The game was fun, Harry could practically feel the love for the sport from all the players. In the end, Fred and George were right; Ireland won, but Krum got the snitch.

Harry was blinded by the lights as their box was illuminated for the victors and losers to enter the box. Harry had been sitting down for most of the game, using his Spector Specs to be able to see everything, but he was definitely impressed by Krum, he was an incredible seeker, and he was definitely going to try out some of his moves when he got back on the broom.

Krum looked very dazed when he, and the rest of his team, were in the top box. His nose was still bleeding, and Harry hoped nothing was too wrong with it.

He and Harry met eyes for a few moments. Harry didn't quite know what feeling it was that seemed to pass between them, it felt like more than a mutual respect and understanding, but it wasn't something he really disliked.

Unfortunately, even though they were in the same box, Harry didn't have the chance to talk to Krum about the moment they had shared. At the end of the day it probably wasn't anything important, but Harry felt like they would be seeing each other soon.

Going back down was almost more difficult than going up, the steps were small, and Harry's legs were almost beyond stiff, and the steps were too steep for him to be able to take two steps at once without having a miniature heart attack each time. Ron had suggested he slid down the hand rail, but as Hermione pointed out, it wasn't really smooth enough to support sliding down, nor was it built to support a person's full weight.

At least this time they had waited so they were the last people to go down, Fudge thankfully having to be pulled off for some kind of legal companionship thing. He looked like he wanted to talk to Harry about something Harry was honestly not wanting to talk about.

Sirius transformed back into his human form to carry Harry down the stairs. Harry felt embarrassed, but there was nothing he could really do, he needed the help, he couldn't walk down on his own. He wished he wasn't so reliant on others, he was sure they were annoyed with how useless he was.

Harry had half hoped that Sirius would put him down when they were back on solid ground, all be it a little uneven due to being grass and dirt, but he did no such thing. If he was being honest, Harry wasn't sure he would have been able to walk back to the tent anyway, his legs were starting to hurt, and they were really rather stiff.

That evening was fun, lots of celebrations were happening outside, and while they were all staying inside, their tent was missing no festivities. Harry stayed seated the whole time, but he was also fully enjoying himself. When Ginny fell asleep, spilling her hot chocolate everywhere in the boys' tent, Arthur sent everyone to bed. Obviously, he couldn't make Sirius or Remus go to bed, but Remus could.

Harry was kinda glad he wasn't given the choice to be carried to bed, not having to ask for help made him feel less like a burden, but he thought his legs had given out by now so he wouldn't have been able to get to bed. He was already exhausted, and fell asleep pretty much as soon as he was put on the bed.

Everyone woke up at around 3 in the morning to screams and bangs, it only took their sleep filled brain a moment to realise it was an attack. Ron, while stumbling, quickly got himself up to leave, Sirius coming to the door to their room with Remus, both panicked.

Harry, on the other hand, couldn't get up. He didn't have the amount of strength in his legs as he used to, and he had walked a lot that day, and now his legs wouldn't bend and were in a lot of pain, he wasn't going to be able to get up, hobble to the table, let alone be able to run from whatever was happening outside.

"Harry, we need to go." Sirius said, his voice low and filled with urgency, worry and fear.

"I can't." Harry said, his eyes wide and fearful, the noise outside getting closer and the yelling of the people getting closer, reminding him of the time he spent at the Dursleys, the punishments he would have to go through.

Sirius rushed over, not having a moment to think, and grabbed Harry, all of them running outside, where Hermione was waiting for Harry and Ron, trying to keep to the shadows enough to not be seen by the attackers, but so Harry and Ron wouldn't run off without her.

"Sirius, take the kids somewhere safe, I'll help sort this out!" Remus shouted, running off in the direction of the chaos, where the muggle owner of the campsite and his family were being held aloft in their nightclothes, terrified and clearly in pain. Sirius didn't have the chance to reply before Remus had disappeared into the chaos.

"Where's Ginny?" Ron asked, Sirius leading the way as they ran into the forest in the direction of the stadium, Ron and Hermione both faster than they looked and easily able to keep up with him, although that may have been the adrenaline.

"She went ahead, I wanted to make sure you two were okay." Hermione panted between heavy breaths, she may be fast, but she wasn't used to running like this, and her lungs felt like they were being rubbed raw, but they were almost at the edge of the forest now, they could slow down soon.

It was only a few more seconds before they broke through the trees, and they slowed their pace to something closer to a fast walk or jog. Harry felt guilty for making Sirius carry him, but above all else grateful he was still willing to look after and help him while he was as good as useless.

"Ginny!! Ginny where are you!?" Ron called out, it was still almost impossible to see who was around them due to there being too many people.

"Keep moving, Hermione is probably one of the people they want to string up, as well as Harry, and Harry can't run at the moment. I want to make sure we're somewhere as far away as reasonable." Sirius commanded. "When we're safe we can look for your family, I'll send a patronus to lead them to where we are."

