Unofficial Portkey Archive

Death Eaters

"Can you see the others?" Hermione's urgent whisper was so close that she could feel her quick, anxious breaths fluttering against her ear. Alice stuck her head around the side of the tent, craning through the dark and chaos to see if she could spot Ginny or the twins. A herd of stampeding Quidditch fans making for the safety of the forest had barged through the group, splitting them up as they ran.

"No." She turned back anxiously to her friends. In looking for the others they had drifted further away from the trees; couple that with the sideways turn the wizards creating the chaos seemed to have made and they were now huddled behind the sheltering bulk a tent, dangerously near to the line of fire - quite literally as they now had a clear view of the burning tents.

"Here, let me have a look," Harry gently pushed her back as he took a quick look for himself. "I still can't -" He suddenly stopped and Alice was sure that if the flames hadn't been casting an orange glow on his cheeks they would have drained of all colour.

"Mate, what's wrong?" Ron, with the girls close behind him, stepped out from behind the tent. Alice squinted through the darkness. She could hear screams and shouts along with several loud, sharp bangs as wands were fired like crackers. The dark mass of bodies was dimly visible over the tents only two rows away now. She could see nothing however that had warranted Harry's suddenly increased sense of alarm and had only just opened her mouth to say so when suddenly there was a huge explosion. The force of the blast rocked the ground beneath them seeming to send the stones on the ground jumping and rattling around them. She staggered and reached out to grasp hold of her friends, feeling them doing the same as her ears rang. A billowing pillar of flame was thrown into the night sky leaving white hot streaks crisscrossing her vision, as she blinked rapidly to clear her eyes the scene that was revealed to her made feel sick.

The crowd, which up until that moment Alice had hoped was merely a party gotten out of control or a group of disgruntled Bulgarian supporters, was backlit by the flames revealing a cluster of cloaked and hooded figures advancing slowly towards their position destroying the campsite as they went. Worse they seemed to have the writhing bodies of four helpless victims suspended above them, two of whom - if size was anything to judge by - were children. Beside her, Hermione let out a terrified squeak.

When Harry spoke next his voice sounded slow and distant as though it was taking him a great effort to speak. "We should get out of here." Alice nodded and took a step back, she had barely moved another inch however before she heard the sound of racing feet behind her and, whirling round nearly fell as a body slammed into her. Hermione let out a yell, quickly muffled by Ron clamping a hand over her mouth.

"Merlin, what are you lot still doing here?" The voice was familiar enough that Alice felt a little of the alarmed tension drain from her and she lowered the wand - which she couldn't even remember picking up - pointed at the shadowy face.

It was Harry who recognised the newcomer first. "Cedric?"

The Hufflepuff boy nodded grimly and repeated his question. "What are you still hanging about here for? If that lot catch you, especially her," he hissed indicating Hermione, "you'll be in trouble." As he spoke he glanced warily in the direction of the hooded mob who were now far too close for comfort and heading straight for them.

"Why Hermione?" In the urgency of the situation Alice forgot to be shy.

"They're after Muggles and Muggle-borns. Can't you see they've already got the camp manager and his family?" At his words Alice felt her bile rise again and swallowed hard to stop herself throwing up. "We need to get to the trees," he continued, "so when I say run, follow me alright? And don't stop for anything." Cedric stuck his head out once more. "Ok, now - run!"

Like a sprinter from the blocks Alice and her friends took off in the opposite direction from the mob. Her feet crashed out a regular rhythm against the packed earth, not breaking stride as she leaped over someone's hastily discarded possessions or dodged a smouldering tent. The sharp sounds of her panting breaths were barely audible, even to her, over the tumult behind them.

