"Master, wake up!" Elixir yells into Zarif's ear, making his eyes shoot wide open from his sleep. Blotting up, he looks around in shock at hearing loud yelling from outside. "We have trouble. It's an attack!" Elixir says, making Zarif jump out of his bed and head outside with his wands in hand. Outside in the distance, he heard screams and saw fire in the distance as well as four figures in the air, most likely people being played with for the amusement of someone. The rest soon start emerging from the two tents, with Mr. Wealsey, Percy, Bill, and Charlie all having their wands out.
Zarif's first instinct is to run and help, but everything is happening so fast, and he soon finds himself knocked against and left alone against some left behind boxes as people are stampeding away, and if no one dies from being trampled on, it will be a miracle. He groans, trying to get his bearings straight as he looks around the area, seeing the trails and pathways people are mostly taking along with where the trouble is occurring. As he sees the source of the fires and flaming balls that shoot out, he decides to avoid that, thinking they would be firing without discrimination and at any available target. The people floating in the air would be more trouble as he would be caught in that mess, too, once seen. So he would have to find the others first.
Part of him feels guilty, but entering the scene could just cause more chaos. As he moves further away, he notices something, a dark hooded figure a bit ahead of him shooting fireballs in a small tent clearing—the haphazard fireball attack sets aflame the tents around the area. Zarif frowns and sees that since this one is alone, it would be much easier than getting through or handling a group since this one is alone. And since there are still some people around still, it would be best to deal with him since it would clear the way out.
"Elixir, is there anyone else around?" Zarif asks.
"Unless you mean just those running away, not much," Elixir informs as it looks around and tries to sense anyone else approaching the area. Zarif, for his part, shuffles through the crowd and tries to get to the death eater as he is preoccupied with causing as much chaos as possible.
'Let's stop that,' Zarif thinks before launching a few knockback spells without his wand, waving his hands a certain way. These spells hit the death eater square in the back, sending him flying right into the fire he just started.
Elixir and Zarif stare at the death eater covered in burnt boxes and tents as he looks to be entirely knocked out by how much he isn't moving. "You didn't kill him," Dreamer points out.
"I am considering it," Zarif replies, looking down at the death eater, thinking and remembering someone just like him who murdered his parents.
"No one would notice," Planner points out before Zarif turns and walks away, trying to keep his mind on finding the others rather than these bastards.
"No, I am not so evil as to kill a defenseless drunk. Bandits I killed along with animals I hunted for food, but not a defenseless one," Zarif says as he walks away. Deep down, he didn't care if the death eater lived or died now. He just wasn't going to do the deed.
After a bit of walking, he made it to the edge of the forest, where he is surprised to see Dracona. Before moving to greet or approach her, he scans the area for anyone else, but no one is there. Zarif then approaches the young pureblood, a serious question on his mind. "Did you know your father and his friends were planning this?" Zarif simply asks.
Dracona jumps in shock and turns around to face the new person before calming down from a rising fear. However, the question he poses makes her nervous, and she even looks behind him for a quick second to see if anyone else is coming. But finding no one, she almost stutters to answer. "W-Well…that's a bit of a stretch, Zarif," she points out, trying to come up with a way to answer this as not everyone knows this heavy truth, and just being calm about it would tip the boy off.
"Two years ago. I know it was your father that slipped that cursed book into Ginny's school supplies. Which nearly brought back his former master. All in an attempt to get her father's bill disgraced because his child unleashed the Basilisk and killed someone with it. Second, there is no way in hell your mother, who, from how Autumn and Elixir describe her reaction in the booth, is very protective of you, would just leave you here alone while a full-scale riot is going on with Death Eaters at the center of it. Unless they have nothing to worry about as they and their friends were doing it," Zarif points out, reminding Dracona that Zarif always notices every tiny detail. "Also, I checked and wouldn't be talking about this with you right now if someone was around."
Dracona had taken a few steps back as Zarif stepped closer during that entire explanation. But he hit every nail on the head with each sentence, and that makes her very worried. It would be easy for him to go to someone like Fudge and persuade him to look into her family, which could worsen overall after this riot.
"So, tell me, do you see how stupid this is as I do?" Zarif asks, taking a seat on a rock nearby, making her pause as he doesn't seem to be pressing her further down than what he did, even if he didn't know it.
