No one's POV
"Come on, you lot." Mr. Weasley said quietly.
They all followed him silently as they walked out of the clearing and off through the trees.
"Why did you do that Harry?" Jessie asked him curiously and Harry looked at her.
"I felt a sort of...pity for her, so I decided to help her a bit." He said as they kept walking.
"I want to get back to the tent as fast as we can." Mr Weasley said as he turned to them.
"What happened to the others?"
"We lost them in the dark." Kyle answered.
"Mr Weasley, why did that Dark Mark appear in the sky?" Hermione asked.
"I'll explain everything back at the tent." Mr Weasley said tensely.
But when they reached the edge of the wood, their progress was impeded.
A large crowd of frightened-looking witches and wizards was congregating there and when they saw Mr Weasley coming towards them, many of them surged forward.
"What's going on in there?"
"Who conjured it?"
"Arthur –it's not – him?"
"Of course it's not him." Mr Weasley said impatiently.
"We don't know who it is, it looks like they disapparated, now excuse me, please, I want to get to bed."
He led Harry, Jessie, Ron, Daphne, Hermione and Kyle through the crowd and back to the campsite.
All was quiet now, there was no sign of the masked wizards, though several ruined tents were still smoking.
Charlie's head was poking out of the boys tent.
"Dad, what's going on?" He called through the dark.
"Fred, George and Ginny got back OK, but the others–"
"I've got them here." Mr Weasley said, bending down and entering the tent.
The rest had entered after him.
Bill was sitting at the small kitchen table, holding a bedsheet to his arm, which was bleeding profusely.
Charlie had a large rip on his shirt, and Percy was sporting a bloody nose.
Fred, George and Ginny looked unhurt, though shaken.
"Did you get them, dad?" Bill said sharply.
"The person who conjured the Mark?"
"No." Mr Weasley said.
"We found Barty Crouch's elf holding Harry's wand, but were none the wiser about who actually conjured the Mark."
"What?" Percy, Charlie and Bill asked together.
"Harry's wand?" Fred said.
"Mr Crouch's elf?" Percy asked, sounding confuse.
"Former elf." Harry said.
With some assistance from Harry, Jessie and Kyle, Mr Weasley explained what had happened in the woods.
When they had finished their story Percy thought for a moment.
"I'm glad you took Winky away from him, Harry, someone doing that to an elf is just horrid." He said as he crossed his arms.
"I agree." Hermione said still quite angry about it.
"But onto more important business, that Mark in the sky belonged to the Dark Lord." Harry said as he crossed his arms.
"And it hasn't been seen for thirteen years." Mr Weasley said quietly.
"Of course people panicked...it was almost like seeing You-know-who back again."
"This could mean he's returned..." Jessie said uneasily.
Hearing that brought a moment of silence.
Bill removed the sheet from his arm to check out.
"Well, it didn't help us tonight, whoever conjured it, it scared the Death Eaters away the moment they saw it, they all disapparated before we'd got near enough to unmask any of them, that person who saved the Muggle family...we modified their memories."
"What are Death Eaters?" Kyle asked curiously.
"They are the supporters of The Dark Lord, but now it makes sense why they left when they saw the Dark Mark." Harry said as he crossed his arms.
"If those were who you say they are...then the situation is more grave then we think it is but for now let's get to bed, it's been a long night." Arthur said as everyone agreed going to bed.
TimeSkip
Mr Weasley woke them after only a few hours of sleep.
He used magic to pack up the tents and they left the campsite as quickly as possible, passing Mr Roberts at the door of his cottage.
Mr Roberts had a strange, dazed look about him and waved them off with a vague.
"Merry Christmas."
"He'll be alright." Mr Weasley said quietly, as they marched off onto the moor.
"Sometimes, when a person's memory's modified, it makes them a bit disoriented for a while...and that was a big thing they had to make him forget."
They heard urgent voices as they approached the spot were the Portkeys lay and, when they reached it, they found a great number of witches and wizards gathered around Basil, the Keeper of the Portkeys.
All clamouring to get away from the campsite as quickly as possible.
Mr Weasley had a hurried discussion with Basil, they joined the queue, and were able to take an old rubber tyre back to Stoatshead Hill before the sun had fully risen.
They walked back through Ottery St Catchpole towards the Burrow in the dawn light, talking very little because they were so exhausted, and thinking longingly of their breakfast.
As they rounded the corner in the lane and the Burrow came into view, a cry echoed along the damp lane.
"Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness!"
Mrs Weasley, who had been evidently waiting for them in the front yard along with Lily, James, Bellatrix, Evelyn and Oliver came running towards them.
James and Lily flung there arms around the twins followed closely by Bellatrix who hugged Harry tightly while Daphne's parents had her.
"You're all right." Mrs Weasley muttered distractedly.
Kyle walked over when he saw that Mrs Weasley had dropped a screwed up copy of the Daily Prophet.
Once he picked it up he began to read the article with the headline: SCENES OF TERROR AT THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP, which was completed with a twinkling, black and white photograph of the Dark Mark over the tree-tops.
"Kyle." Mr Weasley said as he saw him holding the paper.
"Give it here please, I want to see what it says."
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Harry Potter: The ghouls awakening
FanfictionHarry's time with the Dursleys before his first year is horrid to say the least. This takes place when Harry is seven years old and had used accidental magic. The Dursleys were outraged so they forced Harry to the basement and chained him to a chair...
