Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: The scene after the match always had me wanting for more action, may a few duels or some injuries other than the muggle family. It felt like Death Eaters weren't putting their heart in it. But there was just one available answer (which was difficult to digest), Death Eaters were in full regalia and they fled the moment the Dark Mark was cast.

Chapter Three: Snitch and the Symbol

Harry was standing in an almost circular clearing in a wood with dense, tall birch trees marking the edge of the clearing, clearing was large enough for a school bus to fit in perfectly. Two man were standing at one side of the clearing where a path in woods could be seen behind them, wearing picnic shirts and khakis, it was clear that these were not muggles. One of them was holding a clipboard in one hand and a quill in the other and the second one was standing in front of a large, cube-shaped bin. As the group approached them, the second man took the old boot from Mr. Weasley and dumped it into the bin full of very mundane items while the man with the clipboard ticked something on it. With a curt nod in their direction, Arthur led the group towards the path in the woods. They were on the other side of the woods in less than 5 minutes and the view had everyone's jaw hitting the ground.

They were standing on the edge of a widespread plain which was bustling with very excited crowd weaving their way around densely erected tents. Arthur was in the lead, guiding them towards their own residence for the next 24 hours. Every tent they crossed had a name plate planted on a board on the side of the entrance to the tent. They could see the flags of different countries on the tents, decorations from their homeland adorning the small yard in front of the tents. It was so colourful that it made them a bit watery eyed due to the blast of bright colours around them. A few people, mounted on their brooms, were enjoying the view from some height. A few small shops selling different items including Quidditch merchandize and some other flashy things, completely unknown to Harry, were present every few hundred foot. On their way to their destination, they met some school friends including Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, Harry bought a set of Omnioculars for himself and Hermione as the other Weasleys already had their old ones.

As they reached their tent, Diggorys said their goodbyes and went ahead. Harry was perplexed as he looked at the size of the tent, it looked smaller than his room at Privet Drive, how was it supposed to house seven people. As he crossed the threshold, his eyes were giving a tough competition to Dobby and he was speechless for the second time in less than an hour. Hermione certainly noticed the amused looks her best friend and whispered a single word in his ear 'Magic'.

-X-X-

Ronald Weasley was a little bit angry with his father, the reason behind this was his father's enthusiastic suggestion that this camping would be more fun if they do it muggle way. As the result of that suggestion, Ron, along with Harry and Hermione, was carrying water in a metal pot from a tap a few hundred yards away from their camp. As they reached closer to tent, they could see four official looking wizards talking to Mr. Weasley.

Harry was trying to avoid the introduction for very obvious reasons but his attempt to sneak into the tent unnoticed was in vain as Mr. Weasley called the three of them ahead to be introduced to the wizards. Polite wishes and handshakes were exchanged and every eye shot towards Harry's scar as he was introduced to the gentlemen by Mr. Weasley. He only needed introducing to three out of the four as the fourth one was the former 'Head boy' of Hogwarts, Percy Weasley who was now a Ministry of Magic employee.

The other three were Ludo Bagman, Paul Perkins and Bartemius Crouch. Ludo Bagman was a tall man in his early thirties with an overgrown midsection and short blonde hair, he was the head of Department of Magical Games and Sports. He seemed like a jovial person and was soon pulled aside by the twins. Paul Perkins was a Ministry worker in the same department as Arthur, he was a short but lean guy, looked a few years older than Arthur. Bartemius Crouch was the head of Department of International Magical Cooperation, he was the boss of Percy and at the moment the reason of his embarrassment too as he was continuously being called 'Weatherby'. Barty Crouch had a look of authority, he looked at people as he was clearly suspicious of their intentions.

Harry was relieved when this unwanted company went their own way. He was glad that he back among the people who won't be staring as his scar. They were joined a few minute letter by the twins who were, unsurprisingly, in a happy mood.

As Mr. Weasley went to bring the fireplace alive, Ron directed a question towards the twins. "What were you guys talking about with Mr. Bagman?".

"Nothing significant…."

"Just placing bets…."

"For the game tonight…."

"Want to make one, little brother?"

"Yeah, 5 sickles, Krum will get the snitch and Bulgaria will win."

"Got it."

"Harry, Hermione. Want to test your luck?"

