The Golden Trio

Part 9

Chapter 9: Quidditch world cupSuper thanks to all of you who have given reviews!- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .They managed to meet up one more time before they bordered the Hogwarts express. Or at least Harry and Ron met up; both their families had managed to get tickets to the Quidditch world cup. They were disappointed but not really surprised when they learned that Hermione wouldn't come. Hermione of both worlds seemed to loath Quidditch.Ron's family had left early in the morning the day before the match started. Ron had been half awake and had struggled to pack and hide all his weapons on himself. He had to make sure that Molly wouldn't find them, he was sure she wouldn't take to kindly to the seven inches long knife strapped to his leg.He was relieved (and a bit amused) when Molly discovered the twin's stash of Weasley wizards wheezes which had started an argument that overshadowed everything else and almost made them late to the portkey.Like last time they ran into the Diggorys. He thankfully didn't had to listen to Mr Diggorys boasting over the fact that Cedric had defeated the famous boy-who-lived, but that might have been because that had never happened.But it also reminded him about the fact that Harry wasn't with him, they had had so much fun exploring the camp together. I really hope that we will find each other, he thought as he remembered the letter Hedwig had delivered to him two days ago, where Harry explained that they had already arrived at the campsite.They got hold of the portkey and were whisked away to the campsite. He managed to remain standing on his feet; as did Arthur and the Diggorys. His brothers and sisters had fallen to the ground though."Seven past five from Stoatstead hill," said a bored voice from behind him. He turned around and found two strangely dressed wizards; behind them he could see the camp. Hundreds of tents in different shapes and colour were visible through the morning mist. It was early morning and the camp had just started to wake up."Morning, Basil," said Mr. Weasley, picking up the boot and handing it to the wizard dressed in a kilt and poncho. The wizard threw it into a large box of used Portkeys beside him; Ron could see an old newspaper, an empty drinks can, and a punctured football."Hello there, Arthur," said Basil wearily. "Not on duty, eh? It's all right for some... We've been here all night... You'd better get out of the way, we've got a big party coming in from the Black Forest at five fifteen. Hang on, I'll find your campsite... Weasley... Weasley..." He consulted his parchment list. "About a quarter of a mile's walk over there, first field you come to. Site manager's called Mr. Roberts. Diggory... second field... ask for Mr. Payne."They managed to find their spot in no time and immediately set to raise the tent. Arthur was again fascinated with the tent sticks and this time they didn't had Harry or Hermione to help them. But Ron knew exactly what to do seeing as he had been living in that tent for the bigger part of what would have been his seventh year.Could probably set it up in my sleep, he grumbled unhappily to himself as he scrutinized the tent, all the while trying to repress the bad memories he had of living in this tent; the hopelessness, not knowing anything and finally, one of his worst memories; him abandoning Harry and Hermione.The three room big tent looked just like he remembered; he could almost imagined Harry sitting in the sofa reading The life and lies of Albus Dumbledore while Hermione was standing guard outside. Or searching for some disgusting mushrooms that we were supposed to eat. He sighed as he remembered how he had acted during those months. He had been no better than a spoiled prat, who had done nothing besides complaining while Harry and Hermione had pulled the heaviest load – trying both to end the war while keeping their spirits on an adequate level.He never really could forgive himself for his childish selfishness, although he knew that Harry and Hermione had forgiven him long ago.Out of habit he put his rucksack on his old bed, only to have it pushed down on the floor as the twins claimed the room for themselves."Hey, I had that bed," he exclaimed indignantly."We had dibs on the smallest bedroom," said George as he slouched on the bed."Since when?""Since this morning," said Fred."Bad luck, I had dibs on this room since yesterday.""You didn't even know that we were going to sleep in a tent yesterday," retorted Fred as he started pushing Ron towards the door."Now that you remind me, didn't I say that I had dibs on the smallest room last week? Fred?" said George with a pondering expression."Now that you mention it, yes I believe you said something like that, I thought that you were talking in your sleep but you clearly said that you had dibs on the smallest bedroom." continued Fred in true twin fashion. "So sorry little brother, room's taken," said Fred as he did a shooing motion with his hand.Ron was just contemplating if he could take on both of them at the same time when Percy walked past – a rucksack in his hand and a resigned expression on his face."Hey Percy, didn't you say last month that you had dibs on the smallest bedroom?" shouted Ron to his older brother who stopped in shock."Wha...I...I didn...I mean..." he stuttered as he edged closer."You know when we were talking about ministry regulation on wizard tents last months, you clearly said that you wanted the smallest bedroom," Ron continued as he winked at Percy. He watched in satisfaction how Percy took in