Cassie was jolted awake by a rough shake. "Cassie, get up! We need to go. Now!" Draco's urgent voice cut through 

Cassie groaned and blinked blearily, trying to make sense of her surroundings. The sound of distant screams and the flicker of spells pierced the night. "Draco, what's happening?" she asked, sitting up quickly.

"No time to explain," Draco said, grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet. "We have to move!"

Cassie stumbled, still half-asleep. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere safe," Draco muttered, his eyes darting around nervously. "Just follow me."

"What the fuck is going on?" Cassie gasped, taking in the chaos.

A crowd of wizards, tightly packed and moving together with wands pointing straight upward, was marching slowly across the field. They didn't seem to have faces. Then she realized that their heads were hooded and their faces masked. High above them, floating along in midair, four struggling figures were being contorted into grotesque shapes. It was as though the masked wizards on the ground were puppeteers, and the people above them were marionettes operated by invisible strings.

The floating people were suddenly illuminated as they passed over a burning tent. Cassie recognized one of them: Mr. Roberts, the campsite manager. The other three looked as though they might be his wife and children. One of the marchers below flipped Mrs. Roberts upside down with his wand; her nightdress fell down, revealing voluminous drawers as she struggled to cover herself up. The crowd below her screeched and hooted with glee.

"Death Eaters," Cassie whispered.

"CASSIE, NOW!" Draco dragged her towards the forest.

They sprinted through the dark forest, Cassie struggling to keep up. "Draco, tell me what's going on!" she demanded.

Draco glanced back at her. "I can't, Cassie. Father told me not to."

"Uncle is out there too, isn't he? With those Death Eaters?" Cassie spat in disgust.

Draco didn't say anything.

Cassie jerked her arm free. "I'm going to help those Muggles!"

"NO, CASSIE, IT'S TOO DANGEROUS!" Draco said firmly, grabbing her again.

Cassie glared at him "I'm not going to stand by and let these death eaters cause chaos"

Draco tightened his grip on her arm, his voice urgent. "Cassie, listen to me. If you go out there, they might hurt you... Mother told me to hide until this is over."

"Draco, I can't just do nothing!"

"You have to!" Draco insisted. "If not for yourself, then for me. Please, Cassie."

Cassie hesitated, glancing at Draco's flickering eyes filled with fear.

"The Ministry officials will handle it," Draco reassured. "And Father would never kill someone."

Cassie scoffed. "Are you fucking blind, Draco? Those bitches will do anything for entertainment, including uncle."

Draco didn't say anything; he knew she was right. He didn't want her to be.

Silence screamed in the distance, rustling of leaves, and murmurings familiar.

"Who's that?" Cassie whispered hoarsely, looking out.

"Ron, where are you? Oh, this is stupid — lumos!"

"Granger," Cassie scoffed to Draco, who leaned against a tree, waiting for them to arrive.

"Tripped over a tree root," Ron said angrily, getting up.

"Well, with feet that size, hard not to," Draco drawled.

Cassie rolled her eyes. "Real mature, Dray. People might be dying there," she whispered.

Draco looked at her. "It's still fun seeing the look on their faces."

Cassie looked at the trio, their faces contorted with rage. "It is," she agreed.

"Fuck off, Malfoy," Ron spat.

"Language, Weasley," said Draco, his pale eyes glittering.

At the same moment, a blast like a bomb sounded from the campsite, and a flash of green light momentarily lit the trees around them.

"You better run... you wouldn't want to be spotted, would you?" Cassie added.

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Hermione defiantly.

"You're supposed to be smart, Granger. They are after Muggles. You think they won't mind adding Mudbloods and blood traitors to the mix?"

"You watch your mouth!" shouted Ron.

Cassie raised her brow and just took out her dagger.

"Have it your own way, Potter," said Draco, grinning maliciously. "If you think they can't spot a Mudblood, stay where you are."

Ron snarled and took a step towards Draco, at which Cassie wielded her dagger in front.

"Never mind, Ron," said Hermione quickly.

There came a bang from the other side of the trees that was louder than anything they had heard. Several people nearby screamed.

