Chapter Text
When I take a look at my life, and all of my crimes, you're the only thing that I think I got right.
"Cassie hurry up, we have to go!" Hermione Granger called up the stairs of Grimmauld Place.
"I'm coming!" I called down to my friend, closing the closet door and walking over to the dresser. I quickly examined myself in the mirror, my hand absentmindedly coming to rest on the silver C necklace on my chest. I smiled softly before throwing my black hair up into a messy ponytail and heading out of the room.
"There you are," Hermione smiled as I came down the stairs, "Come on, everyone else is waiting,"
I followed her into the living room, where the rest of our friends were gathered. The Black house was rather crowded at the moment, with the Potters, Weasleys, as well as Remus, and Hermione all staying. It was rare that Grimmauld Place was ever just my Dad and I, there was always at least one other member of our extended family around.
"Ready to go?" my dad smiled at me, and I nodded with a small smile.
"Are you excited?" Harry nudged me gently as I joined them.
"Bursting," I grinned back at my god-brother.
"Alright all set?" Arthur Weasley asked, and we all nodded excitedly. Arthur was taking Fred, George, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and myself to the final of the Quidditch World Cup. And considering that most of us played, we were quite excited.
"Be safe," Mrs Weasley hugged us all in turn.
"Don't get into too much trouble," James winked at us.
"Us?"
"Trouble?"
"Never!" Fred and George smirked innocently, earning them a stern warning look from Mrs Weasley before she ushered us all out of Grimmauld Place.
"How far do we have to walk Dad?" Ron called out, stifling a yawn as we began to trek up the hill.
"Not too far I hope!" Mr Weasley called back cheerily.
I raised my eyebrows and exchanged a slightly worried look with Hermione.
"That doesn't sound comforting," Fred muttered.
"I can't believe what time it is; I don't remember the last time I was awake this early," Ron continued to grumble as he and Harry fell behind the rest of us.
"You need to get out and seize the day more Ronald," Hermione commented, not even turning around.
"Easy for you to say, you didn't get woken up by a bucket of water being dumped on your head!" Ron grumbled.
"I warned you," Ginny shrugged, happily accepting the high five George offered.
"You really are my favourite Weasley, Gin," I laughed, remembering the drowned rat that was Ron I had seen first thing this morning.
"OI!"
"Weasley girl then!" I rolled my eyes, turning to the affronted looking twins walking beside me.
"That's more like it," George huffed.
"Any more remarks like that you might just end up with a Ton-Tongue Toffee in your food," Fred grinned wickedly.
"Don't you dare!" I warned, shoving into him lightly.
The twins had spent their summer developing various sweets and other joke related materials. The plan was for them to start testing and selling products at Hogwarts this year. Most of us had found ourselves used as guinea pigs on multiple occasions, Ron usually more than the rest of us.
"I'll tell Mum," Ginny butted in.
Ron groaned, "That's punishing all of us Gin, aren't you sick of hiding upstairs from her every time she blows her lid?"
"You haven't got me yet," I turned back to Fred, "Maybe I'm just too smart for you."
"I'm just taking it easy on you," Fred winked, and I rolled my eyes.
"Arthur!" a voice yelled from just ahead of us, drawing our attention as we finally came to a stop. Ron let out an obvious sigh of relief, earning him another eye roll from Hermione.
"About time!" the man beamed, moving forward to embrace Mr Weasley happily.
"Sorry Amos," Mr Weasley grinned, "Some of us had a bit of a slow start this morning," he glanced quickly at Ron, who sighed again, hanging his head.
"Amos Diggory everyone, he works with me at the Ministry."
"Diggory," Ginny whispered to me excitedly, "As in-"
Before Ginny could finish her sentence, a boy fell out of the tree in front of us, landing gracefully on his feet. There was no denying how handsome this boy was, one of the most handsome boys I knew at Hogwarts. No wonder Ginny had sounded so excited, I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye and had to hold in a giggle at the star struck look on her face.
"And this strapping lad must be Cedric!" Mr Weasley exclaimed,
"Yes, sir." Cedric held out his hand, shaking Mr Weasley's politely.