the rucksacks on the floor, the twins grin and finally Ron's expectant face.Percy pushed up his glasses and answered. "Yes I did, considering that the ministry in fact only allows for maximum four room tents I thought it safest to claim one of the bedrooms in time," he said in a somewhat superior voice, or it could have been a smug voice, Ron wasn't sure.The twins went closer and circled Percy all the while giving him suspicious looks."A highly satisfying explanation..." said Fred."We would be hard pressed to come up with something like that on such a short notice...""But you are Percy the Perfect Prefect, you wouldn't lie...""Especially if it involves the infallible ministry policy...""The almighty ministry I might add, with all its unworldly wisdom..." Percy started to look quite nervous at their continuous circling when the twins sighed and said at the same time."Very well, the room is yours, don't worry we will put up a warning sign at the door.""Beware for ickle Ronnikins and Perfect Prefect Percy," they said in chorus and grabbed their bags and left the room, leaving a slightly bewildered Percy and a triumphant Ron. You have to rejoice at the small victories, he thought as he turned to Percy."That was some quick thinking.""I am still not sure what happened.""We get to share room," he answered as he put back his rucksack on the bed. "I hope you don't mind sharing with me.""No not at all, I had actually resigned myself to the fate of sleeping with dad.""Good, well you can start unpack, I'm gonna find a friend and leave the chores to Fred and George," he said in a cheerful voice and waved to Percy.Before Percy could give an answer he was out through the door and the tent. The happy mood and anticipation had captured every single one of the thousand wizard and witches. He saw children playing around the tents, foreign wizards, mostly likely Bulgarians, singing their national anthem, and of course stressed ministry workers. All in all it made for a chaotic place and Ron was tense. None of the festive feelings he had had last time around were present. The only thing he could think of was the death eaters who were hiding in the crowd.They had never uncovered who the death eaters at the world cup had been, that had always been a minor priority during the war, if it had been a priority at all with every thing else that went on. He regretted it now though. He had no way to know if the man in front of him was a death eater, or if the ministry employer who argued with a funnily dressed wizard, was one of those who would put on the mask tomorrow night. It made him uneasily and he gripped his wand more tightly while glaring at those unfortunate to bump into him.He couldn't find Harry and decided to go back to their tent. I don't think my nerves can take more strain now, he thought dryly. His mind was betraying him. It simply refused to accept that there was no danger here, so instead he was on high alert all the time.When he came back to the tent he noticed that Arthur hadn't been able to light the matches yet."Here dad, let me," he offered."Hang on a sec I almost got it, it's amazing what the muggles can make," said Arthur in an excited voice. Ron sighed bemusedly and took the matches from him."That may be but we'll need the fire now, otherwise we'll have to use the stove," he said knowing what Arthur's response would be. True enough, he looked devastated at the prospect of having to use magic to make their dinner.I never really learned how to light these things, he thought as he experimentally lit it. It didn't really work but if there was one thing Ron could do it were fires. Glaring at the smoking match it slowly started glowing. Carefully he put the glowing match towards the wood, silently urging it and felt it grow stronger. Satisfied he stood up and was just about to turn to Arthur when he felt something closing in one him. Swirling around and raising his wand; only to stand eye to eye to Hedwig."Hedwig? What are you doing here?""Excellent question brother dearest," said Fred cheerfully."As it is a post owl it could never be that she has a letter," continued George.Ron didn't answer them, having realized that the question was rather stupid. He raised his arm again and she swooped down, carefully scrutinizing him."Nice to see you Hedwig, just the owl I wanted to meet," he said in a low voice as he stepped away from his family. Hedwig hooted favorably and stuck out her leg for him to take the letter. "Thank you, you are with Harry aren't you? Keep an eye on him for me, will you?" he asked as he opened the letter. She is too smart for an owl, he thought amazed when she seemed to nod at him. "You are not an animagus are you," he asked in mock suspicion before shaking his head, realizing that he was interrogating an owl. Harry is definitely rubbing off on me, he is always talking to Hedwig.The letter was short as usual, void of any important information.Hi RonWe arrived on Tuesday and live in a tent in the eastern part of the campsite. I'll come to you on school time.HarryEver the paranoid one eh Harry, he thought with grim amusement. He recognized the code; for time they used the Weasley family clock. When the hand pointed at "school" it pointed at nine o'clock; which meant that Harry would come tonight.