Welcome back!
Thanks to all who reviewed my last book, "After All These Years Book Three."
Disclaimer: If I was JK Rowling, I don't think I'd be on Fanfiction typing stories about a book I already made. So...I'm not:)
Levina SnowPetal awoke with a start, hitting her head on her desk lamp. From somewhere downstairs, there had been a loud THUNK!
Athena, her spectacled owl, hooted irritably and flapped her wings rapidly.
Levina sat upright; she'd fallen asleep at her desk reading Werewolves: The Legend for the fourth time. Sirius Black had sent it by mail.
She examined herself hastily in the mirror on the wall to find that she'd smeared ink across her cheek.
Levina had changed quite a bit since the previous year; her dark brown hair had gotten longer, she'd grown at least an inch or two, and her figure had changed slightly. She was glad to see, however, that her canine teeth hadn't gotten any longer since the incident with Professor Lupin.
"Can you shut that thing up?" Anna had appeared in the doorway, glaring at Athena.
"Can you shut that thing up?" Levina retorted, gesturing to Anna's mouth.
"Is the fireplace broken again?" Anna asked, as though she hadn't heard her. "I heard something in the living room..."
Levina checked her watch. "Crap! It's almost six o'clock!"
"Oh, great," muttered Anna. "Does that mean your kind are coming to pick you up?"
Levina glared at her. "Don't you have anything better to do?"
At that moment, there was another loud noise from downstairs.
Anna backed out of her room and disappeared from sight.
"All right, Athena, come on," said Levina, grabbing up her luggage and snapping her suitcase shut. "Where's Lily?"
Lilypad, her sleek black cat, crawled out from under her dark blue bed and stretched.
"Come on, I know you don't like your carrier," said Levina, coaxing Lilypad into her cage, "but I'll let you out when we get there."
Levina wiped her cheek clear of the ink she'd smeared on it and smoothed down her shirt, tying her hair in a hasty ponytail. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear and stared into her own dark brown eyes. The elegant blue necklace was tied around her neck, protecting her from letting her emotions get too high. She had a feeling it wasn't doing much to help, though.
Heading downstairs, Levina hastily glanced at the door. Ron was supposed to be picking her up any minute now for the Quidditch World Cup.
Edmund was kneeling by the fireplace, examining it with a curious look.
"Edmund?" said Levina; ever since she found out they weren't related, she just called him by his first name.
"Damn fireplace," he grunted. "Get me my toolbox, Levina."
But before Levina could move, there was a sudden BANG!
Levina jumped at least a foot in the air and turned to the fireplace to find Mr. Weasley, dressed in green robes.
"Ah, Levina," he greeted casually.
"Uh," said Levina.
"How are you? Sorry I'm late, had an issue at Harry's house-"
BANG.
Anna, who'd crept into the room curiously, shrieked loudly. Ron appeared from out of the dust and coughed several times.
"Hi, Levina!"
"Nice grand entrance," said Levina, grinning. She ran over and hugged him.
"And you must be Levina's guardians," said Mr. Weasley, crossing the room. Obviously Ron had told his family that Levina wasn't related to them.
Edmund, who was covered in black soot in the face, took a step back. Ashby, his wife, had entered the room and was standing behind him, petrified.
"Pleasure," said Mr. Weasley, unfazed by their reaction. He held out his hand, but no one took it.
BANG.
Fred and George emerged from the fireplace, laughing rather loudly about something as they staggered into the room.
"What the hell is all of this?" Edmund demanded angrily, taking another nervous step back with wide eyes.
"Fred, George, I told you to stay behind!" said Mr. Weasley angrily.
"Wanted to greet Levina ourselves," said George.
"Levina!" said Fred, crossing the room and pulling her into a tight embrace.
"Hi, Fred!" said Levina, feeling her cheeks burn; Fred had gotten slightly taller, but his height still matched his twin brother, George.
"It's great to see you!" said Levina, hugging George next.
"Did you grow an inch?" demanded Fred, holding one hand above her head.
"Still shorter than us," added George.
Mr. Weasley appeared to have given up on talking to Edmund and Ashby. "Are you ready to go?" he asked Levina.
"Yeah, let me get my stuff-"
"I've got this," said Fred, picking up her larger suitcase and her cage with Lilypad.
"This one's mine," said George, lifting up her other suitcase and Artemis's cage.
"I can take this," said Levina to Ron as he reached down to pick up her last bag. "It seems like forever, doesn't it?"
