There were no words in the English language that could describe the absolute euphoric feeling that overwhelmed Fred once he learned that Viktor Krum had caught the Golden Snitch, but Ireland had still managed to win. The way he and George had scrambled over their seats during the midst of the celebratory chaos, to hold out their hands to Ludo Bagman, expecting their pay-out immediately.
With their money bags filled, Fred couldn't stop smiling the entire time as he followed his father and the others down the purple-carpeted steps. All the while, he kept an eye out for Eleanor, knowing that she was well aware of the victory.
"Don't tell your mother you've been gambling," Arthur told them, in a begging tone.
Fred chuckled and shook his head. "Don't worry, Dad, we've got big plans for this money, we don't want it confiscated."
It was true since their mother was on the absolute warpath to deter them from pursuing any career involving pranking and tricks, the twins knew they had to keep things quiet. But Fred hoped that once everything was all said and done, she would come to appreciate all their hard work. Maybe it wasn't the honour of working for the Ministry, but Fred and George wanted, in their own way, to make the world a happier place in the best way they knew how.
The crowds that had packed the stadium were currently all outside of their tents, the winners joining in several drinks while slurring the words of a song. Some were dancing, the others that were possibly fans of the Bulgarians seemed to be arguing over Krum's decision to catch the Snitch to end the match prematurely. Up ahead, Arthur and Charlie were arguing over cobbing until they reached the tent. And while Arthur told them that they should get some rest as the night carried on, none of the teens were ready to pack it in just yet.
Fred and George had plans to start counting their winnings when they heard someone enter the tent.
Upon seeing a beaming Eleanor, Fred immediately stood up and thank goodness he did as Eleanor ran over and practically launched herself at him.
Just when he thought the night couldn't get any better, Fred was absolutely delighted to have Eleanor in his arms as she congratulated him and George on their win. Of course, for a moment, it was clear that the two were in their own little world where they were the only ones inside the tent, ignoring the fact that everyone else, including an accompanying Cedric, were watching them.
Once Eleanor lowered her feet back to the ground, she pulled at the hem of her jumper, her gaze never leaving Fred's the entire time.
"I couldn't believe it when Ludo called it," she told him, "I had to have Cedric confirm it and even then! I ended up pinching myself several times, I'm pretty sure I bruised my arm. But you two did it, you called the match perfectly! The odds of it happening, I don't know how you both did it, but who cares?!"
It seemed she became overwhelmed with giddiness again as Eleanor hugged Fred again and when she pulled away, she hugged George. It looked as though she was going to keep up her tradition of hugging everyone, but she stopped as soon as Arthur returned inside the tent and told everyone that they really should be heading to bed. Fred looked at his father, silently asking him for a few more minutes, and while Arthur raised a curious brow, he nodded his head before asking that they take their conversation outside.
"You could always come back to our tent," Cedric offered as he stood outside of the tent with Eleanor, Fred, and George. "I don't think we're going to bed anytime soon. I mean, everyone else is still celebrating. I highly doubt anyone is going to get a good night's rest unless they charm their tents."
"I hope some of them do," Eleanor laughed, "you should have heard Grandpa Lyall singing some song when we were leaving the stands. I thought Dad was going to tell him to stop but then he joined in. I love them, really, but singing, it's not for everyone."
It didn't seem like a bad idea to join Eleanor and Cedric back at their tent, Fred didn't think he was going to be able to sleep anyways, between the match, the win, and the lingering jitters of Eleanor hugging him multiple times, he was wide awake. They were just about to head back inside to ask their father if they could go when there was a high-pitched scream in the distance.
For a moment, the group turned their heads, thinking it was just someone getting out of hand with their celebrations, but a minute later, there was something of a small explosion. Flames erupted into the air and there were more sounds of screaming. It was easy to think that some partying was just carried away and that Ministry officials would probably make their way over at any moment to handle it, but then there was another explosion and then more screaming.
Instinctively, Fred reached out and grabbed Eleanor's hand, pulling her closer to him. Their eyes remained glued in the direction, only to see several witches and wizards running past, yelling as they told others to run. George hurried back into the tent to alert Arthur, while the other three were left to observe in worry.
"What's going on?" Eleanor whispered under her breath. Tents were collapsing and more and more people were running in the opposite direction of the fires. A few seconds later, Arthur appeared out of the tent and took a good look around before his eyes widened and he shook his head.
"All of you wait here while I wake the others!" Arthur told them firmly before he hurried back inside. He disappeared into the tent and they could hear him call for Harry and Ron to wake up before he went to get Hermione and Ginny.