Ron didn't look happy with Sirius' instructions, but looking between Hermione and Harry, he shut his mouth and continued to follow Sirius past where most people had stopped until they reached a small clearing with a tree stump a convenient shape for Harry to sit on, Hermione and Ron half collapsing on the ground.

"I'll send a patronus to Ginny and the twins, hopefully they'll be together." Sirius said, hardly taking a moment for a breather. Growing up at Number 12 Gimmauld Place was a nightmare, but it did train his resilience, pain tolerance, and stamina.

"Thank you Sirius, sorry for making you carry me." Harry said, looking down at his legs, he wished he could do everything he needed to do, but now he was even less able to do it.

"No need to apologise, Harry. To be honest, I didn't want to fight those people anyway." Sirius said, jokingly, three patronuses forming from the tip of his wand and going back towards the entrance of the forest.

"Now we wait?" Hermione asked, the sound of the attack still just about audible from where they were.

"Now we wait. I'll send a patronus to Moony when we can't hear any of that anymore." Sirius said, he didn't know how he would cope if something had happened to Remus that he didn't even want to entertain the idea. Especially not when he was responsible for a bunch of kids.

"Ron? Hermione? Harry?" Ginny asked, entering the small clearing behind the three patronuses, Fred and George behind her, their wands out and raised, until they saw the group.

"Ginny? Are you okay?" Ron asked, jumping to his feet and rushing over to his siblings.

"We're fine, what about you four?" Fred asked, thee first of the twins to lower his wand, approaching Harry, while Ron inspected Ginny.

"I couldn't walk, so Sirius had to carry me, but we got out unscathed." Harry said, feeling a little sheepish.

"Are you sure you're alright? Was there a reason you couldn't walk?" Fred asked, George close behind his twin, keeping an eye on the trees in case anyone who might be working for the Death Eaters had followed them.

"I'm sure, my legs just hurt and are pretty stiff and weak, probably from all the climbing." Harry said, although his laugh that accompanied it didn't make the twins or Sirius feel better.

By now all the Weasleys knew about the abuse Harry had gone through, and how it caused his magic to explode, but Harry still wasn't out of the defensive mindset he'd been in for a very long time where he insisted that everything was fine so that things wouldn't get worse at his relatives'. Harry could have his leg snapped in two, and would probably try to insist he was fine... Although that may have something to do with Lockhart, but he would also insist he didn't need to go to the Hospital Wing.

Although Harry didn't know this, Fred and George had agreed to be more protective of him this year, and future years than they were in the past. They were also going to check on Harry more, hopefully he would feel safe with them, and the rest of the Weasleys.

"I can't hear the fighting anymore, I'm going to let Remus know where we are." Sirius announced. "I don't want to bring everyone back to the campsite when it's still dangerous."

No sooner had Sirius said that, than a house elf, clearly struggling to run fast through the trees behind them, the rustling of leaves and cracking of sticks and twigs making Sirius, Fred, and George turn in that direction, their wands raised, ready to defend Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.

"It's just a house elf." George said with a sigh of relief, but nobody lowered their wands yet.

"I'm going to have to trust all of you to keep each other safe, I'm going to talk with Remus, which takes a lot of concentration." Sirius said, although he didn't say it aloud, everyone except Harry realised what he was actually asking them to do was to protect Harry.

Sirius stilled, his eyes seeming to glass over, as he telepathically communicated with Remus. As they were both animals to some extent, they could bond more than regular wizards, but Sirius hadn't tried this in years, he was too afraid their bond had deteriorated due to him being branded a traitor.

-----

Remus was struggling to focus on rounding up the remaining Death Eaters. Honestly, defeating them had almost been too easy. He wouldn't be surprised it turned out the attack was a publicity stunt Fudge had dreamed up, Dumbledore was being investigated after what happened to Harry, Fudge clearly hoped he would be remembered as the person who brought the corrupt man down.

It was true that Fudge was the one who started the investigation against Dumbledore, not that he had been further involved than that, and it was true that Fudge had never really liked the man. However, it was also true that all of Fudge's power came from Dumbledore. When the old geezer was found guilty, because it was only a matter of when not if, it was likely Fudge would be kicked out of office.

"Moony?" Sirius' voice echoed in Remus' mind, making him jump, but also a feeling of warm relief spread through him, not only were matters probably okay, but their bond was still strong enough for the use of this magic.

"Pads, I'm here, is everyone there alright?" Remus responded, able to take a few steps back so he could communicate with Sirius.

"We're fine, is everything safe now? I'll tell you where to find us if it is." Sirius's voice echoed.

"Pretty much, just clearing up the stragglers now, I'll come get you, I'll follow my patronus." Remus said, a smile starting to pull at his lips, they were okay.

"Shi-!" Sirius' voice echoed before their connection was broken.

Remus' heart was pounding, what had happened? He looked to the forest to see a Dark Mark in the sky, and terror filled him again.