It seemed I just fell asleep when dad was shaking me awake. When he saw I was awake, he moved onto wake Nick. Sam and Benny were already sitting up and rubbing their eyes.
"Hurry and dress, boys," dad told us. "We're just going to get going. We'll have breakfast when we get there."
"I'm going to be too hungry to walk," Benny complained. "I'm tired too."
"You'll be fine Benny," dad told him. "You've been asking us to treat you like a big boy lately. So be a big boy and get ready."
Benny let out a sigh but he got out of bed as the lights went on. Sam moved slower than everyone else. He had a scowl on his face. I decided my parents knew what they were doing by making us sleep so early. I remembered last year when Benny and Brianne had been so grumpy when we'd gone. I figured mum and dad didn't want that again.
Dad left the room and we dressed quickly. Only Sam took his time. Impatiently, I hurried over and grabbed his sweater to pull it over his head.
"I can do it myself!" Sam said angrily afterwards.
"Sure but you take too long," I said. "Now come on."
"You're mean," he said.
"Yes I am. Now come on," I said and I turned to leave the room.
We were likely going to have to listen to whiny kids that morning. I hoped they went back to sleep after we arrived. When I got downstairs, it was to see that Brenda and Kendra were downstairs already and so were Nick's parents.
"Where are the others?" Mum asked.
"They should be coming down too," I said. "They were all dressed. I had to help Sam and he's angry now."
Nick and Benny appeared moments later.
"Have a good sleep dear?" Nick's mum asked.
"Not really, it took forever to fall asleep," he said. "I might take a nap when we get there."
"I think all of you kids should have a lie in," mum said when Sam appeared looking very grumpy. "The game isn't until tonight and we don't want anyone tired or grumpy."
"I'll be fine," Brenda said. "I'm not napping."
"Then don't complain that you're tired later," dad told her.
"I don't see we have to leave so early," she said as Brianne and Tasha finally appeared, both rubbing sleep out of their eyes. "You can all apparate. Just apparate us there."
"We are taking the port-key," dad said. "Brenda, stop with the attitude!"
"Dad, my legs are going to be too tired to walk," Benny said.
"I can carry you mate," Nick's father said and he walked over and picked him up.
"My legs are tired too," Sam whined.
"Just give me a moment," dad told him. "I'll carry you."
"How far do we have to walk?" Brianne asked.
"About a mile," mum told her. "You'll be okay, won't you dear?"
"Of course," she said. "I just wanted to know."
"Well, I think all is in order," dad finally said. "We can go."
"Aren't we going to need a tent and our things?" I asked.
"Don't worry about any of that dear," mum told me. "It's all taken care of."
"Meaning?" Brenda asked.
"It's already there," mum told her. "We went it before we woke you. It's why we asked that you have everything ready last night."
"Ours too?" Nick asked his parents.
"Yes, ours is all there too. We just need to catch the port-key now and then we can walk to our sites," Nick's mum answered.
Dad walked over to pick up Sam, and the beckoned for us all to follow. Brenda was grumbling still at the rear. Brianne on the other hand seemed to be very excited. She talked non-stop as we walked through the house and out the front door. Dad locked it with his wand and then we walked down to the road.
"Are a lot meeting us?" I asked.
"I think one other family," he replied. "The Keller family."
"What are we looking for exactly?" Tasha asked.
"Anything that would seem like rubbish," I answered. "Nothing that stands out otherwise muggles could get a hold of it. I don't think too many muggles come out here though. We're in the middle of no where."
"But they could always get stranded," mum said. "We get high traffic around here at times, especially in the summer. I think there must be an area for tourists around here."
"Can they see your house?" Tasha asked.
"No, not unless they know to look for it," I said. "It's all just country side to them."
"So like a Secret Keeper?" Nick's dad asked.
"Not quite, although at a time we were hidden by it," dad said. "I was Secret Keeper. No, it's just not visible but you don't have to have the Secret Keeper tell you where it is. You just need to know it's there. We mainly did it so muggles can't see us, but I left it up in case there were wizards we didn't want coming around to find us. We don't believe You-Know-Who will be gone forever. They wanted to recruit us last time, and they will likely try again. I'd rather they couldn't find us at home."
"Makes sense," Nick's father replied. "We're a bit secluded but I may need your advice if that time comes."
"We'll be more than happy to help," mum said. "Let's just hope that time is long off."
