The previously tranquil Quidditch stadium, nestled under a starry night sky, suddenly erupted with a blood-curdling scream that shattered the eerie silence.
In an instant, a brilliantly glowing green symbol materialized out of thin air, hovering ominously above the Top box seats. In the dim, ghostly illumination, Harry vaguely saw a blurry hazy shadow that seemed to crumple and collapse inside the box.
This unexpected and terrifying turn of events left Harry, Ron and Hermione, utterly stunned. Their bodies tensed, frozen in place as if petrified by some unseen force rendering them momentarily unable to react.
After only about ten seconds, Ron's voice finally broke through the oppressive silence. His words came out in a high-pitched squeak, so unlike his usual tone that it was barely recognizable. "W-what's going on?" he stammered, his face bleached with fear, his wide eyes were fixed on the sinister symbol floating above them. "What the bloody hell is that thing?"
Harry's mind raced, desperately trying to make sense of the surreal scene unfolding before them. For a fleeting moment, he had the notion that the mysterious symbol might be another creation of the leprechauns they had seen earlier in the evening. However, that comforting thought was quickly dispelled as he recalled that those leprechauns were currently in a heated dispute with the Bulgarian Veela in the nearby woods. Besides, Harry realized with a sinking feeling, even the rowdiest leprechauns would never conjure such a horrifying and malevolent image.
Squinting against the darkness, Harry focused his attention on the floating phantom. As the details came into sharper focus, he felt his breath catch in his throat. The symbol was a grotesque skull, etched in what appeared to be a constellation of glittering emerald stars.
More disturbing still was the serpent that protruded from the skull's gaping jaws, writhing and undulating like a grotesque parody of a tongue. As the trio watched, rooted to the spot in horror, the nightmarish image began to ascend higher into the inky black sky. It left a trail of sickly greenish smoke in its wake, embedding itself against the backdrop of twinkling stars like some twisted new constellation born of pure malevolence.
"What... what is that thing?" Harry echoed Ron's earlier question, his voice barely above a whisper as the fog of shock began to lift from his mind. The commotion around them grew steadily, with distant shouts and the sound of running feet adding to the cacophony of fear and confusion.
Instinctively, Harry turned to Hermione, the one most likely to have an answer to this terrifying mystery. To his surprise and rising dread, he saw her usually composed face drained of all color, her eyes were wide with a terror he had never seen before in her face.
"Hermione?" Harry asked, his voice laced with concern as he reached out to grip her arm, partly to offer comfort and partly to steady himself. "What's wrong? Do you know what that... that thing is?"
Hermione's voice came out as a strangled groan, "It's... it's the Dark Mark, Harry!" she managed to choke out, her words sending a fresh wave of ice through Harry's veins. "It's the sign of You-Know-Who's followers – the Death Eaters! They must be the ones who attacked the campsite tonight!" Her voice rose in pitch as panic took hold. "We need to get out of here, Harry! Now!"
It wasn't Hermione's panicked cry that finally spurred Harry into action, but rather his body's deeply ingrained instinct for self-protection. In that crucial moment, Harry and Hermione moved with an almost supernatural synchronicity, both lunging towards Ron, who remained rooted to the spot, paralyzed by shock and fear. The trio had barely hit the ground when the air around them was suddenly filled with a series of sharp, crackling sounds – the unmistakable noise of wizards Apparating.
"Stupefy!" The night air was filled by the unified cry of approximately twenty wizards as they materialized around the prone figures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Jets of red light erupted from their wands, hurtling towards them.
A barrage of magical energy illuminated the Quidditch pitch in a dazzling, terrifying light show. The ground beneath them exploded as spells struck the earth, pelting Harry's face with chunks of dirt and grass. He felt the searing heat of a red beam of light as it grazed the top of his head, the sheer magical force of it caused him to squint against the sudden gust of wind it generated.
"Stop!" A familiar voice cut through the chaos, that all three of them recognized. "STOP! That's my son, and Harry Potter!"