Ginny gripped my arm and squeezed excitedly; I merely rolled my eyes still trying to contain my giggles for her sake.
"Diggory," Fred started.
"Nice to see you not having your ass handed to you by us on the Quidditch field," George finished.
Cedric smiled at them good naturedly, "Always a pleasure boys,"
I could hear Ron and Harry grumbling about something from behind me, probably because Hermione and Ginny hadn't stopped whispering and giggling to each other since Cedric had dropped from the tree.
"Cassie," Cedric turned to me with a warm smile, "Been practicing much over break?"
"Always," I replied with a smile, "Someone has to keep our team afloat,"
"Easy to do when you're clearly the best," he replied with a wink, and I cursed myself lightly when I felt a slight blush creep onto my cheeks.
"Good, isn't he?" George murmured in my ear, smirking. I shot him a slight glare, which only made him laugh more.
"Hi Harry, how are you?" I heard Cedric move to stand behind us and talk to Harry and Ron.
"Isn't he gorgeous?" Ginny sighed.
"Settle down Ginny, I'll be mopping you up off the ground in a minute," I rolled my eyes.
"You can't say you don't think he's attractive," Hermione looked at me in shock.
I shrugged, "Not my type I guess,"
"Exactly-"
"-she prefers redheads."
"In your dreams boys," I laughed, meeting the twin's mischievous gazes.
"Right!" Mr Weasley captured everyone's attention, "Grab on everyone, quickly!"
"Why are portkeys always something so old and ugly?" Harry mused as we all gathered around the worn, brown boot in front of us on the grass.
"Can't make it too obvious I suppose," Hermione shrugged, "If it's something everyone will want to look at, they'd be picking it up all the time."
"Exactly, that's why Ron would make an excellent portkey. No one wants to touch him with a ten-foot-pole." I agreed, earning loud laughter from the twins and a withering glare from Ron.
"Alright, time to go!" Amos called out, "Everyone hold on tight!"
"Three…two…one!"
Suddenly we were being thrown into the air, spinning and hurtling round, and round. I gripped onto the boot tightly, not wanting to know where I may end up if I let go too early. Just as I was beginning to feel slightly nauseous, I heard Mr Weasley calling out.
"Let go kids! Let go!"
I quickly loosened my grip and felt myself screaming as I was flung through the air and crashed down onto the ground. Sitting up, I let out a groan at the unexpected hard impact.
"Portkeys never get easier," Harry muttered to me, and I nodded in agreement, happily accepting the hand he offered to pull me up.
"I always thought you were more graceful than that, CB," Fred grinned, as I dusted my hands off on my knees, looking around us. 'CB' was a nickname that had broken out during my first year at Hogwarts, and just kind of stuck ever since.
"Me and graceful have never spoken the same language," I shot back, not being able to help the grin growing on my face as I took in our surroundings.
The field we had landed in was filled with tents, there were witches and wizards bustling around everywhere, music and laughter filled the air and there wasn't one spare space in the entire field.
"This is incredible," Harry breathed from next to me, and I turned to grin happily at him.
"I have a feeling this is going to be a brilliant night."
"Come on then! Let's go find our spot shall we," Arthur called from just ahead of us, "We'll see you later on then Amos!" he waved as the Diggory's headed off in the other direction, Cedric offering all of us a wave as they went.
"Nice, isn't he?" I commented to Harry, who was frowning slightly as he watched his retreating form.
Harry turned to me and shrugged, "Heard he can be a bit of a dick,"
I raised my eyebrows, what did Harry Potter have against Cedric Diggory?
"OI! Come on you two! You get lost out here we'll never find you again!" Ron yelled out, and we looked back in front of us to see the Weasley's had gotten a fair way ahead of us.
Harry and I quickly raced to catch up, meeting up with them just as they came to a stop in front of well, a rather small tent.
Hermione turned to Fred skeptically, "Are you sure we're all going to fit in here? I thought your mother said she packed the big one!"
