If you asked Faelin to describe her summer, she would have called it boring.
Now, she had done quite a lot in the two months since school had let out.
Faelin had visited the Finnigans in Kenmare, spending most of the time with Saoirse out in the sun with piles of books to be read.
Faelin traveled to Spain with her father, who was on a work assignment. The pair traveled to Barcelona and Madrid, James tracking down a artifact smuggler and Faelin enjoying the sights. They ended up in Gibraltar where James caught his criminal and Faelin hiked the Rock.
Finally, Faelin stayed a few days with her mother at her Aunt Petunia's house in Surrey. The latter adventure was always a bit awkward for both parties, though Faelin could tell her mother and aunt enjoyed being together once more. Their relationship had a falling out when Lily had gone to school, but after the war, Petunia reached out and reconnected. Petunia was actually Faelin's godmother, much to her father's disapproval. Lily insisted thus the annual visits to Little Whinging to the Dursleys. Aunt 'Tunia, as Faelin called her, was stiff and pristine, but she still had a light in her eyes that shone brightly when her sister and goddaughter was around. Petunia's husband and son usually stayed away when the Potters came to visit, Mr. Dursley not wanting Dudley to be contaminated by the magic folk. The two adults reminisced about their childhood, while Faelin drank her tea and listened carefully. When it came time to leave, Faelin always hated saying goodbye. She actually liked being around Muggles for a change and being away from Harry.
Despite the many adventures that Faelin traveled on, they only took up a small portion of the summer. Faelin was left to her books and extra schoolwork since her wand was locked away in her parent's room. She could not get into any trouble. Harry was usually gone to the Weasleys by floo, and Faelin had joined once or twice. The Weasley household was quite a lot to take in, and Faelin often departed early to return to her QUIET home. Her father and mother spent the nights outside curled up under the stars, and Faelin kept away when they got too cuddly. Parents are gross.
Summer had not been that interesting in Faelin's opinion until her father came home with seven tickets to the Quidditch World Cup.
He had won them in a raffle at the Auror Office, and surprisingly Mr. Weasley had won tickets as well! Harry and Hermione had been invited to go with Ron's family, leaving the Potter's extra four tickets unclaimed. Sirius almost hexed James for winning the raffle so he was extremely happy as he accepted two tickets for he and Alexa. The other two tickets had initially been given to Neville and his grandmother, but Agatha claimed to find Quidditch foolish so Jacob, Neville's best friend, was to come instead.
The Potters and the Weasleys would arrive the day of the match, their expensive tickets allowing them to arrive so late.
Those with cheaper tickets have to arrive starting two weeks before, Saoirse had told Faelin in a letter, I have to spend a full week stuck in the same tent as Seamus.
Ireland was one of the two countries fighting for the Cup, and it was no surprise that the Finnigans would be in attendance. Faelin would be rooting for Ireland as well, though her father, Harry, and Sirius had an obsession with the Romanian seeker, Viktor Krum. Her mother and Alexa were pretty vocal about how they could care less. Neville and Jake were not too caught up in the Quidditch politics so they were going for the great experience it was sure to be.
Finally, the night before the World Cup arrived. Neville and Jake were spending the night at the Potter's since they would be leaving long before dawn. Sirius and Alexa would be joining later on. Faelin was not sure if she would be able to sleep, and she was just about right. It was only two hours after her eyes had closed that she was being shaken awake. Her bedroom was lit by her mother's wand light as the sky outside still glittered with stars. Once Faelin's eyes had adjusted to the wand light, she turned on the small lamp beside her bed and got out of her comfortable bed. She dressed quickly, tossing on her Ireland jersey. Someone in their family had to go against the rest, right?
She grabbed her packet for the campout and headed downstairs with wand in hand. Her parents had allowed her to take her wand for the trip, since everyone else would have theirs. Downstairs she found her mother and father packing up food and Neville and Jake eating porridge. Faelin scooped a bit for herself and ate quickly. Before long, James was shuffling everyone out the door and up the road. Since the children could not apparate, the group was taking a portkey located in a nearby clearing of woods. Jake was the first to spot the rusted mirror. Each of the group put a finger on the dirty brass, and the portkey spun them into oblivion at precisely 4:21 am.
When the world around her finally stopped spinning, Faelin realized she was now lying on the edge of a tinkling river, which sparkled in the moonlight. Neville and Jame were somewhere behind her groaning, and her parents stood off to the side with wands lit, brushing themselves off and laughing at the children's reaction to the port key. Beside them stood a stern and slightly bored looking woman wearing a Ministry badge.
Faelin got to her feet and made her way over as her father passed the rusted mirror to the Ministry witch.
"Potter, arrival at 4:21 am. On time," the witch stated as she checked her clipboard and tossed the mirror into the box beside her where it landed with a shattering clang, "Campsite's about two miles west of here. The owner's a Mr. Roberts, muggle money only. Now, please move long as the next group by portkey will be arriving soon."