"Yeah. Are you excited for the Cup?"
"You know it!" said Levina, grinning.
"Is that Anna?" said Fred; Anna had gotten slightly closer, but she was still hiding half of herself behind the kitchen door.
"Yup," said Levina.
"Don't be too cruel to Levina!" he hollered to her. "I know where you lot live now!"
Anna went pale.
"Stop it, Fred," said Mr. Weasley. "Sorry to barge in like this, we're on a tight schedule."
Edmund and Ashby remained silent, and Ashby backed up again, her bony fingers clutching Edmund's shoulder in terror.
"Well, best be going then...Aren't you going to say goodbye?" he added to Edmund and Ashby.
"That's ok," said Levina.
But Edmund, who's eyes kept fleeting over to Mr. Weasley's wand with fear, muttered quickly, "Bye."
"Meh," said Levina, and she stepped into the fire. "The Burrow!"
The moment the living room was gone, she found herself stepping into the home of the Weasleys. It was incredible, lined with different magic objects. There was even a clock with the Weasleys on it, reading where they were.
"Blimey," she whispered, stumbling into the room and staring around. Before she could put her bag down, someone grabbed her into a hug.
"Levina!" Harry Potter had appeared next to her, his black bangs hanging over his glasses.
"Harry!" Levina hugged him back. "It's been so long!"
"Yeah, it's great to see you! How are you?"
"Brilliant, you-?"
Fred, George, Ron, and Mr. Weasley leapt from the fire one after the other.
"Now then, where were we?" said Mr. Weasley, turning to the twins. "What on earth did you give that poor Muggle boy?"
"It was Ton-Tongue Toffee, but I didn't give it to him," said Fred, grinning evilly. "I accidently dropped it...It was his fault he went and ate it, I never told him to."
"What?" said Levina, pulling away from Harry.
"You dropped it on purpose!" roared Mr. Weasley. "You knew he'd eat it, you knew he was on a diet-"
"Who?" said Levina.
"My cousin," said Harry, who was also grinning. Levina broke into a fit of laughter.
"How big did it get?" said George eagerly.
"It was four feet before his parents would let me shrink it!"
Levina, Harry, and the Weasleys roared with laughter.
"It isn't funny!"
As they argued, Levina put down her bag and let Lilypad out of her cage, placing her on the rug.
"You wait until I tell your mother-"
"Tell me what?"
Mrs. Weasley had just entered the kitchen.
"Oh, hello, Harry, dear, Levina," she said, spotting them and smiling. Then her eyes snapped back to her husband. "Tell me what, Arthur?"
Mr. Weasley hesitated.
"It's nothing, Molly," he mumbled. "Fred and George just-but I've had words with them-"
"What have you done this time? If it's got anything to do with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes-"
"Why don't you show Harry and Levina where they're sleeping, Ron?" said a voice from the doorway. Hermione Granger was standing there, smiling.
"They know where they're sleeping-"
"We can all go," said Hermione pointedly.
"Oh," said Ron, catching on. "Right."
"Yeah, we'll come too-" said George.
"This way, Levina-" said Fred.
"You stay where you are!" snarled Mrs. Weasley.
"Hi, Hermione," said Levina happily, hugging her as well. "It's great to see you!"
"Same here!" said Hermione, smiling brightly. "Did you do something different with your hair?"
"Yeah," said Levina. "I decided instead of just hacking it off all the time, I'd give layers a try."
As they climbed the rickety, zigzagged staircase, Harry asked, "What are Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?"
Ron and Ginny, who'd appeared next to Levina, laughed.
"Mum found this stack of order forms when she was cleaning," said Ron quietly. "Great long price lists for stuff they've invented. Joke stuff, you know. Fake wands and trick sweets, loads of stuff. It was brilliant, I never knew they'd been inventing all that..."
"We've been hearing explosions out of their room for ages," said Ginny, "but we never really thought they were actually making things."
"Only most of the stuff-all of it, really-is dangerous. Mum burned all their order forms."
"Aw, that's a shame- I would have bought a few things," said Levina cheerfully.
Just then a door on the second landing opened, and a face poked out wearing horn-rimmed glasses and a very annoyed expression.
"Hi, Percy," said Harry and Levina.
"Oh, hello, Harry, Levina," said Percy. "I was wondering who was making all the noise. I'm trying to work in here, y'know-it's rather difficult to concentrate with people thundering up the stairs."
"We're not thundering," said Ron, "we're walking. Sorry if we've disturbed the top-secret workings of the Ministry of Magic."