Fred just laughed, pushing her forward into the tent and I grinned as I followed them, wondering why Hermione had ever doubted it at all. The inside was huge, it had a mass of different rooms and sections, practically an entire house squeezed into one tiny little tent. I would never stop being amazed at the things magic could do. I shared one more grin with Harry, and by the look on his face I could tell he shared the exact same thought I just had, before he headed off in the direction Ron and the twins had gone and I followed Hermione and Ginny.
I walked into the girl's area, where a bunk bed and a single cot occupied the purple and white decorated space.
"I CALL TOP BUNK!" I yelled, launching myself up into the bunk before Ginny or Hermione could protest.
Both girls shook their heads at me with fond smiles, before Ginny dumped her bag on the bunk below me and Hermione settled onto the cot, crossing her legs and looking around, her eyes shining.
"I love magic."
"Hm, well you'd think with all this magic they could make the inside big enough to not even need bunks," Ginny teased slightly.
"I like it," I said brightly, dangling my legs over the edge, "Makes me feel like a muggle away on one of those summer camps."
"Ooh can we stay up late and braid each other's hair while we gossip about BOYS?" Ginny played along, twirling her hair around her finger and letting out a fake high-pitched giggle.
Hermione and I both laughed, seeing Ginny acting so girly was very out of character and just didn't look right.
"If you're going to gossip, I think it's only fair I should be invited to stay in this room," Fred appeared in the doorway, arms crossed and a cheeky glint in his eye.
"Sorry," I shrugged, "There's only three beds."
"Guess we'll have to share then CB," he shot back with a wink.
"Gross!" Ginny exclaimed, throwing a pillow at her brother, which he ducked clear of with a laugh.
"Nice try Freddie," I raised an eyebrow, throwing another pillow at him. He held his hands up in surrender and walked back towards the boy's area.
"My brother has a huge crush on you, and it is super gross," Ginny wrinkled her nose, turning to me.
I rolled my eyes, "No, he doesn't. It's just banter," I shrugged.
Hermione and Ginny exchanged a look before turning back to me, "Right." Hermione mused.
"Come on," I jumped down off the bunk, choosing to ignore them.
"I'm starving."
"Blimey Dad, how far up are we?" Ron huffed a few hours later as we all trudged up the many flights of stairs of the Quidditch arena. I didn't even want to think about the fact that we would have to walk back down again after, or that I probably should have gotten snacks before we decided to head to our seats.
"Well put it this way, if it rains, you'll be the first to know," a snide voice came from below before Mr Weasley could answer, and we looked down to see Lucius Malfoy and his son smirking up at us. The two were dressed to the nines as usual and looking very pleased with themselves. Nothing new.
"Father and I are in the Minister's box. By personal invitation, of Cornelius Fudge himself," the youngest Malfoy boasted, and I rolled my eyes - not surprised in the slightest at his attitude.
Lucius turned around abruptly and jabbed his son in the stomach with his cane "Don't boast Draco, there's no need with these…people," he looked at us with distaste. His eyes lingered on Harry and myself for a moment longer, and I frowned in return.
"Come on kids," Mr Weasley muttered, glaring slightly at the Malfoy's before he continued up the stairs, the rest of the Weasley's and Hermione following with last withering looks at the two blondes.
Lucius swung his cane out and stopped Harry just as the two of us turned to keep walking.
"Do try to enjoy yourself won't you, while you can," he smiled almost threateningly, before knocking into Draco's shoulder as he kept walking, throwing Draco off balance slightly.
Harry rolled his eyes, "Always pleasant, huh?" I nodded in agreement, starting to walk after Harry up the stairs.
"I thought I told you to start keeping better company Black," Malfoy's voice called up to me.
Harry stopped again, opening his mouth to retort but I shook my head, waving him on. I could deal with Draco Malfoy; I was used to it.
"What? Like you?" I scoffed, leaning on the railing with an eyebrow raised. "No thanks,"
"You're always better off sticking with your own kind," Malfoy shrugged, not fazed by my indifference. But then again, he never was.
