FINITE | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire [4]

𝘅 | 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸

'Harry, come on, move,' Gwen said urgently, seizing Harry's hand and forcing him away from the tree.

'What--'

'Come on!' she cried.

Her heart was racing a million beats a minute; she feared it would erupt from her chest and splatter all over her top. She tugged at Harry's arm, but he was frozen in place.

'What's the matter?' he said, staring at her, panicked.

'Harry, that's his mark,' she moaned. 'That's Voldemort's mark--'

'Voldemort--?'

'Come on!'

Harry suddenly seemed to stir from his paralysis. He squeezed Gwen's hand, tearing across the clearing, pulling her with him; Ron scooped up his miniature Krum; Hermione looked ready to cry; but before they had even taken a few steps, there was a series of cracks all around them announcing the arrival of twenty wizards appearing from thin air, surrounding them.

Gwen whirled around and in an instant, she registered one fact; each of the wizards had his wand out, and every wand was pointing right at herself, Harry, Ron and Hermione.

Without pausing to think, she yelled, 'DUCK!', and the four of them seized each other and pulled themselves to the ground.

'STUPEFY!' roared twenty voices-- there was a blinding series of flashes and Gwen's hair whipped past her shoulders. She kept her head down, tensed--

'Stop!' yelled a voice she knew. 'STOP! That's my son!'

Gwen's hair fell still. Stiffly, she hazarded to raise her head a fraction; the wizard directly opposite her has lowered his wand. She lifted her head fully and saw Mr Weasley striding toward them, looking terrified.

'Ron-- Harry--' his voice was shaking, 'Gwen-- Hermione-- are you alright?'

'Out of the way, Arthur,' said a cold curt voice.

It was Mr Crouch. He and the other Ministry wizards were closing in on them. Gwen pulled herself to her feet to face them. Mr Crouch approached, his face taut with rage.

'Which of you did it?' he snapped, his sharp eyes darting between them. 'Which of you conjured the Dark Mark?'

'We didn't do that!' said Harry, gesturing up at the sky.

'We didn't do anything!' said Ron, who was rubbing his elbow and looking indignantly at his father. 'What did you attack us for?'

'Do not lie, sir!' shouted Mr Crouch, his wand pointed directly at Ron. His eyes were popping... he looked wild, mad. 'You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!'

'Barty,' said a witch in a long woollen dressing gown, 'they're kids, Barty, they'd never have been able to--'

'Where did the Mark come from, you four?' said Mr Weasley quickly.