August 1994

"Don't tell your mother you've been gambling," Arthur implored Fred and George, as they all made their way down from the Top Box.

"Don't worry, Dad," George said gleefully. "We've got big plans; we don't want it confiscated."

For a second, Arthur looked like he was going to ask, but seemed to decide that maybe he didn't want to know after all.

They were almost carried along by the crowds back to their tents, raucous singing on the night air, leprechauns zooming around overhead.

Nobody felt like sleeping, and give the level of noise, Arthur agreed that they could all have one last cup of cocoa together before turning in, and they were all soon arguing enjoyably about the match.

The main topic of conversation, despite Ireland's win, was Viktor Krum and the game-winning Snitch, which was passed around several times before returning safely to Bethany's backpack.

One last cup turned into several with the adrenaline as high as it was.

"There's no one like Krum!" Ron was saying a few hours later, not for the first time. "He's like a bird the way he rides the wind. He's not an athlete, he's an artist!"

"Think you're in love, Ron?" Ginny asked with a smirk.

"Viktor I love you!" The twins sang. "Viktor I do!"

Bethany joined in. "When we're apart, my heart beats only for yoooou!"

A loud bang echoed outside, drowning out Ron's retort, and Ginny grimaced. "Glad I'm not the one telling the Irish they've got to stop celebrating."

At that moment, a voice floated through the tent flap. "What are you all still doing here? Can you not hear anything?!"

Hermione's fatigue vanished in an instant. Arabella's head was poking through, her face white and drawn. In the next second, Hermione's empathy kicked in, flooding her with fear.

The screams from outside were no longer jubilated.

Arthur cursed, jumping to his feet. "Bill, Charlie, Percy - wands. The rest of you - into the woods and stick together!"

Outside it was chaos - the celebrating crowds seemed to have turned into some kind of riot; several tents were smoking, she could hear children crying, everything seemed to have turned upside down.

A flash of green light illuminated the crowd, revealing that right in the centre were a group of wizards wearing black robes and white masks.

Above them floated the motionless bodies of Mr Roberts and three others who must have been his wife and children.

"That is sick," Ron murmured beside her, as the youngest child began to spin like a top, her head flopping onto her shoulders. "Really, really sick."

"Into the woods," Arthur repeated, as the three older Weasley boys sprinted towards the crowd. "Stay together!"

That was easier said than done - a number of people seemed to have the same idea, retreating to the cover of the trees where there was more protection, and Hermione found herself buffeted about in the crowd, grabbing Bethany and Ron's hands to make sure she didn't get separated.

By the time there was any kind of space around them, the twins and Ginny were nowhere to be seen.

"Oh where are they?" Hermione groaned.

"We need to stick together," Ron said grimly. "They'll be — oof!"

"What happened?" Hermione asked anxiously. "Oh, this is stupid! Lumos!"

Her wand lit up, illuminating Ron sprawled on the ground.

"Tripped on a tree root," he grumbled.

"Feet that size, it's hard not to."

Hermione spin around, her light shining in the face of Draco Malfoy. He was leaning against one of the trees, seemingly unruffled by the pandemonium.

"Oh fuck off!" Ron snarled.

"Language, Weasley," Malfoy drawled. "Daddy tell you to hide in the woods?"

"Where's your parents?" Ron asked. "Out there wearing masks, are they?"

Malfoy smirked. "Well, if they were, I wouldn't tell you, would I? You'd best be moving along. Wouldn't like her spotted, would you?"

The comment was aimed at Hermione, but there was none of the hatred or disgust Hermione had been expecting.

More … genuine concern.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked sharply.

"Hey, if you want to end up spinning around in the air, that's your look-out," Malfoy said. "They're after Muggles, in case you hadn't noticed."

"Hermione's a witch," Bethany snarled.

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "If you think they can't spot a Mudblood, stay where you are. It'd give us all a laugh."

Ron started forwards, but Hermione grabbed his arm. "Don't. Let's just … keep moving."

"He …"

"Come on!" Hermione repeated, more urgently.

Emotions didn't lie.

Malfoy didn't mean what he was saying, and there was no one around for him to put up a front for, so there was no reason for him to be saying it.