"We've been worried since Sirius Black left Hogwarts," Nick's mum said. "He's one of his biggest supporters. He could be trying to find him now. He couldn't get Harry, so he'll probably try to get You-Know-Who back."
I tuned out the rest of their conversation, but I did start to think about what they were talking about. Would Sirius Black look for You-Know-Who now? I sure hoped not. I didn't want to grow up in that world. Mum had been pregnant with me when he'd gone. We'd had a great childhood and I wanted for Benny to grow up normally. However, odd things had started to happen since Harry Potter returned to the wizarding world.
"You sure are quiet," Nick said to me after we'd walk a bit.
"Just tired," I said. "I think I will go back to sleep a bit when we get there."
"Me too, although usually once I am up, I am up. Won't hurt to have a little lay in though," he said. "I just hope the little ones sleep. Don't think I can take the whining."
"Probably already are," I said as I glanced over at Benny who had his head rested against Nick's fathers shoulder. "It will be my sister we have to worry about," I added in a lower voice meaning Brenda.
"Likely yeah," Nick muttered.
Dad led us from the road and into the field where the grass was long and wet. I was glad I'd decided on pants but my feet already felt soaked. Brenda, who had chosen a dress began to complain.
"Not much further," mum called back to her. "But I told you to wear proper clothes."
It was really dark so I didn't know how dad expected to find anything, and he didn't have his wand out to light the field. However, as we moved I could see dark figures and realized it must have been the family we were meeting. They were hanging onto round thing with thin sticks in the middle and something rubber on the outside.
Once we got closer to them, I noticed two adults and two girls about Briannes age. The man smiled at us.
"Got it here," he said. "Old bike tyre it seems."
"You sure?" Dad asked and the man nodded.
"Couldn't find anything else," he answered. "Are there any other families coming?"
"Don't think so," dad said. "I believe we're the only ones around here. Did you have a long walk?"
"Yes about three kilometers," he said. "You?"
"About a kilometer," dad replied.
"You're Richard Hoofer," the man said once we were close enough. "Are these all your children? I'd heard you had a big family now. Giving the Weasley's a run for their money?"
Dad laughed. "I'm used to hearing that, but no just four of them are mine, this here is my nephew," he said meaning Sam. "My wife Barb, my youngest Benny is over there with Ted Lawrence and his wife Rebecca, my two girls are Brianne and Brenda and this here is my oldest, Barry," he put a hand on my shoulder. "The rest are just friends of the children. Tasha, Nick and Kendra."
"This is my son," Nick's father told him as he patted Nick's head with his free hand.
"I'm sorry but do I know you?" Dad asked him.
"I was a year above you in Ravenclaw," the man replied. "Fredrick Keller. This is my wife Nancy and my daughters Isabella and Harriet."
"Oh right, I do remember now," dad said. "I thought the name sounded familiar but I thought it was because it was a common one. You put me in detention in my fourth year."
"You in detention?" I asked dad with amusement. "For what?"
"Being out after hours, but I was coming back from the library," dad said.
"Hmm, I'll remember that one then," I said. "I guess it's okay if you're coming back from the library."
"Well, I'm sure they won't see it same way just as Fredrick here didn't," dad said smiling down at me before he turned back to Fredrick. "How much time do we have?"
Brianne who wasn't a shy girl was already talking eagerly to the girls. They were about the same height as her, so they must have been her age.
"About two minutes I think," he said.
"Alright you lot," dad said turning to us. "We just need for you to put a finger on it. So crowd around please. Benny and Sam should be fine since we're holding them, but the rest of you just touch it."
"What are these things?" Nick asked as he put a finger on one of the metal sticks.
"Spindles," Tasha said. "It's an old bicycle tyre. Muggles use them to get places. They basically help the bike move. Usually there is a chain. You took Muggle Studies for next year though. You might learn about them. They're actually a lot of fun. They're as popular with muggle kids like brooms are for us."
"Starting third year then?" Mr. Keller asked. "My oldest Isabella is starting her first year and next year Harriet will be starting."
"Oh I hope you're in Ravenclaw too," Brianne said excitedly as she took a spot between the girls. "I start next year too and my whole family is Ravenclaw. I should be too."
"We'll need to keep in touch," Harriet said. "We can be friends before we get there. It's so hard waiting a whole year!"
"Hurry," mum said. "Brenda, get a finger on the tyre. Everyone needs to touch it. It's going to go very soon. Come on Kendra beside me. We can continue to talk once we are there."
