It was chilly and the moon was still out.
Why couldn't they have taken a later Portkey to the Quidditch World Cup or why couldn't Ginny side-along Apparate with Bill, Charlie or Percy…
She yawned, not for the first time. Stupid Quidditch…
"Come on, Ginny. It's just up the hill," her dad, who was walking next to her, encouraged her.
She touched her new earrings, absent-mindedly playing with them. Why did she like them so much?
'Well, Anastasia also liked shiny things,' she thought, almost laughing at her own bad joke. 'I'm so tired… I want my fluffy bed…'
She was so sleepy that her head hurt.
Ginny kind of loved her new dad, but right now she hated him…
They were walking to Stoatshead Hill, where the Ministry had placed one of over two hundred static Portkeys for the venue.
The Weasley family, together with Harry and Daisy, trudged down the dark, dank lane towards the village, the silence broken only by their footsteps. The sky lightened very slowly as they made their way through the village and up the hill.
Daisy had spent the last two days at the Burrow and looked just as tired as Ginny felt.
Daisy let out an adorable yawn and Ginny took her hand, gently pulling her along. It was a shame Emily wasn't with them. Unfortunately, her family had their own tent and tickets.
"Whew," her dad panted, taking off his glasses and wiping them on his sweater. "Now we just need the Portkey."
As they reached the top of the hill, they found two wizards already there.
"This is Amos Diggory, everyone," said Mr Weasley. "He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric?"
Cedric was a tall and handsome young man with chiselled features, dark hair and bright grey eyes.
Ginny had heard some older Gryffindor girls swoon over him, but she didn't see the allure. He was a typical pretty boy, but not particularly interesting to her. Maybe she could warn him about the dragons in a few months?
"Hi," said Cedric, looking around at them all, studying her in particular.
"You must be Ginny Weasley, right?" he asked with a friendly, easy smile as he stepped closer, while their fathers talked to each other. "I heard a lot about the genius Gryffindor witch, but I didn't expect you to be this beautiful too."
He said this so naturally that it almost didn't sound like flirting. But Ginny was too tired for this. At least he had the decency not to openly ogle her, although his gaze did wander a little too low once…
"Hello, Diggory," Harry cut in, stepping slightly in front of her with a stiff smile. "I'm Harry Potter, Ginny's boyfriend."
Ginny almost giggled at that, but didn't say anything.
Soon they took the Portkey - a manky old boot - and were allocated a space for their tent by the Muggle at the entrance, Mr Roberts.
Ginny just trudged along, yawning from time to time.
Her dad finally managed to erect the tent with the help of Harry and Daisy, so Ginny immediately went to one of the beds in the magically enlarged tent.
She slept for about an hour before her dad called her for breakfast. Apparently, Ron and Harry had brought water and Daisy had helped her dad cook the eggs and sausages the Muggle way.
While they were eating breakfast, Bagman and Crouch visited their tent and the twins bet thirty-seven Galleons and a fake wand on Ireland winning but Krum catching the Snitch, with Bagman taking the wager.
Ginny had considered doing the same but decided against it.
She didn't trust Bagman to have the money to pay her back and there were no magical betting shops. Running a betting business in a world where some people could genuinely predict the future sounded like a terrible idea. She also didn't want to expose her secret Gringotts account with around nine hundred Galleons to her parents…
Later, Ginny, together with Harry and Daisy, visited Emily and looked around the campsite. Wizards were so bad at pretending to be Muggles… It was a wonder the Statute of Secrecy functioned at all.
In the afternoon they finally left their tent to walk to the final match of the Quidditch World Cup – Ireland against Bulgaria.
Clutching her new omnioculars - a gift Harry had bought from a salesman outside - Ginny followed her dad down the lantern-lit path to the stadium. She could hear the sounds of thousands of people moving around them - shouts and laughter, snatches of singing.
Ginny was a bit nervous. Not because of the Quidditch game - she couldn't care less about that - but because she would soon try to expose Barty Crouch Junior, a dangerous Death Eater… Probably even more dangerous than Macnair.
"Prime seats!" said the Ministry witch at the entrance when she checked their tickets. "Top Box! Straight upstairs, Arthur, and as high as you can go."
Ginny's eyes immediately fell on the house-elf already sitting in their box when they reached the top of the purple-carpeted stairs.
Winky.
About twenty purple-and-gilt chairs stood in two rows here. The Weasley seats were in the front, while Winky was sitting in the row behind their seats, hiding her face behind her hands.
"This is a house-elf, isn't it?" Harry silently asked Ginny, pointing at Winky.
"I met one two years ago. He tried to prevent me from going to Hogwarts for some reason," Harry explained when she glanced at him.
"Yeah, she is probably reserving a seat."