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .Harry watched as Hedwig swooped down on his shoulder and gently nibbled his ear. They had immediately bonded and the sheer bliss Harry felt for it was almost out of proportions."Harry, where are you?" he suddenly heard Sirius shout from inside the tent. He sighed and turned around to see what he wanted. Inside the tent there was pandemonium and he momentarily understood how the Weasley household must have looked like ten years ago. There were simply children everywhere.In the middle of it all was Sirius amusing Matthew, Rose and Neville with some outrageous story. His own daughters, Lucinda and Sienna were playing in a corner while five year old Leo ran around everyone's feet exhausting himself in his quest of making as much noise as possible."Harry, would you check in on Remus, he should be fixing dinner but he has gone into hiding," said Sirius as he hoisted a screaming Leo in the air."What for?" asked Harry worriedly, wondering what might have happened to Remus."Well since you don't seem busy right now, we're just going to finish this then I'll come and help you out," answered Sirius having misunderstood Harry's question. Harry shrugged and, figuring that he was probably jumping to conclusions, went in to the kitchen.The kitchen was, not surprisingly, empty. No Remus in sight. Despite him being supposed to look after them. Lily Potter and Talia Black had flat out refused to accompany them to the world cup. And seeing as James had duty the first day Sirius had enlisted Remus to help look after the kids. Remus had likely fled the chaos and found a nice little hidey hole somewhere.He stared at the pitiful canned soups that Sirius had obviously intended for them to eat before putting them back. Walking to a cupboard to get some ingredients he almost had a heart attack when he detected a figure hiding inside. Before he even registered what it was he saw he had drawn his wand and pointed it at..."Remus!" he stated in confusion before tentatively lowing his wand. Remus was sitting on a bucket with a book in his hand; a globe of light hovering over him."Oh Harry! I was just... I'm going to fix dinner now," he said a bit embarrassed as he managed to climb out of the cupboard."Cramped?" asked Harry amusedly as he pulled out a chair which his godfather thankfully stumbled to."Quite," said Remus as he sat down."But it's the only place where you will be somewhat shielded from the joined Potter-Black- Longbottom invasion," finished Harry cheerfully."Yes... Um I mean, I really enjoy spending time with all the children," he said a bit dubious."But they can be a bit handful, and with Sirius acting more like a child himself it's best to retreat and let chaos reign," finished Harry again, Remus mock glared at him."Stop putting the words in my mouth."Harry just smirked and went back to the stove."Were did you learn to cook like that," asked Remus after awhile when Harry stood at the table and cut vegetables in practiced motions."Like what?""Like that, last time you tried to cook you mistook the salt for sugar.""I'm better now," they were silent for awhile before Harry spoke up again. "What book was your reading if you don't mind me asking?""It's about a wizard that spent his life with the yetis in Himalaya.""I hope he isn't another Lockhart," said Harry and rolled his eyes."I thought you liked Lockhart, I was even with you queuing for his autograph in your second year.""I did!" If I ever get to my other self I'm gonna teach him a lesson in self-respect! "Well never mind, I was young and stupid, I have seen through that stupid fraud and the second I get home I will burn his autograph, thank you for reminding me," he said in a scornful voice before realizing how Remus might take it. To his relief Remus didn't seem upset over his proclamation; instead he seemed satisfied."Good that you finally realized that, now we just have to convince the rest of the wizarding world about it.""So how did it go for the wizard?" asked Harry, curious since he was not the one to read such books, it was more Hermione's thing."Quite good actually, the first twenty years they seemed to want to eat him but now they are satisfied with just banging him around a bit.""What an improvement" said Harry in a sarcastic voice. Remus seemed a bit startled at his tone, and not liking the contemplating look his godfather was giving him, Harry continued. "I bet it must be a real adventure, living so far away from civilization and all.""It depends on how you define civilization," said Remus and shrugged, in doing so his robes shifted and revealed something Harry hadn't noticed before."What's that?" asked Harry and pointed on an emblem stitched on over Remus heart.Remus shifted guiltily and made a move to cover it again but changed his mind and showed it to Harry. It was a crescent moon that had a silver band around it in a circular shape."It is the new mark for werewolves," said Remus silently, suddenly sounding timid and unsure. Harry got a feeling that if Remus and Ron were to meet Ron would take the position of an alpha."Say what!" choked Harry and stared at Remus."It's the new werewolf registration act – all werewolves are required to wear this symbol as to warn normal wizard and witches about our...contamination," said Remus with a careful concealed scorn."What if you don't wear it?""Nothing as of yet, it is optional until Christmas, after Christmas...well any werewolf who is found without the symbol will be sent to Azkaban.""So why do you wear it know when you don't have to?" asked Harry and watched as Remus squirmed and look embarrassed."I thought it best to show that I wasn't about to put up a fight, even if I disgust myself – agreeing to this....treatment I don't want people shunning me more than they already are. An obedient domesticated lapdog I believe Sirius called me, he was all for me going against the