Chapter 107. Terror At World Cup

As the match began, none of the three girls were even paying attention to the field, all of their eyes not even following the players. Hermione and Chiara both silently panicking at their courses of action, each unable to say a word with unease. Finally Luna leaned over between the two of them, gathering both their attention as she spoke as loudly as she could for them to hear over the crowds loud cheering. “Do you both still want to be close…?”

Hermione and Chiara both quickly nodded while glancing at one another, reassuring one another that each was an irreplaceable friend. Only after a lull in their nodding, did Luna speak again. “I feel the same way… I want us to enjoy this match as friends…” She offered Hermione a noisemaker, one she had personally made with enchanting magic to increase the noise.

Hermione paused, looking at the homemade device, realizing Luna’s point. ‘Nothing will change dwelling on it. Best to just enjoy ourselves now…’ She grabbed the noisemaker, and handed it to Chiara with a smile. Chiara took it, before whirling it in the air after the Irish scored, all of them joining the rest of the fans in forgetting the world's troubles for a moment, instead enjoying the exciting match between countries.

As the match continued on, Hermione forgot the shame and worry of having the same crush as her friends, instead just enjoying herself with their company. The cheering and upheld fists in the air of their team spirit was like a drug, a rush of excitement and enthusiasm caused Hermione to laugh, everything was okay in this moment.

But it was not to last. Nearing the end of the match a flash of blinding green light across the stadium, screaming of terror erupted from the stands. “Arthur!” Mr. Lovegood yelled, standing up in his seat, tightly grasping at Luna’s arm. “Kids, get to the Port Key!” Mr. Weasley yelled with a quick nod to Mr.Lovegood, Hermione never seeing Mr.Weasley's eyes so serious. “What’s going on?” Ginny asked with confusion as she was almost picked up from her seat by her father, rushing her along.

Before they could say another word, a wave of people all clamoring over each other ran into them, terror filling each of their gazes. Fathers grabbing at mothers, mothers grabbing their confused children, all pushing and shoving to keep their loved ones safe. “Hold on to somebody! Grab a buddy!” Mr. Weasley screamed, directing Fred and George to each hold on Ginny, the wave of the crowd forcing them into a run as well. “Where’s Harry and Ron!?” Ginny yelled, pulling away from her brothers to look, but was stopped, neither letting her go to get lost on her own.

Chaos and panic surrounding them as they were forcefully pushed into other people, like pigs being run through a pen. Screaming and squealing of terror and agony could be heard behind Chiara. She glanced back to see a woman in the distance, pleading with shrieks of agony while floating in the air, constantly shaking from being pushed about, Chiara could hardly make out anything but a silhouette of her flailing about. However, in another flash of green light, it looked as if the strings had been snipped, her body going completely limp before being tossed onto the field below.

Chiara grabbed at her mouth to stop from screaming or throwing up, perhaps both. Frozen in shock she was mortified at the unforeseen and sudden terrorism. The screams and shouts surrounding her seemed to fade away as she continued to mindlessly stare at the railing the woman was thrown off of. “Chiara!” Only the screaming of her name brought her back to the present.

Chiara looked at the hand digging their nails into her wrist, and followed it up to see Hermione’s look of horror. “We have to get to the Port Key!” Hermione yelled, dragging her along, and making sure to have a tight grip to stop herself from losing Chiara in the crowd again, leaving Chiara to wonder how Hermione could still act even while just as scared as she was. Her shy and nervous demeanor mostly came from her fear of being discovered as a monster, and was gone with the strength she had when transformed, but this was much different. This was death breathing down her neck. Hermione truly was courageous, her feet still moving even with death just in arms reach of her.

As Chiara and Hermione ran along the railing of the stands, following it towards the staircase they came up on. Near the back of the crowd, Chiara could glance back to make out the perpetrators of this chaos through the numerous people running from their presence in fear. They all wore black pointed hoods that ran down to their feet, metallic masks covering their faces, hiding their lips from the stomach bending chants they muttered like a drunken song among friends, each holding back laughter and snickers between the words.

One raised their wand, a red glowing orb growing in size before he whipped it directly towards Chiara and Hermione, along with the rest of the crowd they were squeezed together with. “Hermione!!” Chiara screamed out in fear, grappling her friend to shield her from the spell. A blast erupted from just behind them, sending bits of the stands as shrapnel, blasting themselves into the people behind them, and into Chiara herself.

Before she could scream out in pain, a second shockwave sent both girls over the railing, tumbling towards the field hundreds of meters below them. “Spongify!” Hermione yelled, a small orange flash of her wand, hitting the ground beneath them just before they landed. They bounced up and down a few times before their momentum stopped. “Chiara! Are you alright!?” Hermione yelled, flipping herself over to check her friend.

Chiara shakily nodded her head, the rest of her body shivering with fear. “Just grab my hand!” Hermione yelled, holding an outstretched arm, willing to carry Chiara to the Port Key if she had to. Chiara’s trembling hand grasped at Hermione’s like it was her life line. Another burst of green light flooded the field over them, Chiara screaming at the top of her lungs as she ducked down in fear.

However, this light never faded. She slowly looked back into the sky, and witnessed a green skull, with the tongue of a snake emerging from its open mouth. The snake slowly coiled through the sky, slithering across the clouds. “Get up, just run!” Hermione urged, not seeing the tarnished skies, pulling Chiara along to the nearby exit on the field while Chiara stumbled to get to her feet.

“We’re almost there!” Hermione yelled with hope, salvation just beyond the large hallway they ran inside. A sudden flash of orange crashed into the ground just behind them, Hermione almost tripping to come to a stop, with Chiara bumping into her. Hermione spun around, aiming her wand at the saggy portion of ground while pushing Chiara behind her with her free hand. A black robed man suddenly appeared, his threatening gaze of hate directed fully at Hermione.

“Out uvmy way!” He yelled, his speech slurred while pointing his wand at Hermione. “Expelliarmus!” Hermione quickly casted, her fastest spell to stop him from attacking her. The flash of light was deflected, Hermione gasping at the hooded man’s defensive spell without a chant. Before she could cast again, she watched in horror as his wand began glowing with green energy. Hermione knew of that spell, her stomach sinking with horror at the unavoidable spell he was raising against her. With clenched eyes, she hugged Chiara from the spell with her own body instead.

“Ava- Pft! Ptha!” Suddenly the sound of hundreds of tiny wings fluttering about filled Hermione’s ears.