Harry Potter - After the Epilogue

by PotterFanSteve

Continuing the storyline from 'After the War', this book focuses on the Hogwarts years and beyond for Albus and Lily Potter, Rose, and Hugo Weasley, and their family and friends. I hope you will enjoy this imagining of what happens in the Harry Potter universe - After the Epilogue!

96. Europe Cup Cannons

Chapter Ninety-Six – Europe Cup Cannons

Al and Gwendolyn were holding hands and smiling happily as they landed on the ground with gentle, athletic grace in the arrival area that was being used for PortKeys in a meadow overlooking the campground, town, and stadium nestled in a well-hidden valley in the Italian Alps.

"It's as amazing as I remember," Gwendolyn said as she looked around. "Maybe you should have bought a farm here for our camp."

"Well, we could ask around and see about doing that in the future," Al suggested, "but the one we have will be big-enough for now; and we might not want a second camp that would be so similar to the first one. I've also thought that doing different expedition camps might be a fun idea instead of another camp."

"You'd want to do something like that while taking your time off from the team?" Gwendolyn asked; and Al shrugged.

"Maybe for a couple of weeks or a month," he agreed; and then turned his attention to Rose; since he sensed that she was ready to lead them to the campground once everyone in their two PortKey groups arrived.

"We only have an hour to get our tents set up; so let's get going," she suggested to everyone.

"Aren't we supposed to have people to do that sort of work for us now that we're league champions?" Seth asked; and Rose shrugged.

"You're welcome to hire someone to do any work you don't want to do yourself," she reminded him. "The Cannons don't do that because Al wants everyone to have jobs that are fun; and doing all of that work full-time wouldn't be fun for nearly-anyone."

"Including us," Seth pointed out.

"I'm having fun," Al disagreed – "and while we might be able to give someone a day's work to set up all of our campsites; it won't take long for us to do our own tents." He waved a hand around them. "How can you even care about those little chores when we're getting to be someplace this awesome for a few days?"

"Multi-tasking," Seth answered with a shrug and laugh. "You're more into nature than I am too; so that probably makes a difference. I like all of my conveniences of home."

They were already on the move by then, but while Seth got teased about that a bit; Al and Gwendolyn ended up back in the pack – along with Harry and Ginny; so they were soon out of the loop for that chat while striking up their own.

"I'm not surprised to see so many kids here already," Gwendolyn said while scanning their view of the campground, "but there are more teens than I expected this early in the day."

"Some schools have different schedules," Ginny advised her, "and even if they're done today too; most don't have something like the Hogwarts Express for the trips to and from school."

"I don't really think about that very often," Gwendolyn admitted with a nod and smile. "Before we started at Hogwarts, we couldn't wait for our chance to go on the Hogwarts Express, and by our NEWT year; we'd have rather just apparated to-and-from school instead."

"That isn't something we think about very much either, but most Witches and Wizards can't apparate that far," Al reminded her. "It would be nice to have an upgrade for the Hogwarts Express – or a better way to get large groups of Witches and Wizards around the country – or around the world. There are eight first-round matches this weekend; so we'll collectively use tens of thousands of Portkeys this weekend – probably a couple hundred thousand of them for the trips each way. Add in all of the food, supplies, and inventories that are brought to these matches; and it's a wonder that every country hasn't come up with better magical transportation systems."

"Your grandfather would love it if everyone could have flying cars – or a Wizarding version of Muggle airplanes," Ginny suggested with a grin. "Maybe you should work on that for him."

"Something like that might work for travel between big cities," Al mused thoughtfully, "but it wouldn't be very practical for travel to someplace like this or most of the other Quidditch stadiums. It took a lot of magical power to create the Hogwarts Express – and the Knight Bus, for that matter; so doing something on that scale at airports all over the world might be a problem too."

"You are working on something that I like better anyway," Gwendolyn pointed out – "even if it wouldn't be as flashy as a Wizarding World Airline or fleets of magical flying cars."

"How is that going?" Harry asked Al. "You havn't mentioned that project in a while."

"It's coming along, but I have a lot on the go right now; so I'm mostly just tinkering with that one. Once I have everything worked out and a lot of the pieces put together; it will likely come together fairly-quickly."

"I don't know how you have time for most of those projects you're juggling," Ginny teased meaningfully, "but we love everything you come up with; so keep up the good work."

"I will," Al promised – "and I'll have extra time for all of that work next season too."

"That doesn't seem to work out for us with our part-time jobs," Harry pointed out; and Al shrugged.

"True – but that's partly your own choices. You could only work the scrimmages during the days ahead of the matches you're not playing in – or just take the time off."

"Most of us need to keep going with daily workouts to stay at our best," Ginny advised him seriously. "You'd likely need to do that too – though it is easier to do that sort of thing when you're younger."

"We can do other things and still stay in game-shape," Al suggested, "but none of you want to get into a discussion about optimizing our training. We've heard that this will be one of the matches that Uncle Ron will be running for the wheezes booths, but we didn't hear when he was going to get here."

"He's in charge of two of the matches; so he's setting up the other one first and then will come here once he has his booth managers set up there," Ginny answered. "They're doing things a bit differently this time – mostly to try and get people trained and ready to help out next summer." She smiled at Al and Gwendolyn. "They've pretty much run out of cousins to draft for those jobs now; so they need to hire more people that they can trust."

"How could they possibly have a problem with that when offering those jobs to some of their best customers?" Harry joked. "What could go wrong with a bunch of Wizards and Witches that all hope to grow up to be pranksters as brilliant as George?"

"Nothing," Al answered. "They're all very dedicated followers; and they likely spend a lot of the money they're paid on new wheezes. Every booth owner at these matches likely wishes that they could be so lucky."

"Is that why you don't have any booths here?" Gwendolyn teased; and Al laughed.

"We have a lot of merchandise here – or will," he reminded her, "but if GO MagiSports wants to start running their own booths at stadiums; someone else will have to do it."

"That is something that Malorie might want to think about for next summer," Ginny suggested, "though there is a lot of competition for the rights to those booth spaces at international competitions; so it might not be worth the effort or expenses."

"Let's not go there either," Gwendolyn suggested. "We're all better-off leaving the business side of GO MagiSports to others anyway. We have more fun playing our games – and with our favorite toys and projects."

Al agreed with that – for the most part; though they were pretty good at the business side of the job too. Their chat moved on, though, and then they were soon busy getting their campsites set up before needing to head for the stadium and their first official event of the Europe Cup competition. Their fun level kicked up from there as they spent time with fans, VIPs, Quidditch officials, and politicians – especially since Rose made sure that her team mates were kept busy with things that they liked to do best whenever that was possible; so Al got to spend a lot of time with their youngest fans for the rest of the day.

Lily was fired-up and smiling as she stepped off of the Hogwarts Express and onto the platform at King's Cross, but her emotions were a bit jumbled too as she began to make her way through the crowd toward 'her' welcoming committee of parents and grandparents. Jonah was busy with Prefect duties, and her non-Prefect friends were already splitting up on the way to reuniting with their own families; so she was soon on her own – as much as that was possible in a large crowd. This homecoming just wasn't the same – and was going to be awkward too; since Gwenog was the only parent available to be there for Jonah; and she had her grandmother picking her up while her parents, brother, and sister-in-law were busy with their Europe Cup events.

"Welcome home," Molly told her when Lily finally reached their little group. "We've missed you a lot since Christmas."

"I've missed you too," Lily assured her while sharing a hug with her grandmother, "but I'd say that most of my family has been too-busy to miss me; since they couldn't even be here today."

Molly laughed. "They are a bit busy, but we had to talk them out of popping over from Italy to be here; since it would have been silly to do that and then need to get right back to work again. It won't be all that much longer until you can see them – and that'll give us time to get you settled into your tent and have dinner while they're still busy."

"Are we going straight there?" Lily asked.

"You have time to stop in at home first," Molly advised her. "We can drop off your pets and anything else that you don't want to take with you to Italy; and then we can meet up with our PortKey group when it's time to leave for Italy."

"Then let's get going and do that," Lily suggested.

"You don't want to wait for Jonah?" Molly asked; sounding surprised; and Lily shrugged.

"He's going to be last off the train with his Prefect duties; and can catch up with us later."

"Okay, but I want to welcome your cousins first too; and need to talk with Hugo and Alyssa about meeting up with us for that PortKey trip."

Lily sighed. "They're busy too," she advised her grandmother. "We could be stuck here for a while."

"Are you in a hurry to get started on your summer holidays?" Molly asked; and Lily shrugged.

"I've been sitting around all day and just want to get going," she answered; though that wasn't really the truth. She just didn't want to stand around and continue to ignore Gwenog – which she'd been pointedly doing since meeting up with her grandmother.

"Well, I suppose that you can go on ahead and I can meet you back at your townhouse," Molly offered.

"Okay," Lily agreed. "That'll give me time to get Holly and Poofy taken care of for the weekend."

She had another hug for her grandmother and a couple of additional greetings for her aunt and other parents in their group, but then she headed for the platform exit and eventually apparated to a spot near the 'outside' door to her parents' townhouse. That allowed her to go in without talking with anyone else; and she was glad to have the alone time while taking her things up to her room and then keeping busy with getting fresh water and food for her pets. She'd packed her bag for the weekend from what she had with her at Hogwarts, but decided to get changed and add a few outfits from home while there anyway; and had that done too by the time her grandmother caught up with her.

"Is it time to go?" Lily asked as she welcomed Molly into the townhouse.

"Not quite yet," Molly answered. "Let's get drinks; sit down; and have a little chat while we wait."

"That sounds like something I probably don't want to do," Lily guessed; and Molly smiled and nodded.

"I'm sure of that; but you'll do it anyway."

"I will, but keep in mind that what I expect that you want to talk to me about is a problem because of what happened the last time someone wanted to have a chat with me that I didn't want to have with them. I really don't want to end up being mad at you too."

"Well, instead of getting mad and holding grudges; you could try to find more-productive ways to deal with bad news – or advice that you don't want to hear," Molly suggested. "I've never been told the details about what happened with you at the end of the last Christmas holidays, but the way you're acting toward Gwenog along with other hints adds up to one answer – and others will figure that out too soon-enough if you keep it up."

"As if that won't happen sooner instead of later anyway," Lily told her. "That isn't an argument that will work to have me start playing nice, Grandma."

"You should want to be nice because that's the type of person you are," Molly challenged. "You still love Gwenog too; so you will be happier if you just forgive and move on from here."

"I don't want to forgive her," Lily declared seriously. "I'm not as nice as Al – or as nice as you seem to think I am."

Molly laughed. "You are, Lily; and it isn't usually a bad thing to be like your younger brother – even if that can be annoying to you. Please tell me that you're not simply taking this stand to prove that you're different than Al; since that really would be silly."

"Al is more than annoying when it comes to being too nice," Lily suggested, "but I think that I am being nice; since I didn't turn Gwenog into a Bat Bogey or worse – and then leave her like that forever."

"Gwenog appreciates that, I'm sure," Molly deadpanned, "but if I had to guess at the reason you didn't; it was because you also don't want to go to the other extreme and be like James."

"That's part of it," Lily conceded with a shrug; "but only a part of it. I don't really care whether I'm right or wrong, Grandma. I'm still mad about what happened – furious, really; and I'm not just going to forgive and forget."

"We all make mistakes and do things we regret Lily," Molly told her seriously. "I really hope that whenever you're on the other side of this sort of problem that the person or people that you wrong don't treat you in kind. I've experienced both; and can assure you that grudges will hurt you more than the targets of your anger."

"You're just saying that," Lily decided.

"I'm not," Molly insisted. "One of my deepest regrets was that I did nothing when my own cousin was sent to Azkaban for a crime he didn't commit – and beyond that; I decided to believe those lies and hate him for betraying us and causing James' and Lily's deaths. I held onto that hatred and the grudge while he suffered such horrors in prison for more than a decade, Lily – only to find out that he'd been innocent all along. I should've known better, but where I couldn't and didn't do what was right by Sirius; he in turn, forgave me. He was still angry – for good reason; but he forgave me anyway. It took me a lot longer to forgive myself; but that's another story – and just one more regret that I try not to let overshadow all of the wonderful things in my life."

"You're trying to make me feel as though my problems are trivial by comparison," Lily accused.

"A change in perspective doesn't have to lessen your situation at all," Molly countered; "and it isn't the example I want you to focus on at all, honey – it's the choices that Sirius and I each made back then. There's no way for us to know how choices we make now will turn out in the future. I think that the Harpies are making a mistake by not doing everything they can to hire you, but then I also think that you'll be brilliant with whichever team you do end up working with instead; so it's just too-bad that you won't be doing that with my favorite team. That doesn't mean that the Harpies won't be successful too, but that doesn't have to affect your future at all now, and you are sure that you'll have an amazing Quidditch career without the Harpies; so why let all of this mad take away from all of the happy you will have ahead of you? I really have been there and let hatred affect my life for a long time – and in Sirius' case; that was wrong and over a bunch of lies. That isn't the case with this for you, but the truth of the matter isn't the point either. Sirius was on the side of truth, and while he endured so much and never truly recovered; he still chose love over hate – at least for the most-important people in his life."

"Okay, but he didn't forgive the Wizards and Witches that wronged him most," Lily challenged.

"No – and neither did I," Molly agreed – "but your father did. I have been telling you all along that I was on the wrong side of my example – and that I have other regrets too. I wish that I didn't have so many of those regrets; and wish that you won't collect too-many of them during your lifetime. The anger you've carried for the past six months and more will stay with you – and can't be changed. It'll feel worse in a year – and hurt more in a decade or two."

"How am I supposed to do that and then pull off my brilliant plans for revenge?" Lily half-joked; and Molly laughed.

"You could try proving that you're right without the revenge and anger – and I'll try not to add another regret or three to my own life by getting really mad at you if my team doesn't win many championships for a while because you keep them from those victories."

"You win, Grandma," Lily decided – "if only because I don't want to be mad at you all summer now too. Now what should I do?"

"We'll get going, since it's nearly time anyway, and knowing Gwenog; you can likely smooth things over with a hug and simple apology. She'll hug you back; tell you that she's sorry too; and then you'll both just move on from there one small step at a time."

Al's smile was brilliant as he finally got a turn to hug Lily; and he did that very enthusiastically – which was why he needed to set her down on her feet before letting go. He laughed when she punched him in the shoulder.

"What was that for?" Gwendolyn asked as she stepped back from sharing a hug with Jonah.

"Because I know why Al's so happy to see me," Lily answered – "and he's bugging me."

"Lily's working things out with Mum," Jonah added quietly so that he wasn't overheard by anyone else beyond the four of them.

"That's great!" Gwendolyn said enthusiastically; and had a bonus hug for Lily.

"Thank Grandma," Lily advised her. "She sat me down for a talk while we waited for our PortKey departure time. I'm a bit annoyed with her too, but we're just starting our summer holidays; and I don't want to end up being mad at everyone."

"If everything goes as brilliantly as we hope; you're more-likely to be happy with everyone," Gwendolyn suggested. "We have a concert to get to soon, though, so tell us about your day so far; and we can head over to the concert whenever we're all ready to do that."

"We spent the day on the train; came here; had a late – or early – dinner; depending on which time zone you want to use; and that's pretty much all of the news for us," Lily summaraized; and Gwendolyn laughed.

"I doubt that; since there was sure to be a lot of gossip going on around that train. Were there any summer break-ups I should know about? How about summer jobs or vacation plans?"