ministry.""Easy for him to say, he isn't the one risking ending up in Azkaban," said Harry heavily as Remus discreetly pulled his robes over the emblem."And how did the werewolves take it," asked Harry warily."I wouldn't know, I don't have any contact with other werewolves.""Greyback and his pack won't give in, there is others too, who will not quietly accept this. The problem is that they are so shattered, without a powerful leader they won't be able to unite," mused Harry out lout and entertained the idea of Ron taking over the werewolf packs once again – before dismissing the idea. Ron wouldn't have the strength of body to fight over the position of alpha, not in a few years at least."What do you know about it?" asked Remus a bit suspicious. "The werewolves are very solitary creatures, I have only ever meet one, and I am a werewolf myself," said Remus and Harry noted that he neglected to mention that the werewolf he had met had been the one to infect him in the first place."I have picked it up, listening and reading between the lines. Once I got to hear a conversation with someone who had dealings with a werewolf pack around Manchester," explained Harry, carefully weaving in some truth in his lies."There are a few packs in Britain, not all of them are as uncivilized as Greyback's pack but they are vicious and suspicious towards strangers. The ministry fears them now, when they are weak and unorganized, should they get a leader then they would truly be a force to respect," continued Harry as he remembered werewolf fights he had witnessed. The raw and brutal strength in a fully grown werewolf was humbling and terrifying to say the least."I hope it never happens," said Remus with a weary sigh.You should find pride in what you are, Remus. Werewolves have their good sides too. Thought Harry and wished he could say it to Remus to cheer him up, unfortunately he was well aware of how false that would sound – coming from one who had up until a few weeks ago been biased against werewolves.Not everything is black and white. "It would be bloody; there are many crimes and injustices on both sides to pay for," was the only thing Harry said and took off the red apron he had been wearing."I should have helped you preparing," said Remus guilty as he stood up and helped Harry putting the dishes out on a camp table outside the tent."Don't worry, I had everything under control...but I wonder where Sirius is, he said he was going to help.""Knowing Sirius he most likely forgot, without you we would probably have been forced to live on canned soup."- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .The sun had already disappeared behind the horizon when Harry met up with Ron. Ron was waiting outside his tent with a grinning face."Who is the fat baby whale," asked Harry."Dudley Dursley.""Back home at least, what's up with you? You look like Hermione just admitted that you were right about something."The grin on Ron's face disappeared but his smugness remained. "The twins tried to give me a tongue toffee.""Tried?" said Harry with a raised eyebrow as they walked away."Tried, recognized it straight away and managed to slip it into Ginny's food."Harry snorted and imagined Ginny's angry face."Don't you think you have an unfair advantage over them?""Payback's a bitch; I was their test subject all summer in fourth year.""Except for the fact that these twins weren't the ones that..." Harry trailed of and they latched into a depressed silence as they always did when the subject of their switched reality come up.They were always painfully reminded that the people here wasn't the same people they had once loved. And sometimes it just felt so wrong to be with these copies. Day out and they in they were reminded of the people who had died and the fact that they were surrounded by strangers.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .The match went just as they had expected – Ireland won but Bulgaria caught the snitch. They didn't remember much of the match, Harry had just been busy worrying about tonight to properly enjoying the game, besides Quidditch had lost its excitement, he simply couldn't muster any enthusiasm for the game anymore. Strangely enough, Winky didn't show up in the stands, which meant that Crouch jr where somewhere else.But the match brought one good thing with it; their pockets were filled with gold. The day before they had stumbled over an illegal betting pool where they had betted their last galleons on Ireland's win and Krum catching the snitch. Now they were running around the camping site; collecting their winnings. The goblins had been especially unwilling to part with their galleons. Understandably they hadn't been betting with Bagman but Ron told Harry that the twins had been gambling all of their money with Bagman."We can use that against them later," said Harry."Not to mention lending some money to Bagman when the goblins are starting to get impatient, it could be good to have Bagman in our debt.""IRELAND!" shouted a drunken man suddenly and threw himself around Ron's neck. "We won, I knew our boys would come through for us! This cause for celebration! Fire whiskey for everyone!" Ron managed to throw him off and caught up with Harry. The drunken wizard then joined his friends who were singing and shooting colorful sparks in the air. Not far away were two irritated looking ministry employees approaching."What a festive atmosphere," commented Ron."Yeah." Without saying anything more they slowly turned around and started walking towards Mr Robert's house. They didn't know exactly when the riot