"Keep me out of it". Hermione replied and went where Ginny sat in her bed in one of the rooms.

"I am not sure. What are you betting on?" Harry responded.

"Oh, it's the difficult choice…."

"that we made about the bet…."

"Certainly risky…."

"But most probable…."

"Krum will get the snitch…."

"But Irish team will win."

"You two most certainly will lose". Ron had a smirk on his face.

"Have some faith in us, Ickle Ronnikins."

The next few hours went by eating, discussing the upcoming match and tactics, Harry was surprised by the understanding Ginny had about the game. There was friendly teasing, games of exploding snap, wizarding chess and a few light hearted small pranks (mostly directed at Ron). It was a happy group of people who left the tent to go for the final.

-X-X-

The group was seated in the Minister's box in the stadium, Minister and other guest sitting at the front of the box. The pre-match commentary and the line-ups for the match were announced but Harry was looking at the next row of seats. The pair of seats in front of him were somewhat empty, at least one of them was. The other seat was occupied by a house elf, it was not that he was shocked to see an elf but he was surprised that an elf was seating in the Minister's box as Harry was well aware of the condition of house elves in Britain.

His curiosity got better of him and he asked "Who are you?". Hermione leaned in to hear the conversation from her seat beside Harry.

"I's Winky. I's the house elf of Mr. Crouch."

"You are waiting for him?", Hermione asked.

"Master ask Winky to keep his seat empty and the sit in the seat."

Before the conversation could go any further, they heard a snort from behind which was immediately followed by the remark, 'Potter, still fraternizing with vermin'.

Harry didn't need to turn his head to identify the speaker, he had enough experience with a certain blonde ponce. "One of them dropped your father on his bum", he replied while turning to face them. Harry kicked himself internally for not expecting the senior Malfoy ponce to be present there.

"People often forget their place in civilized society, don't they Mr. Potter." The elder Malfoy replied with a sneer.

"My definition of civilized society does not match yours, Mr. Malfoy." The last word coming out of Harry's mouth like a curse.

"Enjoy your days, however less they may be." With that remark, the father-son duo moved towards the front of the box to sit just beside the Minister.

A few Moments later Fudge was on his feet with his wand-tip placed on the side of his neck, just below his right ear.

"Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen. Tonight, I welcome you to the final of the 422 Quidditch World Cup. It is an honour to be the host of such a magnificent event. So, let's begin."

The announcement was followed by a loud canon blast. As the sound of the canon blast died, the commentators started talking about the match. As they announced the mascot of Irish team, a group of leprechauns appeared on a floating platform above the pitch. They started their traditional dance, as Harry watched the dance he saw shiny things falling towards the audience. He came to realize that the shiny pieces were gold coins of the size of a galleon. The moment few of them had fallen on the ground, Ron started filling the pocket of his robes with them. The twins could not hold their laughter anymore.

"Hey, Ronnikins…."

"You know right…."

"That its Leprechaun Gold…."

"It will vanish away in 6 hours."

The painful and shocked expression on Ron's face looked like he was hit on his head with a beaters bat by his twins. The colour on his face could rival the colour of his hair. He slumped in his chair with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Harry was feeling sorry for Ron but still he could laugh about what he witnessed a few moments back.

"You know, I could have enjoyed this year a bit more with that gold. I hate to be poor." Ron told to Harry, his voice barely heard by him. Harry just nodded in response.

Once the Leprechaun dance was over, commentators announced the arrival of the mascot of Bulgarian team. Harry was mesmerized by the beautiful creatures clad in red robes dancing in mid-air, he was certain that he hasn't seen a more beautiful person. Harry felt his right arm being gripped in a vicelike grip by Hermione, he turned towards her with a questioning look. She just tilted her head towards other members of their group. Ron was whistling like a wolf and thumping his chest, his eyes glazed. Ginny was trying to drag him back to his seat by his shirt. Mr. Weasley were holding the twins back. Harry looked around the box and almost every wizard was acting in the same manner. Harry's confusion was evident on his face, Hermione answered his unasked query, "They are Veelas, Harry, their magical charm attracts males towards them at least those with week mental control."