As suddenly as it had begun, the onslaught of spells ceased. The imminent sense of danger that had enveloped them began to dissipate, replaced by a tense silence. Harry cautiously loosened his protective grip on Hermione and Ron, daring to raise his head and survey their surroundings. His eyes fell upon the nearest wizard, who was now lowering his wand, peering intently at Harry's face with a mixture of surprise and embarrassment. From behind the semicircle of Ministry wizards, Harry could make out the figure of Mr. Weasley striding towards them, his face was a mixture of terror and concern.
"Ron—Harry—" Mr. Weasley's voice trembled with barely contained emotion as he approached. "Hermione—are you all alright? Are any of you hurt?"
Before any of them could respond, a cold, curt voice cut through the air like a knife. "Out of the way, Arthur."
Harry's eyes darted to the source of the voice, immediately recognizing the speaker by the familiar face of the person trailing behind him – it was Percy, following in the steps of his boss like an eager shadow. Percy's eyes widened as they fell upon Harry and his younger brother Ron, still sprawled on the ground. His expression was one of utter disbelief, tinged with something that looked unsettlingly like suspicion.
"What in Merlin's name are you doing here?!" Percy exclaimed, his eyes flashing with anger rather than the concern so evident in his father's face.
"Silence!" Barty Crouch snapped, his voice carrying the same icy authority that had dismissed Mr. Weasley moments before. The tension in the air rose up by another notch as Crouch focused his penetrating gaze on Harry.
"Who did this?" Crouch demanded, his sharp gaze darting between the three young wizards. His next words came out as a growl, laden with accusation. "Which one of you conjured the Dark Mark?"
Harry felt a surge of indignation rise within him, momentarily overriding his fear. "We didn't do it!" he protested vehemently, gesturing towards the skull that still hovered menacingly above them. "We didn't do anything!!"
"Yeah, we didn't do anything!" Ron chimed in, his voice thick with a mixture of fear and resentment. He rubbed his elbow, wincing at the pain from their sudden dive to the ground, and shot a hurt glare at his father. "Why did you attack us? We're supposed to be on the same side!"
Crouch's eyes bulged slightly, giving him a somewhat manic appearance that sent a shiver down Harry's spine. "Do not lie, gentlemen!" he snarled, his wand now pointed directly at Ron's chest. "You were discovered at the scene of the crime! The evidence speaks for itself!"
Mr. Weasley stepped forward, placing himself between Crouch's wand and the trio. "They're just children, Barty, I brought them here myself to watch the match. They couldn't possibly be connected to the Death Eaters who attacked tonight. It's absurd to even consider such a thing!"
Harry felt annoyed to see that Percy was eyeing them suspiciously, as if actually considering the possibility that they might have conjured the Dark Mark.
"Barty," a witch dressed in a long woolen dressing gown interjected quietly, "I don't think it could have been them. Surely you can see—"
Her words trailed off as many of the Ministry officials surrounding them began to mutter amongst themselves. It was clear that they had recognized the green-eyed boy as Harry Potter – a fact that spoke volumes in itself. If the Dark Mark had appeared while Harry Potter was present, there was only one logical conclusion to be drawn: whoever had conjured the mark was calling for reinforcements, to finish off the Boy Who Lived.
Despite the growing murmurs of doubt, Barty Crouch remained unmoved. Mr. Weasley, visibly wilting under Crouch's intense scrutiny, turned anxiously to the trio, his eyes pleading for information that might defuse the situation.
"You three," he began, his voice strained with worry, "where exactly did this mark come from? What did you see? Please, tell us everything."
Hermione, her voice still shaky, raised a trembling hand to point towards the top of the stadium. "Over there," she managed to say, her words barely above a whisper. "The top box. We... we saw the mark fly up from inside the box."