"What are you working on?" said Harry.
"Cauldron leaks," Ron clarified as Percy made a very complicated wording of his project. "Front page of the Daily Prophet, i expect."
Percy's face flushed pink.
"You might sneer, Ron, but unless some sort of international law is imposed we might well find the market flooded with flimsy, shallow-bottomed products that seriously endanger-"
"Yeah, yeah, all right," said Ron, continuing up the stairs. Percy slammed his bedroom door shut.
"He's a cauldron bottom," said Levina, and they all went into hysterics again.
Inside Ron's room, Levina glanced around at the posters and examined his fish tank with a rather large frog in it. Scabbers was here no more, but the grey owl from Sirius Black remained.
"Where's Crookshanks?"
"Out in the garden, I expect," said Hermione. "He likes gnomes. He's never seen them before."
"I bet Lilypad would like that," said Levina, placing Athena's cage on the floor.
"Did you get your birthday presents?" said Hermione nervously to Levina.
"Yeah, I've re-read The Werewolf within at least fifty times!"
They had decided the best time for Levina's birthday was when they weren't at Hogwarts. Levina had receivedseveral new books on werewolves and a new quill from Hermione, assorted jokes and candies from Fred and George, a t-shirt with a black cat on it and blue slippers from Ron, and a broom-cleaning set and book on Beaters from Harry. She'd also gotten food from them and Mrs. Weasley, consisting of cakes and her favorite dishes. Hagrid had sent her rock cakes, but she'd decided against them after nearly cracking a tooth.
"Percy's enjoying work, then?" said Harry from behind Levina.
"Enjoying it?" said Ron darkly. "I don't reckon he'd come home if Dad didn't make him. He's obsessed. Shut up, Pig!"
"Pig?" said Levina. She realized he was talking to the tiny owl in the corner, which was hooting wildly. It was the same on Sirius Black had sent him.
"Er-why are you calling that owl Pig?" said Harry.
"Because he's being stupid," said Ginny. "His proper name is Pigwidgeon."
"Yeah, and that's not a stupid name at all," said Ron sarcastically. "Ginny named him," he explained to Harry and Levina. "She reckons its sweet. And I tried to change it, but it was too late, he won't answer to anything else now."
"How was your summer, Ginny?" said Levina, dropping onto Ron's bed.
"You mean besides all the commotion between Mum and Fred and George? Pretty good."
"Hey, Levina, do you mind staying in here with us?" said Ron. "There's not enough room with Ginny, but you can sleep on the floor with Fred, George, and Harry..."
"Of course," said Levina. "As many times as the teachers at Hogwarts have called me a 'boy', I don't see a problem in staying with you lot."
"I think they've stopped arguing," said Hermione. "Shall we go down and help your mum with dinner?"
"Yeah, all right," said Ron.
They headed back downstairs to find Mrs. Weasley alone in the kitchen, looking extremely bad-tempered.
"We're eating out in the garden," she said when they came in. "There's just not room for twelve people in here. Could you take the plates outside, girls? Bill and Charlie are setting up the tables."
Levina lifted up a stack of plates and carried them out beside Hermione and Ginny. Outside, Crookshanks was pelting after what loked like a muddy potato on legs, which was apparently a gnome.
Lilypad bolted past Levina's feet, nearly knocking her over and sending the plates flying as she tore after a second gnome.
"Lily!" said Levina angrily, stumbling slightly.
When they reached the other side of the house, they found Bill and Charlie levitating two battered old tables and high above them on the lawn, smashing them into each other and attempting to knock each other's table over.
"Honestly!" said Hermione, rolling her eyes.
"Who are you rooting for?" Levina asked Ginny.
"Charlie, he helped me with some of my housework."
"Oy, Levina, go for Bill!" called Fred, who was standing beside George and cheering.
"I'm staying neutral!" she hollered back.
Harry and Ron appeared around the corner and looked up at the battling tables for a moment before bursting into laughter.
Bill's table caught Charlie's with a huge bang and knocked one of its legs off. There was a clatter from overhead, and they all looked up to see Percy's head poking out of a window on the second floor.
"Will you keep it down!" he bellowed.
"Sorry, Perce," said Bill, grinning. "How're the cauldron bottoms coming on?"
"Very badly," said Percy peevishly, and he slammed the window shut. Chuckling, Bill and Charlie directed the tables safely onto the grass, end to end, and Bill reattatched the table leg.