Lily shrugged. "There weren't any last-minute break-ups among my best friends – or any of your younger cousins or friends that I've heard about. There are a few friends with summer jobs that will be interesting for them – including some wheezes booths or store work. Some summer jobs aren't being talked about, and I think that's because they're Quidditch-related; and not because they're too-awful to talk about or admit to having."

"You think that some of your friends have summer jobs with league teams?" Gwendolyn asked; and Lily nodded.

"Yes," she agreed; and then frowned at Al. "You know something?"

"Yes, but I can't say more," he answered; and then stepped to the side when she tried to punch him again. "We have a Quidditch match tomorrow. Please don't hit me again."

"You can heal yourself," she reminded him; but didn't try to punch him again either. "Quit annoying me so much; and I'll stop hitting you."

"That might be too much to hope for," Gwendolyn joked. "I think that brings us around to vacations out of those first questions."

"We'll all have friends here in Italy this weekend," Lily answered. "I've heard of a few that are going on from here for some holiday time in Europe; and at least two families will likely catch a second-round match – whether the Cannons win or not."

"Don't plan on doing that too; since we have no intention of going out in the first round," Gwendolyn assured her – "even if going on holidays with you would be brilliant too."

"We didn't work that out very well," Jonah suggested. "This will be three summers in a row now without going on any vacations."

"Well, you can likely take next summer off and follow me around with the national team for the Quidditch World Cup," Lily teased.

"That would be fun – except for the parts of the summer when you'd be working all of the time while I had nothing to do – at least until training camp opens for the Cannons," Jonah told her. "At least our match will be after the National team is picked next season. If I won that match and it cost you a spot on the National team; you'd definitely turn me into a Bat-Bogey."

"Or worse," Lily agreed – "not that I plan on letting you win our Seeker duel two years in a row."

"I only have one chance left to win another Quidditch Cup," Jonah reminded her. "Your House has won the last three; so we're going to try even harder to win it back for Ravenclaw."

"That's more-likely to depend on your junior team," Gwendolyn suggested. "Are there going to be any firstie prospects that we should know about – and invite to train with our junior team this summer?"

"There is at least one of the Madley cousins starting in September," Al answered when Gwendolyn looked to him first. "There aren't any other Quidditch family kids starting this year that I know about."

"Then there probably aren't any," Lily suggested – "which is good for our House; and not so hot for the others."

"I'd say that Hogwarts Quidditch will start returning to something closer to normal," Al offered with a shrug. "There were a lot of new, young players in the league in the years after the war; we've just gone through a spurt of their kids going to school too; and now there's going to be a break again. There will be good players – they may just take more time to develop without all of the extra training we did as kids. Hunter's a good example of that. He didn't even see a broom before first year; and now he's a very good player. He's good-enough at Seeker to keep up with you and Riley – and I'd say he's better than Luke or Jordan."

"That isn't bad for us – even if it might affect the Hogwarts Quidditch teams," Gwendolyn suggested. "We do all want to play in the show for a long time."

"As if Al doesn't have a plan for that too," Lily declared, "but let's not go there; or I'll start getting the urge to hit him again."

That wasn't really a joke, but then their chat moved on soon-after as they were pulled into the larger family and friends group. The concert started shortly before nine o'clock local time, but it was already well-past the early sunsets in the valley that were thanks to the mountains to the west. The Cannons' players still had a bit of 'work' to do while at the concert, but that just added to the fun; and they still had time to play with their families and friends – though that was partly due to the time change; since they also still had a game night curfew that Rose based on home time so that they weren't trying to go to sleep too-soon. The on-stage team introductions were part of the work – as was the fan time that mostly included signing autographs and talking with their fans; Al and Gwendolyn had some dancing time; and the partying was also kid-friendly because nobody on the team had any 'adult' beverages – again as part of Rose's game night orders.

Lily and Jonah didn't have to go to bed at team curfew time, but they went back to their campsite anyway; had some campfire fun before and after Jaimie and Lorie fell asleep; and had the twins in their tent for the night while most of their parents were busy with work – including Malorie and Patrick; since she had GO MagiSports duties; and he'd taken an Auror assignment for the opening round that was going to include being on Kingsley's security detail. After putting the twins into their beds; Lily and Jonah rejoined the campfire – and only had a handful of cousins and friends with them while all of the parents had opted for going to bed or other entertainment options by then.

"I can't believe they lasted so long before finally running out of steam," Alyssa told them once they were settled into their chairs again. "Even in home-time; this must be hours-past their normal bedtime."

"They had afternoon naps today – and normally stay up late the first night we're back from school," Lily told her with a shrug. "I'm not really tired, but we'll need to head for bed soon too; or have problems keeping up with them in the morning – and they're sure to be awake early."

"That won't be that early in this time zone," Jonah reminded her. "We'll want to be up by then so that we can have some play time before having lunch and going to the stadium. We could even do a bit of sightseeing if you wanted to do that with Jaimie and Lorie instead of just hanging out around here."

"That's an idea," Lily agreed.

"I'd love to do that too," Alyssa told them. "We'll be starting our summer jobs on Monday; and might not get to do much sightseeing after this – as long as the Cannons keep winning. It's just too bad that we won't have time to go shopping too."

"Yeah, that's a shame," Hugo joked with a grin. "I'm not working wheezes booths, though, so anything we do will be better than that."

"Roxanne would agree with you," Lily suggested. "She'd rather not be doing that right now – or tomorrow."

"At least she's here," Hugo offered with a shrug – "though I'm not sure that she would mind all that much if she missed this match. She doesn't like the Cannons all that much right now."

"That isn't exactly true," Alyssa disagreed. "She just wishes that she could get a spot on the team too."

"Does she?" Jonah asked. "I thought that she was still hoping for a job with the Harpies."

"Danger," Hugo joked; feigning a worried look for Lily.

"Maybe that'll happen for her," Lily suggested. "I have no idea – though that might not be what she wants anymore either; since it's likely seeing Fred and Katrina so happy that has her feeling a bit jealous of them. If she keeps dating Riley; there's no way she could play for the Harpies and with him too."

"They still have two years at Hogwarts," Jonah pointed out. "I'm sure they'll figure out what's best for them. "Lily and I should likely be more-worried about Riley for this coming season. We're not the only Hogwarts Seekers hoping to have an outside chance at making it onto the National team."

"He might want that, but I don't have to put the Seeker job up for tryouts – and haven't decided on whether I'll do that this year or come up with another good excuse for not doing it like I did last September," Lily advised him. "He'll have to find another way to impress the national team selection committee."

"Maybe he could play for France," Hugo suggested. "Do you think that they'd pick him over his Mum?"

"That's funny, but not very likely; and I don't think that any of the Delacour cousins bothered to try and get dual citizenship anyway," Lily told him. "If they had; France would have been better off if they'd tried to get Victoire and Dominique for the last Quidditch World Cup – and they might have rather done that for the chance to play with Gabrielle."

"Would you play for another country if you could?" Alyssa asked. "Maybe Hugo and I should look into that. Our chances of playing next summer are really low, but maybe we could get a spot on one of the other teams."

"There are rules about that sort of thing," Jonah advised them. "You'd at least need a permanent residence or actual citizenship – and countries can't just do that at the last minute. The cut-off is a year – or I think that's what it is. I haven't looked that up since I read the latest rule book back in twenty-eighteen."

"We're you hoping to play that year?" Lily teased; and Jonah shook his head.

"No – I was just interested in finding out if there were any major differences between league and Quidditch World Cup rules that year. That part of the rules was only interesting because that isn't the case for league players. They can be hired from anywhere in the world – though we've rarely had players on any teams from countries outside of Europe."

"I'd ask about the Europe Cup, but I guess that wouldn't matter; since they invite teams instead of countries," Alyssa interjected; and Jonah nodded again.

"It doesn't matter for our league teams," he agreed. "I don't know if that's true for the other leagues. Some of them may have rules about hiring players from other countries. I've never tried to look that up for all of the leagues in the world."

"If you did; we'd be wondering why," Hugo assured him. "I love Quidditch too – but not that much."

"We should be talking about the Quidditch match we'll be watching tomorrow," Alyssa suggested. "What did the rest of you think about the Karasjok Kites' players after seeing them in person for the first time tonight?"

"Most of them are big and tough-looking," Lily answered first, "but we can't get much from that without seeing how they play; and I don't even know what kind of brooms they fly. We still have less than half the players in our league with Lightningstorms; and it could be less than that in the other European leagues."

"They'll be in for a tough day tomorrow if they only have a set of Lightningbolts – or worse," Hugo suggested. "We expect that our team will have all of the advantages, though, since even if they've watched some of the Cannons' matches; that isn't the same as going up against us."

"It isn't," Jonah agreed. "I hope it's a good match, but even if it ends up being one-sided; it is going to be fun to watch – and there will be a lot of fans at the game that have never seen the kinds of tricks that we can do with our Hurricane brooms."

"Which would just mean that we'll have a lot to live up to when it's our turn to play," Alyssa suggested with a nod. "That's a bit scary for me, but it's also exactly what we signed up for with the Cannons; so I hope that we can prove that we deserve our spots on the team."

"Especially since Lily might turn the rest of us into Butt-Bogeys if we don't," Hugo joked. "We definitely don't want to spend most of our summer like that!"

Lily agreed with him; their chat wound down from there; and then they eventually put the campfire out and headed for their tents and beds for the rest of the night.

Al was up early; had a light workout by the lake; and then he cooked a special anniversary breakfast for two instead of getting together with a gang of family and friends for that meal. They 'made' time for a private celebration of the completion of their first year of marriage; and then they moved on to have a short visit with Lily, Jonah, and the twins before it was time to get to work; and then they were off to the stadium for the rest of the morning – with most of that time spent doing interviews and a VIP luncheon with both teams, Quidditch and Ministry officials, and 'special' fans. They weren't allowed much time to actually get ready for the match until after that early luncheon; and then they were rushed a bit to get warmed up, changed, and at the players' entrance to the stadium – which they only managed to do with a couple of minutes to spare before they were introduced by the stadium announcer.

"We're here for the Cannons and ourselves," Rose said earnestly as she faced her team with Harry standing next to her, "but we're representing our league and country too; so let's go out there and show everyone that there's a very good reason for why we're league champions!"

"And if that isn't enough motivation; don't forget what Lily's promised to do to the lot of us if we don't get through to the Europe Cup championship," Seth added with a grin. "None of us want to spend the next few weeks as a dragon's Butt-Bogey buddy."

"No, but I do still wonder if she can actually do that," Stephanie offered. She was smiling brilliantly; and looked to be as fired up as Gwendolyn as they stood on either side of Al in the back row behind Brandon and Seth.

"She could," Al assured her. "That really is not much different from Transfigurations into inanimate objects." He grinned as he added – "though I don't know whether she'd actually try to get close-enough to a dragon to put someone into one of them. That'd be a bit dangerous."

"Maybe she'll leave that part of the threat up to Charlie," Harry joked. "Let's get back to the job at hand. Al wants us to have fun – and I hope we will, but international competitions are a bit different from league matches; and this is a first for all of us. We need to be ready for the unexpected; so focus on the Quidditch and our game plan; and be ready to adapt to anything the Kites might throw at us."

He paused as they heard the stadium announcer call for them; and then they needed to be on the move as they hopped onto their brooms and flew out into the stadium. Doing that with Gwendolyn – and on their anniversary – was amazing for Al; and it was awesome to hear an entire stadium full of spectators cheering for them – instead of having half of the crowd jeering them in support of their own team as had been the case for most league matches. They took their time with that lap around and above the stadium; and then they landed at center pitch next to the low stage and group of VIPs that included the officials that would be speaking during the opening ceremony. The Kites were introduced next; did a 'power' lap of the stadium that was a lap-and-a-half; and then they did their best to look intimidating as they took their places and the speeches began.

"This isn't the top-ranked first-round match," Lily declared quietly as they watched the Europe Cup Committee official sit down after giving his seriously-boring speech. The Minister of Magic for Italy was up next; and already droning on with pointless platitudes.

"I'd guess that the defending Europe Cup Champions get that honor," Jonah suggested. "That's the only team guaranteed a spot in the next competition – even when the last one was six years ago because of the last Quidditch World Cup getting in the way of what would have been the last one."

"I guess," Lily agreed – "though I hope that this match will be the one that everyone wants to watch on the mirror network. It'll be the best Quidditch of the day."

"It'll be the best Quidditch from our team," Jonah suggested. "I don't know whether it'll be the best contest. Some of the other match-ups will be good – and we should probably check in on the two that already started."

"How do you know that?" Lily asked. "I didn't even look up the game times."

Jonah shrugged while getting his portable mirror out. "I knew that two of the matches are in earlier time zones; four are starting now; and the final two start in another hour or so. We'll likely watch all of these matches as part of our training starting on Monday; so we can help ourselves out with that by keeping an eye on the other matches today."

"You're scaring me – and haven't even spent much time with Al yet this summer," Lily teased.

Jonah shrugged again while offering one of his magical earbuds to her – the left one; so that they'd still be able to hear each other while listening to the mirror network matches while he used the right one. "You know I think of those jokes as compliments – and I sure hope that we'll be as happy as Al and Gwendolyn have been over the past year."

"Are you saying that about their marriage?" Lily asked.

"I'm including that, but don't take it the wrong way," he answered. "We can find our own way to be happy – though doing that with a lot of Quidditch success would be great."

"Starting this summer," Lily agreed. "Come on, Minister of Bore – wrap it up! We want to watch a Quidditch match – not a bunch of crusty old Wizards droning on endlessly about international cooperation and friendship."

"You're just saying that because of those Italian girls that tried to hook up with Jonah earlier," Alyssa leaned close and teased.

"Do you mean those Italian Butt-Bogeys?" Lily joked in return. "I don't have a problem with them – anymore."

It was finally time for the quaffle toss! Al was smiling and excited as he lined up next to the largest of the three Kites' Chasers. That had been the other wizard's choice, but Al knew from what he sensed that the Kites weren't changing their usual line-up – their best Chaser was at center pitch with Gwendolyn; and expected to win that race for the quaffle. Both of those Chasers were a bit too-appreciative of the Witches on his own team – including his wife and cousin, but he tried not to think of that while shaking hands with his opponent and wished him luck. That had surprised the man – though only because Al did that in Norwegian. He hadn't mastered the language or anything, but had taken the time to learn a few phrases. While he was sure that he could learn more; it wasn't a priority for him when he learned more from what he sensed from everyone around him anyway – and language wasn't a barrier to understanding for him.

The referee sent the quaffle high into the air; and the game was on!

"Our guys are going straight on offense," Al advised Gwendolyn quietly. "Follow for a second and then flip the other way, Stephanie," he added while doing the same long-enough for his own Chaser-opponent to look back and see him following before putting all of his focus into the offensive play he expected to be on with his team mates. "Drop the quaffle," he told Gwendolyn next. "Can you block Gwendolyn's guy, Stephanie?"

"Yes, but why would you want me to do that to you?" she teased while moving to intercept the Kites' Chaser that had already passed Gwendolyn when she'd hit the brakes and dropped the quaffle to Al while also blasting off toward the Kites' goals.

"This works, but we missed something in our scouting," Gwendolyn suggested as she and Al sped on without anyone between them and the Kites' Keeper. "They must never lose a quaffle toss to not even wait to see who gets to it first."

"We didn't watch every match," Al reminded her. "You go; I'll stop," he added – and then he did a horizontal one-eighty; handed the quaffle off to her; and stopped to help block the only Kites' Chaser still close-enough to have any chance at catching up and defending.

