The day of the Quidditch World Cup had finally arrived.

It was an early start for the Merryworths (Lupin had not elected to join them due to it being so soon after the full moon of August, nor was he that interested in Quidditch anyway), and they had to get to the campsite for the World Cup via Portkey. Now, Violet had heard of Portkeys and she was not exactly looking forward to travelling by one. She knew her parents could Apparate, so why weren't they doing that? She questioned them on that on their walk to find their registered Portkey.

"As much as we'd love to, Violet, there are wards up," Genevive said. "And you're far too young for Side-Along Apparition - no, this is much better…"

"I'm surprised they didn't make you work…" Thomas commented. "I'm glad they didn't. You deserve a bit of time off."

"So do you," she smiled at Thomas and kissed him on the cheek, and Violet rolled her eyes. She adored her parents, but she didn't need to see the lovey dovey moments between them if it could be helped.

The walk to wherever the Portkey was was quite long, but that was no matter to Violet: it woke her up. Leaving the house before five o'clock in the morning should have been considered a crime in her eyes. She was an early bird to a point; she drew the line at getting up before six o'clock, really. It took them about twenty minutes to reach the spot of the Portkey: an empty bottle of wine, it seemed.

They'd arrived early, so had to wait a few more minutes before actually touching the Portkey.

What happened next was something Violet never wanted to experience again: being sucked into a whirlwind pool (that reminded her of nights hiding behind the sofa watching Colin Baker and then Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor hurtling through time and space), the feeling of being pulled so sharply hooking her in the chest as it happened. She wanted to throw up mid travel, but thankfully it was over nearly as soon as it began.

Violet landed flat on her face, groaning as she got up onto her elbows.

"Need a hand?" said a familiar voice from above her. She looked up to see Harry standing there, looking rather frazzled himself. Violet took his hand gratefully and he helped her up, pulling her into a hug after he did so.

"I'm never travelling by Portkey again," she mumbled into her friend's shoulder.

"If I can avoid it - me too," he agreed once they broke apart.

The moment caught sight of Ron and Hermione, she rushed to them for hugs as well, before respectfully shaking Mr Weasley's hand, and giving Fred and George high fives - more accurately, the insisted on them from her. Violet didn't know them well enough, as was the situation with Ginny who she awkwardly waved at.

"Oh! Another one?" said a rather light voice. Violet turned to see a fairly tall man with glasses staring at her rather bemused. He then took her hand in his and shook it rather vigorously. "Amos Diggory, you may know my son, Cedric?"

He gestured over to the equally tall boy (who seemed more lanky) and Violet nodded. Of course she knew Cedric: he'd beaten Harry in a rather unfortunate game of Quidditch the previous year…

"Good to properly meet you, Cedric," she said, backing off away from him and his father towards her friends.

"Violet Merryworth, right? Lupin's niece?" Cedric offered.

"Ah. Yes." She could feel herself going pink: over the summer she'd forgotten how that rumour had spread like wildfire around the school.

"Nice. Shame he had to go…"

"Y-yeah…"

Their conversation dropped dead after that, so she caught up with Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Her parents were chatting animatedly with Mr Weasley, which sent some sort of relief through her.

The campsite was tremendous. Irish and Bulgarian flags alike flying around, streamers and dancing lights (some of which were essentially just watered down fireworks), witches and wizards all painted in the colours of the countries they supported - there was no other atmosphere like it. Violet's jaw dropped and she stared around the place in wonder: there certainly must have been some incredibly good protection charms to stop all this madness getting out. It really didn't matter that it was coming up to five thirty in the morning - the atmosphere was in full force.

Violet and her parents had to part ways from the Weasleys and the Diggorys, but Ron promised they'd come find her after they dropped all their stuff off. She honestly couldn't wait to spend the rest of the day before the match with her friends, and she looked forward to getting to know the rest of Ron's family a little better too. Particularly Ginny - they'd had a bare minimum interaction in the Chamber of Secrets two years ago, and Violet couldn't help but feel awkward about that. She hoped that Ginny didn't take offence at her previously silent nature around strangers.

