"There's people attacking the camp!" Amisty shouted, pushing through the opening of tent.
Hermione and Ginny clearly understood the severity of the situation now, as the sounds of drunken yelling and laughter and insults much louder than they had been before, and the screams much more prominent as more people became aware of what was happening.
"Just put on jackets, there's no time!" She yelled, scared out of her mind for reasons she didn't quite understand.
The situation felt too familiar, too much like something she had experienced before.
"Amisty, you need to calm down," Hermione, her jacket already on, hurried toward her, holding up the wrist with the bracelet.
It was glowing gold.
"I know, I know," She breathed, trying to calm herself down. "I don't know what's wrong."
The gold faded slightly, even though the color still pulsed occasionally with each spike in her pulse.
The three of them headed outside to find that the small silhouettes of the group had gotten much closer in the little time they had been inside their tents.
Now that they were closer, Amisty felt a cold shiver down her spine at the sight. They were definitely all wizards, wands pointed up as they marched across the field. Masks covered their faces, keeping their identities a secret.
There was another flash, this one bright green, that illuminated the four horrid scene further.
Two seemed to be children, the others adults struggling against the magical bonds moving them without their consent.
Every now and then more wizards would join the crowd, laughing and pointing at the captives. Tents fell and were trampled, a few being blasted out of the way by spells and catching fire as the screams steadily grew in volume.
Her hands flew to her mouth when the flames lit up the faces of the people.
It was Mr. Roberts, the campsite manager whom they had spoken to earlier that day. So that must mean the other three were his wife and children. One of the marchers flipped Mrs. Roberts upside down, her nightdress falling and exposing her drawers.
She tried desperately to cover herself up as the crowd below hooted and laughed.
"That's sick. That is really sick..." Ron's familiar reached her ears and she forced herself to move forward, swallowing the bile in her mouth.
The youngest child was spinning like a top now, his head limp.
She almost fell into Harry, her eyes squeezed shut as she tried to erase the sight in front of her.
"Amisty, Amisty, you're okay, you're okay," He whispered, wrapping his arms around her tight.
"We're going to help the Ministry! You lot -- get into the woods, and stick together. I'll come fetch you when we've sorted this out!" Mr. Weasley shouted over to them.
She looked up, spotting Charlie, Bill, and Percy all fully dressed, wands drawn and sleeves rolled up.
"C'mon," Fred grabbed Ginny's hand and led the way toward the woods.
Harry gently pushed Amisty away from him, only a few steps behind as Hermione joined her and started to guide her behind them.
They looked back once they reached the trees, seeing that the crowd had grown and a group of Ministry wizards were struggling to break through.
As they fought their way through the woods Amisty was having trouble keeping her sanity. There were dark figures pushing through the branches and trees, children were crying, voices and shouts attacked her ears, people ramming into her and almost knocking her to the ground.
And then Ron screamed and she nearly broke into tears.
"What happened? Ron, where are you?" Hermione asked worriedly. "Oh this is stupid -- Lumos!"
The light of her wand illuminated Ron, who was lying on the ground, "Tripped over a tree root."
"Well, with feet that size, hard not to," A familiar, but this time cold and distant, voice remarked.
Harry shoved Amisty behind him, to which she was relieved.
She was not in a good place.
Peeking under his arm, she caught sight of the boy she had become somewhat friends with.
Malfoy was leaning against a tree, arms folded and not looking at all concerned with what was happening.
Ron replied with something very rude and very vulgar.
"Language, Weasley. Hadn't you better be hurrying along, now?" His silver gaze drifted over to where Hermione was standing. "You wouldn't like her spotted, would you?"
Amisty grit her teeth, but the sparse amount of bravery and anger she felt at that dissipated the second a blast echoed through the trees, a wash of green light spreading over them all for a split second.
She stifled a whimper with her hand.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked sharply.
"Granger, they're after Muggles. D'you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Because if you do, hang around... they're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh," Malfoy replied.
The bracelet was glowing again.