"Let's go," Cassie sneered, pulling Draco away. Lighting her own wand 

They followed the dark path deeper into the wood, finally finding a dense thicket and crouching down, trying to catch their breath. The distant sounds of spells and screams echoed around them, sending chills down their spines.

Cassie felt a surge of anger welling up inside her. She clenched her fists, the knuckles turning white. The helplessness of the situation, the chaos, those bloody Death Eaters and those stupid ministry wizards cant even catch them.

Suddenly, a young girl ran off in the distance, disappearing into the darkness. Moments later, a blood-curdling scream pierced the air.

"Fuck this, Draco, I'm going," Cassie said, standing up abruptly.

Draco grabbed her arm. "Cassie, no. It's too dangerous."

"Listen, I'll be back in a minute. Let me just get that girl to safety," she insisted, 

Draco looked at her, torn between fear and concern. "Cassie..."

"Draco," she said warningly

"Alright, I'm coming with you."

"No, you wait here. Someone else might need help too. "

Before he could protest further, Cassie rushed off into the darkness, her wand casting a patch of silvery light as she moved. Her eyes darted through the trees, searching for the girl, pushing further and further into the dark forest.

the forest grew darker and the sounds from the campsite quieter as she moved farther away

"Madame," a high-pitched voice called out.

It was the girl from earlier, looking terrified.

Cassie stopped, trying to force her face to look approachable. 

"Aidez -les animaux en danger," the girl gasped.

Cassie looked confused. " Uh, you okay?"

The girl looked at her, realization dawning on her face. "'ogwarts," she asked

Cassie nodded. 

"Base camp, where?" she asked slowly

Cassie pointed toward the east side where wizards were huddled. "Merci," the girl said quickly before running off.

Cassie took a deep breath, feeling a mix of relief .Just as she was about to head back to Draco, she heard rustling nearby. She gripped her wand tighter, her senses on high alert. Cassie went further toward the noise, her heart pounding in her chest. The rustling grew louder, and she cautiously pushed aside some branches to reveal the source. It was only the pale, scared house-elf, Winky, from earlier. The elf was trembling, her large eyes wide with fear.

"There is bad wizards about!"  she squeaked moving farther along  leaning forward and labored to keep running.

Cassie sighed with relief but still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that had settled over her. She could almost feel the dark energy again, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Her neck twitched, and she gripped her wand tighter, her instincts screaming at her to be prepared.

But as she took a step forward, the feeling intensified. Cassie turned sharply, her eyes scanning the shadows. The dark energy was unmistakable now, almost suffocating in its intensity. She could sense someone—or something—watching her.

Her wand at the ready, she whispered, "Who's there?"

And then, without warning, the silence was rent by a voice unlike any she had heard in the wood; and it uttered, not a panickedshout, but what sounded like a spell."MORSMORDRE!" 

Cassie let out a gasp. The spell to cast the Dark Mark. Her eyes widened in horror as a colossal skull, comprised of what looked like emerald stars, formed above her. A serpent protruded from its mouth like a tongue, writhing and twisting. As she watched, it rose higher and higher, blazing in a haze of greenish smoke, etched against the black sky.

For a moment, she was paralyzed with fear and shock. The Dark Mark was a symbol of Voldemort and his Death Eaters—a sign of terror and death

The Death Eaters out there couldn't have cast it. They were too much of a coward to. On the contrary, they would be terrified of it, Cassie hurriedly thought, moving forward towards the voice. With a few hurried steps, a series of popping noises announced the arrival of twenty wizards.

Cassie whirled around, wands pointed. She immediately had her shield up.

"STUPEFY!" roared twenty voices. There was a blinding series of flashes, and Cassie fell over, her shield still intact.

"Stop!" yelled a voice. "STOP! That's my son!"

Cassie sighed. Weasley.

She got up, brushing off the mud, her wand still out.

"Now, what do we have here?" an old wizard called, catching sight of Cassie crouching with her wand still out. He grabbed hold of her arm.

"Let go of me, freak," Cassie spat, jerking his hand off.

The old wizard, Amos Diggory, narrowed his eyes at her. "Watch your tongue, young lady. Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

Cassie narrowed her eyes before walking out into the clearing to see Potter, Granger, and Weasley along with Barty Crouch and other Ministry wizards.