The tent had the standard magic to it so that it was bigger on the inside - Violet had been inside one a few times before on the odd occasion her and her parents had gone camping. She loved the homely feel to it, and the fact she still essentially got her own bedroom too.

Around about the seven o'clock mark did Harry, Hermione, and Ron poke their heads into the tent. Genevive did the motherly thing of making sure they all had some breakfast before sending them off on their merry way to explore (Violet and Hermione with their small bags filled with some extra snacks to tide the group over until lunch).

They were left alone until the Merryworths came running up to them.

"Wait! Ron, you wouldn't mind showing us back to where you're staying?" Thomas asked. "So we can find Violet quickly if we need to?"

"Oh! Yeah, sure… Vi, you've not met Bill and Charlie, have you?" Ron seemed quite excited about the prospect of introducing her to his two eldest brothers. "They should be here by now, actually."

She shook her head. "I look forward to it though."

It took them about ten more minutes before they reached the tent. Violet's parents immediately went to engage in conversation with Mr Weasley yet again outside its entrance (he had plenty of Muggle world related questions for Thomas), meanwhile Fred and George were sitting with two other redheads she didn't recognise. They were playing Exploding Snap by the looks of things. Immediately the slightly more freckly one with the hair just below his ears jumped up on seeing the small group.

"Is this the Violet Merryworth that Harry was on about the other day?" He stuck out his hand to a now embarrassed Violet. "Charlie Weasley."

"Lovely to meet you," she said calmly, before throwing Harry a questioning look. He turned his head away from her, pretending not to have heard a word that Charlie had said.

Then the other stranger of a redhead stood up. If Violet hadn't already been embarrassed by how Charlie had introduced himself, she was certainly beetroot on making eye contact with who she could assume to be Bill Weasley. He was tall, his long hair tied back in a ponytail, he had a fang earring and goodness he was just about the coolest person she had ever met.

She was positively speechless. In fact she caught herself before her jaw dropped open as she rather mechanically shook his now outstretched hand. Oh, it was soft, but well worn at the same time. Violet mentally slapped herself. Oh god, she was shaking the most handsome boy's hand ever - no, he was what? In his early twenties? Oh god, she was shaking hands with the most handsome young man she'd ever seen in her life.

"Pleasure to meet you, Violet," he said, finding her silence amusing. He raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm Bill."

"Yes - uh - yes, you - you too, Bill."

She heard someone coughing behind her and turned to see that Harry was trying to cover up a laugh, and Charlie was smacking him on the back (while smirking) as if to play into the whole thing too. Ron merely looked confused, and Hermione had drawn her lips into a very tight line but her eyes were watering as it became obvious she was trying not to erupt into giggles at Violet's reaction to Bill. Ginny had walked out of the tent at the most opportune moment, and had to duck back inside in fear of laughing out loud.

"Here, Violet, have you never seen a twentysomething before?" George called over to her and she immediately scampered off over to her parents. They took one look at her face and both sighed.

"What happened?" Genevive asked.

"N-nothing…"

"Violet…"

"I don't want to say," she replied stubbornly, folding her arms and sitting down next to her mum. Her face was returning to its normal colour, and Genevive gently patted her daughter on the shoulder, knowing full well that once whatever awkwardness in her had faded, she'd go back to her friends.

It took a few minutes, but eventually she wandered back over to them and not a single word was said about her apparent liking of Bill. It seemed like he hadn't noticed it either, but if he had done so, he wasn't making it obvious and for that she was grateful. Ginny had also returned from her hiding spot in the tent.

"Have you guys heard about the Bulgarian mascots?" Charlie asked. Bill started chuckling.

"No? What's wrong with them?" Ron asked with a frown.

"Nothing, ickle Ronnikins - but they are Veela. Thought that might interest you lot."

Violet rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, because Hermione and I want to be charmed by Veela?"

"To be fair, they are rather fascinating how they can do that innately…" Hermione pointed out. Violet considered that for a moment.

"You're right. Maybe we should go see if we can find them?" Violet paused. "Will we be able to see them before the match?"

"Most likely not. They'll be with the Bulgarian Quidditch team if anything," Bill said. "You'll see them at the match - considering they're the mascots."

