Chapter 2

The Quidditch World Cup 2018

Sea spray rose along the sides of the boat and sprinkled Albus's face with cool, sparkling drops as he leant over the side of the boat and stared at the slowly shrinking outcrop of volcanic rock. He couldn't believe how lucky he was. He had just seen an amazing, dramatic semi-final of the Quidditch World Cup in which Ireland had beaten France by the width of a hair and in two days time he would be attending the final match between Japan and Ireland!

This was all thanks to his close friend Philip Pai and his generous family who had invited Albus and his cousin Rose to attend the World Cup with them as Philip's mom, Áine, was Keeper for the Irish team. Albus had been able to watch every single Irish match and even watch some of their practice sessions. It was definitely the opportunity of a lifetime!

Albus loved Quidditch. Both his parents were Quidditch enthusiasts and he had been flying around on a broomstick for as long as he could remember. This evening the rest of his family including some of his cousins would be joining them in the Philippines for the final.

At the moment he was staying with Philip's family and their Filipino relations on an island not far from the Quidditch World Cup arena. They had traveled by airplane, a first for Albus and Rose, to the Philippines and then by ferry to the island where Philip's Dad had been born and where they were now staying with Philip's grandparents. This was a little confusing because it turned out Philip's grandmother didn't speak any English and Albus couldn't understand what anyone was saying.

Even still, their trip so far had been a great one. The island they were staying on was beautiful and tiny, you could walk along tracks through the jungle-like trees for miles without seeing a single sign of human habitation or the modern world. Albus thought it was like a land lost in time. Along the coast tiny towns and villages dotted the shoreline filled with fishermen fixing their nets in their small boats and small children playing in the sand. The people of the island, were very generous and welcoming to visitors such as himself and his cousin, Rose. The children delighted in Rose's red hair and Albus's bright, green eyes. The people were also very traditional. There were hardly any cars on the island and they were not needed. The whole island was so small you could walk from one end to another and back again all in one day as had been proven by Philip, Albus and Rose who all loved roaming the island, Philip in search of wildlife, Rose snapping photography and Albus just enjoying the majestic lost world.

Philip's grandfather, like Philip had a way with animals. They would discover injured or sick wild animals, nurse them back to health and then release them back into the wild. Philip had already pointed out all kinds of rare birds and small animals on their walks. The family's home was always full of recovering animals and chirping birds on the windows or rafters. Rose and Albus loved every second of staying there.

In addition to this there was the World Cup itself. Philip who usually spent his summer traveling between his parents house in Dublin, one set of grandparents in Diagon Alley, London, and the other set of grandparents here. So naturally when it was declared that the Quidditch Cup was to be held in the Philippines this year it was perfect. His father could visit his family while his mother could compete in the Cup. Philip's mom had been an international player for many years and had already won the World Cup once but she had divulged to them in secret that this would be her last year. She had already secured herself a position working as a radio Quidditch commentator.

Obviously organizing a Quidditch World Cup was very difficult, as it had to be kept a secret from the Muggles, so the stadium had been located just off a tiny, uninhabited island blocked from the view of the nearest Muggle island by a large rocky outcrop. The stadium itself was incredible. The first time Albus had seen it, it had literally taken his breath away. Thousands of rows of raised seating surrounding a glorious pitch with giant golden hoops on either end and beneath the flying players, the deep blue of the sea. The uninhabited island nearby it was where the players and spectators were being housed. Everyone brought their own tents and camped on the beaches but Albus, Rose and Philip's family traveled to and from the stadium on a small boat for each match.

The journey itself had been another adventure entirely, one which Albus had found himself quite unprepared for. On the day they were leaving, Albus was staying at the Burrow with his grandparents and cousins when Rose had ambushed him and started lecturing him on precautions for the journey, it had all started when she had found a magazine article on 'how to fit in with Muggles'. Apparently, Albus, who had lived his whole life on a street full of Muggles, had got it all wrong. Immediately Rose had started correcting the way he acted, the way he talked, the way he dressed. It was infuriating! In the end however, Rose had been right - as she usually was.

They met the Pai family; Philip, his parents and his older brother Rangi in London where they had also been joined by Rangi's friend, Oswin. From there they had traveled to Heathrow airport. Albus had seen planes in the sky numerous times but nothing, nothing, could have prepared him for how big they were. He wasn't quite sure what he had been expecting but this wasn't it. And the people! Running all around. The noise, the movement, the sheer size of everything - Albus had wandered around with his mouth hanging open and his eyes ogling at the strange, busy Muggles drinking coffee and giant flying airships with Rose nudging him painfully in the ribcage with her elbow every couple of steps.

Albus was quite relieved to have made it to the plane without getting lost. Then there was the plane itself. Albus had been quite nervous at first; he had no idea how the Muggles managed to keep those enormous tin cans up in the air without magic.

However once they had taken off he didn't really care anymore. It was amazing. Albus had a window seat and could see everything! It wasn't as fun as flying on a broomstick but it was still pretty cool. Albus kept looking out over the land and sea, sometimes all they could se was the clouds. Another time, Albus found the airplane above the clouds and the sun alarmingly close. Pouring through the tiny window and lighting up the plane. Philip found his enthusiasm quite entertaining as he had traveled in airplanes his whole life with his Muggle father.

Albus liked Philip's parents. Most of all he liked them for bringing him on this trip. Albus thought Philip's dad looked a lot like Rangi only quieter and less tough-looking and Philip looked more like his mom with her wavy hair. Albus soon found out that despite his looks Mr Pai was nothing like his eldest son who was hyper and energetic, Mr Pai was a man of few words but Albus could tell he was kind and generous too. Philip's mother was as wild and cheerful as her sons with the same enthusiasm, if not even more, for sports.

