Clutching their purchases, Arthur had led them into the woods, following the lantern lit trail. They could all hear the sound of thousands of people around them, hurrying and squealing excitedly. The atmosphere around them was infectious and it was hard to not be excited for the game. They walked for about twenty minutes, and Jake talked with his three classmates the entire way to the stadium, until at last they emerged on the other side and found themselves in the shadow of the gigantic stadium.
"Seats about a hundred thousand," Arthur informed them, having most likely spotted the look on Harry's, Hermione's, and Jake's faces, "Ministry task force of five hundred have been working on it all year. Muggle Repelling Charms on every inch of it. Anytime a Muggle has gotten anywhere near here, they've suddenly remembered urgent appointments and had to dash away again... bless them," he added fondly, leading the way toward the nearest entrance, which was already surrounded by many shouting Witches and Wizards.
"Prime seats," the Ministry Witch had said to Arthur after checking all of their tickets, except for Jake's, "Top Box! Straight upstairs and as high as you can go!" They hurried up, and Hermione almost waited, but Jake told her to go on, that he'd be right there. The Ministry Witch took his ticket and was avoiding eye contact, at least at first she was. When she looked up, her face said that she had confirmed her suspicion, "M-Mr. Kidd, a-an honor to b-be the one to check your t-ticket. S-Same as your friends," she smiled kindly at him.
"Thank you," he said and walked up after them. As he climbed the stairs, he tried to find them, he wasn't that far behind, but he had little success with how many people were busy getting into their seats. During his climb, he came across Luna again, "Luna!"
She turned upon hearing her name and her smile grew, "Jake!" She ran up to him and embraced him out of habit. He tensed a little bit, but wasn't as put off by it. She let go of him a moment later, "Going up after Ginny and them?"
"You saw them pass?" He asked, having to talk louder than usual over the crowd of people.
"I did, I saw Hermione, she kept glancing back behind her, now I know why," Luna smiled an oddly cheeky smile.
"D-Don't know what you're talking about," he said, trying to play it off as nothing. That kiss Hermione had planted on his lips near the end of Third Year when she thought he was unconscious, even if he was pretending to be out-of-it, it was his first kiss, and even though it wasn't passionate or anything like that, it still meant a lot to him, 'But would Hermione even continue to like me? She didn't change when I told her I was a Descendant of Merlin... still... there is nothing keeping her from unliking me and liking someone else... loving someone else.' Luna's eyes danced with something Jake couldn't place, "You should've... um... y-you should've told me you were going to be here at the World Cup, I could've and would've gladly gotten you and your father better seats," he said, noticing that, while they were high, they weren't that close to the Top Box either.
"Oh, it's alright, just getting to come here at all is a wonderful thing, regardless of the seat you get, but it would've been nice talking to Ginny..." she trailed off, looked away, glanced back at him for a moment, then looked away again.
"At the next world cup, just let me know and I will," he smiled at her and said goodbye, continuing the search for his friends.
Because of how many people he still had to push past, it took him even longer than it should've to get up to the Top Box. Upon finally making it up there, he heard the voice of Cornelius Fudge, and he did not like what he said, "... ah, and here's Lucius!"
Jake indeed saw Lucius Malfoy, or at least the back of him. He was standing, assumedly glaring at the Weasley's, Harry, and Hermione.
"Ah, Fudge," Jake saw him holding out his hand to the Minister, "I don't think you've met my wife, Narcissa? Or my son, Draco?"
"How do you do, how do you do?" Fudge said, smiling as he bowed to Narcissa, "and allow me to introduce the Bulgarian Minister, Mr. Oblansk - Obalonsk - well, he can't understand a word I'm saying, so it matters little. I daresay you've met Arthur Weasley, yes?"
Jake walked right up behind him, no one noticed him at all yet. He did hear Lucius speak softly, "Good lord, Arthur... What did you sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?" Jake tapped Lucius on the shoulder. He turned and saw Jake, "Oh, you, what are you doing up here in the Top Box? Get your ticket like Arthur did?"
"I paid for mine, actually, what did you do, threaten Ludo Bagman for three tickets?" Jake asked and stood there, unmoved by Lucius' attempt at attaining the dominant ground, but he didn't wait for an answer, "Now get out of my way."
"You will show me respect, boy," Lucius hissed, trying the same thing as at the end of his Second Year.
Hermione was standing now to see Jake more clearly, who dismissed Lucius' words, "Move out of my way, or I will move you out of my way, the choice is yours." Even without his eye being red, Hermione saw the menacing look Jake was giving Lucius.
"You will not talk to my husband that way," Hermione turned and saw Narcissa standing.
Jake turned to look at her. He didn't say anything, but she faltered ever so slightly under his glare. He turned back to Lucius, "Last time I'm going to tell you," his eye started to glow a dull red, "get out of my way, or I will force you out of my way."
Fudge grabbed Lucius by the arm, "Just move, for the love of Merlin..." Fudge didn't want a scene to happen at the World Cup, for any reason at all. He was willing to be lenient this time given the heritage of Jake, coming from the most Noble Bloodline.
Jake watched him the entire time he was made to move by Fudge, his red eye dissipating into its usual blue color. He tore his eye from Lucius, briefly noticing a House Elf sitting in the same row that the Malfoy's chose to sit, and made to sit next to Hermione. He didn't know it, but Ron had almost sat in the seat beside her, Harry was in the seat on her right, but she threatened Ron with great pain if he took the seat she was saving for Jake, so Ron had to sit on Harry's right side.