Ron seemed pretty grumbly about that, but the four friends eventually departed from the tent area with Ginny to go and explore. She skipped up to Violet and nudged her in the elbow.

"Sorry we've spoken much before," the young redhead said. Violet was rather taken aback by the gesture.

"It's alright, Ginny, I'm not exactly much of a talker anyway," she admitted, making the girl giggle. "What?"

"Going by how you reacted to Bill? I can tell," she teased.

She doesn't miss a trick, that one… Violet thought, facepalming after that remark. "It's not quite like that…"

"Like what? You having a crush on Bill?" Ginny raised an eyebrow at her. "FIne by me, shame he's too old for you."

"Oh - stop it," Violet waved the girl off with a laugh. That caught Harry's attention, and he turned around to grin at the pair of them. That only served to almost embarrass Violet again, but then she caught how Ginny faltered for a moment before re-composing herself once more.

"Finally, the pair of you speaking after two years!" He seemed rather overjoyed at that prospect and dropped back a few paces to walk with the pair of them.

"More like Ginny teasing me about Bill…"

"So you like boys with long hair now, is that what?" Harry was having far too much fun with this, and it made Violet die on the inside. She side eyed him for a moment, taking in the fact that his hair - while nowhere near as long to put into a ponytail - was nearly shoulder length, and look rather soft to-

Violet shook herself out of those thoughts, flashing Harry a nervous smile. "Something like that. Boys with bright eyes and long hair really appeal to me." There was a hint of sarcasm there, but there was far too much truth to her statement. She hurried to catch up with Hermione and Ron, pulling the girl aside more privately as they wandered towards a stand for Omnioculars.

"I think I'm going to need to spend a lot more time with you this year, Hermione," Violet told her in a strained voice.

"I like the sound of that," she replied brightly, but she narrowed her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I… you know what? It doesn't matter. Can we please just get away from the boys a bit more this year? Without a squabble with them?"

Hermione laughed and nodded, linking arms with Violet and they went to peer at the strange type of binoculars. Harry was apparently feeling generous so bought the five of them a pair each (despite their protests) so Hermione insisted on buying them all programmes, and Violet bought them all pins of the respective teams they wanted to support. The girls went for Ireland, while they boys went for Bulgaria.

The rest of the day passed by in a whirlwind. The group managed to spot some Veela heading in the direction of the stadium leaving Harry and Ron under a spell for a moment or two (and even Violet had to admit she had been entranced to some degree), before they eventually ran into Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. Harry and Ron very swiftly hid the Bulgaria pin badges as they lied through their teeth to Seamus' mother about how they would be supporting Ireland.

They met Ministry officials such as Barty Crouch as he passed by Mr Weasley's tent, and the commentator of the match, Ludo Bagman. Fred and George appeared to be acting rather suspiciously around Bagman, Violet noticed, but she knew it was none of her business anyway and put it to the back of her mind.

She ended up having to go back to her tent with her parents before the match started, but she promised her friends she would be back after the match, as they were seated in completely different parts of the stadium.

It was for Violet to be so enthralled by a game of Quidditch, but even she couldn't keep the sheer excitement off of her face. This was far better than any match she'd seen at Hogwarts (and she'd seen Harry have the most amazing victory against Ravenclaw in third year), but she suspected that was down to the fact all the players were professionals. Throughout the day, Ron had been making comments about the Bulgarian Seeker, Viktor Krum, and now she could see why the boy was practically in love with the Quidditch player.

He seemed like a tactical player, from what Violet could see: the way he was able to lead the Irish Seeker on and pretend like he'd spotted the Snitch, but that didn't stop Ireland from steaming ahead in the amount of goals they scored. Thomas was getting rather into the match, and Violet took note of the fact she'd never seen her dad so thrilled about… well, anything before. It was sweet. Even her mum was getting into it too, and for a moment she felt like the odd one out in her family.

As much as she was having, Quidditch was still definitely not her thing. Her mum surprised her about how vocal she was cheering on, but Violet remembered that her mum had married one of the best Quidditch players at Hogwarts after all…

Then Krum caught the Snitch! But Ireland won. Violet found that rather funny.