started but it was not for a few hours at least.They had discussed what they were going to do about the riot. Harry had been for killing the lot of them, while Ron had suggested that they just observed to have more control over the timeline. Eventually they had settled for a compromise – observing and saving the muggles.So that's why they were standing in the Robert's garden at midnight. They were both dressed in dark clothes, no aging potion this time but their hoods were up, concealing their faces. The wands they couldn't use were in their hands and several knives hidden on their bodies. They stood under a tree, which didn't hide them, but Harry had wrapped shadows around them so no one would be able to detect them.It was Ron who discovered them first; ten shapes that silently crept up the garden path. Harry felt the usual adrenalin rush that always came with the anticipation of battle, as he saw the white masks on their faces.They stopped just a few feet away from the spot where Harry and Ron stood concealed; if he wanted he could touch the closest death eater – or stick a knife in him."Are you ready? Where the hell is Nott?" the leader asked."He chickened out" come the harsh response. "The bitch talked to him, she doesn't approve of tonight's event."Anxious murmurs rose from the crowd at his words and a few seemed to be on the verge of going back."She doesn't command us, for twelve years she has bossing us around, using the excuse that she is preparing for the Dark Lord's return, but I have yet to see any proof of His return. How do we even now that she is trying to find Him? I think she is trying to take His place.""And what are we going to do about it?" jeered one voice. "I don't see you do anything to return the Dark Lord, Avery. I wonder if you even want Him to return, knowing that He won't be pleased with you!""I am loyal," hissed the first voice angrily but there was a hint of fear in his voice. "Tonight we will remind the wizarding world that the Dark Lord's still out there, we will strike fear in their hearts – and if the Loyals don't like it then it's their problem."Seeing as his companions were more or less convinced he turned around and raised his wand towards the muggle house. "Let's get the mudbloods!"Harry and Ron looked at each other and nodded silently before Harry crept towards one of the windows. To his left were the death eaters busy with unlocking the door, they still hadn't taken any notice of the unnatural thick shadows.In some unexplainable way the shadows wormed their way around the window enabling Harry to follow them, two seconds later he stood in a small living room. He kept to the shadows, which felt his presence and grew until the entire house was covered with impenetrable darkness.He could see as easily as if it had been daylight, the shadows guided him to the four muggles. He couldn't use magic to protect them but he would be able to hide them with shadows. Downstairs he could hear the Death Eaters enter and stumble in the dark."Lumos," said a voice which was followed by cursing when the spell didn't managed to penetrate the darkness. The spell was repeated several times with the same result, a few even tried Incendios. The conjured fire flickered weakly before dying out."Don't bother, we'll find them anyway," muttered a voice and Harry heard how they climbed the stairs. He was standing in the children's room, so merged in shadows that he was almost only a specter.The door opened to the room and the intruders stopped in confusion over the black void they seemingly had entered. Harry knew that if he wanted he could trap them in the darkness forever, with no hope of ever seeing the light again. But he wasn't interested in that, instead he closed the door with a bang.He relishing in their growing fear for a few minutes before he slipped closer to the three men.~ You are not allowed here~ he hissed softly in the first man's ear. The man jumped in fear and spun around."Who are you! Show yourself!" he screamed and shakily raised his wand."The shadows won't allow you to hurt these humans," Harry answered from the shadows; his voice distorted, making it sound like he was everywhere, which in essence he was."Show yourself! Stupefy!" the second man screamed; Harry recognized his voice as Goyle senior.The other two had caught on and were too shouting curses all around them. None of them hit Harry, although one Crucio accidentally speeded towards him before it was intercepted by the shadows."You should leave now, before I decide to kill you all," he said in a cold voice when he finally lost patience with them. He eased the shadows around the door, allowing them to find the way out. For a second they seemed determined to stay and fight but when Harry made the shadows snake around their bodies, restraining their movements they gave up and bolted towards the door.Harry chuckled darkly and slowly followed them, knowing that the shadows would remain and protect the family until dawn.Ron, who Harry had left outside, strained his advanced hearing to hear what happened inside the house. It was to no avail though; it seemed that the shadows had cut the house from the rest of the world. He didn't like it, despite knowing that Harry would be positively untouchable like that.It took about five minutes after that the death eaters had entered before they came running out again. Still hidden he listens to their agitated voices."Where is the mudbloods?""We don't have them, we didn't find them!""What do you mean, how difficult can it have been, go back and get them!""No way, there was something strange