Crouch seemed to be angrily asking something when he noticed Cassie's arrival. He swiveled towards her. "Who do we have here?"

Cassie didn't say anything but glanced at the trio, who seemed to be looking at her with suspicion.

"Answer me, young lady," Barty yelled.

Cassie did not flinch. Instead, she narrowed her eyes. "Cassiopeia Black."

"Black?" Crouch spat, and the wizards broke out in murmurs.

"Which of you did it?" he snapped, his sharp eyes darting between them. "Which of you conjured the Dark Mark?"

"We didn't do anything!" said Ron, who was rubbing his elbow.

"Do not lie, sir!" shouted Mr. Crouch. "You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!"

"Have you lost it?" Cassie spat, knowing very well if she lost her temper over a Ministry official, she could get in trouble.

Crouch's eyes widened indignantly, swiveling towards her. "How dare you speak to me like that?"

"I'll speak to you however I want," she spat back. "Do you really think a bunch of kids will go around casting the Dark Mark? Especially goody two shoes like them?"

Crouch spluttered indignantly. "Then it must be you. You are a Black, after all," he yelled.

Cassie rolled her eyes. "Oh sure, like I have nothing better to do than casting Dark Marks around. Do you even know how advanced of a dark spell that is? Someone behind the tree chanted the incantation."

"Oh, stood over there, did they?" said Mr. Crouch. "You seem very well informed about how that Mark is summoned, missy—"

"Of course I am," Cassie sneered. "I am a Black, as you said."

But none of the Ministry wizards apart from Mr. Crouch seemed to think it remotely likely that Harry, Ron, Hermione, or Cassie had conjured the skull. They had all raised their wands again and were pointing in the direction she had indicated, squinting through the dark trees.

"We're too late," said the witch in the woolen dressing gown, shaking her head. "They'll have Disapparated."

"I don't think so," said a wizard with a scrubby brown beard. It was Amos Diggory, Cedric's father. "Our Stunners went right through those trees. . . . There's a good chance we got them. . . ."

"Amos, be careful!" said a few of the wizards warningly as Mr. Diggory squared his shoulders, raised his wand, marched across the clearing, and disappeared into the darkness.

A few seconds later, they heard Mr. Diggory shout, "Yes! We got them! There's someone here! Unconscious! It's — but — blimey!"

"You've got someone?" shouted Mr. Crouch, sounding highly disbelieving. "Who? Who is it?"

They heard snapping twigs, the rustling of leaves, and then crunching footsteps as Mr. Diggory reemerged from behind the trees. He was carrying a tiny, limp figure in his arms. Cassie recognized the tea towel at once. It was Winky.

"This — cannot — be," Mr. Crouch said jerkily. "No —" He moved quickly around Mr. Diggory and strode off toward the place where he had found Winky.

"No point, Mr. Crouch," Mr. Diggory called after him. "There's no one else there."

But Mr. Crouch did not seem prepared to take his word for it. They could hear him moving around and the rustling of leaves as he pushed the bushes aside, searching.

"Bit embarrassing," Mr. Diggory said grimly, looking down at Winky's unconscious form. "Barty Crouch's house-elf . . . I mean to say . . ."

"Come off it, Amos," said Mr. Weasley quietly. "You don't seriously think it was the elf? The Dark Mark's a wizard's sign. It requires a wand."

"Yeah," said Mr. Diggory, "and she had a wand."

"What?" said Mr. Weasley.

"Here, look." Mr. Diggory held up a wand and showed it to Mr. Weasley. "Had it in her hand. So that's clause three of the Code of Wand Use broken, for a start. No non-human creature is permitted to carry or use a wand."

Just then there was another pop, and Ludo Bagman Apparated right next to Mr. Weasley. Looking breathless and disoriented, he spun on the spot, goggling upward at the emerald-green skull.

"The Dark Mark!" he panted, almost trampling Winky as he turned inquiringly to his colleagues. "Who did it? Did you get them? Barty! What's going on?"

Mr. Crouch had returned empty-handed. His face was still ghostly white, and his hands and his toothbrush mustache were both twitching.

"Where have you been, Barty?" said Bagman. "Why weren't you at the match? Your elf was saving you a seat too — gulping gargoyles!" Bagman had just noticed Winky lying at his feet. "What happened to her?"