They had scarcely been running for more than a few seconds when she heard a sudden yell behind them, aggressive and far too close for comfort. She risked a glance back. Three of the hooded figures were pursuing them, and gaining rapidly. This close she could see they were wearing masks as well; an ominous indicator if ever she saw one as even in her dash to safety her preoccupied mind registered that this meant it had obviously been planned. Increasing her speed and turning back at the same time her foot caught in a rut concealed by the dark. She stumbled, arms flailing, falling forwards; a gasp escaped from between petrified lips. Immediately someone grabbed her hand, their fingers warm around her own, frozen and terrified, pulling her upright and dragging her on.

"Keep going," the voice at the end of the arm repeated urgently. It was Cedric. As they ran a tent next to Harry exploded into a ball of green flames, spitting burning chunks and debris in all directions. Instinctively they ducked and swerved, Alice rapidly taking stock to see if anyone had been hurt. As though the explosion had been some sort of cue, spells began raining down on them from behind and the elated cackles of their pursuers began ringing in their ears. They were almost upon them. Alice put on another burst of speed, aware that with her shorter legs she was dragging on Cedric's arm.

Suddenly there was a shriek behind her and although they all stumbled on for several paces her blood instantly ran cold. She knew that voice.

"HERMIONE!" Harry's urgent cry confirmed her worst fear. She wrenched her hand from Cedric's and spun wand at the ready to face whatever was behind them. It didn't matter that there was three of them, and they were all undoubtedly more experienced in magic than she was; all she knew was that she had to save her friend. Standing in the middle of the empty row, several paces away was one of the masked figures - except he wasn't masked any more. His hood was askew, slipping to reveal a snarling, contorted face, gashed from top to bottom on one side by a long, spidery scar. The man was cursing and bellowing, fighting with Hermione whom he had grabbed around the waist. For her part Hermione was battling tooth and nail to get free, clawing at his face, kicking every inch of him that she could reach and screeching at the top of her lungs. Behind them the other two were gaining.

"DUCK!" Cedric shouted, grabbing Alice and Ron by the collar and forcing them to the ground just as a burst of green light shot directly over their heads. Harry on the other hand, as heedless of danger as ever, let out an enraged roar and threw himself towards Hermione and her assailant, knocking all three of them to the ground. As they rolled around in a tangle of limbs Alice struggled to her knees, raised her wand towards the other masked figures and did the only thing she could think of.

"Stupefy!" A flash of red was quickly deflected, but it was soon joined by similar volleys from the boys next to her. One was just as contemptuously brushed aside as her own had been, but the other found its mark, hitting the nearer of the two men squarely in the face and he dropped to the ground. Everything was a confusion of yelling and screaming, of spells flying and limbs flailing. Alice and Ron sent another round of spells soaring towards their remaining pursuer and although he shielded himself once more the rebounding spells seemed to become tangled up in each other, ricocheting onto a nearby tent and igniting with a noise like a firecracker. In the chaos that followed the man was thrown sideways, crashing into the ground from which he did not stir. At almost the same moment Harry sprang up from the ground, pulling a bedraggled looking Hermione after him, his lip was bleeding profusely and his jacket was torn. Aiming one last kick at the man lying panting on the ground, who yelped and clutched for his leg as Harry's foot connected with his shin, her brother turned, eyes blazing and a look of fierce determination on his face.

"Let's go before more of them turn up." He strode off towards the forest, with a backward glance to check that no more of them were following. Alice stood there for a second trying to catch her breath before she felt Ron push her gently forward.

"Come on; we still need to find the others." The five of them moved off, no longer running now as they were out of sight of the danger, although they moved quickly as they could still hear the jeers and occasional rush of air as a tent caught fire. Hermione let out the occasional sniff and seemed to be limping slightly, although otherwise seemed unhurt, and Alice watched as Harry put his arm around her, helping her along.