Everyone went quiet and then the tyre went blue before I felt a jerk at my naval. The next I knew, we were spinning in a blur of colours. Our feet hit the ground moments later and I fell down. I wasn't the only one. Most of us kids had fallen. Tasha was the only one standing besides our parents.
"That was fun!" Benny said lifting his head. "Let's do it again!"
"Later," dad told him and he handed the tyre to a wizard who had called out the time.
"Morning Mr. Hoofer," he said. "Mrs. Keller."
"Morning Basil," dad said. "Busy morning?"
"Yes it has been. Seems to be all the big families coming at the moment. Just had the Weasley's not too long ago and then a big party from the Black Forest. We'll be getting a party of twenty in the next one. Better get a move on," he said. "You're camp manager is Mr. Roberts Lawrence and Hoofer… Keller, you are Mr. Letson."
"Yes, yes, we need to find our site," dad said.
We walked a little ways before he turned to the Mr. And Mrs. Keller.
"Well, it was nice meeting you lot," he said. "It seems our daughters are the same age. We really should keep in touch so they can get to know each other."
"Can't we meet up later with them?" Harriet asked her father. "Please?"
"I'm sure that can be arranged," dad said to Mr. Keller. "You'll find us with the signs for Hoofer and Lawrence, but we could always meet up with you later. The kids are going to sleep after we set up."
"We'll be around later," Mrs. Keller said. "I'd love for our children to get to know each other. Why not around noon?"
"Yes, that will work. We will have a big lunch going, so if you'd like to eat with us just come on over," mum told her. "Well, let's go everyone. I know everyone would like to get some sleep."
"I'm so glad there are people my age!" Brianne said excitedly when we began to walk again. "I hadn't expected that and they're both friendly. You'll look for Isabella won't you?"
Dad stopped to pay the man who I assumed was Mr. Roberts before we continued on.
"We'll try, especially if she's in Ravenclaw," I said. "I'm glad you've found a friend before Hogwarts though. You're lucky. It doesn't happen often."
"Don't get ahead of yourself," Brenda said. "They might not like her. Once they get to know her they might realize how annoying she really is. Don't get your hopes up, Brianne."
"Brenda, just shut up!" I said angrily. "Unlike you, Brianne is actually like-able! Stop being so rude to them all the time. I am so fed up with you. I've said it to you before; have you not noticed that no one likes you in your year? The problem is you, not them."
"Mum, Barry is being rude to me," Brenda complained.
"Brenda, I will apparate you home and stay with you," mum told her. "And you know what will happen if I have to do that!"
"You said you won't anymore!" Brenda whined.
"I will if you don't stop with this attitude, and if I have to, I might just keep you home and hire a tutor. I can't take the way you treat us or your siblings anymore," mum said. "I wasn't going to say anything to you until tomorrow, especially around everyone but I suppose now is a good of a time as any. Now knock it off!"
"Why am I being yelled at but not Barry?" She whined.
"Because Barry is sticking up for Brianne," mum told her. "What you just said was uncalled for and I don't want to hear you say that again. He also happens to speak the truth. Now knock it off!"
I could hear Brenda sniffling while Kendra muttered something to her. What did she see in my sister? It sounded as if she was trying to reassure her. She must have been very loyal just to stick by her. My belief was that Brenda was just jealous. It was the only thing that made sense. She had to know that Brianne would be one of those people who have friends almost instantly. But then again, wasn't her and Kendra's friendship almost instant too? They'd met in the Robes shop after all.
We passed several tents before we found our lots. Just as dad said, our stuff was already sitting there. A couple bulky bags sat in our lot while one sat in Nick's lot. Wasn't dad worried they'd be stolen? They were right in the open. Anyone could have just taken it. Nick was thinking the same thing because he mentioned this while he walked with his parents to their lot.
"No one can see it," dad said. "Or they couldn't. It didn't appear until we showed up. We thought of it all," and he set Sam down on his feet.
"You don't think anyone will notice if we use magic do you?" Nick's dad asked as he put Benny down.
"Not like others haven't," dad said with a shrug. "Strictly speaking we shouldn't, but it's still quite early and I'd bet most of my vault that most of these people have. In fact, look at that tent over there."
And he pointed to a tent that had many turrets on it. In fact, looking around, you could see many tents that were clearly magical. Setting up our tents with magic wasn't anything compared to what these people had on theirs. Dad pulled our tent out of one of the bags, and then pointed his wand at it and said: "Erecto!"
