So . . . . I didn't die . . . I'm back . . . . for a minute. So anyway here is the next chapter . . . enjoy. And by the way I just have to say that I know some people have been waiting a while for Harmony to start actually being a normal girl . . . well it's starting to happen. Anyway R&R if you have the inkling.

To the Portkey, Whatever That Is.

Harmony woke with a start when pillows hit her in the face.

"What's going on?" she cried out.

She heard girlish laughter and knew she'd been ambushed.

"Thanks guys." she said turning to look at Hermione and Ginny who had fallen over with laughter.

"No problem, it's time to go." Ginny said wiping tears from her eyes.

"Sure," Harmony said throwing the blankets off of her. "Did you really have to annihilate me with pillows?"

"No, but it was fun." Hermione said.

"How long have you two been up?" Harmony asked.

"Oh, my mum came in about five minutes ago and got us up, but you were out like you'd taken The Draught of Living Death. So we decided to wake the dead in the most amusing way possible." Ginny said smiling.

"I appreciate it." Harmony said tiredly standing up.

The three of them got dressed and walked, or in Harmony's case stumbled, down the stairs into the kitchen.

"Why do we have to be up so early?" Ginny said, rubbing her eyes and sitting down at the table.

"We've got a bit of a walk," said Mr. Weasley.

Harmony walked over to stand in front of her godfather.

"Great, walking." Harmony said, falling forward into Lupin's waiting arms.

Lupin laughed quietly. "You look like the living dead, Little One."

"I feel like the living dead. It's too early." Harmony said pulling back and rubbing her eyes. "Mr. Weasley said we didn't have to walk to the Cup right. I dozed off when he said if we were."

"No, we only have to walk to our mode of transportation." Lupin said.

"Which was?" Harmony asked.

"Well he never got to that because—well—it looks like Fred and George are in trouble again. But I assume it will be a Portkey or something of that nature." Lupin said.

"I'll ask you what that is when my brain turns on." Harmony said resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.

"You look as bad as I feel." Harmony heard her brother's voice say.

Harmony nodded. "I believe it. A morning person is something I am most definitely not."

When they all were ready to leave the atmosphere was definitely not the friendliest, mostly due to what trouble Fred and George had caused their mother earlier. Mrs. Weasley was still glowering as she kissed Mr. Weasley on the cheek, though not as much as the twins, who had each hoisted their rucksacks onto their backs and walked out without a word to her.

"Well have a lovely time," said Mrs. Weasley, "and behave yourselves," she called after the twins' retreating backs, but they did not look back or answer. "I'll send Bill, Charlie, and Percy along around midday," Mrs. Weasley said to Mr. Weasley, as the rest of them set off across the dark yard after Fred and George.

It was chilly and the moon was still out. Only a dull, greenish tinge along the horizon to their right showed that daybreak was drawing closer. Harmony would have been more excited and intrigued with all the happenings of the day if she hadn't felt like she was about to fall asleep standing up. She hadn't slept well the night before. Despite her plea to Harry the night before that they forget everything but the Cup, she had thought of everything but the cup that night.

She was afraid again, this time there was more people that he could hurt, if he came back. She had added two godfathers to the list, not to mention her friends and their families, and obviously there was always Harry. Her heart was spread so thin, encompassing all of these people, it would be so easy to break . . . too easy to break. As she was thinking about this, she saw a rosebush on the side of the path, on it one single rose in full bloom. White like snow, like a lone beacon against the dark mass of green leaves and thorns. The last rose of the season, she assumed, since fall was coming. She smiled slightly and touched it with the tips of her fingers. The petals were soft like silk, then she felt a pricking sensation and realized that in her fascination with the rose she hadn't noticed a lone thorn near the edge.

She looked at the drop of blood oozing up from the broken skin and she cursed the thorn for being by the wonderful flower. Suddenly she stopped. That was the answer. The flower was the answer. She was like the flower. She was in full bloom. This time in her life was wonderful. She was pulling her life together past, present, and future. She was filling her life with those she could love and who would love her in return. Yet, there was a lone thorn still left near her. Hidden maybe, but there nonetheless. Did that thorn take anything from the flower? Diminish its beauty? Steal its life? No, it was just there, just like the leaves and the dirt were there. So was this problem, it was just there. Maybe one day it would be something and she'd need to deal with it, but for now it was just there not really changing anything. And so for now she needed to look past it, realizing it was there, but not dwelling on it.

