A/N: Back to the Burrow in this chapter, and hopefully I'll be able to slow thing down a bit once we get into school and the parts I actually want to cover. As it is, begin looking for changes in the timeline, because they'll be happening faster in the coming chapters.
I want to say something in advance of any "Weasley-bashing." I can't in good conscious completely destroy the family at this point, though they might get theirs in turn. I speak in particular of Ginny. I understand the Harmony-fans hatred of Ginny, something that quite frankly, I could write if I wanted to. But that hatred, in my mind, is of "super-Ginny" that was created by that overwrought piece of fanfiction known as Half-Blood Prince I still say someone switched copies at the printers). Conveniently enough, super-Ginny doesn't exist here, so any bashing of her will be limited to consider that fact.
/ - / - / - /
He could feel the cool grass beneath him as he slithered around on the ground, darting slowly between moss-grown headstones and the damp, spartan grass of the graveyard. Harry tried to become more adept with his surroundings, he couldn't really hear anything at the moment, or smell anything for that matter. Through slitted eyes he simply followed along as he crawled across the ground.
It was some time before he found himself in the manor house that had been a far creep in the distance. Harry was starting to remember this dream, but try as he might he couldn't wake himself from it. He filled with dread as he felt himself snake up the stairs one by one, coming into a dimly lit room.
"....perhaps if we did it without the boy," came the meek voice of Wormtail, the first thing he had heard heretofore.
"NO!" came a high-pitched raspy wail from the armchair in front of him. "Without the boy the ritual is nothing! He MUST be included...." there was a pause and Harry dreaded the next part. But to his surprise, it did not come. Instead he saw two other men, their features blacked from view in the waning candlelight. "It is to you, my trusted servants, that I give this most important task."
Harry heard them speak a reply, but could not hear their voices, muffled by a roaring wind and a deafening voice from behind consciousness. Harry felt himself slowly being pulled from the dream, just as he saw Voldemort grab his wand with spindly fingers, shearing away the life of the unfortunate old man who had wandered nearby.
/ - / - / - /
Harry returned to the waking world in a flash, his mind cluttered with jumbled images and random thoughts from his nightmare. His mind slowly came into focus, as he stared at a red-headed blob in his field of vision. He fumbled with the side table and pulled his glasses to his face. To his surprise, Ginny was standing at the foot of his bed, already dressed, staring at him wide-eyed.
"Ginny?" Harry immediately asked, causing her to blush slightly.
"You were screaming," she confessed, speaking in a slightly meek voice, "Mum sent me to wake you up and I heard you screaming." She coughed a moment as if to clear her throat, and added, "She wanted me to tell you that you needed to get up if you were going to get an early start to things. Dad doesn't want to miss the portkey time." At that Ginny, left the room in a bit of a rush, apparently forgetting to pass this information to Ron.
Not much was said at breakfast, once it finally got underway after a cold bucket of water managed to get Ron out of bed. The twins repeatedly kept looking back and forth between Harry and Ginny, but for once were wise to keep their respective mouths shut. They simply looked. Ron scarfed down his breakfast at near record speeds, oblivious to anything else, while Ginny would occasionally glance up at Harry, who kept to himself mostly, only occasionally saying things to Hermione. Such conversation made Mrs. Weasley frown to herself, but like the others, she kept her feelings bottled up.
"We best be off," Arthur finally said, standing up from the table, a gesture followed by many of the others. They gathered their things while Mrs. Weasley set to clearing the table, waving them off one at a time as they maneuvered out the back door of the burrow.
Harry and Hermione walked more forward of the rest of the group, ahead of the rest of the Weasley's but slightly behind Arthur as he led the way. Though they walked at a brisk pace, they kept it leisurely for the most part, not really hurrying. They kept to themselves, but on more than one occasion, Hermione glanced over at Harry and could sense that something was wrong with him. Finally, she spoke up, "Harry....what's wrong?" He turned to her, looking straight into her eyes.
"It was that nightmare again, the one with Voldemort," he confessed, hanging his head in recollection. "It just seemed so real....but it was shorter this time, probably cause Ginny woke me up." He looked ahead, not speaking anymore, when Hermione stopped him.
"Harry, you know Sirius is going to want to know about this." Harry nodded, though he was a little wary of contacting his godfather. As much as he trusted Hedwig, he didn't want to be responsible for the Ministry tracking down Sirius again. Still he knew in the back of his mind that Hermione was right. Funny how that always seemed to be the case.