I rolled my eyes, "Is this really how you want to start off our year Malfoy? I thought maybe we could have some peace in the Common Room this year,"
His face flicked into that signature smirk of his, "Where's the fun in peace?"
Then he turned and continued after his father and I raced up the stairs to catch up with my friends, trying to shake off that same confusion I always got after a conversation with him.
It wasn't even that he and I hated each other, I wouldn't go as far to say that. His problem was with Harry and the Gryffindors, which was what caused the most animosity between us, as there was no way I would ever stand by and watch someone treat my friends poorly.
But over the years we had sort of come to an understanding of each other, we butted heads all the time and I wouldn't necessarily call us friends, but we ran the same social circles. So, it was just easier to stay civil and have our little jabs at one another. It was almost like a game we had made up, always fighting to see who would win the next round.
Besides, anyone in Slytherin was a fool if they decided to make an enemy out of Draco Malfoy.
"Finally!" Harry exclaimed as I reached the top, realising we were in fact, very high up.
"What did Malfoy want?" he asked bitterly.
I rolled my eyes, "Just the usual Slytherin righteousness,"
"I'll never understand how you ended up in the same house as a git like him," Harry shook his head.
I shrugged, "They aren't all bad, not everyone is as pretentious as the Malfoy's."
Ron scoffed from Harry's other side, "Right."
I sighed, leaning over the railing as I listened to the excitement build in the stadium.
It's true that over the years since starting at Hogwarts there had always been this little weight hanging over me and my friends, the fact that I was sorted into Slytherin, and not Gryffindor. In hindsight, it wasn't that surprising, my whole family before me was Slytherin, with my father being the one exception.
I just don't think anyone had prepared themselves at first for the outcome that I might end up not following in his footsteps. Some part of me always wondered if maybe my father was disappointed and wondered why his daughter had been sorted the way I was.
But I had no ill feelings, I liked my house. Even if my friends weren't so fond of some of the company I kept.
Fred came up behind me and threw an arm around my shoulder, "Out of your head, you're gonna miss it!" I grinned up at him, as the Irish team suddenly flew right past our heads, causing all of us to yell out and duck.
"Told you these seats would be worth it!" Mr Weasley said excitedly as we all straightened up again.
"We had to be this high up," Fred smirked, looking at me mischievously, "Or Cassie wouldn't be able to see."
I groaned, "Really?"
"You should be proud, we've been here a whole day and that's the first joke any of us have made," Ron grinned, and I shot him a mock glare in return.
I was very used to the short jokes; I was only 5'4". It made for not only an abundance of jokes like the one Fred just made, but also being picked up or thrown around like I was a doll sometimes. I hated it.
"It's the Irish!" George exclaimed, drawing my attention back to the game.
We all watched as the team flew into the air and a large dancing leprechaun sparked to life, cheers erupting through the stadium.
"IRELAND, IRELAND, IRELAND!"
Joining in my friend's laughter and cheering, I found myself completely forgetting about Malfoy, and any other thoughts I'd been having. This was incredible.
"HERE COME THE BULGARIANS!" Fred yelled out, and George cheered as the team, decked in red, flew right through the leprechaun, which exploded into sparks.
We watched in amazement as the team flew like cannonballs, and one player broke away from the rest, performing tricks as he flew.
"Who's that?" Ginny asked in wonder.
"That sis is the best seeker in the world!" George exclaimed.
The crowd started to chant loudly "KRUM, KRUM, KRUM, KRUM!"
One whole side of the stadium changed to show the image of him flying, and everyone cheered as he stopped to acknowledge the crowd.
"KRUM!" Fred and George yelled out, and the group started to cheer, Hermione especially loudly, which caused me to laugh at the look on Ron's face.
"Good evening!" the clear voice of Cornelius Fudge rang out, sending the stadium into silence "As Minister for Magic, it gives me great pleasure, to welcome each and every one of you to the final of the 422nd, Quidditch World Cup! Let the match begin!" as Fudge sent out the light, the crowd erupted into cheers once more, and the match was on.
