A/N: I don't own Harry Potter. All rights go to J.K. Rowling!
The Quidditch World Cup
"Is it odd that, despite already knowing the outcome, I'm still completely excited by this match?" George babbled as they made their way through the forest. The twins were about a step ahead of Ella who couldn't help but smile at the giant green hats sitting on their heads. Without any delay the boys had put them on and done an Irish jig into the forest –since then all Ella could see was two gigantic leprechauns. She couldn't wait for the moment to tell them this.
Ella shrugged, "Welcome to my world?"
Fred laughed, "Come on, mate. It's the World Cup. You could've seen the entire match before and still be excited to see it now. Krum could grab the Snitch in five seconds and we'd still be excited. Completely out of all our money, but it's the World Cup and that's not going to happen!" He playfully gave George a shove who returned the gesture.
"I don't think I've ever seen two people who better signify Ireland," Ella said taking her chance to tease them.
"Really?" Fred asked her suspiciously.
She smirked, "Yep, you two look like you've escaped from some weird leprechaun camp. Are you after your gold by chance?"
Fred stuck his tongue out at Ella in his usual way of responding to her teasing. Ella nearly returned it, only to find herself thrown completely upside down and hanging from George's shoulders by her knees. She struggled to get upright, which was answered by said twin spinning in a circle.
"Do we still look like we're leprechauns from that angle?" Fred said kneeling down to look at her.
Ella groaned before shouting, "No! No, you don't look like tiny Irish creatures, you're giants. Now put me down before I get sick."
She put her arms out just in time for George to push her off his back. Ella avoided hitting her head but landed unceremoniously on her behind. She huffed as the boys started laughing at her expression. Fred extended a hand to help her up. She patted the dirt off her pants before shooting him a playful glare.
"You distracted me so George could do that," she accused.
He shrugged with an easy grin on his face, "I had to. You insulted my and my brother's honor. It was something we couldn't simply let slide. Punishment was necessary."
Ella rolled her eyes, "Of course it was. I was wrong in my assessment earlier. You two are more like brutish Trolls than nice little leprechauns."
George snorted and threw one of his arms around her shoulders, "Keep talking and you'll spend the rest of the walk upside down."
"Right you are, George. Besides, you're the little one anyways, Ella," Fred told her. In an attempt to add emphasis he rested his arm on top of her head.
"All right, that's it. I'm hexing you both like mad when we get to school. Or better yet, the next time you have an incredibly stupid idea and I see the embarrassing outcome, I won't put a stop to it," Ella vowed. The boys exchanged dramatic looks of panic before breaking out into fits of laughter. "You're both unbelievable."
"Yes well you're…wow," Fred said. Ella looked quickly at him to see if she'd heard right only to find his eyes focused on something in front of them. Ella turned to look at the giant stadium that was now towering out of the forest. Wow…was certainly right. It was the biggest stadium Ella had ever seen, hands down. It could fit hundreds of football fields and still have room for a Muggle school or two. The golden walls rose high above the forest and Ella assumed there must have been quite the magical coverage going on to keep it out of sight for Muggles.
Mr. Weasley watched all their admiring faces before announcing, "Seats a hundred thousand. Ministry task force of five hundred have been working on it all year. Muggle Repelling Charms on every inch of it. Every time Muggles have got anywhere near here all year, they've suddenly remembered urgent appointments and had to dash away again…bless them."
They made their way towards the stadium trying to look up at the impossibly tall structure. George accidentally bumped into Ella twice and Ella stepped on the back of Ginny's heel, making her trip and hit Hermione. No one really cared though, everyone mumbled an apology and went back to staring. It wasn't until they got to the witch in the ticket booth that they started focusing on where they were going.
"Prime seats! Top Box! Straight upstairs, Arthur, and as high as you can go," the witch told their group. Mr. Weasley thanked her and ushered the ground into the stairwell.
