"You oughta make the front page for that!" Draco said excitedly as we made our way back to the tent in the large crowd with boisterous singing on either side of us. Vincent and Greg already followed their parents back to their own tent.
"Oh, please," I said, rolling my eyes. "I only fixed his nose. It's not that big a deal!"
"Melody, he'll probably trust you if he gets hurt again!" he said.
"What's the point of gaining his trust if I'm not going to be around him?" I asked.
"He'll be around Hogwarts this year. Did you know he goes to Durmstrang?" he asked.
"No, I didn't know that... but what does that have to do with him being at Hogwarts? What for, anyway?"
"The Durmstrang and Beauxbatons schools will be coming to Hogwarts for the year..." he gave a dramatic pause, as though building up to a fantastic reveal.
I waited for the rest of his sentence another minute until I concluded that he wanted me to ask, "Okay.... Why?"
"They're going to host the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts this year! I thought you'd know!"
"As far as I knew, there was supposed to be a surprise for students. Since you just revealed it to me, it does sorta make sense..." I said softly.
The Triwizard Tournament hadn't been done for years because of the large number of deaths that occurred. I had read a bit about them; there were three different tasks for one student from each participating school to face. Whoever won got a thousand Galleons in prize money, and the Triwizard Cup for their school.
"Well, I can't wait for this year! Hopefully it will take up so much time that we don't have to do schoolwork."
"Really?" I asked in exasperation. "What is the point of going to school this year if we aren't going to learn anything, Draco?"
"We'll be learning a lot just by watching the three wizards go through the challenges! We'll know what not to do in a similar situation."
I rolled my eyes.
"And we're expected to attend every challenge so don't even think about skipping out!"
"As if anyone would even notice that I'm not there," I snapped. "I could be completely exempt from everything."
"Snape would most certainly notice."
"Oh, please," I said with a barely suppressed sigh. "He could let it slide."
"And let you miss all the fun?" Draco grinned. "No way!"
Once we got back to the tent, Draco took out his Nimbus 2001 and flew around for quite a while, trying to look like Viktor Krum. He wasn't as nimble on his broom as Viktor had been, however, but I amusedly watched him fly around.
The moment he got bored enough to dismount, I was in front of him with the cards splayed out in my hands. "Ready for a few rounds?"
"Yes, please play with us!" a Nine of Spades pleaded.
"I order you to play!" a King of Diamonds demanded.
Draco's lips thinned at the sight of them, "I don't know... I've never really liked cards. They get annoying."
A Queen of Hearts gasped in dismay, "How dare you? Off with his head!"
I couldn't help but laugh at the outburst, that and Draco's pointed look between me and the cards. "Think of it this way — they're rather entertaining. They can't do anything, really, besides talk a lot of crap."
"Like I said. Annoying."
I opened my mouth in retort, but then thought better of it and closed my mouth with a nod. As I evened the cards out and returned them to their box, I noticed Draco staring at me intently.
"No," he asserted, "what was that? What were you going to say?"
"Hm? Oh nothing," I said innocently, gently placing the cards inside my bag before beginning to walk out of the room.
"You were going to say something. Go on, spit it out," he said, quickly standing between me and the doorway.
I grinned, attempting to squeeze past him only for him to stab a hand into my side causing me to laugh uncontrollably. "Haha, stop! Stop tickling me!"
"Not until you tell me what you were going to say!" From his sadistic grin, I could tell he was enjoying this.
"Okay — okay — haha, stop!" I finally pushed his hands away, massaging my sides with a few added giggles. "Ohh, I hate Marcus right now for telling you I'm ticklish."
Draco chuckled, "And it'll happen again unless you tell me what you were about to say!"
I backed up a bit, laughing lightly as I said, "Fine.. I was about to say that you're a fine one to talk about the cards being annoying for talking a lot of crap.... You do it on the regular to other people without the defensive skills to back yourself up when they attack you. Especially to Gryff — hey!"
I had to dodge out of the way as he lunged at me with outstretched hands, aiming yet again for my sides.
I pointed at him, "You only said you'd tickle me unless I told you. And I just told you."
"That was before I realized it was an insult."
