Aftermath Trouble

- Outside Quidditch Trillenium Stadium -

''Merlin, that is one beautiful stadium.'' Alex said in awe as they came out of the woods after a 15 minute walk from their campsite. The Trillenium Stadium stood tall and magnificent, with golden walls surrounding the pitch.

''This makes the quidditch pitch we have at Hogwarts look like a Diagon Alley two for one deal.'' Cedric agreed to his friend. Amos was looking at them, holding back a laugh at their faces. 

''It's quite a sight isn't boys? Over 500 Wizards have been working on it just for today,'' He said as they kept walking towards the entrance, ''I've managed to get some good seats for us, pulled a favor from the Department of Magical Games and Sports. They had some trouble with two rampant Nifflers the other month.'' 

As they entered the stadium they walked up the many stairs that littered the stadium until they reached a couple of levels below the top box. As they walked to their seats, the pitch came into view. The golden rings stood high, just a bit above them with golden light shining down on both the pitch and the rest of the stadium. 

''Remember to get me something for your mum and dad after we are done with this.'' Alex whispered to Cedric as they both took in the view from their seats. Cedric just nodded starring all around them. 

''The mascots should come out soon, hope it is as spectacular as everybody says.'' Cedric said glancing down at a leaflet they got containing the program. Amos huffed at that. 

''Tell you what, this is one thing I'm glad is over. You wouldn't believe how much trouble those veela and leprechauns have been.'' Alex and Cedric gave each other a knowing look. Amos had over the summer repeatedly come home from work and complained about having trying to work with the mascots. 

Just as they finished the veela flooded the pitch. Alex and Cedric had been forewarned by Amos that they should plug their ears when they came out, or otherwise fall for their magic. Even then as they did it, Alex couldn't help but think that they might just be the most beautiful women he had ever seen. As he looked around it was obvious not everyone knew about veela magic, and multiple men and some women began going towards the edge with hearts in their eyes. 

It was only when they got stopped by either their friends or wife that they snapped out of the trance. It made for a good laugh for everyone else. The veela danced effortlessly around the pitch finishing when the music stopped. 

After that came the leprechauns in form of a green comet which split into two forming a rainbow from one end of the pitch to the other. As the rainbow disappeared a shamrock formed in the sky and drifted around with raining gold.

Finishing their act the leprechauns floated down to the field and then Ludo Bagman's enhanced voice could be heard. He introduced the Bulgarian team with Viktor Krum, the star seeker, getting the loudest cheer. After that came the introduction of the Irish team. What followed was a massacre with the Irish team scoring 170 points to Bulgaria's 10, only saved by Viktor Krum's catch of the snitch, making the official score 170-160. 

The gleeful screams of the Irish fans could be heard all over which turned into singing as they left their seats and gathered in the crowd that had formed. 

''That was one hell of a match, if Krum hadn't caught the snitch there, I imagine it would have turned into a pity match.'' Cedric said to Alex as they walked slowly towards the exit. 

''Agreed, the Irish chasers were far superior to Bulgarian. Still, Lynch crashing two times wasn't what I had expected.''

''When you've seen enough of them, you realize that quidditch matches of this size rarely go as you expect them.'' Amos said to them with a knowing look. Reaching their tents after a bit of time they celebrated with a random Irish family who had their tents next to them. It was a family of 4, with the father and mother owning their own shop and their children around the age of 6. 

When the mother took the children in the tent to put them to sleep, the father pulled out a bottle of Irish fire whiskey and offered some to them. Cedric looked at his father who looked ready to sleep. 

''Only a bit, we have to get up early, and I won't drag you out of bed, you'll have to find your own way home then.'' Amos sighed, giving a goodnight to them and the man and walking into their tent. 

Alex and Cedric accepted a shot of the alcohol and talked with the man about for about 40 minutes, with his wife joining halfway. After that they bid a goodnight to both of them and walked to their bedroom in the tent. 

Two single beds were standing on each side of the room and looked extremely comforting after a long day. 

''I'm sleeping better in a tent in some random field, than I do in your home Ced. If this keeps up I might not be happy with a mattress on your floor.'' Alex joked. 

Cedric rolled his eyes at his friend. 

''What do you care about how you sleep, you don't appreciate the beds we have at Hogwarts.'' Cedric retorted with a smirk. He was talking about a time in their fifth year where Alex had fallen asleep in the common room under a table after a long night of studying, only to be woken up by one of the early birds of the house.

''It was one time, you just can't seem to let things go.'' 

''Twice, Emma Cooper told me about the other time.'' Cedric said, his smirk turning into a wide grin. 

''Damn, she promised me she wouldn't say anything, I even did her charms homework.'' Alex grumbled now more annoyed that Cedric knew about both times it had happened. A small grin then turned onto his face. Cedric saw it and just shook his head. 