Unless Lucius Malfoy was in that crowd, because he knew she was Muggle-born.

She didn't say any of that out loud, but the panic in her voice was enough to get Bethany and Ron to follow her deeper into the woods.

"Bet his father is out there," Bethany said darkly.

"Then they'll catch him," Hermione said.

Deeper into the woods they went, past cackling goblins, and a group of Veela who were surrounded by some very distracted young men.

Finally, they found a clearing and stopped.

"Wands out," Hermione said, still gripping hers. "Just in case."

"Mine's gone," Bethany said suddenly.

Ron and Hermione both whirled to face her. "Are you kidding me?!"

Bethany shook her head, her face pale. "No! It's usually in my back pocket."

"Maybe it fell out while we were running," Hermione said, lifting her lighted wand to spread more light over the ground. "When's the last time you remember having it?"

By the looks on Bethany's face, it wasn't while they were running.

"At least we'll be able to hear someone coming," Ron said.

As soon as he had finished speaking, there was a noise behind the trees, like a foot fall on fallen leaves.

The three drew closer together, turning to where the noise had come from.

"Hello?" Bethany called. "Is anyone there?"

There was no answer, but there was another footfall.

Bethany glanced at the other two. "Hello?"

"MOSMORDRE!"

Bethany was shaking, however much she tried to hide it. Hermione was gripping her hand tightly as Mandy, Arabella and Arthur led them out of the wood and through the crowd of people.

Everything was quiet now. There was no sign of the masked wizards.

Charlie's head was poking through the boys' tent. "Dad, what's going on?" He called. "Fred, George and Ginny got back okay, but the others …"

"It's okay, I've got them," Arthur assured them, lifting the tent flap so they could all enter.

Bill was sitting at the small kitchen table, holding a bed-sheet against his arm, which was bleeding profusely. Charlie had a large rip in his shirt, and Percy was sporting a bloody nose.

Fred, George and Ginny all appeared to be unhurt, though were clearly shaken.

Mandy pointed her wand at Percy's nose. "Episkey."

"Thanks," Percy said, touching his nose gingerly.

Arabella pulled up a seat next to Bill and began waving her wand over his arm, muttering under her breath.

"Did you get them, Dad?" Bill asked sharply, as new skin began forming over the wound. "The person who conjured the Mark? Did you get them?"

"No," Arthur said heavily. "We found Barty Crouch's elf holding Bethany's wand, but we're none the wiser about who actually conjured the Mark."

"What?" Bill and Charlie asked together.

"Beth's wand?" George repeated.

"Mr Crouch's elf?" Percy said, looking thunder-struck.

With some assistance from Mandy and Arabella, Arthur explained what had happened in the woods. Bethany tuned them out - she had been present for it after all.

Her dislike of Amos Diggory had grown even more after seeing him in action. She wasn't as shaken by his treatment of Winky as Hermione was, maybe because she had had conversations with Dobby about the Malfoys, but his treatment of her had still been disgusting.

How Cedric had come from a man like that, she didn't know - unless Cedric was just a very good actor in public.

But no, that couldn't be the case. He had gone out of his way, not just to catch her after the game, but to apologise for his father's behaviour.

"Well," Percy said indignantly, alerting Bethany to the fact that the recounting had finished, "Mr Crouch is quite right to get rid of an elf like that! Running away when he'd expressly told her not to, embarrassing him in front of the whole Ministry …"

"Percy, someone conjured the Dark Mark and that person is still unknown!" Mandy snapped, before Hermione could. "Believe it or not, Barty Crouch getting a little embarrassed is not the worst thing that happened tonight!"

"Look, can someone just explain what that skull thing was?" Ron asked impatiently, before Percy could respond. "It wasn't hurting anyone - why's it such a big deal?"

"I told you," Hermione said, her voice still trembling a little. "It's You-Know-Who's symbol. I read about it in The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts."

"And it hasn't been seen in in thirteen years," Mandy added, sinking on to the old sofa. "Of course people panicked."

Bethany sat down beside her, relieved when Mandy wrapped an arm around her so she could curl into her surrogate aunt.

"I don't get it," Ron said with a frown. "I mean … it's still only a shape in the sky."