Dracona takes a small breath before frowning a little as she looks away. "Yeah," she admits, following his direction and reasoning.
"I mean, do these fools not realized they just showed there are death eaters still at large, and this will make the auroras force open up old case files and review who was under the Imperius curse and who wasn't…Dracona, I speak to you now as your friend. Tell your father to stop doing these stupid things. Rufus, the head of the Auroras, knows he was behind the chamber of secrets and is watching your family right now," Zarif informs, and it was as if half the world just fell on Dracona as Zarif pulled out his Omnioculars to zoom in to see what is happening.
Dracona's eyes widened with fear. If what Zarif had just said is true, then her father and mother may be arrested soon after tonight. "Say Dracona, have you ever heard of a Pensieve?" Zarif asks.
"No…" Dracona starts. "What is it?"
"A magical device used to review memories, including other people's. It comes in either a shallow stone or metal basin, into which runes and strange symbols were carved, and precious stones were fitted. So trying to figure out where the book came from, the auroras could extract a memory willingly from the person or someone present and then review it. The way it works is you don't see it from the eyes of another, but as if you were there as a phantom. So you can see and hear everything but can not interact or alter anything," Zarif says as Dracona understands what he is getting at.
'So it would be the ending for us all if even Zarif says one word,' Dracona quietly says. "So…you are going to tell Fudge and everyone else?"
"I don't have to. Rufus knows. The only reason why he hasn't acted is that Potter destroyed the evidence. Aka the journal of a young Tom Riddle," Zarif says, getting a confused look from her. "Oh, I am sorry. You only know him by the name he went by in his later life. Lord Voldemort," Zarif says, making her jump a bit at the name.
Dracona is silent and in shock at him having just said that and even just telling her that. She had no way of knowing if what he said was accurate or not before Zarif dropped his Omnioculars after looking back at the campgrounds in the distance. "Something is wrong. The Death Eaters are running like that old master just showed up," Zarif says, getting up.
Dracona looks around before she spots something in the distance. "Well…close," Dracona says, pointing out the Death Mark had appeared in the sky in the forest, knowing none of her family or the friends of the family would do something that stupid.
"So Winky was fired?" Zarif asks, rubbing his head as he goes over everything Harry, Ron, and Hermione had told him had happened to them.
"All because of being found with my wand, too," Harry sighs. "And it was used to create the mark in the sky," he gestures, throwing his hand towards the sky where the Death Mark hung above the area.
"Something smells off. Like it was wrapped up too quickly," Zarif says, thinking it over as he sat in the chair back at their tent as the death mark is dispelled before they see some Ministry wizards hauling away someone in a Death Eater costume.
"Blimey. You think he got too drunk?" Ron asks, all of them getting up and watching the man being dragged away.
"Someone going to Azkaban. Mr. Weasley, what does this mean? Will this strengthen the law enforcement's cause?" Zarif asks, looking at the tired man.
Arthur looks over from the suitcases that he is quickly packing and eyes the man led by the Ministry. "It might. Too soon to say. But with this uproar over the entire game and festival, it might finally get things rolling," he admits with some uncertainty in his voice.
"Percy. That means opportunity," Zarif says, looking at his former dueling club leader.
Percy already sees stars in his eyes when the others look at the boy.
After a few hours of sleep, the group got an early portkey. Zarif didn't even get to see Merula before they left. Mrs. Weasley was there in the front yard holding a daily prophet in her hand, worried stiff. She ran to her husband and started to console herself with her family. She had feared the worse, especially when Zarif picked up the paper and read the headline. 'SCENES OF TERROR AT THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP' with a photograph of the Dark Mark over the treetops. The article was quickly written and printed as this didn't even happen twelve hours ago or this prepared ahead of time. "Elixir, remember the name, Rita Skeeter. She may be bad news for us," Zarif instructs, not trusting the writer at all. Though he admits, she was right about the parts of 'Lax security and national disgrace' as there were foreign officials and civilians involved in this.
Harry perks his head up and looks at Zarif as Elixir hisses and reads the paper on the table too. "We are curious if this one is fair or one who seeks glory rather than righteousness," Critic comments before Planner looks up and sees Harry staring at the two.
