theodore nott

| ii. THE SIGN

The stadium was full of wizards whose faces were painted in Bulgaria's and Ireland's flag colors. Victoria, Harry, Ron and Hermione were standing next to each other. The two boys were chanting Victor Krum's name, while the girls were appreciating the view. Victoria wasn't really interested in Quidditch, but she was willing to give this sport a try. Sure, flying on a broomstick was exciting, but trying to score goals while flying? No. But she knew it made her friends happy, so she stayed.

Out of sudden they heard a very familiar voice. Victoria rolling her eyes, looked down to see the same blonde who keeps bullying her friends. Right next to him stood his father, he had long blond hair and his very weird stick with him. Oh... how Victoria hated people like them. Who only cared about blood status and wealth.

"Minister Knott himself asked us to come and see the match," The younger blonde smirked, looking at Victoria and The Golden Trio with disgust.

His father stopped him, glaring at the young boy. "Stop, Draco. It's not worth it for people like them," He smirked and glanced at Hermione with hatred in his eyes.

While they were bickering, Victoria's eyes caught a tall boy with curly hair, who was glaring at them with a grin. She squinted her eyes and scanned his face. She immediately recognized him, he was one of Draco's friends. His eyes met hers and Victoria almost froze, but maintained her posture, looking back at him with a small hint of amusement.

"Potter," The curly haired boy started, looking away from Victoria. "Have fun... while you can." And with that, Draco, his father and the boy walked away.

The girl scoffed and grabbed Harry's arm pulling her away from them, so he wouldn't start a fight. "Leave them be, Harry," She said and let go of his arm.

"The year hasn't even started yet and I already have enough of Draco and his friends," Harry grumbled, looking at the Quidditch pitch as the players were flying around and presenting their squads.

Victoria let out a sigh and leaned forward so she could lean her body against the railings. "They just don't have anything better to do," She tried to reassure him.

Harry didn't reply but just gave her a sharp nod and the match started. The stadium was filled with screams and shrieks as the players started flying around and score as much points as they could. Victoria was looking at the match with a bored look on her face and as much as she tried to enjoy it, she just couldn't shake off the feeling something bad was about to happen.

After an hour of intense fight, the Ireland won and the stadium filled with green and white colors. Bulgarian fans were disappointed and they quickly started leaving their seats while the Ireland fans were celebrating. The match ended with Ireland winning over Bulgaria by 170 to 160.

"Victor Krum is the best!" Ron shouted as soon as they walked back to their tent.

Fred and George started mocking him, making him blush and stand up from his bed angrily.

"Are you in love with him or something?" Victoria asked him with a smirk as she played with her wand. "Cause... it seems like you are," She exclaimed, putting the wand in her pocket.

Ron just glared at her in response. "He's an artist!"

"The Irelands are having fun, huh?" Victoria motioned towards the opening of the tent, but before she could add something Mr. Weasley rushed in with a serious expression. The girl immediately sat up and looked at the man. "What's going on?"

Mr. Weasley looked at her with worry. "They're not Irelands," He stated, making everyone freeze in place. "We need to get out of here, now!"

The girl grabbed her belongings and ran out of the tent, just to see everyone screaming and running around, causing panic. The tents started to burn and a very unpleasant eerie atmosphere filled the air, causing Victoria to have goosebumps on her arms. As she turned her head she saw many dark figures with hoods over their faces and torches in their hands. She froze when she saw them, her eyes met with Harry's as he tried to run in the direction of the figures.

"You're so fucking dumb, Harry!" She shouted and ran after him to grab his arm and pull with her, but she lost the sight of him. Cursing under her breath, she shook her head and tried to look for the boy, but no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't find him. "Always trying to act like a hero..." She mumbled and hid behind a tent, her hand clutching her wand.

After a few minutes everything went silent. No more screams, fire, but this weird atmosphere was still lingering in the air. Shakily she walked out of her hiding spot and started looking for her friend. She wasn't going to leave him behind. She never left anyone behind.

She walked through the quiet camp site, looking for the boy, but as she heard footsteps behind her, she quickly ducked in and took a deep breath. She saw a tall figure walking around the burned tents, but after a few seconds the figure stopped and raised their wand in the air.

"Morsmorde!" He shouted and a string of green energy flew from the wand into the air.

Victoria looked up and saw a mortifying scene. The sky was filled with a large skull and a snake that was coming out of its mouth. She gasped, but quickly put a hand over her mouth.

Suddenly the figure started running in the direction where Harry was, but as soon as a shout came out of the woods, he ran off in another direction. Victoria quickly got up and grabbed Harry's arm, pulling her with her to a safe spot.

"You're so dumb," She breathed out as they ran. "You're always trying to act like a goddamn hero," She said angrily.

"I know, I know!" The boy suddenly stopped and grabbed her shoulders. "But did you see what was in the sky?" He asked hurriedly.

The girl nodded nervously and they started walking in the direction where Ron and Hermione were. "I did and it was terrifying," She winced.

"This can't mean any good," Harry whispered, shaking his head.

The both of them looked at the sky again where the skull was, causing them to get goosebumps. But before they could say anything Ron and Hermione ran up to them.
"What is this?" Hermione asked shakily.

Suddenly Harry groaned and put his hand over the scar on his forehead. They looked at him with concern and then back at the skull in the sky. "That's a Dark Mark, Harry," Victoria quietly said, reaching out her hand to pull him up.

"Voldemort," Harry exclaimed, looking up. "These people today...the ones wearing the masks. They are his people,"

Victoria took a deep breath. "Death Eaters," She looked around the burned place, before gulping loudly. "We should go, we don't know if that guy is gonna come back or not," She whispered, not wanting to cause any noise.

Ron chimed in with confusion written all over his face. "What guy?"

"We'll explain later!"