Soon after, a small fight broke between the mascots, volunteers had to escort both team mascots out of the pitch. Once the crowd settled down, the commentators announced the Irish team and then the Bulgarian team who entered the pitch flying on their brooms. The loudest cheer around the stadium could be heard for the Bulgarian seeker, Victor Krum.

As the referee blew the whistle, the match started. Harry was mesmerized by the speed of the game, players on their brooms were just blurs. Harry missed a part of the match as he was watching it in slow-motion on his omnioculars but by that time, Irish team had scored 4 goals and the pitch was at bit crowded. He asked Ron about it. "Krum faked, got the Irish guy in a Wronski Feint. I think the guy broke his arm."

The whole stadium erupted in cheers and boos as Krum caught the snitch in less than half an hour but just before the catch was complete, Irish team scored their 17 goal. The final score read 170-160 in favour of Irish. The twins were laughing like mad and jumping while hugging each other. An hour later the merry group was back in their tent but the celebration was just starting.

The next thing Harry remembered was Mr. Weasley running in the tent and shouting to them to get their bags and come out of the tent immediately. In less than a minute, the group was standing out of their tent and in the middle of chaos.

"Fred, George, take Ginny and go towards the stadium. Ginny is your responsibility. You three, stay together and follow the twins." Arthur shouted and ran towards the eye of this chaos. Harry could see the rising smoke and a faint orange glow towards the horizon, there was fire in the camp.

All six were running as fast as they can in the cramped space between the tents to get to the stadium. Harry felt Hermione's arm slipping from his grip, he turned towards her but he could not see her in the crowd. As he turned, he saw the reason of all this chaos. A group of around 3 dozen masked wizards in black cloaks was coming towards him, throwing fireballs from their wands towards the tents. It was a horrifying scene, he ran away from the group, his survival instincts guiding him.

He reached a clearing, he could still hear the noise but they were damped down due to the trees surrounding the clearing. He recognized that this was the clearing from where they arrived, he searched his jacket for his wand but came emptyhanded. A feeling of dread coming over, just as he was thinking about his next step, a green beam of light shot towards the sky from behind him. His scar suddenly started burning, more painful than he had experienced since the night in the chamber. His knees gave away and he fell on the ground, his head turning towards the sky and then he saw it.

In the sky, a green skull was present, like a cloud. A snake was coming out of the mouth of the skull, twisting and turning. Then he could remember just one feeling, fear. He dragged himself towards the mouth of the opening as he heard multiple pops and more than a dozen wizards appeared in front of him and fired stunners towards him. He fell to the ground before any of the stunner reached him.

"Stop!" He saw Mr. Weasley running towards him.

"Stop! He is Harry Potter." The wand arms of the group relaxed a bit. Arthur help Harry up.

The moment Harry was on his feet, a wand was pointed towards his face, mere inches away from his nose.

"Why did you fired the mark?" He person asked. Harry recognized the man now, it was Barty Crouch.

"What mark, I didn't do anything?"

"You two, check the clearing." He ordered two of the man standing behind him in a semicircle.

"Barty, he is the last person who would fire that mark. Please have some sense. Why would Harry Potter Fire You-Know-Who's mark." Arthur tried to reason with Barty Crouch.

A few moments later, the two guards came out of the clearing with a something held between them. As they came closer, he recognized the one held between the guards, it was the house elf he came across in the Minister's Box. One of the guards handed a wand to Barty Crouch, Harry's eyes widened in shock.

"That's my wand." He tried to snatch it but failed.

"Sir, the wand and the elf were the only things present in the clearing. We checked the wand, the mark was fired using it." One of the man said.

"Winky! Did you use the wand?" Barty Crouch shouted in his angriest voice.

The elf was shaking with fear and her head hung low, with teary eyes she just nodded.

"I will habdle this on my own. Get everyone else to safety." Mr. Crouch ordered.

As they group started towards the stadium, Harry's curiosity got better of him and he finally asked Arthur. "What just happened here, who were those wizards?"

"Harry, that was the mark of You-Know-Who, it was called Dark Mark. During the time of his terror, whenever his followers 'Death Eaters' raided someone's house and killed someone, they would leave the Dark Mark floating in the sky. It was a terrifying sight, consider the fear when you return from work and see the mark floating in above your house."

"Yeah, I can understand."