The encounter seemed to have set every nerve in her body ringing, every sense was on the alert. Her eyes darted between the silent tents as she trotted along, the flames in the distance giving everything a dull orange sheen. Ahead she could make out the dark bulk of the forest and she began to pick out the sounds of the people still fleeing into the trees. As they joined the back of one group of stragglers and at last found themselves under the sheltering bulk of the branches, Alice let out a breath she hadn't even been aware of holding and shivered. When they were no further than a few feet into the trees the five of them turned as one, joining the countless others who were strung out along the edge of the forest, and stared back at the campsite behind them. Or what was left of it. A large portion of the tents seemed to be burning and what wasn't burning was either in a state of dishevelled abandonment or was trampled and charred after the fire had passed through. From their vantage point on the slight slope they had a clear view of the mob, now apparently doing battle with the Ministry wizards. The Muggles they had captured seemed to have vanished.

"I hope Dad and the others are ok." Ron spoke in a sombre whisper.

"They'll be fine," Cedric said with confidence. Alice snuck a sideways glance at him and saw that he was staring fixedly towards the tumult that had been the campsite, his jaw was clenched and his grey eyes were blazing as they took in the scene. A smudge of soot blotted one cheek and his hair was singed and unkempt. She suspected they probably all looked the same. He caught her looking and gave her a reassuring smile as she blushed. "I had better go and see if I can find some of my friends. Will you four be alright?"

"Yeah," Harry, who had been whispering reassuringly to Hermione, looked up, "we will. Thanks for everything Cedric." The older boy nodded in acknowledgment at them all before disappearing into the trees.

"He's right," she turned back to Ron, as much as for something to say as to reassure him, "you'll see; they're all old enough to take care of themselves."

"They're more than capable of dealing with those idiots. If anything, Sirius is probably enjoying himself." Harry added.

"Pfft, just keep telling yourself that Potter. I honestly don't know why Hogwarts wastes time on your education, because it doesn't seem to make you any smarter." Alice groaned as she saw her brother wheel round, instantly recognising the languid drawl. Several feet away she could just make out Malfoy through the gloom, lounging against a tree with his arms folded, from where he had clearly been enjoying the spectacle.

Ron snarled and told the smug Slytherin to go away in terms that made Alice elbow him sharply in the ribs.

"Now, now, Weasley," Malfoy grinned broadly, "what would Mummy say if she could hear you talk like that? If you're father has any sense he'll stay well out of it. Then again," he cocked his head to one side as he considered Ron's rapidly reddening face, "he's a Weasley so brains aren't one of his strong points."

"Oh, go away Malfoy," Hermione huffed tiredly, though her heart wasn't really in it.

The Slytherin chuckled. "Of course my father is doing his part. He knows where his loyalties lie."

"What's that meant to mean?" Harry looked up sharply as Alice frowned.

Malfoy stared at him for a long moment, his expression giving nothing away. "Nothing," he said eventually. "Anyway, I'd move from here if I were you. It still looks as though they're on the look out for Mudbloods, although," he indicated Hermione, "from the looks of you, maybe you already know that."

"Shut up about Hermione," Harry growled as Ron shifted his stance testily.

"Just a friendly word of advice," he smirked. "I'd tell you the same Evans, but you've managed to worm your way out of that little hole haven't you?" He chuckled again as he turned and slunk off deeper into the forest, soon disappearing into the darkness, their glares still burning into his back.

"On of these days," Ron mimed mashing something violently in midair.

"Don't let him get to you," Alice suddenly sat down heavily, the adrenaline draining out of her, "he's all talk."

"Yeah well… still…" Ron continued to chunter under his breath about what he would do to the Slytherin the next time they met as the rest of them took a seat by the trees. Watching and waiting along with all the other anxious faces, illuminated by the flames, staring out over the tumult.

At some point Alice must have drifted off to sleep, because when she opened her eyes again dawn was creeping over the horizon and Harry was crouching with a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her awake.

"Wake up, Alice," as her eyelashes fluttered open he smiled, but then immediately winced as the motion stretched his scarred lip. "Come on, it's over. We should go and find the others."