That didn't keep him from 'seeing' Gwendolyn earn the first goal for their team against a stunned-looking Keeper with a curving spin and shot that left the Wizard baffled at how the quaffle got past him and still went through the left-side goal.

"He's never seen a drift-shot," Al advised Gwendolyn and Stephanie. "Keep that in mind – and congratulations, Gwendolyn. That was a great first goal!"

"Thanks," Gwendolyn told him. "Save the hug for later – we have incoming; and they don't look happy."

The Quidditch action that followed that first goal was breath-taking and brilliant – but very one-sided. The Kites' players never gave up and tried their best, but they were also shell-shocked during the first hour as Al, Gwendolyn, and Stephanie scored twelve goals while their Chaser-opponents barely managed a dozen shots on goals against Rose. With that amazing start to the match, the one-sixty lead came easily too; and then Harry backed off from defending the snitch – knowing that the match was won. That wasn't something that the Kites could accept, but while they managed to score a goal against Rose in that second hour, that was just a small flicker of hope that only cut the Cannons' lead to one-ninety for a few minutes.

When the loss would put the Kites out of the competition, it was no surprise that they fought on instead of having their Seeker try for the snitch catch and loss, but defending the snitch from Harry while hoping for a comeback got harder as the match rolled on and Harry waited for best chances to go after the snitch. Al, Gwendolyn, and Stephanie were holding back a bit once they had the one-sixty lead too, but it probably didn't seem so to most of the spectators that didn't know them well-enough to recognize the changes they made to their game plan. Averaging between nine and ten goals an hour kept the battle exciting to watch, and while the Kites only earned the one goal against Rose; they still earned good shots on goals and Rose was just playing better than the Kites' Chasers.

Harry finally earned the snitch catch at the four-hour and twenty-five minute mark – and did that with an amazing play that the Kites' Seeker couldn't counter – and the Wizard nearly crashed during his attempt to do something that was beyond his broom's capabilities. The Kites' players and fans were not happy about the five-hundred and eighty to ten loss and early exit from the Europe Cup competition, but they had been impressed; and were good sports as they congratulated Rose and her team mates. That was mid-air for some of the players – along with the hugs and kisses that were shared among the Cannons' players – particularly with the two couples on the team. The post-game action on the pitch was a lot of fun, but that was also fairly-normal to league matches; since there wasn't any need for awards or presentations during a first-round match. There were a lot of interviews to do with reporters from a handful of different countries; that took time; and then the fans got to have their chance to visit with players on both teams.

While the game time was about four and a half hours, with the pre-game ceremony and two time-outs; it had been six-thirty by the end of the match; and heading toward eight o'clock by the time the players could get to their locker rooms and hit the showers. By the time they were able to return to the campground; the concert had begun; they picked up food; and then, finally, were able to take a little break and have a bit of a celebration with their families and friends.

"We should've kept Jaimie and Lorie with us," Jonah told Lily as they danced to the music being performed by one of the bands from Norway that had been booked to play at the weekend concerts. "The Weird Sisters might be on-stage before we get a chance to talk with Al and Gwendolyn."

"We'll get to spend time with them tomorrow – and all summer," Lily pointed out with a shrug. "I don't mind sharing them tonight. Lorie and Jaimie will be ready for bed soon too; and I'm not ready to call it a night quite yet."

"That is a nice advantage to being used to an earlier time zone," Jonah suggested with a nod. "We can stay up later without feeling wiped out – at least until it comes time for the early-morning wake-up calls."

"We slept in until normal time this morning," Lily reminded him; and Jonah nodded. "Yes, but we missed out on having much chance to do anything with Al and Gwendolyn for their anniversary; and you won't want to sleep in tomorrow and lose out on shopping and sightseeing time."

"I was going to sleep in and let you worry about getting the packing done," Lily advised him – and wasn't joking. "There are some advantages to dating someone that wants to be like Al."

Jonah grinned at her. "So this would be a bad time to tell you that I'm nothing like Al when it comes to things like cleaning and chores?"

"No – because I know that'd be a lie," she answered. "That sounds like something that might be fun to talk about some other time, though – ways that you could be different from Al that I'd like a lot."

"You might prefer to have that chat with your girlfriends instead of me," Jonah offered. "Nearly anything you come up with for that would likely be scary for me – not to mention that there are sure to be things that at least one of us doesn't want to talk about when it comes to your brother and my sister."

"You have a point there," Lily conceded – "so I'll talk it over with the girls and get back to you."

"No bedtime! No bedtime!" Jaimie and Lorie chanted in unison while protesting Malorie's announcement that it was time to head back to their tent for the night.

"Yes bedtime," Malorie chanted in return. "We're going to do some sightseeing and shopping tomorrow; and you need to get some sleep to be ready for all of that fun."

"We're having fun now!" Lorie protested. "No bedtime!"

"Grandpa can't leave quite yet, but I could come back with you – and you could stay in our tent tonight," Ginny offered. "We are going to have even more fun tomorrow – and you'll get to do that with all of us. I want to get extra sleep for that too."

"More fun now!" Jaimie challenged. "No bedtime!" Lorie took up that chant with her again; and Ginny picked her up for a hug while Malorie scooped up Jaimie.

"This is not a negotiation," Malorie advised them. "Let's take care of some goodnight hugs and kisses; and then we're going back to our campsites. You can choose whether you'll spend the night in our tent or grandma and grandpa's tent – though I thought you'd want to spend at least one night in our tent this weekend. We'll be back at home tomorrow night."

"Already?" Lorie protested. "We just got here!"

"You knew we were only here for the weekend," Malorie reminded her. "We're saving up our holidays for later in the summer."

"When you and Daddy-Patrick get married," Jaimie declared. "I remember."

"Me too," Lorie added. "We still want to play now – and no bedtime!"

"Aren't you glad that the previous team owners weren't as adorable as your kids?" Ginny teased; and Malorie laughed.

"I'll guess that everyone with GO MagiSports feels that way; since Rose's dreams likely would have never come true if they had been this cute."

"We're cute – we win!" Lorie declared; and Jaimie took up the new chant.

"You are – and didn't," Ginny advised them after joining in for the laugh. "Let's get started on those hugs and kisses – and maybe we'll have time for a bedtime story once you're ready for bed."

While that 'negotiation' continued; the adults and teens in their group shared cameo moments with Ginny, Malorie, and the twins; and then they continued to enjoy the concert, dancing, and play time. Al and Gwendolyn did not cave in to twin requests for bedtime campfire music, since they had the same 'work' responsibilities that Harry and the rest of their team-of-the-day had for an appearance on-stage and some more fan time. Their entire evening was a series of cameo moments, but while they didn't seem to get to have a lot of time with their families and friends where they could actually celebrate their first anniversary; getting a Europe Cup match win for their special day was remember-forever brilliant! Their anniversary gave them an excuse to head back to their tent earlier than most of the concert-goers, and thanks to the time change from home; it wasn't even all that late by the time they were able to have some quality alone time for a much-hotter celebration-for-two!

Al's time-stopper came in handy as well; so they were able to play for as long as they wanted; and still get a full night of sleep too. They hadn't been among the first to go to bed, but they were two of the earliest risers on Sunday morning – though Al woke and did his morning exercises before helping Gwendolyn to get her day off to a great start with some clothing-optional playtime that was followed by some work as they cooked breakfast for a small gang and had that food ready to go by the time their parents, siblings, Malorie, Patrick, and the twins joined them for that morning meal. They did that together so that they could refine their sightseeing and shopping plans; Al had help from some of the guys for the clean-up; they packed up their campsites; and then headed out to play around Italy for the rest of the day.

James was on the set at Exmoor stadium by the time his ex-family and their friends were ready to go sightseeing – and had been there for more than an hour. Normally, he'd have been in a foul mood to be working on a Sunday morning at all, but that wasn't the case this time because he was getting paid a lot of money for his 'acting' work; and they needed to get as many of the Quidditch scenes as possible done before opening day of training camp; so they were going to be very busy over the next few weeks. He was in such a great mood that the Cannons' win in the first round of the Europe Cup didn't bother him – especially when he was sure that he was getting paid a lot more for his second job; and he'd decided that the Europe Cup was a second-rate tournament anyway and not worth his time or effort.

The show production was kicking up a few notches because they had the rest of the actors for the shows home from Hogwarts – and that was needed for some of the 'players' on the teams; and because there were cross-over storylines and scenes for The Healer too. They didn't need everyone on the set every day, but as one of the stars; James was going to be working every day – though it was tough to call it work when he was really just playing around all day; and he especially-enjoyed getting to mess around with a lot of hot, beautiful Witches! There was some of that on the schedule for the day, but they were starting out with Quidditch scenes; and he'd already finished 'winning' two Seeker duels against opponents on two of the other, fictional teams. Now he was taking a break while Scorpius got to take a turn showing off with his new Chaser partners – though very few people knew that the two Wizards had also been hired by the Catapults to replace Miya-the-Mutt and her sorry excuse for a husband.

"Are you ready for your first loss of the day?"

James laughed as he turned and smiled at Andrea Avery. She was freshly out of her appointment for hair and make-up; and looked seriously-hot in her 'team' uniform. "Yes, but I'd rather have them re-write our post-game scene for something a bit more fun," he answered. "You're going to be the hottest player in this show."

Andrea laughed too. "Not according to Kylie Cootes," she disagreed with a nod toward Scorpius. "He is – and a lot of Witches agree with Kylie on that one."

"Including you?" he teased; and Andrea shrugged.

"Scorpius is like a brother to me – and a much-better one than what I was stuck with by birth. I can't really look at him that way."

"Then don't start thinking about me that way," James told her. "You are going to hook up with me sooner or later – and preferably sooner. Later today would work for me."

"Right here on the set in front of everyone would work for you," Andrea countered – "and isn't going to happen. I'm not like you for that sort of thing, James – and never will be. If we do ever hook up; it wouldn't be until you're ready to have a bonded-for-life kind of relationship."

"That'll never happen – and I'll convince you that you're wrong," James declared.

"You won't, but let's move on and talk about something else," Andrea suggested. "I like these uniforms better than the team robes you guys used in your episodes on The Healer. Are the Catapults looking to get some for next season – or is that something you can't talk about?"

"I couldn't – if they are," James answered. "These are just for show, though; and would be useless in league matches without the rest of our gear."

"I suppose – and they'd look stupid if we wore the pads over them. Even if the clown brigade isn't going to sell their uniforms to other teams you'd think that at least one of the other Quidditch equipment companies would try to make uniforms like them. How hard can it be?"

"I have no idea – and care even less," James told her. "You're welcome to try and make them if you think it would be such a great business."

Andrea laughed. "Do I look like Hazel Homemaker to you?" she asked. "I'm already wondering why I'm doing the league Quidditch job when this one is easy – and pays pretty well too."

"It is and does," James agreed, "but if you want a full-time gig on this show; you'll need to get more-involved with me than just through a couple of Quidditch matches a season where you try to win by tricking me with inappropriate offers."

"Thanks for reminding me why I'd rather keep playing in the show," Andrea teased with a laugh. "I only have to deal with inappropriate offers from two teams in the show – including yours; and I'm not interested in being any Wizard's arm candy or playmate-of-the-day."

"We'd need to be playmates for a lot of days once you found out what you were missing," James assured her, "and if Brand Bletchley is the other Wizard being horrid to you – which I'm not; then he'd better stop or I'll make him wish that he had."

"I don't need any Wizards protecting me either," Andrea advised him seriously. "Brand's just another thug – like my brothers; and is too-dim to even realize that he's so far out of my league that he could never catch up to me."

"So how do you handle him?" James asked. "Maybe we could use that for a future episode – especially if it involves you and me doing anything hot!"

"Even if I used FiendFyre on you to make it hot?" she challenged; and James laughed.

"No, that wasn't the kind of hot I'm hoping for – and you're already smoking-hot without the magical fire."

"Thank-you – and the answer is still no," Andrea said; and then nodded again – this time toward Scorpius as he flew toward them and landed a couple of paces away. "You looked great up there," she told him as he took the two steps toward them. "It's weird seeing them do these scenes in parts compared to watching an entire match, but I guess that's what we see a lot of the time when watching matches on the mirror network."

"We were told that they'd need a lot more mirror-cams to do it all as one big scene," Scorpius advised her. "This is easier for us; and we haven't needed to do more than one take of a scene very often. We'd likely have a tougher time with that if too much was going on at once."

"No doubt," Andrea agreed. "I guess that we're up next. Wish us luck."

She was right about that, since the director called for James and Andrea a few moments later. They grabbed their brooms; took to the air; and had a blast 'playing' against each other. The flying was brilliant, but so was the scripted banter between them; and Andrea left James wishing that they could do more together by the time she 'won' their duel; flirted-teased him some more in the scenes after the match; and then left it up to other Witches to keep him entertained for the rest of the episode – though those scenes weren't being done yet; and James really did need to hook up with other playmates during the rest of the day after Andrea was finished her work and left him wanting more when she also left the stadium.

James was the Quidditch King of the Witches, so he knew that Andrea would be his eventually, but not in the way that she hoped; since he had no intention of ever being stuck with just one Witch – and definitely didn't want or need a Queen!

Al and Gwendolyn had an amazing play day on Sunday that included an early, fifty-sixth anniversary luncheon for Molly and Arthur because Arthur surprised his wife with a vacation gift that was going to keep them in Europe for the week and having fun while waiting for the second-round match that the Cannons knew by then would be in France against the Heidleburg Harriers from Germany. While that meal and news had been a bonus blast of fun to go along with the sightseeing and shopping; it made it a bit tougher to get back to work again on Monday back at home – even if the reason for the extra training was brilliant!

There was a big change in their training – and that was entirely because Ray was the only 'full-time' player from their first season scheduled to play in the second-round match – along with 'part-time' Seeker, Ginny. Hugo was to be in goals for the next two matches; Ray was leading their Chaser trio with Cyndia and Alyssa; and Fred and Katrina were going to be the Beaters. Actually putting that part of their plan into effect was easiest for Al to handle, but it was still a bit strange to be on the 'reserve squad' for the week; and there were some fairly-big risks involved in sticking to that plan during a competition where failure meant being knocked out of the tourney. Al wasn't worried about that, since he had a lot of faith in his team mates. That wasn't true for everyone, but then Al also knew that the most-nervous players on their team were also among the Witches and Wizards that were going to be playing on Saturday.

Playing on the reserve squad for the week didn't mean less work for Al – though it did mean that he and Gwendolyn had less work to do with the team and when it came to interviews and other team responsibilities. They put more time into the camp instead – including the time that the Cannons spent there doing some of their training with the kids; and Al used his time-stopper to get work done on some of his favorite projects – including the one that he was thinking a lot about because of their PortKey travels on the weekend. They 'made' time for more-intimate kind of fun-for-two most days too, but the biggest change to their lives became obvious on Friday when they headed for the campground in France after breakfast – and didn't have any direct responsibilities with the team.

Al was really happy about that because it meant getting to play for most of the weekend with their families and friends – though he also took on a lot of the campground set-up work for their group too. Harry, Brandon, and some of the other guys helped out with that work while most of the girls got to play or just hang out and supervise, but they were also finished fairly-quickly; and could join in on the fun for the rest of the day too. For Al, Gwendolyn, Lily, Jonah, and the small gang that went with them; their fun included a sightseeing visit to Paris – including their version of Diagon Alley along with some of the most-famous Muggle landmarks like the Eiffel Tower. They did the magical part of that tour right before lunch; and then had that meal at one of the Wizarding cafes that weren't really all that much like their counterparts in Diagon Alley – particularly when it came to the food.