Celebrations were out in full force for the Irish victory, and Violet was dropped off at the Weasley's tent so she could celebrate with her friends.

Upon entering the Weasleys' tent, an Ireland scarf was thrown around her neck and she was promptly led to the centre of the room by Fred and George, whereby they pushed her right into the arms of Bill who spun her around. Violet was positively dizzy, but she giggled and got into it for a moment before collapsing down on the ground next to Harry, slightly breathless.

"They've been planning that since we left the stadium," he told her with a big smile.

"You're pretty chirpy for someone whose team just lost!"

Harry shrugged. "It was a really good game though."

"Even I have to agree to that…" Violet glanced around to see that Fred, George and Ginny were now teasing Ron about Viktor Krum, Hermione was in a corner watching on fondly, and Bill and Charlie were pouring themselves each a bit of Firewhiskey now.

"This is mad," Violet commented.

"You love it."

"I do - I really do… I'm glad I have you lot," she said more seriously as she faced Harry. "You're all good friends. And you know - maybe I could get into Quidditch…"

"Really?" Harry seemed hopeful.

"Absolutely not, Harry."

He laughed, just as Bill and Charlie came back over to get the teens off the floor and doing some sort of Irish jig. It was all completely ridiculous, but Violet couldn't keep the smile off of her face nor could she contain her laughter. It felt good to let loose a little bit.

Everyone appeared to be drunk on euphoria, and Violet never wanted it to end. She even joined in with the little chant to goad Ron about how much he was clearly in love with Viktor Krum, the way he was talking about the Seeker.

Ron - very obviously - was not impressed.

As he was getting grumpy over the whole ordeal, what seemed to be extremely loud fireworks were being set off outside. Mr Weasley - who had been keeping out of the way of their festivities - went to investigate outside, beckoning for Bill and Charlie to come with him. A funny idea struck Violet in that moment the older boys were led away, and she turned to Harry.

"Harry, if I were Viktor Krum and you were Ron, what would you do?" She had a mischievous glint in her eye.

Her friend caught on to what she was playing at, and then suddenly dropped down to one knee and clutched her left hand in both of his. "Viktor, I love you with my whole heart, will you marry me and teach me to be the best Seeker?"

"Oh, Ronald, of course! I would be honoured!" Violet replied in a terrible Bulgarian accent, causing Fred, George, and Ginny to fall about laughing.

"Shut up!" Ron grumbled as Harry stood up and tried not to double over laughing. Violet immediately softened on seeing her friend's annoyance at their jibes.

"Come on, Ron, you'd do the same if it were any of us!" she pointed out.

He nodded, a slight smile on his face. "True - I gotta ask, do you think when you're old enough you'll marry Bill?"

While everyone was cackling, there was a particularly loud bang from outside, followed by screams.

"Sounds like the Irish have got their pride on," Fred said, just as Mr Weasley, Bill, and Charlie came back in.

"It's not the Irish," Mr Weasley said. "Come on, we've got to go."

Everyone looked at each other worriedly but headed outside all the same.

It was chaos - and not the good kind. Tents were being set on fire, people running everywhere and screaming their heads off. What stuck out most to Violet was someone mentioning "Death Eaters" and she tensed up and took a step back, bumping into Bill. They glanced at each other - him a little oddly at her, but then realisation dawned on his face.

"We have to get back to the Portkey," Mr Weasley said. "Fred - George - Ginny is your responsibility! Bill and Charlie, make sure we all stick together!"

"Mr Weasley - my parents-"

"Violet, you won't be able to find them right now - stick with us!" he told her. She felt someone slip their hand into hers; it was Harry. He gave it a quick squeeze and they tried to follow Hermione and the Weasleys but with all the commotion going on they were separated from them.

Trembling with fear, Violet gripped onto Harry's hand tightly so she would not be swept away by the crowd and be entirely on her own. They tried to follow the same direction that everyone was running by, only at one point they slipped down a slight slope. Harry put his arms around from Violet so as to protect her from the stampede, which was when he became a dead weight on her.

He'd been knocked out.

