Disclaimer: JK Rowling is the sole owner of the Potter Universe
Authors Note: This chapter will cover the whole of the summer before Fourth Year
Chapter Twenty Six: Birthdays and the Quidditch World Cup
The summer of 1994 was blisteringly hot and the first month of it seemed to fly by as Harry, Draco and the rest of the New Marauders spent their time working on homework, playing Quidditch and just generally hanging out talking, listening to music and watching films.
Harry for his part had been spurred on to get his summer homework out of the way almost as soon as he got home from Hogwarts.
The reason for this eagerness to do homework which he had never had before was all down to the fact that Harry, his Dad, Draco, Sirius, Peter, Remus, Molly, Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Mr Weasley along with Ron and Ginny's older Brothers were all going to the Quidditch World Cup on tickets that his Dad and Mr Weasley had managed to wrangle from the Head of Magical Games and Sports.
He had also been excited to learn that Neville was coming along with his Parents as they were major Quidditch fans.
His Brother David had wanted to come as well but his Mum and Aunts had insisted he was too young.
He recalled that the refusal had caused his Brother to shut himself in his room for the rest of the day sulking, until dinner that is.
At this precise moment in time Harry was waiting, gift in hand, for his family who always seemed to take forever to get ready.
They were all heading off to his friend Neville's fourteenth birthday party.
Harry had always found it a bit mad how he was attending his friends party on one day and then the next day Neville came to the Manor for his.
He had heard the words of the prophecy which he had told Neville along with the others.
According to his Father the prophecy could have referred to Neville rather than him and it was only the chance of Voldemort having attacked the Potters instead that sealed the prophecy as being about himself.
"Come on guys! hurry up!" Harry shouted in frustration, tapping his foot impatiently.
His Dad, Draco and Sirius were the next to appear, all were looking rather flustered in their suits.
Harry smirked. He didn't mind wearing a suit if the occasion called for it.
"James Potter come back here!" a sharp voice said and his Mum Lucy entered the room wearing her best blue party dress, her long flowing red hair tied back in a bun.
Harry noted that she was wielding a comb. He also noted the grimace on his Dad's face "Lulu love, leave it please" his Dad begged.
His Mum was having none of it though. She crossed the room in a few determined strides, grabbed his Fathers head and began to comb his hair.
His Dad scowled when it had been done.
Harry guffawed loudly.
The hair looked worse than it had when Mum started.
He realised in a second that he shouldn't have laughed as his Mum clapped eyes on him "yours needs combing too young man" she said as she walked over to him.
Harry tried to run but his Dad, Sirius and Draco blocked his retreated.
Harry gave up and let his Mother comb his hair and when she was done it looked just as bad as it had before with tufts sticking up everywhere.
He flattened it down grumbling making sure to cover his scar as much as possible.
His Mother left the room, returning moments later with several presents.
Next to arrive were Janice and Celia who had made much effort in getting ready and David who complained loudly at having to wear a suit.
Molly arrived last of all wearing short summer dress and heels.
Their Mother demanded that she change out of the heels and into flat shoes at once.
His Sister scowled but complied and soon they were all ready to leave for the Manor.
Deciding it would be the easiest, they went in two's as they used the floo.
Lucy and Molly went first, followed by Sirius and Peter, followed by Remus and his Dad, then Harry and Draco went through to be followed by Janice and David.
For a short while everything seemed to be spinning around them and then their feet touched solid stone.
Harry poked his head out and grinned.
They were definitely in the fireplace of Longbottom Manor.
He could tell by casting a look over at the moving portraits on the far wall that showed Neville and his Parents in various situations.
Harry and Draco stepped out and used their wands to dust themselves down.
A chirpy voice greeted them "Harry!, Draco!, so glad you guys could make it this early!" Neville said happily.
The three friends waited for Janice and David to come through, Neville greeted them warmly and Janice took David off to meet some people despite David wanting to stay and hear their talk on the Quidditch World Cup "so who do you think's going to win then Nev?" Harry asked.
Neville took a bit of time to answer "I'd say Ireland will but I think Bulgaria have a chance".
