During the chaos, people started pushing us as they tried to escape, which caused some of us to get separated. I tried to stay as close to Harry as possible, knowing that something would happen to him and he would end up unconscious, which would lead him to encounter Crouch Junior.
When I felt Harry start to drift away from us, I reached out and managed to grab his hand and pull him closer. I could hear Hermione shouting our names, but her voice was getting farther and farther away, and the people around us were so agitated that some were even hitting and pushing those in front of them to get away faster. Some of those people bumped into us, making us stumble.
Some people started stepping on us, making it difficult to get up. Since we couldn't stand, I went over to Harry and hugged him while summoning a small version of Aegis, big enough to cover us but not so big that it would affect the people around us, as I didn't want to increase the chaos with the fear that Aegis causes when it is hit.
Thanks to the shield, we managed to get out of the way of the crowd and stand up. Once we were both standing, we looked around to try and get our bearings. The whole place looked like a ruin; there were tents covered in flames, and I could see a group of people in the distance casting spells. From their clothes, I knew they were Death Eaters. I wanted to do something and try to take care of some of them, but I could sense that Harry was nervous, and I didn't know if I would be able to do anything with him by my side without putting him in danger. So I gripped his hand tighter and walked between the wrecked tents, trying to get away from those guys.
When we were far enough away, we noticed a young man ahead, so Harry and I ducked and took cover behind a torn tent. The man seemed to hear us because he turned in our direction and took a couple of steps. I threw myself on top of Harry, knocking us both to the ground. My body was partially on top of him, and I put my finger to his lips, signaling him to be quiet. I used the remains of the tent to cover us. The footsteps stopped and then, a moment later, moved away again. Once I was sure he was no longer close, I released a small pulse of mana to make sure no one was around. When I confirmed it, I pulled back the fabric covering us and stood up.
I looked around, confirming that no one was nearby, and helped Harry to his feet, saying in a low voice,
"I'm sorry, are you hurt?
" "I'm fine... but... who was that guy?
" "I don't know... but I don't think he was a good person. He looked suspicious."
I couldn't tell Harry that I knew who that person was, since I didn't technically know many of the wizards of this era. Harry was about to speak again when we heard noises, and as we hid, we saw Crouch Junior again among the ruins, surveying his surroundings and casting a spell into the sky, which formed the Dark Mark.
When we hid again, it seemed as if we had bumped into something, causing some objects to fall and make a noise, which attracted Barty Junior's attention, making him walk in our direction. I already had my wand ready in case we needed to engage in combat, but at that moment, we began to hear the sounds of Apparitions nearby, which caused Barty Junior to flee.
Harry seemed to want to follow Barty when I sensed an attack approaching. Instinctively, I rushed towards Harry as he threw a hurried Aegis, which barely managed to block the attacks. I launched a small Light Spear in the direction of one of the attacks, and it seemed to hit the attacker, as I heard a cry of pain. People were surrounding us, and I was ready to launch another attack when I heard Mr. Weasley shout,
"DON'T ATTACK! IT'S HARRY! DON'T ATTACK!"
Then Mr. Weasley approached us and began checking on Harry, asking if he was hurt. Behind Mr. Weasley were Ron, Hermione, and the others, looking very worried. As soon as they found us, Hermione ran towards us and hugged us. When she hugged me, I felt her tremble a little, so I could tell she was nervous and scared. I was about to say something to calm her down when I heard someone shout angrily.
"They attacked and injured an Auror. They must be captured."
Mr. Weasley was trying unsuccessfully to calm him down, so I approached them, saying in a serious and cold voice, "
You attacked us first. I only defended myself."
My words seemed to anger him even more as he turned to me, shouting,
"You're at the crime scene! Besides, who are you? What are you doing here?"
"I am Selene Ravenclaw. Mr. Potter and I were trying to get to safety from the people who were attacking the place when we were separated from our group. While trying to get to safety, we saw a man acting suspiciously, so we hid from him. We remained hidden until he was far enough away, and we were about to leave when we saw him cast a spell in the sky that formed that strange image. That man seemed to notice us and tried to approach us when we heard several noises, and moments later we were attacked. I cast two spells, one to protect ourselves and another in the direction of my attacker. My actions were in self-defense. So, if you want to take this further, I hope you are prepared to explain why you launched an attack on minors without verifying the situation first. I assure you that my lawyers will be very happy to deal with you."
My words silenced him momentarily, and at that moment Minister Fudge also approached. Upon hearing my words, he seemed to turn pale as he asked,
"Are you alright, Miss Ravenclaw? Were you injured anywhere?
" "I'm fine, Minister. I just wish to know why I was attacked.
" "It was a misunderstanding, Miss Ravenclaw. I assure you that something like this will not happen again."
The way the minister spoke to me seemed to annoy Mr. Crouch, for he said,
"You were at the scene of the crime. You're suspects.
" "And I already told you it wasn't us, and that there was another man who escaped as soon as you began to arrive.
" "If that's the case, then what did that man look like?"
As I began to describe Barty Junior, I saw Crouch's face turn pale, and before anyone else could ask or say anything, a group of Aurors arrived dragging a house-elf with a wand in hand. As soon as Crouch saw the elf and heard that it was found with the wand that was used to cast the Dark Mark, he made an indignant scene, accusing the elf of being a disobedient elf and releasing it in front of everyone.
Poor Winky was crying and repeating that she wasn't a bad elf and that she hadn't stolen the wand. I was upset because I knew Winky was innocent, but I couldn't do or say anything since Mr. Weasley got us all out of there. Once we were far enough away, Mr. Weasley arranged for Bill and Charlie to take their younger siblings back home and offered to take me with them, but I refused, saying that I'd like to go back home and that I'd like to invite the boys over. Harry and Hermione agreed, and Ron and the twins seemed to want to go too, but Mr. Weasley told them that their mother had found out about the attack and wanted to see them all as soon as possible, so they had to go with their older siblings and Ginny. Since Mr. Weasley had to get back to work, he told me he couldn't take me home, and I assured him that it wouldn't be necessary, that I had a way to get there.
Since he didn't seem very comfortable letting us go unsupervised, I had to call two of my house-elves, Grey and Rose. As soon as they appeared, the entire Weasley family seemed surprised by how they were dressed. Mr. Weasley made his children hurry back home and then left for work, leaving Harry, Hermione, and me with the elves.
Once I was sure everyone was far enough away, I told Grey about Winky and that I'd like him to convince her to come see me. Once Grey assured me he would take care of it, I told Harry and Hermione to take Rose's hand while I took Grey's so the two elves could lead us to my house in London.
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