The past hour or so, Cedric and his companions have been suffering enough in the box with the fire dragon.
But that ordeal compared to Kreacher truly pales in significance.
Kreacher never imagined that when he merely went out to fetch a bucket of water, he'd return to find everyone in the tent gone. Then the wizards in the camp started fighting, with all sorts of dangerous charms flying everywhere.
Especially when the Killing Curse appeared, the poor little elf was nearly scared to death.
It's not that he cared that much for Conna, but mainly because Regulus still needed Snape's help…
To make Regulus look more like a person and not some monster, Conna absolutely couldn't have anything happen to her, not even a scratch.
So, the frightened little elf started crying while searching for Conna's whereabouts.
During this hour or so, he had almost checked every tent, knocking aside a dozen wizards blocking his way, coming close to overturning the entire camp.
Fortunately, when he was about to give up hope, he finally heard Conna's voice again.
To prevent similar events from happening again, as soon as Kreacher entered the tent, he immediately brought her away using Disillusionment.
The entire process was swift and decisive; Conna didn't even have a chance to speak to the others.
"This…" The others exchanged glances, looking at each other.
"Alright, we have to go back too." Mr. Weasley said, "A Dark Mark appeared over the camp, surely this news will spread quickly. To prevent your parents from worrying, we should return as soon as possible."
With that said, Mr. Weasley got up and left the tent, "I'll see if I can get a Portkey ahead of time, stay here and don't wander off."
…
"Dark Mark?" After Mr. Weasley left, Harry asked in confusion, "Is it the skull pattern in the sky? What exactly is it?"
"The mark of You-Know-Who." Bill said, "It was the thing people feared to see most over a decade ago. A place with the Dark Mark usually meant He had been there."
"But You-Know-Who is already dead." Harry said.
"But the Death Eaters are still around." Bill thought of Malfoy and those people, "What we saw tonight must be remnants of them… They somehow escaped and were not imprisoned in Azkaban."
"But it ends here." Charlie said with a smile, "They were caught on the spot, people and evidence found, and even Headmaster Maxime testified. Haha."
Charlie drank a gulp of water happily; actually, he wanted to drink some alcohol, but unfortunately, there wasn't even hot cocoa, only water.
"Luckily, you all weren't in the forest at that time."
Bill tidied up his ponytail that was already loose and said, "The Death Eaters are ruthless, with no sense of mercy. If they had conjured the Dark Mark and you were nearby, it would have been disastrous."
"But… why would the Death Eaters conjure the Dark Mark?" Hermione said slowly, "I mean, what's the point? Just to scare others?"
"Who knows." Bill shrugged, "Maybe they drank too much, couldn't help but want to have a fun little party… Before Voldemort's fall, they used to do that frequently." He showed a hint of disgust on his face.
Harry didn't hear what was said later; his head buzzed, and unconsciously went outside the tent, looking up at the skull pattern in the sky, lost in thought.
Half an hour later, Mr. Weasley finally returned.
He wasn't alone; Fudge, Crouch, Bagman, and many other Ministry of Magic officials accompanied him.
They walked quickly into the tent, surrounding Harry with a succession of inquiries.
Mr. Weasley slipped up earlier, which was how they learned Harry Potter was almost killed. At that moment, Fudge turned pale with fear, even more so than when he saw the Dark Mark.
If Harry had really been killed by the Death Eaters right under the Ministry's nose, he would surely be overwhelmed by Howlers.
After Fudge was Crouch, grabbing Harry's shoulders, his face frighteningly pale, hands and toothbrush-like mustache twitching!
"Where's the person who tried to kill you?" he asked.
"In the forest," Harry said.
"Do you still remember the way?" Crouch asked.
"I remember."
"Alright, take us there…"
Afterward, the group reached the forest where they had been before.
The Ministry of Magic official responsible for registration who was knocked out by Kael earlier was still lying under a tree at this point.
Seeing that person, Crouch seemed to relax, his face much more at ease, reverting to his usual meticulous demeanor.
Head of the Auror Office Scrimgeour came forward to inspect, then took out a bottle of Magic Potion and splashed it on the man's face.
"Not Polyjuice Potion," he said to Fudge and Crouch, "He seems to be under Imperio."
"Now is not the time to jump to conclusions." Crouch said coldly, "Wake him up and take him back to the Ministry of Magic for a proper interrogation."
Several Beaters came over and took the person away.
"Minister," at this time, Mr. Weasley walked over and said, "It's too dangerous for Harry to stay here. If possible, I'd like to take him back immediately."
"No." Crouch said sternly, "We need to know more details. He can't leave just yet."
"Barty, I think this can definitely be discussed later at the Ministry of Magic. There's no need to do it here," a witch in a wool dressing gown said, "The child is frightened; let him calm down. Maybe he can remember more details."
"Ah, yes, you're right," Fudge fiddled with his hat.
Immediately understanding his intention, someone brought over an old tire.
Fudge handed it to Mr. Weasley and then looked at Harry, saying, "Kid, remember to come to the Ministry of Magic after this, how about tomorrow? Before then, think carefully about what happened, the more detailed, the better."
Not quite understanding, Harry looked at Mr. Weasley, and seeing him not opposing, nodded.
Though Crouch was dissatisfied, Fudge had already made his decision, and he couldn't say anything more, only turned coldly and left.
Others also departed, leaving only a few Aurors to guard nearby.
Before leaving, Fudge reminded Mr. Weasley once more not to forget to bring Harry to the Ministry the next day.
Mr. Weasley agreed, and then they gathered around the tire, preparing to return to Weasel Mountain.
During the wait, Kael looked towards the Portkey distribution point not far away.
The queue was longer than before, and there were continuously more people rushing over.
People all wanted to leave quickly; if they queued normally, even by noon, they might not make it.
"Ten seconds remaining, everyone get ready," Mr. Weasley said.
Everyone placed their hands on the tire.
Kael turned to glance towards the direction of the camp one last time.
The crisis was now resolved; more and more people began to return to the camp to check whether their tents had been destroyed, angered curses rising and falling.
Suddenly, Kael saw a familiar face flash and disappear among the crowd.
Golden hair, a vibrant peacock-blue robe, and those teeth shining even in the darkness.
Gilderoy Lockhart?
Kael rubbed his eyes, trying to see more clearly, but in just a moment of confusion, the figure had already vanished.
…