Hermione looked at him as he sat down, everyone in the immediate area returning some sense of normalcy. At least, until she heard Draco mutter something under his breath. She looked at Jake again, he closed his eye and was trying his best to remain calm.
Then Hermione heard Lucius speaking, but he was a little louder than his son, "Purebloods associating with such-"
It happened faster than even Hermione expected. Jake was on his feet, over the seat, and had grabbed Lucius Malfoy by the scruff of his clothing, lifted him off the ground, and had his wand pressed into the man's neck, "Finish the sentence. I. Fucking. Dare you."
Hermione looked around and saw many people in the Top Box looking at them. She saw the Bulgarian Prime Minister and he seemed amused by the situation.
"Jake, c-calm down now-" Fudge tried to mediate the situation, but Jake showed no sign of even lowering his wand.
"Finish it!" Jake yelled angrily. People upwards of forty feet away were looking in their direction to see what was going on.
It was only Hermione's intervention that stopped him, "Jake," she had stepped over the seats and was standing beside him, "he's not worth it, okay? He isn't worth all this trouble," she placed her hand on his left tricep.
He took longer than usual, but he eventually dropped Lucius down into his seat, "You, or your worthless son even so much as think about talking down on Hermione again, or even dare to use that derogatory term in front of me, I'll skin you alive and leave your carcass for my Raven."
The Weasley's had never seen Lucius Mafloy afraid, not once in their lives, until that promise Jake had made to him. The fear in his eyes was impossible to miss.
Jake climbed over his seat with Hermione and settled back into the chair when Ludo Bagman arrived, "Everyone ready-" he paused for a moment, "What happened?" He had asked just as the Malfoy's got up and moved farther down the Top Box to different seats.
"Just get on with it, Ludo, please?" Fudge almost begged of him.
He nodded and whipped out his wand, directed it at his own throat and said Sonorus quietly, "Ladies and Gentlemen!" His voice boomed over the loud stadium, reaching every corner, "Welcome! Welcome to the Finals of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"
The spectators screamed and clapped. Thousands of flags were waved in correspondence with the team that was being supported. The advertisement boards all stopped and showed the scores, BULGARIA: 0, IRELAND: 0.
"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce... the Bulgarian Team Mascots!" Bagman said in a booming voice.
The right half of the stadium, which was almost a solid block of scarlet, roared its approval. Hermione saw the Mascots come out, and she groaned upon seeing what they were, " Veela ."
She looked at every guy around her and they all couldn't stop looking and staring. She put her full attention on Jake, "Jake?" She voiced his name.
He took a second, but he tore his eyes from the Veela with apparent ease, "Yeah?" He asked, looking right at Hermione.
"You - you aren't affected by them?" She asked, a slight glimmer of hope in her voice.
"As cliché as this may sound, I'm attracted to intelligence, Hermione, no Veela Charm is going to affect me," he gave her a gentle smile. He turned back to watch the Veela start dancing. Every few seconds or so, he heard Hermione call his name during their performance, and every time he looked at her, smiling when he did. He knew what she had been doing, she wanted to be sure he wasn't under their influence, and it never happened. He only loved one girl, and it was the one who kept checking on him until the Veela stopped.
When they did, he and Hermione looked around and saw a lot of guys complaining, and some of them, like Harry, about to do something stupid. Hermione grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back to his seat, " Honestly !" She was heard saying.
"And now," Bagman's voice roared again, "kindly put your wands in the air... for the Irish National Team Mascots!"
The next moment, what seemed to be a great green and gold comet came zooming into the stadium. It did one circuit of the stadium, then split into two smaller comets, each hurtling toward the goal posts. A rainbow arced suddenly across the field, connecting the two balls of light. The crowd oooohed and aaaahed, as though at a fireworks display. Now the rainbow faded and the balls of light reunited and merged; they had formed a great shimmering shamrock, which rose up into the sky and began to soar over the stands. Something like golden rain seemed to be falling from it, "Excellent!" Ron had yelled as the shamrock soared over them, and heavy gold coins rained from it, bouncing off their heads and seats.
"Leprechauns!" Arthur yelled over the tumultuous applause of the crowd, many of whom were still fighting and rummaging around under their chairs to retrieve the gold.
"There you go," Ron yelled happily, stuffing a fistful of gold coins into Harry's hands, "For the Omnioculars! Now you've got to buy me a Christmas present, ha!"
"It's Leprechaun Gold, Ron, it doesn't-" Jake was about to explain the fact that because it was Leprechaun Gold, it was going to disappear after a little while, but when he realized the redhead wasn't paying attention, he sighed and settled into his seat, letting Ron live in blissful ignorance.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome - the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team! I give you - Dimitrov! Ivanova! Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Volkov! Aaaaaaaand - Krum !"
"That's him, that's him!" Ron yelled excitedly.
Hermione sat there, looking at each of the Bulgarian players, but she just didn't understand Ron's obsession with Krum. He was kind of handsome, sure, but he was far from being Jake.
"And now, please greet - the Irish National Quidditch Team!" Bagman yelled, "Presenting - Connolly! Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! Aaaaaaaand - Lynch !"