Later that night, the sounds of Irish music filled the tent, as Fred and George danced a jig and Ron and Harry chanted Krum's name to the beat. I laughed along with Hermione and Ginny as the twins started making noises along with the music.
"There's no one like Krum!" Ron suddenly announced.
"Krum?" Fred and George echoed back in funny voices.
"He's like a bird the way he rides the wind!" Ron continued, and Fred and George flapped around him.
"He's more than an athlete!" Ron declared as George threw his flag over Ron's head "He's an artist," he pulled the flag off.
"I think you're in love Ron," Ginny said dreamily, looking up at her brother with a grin.
"Shut up Ginny," Ron grumbled at her.
"Viktor, I love you, Viktor I do," Fred and George started to sing.
"When we're apart my heart beats only for you!" everyone else joined in with laughter.
"Sounds like the Irish have got their pride on," George said as Fred and Ron started to wrestle playfully, hearing loud noises and cheers from outside.
"We'll show them pride!" Fred yelled, and I squealed as he hoisted me up onto his back without warning.
George and Ron cheered loudly as Fred started to race around the tent as I gripped on tight to him, laughing as he bounced around. We were stopped short when a stricken Mr Weasley re-entered the tent.
"Stop it!"
Fred let me down off his back, as we all looked wide eyed at the frazzled man in front of us.
"It's not the Irish."
Mr Weasley pushed us all out of the tent without another word, not even bothering to pack anything up. I gasped as we emerged back into the field, how had we not noticed what was happening? Tents were on fire, people were running and screaming through the smoke as it billowed all around us.
As we continued to push through the crowd, I could hear yelling and see flashes of curses flying and I felt my heart start to drop in my chest. Something was very, very, wrong. My hand reached for Harry's in the dark instinctively, and my eyes met his as we gripped onto each other tightly. He looked just as terrified as I was.
"Get to the portkey everyone, stick together!" Mr Weasley ordered, "Fred, George - Ginny is your responsibility."
Fred and George both grabbed hold of Ginny immediately before Fred turned to me, his eyes wide.
"Stay close, yeah?" he pleaded, and I nodded. As I moved to start following them, I felt myself tugged back slightly by Harry, who was still gripping onto my hand.
I turned to see him standing still, just looking around him in horror.
"Harry!" I squeezed his hand, and he turned to me, broken out of his trance, "We have to keep moving," I said, and he nodded before we both hurtled through the crowd without another word.
I could still make out the tall red-haired twins in front of us, and we hurried to try and catch up to them before we got left behind. People were running all around us, pushing into us and not taking the time to apologise or care which made it even more difficult for us to move at any kind of fast pace. It was no use, bit by bit they started to fade further and further away from us.
"Cass," Harry suddenly choked out, stopping dead again. I turned to berate him for stopping again when we were already nearly lost, but my mouth dropped open in horror before I could get anything out.
All around us a group of people wearing tall hoods and black cloaks marched among the chaos, as they were marching, they seemed to be chanting some sort of mantra and shooting random curses through the crowd.
"Who are they?" I whispered, not even sure if Harry could hear me. I felt like I couldn't move, I was paralysed with fear I had never felt before.
Before Harry even had a chance to respond, a curse hit the ground right in front of us, I screamed as we let go of each other and went flying in opposite directions. I fell to my knees on the ground and scrambled quickly to get up, whirling around and looking through the panicked crowd for my god-brother.
"HARRY!" I screamed out, but I couldn't see him anywhere and I could feel the panic starting to set in.
"HARRY!"
"CASS!"
I whirled around, trying to find the source of the voice but I couldn't see anything through the smoke and the curses still flying. I took off in a run in the direction I thought we had been heading, I just had to find that portkey and hope Harry would make it there as well. I ran and dodged through the people that remained, finally coming out on the other side of the smoke and trying to glimpse any sign of my friends.
"Shit," I cursed to myself when I realised there was nobody there, I was completely and utterly alone.
As I began to weigh up my options, a hand suddenly gripped around my arm and pulled me into the cover of the trees.
"What the fu-"
"Watch your language Black, you kiss your father with that mouth?" a familiar snide tone drawled into my ear.