Harry kept to himself the rest of the walk towards the top of a hill, though in the back of his mind, something there clicked once again that he couldn't quite put his finger on. As they reached the crest of the hill, he saw two other figures approaching them from the side. "Amos, Cedric!" Arthur called out, walking over towards the two new entries. As Harry drew closer, he recognized the younger boy on the left as Cedric Diggory, the seeker and Quidditch Captain for Hufflepuff. Harry wasn't really acquainted with the older boy, but that he was a decent chap as far as he could tell.
"Arthur,. So good to see you again," the elder man to Cedric's right said with a grin before glancing down at Harry. "And you must be Harry Potter! It's a pleasure to meet you." Harry offered his customary facsimile of a smile whenever he met someone blown away by his fame.
"Nice to meet you sir," Harry responded, giving a firm handshake in response.
"Of course you all remember my son, Cedric." He motioned to the side. "From what I heard he was actually the first seeker to ever beat you last year." Harry grimaced slightly at this, but Cedric quickly stepped in.
"It wasn't a fair match da," he said in a somewhat angered tone, "And I wanted them to restart it but they wouldn't hear any of it." Amos Diggory seemed to deflate at that comment slightly, but he kept his head proudly held high nonetheless. It was about that time when the rest of the Weasleys caught up with the group, slightly out of breath from the hike.
"Blimey," Ron stated in between breaths, "When did you two get so bloody fast," he asked his two friends, who just stared at him with disbelief. Arthur shrugged him off, motioning them over to an old boot that stood at the top of the hill.
"We best be off or we'll miss the match. Come on now, you three grab that end, Amos and Cedric over here by me...Harry next to Ron there....good now on three...one...two...."
The next few seconds were a blur to Harry, an entirely new experience that, on the surface of it, he wasn't entirely certain he appreciated much. In retrospect however, he was glad that Hermione had talked him into reading about different methods of magical transportation over the summer, so at least he had some degree of what to expect. When the time came, he let go of the portkey and moved his legs in a running motion. When the world came back into focus, he gingerly landed on a small grassy knoll overlooking a large throng of people. After resituating himself he saw Hermione land next to him in a similar situation, while Arthur Amos & Cedric made perfect landings across from him.
They were all in better shape than the four other Weasleys who were sprawled out in a heap before him.
Harry could not remember so many witches and wizards gathered in any one location, save for Hogwarts itself. Even Diagon Alley at its busiest didn't seem to hold a candle to the crowded campground that was laid out before him. He stared in awe at his surroundings as he mechanically followed Mr. Weasley through the campground towards a small tent. He stared with a cocked eyebrow as he saw Mr. Weasley motion for him to enter the rather small, rather unimpressive looking structure. Shrugging his shoulders, he ducked his head and entered between the flaps.
He was taken aback almost instantly by the size of the inside of the tent. "Right then...Hermione and Ginny your section is over there to the left, boys you have the two on the right. After you unpack I suggest you get any souvenirs and sightsee as much as you like. Be back here by 5 so we can make it to the match in time."
Harry took a moment to simply glance around the tent, a smile creaking over his face. "I love magic," he whispered to no one in particular.
/ - / - / - /
5 o'clock came and went and before long everyone found themselves climbing up the walls off the massive stadium towards their seats near the top of the stadium. Harry was still struggling to take it all in, however, and nearly missed a voice calling his name from below.
"Hey Scarhead!" came the shrill voice of Draco Malfoy from a few levels below them. Harry finally heard the insult and glared down at the blonde haired snob, flanked as usual by his father, who seemed disinterested in the affair.
"What do you want snakebreath?" Ron angrily shouted back, causing Draco to smirk in his general direction.
"Just wanted to see what the weather was like up there Weaselbee. Father and I have seats with the Minister tonight...." Draco's smirk was erased when his father tapped him on the side with his cane.
"Now now Draco, there's no need to gloat to the.....plebeian crowd." He smirked up at Arthur, before his cold gray eyes turned towards Harry. "Do try and enjoy yourselves....while you can. Come Draco." With that, the Malfoys departed. Harry lingered on slightly longer, staring at where Draco had been. Something about Lucius' words had made him stop. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, and turned his head slightly to see Hermione standing there, a concerned look on her face.
"Harry..." she worriedly asked, and Harry smiled at her in a reassuring fashion.
"It's nothing 'Mione," he said with a more upbeat tone in his voice. "Just me being paranoid, that's all." Hermione looked at him skeptically, before smiling back and continuing up the stairs, Harry right behind her.
