Chapter 180
Bill spoke in astonishment.
"You actually fought one of the Death Eaters?!"
Albert, now lying on Ron's bed, simply replied,
"Yes… I did."
Bill couldn't believe it. The thought that Albert had faced a follower of Voldemort and survived was almost unreal. If he had been in Albert's place, he doubted he'd have lasted a minute after all, those people served You-Know-Who, and that alone made them unimaginably powerful.
Harry climbed into his own bed, his head buzzing with thoughts. He knew he should have been exhausted it was nearly three in the morning but sleep refused to come. He felt wide awake, uneasy. For three days now, that familiar pain in his lightning-shaped scar had returned.
And tonight for the first time in fourteen years the Dark Mark of Lord Voldemort had appeared in the sky.
What could it mean?
Harry lay awake, staring up at the ceiling, watching the faint moonlight shift through the rafters. It was a long, sleepless night before he finally drifted off.
---
A few hours later, Mr. Weasley woke them all, magically folding their beds and blankets with a wave of his wand.
They trudged downstairs, still heavy-eyed and half-asleep, to find Mrs. Weasley making tea. Mr. Weasley unfolded the morning paper, scanning the front page quickly before muttering under his breath,
"I knew it… Ministry blunders Suspect still at large security failure wizards infiltrate event Scandal! … And who wrote this nonsense? Ah, of course… Rita Skeeter!"
Albert's heart tightened when he heard Mr. Weasley say "suspect still at large."
He clenched his fists slightly and thought to himself, damn it… if only I'd taken it more seriously… I could've caught him.
Percy, already in a self-important tone, began lecturing, "She's blaming the Ministry again! Last week she said regulating imports was a waste of time. When will we get rid of such opportunists? If only she'd read the twelfth paragraph of the Non-Magical Rights Charter, she'd know "
Bill interrupted him mid-yawn.
"Do us a favor, Percy shut it."
Suddenly, Mr. Weasley's eyes widened as he looked back at the paper.
"They mentioned me and Albert!"
Mrs. Weasley gasped.
"Where? If I'd seen your names, I'd have known you were safe!"
"They didn't use my name directly," said Mr. Weasley, "but listen to this part about Albert "
He began reading aloud from the article:
> "If the terrified wizards who waited breathlessly at the edge of the forest had hoped for a statement from the Ministry of Magic, they were disappointed. A Ministry official appeared shortly after the Dark Mark's appearance to assure everyone that no one was harmed but refused to give further details.
Will such a statement be enough to quiet the rumors now spreading across the wizarding community?
And let us not forget the young wizard who aided the Ministry in identifying the source of the attack on the families in the woods. Without the intervention of Albert Black, still a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Ministry might never have discovered that the attacker was none other than Mr. Bartemius Crouch's son Barty Crouch Jr..
According to one of the Ministry witnesses at the scene, it was Albert Black who was seen dueling the culprit himself."
Mr. Weasley's tone hardened as he folded the paper and handed it to Percy.
"Really? 'No one was harmed'? What else was I supposed to say? And do they think that one sentence will stop the rumors? This article will only cause more trouble. Still… thank goodness she didn't write anything nasty about Albert."
Albert leaned over Percy's shoulder to glance at the article. His eyes caught the large moving photograph at the center of the page a swirling image of the night sky, the eerie green Dark Mark glowing above the treetops.
Mr. Weasley pushed his chair back and stood up abruptly.
"Molly, I have to go to the office I need to follow up on all this!"
Percy quickly jumped in.
"I'll come too, Father. Mr. Crouch will need all his assistants right now, especially with his son being the one behind it all. I also need to hand in my report."
He left the kitchen briskly.
Mrs. Weasley sighed in exasperation.
"Arthur, you're on holiday! You don't have to go to your office. Surely they can handle things without you for once!"
But he shook his head, already heading for the stairs.
"I have to go, Molly. I've made enough mistakes already. I'll change and leave immediately."
To be continued...