A rich mauve carpeted the stairway that was crammed with witches and wizards of all ages. Ella saw a man carrying a young boy on his shoulders. The boy had a Bulgarian hat drooping over his head and a Krum doll clenched in his tiny fist. Everyone travelled up the stairs and disappeared into doors on the right and left of the hall. Eventually, the people began thinning out, but to Ella's excitement, their group only went higher into the stadium. The witch had said Top Box, and after an enormous amount of climbing, they finally reached the doorway to their seats.
It couldn't have been more perfect. They were at the very top, practically eye level with the goal posts –maybe even higher! Even better, they split the field. It was a perfect view for both the right goal post as well as the left. All around, the stadium dazzled in a golden aura that Ella couldn't seem to deny was beautiful. It reminded her of the power she kept inside her, beautiful and pure. A giant board flashed advertisements to the entire population, but Ella figured it wasn't made from electronics like it would be in the Muggle world. She didn't care to read the display, instead she worked to figure out what her Omnioculars could do. She zoomed in and out of the different areas of the arena. There were many others working on the device as well among the people who were just chatting with neighbors and one man in a very unappealing kilt picking his nose without any sort of shame. Ella quick turned away from him to look and the field below. She couldn't see the players, but they had to be close by, probably listening as the crowd grew from a timid whisper to a rolling thunder.
"Dobby?"
Ella whipped around to follow Harry's gaze. The creature certainly wasn't the House Elf Ella had briefly captured two summers ago when she was determined to figure out why he'd been stealing Harry's letters. This was a female with a large round nose and brown eyes nearly the same size. Her delicate little hands were covering her face, but her nimble fingers were stretched just enough for her to see who addressed her. Ella noticed that she was very little as far as House Elves came. The ones in the kitchen all were short, but this one seemed a few inches shorter than them even.
The creature squeaked, "Did sir just call me Dobby?"
Harry, realizing his mistake, replied, "Sorry, I just thought you were someone I knew."
"But I knows Dobby too, sir!" She peeped to him. Ella was aware that all of their party was paying attention to the exchange, though only Ella and Harry had ever met Dobby. "My name is Winky, sir –and you sir –You is surely Harry Potter!" Ella felt a strong urge to roll her eyes. Of course, even House Elves knew the story and were awed by Harry.
"Yeah, I am."
Winky's eyes grew impossibly wide, "But Dobby talks of you all the time, sir!"
Harry didn't seem too fazed by the information, "How is he? How's freedom suiting him?"
"Hey, can we check out the Omnioculars? You said we could share!" George whined. Ella shot him a glare, but quickly gave them to the twins.
"House elves does what they is told," Winky stated fervently. "I is not liking heights at all, Harry Potter, bur my master sends me to the Top Box and I comes, sir." Ella frowned at the statement, but didn't have to pay attention for very long. Soon enough the twins were babbling happily about the different Omniocular features they were discovering. Apparently, someone tripped in a box a few levels below them and the twins were watching it on repeat.
"You two are awful," Ella informed them.
Fred laughed, "Oh of course we are. Maybe we should keep this with us. Then the next time you trip over your feet we can watch again…"
"And again…"
"And again!"
Ella groaned, "Why do I put up with either of you?"
The two looked at each other before both saying, "Our devilishly good looks."
She let out a dry laugh, "Keep guessing."
The twins were about to retort when Ron proclaimed, "Wild! I can make that old bloke down there pick his nose again…and again…and again…"
"He's still doing that!" Ella asked exasperatedly. She yanked the Omnioculars out of George's hand and looked down only to find it was a different man.
"Gross," she said, her nose wrinkling at the idea of so many men sticking their fingers up their nostrils. She was done shaking hands for the rest of the tournament.
As the time passed, Ella found herself teaching the Muggle children's game, I Spy, to the twins. The three found different people to focus their game on with the Omnioculars and got unpleasantly creative with their descriptions.
"I Spy a skinny girl with super long dirt colored hair, Cornish Pixie blue eyes, and has a tea leaf caught in her teeth," George said. The Omnioculars were facing Ella, who was not amused. "Oh and she looks like she's ready to kill someone."
"Yes…that'd be you."
