21. Summer 94 – Quidditch World Cup

Harry was looking forward to the summer vacation. It was more than a respite from studies, as he saw it. Summer vacation meant spending time with his siblings, whom he missed quite a bit during school term, enjoying the warmer climate of France and being able to spend most of his waking time close to Hermione with nothing separating them. He knew they would also advance their relationship some more, as expected at their age, although he didn't know how far.

Just like the previous years, both families spent most of the summer vacation together. Harry was fascinated when he first saw Hermione on the beach. During the school year, her body had changed some more. She no longer looked like an adolescent girl; she looked like a very impressive young woman and he felt unable to take his eyes off her.

"Harry, breathe!" she reminded him.

He blushed and tried to look away, yet his eyes turned in her direction immediately, as if magnetized. "You're fabulous! I didn't think you'd turn so..."

"Sexy?" she teased him.

Harry blushed some more. "That as well."

She checked him over. "You've also grown quite a bit. you're now looking more like a man than like a boy. You're also reacting like a man."

Her eyes were directed at his crotch, where his opinion of her sexiness was clearly evident. She then mellowed and smiled reassuringly at him. "I'm not yet ready for that, and I think you're not ready either. We probably need another year for that, but I really like it when you look at me in whatever way, and I also like to see you, especially when you get excited at seeing me. Does it make sense?"

He took her hand in his. "I'm not sure, but we'll go through this together, as always."

"Right. Let's go into the sea!"

They were on a sandy bay that was quite shallow at some places but also had some deeper stretches, more suitable for swimming. They opted for one of them. It was still shallow enough to stand there, as the water reached only to their chests.

They swam a few minutes, but tired quickly, not having exercised those muscles since the previous summer. Standing at the edge of the deep area, they tried to regain their breath. Harry was fascinated by the way her half submerged breasts seemed to float in the water. Hermione was watching his expression with delight. None of them noticed a sudden wave. It came roughly behind her and pushed Hermione onto Harry. He suddenly felt her firm breasts pressed tightly to his chest, while his quite hard erection pressed on her abdomen. Yet Hermione wasn't stable enough on her feet. Harry felt her slip and quickly hugged her, keeping her standing. This also caused them to press even harder into each other. Both blushed at the unexpected contact. While they had already talked about taking their relationship to a higher level, that was something they were planning for the future. They still parted reluctantly.

"I'm sorry," Harry said.

"What for? You did nothing wrong. I actually appreciate it that you kept me from falling."

"But... I... we... touched..." Harry didn't seem to find the right words.

Hermione took both his hands in hers. "Harry, right now we're still a bit too young, but as we're going to be married, we're expected to be as physically close as possible. You know we need to practice sex if we want some children, don't you?"

This only made Harry blush deeper. Hermione wouldn't relent. "It would be inappropriate for us to touch each other so intimately when dressed and when we have company, but I really don't mind if you touch my body and I hope you don't mind if I touch yours."

Harry nodded. He couldn't say he disliked the feeling of their bodies touching so closely. Yet it also frightened him. Still, if Hermione didn't mind... He could certainly enjoy it.

None of them was aware of Jean watching them attentively. She was sure that her daughter was not yet ready for sex. She was just as sure who her partner would be when the time came. In her heart, she was already thinking of these two as a couple. She only wondered when they would finally understand their feelings.

\/\/\/\/

This time they didn't follow their usual summer routine. As the Quidditch World Cup game was hosted by Britain that summer, and as both children had become quite interested in that sport, James bought them tickets. As much as he would have liked to go there too, he preferred to keep away from the wizarding world. At such an event, where so many wizards assembled, he was sure that somebody might recognize him. It was a chance he still didn't want to take.

They found an easy solution, though. Ron sent them an owl, bragging about his family gaining seats at the game, and as Molly had invited the children for the summer, like every year, James decided to take advantage of this. A few owl messages and a short floo conversation, handled by Liz from Diagon Alley, took care of all the arrangements. Liz escorted them to the Leaky Cauldron, from where they used the floo to reach the Burrow.

The first time Harry saw the Burrow, it was clear to him that such a building could never exist without magic. While not too evident while inside, once they went outside, Harry barely refrained from chuckling. "It doesn't look like anybody involved has ever learned about stability, gravity or sound construction techniques. It looks like an architect's nightmare!"

