HARRY POTTER Book 4: Chapter 9
Chapter 9
THE DARK MARK
The match is over, and everyone walks slowly back from the stadium. Fred and George laugh and talk with Mr. Weasley. He tells them not to tell their mother that they have been gambling. The family moves with the large crowd along the path. Light from lanterns shines above. Leprechauns fly through the dark sky, golden and bright. People sing loudly as they return to the tents.
When they reach their tents, no one wants to sleep. There is still music and noise everywhere. They sit together for hot cocoa and talk about the match. Harry thinks again about Krum’s amazing flying. He imagines himself in the stadium, flying fast on his Firebolt. He can hear the crowd shout his name. He lies in the top bunk. He looks up at the tent roof, feeling happy and awake. But suddenly everything changes.
Harry is not sure if he is sleeping or if he is dreaming. The night is quiet for a moment, and then Mr. Weasley shouts loudly. "Get up, everyone! Ron, Harry, come on now, get up, this is urgent!" Harry sits up quickly. He hits his head on the canvas. Ron wakes up too. They hear screaming outside and running feet. "Just get your jacket and get outside, quickly!" Mr. Weasley yells. Harry runs outside into the cold night air. In the distance, he sees strange flashes of light. The flashes are like green fire in the dark sky.
People run past them toward the woods. Then Harry sees a crowd of wizards moving across the field. Their heads are covered, and their faces are covered by masks. They are all pointing their wands towards the sky. Above them, four people float in the air. It is Mr. Roberts, the Muggle campsite manager, and his family with him. Their bodies twist in the sky like puppets on invisible strings.
The marching wizards laugh loudly. One of the masked wizards points his wand at a tent. A blast of green light shoots from the wand. The tent burns bright orange with fire. More screaming fills the night. Mr. Weasley returns with Hermione and Ginny. Bill, Charlie, and Percy come from the other tent, already dressed. Their wands are ready.
“We’re going to help the Ministry!” Mr. Weasley shouts. “You kids, run into the woods. Stay together!” The older boys run towards the masked wizards to help. Mr. Weasley follows them. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny run across the field and into the trees. The lanterns are gone now, and everything is dark. Children cry. Adults call for their families. Shadows move everywhere. In the chaos, Ron falls over a tree root. He stands and complains angrily.
Then a slow voice speaks. Draco Malfoy stands nearby, calm and cold. He is alone. “They are coming to get Muggles,” he says in a cold voice. “Granger is a Muggle. You had better hide her before they find her. You don’t want to be flying in the sky with the other Muggles, do you?” He laughs a cruel laugh. “Hermione is a witch!” yells Harry. “They can find a Mudblood, no problem,” says Malfoy. “You watch your mouth, Malfoy!” yells Ron.
Everyone knows what a Mudblood means. It is a very offensive word to describe a wizard or witch with Muggle parents. Ron moves towards Malfoy. Hermione holds his arm. “Ignore him, Ron,” she says. “Why are you here alone, Malfoy?” asks Harry, suspicious. “Where are your parents? Are they out there, wearing masks?” “I wouldn’t tell you if they were, Potter,” says Malfoy in a mean voice.
“Come on, let’s go,” says Hermione. Suddenly, there is another loud bang in the woods. Green light flashes in the trees. Malfoy laughs softly and disappears into the dark. The three continue along the path. But Fred, George, and Ginny are not there. “Oh, no!” cries Hermione. “Where are the others?”
They run into the dark forest to find them. Harry checks his pockets for his wand, but it is gone. He is very afraid. Without a wand, he feels unprotected. Suddenly Winky the house-elf runs from the bushes. She is moving strangely, like someone is controlling her. She yells that there are bad wizards outside and disappears again.
Hermione becomes angry about the way house-elves are treated. Ron argues that elves like to work, but Hermione does not accept that. “It’s people like you, Ron, who support a bad system,” she says. “If you don’t change anything, people suffer…” Another explosion shakes the woods, and they move quickly down the path.
In an open space in the trees, there is a circle of moonlight. A group of beautiful veela are there laughing. Young wizards are around them, talking nonsense, trying to impress them. Harry and Hermione pull Ron away before he can speak like a fool too. They go deeper into the forest. Everything grows quiet. Harry says they should wait there and listen.
But at that moment, Ludo Bagman appears. He is very pale and he looks worried. He looks at the children with suspicion. “Who are you?” he asks. He seems confused when they tell him about the evil wizards and the Muggles in the air. “Damn them!” he yells, then suddenly he Disapparates without another word.
They sit in a small clearing under the trees. The forest is still. The screams in the distance slowly stop. They wait for Mr. Weasley and the others. They talk quietly about what may be happening. Then, footsteps approach. It sounds like someone is walking towards them. Harry calls out but there is no answer. He walks forward, looking into the shadows. A new voice shouts a single strange word.
“MORSMORDRE!”
A massive green skull breaks through the darkness, shining bright in the sky. A long snake comes from its mouth like a tongue. It rises above the trees. It glows green like an emerald. All around them, voices scream again. Hermione pulls Harry backward, her face is white with fear. “It’s the Dark Mark!” she cries. “You-Know-Who’s sign!”