"She?" Harry asked, studying the house-elf more closely. "How do you know?"
"If you've seen a few, you can kind of tell," she lied smoothly, shrugging in response - she couldn't tell him that she only knew this from reading some books in her past life after all.
Ginny secretly took out her wand and pointed it at the seemingly empty seat next to Winky when Harry turned around and nobody was looking at her.
'Accio,' she silently cast the Summoning Charm, focusing on the invisibility cloak draped over Barty Crouch Junior. He was still under the Imperius Curse and without a wand, so her dad or older brothers should have little trouble subduing him once he was exposed. Nobody would suspect that she had anything to do with it.
But nothing happened…
'Accio, invisibility cloak!'
Nothing again.
'Accio, Barty Crouch Junior's invisibility cloak!'
Damn… Probably an Anti-theft Charm or house-elf magic.
Winky suddenly looked around in alarm, only to hide her face again as soon as she remembered how high up she was.
So house-elf magic… A counter-spell for an Anti-theft Charm and another try with the Summoning Charm wouldn't work either.
So plan B it was.
She had brought along an old toy wand whose exterior she had transfigured to resemble a genuine one. It would feel real to his magic if Crouch Junior stole it, but he would only be able to create colourful sparks with it. She had also placed a variant of the tracking spell on it, so she would immediately know when it was stolen and could follow the Death Eater secretly.
Ginny sat down in front of the seemingly empty chair beside Winky, leaving the toy wand protruding from her handbag where Crouch Junior could easily snatch it. She had even given her boyfriend a wand holster for his birthday, just to be safe.
The box filled gradually around them over the next half hour - Fudge with the Bulgarian minister, Bagman and several rich pure-bloods. No Malfoys though.
Her father was surprisingly good at networking, greeting everybody almost naturally, while Percy tried his best to follow suit. Percy's jealous look at Harry when the minister eagerly introduced himself to him had been funny though.
Finally, Fudge gave the signal and Bagman began to speak under an Amplifying Charm.
"Ladies and gentlemen… welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"
The spectators screamed and clapped. Thousands of flags waved, adding their discordant national anthems to the racket, while the advertisement for Bertie Bott's Beans was replaced by a score indicator for the game.
"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce… the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!"
Ginny blinked. She had somehow forgotten about the Veela entirely.
She wasn't sure if her slight attraction to girls was enough for Veela magic to affect her, so she strengthened her Occlumency shields, just to be safe. Then Ginny glanced at Harry, already annoyed about what would happen next. She hated the idea of Harry being attracted to someone else, even if it wasn't his fault.
A hundred Veela glided onto the field and the music started as they danced.
She felt the phial hanging around her neck warming up slightly and looked down. It was glowing.
"Ron, what are you doing?!" Harry exclaimed as Ginny whipped around. Harry was trying to pull Ron back, while that idiot seemed determined to climb over the railing.
Ginny wasn't looking at Ron but at Harry.
He was unaffected by the Veela magic.
Was the Blood Pact interpreting Harry being attracted to someone else as betrayal? Maybe because they were in a relationship?
Ginny felt her heart beating faster and a fluttery feeling in her stomach…
Harry was hers and hers alone… Why did this thought turn her on so much?
"Ginny, what's going on?!" Harry asked in panic, still holding Ron back as he turned towards her. She felt her face grow hot.
"I... I love..." she began without thinking, only to be cut off as the music ceased and angry shouts erupted throughout the stadium.
"What did you say before?" Harry asked when the booing quietened.
"Nothing," she said quickly and looked at the stadium as if the grass was the most interesting thing ever.
What had she been trying to say?
She shook her head as the Leprechauns flew around the pitch, raining gold coins down on the spectators while a rainbow still hung in the air.
"There you go," Ron yelled happily, stuffing a fistful of gold coins into Harry's hand, "for the Omnioculars! Now you've got to buy me a Christmas present, ha!"
"This is Leprechaun gold," Ginny explained vindictively – why did Harry have to buy Ron Omnioculars too? It was natural to give expensive gifts to your girlfriend, but Ron? "It will disappear in a few hours."
She turned to Fred and George.
"Make sure that Bagman won't pay you in Leprechaun gold if you win your bet with him," she told them seriously and they nodded. Good. She didn't want her brothers to be scammed.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team!" Bagman said and then introduced the Bulgarian and Irish players one after the other, as well as the referee.
And the game began.
Ginny, just like everybody else, was following the game with her Omnioculars.
The flying was much faster and more impressive than Hogwarts Quidditch matches.
The Irish team scored the first goal.
Suddenly without warning, Krum and Lynch, the two Seekers, plunged through the centre of the Chasers towards the ground.
At the very last second, Krum pulled out of the dive and spiralled off. Lynch, however, hit the ground with a dull thud that could be heard throughout the stadium. A huge groan rose from the Irish seats.