"Of course it was an insult! That's why I had decided not to..." I let my sentence trail off as Lucius entered the room with barely contained excitement on his face. I noticed he held something silvery in his hand. "What's that, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Do you two want to watch or join?" he held up a skull mask. "Some friends of ours have come up with the plan to scare those unwanted Mudbloods just for a bit of fun. Crabbe and Goyle's sons have decided to take part."
Draco glanced at me before answering, "I'll sit this out. It'll be more exciting to watch everyone run away.
This is sick, I thought as I looked between the two of them. Of course I don't want to join in... but would I really prefer to watch? Well.. Draco is being thoughtful enough to me not to join in, and it'd be suspicious to Lucius if I said to take me home. I gave a shrug and said, "I'll watch with Draco."
Lucius gave a smirk and nodded in response.
So we were led out of the tent to walk off the campgrounds. Lucius had to promise me that he'd send our stuff home first — since he mentioned something about setting fire to everything — so that I knew I'd have my belongings to take back home. I was not about to lose the gifts I had bought.
"We can't tell Becky about this," Draco whispered in my ear as we walked.
"She'll read about it in the papers," I replied, feeling a knot form in my stomach.
"Not that we watched –"
"I got it, I got it," I said, slapping my hand over his mouth. "Now please shut up."
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Later on, Draco and I stood out by the edge of the woods – knowing the wizards and Muggles would use it as an escape. The screams started – fires were made – wizards and witches all ran into the woods for safety. Draco didn't hide from any of them, rather stood out in the open actively showing his enjoyment as he leaned against a tree. I sat hidden behind said tree – sickened by the terrified looks on their faces.
I saw from a distance the crowd of wizards with the masks on their faces – the Deatheaters – with their wands in the air, laughing as they levitated a Muggle family up above them like marionettes. The Deatheaters blasted tents out of their way, several catching fire. The screaming grew louder.
We saw the twins, Ginny, Harry, Ron, and Hermione run toward us. Draco smirked knowingly at me.
"Will you leave them alone?" I whispered.
"And miss a perfect opportunity? No way!"
I groaned, laying my head in my hands. "Forget I asked."
Ron yelled with pain as he fell over. Hermione stopped so abruptly that Harry ran into her. Fred, George, and Ginny continued sprinting past.
"What happened?" she asked anxiously. "Ron, where are you? Oh this is stupid – lumos!"
Her wand illuminated, and she directed it across the path. Ron lay sprawled on the ground, a scowl on his face.
"Tripped over a tree root," he said angrily, getting to his feet again.
"Well, with feet that size, hard not to," Draco drawled. The three of them turned to look at him sharply.
While Ron told Draco to do something, I poked my head around the tree to look at Hermione. She saw me and I mouthed to her, 'Go!' She nodded and mouthed back, 'Are you okay?' I nodded, 'I'm sorry about this!'
"Language, Weasley," Draco said. "Hadn't you better be hurrying along, now? You wouldn't like her spotted, would you?" He nodded at Hermione. At that same moment, a blast like a bomb sounded from the campsite, and a flash of green light momentarily lit the trees around us.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked defiantly.
"Granger, they're after –" I kicked him in the leg, so he said, "– 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."
"Hermione's a witch," Harry snarled at him.
"Have it your way, Potter. If you think they can't spot a Mudblood –" I kicked him again, but I was too late, "– stay where you are."
"You watch your mouth!" Ron shouted angrily.
"Never mind, Ron," Hermione said quickly, seizing Ron's arm to restrain him as he took a step toward Draco.
A bang came from the other side of the trees that was louder than anything else that had happened. Several people screamed and Draco chuckled softly.
"Scare easily, don't they? I suppose your daddy told you all to hide? What's he up to – trying to rescue the Muggles?" Draco asked. Finally! I thought, having been ready to kick him again.
"Where're your parents?" Harry asked. I could feel his temper rising the more Draco talked so relaxedly. "Out there wearing masks, are they?"
"Well... if they were, I wouldn't be likely to tell you, would I, Potter?"
"Oh come on," Hermione said, shooting Draco a disgusted look, "let's go and find the others."
"Keep that big bushy head down, Granger," Draco sneered.
"Come on," Hermione repeated, pulling Harry and Ron up the path with surprising strength.
I kicked Draco once more.
"Stop kicking me!" he finally snapped.