"Ron, Voldemort and his followers sent that mark into the sky when they killed," Arabella said, ignoring the flinches. "The terror it inspired …" She looked at Arthur. "May I use an example?"

"As long as they don't tell Molly," Arthur said heavily. "I think they need to understand."

"James - Bethany's father - was an auror, as you may know," Arabella began. "So he was right in the thick of it. One day, before Beth was born, we were at Hogwarts, talking to Dumbledore about something, when he got a floo call telling him that the Dark Mark had appeared over a small village in the midlands."

"Lily nearly fainted," Mandy continued. "That village was the site James and his team had been called out to earlier that day, and if the Mark was in the sky …"

"It meant that someone was dead," Ron finished, realisation crossing his face.

Arabella nodded. "Lily begged Dumbledore to let her go, but she was pregnant with Bethany by now, and he reminded that James would have wanted her to stay put, so we took her home and stayed with her."

"It felt like hours," Mandy whispered, stroking Bethany's hair. "We just sat there in silence, just … waiting. After a while, Lily started crying, which she didn't do very often. Just curled up on the sofa and cried. Then there was a knock at the front door, and a voice said "It's me." And Lily looked up, still crying and said, "What am I thinking right now?" And James said …"

""James Potter, you arrogant toe-rag, I'm going to kill you for scaring me like that,"" Arabella finished.

The tension broke and several people chuckled.

One of the twins - Bethany was fairly sure it was Fred - had moved to sit beside Hermione and she was leaning into him almost unconsciously.

"We let him in and …" Arabella shook her head. "He was covered in blood. Not his," she added hastily. "But he was covered in it. Nearly gave Lily a heart attack. She yelled at him for that, and sent him off to the shower, while he muttered something about not being able to win."

"You see why everyone was so scared now?" Mandy asked.

Ron nodded, looking abashed. "So … who died?"

"Ron!" Hermione hissed.

But neither Mandy not Arabella looked offended or that upset by the question.

Instead, they looked at Arthur, who sighed and removed his glasses, nodding.

"Fabian and Gideon Prewett," Mandy answered in a quiet voice. "Your uncles."

"They died heroes," Arabella added. "Took about twenty Death Eaters with them. But the Dark Mark … it represented everyone's worst fears. The very worst."

"Well," Bill said, "it didn't help us tonight, whoever conjured it. Scared the Death Eaters away the moment they saw it; all disapparated before we got close enough. We caught the Roberts' before they hit the ground though. They're having their memories modified right now."

"Will they be alright?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"They will be," Charlie said, giving her a weak smile.

"What are Death Eaters?" Bethany asked.

"It's what You-Know-Who's supporters called themselves," Bill answered. "I think we saw what's left of them tonight - at least the ones who managed to keep themselves out of Azkaban anyway."

"We can't prove it was them, Bill," Arthur said. "Though it probably was."

"I bet it was!" Ron said suddenly. "Dad, we met Draco Malfoy in the woods; he as good as told us his father was out there. And we all know the Malfoys' history!"

"But what were Voldemort's supporters doing, levitating Muggles?" Bethany asked, rolling her eyes when the Weasleys flinched again. "I mean, what was the point?"

Arthur gave a hollow laugh. "The point? Bethany, that's their idea of fun. Half the Muggle killings back when You-Know-Who was in power were done for fun. Probably had a few drinks tonight and couldn't resist."

"But … if they were Death Eaters," Ron said, "why'd they disapparate when they saw the Dark Mark? They'd have been pleased to see it, wouldn't they?

"Use your brain, Ron," Bill said, not unkindly. "If they were Death Eaters, they worked really hard to keep out of Azkaban."

Mandy snorted. "Because it takes so much effort to move money around."

Bethany was fairly sure she was the only one who heard her. It seemed so ridiculous that all of those people had gotten away with murder by passing some money across, while her godfather rotted for twelve years for nothing.

"Bill's right," Mandy continued, raising her voice so the others could hear her. "They'd be more frightened that the rest of us. They denied they'd ever been involved with him in the first place - I don't think he'd be too pleased with them, do you?"

"So whoever conjured the Dark Mark," Hermione said slowly, "were they doing it to show support for the Death Eaters? Or to scare them away?"