With a yawn she struggled to her feet, stretching out the kinks that had developed after a night leant up against a tree as she did so. The pale sunlight inching over the scene before her revealed the wreck that had been the campsite. Very little remained untouched, charred and smouldering tents littered the field and what wasn't burned had been trampled by the mob and those stampeding to get away. Early morning mist snaked its way through the debris and into the trees, giving whole scene a forbidding air. Sleepy and stunned people were slowly picking their way out of the forest and trying to find their belongings, or the spot where their tent had been. Aware that she was standing with her mouth slightly open Alice shut it with a snap.

"Come on," Harry repeated. "They might be back at the tent by now."

"Or what's left of it." Ron put in.

Sure enough as they neared the tent - which due to the devastation had taken them a while to find - they saw the rest of the Weasley clan and Sirius standing over its charred remains, deep in discussion. All of Ron's older brothers were sporting an injury of some sort: Bill was holding a blood soaked rag to his arm, Charlie had a black eye and Percy's bloody nose was being pinched gingerly between his fingers as Ginny fussed over them. Mr Weasley appeared singed, but unharmed, as, to her immense relief, did the twins. As he spotted them approaching Ron's father let out a jubilant cry and rushed over to ensure they were alright. Sirius, who had his back to them, turned and grinned, the smile stretching a painful and fairly deep looking cut that stretched from his hairline to his jaw. He winced the minute he had done it.

"Are you alright?"

"Of course," he tried a smile again, and found it was slightly less painful if he made the movement slight. "It'll take more than a few nutters at the World Cup to keep me down. What about you lot?" He plucked at the tear in Harry's sleeve.

"We're fine."

Suddenly the realisation of how lucky they had all been to escape serious harm came flooding back to Alice. The excitement had drained away, and despite her uncomfortable sleep under a tree, she was exhausted. She slipped an arm around her godfather's waist and gave him a quick hug, reassuring herself that he was unharmed. She heard an affectionate chuckle reverberate through his chest. "Sit." She demanded, taking a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbing cautiously at his face. He obeyed reluctantly.

"Where did you lot get to anyway?" Ginny asked curiously as Alice worked. "One minute you were behind us and then the next we looked you had vanished."

"We…" Harry glanced at his sister and friends with a wry smile which they returned. "We got a bit caught up with some nutters of our own."

"I see one of them left you with a souvenir," Bill indicated Harry's lip.

"It's nothing."

George grinned at him. "Never deny a war wound Harry."

"Yeah, they look great for the girls," his twin added.

"Is that where you're going wrong?" Teased Alice, fishing her wand from her pocket and performing the few simple healing charms she knew on Sirius' face. It didn't heal the cut completely, but at least the bleeding had stopped. She smirked as Fred did his best to look put out by her remark.

"So the tent's ruined then?" Ron poked at the charred remains with the toe of his trainer, fishing through the debris of canvas and wooden poles. "Did we manage to save anything? What about that hat I bought?"

"I'm afraid the hat's gone son," Mr Weasley looked grim again. " We managed to salvage one or two things," he held up a singed and ragged looking rucksack, showing them the contents; everything was black and sooty, but glancing over Alice thought she could pick out a few pairs of Omnioculars, a kettle and a few other bits and bobs. "I'm going to have to apologise to Perkins though, I borrowed those tents from him."

"He'll understand, Dad," Charlie assured him, "besides, it's not as though we were the only ones." He gestured at the area around them which was similarly littered with the remains of shelters, in some cases only a few charred pegs marked out the spot where a tent had been. It reminded Alice of a scene from an apocalyptic movie.

"Well… I suppose now that we're all here, there's nothing to hang around for. We should get back to the Burrow. Molly will be getting worried."

Molly was indeed worried. To save time, Sirius and the other adults apparated them all home - a means of transport which it turned out allowed for passengers - and the minute Mrs Weasley saw them all appear in the yard she came running out throwing herself upon the twins and sobbing incoherently about telling them off.

"It's been all over the D-Daily Prophet," she hiccupped once they had calmed her down and gotten her back into the kitchen. "I didn't know what… I thought that…" Without finishing her sentence Mrs Weasley took a long gulp of tea and sat blinking back tears as Ginny, sitting next to her mother at the table, stroked her hand comfortingly.