"Hermione's a witch," Harry growled.
"Have it your own way, Potter. If you think they can't spot a Mudblood, stay where you are," Malfoy countered.
The bracelet glowed brighter.
"You watch your mouth!" Ron snarled, stepping forward.
"Never mind, Ron," Hermione grabbed him, pulling the fuming redhead backward.
Amisty barely kept her scream concealed at the next bang, a few people nearby doing it for her as she trembled.
Malfoy laughed quietly, "Scare easily, don't they? I suppose your daddy told you all to hide? What's he up to -- trying to rescue the Muggles?"
"Where're your parents? Out there wearing masks, are they?" Harry snapped back.
"Well... if they were, I wouldn't be likely to tell you, would I, Potter?" He replied, smiling faintly.
"Oh come on, let's go and find the others," Hermione threw a disgusted look over her shoulder at Malfoy.
"Keep that big bushy head down, Granger," Malfoy sneered.
"Come on," Hermione grabbed both of the boys' arms, dragging them onto the path once more.
Amisty followed along, trying to steady her breathing as she struggled between terror and fury.
Never a good combination.
"I'll bet you anything his dad is one of that masked lot!" Ron growled.
"Well, with any luck, the Ministry will catch him!" Hermione replied just as hotly. "Oh I can't believe this. Where have the others got to?"
The rest of the Weasley's were nowhere in sight, even with the path covered in people.
There was a group of teenagers a few feet away, all arguing. When they spotted the four of them, one with pretty curly hair turned toward them.
"Où est Madame Maxine? Nous l'avons perdue -- " She asked hurriedly, her eyes wide.
"Er -- what?" Ron asked quizzically, not understanding her any better than they had.
"Oh..." She turned her back to them, looking vaguely disappointed. "'Ogwarts."
"Beauxbatons," Hermione murmured.
"Sorry?" Harry asked.
"They must go to Beauxbatons. You know... Beauxbatons Academy of Magic... I read about it in An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe," Hermione explained.
"Oh... yeah... right," Harry nodded.
"Fred and George can't have gone that far," Ron groaned, pulling out his wand and lighting it. Amisty, even though her hands were shaking, pulling out her own wand and illuminated it, acutely aware of how her bracelet was brighter than the light at the tip of it.
"Ah, no, I don't believe it... I've lost my wand!" Harry exclaimed, digging through his pockets.
"You're kidding!" Ron muttered, eyes wide. They cast the light from their wands over the ground, searching. "Maybe it's back in the tent."
"Maybe it fell out of your pocket when we were running?" Hermione offered, her voice stressed.
"Yeah, maybe..." Harry replied, but he didn't sound very convinced or reassured.
There was a rustling nearby, and Winky the house-elf pushed through the bushes as if she were on an invisible leash.
"There is bad wizards about! People high -- high in the air! Winky is getting out of the way!" She gasped, scrambling to push through the path and disappearing into the trees.
"What's up with her? Why can't she run properly?" Ron asked, looking over to where the house-elf had disappeared.
"Bet she didn't ask permission to hide," Harry replied.
"You know, house-elves get a very raw deal! It's slavery, that's what it is! That Mr. Crouch made her go up to the top of the stadium, and she was terrified, and he's got her bewitched so she can't even run when they start trampling tents! Why doesn't anyone do something about it?" Hermione spat.
"Well, the elves are happy, aren't they? You heard old Winky back at the match... 'House-elves is not supposed to have fun'... that's what she likes, being bossed around..." Ron replied calmly.
"It's people like you, Ron, who prop up rotten and unjust systems, just because they're too lazy to -- " She began.
This time Amisty couldn't keep the tiny cry that escaped her mouth at the loud bang that cut Hermione off.
"Let's just keep moving, shall we?" Ron suggested, his gaze flickering briefly to Amisty and then Hermione as Harry took a minuscule step closer to the raven-haired girl.
She had a feeling Ron knew there was some truth to what Malfoy had said about Hermione being in more danger than the rest of them.
