Love Is In The Air: The Angelic Witch And Draco Malfoy (Book 4)

The Dark Mark

Bill didn't mention Charlie's and Draco's ruckus to anyone. He took Charlie ahead from all of them to ask him why he had jumped on Draco. But none of the others noticed this. When they finally reached the tents, nobody felt like sleeping at all, and given the level of noise around them, Mr Weasley agreed that they could all have one last cup of cocoa together before turning in. They were soon arguing enjoyably about the match; Mr Weasley got drawn into a disagreement about cobbing with Charlie, and it was only when Ginny fell asleep right at the tiny table and spilt hot chocolate all over the floor that Mr Weasley called a halt to the verbal replays and insisted that everyone go to bed. Heroneka, Hermione and Ginny went into the next tent, changed into their nightdresses and clambered into their beds, which were very close to each other. From the other side of the campsite, they could still hear much singing and the odd echoing bang.

"Dad is so lucky that he isn't on Duty," muttered Ginny sleepily. "He wouldn't fancy having to go and tell the Irish they've got to stop celebrating."

Heroneka, who was closest to the entrance of the tent, lay staring up at the canvas ceiling of the tent, watching the glow of an occasional leprechaun lantern flying overhead. Her mind kept buzzing with what Draco had said -- leave now! Go back to the Weasleys. Why had he said that? And then, there was Charlie. What was going through his mind? Why was he getting so close to Heroneka? They had only met a day ago and there was a fire between them already. And then, the fight between Draco and Charlie.

Heroneka never knew whether or not she had actually dropped off to sleep - she could tell that something was wrong. The noises in the campsite had changed. The singing had stopped. She could hear screams and the sound of people running.

Heroneka got up from her bed and looked over at Hermione and Ginny. They were in a deep slumber. Heroneka's heart began to race against her chest. She heard people screaming outside.

"Snitchy!" Bill came running into their tent. "Ginny! Wake up!"

"Get Hermione!" Charlie was right behind him.

Hermione and Ginny had barely woken up.

"What is happening?" Heroneka panicked as Charlie grabbed her hand.

"Get up! Ginny - Hermione - come on now, get up, this is urgent!" Bill shook them up and Hermione woke up looking startled.

Ginny sat up quickly and looked at them sleepily.

"'S' matter?" She said.

Charlie almost dragged Heroneka towards the only entrance of the tent."No time, Ginny - just grab a coat and get outside - quickly! You have to hide!" He looked at Heroneka.

"Hide?" Heroneka shuddered. "What --" she grabbed her coat and pulled it over her nightdress.

Bill beckoned Hermione and Ginny out after Heroneka.

By the light of the few fires that were still burning, she could see people running away into the woods, fleeing something that was moving across the field toward them, something that was emitting odd flashes of light and noises like gunfire. Loud jeering, roars of laughter, and drunken yells were drifting toward them; then came a burst of strong green light, which illuminated the scene.

A crowd of wizards, tightly packed and moving together with wands pointing straight upward, was marching slowly across the field. Heroneka squinted at them...They didn't seem to have faced...Then she realized that their heads were hooded and their faces masked. High above them, floating along in midair, four struggling figures were being contorted into grotesque shapes. It was as though the masked wizards on the ground were puppeteers, and the people above them were marionettes operated by invisible strings that rose from the wands into the air. Two of the figures were very small.