"Oh, just reminding you not to curse so horribly at terrified people next time," I said lightly.
Draco grumbled softly to himself.
As more wizards ran into the woods, I closed my eyes and leaned my back comfortably against the tree.
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Harry, Ron, and Hermione were walking down the path when they came across packs of people on the path, all looking over their shoulders nervously toward the commotion at the campsite. A huddle of teenagers in pajamas were arguing vociferously a little way along the path. When they saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione; a girl with thick curly hair turned and said quickly, "Où est Madame Maxime? Nous l'avons perdue –"
"Er – what?" Ron asked.
"Oh..." The girl who spoke turned her back on them, and as they walked on they distinctly heard her say, "'Ogwarts."
"Beauxbatons," Hermione muttered to Harry and Ron.
"Sorry?" said Harry.
"They must go to Beauxbatons," she said. "You know... Beauxbatons Academy of Magic... I read about it in An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe."
"Oh... yeah... right," Harry said, not really understanding what she said.
"Fred and George can't have gone that far," Ron said, pulling out his wand and lighting it to squint up the path. Harry dug around in the pockets of his jacket, but his eyes went wide and he checked them more fervently.
"Ah, no, I don't believe it... I've lost my wand!"
"You're kidding!"
Ron and Hermione raised their wands higher to spread the narrow beams of light father on the ground. Harry looked everywhere around him, but couldn't see where his wand had gone.
"Maybe it's back in the tent," Ron said.
"Maybe it fell out of your pocket when we were running?" Hermione suggested.
"Yeah, maybe..." Harry said uncertainly.
A rustling noise nearby made all three of them jump. A house-elf wearing a tea towel was fighting her way out of a clump of bushes nearby. She was moving in a peculiar fashion with strained difficulty, an invisible someone trying to hold her back. Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't know there was an invisible person, the break in the air unnoticed.
"There is bad wizards about!" she squeaked distractedly as she leaned forward, laboring to keep running. "People high – high in the air! Winky is getting out of the way!"
The elf named Winky disappeared into the trees on the other side of the path, panting and squeaking as she fought hard against the force restraining her.
"What's up with her?" Ron asked, looking after her curiously. "Why can't she run properly?"
"Bet she didn't ask permission to hide," Harry said.
"You know, house-elves get a very raw deal!" Hermione said indignantly. "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?"
"Well, the elves are happy, aren't they?" Ron said indifferently. "You heard old Winky back at the match... 'House-elves is not supposed to have fun'... that's what she likes, being bossed around...."
Hermione was hot with fury at him, "It's people like you, Ron, who prop up rotten and unjust systems, just because they're too lazy to –"
Another loud bang echoed from the edge of the woods. Ron seemed glad it cut her off.
"Let's just keep moving, shall we?" Ron said, glancing edgily at Hermione.
They followed the dark path deeper into the woods. They passed a group of goblins who were cackling over a sack of gold that they won betting on the match, and who didn't notice what horrors were going on at the campsite. Farther along the path, they walked into a path of silvery light and looked through the trees to see three tall and beautiful veela standing in a clearing, surrounded by a gaggle of young wizards, all of whom talked to them rather loudly.
"I pull down about a hundred sacks of Galleons a year!" one shouted. "I'm a dragon killer for the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures."
"No, you're not!" his friend yelled. "You're a dishwasher at the Leaky Cauldron.... but I'm a vampire hunter, I've killed about ninety so far –"
A third young wizard, with pimples strongly visible in the light of the veela, cut in, "I'm about to become the youngest ever Minister of Magic, I am."
Harry snorted with laughter, recognizing the young man, and turned to Ron to say something. Ron's face, however, had gone oddly slack and in the next second he yelled out, "Did I tell you I've invented a broomstick that'll reach Jupiter?"
"Honestly!" Hermione said. She and Harry grabbed Ron firmly by the arms and dragged him away. By the time the sounds of the veela and their admirers faded away, they were in the heart of the woods and Ron had gotten control of himself again. They seemed to be alone now, everything being much quieter.
Harry looked around, "I reckon we can just wait here, you know. We'll hear anyone coming a mile off."
The words barely came out of his mouth when Ludo Bagman emerged from a tree just ahead of them. There was a great change in the man's demeanor. He was no longer an excited child-like man with a rosy face. He looked white and strained.