"Admit it – you'd rather be with the team today – and playing tomorrow," Lily told Gwendolyn as they sat at a table for four with Al and Jonah; enjoying iced drinks and waiting for their lunch orders to arrive.

"I thought that I would," Gwendolyn answered, "but this is really great; and sharing our jobs is proving to be more-fun than I expected. We still get to work with some of our favorite Witches and Wizards; and now we're getting to have more time to play."

"Will you still feel that way if the Cannons are out of the tournament by tomorrow night?" Lily challenged. "Your team won every scrimmage this week during training."

"Mum's our Seeker and Ray and Cyndia – and Fred and Katrina – are getting to play their first professional match together," Al interjected. "I have no doubt that they'll win tomorrow."

"Not to mention that none of them will want to lose their first match with the Cannons," Gwendolyn added with a nod. "They don't play the same way we do, but that doesn't mean that they aren't brilliant players too – and getting dismissed might prove to be an advantage for them – at least for their first season or two in the show."

"They also didn't lose by as much as most teams in the league did against the Cannons last season," Jonah pointed out. "It will be amazing if we end up with the best two teams in the league next season!"

"Or more," Gwendolyn offered. "We are going to change things up with different combinations of players. We should take a break from Quidditch, though, and talk about anything else – like what you think about this place."

Gwendolyn was referring to the entire Wizarding section of Paris with that suggestion; and their chat moved on from their as the girls took care of most of that conversation. While there were a lot of differences, Al had just as much fun with the things that were exactly the same – like seeing their own inventions and toys in the stores; a joke shop; and all of the 'normal' for a Wizarding World place that ranged from magical supplies and devices to the Goblin-run bank and other services that were available through the Ministry of Magic. After lunch, the Muggle sightseeing kept them busy for the afternoon; they had dinner in Paris too; and then headed back to the campground in time to spend the evening with their families and friends – including going to the concert that included sets from the Weird Sisters and Weird Witches.

Not having team curfew meant that Al and Gwendolyn could take Jaimie and Lorie for a sleepover in their tent; and then they shared babysitting duties with Patrick and some of the other members of their family while getting to play on Saturday morning while the team mates that were in the match were working most of the morning at the stadium. Instead of going sightseeing again, they stayed near the campground; enjoyed some of the entertainment that was provided; and had some water play time before having a group lunch at their campsites and then heading for the stadium. There were souvenirs, drinks, and treats to get before going to the seats reserved for the Cannons' VIPs or other premium seats, so they took care of that run through the food and souvenir booths; and then Al and Gwendolyn sat with the group of camp kids that had either come for the bonus day from the camp; or had been brought over to France early ahead of their week at Camp Cannonball. They didn't have Jaimie and Lorie with them to start because they went to the VIP section with Malorie, Patrick, and Harry; so they were able to focus their attention for the afternoon on the kids – and the other friends that were helping out with chaperoning the kids.

There was a small opening ceremony, but only a couple of speeches to go along with the team introductions that included a short blurb about their Europe Cup Journey so far. That was definitely a bit odd for the Cannons when they were fielding an entirely-different team, but that fact was ignored – at least by the stadium announcer and officials. The mirror network commentators, on the other hand, were having a lot of fun with that part of the story – especially the Cannons-haters that were now sure that this latest 'radical' decision would finally prove them to have been right all along. Al was still fired up and happy for his team mates as they lined up for the quaffle toss against the Harriers; and all of the manufactured drama only added to the entertainment as they all watched Ray win that first race to the quaffle.

"Made it!" Ron said enthusiastically as he sat down next to Hermione – "at least for seeing Hugo's first professional save!"

"Will you be this excited if Hermione becomes our next Minister of Magic?" Harry asked.

"No – and I don't even want to talk about the ideas for wheezes that George has come up with; and will have us selling if that happens," Ron answered. "I'm sure he won't be the only one who would have fun at my expense for being the first husband of a Minister of Magic in a long time."

"Can you work that into your campaign?" Harry asked Hermione hopefully. "That is sure to be more fun than what we'd get with any of the other candidates – including Percy."

"Keep that up; and I'll be nominating you," Hermione warned; and Harry laughed.

"I'd be terrible at the job," Harry assured her – "and you know it; though I also know it's too late to get into that race anyway."

"Don't get started on that," Ron told them. "We're supposed to be enjoying a Cannons' Quidditch match – not talking politics."

"I'm ready for a break from that anyway," Hermione assured him. "This is a good start to the game. I'm not sure what I expected, but this wasn't it; and the Harriers look a bit off-balance."

"The Harriers didn't have anything to go on to get ready for this match," Harry pointed out – "and they may have believed a lot of what they read about and heard from the reporters that insisted that we are going to lose today because we're using a bunch of kids. Take that, add in all of the other advantages; and it's no wonder that our opponents are off to an uncertain start."

"Is there any other team that could field their reserve squad and win against most other teams?" Hermione challenged. "Like I said – I didn't expect what little we've seen so far; and that's coming from a parent with a kid in the game and another managing the team."

"Then you should have more faith in your kids," Harry told her; sounding amused. "We don't have a reserve squad – we have sixteen players on our team. The current seven that we have playing today includes one very successful veteran and four kids of former league players. They all have their own, unique strengths and weaknesses, and don't play the same way the rest of us do, but anyone that seriously-underestimates them is making a big mistake."

Hermione shook her head. "Maybe some of us just need to adjust our perspective. You get to see them play a lot more than I do too; so how would you rank them compared to the other league teams?"

"Top-five – and good-enough to best any of the top-five teams," Harry answered seriously.

"Including yours?" Hermione teased; and Harry laughed.

"They will be my team now and then," he pointed out. "Al, Gwendolyn, and Stephanie won their Chaser battles last week, but the scrimmage wins came down to the Seeker duel; and I do think that we can win any match with our Seekers as long as we can keep the score close."

"Then you don't expect them to get one-sixty leads?" Hermione asked; and Harry shrugged.

"Ray, Cyndia, and Alyssa could do that," he disagreed. "We'll have to see how they develop as a Chaser trio. I like what I'm seeing so far – and they're likely going to get better as the match rolls along."

He was right about many of his comments, and the Quidditch action was amazing to watch, but it was definitely a different-looking Cannons team battling against the Harriers too. The Cannons only scored two goals in the first hour, but they were also playing very good defense; and Hugo kept the Harriers' Chasers off the scoreboard with help from his girlfriend and team mates. Ray, Cyndia, and Alyssa each scored another goal in the second hour for the fifty-to-naught lead, and by then; the pace and tone of the match were set as the two teams – and everyone watching – settled in for what was looking like a tough, competitive contest between two well-matched teams.

"Why are you watching that crap?" James asked Scorpius as he sat down next to his best mate and leaned back against the locker room wall while grabbing a bottle of water and then taking a long drink. "The match we just pretended to play was better than anything you'll see on the mirror network today."

"I have a chance to see the rest of the Cannons' players in matches ahead of next season," Scorpius answered. "You grew up playing against all four Seekers, and I've seen or played against some of their Chasers and Beaters, but that was a while ago; and I want to see how they're doing now – especially when they're not playing with the loser and potty-trainer."

"Let me guess – they suck even more," James suggested; and then nodded toward the portable mirror that Scorpius was using to watch the Cannons-Harriers' match.

"I don't think they're as good," Scorpius advised him, "but they've still earned a decent lead – one-hundred to ten through four hours and change. That's less than half the scoring per hour compared to last week, and part of that is likely due to tougher competition, but Ray's definitely leading a more-defensive Chaser battle; and they don't do the more-extreme flying tricks. I'm not sure whether we can come up with ways to take advantage of that style of play or not yet; but it's something to think about."

"We need to think about ways to destroy them next season – along with every other team," James said dismissively. "Now that we've gotten rid of the traitors we were stuck with last year; that should be easy."

Scorpius shook his head. "We wouldn't have been able to work with them anymore, James, but I'm not sure that we're better-off with their replacements. They're all tougher, but they're not better players; so I'm a bit worried about that."

"I didn't hear you mentioning those concerns when we were choosing those replacements," James toldhim.

"Then you weren't listening," Scorpius retorted. "We probably got the best we could out of the players that were available and willing to take those jobs. That doesn't mean we got the best, since some players didn't even want to talk to our scouts; and there were others that we'd have never been able to work with on our team."

"So we win with what we've got," James decided. "I started with worse and nearly got a championship with a team full of players that weren't even trying to play at all."

"That's something for you to think about," Scorpius told him seriously. "You played completely-differently back then; since you had to win every match. Last season, you were more-interested in beating up on the other teams – and running it up on them; so that didn't actually put winning first."

"Maybe not, but we made more money – a lot more," James pointed out. "That'll be even more-true this year." He nodded toward the mirror again. "Would you really pick that over what we're getting paid for this work we're doing instead? The loser managed to cheat and con his way to a league championship, but we won where it matters last year – in our Gringotts' vaults!"

"I'd have played if the Catapults had been invited," Scorpius answered, "but what we're doing instead will be better for us – especially when it comes to taking over the Wizarding World one fan at a time!"

Al and Gwendolyn had taken a turn with Jaimie and Lorie at dinnertime; and spent a couple of hours with Lily and Jonah too, but they always kept track of the Quidditch action too; and the Cannons and Harriers continued to play brilliantly on both sides of the quaffle through the afternoon and into the evening. While Ray, Cyndia, and Alyssa scored fewer goals per hour, the numbers kept adding up; and Hugo was playing brilliantly too. He'd only given up two goals by the time that the Cannons earned the one-sixty lead in the seventh hour; and the Cannons had a two-ten to thirty lead as the battle headed into the ninth hour after a time-out near to the end of the eighth hour. By then, it was past-dark; and it seemed to Al as though most of the spectators in the stadium were winding down and just waiting for the inevitable end to the match – an end that might take a while; since the Seeker duel was really great too; and the Harriers were not going to concede defeat when they only needed three goals to get back into the match again and have a chance to win it.

Al knew that wasn't going to happen before anyone else except for his mother.

"Watch Mum," Al whispered to Gwendolyn as they cuddled close and she'd been watching the latest scoring attempt from the Harriers on Hugo.

"Okay," Gwendolyn agreed while lazily changing her focus and turning her head toward where Al had indicated with a subtle wave of a hand. "What am I looking for?"

"The game-winning catch," he answered. "The Harriers' Seeker is moving a bit sluggishly after that time-out; and that isn't going to end well for him – right... about... now!"

They watched as Ginny hit the brakes after getting her opponent to chase after her; he was still accelerating to catch up; and blasted past her. She waited until he looked back and saw that she'd only come to a stop, but when he turned back to look where he was going and start in on a wide turn; she flipped about one-hundred-and-thirty degrees; sped off on a slightly downward angle; and then she got a lot of attention from game announcers, mirror-cam operators, and spectators as she dove under Alyssa and her Harrier's opponent while they were on the way back toward the Harriers' goals; went inverted; and then caught the snitch before spinning upright again and going vertical to avoid crashing into the stadium walls or the spectators in the lowest seating that had just gotten to have an amazing view of the final play of the match.

"Yes!" Al shouted as he stood – and helped Gwendolyn to do the same. "That was brilliant!"

"It was – and we're moving on to the third round!" Gwendolyn agreed and added happily. "I knew they could do it!"

"You're not worried about them replacing us now?" Al joked; and Gwendolyn laughed.

"No; and I'm learning to have a bit more faith in your crazy plans for the Cannons. I don't want to leave quite yet, but let's not wait too long either; since we might be able to stay out of the media spotlight if the reporters are too-busy interviewing our team mates to come and bother us."

"That's a cheery thought," Al said with a nod. "Let's do that."

The post-game action at center pitch took a while, but most of the spectators were ready to party by then; so there was an exodus to the campground for most of them; and the concert started an hour after the end of the match. Al and Gwendolyn were there with a lot of their family and friends for the start of the show; and they were able to dance and have fun for most of the next couple of hours while their victorious team mates were busy for most of that time. Highlights included spending time with Jaimie nd Lorie; the sets from the Weird Kids and Graves Robbers; and only getting interviewed by two reporters – even though both of those sets of questions had been attempts to get answers to leading and insulting questions. They moved on to a more-private campfire after helping to get the twins tucked into their beds in Malorie and Patrick's tent, and by then; pretty much everyone still hanging out with them were ready to just have a bit of quiet chat time with some of their favorite people before heading off to bed.

"Are you looking to see which team we're playing next week – or just checking out the scores?" Ray asked Jonah when he noticed him using his portable mirror while cuddling with Lily.

"One match is still going on," Jonah reported; "and we won't know until tomorrow what the match-ups will be for next Saturday. Honestly, I don't even know how they decide that for the Europe Cup."

"It's a bit arbitrary for the first round," Al answered; "and then the points difference totals after that. We will have to wait until that last match ends to get the match-ups; since the current standings will change depending on which team wins and by how many points."

"Should we be cheering for one of those teams in particular?" Gwendolyn asked; and Al shrugged.

"I have no idea. We've concentrated on the Harriers this past week; and will do the same with whichever team we're up against next week. I don't know enough about either team to suggest whether we'd be better-matched against one of them or be worse-off against the other."

"Not to mention that we could end up playing neither of them next week," Jonah added. "We can worry about the next round tomorrow. I'd rather hear all about what it was like to be out there playing today – and it must have been fun doing those interviews. We caught some of them; and those reporters were really looking foolish while trying to justify being totally wrong about you."

"I'd have more fun if even one of those reporters would admit they were wrong," Cyndia told him. "If we played as badly as they make predictions about us; we'd deserve the insults!"

"I've never thought about it like that," Alyssa told her with a laugh. "We only have the one win; so it's likely a bit premature to ask them about how their record stacks up against ours; but let's keep that in mind for the future."

"Or get Gwendolyn or Rose to try that one on them," Cyndia suggested. "Al's too nice to do that; and I don't want Ray to get into trouble."

"But it's okay for Rose or me?" Gwendolyn asked. "Thanks a lot."

"You could get away with something like that," Cyndia pointed out – "and you were laughing; so you thought it was funny too."

"I did," Gwendolyn agreed, "but we're trying to be the happiest team in the league; and we shouldn't go out of our way to make others feel bad."

"You need a girls' day – or week – away from Al," Lily told her. "The last thing we need in our family is a Witch version of Al!"

"A Witches' getaway sounds like a great idea," Gwendolyn told her, "but just because I agree with Al on that doesn't mean I'm turning into him; and I always reserve the right to blast someone if they have it coming to them – even if that isn't what's best for the team."

"I'd like to believe that," Lily countered, "but do you even remember the last time you were really mad about anything?"

"Yes, and it's been a while," Gwendolyn admitted, "but that's really awesome; and we should all be enjoying our lives right now – especially when we've all been through some not-so-fun times."

That was something that even Lily couldn't really disagree with – even as a small part of her wished that the first week of her summer hadn't been so amazing. Their chat moved on from there; and the campfire didn't really end up lasting all that much longer before they headed for their beds and a few hours of sleep.

Sunday couldn't be a sightseeing day for the entire day – at least for Al, Gwendolyn, and most of their family. They did go out to play for a while in the morning, but then they headed for home and then on to the Burrow for a Weasley family picnic that was a celebration of Teddy and Fleur's sixth anniversary and Lucy and Alex's first anniversary. The next few hours proved to be a blast of both fun and weirdness – with the weird all coming from the family and friends rivalry between the camps supporting Percy or Hermione for the Minister of Magic job. Al helped out with the work when he could; stayed out of Percy's way; and played in the background as much as possible – especially when it came to playing with the kids or going out to the orchard for Quidditch matches.