Eleanor didn't know what to make of the scenario that was unfolding before them, thinking nothing of the sort was going to take place when she told her father that they were going to go offer their congratulations to the twins on their win. She could feel her heart racing in her chest, especially as the panicked screams grew louder and the crowds running grew bigger. She squeezed Fred's hand tightly, taking another look in the direction of the chaos, only to see something that nearly took her breath away as Harry and Ron emerged from the tent.
There was a crowd of wizards, their faces appeared hidden under masks and hooded cloaks, concealing their identities. They seemed to be marching in a tight formation, their wands pointed upwards and as Eleanor looked up, she let out a gasp of horror. High above the hooded crowd, were four people, hoisted in the air, their bodies being treated like puppets as their arms and legs were forced into manipulated positions. As they grew closer, Eleanor could see a man, a woman, and two young children.
"Oh no," she heard Fred say before he looked over at George, "isn't that the muggle that checked us into our campsite this morning? Mr Roberts? That must be him and his family."
Suddenly, Mr Roberts' wife was spun so that she was positioned upside down, exposing her voluminous knickers to the crowd. At first, Eleanor had felt the sudden onset of nausea, only for it to turn into anger as she heard people hooting and hollering, as if it were the greatest thing to witness a defenceless woman become exposed. Her anger surged, enough that she reached for her wand, ready to fight whoever the hell she needed to.
Just earlier in the day, she had made a fuss regarding the treatment of muggles, especially the ones running the campgrounds, since they were being obliviated throughout the day as if it were nothing. But to see a muggle family, being turned into nothing but playthings for the enjoyment of some twisted bastards, she wanted to fight. All she could picture was if someone had dared to take her own mother, hoist her in the air, and expose her knickers to the crowd.
She had only managed to take a couple of steps in the direction of the chaos when Fred pulled her back.
Percy, Charlie, and Bill emerged, lifting up their sleeves and drawing their wands, with Arthur suddenly turning to the rest of them.
"We're going to help the Ministry," Arthur called to them, "You lot – get into the woods, and stick together. I'll come and fetch you when we've sorted this out!"
Fred took the lead, after watching his older brothers and father run off towards the crowds, with his other free hand grabbed Ginny's. Eleanor turned her head as she was being led away and grabbed Cedric's hand before looking to where Harry stood with his friends. The two made eye contact and she gave him a reassuring nod of her head, earning a small smile from him.
Navigating through the crowds was tricky business, enough that after being bumped into numerous times, Eleanor's hand slipped from Fred's, but he quickly turned around to make sure she was still behind him. She could still feel Cedric, holding the back of her jumper, and George was walking beside her as they approached the woods as instructed. But as she turned around, Eleanor quickly noticed that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were no longer with them.
"Fred, they're not with us," she piped up, "Harry, Ron, and Hermione, they must have gotten lost in the crowds."
Everyone quickly turned around, standing on the tips of their toes, trying to look out for one of them. However, the panicked crowds didn't care for their concern as they just pushed them along. Rather than getting trampled, Fred decided it was best to keep pressing onwards until they reached the woods, following his father's directions. Ron had heard the instructions, along with the others, so more than likely, they would make their way to the woods eventually.
About fifteen minutes later, the group was settled in a tight circle in the woods, neither one of them had said anything the entire time. Their eyes continued to watch the surrounding darkness, their minds racing with thoughts of the harrowing events. Eleanor and Cedric realised that back at their tent, the adults were probably all in a panic, wondering what happened to them. Fred, George, and Ginny were more than likely worried about Ron, along with Harry and Hermione, who had yet to make their way back to them.
"The others are alright, right?" Ginny finally broke the silence. "They have to be alright."
Eleanor reached over and grabbed her hand, nodding her head. "Of course, they are," she said before looking at Fred, who was watching her. "Maybe we'll give it another fifteen minutes or so, or until things die down and we'll go looking for them. I'm sure they made their way into the woods, we're probably closer to them than we think."
It was wishful thinking, of course, but it seemed to settle Ginny's nerves enough and Fred mouthed Eleanor a "thank you."
George decided to keep the mood light by telling a few jokes in the dark, and while none of them were really in the mood to laugh, it was enough to get them to smile. And finally, the laughter broke as Cedric developed the hiccups and couldn't get them to stop.
Ginny started drifting off, leaning against George's shoulder, who looked to be borderline exhausted himself as he forced himself to stay awake. Nudging Fred gently, Eleanor got his attention before speaking.
