An Acquaintance

For the past hour or so, Cedric and his companions had already endured enough, keeping company with the Dragon inside the box.

But compared to Kreacher, this kind of torment is utterly insignificant.

Kreacher never imagined that he would return from fetching a bucket of water to find everyone in the tent gone. Then the wizards in the camp started fighting again, and all sorts of dangerous spells flew everywhere.

Especially when the Killing Curse appeared, the poor House-elf was almost scared to death on the spot.

It's not that he cares that much about Kanna, it's just that Regulus still needs Snape's help right now...

In order to make Regulus look more like a human rather than a monster, Kanna absolutely cannot get hurt, not even a scratch.

So the frightened House-elf began to cry as she searched for Kanna's whereabouts.

In the past hour or so, he inspected almost every tent, knocked away more than a dozen wizards who blocked his way, and practically turned the entire camp upside down.

Just when he was about to despair, he finally heard Kanna's voice again.

To prevent a recurrence, Kreacher immediately Apparition her away as soon as he entered the tent.

The whole process was characterized by its swift and decisive action; Kanna didn't even have a chance to say a word to anyone else.

"This..." The others exchanged bewildered glances.

"Alright, we should head back too," Mr. Weasley said. "The Dark Mark has appeared in the sky above the camp; news of it should spread quickly. It would be best to return as soon as possible to avoid worrying your parents."

With that, Mr. Weasley got up and left the tent. "I'll go see if I can get a Portkey ahead of time. You all stay here and don't wander off."

"The Dark Mark?" Harry asked, puzzled, after Mr. Weasley left. "Is it that skull and crossbones symbol in the sky? What exactly is that?"

"The mark of the You-Know-Who," Bill said. "It was something people were most afraid to see a decade or so ago. Generally, the presence of the Dark Mark meant that the You-Know-Who had been there."

"But the You-Know-Who is dead," Harry said.

"But the Death Eaters are still around." Bill thought of Malfoy and his men again. "What we saw tonight must be the remnants of those men... Somehow they escaped and weren't imprisoned in Azkaban."

"But that's the end of it," Charlie said with a laugh. "They were caught red-handed, with the evidence, and Principal Olympe Maxime is there to testify. Haha."

Charlie happily took a sip of water. Actually, he would have preferred some wine, but unfortunately, there wasn't even hot cocoa available, so he could only drink water.

"Luckily you weren't in the woods at the time."

Bill straightened his long-lost ponytail and said, "Death Eaters are cruel and merciless bastards. If you guys happen to be around when he conjures the Dark Mark, it'll be bad."

"But...why would the Death Eaters conjure up the Dark Mark?" Hermione said slowly. "I mean, what's the point? Just to scare people?"

"Who knows?" Bill shrugged. "Maybe they had a few too many drinks and couldn't resist throwing a fun little party... They used to do that a lot before Voldemort fell." A look of disgust crossed his face.

Harry didn't hear what was said afterward. His head was buzzing, and he unconsciously went outside the tent, staring blankly at the skull pattern in the sky, lost in thought.

Half an hour later, Mr. Weasley finally returned.

He wasn't the only one; there were Fudge, Crouch, Bagman, and many other officials from the Ministry of Magic.

They hurried into the tent and immediately showered Harry with concern and questions.

Mr. Weasley let it slip, and that's when they found out Harry Potter was almost killed. Fudge was terrified; he wasn't even that scared when he saw the Dark Mark.

If Harry were really killed by Death Eaters right under the Ministry of Magic's nose, he would be overwhelmed by Howler.

After Fudge came Crouch, who was gripping Harry's shoulders, his face deathly pale, his hands and toothbrush-shaped mustache twitching!

"Where is the person who wanted to kill you?" he asked.

"In the woods," Harry said.

"Do you still know the way?" Crouch asked.

"I recognize it."

"Alright, take us there..."

Afterwards, the group arrived at the woods where they had been before.

The Ministry of Ministry of Magic clerk who was in charge of registration and was knocked unconscious by Kyle is still lying under a tree.

Upon seeing that person, Crouch seemed to immediately relax, his expression returned to normal, and he regained his usual meticulous demeanor.

Scrimgeour, the Head of the Auror Office, stepped forward to examine him and then splashed a bottle of Potions on his face.

"It's not Polyjuice Potion," he told Fudge and Crouch. "It feels like the Imperius Curse."

"We can't jump to conclusions so soon," Crouch said coldly. "Wake him up and take him back to the Ministry of Magic for proper questioning."

Several Hit Wizard came over and took the man away.

"Minister," Mr. Weasley said as he approached, "It's too dangerous for Harry to stay here any longer. If possible, I would like to take him back immediately."

"No," Crouch said sternly. "We need more details. He can't leave now."

"Barty, I think we can talk about this at the Ministry of Magic later; there's no need to do it here," said a witch in a wool dressing gown. "The child is terrified; it's good for him to calm down. Maybe he'll remember more details."

"Ah, yes, you're right." Fudge fiddled with his hat.

The person next to them immediately understood and brought over an old tire.

Fudge took it and handed it to Mr. Weasley, then looked at Harry and said, "Son, remember to come to the Ministry of Magic later. How about tomorrow? Before then, you can think carefully about what happened, the more detailed the better."

Harry, puzzled, glanced at Mr. Weasley and nodded when he saw no objection.

Crouch was unhappy, but Fudge had already made his decision, so he couldn't say anything more and could only turn around and leave with a cold face.

The others left, leaving only a few Auror to guard the area.

Before leaving, Fudge gave Mr. Weasley one last reminder: make sure he doesn't forget to take Harry to the Ministry of Magic the next day.

Mr. Weasley agreed, and then they stood around the tire, preparing to return to Stoatshead Hill.

While waiting, Kyle looked up at the Portkey distribution point not far away.

The queue was even longer than before, and people were still pouring in one after another.

People want to leave as soon as possible; if they were to queue normally, they might not be able to leave even by noon.

"Ten seconds left, everyone get ready," Mr. Weasley said.

Everyone put their hands on the tires.

Kyle turned and glanced one last time in the direction of the camp.

Now that the crisis has passed, more and more people are returning to the camp to check if their tents have been destroyed, and shouts of anger and cursing are heard everywhere.

Suddenly, Kyle caught a glimpse of a familiar face flashing by in the crowd.

Golden hair, a vibrant peacock blue robe, and teeth that still gleamed in the darkness.

Gilderoy Lockhart?

Kyle rubbed his eyes, trying to see more clearly, but in that brief moment, the other person had already vanished.