The journey had been long and tiring and Rose had kept falling asleep on Albus's shoulder until it was numb. Albus had tried not to sleep at all, not wishing to miss anything on the journey. Rose had warned him constantly not to bring any wizarding books or games on the plane and he had very little to do. However Rangi had come up with the genius plan of inserting a magazine on the Quidditch World Cup inside the cover of an old copy of 'The Beano', which Philip and himself had pored over like it was their newfound bible for many hours. All the time, excitement for the Cup building in Albus's stomach.

Now Albus was here. It was as amazing as he had dreamed it would be. Staying with the Pais was a blast and the matches were jaw dropping and awe-inspiring. Albus barely slept but stayed up for hours going over every fine detail of the match with Philip.

Rangi was hilarious too. He was always looking for ways to play pranks on the locals and get around the strict 'no magical items' rule. The night before he had presented some 'Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Beans' to his younger cousins informing them that it was a delicacy from home and earlier that week he had tried to set up a portable swamp from Albus's uncle's shop, 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' before his mother had caught him and confiscated his supplies.

Throughout the week more and more wizards and witches had arrived on the nearby island though Albus saw no one he recognized. Himself, Philip and Rose were some of the only kids they knew in the school who were able to attend. Albus couldn't wait to tell the other boys in his dorm about it.

The first match Albus had attended had been an especially close call. It was Ireland against Transylvania and it had lasted almost seven hours. It was the longest match Albus had ever witnessed and had contained more fouls than Albus knew the names of. The Pai family and their guests had great seats in a large box with all the other families and friends of the Irish players. Albus and Philip were sitting beside a young girl who Philip introduced to Albus as Sora Wood.

Sora was ten and was starting Hogwarts in September. She was outgoing and high spirited though slightly irritating and a bit too competitive. As soon as she had been introduced to Albus her fingerless gloved hand grasped his and she shook it hard and started yapping away about the Quidditch matches she had seen and the players she had met. Sora's mother was also on the Irish team and was a very close friend of Áine's. She also knew all about Albus's mother Ginny and her time playing for the Holyhead Harpies and told him that her dad had played with his dad in school.

He soon got used to her dynamic nature and found her endless knowledge of Quidditch facts very interesting. Rangi also kept up a detailed commentary throughout the match which was both more informative and less annoying than Sora's though just as loud and dynamic. After a couple of hours, Albus found his head buzzing and throbbing as the two continued to prattle on often exchanging opinions and arguing.

Luckily, they hadn't been sitting beside Sora for the other matches though they had seen her a few times between matches and had talked to her about Hogwarts and Quidditch and the stadium. Rangi was still as excitable as ever but had toned down the commentary during the matches, restricting himself to just pointing out interesting facts on the players, the teams and the strategies. He was also constantly making notes in a small copybook on what he could use in his own matches and training once school started up again in September. He had already developed some complex new strategies to teach the Gryffindor team. Albus just hoped he would be learning them too as he hoped to try out for the house team this year.

Finally, the small boat they were packed into reached the main island and Albus hurried off towards the Pai family's home where dinner would be cooking. Before it came into the small party's sights however they were greeted with a fabulous surprise. Albus's large family was grouped nearby and as they spotted Rose and Albus they started waving enthusiastically.

Albus and his cousin ran over,

"Hi mom, hi dad! I didn't think you were arriving for another few hours." Called Albus as he reached them.

"We weren't meant to be but there was a change in Portkey times."Albus's dad told him giving him a quick hug, "We decided to come on over after we set up camp and see if you lot were around."

Everyone was there; his parents, Harry and Ginny, his little sister, Lily, his older brother, James, his second cousin, Willard, his uncles, Ron and George and four of his cousins, Molly, Fred, Hugo and Lorcan. Albus beamed, he couldn't wait to tell his dad about all the matches so far but first,

"Hey dad, you'll never guess who I met." Albus grinned, Harry looked at him curiously, "Your old Quidditch captain's daughter, Sora Wood. They're staying on the island where you're camping."

"Really?" Exclaimed Harry, "Oliver Wood's here! I haven't seen him for years! Ginny, we must go and see him."

Albus and Rose were happily catching up with everyone but soon they had to leave and get something to eat. After dinner, Albus, Philip, Rose, Rangi and Oswin returned to the nearby island where all the wizards were camping for the World Cup. It was becoming more and more crowded every day as spectators arrived from all around the world for the final.

Rangi was able to point out different supporters by their team colours and even introduced himself to a few foreign students from Mahoutokoro, a Japanese wizarding school who had very good English and were delighted to exchange thoughts on the Cup until they found out that he would be supporting Ireland in the final.

A huge number of Irish supporters had taken over one side of the island and had great green tents covered in flags and shamrocks. Soon they found the Potters' and Weasleys' tents and they spent the evening playing 'Exploding Snap' and other games in the comfortable tents while the adults went to visit Oliver Wood and other old friends.

Everyone was in good form and even Will was less disagreeable now that he was excited for the Quidditch match. He had also become an instant fan of Rangi and his stories, which kept them entertained for hours. Molly who was the eldest and technically in charge even let them eat the ice cream in the little fridge. They all spent the night on the island and, as there was not enough room in the tents for all of them, they grabbed sleeping bags and slept on the sand, under the stars.

Hope you liked this chapter! Reviews very welcome!