''You leave the girl alone, or I'll have to send you to detention. I've heard that Filch is really annoyed at the missing shine of the trophy cabinet.'' A dangerous glint appeared in his eyes. 

''Wow now Ced, we don't have to steep to this level, I was just joking, promise.'' Alex said with a mock voice of fright. After Cedric had gotten his prefect badge and made it known to Alex that he wasn't afraid of using it, Alex had toned down his teasing of him slightly, he knew of course that Cedric was joking, well mostly joking. 

After that they had went to sleep, only to get woken up before they had thought.

''Dad, what is happening, it can't already be time leave, it can't have been more than two hours since we fell asleep.'' Cedric said with a groan. 

''Hurry up, I don't have time to explain now, just get up and take some clothes on, leave the rest and meet me outside, I'll check on family next to us.'' Amos said in a hurried voice. It was evident that something was wrong to both Alex and Cedric with the tone Amos was using, so they quickly got up put on some clothes grabbed their wands and went out side. 

Drunken laughter and roars could still be heard but these were different from those earlier. As they looked out on field, flashes of light burst forward and loud bangs could be heard. Some tents were on fire but before they could see anything else Amos came running out of the tent belonging to the Irish family.

''Boys, listen to me carefully, this isn't the time to act recklessly. Take Mrs. Quinn and her children into the woods and keep them safe. I'll stay here with Mr. Quinn and help out. I'll come and get you after we get this under control.'' His made it clear that it wasn't up for discussion, and they both nodded watching the Quinn family getting out of the tent. 

They quickly walked towards the woods, only turning their heads back just before they reached it, to see Amos and Mr. Quinn walking quickly towards the commotion. Heading into the woods they soon found another group of people, joining them to stay safe. When they joined them, Cedric pulled Alex slightly to the side, both of them still keeping an eye on Mrs. Quinn and her children. 

''Did you see them, the people causing the disturbance.'' Cedric asked. 

''I only got a glimpse of one of them, he seemed to be wearing a hood and mask, why?'' Alex looked at Cedric's face with confusion. Cedric seemed troubled about something. 

''You don't think it's you-know-who's followers, do you?'' Cedric asked Alex with increasing worry in his voice. Alex looked perturbed at that statement. 

''Maybe it's just some drunk Bulgarians mad over the result, who decided to act on the alcohol.'' Alex said trying to convince both Cedric and himself. Cedric nodded slightly at his words. 

''Yeah, you're probably right.'' Another bang could be heard, this one closer to the forest. 

''Lets move further in.'' One the voices in the group said with uneasiness dripping from his voice. And so the group moved further in, with Alex, Cedric and another taking up the rear, ready with their wands. The bangs got quieter the further they went into the woods. But they all halted when a green glow lighted up the night sky. 

The green glow formed into a skull with a snake coming out of the mouth. Screams could be heard from around the woods, and even some in their group couldn't help but scream or gasp.

''Fuck.'' Alex said in a low and dreaded voice. He looked at Cedric, they both knew what it meant. It was the dark mark, it was what the followers of Lord Voldemort used when they had killed somebody. 

After the mark had showed up, nothing more could be heard. There weren't any loud bangs, but still the group huddled further together, with the children in the middle. Not long after a two pops could be heard, and towards them walked Amos and Witch. Some of the members of the group instinctively raised their wands towards them. 

''Calm down, we are with the ministry, we have it under control now.'' Amos said, putting the wand away to show they weren't going to attack. The pressure that lingered around the group suddenly disappeared and a few sighs of relief could be heard. Cedric was the first to walk from the group towards his dad.

''What happened, is everyone okay, did you find out who did it?'' Cedric said in rapid succession. 

''Not now, lets get everyone out and then I'll explain. It's been a long night and everybody is tired.'' Amos appeased his son with the explanation. After they had all gotten out of the woods, Amos turned to them with a tired look.

''Nobody died, someone just used it to create more chaos I think,'' He started off both, boys looking happy at that, ''But it was still likely Death Eaters who caused what happened today. Got a bit of confidence after drinking, and decided to remind the rest of us they are still out here.'' He shook his head.

''Did you catch any of them, and who conjured the Mark?'' This time it was Alex asking the questions. 

''We weren't able to catch any of them, they all Disapparated when they saw the Mark. For the one who conjured it, well it's complicated. We Mr. Crouch's elf with Harry Potters wand. I checked it and it was the one that had conjured the spell.'' Amos finished his talking with a yawn. Both boys were about to ask more questions, but was stopped by Amos.

''Wait until I get some sleep to ask more questions, I'm going to have a long day ahead of me. I bet it's going to be a right fuss in the ministry with the attack.'' And with that they all went back into the tent which had survived without a scratch. Only Amos got a proper sleep, Cedric and Alex stayed up talking about all that had happened and what it meant. In the end they only got about 2 hours of shut-eye more.