✓ | RECKLESS AND BRAVE | Draco Malfoy

36 | JEJUNE

JEJUNE
(adj.) naive, simplistic, superficial

TESSA COULDN'T KEEP THE GRIN OFF HER FACE AS SHE AND GEORGE FINISHED COUNTING THEIR MONEY.

"Don't tell either of your mothers you've been gambling," Arthur mumbled to the three of them.

"Don't worry, Dad," Fred hummed gleefully, "we've got big plans for this money. We don't want it confiscated."

Tessa raised a hand. "I'm not really part of their plans — I just want food." Harry snorted at that.

     Arthur merely sighed before they caught up with the flooding crowds as they all broke out into bawdy singing that echoed into the air. They arrived into their tents, still loudly singing and talking, so Arthur agreed to let them have a cup of cocoa. After a while, Tessa, Ginny, and Hermione had to return to their tent as everyone retired for the evening.

     Tessa couldn't sleep that night, not when everyone else outside her tent was busy booting wildly at the top of their lungs. She didn't bother changing into her pajamas, instead swapping her top for another of Philip's white button-down she'd stolen again, and kept her jeans.

     "Mione," she called out in the darkness. She was greeted by mumbling that told her to shut up and go to sleep. She chuckled softly, staring at the overhead of the tent and wished for open skies and winking stars before shutting her eyes.

     It was perhaps no more than an hour before Tessa was roughly woken up with a jolt. She gasped and shot out of bed, roving eyes scanning her surroundings to take in a panicky Hermione and Ginny.

     "What's happening?" she managed to ask just before there was a mangled scream coming from outside.

     Without even waiting to hear their response, Tessa shoved her shoes on and yanked on her coat before hastily pushing Hermione and Ginny out of the tent. She stumbled on her feet when she took in the sight outside — at the people screaming and running as they fled from something.

     The sound of roaring laughter echoed the field, followed by a burst of coruscating green light. From the distance, Tessa could see a pack of wizards with their wands raised to the sky as they marched. They were Voldemort's followers, she could tell instantly with the way hoods covered their heads and masks on their faces. She glanced above them and stumbled backwards into Harry who steadied her.

High above floated four figures whose bodies were bent into grotesque shapes with the wizards below controlling them. She heard Harry suck in a sharp breath, and she realized why when she saw who were the bodies up in the air — Mr. Roberts and his family.

     "That's sick," Ron muttered. "That is really sick . . . "

     "We're going to help the Ministry!" Arthur shouted over all the noise. "You lot — get into the woods, and stick together. I'll come and fetch you when we've sorted this out!"

     The three eldest Weasley brothers were already hurrying over to the masked wizards with Arthur right behind them.

     "C'mon," Fred said and held onto Ginny's hand to pull her over to the woods. They all trailed after him closely, making sure to stick together.

     They neared the path in the trees where the colored lanterns were now extinguished, when a stream of people shrieking and crying ran past them. Tessa grunted in pain as she felt someone roughly elbow her ribs to get through, and stumbled when more children pushed around in panic.

     She tried to huddle closer to Hermione, when she heard a child cry out from behind her. Daring a glance over her shoulder, Tessa saw a young boy perhaps two or three years old, crumpled to the floor and bawling for his mother. She hesitated, glancing from her group to the boy before cursing softly under her breath and turning the other direction to the boy.