"Don't tell your mother you've been gambling" Rob implored his two sons as they left the stadium. Mighty was gleefully carrying two bags of money "Don't worry, Dad. We have big plans for this money". Rob looked like he was about to ask what these plans were but then upon reflection seemed to not want to know. As they went along the lantern lit path to their tent, they could hear singing all around from the Starfall fans. When they reached the tent none of them felt like sleeping and since there was so much noise Rob agreed they could stay up for a while. It wasn't until two hours later when Blaze had fallen asleep at the table did Rob insist everyone stop arguing over the match and o to bed. Coral and Blaze went to the other tent and the boys clamoured into their bunks. They could still hear the singing and the odd bang from the other side of the camp "Glad I'm not on duty. I wouldn't fancy having to go and tell the Starfall fans they've got to stop celebrating". Silver was lying on one of the top bunks staring at the roof of the tent as he recalled Reynard's spectacular moves. Silver desperately wanted to get on his own Psychic Wave and try the Wronski Faint. Silver imagined the sensation of entered the stadium with the crowd cheering his name and Barker's voice yelling "AND… SILVER!". Silver must have fallen asleep mid fantasy because he suddenly found himself being shaken awake by Rob "Silver, Razor, get up!". Silver could tell by the tone of his voice that something was wrong. Then he listened to the noise outside, the singing had stopped. Instead, he could hear what sounded like screaming and people running "Everyone, outside! Come on!" Rob yelled. Silver and Razor leaped out of beds and ran out of the tent. People all across the campsite were running towards the woods, fleeing from something coming this way. Lights were flashing with noise like gunfire, there were cheers and drunken laughter.
Then a bright green light illuminated the scene. A crowd of wizards were packed together with their Talismans raised upwards. Silver through for a second, he was only seeing their silhouettes but then he realised they were wearing suits. Full body black suits with helmets that covered their heads. The eyes of the helmets glowed blue with the outline moving along the armour. Silver then saw what they were laughing at. Above the group were four struggling figures that were being contorted into grotesque shapes, two of the figures were very small. The centre wizards in the group seemed to be controlling the figures while the ones on the outside were laughing as they burned down the tents in their way. As they passed over one of the burning tents the figures were illuminated. Silver recognised one of them, it was the cat, Mr Roberts. The other three then must be his wife and children. One of the masked people used his bow to make Mrs Roberts turn upside down; her nightdress fell down to reveal voluminous drawers and she struggled to cover herself up as the crowd below her screeched and hooted with glee. "That's sick!" Razor said as he watched Mr Roberts' young son crying as one of the wizards spun him around in midair. Coral and Blaze ran out of their own tent putting jackets over their nightdresses. Mighty, Ray, Ash, Rotor and Hamlin ran out, Talismans ready. Rob turned to his three eldest sons "We're going to help the ministry". The three of them immediately sprinted towards the crowd of masked wizards. "We want to help to" Mighty and Ray both said taking their Talismans from the box. Rob shook his head "No, look after your sister. Get to the woods". He gave the box to Razor "Get yours on when you're out of sight. Be ready for anything" he then chased after his sons. Ray took Blaze's hand "Come on" he, Mighty and the trio ran to the woods with the rest of the civilians. Silver looked back; the Ministry wizards were trying to stop the masked group, but they seemed hesitant to perform any spell that could endanger the Roberts family.