While they didn't get to play in France for as long as they'd have liked; the Cannons' players were happy to find out that their third-round match would be against the Quiberon Quafflepunchers; and that they'd drawn their own 'home' Quidditch World Cup stadium for that match. Camping wasn't mandatory, but since they'd be spending a lot of time at the campground for work reasons; they booked campsites anyway. They only had four training days to get ready for the Quafflepunchers, so Al and Gwendolyn wrapped up their Sunday with a team meeting that Rose led once they were all home again; and then they eventually headed to bed after some of them went up to the camp to do the campfire with the kids that were there for the fifth week. Al and Gwendolyn were two of those volunteers; they had fun with the kids; and then wrapped up their weekend with a bit of time-stopped fun-for-two before getting around to the sleeping part of their night.

On Monday, it was time to get to work, but they had to mix in the training with their camp responsibilities. They had breakfast at their 'home' cafe; and multi-tasked that meal with an early celebration of Susannah's nineteenth birthday that included the bonus fun that went along with her engagement-to-Seth news to go along with the gifts from her friends; a pastry with a candle for her to make a wish upon; and the special, personal food favorites for that morning meal. After that little blast of fun, they moved on to the camp for a morning of Quidditch with the teens that were there for the week; had lunch at the camp too; and then they headed back to their practice pitch for the afternoon while the kids spent the rest of the day playing other games and having fun. Rose's plan for the third week was all about making sure that nearly-everyone got to play in two Europe Cup matches except for the Seekers, so the only changes from the second round were to put Jonah in at Seeker and Stephanie in at Chaser instead of Ray. They had a good scrimmage and workout, but that plan was changed after they landed because Cyndia wasn't happy – and that was entirely because she didn't think that she'd played very well with Stephanie and Alyssa against Al, Gwendolyn, and Ray. She also didn't waste any time getting to that point when she sat down next to Rose instead of Ray as they all got ready to take off their gear and take on water or other drinks.

"I want you to switch me out for Gwendolyn or Al for the match on Saturday," Cyndia told Rose solemnly. "I haven't played with Stephanie and Alyssa enough for us to play our best in a week, but they've played with Gwendolyn for years; and Al can play with anyone; so either of them would be better than me this week."

"You suggested that before," Rose said, "but I'm surprised that you still feel that way after playing last weekend."

"You're not really surprised – and you know I'm right too. Our last match was different. I've played a lot of Quidditch with Ray and Hugo; and we had Aunt Ginny playing Seeker for us." She turned her head and smiled at Jonah. "I don't mean that to sound offensive to you," she assured him, "but this will be your first professional match; and the last thing you need is to have all of the pressure on you. Ray also did well-enough as our team Captain for the week, but Fred's the only one of us with any experience at Captain – and that was back on the junior team. I'd pick Gwendolyn to replace me because she is our Captain – and has all of that playing experience with Stephanie and Alyssa, but you're the boss; and that's up to you."

"I'd vote for Gwendolyn too," Al interjected; and smiled ruefully when Cyndia frowned at him. "Sorry, but I agree with you. We'll figure out a way to make this up to you some other way, but you can't be ready to play your best with Stephanie and Alyssa in just a few more days – and that goes both ways for them with you."

"Has that changed your mind?" Rose asked; since Cyndia still didn't look happy anymore.

"No – and I don't know why that felt weird to me," Cyndia answered. "I got to play in one match – and I'd like to see Gwendolyn get to play in Jonah's first professional match too."

"You've won me over on that point," Rose decided. "Is everyone okay with making that change starting tomorrow?"

"Yes, but I'd like to know why I wasn't in the running," Ray teased; and Cyndia laughed.

"Because I hate the idea of you playing on a Chaser trio with two beautiful Witches that aren't me," she answered without really needing to do that – especially when the real truth was that Ray couldn't be ready to play with Stephanie and Alyssa in just a few days either.

"Thank-you," Gwendolyn told Cyndia; and got up to share a hug with her. "I am going to love playing in this first match with Jonah – and we will figure out a way to make this up to you too."

"Don't buy tickets to the next league championship match," Al suggested to Cyndia.

"What does that mean?" she asked; and then laughed as his expression and grin were enough to answer her question. "Deal – even though that won't be up to you to decide."

"That's true," Rose agreed, "but I like the idea; so maybe we can work that out for you." She turned her attention to Gwendolyn. "You'd better sit down with Stephanie and Alyssa tonight and take another look at your game plan for Saturday. You can likely use some of your old plays with the Ravenclaw team – or anything else you'd like to put in before we get back to work again tomorrow."

That was pretty much the end of that bit of drama – though Cyndia got teased a bit about getting to spend the next few days training on the reserve squad with Al and Ray first. Her choice really was a popular sacrifice among her team mates, but while Al sensed that there had been some cost to that admission; he also knew that she was relieved too. While the rest of their friends moved on after hitting the showers; Al ended up making dinner-for-five so that Gwendolyn could have that planning session with Stephanie and Alyssa. Hugo helped him out with the work while the girls did their brainstorming and game plan changes; and then Al and Gwendolyn moved on to another camp visit – though they didn't stay for the virtual mirror theater show that was the highlight of the entertainment schedule for the teens. Their training day curfew kept Seth from taking Susannah out for a major birthday party, but she'd only wanted to have a quiet dinner with their families; and then they were even happier to be on their own for the rest of the night.

Al spent no time at all thinking about that sort of thing when it came to his friends – or his family, but as they started a new month on Tuesday; his focus was on work more often than not. The game plan change affected his Quidditch work in a big way, but he and Gwendolyn actually had a lot of fun competing against each other for a change; and competitive celebration hugs and kisses were just as much fun as they were for same-team celebrations! He wasn't bothered by having Gwendolyn play in a match that he wasn't playing in too, but she was busier than he was thanks to team duties off the pitch; so he had extra time to work on other projects – which he did on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday while also using his time stopper to make as much time as he needed for that work. By Thursday night; they were tired out, but ready to get started on round three of their Europe Cup adventure in the morning.

Friday wasn't an exact repeat from a week ago for Al because he didn't do the chores with Gwendolyn's help. He had a bit more work to do too, but that didn't actually slow Al down – he just put a bit more zip into his magic; and got the work done so that he could then have some play time with Lily, Jaimie, and Lorie for the rest of the day. While Gwendolyn and the rest of her playing team mates dealt with a full schedule of Europe Cup events; Al and Lily's adventures with the twins included playing and swimming at the campground; fun with Grandma, Grandpa, and other friends and family members; and Al added in a bit of time-stopped work too while the twins took a nap break for an hour. Dinner 'dates' were included for the VIP dinner for the teams, so Al and Lily joined Gwendolyn and Jonah for that blast of fun; they had more play time at the campground after that while the team was busy with more work; and then Al was able to spend a bit of time with Gwendolyn at the campground concert until her game night curfew – and then he went back to their tent with her for the early bedtime.

"Thank-you," Al told Lily as they watched Gwendolyn, Jonah, and the rest of their Cannons team-of-the-day leave for the stadium.

"For what?" Lily asked; and Al grinned at her.

"Jonah looks really happy," he answered. "I expected him to be looking worried or afraid instead."

Lily punched him and laughed. "I reserve the right to blast him if the Cannons lose today, but I didn't threaten him; and we're not going to talk about why he's so happy this morning."

"You look very happy too," Al advised her. "Should I ask about that?"

"No," Lily answered. "What are we going to do this morning? We don't exactly have any sightseeing to do here at home; and we pretty much did everything around here yesterday."

"There will be some kid-rated shows on the concert stage," Al reminded her, "and while we don't need to go sightseeing; we could still take Jaimie and Lorie out for a hike along the beach and cliffs around here – or go to the nearest town and wander around for an hour or two."

"We'd better talk with Malorie and Patrick first," Lily suggested. "His parents are coming to this match; and they may want to get a turn with the twins."

Al laughed. "I wasn't thinking about that. If our nieces are busy today too; I might need to do some work or something instead while Gwendolyn is busy."

"It's a bit scary that you think of doing work first," Lily told him. "Try thinking about having fun now and then that isn't kid-rated – and it is possible to hang out with the guys now and then. Ray wil be busy with Cyndia, but Brandon and Seth have some free time today too. I'm sure they'd be happy to hang out with you – if you can come up with something more-exciting than watching magical puppet shows or toddler-rated sing-along shows."

"What would you do instead?" Al asked; and Lily shrugged.

"I have girlfriends around here today too. That wouldn't be a problem."

Al was still tempted to do some work instead after they found out that the twins were already booked for a play morning with their father-to-be and his family, but he ended up playing instead – and getting a lot of attention from other campers while doing that. Lily was partially responsible for that because she insisted that he at least talk with some of the other guys, but it was his idea to go with some hoverboarding entertainment while in a magically protected campground; and then he ended up with a dozen friends that wanted to join in on that blast of extreme entertainment – including Lily, Cyndia, and some of their friends. Zipping along the pathways between the campsites earned some of that attention, but it was the extreme tricks that they had fun with in and near the field that was used for the concerts that really drew a crowd.

Conjuring some Muggle-inspired equipment added to the fun; and Al led the way with some seriously-crazy tricks on the half-pipe, rails, and other obstacles that took Muggle skateboarding, biking, or rollerblading to magically-possible extremes! Lily was next-best – or nearly-as-crazy as her brother, but all of their friends were willing to try slightly less-insane-looking tricks; and they all had a blast for a couple of hours before cooling off with a swim and then gathering at Al and Gwendolyn's tent for cold drinks and an early lunch. The Quidditch match should have been the top chat topic, but it was the hoverboarding that took the conversational spotlight as Al sat down at a table with Brandon, Lily, Hermione, and all four of their parents.

"We've seen the hoverboards in the stores," Brandon's father, Gordon, told the three 'kids' at their table, "but that's the first time I've seen them used like that. Is that something new that the kids are doing these days?"

"Not to those extremes," Brandon answered. "After today; I won't be surprised if we start seeing more of it, though; since there were a lot of teens watching us out there."

"Most of the equipment that Al conjured is based on Muggle extreme sports," Ginny advised her friends. "Those sports are very popular with Muggle kids and teens; so I'm sure that hoverboarding will catch on – and I'd like to try some of those tricks. They must be at least as much fun as the tricks we do on our brooms."

"I can see you doing that," Lysa told her, "but my days of extreme anything are in the past." She smiled at her husband's reaction to that. "Don't say it – we don't want to scare the kids."

"You don't," Brandon agreed – "though I think that you'd both have fun on hoverboards; and can do that without trying the really crazy tricks. I certainly didn't try half the stuff that Al and Lily did. That's not a surprise; since they're crazier than the rest of us when it comes to tricks on their brooms too."

"We've noticed that," Lysa agreed. "Beaters aren't really known for extreme flying. The big tricks just don't help our game at all."

"Brandon and Seth are working on – and doing – some tricks that help them," Al advised her. "They just look less-exciting because those plays are all about Arithmancy and applying force. That's actually the biggest difference between hoverboarding and flying our brooms – the interaction of speed and force between the board and ground or other obstacles."

"Don't let him get started on that," Lily warned. "At least one of us doesn't care about the 'how' for doing flying or hoverboarding tricks – or at least not to the level Al takes that sort of thing to when he talks about it."

"We can move on," Ginny promised. "What would you like to talk about instead? Shopping? Vacations that we don't have time for this summer? Weddings?"

"We only have one wedding booked this summer; and I doubt there's anything we aren't up-to-date on right now," Lily answered. "There's no point in talking about something that isn't going to happen at all; so I guess we can talk shopping if you'd like – though we'd need to book an outing or two for that; since we haven't exactly done a lot of shopping so far this summer either."

The Witches in their group were happy to take that topic and run with it – especially since Lysa was sure that her daughter would like to get chances for more shopping too. they had time to enjoy that meal; and then they headed for the stadium – along with most of the Witches and Wizards in the campground. Al hadn't been in the team seating for the league championship match, but the Cannons had the exact same section assigned to their team; and the extra tickets they'd bought in a block for everyone in their group were in the same section; and completely surrounded that reserved seating for the team. Al and Lily stayed together; and they were in the team section too – along with some lucky camp kids that had won the better seats either in contests at the camp or through a lottery that was done with the kids that would be going to the next week of camping. Harry and Ginny were in that section too, but they were in charge of VIP guests for GO MagiSports; and they also helped out with Jaimie and Lorie while Mallorie was busy with the VIPs too.

They'd been at the stadium before the gates were opened; and they were in their seats with fifteen minutes to spare by the time they picked up snacks, drinks, and souvenirs. Al and Lily didn't help with the camp kids for that part of the fun, but it was nice to mostly do their own thing while checking out the booths and picking up what they wanted for themselves while having a bunch of cameo moments with family and friends they crossed paths with along the way. Then kids and teens that sat with them kept them entertained for that last fifteen minutes or so; there was another short blast of speeches to get through that most of the spectators would have rather skipped; and then it was time for some Europe Cup Quidditch!

Gwendolyn laughed as her Quafflepunchers' Chaser opponent swore at her in French when she won their race for the quaffle by three broom lengths. She didn't know very much French, but Louis, Riley, and Caylee had gone through phases where teaching their cousins and friends some bad words in their own second language had entertained all of the cousins; and now that knowledge was proving very entertaining in ways she'd never expected back then.

"That isn't a very nice thing to say," she offered as she slowed; her opponent caught up; and then she hit the brakes so that he blasted past her while she pivoted and then headed toward the Quafflepunchers' goals with Stephanie and Alyssa already ahead of her.

Her comment had surprised the Wizard as much as her flying trick; so his reaction time was very slow as he turned too and then raced to catch up to her from behind and above. He did that, but not until Gwendolyn tossed the quaffle to Stephanie; blocked both of the Chasers defending against them; and then kept them busy while Stephanie earned the first shot on goals. She didn't score, but the Keeper couldn't control the rebound; Alyssa was first to get to it; and set Stephanie up for a second shot. That save was made too; and then the Quafflepunchers had the quaffle and went onto offense.

"That's a good start – for both teams," Lily told Al as Alyssa took the directed rebound from Hugo and all six Chasers raced back toward the Quafflepunchers' goals. "Are you worried – or wishing you were playing yet?"

"I'm not worried, and while I'd love to be playing, I don't need to be doing that; and love what we are doing a lot more. Every team still in the running for the Europe Cup is going to be motivated today when we're this close to the championship match; and we were expecting a tough match, Lily. Didn't you think that our assessment and game plan was well-done? You didn't say anything."

Lily shrugged. "Maybe it's just my personal Quidditch history affecting my perspective," she suggested. "That doesn't even make sense in this case; since winning each round is all that matters. It isn't as though another team can mess things up for us the way that can happen at Hogwarts."

"Not in the way you mean," Al agreed. "Just for the curiosity of it, though; why aren't you really proud of your Quidditch record at Hogwarts – or satisfied with it? You've had two losses in six seasons; three Quidditch Cups, and four junior or senior team titles. I know we've talked about it before – and you've likely done the same with your friends, but that is already an amazing accomplishment, Lily." He nodded toward where Jonah was flying on the far side of the stadium from their seats. "His record is great too, but not as good as yours; yet he's happier with it than you are with yours."

"He's more like you – and I'm not," Lily reminded him. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to win it all – all the time."