in there; I'm not going in there again.""What afraid of the dark," come the mocking reply."Yes!" someone hissed in reply. "Something was in there, creating all the darkness....""Not even Lumos worked!""Are you wizard or not, it doesn't even take a powerful charm to make darkness.""This was something else, not even Officio worked. And the voice...""Voice" came the skeptical reply. "You mean someone was in there?""It was everywhere, and... it spoke parseltongue." Looks like dear Chaos put on the special effects, smirked Ron as he watched the death eaters grew nervous and jittery."It wasn't natural any of it," muttered one of the wizards."You are a bunch of pansies, well if the mudbloods don't wanna come out and play then let them stay inside then. Colloportus," said the man and pointed it towards the door that locked with an inaudible click. Ron, who had gotten a bad feeling about it, carefully edged closer.True enough as shouts of Incendio and Confringo was heard as the cottage was set to fire. It took just s a few seconds for the magical fire to get a grip on the dry wood and the fire spread quickly.Fuck Fuck Fuck, we hadn't planned for this cursed Ron as he ran to the front of the house. The Death Eaters hadn't bothered to stay, instead they continued towards the camp were they were setting tents on fire, not bothered by the fact that they had trapped a family inside a burning building.Harry would be able to get out with out problem, but to get the family with him wouldn't be as easily.Come on, slow down, stop, slow down, come on, calm, slow breaths, calm down, stop, he thought franticly as he raised his hands towards the raging inferno as he tried to take control over the fire. It didn't work. He didn't felt the slightest connection with the flames and they continued as fiercely as before."Fire!" he heard Harry shout from inside."Chaos, are you okay! I can't control the fire!""I have the family with me, get the door to open!"Ron quickly made his way over to the door, uncaring about the heat that accosted him. The flames danced around his body both hurting him and comforting him at the same time. The door wouldn't budge. He kicked at it several times, going as far as to throw himself at it full force. It wouldn't budge. He felt panic overtake him as the coughs from inside came more and more often."Arrgh open up!" he screamed, finally losing control over his emotions. The result was terrified screaming as the flames answered to his anger and grew even bigger creating a small explosion."Fire! Use magic! My shadows won't protect us anymore," came Harry's half choked scream from inside the smoking house."I have an idea, step away from the door," he replied and without waiting for an answer he focused all his emotions on his burning desire to destroy the door. A huge fireball erupted from his hands and slammed into the door.More screaming was heard from inside when the door burst from its hinges and was catapulted into the wall."Chaos! Are your there!" shouted Ron as he tried to see through the flames. He was just contemplating to run headfirst into the fire when Harry came stumbling out. In his hands he was holding a five year old boy; face frozen in a silent scream. Behind him stumbled the rest of the family, the mother still in her nightgown was holding the hand of a ten year old girl."Thank you, thank you!" said the man, Mr Roberts, in a breaking voice as he took the child from Harry. The rest of the family had sat down on the grass, staring devastated on their now completely alit house. Harry wanted to sit down too, his lungs were aching, he was sweating and his clothes were singed and smelled of smoke. He had also received burns on his arms and shoulders but he easily blocked the pain."Come Chaos, we need to leave before the aurors arrive," whispered Ron quietly and helped Harry up. Harry stumbled up and leaned on Ron, he was utterly exhausted. My body isn't used to the saving-people-thing yet, he thought absently as he managed to summon enough shadows so they could slip out undetected by the aurors."It took long time for the aurors to arrive," whispered Ron when they avoided all the aurors that suddenly were crowding the place. He shut up abruptly as auror Dawlish stopped and suspiciously peered into the shadows."Shut up, I don't have the best of grip on the shadows at the moment," hissed Harry harshly as he concentrated on making the darkness thicker. A few seconds later Dawlish continued and they slipped out through the garden."I mean if we hadn't been there then they would have died, the aurors wouldn't have been there in time to save them," continued Ron as they had reached a safe distance from the Robert's house."You mean if we hadn't been there then they would have taken the family, played with them a bit and then left them to the aurors to be obliviated," said Harry glumly."We don't know that," said Ron after a few seconds silence. "How do we know that they wouldn't have killed them? They are alive now at least, the house doesn't matter compared to that."Harry didn't answer; instead he concentrated on getting as far away from the screaming Death Eaters as possible. He didn't have the strength to deal with that right now.That was when they ran into James and Sirius; both had their red auror robes and wands in hands, both apparently heading to the riot."Harry! What are you doing here, are you okay?" James said in a worried voice, as he stopped having almost walked past him in his haste. Sirius was already five steps away. "Oy Sirius wait a sec!" James shouted after his best friend who stopped and