Jake pulled up his Omnioculars to get a look at each of the Irish players. They looked confident and fierce, like they were ready to tear through the Bulgarian's. His eyes caught Moran, a female Irish Chaser, and he thought she was rather attractive, but he didn't put more thought into it as he knew that his chances were in the negatives with her.
"And here, all the way from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa!"
A small and skinny wizard, completely bald except for a mustache, wearing robes of pure gold to match the stadium, strode out onto the field. A silver whistle was protruding from under the mustache, and he was carrying a large wooden crate under one arm, his broomstick under the other. He set the crate down, mounted his broom, and kicked it open - four balls burst into the air; the scarlet Quaffle (which Jake figured either the Quaffle or the Box was charmed to do), the two black Bludgers, and the miniscule, winged Golden Snitch that Jake saw fly high, but he lost it amongst the flag wavers and crowd on the opposite end of the stadium. With a sharp blast on his whistle, Mostafa shot into the air after the balls.
"Theeeeeeeeeey're OFF!" Bagman's voice boomed, "And it's Mullet! Troy! Moran! Dimitrov! Back to Mullet! Troy! Levski! Moran!"
Jake was seeing Quidditch played professionally for the very first time, Quidditch being played how you'd never see a school team play. The players were so fast, Bagman only had enough time to call out their names as it got passed between them all. He saw immediately why these two teams were facing off against each other in the Finals.
He watched as the Irish players all practically stormed the Goal Posts, and, "TROY SCORES!" Bagman was heard yelling, "Ten-Zero to Ireland!"
Hermione was on her feet, jumping up and down as Troy did a lap of honor around the field.
Ireland scored twice more in ten minutes after the initial goal, bringing them to Thirty-Zero, and the Irish Supporters caused a thunderous applause with each goal. The match was becoming more brutal the longer it went on, with the Bulgarian Beaters, Vulchanov and Volkov, whacking the Bludgers more fiercely than Jake had ever seen. It was causing the Irish Chasers to break their formations and prevent them from using their best moves.
Bulgaria eventually got their first goal, "Fingers in your ears!" Hermione heard Arthur yell and she heard and saw the Veela down below dancing and singing. She glanced at Jake, but he didn't heed Arthur's advice.
"Jake?" She said his name loud enough for him to hear, and when he looked at her with his gentle smile directed at her, the butterflies fluttered wildly in her stomach, but her mind was put to ease.
Bulgaria became in possession of the Quaffle again, "Dimitrov! Levski! Dimitrov! Ivanova - oh I say!" Bagman's voice roared.
One hundred thousand witches and wizards saw the two Seekers, Krum and Lynch, go into a long dive, plummeting to the Earth below, "That's a Wronski Feint!" Jake said, having seen the Snitch, but on the far end of the Stadium. He knew immediately what Krum was doing, and it worked. Lynch ploughed into the ground as Krum pulled up last second, and a groan could be heard from the Irish seats.
"It's time-out!" Bagman yelled, "as trained mediwizards hurry onto the field to examine Aidan Lynch!"
After the man was revived, the Irish team seemed to gain new heart as they played more furiously than before. It got to a point where the Bulgarian team, Jake noticed, was playing similarly to a certain Green and Silver clad Hogwarts Quidditch Team. He honestly shouldn't have been surprised, he just expected some professionalism from a professional team. The Irish Team got a penalty shot, and because of the Veela, the referee was making a fool of himself. When he was brought to his senses, he began yelling at the Veela, and the two Bulgarian Beaters came down to argue with him. Mostafa told them to get back in the air with some finger jabs pointing up, but when they didn't he blew on his whistle twice, giving Ireland another two penalty shots.
Ireland got another penalty shot when Dimitrov charged Moran, who had the Quaffle, and nearly knocked her off her broom. Jake was rather angry at Dimitrov, but he closed his eye and realized he was only as angry as he was because it was Moran, and he thought she was incredibly attractive. Ireland got another penalty shot and down below, the Leprechaun and Veela began fighting, with the Veela showing their true forms. They had elongated, sharp, cruel-beaked bird heads, and long, scaly wings that came from their shoulders.
"And that , boys," Arthur yelled over the tumult of the crowd below, "is why you should never go for looks alone!"
Jake was fine on that front, because the girl he loved was the brightest witch of her age and had brown, bushy hair. 'But is it a good idea to have fallen for her?' He asked himself as he became lost in thought, 'I love Hermione so very much, but... could I really put her in the kind of danger that would give the Brotherhood leverage over me?' He looked over at Hermione and saw the look of excitement and glee on her face. She looked pure and beautiful, 'No... I can't put Hermione through that... platonic best friends... that's the best I can hope for...'
He was pulled from his thoughts to a loud, roaring cheer from the Irish supporters. He looked and realized the game was over and that Krum had gotten the Snitch, but when he looked at the scoreboard, Ireland had won 170-160.
"What did he catch the Snitch for?" He heard Ron ask angrily, "he ended it when Ireland were one hundred and sixty points ahead, the idiot!"
"Ron, Ireland's Chasers were unstoppable. Krum ended the match on his terms, he knew Bulgaria was never going to catch up!" Jake yelled back.
As they watched the mediwizards make their way over to him to check on him, a voice was heard behind them, "Vell, ve fought bravely," a gloomy voice said. Hermione turned and saw that it was the Bulgarian Minister.