"Have you thought about the idea that you could be wrong about that?" Al asked; and Lily glanced at him for only a moment before returning her attention to the game.

"No. Why would you say that?"

"It's something I've been thinking about lately – in part because of the drama going on around choosing our next Minister of Magic," he began explaining quietly. "Mum's family was very poor when she was growing up with our uncles. We know that, but that isn't the same as actually understanding what that feels like. When you have nothing – or very little; that can be very hard. It can also allow you to appreciate the good things that happen in your life – no matter how small."

"Okay," Lily agreed. "I'm with you so far."

"I see that in Mum most of the time – and in Grandma and Grandpa too. That's less-true for most of our Uncles; with Uncle Percy being the one exception – and I never see or sense that in him. They all grew up together, but while there were some differences because of their ages and then havning to share what little they had among more kids; you know why there's such a difference in attitude between Uncle Percy at one end and Mum at the other."

"His self-perception and expectations are higher than the reality of his life," Lily mused. "You think that's true for me – that I'm like Uncle Percy – or James." That was a statement; not a question. She glanced at him again for another moment when she saw him nod his agreement.

"Yes – though I'd say there are some differences between the three of you too. For you, the main similarity is that you've been brilliantly-successful while not meeting your hopes and expectations. Uncle Percy was the best student in his year, a Prefect, and then Head Boy; he's had a brilliant career at the Ministry of Magic; and has managed to do very well for himself and his family. He's not happy either, and I'd guess that even if he is named Minister of Magic; he still won't be happy. He may never understand why."

"But you do," Lily suggested; and Al shrugged.

"If you have no or low expectations; it's easy to be happy with every blessing and good thing that happens. When they're impossibly-high – and you keep raising the bar higher; you're almost-sure to be disappointed a lot." He smiled at her. "The good news for you is that you're figuring that out now."

"Maybe," Lily admitted. "Why don't you think that the rest of our Uncles are the same as Mum for this?"

"They are – some of the time for a few of them; and most of the time for Uncle Charlie." He shrugged again. "I don't want to pick on any of them – or on Uncle Percy. I'm also not suggesting that low expectations are good." He paused and then shook his head. "Maybe I am saying that expectations of any kind can be the problem. Not having any at all is likely impossible for any of us, but if we can do better at aligning them with our own personal reality; getting that balance will allow us to be happier."

"Do you think that applies to James?" Lily teased; and Al laughed.

"No – he might be an exception. None of this likely even matters for Wizards and Witches that don't care about how they get what they want. That's where you aren't like James or Uncle Percy – though they're not exactly the same either. Uncle Percy, as far as I know, plays by the rules, but he also doesn't need those rules to be based on what's right or a strong moral compass. James only believes in two rules. He should always get whatever he wants regardless of how that happens or the cost to others – and if that doesn't work out for him; it's my fault."

Lily laughed. "That sounds like a great place to stop this chat; since it is way too serious for a Quidditch play day. Before I change the subject, though, is there some reason for why you're bringing that up today?"

"I don't think so," Al answered – "though if you get to play next Saturday in the championship game; you'll be happier if you just expect to play your best and have fun with the rest of us – whether we win or lose."

Gwendolyn was having a blast. Getting to play again with Stephanie and Alyssa was part of that, but the Quidditch competition was challenging; and she was enjoying the opportunity to prove her own talents without being compared to Al – or helped by him. Playing with Al, and for the Cannons, had proved to be better than her best dreams for playing with the Harpies, but getting the chance to play with different team mates – including her brother and cousins – was taking that to a new level. That didn't mean that their Quidditch was better – it wasn't. There was always going to be something special about how brilliantly she and Al played together, and they were better than they were with anyone else, but the differences helped to make what she was having so much fun with now feel unique and amazing too.

The so-called Quidditch experts that liked to hate on the Cannons probably wouldn't agree, but they were outscoring the Quafflepunchers by more than two-to-one pretty much from the start of the match; and she'd rank their team among the best in their own league. Having fun could be contagious without Al in the game too, and while the Quafflepunchers' players were trying their best; they were smiling a lot and enjoying the challenge too. That hadn't been true at the start, so seeing that transition had been fun too, and thanks to a really good Seeker duel; even with the scoring difference; both teams were still in a position to win as the fourth hour of the match wound down. Gwendolyn scored the twentieth goal of the match for the Cannons; and laughed when the Quafflepunchers' Keeper offered a good-natured insult in French – something that he and his Chasers all found amusing after learning that she understood those insults – and had laughed every time they'd offered them in response to any of her successes.

"You're not even missing the celebration hugs and kisses with Al anymore," Stephanie offered as she flew close to Gwendolyn for a moment; and they were both grinning.

"No, but a couple of these guys would likely be happy to share a few hugs and kisses with you," Gwendolyn suggested; and then looked around when they heard the referee whistle blow and then the deafening roar of the crowd.

"Jonah's caught the snitch!" Stephanie exclaimed – though Gwendolyn had seen that too by then. "Yes – we did it!"

"Did you have any doubts?" Gwendolyn teased; and Stephanie laughed happily.

"Yes – and this match could have gone either way. Let's go and congratulate your brother and our team mates; and then maybe I'll even see about sharing a few hugs with one or two of those younger, hottest Quafflepunchers' players."

"Where's your portable mirror?" James asked Scorpius as he walked back into the locker room from the showers. "Did you have to put it away before we meet up with Lysandra and Andrea for dinner?"

"Yes, but the match is over too," Scorpius answered. "Don't ask how it ended. We'll all have more fun if you stay in a good mood for the rest of the day."

"As if I need you to tell me that the clown brigade cheated their way to another win," James retorted dismissively. "It's a wonder that any teams can last more than five minutes in a stadium filled with the stench of Animorphloser without passing out and falling off of their brooms."

Scorpius laughed. "Would that make for a good episode for our show – or The Healer?" he joked; and James laughed too.

"Let's suggest it to the girls and see what they think."

"Careful, mate – that almost sounded as though you're thinking of us as two couples with Lysandra and Andrea."

"I'm part of a couple with every Witch I spend quality time with," James declared with a grin. "Andrea's been a bit of a challenge, but she'll come around eventually – they all do."

"Not all, but you do manage to hook up with an amazing number of girls. That works for you – at least for now."

"What's that supposed to mean?" James asked suspiciously.

Scorpius shrugged. "Nothing, really. I just expect that you'll eventually get bored with all of those empty, meaningless hook-ups. When – if – that happens; you'll want to find a Witch that isn't interested in being the playmate of the day or week – or is hoping to catch the best, richest Wizard for financial reasons. Andrea likely knows you better than any other Witch because you've taken the time to become true friends – though you could mess that up if you keep on trying to make her one of your playmates too. She has principles and standards that ought to impress you when she's paid a high price for sticking to them even as a kid and teen – not to mention an extensive knowledge of curses and hexes that ought to worry any sane Wizard."

"She doesn't know me nearly as well as most Witches I've been with," James insisted meaningfully while smiling wolfishly.

"You don't really think so – when you know that we're talking about two different things. I'm not suggesting that you change anything, James – though I'm serious about that warning, mate; and think that you'd really miss what might be the best friendship you have if you don't take that true connection with Andrea more-seriously. We both have a lot of faux-friends now because of our celebrity; but only a few who are true and care for us even knowing us at our best and worst."

"You're starting to sound a bit like the loser," James told him. "I told you that watching those matches was a bad idea!"

"He wasn't even playing today," Scorpius reminded him – "and I think that you're just saying that to avoid admitting that you know I'm right about this. If you didn't value Andrea's friendship; you wouldn't hang out with us so often."

"What makes you think that I don't just hang out with you because your families hate mine as much as I do?" James challenged; and Scorpius laughed.

"I'm sure that's true too – though you should just stop caring at all what your ex-family thinks about anything. Andrea's done that – and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that her family wishes they hadn't treated her so badly; since she's always been more than they ever understood."

"Well, if you're that impressed with her; I'll be happy to switch dates with you for the night," James offered; and laughed when Scorpius shook his head.

"I don't know why I bothered," he stated. "Give it a rest, James. Lysandra's my match; and you ought to hope for a relationship that good for yourself someday – even if you really don't want it right now."

Neither team had taken even a short time-out during their match, but while that allowed most of the spectators to have a late dinner at the campground and then enjoy a bit of play time before the concert began; the players and managers had to deal with the post-game festivities and interviews and fan time first before they could get cleaned up, changed, and then meet up with their families and friends for a break and some non-Quidditch fun and entertainment. Gwendolyn was reunited with Al by eight-thirty; he stayed with her while she got something to eat and drink; and then they made their way over to the concert with the rest of their team mates and joined in on the celebration. The Quiberon Quafflepunchers and their fans celebrated and partied too, and while they were out of the running for the championship; being one of the top-four teams was still a worthy accomplishment.

Al loved getting to celebrate another victory with Gwendolyn, their family, and friends. The dancing, socializing, concert, and a wrap-up campfire kept them busy and entertained, but as always; it was the Witches and Wizards they shared everything with that sustained the love and joy in his life. Turning the heat up on their fun after heading for bed worked for Al and Gwendolyn too, but then they had a blast on Sunday too – even without doing any sightseeing. The best news of the day – at least from Al's perspective – was the surprise his father had for his mother. Their twenty-sixth anniversary was on Thursday; and he surprised her with a week-long vacation – something that they could do because the Cannons still had two Seekers available for training; and Jonah could help Lily to get ready for her chance to play in the championship match! That gift and announcement came during the late-morning brunch they had with quite a gang of family and friends at Harry and Ginny's campsite; though Al had a bit of advanced warning; and knew that their team manager had been in the loop for the plans with her favorite uncle.

The play day on Sunday helped out a lot with getting ready for a busy work week – even though the Cannons' players didn't actually get any rest. While Harry and Ginny headed for Europe with plans to make their way across to Bulgaria and the newest Quidditch World Cup stadium for the Europe Cup championship; Al and Gwendolyn played at the campground for part of the afternoon; packed up; and then moved on to Camp Cannonball so that they could spend time with the new group of kids that had arrived for their week of extreme, magical-sports-themed camping adventures. They were the team 'celebrities' for the opening day dinner; stayed for the evening play time; and caught the start of the campfire before needing to go home in time for their training day curfew – though 'home' for the night was their cottage at the camp; and Lily and Jonah spent the night there with them too while Harry and Ginny were away.

The Vratsa Vultures had earned the other spot in the championship match – something that didn't surprise any of the 'experts' when they had a chance to play at their home country stadium. That fact was something that Rose took as a serious issue for the Cannons; since the Vultures were sure to have the support of the majority of the fans at that match. It wasn't something that she spent a lot of time on, since the rest of their training was more-important, but it was an example of the details that were considered while making up their game plan and getting ready for the battle ahead. As usual, Al took the lead for leading a lot of their training, and since they were using everyone from their 'old' team except for Lily on Saturday; he also didn't step back and leave it up to Ray or Gwendolyn to lead their 'team' in the scrimmages. Gwendolyn was Captain, and would lead during the match, but when it came to their practices; Al was in charge when it came to most of their play designs and practicing them.

Training was most-important for all of the Cannons – except for the two members that were away on an anniversary holiday, but the start of their league training camp was mere days away too; so there was work to be done to get ready for opening day on Monday; they still had their daily work with the kids at the camp; and Al had work to do on his other projects – including one that he finished and delivered to the customer. Keeping up with everything required using his time-stopper every day, and Gwendolyn joined him for some of that fun – including some play time for two that they 'made' time for because they were usually exhausted by the time they went off to bed each night; and staying up late wasn't really an option.

Thanks to the time change between home and Bulgaria, the Cannons needed to head to the campground by shortly-after dawn on Friday morning; and they switched from training mode to the more-public parts of their job that went along with representing their team and country in the championship match of an international competition.

Harry and Ginny were both smiling as they welcomed their team mates, Malorie, Jaimie, and Lorie to their campsite – the only one in a block of sites that were reserved for their team, families, and some friends. Jaimie and Lorie ran ahead of their group once they saw their grandparents; and got to have the first hugs and kisses with them while everyone else caught up.

"Uncle Al is nicer with you than me," Lily advised her nieces. "He used to change into one of his animals to out-race me to Mum and Dad."

"I didn't do that very often," Al reminded her – "and most of those times; it was more about taking Gwendolyn for a horseback ride than trying to get to Mum and Dad first."

"Can we go for a horseback ride?" Lorie asked him hopefully.

"Maybe later this weekend," Al answered. "We're going to be a bit busy today and tomorrow; and probably won't have time."

"Grandpa and I have the weekend off," Ginny reminded the twins. "We'll be able to play with you a lot while your aunts and uncle are busy."

"Which we need to be right now," Rose told them as she took a turn hugging her aunt and uncle. "You both look really great – and we don't want the details for why," she teased. "Check with Renee when she gets here. You've had a few interview requests for this weekend; and Teresa and Kylie would like you, Aunt Ginny, to be on their pre-game show tomorrow."

"So much for having the weekend off," Harry said with a sigh. "The break was great while it lasted."

"It was," Ginny agreed, "but a few interviews won't be too much of a burden – and we'll still get to watch the championship match – and Lily's first professional game." She smiled at her daughter. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Lily answered simply – "and then some. The Vultures have even been nice-enough to offer some motivation for us thanks to some of the quotes and boasting they've done on the record over the past few days. If you haven't kept up; our favorite reporter-haters have been taking those comments and insults and having a lot of fun with them."

"We haven't kept up with any of that – and have been happier for it," Ginny told her. "The Vultures are one of the toughest teams in Bulgaria, though, so that's no surprise – and they're going to find out that backing up those boasts will be a bit of a problem tomorrow."

"That'll be an understatement if I have anything to say about it," Lily promised.

"Just keep those comments between us," Rose warned – "or don't say anything like that at all now that we're here on their home turf. If Grandma and Grandpa can take the twins; we really need to get our campsites set up and then head for the stadium."

Al and Gwendolyn were first to get started on that, since their own campsite was next to his parents, but they all got to work; and even Jaimie and Lorie ended up helping – though that was usually by supervising or entertaining everyone around them. When Rose led her team to the stadium for the first press and VIP event of the day, Harry and Ginny took the twins out for a tour of the campground and some water play time before lunch. Their mid-day meal was picked up from several of the campground food booths and then enjoyed back at their campsite while the fare for the VIP luncheon with the Europe Cup Championship match teams was a big event, but they all had fun in their own ways; and those divergent trends continued through the afternoon and into the evening. The Cannons' players had a stadium walk-through after lunch; more interviews and fan time through until dinner; and then that was another major meal with special guests ranging from Ministers of Magic and wealthy families to just a handful of young fans that each won the VIP tickets through contests or charities.

Back at the campground, the families and friends dinner was pulled together from multiple food booths again, but Harry and Ginny had quite a gang with them for that meal; and their fun was more-comfortable because of those personal connections. They also had that meal a bit later because the time change made it feel earlier than it was to everyone; so they were just cleaning up from dinner by the time the concert started. That worked out for most of the players on the team, since by the time they could rejoin their group at the campground; they were just getting to the concert and staking out a spot for blankets and chairs in the section to one side of the stage that had been reserved for the Cannons – just as there was a spot on the other side of the stage for the Vultures' players so that fans could find them easily and have limited access to them too. By then, the Cannons had a time limit for staying at the concert because of their game night curfew, but as with the match in Italy; that was a bit later because of the time change. They'd stil been up early, though, so Al and Gwendolyn got drinks; sat down in chairs where they could deal with fans and autograph-seekers while still spending time with ther family and friends. Harry and Ginny were ready for a break then too; and sat with them while Lily and Jonah took a turn with the twins – and took them dancing for a while.