"Of course you'd stab yourself on a rose." Lupin said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

"Hey it's not my fault thorns like to hide." She said.

Lupin laughed. "We're falling behind, you realize that right."

Harmony moaned looking how far ahead everyone else was. "Ugh, yes."

"Here Little One, let me carry you for a while."

He picked her up before she could protest and so she decided she'd let him, just this once. As she sat quietly in his arms she felt a smile creep back over her lips. It was hard to feel anything but happy in her godfather's arms.

They soon caught up to the others and Harmony saw Ginny looking a little jealous.

"Of course you get carried." She said smiling.

"Hey it's not my fault I felt like I was going to fall asleep standing up. And I'm not going to get carried anymore." She said, sliding out of her godfather's arms.

They began to climb Stoatshead Hill, sometimes stumbling in a hidden rabbit hole or slipping on thick black tuffets of grass. Harmony was suddenly very glad her godfather had carried her before the hill because now everyone was panting for breath as they climbed the hill. Right when Harmony thought she might be the only one left standing, they reached the top of the hill.

"Whew," panted Mr. Weasley, taking off his glasses and wiping them on his sweater. "Well, we've made good time—we've got fifteen minutes . . . "

Harmony saw Lupin and her brother standing together and walked over to them.

"Are you two all right?" She asked.

"I feel like an old man." Lupin responded panting.

Harmony laughed. "Well you are with a bunch of teenagers, so that's understandable. You also carried one of them right before the hill, so don't feel too old. Harry?"

"I'll be better in a minute." He responded, with his hands on his knees.

"Now we just need the Portkey," said Mr. Weasley, replacing his glasses and squinting around at the ground. "It won't be big . . . Come on . . . "

They spread out, searching. They had only been at it for a couple of minutes, however, when a shout rent the still air.

"Over here, Arthur! Over here, son, we've got it!"

Two tall figures were silhouetted against the starry sky on the other side of the hilltop.

"Amos!" said Mr. Weasley, smiling as he strode over to the man who had shouted. The rest of them followed.

Mr. Weasley was shaking hands with a ruddy-faced wizard with a scrubby brown beard, who was holding a moldy-looking old boot in his other hand.

"This is Amos Diggory, everyone," said Mr. Weasley. "He works for the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric?"

Harmony's breath left her body in a small gasp as the other figure became clearer. She had seen Cedric Diggory before, he was the Captain and Seeker of the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team, but he'd changed over the summer. He'd become a little taller and was just somehow more attractive than he had been before.

"Hi," said Cedric, looking around at them all.

Everybody said hi back except Fred and George, who merely nodded. They had never quite forgiven Cedric for beating their team in the first Quidditch match of the previous year.

"Long walk, Arthur?" Cedric's father asked.

"Not too bad," said Mr. Weasley. "We live just on the other side of the village there. You?"

"Had to get up at two, didn't we, Ced? I tell you, I'll be glad when he's got his Apparition test. Still . . . not complaining . . . Quidditch World Cup, wouldn't miss it for a sackful of Galleons—and the tickets cost about that. Mind you, looks like I got off easy . . . " Amos Diggory peered good-naturedly around at the three Weasley boys, Harry, Hermione, Harmony, Lupin, and Ginny. "All the kids yours, Arthur?"

"Oh no, only the redheads," said Mr. Weasley, pointing out his children. "This is Hermione, friend of Ron's—Harry and Harmony, other friends, and—"

"Merlin's beard," said Amos Diggory, his eyes widening. "Harry? Harmony? Harry and Harmony Potter?"

Both twins nodded.

Harmony was used to this by now; the stares, the way their eyes searched for the scar, but it always seemed to give her the chills.

"Ced's talked about both of you, of course," said Amos Diggory. "Told us all about playing against you last year . . . I said to him, I said—Ced that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will . . . You beat Harry Potter, when you were a Seeker on the Quidditch team!"

Cedric looked slightly embarrassed and a slight blush dusted his cheeks. Harmony felt her heart flutter a little. This was a new feeling for her . . . there hadn't been any boys at Hogwarts who she had really liked before, but this was just ridiculous. All the heart fluttering and the fact that she couldn't think straight and her obscene urge to giggle in the most girlish way possible. She shook her head to try and clear it.