Zarif skims that article briefly with Elixir. "Definitely the latter. There were no bodies. We would know if there were," Planner says as Mr. Weasley walks over and Zarif hands him the paper.
"Ministry blunders…culprits not apprehended…lax security…Dark wizards running unchecked…national disgrace…Who wrote this? Ah…of course…Rita Skeeter," Mr. Weasley summaries. He hums before looking at Zarif and smirking a little. "Just so you know, Parseltongue is not that silent even if we don't understand," he advises, and Zarif blinks before facepalming as he has been speaking in an average volume.
"I am mentioned. If the terrified wizards and witches who waited breathlessly for news at the edge of the wood expected reassurance from the Ministry of Magic, they were sadly disappointed. A Ministry official emerged sometime after the appearance of the Dark Mark alleging that nobody had been hurt but refusing to give any more information. Whether this statement will be enough to quash the rumors that several bodies were removed from the woods an hour later remains to be seen," Weasley reads it off.
"Nobody was hurt. What was I supposed to say? Rumors that several bodies were removed from the woods…well, there certainly will be rumors now she's printed that," Percy fumes.
"Yes…very quickly this article was printed and delivered all over England?" Zarif asks suggestively, seeing if either of them will catch on to what he means by that as he pets Autumn as she had taken her place on the arm he held out.
"It was surprisingly fast. And all of this detail and information that I doubt can be written even in an hour," Hermione notes, reading some of the article pieces she can see while Arthur holds up the folded newspaper in his hands.
"I think I will join you going into work, dad. Mr. Crouch will need all hands on deck," Percy says, grabbing and slowly pulling the paper away. Zarif didn't even need to look at him to know the wheels are already turning in his head.
Autumn hoots, somehow rolling her eyes at the display. She then hoots at Zarif, clicking her beak and nipping his sleeve. "Right. I got to get some more sleep," Zarif says, heading for the couch.
"Yes. It has been a long day for you all. Bet you are all feeling quite exhausted after these…appalling events," Mrs. Weasley adds before smiling. "If you need to, beds are ready for you all to sleep in," she informs Zarif happily as he walks past after placing Autumn onto his shoulder and Elixir in his hands.
'A vampire bat delivered the message. Heh, I guess it must be one of Merula's grandmother's familiar,' Zarif muses as he reads the letter as the bat sleeps from one of the free owls stands as Autumn takes another one.
Nearly a week has passed, and Mr. Weasley and Percy are away all the time, either gone before breakfast or not returning well after dinner every night. It is only on Sunday that they are at home. Both look very tired and fill the rest of the family in on what has been happening from the howlers about lax security and demanding compensation for their ruined property along with some fraudulent claims. The law enforcement even ordered to reopen investigations and investigate the Daily Prophet itself after Rita Skeeter's article was printed and shipped all over the country as if they had it printed ahead of time.
"Rita Skeeter's been ferreting around all week, looking for more Ministry mess-ups to report. And now she's found out about poor old Bertha going missing, so that'll be the headline in the Prophet tomorrow. I told Bagman he should have sent someone to look for her ages ago," Mr. Weasley says.
"How is it with the law enforcement? I doubt Mr. Scrimgeour is sitting idle," Zarif inquires.
"Very vocal. They want to reopen cases and investigate the Daily Prophet themselves. Fudge is stalling. This has caused rumors of bribery to start to spring up. If this keeps up, we may see them arresting the Minister of Magic for many reasons. Which would be a first in history," Mr. Weasley says as Percy looks shocked.
Zarif raises an eyebrow curiously. "Just wondering, what would you even need to arrest the Minister of Magic? I doubt it would be a simple crime."
"The arrest itself would be simple. It's the holding them and court that would be the issue as Fudge has nearly half the friends or very close associates," Mr. Weasley informs.
"So unless Fudge is holding a smoking wand or there is a vote of no confidence, it would be next to impossible to charge him for anything feasibly," Zarif sums up.
"Precisely. It's why it's unheard of," Mr. Weasley confirms. "More to the point, there would be chaos behind the scenes even if it didn't happen. So steady hands must be on this."
Zarif nods as he rereads the letter. Tomorrow would be the day they finally return to Hogwarts. Zarif is mentally preparing himself as he knew this year Snape would be going harder on him than ever as not just because they were moving on to more advanced stuff. Still, he would be representing England, if not all of Europe, in the competition around six months from now. He contemplated if he should reply to Merula or send a letter to Dracona but decided against it as he would see them tomorrow more than likely.
