Chapter 2 - The Portkey
It was morning. Early morning, to be precise. The sun wasn't even rising yet, but that didn't change the fact that they had to get up.
Mrs. Weasley was currently trying to wake Hermione Granger and her daughter, Ginny Weasley, up. Hermione was staying with the Weasleys for most of the summer because of the Quidditch World Cup that was being held in England this summer. Tickets were really rare and Mr. Weasley had been lucky to get some.
Hermione's parents were happy for her and let her join the Weasleys, even if that meant that they couldn't see her until the next year's summer vacation. Hermione was happy, too. She loved the Weasleys. They didn't have a lot of money, but that didn't change the family's happy mood. They always had a way to deal with things and when there were problems or difficult times, they would stick together. Hermione admired that. When she was with them, she felt at home.
The thought scared her.
After she got her letter from Hogwarts when she was eleven years old and was told she was a witch, she and her parents had in some way been torn apart. They didn't understand the world she was part of. They didn't know of You-Know-Who, either. They didn't know anything about her that included magic.
She wasn't like her parents. Her parents were Muggles, and she wasn't. She was a witch.
When she first got to Hogwarts, she hadn't ever felt so much at home before. She was scared, yes, but she had felt comfortable and even more so when she became friends with Harry and Ron at Halloween.
Hermione was scared that one day her parents wouldn't know anything about her, even the parts of her that didn't have to do magic. That was what most scared her, and it was already beginning.
She knew, and they knew it too.
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Hermione's hair hadn't changed at all. It was still bushy as always and right now it irritated her more than it ever had. They – Mr. Weasley, the twins, Ron, Ginny, Harry and herself - were walking towards Stoatshead Hill where a portkey was located that would sent them all to the Quidditch World Cup.
There was a cold wind and it constantly blew Hermione's hair into her face. It also didn't make it better that she was freezing all over her body, her heart was aching, and she was almost breathless on the way up the hill.
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Finally! Was the first thought running through Hermione's head when they had reached their goal.
"Over here, Arthur. We found it."
It was Amos Diggory who spoke. He was working for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in the Ministry of Magic. He was holding the Portkey, or rather an old boot, which would send them to the Quidditch World Cup.
Beside Mr. Diggory stood a tall, young man the same age as the twins. They all recognized him from school. Cedric Diggory. Captain and seeker for Hufflepuff. The boy who'd beaten Harry Potter in last year's first Quidditch match, because Harry had fallen off his broom. Of course Cedric had wanted to have a rematch when he realized what had happened. But he had won fairly, even the twins had to admit that. But that didn't mean they were happy about it, and when Cedric greeted them all, the twins only nodded.
Cedric Diggory was a good looking guy. Everyone knew that and many girls were drooling over him. But Hermione Granger was not. She didn't go after good-looking guys. She was more interested in the inside of a person. Hermione didn't really know Cedric Diggory. She had never talked to him, and the only thing she knew about him was that he was good at Quidditch. But that didn't say much, now, did it?
"Three..." Hermione heard Mr. Weasley count. "Two… one…"
At the same moment she heard the word one, her foot lifted from the ground. She didn't like the feeling and closed her eyes, but that didn't help in the slightest, so she opened them again. There were tons of whirling colors. She wanted to let go of the boot, only to find out that she couldn't.
Just when she wished it would all end, her wish came true. She landed on her feet, but it was so hard to remain standing that she trembled and landed on her back. She looked around to find Harry, Ron and the twins just like her.
She looked up at Cedric, who gave her a smile that turned into a grin. Her eyes narrowed at him and she got up to her feet, ignoring his helping hand.
She saw him shrug his shoulders and turn towards Harry to lend him a hand, just like he had done with Hermione.
Harry took the offered hand.
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He had been watching her when the family came. He had heard about her before. The rumors were mostly about her being a bookworm, and names like that. He knew she was one of Harry Potter's good friends. He hadn't really seen her so close before and she had taken him by surprise. She wasn't one of the prettiest girls he had seen, not that he thought she was after all the things he heard about her, but she wasn't as ugly as everyone said she was.
He knew that she was two years younger than him because Harry was, and knew that she had helped Harry in some of the dangers Harry had gone through. The first time he had heard about her was in his third year, her first year, when she had helped Harry get whatever stone it was. He didn't know that much about it, but he knew that the ex-professor Quirrell was involved, and the same with You-Know-Who. If he remembered right, the professor had been possessed by him.
The other time he heard of her was his fourth year when she was one of the students who was lying in the Hospital Wing, not moving a muscle, still as stone. The coming years, he had heard little about her except for rumors which said that you would always find Granger in the library, and that she was one of the smartest students in her year.
He had heard some of the Slytherins speak about her and her friends. They called her "Mudblood", though, instead of her real name. By that he knew she was a Muggleborn, not that he minded. He wasn't like the Malfoys, and neither was his family.
But he had wanted to see her up close and now he did. He didn't really know what he expected, but there she finally was. His thoughts were interrupted when they all gathered by the old boot and touched it. Seconds later they were on their way to the Quidditch World Cup.
He saw her lying on the ground and went over to her to lend her his hand. To his surprise and amusement, she didn't take it. He then saw Harry also lying on the ground and offered him a hand. He did take it.
Author's note: the chapter have been edited... hope u liked it better now.. please review... thanks!