Sirius picked up the discarded newspaper sitting on the table and after giving the headline a sceptical look, began to read. "CARNAGE AT CUP CAMPSITE. The campsite of the Quidditch World Cup Final was all but destroyed last night by a mob of masked individuals. Ministry officials denied the rumour that it was the work of former Death Eaters, citing rowdy revellers and an over indulgence on Fire Whiskey as the most likely cause instead." He stopped and snorted derisively. "Of course because drunken wizards are notorious for attacking Muggles, unlike Death Eaters - last time I checked they were all model citizens. Goodness knows," he added, dropping the sarcasm, "there are enough of them still running around that they could easily have made up the mob last night."

"Now Sirius," Mr Weasley took the paper from him and scanned it as he spoke, "we don't know that for sure."

"Do you think it could have been, Dad?"

Before anyone could answer Ginny's question Harry spoke up. "Well we bumped into Malfoy last night and he as good as told us that his father was one of them."

"Malfoy?"

"Well he didn't really," Hermione argued, precise as ever, "he just hinted really."

Harry looked so put out at his girlfriend contradicting his condemnation of the Malfoy's that Alice felt the need to speak up, if only to try and smooth things over. "Actually," she explained to Sirius and the others, "he could have been saying anything. He was deliberately vague. Just said that his father was out on the campsite somewhere, and that he knew where his loyalties lay."

"Well," sighed Mr Weasley looking more tired than she had ever seen him, "I certainly didn't see Lucius helping us out anywhere last night. Although I must admit I could have missed him, we were all rather preoccupied."

"Did you get any of them?" Ron asked, yawning tiredly as he waited for an answer.

Bill shook his head. "No, they destroyed the Muggles house and then the lot of them disapparated. It was all we could do to catch them and try to repair some of the damage."

They all remained silent for a few moments, staring at the delicate whorls in the wooden table. Finally Sirius stirred restlessly. "Well I think we should be heading home you two. It was a long day - and night," he added. "I think we all need to get some proper sleep. Hermione, do you want us to get you home?"

The brunette shook her head, the thick, bushy hair which covered it quivering wildly as she did so. "No thanks, I can use the Floo too - I got the fireplace at home connected specially for the World Cup."

They all rose to their feet and began saying their goodbyes, Mrs Weasley still sniffing loudly as she gave them all a fierce hug. As she bade goodbye to her friends Alice consoled herself with the knowledge that it would only be a few more days until she saw them all again aboard the Hogwarts Express. As she stepped into the roaring green flames she heard Fred call after her. "Oi, Evans, try and stay out of trouble until the next time we see you!"

Not that she had been intending to make a mischief of herself anyway, but the fact that she had less than a week before they left for school made complying with this request all the easier. In no time at all Alice found herself hanging out of the window as the scarlet train cranked its way slowly out of King's Cross Station waving madly to Sirius, his face almost completely repaired by Lupin, her old professor and the remaining Weasleys. Her godfather had been very downcast all morning at the thought of their departure and for the first time ever she was sad to be leaving home. The thought was almost immediately squashed however as they rounded a bend and she ducked back inside the train with the others.

"Are you ever going to take that off?" Ron enquired, gesturing towards her Ireland scarf that she was still sporting despite the warmth of the train, as they edged their way along in search of a compartment.

"Probably not. Besides you're just sore because you wanted Bulgaria to win." The four of them slipped into an empty compartment and slid the door shut behind them. As she climbed onto a seat to store Archimedes cage in the rack above them, she felt rather than heard something go on behind her and glanced back just in time to see Ron hastily rearranging his face into an expression of innocence. "Don't be childish," she leapt down with a grin.

"Don't start going on about Quidditch again, will you?" Hermione sighed. "You've all talked about nothing else all summer." The other three glanced at each other before shrugging and changing the subject. It didn't do to argue with Hermione.

