Reappearance of the Dark Mark

"Granger, they're after Muggles. D'you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Because if you do, hang around... they're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh."

- Draco Malfoy on the targets of the Riot

The Reappearance of the Dark Mark was one of the most notable controversies in the history of the Quidditch World Cup, occurring on 25 August, 1994 at Dartmoor, England. A large group of Death Eaters stormed Mr. Roberts's campsite, destroying everything in their wake and torturing Muggles and Muggle-borns alike. The Death Eaters were fought by Ministry of Magic employees. It ended when Barty Crouch Jr. fired the Dark Mark into the sky causing most of the Death Eaters to Disapparate. Afterward, Bartemius Crouch Sr.'s house-elf Winky was fired when she was found in possession of the wand that made the Mark, and Rita Skeeter wrote a scathing report about the raid criticising the Ministry's security at the Cup.

The Death Eaters
In the years prior to the First Wizarding War, Lord Voldemort gathered a following of like-minded wizards who wished to share in his power, thugs looking for an outlet for their brutality, and cowards who wished to avoid the Dark Lord's wrath. This group coalesced into an organisation known as the Death Eaters. They shared the same beliefs in the supremacy of pure-blood and the inferiority of half-breeds, Muggle-borns, and Muggles. He used this organisation to spread terror and enforce his will upon those who opposed him. They did his bidding well, and many of them became nearly as feared as Lord Voldemort himself. On 31 October, 1981 one of his Death Eaters, Peter Pettigrew, directed him to the location of the Potter family. Voldemort sought them out in order to prevent a prophecy from being fulfilled. He met his downfall at their residence in Godric's Hollow. This ended the First Wizarding War.

As he had made his many Horcruxes, Lord Voldemort did not die that night in Godric's Hollow. The fragment of his soul that remained in his living body was driven out when his Killing Curse backfired. It continued to exist in a spectral form, and he fled the scene. In Albania, he knew of a quiet hiding place where he had found Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem years previous. There he went to hide hoping that one of his servants would come for him. They did not. Many of the Death Eaters who could be identified were arrested by Aurors and sentenced to Azkaban. Some, such as Evan Rosier, decided to fight to the death rather than face prison. Many, however, were able to reintegrate themselves into wizarding society claiming that they acted only under the Imperius Curse. There were some, among whom was Lucius Malfoy, who kept their beliefs but did not practise them openly using a facade of respectability to protect themselves from suspicion.

In 1991, an easily manipulated Hogwarts professor, Quirinus Quirrell, stumbled across Voldemort's hiding place in Albania. The Dark Lord used his great power of persuasion to convince Quirrell to act for him, though they were thwarted by the very boy Voldemort had attempted to kill that fateful night in 1981, Harry Potter. Following this defeat, Lord Voldemort returned to Albania, his morale at an all time low, thinking that no one was coming for him. Then, in summer of 1994, Peter Pettigrew, otherwise known as Wormtail, who had faked his death and framed Sirius Black for his crimes, returned to Voldemort's service after he had been found out by his former friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. With Pettigrew's help, Voldemort was able to return to a rudimentary body that needed constant tending but allowed him to perform magic. In this form, he returned with Wormtail to Britain.

Barty Crouch Jr.
Bartemius Crouch Jr. was the son of a prominent Ministry of Magic official. He was an excellent student in his time at Hogwarts, and he took the Dark Mark shortly after graduation. He fought in the First Wizarding War with the Death Eaters. After Lord Voldemort's fall, he was among a group of Death Eaters seeking their master's location. Believing the Aurors, Alice and Frank Longbottom, to have some information, they paid them a visit. Once there, these Death Eaters, Bellatrix, Rabastan, and Rodolphus Lestrange, with Crouch's help subjected the Longbottoms to the Cruciatus Curse multiple times. In fact, they were driven to insanity by the torture they received, and subsequently became permanent residents of St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries For this crime, the Lestranges and Crouch were arrested and put on trial. In the face of insurmountable evidence, they were convicted and sentenced to life in Azkaban. Though Crouch tried to plead innocence, ignorance, and anything else that might have kept him out of prison, his pleas fell upon the deaf ears of his father, who was presiding over the trial and coldly sent his son to the Dementors.

Soon after his arrival in Azkaban, Crouch Jr.'s mother became fatally ill. She asked her husband for one last favour; she wanted to trade her dying form for her son's in Azkaban. Just before her death, she and her husband visited Barty Jr. in his cell, and by way of Polyjuice Potion, they swapped places. As dementors are blind, this went without notice. Once back in his home, Crouch Jr. was kept a complete secret. He spent his days under an Invisibility cloak and was always under the Imperius Curse. However, at some point, he was discovered by Bertha Jorkins, a witch in his father's department at the Ministry.

Eventually, he began fighting the Imperius Curse and there were times when he would suddenly become aware of his surroundings. His keeper, Winky the house-elf, would occasionally ask his father to grant him treats. One of these was a trip to the Quidditch World Cup in 1994.

The Quidditch World Cup
In the year 1994, the Quidditch World Cup was held in Great Britain. On 25 August, the final was held between Ireland and Bulgaria. It was attended by witches and wizards from all around the world including many from Britain. Among these merrymakers were Arthur Weasley and his children Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny along with their friends Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Also in attendance were many prominent wizards from the Ministry of Magic the Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge and Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation Bartemius Crouch Sr. included. As he had done a favour for event organiser Ludo Bagman, Arthur Weasley and his family and friends had prime seats for the match in the Top Box. There, they met a few unfriendly faces. Lucius Malfoy, his son Draco, and his wife Narcissa were in the box as personal guests of the Minister. Also, intriguingly, Barty Crouch had sent his elf, Winky, to save him a seat, but he never showed up. They all watched a very exciting game. The Irish Chasers were too much for the Bulgarians. They scored repeatedly, and even though the game became quite dirty, the Bulgarians could find no answer. They were spared an embarrassing defeat when their Seeker, Viktor Krum, caught the Golden Snitch causing them to lose by only ten points.