They reached the trees but the lanterns that illuminated the path were gone. Dark figures were rushing past them, children were crying. He suddenly heard Razor yell "AH!" "Razor". Coral spotted the box lying on the ground and quickly put on her turban and played her flute "Lumos". The flute glowed bright enough for them to see. Razor had tripped over a loose tree root. Silver looked around, Mighty, Ray and Blaze were gone, and they still had Blaze's Talisman. Silver hoped she was still with her brothers, or she won't have any way to defend herself "What's wrong, Shark, lost your nerve?". They all turned to see Rutan resting on a tree branch getting a view of the sight in the camp. Razor got up and told Rutan to do something he wouldn't dare say in front of Mari-An. Rutan just laughed "Language, Razor. Hadn't you better be hurrying along, now? You wouldn't like her spotted, would you?" he pointed at Coral. A blast could be heard from the camp "What's that supposed to mean?" Coral said defiantly. Rutan laughed even harder "Did you not see what they were doing out there? D'you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Because if you do, hang around. They're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh" "Coral's a witch!" Silver snarled. Rutan shrugged "Okay, have it your way. But if you think they can't smell a Mudblood a mile away" "Watch your mouth!" Razor said who raised his dagger. Coral made him lower it "No, Razor, he's not worth". They heard other people in the woods screaming "Scare easily, don't they? What's your daddy doing, Razor. Trying to help the Muggles" Rutan said. Silver was ready to punch him "And where are your parents? Out they're wearing the masks?". Rutan smirked and spoke condescendingly "If they were I wouldn't tell you, would I?". Coral grabbed Silver's shoulder "Come on". Silver restrained himself and went up the path with Coral and Razor who was fuming "I bet you anything his Dad is in that crowd" "If he is the Ministry might catch him" Coral said. There were people all around trying to stay out of sight. Silver realised he should probably arm himself. He took the box from Razor and opened it. Blaze's red gem and her hair tie were inside and so was Silver's bracelets but "My gloves. My gloves are gone".
Razor sighed "Did it fall out when I tripped? I'll go back for it". Coral grabbed him "No, it's too dangerous. We'll find them later". Silver put on his bracelets, but he couldn't' do anything with them without his gloves. A rustling noise nearby made all three of them jump. Momo was fighting her way out of a clump of bushes nearby. She was moving in a most peculiar fashion, apparently with great difficulty; it was as though someone invisible were trying to hold her back. She muttered "There is bad wizards about. People high in the air. Momo is getting out of the way!". Razor stared curiously as Momo disappeared into the bushes "What's wrong with her? Why can't she run properly". Silver remembered Lue and understood "She probably didn't ask for permission to hide". Coral looked disgusted "You know, Marmolims get a very raw deal. It's slavery, that's what it is! That Mr Puff made her go up to the top of the stadium, and she was terrified, and he's got her bewitched so she can't even run when they start trampling tents! Why doesn't anyone do something about it". Razor shrugged "Well, they're happy, aren't they?" "Brainwashing if you ask me". They heard another *Boom* and Razor was clearly worried that what Rutan said about Coral was true "Let's keep moving!". They ran further into the crowd trying to find the others. They passed a group of Goblins that were counting the money they had presumably won over a bet. They seemed quite uninterested in the chaos going on. Silver then spotted Charlie the Mirage Express Conductor trying to chat up an Illumina. They finally found a small clearing that no one else was using "We should be able to hear anyone coming from here" Razor said. Silver still felt vulnerable without his gloves. Then as if to intentionally disapprove Razor, Barker stumbled out from one of the trees. With the light from Razor and Coral's Talismans they could clearly see that Barker no longer had his boyish excitement. He instead looked white, strained, and very surprised to see them "What're you three doing here alone". The three looked at each other "Well, there's kind of a riot going on" "What?" "At the campsite". Barker looked at the flashing lights coming from that direction "That's what they are. Damn them!" then without another word he disappeared with Chaos Control. Razor rolled his eyes "Not exactly on top of thing, is he?". The three sat down keeping close together. Razor put his toy model Reynard on the ground, and it marched around them. It was a decent distraction, especially as the noise from the camp died down "I hope the others are okay" Coral said curled up in a ball freezing.