"It speaks!" George hollered. Fred snatched the Omnioculars out of George hands before Ella had the chance to pounce. While the boys argued over the device. Ella picked the tea leaf out of her teeth, willing her cheeks not to flush. Honestly, how embarrassing.
"Ah, Minister! Pleasant to see you!" Mr. Weasley said shaking Cornelius Fudge's hand. Percy leaped to his feet, as he had been doing frequently for the past hour, and bowed so low, Ella thought his nose would touch the ground. Her guess was fairly close. Percy's nose didn't end up kissing the ground, but his glasses fell off his face and broke on the floor of the Box.
Ella quickly hid her face and slid down in her chair. She hadn't forgotten her first and only meeting with the Minister. She'd flat out told him that he needed to believe Sirius was innocent. Of course, she still stood by that, but it would not end well if he saw her now. Ella couldn't imagine how she'd get out of that. Probably by acting like she had no clue what he was talking about, but even that could only get her so far. She listened as the fabric of the Muggle outfit Fudge was wearing rustled with whatever gestures he was trying to make towards the Bulgarian Minister.
"Knew we'd get there in the end," Fudge said. Ella could hear the excited gibbering from another man. She tried to listen closely to him, but ended up giving up. She definitely did not know Bulgarian. "Ah, and here's Lucius!" Even though Ella was determined to not look in their direction, she snuck a peek out of the corner of her eye to see Lucius Malfoy flanked by his snobby son, Draco and an equally snooty woman who could only be Draco's mother.
"Ah, Fudge, how are you? I don't think you've met my wife, Narcissa? Or our son, Draco?" Mr. Malfoy introduced. Ella felt like saying that no one should have the misfortune of meeting his son, but her vow of silence kept her muted.
"How do you do, how do you do? And allow me to introduce you to Mr. Oblansk…er…Obalonak –Mr. well, he's the Bulgarian Minister of Magic, and he can't understand a word I'm saying anyway, so never mind. And let's see who else –you know Arthur Weasley, I daresay?"
Know was an understatement. It'd be better to say that Lucius knew Mr. Weasley's fist well, but not the person behind it. Only scum could hate a man who is as kind as Mr. Weasley, which considering the pureblooded Malfoys believed people like Ella and Hermione were scum, Ella figured the feeling could only be mutual.
"Good lord, Arthur. What did you sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?" Lucius sneered under his breath. Ella hands clenched in anger, but she saw Fred, ever the rasher twin, begin to move out of his seat. Quick as lightening, Ella reached out and grabbed his wrist.
"Don't," she hissed. "You'll only make things worse."
Fred looked at her disbelieving, "He's a git!"
"Yes, well, we both know your dad didn't sell your house for these tickets. But it's fairly clear that the Malfoys sold what little humanity they had. So stay here so they can't suck out your soul like their Dementor cousins." He huffed but settled fully into his purple and gold seat. Ella released his wrist.
Suddenly, Ludo Bagman burst into the box, "Everyone ready?" He was beaming ear to ear and practically bouncing like an excited school boy. "Minister –ready to go?"
"Ready when you are, Ludo," Fudge responded from his seat somewhere behind their group. Ella sat on the edge of her seat and looked towards Fred and George. They were smiling about as wildly as she was.
"Ladies and gentlemen… Welcome!" Ludo announced. His voice was magically magnified to reach every corner of the packed stadium. "Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"
Ella cheered enthusiastically adding to the cacophony of screams and applause coming from the crowd. The entire stadium was alive with movement and color as people waved their red and green flags with pride. There was something exhilarating about the atmosphere. Ella felt completely alive in this moment.
A score board took place of the advertisements: BULGARIA: 0 IRELAND: 0. Ella grinned with anticipation. Beside her she could feel the twins getting excited as well.
"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce…the Bulgarian National Team Mascot!"
From the Bulgarian side of the stadium, a crowd of scarlet with flags screeching the National anthem, there was thunderous approval. Soon enough, hundreds of women were gliding onto the field with silvery hair and moonlit skin. Ella remembered reading something about this, they weren't sirens –they were Veela. She glanced over towards the twins to notice how they were looking interestedly at the creatures. Then the music started.
