After HP shared the dream, Lao Fu was conquered by me

"Don't worry, she will be punished," Mr. Crouch added coldly, looking at Lamia.

It seemed that he knew very well what Lamia's smile meant.

Lamia ignored him. Crouch's momentary anger showed that he knew very well that what Lamia said was possible.

Besides, Lamia has already seen little Barty.

"M-M-M-Master..." Winky looked up at Mr. Crouch, tears in her eyes, and stammered, "M-M-M-Master, p-p-please..."

Mr. Crouch stared at her, his face hardened, every line standing out, his eyes devoid of any mercy.

"I am utterly appalled at Winky's behavior to-night," he said slowly. "I told her to stay in the tent, I told her to hold it there while I went to sort out the disturbance, and I find she defied me, and that means—clothes!"

"No!" shrieked Winky, throwing herself at Mr. Crouch's feet. "No, Master! No clothes, no clothes!"

The only way to free a house-elf is to give him decent clothes. Winky looked pitiful as she clutched her tea towel tightly and cried at Mr. Crouch's feet.

"She was terrified!" Hermione glared at Mr. Crouch and said indignantly, "Your house-elf is afraid of heights, and those masked wizards dangled people in the air! It's understandable that she wanted to escape from them. You can't blame her!"

Mr. Crouch stepped back, free from the elf's grasp, and looked down at Winky as if she were some foul, rotten thing that was staining his well-polished shoes.

"I do not need a house-elf who disobeys my orders," he said coldly, looking at Hermione. "I do not need a servant who forgets to obey his master and uphold his honor."

Winky cried bitterly, her sobs echoing across the clearing. There was another awkward silence, and finally Mr. Weasley said softly, "Well, if there's no objection, I'll take my people back. Amos, the wand has told us everything it knows - if you can return it to Harry, please -"

Mr. Diggory handed the wand to Harry, who put it in his pocket.

It seemed like that was the end of it.

Mr. Weasley led a few people towards their camp, talking non-stop about what had just happened. He seemed to want to comfort the children, but it was obvious that he was the only one who looked the most panicked.

Lamia took a step back where no one noticed, distanced herself from Mr. Weasley and his group, and turned into a bat and flew in the direction Mr. Crouch had just left.

"idiot!"

Behind Mr. Crouch came a cowering Winky, whose huge ears twitched and who looked very much weeping.

"Master, Shanshan didn't—" She sobbed and wiped her nose with a torn tea towel, "It's all the little master—"

"Shut up, idiot!" Mr. Crouch kicked the poor elf hard with his polished leather shoes. She fell to the ground, and blisters appeared on her fragile palms.

"Wuwuwuwu——" Shanshan didn't dare to make any more sound. She could only sob softly, her big eyes filled with tears.

Lamia had been following them silently, but just when Crouch was about to tell Winky something, he suddenly glanced behind him sharply and saw where Lamia was hiding.

Then, Lamia saw Crouch disapparate with Twinkle and go to a place she could neither see nor feel.

Lamia had no choice but to go back to Mr. Weasley's camp. She also wanted to find evidence to prove the real murderer, but Crouch was worthy of being the Minister of Magic. He was sharp enough.

When Lamia reached the edge of the woods, she met Mr. Weasley with Harry, Hermione and Ron. They had obviously encountered an obstacle - a large group of frightened wizards had gathered there, and when they saw Mr. Weasley walking towards them, many of them pushed forward.

"What's going on over there?"

"Who conjured that mark?"

"Arthur—could it be—him?"

"Of course it wasn't him," said Mr. Weasley impatiently. "We don't know who it was either. It looks like they've Apparated. Now, everybody, please, get out of the way. I want to go back to bed."

Mr. Weasley pushed his way through the crowd, not noticing Lamia's sneaky departure and reappearance.

He led Lamia and a few others through the crowd and back to the camp. Now everything was quiet. There was no trace of those masked wizards anymore. Only a few destroyed tents were still smoking.

Charlie popped his head out of the boys' tent.

"Dad, what's going on?" he called out in the dark. "Fred, George, and Ginny are all back safely, and Luna has gone back to her dad, but they—"

"I've brought them all back," said Mr. Weasley, stooping and crawling into the tent, followed by Lamia, Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Bill sat at the dinette table, holding a sheet to his arm from which blood was oozing, Charlie's shirt was torn, and Percy was sporting a bloody nose. Fred, George, and Ginny appeared to be unharmed, though still shaken.

"Did you catch them, Dad?" Bill asked immediately. "The ones who made the mark?"

"No," said Mr. Weasley. "We found that Barty Crouch's house-elf had Harry's wand, but we have no idea who created the Mark."

"What?" Bill, Charlie, and Percy asked in unison.

"Harry's wand?" said Fred.

"Mr. Crouch's house elf?" Percy asked, sounding shocked.

Mr. Weasley, with the help of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, told everyone exactly what had happened in the woods. When they finished, Percy was gasping for breath.

"If you ask me, Mr. Crouch should have gotten rid of a house-elf like that!" he said. "She ran away after her master had clearly told her to stay put—and embarrassed him in front of all these Ministry officials. If she were taken to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures for questioning, it would be—"

Percy didn't finish his words, but everyone knew what he meant, and Lamia stood aside, silently rolling her eyes.

"She didn't do anything - she just shouldn't have been there at that time!" Hermione snapped back at Percy, surprising him. Hermione and Percy had always had a good relationship, at least, that's what they both thought.