I yanked my arm away and turned to glower at a smug Draco Malfoy standing next to me, looking quite pleased with himself considering the circumstances.
"What the hell Malfoy!?" I hissed at him.
"What, no thank you for saving you?" Malfoy snapped, a frown dropping onto his features.
"I didn't need to be saved; I'm trying to find my friends!" I glared at him.
"You stay out there you'll get yourself bloody killed!" he responded angrily.
"I don't care," I shot back, "Harry is out there somewhere, he could be in trouble!"
"Don't be daft Black, you're smarter than to stay out in an open field with a bunch of Death Eaters roaming around," Malfoy snorted, leaning against a nearby tree.
I felt myself pale as the realisation dawned on me, "Death Eaters?" I choked out.
He looked at me in confusion, "Surely you know what Death Eaters look like? I would have thought Saint Potter would be well educated on his enemies by daddy dearest."
My eyes travelled back towards the mass of burning tents and smoke, the image of the hooded figures entering my mind once again. Death Eaters. The Dark Lord's followers.
"But…" I breathed out, "Why…why would there be Death Eaters here? Vold-" I let out a shaky breath, "He's dead." I finished, my hands instinctively moving to grasp at the chain around my neck.
Malfoy didn't respond immediately, he just stared out at the empty field, a look in his eyes I couldn't quite read.
"I don't know," he eventually replied, meeting my eyes briefly, "Maybe they're bored?"
I scoffed, turning away from him, "Brilliant, even in times of crisis you're a complete ass."
"I still didn't hear any thank you for saving you," he pushed off the tree and walked closer to me.
"I told you I didn't need saving," I glowered back at him, "I need to go find Harry."
I turned to head out of the cover of the trees, but he grabbed my arm again, pulling me back.
"Quit it, Malfoy!" I hissed, yanking my arm away from him once again.
"You're the most ungrateful witch I've ever met," he growled back at me, crossing his arms.
"And you're the most egotistic ass I've ever met!" I shot back angrily.
He smirked, leaning against the tree once again, "If you wanted to talk dirty Black, all you had to do was ask."
I let out a quiet, frustrated scream. Out of all the people to be stuck hiding from Death Eaters with, he was not at the top of my list.
"If those are Death Eaters out there-"
"-they are-"
"-and Harry is out there somewhere by himself, don't you understand what kind of danger that might put him in?" I hissed out, stepping closer and glaring up at him.
Malfoy shrugged, "Not my problem, is it? Frankly, I don't see how it's yours either."
"Right," I snapped, "I would never expect anything less from a coward like you."
He stepped even closer to me, eyes narrowed, "I am not a coward," he growled.
I laughed bitterly, "Yes you are, and everyone knows it."
We stayed there for a moment, almost chest to chest, him glaring down at me, his grey eyes steeled.
Finally, he rolled his eyes once again and stepped back. "Whatever, go and find your precious Chosen One then. See if I care when you get yourself killed."
"I will," I responded indignantly. Turning swiftly on my heel, I made to head back out of the cover of the trees.
"I never expected you to act like such a Gryffindor, Black," Malfoy's voice called after me.
"Well as far as most of you lot are concerned that's where I belong anyway," I turned back to glare at him.
He frowned, looking a little offended at the accusation, "I've never thought you belong in Gryffindor."
I blinked in shock, "What?"
"You're nothing like them," he scoffed, "That's what makes you so insufferable. I can never quite figure out what to make of you."
"I didn't know you thought of me so much," I smirked, continuing to walk away from the blonde.
"Don't flatter yourself Black!"
I didn't respond, quickening my pace as I started to look urgently around for Harry, Hermione, or any of the Weasley's. I gasped when I saw a jet of green light shoot up in the sky just ahead of me and watched with wide eyes as it started to form into some sort of shape in the sky. I heard yelling in the distance, and instinctively ran towards it, that had to be Harry. If there was trouble, he was never far from it.
"Cassie!" a relieved cry stopped me in my tracks a few metres away, and I turned just in time to be pulled into Fred's chest as he hugged me tight.