"Your guess is as good as ours, Hermione," Arthur said. "But only the Death Eaters knew how to conjure the Dark Mark. I'd be very surprised if the person who did it wasn't a Death Eater, even if they're not now … Listen, it's very late, and when your mother hears what's happened, she'll be worried sick. We'll get a few hours' sleep, and then try and get an early Portkey out of here."

Bethany, Hermione and Ginny went back to their tent and stared a the bunk beds for a few seconds. Without a word to each other, they all climbed into the bed Ginny had claimed, three sisters seeking comfort from each other.

Bethany knew she ought to feel exhausted; it was nearly three in the morning, but she felt wide awake - wide awake and worried.

Ginny was shivering between them, and didn't stop for a long time, but long after her breathing had evened out, Bethany lay awake, staring at the ceiling above her, thinking.

August 1994

The next morning, they took the earliest Portkey they could back to Ottery St. Catchpole.

"They'll be talking about this one for years," Ludo Bagman had said, after Ireland's shock victory - and they certainly would, though not for the right reasons.

Though the Dark Mark and the Death Eaters were very concerning, it was the encounter with Draco Malfoy that had Hermione shaken.

How could she have misjudged someone so completely, especially someone who regularly inserted himself into their lives with invitation or provocation?

How many other people had she done that with?

Mrs Weasley was, understandably, frantic by the time they arrived home, since the news had been front page of the Daily Prophet. Only once she had been given a very (very) strong cup of tea, and Arthur and Percy had gone into work, did Hermione have a chance to talk to the others.

They went up to the girls' room because there was a tiny bit more room, and the trio told Ginny about what had happened in the woods, elaborating where they hadn't the night before.

Like Hermione, Ginny was furious at Amos Diggory's treatment of Winky, and, like Bethany and Ron, she was intrigued at the speed with which Hermione had managed to drag Bethany and Ron away from a confrontation with Draco - which was usually a three person job, especially when the M-word was involved (one to talk Bethany down, and two to grab hold of Ron).

"You seemed more urgent than usual," Bethany said.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I mean, there were Death Eaters on the march - and he did have a point."

"You are a witch," Ron snarled.

"I know that," Hermione said patiently. "But if his father was in that crowd, he'd know I was Muggle-born, wouldn't he?"

Bethany frowned. "You think he was giving you a warning?"

Ron snorted. "Don't be stupid, Beth. I know you two have some kind of truce, or whatever …"

"It's not a truce," Bethany said sharply. "I seriously insulted him in first year without realising or intending to, and I offered an apology so we weren't in a blood feud. He still hates me and I still hate him. He's just … backed off a bit."

"Yeah, because that was backing off," Ron muttered.

"Hermione," Ginny interrupted. "What do you know that we don't?"

Hermione sighed, sitting down on her bed. "So it turns out I'm an Empath."

Ron took a hasty step backwards and Ginny let out a squeak.

Hermione collapsed back on to the mattress. "Come on, guys; I'm still me."

"What is an Empath?" Bethany asked.

"It just means I can feel other people's emotions," Hermione answered.

"Wait, that's all?" Ron asked. "That's …"

Hermione sighed. "According to Sirius, anything to do with emotions is Dark Magic, which didn't used to be a big deal but at some point became associated with the Dark Arts, which is the really nasty stuff."

The mattress shifted as Bethany sat down beside her. "The Patronus Charm is powered by emotion."

"Uh huh, and is technically Dark Magic," Hermione said. "It's just that everyone pretends it's not because the Ministry's decided that the Ministry-approved definition of Dark Magic only counts when it's convenient for them."

Ginny snorted. "There's a surprise."

Ron seemed to have recovered himself. "Sorry, Hermione; you just … You hear stories."

Hermione sat up again with a shrug. "Yeah, well, if you can feel emotions, you've got a fairly good idea when someone's lying. Is it that surprising that politicians don't like that?"

"Now you put it like that," Ginny said, smirking. "So that's all? You feel emotions?"

Hermione shrugged. "From what I can tell. I found a book that suggested there was something about spirits, but … that's all theory because they were never able to speak to an actual empath." She opened her trunk and found the book, opening it to the relevant chapter. "Here. That'll do a better job of explaining it."

