Draco Malfoy and the Goblet of Fire (BOOK 4 of 7)

Chapter 15-HQ

Lucius was the first to arrive. The minute he did he called, "Narcissa, we'll be having some guests today!" The Malfoy Manor wards had never let anyone but a Malfoy apparate directly into the home. Of course, the wards could be adjusted, but everyone else had to either apparate in front of the gates or Floo into a heavily warded room. Since the era of Death Eaters, the wards had been changed to not allow any Death Eaters except for Lucius to vaporize in.

Narcissa appeared from the kitchen. "Who?"

"Them."

She understood right away and with a snap of her fingers, her robes changed. The fact that Lucius and Narcissa could perform wandless magic was a fact known only to them. Even their son was unaware of this.

Narcissa apparated to the gates to let the Death Eaters in.

"Hello. Lovely to see you. Welcome. To the small dining room, if you would."

The small dining room was not the same one in which dinner with the Parkinsons was held nearly three years ago. It was, in fact, a room with a large walnut dining set painted an antique black. Two large dimly-lit chandeliers hung from the ceiling that was extremely high and the fireplace provided another source of light in an otherwise dark room.

Once everyone was seated, the Dark Lord himself sat down at the head of the table. He tutted at the emptiness.

"Two decades ago, these chairs wouldn't be enough. Now, there are more chairs than Death Eaters. Many died, many fled, but worst of all, many turned. But enough of that. Our plan to move forward is this: isolate Potter. He is the only person alive that has seen other than you all, and I intend to keep it that way. No one will believe him as long as you all keep your mouths shut. Of course, I suppose Dumbledore-the old fool, he could have helped this side immensly-will believe Potter. Also, no more mass attacks. I heard that the attack at the Quidditch World Cup was successful but no more. We must lay low. In the meantime, we will proceed to solve our problems. There is a weapon of sorts that I need to collect by the end of the year. We will discuss this later. Right now, I must rest. Everyone, to your homes."

Narcissa saw the Death Eaters out and then returned. "My Lord, shall I show you to your room?"

"Certainly. Lucius?"

The man of the house rose and said, "I will write to Draco and inform him of the pleasant surprise that awaits him." He left and climbed the stairs to his study.

__________________________

The minute Harry touched the cup, he was taken back to Hogwarts. Oddly enough, he didn't land in the maze. Some sort of charm must have been placed on it. However, when he appeared in front of the maze, in front of his fellow students, he broke down and couldn't think about any of this.

"He's back, he's back! Voldemort's back! Cedric, he asked me to bring his body back. I couldn't leave him, not there!"

"It's alright, Harry," Dumbledore tried to comfort him. "It's alright. He's home. You both are."

"Keep everybody in their seats," Fudge, the Minister of Magic, ordered as he walked over to Harry. "A boy has just been killed. The body must be moved, Dumbledore, there are too many people."

Amos Diggory pushed through the crowd to see his son. At the sight of Cedric's motionless body, Mr. Diggory burst into tears.

"My son!" he cried. "My only son!"

Draco watched this from his seat. This was all Dumbledore's fault. If only he'd listened to Draco. He saw Professor Moody approach Potter and take him away from the scene. Draco instantly rose and briskly jogged all the way down the stands, ignoring Blaise's questions. He marched up to Dumbledore and tugged on his robes.