Part Three
Harry felt like he had barely gotten to sleep when he felt himself being shaken awake. "Come on, boys, up and at 'em."
Harry groaned, but he sat up and saw Ron doing the same. The other two beds were empty. Fred and George were on the floor in a tangle of blankets. Harry couldn't help laughing at this no matter how early it was. Mrs. Weasley was getting the two unfortunate boys up and they were groaning even louder than Harry had. "It's still night!" One of them objected. Since their heads were still under blankets Harry wasn't even sure Mrs. Weasley could tell them apart.
"Oh, come on you two, up, breakfast is on the table." She said sweetly, but Harry noticed she had her wand and was doing something under one of the blankets.
"AUUUGGHHH!" One of them shrieked and jumped up, practically dancing as he rubbed his leg. "Oh, that is so low! And you call yourself our mother?"
Fred, who didn't want to suffer the same fate as George, jumped up himself. "I'm up! I'm up!" He protested.
"Good, get dressed and get down to breakfast." Molly said going out to make sure Hermione and Ginny were up and getting ready.
Harry sat down at the kitchen table with Ron, Fred and George remembering two years before when he had sat down at this very table. Harry could almost see Erin's smiling face sitting across from him. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of their conversation…now that he understood it.
Mr. Weasley was also sitting at the table checking some things in a large envelope. "Well, boys, how do I look?"
Harry finally realized what the man was wearing: a pink golf sweater and a very old very tattered pair of faded blue jeans with a very thick brown leather belt. Well, it was better than some things he'd seen on the man. "Uh…" Ron said giving Harry a look.
"We're supposed to go as Muggles." Mr. Weasley explained.
"Oh, uh…" Harry looked at Fred and George, who were both wearing brown corduroy pants and tan sweaters to Ron, who was wearing jeans and a maroon sweater… Harry himself was wearing a green t-shirt that had once belonged to his dad and a pair of black jeans that had belonged to Sirius (yes, he and Erin had filched quite a few things from their parents). "Uh, very good, Mr. Weasley."
"Where're the others?" George asked.
"They're Apparating." Mrs. Weasley said coming back into the kitchen. "So they can have a bit of a lie-in." She ladled porridge into bowls handing them to the boys and her husband. "Harry, eat up and then you can see Erin."
"Erin?" Harry looked a little surprised, but shoveled down his porridge.
"Why can't we Apparate?" Fred asked.
"You're not of age, yet, and you haven't passed your tests." His mother sighed. "Where are those girls? Oh, Harry, go right ahead to the fire." She hurried out and Harry hurried into the living room.
Erin was yawning and wearing her nightgown, but she was awake. "Harry, I want you to be careful…it's been awhile since Voldemort has made a move and it's not setting well with me…a darkness has been growing in my mind. Mum said to be more aware of my feelings…since I have a trace of her gift in me."
Harry nodded from the fire. "I'll be careful, I promise. Erin, what's wrong?"
"It's Remus, Harry…" She had tears in her eyes. "We're so close and yet there's something…" she looked at the clock. "I'll tell you everything later, Harry, I promise. You'd better go now. I love you."
"I love you, too." Harry pulled himself from the fire and walked back into the kitchen.
"Oh good, Harry." Mr. Weasley said. "Let's go."
"Behave yourselves!" Mrs. Weasley warned all of them and kissed them good-bye.
They walked across the dark yard under and almost full moon. "Harry, what's wrong?" Hermione pressed closer to Harry and Ron.
"Erin's worried…very worried. She said she thinks something is going to happen and something is very wrong with Remus." He sighed. "I keep wondering what happened to Genie."
"Maybe they just grew apart." Hermione said. "It happens."
"Erin knows something, but she isn't telling me. She said she'd tell me later…but I think that might be what's wrong with him."
Ron sighed. "Harry…Hermione…"
But Ron didn't get to finish what he was going to tell them. His father interrupted. "We're headed to Stoutshead Hill, that's where we'll find the Portkey."
Harry looked up and the black mass on the horizon. "What's a Portkey?" He half-expected/half-wished for Erin's voice to suddenly pop up and tell him.
"Oh, objects," Mr. Weasley was saying. "Anything really, pieces of junk Muggles won't pick up and play with."
They were quiet as they walked on. It kept getting lighter as they did so. They trudged up the hill and finally got to the top. Hermione last clutching a stitch in her side, "Erin would be laughing her head off, about now." She said between gasps.
"Yeah, especially since she would have beaten us all here." Ron said grumpily.