The tent unfolded itself and all the pegs went into the ground while the cords tied themselves into the pegs. It took only about a minute before the tent was fully erect. Nick's dad had the done same.
"But how do we all fit?" Tasha asked as she stared at it.
"What do you mean?" I asked her.
"There won't be enough room for all of us," she said.
"Go inside dear," Nick's mother told her. "You'll see for yourself how it works. I had muggleborn friends growing up. I understand your confusion. They look small but they really aren't."
Tasha duck inside and I heard her gasp. I still wondered what the confusion was all about. Of course they looked small from the outside! Our tent had an upstairs though you couldn't tell like the one with the turrets. That was for mum and dad while we slept downstairs in bunk beds. It had two separate rooms for the girls and boys.
"It's like a house!" Tasha said as she turned.
"I guess you can put it that way," I said with amusement.
"I'll have to show you a muggle tent sometime," she told me. "You'll understand why I am shocked. This has a kitchen and a living-room, bedrooms, an upstairs and wow, even a bathroom!"
"What do muggle tents look like then?" Nick asked as he joined us.
"Well it's hard to explain," she answered. "The inside certainly isn't bigger than the outside. You usually just sleep in sleeping bags on the ground. There aren't kitchens or bathrooms. I mean, can you actually cook on that stove?"
"Of course you can," I said with amusement.
"You just wait," Tasha said and then she turned to Nick. "Ask the Muggle Studies teacher for pictures of a tent. You'll see and then I can show Barry."
"Nick," Nick's mum said as she entered the tent. "Would you like to sleep in here or our tent?"
"I'll just try to sleep in here for now," Nick said. "That is if there are enough beds."
"There will be," I told him. "There are three bunks to each room. I guess mum and dad figured at some point we'd want friends to come camping or something. We loved it because we always got our own bunks when we were younger."
"Okay, we'll be up," Nick's mum told him. "Do try to sleep dear. It will be a long day if you don't."
The other kids joined us except for Brenda. Kendra, Brianne and Tasha went into the girls room while we went for the boys. Sam and Benny followed at a slower pace.
"I get top bunk cause I am older," he told Sam and then he started to climb the ladder to one of the bunks. Sam just shrugged and then went into the lower bed.
I climbed into the bunk beside theirs and then Nick went into the last one. The kids didn't even seem to care that we took our own bunks. In fact, by the looks of it, the boys fell asleep as soon as they laid down. It was almost the same for me too. I laid down in my bed and got comfortable. I began day dreaming about the match and then fell into a dream about it, except I was actually playing instead. I was the youngest Chaser ever.
"Barry! Barry! Barry!" The crowd shouted.
In fact, they began shaking me off my broom while they yelled. I tried to fly off, but I couldn't.
"Stop it," I said.
"No, your mum said it's time to get up," Nick said.
I opened my eyes. I was back in the tent again. I was disappointed. It had been a very good dream. Looking towards one of the tents windows, I could see that it was bright out. It was likely mid-morning then.
"How long did we sleep for?" I asked as I sat up.
"Almost four and a half hours," Nick answered. "I only got about an hour and a half maybe. Too loud out there. Don't know how the rest of you slept. The girls are just waking up too."
"Benny and Sam?" I asked as I looked around. They were gone.
"Woke about a half hour ago," he said. "You're the last one so your mum said to get you. Brenda is all grumpy of course. Complaining she is tired."
I rolled my eyes and then started to climb down. Of course she was complaining about that. I hoped mum and dad would let us wander around. I didn't know how much of her whining I could take. I followed Nick outside were many lawn chairs were set up. We walked over to the ones where Tasha and Brianne were sitting.
"Morning sleepy head," Tasha said to me. "You must have been really tired."
"I was. More than I realized," I said as I sat beside her. "But you must have been too."
"No, I've been awake a while. I just laid there until Kendra and Brianne woke up," she answered. "It's after eleven."
"At least we won't be tired tonight," Nick said.
"Even you?" I asked.
"I feel refreshed," he said. "I think I slept deeply even in that short time."
"My new friends should be here soon," Brianne said excitedly. "I hope we can play all day."
"You should be able to," I told her. "I do hope you get along but I think you will. They seem really nice."
"I hope they make food soon," Brianne said. "I am really hungry."