Ella watched her best friend and her crush as their faces went blank and a dreamy look entered their eyes.
"Hello, Fred? George?" Ella called to them. She glanced around seeing that Percy, Bill, Charlie, and Mr. Weasley had all been wise enough to plug their ears. Ella turned back to the twins, who still followed every move the veela were making. Ella scowled at the creatures down below. They were pretty, sure, much prettier than she thought she was, but there was more to a girl than her looks.
The music began to pick up as did the veela's dancing. The more wild the women got, the more anxious the boys became. Ella could see the shift in everyone who was entranced. Harry stood and threw one leg over the wall while Ron looked like he was going to dive off the edge onto the field. Ella left Hermione to take care of that –she had her own boys to worry about. Ginny, who was also looking at the veela with jealousy, bolted to George's side as he tried to throw himself over the edge. Ella, on the other hand, had to wedge herself between Fred and the railing to prevent him from jumping. He still fought to push past her and get to the veela. Ella glared and tried shoving him back to his spot. Fred watched the veela over Ella's head and she struggled to push him away, both hands, straining with effort to keep him still, against his chest. The two were locked in a standstill when the music finally stopped.
Blinking a few times, Fred didn't seem to realize what was going on. His eyes were still on the veela, but Ella didn't need to turn around to see they had stopped dancing. The angry shouts from the crowd were enough to tell Ella they were done. She still didn't quite trust Fred enough to let him go. Out of the corner of her eye, Ginny had the same idea since her arms were currently wrapped around George and trying to tell him to sit down. Ginny looked more like she wanted to slap him but figured she'd probably get in trouble more from that than anything.
"Um, what are you doing?" Fred asked thickly, looking down at Ella's hands on his chest. Ella didn't even blush. She just dropped her hands.
"You were going to jump. I saved your life –you're welcome," she responded a bit more coldly than she had intended. Ella moved to sit back down and Fred followed her lead looking rather lost. Ginny finally released a red faced George and made her way back to her seat beside Ella and Charlie.
A little bit of jealousy gnawed at Ella's insides, but she tried to shove it away. Veela were enchanting creatures. It was in their magic to make men behave that way, and she shouldn't blame Fred for acting like that. He was under a spell, nothing more. No matter how many times Ella tried convincing herself that, she still felt upset by the look he gave to the veela and their beauty, and how she would never be able to live up to those standards.
Ludo Bagman's voice drowned out most of the audience once more, "And now, kindly put your wands in the air…for the Irish National Team Mascots!"
Ella's sullen mood dissipated almost immediately as a ball of green and yellow hurtled into the stadium in a dazzling display of light. Her eyes followed the comet as it zipped around the stadium once. After completing its lap, the ball split into two different ones and zoomed in different directions. With a sudden shimmer of light, a rainbow burst to connect the two orbs that filled the stadium with light. Ella's eyes were as wide as they could be, hoping to not miss a single detail of the beautiful spectacle around her. When the rainbow disappeared, the smaller comets merged once more into a larger one, only it went a step further and created a shamrock. Ella cheered with the rest of the crowd as it flew around sending flecks of gold everywhere.
When it reached their box Ella let out a laugh as a thousand little leprechauns threw out gold coins to them. The little red headed creatures wore red vests and held green and yellow lanterns. Ella collected a handful of the coins, giggling to herself at the wonder of it all. The leprechauns flew to the field, ending their routine. Ella cheered like the rest of the crowd as they settled themselves comfortably across from the Veela.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome –the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team! I give you –Dimitrov!" Ludo yelled. A blur of red shot out from somewhere below them as the Bulgarian crowd cheered. "Ivanova! Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Volkov! Aaaaaaaaaaaand KRUM!" The entire crowd, whether they supported Ireland or Bulgaria erupted at the Bulgarian Seeker's name. Fred and George both shared one eye hole of the Omnioculars to see one of the youngest International Quidditch players in the world.