Harry smiled, oh, what he would give to have her with him now…her arms around him snuggling under his arm and stealing kissed and tickling him…oh, God, he missed her.
"Ok, we've got ten minutes." Mr. Weasley said interrupting Harry's thoughts. "Split up, we'll find the Portkey."
A few minutes later someone called out, "I've got it, Arthur!" Two figures could be seen on the other side of the hill.
"Amos!" Mr. Weasley smiled and hurried over to shake hands.
The others came forward to find a red-faced wizard with an unkempt beard. "Good to see you, Arthur."
"This is Amos Diggory, everyone. All of you know his son, Cedric, I presume?"
Cedric Diggory was a dreamboat. Tall, blonde and most girls just wished he would say hello to them. "Hi." He smiled and Hermione and Ginny went a little weak at the knees.
Everyone said hi back, except Fred and George, who were still angry with him for beating Gryffindor at Quidditch the previous year when Dementors attacked Harry. "Long walk, Arthur?" Amos asked.
"No, we just live on the other side of the village. You?"
"Got up at two. Tickets were an arm and a leg, but I got off easy, these all yours?"
"Gracious, no," Mr. Weasley smiled. "Only the redheads," Yeah like that made it any better. "And three more are Apparating there. Fred, George, Ron and Ginny…and Ron's friends, Harry and Hermione."
"Not Harry Potter?" Amos asked.
"Uh…yeah…" Harry sighed.
"Ced's told us all about you, of course—"
"Where's Erin?" Cedric suddenly asked eagerly, interrupting his father.
"Couldn't make it." Ron said darkly. He knew that look. Fred and George had it whenever they look at their pretty friend.
"Well, it's just about time." Mr. Weasley said clearing his throat. "Everyone touch the Portkey…a finger will do—" They noticed the Amos was holding a tattered old boot in his hand.
Harry felt kind of silly as they all stood there touching an old boot. "Three…two…one…" Harry felt an odd feeling almost like he had a hook attached to his navel and it had suddenly been yanked.
They landed and most of them fell to the ground. "Seven past five from Stoutshead Hill."
It had been a little disconcerting landing there as they did. But not that they were all safely at the campsite Harry relaxed a little. They had set up two very small tents and when they went inside found a three room flat. Harry was learning that the wizarding world still held a lot of surprises for him.
And then Mr. Weasley decided to have fun with the matches. He was trying to start a campfire. Finally, after the tenth match was broken or watched burn, Hermione took the matches away and started the fire herself.
An hour later they started cooking and Percy, Bill and Charlie came out of the woods having just Apparated and which Percy exclaimed rather loudly as if it was an impressive thing.
An overweight man wearing yellow and black striped robes suddenly flopped down at the fire. "Hello, Arthur."
"Oh, hello, Ludo. Kids, this is Ludo Bagman, he's Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports! He's the reason we've got such good seats. Ludo, these are my kids, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George—no, sorry, that's Fred and that's George, Ron and Ginny. And these are Ron's friends, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter."
Ludo waved at them merrily. "Fancy a flutter on the match, Arthur?"
"Oh, all right." Arthur said. "A galleon on Ireland to win."
"A galleon it is, anyone else?"
"They're a bit young, Ludo…" Obviously a few of them weren't, but those three weren't the betting kind. And Arthur was rightly concerned.
"37 Galleons, 15 Sickles and 3 Knuts," Fred said as the two boys pulled their money. "Ireland to win, but Krum gets the Snitch. And we'll throw in a fake wand."
"Excellent!" Ludo said as the fake wand turned into a rubber chicken. "We'll add 5 galleons for that. So…42 Galleons, 15 Sickles and 3 Knuts."
Suddenly an elderly man wearing a three-piece business suit Apparated next to them. "Ludo, we need to meet with the Bulgarians."
"Oh, all right, Barty." Ludo heaved himself up.
"Mr. Crouch, would you like a cup of tea?" Percy was practically wriggling in anticipation.
"Oh, no thank you, Weatherby. Ludo, we must be going. Arthur." He nodded to Mr. Weasley and they left.
So that was Percy's boss, Harry thought, looked like someone Percy would admire. Barty Crouch, now where had he heard that name before? He hadn't realized that he had spoken out loud until Ron snorted. "Your girlfriend, Harry, remember? She's often arguing with Percy about the Ministry. She hates Barty Crouch and Fudge."
"Fudge has always been nice to me…"
"She says he's inept and unqualified for the job." Hermione put in. "You know, Erin, she won't back down for anything."
Harry nodded. Especially when it came to the Ministry of Magic.