"Us too," Benny said as he joined us. "Can you hear how loud my stomach is? I should eat soon. It's getting angry."
"You sound stupid," Brenda said. "Your stomach doesn't get angry."
"Brenda, do you really want mum to take you home and do you know what?" I asked her. "I won't tell her you just said that but you need to stop."
"But it does sound dumb Barry," she said.
"He's seven!" I retorted. "You said dumb things his age too you know. Don't say anymore rude things to either of them, or us for that matter."
"Why are you so mean?" Sam asked her. "Why are you angry?"
"I'm not angry," she said.
"You act like it," Sam said."You used to be nice but now you're mean and angry. I don't like you anymore."
"Good!" She said. "I'll be right back," she said to Kendra. "I'm going to see if mum and dad are going to start making lunch soon. I don't think I can handle the whining."
"Cause it's us doing the most whining," Benny said and he rolled his eyes. I snorted and then beckoned Kendra to me.
"I'm not trying to turn you against my sister, but how do you stand all that? I just don't get it. You're the one who has stood by her the most," I said.
"Because I know what she's like when she lets her guard down," Kendra said. "She's never like this with me. At times I think she thinks she's impressing people when she isn't. She's very insecure. That sweet girl you mention? It's still there, but I think you lot and the people in our year make her self-conscious and she acts like that. Besides, we promised our first day we'd stick to each other no matter what. I'm loyal to her no matter what."
"You'd think you're a Hufflepuff then," Benny said.
"Well, the hat did almost put me in Hufflepuff but it decided Ravenclaw in the end," she told him with a grin.
"Well, I don't like her," Sam said. "She is mean to me whenever I come over. How am I supposed to know certain things? I've only been around six years!"
"If she wasn't my sister, I wouldn't talk to her," I said. "Maybe she'll outgrow this then. If she is nice around you, Kendra, there is hope."
"I wish she would show her true side more," Kendra said with a sigh. "She's amazing when she is herself. I think the well, the bitchy side is like a defense mechanism or something. It's like a wall she puts around herself. She doesn't let just anyone in. I just wonder, did something happen to make her have trust issues? She's never said but that's obviously what it is."
"None that I know of," I said. "I mean, anything could have happened though. A lot of the time it comes from her wanting her own room. Maybe she feels she was betrayed from that?"
"Maybe, I know she's upset about that still but I think it could be more than that too," Kendra answered. "I'll keep trying to find out. It's odd I have to tell her own family that she's actually sweet. I'm determined to help her let her guard down someday."
Brenda appeared at the mouth of the tent at that moment so we couldn't say much more. She walked back over to us.
"Mum said she's starting now," Brenda said. "Want to go explore a bit?" She asked Kendra. "Mum said we could, but not to go far."
"Sure," Kendra said. "Talk to you later," she said to us before hurrying to Brenda.
"She's too nice to be Brenda's friend," Brianne said.
"As long as she has someone," I said. "And look, there are your friends now."
The Kellers were a few tents away walking over to us. The girls were yelling out excitedly at some of the tents. I was guessing they had followed the rules too. There were more tents set up since we'd arrived. I knew there would be Ministry workers going around to make sure they weren't too magical. I was sure they hadn't come to our section yet. There was a family that had a fire that was turning different colours.
Brianne jumped up and ran over to greet them. The girls rushed over to her yelling excitedly. I grinned at them. I believed she'd found some friendships like mine. They would be long lasting, even if they weren't in the same House.
At dusk, salesmen were appearing everywhere. That must have meant that the game would be starting very soon. Mum and dad got omnioculars for all of us. We also bought some Irish flags to wave around. Earlier, Nick's mother had painted all of our faces with shamrocks or leprechauns, or both. She was an artist it appeared. Benny and Sam had 'Ireland' written on their foreheads. Brenda had even given in. She had a shamrock on her left cheek.
There was a loud gong toward the wooded area which meant it was time.
"Kids, we need to stick together," mum said as Brianne, Sam, and Benny tried to rush forward. "Please, Benny, Sam, and Brianne stay with Nick, Tasha and Barry. You three, please watch them."
"We will," I said as I took a hold of Benny's hand.
The Keller's had left about an hour ago. They'd promised to keep in contact since Brianne got along so well with both girls. They even planned to bring Harriet around at times for them to play together. They got along well with my parents too.