"Who's that?" he asked, squinting and blinking at them to make out their faces. "What are you doing in here, all alone?"
They looked at each other in surprise.
"Well – there's a sort of riot going on," Ron said.
Ludo stared at him in shock, "What?"
"At the campsite... some people have got hold of a family of Muggles...."
Ludo swore loudly, looking distracted, "Damn them!" Without another word, he Disapparated.
"Not exactly on top of things, Mr. Bagman, is he?" Hermione asked with a frown.
"He was a great Beater, though," Ron said, leading the way off the path into a small clearing and sitting down on a patch of dry grass at the foot of the tree. "The Wimbourne Wasps won the league three times in a row while he was with them."
He took a small figure of Viktor Krum out of his pocket, set it down on the ground, and watched it walk around. Like Viktor Krum, the model was slightly duck-footed and round-shouldered, much less of an impressive person on his feet than on a broom.
After a while, Hermione said, "I hope the others are okay."
"They'll be fine," Ron said.
"Imagine if your dad catches Lucius Malfoy," Harry said, sitting down next to Ron and watching the figure of Viktor slouch over the fallen leaves. "He's always said he'd like to get something on him."
"That'd wipe the smirk off old Draco's face, all right."
"Those poor Muggles, though," Hermione said nervously. "What if they can't get them down?"
"They will," Ron told her reassuringly. "They'll find a way."
"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 –"
She broke off abruptly and looked over her shoulder, Harry and Ron looked quickly around too. Some number of feet away, Winky the house-elf fell over and a man threw an Invisibility Cloak off of himself. He had straw-colored hair, and sported a crazed look on his face – he hushed Winky and took out a wand.
Not one of them could see what was happening.
"Hello?" Harry called out.
The man glanced at him and then back up at the sky, a mad grin lingering on his face.
"Who's there?"
The man shot the wand into the air and shouted, "Morsmordre!"
Something vast, green, and glittering erupted from the wand, flying above the treetops into the sky.
"What the –" Ron gasped, springing to his feet, staring up at what had appeared.
It was a large emerald skull with a serpent protruding from the mouth like a tongue. It rose higher and higher, blazing in a haze of greenish smoke.
The woods all around them erupted with screams and Winky threw the Invisibility Cloak over the man and hugged around where his legs were. She snapped her fingers and the wand appeared in her hand, she strained against the movement of the man attempting to escape.
"Let me go, Winky," the man hissed softly. "I — must — return to him."
Winky gave no response but to hold him there as long as possible.
"Who's there?" Harry called out again, beginning to walk in the direction of the shout.
"Harry, come on, move!" Hermione yelled, seizing the collar of his shirt and dragging him backward.
"What's the matter?" Harry asked in surprise, looking at the terrified look on her face.
"It's the Dark Mark, Harry! You-Know-Who's sign!"
"Voldemort's –?"
"Harry, come on!"
Ron hurriedly scooped up his Viktor Krum figure and the three of them started to cross the clearing, but before they even took a few hurried steps, there were a series of popping noises all around them.
Harry whirled around, noticing all the wands that were pointing at them, and unhesitatingly yelled, "Duck!" He seized Ron and Hermione and pulled them down to the ground with him.
"Stupefy!" twenty voices roared. The spells went over the three of them, but quite a number hit Winky and the unknown man. They fell over with a thud that no one heard over the shouting of many more spells.
"Stop!" a voice yelled. It was Arthur Weasley. "Stop! That's my son!"
Harry rolled over as Arthur Weasley strode toward them, looking terrified. "Ron – Harry – Hermione – are you all right?" His voice sounded shaky.
"Out of the way, Arthur," a cold, curt voice said. It was Barty Crouch. He and other Ministry wizards closed in on them. Mr. Crouch's face was contorted with rage. "Which of you did it? Which of you conjured the Dark Mark?"
"We didn't do that!" Harry said, gesturing up at the Mark.
"We didn't do anything!" Ron said indignantly, looking at his father and rubbing his elbow. "What did you want to attack us for?"
"Do not lie, sir!" Mr. Crouch shouted, his wand pointed directly at Ron. His eyes looked as if they wanted to pop out of his head, and he looked as mad as the man who really cast the spell not too far away. "You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!"
