Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 93: A Sudden Attack
"Excuse me, but I had to presume that Miss Weasley was the one for me, as it was the only one I knew, even though we are not that close," Harry said as the girl began to awake in his arms.
"H-How…how did you do that? You just went in!" Mister Crouch said.
"Yes, what kind of magic was that?" Ludo Bagman added.
"Do I have to explain that as well? I didn't think that was part of the rules." Harry responded.
"No, you do not." Dumbledore intervened. "Although I would admit that I have many questions in my mind."
"Did you really awaken an ancient spirit just to complete the task?" Headmaster Karkaroff asked.
"That would have been one of my questions." Dumbledore joined in.
Harry shook his head. "No, actually, there is another t—"
"Mmm…where am I?" Ginny asked. The girl looked very disoriented, but as soon as she realized she was being held. "Whaa!" Her cheeks became as red as her hair.
"Oh, my apologies." Harry helped her to her feet. "It felt rude to just leave you on the floor while you were sleeping."
"I was...inside the Headmaster's office, I think," Ginny responded.
"Yes, yes, you were brought inside the lake after the Headmaster placed you under a spell." Mister Crouch dismissed the girl. "Perhaps we should now move to the evaluation from the judges." He looked behind. "Is the reporter ready? I would like to get a picture with the first champion."
"Forget about the picture. What you should do is get the other champions out of the water right now." Harry's tone had suddenly changed, and his eyes were focused in the distance.
"Get them out? What are you talking about?" Ludo Bagman said. "The task is not yet over."
"Oh, it is over," Harry said.
The sunlight started to disappear as dark clouds covered everything.
"What is that?!" McGonagall pointed at something in the sky.
"That…" Dumbledore squinted his eyes.
"Albus!" Moody approached with his broom while yelling and pointing up. "It's them!...Death Eaters are approaching!"
"They are flying from the south. We need to evacuate the audience!" Tonks hovered at Moody's side.
"Hold on. What are they doing here?" Mister Crouch said.
"W-we need to leave! Take us back to land!" Ludo Bagman shouted.
Just as Dumbledore was about to speak, they all heard a loud sound coming from above. When they looked up, there was a massive symbol floating in the sky. A green skull with a snake moving around it.
"The Dark Mark…" McGonagall muttered.
"They came here to cause chaos…to announce his return." Professor Flitwick said.
So far, Voldemort had kept his return on the quiet side, only a few even knowing he was back.
"This means he is finally ready." Dumbledore muttered.
"I…need to leave. They are going to kill me!" Headmaster Karkaroff grasped Dumbledore's robes. "Don't let them get to me!"
"Igor, please. Calm down. We have several Aurors in the proximity, we wi—" Dumbledore was interrupted when something suddenly emerged from the lake.
Several bodies appeared to have been pushed out, landing on the floating platform.
"Fleur!" Madam Maxime went to assist her champion, as well as her little sister.
"It's the champions." McGonagall went to assist Cedric Diggory and Hermione, who had landed close to her feet, while others helped the Durmstrang champion and a senior girl from Ravenclaw.
"Sorry about that, but I had to get them out of the water. The rest of the lake's inhabitants have also been moved away." Harry said before taking a step forward.
"Mister Potter…" Moody floated next to him. "We can work together to stop them. I have six other Aurors here, ready to fight."
"There are only a dozen wizards." Harry stepped onto the water, but his feet didn't sink. "And this Dark Lord is not among them." He extended his right hand.
The wand disappeared and was replaced by the Staff of Annwn. The crystal at the top shone with a gentle blue light that brought serenity to those who looked at it.
"I detected their approach before the task started," Harry said. The water beneath him began to move him away from the platform. "Which is why I contacted this ancient spirit for assistance."
They had all thought he had made use of this old piece of magic just to pass the second task, but Harry had already predicted the attack.
The negative emotions of these Death Eaters were powerful enough for him to detect from a great distance.
"Mister Moody." Harry turned to them. "You and your Aurors can stay behind and ensure the protection of the audience members. I will take care of this unwanted visit."
"You want to fight alone?! Are you crazy?" Tonks exclaimed.
Harry responded with a calm smile. His voice sounded relaxed but firm. "Oh…but I am not alone. Remember?"
A dozen Death Eaters riding flying brooms began to descend while shouting and cackling.
Curses flew from their wands toward the judges' platform, where Dumbledore and the rest were standing.
Harry raised his staff.
A massive wall of water formed in front of the platform, acting as a shield and protecting everyone from the assault.
A column of water appeared beneath Harry's feet, pushing him closer to the attackers and finally earning their attention. "I am the one you need to contend with if you wish to attack these people behind me."
Several individuals stopped nearby, surrounding him. One of them moved closer. A woman with long black hair and a cruel smirk who was wearing some dirty rags.
"A child is supposed to stop us?" She and the others began to laugh. "I'd like to see that. What is your name, boy?"
He noted that all of them were wearing the same dirty and broken rags as clothes. They looked like they had just escaped from somewhere.
Harry felt their cruelty and anger only becoming stronger with each second that passed. These people were dangerous. He could not let them get away.
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