"...And that feint Krum did-- Nina, are you alright there?"
"W-What? Oh, yes. I'm fine."
She could not stop thinking about what had happened earlier at the stadium.
It caught her off-guard when Fred kissed her, realising they had won the bet they had made with Ludo Bagman. Both didn't say a word after it, an awkward silence between them from the shock. Fred was obviously shocked as well and tried to dismiss the fact he had kissed her with a joke, saying "I couldn't kiss George!"
She had no idea how to react or what to say to Fred, so she decided to not do anything at all. Part of her was embarrassed it even happened since it involved one of her best friends.
It didn't mean anything. Forget about it already.
Helena left the group to find Cedric after the game, like she had promised the boy, parting ways with the rest at the entrance of the stadium and losing herself amongst the cheerful crowd, telling them she would be back at the tent.
She was currently with Cedric outside the tent he shared with his father a few feet from the woods, enjoying a warm cup of tea over the campfire they had, talking about the Quidditch game they had witnessed. Mr. Diggory had run off for a bit to catch up with some co-workers, leaving the two surrounded by a big party of Irish folk celebrating their victory.
But Nina had trouble concentrating on the subject and demanded herself to stop thinking about the kiss and move on.
"So... someone lost a bet!" she said smiling wickedly from her cup of tea.
"Damn, I was hoping you'd forget about that," chuckled Cedric scratching the back of his head. "But you're right. A deal is a deal. Here..."
The brunette reached for the pocket inside his jacket and took out a piece of folded paper which turned out to be a picture.
"My most embarrasing photograph I could find," he said handing it to her very slowly, regretting having bet Bulgaria would win the World Cup. "If you show it to anyone--"
"Don't worry! It's safe with me. Wouldn't want to ruin your pretty boy image," Nina winked at him, looking down at the picture.
There was a toddler version of Cedric, maybe 3 or 4 years old, with his signature brown locks and charming smile even at a young age, standing center stage at a play dressed as a cat with a doctor's lab coat on, sporting a red plastic stethoscope around his neck. He had painted whiskers and nose to compliment the costume.
Nina's first reaction was to say "Awww", but then she proceeded by hitting his arm lightly, confusing the Hufflepuff.
"This is adorable! Look at that cute face!" she pointed at the young boy in the picture, showing it to Cedric as if he hadn't seen it before. "Oh my god. And those tiny curls... Cedric, this is not embarrassing at all!"
"Are you kidding me?" laughed the boy at her commentary, "I'm dressed as a doctor cat!"
"Why are you dressed like that?" Nina squinted her eyes to look at the other kids in the picture. "You're the only one dressed as an animal."
Cedric was going slightly pink in the face, smiling to himself, embarrassed of the explanation behind his costume he was about to share.
"We were told to dress up as something we wanted to be when we grow up. And according to my mother, I refused to go on stage unless I was a cat. So... to not stand out from the crowd that much, my mother threw in that doctor's coat and the stethoscope to blend in a bit. But it obviously wasn't enough, I mean... I'm a bloody cat!" he laughed.
"Still... you look so cute!" Nina squealed holding the picture beside her face, giggling like crazy. "This boy is going places."
"Oh, shut up!" Cedric sniggered, pulling her closer to him with one arm and attacked her with kisses on the face.
"Thank goodness I didn't lose the bet," mentioned Helena, staring at the red and orange flames infront of them. "I think you wouldn't want to talk to me afterwards," she laughed nervously.
"It can't be worse than mine?" said Cedric.
Helena playfully narrowed her eyes at him, glaring.
"That was not an embarrassing picture. But I'll accept it," she tucked the photo in the back pocket of her jeans. "No, mine is just missing a caption that says "beware of this child". I guess I wasn't ready to use markers yet."
"Now I want to see it!"
"If only Bulgaria had won, tsk tsk... Too bad, Diggory," mocked Nina, shaking her head as the rainbow headband glowed on top of it.
They finished their tea and shared a blanket together to keep themselves warm as the fire was dying down. Her eyes were getting drowsy and could not help yawning. Even with all the commotion of the Irish celebrating, she was getting sleepy.
"I think it's time to walk you back to your campsite," said Cedric, staring at the tired girl.
Helena agreed it was getting late and wanted to recover some hours of sleep.
They got up from their seats, Nina making sure Cedric's picture was still in her back pocket, and made their way through the people who were still wide awake partying.
"I can't believe I got to be at the World Cup and see-- HEY!"
Nina cried out when a man who was running in a panicked state crashed into her and left, ignoring her completely. If she weren't so tired, it wouldn't have bothered her as much.
"Are you okay?" Cedric commented worried, looking back at the direction where the man went. "Did you see how frightened he looked?"
"Maybe he lost a bet and was running away from people," she said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Maybe."
Suddenly, the celebrating died down followed by an eery loud shriek was heard not so far from where they were, causing both to freeze on their spots and take out their wands. And before they could analize what had happened, a mob of screaming wizards and witches ran in every direction, bumping and shoving them aside. Every single one of them shared the same panicked face as the man that had run into Helena.
"Let's go! Now!" Cedric ordered, taking her hand as they started to run with the crowd.
Neither of them knew what was going on, the screaming and distressed state of the people only making the matter much worse.
Then flashes of light started to appear in different areas, followed by roars of laughter and loud noises like gunfire which started a total chaos all around.