"Barty," a witch whispered, wearing a long woolen dressing gown, "they're kids, Barty, they'd never have been able to –"
"Where did the Mark come from, you three?" Mr. Weasley said quickly.
"Over there," Hermione pointed at the clearing, her voice shaky. "There was someone behind the trees... they shouted words – an incantation –"
Mr. Crouch didn't hide his disbelief, "Oh, stood over there, did they? Said an incantation, did they? You seem very well informed about how that Mark is summoned, missy –"
Mr. Crouch was the only Ministry member who seemed to think it was them. The other Ministry members now pointed their wands in the direction Hermione had indicated, all squinting through the trees.
"We're too late," the same witch said. "They'll have Disapparated."
"I don't think so," said a wizard with a scrubby brown beard. "Our stunners went right through those trees.... There's a good chance we got them...."
"Amos, be careful!" a few wizards told him warningly. Amos squared his shoulders, raised his wand, marched through the clearing, and disappeared from their view into the darkness. He made his way to where Winky was laying stunned, not noticing the invisible body next to her.
"Yes! We got them! There's someone here! Unconscious! It's – but – blimey..."
"You've got someone?" Mr. Crouch shouted in disbelief. "Who? Who is it?"
Amos picked Winky up, taking the wand out of her hand and walked back to the crowd of wizards. When everyone saw who it was, Mr. Crouch didn't move or speak as Amos deposited Winky on the ground at his feet. The other Ministry wizards stared at Mr. Crouch who – for a few seconds – remained there, staring transfixed at his house-elf. He suddenly seemed to come to life again.
"This – cannot – be. No –" he said jerkily, moving quickly around Amos and striding off toward the place where Winky had been found.
"No point, Mr. Crouch," Amos called after him. "There's no one else there."
Mr. Crouch bent down and poked around until he found the invisible man. He took the Invisibility Cloak off to reveal his face and his own became ghostly white, his mustache started twitching. "Damn it, why did it have to be now?" he muttered to the stunned young man.
"Bit embarrassing," Amos said grimly in the background. "Barty Crouch's house-elf... I mean to say..."
"Come off it, Amos," Arthur said quietly, "you don't seriously think it was the elf? The Dark Mark's a wizard's sign. It requires a wand."
"Yeah," Amos said, "and she had a wand."
"What?" Arthur asked.
"Here, look." Amos held up the wand to show it to Arthur. "Had it in her hand. So that's clause three of the Code of Wand Use broken, for a start. No non-human creature is permitted to carry or use a wand."
Mr. Crouch threw the Invisibility Cloak over his son again, and started walking back, his hands twitching as well.
A pop sounded. "The Dark Mark!" the man panted. It was Ludo's voice. "Who did it? Did you catch them? Barty! What's going on?"
Mr. Crouch had arrived into the clearing once more.
"Where have you been, Barty?" Ludo asked. "Why weren't you at the match? Your elf was saving you a seat too – gulping gargoyles!" He had just noticed Winky lying at his feet. "What happened to her?"
"I have been busy, Ludo," Mr. Crouch said, barely moving his lips but talking in the same jerky fashion. "And my elf has been stunned."
"Stunned? By you lot, you mean? But why –?"
Comprehension suddenly dawned on his face. He looked from the Mark to Winky and then to Mr. Crouch.
"No! Winky? Conjure the Dark Mark? She wouldn't know how! She'd need a wand, for a start!"
"And she had one," Amos said. "I found her holding one, Ludo. If it's all right with you, Mr. Crouch, I think we should hear what she's got to say for herself."
Mr. Crouch didn't look as though he'd heard Amos, who merely took it as a yes.
He raised his wand, pointed it at Winky, and said, "Ennervate!"
Winky slowly stirred, her great brown eyes opened and she blinked several times, not yet noticing everyone around her. She raised herself shakily into a sitting position. She first caught sight of Amos's feet, and slowly, tremulously, raised her eyes up to stare into his face. Even more slowly, she looked up into the sky and gave a gasp, looking around the crowded clearing, and burst into terrified sobs.
"Elf!" Amos said sternly. "Do you know who I am? I'm a member of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures!"
She began to rock backward and forward on the ground, her breath coming in sharp bursts.