The famous Wronski Feint.
"It's time-out!" yelled Bagman's voice, "as trained mediwizards hurry onto the field to examine Aidan Lynch!"
"He'll be okay, he only got ploughed!" Charlie said reassuringly to her, as if Ginny cared. But her reply was cut short when she felt something.
The tracking spell on the toy wand had just informed her that it had been moved.
She forced herself not to freeze or look back, instead turning to Charlie.
"I hope so… The impact seemed very bad," she said in a worried tone, concentrating on the presence of the toy wand. But it seemed that Crouch Junior didn't try to escape immediately after stealing a wand for himself.
Soon Lynch was healed by the mediwizards with many potions and the game continued.
For the next fifteen minutes Ireland managed to pull ahead by ten more goals and were now leading by one hundred and thirty points to ten. But Ginny couldn't enjoy the game. Part of her attention remained fixed on the wand somewhere behind her.
What if Crouch realised that it wasn't a real wand? The longer he had it, the more likely he was to realise it…
Ginny didn't know if Crouch escaped from Winky in canon during the Quidditch game or later during the night, so she decided to act. Now, with fewer witnesses outside the stadium, there was a better chance of dealing with him unnoticed.
Ginny therefore secretly cast a wandless Confundus Charm at Winky, followed by a Compulsion Charm.
"Winky should check whether master is okay real quick… Winky can be back in a few seconds," the house-elf muttered to herself.
Good, it worked. Ginny had worried that mind magic would not work on house-elves.
Then there was a silent pop, barely audible over the Irish crowd screaming in outrage at something Ginny had missed.
At once Crouch Junior was on the move.
Ginny felt the toy wand being carried down the stairs already.
"I just need to go to the toilet real quick," she explained when Harry looked at her questioningly. "I'll be back in a minute."
Without waiting for a reply, she quickly headed for the staircase. She then began following Crouch Junior after casting an Invisibility Charm and several concealment charms on herself – no sound, footprints or even smell would expose her.
Crouch Junior soon left the stadium and headed towards the nearby forest, still under his invisibility cloak, with Ginny following behind.
An Anti-Apparition Charm covered the area surrounding the Quidditch stadium. Maybe he tried to leave this area. Or he was crazy enough to cast a Dark Mark in the sky, just like in the original timeline. It didn't really matter.
Then he stopped and threw off the Invisibility Cloak.
An extremely pale man with a lined face and a mop of fair hair became visible. But the look on his face was disturbing. A diabolical, manic light shone in his eyes as he chuckled to himself.
"I escaped, my Lord! Soon I will join your service again," he declared, probably already picturing himself before Voldemort. "They will all pay," he continued with an insane laugh as he raised the toy wand into the sky.
At the same time, Ginny - standing only a few feet away - pointed her wand at his head.
"Morsmordre!" Crouch Junior victoriously declared, but only red sparks came out of the wand.
At the exact moment, Ginny cast a Reductor Curse at Crouch Junior, who was still looking confused at the sparks. The fast blue spell slammed into his head, blasting the top of his skull apart and spraying brain matter and bone fragments in all directions.
Crouch Junior's body slumped lifelessly to the ground with a muffled thud amid the quiet forest.
That was it?
Ginny had still half-expected the whole thing to spiral into a fight, but for once everything had gone according to plan…
She glanced down and noticed bits of Crouch's brain matter on her robes. Disgusting. With a quick Banishing Charm, she sent it back to the corpse.
A few gardening spells her mum had taught her were enough to bury the body deep underground afterwards.
Satisfied, Ginny walked back toward the stadium, humming softly to herself.
Even if someone found the body, it wouldn't be a problem.
Maybe Crouch Senior would search for his son, but he could hardly go to the Aurors if he found the corpse. And the Ministry? They would either hide the fact that someone had escaped Azkaban or even praise whoever killed the Death Eater.
Worst case, Ginny could spin some story where the insane dark wizard attacked her while she searched for a toilet during the Quidditch game. Not that she expected that this would become necessary.
Everything was going perfectly.
oOoOo
"Ireland wins!" Bagman shouted, apparently as surprised as the Irish supporters by the sudden end of the match. Who would have thought that Krum would catch the Snitch despite losing the game…
Well, he probably knew that the Irish Chasers were too good and wanted to end the match on his own terms. Harry could understand that.
He put his Omnioculars down and immediately realised that Ginny still wasn't back yet. Harry was a bit worried for her - he couldn't help himself.
What if she was lost or some guy was pestering her? Diggory hadn't been the only guy ogling his girlfriend. In hindsight, he probably should have gone with her, but he had been too engrossed in the game.
He felt a bit guilty.