When they reached near the top of the stadium, Arthur pointed out to the view and shouted, "I told you these seats would be worth it!" Harry swore if he squinted enough he might catch the entertainment on the field.
"What are those," he asked to Hermione, motioning to the field below. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed that Ron, Fred & George were literally beside themselves as they stared through their three pairs of binoculars that Arthur had provided them with.
"Those are Veela Harry," Hermione explained, a bit of a blush coming to her face as she did so. "Frankly I'm surprised you aren't affected by them Veela usually make men who aren't emotionally attached to someone." Harry took a look through his binoculars, focusing on all the dancing creatures in the center of the arena. Though a part of him certainly did consider them to be attractive enough, he certainly wasn't drooling over himself trying to get a closer look. Hermione for her part merely sat back, and hoped for the faintest of moments.
"Who's that there," Harry said motioning across the way. Arthur leaned in and peered through his binoculars....frowning as he did so.
"That is Ludo Bagman, The Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports.." Harry looked again across the field towards the Minister's box, spotting the disheveled looking man, who had rather stringy hair held together in a loose ponytail, and thrown together robes that seemed horribly out of place for an official function such as this.
"That's the man we placed a bet with," Fred said from behind Harry's right shoulder. "I bet him ten thousand galleons that the Irish would win."
"Now you might ask yourself," George chimed in from behind Harry's left shoulder, "That we have nowhere near that kind of money, and you'd be right....however the brilliance of the plan is that I bet him ten thousand galleons that Krum would catch the snitch."
"Why would he make two stupid bets like that?" Ron asked, finally pried away from the Veela show due to them having left the field.
"Bagman has always had a gambling problem," Arthur said with a scornful look on his face, "And you boys should certainly know better than to try and take advantage of that."
"Too late now...."
"Father dearest..."
"One way or another....
"we'll come out even...."
"Just please promise us...."
"One thing...."
"and that is...."
"DON'T TELL MUM!"
Harry laughed at the display while Arthur merely rolled his eyes, though a small smile was apparent on his face. The voice of Cornelius Fudge interrupted the merriment, and the group turned down to see him.
"Good evening witches and wizards from all across the globe and welcome to the 130th Annual World Quidditch Cup Finals!" A loud roar went up from the crowd, which Fudge fully breathed in before he continued, his wand firmly pressed against his throat. "Without further adieu, let's welcome the first of our teams tonight....the national team of IRELAND!" There was a loud explosion and everyone looked up to see the shape of a leprechaun envelope the sky, it's green and yellow light shimmering down over the awestruck spectators. From out of the center of the leprechaun came seven riders on brooms, their bright green uniforms flapping in the wind as the leprechaun exploded, showering the crowd with gold.
"And now....the national team of BULGARIA!" The light Irish jig music was replaced with the loud beating of a drum as seven more riders jetted across the field, trailing black and red smoke behind them in alternating patterns, firing off fireworks ahead of them. As they swooped upwards, Ron let out a gasp of air.
"There he is....Viktor Krum....the greatest seeker in the world!" Harry put on an affronted look at Ron, who turned at him and offered a sheepish smile, "Sorry mate." Harry simply laughed, and turned back towards the match.
/ - / - / - /
As they sat in the tent, sipping cups of hot cocoa after the match, Harry and the rest were having a rather good laugh at Ron's expense.
"Laugh all you want, but Krum is more than just a player...he's an artist."
"I think ickle Ronniekins is in love," Fred said with a smirk on his face, getting a pillow thrown in his direction for his troubles.
"Oh but it's true, he's blushing," Ginny said, throwing her hat into the ring. Quickly she began singing, joined quickly by the twins and Harry, while Hermione merely sat there laughing. "Viktor oh Viktor....for you my heart beats true! Viktor oh Viktor....it's never the same without you!" Another chorus of laughter rang out as the subject of their ridicule grew eve redder, only to be interrupted by a loud explosion outside the tent.
"Sounds like the Irish are celebrating," George off handedly remarked, only to be stopped by the dull sound of screaming and chanting coming from outside.
"That's not the Irish," Arthur said with more than a hint of despair apparent in his voice. "Everyone get out of here, now as quickly as you can. Stay together and head for the portkey."