The Potters, Neville, and Jake strolled along the forest path the Ministry witch had pointed towards and eventually arrived at a plain Muggle house. The site owner, Mr. Roberts, stood outside on his front steps, staring suspiciously at the couple whom he had just served. Once their group reached him, Lily confidently strode forward and exchanged the necessary funds in Muggle money. Mr. Roberts handed them the map of the field with their own campsite marked and waved them on.
Faelin was confused for a moment as they seemed to be walking through just an empty field, but with a blink, the campsite for the World Cup came to life around her.
It was truly a tent city or rather a tent world. There were tents of many sizes, colors, and shapes. One looked like a three story Grecian mansion, complete with a golden gate and fountain. Another looked roughly the size of a broom cupboard, but as Faelin watched, no less than fifteen people went inside. Each tent brought a uniqueness and speciality to the owner's home country, and the exotic smells of breakfast cooking made Faelin's stomach growl. Her porridge earlier certainly paled in comparison.
Finally, the group reached the campsite and set up their tent. It was pretty simple and plain from the outside, but inside it was spacious and bright. It held two bedrooms, a full bathroom, a small kitchen, and a large open sitting area. Faelin, Jake, and Neville were given the bunk beds as the adults claimed the double beds on the opposite side of the tent.
The sky was rose gold when Faelin emerged from the tent and started what was sure to be the most exciting day of her life.
And well— she wasn't wrong.
The rest of the day passed with a blur. Faelin had spent time with Saoirse earlier in the area everyone was calling "the Irish village", which was an area of tents completely covered in shamrocks. The Weasleys were in one of the central areas of the campsite so a late lunch was spent there, the excitement of the upcoming event palpable. By the time night fell, the menagerie of the World Cup viewers grew grander. Faelin sat outside the tent watching and staring at the world around her with Neville and Jake sat beside her as the different cultures swirled around them. Lily was telling them about the different wizarding schools around the globe. Faelin was most interested in Japan's Mahoutokoro and mentally put it on her list of places to visit in the future.
The Ministry workers had grown quite lax with the rules by dusk so the spectacle of magic was pretty apparent. There were fireworks and sparks as well as loud singing of old Magical songs. Salesmen were apparating back and forth with a cart full World Cup gear. Sirius splurged for all the kids and bought them something called omnioculars. Faelin, Neville, Jake, Harry, Ron and Hermione spent a good amount of time trying to figure out how to work the magical binoculars, which would be perfect for the match. The children had also spent some of their own money purchasing team items. Faelin had gotten a large shamrock that spun and flashed.
Finally, there was a booming gong from somewhere beyond the woods. Suddenly, there was a lighted path through the trees that must lead the way to the stadium. The Potter group moved their way along the green and red lanterns, and around them, they could hear the thousands moving around them with the atmosphere of feverish excitement.*
The walk was a bit lengthy, but the walls of the stadium were visible through the trees. The gold walls reached to the sky, and the whole field could have fit almost an entire Hogwarts. James led the way to their box that set them directly opposite of the Ireland goal hoops. Faelin's gold omnioculars twirled in her excited hands as the stadium filled and roared.
"Ladies and gentleman . . . welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"*
Someone shook Faelin awake.
Her first thought was, The Bulgarians are still rallying against their loss?
But as she took in her mother's panicked face, Faelin knew something was seriously wrong.
"Faelin, you need to get up now! Boys, don't worry about a jacket. Shoes on!" Lily was yelling over the screams echoing outside the tent.
Faelin swung out of bed abruptly and yanked her shoes Neville and Jacob hurried out of the bedroom while Lily tossed Faelin her sweater. Lily pulled Fae out of the bedroom into the sitting area where James stood speaking sternly to Neville and Jake. James glanced up as Faelin came over.
"You go straight to the forest and stay there with Lily the whole time. She will know when it's safe to come back."
"Dad, what's going on?" Faelin asked, her voice slightly shaking. Lily grasped her hand tighter.
"I'll explain later," James said quickly as Sirius and Alexa came out with their wands in hand, "Lils, you got to go."
Lily Potter led the way into the chaos outside. People were abandoning their tents and running for the woods. The screams were ear-shattering. Off in the distance, there were figures twisting in the air in sickening ways. Faelin grabbed ahold of Jacob's hand while Lily took Neville's, and the group took off in the same direction as the scattering crowd.
They raced over forgotten banners and broken wands. Few tents were sparkling red as the campfire took over the canvas. Faelin's nightdress twirled around her legs, threatening to trip her. Her breath rasped in her throat, and her hair stuck to her neck with sweat. The trees were just shadows around her, and the sound of fleeing footsteps and whimpers. Lily eventually slowed to a brisk walk and paused along the edge of the woods looking out at the Quidditch stadium. People were taking refuge against its gold walls, which looked menacing in the faint moonlight.
Suddenly, the world erupted once more with screams.
The moon was now eclipsed by a emerald skull glittering in the sky with a snake protruding from its mouth.
Neville shivered, "It's him, Voldemort."
*excerpt from Goblet of Fire
**If you want to know about the World Cup, just read the book!