Bagman continued, "And now, please greet –the Irish National Quidditch team! Presenting –Connolly! Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! Aaaaaand LYNCH!" The Ireland side of the field went ballistic as seven green blurs shot out of their entrance. Ella clapped enthusiastically as the players got into position.
"And here, all the way from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa!"
A man with hair only in his enormous mustache entered the field with his broom and a crate containing all the balls required to play Quidditch. With a shrill whistle, he released the four balls and kicked off the ground.
"Theeeeeeeeey're off!" Bagman bellowed to the roaring crowd. Ella could hardly follow where the Quaffle was as it was passed between the Chasers of each team. "And it's Mullet! Troy! Moran! Dimitrov! Back to Mullet! Troy! Levski! Moran!"
The twins were still splitting the Omnioculars, but Ella couldn't care less. She was enjoying just watching the game. Currently, the three Irish Chasers were in a V formation where Troy was in the center and a bit ahead of his two teammates. He made a move to go upwards, tricking the Bulgarian chaser, but the Quaffle fell from the Irish Team into Bulgarian hands. Moran quickly dived at Levski, the Chaser who had caught the Quaffle and was able to get into back into Ireland's hands. Within moments she'd passed it once more to Mullet, then Troy who shot towards the Bulgarian goal post.
"TROY SCORES!" Bagman bellowed. Ella screamed with the rest of the crowd, though hers were excited unlike the Bulgarian fans. "Ten to zero, Ireland!"
"YES!" The twins roared. Fists punching through the air.
Troy zipped around the field as the Irish flags waved enthusiastically. The leprechauns began morphing into a shamrock once more, only causing the crowd to become more excited. Ella wondered when the next goal would be, and the Irish Chasers worked so well together that it wasn't a very long wait. The team, because that was the only way to describe such a well-oiled machine, scored two more goals just moments after the first one they'd managed. The Bulgarians began getting ferocious while the Irish became reckless with excitement.
Bludgers whizzed through the formations the Ireland Chasers had been using to take down the Bulgarians. It seemed that Bulgaria had some smart Beaters because they knew exactly which direction to hit towards to make the blurs of green scatter. Soon enough, the Quaffle was in the hands of the Bulgarians and racing towards the other end of the field, right past the Top Box.
"Fingers in your ears!" Mr. Weasley shouted to the boys in their group as Bulgaria scored their first goal. Fred and George quickly obeyed much to Ginny and Ella's relief. The girls continued to watch the action on the field without a care in the world for the dancing Veela below. For but a moment, Ireland had possession again, but the Beaters were now working overtime to get the upper hand. A well-aimed Bulger sent Troy reeling and the Quaffle fell into Dimitrov's hand.
Bagman was shouting, without stopping for air, "Dimitrov! Levski! Dimitrv! Ivanova –oh I say!" Ella winced as the two Seekers hurtled towards the ground chasing an imaginary Snitch. Krum pulled out of the dive at just the right moment, but his Irish opposite wasn't so lucky.
"That's got to hurt," Ella grimaced.
"His pride's probably more wounded than anything," Fred replied not looking too concerned for the Irish Seeker. Though, with their knowledge of the game's outcome, it was warranted. If the Irish Seeker couldn't get the Snitch, then Krum was certainly more likely to grab it.
Ella snorted, "Not everyone is as hard headed as you. For some that would really hurt!" Fred merely laughed and looked at the replay on the Omnioculars. "Let me see."
Fred shrugged and handed them to her. Ella looked through the lenses and watched what had happened moments before in slow motion.
"It's called the Wronski Defensive Feint according to the Omnioculars. It's incredibly dangerous and only for advanced flyers," George explained.
"Oh really?" Ella asked sarcastically. "I assumed it was as dangerous as picking flowers." George rolled his eyes at Ella's sass. She handed the Omnioculars back to the twins.
Ginny leaned over the side of the wall to look at Lynch once Bagman announced the time out. Charlie had tried to convince her to sit back down, but the girl wouldn't have it. Ella carefully put a hand on her shoulder.
"He's going to be fine. They have good Healers out there to make sure of that, besides it's all part of the game," Ella reminded her.