We followed the crowd to a lit up path in the woods. Around us people were shouting excitedly. I wanted to run ahead but I didn't. I just kept close to Benny while Nick held Sam's hand and Tasha and Brianne talked behind us. Kendra and Brenda were with our parents. After a while, we came to what looked like a pure gold wall.
"Wow," I said.
Dad took the lead and took us inside. We climbed some stairs. He led us up a couple flights before we went through a doorway. Dad kept checking the tickets he had until he led us over to our seats.
"Okay," he said as he stopped. "You two will sit between us," he said to Kendra and Brenda and he waved his hand to him and mum to Nick's parents. "The rest of you lot can take seats right at the end of the row."
"Why can't we go with them?" Brenda asked.
"Because you're just going to fight with your siblings," dad said. "I can't trust you. I want to enjoy the game, not put out fires."
Brenda folded her arms and pouted. The rest of us moved on down the row.
"Us three will sit together," I said. "Brianne, you can sit beside Tasha and then Benny can sit beside you, and Sam beside Benny."
We all sat down and looked down into the pitch. Dad had gotten us good seats. Our seats weren't that much lower than the top box which was directly across from us. I figured the most important people would be sitting there. Once I sat down, I put my omnioculars to my eyes and looked up at it.
"Hey, Potter is in the top box!" I said.
"Where?" Benny shouted and he too looked through his omnioculars. "Oh I see him! But he looks like a normal person."
"Well what did you think he'd look like?" I asked as I began looking through the crowd at the rest of the audience. I wanted to see if I could spot my other school mates.
"I dunno but not normal," Benny replied.
"He always gets everything!" Nick said. "Even the top box. The Weasley's are there too. How did they afford tickets up there?"
"Maybe Harry bought them for them?" Tasha suggested.
"Doubtful," I said. "The Weasley's are proud. Maybe they won them. They won that prize money to Egypt last year, remember? We can ask Ginny back at school. Wish the game would start now."
Just as I said this, a loud magnified voice suddenly said:
"Ladies and gentlemen… welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"
We all began cheering with the crowd around us. I believed dad had said that were were a hundred thousand people in the stadium. A board which had been showing advertisements changed to BULGARIA: ZERO, IRELAND: ZERO.
"And now without further ado, allow me to introduce… the Bulgarian Team Mascots!"
On our left hand side, a crowd which all wore scarlet erupted into cheers. As they cheered about a hundred beautiful women walked onto the pitch. I'd never seen women so beautiful in my life and I couldn't take my eyes off of them. Something was off about them though, but I didn't know what. They had long blond hair and pale white faces.
Music started, and they started to dance. I wondered what I could do to impress them. I felt I needed to do something! Perhaps I should go down there and dance with them. I got up and began making my way down the aisle.
"Barry, where are you going?" I heard Benny's voice but distantly it seemed.
"Barry!" Tasha called. "Nick!"
The music stopped and I looked around. Benny and Sam were staring at me with their mouths open.
"Go on and sit down son," dad said to me. "Next time they come out, plug your ears boys."
"What happened?" I asked.
"You fell for the Veela's charms," Nick's father answered. "It's okay. You weren't expecting it. When they were dancing, you felt you had to impress them, right?"
"Right," Nick said. "I felt I needed to go see them."
"Me too," I said. "I needed to dance with them."
Tasha and Brianne began to giggle.
"Go sit down boys," mum said even her and Nick's mum were laughing.
I felt embarrassed as I made my way back to my seat. Nick's face was red as well, but I realized that people were shouting angrily. Around us, other men had fallen for their charm too. I'd heard of Veela but I didn't know too much about them. I'd have to look them up later on. At least I'd be prepared next time.
"And now," the magnified voice began again. "kindly put your wands in the air… for the Irish National Team Mascots!"
Suddenly a green and gold comet flew through around the pitch and then broke into two comets towards the gold posts. A rainbow appeared connecting two balls of light. Everyone was yelling out impressed shouts as fireworks appeared. Benny and Sam stood up to watch with their mouths wide open. The rainbow disappeared and the balls of lights connected and then formed a glittering shamrock which rose up in the sky above the stands. It seemed to be raining gold now.
When it hit the stands, I realized that it was golden coins. Likely just leprechaun gold I assumed. They wouldn't just give away Galleons like that. Most of the crowd including my own siblings didn't realize this. People were diving for the gold.
"Look all this!" Benny shouted.
"It's leprechaun gold," I told him.