The riot
"Your exploits at the Quidditch World Cup were fun, I daresay. . . but might not your energies have been better directed toward finding and aiding your master?"

- Voldemort talking to Lucius Malfoy.

After the match was over, the surrounding area was afire with excitement. The Irish fans were partying loudly, and everyone was enjoying the festivities. Harry and his friends stayed up late into the night talking about the game. Finally, after numerous recaps and Quidditch stories, when Ginny fell asleep at the table, Mr. Weasley ordered everyone to bed. Soon after, they were awoken by commotion outside. Originally, Fred thought it was the Irish celebrating, but then was disturbed to see masked men burning tents and causing much commotion. They became particularly horrified when they discovered the mob torturing a Muggle man, Roberts, and his family.

Seeing the rioters approaching, Mr. Weasley ordered his underage children and their friends to flee, while he and the older Weasleys attempted to help the Ministry. After Harry, Hermione, and the younger Weasleys reached the woods, Harry discovered that he had lost his wand, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione quickly became separated from Fred, George, and Ginny. Stumbling deeper into the forest, the trio happened upon Draco Malfoy, who was watching the proceedings with delight. After dropping hints that his father was among the rioters, he pointedly warned Hermione to run for it, telling her that the crowd was after Muggles. This caused Ron and Harry to jump to Hermione's defence, but after Malfoy departed, Ron worriedly suggested that they move deeper into the woods, looking at Hermione.

"Morsmordre."

- Barty Crouch Jr. casts the Dark Mark.

Minutes later, they were drawn to a clearing aglow with a silver light. There, they discovered some of the Veela mascots of the Bulgarian National Quidditch team, surrounded by men drawn in by their charms attempting to impress them, including Knight Bus conductor, Stan Shunpike. Even Ron, who had shown a weakness for the Veelas' power, was affected, claiming he created a broomstick that could travel to Jupiter. After Harry and Hermione dragged Ron from the clearing, the trio ventured deeper into the woods. Finding a quiet spot, they decided to wait there for the commotion to subside, only to be interrupted by a deep voice incanting "Morsmordre."

They turned to see a green form rising from the woods. It formed into a green skull with a snake coming from its mouth: the Dark Mark. Soon the trio heard the popping sounds of Ministry officials Apparating into the woods. Realising what was about to happen, Harry dragged his compatriots to the ground as the Ministry people fired off Stunning Spells. Among the Ministry officials, Arthur Weasley saw that his son had been attacked and called them off. Bartemius Crouch Sr., the most senior official present, stepped up and began to aggressively question Harry, Ron, and Hermione. When they pointed to the spot where they had heard the voice coming from, the officials found Winky, the Crouch family house-elf. When it was posited that the elf could not have cast the spell, Cedric Diggory's father, Amos presented a wand the the elf had been carrying.

When Harry saw the wand, he quickly claimed it as his own, drawing accusations from Amos Diggory. Diggory came to his senses when challenged by Arthur Weasley and returned to questioning the house-elf. This questioning was quite harsh, and Diggory continually referred to Winky as "elf." Winky denied casting the Dark Mark, and Arthur Weasley supported her, stating that it was highly unlikely that the elf knew the incantation. This caused Diggory to impulsively accuse Crouch, but this was quickly brushed aside with indignation. Harry, Hermione, and Ron corroborated Winky's denial claiming that a deeper, human voice cast the curse. At this, Crouch searched the woods, and when he returned he sacked Winky for failing to honour her family.

Aftermath
Ministry officials were able to rescue the Roberts family, but the sudden appearance of the Dark Mark hampered their ability to apprehend the rioters who were frightened off at the sight of their former master's emblem. After the fiasco in the forest, Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to their tent with Mr. Weasley. Once there, Mr. Weasley and his eldest son Bill explained to the younger wizards the significance of the Dark Mark, the Death Eaters, and their link to Lord Voldemort.

Rumours spread like wildfire in the wake of the riot, and many concerned citizens were waiting at the edge of the woods with questions. These rumours were not quelled by Arthur Weasley's vague explanations when he, Harry, Ron, and Hermione exited the wood. The morning edition of the Daily Prophet ran a scathing critique of the Ministry's security measures, written by Rita Skeeter. In the article, she insinuated that bodies had been removed from the woods, though this was untrue.

Barty Crouch Jr. would go on to play an integral role in the plot to revive Lord Voldemort, after the Dark Lord gained knowledge of his continued loyalty and relative freedom by torturing Bertha Jorkins. The Death Eaters he scared away were all summoned to the Little Hangleton graveyard to witness his resurrection, and Crouch would later receive the Dementor's Kiss. Harry Potter, who had been used as a tool in Voldemort's rebirth, would be among the witnesses, and he would survive the subsequent duel to return and tell the world of Voldemort's rebirth. In response to the cruel treatment of house-elves that she had witnessed at the Quidditch World Cup, Hermione formed the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare or S.P.E.W. that fall.

The International Confederation of Wizards' Quidditch Committee heavily criticised the Ministry of Magic for what they deemed to have been inadequate safety measures given the known existence of a violent pure-blood tendency throughout the United Kingdom; Royston Idlewind, former International Director of the ICWQC, emerged briefly from retirement to state that his wand controls had not been such a bad thing after all.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
 * Pottermore