Violet flipped him onto his back and tried to rouse him from unconsciousness, tears in her eyes. The crowd was starting to thin out ever so slightly, but she'd never been so afraid in her life. She had no idea where her parents were, where the rest of their friends were, and she had no idea if they'd be found again. Crying, she buried her face in Harry's chest and clutched onto him like a lifeline, waiting for all the chaos to die down.

Eventually the screams subsided, and Violet peered up from Harry to see that the entire campsite had been blazed to the ground. Nothing but ashes and charred remnants of tents remained. She sniffed, but the tears still streamed silently down her face.

Thankfully, Harry stirred beneath her and then sat up, pulling her into a hug.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I'm - I'm fine," she stammered out, and they stood up, once again holding hands. "Harry, I don't know where the others are - I don't know - I don't know where my parents are-"

"We'll find them. Come on."

They ran aimlessly through the campsite for a few minutes before skidding to a halt. There was a man in the distance, and they watched as he pointed his wand to the sky; following that line of sight, a green skull appeared. Then the man spotted them, and started to make his way towards them.

"Harry! Violet!" called out a familiar voice - Hermione.

The man disappeared from view after that.

A minute or so later Ron and Hermione were running towards them, and embracing them.

"We thought we'd lost you," Ron said.

"What is that?" Harry asked, pointing to the sky and groaning as he clutched his forehead in pain. The skull now had a snake coming out of its mouth, intertwining and looping around itself in a strange manner.

Not a moment later were the four friends surrounded by Ministry officials trying to disarm them or knock them out. Not once did Harry and Violet let go of each other as they ducked down with their friends.

"Stop! That's my son!" boomed the voice of Mr Weasley, heading towards them with Fred, George, and Ginny.

"Violet? Are you there?" came the voice of Genevive.

"Mum! Dad!" Violet finally broke away from her friends and rushed towards her parents who pulled her into a tight hug. "You're okay."

"Of course we're okay, sweetheart, are you?" Thomas looked down at Violet and cupped her face gently. When she nodded, he glanced up at Harry, beckoning him to come over. "Harry, are you alright?"

The boy nodded in response as he walked over to the Merryworths, who each embraced him warmly.

"He was kicked in the head - someone knocked him out by accident when we slipped earlier," Violet told her parents, her eyes going big and round as she looked up at them; Harry had only ever seen her do that when she was worried.

Immediately, Thomas - being a Healer - started to fuss over him while one of the Ministry officials - Barry Crouch - tried to blame one of the fourteen year olds for conjuring the symbol in the sky.

"I don't understand - what crime?" Harry asked, wincing as Thomas applied a little pressure to the part of his head where he'd been kicked. There was definitely a bump there.

"It's - its his mark," Violet said, resting her head against her mother's shoulder while holding onto her.

"Voldemort?" Harry turned to Mr Weasley. "Those people tonight - they were his followers, weren't they?"

Mr Weasley nodded. "Death Eaters."

"I suppose I'll have to be going into work tomorrow…" Genevieve murmured, and Violet looked up at her mother more worried than ever. Thomas stopped fussing over Harry.

"Mum, you're still meant to be on holiday-"

"I know, I know, but with the Dark Mark and Death Eaters? I have to go back tomorrow, sweetie, I'm sorry."

"Your help will be much appreciated, Genevive," Barry said. She gave him a curt nod in response.

"There was a man before," Harry then said. "Over there." He pointed in the direction he and Violet had come from.

Barry went off with the other officials, leaving the families alone.

"What man, Harry?" Mr Weasley asked.

"I don't know. Didn't see his face."

"Alright." Mr Weasley turned to the Merryworths. "I expect you're working tomorrow too, Thomas? If you want, we can have Violet stay with us for the remainder of the summer - it's only for a week."

"That'll be much appreciated, Arthur, thank you. We'll head over later by Floo?"

"Sounds good to me. Good luck to the both of you."

As everyone parted ways that night to return home, Harry couldn't help but notice how downcast Violet looked. She appeared to remain that way when arriving at the Burrows an hour later with all her belongings, and she retreated into herself.

Unsociable and extremely quiet.

It had been a long time since she'd been that way.

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