Indeed, nothing seemed to properly fit. Rooms seemed to be just thrown about, with some stairs and passages added as afterthought. Without magic, they were sure to turn into a pile of rubble. Yet that weird building seemed to be a warm home for a family of nine, none of whom seemed bothered by its weirdness. "Well, magical people tend to do some weird things," Hermione noted, "like wearing those ridiculous robes, using quills and turning their backs to technology."

Harry wasn't too happy to share a room with Ron, but didn't let it bother him – it was only for a night anyhow. They were awakened early the next morning in order to reach their portkey on time. Although this was not the first time for either Harry or Hermione to use a portkey, they still didn't like it.

They were fascinated by the view, once they arrived. The huge field was covered with a multitude of tents. Each having different size, form and colours. Many also displayed either the Bulgarian or the Irish flag, adding to the colourful image. In between, children were running and playing, wizards and witches were assembling in small groups for some gossip, and peddlers were spread all around, presenting their merchandise, advertising loudly and adding to the general impression of wholly unorganized fun.

Most families had some tents erected, as did the Weasley. Harry wondered why they even bothered. Arthur explained. "Too many magical people coming or going at once are bound to attract some attention of the Muggles. This is why the portkeys are scheduled in a way to not cause a concentration of traffic. Some people arrived as early as yesterday and the last ones are expected to arrive less than an hour before the game. The return journeys are going to be the same way, and most will stay here overnight, as we plan to do."

Harry nodded. It made some sense, although he doubted that the Muggles would notice several hundred portkeys more than they would notice the multitude of weird people in colourful robes using weird tents. Despite the guidelines set by the organizers, the large field with the tents looked anything but normal. Oh, well... Wizards didn't have the best logic, he already knew.

It was fun being there. Harry didn't even mind staying close with Ron and Ginny, as they were all too fascinated by what they saw. Harry bought some stuff, and gave presents even to Ron and Ginny, as a kind of repayment for their family taking him and Hermione along. He was still glad that their seats were not too close to the ones Arthur managed to get from the Ministry.

He was even gladder of that when he saw the Malfoys sitting quite close to the Weasley gang, as he didn't want to be anywhere near that bigoted family, despite the life debt mellowing its actions. Soon he got another reason to be glad.

As the Bulgarian team came into the field, Harry noticed the young and beautiful female dancers who came along. It wasn't difficult to identify them as Veela. Harry thought they were really beautiful and quite enticing, but a far cry from how he found Hermione. "Why are all these people acting like fools," he asked Hermione after the Veela started dancing.

Hermione looked at him and smiled. "Don't you know? They're using the Allure, a special kind of magic that makes them irresistibly attractive to all men."

Harry shrugged. "They're nice, I admit, but I find you more irresistible than any of them. I..."

He was unable to add any words, as Hermione just grabbed his head and kissed him for all her worth. He actually liked it.

By the time they let go of each other, Harry could see that Ron and the twins were only held back by the tall fences, as they all seemed to try to reach the Veela. Ginny was also holding Ron's arm, trying to force him back to the seat. Arthur didn't move, but his eyes were glazed over. Lucius Malfoy seemed to be in a similar predicament, and his wife was holding Draco tightly, as he seemed ready to jump down to reach the Veela.

Harry turned back to Hermione. "Not that I complain, but to what do I owe that kiss?"

Hermione was too happy to care. "Don't you know whom the Veela allure doesn't affect?"

Harry shook his head.

"Only one who feels real love for his mate is unaffected by Veela allure. You weren't affected, so..."

Harry smiled. "I've already told you that I love you, didn't I?"

"You sure did, and so did I, but this was a kind of independent verification. Now I love you even more!"

They enjoyed the rest just as well. Harry admired the fast pace of the game and was quite delighted to notice that his performance was on par with that of Krum, the star seeker of the Bulgarian team. They then joined the Weasley on the way back to the tents.

They were already settling into their beds for the night when some screams were heard. Arthur came in a moment later, looking agitated. "Go hide between the trees. Make sure not to lose each other. I'll join the Ministry officials, trying to put the situation under control."

