May the Best Man Win |×| Fred Weasley | 1 |×|

×| THIRTY-EIGHT |×

EVELYN DIDN'T SLEEP WELL THAT NIGHT. The excitement of the match didn't wear off until hours after it concluded and the Irish had celebrated so long into the night that when the leprechauns finally stopped flying over her tent she had been too drowsy to really notice. She lay in her bottom bunk, underneath Nikki, with a contented smile on her lips, staring at the underneath of Nikki's bed and thinking about nothing in particular in a waking dream-like state.

At some point she must have actually fallen asleep, because she was torn from a particularly lovely dream about herself on a champion quidditch team by the violent shaking of her shoulders, muffled screams and her parents' slightly panicked orders.

It was all wrong.

Nothing was explained.

A tired Evelyn couldn't understand what was happening.

There was no joyous singing - only crashes and bangs and screeches and thuds. There was no time to ask questions - only pulling on shoes and jumpers and scrambling for wands. There was nothing to be done - only to get up and get out and try not to give in to fright.

Evelyn stepped shuddering into the biting air outside the tent. The night sky was bright with burning fires and shots of searing light. Each burst of flames and bomb of sparks illuminated the scene save for the shadowy figures in the distance that were fleeing towards the woods nearby. Evelyn unconsciously linked her arm into Max's as she turned away from the retreating figures and towards the impending mass which they were running from.

Green light exploded from an oncoming crowd of wizards, moving as one single being with their wands stretched towards the sky. As they came closer through the field, Evelyn noticed that their heads were hooded and their faces masked. Their wands pointed to an awful sight high above them that made Evelyn's insides turn. Four misshapen, malformed, grotesque figures were levitated in the air, held captive by the masked wizards who manipulated the unrecognisable bodies. Evelyn swallowed at the horrible sight, four bodies - two smaller and two larger - being mutilated and controlled in writhing forms in mid air.

Others joined in the chaos, jeering and cheering and pointing and guffawing at the levitated bodies and the wizards kept marching through the field, uncaring of anything in their way. The screaming grew louder as more tents burst into flames, cast aside and crumpled. Ashton let out a girlish squeak and latched onto Evelyn's other arm as the tent next to their's collapsed to the ground.

Others ran past them in pursuit of the hopeful safety of the nearby forest. Evelyn felt a hand on her upper back and turned her head to see her father looking gravely down at her.

"Go." He said simply.

Evelyn didn't need to be told twice. She could tell that both her parents and her brother were prepared to stay behind to clear the mess and help the ministry workers bring the masked wizards down from their evil. She didn't say a word as she pulled her two friends away from the crowd, Nikki close on their heels.

Evelyn didn't look back until they'd reached the trees. The crowd beneath the floating figures was larger than ever, the fires burning brighter and the screams carrying harshly on the wind. She could not tear her eyes from the scene. Her arms slipped out of her friends grip's and her feet were stuck fast to the leafy floor and her mind raced with fears and undistinguishable worries. She shivered, still wearing her pyjama shorts and t-shirt beneath her jumper, and stood frozen to the spot until the gentle pulls of Ashton and Max brought her back to the action. Together, they followed the escaping huddles of wizards and witches into the woods, leaving the burning campsite and her family behind them, and Evelyn tried her best to ignore the nagging feeling in the back of her mind and the sick feeling in her stomach.