Chapter 3 Arriving at the Quidditch World Cup
"Time to go Violet, dear," Mrs. Weasley said waking Violet up. Violet groaned and sat up as Mrs. Weasley moved to wake Hermione and Ginny up. Violet got dressed quickly and left with her bag before the other two were up.
"Do I look like a Muggle, Harry?" Mr. Weasley was asking Harry as Violet came in and sat down between the twins.
"Yeah. Very good." Harry replied.
"Where're Bill and Charlie and Per-Per-Percy?" asked George failing to stifle a huge yawn.
Violet chuckled. "Someone's tired," she teased him, grinning as George made a face at her.
"Well they're Apparating aren't they?" said Mrs. Weasley as she started to serve everybody porridge. "So they can have a bit of a lie in."
"So they're still in bed?" Fred said grumpily as he grabbed his bowl. "Why can't we Apparate too?"
"Because you're not of age and you haven't passed your test," Mrs. Weasley snapped. "Now where have those girls got to?"
"I'm right here," Violet muttered so only the twins could hear, tuning out what Mr. Weasley was saying about Apparition.
"George!" Mrs. Weasley called sharply making Violet jump as she hadn't been expecting that.
"What?" George asked innocently which no one believed and had Violet thinking not for the first time that she really should teach him and Fred how to be a bit more convincing when playing innocent.
"What's that in your pocket?"
"Nothing!"
"Don't you lie to me!" She pointed her wand at George's pocket saying, "Accio!" Violet groaned slightly as Ton-Tongue Toffees flew out of his pocket and into Mrs. Weasley's hand. Violet laid her head on the table as Mrs. Weasley yelled at the twins.
When they finally left dawn wasn't even starting to break yet. The twins left without a word to their mother and after saying her own goodbye to Mrs. Weasley, Violet jogged to catch up to them. After a few minutes Violet heard Ron calling up to Mr. Weasley, "Hey Dad! Where are we going?"
"Stoatshead Hill. Keep up!" Mr. Weasley called back
Soon they saw someone standing near a tree who called out to Mr. Weasley, "Arthur. It's about time son."
"Sorry, Amos. Some of us had a bit of a sleepy start." Violet chuckled as Ron yawned yet again. "This is Amos Diggory everyone. He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures." Cedric dropped down from the tree to land beside his father. "And this strapping young man must be Cedric, am I right?"
"Yes sir," Cedric said shaking Mr. Weasley's hand.
"I believe you all know each other?" Mr. Weasley asked the children.
"Hi," Cedric said with everyone responding the same except the twins who only nodded. Violet figured they were still upset over the Quidditch match they'd lost to Cedric last year. Mr. Weasley and Mr. Diggory talked about the price of the tickets.
"All these yours, Arthur?" Mr. Diggory asked looking around at the group.
"Oh no, only the redheads," replied Mr. Weasley, pointing out his children. "This is Violet, a friend of Fred and George, Hermione, friend of Ron's – and Harry another friend of Ron's –"
"Merlin's beard," Mr. Diggory said, his eyes widening. "Harry? Harry Potter?" Mr. Diggory went on about the Quidditch match that Gryffindor had lost to Hufflepuff at the beginning of the season last year. This caused the twins to scowl and Violet to tell them to just forget about it.
"Where is it Amos?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"Just at the top of the hill," Mr. Diggory replied. They headed up the hill. "There it is, just over there."
"Shall we? We don't want to be late," Mr. Weasley said and Mr. Diggory nodded.
"What are they all standing around that manky old boot?" Harry wondered as Violet and the twins walked past him.
"That isn't any manky old boot mate," Fred said before kneeling down beside Violet.
"It's a Portkey," George clarified for him as he went next to his twin.
"Time to go," Mr. Weasley said as Harry asked, "What's a Portkey?"
"After three." Mr. Diggory said starting to count. "One…Two…"
"Harry!" Mr. Weasley cried seeing that Harry wasn't touching the boot. He grabbed hold of the top just as Mr. Diggory said, "Three!" They were then lifted off the ground and spun around in a circle so if one looked down at the group they'd have looked like a pinwheel. "Let go kids!" he said after a little while of spinning.
"Are you insane?" Violet practically shrieked her voice panicky as she thought about how high they probably were off the ground.
"Let go!" Violet and everyone let go and they all let out some kind of scream before hitting the ground hard. Violet rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself to her knees, swearing violently in Romanian.
"Now, now Violet we don't need that kind of language," Fred said jokingly as he helped her to her feet.
"What would Alfred say huh?" George asked knowing what the old butler was like from Violet's stories. Violet smiled weakly at the two of them knowing that they were trying to keep her from thinking about the fact that she just fell as that was how her parents had died. She blinked in surprise when she saw the amount of tents and people spread out in front of them.
"Well kids welcome to the Quidditch World Cup," Mr. Weasley said spreading his arms out. They walked through the maze of tents marveling at the various sites.
"This place is like a circus," Ron said stunned.