"As you see, elf, the Dark Mark was conjured here a short while ago. And you were discovered moments later, right beneath it! An explanation, if you please!"
"I – I – I is not doing it, sir!" she gasped in terror. "I is not knowing how, sir!"
"You were found with a wand in your hand!" Amos barked, brandishing it in front of her.
"Hey –" Harry said suddenly as he stared at the wand "— that's mine!"
"Excuse me?" Amos asked incredulously.
"That's my wand! I dropped it!"
"You dropped it?" Amos repeated in disbelief. "Is this a confession? You threw it aside after you conjured the Mark?"
Arthur angrily told him, "Amos, think who you're talking to! Is Harry Potter likely to conjure the Dark Mark?"
"Er – of course not," Amos mumbled in embarrassment. "Sorry... carried away..."
"I didn't drop it there, anyway," Harry said, jerking his thumb toward the clearing where the Mark was cast. "I missed it right after we got into the woods."
"So," Amos said, turning to Winky again. "You found this wand, eh, elf? And you picked it up and thought you'd have some fun with it, did you?"
"I is not doing magic with it, sir!" Winky squealed, in tears. "I is... I is... I is just picking it up, sir! I is not making the Dark Mark, sir, I is not knowing how!"
"It wasn't her!" Hermione said, nervous but determined. "Winky's got a squeaky little voice, and the voice we heard doing the incantation was much deeper!" She looked to Harry and Ron for some support. "It didn't sound anything like Winky, did it?"
"No," Harry said, shaking his head. "It didn't sound like an elf."
"Yeah, it was a human voice," Ron said.
Amos looked as though he was losing all the evidence he needed, so he growled, "Well, we'll soon see. There's a simple way of discovering the last spell a wand performed, elf, did you know that?"
Winky trembled and shook her head as Amos raised his own wand and placed it tip to tip with Harry's.
"Prior Incantato!" he roared.
Hermione gasped in horror as a gigantic serpent-tongued skull erupted from the point where the two wands met, but it was just a mere shadow of the one in the sky.
"Deletrius!" Amos shouted, and the skull vanished. "So," he said with a kind of savage triumph.
"I is not doing it!" Winky squealed, absolutely terrified. "I is not, I is not, I is not knowing how! I is a good elf, I isn't using wands, I isn't knowing how!"
"You've been caught red-handed elf!" Amos roared quite madly. "Caught with the guilty wand in your hand!"
"Amos," Arthur said loudly, "think about it... precious few wizards know how to do that spell.... Where would she have learned it?"
"Perhaps Amos is suggesting," Mr. Crouch said slowly, cold anger in every syllable, "that I routinely teach my servants to conjure the Dark Mark?"
The silence was that of horrid shock from Amos. "Mr. Crouch... not... not at all..."
"You have now come very close to accusing the two people in this clearing who are least likely to conjure that Mark!" Mr. Crouch barked, still very furiously angry at Amos. "Harry Potter – and myself! I suppose you are familiar with the boy's story, Amos?"
Amos was highly discomforted by this, "Of course – everyone knows –"
"And I trust you remember the many proofs I have given, over a long career, that I despise and detest the Dark Arts and those who practice them?" Mr. Crouch shouted, his eyes bulging once again.
"Mr. Crouch, I – I never suggested you had anything to do with it!"
"If you accuse my elf, you accuse me, Diggory! Where else would she have learned to conjure it?"
"She – she might've picked it up anywhere –"
"Precisely, Amos," Arthur said. "She might have picked it up anywhere.... Winky?" he said kindly; she flinched as if he'd shouted at her. "Where exactly did you find Harry's wand?"
She was twisting the hem of her tea towel so violently that it was fraying beneath her fingers.
"I – I is finding it... finding it there, sir...." she whispered, "there... in the trees, sir...."
"You see, Amos?" Arthur asked him. "Whoever conjured the Mark could have Disapparated right after they'd done it, leaving Harry's wand behind. A clever thing to do, not using their own wand, which could have betrayed them. And Winky here had the misfortune to come across the wand moments later and pick it up."
"But then, she'd have been only a few feet away from the real culprit!" Amos said impatiently. "Elf? Did you see anyone?"