"I know, but it still looked like it hurt. I was more watching how the other Ireland players were reacting. They went straight to his aid, like a real team. I don't think the Bulgarians would act like that," Ginny pointed out.
Ella merely shrugged, "Maybe not, but the Bulgarians are smart, look at Krum." The two girls turned their gaze towards Bulgaria's Seeker. While the mediwizards were working on Lynch, Krum was searching the stadium for the Snitch. It was much easier while all the Irish players were distracted by their injured teammate. Ella supposed she couldn't call it bad sportsmanship considering the fact Lynch didn't have to follow his dive.
A cheer went up from the crowd forcing Ella and Ginny's gazes back to Lynch as he finally stood up, ready to resume playing. Ella was quickly pulled back into the action as Ireland began to play with renewed vigor.
In roughly fifteen minutes of head spinning twists, turns, and passes, Ireland had scored ten more goals. Ella had no idea how their school's team would ever hold her interest again after such an astounding match. She could hardly pull her eyes away for a moment. The crowd cheered and roared like they had decided it'd be a crime to have their voice the next day. It was clear as day to see why Amos Diggory was willing to pay a sack of gold to get tickets. Ella would've been content to spend all the saving in her Gringotts account for this.
In a similar manner to how Hogwarts games went, as the score went up steadily on one side, the game started to get more vicious and abide by the rules less. Elbows were flying almost as much as the Bludgers. The Irish Chaser, Mullet began making her way to the goal where the Bulgarian Keeper was prepared to do anything to keep her away. He flew out to her and Ella had to be pulled back to her seat by Fred after the Keeper elbowed the girl in the side of her head.
"FOUL! THAT WAS A FOUL!" She screeched with the other Irish fans.
Ginny was fuming beside her as well while she shouted, "KICK HIM OUT OF THE GAME. HE'S A DIRTY LITTLE –"
"Ginny!" Charlie shouted covering his little sister's mouth.
Ella could barely hear Bagman informing the crowd that Mullet had been given a penalty shot on the Bulgarian Keeper. The Irish Mascots had swarmed into three giant HA's in response to the penalty. The veela decided to retaliate by dancing once more and Ella noticed Charlie and Fred both gave up on getting the girls to sit in an effort to ward off the veela magic. It was clear as day that the referee was not so lucky this time.
Elbowing the twins, Ella motioned towards the man as he clumsily landed on the field and began to make his way towards the dancing women. It was a cringe worthy sight as he began flexing and attempted to flirt with the creatures. He was not going to be happy when the charm lifted.
"Now we can't have that! Somebody slap the referee!" Ludo Bagman said to the crowd. A mediwizard, answering Ludo's request, raced across the field and aimed a swift quick to Mostafa's shins. Ella went into a fit of giggles at the man's stunned expression before realizing what just happened. As Ella assumed, he was looking very embarrassed by his actions and yelled angrily at the veela.
Bagman leaned forward to look at the scene more closely, "And unless I'm much mistaken, Mostafa is actually attempting to send off the Bulgarian team mascots! Now there's something we haven't seen before… Oh this could turn nasty…"
Truer words had yet to be spoken in this match. The Bulgarian Beaters flew down to yell at Mostafa for his actions towards the veela. The two gestured wildly at the leprechauns, who Ella thought were more sassy than rude. The little creatures had formed into "HEE, HEE, HEE" at the moment, which she found more funny than insulting. Probably because she spent so much time with Fred and George. The referee didn't seem to buy their argument either. He kept pointing upwards to make them fly once more, but they wouldn't have it. Ella could honestly see why the referee was pushing so much for this, the entire game had just been put on hold because of some dancing women. Two shrill bursts broke through the noise of the stadium.
"Two penalties for Ireland! And Volkov and Vulchanov had better get back on those brooms…yes…there they go…and Troy takes the Quaffle…" Bagman announced. Ella found herself unable to sit still or shut up as the match went on. It didn't feel like the game could become more violent than it had been before, but she was wrong. The Beaters had taken a new meaning to their name as they began swinging their club at pretty much anything. It didn't matter whether it was the Bludger or the person they were bludgeoning –they were going to whack it. The referee seemed to pick up on the intense atmosphere and realized he couldn't call every foul that played out. It wasn't until Dimitrov shot towards Moran, nearly making her fall off her broom that the crowd had enough.