"It's been quiet for a while," she said, "maybe we could head back to the tent. I'm sure the Ministry managed to get things under control by now. We're all exhausted, I don't think we want to spend the night out here either. I'm sure my father, Grandpa Lyall, and Cedric's father have been looking for us too. We're all scattered right now and-"
Fred didn't have to hear anymore before he nodded his head, agreeing with her. He was already feeling incredibly guilty that he had lost track of Ron and the others when they had been under his and George's watch. Perhaps it wasn't a bad idea to venture back to the tent to see what had become of the campgrounds. And maybe Ron, Harry, and Hermione had made their way back to the tent for some reason.
While Eleanor helped Cedric up, Fred and George helped Ginny to her feet and they slowly made their way back to the campsite. They had been walking along for a few moments when there was a sudden light that took to the skies that seemed to flood the lands. They all looked up to see a colossal skull, composed of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue.
They came to a halt, an eerie chill washed over them as Eleanor pulled Ginny closer to the group and swallowed nervously. Cedric suggested that they move quickly rather than stay in one place, and when they finally reached the tent, Charlie and Bill were outside, more than likely keeping an eye out for them. They seemed overjoyed to see that they were all safe, but their smiles disappeared when they noted that three were missing.
Charlie suggested they go inside and rest and when Eleanor walked in with the others, she could see that Percy was suffering from a bloody nose. It was then that Eleanor noticed that Bill had a long gash in his arm, that he was using a bedsheet to soak up the blood, and Charlie had a large rip in his shirt. She was about to ask them why they weren't bothering to heal themselves but was interrupted by the sound of commotion coming outside of the tent.
"Dad, what's going on?" Charlie asked. "We got Fred, George, Ginny, Eleanor, and Cedric. They got back okay, but the others – "
"I've got them here," Arthur announced as he entered the tent with Harry, Ron, and Hermione coming in behind them. Eleanor sighed in relief and felt the ever-loving need to pull Harry into a hug since he looked like he could use one.
"Did you get them, Dad?" Bill asked. "The person who conjured the Mark?"
"No. We found Barty Crouch's elf holding Harry's wand, but we're none the wiser about who actually conjured the Mark."
"What?" Bill, Charlie, and Percy questioned in unison.
Even Fred jumped in. "Harry's wand?"
"Mr Crouch's elf?" Percy exclaimed.
No one seemed tired anymore as Arthur began explaining what had taken place once the trio had been separated from the group.
"Well, Mr Crouch is quite right to get rid of an elf like that!" Percy huffed. "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 had 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!" Hermione snapped at Percy.
"Hermione, a wizard in Mr Crouch's position can't afford a house-elf who's going to run amok with a wand!"
"She didn't run amok! She just picked it up off the ground!"
Ron had enough of the two going back and forth before he interjected. "Look, can someone just explain what that skull thing was? It wasn't hurting anyone ... why's it such a big deal?"
"I told you, it's You-Know-Who's symbol, Ron," Hermione said, "I read about it in The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts."
"And it hasn't been seen for thirteen years," Arthur said, bringing Eleanor and Cedric to exchange glances with one another. "Of course, people panicked ... it was almost like seeing You-Know-Who back again."
"I don't get it. I mean ... it's still only a shape in the sky ..."
'Ron, 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 ...Everyone's worst fear...the very worst..."
From the discussion of Death Eaters, followers of You-Know-Who, resurfacing to cause terror, Eleanor couldn't bring herself to sleep, no matter how much Arthur encouraged her to do so. She said that she wanted to find her father and grandfather, Cedric claimed he wanted to do the same, but Arthur reassured the two teens that he had spoken with all of them. They would all reunite at the Burrow later on. They were just glad to hear that their families were alright, but Eleanor was stuck with a headache.
Charlie and the others seemed to have no issue as the sounds of his snoring echoed in the tent. She continued to sit in one of the armchairs, staring off into the faint fire, when she felt someone touch her shoulder. She glanced over to see Fred, with a sleepy expression, standing beside her.
"Why aren't you sleeping?" he asked.
"I can't really bring myself to fall asleep," she said, "I can't stop thinking about everything. Every time I close my eyes, I just see that muggle family. I don't know whether to feel sick to my stomach or angry- "
She wasn't given the chance to finish as Fred suddenly climbed into the armchair with her, practically forcing Eleanor into his lap, not that she was complaining. Instead, she came to rest her head on his shoulder, allowing Fred to run his fingers through her hair. He didn't say anything because there wasn't much, he could say at the time to make her feel better. But maybe he didn't understand how much the simple affectionate gesture meant to her during such times.