"We watched two of your interviews while having dinner," Ginny advised Al and Gwendolyn. "You did well to get through them without any problems – especially when our own reporters were giving you a harder time than the Bulgarian reporters."

"They obviously didn't get the same memo we did from the Ministry of Magic about representing our country with honor and pride," Gwendolyn suggested with a nod of agreement. "This has still been a really great day, though; so we shouldn't complain about anything. I love it here; and that stadium is going to be amazing to play in tomorrow."

"It's amazing for most of the spectators too," Harry offered. "Even the supposedly-worst seats still offer a decent view of the match."

"Offer to trade your seat with someone in one of those sections of the stadium; and let us know if you still think so after the game," Ginny suggested; and Harry laughed.

"Not if it means not sitting with you – even if I got to pick the Wizard or Witch that would be with you instead."

"Fans approaching," Ginny warned; and then they all ended up signing a half-dozen autographs while Ginny and Gwendolyn did most of the talking; and Al stayed out of the conversation as much as possible because he sensed the effect he was having on the Witches in the group.

"You're just a bit too-popular with the girls," Gwendolyn told him after the teens had moved on. "Don't think that I didn't notice just because you were being quiet around your most-adoring fans."

"That's been fun for some of us to watch," Ginny advised her with a grin – "though I'm also glad that I didn't go through any of that with Harry when we were your age."

"Except for when the pretty girls wanted to take him home in puppy form," Al reminded her; grinning too. "It would have been very strange if the Dark Witches he had to fight against had a crush on him too."

"No – they just wanted to crush me," Harry joked. "I have learned over the past year that I picked the right job for me back then. I love what we're doing now, but our jobs really are demanding – and in some ways; more-annoying than even the chores I used to like-least about my Auror job."

"It'd be too-serious to start talking about the not-so-great parts of your Auror job," Ginny seemed to decide as she said it. "I don't really believe that claim either. You're having too much fun – even with all of the work."

There was another break for more fan time that all four of them got in on; and then other diversions that pretty much ended that chat as they got involved in the party action going on around them – and then Al and Gwendolyn eventually ran out of time and needed to head for their bed. The rest of their team mates that were playing on Saturday went back to their respective tents too while most of the Witches and Wizards staying in the campground partied on for hours – even after the concert ended for the night and their entertainment transitioned to campfires or other activities. While there was a fair bit of noise that went along with keeping thousands entertained, Al and Gwendolyn used shields to get the quiet they needed to sleep – once they were ready to do that after a bit of moderately-hot play time for two; so they managed to get a great night of rest ahead of their second championship match in less than two months.

Europe Cup Championship game day began quietly-enough for Al as he got up; excercised by the lake, and then had breakfast-for-two with Gwendolyn. They were in a great mood as they met up with their team mates when it was time to head over to the stadium; and then the excitement level took a turn for the strange when they found out about some Quidditch drama going on with the Vultures – a last-minute change for their team at Seeker! That revelation came at the start of the first event of the morning – the press conference that allowed the reporters a chance to interview the players and managers before they'd be moving on to other VIP activities ahead of the big match. Al sensed that more was going on behind the scenes with the Vultures, but the news that Viktor Krum would step in and play Seeker instead of the Vultures' current Seeker had been brilliant for him; and he didn't really care that the 'surprise' was actually pre-planned by Viktor and the Vultures.

That news certainly made the rest of the morning a lot of fun; and the reporters that were happiest when they had any reason to predict the worst for the Cannons had a field day with the news – especially when they were sure that Lily would have no chance against one of the all-time greatest Seekers to ever play the game! Al thought that was nonsense – and he knew that the change was going to have the opposite effect on his sister – a fact that the Vultures ought to have been able to anticipate; since Viktor did know their parents – and had lost a Quidditch World Cup match to their mother twenty-three years ago! That wasn't a part of the story that was brought up by their favorite reporter-haters, but it would eventually be a fact that would be talked and written about by some of the 'real' reporters like Lee, Teresa, and Kylie. Al, Gwendolyn, and the rest of their team didn't hear about most of that while they were busy all morning, but then they were enjoying every moment straight through until game time – including while they finally got to be on their own for lunch and their team warm-ups during the last hour and a half or so before the start of the championship opening ceremony.

The Viktor Krum news story made the rounds of the campgrounds very quickly, so Harry, Ginny, and the rest of their group of family and friends found out about it while most were still having breakfast. Harry and Ginny had already eaten by then because they'd been up early-enough to wish their kids and team mates good luck before they'd gone to the stadium and had been busy with the twins after that, but they'd had a different reaction to the story than most; and were as sure as Al was that the Vultures had likely made a mistake – especially if their suspicions were right; and the change wasn't really necessary. Ron and Hermione had been among the last to wake because he'd worked the campground booths for most of the night before taking at least most of the day off to watch the championship match; so Harry and Ginny took a break from the play time with Jaimie and Lorie to visit with them while they had a late breakfast outside of their tent.

"How come Rose hasn't called you up to play today too?" Ron asked Ginny after getting the news about Viktor Krum. "That'd be a fun re-match to watch today!"

"Probably because she knows that Lily would blast her if she tried," Ginny answered with a laugh – "and I think that the match-up we're going to get to watch today is going to be brilliant. Don't you think that Lily will be a bit fired-up about the chance to win a match against Viktor too?"

"Yes, but I don't know if she can. Do we even know anything about Viktor's recent Quidditch record since the last Quidditch World Cup? He obviously wasn't playing for the Vultures."

"Not regularly," Ginny agreed. "He's still with the team, though, and has played in a few matches when their Seeker has been out due to injury. He's been a trainer for the team too over the past couple of years as well as their back-up Seeker. As for whether Lily can win; I've no doubt about that – and you're not even thinking about the effect that this news will have on Al, Gwendolyn, and the rest of our team." She shook her head; and looked amused. "The Vultures' managers – and Viktor – may think they're brilliant right now, but I think they're wrong; and we're going to have a lot of fun this afternoon."

"What do you think, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I agree – and wish that I was playing today," he answered with a grin. "That match-up might be the story of the day for most people, and the Seeker duel is going to be fun to watch, but I'll predict that this will have a bigger impact on the Chaser battles. Al and Gwendolyn will be as fired-up as Lily; and that will be scary-bad for the Vultures."

If Al had known of his father's prediction; he'd have agreed with it – and he couldn't have possibly been happier as he held hands with Gwendolyn and they waited with their team mates to be invited into the stadium. They knew that they'd be first and that the home country team would follow them, but they still had a few minutes to wait; so they relaxed and enjoyed the moment as they listened to the stadium announcer and the low roar of noise that came along with a crowd of more than one-hundred thousand Witches and Wizards in one place.

"We're just a step away from making another of our dream-goals happen," Rose quietly told her team mates. "If you have any doubts; just take a look at Al, Gwendolyn, and Lily right now. If what you see doesn't convince you; I don't know what will."

"I could offer an option," Lily suggested; "but Al doesn't think that I should threaten my team mates anymore."

"We're going to have an amazing day," Al assured them – "and this could be a historic match; so let's have fun with it!"

"Why historic?" Ray asked him.

"Well, for one example, if we win today; Mum and Lily would be the only mother-daughter Seekers to win international matches against Viktor Krum," Al offered with a grin for Lily. "It would be a pretty big deal for the Cannons' history too; and it's also been a while since a team from our league has won the Europe Cup."

"I can't believe I'm saying this; but don't get too over-confident, Al," Rose half-teased. "We do still need to play well-enough today to get that win – and there's no doubt that the Vultures are a better team with Viktor Krum than without him."

"We'll see about that last part," Al offered in obvious disagreement. "Viktor likely is the better Seeker, but that doesn't mean that their team is better with him instead of with the Seeker that got them to this match."

Harry and Ginny were hosting the group in the Cannons' VIP section of the stadium; and the fun level kicked up a few notches as the Cannons were invited out into the stadium and they were in the middle of the roar of cheers for their team – a blast of noise that wasn't quite enough to keep everyone in the stadium from hearing Muriel's distinctive cheers and commentary about her favorite Cannons' players. Harry had popped home to get their great-aunt because she hadn't wanted to camp in a tent all weekend; brought her back in time for the game day lunch in the campground; and then Arthur and Molly had been with her after that – and still were. They were three rows behind Harry and Ginny, so they couldn't talk together, but that didn't keep them from hearing all of Muriel's side of the conversations they couldn't be part of while busy with the guests that Malorie and Renee had invited as part of the lead-up to the new league season that would start with opening day for training camps on Monday.

"Merlin, Molly, your grandchildren and their friends are quite a sight – and just look at Lily! It's like seeing Ginevra at that age all over again!"

"Don't take that the wrong way," Harry teased. "She thinks you're amazing now too."

"I feel the same way right back," Ginny assured him after laughing at both sets of comments. "She isn't wrong, but we're holding up okay for our ages; and it's nice to be a bit older and wiser than we were back then." The Vultures were being introduced then; so they watched as Viktor Krum led his team out and around the stadium.

"Some of us are wiser," Harry offered in a whisper. "Viktor looks good too, but we'll see how wise this decision was for the Vultures today."

"Are you getting anything on that now that we're here at the stadium and they're out here too?"

"Yes, but I'll keep that to myself – at least for now," he answered with a nod and rueful smile. "Their regular Seeker is with the Vultures' staff on the sidelines; and is looking appropriately disappointed."

"I'd be disappointed regardless of the reason for being out of a match like this one," Ginny offered; whispering too. "That doesn't make any sense when we've been sharing our jobs this week, but then what the Vultures are doing isn't the same regardless of whatever the real reason for the change is; so I guess that it doesn't matter."

By then, the pre-game ceremony was beginning; so they quieted while the speeches began – including while Kingsley took his turn; and had the shortest speech. It took nearly twenty-five minutes to get through that blast of non-entertainment; and then the referee took over and quickly got the match started.

"All," Lily whispered to connect her magical earbuds to her team mates as she stepped up next to Viktor Krum and got ready for take-off. "I'm so glad that we're getting to play against each other today," she told him with a bright smile. "You're a bit of a legend among the kids in my family."

Viktor laughed. "Is that a nice way of telling me I'm old?" he asked; and Lily laughed too.

"No – and that really wouldn't make any sense for me to say that when my parents have just come off of an undefeated season. They're only a few years younger than you are. Actually, if I was going to say anything about you; it'd be that I understand those stories from Mum and Aunt Hermione a lot better now. If you were a bit younger; I might want to dance with you too."

"You are definitely your mother's daughter – though her timing for the joke that's likely based on was better," Viktor had time to say as they both laughed – and then needed to take off as the quaffle was tossed and the game was on!

James was just getting to work at the Catapults' practice pitch on Saturday as his brother and sister were taking off for the start of the Europe Cup Championship match; and was annoyed when he saw that Scorpius wasn't the only person in the locker room watching it on their mirrors.

"You don't have to say it," Scorpius told him. "The Vratsa Vultures have a tough reputation, though; and some of us can't help but watch and hope that they'll know ways that we don't to best the clown brigade. Have you even heard that Viktor Krum is playing Seeker for them? The excuse for doing that was probably rubbish, but he's in; and the Vultures' usual Seeker is out for this match."

James snorted. "Yeah – that makes perfect sense. Put the old fossil in at Seeker. The loser likely made the other guy ill just by being in the same country."

"Maybe," Tiberius agreed after joining in for the round of laughter that seemed to help lift James' sudden bad mood. "There isn't anything to report about the match so far. No goals; and it's too soon to say about how the Vultures are going to play today – though they're already hitting hard when they get the chances."

"Good – then they're taking at least some of the advice I sent them seriously," James offered with a grin; earning more laughs.

"Did you really do that?" Brock asked.

"No, but that'll be a great line to use with the reporters if the Vultures do manage to beat up on the clowns today. I don't want to watch that crap, though, and I haven't eaten yet as ordered; so let's get to work."

"Let's see if you're still that enthusiastic about doing all of these lunch scenes a few hours from now," Scorpius suggested. "We could all be sick of eating by the time we're done."

"Or too-big to get off the ground for the night game scenes we're supposed to do tonight," Brock added with a nod. "Remind me again why that was booked for a Saturday night?"

"Because we'll be doing some of the party scenes after that – at a real party," James reminded him with a grin. "Those Witches getting to have cameo appearances in our new show are going to be so appreciative that even you might be able to get one of them to go home with you without having to knock them over the head with your Beater bat!"

The start of the Quidditch action felt different to Al than it had been in nearly every professional match he'd been in so far, but that wasn't with any sense of good or bad – just different. While there was a language barrier that the Vultures tried to take advantage of by using their native language while communicating with each other – or trying to intimidate their opponents; that was just one difference. The Vultures had a playing style that was a real mix of techniques; and they had a good combination of veteran and younger players that worked very well for them. Al knew that he'd sound egotistical or patronizing to offer an early claim that the Vultures might be one of the top two or three teams that he'd faced so far in his short career when his team earned a seventy-to-naught lead through the first two hours, but it was true all the same; and he knew that the score would have been much higher for the Cannons if not for a lot of brilliant plays from the Vultures' Chasers, Keeper, and Beaters.

"Bludger at..." Gwendolyn began as Al was already dodging it; and then he smiled as he heard her laughter through his magical earbud. "Why do I bother trying to warn you?"

"I don't get the advance warning every time," Al reminded her. "That's one for the Vultures. Let's re-group and try something different. I think they've seen that play – maybe from watching some of our matches."

"They are doing well anticipating our plays," Gwendolyn agreed. "Try getting the quaffle to Ray a bit more often and see if that helps us."

Harry and Ginny were enjoying the Quidditch entertainment as much as everyone else in the stadium, but keeping young kids entertained could get challenging, and while they took turns with Jaimie and Lorie; they still needed to leave their seats and go for various breaks as the match rolled along – whether that was for washroom breaks or just to let the kids run around for a while. They were taking an extended break at around the four hour mark of the match, and while it was too-early for dinner in home-time; the kids were getting hungry again after having what had seemed like an early lunch too. There wasn't an exodus from their section of the stadium, but a lot of kids, teens, and their guardians or chaperones were taking a break then, so in addition to keeping Jaimie and Lorie entertained and getting them fed; Harry and Ginny had a lot of cameo moments with the kids they knew - including kids that were at the game as part of their Camp Cannonball adventures.

It was while they were on that break that the Cannons earned the one-sixty lead mid-way through the fifth hour. The Vultures had only earned one goal by then, but while their Chasers tried their best to at least get that lead back to one-fifty; that didn't happen. Keeping up with the Quidditch action was easy thanks to their portable mirrors and the mirrors that were set up all over the stadium, so they didn't miss anything important; and ended up picking up dinner for some of their family and friends before heading back to their seats thanks to the time-out that the Vultures took – likely in an effort to discuss their situation and try and come up with something to get them back into the match and have a chance to win it. Harry didn't think that they were going to have any luck with that at all, and now that Lily could sit back and wait for best chances to win her Seeker duel with no need to defend the snitch; they'd all get to see just how long Viktor could keep her from doing that – a situation that was too-similar to the last Quidditch World Cup match that England had won over Bulgaria.