"So?" He asked.
"So, it will disappear," I said. "It doesn't last."
"It doesn't?" Tasha asked holding her own handful.
"Nope, but try and keep it if you want. They wouldn't just give away Galleons you know. Maybe Knuts but not Galleons."
"I'd forgotten about that," Nick said frowning as he dropped his coins.
When the leprechauns disappeared, they finally introduced the teams. The Bulgarians came out first. They did fly quite fast. I stood up and leaned against the railing to watch. The others did the same. They were like a blur. They introduced each member. When they got to Krum, the entire crowd screamed. Then the Irish appeared as well.
I put my omnioculars back to my face to watch. I was so glad dad had got the tickets. You could do replays with them as well, or slow it down. The Irish were the first to score. The leprechauns formed a giant shamrock while the Veela's looked put out.
This game put even the professionals ones I'd been to shame. It got more brutal as the game went on. When the Bulgarians scored their first goal, the Veela came back out to dance. I put my fingers in my ears that time and I saw Nick do the same thing. The game began again and it seemed that the Seekers had seen the Snitch. They were both flying really fast. I had my omnioculars pressed so close to my face it was starting to hurt.
Aidan Lynch, the Irish Seeker crashed. It turned out that Krum was faking him out. The crowd let out a loud groan.
There was a time out while they tended to Lynch. Krum was circling the pitch now meanwhile. I watched him go wondering if he'd just finished school or if he was still in it. When Lynch finally got to his feet again, the Irish supporters cheered.
The game got more brutal as it went on. Even the Mascots were getting into it. At one point, the referee was caught under the Veela's spell and he began flexing. If I'd been embarrassed, he certainly was. He actually tried to send them off the pitch which made the Bulgarian supporters angry. Two of the players flew down to yell at him. Ireland was given two more penalties.
Soon enough, the Irish were so far ahead that I didn't think it was possible for the Bulgarian's to ever catch up. The Seekers seemed to see the Snitch for real because they were diving once again. Lynch ended up crashing once again. He didn't seem to know how to control his broom. Maybe the Firebolt was too much for him.
"Who caught the Snitch?" Benny shouted jumping up down. "Where is the Snitch?"
"Krum got it!" Sam yelled.
He was right, Krum was holding up the Golden Snitch! It didn't matter though. The Irish had been so far ahead of them that they had won anyway. The score was Bulgaria: One hundred and sixty to Ireland with a hundred and seventy.
"Why would he catch the Snitch?" Nick asked. "He should have let them get ahead more."
"Maybe he just wanted to end it," I said. "Guess he didn't want Lynch getting it. He wanted to end the game on his terms."
"That was amazing either way," Nick said. "What a game!"
Later on, after we were done celebrating, we were just falling asleep when mum and dad made us get up again.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"You all need to get up and go to the woods," mum said. "I want you to watch out for the kids."
"Why?" Nick asked as he too climbed out of bed. He'd chosen our tent again.
"There is a commotion," dad told him. "Do not lose sight of the little ones. We are going to take care of this! No time to change boys."
I grabbed a hold of Benny who was already up and waiting while Nick grabbed Sam. Brianne, Brenda, Tasha and Kendra were waiting in the living room.
"All of you need to stay together," dad told us. "No one wanders on their own. Straight to the woods."
All night there had been excited shouting but the shouting had turned to scared shouting. We rushed out of the tent and stared around outside. Far off in the distance there was a huge crowd of loaked people blowing tents away. Above them were three figures but from this distance it was hard to see who it was. They had them upside down.
"Go!" Dad shouted to us. "Straight to the woods!"
Tasha grabbed Brianne's hand while I took a hold of Kendra with my free hand and Nick grabbed Brenda's hand. We all rushed to the woods where a lot of the crowd was headed to. I knew I was gripping their hands very hard, and I was probably hurting them but I didn't care. I didn't want to let them go. As we moved past the tents, Kendra grabbed Brenda's free hand and Sam reached out for Tasha. I was relieved we were all holding hands as we moved closer.
"We need to go single file in the wood," I told them. "Do not let go of each other. We'll go as far as we can."
Benny was in the lead now, and he pulled my hand as he moved as fast as he could.
"I think we can stop now," I heard Tasha call out. "You can't see out there anymore."
"Let's all just sit down," Nick said.
"What were all those people in the cloaks?" Benny asked as we all sat down. He sat down in my lap. "That was scary and they had those people."