"Have we met?" said Charlie suddenly, coming up to Levina with Bill following behind him.
"No," said Levina, holding out her hand. "I'm Levina."
"Charlie," he answered. "Pleasure."
"I'm Bill," said Bill, coming over and shaking her hand as well. "I'd say I won that round, Charlie."
By seven o'clock, the two tables were groaning under the dishes and dishes of Mrs. Weasley's excellent cooking, and the nine Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, and Levinawere settling themselves down to eat beneath a clear, deep-blue sky.
To someone who had been living off of stale cakes from Ron and Hermione, this was paradise, and Levina stuffed herself with as much chicken and ham pie, boiled potatoes, and salad as she could reach.
"What are the Quidditch Cups like?" asked Levina through a gulp of water.
"Brilliant," said Fred. "Everyone gets so into them."
"We've got really good seats, too," added George.
"How've things been with the Muggles?" said Fred as he shoveled potatoes into his mouth.
"Terrible," said Levina. "I've been wearing my necklace all summer, but I swear I've broken more things around the kitchen than possible..."
Levina didn't mind sharing things openly with the Weasley's about her 'condition'; she'd let Fred and George tell the rest of their family.
"What, you just started shooting at things?" said George.
Levina frowned. "No," she answered. "When I got upset, things just kind of blew up on their own. One cup almost hit Anna flying off the wall."
"Thath bodd," said Ron through a mouthful of chicken.
"Can you repeat that?" said Levina.
Ron swallowed. "I said, that's odd."
"How?"
"Yeah," said Harry, "I once blew up a champagne glass my aunt was holding, remember?"
"Well, someone would normally have to really tick you off-" said Ron.
"I know I have anger issues," Levina muttered, taking another sip of water. "I believe we already established that."
Ron laughed. "That's not what I meant."
"And the Ministry didn't catch you?" demanded Hermione, who's eyebrows had raised.
"Why should they?" said Levina.
"Because you're not allowed to do magic outside of school!"
"It's not like I'm really doing it on purpose," said Levina.
At the end of dinner, they all had homemade strawberry icecream and sat watching Crookshanks and Lilypad chase gnomes about the garden.
"Give me a list of your supplies, will you, Levina?" said Mrs. Weasley. "I'll get your stuff at Diagon Alley. You too, Harry, dear."
Levina went up to Ron's room that night and curled up on a sleeping bag on the floor next to Harry. Fred dropped down next to her, yawning, and George found a spot next to Harry.
"Hey, Levina," Fred whispered as the lights went out, "If you want, I can bring some coconut ice to the game tomorrow."
Levina's eyes brightened. "How'd you know that was my favorite candy?'
"I'm psychic," said Fred.
"Are you sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I bought it every time we went to Hogsmeade last year?"
"'Course not."
Levina felt as though she'd just lain down before she awoke with a start that morning. It was still dark out, but Levina could hear Mrs. Weasley moving around in the kitchen downstairs. She groaned at the thought of getting up off her nice, warm sleeping bag.
Come to think of it, she was actually really warm, and comfortable, for sleeping on a hard floor. She wanted to go back to sleep, to return to her dreams-
Suddenly, as she shifted to pull the covers up higher, she realized why she was so warm: someone was lying directly against her.
Fred had rolled onto her sleeping bag in the night and was now curled up close to her, his arm lazily draped over her shoulder.
"Fred?" she whispered. Hoping to play it off as no big deal, she added, "Fred, go back to your own side, you big lummox."
But Fred was sound asleep.
Levina could feel her face burning red up to her ears. Unable to move without waking him up, she felt wide awake now, and didn't mind if Mrs. Weasley came in.
The door opened right on cue. "Up and at 'em!" Mrs. Weasley announced.
Ok, scratch that, Levina thought. Let me sleep.
"Time to go, Harry, dear," she whispered, giving Harry a shake on the shoulder. She then did the same to Ron and then turned to Levina.
"Oh, for heavens sake, Fred!" she gave Fred a shove and he jolted awake. "You're smothering Levina!"
Groggily, Fred stirred and yawned. "Wha'? 'S time already?"
He got up and the warmth left, leaving Levina shivering. She hastily stood up to get dressed.
"Thanks for suffocating me," she grumbled.
"Do what?" he asked sleepily; apparently he hadn't noticed he'd moved during the night.
"Did you not see that you practically rolled onto me, you doofus?" said Levina playfully.
"I did?" Fred looked confused. "Sorry, then."