"You can speak English!?" Fudged asked angrily, "And you've been letting me mime everything all day?"
"Vell, it vos very funny," he said with a shrug and a wink towards Jake.
Jake couldn't help but laugh. Hermione looked at him and smiled. A bright light was suddenly shone upon the Top Box and Jake saw thousands upon thousands of Omnioculars looking their direction from the glints. As Bagman ended the World Cup with an ending statement, everyone stood up, but Fred and George climbed over the back of their seats, hands outstretched, as they awaited their payment from Bagman.
*******
"Don't tell your mother you've been gambling," Arthur was heard imploring his twin sons as they all made their way slowly down the purple-carpeted stairs.
"Don't worry, Dad," Fred said gleefully, "we've got big plans for this money."
"We don't want it confiscated," George said just as gleefully.
They all managed to finally get back to their campsite after wading through the massive crowd. Raucous singing was heard all over the campsites, being carried their way on the midnight summer breeze. Upon reaching the tents, no one wanted to go to bed, and Arthur was more than happy to allow them to have one last cup of cocoa before bed. Every soon began to argue enjoyably about the match, with Ron romanticizing Viktor Krum's performance in the game.
The Twins mocked him by singing to him about being in love with Krum. Jake laughed heartily, not seeing what Ron could about the man.
In the craziness, Ginny passed out the small table in the Weasley's tent, and spilled her cocoa all over the table and floor, "Alright, I think it's time for bed, everyone," Arthur said to them.
Hermione stood up with Jake and Ginny and vacated the boys tent; Ginny walked right into the girls tent, but Hermione stood outside with Jake for a moment, "Hey... I never got the chance to thank you about what happened earlier... w-with Malfoy..."
"I should've-" he stopped a moment, looking her in the eye, "I came real close to killing him... and I probably would've had we not been in such a public place..."
"Maybe he and his pathetic son will finally get the message," Hermione said with a smile. She was tired of the shit Draco Malfoy and other Purebloods like him gave Muggleborns like her.
"Maybe... but Draco is a glutton for punishment... I doubt he'll stop entirely, but I don't care if we are at Hogwarts, if Malfoy ever uses that derogatory term again, I'll kill him," Jake said emotionlessly.
Hermione just smiled; she was definitely a changed person because of him. She would normally be scolding him for saying such a thing, but she managed to see things from his perspective.
Her vision went out of focus.
Hermione looked at his face, his lips. She grabbed him by the collar and smashed his lips onto hers. Her hands went behind his head and neck as his hands went down to the small of her back, pulling each other closer.
Hermione bit his lower lip and pulled back, letting go only when it wouldn't pull any further. She looked him in the eye, "Hermione," he said her name. She loved hearing him call her name. "Hermione," he said again.
Her vision went back into focus.
"Hermione," she heard him say again. But she saw him waving a hand in front of her face.
"Huh?" She asked, her cheeks were flushed.
"Are you alright? I noticed your pupils dilated," he said, standing there about a foot away from her.
She didn't quite know how to answer his question. Was she alright? The simple answer was no, she was far from alright, but the answer was much more complex than she was willing to admit to herself, "Yeah... yeah I'm just fine," she tried to smile, but she wasn't sure if it was convincing or not.
"Well... if you're sure," he smiled sadly at her and she embraced him for only a moment. "I'm going to be locking my tent tonight. If you need me for any reason, just tap the seal three times and say Alohomora and it'll open for you."
"Okay, thank you. Let's hope I don't need you for a bad reason, though," she laughed nervously, "Good night, Jake," she said and turned to walk into the tent.
"Night, Hermione," he said just before she disappeared.
He turned and walked into his tent, sealing the entrance for the night. He got ready for bed, putting on a pajama set on the off chance Hermione would need him, she wouldn't see all of his scars he hadn't made visible. He laid down, removed his eye-patch and looked at the wall of the tent. A part of him wished Hermione would show up in the middle of the night, but he put that desire down; it was not the time to be fantasizing about the girl he loved. He closed his eye and drifted off to sleep.
He didn't know how long he'd been asleep for, because the next thing he knew, he was being awoken, but not by someone he knew. He was woken up with a wand aimed right at his throat, "We got a live one here," he heard a man's voice.
"Don't you recognize 'im? 'e was in the Daily Prophet , 'e was," another man said.
"Who cares what he was in? I say we kill him," a woman said.
Jake looked at the man with the wand against his throat, "We aren't here to kill people, just to have some fun."
"If you won't kill him, I will," she pulled out her wand and aimed right at him.
Jake's eye began to glow red as the two wizards and one witch were lifted into the air, all of them dropping their wands. He looked and noticed that his tent was destroyed, allowing them to get in. He forced them all to the ground, hearing the neck snap of one of them. He didn't care which, and grabbed his own wand from underneath his pillow. He looked around and saw nothing but destruction, "Hermione..." he looked around, but wasn't able to find her. He didn't expect to, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying.
He ran into the forest to cut off a group of dark hooded wizards that were sickeningly playing with a Muggle Family by contorting them in the air. As he did run into the Forest, he heard on the other side of a tree, a Weasel talking, "You wouldn't like her spotted, would you?" Hermione was looking at him angrily, tears were flowing from her eyes because she didn't know if Jake was okay or not, and she was about to ignore Malfoy, "I suggest you leave the area, unless of course, you want to be showing off your knickers for all of us to see. That'd give us all a laugh," he began to laugh tauntingly.