"How would you know Ronnie-?
"Since you've never been to a circus?" Fred finished smiling.
Violet turned around and grinned at Ron," Just for future reference Ron proper circuses, not the little wannabees, are not like this. Oh no they are much, much crazier." She laughed and turned back around putting her arms around the twins' shoulders.
"You would know," Fred told her smiling.
"Well but of course," Violet grinned as they reached the Weasley's tent as at some point while they were talking the Diggory's had left for their own tent. She looked at the small what looked like a two or three man tent in slight confusion before remembering that it was a wizard's tent and therefore would be bigger on the inside. She walked inside and smiled at the size. "Well this is nice."
"Ah excellent, excellent. Girls, choose a bunk and unpack." Mr. Weasley said. Violet tossed her bag on a bunk knowing that she wouldn't be sleeping at all that night. "Ron get out of the kitchen. We're all hungry."
"Yeah, get out of the kitchen Ron." Fred and George said together putting their feet up on the table causing Violet to grin.
"Feet off the table," Mr. Weasley scolded them.
"Feet off the table," the twins chorused taking their feet off the table and then putting them back on. Violet laughed at that.
Mr. Weasley picked up a kettle and looked inside, "We'll need water."
"There's a tap on this map," said Ron looking at the map they'd gotten at the entrance to the campground. "It's on the other side of the field."
"Well, why don't you, Harry, and Hermione go and get us some water-" He handed them the kettle and some saucepans, "and the rest of us will get some wood for a fire."
"But we've got a tap and an oven," Ron protested. "What can't we just-?"
"Ron, anti-Muggle security!" said Mr. Weasley his face shining with anticipation. "When real Muggles camp, they cook on fires outdoors. I've seen them at it."
"Remind me to check the bushes next time I go camping," Violet chuckled causing the twins to laugh. Outside the tent Harry, Ron, and Hermione went one way while the rest of the group moved into the forest. Violet started to collect twigs, pine needles, and medium sized branches.
"Why do you have pine needles," Fred asked from next to her.
Violet grinned at him, "You'll see but they help get the fire going."
"I take it you've started a lot of campfires then?"
"Yeah and seen a lot started." Violet replied sadly remembering campfire nights with the circus and her family. Fred walked over and put his arm around her shoulders giving them a squeeze.
"Hey they wouldn't want you to be sad. They'd want you to enjoy yourself. We're at the Quidditch World Cup! How many times are we going to be able to go to one?" That got a smile out of Violet. "Come on I think we've got enough wood for now." It'll be hilarious seeing Dad try to light the fire."
Violet chuckled, "Unless I manage to convince him to let me light it."
Fred laughed, "It might just be easier for you to just go and light it yourself." Violet smiled nodding. She spotted part of a newspaper lying on the ground and picked it up.
They got back to the tent just after Ginny, George and Mr. Weasley. Violet knelt by the fire pit missing the questioning look that George sent his twin who responded with a slight shake of his head before going over to talk to him quietly. She balled up the piece of paper and placed it in the center of the ring before building a teepee of twigs around it. Violet added some of the smaller branches still in the teepee form and added the pine needles. She looked for the box of matches that she had put near the fireplace earlier. "I could've sworn-" Violet trailed off as she sighed and headed into the tent. She pulled her utility belt out of her bag after checking that no one hand followed her in and pulled out a box of matches. When she got back outside she chuckled seeing Mr. Weasley attempting to light the fire but either breaking the matches or dropping them in surprise when they lit up. "Here Mr. Weasley let me show you." She showed Mr. Weasley how to properly strike the match and when it caught fire she poked it through the stick so the newspaper caught fire. Violet added the larger branches as the fire spread and after a few minutes they had a pretty good fire going.
"You've been ages," George said seeing Harry, Ron, and Hermione coming back.
"We met a few people," Ron replied by way of explanation. They set the pans down and joined the rest of them sitting around the fire. Mr. Weasley kept up a running commentary of which Ministry officials were passing by their tent for Harry, Hermione, and Violet's benefit. Violet being used to this sort of thing from all the events she'd had to go to in Gotham as she was a ward of Bruce Wayne was bored but kept a look of polite interest on her face.
Once the fire was hot enough they started cooking eggs and sausages for lunch. Bill, Charlie, and Percy came out of the forest then and Percy said loudly, "Just Apparated, Dad. Ah excellent, lunch."
No shit Sherlock of course you just Apparated how else would you have just gotten here, Violet thought slightly annoyed. She watched as Mr. Weasley greeted a boisterous man in bright yellow and black Quidditch robes.
Ludo Bagman walked to their campfire saying, "Arthur old man what a day, eh? What a day! Could we have asked for more perfect weather? A cloudless night coming….and hardly a hiccough in the arrangements… Not much for me to do."
Percy walked forward his hand outstretch causing Violet to smirk slightly thinking, Suck up. Fred glanced at her smirking as he guessed what she was thinking.