sent an impatient glance back."I'm okay dad, I was with Ron's family, we were on our way back to the tent when all this happened. Are everybody safe?""Yes, everybody ran to the woods, Remus is with them, go and join them," James said quickly and prepared to leave when suddenly horrified screaming was heard from everywhere in the camp."James!" shouted Sirius and pointed towards the woods. Everyone spun around, Ron and Harry already knowing what they would be seeing.There floating above the threes were the dark mark. The green skull jeered at them and the snake coiled restlessly around it."Fuck!" cursed James before apparating with a load bang, followed quickly by Sirius."Yes I'm sure it's a brilliant idea to go back to the wood now," said Ron sarcastic in the sudden silence."Come let's go, Remus will be worried, if he can't find me. Beside he can probably contact Arthur for you."It didn't take them long to find Remus, Ron knew the general direction the other werewolf were in."Harry! Thank Merlin you're okay I was so worried," fretted Remus as soon they entered the clearing. Ron thought it a bit odd that Remus didn't notice his werewolf scent but put it down to the stress – and the fact that Remus always did his best to suppress his werewolf side.They saw Leo, Lucinda and Sienna were sitting under a tree, Lucinda had tear streaks on her face and Leo had mud on his face but otherwise they seemed unharmed. Remus stood protectively over them with his wand in hand. Rose and Matthew were nowhere in sight but Harry and Ron could guess were they were."I'm okay, this is my friend Ron Weasley.""Ah, one of Ginny's older brothers are you," said Remus, momentarily forgetting his worry."Nice to meet you sir," said Ron and held out his hand, wincing as Remus shook it. For a second Remus looked dejected but it quickly disappeared when Harry grabbed Ron's hand and held it up. Ron's hand was badly scorched, with blisters and red skin almost falling of."Ron! Why didn't you tell me you were hurt, are you okay," he said in a worried voice."I didn't notice it until now!" said Ron honestly as he let Harry carefully examine his hand. Without caring that Remus was there he bent down and gave his hand a quick kiss. Remus stared perplexed for a second at the peculiar show of affection before visibly shaking himself."We'll have to take you to a paramedic," said Remus and looked over at Harry. "Merlin, you got burnt too, what did you do?""We kind of got in the middle of it all, a burning tent fell over us when we were running.""Hm...I'm not good at healing but let's if I can't numb the pain a bit. Doleo Relevo," he said and a blue glow encircled Harry's shoulder and Ron's hands. They recognized the spell, having seen Hermione use it before. It didn't heal the wounds but the pain receded somewhat."Thanks," said Ron gratefully."It will do for now, we'll find healers in the camp by now I believe. Our tent was destroyed in the riots so we'll have to ask a ministry worker for another sleeping arrangement.""Maybe we can go to our tent, it was on the other side of the camp and shouldn't have gotten in the way," said Ron and Harry continued."I think that the others might be there too.""The others?""Mr Weasley, Sirius and dad, I think that Rose, Matthew, Neville and Ginny should be there also.""What makes you think that? I haven't seen any of them since the riot started.""We ran into dad and Sirius on our way here, just before the dark mark appeared, they apparated to the spot I imagined straight away.""But what about the children?" asked Remus without noticing that he spoke to them as adults."Umm, they are probably right under the mark, you know, with their pennant for trouble they couldn't be anywhere else. And if not, Ginny will probably lead them to their tent seeing as our part of the field is still on fire.""Can't argue with logic," acquiesced Remus and scoped up five year old Leo in his arms. "Well then, lead the way Mr Weasley."It didn't take long to get out of the forest, but by the time they did everyone was tired and dirty. Sienna was constantly complaining over all the sticks that were stuck in her hair while Lucinda was slowing them down by stubbornly trying to collect every stone she found on the way.Ron and Harry walked slightly ahead of the group, talking quietly to each other."I really need to control fire, I don't care about the blisters but I should have been able to quell the flames," sighed Ron in a frustrated voice."You will learn, you've got it instinctively, you just need to find it," encouraged Harry. "But we'll need to be more careful in the future, we lost control.""We did, didn't we."When they arrived at the Weasley tent they were greeted by a large crowd, it seemed that they were right about James and Sirius coming here."There you are Harry," came James relieved voice from the kitchen. "Thanks for finding him Moony, things got a bit stressful for awhile there," he said in a mock serious voice but Harry could hear the weariness underneath. Remus must have picked up on it to as he spoke up."Did they capture any of the Death Eaters?""No we didn't get close enough to rip their masks off, as soon as they saw the Dark Mark they apparated.""And what of the dark mark?" asked Remus.Mr Weasley and James glanced at the kids that surrounded them before retreating to the kitchen, the silence from the room indicated that a silencing ward had been cast."So what happened in the wood, did you see who cast the dark mark?" asked Harry, immediately rounding on Ginny, Matthew and Rose."Well when everyone started shouting we all ran to the