It wasn't long before the subject inadvertently cropped up again however. Not long after the witch with the snack-trolley had bobbed her way past their compartment, Harry was flicking through the Daily Prophet he had picked up from her.

"Oh, here it is!"

"What?" Alice glanced up, a copy of Intermediate Transfiguration in one hand and a pumpkin pasty in the other.

"The photo that journalist took of us… what was his name again?"

"Constant," supplied Hermione, leaning over to have a look, "Arnie Constant."

"Yeah, him. Look." Harry flipped the paper round so that Alice and Ron could see. It was actually quite a good picture, Alice considered, much as she hated being in the newspaper. The two of them stood arm-in-arm, smiling shyly out at the viewer, photo-Alice a step behind her brother so that he was easier to hide behind. The image took up half of the seventh page with the caption over it: "Mysterious Potter siblings enjoy day out at the Quidditch World Cup before things turned sour."

"Hmm," she mused non-committaly, "what does the article say?"

"Just the usual rubbish," Harry scanned the page and snorted loudly. "It just says that you've recently declared yourself a Potter -"

"It makes me sound like a disease." The others chuckled.

"-that we didn't know we were related… blah, blah, blah… that we both seem to enjoy Quidditch… that's about it really; nothing ground-breaking."

"It could have been worse I suppose," she conceded.

"Well I think it's a really nice picture of you both." Hermione declared. "Do you mind if I have that page once you're finished with it?" She asked Harry. "It's just a shame the whole thing was spoiled."

"True, but just because the end of the night was ruined, doesn't mean we can't still appreciate the match and everything else," Alice informed her. "I can't wait for Quidditch this year."

"Why?" Ron glanced up curiously. "Other than the fact it's a brilliant sport of course."

"I was…well…" She flushed and tried to decide how she was going to word her statement.

Harry saved her the bother. "I've convinced her to try out for the team. We're going to need a new Keeper now that Oliver has gone and Alice would be brilliant at it." He chuckled as his sister turned an even deeper shade of red, embarrassed by his praise.

"Hmm…" Ron frowned.

"What?" Alice was alarmed. "Don't you think I would be any good at it? I told you," she accused her brother.

"No, it's not that," Ron rushed to explain. "It's just something that Bill said before we left. I don't know if we're going to have the Quidditch Cup this year."

"What?!" Both Harry and Alice looked scandalised.

"Why ever not? There's always Quidditch," Hermione seemed upset on their behalf.

Ron shrugged. "Dunno, he wouldn't say. He was just hinting that there would be something else to occupy us that would be even better than Quidditch." Even as he spoke Ron looked sceptical. Harry evidently agreed.

"What could be better than Quidditch?"

They all fell silent for a while after that trying to work out exactly what could be going on at Hogwarts that would supplant something as fundamental as Quidditch. Alice for her part was still hoping that Ron was mistaken. Though she would be loath to admit it, she had been secretly looking forward to trying out for the team, even if it would have been terrifying.

It was still on her mind some time later as they all filed into the Great Hall for the Feast, seeing the familiar surroundings of her school though helped to take things off her mind. They dodged Peeves who seemed to be in the process of dropping water-bombs on the hapless students below him, made their way through the hubbub of people greeting each other noisily, skirted the Slytherin table and Malfoy, who was clearly relaying the story of the Quidditch World Cup, and found some seats amongst the rest of the Gryffindors. As she sat down Alice caught sight of Cedric Diggory at the Hufflepuff table and quickly shrank down in her seat as he nodded in greeting at Harry, ducking her head to hide the blush she was sure must be creeping up her cheeks. She could still remember the feel of his hand around hers as they dashed through the burning campsite and she was afraid that if he spotted her that she would be liable to do something embarrassing.

"Hello, Alice." Soaking from the torrential rain outside and Peeves' idea of a joke, Neville sat down next to her. "Is something wrong?" He looked at her curiously from beneath the fringe plastered to his forehead.