Harry decided to speak with Ginny's father. Maybe they could search for her together. But Arthur Weasley was called over by Fred and George to join them while they were speaking with Bagman, who seemed very unhappy.
Right. They had bet on Ireland winning but Krum catching the Snitch.
Harry watched as Mr Weasley joined his sons and some kind of argument soon ensued after he checked the gold in Bagman's hands.
As Harry approached, he could finally hear what Mr Weasley and Bagman were arguing about.
"It's Leprechaun gold, Ludo! I won't allow you to scam my sons!"
"It was a mistake, Arthur. There's no need to involve the Minister," Bagman said irritably, tossing a small pouch to the twins. "You were lucky boys with your bet."
Mr Weasley quickly checked the pouch, while Bagman huffed and turned away.
"Don't tell your mother you've been gambling," Mr Weasley implored Fred and George as he gave them their winnings.
"Don't worry, Dad," said Fred gleefully, "we've got big plans for this money. We don't want it confiscated."
"Mr Weasley!" Harry called, catching his attention as he reached them. "Ginny still isn't back from the toilet."
"Oh no! What if a horde of dementors or a Dark Lord ambushed her?!" Fred exclaimed in mock panic. "We must rescue the fair maiden at once. Right, Fred?"
"Yes!" his twin agreed enthusiastically. "But, I'm George. You're Fred."
"Maybe we were mixed up at birth and I'm the real George. Have you ever thought about that?"
But Mr Weasley just sighed, ignoring the twins.
He told his sons to return to their tent with Daisy while he and Harry went to look for Ginny.
They searched the toilets, asked a few nearby spectators whether they had seen a red-haired girl and even checked the exits, but Ginny was nowhere to be found. Hoping she had simply returned to the campsite on her own, they set off towards their tent while searching the surrounding grounds.
Outside, the crowd was flooding back to their campsites, with just a few stragglers still near the stadium. Raucous singing could be heard in the distance from the direction of the lantern-lit path. Harry could barely see the leprechauns still flying over the crowd, cackling and waving their lanterns.
Then a faint scream of distress drifted out of the woods and Harry immediately headed towards the trees.
There was Mr Crouch with a house-elf, who was kneeling in distress in front of the wizard. Crouch's face was ghostly white and his hands and toothbrush moustache were both twitching.
"No!" shrieked the house-elf, prostrating herself at Mr Crouch's feet. "No, master! Not clothes, not clothes!"
Harry knew that the only way to free a house-elf was to present it with proper garments. It was pitiful to see the way the house-elf clutched at her tea towel as she sobbed at Mr Crouch's feet.
"Come, Harry," Mr Weasley muttered. "This has nothing to do with us."
Harry could see that Mr Weasley was uncomfortable with what was happening as well. But what could they do? Harry felt really bad for the distressed house-elf…
They took the shortest route through the woods towards the lanterns, when a slightly plump woman emerged from the nearby bushes. Her appearance was dishevelled and she looked as though she hadn't eaten much recently.
"Bertha? What are you doing here?" Mr Weasley asked, confused, seemingly recognising her.
"Last I heard, you'd gone missing on holiday in Albania. Did you really just lose track of time there, like Ludo claimed?" Mr Weasley joked.
She stared blankly at them, giving no answer.
Mr Weasley, now looking slightly alarmed, stepped towards her.
"Are you okay?"
Harry - unsure how to react to this strange turn of events - simply watched the scene unfold. Mr Weasley was just a few steps away from the seemingly dazed witch when, out of nowhere, she began to move.
Suddenly, a wand was in her hand, aimed directly at Mr Weasley.
"Avada Kedavra."
Green light hit Mr Weasley point-blank and he crumpled to the floor. For a moment Harry didn't understand what had just happened, but then he remembered - Avada Kedavra, the Killing Curse. The Unforgivable Curse that nobody but him had ever survived. It had hit Mr Weasley in the chest.
He was… dead? No, that couldn't be true…
He looked around desperately, hoping the twins would jump out and reveal a prank, but he was alone with the witch who had just killed Ginny's father.
His heart hammered against his ribs.
Slowly, the witch lifted her wand towards Harry.
In a panic, he cast the first curse that came to mind - one that Ginny had taught him.
"Confringo!"
Orange light struck the witch and blasted her backwards. But Harry didn't care.
He scrambled towards Mr Weasley's body. Maybe the curse hadn't worked properly. Or perhaps it had been a different green curse…
He turned the body over. No reaction. Mr Weasley's eyes stared upwards, wide and empty. No breath. No movement.
"No…"
'How could this happen? Please let this not be real!'
"Mmh, seems like Jorkins is almost dead. Well, it doesn't matter," a familiar male voice said behind him.
Before he could turn around, he heard a "Stupefy" from the same voice and everything turned black.