He was suddenly knocked over and knocked out with a rock, but when she looked in the direction it flew from, no one was there. She heard crunching from around the tree Malfoy was at, and they all aimed their wands, but lowered them when they saw Jake. Hermione ran over to him and embraced him, crying as she did, "I-I didn't know wh-wh-what h-happened t-t-to you." She sobbed into his shirt as she felt an arm go around her shoulders.
"I'm okay," he said, eye still forward, looking at the Hooded Figures, "I've got something else to still do, I'll be back."
"Come on, let's go find Fred, George, and Ginny, they can't have got too far," Harry said to Hermione, who reluctantly let Jake go.
"Be careful... I-I thought I lost you once already..." she said to him.
He gave her a smile, "I'll be fine, it's those hooded bastards that won't be," he said and marched his way to them. His wand aimed for them, he yelled, " Stupefy !" and knocked one of them flat. Some of them turned to look, but he sent a few more Stupefy spells in their direction quickly, not giving them a chance to react. He glanced up as more of the group turned to him and the Muggles were still floating high in the air. He saw that two of them were small, 'Children?' He looked back down, eye turned to dull red, aimed his wand at them and yelled angrily, " Confringo !"
The blast was powerful and destructive, far more than the book described it being. He was certain that at least a few of them died, but he didn't care for them, he aimed his wand up as the Muggles were in free fall after the ones holding them up there lost concentration. Non-verbally using the spell Arresto Momentum , the Muggle family was slowly put on the ground, and a few Ministry Wizards showed up to assess the damage and help the Muggles. A few sudden pops were heard amongst the crowd of hooded figures and that told him immediately they disapparated. He could only imagine who the ones were that got away.
He glanced up to the sky when he saw a greenish glow cast over the area, and that told him immediately who the Hooded Figures were, "Death Eaters... that's Voldemort's sign..."
He looked around to see if he could see who cast it, but was unable to find the culprit. What he did see, however, was a vast array of Spells flying in one direction. He watched in slow motion as he registered a head of bushy brown hair in the crossfire. Even at that distance, he could spot Hermione in a crowd. He didn't know what came over him, or how he was able to, all he knew was that he had to protect Hermione with his life if necessary. He suddenly found himself experiencing a familiar feeling, one he hadn't felt in over three years.
He appeared in front of Hermione, as well as Harry and Ron, and brought his wand downward, non-verbally casting Protego to keep them safe. Most of the spells, that he recognized to be the Stupefy spell, rebounded, a couple hitting a Ministry Wizard or two, most bouncing harmlessly into the air, or into the ground. Some of them went around his shield and into the Forest behind them.
His eye began to glow red as he held his left hand out, which began to glow in the center of the air he was holding, a spell being charged within the space; they may have been Ministry Wizards, but Hermione was in danger, so who they were mattered very little, "Stop!" A voice rang out, one he recognized to be Arthur's voice, "STOP! That's my son !"
Jake kept his wand forward and hand out, his eye continuing to glow red. Hermione was staring at the back of his head as the Ministry Wizards got closer to them.
Arthur was speaking in a trembling voice, but he was shoved out of the way by Bartemius Crouch, "Out of the way, Arthur!" His voice was cold and curt. His wand pointed right at Jake and about ten other Ministry Officials aimed theirs at him as well, "Wand down! Which of you did it!?" He demanded of them. Jake did not lower his wand, though, "I said lower-"
"Barty, they're only kids, and he's... well... do you actually think Merlin's Descendant would've cast up His mark?" A Witch asked him.
"You all lower yours, before you get seriously hurt," Jake said calmly.
"Now see here boy-" Crouch started, but was cut off again.
"I don't give a fuck who you are, Mr. Crouch, as long as your wand is up in the direction of my best friend, you are a threat. Now lower your wands," Jake said, still calm in his voice.
Everyone but Crouch lowered their wand, "I am the former Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and current Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation! I will not be talked to by a mere child! I don't give a damn who his ancestor is!"
"Barty... this isn't a fight you can win," a Wizard off to the side said, walking up to then, "He apparated in front of you at the age of Fourteen, he non-verbally cast the Protection Charm, and he killed almost all of the Death Eaters in that large group with the Blasting Curse, an incredibly advanced spell."
"Almost?" Crouch asked, the color draining from his face.
"The ones he didn't kill disapparated. Just lower the wand, Barty," the Wizard said again, and Jake recognized him as Logan's father.
Barty Crouch lowered his wand begrudgingly, and when he did, Jake finally lowered his, his red eye turning back to normal.
"Where did the mark come from, you four?" Arthur asked quickly.
"Over there," Hermione said, pointing in the direction that it came from, "there was someone behind the trees, they shouted an incantation, and then the mark appeared in the sky."
"You seem to be very well informed about how that mark is summoned missy-" Crouch was saying, but he stopped himself when Jake stepped in between him and Hermione.
"Well... our Stunners went right through those trees if they didn't ricochet off of his shield. One of us had to hit something!" Amos Diggory said. He marched off into the trees and began searching. He was heard yelling back to them, "Yes! We got them! There's someone here! It's - but - blimey..."
"You've got someone?" Crouch shouted back to Amos, but his voice was highly disbelieving, "Who? Who is it?"