Mr. Crouch, still talking in the same jerky fashion, barely moving his lips. "And my elf has been stunned."

"Stunned? By you lot, you mean? But why — ?" Comprehension dawned suddenly on Bagman's round, shiny face; he looked up at the skull, down at Winky, and then at Mr. Crouch.

"No!" he said. "Winky? Conjure the Dark Mark? She wouldn't know how! She'd need a wand, for a start!"

"And she had one," said Mr. Diggory. "I found her holding one, Ludo. If it's all right with you, Mr. Crouch, I think we should hear what she's got to say for herself."

Crouch gave no sign that he had heard Mr. Diggory, but Mr. Diggory seemed to take his silence for assent. He raised his own wand, pointed it at Winky, and said, "Rennervate!"

Winky stirred feebly. Her great brown eyes opened, and she blinked several times in a bemused sort of way. Watched by the silent wizards, she raised herself shakily into a sitting position.

"Elf!" said Mr. Diggory sternly. "Do you know who I am? I'm a member of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures!"

Winky began to rock backward and forward on the ground, her breath coming in sharp bursts.

"As you see, elf, the Dark Mark was conjured here a short while ago," said Mr. Diggory. "And you were discovered moments later, right beneath it! An explanation, if you please!"

"I — I — I is not doing it, sir!" Winky gasped. "I is not knowing how, sir!"

"It wasn't her," Cassie interjected.

"Now, now, lady, how do you know that?" Amos said.

"Because she was with me a second before the mark was conjured," Cassie explained. "She was found with a wand in her hand!" barked Mr. Diggory, brandishing it in front of her.

"Hey — that's mine!" Harry suddenly yelled.

Everyone in the clearing looked at him.

"Excuse me?" said Mr. Diggory, incredulously.

"That's my wand!" said Harry. "I dropped it!"

"You dropped it?" repeated Mr. Diggory in disbelief. "Is this a confession? You threw it aside after you conjured the Mark?"

Cassie rolled her eyes.

"Amos, think who you're talking to!" said Mr. Weasley, very angrily. "Is Harry Potter likely to conjure the Dark Mark?"

"Er — of course not," mumbled Mr. Diggory. "Sorry . . . carried away . . ."

"So," said Mr. Diggory, his eyes hardening as he turned to look at Winky again, cowering at his feet. "You found this wand, eh, elf? And you picked it up and thought you'd have some fun with it, did you?"

"I is not doing magic with it, sir!" squealed Winky, tears streaming down the sides of her squashed and bulbous nose. "I is . . . I is . . . I is just picking it up, sir! I is not making the Dark Mark, sir, I is not knowing how!"

"I JUST TOLD YOU IT WASN'T HER!" Cassie yelled.

"Be quiet, Miss. Let the officials handle this," Amos barked.

"Winky's got a squeaky little voice, and the voice we heard doing the incantation was much deeper!" Hermione said nervously, looking around at Harry and Ron, appealing for their support. "It didn't sound anything like Winky, did it?"

"No," said Harry, shaking his head. "It definitely didn't sound like an elf."

"Yeah, it was a human voice," said Ron.

"Well, we'll soon see," growled Mr. Diggory, looking unimpressed.

Mr. Diggory raised his own wand again and placed it tip to tip with Harry's.

"Prior Incantato!" roared Mr. Diggory.

 a gigantic serpent-tongued skull erupted from the point where the two wands met, but it was a mere shadow of the green skull high above them; it looked as though it were made of thick gray smoke: the ghost of a spell.

"Deletrius!" Mr. Diggory shouted, and the smoky skull vanished in a wisp of smoke.

"So," said Mr. Diggory with a kind of savage triumph, looking down upon Winky, who was still shaking convulsively.

"LISTEN, IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND? ANYONE COULD HAVE PICKED UP THE WAND, CAST IT, AND LEFT IT, AND WINKY JUST FOUND IT," CASSIE SAID FRUSTRATED.

"I is not doing it!" Winky squealed, her eyes rolling in terror. "I is not, I is not, I is not knowing how! I is a good elf, I isn't using wands, I isn't knowing how!"

"You've been caught red-handed, elf!" Mr. Diggory roared. "Caught with the guilty wand in your hand!"