Razor was doing the same "They'll be fine" "Can you imagine if your Dad does actually catch Clutch" Silver said trying to lighten the mood. Razor chuckled "That would the whole thing worth it". Then they heard a noise making them all fall silent. Someone was in the trees nearby "Hello… Who's there" "MORSMORDRE!". A great cyan light shot up into the sky and exploded high above them. It formed into a golden shape, a spiral inside a diamond resembling an eye. Protruding from the diamond were multiple long black lines that moved like tendrils. The woods erupted with the sounds of terrified screams. Silver didn't understand, they were clearly set off by the eye but what was so scary about it. Silver looked at where the spell had originated but he couldn't see anything. Coral suddenly grabbed him and Razor "Come on! Come on! MOVE!" "What? What's the matter?" "It's the Dark Mark. You-Know-Who's sign". Suddenly twenty people Chaos Controlled around them, and Silver realised they all had their Talismans raised "DUCK!" "STUPEFY!" yelled twenty different voices. Silver felt multiple gusts of wind hit the top of his head. The spells had all collided and cancelled each other out right above them "STOP! STOP! THAT'S MY SON!". Rob pushed passed one of the wizards and through his arms around Razor and then Coral and Silver "Are you all alright?" he looked terrified. Behind him was Puff who had his hand raised "Out of the way, Robert". Rob turned and saw what he was doing "Puff" "Which of you did it!?" "Puff, they're just kids". Silver realised he was talking about the eye "We didn't do that!" "You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!" "Puff!" Rob yelled again staying between Puff and the trio. He looked back at them "Did any of you see anything? Do you know who conjured it?". Coral pointed over at where they heard the voice "Over there. We heard someone yell an incantation and then the mark came up". All the Ministry Wizards raised their Talismans in that direction except Puff who looked sceptical. A female panther sighed "We must be too late then. They'll have Chaos Controlled out" "Maybe not. Some of our stun shots went in that direction. Might have gotten them" said Jules the Hedgehog who Silver had just noticed was part of the group. Jules disappeared into the bushes and after a few seconds' search he yelled "Yes! Someone's here. We got them. It's… Oh, dear". Jules emerged carrying a limp body which upon getting closer Silver realised was Momo.
Puff didn't move or say anything as his Marmolim was dropped at his feet. Finally, he seemed to find himself "This… Cannot… Be". He stared in the direction Momo was found with suspicious "No, point, Puff. There was no one else there" Jules said. Puff however went into the bushes to investigate himself. Jules shook his head "Unbelievable. Puff's own Marmolim behind it" "Oh, come on, Jules. A Marmolim couldn't have conjured the Dark Mark. It's a wizard sign and she'd need a Talisman" Rob said. Jules paused then "She had one" "What?" "Was holding them. So that's clause three of the Code of Magic Use broken, for a start. No person or creature is permitted to carry or use the owned property of another Magical Society without special permission from said society". Suddenly Barker appeared looking quite exasperated. He then stared up at the sky in fear "The Dark Mark. Did you get them? Puff, what's going on?". Puff then returned empty handed; his face was twitching with rage. Barker stared at him in disbelief "Where have you been, Puff? Why weren't you at the match? Your Marmolim was saving you a seat". He finally noticed Momo lying on the ground "Oh, my. She's been stunned. What's happened?". From the look on Puff's face and the Dark Mark hovering above him he started to put it together "No! She couldn't have. She'd need a Talisman" "She had one, Barker. Puff, I think we should revive her. See what she has to say" Jules suggested. Puff said nothing so Jules decided to go alone with his idea. Jules' vest glowed as he uttered a spell which forced Momo to wake up. Momo stirred and slowly sat up. She looked around at the wizards that surrounded her and then looked up. The Dark Mark reflected in her eyes before she let out a sob and looked around frantically as if looking for something. Jules ignored her sobs "Marmolim, do you know who I am? I'm a member of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures! And as you can see the Dark Mark has been conjured above the spot where you were found. An explanation if you please?". Momo rocked back and forth "I-I-I is not doing it, sir. I is not knowing how, sir" "You were found with a Talisman in your hand". He brandished a pair of familiar white gloves with cyan pattern "Hey, that's mine!" Silver blurted out. Everyone turned and stared at him. Jules narrowed his eyes "Excuse me?" "They're mine. I dropped them earlier" "Dropped them. Is this a confession? You dropped them after conjuring the Dark Mark?". Rob got in front of Silver looking very angry "Jules, think about who you're talking to. Is Silver the Hedgehog likely to conjure the Dark Mark?". This seemed to snap Jules out of his delusion "Yes… Sorry… Got carried away" "We didn't lose it there, anyway. I lost at the edge of the woods" Silver said. Jules looked back to Momo "So, you found this Talisman, eh, Marmolim. And you picked it up and thought you'd have some fun with it, did you?" "I is not doing magic with it, sir! I is... I is… I is just picking it up, sir! I is not making the Dark Mark, sir, I is not knowing how!" Momo squealed as tears fell down her face.