"That's all right," said Levina, and she went into the bathroom to get dressed. Pulling on a tank top and a ratty pair of jeans, she tied her hair in a quick but decent ponytail and topped it with a baseball cap.
When they headed down to the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley was stirring the contents of a large pot on the stove. Mr. Weasley was sitting at the table, checking a sheaf of large parchment tickets. He looked up as they entered and spread his arms so they could see his clothes clearly. He was wearing a golfing sweater and a very old pair of jeans, held up by a belt.
"What d'you think?" he said anxiously. "We're supposed to go incognito-d'you think I look like a Muggle, Harry? Levina?"
"Yeah," said Harry, smiling, "very good."
"You'll fit right in," added Levina, grinning as she took a seat next to Harry.
"Where're Bill and Charlie and Per-Per-Percy?" said George, failing to stifle a yawn.
"Well, they're Apparating, aren't they?" said Mrs. Weasley, heaving the pot onto the table and ladling porridge into their bowls. "So they can have a bit of a lie-in."
"So they're still in bed?" said Fred grumpily, pulling his bowl of porridge toward him. "Why can't we Apparate too?"
"Because you're not of age and you haven't passed your test," snapped Mrs. Weasley. "And where have those girls got to? Levina, will you help me get them up?"
"Sure," said Levina. They climbed up the stairs and into Ginny's bedroom, which was indeed pretty cramped with stuff, and Levina gave Hermione a shake on the shoulder.
"Morning?" said Hermione with a wide yawn. Her hair was messed up and she had rings under her eyes.
"I need more sleep!" protested Ginny, pulling her pillow over her head.
"Yeah? Well, at least you weren't smooshed by your brother!"
"Who?" said Ginny. "Fred, or George? They're both pretty active sleepers."
"Fred."
"Not surprising," said Ginny, attempting to pull the covers up as Mrs. Weasley tugged them away.
"Really now!" said Mrs. Weasley. "Your breakfast will get cold, girls. Come on, get up!"
The two of them groaned, sat up, and went to go change. Levina sat down on the bed, where a loud hiss erupted. She jumped, startled, to find Lilypad lying there, looking irritated.
"Did you sleep in here?" said Levina, scooping up the sleek black cat. "Traitor, you always sleep with me!"
Lilypad merely hissed again and licked her paw.
Once Hermione and Ginny were dressed, they headed back downstairs and into the kitchen.
"Why do we have to be up so early?" said Ginny drowsily.
"We've got a bit of a walk," said Mr. Weasley.
"Walk?" said Harry as Levina sat back down beside him. "What, are we walking to the World Cup?"
"No, no, that's miles away," said Mr. Weasley, smiling. "We only need to walk a short way. It's just that it's very difficult for a large number of wizards to congregate without attracting Muggle attention. We have to be very careful about how we travel at the best of times, and on a huge occasion like the Quidditch World Cup—"
"George!" said Mrs. Weasley sharply, and they all jumped.
"What?" said George, in an innocent tone that deceived nobody.
"What is that in your pocket?"
"Nothing!"
"Don't lie to me!"
Mrs. Weasley pointed her wand at George's pocket and said, "Accio!"
Several small, brightly colored objects zoomed out of George's pocket; he made a grab for them but missed, and they sped right into Mrs. Weasley's outstretched hand.
"We told you to destroy them!" said Mrs. Weasley furiously. "We told you to get rid of the lot! Empty your pockets, go on, both of you!"
Levina frowned at them sympathetically as Mrs. Weasley used a Summoning charm to collect all of them from the twins.
"We spent six months developing those!" Fred shouted at his mother as she threw the toffees away.
"Oh, a fine way to spend six months!" she shrieked. "No wonder you didn't get more OWLs!"
All in all, the atmosphere was not very friendly as they left the house. As they left, Fred and George were very quiet and didn't say a word to their mother.
Levina headed out into the dark yard, wishing she'd gotten more sleep, and followed next to Hermione and Ron. It was chilly and the moon was still out; Levina was thankful to have brought a jacket over her tank top.
"It's nice out," she commented; Ron replied with merely a grunt.
Harry, who was the only other one wide awake, had gone up to the front to talk to Mr. Weasley, who was chatting with him enthusiastically, saying something about a 'Portkey.'
"What's a 'Portkey', Ron?" Levina asked.
"It's how we get to the game," said Ron sleepily, "without making Muggles suspicious."
"Oh, cool," said Levina. She shrugged her jacket on closer and continued walking, staring up at the moon, which made her think of Lupin. She wondered what he was doing now, seeing as he was no longer their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Maybe she'd send him a letter at school.