"Amisty, what's wrong?" Harry asked quietly as they passed by a group of goblins cackling over a bag of gold, unbothered by the commotion.
"I don't know... it's just too familiar, I don't know how..." She whispered back, her voice shaking slightly.
"Is it something about your parents?" He had hesitated before he spoke, knowing that it was a difficult topic for both of them.
She had told him the story of Haven and Echo before the Weasleys had come to take them to the Burrow.
"I-I think so," She replied.
"It's not the same anymore, Am, the Ministry can handle this. No one's going to get hurt this time, you're safe here," He reassured her gently.
"For real?" She asked, looking up at him.
"For real," He nodded.
She smiled faintly, the golden glow fading slightly as her fear dwindled. As they kept walking, there was a patch of mystical silver light splashed across the clearing, and as they drew closer they spotted three tall veela standing surrounded by wizards.
"I pull down about a hundred sacks of Galleons a year! I'm a dragon killer for the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures."
"No, you're not! You're a dishwasher at the Leaky Cauldron... but I'm a vampire hunter, I've killed about ninety so far -- "
"I'm about to become the youngest-ever Minister of Magic, I am!"
They were all shouting things that were obviously not true in an attempt to impress the veela.
Harry snorted quietly.
And then Ron yelled, "Did I tell you I've invented a broomstick that'll reach Jupiter?"
"Honestly!" Hermione groaned, rolling her eyes, grabbing the boy's' arms, and spinning around and away.
Now, as the voices of the veela and their admirers faded away, they had reached the heart of the woods. It was much quieter, and Amisty felt much better away from all the noise and the reassurances from Harry.
"I reckon we can just wait here, you know. We'll hear anyone coming a mile off," Harry offered, looking around.
Just then, Mr. Bagman burst through the trees, looking very pale and stressed.
"Who's that? What are you doing in here, all alone?" He asked, peering at them through the darkness.
They all exchanged confused glances.
Was he not there at the beginning of everything?
"Well -- there's a sort of riot going on," Ron replied.
"What?" Mr. Bagman stared at them all.
"At the campsite... some people have got hold of a family of Muggles..." Ron explained.
Mr. Bagman swore loudly, "Damn them!"
And then he Disapparated.
"Not exactly on top of things, Mr. Bagman, is he?" Hermione commented, frowning at the place where he had disappeared.
"He was a great Beater, though. The Wimbourne Wasps won the league three times in a row while he was with them," Ron replied, sitting down on a patch of grass at the foot of a tree.
He took out his Krum figurine, watching it was it walked around on the ground.
"I hope the others are okay," Hermione commented quietly.
"They'll be fine," Ron replied calmly.
"Imagine if your dad catches Lucius Malfoy. He's always said he'd like to get something on him," Harry took a seat down next to Ron.
"That'd wipe the smirk off old Draco's face, all right," Ron grinned faintly.
"I hope they find him, knock his ego down a bit," Amisty nodded.
"Those poor Muggles, though. What if they can't get them down?" Hermione fretted.
"They will. They'll find a way," Ron soothed.
"Mad, though, to do something like that when the whole Ministry of Magic's out here tonight! I mean, how do they expect to get away with it? Do you think they've been drinking, or are they just -- " Hermione began, but Amisty cut her off as she held a hand.
Her ears picked up a faint sound of stumbling footsteps. But as soon as they stopped talking, they had stopped.
"Hello?" She called out, her voice echoing eerily in the quiet clearing.
She got no reply.
Harry got to his feet, peering into the darkness
"Who's there?" He asked suspiciously.
And then, out of nowhere, a voice that they'd never heard before shouted a word that froze Amisty to her core.
"MORSMORDRE!"
"Run, Noel, run! Get her out of here!"
Tendrils of bright green shot out from the direction of the voice, flying over the treetops and into the night air.
"What the -- " Ron gasped, leaping to his feet.
A massive skull with a serpent spilling from its mouth had just formed in the air, rising slowly surrounded by green smoke.
The Dark Mark.