Harry grabbed his wand and followed Ron and the twins out of the tent. They met Hermione and Ginny in front of their tent. Looking at the direction of the noise, and using Snow's enhanced vision, Harry noticed a few people in Death-Eater robes and masks. They were setting fire to tents and shooting curses in all directions.

Harry felt his fury rise. He felt Hermione coming at his side, her expression just as furious. It was suddenly very clear to him what was the right thing to do. "Don't wait for us," he told the twins, grabbing Hermione's hand and moving away from the tent. Once out of sight, they both took their wolf forms. They moved silently, tracing a wide semi-circle, arriving behind the masked group, before returning to their human form. "I'll use the wandless slicer. You set their robes on fire a few seconds later."

Hermione nodded. She knew the slicing spell. It was intended to cut equal slices out of a loaf of bread. That was what it did for most Wizards and witches, yet when an angry Harry put his magic into that spell, it could be lethal. She only hoped he would restrain himself a bit.

Harry moved his hand forward and swiped it in the direction of the group. Several cries of rage sounded, as most turned around, looking for the one who cast that spell. Harry swiped his hand back, putting a bit more magic into the spell. Most masks were cut to stripes, the faces behind them probably cut quite deeply as well. Before anybody could react, the robes started burning with blue flames. Some of the masked people were still able to activate portkeys and vanish. Others were not as lucky, as the cuts went too deep on their arms or their hands, or just destroyed their portkeys. These were soon surrounded by aurors and ministry employees. Hermione pulled Harry's hand. He understood. Just as stealthily as before, they returned to their tents.

The terrorist group only managed to destroy a few tents and injure a few tenants. The officials soon declared the incident over and urged everybody back to bed. The injured were given treatment and some replacement tents were brought for those who needed them. Harry and Hermione were still observing the proceeding from between the tents. It was evident that the Ministry was trying to downplay the incident.

Arthur was appalled to find them in front of their tents. "Why didn't you go with the others? It could turn very dangerous!"

"Sorry, I needed the loo and Harry stayed guard with me. By the time I finished, the incident was over," Hermione said.

Arthur looked around. The public toilets were quite a distance from the tents and somewhat out of the way. They could have been just as safe there, he assumed. "Well, where are the others?"

"I suspect they went to the trees. May we go back to bed now?" Harry asked, yawning quite convincingly.

"Yes, go in. I hope we shall have no other disturbance tonight."

Harry kissed Hermione goodnight as soon as Arthur moved away. They then went to their separate tents. Harry faked being fast asleep when the others returned, sparing himself some stories that Ron seemed disappointed not to have audience for.

"You missed all the action!" Ron told him in the morning.

"It's better that way. I don't like to put myself in dangerous situations, you know."

Ron just moved his head incredulously. Harry was glad not to let him dwell on it.

Liz was already waiting at the Burrow. "Are you alright? The Prophet is very vague about what happened, but that only made me more worried."

Harry stepped into her hug and hugged her back. "We're both fine. Nothing happened to us, except for a few minutes loss of sleep. Those hooligans are probably not so well though."

Liz looked at him with evident suspicion. "What happened to them?"

Harry shrugged. "I heard that somebody retaliated with cutting curses and set their robes on fire. Most were unable to escape with portkeys."

Liz turned to Hermione. "I suppose you know no more either."

Hermione shrugged just the same. "We heard all kinds of rumours. How can we know what's true? What I know for sure, though, is that Harry proved immune to the Veela allure. Isn't that great?"

It was clear to Liz that Hermione was trying to distract her, yet it was also clear why Hermione would consider this more important. She just smiled at the girl, hugging her just the same way she was hugging Harry.

They returned home a few minutes later. Hermione crossed the street, to put her belongings back. She soon returned and joined Harry as he started telling his parents the real story.

"...so, anybody who took part in it and managed to get away can be found by the parallel cut marks and the burn signs," Harry concluded.

James sighed. "I'm not glad that you put yourself where it could become dangerous. You did well, though, and as none of you used your wands, there's no easy way to connect the event with you. Unfortunately, your marks may not be very helpful. Those captured will probably be able to escape with just a minor fine, and those who escaped may use the services of some healers. They may stay home for a few days, until they recover, but that will not stop them. As long as the current minister leads the country, I can't see any decisive action taken against any pureblood, no matter what one is accused of."

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