"Ah – yes," said Mr. Weasley grinning, "this is my son Percy. He's just started at the Ministry – and this is Fred – no, George, sorry – that's Fred – Bill, Charlie, Ron – my daughter, Ginny – Fred and George's friend Violet Grayson – and Ron's friends Hermione Granger and Harry Potter." Violet had chuckled when Mr. Weasley had gotten the twins muddled up and she smiled when she was introduced. "Everyone, this is Ludo Bagman, you know who he is, it's thanks to him we've got such good tickets-"
Bagman waved that off and asked, "Fancy a flutter on the match, Arthur?" He jingled the gold in his pockets as he talked about some of the other bets people had placed. Mr. Weasley decided to bet a Galleon on Ireland to win making Bagman slightly disappointed before asking for any other takers.
"We'll bet thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles, three Knuts," Fred said as he and George quickly pooled all their money, "that Ireland wins but Viktor Krum gets the Snitch. Oh and we'll throw in a fake want." Violet stared at her friends in slight shock before shaking her head a small smile on her face. Percy was disapproving of the twins showing Bagman their joke products but Bagman found the fake wand hilarious and said he'd pay five Galleons for it. Mr. Weasley though was upset that Fred and George were betting all their savings.
After handing George a slip of parchment Bagman turned to Mr. Weasley, "Couldn't do me a brew, I suppose? I'm keeping an eye out for Barty Crouch. My Bulgarian opposite number's making difficulties, and I can't understand a word he's saying. Barty'll be able to sort it out. He speaks about a hundred and fifty languages."
"Mr. Crouch?" Percy asked excitedly. "He speaks over two hundred! Mermish and Gobbledegook and Troll…"
"Anyone can speak Troll," said Fred dismissively. "All you have to do is point and grunt."
Violet had let out a low whistle at the number of languages Mr. Crouch spoke, "Wow and I thought I spoke a lot of languages."
"How many do you speak?" Ron wondered.
"Ten fluently," Violet sighed lying down on the ground so she missed the flabbergasted expression of most of the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione.
"Any news of Bertha Jorkins yet, Ludo?" Mr. Weasley asked as Ludo sat down.
"Not a dicky bird," sad Bagman causing Violet to chuckle to herself missing the rest of what he said.
"What's so funny?" the twins asked her together.
"That's what I call my brother when I want to annoy him," Violet replied smiling.
"Oh- talk of the devil! Barty!" Ludo exclaimed as someone Apparated at their campsite. Violet propped herself up on her elbows to get a look at Mr. Crouch. After taking in his Muggle clothing and posture she felt like he could have passed for one of the CEOs that would meet with Bruce.
"Mr. Crouch!" said Percy breathlessly, sunk into a kind of half bow that made him look like a hunchback. "Would you like a cup of tea?"
"Oh," said Mr. Crouch, looking over at Percy in mild surprise. "Yes- thank you Weatherby." At this Fred and George choked into their own cups and Violet laughed so that her elbows slipped out from under her sending the back of her head into the ground. Crouch and Mr. Weasley were talking about flying carpets and Bagman changed the topic.
"So been keeping busy, Barty?" Bagman asked.
"Fairly," Mr. Crouch said dryly. "Organizing Portkeys across five continents is no mean feat, Ludo."
Five continents? Violet thought. Well that doesn't make sense.
"Glad! Don't know when I've had more fun… Still, it's not as though we haven't anything to look forward to, eh, Barty? Eh? Plenty left to organize, eh?"
"We agreed not to make the announcement until all the details-"
"Oh details! They've signed, haven't they? They've agreed, haven't they? I bet you anything these kids'll know soon enough anyway. I mean, it's happening at Hogwarts-" Violet fought to keep a smirk off her face as she knew exactly what they were talking about.
"Ludo, we need to meet the Bulgarians, you know." Mr. Crouch interrupted pushing his undrunk tea at Percy. "Thank you for the tea Weatherby."
You didn't even drink any of it, Violet thought disgusted before wondering. How do you get Weatherby form Percy Weasley anyway? After saying he'll them in the top box since he was commentating Bagman Disapparated along with Crouch.
"What's happening at Hogwarts, Dad?" said Fred at once. "What are they talking about?" Again Violet had to fight not to smirk.
"You'll find out soon enough," said Mr. Weasley smiling.
"It's classified information, until such time as the Ministry decides to release it," said Percy stiffly. "Mr. Crouch was quite right not to disclose it."
"Oh shut up Weatherby," said Fred causing Violet to laugh.
As the sun started to go down salesmen showed up in the campsite with various wares. Violet bought herself and the twins an Irish rosette each ignoring their protests. She spotted the Omnioculars and after learning what they did, bought herself one figuring it would be useful even after the match on patrols and such. She would have bought the twins one but they said they didn't need one and there was no way she was buying that for them as well. Once they all had their souvenirs a gong sounded and they headed to the match.
Parts of this were taken from both the book and the movie. I'm going to try to keep to the book but if there is a scene I like better from the movie I'm going to use that instead.