"Holy Helga, Cass don't ever do that to me again," he murmured, breathing deeply.
"I'm sorry," I mumbled into his chest, feeling relief start to wash over me as he finally pulled away.
"I turned around and all of a sudden you and Harry were gone," Fred explained, "By the time we got to the portkey we couldn't see either of you at all. Dad's been in bloody hysterics trying to find the two of you, especially since…" he trailed off, looking unsure.
"Those were Death Eaters?" I supplied weakly, and his eyes widened in shock.
"You knew?"
I shrugged weakly, "I guessed."
There wasn't any reason I needed to tell him Malfoy told me while we hid in a forest together. What was the point?
"Where's Harry then?" I looked around, spotting George standing with Ginny over to the left, before looking back at Fred in confusion.
"Um, we haven't found him yet," he confessed.
My eyes widened, "What?! So, he's still out there?" I felt the fear start to creep back into my body, he was still out there, with Death Eaters on the loose and whatever the hell that thing in the sky was. "I have to go find him!"
"NO!" Fred grabbed my arm before I could get anywhere, holding me still with wide eyes, "There is no way I am letting you go back out there,"
I was starting to get real sick of people telling me where I could and couldn't go.
"Someone has to find Harry; he could be in real danger Fred!" I exclaimed, feeling tears start to prick at my eyes.
"Ron and Hermione already ran off to find him, and Dad's looking for them now," Fred assured me gently, "It'll be-"
Before Fred could finish, we heard louder yelling ahead of us, and I took off running before he could stop me.
I felt relief wash over me when I finally saw Harry, flanked by Ron and Hermione, standing under the glow in the sky staring at it with wide eyes.
"HARRY" I cried, barrelling into him and gripping onto him tightly.
"Cass!" he hugged me back, "I thought I lost you. I am so sorry, that blast happened... and then you were just gone!"
"It's okay," I let out a shaky breath as we pulled away, "I was so worried about you."
"I'm fine, don't worry," he squeezed my hand reassuringly, looking confused as to why I was so shaken up.
"Harry, you don't understand," I breathed out, "Those men in the masks, they were Death Eaters." Ron and Hermione exchanged worried looks, glancing back up at the mark in the sky once more.
Harry paled, "What?" I nodded, "But why?" he continued, "He's dead, why would his followers be here?"
"I don't know," I whispered, "But it isn't safe, we have to go."
Harry nodded, glancing back up at the sky, "Do you think that has to do with him too?"
I followed his eye line, finally seeing the shape of the glow more clearly. It was a large skull, with a snake coming out of its mouth, moving and slithering in the sky. It made a cold chill spread throughout my whole body.
"YOU! Stop there!"
The four of us whirled around, as a large group of men circled around us, wands raised.
"Which one of you conjured this!?" one of them waved his wand accusingly between us.
Our eyes widened, and we looked back at them in shock, they thought we did this?
"Sorry?" Harry managed to get out.
Suddenly, Mr Weasley appeared at our side, shooting us relieved but worried looks.
"You have been caught at the scene of the crime!" the same man yelled.
"Crime? What crime?" Harry frowned in confusion.
"Barty," Mr Weasley said gently, "They're just kids."
Barty - as Mr Weasley called him - slowly lowered his wand, the rest of the men following his lead.
"What crime?" Harry repeated more firmly.
"Harry," Hermione whispered, "That's his mark."
I felt sick, there was no way his followers and his mark appearing in the one night didn't mean anything.
Harry paled slightly, before turning back to the man, Barty.
"There was a man before," he pointed, "There."
"Who, Harry?" Mr Weasley questioned quietly as the men ran off in the direction he had pointed.
"I couldn't see his face," Harry shrugged.
"Well, no matter," Mr Weasley said, "Come, we need to get going. Everyone at home will be worried out of their minds."
The four of us followed Mr Weasley back to where the twins and Ginny were waiting, but as we walked off, I couldn't help but look back at the ominous mark in the sky one more time. I couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the beginning.