They all heard crunching footsteps, snapping twigs, and rustling leaves as Amos re-emerged from behind the trees. He was carrying a tiny, limp form in his arms. It was the House Elf that Jake had noticed back in the Top Box.
Amos had carried the Elf up to Crouch and laid it at his feet. Jake had no idea if it was a boy or girl elf, but he heard Hermione whisper under her breath, "Winky?"
Crouch did not speak or move, his eyes remained transfixed upon Winky, his eyes blazing in his white face as he stared down at her. He suddenly appeared to come back to life again, "This - cannot - be!" He yelled jerkily, "No-"
He moved quickly around Amos and strode off to where Winky was found, "No point, Barty," Amos said, "There's no one else there."
Crouch didn't seem prepared to take his word for it. They could all hear him rustling the leaves around as he pushed the bushes aside. Jake found it to be odd that he was that dead set on finding something else. Jake didn't even believe Winky did it, because he couldn't find an answer for why a House Elf would send up Voldemort's mark.
"Bit embarrassing," he heard Amos say. He turned to him to see what he was going on about, "Barty Crouch's House Elf... I mean to say..." he was looking down at Winky's unconscious form.
"Come off it, Amos," Arthur said quietly, "You don't seriously think it was the Elf, do you? The Dark Mark is a Wizarding sign, it requires a wand."
"Yeah," Amos said in agreement, "and she had a wand."
" What ?" Arthur asked, his face going pale.
"Here, look," Amos said, holding the wand up for Arthur to see. Jake eyed the wand from where he was, it looked awfully familiar, "Had it in her hand she did. So that's Clause Three of the Code of Wand Use broken, for a start. No non-human creature is permitted to carry or use a wand ."
Ludo Bagman then suddenly apparated right next to Arthur. Looking breathless and disoriented, he spun on the spot, eyes towards the sky to look at the emerald-green skull, "The Dark Mark!" He was panting, and almost trampled Winky as he turned inquiringly to his colleagues, "Who did it? Did you get them? Barty! What's going on?" Crouch had returned empty-handed. His face was still ghostly white, and his hands and his toothbrush mustache were both twitching, "Where have you been, Barty?" Bagman asked him, "Why weren't you at the match? Your elf was saving you a seat too - gulping gargoyles!" He had just noticed that Winky was at his feet, "What happened to her ?"
"I have been busy, Ludo," Crouch said, still talking in the same jerky fashion, barely moving his lips, "and my elf has been stunned."
"Stunned? By you lot, you mean? But why-" Comprehension had suddenly dawned on Bagman's round, shiny face; he looked up at the skull, down at Winky, and then at Crouch, " No !" He yelled, "Winky? Conjure the Dark Mark? She wouldn't know how! She'd need a wand, for a start!"
"And she had one," Amos said, "I found her holding one, Ludo. If it's alright with you, Barty, I think we should hear what she's got to say for herself?" Crouch gave no sign that he had heard Amos, but he took the silence for assent. He raised his own wand, pointed it at Winky, and said, " Rennervate !"
Winky stirred feebly. Her great brown eyes opened and she blinked several times in a bemused sort of way. Watched by the silent Witches and Wizards, she raised herself shakily into a sitting position. She caught sight of Amos' feet, and slowly, tremulously, raised her eyes to stare up into his face; then, more slowly still, she looked up into the sky. Jake could see the floating skull reflected twice in her enormous, glassy eyes. She gave a gasp, looked wildly around the crowded clearing, and burst into terrified sobs.
"Elf!" Amos suddenly yelled, "Do you know what I am? I am a member of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures!" Winky began to rock back and forth on the ground, her breath coming in sharp bursts. Jake felt sorry for the tiny creature, and was reminded of Dobby when he saw him trying to go against his then still Master, Lucius Malfoy, "As you see, elf-"
"Winky," Jake said.
Amos turned to him, "What?"
"She has a name, and her name is Winky. You wouldn't like it if I called you man-thing, or wretch, would you?" Jake asked Cedric's father.
Amos faltered under the calm, but menacing look he was receiving, "As you see, Winky , the Dark Mark was conjured here a short while ago," Amos and Winky went back and forth a moment, and when he brought out the wand again, everyone saw it this time, especially Harry, who claimed it as his wand. Amos continued to barrage Winky with questions, who kept claiming innocence.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron all defended Winky by saying she didn't cast it, that the voice was deep and human compared to the squeaky, timid voice typically associated with a lot of House Elves, but Amos wasn't willing to believe them.
" Priori Incantato ," Amos said, putting both wand tips together. Jake heard Hermione gasp as a smoky replica of the Skull and Snake above them appeared, " Deletrius !" Amos shouted, the smoky skull vanished in a wisp of smoke. "So," Amos said with a kind of savage triumph, looking down upon Winky, who was still shaking convulsively.
"I is not doing it!" She squealed, her eyes rolling in terror. "I is not, I is not, I is now knowing how! I is a good elf, I isn't using wands, I isn't knowing how!"
" You've been caught red-handed, elf !" Amos roared, " Caught with the guilty wand in your hands !"
Jake clenched his hand tightly into a fist just as Arthur spoke up, "Amos," he said loudly, "think about it... precious few witches or wizards know how to do that spell... Where would she have learned it?"