Coral stepped forward clearly nervous around all the Ministry Wizards but still determined "It wasn't her. Momo's got a squeaky little voice, and the voice we heard doing the incantation was much deeper! It didn't sound anything like Momo, did it?" she looked to Silver and Razor for support. The latter nodded "Yeah, it was a deeper voice. A male voice" "We'll see. There's a simple spell to see the last thing a Talisman has done". He held out the gloves in one hand and with the other conjured the spell "Prior Incantato!" from the gloves then emerged a small version of the Dark Mark which then disappeared in a wisp of smoke. Jules looked down at Momo with savage triumph. Momo sobbed even louder "I is not doing it, sir!" "You've been caught red handed, Marmolim. Caught with a guilty Talisman in your hand". Rob grabbed Jules' shoulder "Jules, think about this. Precious few wizards know how to conjure that. Where would Momo have learned such a spell" "Perhaps Jules is insinuating that I regularly teach my servants Dark Magic" Puff said speaking for the first time since Momo was brought out. There was an unpleasant silence, Jules looked horrified "Puff… I wasn't…" "You have now come very close to accusing the two people in this clearing who are least likely to conjure that Mark! Silver the Hedgehog and myself! I would have thought you'd have known both our stories when it comes to the Dark Arts!". Jules gulped "Puff… I was in no way suggesting that you had anything to do with it" "You accuse my servant, you accuse me! Where else would she have learned it!?". Jules' tune changed "Perhaps she just picked up the gloves somewhere". Rob nodded "Exactly". Unlike the others Rob kneeled down to Momo's level when he spoke to her "Momo, where did you find Silver's gloves?". Momo flinched in fear and then pointed not far from where she was found "I-I is finding it there, sir. By the trees" "You see, Jules. Whoever conjured the Mark could have Chaos right after they'd done it, leaving Silver's gloves behind. A clever thing to do, not using their own Talisman, which could have betrayed them. And Momo here had the misfortune to come across the gloves moments later and pick it up". Jules seemed to find new motivation "But then, she'd have been only a few feet away from the real culprit! Marmolim, did you see anything?". Momo trembled worse than ever, she looked up at Jules and then Puff "I is seeing nothing, sir".
Puff stepped forward "Jules, I am fully aware that, in the ordinary course of events, you would want to take Momo into your department for questioning. I ask you, however, to allow me to deal with her". Jules looked as though he didn't think much of this suggestion at all, but it was clear to Silver that Puff was such an important member of the Ministry that he did not dare refuse him. Puff coldly looked down at Momo "Rest assured she shall be punished". Momo crawled to his feet "M-M-Master. Please" "Momo has behaved tonight in a manner I would not have believed possible. I told her to remain in the tent. I told her to stay there while I went to sort out the trouble. And I find that she disobeyed me. This means clothes" "No, Master, please! Please!". Coral the burst out "But she was frightened! She's scared of heights, and those wizards in masks were levitating people! You can't blame her for wanting to get out of their way". Puff didn't seem to hear her as he backed away from Momo like she was something filthy "I have no use for a Marmolim who disobeys me. I have no use for a servant who forgets what is due to her master, and to her master's reputation". Momo was now sobbing so hard it echoed around the forest. Rob pulled Coral back "I think I'll take them back to our tent. Come on, kids. Jules, those gloves have told us everything it can. Can you give them back to Silver, please". Jules nodded and handed them to Silver who immediately put them on. Jules went to leave but Coral was still staring at Momo "Coral" sternly. Coral turned and followed them out of the clearing. Once they were out of earshot "What will happen to Momo?" Coral asked. Rob sighed "I don't know" "The way they were treating her! Mr Jules, calling her Marmolim all the time and Mr Puff! He knows she didn't do it and he's still going to sack her! He didn't care how frightened she'd been, or how upset she was. It's disgusting" "Coral, I agree with you, but this is not the time. Where are the others?". Razor looked guilty "We lost them when we went into the woods. Dad, why is everyone so uptight about the eye thing" "I'll explain when we get back to the tent". But when they reached the edge of the woods their progress was impeded "Rob, what's going on?" "Who conjured the Mark?" "Is it… Him?". Rob impatiently tried to get the kids past them "Of course it's not him. We don't know who it was; it looks like they Chaos Controlled. Now excuse me, please, I want to get to bed".