"Nope," she shook her head vigorously before rapidly changing the subject. "How was the rest of your summer anyway?" He had visited the cottage for a few days at the start of the summer, and there had been her birthday party, but since then she hadn't heard from him much.

"Not bad, I spent ages trying to persuade Gran to let me go to the Quidditch, but she wouldn't let me. Then after everything that happened… well let's just say that I didn't hear the end of it. How was it anyway?"

Alice proceeded to relay the events of that night as the rest of the student body took their seats. She waved back as Parvati Patil and her friends sat a few seats down the table and rolled her eyes as Fred and George took seats beside Neville, larking about as usual.

"Does anyone know who our new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor will be this year?" Asked Lavender Brown curiously, peering up at the staff table as she spoke.

"I heard Dad say something about Mad-Eye Moody," Ron supplied.

"Moody?" Hermione glanced up with interest from where she had been deep in discussion with Harry, their heads bent together. "Isn't he an Auror?"

"He used to be." George took a pause from trying to push his brother onto the floor. "Half the cells in Azkaban are full because of him."

"Why is he called Mad-Eye?" Asked Parvati. "That isn't his real name, is it?"

"Because he's mad as a box of frogs," Fred grinned at her, "and… well you'll see why."

"Surely he can't be that mad." Hermione frowned glancing up at the empty seats on the staff table once again. "Dumbledore wouldn't let someone that was mad teach us."

"Hermione, have you actually met the Headmaster?" George leant down the table towards her. "I mean, don't get me wrong, he's a genius and everything, but -"

"-he's a cheese-plate short of crackers," finished Fred, winking at Alice as she let out a cough half-way between a laugh and a bark. "Calm down, Evans," he reached round Neville to pat her on the back, "I know I'm hilarious, but there is no need to do yourself an injury."

Alice stuck her tongue out.

"Look," Neville suddenly pointed up towards the far end of the room. As they all looked, Alice saw a grizzled old man stomp his way crookedly into the Great Hall through a door set behind the staff table. By the flickering light emitted from the storm-tossed enchanted ceiling she could pick out the marks of several vicious scars that seemed to criss-cross his face. Thinning, grey hair hung down to his shoulders and his robes were worn and patched. It took her only a second to register all of this because after that she was transfixed on his face, or rather the enormous eye that seemed to dwarf the rest of it. Round, and almost as large as a galleon, the electric blue orb seemed completely independent from the rest of the man's face. It rolled around in its socket entirely at odds with the small, dark eye, almost as piercing for all its difference, which graced the opposite side of his craggy face. It gave him an eerie, unearthly air; she could well imagine that rather than being born this man had simply dragged himself from the depths of the earth or torn himself, fully formed, from a chunk of granite.

Suddenly the penny dropped and Alice realised what George had meant by them seeing why people called him `Mad-Eye,' for it surely had to be him. As they began to notice the newcomer's arrival the rest of the students in the Great Hall began to fall silent. A ripple, beginning with those closest to the staff table, seemed to spread across the room until every student was staring, wide-eyed, up at Moody now taking his seat. Noticing the silence Dumbledore stood and cleared his throat.

"Well," he smiled benevolently at them all, extending his arms towards them, "it seems that for the first time in all my years at Hogwarts, it does not fall to me to call for silence at this point. So first of all I would like to welcome you all to the start of another year at Hogwarts. I hope you have all managed to forget everything that you have previously learned over the course of the summer. Now, I am sure you are all eager to tuck into a truly excellent feast, but first I feel it prudent to make a few announcements."

A/N: Just in case anyone is confused, obviously Crouch Junior couldn't conjure the Dark Mark at the Quidditch because he wouldn't have been freed by Voldemort who in turn wouldn't have been found by Pettigrew after what happened in book 3. As a completely irrelevant note, I could never understand why they didn't just apparate to the Quidditch instead of use a Portkey, but for the sake of the story I kept it in. Hope you enjoy!

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