Harry was herded out of the tent in a quick fashion, trying his best to hold onto Hermione's hand. Quickly he turned to see what all the commotion was about, only to get separated from the group. "HARRY!" came Hermione cry from afar, and Harry tried to reach her, all the while glancing back at black-robed figures marching forward through the city of tents, green lights flashing upwards in rapid fire fashion, and the pale white masks that he had only seen in his nightmares. Somewhere in the commotion, he was tripped up, and his head smacked on a rock, and the next thing Harry Potter knew was blackness.
He wasn't sure how long he had been out, or how long he had been lying there on the ground for that matter. What he was certain of was that his head hurt, and whatever the commotion had been, it was over now. Swiftly he fumbled around for his glasses and placed them over his face, frowning to himself when he saw a small crack down the middle of the left lens. He laughed to himself when he realized he'd have to ask Hermione for that spell again. Any merriment ceased when he head a movement off in the distance, and with instinct taking over, he simply held down close to the ground, his seeker reflexes scanning around him for the source of the noise.
Off to the east by a few dozen meters or so was a man, wearing a long leather coat, glancing about at the ground. He had what appeared to be a set look on his face. Stopping in the middle of the field, he glanced around again, before pointing his wand straight upwards. "MORSMORDRE!" he shouted in a high raspy voice, and at once a green light shot out of his wand, flying upwards and exploding in a thousand sparkling lights, being replaced with the pale green image of a skull with a snake rolling out of it.
Harry's scar betrayed him the moment he gazed upon the mark in the sky, as he let out a muffled cry of pain. He quickly laid even lower to the ground when the man turned around, unable to discern the location of the voice. Deciding that the Underage Statute was bollocks at this point, Harry did the best thing he could. He summoned up all of his courage, jumped to his feet, and pointed his wand straight at the man. "STUPIFY!" Harry shouted at the top of his lungs, and all at once a red light came bounding out of his wand, hitting the man square in the chest and sending him spinning to the ground. Harry ran over and checked the man, finding him alive. He had short black hair upon closer inspection, his face seemed oddly peaceful, almost like it didn't belong to him.
"Harry!" came a scream from behind him, and Harry turned around only to be enveloped in a desperate hug from Hermione. He hugged her back, both out of thanks that she was safe and out of need from his own adrenaline rush coming to an end. "What happened!" she quickly demanded to know.
"I fell and hit my head on that rock over there, and when I came to this man was here....and he...." the hairs on the back of Harry's neck stood up, and suddenly he heard several pops all around him. "GET DOWN!" he yelled to Hermione, forcing her down with his own weight as they were surrounded by seven men in Ministry uniforms, each firing a stunner at the center where Hermione and Harry had been standing.
"STOP! CEASE FIRE THOSE ARE CHILDREN IN THERE!" Arthur Weasley and the rest of his clan came running into the crossfire, surrounding Harry and Hermione. "Have you all gone daft!" Arthur asked the surrounded group, only to be approached by a rather thin man, who was shaking with anticipation.
"These two were caught at the scene of a crime! Which one of you conjured that!" he demanded to know in quick succession. Harry merely stared at the man with a dumbfounded look on his face.
"Come now Bartemis....they're only CHILDREN for Merlin's Sake!"
"Nonsense! They were caught red handed!" He pointed skyward "The dark mark was summoned and then we find these two!"
"We didn't summon it!" Harry said with exasperation, "he did." He pointed down at his feet, and the man looked down at the fallen Death Eater, and almost at once his face became as pale as a ghost.
"It....it can't be...." a larger black man came bounding across next to the man Harry learned was named Bartemis, flanked by a younger woman with rather vivacious hair color. The man looked down, and his eyes went wide as well.
"Barty Crouch?" he bellowed in a deep baritone, "But he's supposed to be dead!"
"Yes I know!" Bartemis quickly stated, "Something foul is afoot here and I intend to get to the bottom of it. Auror Dawlish, Auror Robards, take this man to my office straight away and I'll question him their before turning him over to Rufus." Two other Aurors nodded without protest, simply doing what they were told and carrying the man a fair distance away before disappearing.
A/N: We'll have a bit more to go, but I thought this might be a good place to end this chapter and have something to start with (namely Winky) on the next one. Not much plot development here, but the first of my major changes (and the seeds for a couple others) have happened.
Auror Robards is a character that has appeared in stories by old crow and chem prof at ff.net. He won't be a major character here, I just needed a stock Auror and that was the first name that popped into my head.
Also, the idea where Crouch has been captured at the World Cup has happened before (see mathiasgranger), but, rest assured, I have done something differently here. It's not too obvious, but it's not hidden either.