"Perhaps Amos is suggesting," Crouch suddenly said, cold anger in every syllable, "that I routinely teach my servants to conjure the Dark Mark?"
There was a deeply unpleasant silence. Amos looked horrified, "Barty... not... not at all..."
"You have now come very close to accusing the two people in this clearing who are least likely to conjure that Mark!" Crouch barked madly, "Harry Potter - and myself! I suppose you are familiar with the boy's story, Amos?"
"Of course - everyone knows-" Amos was looking incredibly uncomfortable.
"And I trust that you remember the many proofs I have given, over a long career, that I despise and detest many of the Dark Arts and those who practice them?" Crouch shouted, his eyes bulging again.
"B-Barty, I - I never suggested you had anything to do with it!" Amos said hurriedly, turning red behind his scrubby brown beard.
"If you accuse my elf, you accuse me, Diggory!" Crouch shouted, "Where else could she have learned to conjure it?"
"She - she might have picked it up anywhere-" Amos tried to defend his stance.
Jake continued listening in amazement, 'What the hell am I watching unfold?' He asked himself. Arthur suggested Winky picked it up , and when asked, Winky pointed towards the Forest. Amos argued she should have seen the person then, because she'd be right on top of them. She said she hadn't, which didn't make it look good on her, but there was no way she conjured it, Jake was sure of that.
Then Crouch did something none of the four of them expected, "Winky had behaved tonight in a manner I would not have believed possible," he said slowly, "I told her to remain in the tent. I told her to stay there while I went to sort out the trouble, and I find that she disobeyed me. This means clothes , Winky."
Jake couldn't actually believe his own ears. He looked back to the Forest as Hermione began yelling, but he missed her words. 'What was he looking for in the Forest? Does it have something to do with what just happened?'
Arthur spoke up and brought him from his thoughts, "Well, I think I'll take my lot back to the tents, if nobody has any objections?" No one did, and Amos gave Harry his wand back.
They began to walk, but Hermione wasn't keen on leaving, "Hermione," Jake spoke her name, "Come on."
The look on her face was pure fury; she only went with them because Jake asked her, but it was still with great reluctance, "What's going to happen to Winky?" Hermione asked as they left the clearing.
"I don't know..." Arthur said, unsure.
"The way she was being treated... Mr. Diggory calling her 'Elf' before Jake stopped him... and Mr. Crouch! He knows she didn't do it, and he's still going to sack her! He didn't care how frightened she'd been, or how upset she was - it was like she didn't have feelings of her own!" Hermione yelled angrily.
"Crouch is hiding something..." Jake said out loud.
"What makes you say that?" Harry asked him.
"He was too desperate to find something or someone else in the woods..."
"I mean, he didn't really want it to be his House Elf, do you blame the man?" Arthur asked him as they continued to walk.
"No..." Jake sighed, "no, I guess not."
"Do you four know what happened to the others?" Arthur asked, changing the subject.
"No, we lost them in the darkness," Ron said in response. "Dad, why was everyone so uptight about that skull thing in the sky?"
"I'll explain back at the tent," he said in response and they continued their walk.
They pushed past a group that had congregated outside the woods, and Arthur had to tell them he was tired and going to go to bed, but that it was not Him that cast it.
When they got back to the campsite, Jake saw his tent again, and saw that it was in complete ruin, "Fuuuuck... it's worse than I thought it was..."
Charlie had poked his head out of the tent upon hearing him complaining, "Ah, you all are safe, good. Fred, George and Ginny arrived not too long ago." They all entered the Boy's tent and saw Bill sitting at the table, holding a bedsheet to his arm, which was bleeding profusely. Charlie had a large rip in his shirt, and Percy was sporting a bloody nose. The other three looked unhurt, but definitely shaken up.
"Did you get them, Dad? The one who conjured the mark?" Bill asked sharply.
"No, but Jake took out most of the group that had been walking around," Arthur informed them and they all looked at him, but he was standing against the counter with his arms crossed, "We'll know later their identities... but it was Barty Crouch's Elf that was found holding the wand. Harry's wand to be precise, but we are none the wiser on who actually conjured it."
" What !?" Bill, Charlie, and Percy all asked at the same time.
"Harry's wand?" Fred asked.
"Mr. Crouch's elf ?" Percy looked thunderstruck.
With some assistance from Harry, Hermione, Jake, and Ron, Arthur was able to explain what happened in the woods. When they all finished their story, Percy swelled indignantly.
"Well, Mr. Crouch was quite right to get rid of an elf like that!" Percy said pompously, "Running away when he'd expressly told her to not... embarrassing him in front of the whole Ministry... how would that have looked, if she'd been brought up in front of the Department for the Regulation and Control-"
"She didn't do anything - she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time!" Hermione snapped at Percy, who merely glared at her.
"Hermione, a wizard in Mr. Crouch's position can't afford a house-elf who's going to run amok with a wand!" Percy said even more pompously than before.
"So you'd be okay with it if you were the one being treated that way, Percy?" Jake asked from his place in the tent, not looking at Percy at all, or anyone for that matter.
"Why would I be treated that way?"
"That doesn't answer my question, you pompous fuck," Jake said, turning to look at Percy, earning a gasp from pretty much every Weasley in the room, "If you were treated the way Winky was treated, how would you act? How would you have reacted?" Jake asked, but Percy just scrunched his face up in disgust, "Exactly."