"Harry fell off his broom, Dad," he muttered. "I told you . . . it was an accident . . . "

"Yes, but you didn't fall off, did you?" roared Amos genially, slapping his son on his back. "Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman . . . "

As Mr. Diggory made that comment his eyes seemed to linger on Harmony for just a moment, as if he was trying to tell her something.

" . . . But the best man won, I'm sure Harry'd say the same, wouldn't you, eh? One falls off his broom, one stays on, you don't need to be a genius to tell which one's the better flier!"

There was a brief moment of silence until Mr. Diggory's eyes landed on Harmony again.

"And he's said a little about you too of course, Harmony. In one of his letters he said that you were the best Chaser he's ever seen on a Hogwarts team, didn't you Ced? He also mentioned that you were one of the prettiest Chasers he'd ever seen." Amos Diggory finished, winking at Harmony.

"Dad . . . " Cedric said quietly, looking embarrassed again.

Harmony's heart fluttered again. She had the urge to hit herself right where her heart was to stop it from doing that, but she restrained herself, and simply smiled.

"I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true, but anyway, who is this?" Mr. Diggory asked looking at Lupin.

"Oh," Harmony said, realizing they hadn't finished introductions. "This is my godfather, Remus Lupin."

Suddenly Mr. Diggory's eyes darkened a little, but he kept his voice cheerful as he said.

"Taught at the school last year, didn't you?"

Lupin nodded. "Yes I did. Cedric is a very fine student."

Mr. Diggory's eyes still carried their dark cast as he said, "Yes, yes he is."

Mr. Weasley broke the tension.

"Must be nearly time," said Mr. Weasley quickly, pulling out his watch again. "Do you know whether we're waiting for any more, Amos?"

Mr. Diggory turned away from Lupin to look at Mr. Weasley.

"No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already and the Fawcetts couldn't get tickets," said Mr. Diggory. "There aren't any more of us in this area, are there?"

"Not that I know of," said Mr. Weasley. "Yes, it's a minute off . . . We'd better get ready . . . "

Harmony tuned to Lupin.

"Would now be the right time to ask what a Portkey is and what is does?"

Lupin laughed, a little tensely. "Watch what they do and listen to Mr. Weasley. You'll catch on pretty quickly."

"You just need to touch the Portkey, that's all, a finger will do—" Mr. Weasley was saying.

With difficulty, owing to their bulky backpacks the eleven of them crowded around the old boot held out by Amos Diggory.

Suddenly Harmony felt someone tall to the side of her and felt a finger touch the boot right next to hers. Harmony looked to her left and saw that it was Cedric Diggory that had come to stand next to her. She saw Harry's look of surprise because obviously Cedric had taken the spot Harry had been heading for. Harry looked at Harmony with questioning eyes and Harmony just shrugged, she didn't understand it either. What she did understand was that her heart had skipped several beats since he had come to stand by her.

She watched as Harry walked to the other side of the circle and stood by Hermione and Ron. Lupin was on her other side she looked at him as if to ask, "What is going on?" He shrugged his shoulders as she had and smiled a little.

"You look nervous." Cedric's voice came from next to her.

She looked over at him and shrugged. "First time."

Cedric nodded, "Don't be nervous, it's simple."

"Three . . ." muttered Mr. Weasley, one eye still on his watch, "two . . ."

Right before Mr. Weasley finished the count down Harmony felt the hand that was not extended toward the boot, which was her left, get grabbed. Before she had time to process what was happening Mr. Weasley finished the countdown.

"One . . . "

There was a sudden jerk in her stomach that pulled her forward. The feeling panicked her for a moment, she closed her eyes and tensed. She felt the hand let go of hers and suddenly it was around her waist pulling her toward a body to her left. She felt safer that way and was able to crack her eyes open and see the swirling colors around her, she quickly shut them again before she got dizzy. She could feel her finger still stuck to the boot as though pulling her forward then—

Her feet slammed into the ground. She knew she would have fallen over had the body on her left not pulled her close and held her with both arms instead of one. She heard the Portkey hit the ground and then opened her eyes. She looked up to see if her assumptions were correct, and sure enough they were, she was in the arms of Cedric Diggory.