Prologe
"He's back" Ron mumbled more to himself than anyone as he was sat between Harry and Hermione both who didn't know the additional blonde with his arm hooked into who Harry assumed was Mrs Malfoys arm. The clear familiarity posed the question of who the wizard was. Clearly older than Draco standing at about 6''2 with broad shoulders and features that seemed familiar to him but he couldn't place it. He stood out from the Malfoys as his tanned skin looked stark compared to the porcelain skin, with slightly darker hair than the Malfoy's around him but he was familiar enough to be escorting the matriarch. Harry realised he was starting and had zoned out when the dark storm blue eyes of the stranger met him and he darted his emerald ones away, zoning back into his friends conversation realising if he'd just listened he could have probably found out the answer if he'd been paying attention.
"What do you mean he's not a real Malfoy.... I didn't know pure bloods did step families" Hermione asked with a curious tilt to her head. Not a real Malfoy.. like a fake Malfoy? Harry was lost, he tapped his wand impatiently on his leg glancing back over.
"Well he's a Black technically. Huge scandal when Mrs Malfoy married pregnant but apparently her first husband died mysteriously, probably some deatheater bullshit. Anyway the older Malfoy disappeared from the wizarding world like 6 years ago after his first year at Hogwarts? Off the face of the earth really... No one talks about it." Ron filled in moving closer to the edge of the box. Probably a deatheater then, Harry thought glancing over to watch how the Malfoy's interacted differently now there was a fourth. He'd send a letter to Sirius about him if he could, ask if this meant trouble or could have something to do with Voldemort. He watched as Fudge was sounding out words to the Bulgarian Minister for magic who just looked like he was not bothered what so ever. He caught Draco's eye right before the game was about to start and watched the sneer form on his lips before the unknown 'Malfoy' kicked Draco's leg below the seats with a raised brow. Who was this kid, Harry thought before his attention was drawn away and to the pitch for the mascot performance.
The next time the Malfoy brothers appeared was when they fled the camp to the woods. Harry's heart was racing as he stumbled through his group and heard Ron yell out in pain. He tried to steady himself to prevent himself from falling over Ron and then there was light. Ron was clambering up to his feet cussing out the tree root in way of explanation.
"With feet that sized, hard not too." Draco sneered over at them from where he was illuminated propped up against a tree. Ron responded with more words that Mrs Weasly would not let stand.
"Language -" Draco started before being cut off verbally by his brother who moved into the space between them.
"Drake. Not the time." He said shortly, a faint American twang to his English accent surprised Harry for a moment. The wizards eyes darted over to Hermione his eyes narrowing with the light, " You trying to get us killed? Light out." He said reaching out the wrap his hand round the end of her wand looking her in the eye before letting out an unexpected, "Please."
"She's a mudblood, they'll be hunting her."Draco said specifically to his brother with a sneer over the start of the sentence.
"Please." He repeated looking Hermione in the eye, "I understand if you're scared. But it'll be worse if they find you" His hand let go of her wand as she spoke the word to turn the light out.
"I'm a witch" She spat out with a definite glare at Draco but with a notably quieter tone.
"They won't care" The nameless Malfoy's soft voice came out of the dark. In the dark the shape Harry assumed belonged to the voice moved closer to the treeline slowly looking out at the blaze of colour from the camp site. Draco continued to rattle on about what the masked figures would do if they found Hermione and Harry felt the pit in his stomach grow and his scar begin to burn slightly the sounds of the screams was going through his bones.
"They're all so easily scared." Draco said lazily and Harry swore he could see the older Malfoy shoot him a glare through the dark, "I suppose Daddy told you all to hide while he played hero to the muggles did he?"
"Where's your parents, under the hoods?" Harry couldn't help himself but to respond to Draco. That was always the case, the boy just got under his skin the wrong way.
"Drake continue south, find mother. Get her home. I'll get these lot back to ministry peeps." The older Malfoy said ignoring their bickering taunts. It was an order plain and simple with no room for questioning.
"Lou" Malfoy tried to talk back to his brother before Harry assumed nodding before sighing, "Fine. Non morieris obtinuit te." The last was in a language Harry couldn't register and with that a figure split from their group.
"Let's go. Keep tight. Don't split off" 'Lou' said as matter of fact, and Harry saw he saw a small spark come from the guys hand as he beckoned them to follow him down the treeline.
The group moved together 'Lou' seemingly ignoring them his attention on everything around them. It was odd to watch someone so on edge. Harry notices how 'Lou' played with his wand the same way Harry did tapping it against his leg in repetitive patterns. His wand. That was when Harry realised it was gone, or missing. Could be anywhere. "I..mm um I've lost my wand?!" He said quietly. It was an instant and Hermione's wand was up again, much to the dismay of Malfoy who muttered something about gods.
"Maybe it's back in the tent?" Ron suggested,
"Maybe it fell out while you were running" Hermione said anxiously at the same time.
