Viola stormed out of the woods fuming. She didn't know why the encounter with Ginny had made her so angry, but it had. In truth she was rather glad someone had come along, otherwise she most certainly would've been put under the cruciatis curse. But why did it have to be Ginny? And why Ginny have to use the Bat Bogey spell? It was like she was trying to run it in Viola's face. Look, I'm going to save you, using your signature spell! Hahaha! The whole ordeal had made Viola hate the red head even more, because now she felt like she was in debt to her.
The camp had settled into a state of high-strung relief. The Death Eaters had dispersed. Viola assumed it was because of the Dark Mark hovering in the sky. They must've got cold feet realizing that if the Dark Lord was back, he wasn't going to be very happy with all of them who had lied themselves out of Azkaban.
Viola hurried across camp, back to her tent. She found her father being helped to his feet by a Ministry Wizard.
His scruffy face was scrunched up in pain.
"Father," said Viola as she approached. "Are you alright?"
Roderick's eyes widened. He looked around as he leaned on the Ministry wizards shoulder.
"Viola! You're safe!" he said in a relieved tone of voice. "Good . . ."
For a moment Father and Daughter stared at each other. Then the Ministry wizard addressed Viola in a whiney voice.
"This is your father?" the man said. Viola nodded. "Alright, I'll ask you to take care of them. He's a bit shaken, he was just put under the cruciatis curse for quite a while. Take him back to your tent to get some rest. There'll be portkeys ready to leave by morning."
Viola nodded and moved to take the wizards place supporting her father. Once he was positioned comfortably, they limped back to the tent together.
🦇🦇🦇
The next week at the Weasley home was a hectic one.
After seeing the Dark Mark in the sky, Ginny, Fred and George had hurried back to camp to find Bill, Charlie and Percy already back at the tent. They were all looking pretty scratched up.
"Ginny! Fred! George!" said Charlie, who had a rip in his shirt. "You're alright!"
"Yeah," said Fred. He continued grimly. "Did you see the Mark in the sky?"
All three of the elder Weasley brothers nodded.
"Of course we did," said Bill grimly. He was nursing a bloody arm. "How could we miss it?"
"Where are the others? Aren't they back yet?" Ginny asked, looking around the tent for any sight of Ron, Harry and Hermione.
"We thought they were with you," said Bill, frowning between the three of them.
"We got separated," said George.
"Well that was irresponsible of you," said Percy, in a rather muffled voice. He was pinching his nose with his head leaning back. Blood was edging from it.
"It wasn't our fault!" said Fred, "They were right behind us, and then they weren't."
"You should've gone looking for them," said Percy.
"We were trying to get Ginny out of harms way," argued George.
"Well if you hadn't lost them in the first place-"
"We didn't mean to loose them! I told you, they were right behind us!"
Charlie poked his head out of the tent, "Dad what's going on?" he called, interrupting the twins' and Percy's bickering. "Fred, George, and Ginny got back okay, but the others-"
"I've got them here," Ginny heard her father say.
Ginny's heart filled with relief as her father entered the tent, closely followed by Ron, Harry and Hermione, who all looked unharmed.
"Did you get them, Dad, asked Bill sharply. "The person who conjured the Mark?"
"No," said Arthur.
Then he continued to explain that Barry Crouches house elf had been found in the woods with Harry's wand. He also explained that the green mark in the sky was the mark of You-Know-Who's followers, called the Dark Mark, which hadn't been seen for thirteen years. Then Mr Weasley sent them all to bed with their minds reeling.
Next day everyone was flooding to get a portkey out of camp. Arthur had a hurried discussion with the Portkey administrator, then they joined the cue, and were able to take a rubber tire back to Stoatshead Hill before the sun had really risen.
As soon as they arrived at the Burrow, Ginny saw her mother come rushing out of the house with a copy of the Daily Prophet clutched in hand. The headline read SCENES OF TERROR AT THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP.
Molly came running to greet them all with hugs and kisses.