trees. It was chaos, people running around everywhere, we lost the twins and Mr Longbottom," said Ginny."We knew that we were in trouble if the Death Eaters would have found us, with Neville. But at least we were ready for them," said Rose in a confident voice.Sure you were, snorted Harry knowing that they would have been dead had any Death Eaters run into them."We actually saw the person who cast the Dark Mark," added Matthew in a stage whisper, well aware of the eager faces of the audience."You did! Who was it?" asked Ron in an exited voice, that anyone should have seen through. Matthew didn't though and continued."We didn't see his face, we just saw his dark robes and his mask. He lifted his wand and said Morsmorde. Then the mark appeared and he apparated.""Then of course all the aurors showed up. They tried to stun us before they realized who we were. A little pudgy man even accused Neville of casting the dark mark. He was really angry, our dads were there too and we got to give them a testimony.""There was no one else there? They didn't find any evidence of who it might have been?""No but we recon that it was the leader who signaled the Death Eaters to retreat. If we had two more seconds we would have been able to stun him. Imagine if we caught a Death Eater!" said Ginny in an eager voice."If you had had two more seconds and you had been stupid enough to reveal yourselves then you probably would have been dead right now. Death Eaters fight to kill and they don't play fairly," growled Ron harshly causing the others to look at him."And what does ickle Ronnikins knows about Death Eaters?" said Ginny scornfully. "The only time you ever hear about Death Eaters is when mum told you a bed time story about Neville Longbottom.""We now what Death Eaters do!" said Harry in a low voice. "We saw it, what they were doing in the camping field. What they were doing to the muggles, you are lucky that he didn't saw you." The others looked eager to hear more but when neither Harry nor Ron volunteered any more information they all lapsed into an uncomfortable silence."Where is Neville?" asked Sienna after a few minutes. "Didn't you say he was with you?""He and his dad got one of the ministry's emergency port-key, you know with him being the boy-who-lived and everything.""He is probably already at home.""Well lucky him," commented Charlie as he came back from the kitchen were the adults had set up base. "We will stay here tonight and seeing as Potter and Blacks tent was destroyed your parents decided that you will stay here too.""What! Can't we apparate home," groaned Rose as the twins cheered."Wicked! A giant sleepover party," shouted Fred in glee."Party all night long," shouted George."The only party you will be having is tooth brushing," said Arthur who entered the living room. "It's been a long day for every one""So off to bed... hmm it will be a bit crowded but I think we will manage. We can't put any enlargement charms on the tent, even if I knew any, so we'll have to manage with makeshifts beds," said James and raised his wand, transfiguring Lucinda's stones into several beds."I don't wanna sleep with Percy, he snores," screamed Fred and George in unison as they grabbed one bed each and darted into one of the bedrooms, slamming the door close after them."I don't wanna sleep with any boys," said Rose and dragged Ginny with her to the largest bedroom, closely followed by Lucinda and Sienna.Ron and Harry remained sitting in the sofa for a few more minutes, choosing to ignore the chaos around them. They were discreetly holding hands and Harry had to resist the urge to lean against Ron's shoulder."You think anyone would object if we shared bed," whispered Ron after awhile when the shouts and ruckus had died down from the bathroom. "I mean, there is so little space and all, it's just practical.""Who says that we would listen to their objections, I won't sleep alone after today," said Harry adamant and risked a quick kiss on Ron's cheek before getting up dragging Ron with him.That very same night a snow white owl left the camp and set of towards London. She would arrive in the morning, along with the owl carrying the daily prophet. The letter read.Dear MioneNo doubt you will soon read about what happened during the world cup. Ron and I really ended up in the thick of things, even though we stayed in the shadows and no one can remember seeing us. No worries we are unharmed, well except for some minor burns. The under age restriction is a pain; we had to resort to secondary skills. Ron's particular skill still doesn't cooperate. He got quite the burnt mark on his hands.We both feel horribly about the muggles burned down house. Apparently death eaters had shown up but instead of just kidnapping the muggles they set the house on fire. Chaos was inside and the family was trapped inside.We really miss you and as usual we were quite lost without your brilliance to guide us. You will get the full story when we see each other next time.Love Harry and RonBy the time the owl had disappeared from view the two boys were fast asleep, curled closely together on a makeshift bed in the overcrowded tent. There had been objections at first about them sleeping together, but the adults were later convinced differently – after all, it was innocent, they were like brothers, weren't they? In the end, the lack of space won out and they were allowed, even though Fred and George teased them relentlessly about it.They were grateful though, the others presence calmed their nightmares. They slept peaceful all night long, safe in each others embrace.