"That's no answer!" scoffed Draco.
Neville grinned and shrugged "what can I say dear friend I am no betting man" he said.
Draco knew this was a reference to his betting that his and Harry's favourite team the Wimbourne Wasps would beat the Hollyhead Harpies, Neville's favourite team last year had backfired last year and he had lost ten galleons.
His Parents were furious when they found out he'd gambled and forbid him to do so again.
"Are you mad?" came a voice from nearby.
Ron appeared in Harry's line of vision and plonked himself down "Bulgaria have Krum! he's the best Seeker in the world!".
Harry quirked an eyebrow up at this statement. Not because he was annoyed, more because he wanted Ron to get flustered "err...I mean...you're really good too Harry".
Harry rolled his eyes and laughed "it's ok Ron. I know I'm not international level yet".
"He's been going on about Krum all day" said a clearly fed up voice and Harry's girlfriend Ginny appeared beside him rolling her eyes.
She sat down next to him and he gave her a peck on the cheek which she returned.
They hugged and then Ginny said "I can't believe you think Bulgaria will win Ron".
"What's so ludicrous about it?" Ron asked hotly.
Ginny sniggered "because dearest Brother, Ireland have Troy, Mullet and Moran, the best Chaser trio in the world right now".
"I agree with Ginny" chimed in Molly who'd sidled over "Krum would need to catch the snitch immediately to win things for Bulgaria. The rest of their team is lousy".
"I don't think Krum will catch the snitch at all" declared another familiar voice as Hermione appeared.
Ron snorted "of course he will".
"How can you be sure?" Hermione demanded.
Ron laughed and said simply "because he's Krum".
Everyone rolled their eyes at this weak argument.
Ever since Victor Krum had burst onto the international scene two years ago Ron had been obsessed with him.
Eventually the party properly got going.
First of all Neville opened all his presents which included a new broom from his Parents, a broom servicing kit from his formidable Gran, a new book on Herbology complete with illustrations from Harry's Mum and Dad and a wand holster from Harry and Draco.
He seemed to be pleased with all of his presents and thanked everyone profusely.
The early afternoon was spent at the Manor's Quidditch pitch playing games of Quidditch and broomstick tag.
At five o clock they all returned to the Manor for a buffet and disco which went on until twelve am though Harry's Aunt Janice left with David before then and Harry's Mum dragged a protesting Molly away at eleven.
Harry's birthday the next day was even more fun for Harry.
In the morning everyone gathered at the Manor as he opened his presents and then the whole group of party guests went to a place called Lazerage in Bristol and everyone got the chance to go around shooting each other with mock lazers.
They played many games of capture the flag and tag.
Harry was amused to see how much his Dad and all of his Uncles were enjoying it.
Even Hagrid and Severus were having lots of fun especially with the capture the flag game.
In the evening they headed back to the Manor and had a barbecue in the large garden of the Manor under a miraculously sunny and blue sky.
The younger guests played Quidditch and took turns playing Harry, Draco and Molly's joint games console including everyone having goes on Sonic 1 to see if they could beat each others score.
For some of them this was the first time they had played on a games console before.
Dean Thomas did very well which he explained was due to playing Sonic 1 a lot at home.
That night Harry had a sleepover which included all of the New Marauders plus Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan.
They all slept in the drawing room as there was not enough room in the bedrooms and spent the night talking about the Quidditch World Cup and some of them the Football World Cup which Harry noted miserably didn't have an England team featured as their team had been dismal in qualifying.
They also watched all of the Star Wars films back to back and ate popcorn and drank hot chocolate.
As Harry settled down in his sleeping bag that night he viewed it as one of the best birthday's he'd had so far and he'd had a lot of them!.
The first week and a half of August went by in the blink of an eye and it was already the eleventh of August and his girlfriend Ginny's thirteenth birthday party.
Harry had been so nervous over whether she would like his present that he had got up at the crack of dawn and gone for jog all around the grounds in an effort to calm himself.
It didn't work and he felt so nervous through breakfast that he only managed a piece of toast with a bit of butter on it.