"Amos," said Mr. Weasley loudly, "think about it . . . precious few wizards know how to do that spell. . . . Where would she have learned it?"

"Perhaps Amos is suggesting," said Mr. Crouch, cold anger in every syllable, "that I routinely teach my servants to conjure the Dark Mark?"

There was a deeply unpleasant silence. Amos Diggory looked horrified.

"Mr. Crouch, I — I never suggested you had anything to do with it!" Amos Diggory muttered again, now reddening behind his scrubby brown beard.

"If you accuse my elf, you accuse me, Diggory!" shouted Mr. Crouch. "Where else would she have learned to conjure it?"

"You see, Amos?" said Mr. Weasley. "Whoever conjured the Mark could have Disapparated right after they'd done it, leaving Harry's wand behind. A clever thing to do, not using their own wand, which could have betrayed them. And Winky here had the misfortune to come across the wand moments later and pick it up.

"But then, she'd have been only a few feet away from the real culprit!" said Mr. Diggory impatiently. "Elf? Did you see anyone?"

Winky began to tremble worse than ever. Her giant eyes flickered from Mr. Diggory, to Ludo Bagman, and onto Mr. Crouch. Then she gulped and said, "I is seeing no one, sir . . . no one . . ."

"Amos," said Mr. Crouch curtly, "I am fully aware that, in the ordinary course of events, you would want to take Winky into your department for questioning. I ask you, however, to allow me to deal with her."

Mr. Diggory looked as though he didn't think much of this suggestion at all, he did not dare refuse him.

"You may rest assured that she will be punished," Mr. Crouch added coldly.

"M-m-master . . ." Winky stammered, looking up at Mr. Crouch, her eyes brimming with tears. "M-m-master, p-p-please . . ."

Mr. Crouch stared back, his face somehow sharpened, each line upon it more deeply etched. There was no pity in his gaze.

"Winky has behaved tonight in a manner I would not have believed possible," he said slowly. "I told her to remain in the tent. I told her to stay there while I went to sort out the trouble. And I find that she disobeyed me. This means clothes."

"No!" shrieked Winky, prostrating herself at Mr. Crouch's feet. "No, master! Not clothes, not clothes!"

Cassie looked at the weeping elf pitifully. Winky was crying so hard that her sobs echoed around the clearing. Mr. Crouch took a step backward, freeing himself from contact with the elf, whom he was surveying as though she were something filthy and rotten that was contaminating his over-shined shoes.

"I have no use for a house-elf who disobeys me," he said coldly.

Cassie boiled with anger and contempt towards Crouch.

"If you can't treat an elf well, maybe you shouldn't keep one," she spat in contempt. Crouch looked at her uninterestedly.

Cassie gave a look towards the elf. "I'm hiring you. The wizards gave her a hesitant look at her intervention

"You don't even need to do anything. You want wages? However much you want. Anything to get you away from this old freak." Cassie said, turning around. The elf's sobs reduced but didn't stop.

There was a very nasty silence, which was ended by Mr. Weasley, who said quietly, "Well, I think I'll take my lot back to the tent, if nobody's got any objections. Amos, that wand's told us all it can — if Harry could have it back, please —"

Mr. Diggory handed Harry his wand and Harry pocketed it.

"Come on, you three," Mr. Weasley said quietly.

"Uhh, dear?" he addressed Cassiopeia hesitantly. "Do you want me to lead you back?"

Cassie crumpled her nose as if there was a bad smell. "I don't need help from filthy blood traitors like you," she spat before heading off.

**************************************************

**************************************************

Draco hurried towards Cassie, his expression fraught with concern as he wrapped his arms around her. 

"Cassie, where were you? Did you see... the Dark Mark?" he asked anxiously,

Cassie nodded, her own arms instinctively wrapping around Draco in return. "Yeah," she replied softly, 

 "I think it's just the start of something." she said darkly

**************************************************

Oh definetlly the start of smth

omg- also can we talk abt hating barty- like what

AND YEASS TWO CHAPS IN ONE DAY!!!!!!!!!! IT WAS A WEEKEND SO DOUBLE TREATT

WHATCHYA THINK!!!

MX RIDDLE