DARK SOULS ☽ 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚏𝚘𝚢

𝔦𝔵 | fourth year

Cheers echo around the stadium as Ireland's team soars by on their brooms, white and green smoke ascending into the sky. We cheer from Aurora's family's private box, near the other Ministry boxes. Our view is astounding, as the Irish team fly about the stadium, a dancing leprechaun made of little lights illuminates the sky above us.

Daphne laughs, cheering, and whispers to be, "Just wait until Bulgaria comes out! They're amazing." I smile, new to this experience, and try to absorb everything.

Green and white illuminates us as fireworks explode and the stadium cheers. Suddenly, red flashes through my vision as the Bulgarian team shoots out from the left side, soaring through the sky, right through the dancing leprechaun, destroying it . I hear gasps from around me, and Blaise cheers loudly.

A large image of the Bulgarian Seeker, Victor Krum, appears on the stands opposite me. I cheer, as the announcers begin talking, describing the assets of each team.

"Zabini!" A call comes from above us. I turn around, recognizing the voice, and see Draco. I sigh in annoyance, and Blaise begins to walk over to join him, "What are you doing with this odd group of mudbloods."

I roll my eyes. Of course Malfoy has to find a way to pick me out, even though I'm with a group that is entirely made of pure-blooded wizards, excluding me of course.

"You've come to aggressively flirt with Larkspur again, I see." I think I hear Blaise tell Draco and he scoffs.

"No! I just don't see how you can surround yourself with such blood traitors," He scowls at me, "Might I remind you what her father did."

"Shut your mouth, Malfoy!" I yell, "I'm not my father." A man with long, silvery hair similar to Draco's appears behind the boy. I recognize him immediately, Lucius Malfoy. One of the men that pushed for my father's expulsion from the Ministry of Magic. Though I agree my father should have been punished, he shouldn't have been stripped of all of his wizarding rights.

"Ah, the Larkspur girl," Lucius says, his tone condescending, "It's interesting to meet such a ... bright witch." He raises an eyebrow, holding his black cane with both hands.

"Don't concern yourself with her, Father," Draco says, "She's a half-blooded cow." I roll my eyes at him.

"Now, now, Draco," His father puts a hand on his son's shoulder, "Be nice to the young lady, she is, in fact, one of your Slytherin classmates, and as she said, she is not her father."

Though his words seem nice, I know the meaning behind them. I am not the same as my father, not the same house, not the same ideals. Lucius' goal will always be to tear the Ministry into factions, as my father always says. Draco gives me one final look, which I cannot decipher, and turns away with his father.

"Sorry, Y/N." Blaise mumbles, trying to apologize for being friends with Draco.

"It's fine. I couldn't care less."

❂

Later, Micah and Blaise are in an argument over which team played better, even though Ireland won, when sudden cheers and chants arise outside.

"That game was amazing," I say, talking to Daphne, "Quidditch is just so interesting to watch. I wish I hadn't been raised in a household that only cared about Muggle Studies and the grades I'll get at Hogwarts." A home that actually appreciated the wizarding world, and didn't long to be upon the Muggles. But, I guess my father got his dream in the end.

"I know, it's--" she is cut off by screaming outside. Our tent is lit up by an ominous red light, suggesting that fires burn outside. Daphne gasps, and goes with Aurora to step outside.

"Oh my Merlin!" Aurora screams, and her parents rush over from where they were sitting in the dining room. I follow with the rest, glancing out of the tent flap.

Hordes of people are running to the left, looking like they're trying to escape something. Aurora points, gesturing to a group of hooded individuals, moving slowly through the emptied tents. People are on the ground, looking incapacitated, or maybe even dead.

Immediately, everyone in our group starts running, "They're Death Eaters!" Daphne screams, running ahead of us, her hand on Blaise's arm. My body quakes with adrenaline, and I pull my wand out of my waistband in self defense.

"Aurora, wait!" I scream as the rest of the group hurries ahead of me and gets pulled into the rest of the crowd. The screaming drowns out my yells, and I sprint, trying to catch up with them, but can't because of the amount of people, "Stop!"

Fear courses through me as someone shoves me out of their way, carrying a child, and I almost fall to the floor. Pressing against the backs of people dressed in red and green, I push my way through the moving crowd, unable to make any progress. Suddenly, I am thrown to the floor by someone in a hooded cloak. Everything goes black.

❂

I hear an angered conversation coming from my right as I come to. A group of people are standing together, and for a second I feel fear that they're Death Eaters, but as my vision focuses, I see red-headed Weasley and Granger standing among the group.

"Hello?" I call out, and a couple people turn their heads, but my vision moves to above them, where a large amass of green smoke has appeared in the sky. A skull with a snake coming out of it's mouth, the Dark Mark.

"Y/N Larkspur?" Hermione questions with concern, walking over to me, "Is that you?"

"Hermione." I rasp and she grabs my arms, helping me up.

"What happened?" She asks, "Did they hurt you in any way." She holds up my arms, looking for blood on my body. It seems like the last time we spoke, our disagreement about Draco, has gone out the window. The only thing the witch seems to care about is my safety.

"No, I'm fine. What is going on? Why are Death Eaters here?" Questions spill out of me, and my body shakes with fear.

"We don't know."