"I'm sure Ginny will love your present Harry" Draco said correctly guessing why Harry seemed so tense.
"Are you sure?" Harry asked.
"No doubt about it" his Brother answered clapping him on the shoulder.
Once the family were all ready and assembled they flooed to The Burrow and were greeted warmly by the Weasley's while Ginny kissed Harry on the lips.
She only did so briefly however as her Parents and Brothers were all looking on.
Harry noted with so trepidation, the look he was getting from Ron, Fred, George, Percy, Charlie and Bill.
He had a feeling that before the day was out they would be cornering him to find out his intentions regarding Ginny.
He felt no nerves about it.
He'd simply tell them the truth. He loved Ginny and would do anything to make her happy.
Sure enough, Harry's calculation proved correct as he went upstairs to wash his hands he was waylaid and dragged into the room shared by Fred and George.
The door was closed and the room soundproofed.
Harry was sat down on a chair and a voice he recognised as Ron's said "so you and Ginny, what are your plans?".
"Well nothing much right now" he replied.
Bill looked at him balefully "answer the question" he said.
Harry decided to be earnest "look, I love your Sister and I'm fairly certain she loves me. I want to be her boyfriend and make her happy".
"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Charlie asked succinctly.
Harry had his answer ready "I swear on the lives of my family that I will never dishonour her" he said.
"And do you swear to keep her safe to the best of your ability and let her go if she decides it's over?" Fred asked.
Harry was willing to swear to the first without hesitation but the second one tied his stomach in painful knots.
He knew he wouldn't be able to bear it if a time ever came when Ginny broke up with him.
He swallowed. His mouth felt dry. He replied "I swear on my life that I will keep Ginny safe and abide by her wishes".
Very suddenly the faces of the Weasley Brothers changed.
They went from grim expressions to smiles and laughter "I told you we could trust him with Ginny" Ron told them happily.
He clapped Harry on the back and laughed heartily as did the others.
After a moment Harry joined in himself.
The most nervous moment of the day came when Harry (who had never bought such a gift before) present his present to Ginny.
She opened the long package and pulled out a long red dress with sequins attached.
She gasped and for a moment Harry feared she hated it, but then she threw her arms around his neck and kissed all over his face in happiness murmuring "oh thank you. Thank you!".
Harry breathed a sigh of relief and pecked her lightly on the lips mindful to do no more.
Harry was moving through a house.
It looked very old and deserted.
He felt he should recognise the place.
Felt that he had been there before somehow but he couldn't place it.
He moved through the hallway of the house and up the stairs.
He moved along the landing. He heard voices coming from the second door along.
He kept walking and found himself in front of the door.
He peered in through the keyhole and saw a man kneeling before a large comfortable armchair.
The man was quite young. Harry couldn't guess an age but possibly early thirties.
He had quite short hair, dark blonde. He was wearing a leather coat and had a reverential look on his face.
"How goes our plan?" a high cold voice asked.
Harry had no difficulty recognising it. It was Lord Voldemort.
The young man answered "I have a plan in place. With the helper you have given me we shall break into the man's house in a few weeks and I shall take his place".
"Good. Very good" Voldemort murmured sounding pleased.
The young man stood up and looked towards the door. He frowned and Harry held his breath "My Lord there is someone outside" the young man told the figure in the chair "bring him in" Voldemort hissed coldly.
There was movement in the room, the door opened and Harry came face to face with the young man.
Before Harry knew what was happening he entered the room and then a cold voice said "Avada Kedavra!".
He awoke with a start.
His heart racing. He was shaking.
At breakfast he managed to convinced himself it was just a bad dream.
He had forgotten all about it by the afternoon.
It was the early morning of the Eighteenth of August and Harry lay on his bed in the room he was sharing with Ron at The Burrow.
He and his family were staying overnight so they had an easier trek to Stoats Head Hill and their portkey to the World Cup.
As Harry dreamed he found himself walking up some stairs in a grand old house.
When he spoke thought it was with the voice of an old man "hello? who's up here?" a voice said quietly.
He carried on along the landing until he reached the second door on the right.