"Look, can someone just explain what that skull thing was?" Ron asked impatiently, "it wasn't hurting anyone... Why's it such a big deal?"
"Ron, I swear, opening a book for once in your life would do wonders for you," Jake said condescendingly. He hadn't meant to be so hateful, but he had yet to completely calm down from the past hour or so.
"I told you, Ron, it's You-Know-Who's symbol," Hermione reminded him.
"And it hasn't been seen for thirteen years..." Arthur said quietly, "Of course people panicked... it was almost like seeing You-Know-Who back again."
"Ron... that mark is a sign of Death. It was said that the Death Eaters sent up the Dark Mark when they killed in the name of their Lord," Jake answered, "Imagine, one day at the end of a school term, your parents weren't there to pick you up from King's Cross. Weird, but you think nothing of it. You manage to get home, and see the mark above your house. You go inside," Jake's voice turned dark, "You see your mother, your father, slaughtered like Cattle. Maybe your siblings got back home before you, you see them strung up around the Burrow, bodies twisted in sickening proportions..." he paused for a moment, letting the atmosphere sink in, "that's why I don't feel bad about the Death Eaters I killed out there earlier. Their crimes are unforgivable, much like the Curses they use."
Hermione looked at her feet, horror written all over her face. A terrible thought crept into her mind, 'If Jake and I get married and live together in the future...' she couldn't stop the blush from creeping onto her cheeks, 'and I come home to see that mark above our home... I would be absolutely devastated...' She looked up at Jake and her fear lessened, 'Well... it's a good thing I never have to worry about that. Jake is far too powerful to ever be killed.'
"What are Death Eaters?" Harry asked aloud.
"You-Know-Who's supporters," Bill said, "that's what they call themselves, I think we saw what's left of them tonight - the ones who managed to keep themselves out of Azkaban, anyway."
"Well, according to Mr. Pendragon... only a handful of them escaped, so we'll know tomorrow for sure if the ones dead are his old Supporters..." Arthur explained.
"They still deserved it... for the sickening thing they did to those Muggles... Voldemort-" he then heard a volley of gasps from all the Weasley's, Hermione had gotten over it hearing it, and Harry never had problem saying it, "Oh grow the fuck up! It's only a name!" Jake breathed in deeply, before sighing irritably. He walked outside and Hermione looked on, wanting to follow him, but feeling like she should let him have some space.
"Alright, I think it's best if everyone turns in for the night... if your mother hears about what's happened, she'll be worried sick. We'll get a few more hours of sleep and then try and get an early Portkey out of here," Arthur said, "Hermione, since we don't have any room to spare in here, Jake will have to sleep in the girls tent. I'm trusting him."
"O-Okay... I'll let him know," Hermione said, standing up and leaving the boys tent with Ginny. It was a miracle their two tents stayed standing when his was blown to smithereens. Hermione saw him, standing at the destroyed tent, "H-Hey-"
"Jake, Dad said you were sleeping in our tent tonight," Ginny had cut her off, having gotten over his outburst moments earlier. In Hermione's mind, she'd just plotted a way to smother the girl in her sleep and get away with it.
"W-Wait... What?"
"Yeah, they don't have room in their tent, and you can't just expand the inside of them so easily like you can a Hogwarts classroom, so you're with Hermione and I," Ginny smirked and entered the girls tent.
Something about that smirk gave him the slightest feeling that he should run; sleeping in the forest seemed like the safest option, oddly enough. He looked to Hermione, who walked up to him, "Er... th-there are only two beds..." she wanted to share her bed with him, be the little spoon to his big spoon as she pushed her back into his chest, her butt into his groin. She had to seriously get her hormonal teenage thoughts under control, or she was going to permanently turn red in the face. But alas, sharing a bed with him could not happen, 'Yet...'
"Not to worry, my bed is still perfectly functional," he stepped over some debris and right up to his bed, wand out, " Reducio ," he said and his bed, bed frame, and blankets all shrunk down to the size of a Quarter. He picked it up and walked back to the girls tent, "make sure that it's safe for me to walk in, okay?"
"Okay," Hermione said, crawling into the tent. "You're good," she said from inside and he crawled in behind her.
He placed the bed in a spot it wouldn't be in the way, " Engorgio ," he pointed his wand at the small bed and it came into its previous size.
"Jake, how - how are you able to do magic without fear of getting into trouble?" Ginny asked him.
"Because I'm not afraid of the people at the Ministry," he said and laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling of the tent, "if for whatever reason either of you need me, don't hesitate to wake me up," he said and rolled over, thankful he had already experienced the nightmare tonight, just an hour before he was threatened by those three Death Eaters.
Hermione looked at his back, 'I always need you, Jake... I need you to keep me sane... to be able to sustain my own life, I need you.' "Goodnight," she said to them both.
"Night," he said from his spot on the bed.
"Night," Ginny said, and silence enveloped the tent.
After a few minutes, Hermione looked over at Ginny and saw she'd gone to sleep. She looked at Jake and saw him twitching every now and then, 'I hope he isn't having another nightmare... even if it isn't the same nightmare, he could still be having one...' she thought and stood up from her bed. She walked over to him, saw that his eye-patch had been taken off, and she kissed his temple. His body spasms calmed and she returned to her bed, falling asleep in no time, experiencing a truly romantic dream without any sexual actions for a change.