Natsu Dragneel and the Goblet of Fire

The Dark Mark

"Don't tell Skiadrum you've been gambling," Mrs. Milkovich implored Erza and Mira as they all made their way slowly down the purple-carpeted stairs.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Milkovich," said Mira gleefully, "we've got big plans for this money. We don't want it confiscated."

Mrs. Milkovich looked for a moment as though he was going to ask what these big plans were, but seemed to decide, upon reflection, that he didn't want to know.

They were soon caught up in the crowds now flooding out of the stadium and back to their campsites. Raucous singing was borne toward them on the night air as they retraced their steps along the lantern-lit path, and leprechauns kept shooting over their heads, cackling and waving their lanterns. When they finally reached the tents, nobody felt like sleeping at all, and given the level of noise around them, Mrs. Milkovich agreed that they could all have one last cup of cocoa together before turning in. They were soon arguing enjoyably about the match; Mrs. Milkovich got drawn into a disagreement about cobbing with Ultear, and it was only when Meredy fell asleep right at the tiny table and spilled hot chocolate all over the floor that Mrs. Milkovich called a halt to the verbal replays and insisted that everyone go to bed.

Lucy, Mrs. Milkovich, Erza, Mira, Lisanna, Ultear, and Meredy went into the next tent, and Natsu and the boys changed into pajamas and clambered into their bunks. From the other side of the campsite they could still hear much singing and the odd echoing bang.

Natsu, who was on a top bunk above Gray, lay staring up at the canvas ceiling of the tent, watching the glow of an occasional leprechaun lantern flying overhead, and picturing again some of Straight's more spectacular moves. He was itching to get back on his own Firebolt and try out the Wronski Feint...

Somehow Erza had never managed to convey with all her wriggling diagrams what that move was supposed to look like... Natsu saw himself in robes that had his name on the back, and imagined the sensation of hearing a hundred-thousand-strong crowd roar, as Gem Gemini's voice echoed throughout the stadium, "I give you... Dragneel!"

Natsu never knew whether or not he had actually dropped off to sleep – his fantasies of flying like Straight's might well have slipped into actual dreams - all he knew was that, quite suddenly, Mrs. Milkovich was shouting.

"Get up! Gray - Natsu - come on now, get up, this is urgent!"

Natsu sat up quickly and the top of his head hit canvas.

"S' matter?" he said.

Dimly, he could tell that something was wrong. The noises in the campsite had changed. The singing had stopped. He could hear screams, and the sound of people running. He slipped down from the bunk and reached for his clothes, but Mrs. Milkovich, who had pulled on her jeans over her own pajamas, said, "No time, Natsu - just grab a jacket and get outside - quickly!"

Natsu did as he was told and hurried out of the tent, Gray at his heels. By the light of the few fires that were still burning, he 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. Natsu squinted at them... They didn't seem to have faces... Then he 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.