Harry's hair stopped blowing about. He raised his head a little higher. The wizard in front of him had lowered his wand. He rolled over and saw Arthur striding toward them, looking terrified.
"Ron— Harry—" his voice sounded shaky "—Hermione— are you all right?"
"Harry!" gasped James and Lily.
"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. Harry got to his feet to face them. Mr. Crouch's face was taut with rage.
"Which of you did it?" he snapped, his sharp eyes darting between them. "Which of you conjured the Dark Mark?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Crouch," Lily snapped.
"We didn't do that!" said Harry, gesturing up at the skull.
"We didn't do anything!" said Ron, who was rubbing his elbow and looking indignantly at his father. "What did you want to attack us for?"
"Do not lie, sir!" shouted Mr. Crouch. His wand was still pointing directly at Ron, and his eyes were popping— he looked slightly mad. "You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!"
"I think you're forgetting who you're accusing!" James said in dismay.
"Barty," whispered 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 three?" said Arthur quickly.
"Over there," said Hermione shakily, pointing at the place where they had heard the voice. "There was someone behind the trees... they shouted words— an incantation—"
"Oh, stood over there, did they?" said Mr. Crouch, turning his popping eyes on Hermione now, disbelief etched all over his face. "Said an incantation, did they? You seem very well informed about how the Mark is summoned, missy—"
But none of the Ministry wizards apart from Mr. Crouch seemed to think it remotely likely that Harry, Ron, or Hermione had conjured the skull; on the contrary, at Hermione's words, they had all raised their wands again and were pointing in the direction she had indicated, squinting through the dark trees.
"We're too late," said the witch in the woollen dressing gown, shaking her head. "They'll have Disapparated."
"I don't think so," said a wizard with a scrubby brown beard. It was Amos Diggory, Cedric's father. "Our Stunners went right through those trees... There's a good chance we got them..."
"Amos, be careful!" said a few of the wizards warning as Amos squared his shoulders, raised his wand, marched across the clearing, and disappeared into the darkness. Hermione watched him vanish with her hands over her mouth.
A few seconds later, they heard Amos shout.
"Yes! We got them! There's someone here! Unconscious! It's— but— blimey..."
"You've got someone?" shouted Mr. Crouch, sounding highly disbelieving. "Who? Who is it?"
They heard snapping twigs, the rustling of leaves, and then crunching footsteps as Amos reemerged from behind the trees. He was carrying a tiny, limp figure in his arms. Harry recognized the tea towel at once. It was Winky.
Mr. Crouch did not move or speak as Amos deposited his elf at his feet. The other Ministry wizards were all staring at Mr. Crouch. For a few seconds, Crouch remained transfixed, his eyes blazing in his white face as he stared down at Winky. Then he appeared to come to life again.
"This— cannot— be," he said jerkily. "No—"
He moved quickly around Amos and strode off toward the place where he had found Winky.
"No point, Mr. Crouch," Amos called after him. "There's no one else there."
But Mr. Crouch did not seem prepared to take his word for it. They could hear him moving around and the rustling of leaves as he pushed the bushes aside, searching.
"Bit embarrassing," Amos said grimly, looking down at Winky's unconscious form. "Barty Crouch's house-elf... I mean to say..."