The next day is a mess. Mr. Weasley couldn't get any magical flying cars as all of them were being used, and so they had to call muggle taxis to take them into town. It got crazy when Fredd's truck fell open and Filibuster's
Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks went off unexpectedly. Thankfully Zarif had learned the memory charm that summer in secret, and when no one was looking, cast it without his wand to modify the Muggles memories so they wouldn't put up much of a fuss. After that, it is a very cramped ride to King's Cross. It is only when they enter platform nine and three-quarters that Zarif breathes a sigh of relief, and Elixir emerges from his clothing.
"We need a better, easier way to avoid their attention while getting onto here," Zarif mutters as he gets his stuff onto the train as Harry and the Weasleys hang back to talk for a bit.
"Storage charms…or a magical trunk. Carry only one thing," Planner suggests, waving a tail in front of them.
"We may look into that last one. We will need money to buy it, though, and we are budgeting what we have already," Zarif replies thoughtfully as he waves goodbye to Mrs. Weasley as she and her sons who graduated already see them off.
"I smell the rain coming," Critic informs, and soon heavy rain starts to splatter the windows making it very difficult to see out of them.
Zarif sighs as he stares out the window with the small runespoor. "Is it bad that I feel an omen coming?" he asks curiously, giving a little pet to Dreamer's head.
The three heads look at one another as they have a silent conversation. As they do so, Zarif walks to the dining car where the dueling club is meeting. "Hey guys," he greets, seeing the other club members at a large table. Around them, many other students sit around and eat, conversing in their conversations.
"Good to see we are all here," Cedric says, smiling at them all.
"Have you been searching for tournaments that we can compete in?" Merula inquires as Zarif takes a seat.
"Yes, but most don't start up till after September, but there might be issues with that. Dad keeps talking about something happening this year at Hogwarts," Cedric informs.
"I have heard the same things, but no one has wanted to talk about what it is to me," Zarif says before noticing Dracona having a knowing look. "Got something you want to share?"
"You will learn soon enough," Dracona assures.
Zarif raises an eyebrow before shrugging. "So, besides ordinary Hogwarts things, what's the plan with our club? Would I think we meet as usual as we can for practice and studying?" he asks, looking at everyone as they seem to try and figure out what part of Hogwarts is ordinary even by magical standards after the first three years.
"Right, club members who are also on the quidditch teams will need to notify the rest of the practice hours," Cedric affirms.
"Well, we can say the first two weeks are organizing ourselves and getting used to our schedules. After that, we can indeed start the club," Zarif adds, coming up with a timetable in mind.
"Whatever is going to happen will most likely be revealed to us by then," Cedric adds.
"Right. You might hear about something else as well in that time," Zarif says as Dracona looks at him, remembering what he had told her before the end of school last year.
Peter attends to his master what is left of him in this old house. He had spent months in Azkaban, barely surviving before one night, skeletons arrived. Skeletons with glowing green energy in the empty eye sockets forced open his cell and dragged him out of it. The Dementors did nothing, and half the people in prison didn't even notice what was happening around them anymore, and none were willing to help him. Most of them wanted him dead for 'betraying' his master. After that, they pulled him through some portal, kicking and screaming.
The next thing he knew, he was in front of his old master, and not far off, there was another which scared Peter as much as his master. The man is very lean, wearing black robes with glowing green runes on them. But it is his face that scared him as his eyes seemed to be just voids of darkness with two red horns exuding from his skull. He is a necromancer. Something from a bygone age that had been thought to have died off from the world. While his master may have dabbled in Necromancy magic, he was no Necromancer himself. Necromancers had traded their humanity to demons for power over the dead and damned until they died themselves.
Peter was not a religious person by nature, but seeing him made him start to reevaluate that. As something so dark and evil could only be associated with demons.
Meanwhile, Voldemort didn't trust this Necromancer at all. He may be helping him, but he is just using him for his own goals. He also didn't like that he controlled the dead. Voldemort had spent his whole life trying to conquer death and didn't like someone who had power over it. But for now, he would use this necromancer since he is helping him return to life.