"Foul!"
Ludo Bagman agreed, "Foul! Dimitrov skins Moran –deliberately flying to collide there –and it's got to be another penalty –yes, there the whistle!" Ella yanked the Ominoculars away from the twins to look at the leprechauns. The little creatures formed a giant hand that was making an extremely rude gesture at the veela. It was definitely a way to provoke the women. Ella thought the Irish Mascots were asking to be sent off the field as well, but that idea quickly shifted. They were asking for more than being sent away…they had a death wish.
The beautiful women with silvery hair had quickly vanished and were replaced with very ferocious creatures. Scaly wings burst from their shoulder blades and their faces became birdlike with large, pointy beaks. Ella was rather shocked to watch them hurl fire at the leprechauns. These women had quite the temper.
Quickly handing the Omnioculars back to the twins, Ella said, "Take a look at the pretty veela now." The looks on their faces said everything Ella assumed it would. They looked positively horrified by the Bulgarian Mascots.
"And that, boys, is why you should never go for looks alone!" Mr. Weasley announced. Ella couldn't have agreed more with him. While the Ministry worked to sort of the mess below, the game continued on in the sky.
"Levski! Dimitrov! Moran! Troy! Mullet! Ivanova! Moran again –Moran –MORAN SCORES!" Bagman roared. The Irish supporters yelled, but Ella could only hear the veela's inhuman screeching. Ginny and Ella didn't let that deter them from jumping up and down cheering on the female Chaser.
"I want to be like her!" Ginny kept chanting again and again to Ella who could only nod in agreement. Ella knew Ginny's favorite team was the Holy Head Harpies, an all-girls team, but Moran and Mullet were without a doubt two of the best Chasers in the world.
With hardly a single moment to spare, the game was in full motion once more. The Bulgarian Chasers were in possession of the Quaffle, but an Irish Beater pelted a Bludger directly at Krum, who didn't duck. Ella cringed knowing how much a Bludger to the head hurt. She'd been on the unlucky receiving end of a vicious hit her first year during Quidditch tryouts.
Despite the Seeker's injury, the game didn't stop. Mostafa's attention was currently on his broom, which had been set on fire by one of the veela below.
"NO!" George shouted, Ella quickly turned to him before watching a green blur shoot towards the ground. Ella's eyes widened as Lynch dove.
"He's seen the Snitch!" Harry yelled. "He's seen it! Look at him go!"
And they did.
Everyone watched as the Irish Seeker dove towards what could only be the Golden Snitch. Ella's hands gripped the program she'd bought so hard that her knuckles turned white. She'd seen the outcome of the match. She knew that Krum got the Snitch, but that didn't stop her heart from hammering in her chest. Soon enough, Krum had caught up to Lynch and both men were fighting to make it to the Snitch before the other.
Behind her, Ella could hear Hermione scream, "They're going to crash!"
"They're not!" Ron retorted.
But Harry was the only correct one, "Lynch is!"
In seconds, Lynch had flattened himself on the ground once more only to be trampled by a horde of veela. Ella speculated that it wouldn't have been so bad if they hadn't been in their frightening bird form.
"WHERE'S THE SNITCH? WHERE'S THE SNITCH?" Charlie shouted beside Ginny.
"KRUM!" Ella, George, and Fred bellowed excitedly.
The Bulgarian Seeker had blood rushing down his face, but he sat triumphantly on his broom with the Golden Snitch in his hands. Ella looked towards the score board to see BULGARIA: 160, IRELAND: 170. It was the same sight that she'd seen in her dream, but somehow the entire situation seemed so much more wonderful in real life. The sense of déjà vu was overrun by the elation of Ireland winning the Cup.
All around them, the stadium was building to an earsplitting roar as the Ireland fans discovered what happened. Ella, Ginny, and the twins were all on their feet, cheering for the winning team.