Winky trembled worse than before. Her eyes flickered from Amos, to Ludo, and then to Mr. Crouch. She gulped and said, "I is seeing no one, sir... no one..."
"Amos," Mr. Crouch said curtly, seeming to be back to his normal self again. "I am fully aware that, in the ordinary course of events, you would want to take Winky into your department for questioning. I ask you, however, to allow me to deal with her."
Amos didn't seem to think much of the suggestion at all.
"You may rest assured that she will be punished," Mr. Crouch added coldly.
"M-m-master..." Winky stammered, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes. "M-m-master, p-p-please..."
He stared back at her with no pity. "Winky has behaved tonight in a manner I would not have believed possible. I told her to remain in the tent. I told her to stay there while I went to sort out the trouble. And I find that she disobeyed me. This means clothes."
"No!" Winky shrieked, prostrating herself at his feet. "No, master! Not clothes, not clothes!" Poor Winky was in tears at the thought of being fired.
Hermione was angry. "But she was frightened! Your elf's scared of heights, and those wizards in masks were levitating people! You can't blame her for wanting to get out of their way!"
Mr. Crouch took a step backward from poor Winky and gave the poor elf a look that seemed to make one believe she was the lowest filth he'd ever seen. He looked over Hermione and said coldly, "I have no use for a house-elf who disobeys me. I have no use for a servant who forgets what is due to her master, and to her master's reputation."
Winky's sobs echoed around the clearing.
⚯͛ ⚯͛ ⚯͛ ⚯͛ ⚯͛ ⚯͛ ⚯͛ ⚯͛ ⚯͛ ⚯͛ ⚯͛ ⚯͛ ⚯͛ ⚯͛ ⚯͛ ⚯͛ ⚯͛ ⚯͛ ⚯͛ ⚯͛ ⚯͛
"Mel — Melody — Melody, wake up already!"
I was shaken awake so vigorously that I threw my hand out and punched whoever was shaking me awake. "Wha –? Oh... sorry, Draco," I said sheepishly. Draco was rubbing his chin as I sat up.
"It's okay... good thing you only got my chin," he said, rubbing his mouth.
I looked up to see the Malfoys standing behind Draco with panicked expressions.
"Come, let's go!" Lucius said impatiently, helping me up. "Get up, Melody, we need to leave immediately!"
"Why?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. Afraid of the Dark Mark much? I thought, turning to look into the sky to validate the vision I saw.
Narcissa grabbed onto my arm and Disapparated. We were suddenly back in front of Malfoy Manor.
"You may stay here for the night," Lucius said shakily. "You can go back home tomorrow when you wake up."
As Draco and Narcissa walked up to the door, I took the chance to glare at Lucius. He gave a visible gulp.
I don't want it to be this way, but if the unknown man in my vision was Barty Crouch Jr.... if I don't tell dad the truth about tonight's events — something the Daily Prophet would know nothing about — then he will when they retrieve him. Then my authenticity will be in question. The Dark Mark was cast, and his supposedly loyal Death Eaters fled instead of investigating into who cast it... he could have possibly been released from his father's clutches if they had thought to look into it.
Draco and Narcissa got the door open and turned to look at us.
"You coming in?" Draco asked. "You can go right back to sleep."
"I'm.. not too tired anymore, thanks Draco. You can go ahead though... I.. think I may just talk to your dad about what I should explain to my mom in the morning."
Draco actually flinched, "Good point."
"Ha ha," I sarcastically replied.
They continued in, leaving the door open for Lucius and I to follow.
I cut him off by pulling my wand out, and using it to close the door. His face paled dramatically.
"Why did we just flee from the Dark Mark?" I asked heatedly.
He was speechless. "M – Melody, it – it – it was –"
I crossed my arms. "He won't like it, you know. To hear that a trusted Death Eater of his put it into the air, and the others that used to follow him fled in fear of it! No one thought to find who cast it... whoever it was may have needed your assistance and you ignored it. Imagine when he asks me about it –"
"No, Melody, I –" he attempted interjecting. He paused, unable to think of anything to say in defense.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Thought so..." I said softly. I then walked to the front door, opened it, and proceeded to wander around the house in search of my room. Only to get utterly lost as I pondered my new vision... and realized that I didn't feel sick after Disapparating like normal. Curious.