Bethany and Ginny tucked in together to read the passage, and even Ron peered over his sister's shoulder.

Within a few minutes, Bethany was frowning. "That … My head hurts."

"Yeah," Hermione agreed. "I figure there's no point thinking about it too much. It says living spirits rarely leave their bodies, so the chances of it affecting me are pretty slim, I'd think."

"Probably," Bethany agreed. "So what's that got to do with Malfoy?"

Hermione grimaced. "His emotions weren't making sense. He didn't feel like he meant what he was saying. He felt genuinely concerned. So, yes, Beth, I think it was a warning." She could see Ron wasn't convinced, even if Bethany seemed to be on the fence. "Look, it's really hard to explain." She put her hands in her pockets, and faltered, finding a piece of parchment.

"What's that, Mione?" Bethany asked, when she pulled it out.

"I don't know," Hermione admitted. "I didn't put it there." She unfolded the note and read it aloud. "Tell SB I'm sorry; he was right. NBM."

Ginny's eyebrows rose into her hairline. "What?"

"Well …" Hermione frowned. "SB … Those are Sirius's initials."

"Wait, someone knows …" Bethany's face paled. "What if …?"

Hermione held up a hand. "NBM. Narcissa Malfoy. Her maiden name was Black. She's one of Sirius's cousins."

"She is?" Bethany asked blankly.

"She was sitting behind me," Hermione continued. "She must have slipped it into my pocket while everyone was distracted by the Veela."

"How does she know you're in contact with him though?" Bethany asked, still looking worried.

Hermione wrinkled her nose. "If she's heard about what happened at the end of last term, and I'm fairly sure Snape's friendly with Malfoy, so she probably has, then she also knows we know he's innocent."

"How do you know she knows?" Ron asked.

"Well, we know Malfoy was a Death Eater," Hermione said. "Right in the inner circle, according to you. So he would know Sirius wasn't a Death Eater, wouldn't he? Probably also knew Peter was. Must have found it absolutely hilarious that Sirius was there when he wasn't."

Bethany scowled. "She could have said something."

"She couldn't," Ginny said softly. "It's not that simple, Beth. It's hard to understand, because Mum and Dad don't subscribe to it - and I doubt your parents did either - but in pureblood circles, your husband's word is law. She could have put herself in real danger defying him, unless she could have gone to her Head of House, requested a marriage dissolution, and requested sanctuary and protection."

"So who was her Head of House?" Bethany asked, her expression softening a little.

"Sirius," Hermione said. "That's why his wand was in his Gringotts vault. They couldn't snap it without his permission."

"But they could throw him in Azkaban when he was innocent," Bethany said, shaking her head. "It's like the wand had more rights than he did."

"It's weird though, isn't it?" Ginny asked. "I know Dumbledore testified that he was the Secret Keeper and all that, but … wouldn't the trial have shown he was innocent? Surely they'd have tested the wand, the way Diggory did with Beth's last night."

"And there's Veritaserum," Hermione added. "Truth serum," she clarified, seeing Bethany's confusion.

"You can't use Veritaserum on purebloods," Ron said automatically. "It's illegal."

"That's ridiculous," Bethany said flatly.

"It's obvious," Hermione said. "They're the ones making the rules. And you can, Ron, you just need their permission. And something tells me Sirius would have given it."

"So how the hell did the trial go?" Ginny asked.

"Maybe he didn't get one," Bethany suggested, but Ginny and Ron were already shaking their heads.

"There's no way," Ron said. "You heard what I said about the Veritaserum laws. Do you really think they'd throw the Head of an Ancient and Noble House in Azkaban without trial? There'd be a riot."

"So what do you think Sirius was right about?" Ginny asked, turning their attention back to the note.

Hermione shrugged. "I'm sure he'll know."

"But what if they're watching?" Bethany asked.

"Send it with a school owl," Ginny suggested. "Less conspicuous than Hedwig. Speaking of Hedwig, why'd you ask Mum if she'd come with a letter?"

Bethany sighed. "There's something I haven't told you. On Saturday, I woke up with my scar hurting."