Helena got distracted by the sight of muggles being carried in the air by some mysterious wizards who were having fun doing so, and tripped on a rope holding down one of the tents there. A group of people marched next to her, almost running over her if she hadn't moved. When she got up, Cedric was calling for her but his voice began to fade over the on going mob, and did not know where he had gone to.
"CEDRIC? CEDRIC?!"
Nina started to panic, turning to every direction feeling lost. The screams and children crying were putting her on edge, making it harder to focus or even think straight. She made a run for the woods as the men creating the havoc were nearing to where she was.
Then she collided with someone, knocking the air out of her.
"Fred!"
"I've got you!"
The redhead grabbed her hand in a tight grip, pulling her arm next to him to make sure they wouldn't split. They soon met up with George and Ginny who were just as scared as she was. The four of them dodged and ran as fast as they could towards the woods as many started doing, putting distance between themselves and the rioters.
When the sound of chaos could be barely heard, they stopped their sprint, taking shelter next to a fallen tree. More and more people entered the woods, gathering in groups, trying to find the rest of their party.
"They were torturing muggles!" Ginny exclamed with disbelief, looking towards the campsite where they had come from.
"Where's...everyone...else?" Helena panted, clutching her side, staring back at three of the Weasleys.
"Don't know--"
"--Lost them a before we found you," explained Fred. "Are you hurt?"
"N-No," Nina replied, still shaken by everything. "Probably bruised, but nothing serious. I... lost Cedric-- Are you guys okay?"
A flash of green illuminated the dark sky, casting a massive shadow on the ground from the tree line. Then, a skull made out of a thick mist of neon green was cast over the campsite, and a snake passed through the mouth of it, twisting in the air.
"What is t-that?" Ginny asked, staring at it like everyone else was.
The Dark Mark.
At that moment, Mr. Weasley came into view, spotting the four of them huddled together.
"Thank goodness you're alright!" Mr. Weasley sighed with relief. "Back to the tent, all of you. I'm going to look for Ron, Harry and Hermione. The Ministry has sent Aurors."
"Dad, what's going on?" asked George.
"No time to explain. Tent. Now!"
They were rushed back to the now quiet campsite, the commotion having ended after the Dark Mark had been cast in the sky. The people who could, were Disapparating out of there. Some families took shelter back in their tents now that the culprits were nowhere to be found. And those who had been quick, took the nearest Portkeys to leave.
"Nina, umm... about the kiss, I--"
"It's okay, Fred. Forget about it."
Helena didn't mean to cut him off like that, but she did not want to talk about it now, or maybe ever.
She was not sure.
"Who's there?!" the voice of Bill was heard inside the tent when they reached it.
"It's us!" the twins said together.
They walked inside to meet the eldest Weasleys. Bill was sitting on the kitchen table with a piece of cloth held ocer his arm, which was stained with blood. Charlie had a rip on his shirt and Percy had a bloody nose.
Bill informed them they would have to wait for theirs since everyone wanted one, and the Ministry was trying to organize the whole thing as fast as they could.
"Gonna be hard to top the next World Cup, eh?" joked Fred to ease the tension.
"Really, Fred?" said Ginny annoyed.
Charlie then walked up to the entrance of the tent, having heard his father's voice.
"Dad, what's going on?" he called. "Fred, George, Nina and Ginny got back okay, but the others--"
"I've got them here," said Mr. Weasley, bending down and entering the tent. Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered after him.
"Did you get them, Dad?" said Bill sharply. "The person who conjured the Mark?"
"No," said Mr. Weasley. "We found Barty Crouch's elf holding Harry's wand, but we're none the wiser about who actually conured the Mark."
"What?" said Bill, Charlie, and Percy together.
"Mr. Crouch's elf?" said Percy, sounding thunderstruck.
"Harry's wand?" said Fred and Helena at the same time.
"This is the second time you two do that," George whispered.
With the help of Harry, Ron and Hermione, they explained what had happened to them after they also reached the woods for safety. Apparently, Barty Crouch's elf, Winky, had taken Harry's wand to hand it to the person who conjured the Dark Mark. The Aurors who got to the scene had accused the house elf of doing it, since Winky had been caught holding the wand.
The wizards who had tormented those poor muggles and started chaos around the campsite were rumored to be Death Eaters, and Disapparated at the sight of the skull and snake in the sky.
"So...whoever conjured the Dark Mark..." said Hermione slowly, "were they doing it to show support for the Death Eaters, or to scare them away?"
"Your guess is as good as ours, Hermione," said Mr. Weasley. "But I'll tell you this...it was only the Death Eaters who ever knew how to conjure it. I'd be very surprised if the person who did it hadn't been a Death Eater once, even if they're not now....Listen, it's very late, and if your mother hears what's happened she'll be worried sick. We'll get a few more hours sleep and then try and get an early Portkey out of here."
Everyone obeyed Mr. Weasley and went to their beds, exhaustion catching up to them. Helena's head started to hurt and was having trouble trying to clear her mind so she could doze off. She tossed and turned in her bed, changing sleeping positions until she drifted to sleep eventually.
The thoughts that Nina had managed to shut down, seeped into her dreams. Images of gold rain pouring down at her, cups of tea under a green sky, and a redheaded boy smiling right next to her.
.
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a/n :)))))))
My, my... that kiss will develop a storm *insert evil laughter*
Okay so there is bound to be drama in this story, but not TOO much drama, you know? A healthy realistic dose lol
Thanks for reading :)