They trudged down the dark, dank lane toward the village, the silence broken only by their footsteps. The sky lightened very slowly as they made their way through the village, its inky blackness diluting to deepest blue. Levina's hands and feet were freezing and Mr. Weasley kept checking his watch.
No one had the breath to talk as they headed up Stoatshead Hill, stumbling occasionally in hidden rabbit holes. Each breath Levina took in was sharp and painful and a stitch was forming in her side.
"Whew," panted Mr. Weasley, taking off his glasses and wiping them on his sweater. "Well, we've made good time—we've got ten minutes…."
Levina helped up Hermione, who was panting and clutching her side.
"Now we just need the Portkey," said Mr. Weasley, replacing his glasses. "It won't be big….Come on…."
They spread out, searching. Levina wasn't exactly sure of what she was looking for, so it made things very difficult.
"Over here, Arthur!" Over here, son, we've got it!" A voice came from nearby.
Two tall figures were silhouetted against the starry sky on the other side of the hilltop.
"Amos!" said Mr. Weasley, smiling as he strode over to the man who had shouted. The rest of them followed.
Mr. Weasley was shaking hands with a ruddy-faced wizard with a scrubby brown beard, who was holding a moldy-looking old boot in his other hand.
"This is Amos Diggory, everyone," said Mr. Weasley. "He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric?"
"Hi," said Cedric Diggory.
Everybody said hi back except for Fred and George, who merely nodded. They had never quite forgiven Cedric for beating their team, Gryffindor, in their first Quidditch match of the previous year.
"Long walk, Arthur?" Cedric's father asked.
"Not too bad," said Mr. Weasley. "We just live on the other side of the village there. You?"
"Had to get up at two, didn't we, Ced? I tell you, I'll be glad when he's got his Apparation test. Still…not complaining…Quidditch World Cup, wouldn't miss it for a sack full of Galleons—and the tickets cost about that. Mind you, looks like I got off easy….All these yours, Arthur?" he asked, peering god-naturedly around at all of them.
"Oh no, only the redheads," said Mr. Weasley, pointing out his children. "This is Hermione, friend of Ron's—and Harry and Levina, more friends—"
"Merlin's beard," said Amos Diggory, his eyes widening. "Harry? Harry Potter? And…is that Levina Snowpetal?"
"Er—yeah," said Harry.
"Yup," said Levina.
"Ced's talked about you, of course. Told us all about playing against you last year….I said to him, I said—Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will….You beat Harry Potter!"
Levina's eyes narrowed and Fred and George scowled again.
"Harry fell off his broom, Dad," he muttered. "I told you…it was an accident…."
"Yes, but you didn't fall off, did you? Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman…but the best man won, I'm sure Harry'd say the same, wouldn't you, eh? One falls of his broom, one stays on, you don't need to be a genius to tell which one's the better flier!"
"There were dementors!" Levina snarled, cutting him off. "Don't you think Cedric would have fallen to, had a dementor tried to suck out his soul-?"
"Ah, Levina, yes?" said Amos, unfazed by her outburst. "A Beater, right? On Gryffindor? That's my Ced, that is, beating both Harry Potter and Levina Snowpetal in the same game!"
Levina could feel a growl forming in her throat, and Cedric looked very embarrassed.
"Must be nearly time," said Mr. Weasley quickly, pulling out his watch again. "Do you know whether we're waiting for any more, Amos?"
"No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already and the Fawcetts couldn't get tickets," said Mr. Diggory. "There aren't any more of us in this area, are there?"
"Not that I know of," said Mr. Weasley. "Yes, it's a minute off….We'd better get ready…."
He looked at Harry, Hermione, and Levina.
"You just need to touch the Portkey, that's all, a finger will do—"
The ten of them crowded around the old boot with difficulty.
"Three…two…one," muttered Mr. Weasley, one eye still on his watch.
Levina felt a sudden incredible jerk forward and her feet left the ground. Levina's index finger seemed stuck to the boot, as though it were magnetically pulling her onward and then—
Levina's feet slammed into the ground and she dropped like a rock. The adults and Cedric were still standing, looking windswept, but everyone else had fallen.
"Seven past five from Stoatshead Hill," said a voice.
So, how was the first chapter? Sorry if it was a bit short.
Things to come: The Quidditch World Cup, of course, Veela, and more.
Yet again, thanks to all who reviewed my previous story!