They went back into the campsite. It was quiet now, no sign of the masked people. As they approached their tent Rotor poked his head out looking worried "Dad, Mighty, Ray and Blaze are back but the others-" "They're here". They entered the warm tent; the others were sitting at the kitchen table. Ash had a bedsheet over his bleeding left arm. Hamlin was sitting opposite him with a bleeding nose. Mighty, Ray and Blaze looked unhurt but shaken. Ash looked relieved everyone was now here "Did you get them, Dad?" "No, but we know how. Someone stole Silver's gloves and used them to conjure it. We found them on Puff's Marmolim" "What?". With some assistance from the trio Rob managed to retell the story. Once they were done Hamlin swelled indignantly "Well, Mr Puff is quite right to get rid of an Marmolim like that! Running away when he'd expressly told her not to. Embarrassing him in front of the whole Ministry. How would that have looked, if she'd been brought up in front of the Department for the Regulation and Control" "She didn't do anything! She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time!" Coral snapped at him. Hamlin recovered from his surprise "Coral, a wizard in Mr Puff's position can't afford a Marmolim who's going to run amok with a Talisman" "She wasn't running amok! She just picked it up!" "Can someone just tell me what the eye was! It wasn't hurting anyone! Why is everyone panicking?" Razor interrupted. Coral rolled her eyes "I told you, Razor, it's You-Know-Who's symbol". Rob nodded "And it hasn't been seen in 13 years. Of course, people panicked. It was like seeing him back again" "But it was just a shape in the sky" "Razor, You-Know-Who and his followers sent the Dark Mark into the air whenever they killed. The terror it inspired; you have no idea. You're too young. Just picture coming home and finding the Dark Mark hovering over your house and knowing what you're about to find inside". There was silence and then Ash removed the bedsheet to check his wound "Well, whoever did it helped us. It scared the Nocturnus away the moment they saw it. They Chaos Controlled before we could catch them" "Least we managed to save the Robert's family. They're having their memories modified right no" Rotor said.
Silver looked between them "What are Nocturnus?" "It's what You-Know-Who's supporters called themselves. I think we saw what's left of them tonight. The ones who managed to keep themselves off Prison Island, anyway". This reminded Razor "Yeah, we saw Rutan in the woods. His parents weren't with him. I bet they were there". Silver still didn't understand "But what were Finitevus' supp- Sorry. What were You-Know-Who's supporters doing hurting Muggles. What was the point?". Rob let out a hollow laugh "The point? Fun. That the only point. You have no idea how many Muggle attacks were happening during the war all 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" he was disgusted. Razor looked to Bill "But you said they ran away. Wouldn't they be happy to see the Mark?" "Use your head, Razor. If they really were Nocturnus, they worked very hard to keep off of Prison Island when You-Know-Who lost power and told all sorts of lies about him forcing them to kill and torture people. I bet they'd be even more frightened than the rest of us to see him come back. They denied they'd ever been involved with him when he lost his powers and went back to their daily lives. I don't reckon he'd be over-pleased with them, do you". They all considered this and then Coral spoke "So… whoever conjured it… Could they be on our side? Maybe they were trying to stop the Nocturnus" "It's as good a guess as any. But I'll tell you this, only a Nocturnus knows how to conjure that mark. Whoever did it was a Nocturnus at some point even if they're not now". He let out an exhausted sigh "Look, your mother's going to be worried sick. We'll get a few hours sleep and then we'll get an early Warp Gate out of here. But it was a long time before anyone managed to doze off.