The Vultures' managers and players had to remember that Al had helped England's team in that match by healing their players, and he did that as needed during that time-out, but none of the Vultures even seemed to pay attention to that while it was happening. Whatever it was that the Vultures were trying to do, that time-out didn't appear to help them as the Cannons came out playing just as hard; and had more success as they scored five goals in the next hour and only gave up one more. Lily didn't do very much of anything while watching Al, Gwendolyn, and Ray have fun. She didn't even try to fake a race for the snitch; didn't have to worry about the Vultures' Beaters because they were focused on her Chaser team mates and Keeper-Captain; and that was both entertaining and challenging for Viktor as he was forced into a lot of doing nothing too.

"It's really too-bad that we can't conjure chairs and be more-comfortable," Lily offered conversationally as she floated around on her broom with just a bit of effort needed to keep the wind from blowing her toward the Cannons' goals. "How are the Lightningstorms for sitting on like this for hours on end? I've never tried one – though my old Firestorm two-fifty wasn't as good as these Hurricanes are. I've used Mum's old Lightningbolt a few times; but never for any long matches."

"Compared to some of the older brooms I've used when I was a kid; the Lightningstorm is the best," Viktor told her. "Your broom seems pretty good too, but other than looking a lot different and having a few tricks that you can do with it that my broom can't do; it doesn't seem to be any better than the Lightningstorms."

Lily grinned at him. "Would you like to get going again and test that theory for a while?" she offered; and Viktor laughed.

"That beats floating around trying to bore each other into crashing out of the match," he suggested; and Lily laughed too.

"Let me know whether you still feel that way when we take our next break!"

"What is Lily doing now?" Ron leaned back and asked Harry and Ginny. "She can't possibly be chasing the snitch right now."

"She isn't," Ginny answered while watching her daughter race around the stadium with Viktor trying to keep up while Lily was happily throwing in crazy flying tricks to try and get away from him. "If I had to guess; she's showing off some of the things her broom can do."

"Why would she do that? She'll just help Viktor," Ron asked and suggested.

Ginny shrugged. "Maybe – unless she keeps that up for an hour or two and starts tiring him out. She did just get a fatigue-healing treatment from Al during that last time-out – and she can get more help later if needed too."

"I'd ask how long Al can keep doing that while playing Quidditch, but I guess he's already proved that he can keep going for marathon matches," Ron said thoughtfully. "It's a bit of a wonder that other teams haven't tried to counter that by hiring Healers for their own game-day staff."

"Would the Cannons need to give Al a raise if the other teams do that?" Harry joked. "Rose and Gwendolyn get paid a bit extra for being Manager and Captain."

"Al wouldn't care," Ginny answered – "though that talent is worth a lot to our team." She nodded toward Lily and Viktor. "Let's keep an eye on that. I'm sure that Lily is making that part of her game plan."

As far as Al was concerned, once they had the one-sixty lead; the game plan was to keep that lead and have fun while waiting for Lily to win the match for them – since he was sure that Viktor would not catch the snitch for the loss. The Vultures' players weren't above bending the rules a bit with their game play, but they were far from as vicious as the Falcons or Catapults tried to be in most of their matches, and like the Catapults; they had players with true Quidditch skills. They could also respect talent in their opponents, which was why most of the Vultrues were having fun with the extreme challenges too – even if they weren't happy with the score. While Rose hadn't been able to get a shutout, she was playing brilliantly; and only averaged giving up one goal every two hours. Her Chasers, however, got better by comparison as the match continued on into the evening and then past-sunset.

Both teams took a joint, longer time-out at the end of the eighth hour; the score was three-forty to forty; and the only, slim hope remaining for the Vultures was that they could out-last at least a few of the Cannons players and then go for the unlikely, epic comeback. Unfortunately for the Vultures, while they needed the time-outs as much as the Cannons' players; the only player in black and orange getting tired out was Al – and he had deeper reserves than anyone could imagine. Al didn't prove that when the match started up again, but he still led the way as Gwendolyn and Ray worked with him to earn another five goals during the ninth hour. While the Quidditch action continued to be amazing as they headed toward midnight local time, even the biggest Vultures' fans were ready to just get to the end of it so they could move on to the concert and party that was being delayed because of the marathon match.

Viktor didn't help them out with that desire with a catch for the loss – even as the Cannons' lead approached four-hundred points. Thanks to the time change from home, it wasn't all that late yet for the spectators from England – or other places further west in the world; and that was a factor for the Cannons' players too since they had that same advantage along with everything else that was going their way. They were past the half-way point of the eleventh-hour when the Vultures ran out of the last bit of luck or hope that they still had – and that was all on Lily. She'd taken another very long break without trying to push Viktor at all, so she got a big lead when she did take off; used a pair of tricks she'd saved up to extend that lead while Viktor had to dodge other players; and then she caught the snitch at the ten-hour and thirty-four minute mark with some real flair that left some lucky spectators below her gasping in awe as she pulled that off while inverted and in a drift that she then had to flip out of to avoid a crash into the stands below her.

"Yes!" Jonah exclaimed enthusiastically as he watched his amazing girlfriend fly back toward Viktor Krum to offer her thanks and condolences. Her catch hadn't happened directly over them, but hadn't been that far away either; so most of the Cannons' fans got to have a great view of the final play of the match that gave their team the six-hundred-and-ten to sixty point, championship victory. "That was brilliant!"

"It was," Alyssa agreed. "Now you have one more good reason to be happy about those April Fool's Day jokes she played on you – us."

"The first one I knew about was still the best, but this is awesome," Jonah told her with a nod of agreement. "We're already sure to have the best summer jobs now too – regardless of how the rest of the summer goes for us."

"Did you have any doubts about that before we even started?" Hugo asked; and Jonah shrugged.

"No, but I think that some of our friends either do or will have really great jobs this summer too. We haven't heard much about that; so I have a feeling we might hear some interesting news next week."

"You think that some of our team mates will have jobs with other league teams," Alyssa stated instead of asking; and Jonah nodded again.

"I think so – and we should find out by Monday or Tuesday – especially since we'll be starting our summer workouts with our teams next week too."

"That's going to get a bit crazy for us," Hugo suggested, "but I guess we did it last summer too; and managed to keep up with the work and everything else."

"It'll be easier this summer," Jonah suggested. "We can use magic and apparate." He paused when he saw his father getting up from his seat. "Do you want me to come along and help?" he asked; and Kirley shook his head.

"No – and you need to get going too – out to center pitch. Did you forget that you're going to be one of those players being awarded a Europe Cup medal soon?"

Jonah laughed. "Actually – yes," he admitted.

"I'd love to stay, but have to get ready for the concert now; so I'll watch the awards ceremony on my portable mirror," Kirley told him.

They both needed to get going – as did the rest of the Cannons' players. There actually wasn't a lot of time to get ready for that, but the stage still needed to be set up; there was a first round of post-game interviews along with the inter-team fun; and the officials and VIPs needed to arrive and be seated before the closing ceremony could begin. Harry and Ginny helped their non-playing team mates out with getting their team uniforms; they used the locker room to get changed; and then joined the rest of their team and got to have a micro-celebration before taking their seats in the front two rows to the left side of the stage while the Vultures were on the right. There were three speeches to endure; and then it was time for the awards presentations.

Al smiled happily as he sat next to Gwendolyn. As Captain, she was in the front row and closest to Rose – though Brandon was sitting on the other side of their team manager and Keeper. The Europe Cup Committee members were taking turns with presenting the awards; but they got right to the individual awards. There was a mix of fun and weird with that; since the first batch of awards were based on accomplishments for the entire Europe Cup. Rose was surprised to win top Keeper after only playing in two matches, but Al wasn't surprised that Gwendolyn was the top Chaser for goals and assists with her three matches – and glad that he wasn't after only playing two games. The Vultures' Beaters earned that award for their team; and Al couldn't disagree with that because they'd played in all four matches while the Cannons' Beaters had only played two each. The weirdest award was when the Vultures' regular Seeker won the award for top Seeker in the competition for his three victories; and Al sensed that the Wizard actually felt pretty good about getting that recognition while his mentor hadn't managed to win the championship match. There were then two awards of merit – one for a player that had played in a second-round match against the Vultures and fought to the end despite a serious injury; and a lifetime achievement award for a long-time Europe Cup official. Finally, the championship Most Valuable Player award was announced – and Al was not surprised when Rose and Lily were named co-winners.

"We may need to work on that for future championships," Gwendolyn whispered to Al while applauding for their sister and cousin. "I'm never going to win an MVP award if we always share so equally in a brilliant match."

"They're sharing this award," Al pointed out, "but we can talk about that for future championship matches – when we get our turns to play in them."

Gwendolyn laughed quietly. "I wasn't even thinking about that. We might not even get to play in many of those matches – let alone win them."

"I think that we'll get to have our share and more," Al disagreed. "It will be tougher to win some of those awards for our players without playing in every match; so we'll hope that everyone is happy to trade that for more championships."

"Well, I guess we can't complain when we won four of those individual awards," Gwendolyn decided with a nod of agreement. "It's also really great to see Lily that happy."

Al agreed with that, but they stopped that chat; congratulated Rose and Lily when they returned to their seats; and then settled in again as the ceremony continued. The Vultures' managers and players were invited onto the stage first; awarded silver medallions and a trophy; and then they returned to their seats to the loud applause and cheers of the spectators still in the stadium – which was most of them; since only a few thousand headed back to the campground or elsewhere early.

A pause allowed two officials to trade out the trays that had contained the silver medallions for the championship medallions and the trophy while the Vultures were getting seated again; and then the chairman of the Europe Cup committee invited them to the stage. Rose led the way with Brandon, and unlike the Vultures; the Cannons were in pairs for that walk – with Seth and Stephanie the only non-couple in the group. The presentation of their medallions and trophy felt a bit like a wedding ceremony to Al – from the perspective of a lot of work going into an event that only took minutes. He was happy to share the joy with his family and friends – especially while holding hands with Gwendolyn. He couldn't avoid his own, brief, moment in the spotlight – especially when Gwendolyn waited until they both received their medallions before sharing a rather enthusiastic hug and kiss with him that earned a round of laughs and some whistles and cat-calls from the spectators.

There were more hugs and kisses between the other couples – and with parents, siblings, and friends; and then Rose accepted the golden trophy that would be kept in the Cannons' office for most of the next three years. She had to give a short acceptance speech that really was short, sincere, and heart-felt; and then the Europe Cup Committee chairman wrapped up the ceremony with a few closing comments. After that, it was time for another round of interviews as the spectators began to leave the stadium for the campground and celebration concert and party. All of the Cannons' players needed to stay at the stadium, and those interviews still took quite a while before the two teams were set free and allowed to head for their locker rooms.

Only the seven players that had been in the match for the Cannons needed to hit the showers and get cleaned up, but everyone else still needed to get changed back out of their uniforms; and most of them took time to have a quiet celebration while freshening up too. They stayed together even though that meant a bit of a wait for some of them so that they could head over to the concert and party together – which was why it was past three-thirty in the morning by the time they arrived and got to have another mini-celebration with their families and friends. Their work wasn't done for the night, but Al had helped his team mates out with some healing; so they were still ready to party and have fun with the rest of their 'work' – even if he was finally starting to get a bit worn down. The Weird Sisters took to the stage at four o'clock; and after opening with two dance songs; they invited the Vultures to the stage for a bit of fan recognition and celebration; and then they had something more-entertaining planned for the Cannons once they were on-stage for their turn at being congratulated for their Europe Cup run and victory.

Myron Wagtail had stepped back from center stage so that Kirley could do the honors of welcoming his kids and their team mates; there was time for a round of hugs and kisses while the crowd cheered for the Europe Cup victors; and then Kirley got to spring the surprise on their audience – a song that wasn't officially going to be released until Monday – along with the rest of the songs that the Cannons had recorded and would be available after the opening ceremony for the league training camps.

"For our next song, we're going to have the Chudley Cannons' players join us for the world premiere of a new song that will be coming out next week – and that is something that we recorded together!" Kirley shouted out to the crowd. "Let's hear it for our Europe Cup Champions – the Chudley Cannons!"

The Weird Sisters began playing the song intro; and had to extend that a bit before their audience quieted to listen. While they did that; Al, Gwendolyn, and Jonah each summoned guitars; and stayed with Kirley and Jonah while their team mates stepped back a couple of paces and joined the rest of the Weird sisters. When they were ready to launch into the first verse; Gwendolyn took the lead vocals.

"We've paid our dues; time after time. A futility record; this long should be a crime! Long losing streaks – we've had more than a few. And far-more than our share of sand kicked in our faces – but our dreams still came true!"

Al, Lily, and Jonah had added in some harmony to Gwendolyn's melody; and then all of the Cannons and Weird Sisters joined in as they took the bridge into the chorus.

"And now we'll win-on and on, and on, and on – 'cause we are the Cannons, my friends; and we'll keep on fighting 'til the end. We are the Cannons – we are the champions! No time for losing; 'cause we are the champions – Europe Cup!"

Stepping into the spotlight as he helped out with the instrumental transition to the second verse didn't really fit in with how Al felt about being the center of attention, but sharing music with so many of his favorite people and making them so happy was worth it; and Al smiled brilliantly as he took over the harmony for the second verse with harmonic help from Gwendolyn, Lily, and Jonah.

"We've taken the fall; and now won it all! You helped each one of our dreams to come true; so we thank you all! But we're just getting started! No, this wasn't a ruse! We're going to face every challenge head on; and we aren't going to lose!"

The rest of his team mates stepped up as they joined in for the second bridge and chorus – and they spread out into pairs across the front of the stage while their fans cheered and danced happily.

"And we need to win-on and on, and on, and on – 'cause we are the Cannons, my friends. And we'll keep on fighting 'til the end. We are the Cannons; we are the Champions. No time for losing; 'cause we are the champions – Europe Cup!"

The Weird Sisters, Al, Gwendolyn, and Jonah stopped playing then; and they all stepped forward and encouraged their audience to join in on the chorus.

"We are the Cannons, my friends; and we'll keep on fighting 'til the end. We are the Cannons – we are the champions. No time for losing; 'cause we are the champions – Europe Cup!"

They repeated that two more times; and then Gwendolyn had Al lead the bows with their team before being allowed to leave the stage to the cheers of their fans. That blast of fun was followed by the need to sign hundreds of autographs while the Weird Sisters finished their set – and into the set from a Bulgarian band. There had been a lot of acts booked for the show in expectations of a long party, so even though it had started much-later than expected because of the brilliant, marathon Quidditch match; that just meant that they could keep the party going all night – and did. Al and Gwendolyn stayed and celebrated too until shortly after dawn, but then they went back to their tent; used his time-stopper to have a hotter celebration-for-two and then get as much sleep as they wanted.

Their Europe Cup victory wasn't an official end to their first year as professional Quidditch players, but it felt that way as they were about to get started on their second season with the Cannons – and first as defending league champions. As he cuddled with Gwendolyn and lazily drifted off to sleep, Al spent a little time thinking about their past year; and how amazing it had been! While others would point to league and Europe Cup championships as the highlights for them; Al thought that the true successes and best parts of his life came from his marriage with Gwendolyn; their home and community; and the love, joy, and happiness that they'd been able to share with the people they loved-most. Not everything was perfect by any means, but their lives were better and happier than even his best dreams!

Now, as they got ready for that new season and next phase of their lives; his dreams were just getting bigger than ever; and he had even-higher hopes for everyone to have an even better and brighter future!

***End of ATE8***

*A/N: Look for the final year of the Harry _otter – After the Epilogue stury in time for Harry's fortieth birthday in July 2020! While you wait for that last installment in this epic adventure; check out my original stories at the Heirs of the Magi blog or pick up those Heirs of the Magi books at Smashwords or many other online e-book retailers!