The following days were very busy for Ginny's dad and Percy. She only ever saw them very late in the evening.
"It's been an absolute uproar," Percy told them the Sunday before they were due to arrive at Hogwarts. "I've been putting out fires all week. People keep sending Howlers, and of course if you don't open a Howler straight away, it explodes. Scorch marks all over my desk and my best quill reduced to cinders."
"Why are they all sending Howlers?" Ginny asked curiously.
She was sitting on the rug by the fire mending her copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi with Spellotape.
"Complaining about security at the World Cup," said Percy. "They want compensation for their ruined property. Mundungus Fletcher's put in a claim for a twelve-bedroomed tent with en-suite Jacuzzi, but I've got his number. I know for a fact he was sleeping under a cloak propped on sticks."
A few days before they left for Hogwarts, Ginny and Hermione took a walk down to the pond a little behind the burrow. Hermione took a seat out of the hot August sun with a book in hand. Wearing huge galoshes that went up to her knees, Ginny went tromping into the pond. She pushed long reeds aside, searching for frogs.
Over head, there was a yell.
"Blimey Ron, do you have any idea what the word aim actually means?"
Shielding her eyes from the sun, Ginny looked up to see Fred hovering over the roof top of the Burrow on a broomstick. All the boys were playing Quidditch.
"Wish they would let me play," huffed Ginny, crossing her arms over her chest as the twin went zooming out of sight.
Hermione looked up from her book. "Do you know how?"
"Of course," said Ginny, "I've been taking each of their brooms out in secrete since I was nine."
"Oh," said Hermione. "And they haven't noticed?"
Ginny shook her head, then looking away from the sky, she resumed her frog hunting.
"You know," said Ginny thoughtfully, as she pounced on a frog with a splash. It hopped away and went swimming through the murky water. "I wonder what is going on at the Ministry. I mean I get that the Dark Mark being sent into the sky was really bad, but how come everyone has to go into work so much? What are they doing there?"
"Well," said Hermione, shutting her book with a thoughtful expression on her face. "I suspect they're trying to find the culprit of the Dark Mark. memories. They are also probably trying to discover if anyone knows the names of the wizards who started the whole mess. And I'm sure they had to erase more than a few muggles memories, and all that in addition to what Percy said about having to replace damaged items and things like that. . . I wonder if they've made any head way with finding the culprit. It makes me furious to think of them accusing that poor little house elf Winky of doing such a thing!"
Ginny wasn't listening anymore. Harry had just dove over the side of the house after an apple. She watched as he snatched the apple up, then emerge from the dive grinning.
"- I just can't believe anyone would treat an elf like that! I mean I understand they aren't human but-"
"Hermione," Ginny interrupted, climbing out of the pond. "Do you fancy anyone?"
At first Hermione looked taken a back like the question. Then she said briskly, "Oh you mean like you fancy Harry?"
Ginny turned red, but said, "Well, yeah."
Hermione shook her head full of bushy hair. "Certainly not. There are much more important things in life than right now than boys."
"How about Ron?" piped up Ginny with a grin.
Hermione turned scarlet. "What?" she said incredulously. "What on earth would make you say such a thing?"
"Well, if you and Ron got married," said Ginny, jumping out of the pond then back into it with a splash, "Then you would be my sister in law!"
"Well, yes," said Hermione, "But this is Ron we're talking about Ginny!"
Ginny scrunched up her face. "True . . . I suppose it would be unkind of me to wish such a fate upon you . . . well . . . You could always marry one of the twins!"
Hermione scoffed. "Never."
"You need to stop being so picky Hermione," laughed Ginny. "How about Bill?"
"No Ginny."
"Percy?"
"No."
"Charlie?"
"No."
"Okay, no one in my family then . . . Harry?"
"No!"
"Oooooh I know!" cried Ginny."Filch!"
Ginny burst in laughter uproariously at the horrified and disgusted look on Hermione's face.