"I don't know," I said. "Guess people wanting to take things too far."
"You-Know-Who's people wore cloaks," Brenda said.
"But he can't be back," Brianne said. "Can he?"
"You don't think Sirius Black had anything to do with it do you?" Tasha asked.
"Maybe," Nick said.
Around us, we could hear others questioning the same thing. There were some older teens who seemed to be having fun though. How could they be having fun?
"You don't think anyone will die?" Sam asked.
"No, of course not," I said though I wasn't so sure myself. "What do you know about death anyway."
"Enough," Sam replied. "They had that family flying! They were making tents go on fire!"
"What if ours is on fire right now?" Benny asked.
"I'm sure it's not," Tasha told him. "They were really far away."
"Let's not worry too much," Nick said. "It's probably a bunch of nutters who got drunk and decided to pull that stunt. There's no point in scaring ourselves. Let's talk about- well, let's talk about the Tri-wizard Tournament!"
We tried discussing it, but everyone was worried. I didn't want to show my fear because of Brianne, Benny and Sam. I knew the others felt the same. Brenda was even talking about what she'd do with the prize money but I could see the worry in her eyes.
And then quite suddenly the woods lit up as a green skull with a snake protruding from it's mouth appeared above us. I didn't understand what it was, but it seemed to a bad thing because around us people started to scream. I stood Benny up and then jumped to my feet and the others did the same. I pulled my wand from my pocket. The others did who had one did the same. Underage wizards were allowed to use magic if their lives were threatened.
"I want mummy!" Benny said and he started to cry. I pulled him close.
"Should we try and find them?" Tasha asked.
"I don't know," I said. "But everyone seems to be leaving. Whatever that thing is, it's really bad and they all want to get away from it."
"Let's all take hands again then," Nick said. "No one let go. We have to stick together."
We all joined hands and followed the crowd back out. Once we reached the edge of the wood, we saw our parents on the sidelines looking around anxiously. Benny yelled out for mum and let go of my hand. He ran straight to her with the rest of us quickly following. Mum lifted Benny into her arms. When we all reached them, mum and dad pulled us into a group hug while Nick's parents sandwiched him.
"We're leaving now," mum said. "We're apparating home right now. Let's get back to the tents to gather everything up."
"Can we all go at once?" I asked.
"Yes, we'll each take two kids with us," mum said. "Brianne and Benny will come with me."
"Sam and Brenda with me," dad said.
"Nick and Barry with me," Nick's dad said.
"And Kendra and Tasha with me," Nick's mum added last.
At our lots, they took the tents down as quickly as they could, and then we went to the parent who was taking us home. Nick's dad gripped our hands hard as he turned on the spot. I felt relief as soon as our feet hit the ground. We were back in the living-room.
"What was that skull thing?" I asked. "Why did everyone panic?"
"Sit down," mum told us.
"We're going to take Nick home now," Nick's dad said. "We'll talk about it there. We'd rather just be in our home though."
"I'll see you on the train I guess," I said to Nick who nodded.
He didn't seem to mind leaving. He just took his dads hand again and with two loud pops they were gone. Benny and Brianne sat very close to my side while Sam sat on Brianne's other side. Brenda and Kendra sat on the love seat.
"It was You-Know-Who's sign," dad finally said.
"But he's not back?" I asked.
"I don't think so," mum said. "At least we hope not. It's just that when whoever shot that mark up, all of those people disappeared quickly. I think it scared them off."
"But weren't they You-Know-Who's supporters?" Brenda asked. "Wouldn't they be happy to see it or him?"
"A lot of them betrayed him when he was gone. They did whatever they could to stay out of Azkaban. So seeing that mark scared them off because he'll be angry," dad said.
"But why shoot that mark up?" I asked. "Why were people so scared? If it was just a joke or to maybe even scare those people off-"
"Barry, they only shot it up when someone killed someone. Everyone was scared because they were worried someone might have died. They would put it over someones house. Think about it. You go home after work and it's above your house-" dad shuddered at thought. "It was peoples worst nightmare."
"It brought back painful memories for some," mum added.
"But no one died did they?" Sam asked.
"We don't know honey. I don't believe so. I think it was a prank," mum said. "We won't know for a few days unfortunately. For now, I think all of you should go to bed. Maybe tomorrow we'll know more."
I knew it would be really hard to sleep though. It had been a fun night, and then it had turned very scary.