Hermione gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.

"What am I missing?" Ginny asked.

"The last time my scar hurt, Voldemort was at Hogwarts," Bethany explained in an undertone, causing Ginny to turn white.

"But … But he couldn't have been near you," Ron said, looking dumbstruck. "Could he?"

Bethany shook her head. "I don't think he was in Privet Drive, no, but I'd had this weird dream, about Voldemort and Wormtail, and they were talking about a plan. I couldn't figure out what it was supposed to be. But they'd definitely killed someone."

Ginny gasped. "Tell someone!"

"Who?" Ron asked. "Who would believe …?"

"Write to Dumbledore," Hermione interrupted. "Did you? Is that why you wanted to know if Hedwig had come back?"

"No, I wrote to Sirius," Bethany said.

"Good idea," Ron said, his face clearing. "He'll know what to do."

"But I haven't heard back yet," Bethany sighed. "I'm worried."

"About Sirius?" Ginny asked sympathetically.

"No." Bethany heaved another sigh. "Well, yes, but not just about Sirius. They were plotting to kill someone else. Me."

Hermione and Ginny exchanged a worried look, but Ron clapped her on the back. "It was just a dream. A nightmare."

"Yeah, but was it?" Bethany asked, turning to look out of the window at the brightening sky. "It's a weird coincidence, isn't it? My scar hurts and three days later Death Eaters are on the March and Voldemort's sign appears in the sky for the first time in thirteen years."

"Don't say the name!" Ron hissed.

"It was awful," Ginny said with a shudder.

Ron gave her an odd look. "How did you know what the Dark Mark was when I didn't?"

Ginny flinched. "Tom already had that sign made when he was sixteen."

Hermione squeezed her hand, and Bethany turned back to them. "And remember what Trelawney said at the end of last year?"

Hermione gave a derisive snort. "Oh, Beth, you aren't going to believe anything that old fraud says?"

"You weren't there," Bethany reminded her. "It was different. You didn't hear her. She was in some kind of trance, a real one. She said that the Dark Lord would rise again - greater and more terrible than before - and he would manage it because his servant would return to him … and that night Wormtail escaped."

Hermione did not like Divination, but she had learned enough from Lavender and Parvati last year (once Bethany had convinced her to listen) to know that real Seers did exist, it just wasn't something that could be taught (which made her wonder why it was offered as an elective at Hogwarts at all).

But she still wasn't convinced on Professor Trelawney, considering that Bethany had 'Seen' that Buckbeak would escape in the crystal ball in her final exam - and failed, even though that was exactly what had happened.

"What about Jess's dream?" She asked hopefully.

"Yeah, who is Jess?" Ginny asked.

Ron explained about Jessica's propensity for true/prophetic dreams, while Bethany jogged up to Ron's room to search her trunk, eventually returning with a small piece of Muggle paper, half-covered in neat handwriting.

Hermione took it and read it through. "The pits of Dark are seeded; this warning must be heeded. Touch of cup brings respite's end, and love and strength are keys to mend." She pulled a face. "You're right, Beth - this is much more cryptic than the last one. Although you did tell me that one in hindsight, which might have made it a bit easier."

"What was the last one?" Ginny asked.

"A full moon," Bethany answered. "With the words innocence, injustice and betrayal."

"Yeah, I think hindsight helped a lot with that," Ginny said. "Were there any images with that one?"

Bethany shook her head. "Nothing whatsoever."

"What's a respite?" Ron asked.

"A short period of rest or relief from something difficult or unpleasant," Hermione answered.

Ron rolled his eyes. "And in English?"

Ginny swatted her brother on the head. "Honestly. It's a pause. Time-out."

"Quidditch in a thunderstorm," Bethany said, seeing Ron still looking a bit puzzled. "If Wood calls for a time-out, we get a respite from the rain."

Ron's face cleared at that. "Oh okay. So something bad's coming, right?"

"Story of my life," Bethany muttered. "Do you think it means the Quidditch World Cup? Could it be a warning about the Death Eaters?"

"I don't think so," Hermione said reluctantly. "What happened at the Cup wasn't personal. All through the summer, I've felt that something awful's going to happen, and I still have that feeling."