"Maybe you should always know where your main weapon is." The Malfoy said incredulously, "Light off." He reminded her just as the trio jumped as an alarmed house elf stumbled through the bush, and he closed his eyes in an I told you so kind of way.
"Bad. Bad wizards about" The elf muttered in a terrified way, "People high- in in air. Winky get out of the way!" She screaked as he tried to run but was stopped by her bond with her master. Harry found himself explaining to Ron about how she probably didn't have permission to run and the darker side to house elves than Ron would have been exposed to on his side of the wizarding world. Hermione started to prattle on about slavery and injustice with Ron trying to explain how that was just how things worked as if he hadn't questioned the actions a moment earlier.
"Can we move and debate politics later" Lou pointed out quietly his gaze pointing at Hermione's wand again and with a flick it was out. The screams got louder as the sky filled with a green skull swirling above them, "Oh this is bad' he mumbled softly moving out of the treeline into the field.
Harry gazed up as the screams around them increased, his hand once again going for his wand forgetting it wasn't there. He gazed past the tents trying to make out where the spell had come from trying to make out anyone, "Who's there?!" He called out moving to pass the strange Malfoy who grabbed his arm to stop him going further.
"Don't. We need to move back to the trees." He stated as if he wasn't the one that had taken them from the tree line.
His other arm was grabbed by Hermione tugging him backwards, "It's you know who's mark, Harry. The dark mark. He's right we need to move." She belated out looking at him.
"Voldermorts-"
"Harry come on!"She said tugging him through the field, Malfoy followed them shortly behind his eyes on the field where the spell had been cast.
There was a split second where the energy in the field seamed to shift as twenty wizards appeared around them in a circle with their wands drawn.
"Duck!" Harry cried out without thinking pulling Ron and Hermione down with him.
"STUPEFY!"
The rore of twenty wizards came out and Harry could see the familiar red light come from the wands but never reach them. 'Lou' didn't duck like he yelled. He was standing firm with his hands out, no wand to be seen and as the red bolts should have hit him electricity came from his palms but it didn't go inwards it spread outwards, around them in a circle the crackling electric blue energy forming a shield for a solid few seconds before dropping. The smell of burnt grass was overwhelming and the light almost blinding in the the darkness of the night and Harry questioned if the stunning spell had actually hit them as everything was moving slower in that minute.
"STOP!" The familiar voice of Mr Weasly cried out, "That's my son!" Harry's gaze moved over from the Malfoy to Mr Weasly, "Ron, Harry.. Hermione. Are you okay?"
"Out of the way, Arthur." the cold voice of Mr Crouch pushed past as him and the other ministry officials closed in around them, multiple with their wands still raised specifically on the Malfoy boy, with one of them grabbing hold of the neck of his long sleeved t-shirt they clearly concerned about the feat of wandless magic that had just occured. "Which one of you did it!" He continued glaring at them all intensely, "which of the conjured the dark mark" he hissed out at them with intense eyes.
"We didn't do that." Harry said pointing up at the skull.
At the same point that Ron spat out, "We didn't do shit!"
"Get a grip." Lou said seriously looking at the grown wizards surrounding them, "They are too young to be doing magic outside of school. And they can attest to the fact that I didn't do it." He stated glaring at the witch gripping onto him.
"You were caught at the scene of the crime!"Crouch shouted and Harry couldn't see how they were going to get the adults to listen to them.
"Exactly and if it was me I would have apparated away as to not get caught. But here I am." He stated plain and simple before pointing over to where Harry had spotted the figure, "If you want a witch hunt look that way. Although as I said if it was me, I wouldn't have stuck around." At the term witch hunt Harry saw many people flinch away at the accusation but Crouch moved on gesturing for someone to go further into the field.
It was Mr Diggory who matched into the field searching around for a few minutes, "Ah, I've found someone. Unconscious. But.. blimey. It's a house elf." He blubbered out his voice growing louder as he came over to the lit area carrying the same house elf, Winky, from earlier and slowly set her down before snatching the wand from her grip. His wand, Harry realised. "She was carrying this, already breaking the law before producing the mark."
"Unhand my boy." A familiar lazy drawl of Lucius Malfoy came out from the trees as the man stalked forward cane in hand. Unfortunately in the opposite direction to where Winky's body was found, no clear proof that it could have been him, "You being unable to control your own house elf is an embarrassment enough, don't be more of a fool and continue to unnecessary accusation of children on top of it. Lucien come. Your mother was beginning to get concerned." He said simply before turning to begin walking away as if the chaos of the night was not occuring.
Lucien pulled himself from the witches grasp easily, which he clearly could have done earlier and was only staying put to prevent more trouble, and looked at the trio before glancing at the sky, "Stay safe." He said simply with a nonchalant salute, before moving to follow his stepfather away from the blubbering Couch who was as white as a ghost trying to comprehend. Leaving the chaos to continue without him.