes, and then her wand. Nothing could go so bad that he could not bail her out.

The screams had started in the middle of the night.

The first time she had flashed was with his help. Max had confessed they were going to prank her with a ten minute banishing spell to Istanbul. She came up with one to send herself somewhere nice there. Justin had sent her, unknowingly, into a festival. At first, she was pleased that she managed to get away with something, and then she was happy her brother could not stop her. Once the party started to die down, she realized she had no other way back. If she had just performed the spell the way he taught her, she would have gotten home safely. It had been embarrassing how deeply she was shaken.

Not that he'd remember, Alex thought bitterly. Justin probably would not care if he never saw her again. It seemed to Alex that her brother was willing to ignore her for whatever this wizard tournament was. Not that she cared, she was Alex Russo, Princess of the house, and he would bow to her will. She took out her diary and started an entry.

The sounds from the campsite disturbed her latest graphic fantasy. She was trying to formulate a story where she was a princess (again). This time Justin would be a lowly servant, but instead he kept turning out to be a prince in disguise. I can't even control my own fantasies…. She thought to herself. No matter how often she drew him, he always turned out to be a knight in shining armor. It was really annoying! And the noise from outside was so distracting!

Alex went to the door to tell the neighbors to keep it down, New Yorker style, when she realized just what was happening. She stood in the doorway to the tent with her mouth gaping. The Weasleys awoke in alarm and she was hustled out of the door.

Her friends taught her a new spell, but the tiny beam of light did little to comfort her. Alex caught sight of Max running towards the men in black shouting how much fun it would be to go flying. She ran after him, realizing too late that she was now separated.

"Expelliarmus!" A male voice hollered. Her wand flew from her hand.

"What? My waaaaand!" she whined. A second later, a blond boy tackled her to the ground.
She hit the earth with a thud. Whoever this wizard was, he was determined to pin her down, forcing her arms down. He bent down, calling her a blood traitor, and bit her ear.

"I'll show you a real wizard's power…" He trailed off. Alex concentrated on levitating him off her, but the boy sent pain through her arms making her cry out. A group ran past them, oblivious to the scene. A familiar voice snarled a threat at 'Draco'. A flash of light and a disturbing 'pop' sound later, and Alex found herself helped to her feet by Justin.

"Blind-sided me, have you seen my wand?" She asked. Justin shook his head.

"Time to go."

Alex kept close to him, figuring it was safer, and that she would eventually find her wand.

"What's this then?" Grunted Mr. Crouch, as he and Justin wrestled over a red wand.

"My wand!" Alex cried. The looks around them silenced her. She picked up on the hint. "I think…?"

A green haze was pouring out of it. Justin walked over to her, hissing in her ear, "When your wand was taken yesterday, I finally convinced Dad to put a safety device on it too keep you, err, it, from being used for powerful dark magic…"

She looked at him fearfully, then at the sky.

"Then this is….?" Alex withdrew her open hand. The gears were spinning. Her wand had been used to summon the skull overhead, and now a dozen ministry members were all witnesses.

"Seize her!"