Crouch's head snapped around at Hermione's words, his penetrating gaze now focused solely on her. "Oh? From the box, you say?" he asked, his voice dripping with skepticism as he lowered his head, maintaining his intimidating stare. "And you just happened to see it? Mere coincidence, I suppose?"
"Barty!" Mr. Weasley's protest was tinged with exasperation at Crouch's leading questions. He met Barty Crouch's glare with one of his own, speaking rapidly in an attempt to inject some reason into the proceedings. "Surely you've realized by now that one of these three is Harry Potter? Do you honestly think Harry Potter, of all people, would conjure the Dark Mark? They're Hogwarts students, for Merlin's sake! I'm absolutely certain that neither Albus Dumbledore nor Bryan Watson has taught them anything about the Dark Mark or its creation!"
Mr. Weasley's mention of Dumbledore and Watson seemed to strike a chord. Even Crouch's cheek twitched at the mention of these two names.
Percy, however, seemed unmoved by his father's emotional defense. His brow furrowed as he turned his attention to Ron, his voice laced with disapproval. "Why are you even here? Dad said you went back to the tent with Sirius and Professor Watson. What possible reason could you have for sneaking out?"
Ron's face flushed with a mixture of anger and embarrassment as he glared at his older brother. "What do you mean, 'why are we here'?" he shot back indignantly. "I've already said, we have nothing to do with that mark. We just happened to see it before you lot did! Why is that so hard to believe?"
"Answer the question, sir!" Crouch's voice cut through the brotherly squabble, his gaze boring into Ron over Mr. Weasley's protective shoulder. "Surely you're not here to relive the match! What could possibly have compelled you to return to this place at such an hour?"
Ron opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. He noticed his father was also looking at him expectantly, waiting for an explanation. The truth – that they had risked coming here to search for the gold galleons he had won from Ludo Bagman, which had mysteriously vanished – suddenly seemed painfully foolish. If he admitted to that, Ron knew his father would likely skin him alive before his mother even got the chance.
Sensing Ron's hesitation, Harry decided to step in, drawing Crouch's attention to himself. "We came to find my wand," he said, the half-truth coming easier than he expected. "We did go back to the tent with Sirius and Professor Watson, but before going to sleep, I realized my wand was missing. Then I remembered I'd left it in the box."
Harry paused, glancing at his friends before continuing. "Ron and Hermione came with me because they were worried about me encountering danger on the way. We didn't actually go up to the box because the staircase looked like it was about to collapse. We were trying to figure out what to do when... when all this happened."
'Coming to find a lost wand?'
This explanation indeed caught the Ministry group by surprise. However, hearing Harry's explanation, Mr. Weasley's face tightened. "You didn't ask Sirius to come with you?"
Harry hesitated for a moment, weighing his options, but ultimately decided that honesty was the best policy in this situation. He shook his head slowly, watching as Mr. Weasley's expression darkened further. It was clear that if the circumstances weren't so dire, they would certainly have been on the receiving end of a stern lecture.
Mr. Diggory, who had earlier been tasked with escorting the thieving foreign wizard, seemed particularly disturbed by Harry's explanation. He clicked his tongue disapprovingly, his voice thick with incredulity as he asked, "How on earth did you manage to get here undetected? The woods are crawling with our people, but not a single alarm was raised. Surely you didn't just stroll over here in plain sight?"
Put on the spot by this direct questioning, Harry realized he had no choice but to reveal more truth. With a resigned sigh, he carefully unfolded the Invisibility Cloak he had been clutching tightly throughout the exchange.
"Oh, an Invisibility Cloak?" Mr. Diggory exclaimed, his eyebrows rising in slight surprise as he examined the shimmering fabric. "Those aren't exactly common items – certainly not cheap, either. But I suppose that explains how you managed to slip past our defenses."
Amos Diggory turned to look at Mr. Crouch, who was now squinting intently at the cloak in Harry's hands.
"Well then," Mr. Diggory said, breaking the tense silence that had fallen over the group. "Shall we go up and have a look at this box? Perhaps we'll find some answers there."
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