The girls hugged each other screaming, "THEY WON, THEY WON, THEY WON!" While the twins whooped and hollered for the team.
"IRELAND WINS!" Bagman shouted in amazement, adding the final bit of fuel to the fire. "KRUM GETS THE SNITCH –BUT IRELAND WINS –good lord, I don't think any of us were expecting that!"
Ella smirked and the twins quickly wrapped her in a hug lifting her feet off the ground. Their excitement was almost as infectious as the crowd's. Everyone seemed to be cheering. The Irish could cheer because they won, but in a way Bulgaria had won as well.
"Vell, ve fought bravely," a deep voice stated gloomily. Ella quickly turned around to see the Bulgarian Minister of Magic looking rather dejected while their Minister just looked bewildered.
"You can speak English! And you've been letting me mime everything all day!" Fudge said furiously.
The Bulgarian Minister smirked, "Vell, it vos very funny." Ella snickered at the Minister's outraged expression.
Bagman yelled into the microphone, "And the Irish team performs a lap of honor, flanked by their mascots, the Quidditch World Cup itself brought into the Top Box!" Their entire area was illuminated and all eyes turned on them. Ella found herself shrinking back into her seat, suddenly afraid of so many eyes being near her. She never really left the shadows. Fred and George were always the center of attention. Even now, when Ella knew she wasn't the focus of the stadium, she felt too exposed, too out in the open.
"Let's have a really loud hand for the gallant losers –Bulgaria!"
The Bulagrian team travelled into their Box looking forlorn, but not to a point where they were going to be sore losers. Each of them had their name called and shook hands with the Ministers of Magic. Krum received the largest amount of applause of anyone on the team. She supposed he deserved it for catching the Snitch after having his nose broken moments before.
As soon as the Bulgarians were done being announced, Ireland's team entered the stands looking ecstatic. Moran and Connolly supported Lynch between the two of them. He grinned despite crashing twice that evening. Ella supposed the brain trauma was worth it to the man since they'd won the Cup. After holding their trophy for a moment, the Irish team went back to do another victory lap.
Bagman finally took the spell off his voice so that only those who were near could hear him.
"They'll be talking about this one for years, a really unexpected twist, that…shame it couldn't have been longer… Ah yes…yes, I owe you….how much?" Bagman rasped as Fred and George made their way over to him. Both were grinning widely at the idea of collecting their winnings.
"Oi! Hello you both," a female voice shouted. Ella and Ginny looked over the wall to see Moran floating there. The rest of the team was beginning to descend, but Mullet and Moran both stayed level with the Top Box.
Ginny's eyes grew, "Us?"
Mullet laughed, "Oh course you two. You couldn't keep your eyes off the game, could you?"
Ella shook her head vigorously, "No, ma'am, you play amazingly. Both of you are the best Chasers I've ever seen!" Ginny nodded vigorously beside her.
"Do you two play?" Moran asked.
"No, but we want to," Ella admitted.
Moran smiled, "Well you should; we need more girls out on the field."
"Any who, nice to meet the two of you," Mullet said and the girls soared away to join their team. Ginny and Ella looked at each other excitedly. Ella had been studying for the past few years to be an Auror, but the idea of being on a Professional Quidditch team seemed surreal to her. Like a dream that was too good to come true.
"Come on girls," Mr. Weasley said. They began walking to the exit. Winky stood near the staircase by herself, Mr. Crouch never showed up.
As they filed out of the box, Ginny stumbled backwards a bit, knocking Ella back as well. She knocked against something and leaped away immediately looking at what she'd hit. There was nothing. Ella turned around cautiously, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she had fallen into a person who wasn't there.
A/N: And there you have it! The Quidditch World Cup through Ella's eyes. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and liked the more joking atmosphere with the twins and Ella. What did you think of the female Quidditch players? I hadn't realized there were women on the team until I went back and reread it for writing this part. I'm pretty excited about it (as I told my friend over and over). Anyways, I hope you liked it and as always, please, please, PLEASE review! :)