Inside he could hear raised voices "Fletcher" the voice said coldly "where is Nagini?".
The voice answered "I'm not sure My Lord. I believe she's moving along the landing".
"Bring her to me she needs milking" the cold voice instructed.
"At once My Lord" came the reverential reply.
The door opened and Harry found himself face to face with Mundungus Fletcher.
The evil man smiled cruelly and said "My Lord we have a visitor".
"Bring him to me and fetch Nagini" the cold voice instructed.
Soon a large, long snake slithered along the landing stopping just short of the old man and turned and slithered into the room.
Harry or the old man (he wasn't sure) was pushed into the room.
Fletcher entered and the door shut.
There was a shout "Avada Kedavra!", the sound of a body hitting the floor and the door opened again.
Harry saw something horrible.
The snake was advancing on the old man's body "feeding time Nagini" instructed the cold voice.
The snake needing encouragement advanced on the old man and began to devour him.
Harry woke up feeling sick.
He was shivering and sweating and the same time.
What he had seen was horrible.
It was even worse than the previous dream.
What really irked him was that though he could remember Fletcher's face and Voldemort's voice he just could not remember what location they were in. If they were even in a location.
Harry still believed firmly that it was just a bad dream and wouldn't and hadn't happened.
Harry lay there until five am when a loud knocking on the door snapped him from his thoughts.
He watched in amusement as Ron awoke with a start and fell out of bed "ow!" he exclaimed "who the hell's knocking this early?" he grumbled.
The door opened and Fred poked his head through "morning lazy bones" he said to Ron who grumbled "morning Harry".
"Morning Fred" Harry yawned tiredly.
"Dad says you both need to get up. Mum and your Mum has made us all some breakfast and we need to eat now because we leave in half an hour".
Harry thanked Fred and quickly set about changing into the clothes he'd wear to the World Cup.
He'd settled on a pair of blue jeans and a blue t shirt emblazoned with a fire breathing Dragon.
He stumbled a bit as he put on his trainers but was soon ready and after returning from the bathroom was forced to get Ron up and make sure he got dressed.
The two of them then took the stairs two at a time down through the winding house and found themselves in the kitchen in no time.
His family, the Weasley's and Hermione all greeted him warmly and Draco joked "let me guess, you had to get ickle Ronniekins up?".
Harry sniggered "yeah something like that".
"Don't call me that!" Ron exclaimed indignantly as he sat down to have breakfast.
"Oh but you are our ickle Ronniekins!" George said in a mock sweet voice and pinched Ron's cheek "gerrof!" Ron said smacking his hand away and hurling some toast at him.
After the adults had settled them all down they had a nice hearty breakfast and then set off with Admonishments from Mrs Weasley to be careful and have fun.
As they walked along, Harry felt very sleepy.
The dream had prevented him from getting back to sleep before they had to get up.
He yawned loudly.
Beside him, Ron yawned even louder.
Draco wasn't far behind.
Hermione complained "what is this a yawning competition?".
They all laughed and then Ron said sleepily "how many of us are going by portkey Dad".
Mr Weasley smiled "Me, you, Ginny, Fred, George and Hermione will take one portkey once a few more people turn up" he pointed to Harry "Harry, James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Molly and Draco will take the other one".
Mr Weasley looked out over the hill and smiled "ah, here they come now".
Harry and Ron looked out over the hill and saw Amos Diggory who they had been told worked as Head of Magical Games and Sports following the demotion of Ludo Bagman.
"Amos how nice to see you again!" Mr Weasley greeted the other man warmly and shook hands with him.
Harry's Dad and the other adults also shook hands with him but Harry noticed that his Dad and Uncles didn't seem to like the man very much.
"And this must your Son Cedric" Mr Weasley said brightly.
He shook Cedric's hand "nice to meet you Sir" Cedric said politely shaking his hand.
After introductions were made or remade they two groups grabbed hold of their respective portkeys.
In the case of the group lead by Mr Weasley it was an old boot.
In the case of Harry's family it was an old tea pot.
They all grasped onto the portkeys and Harry felt the familiar and very unwelcome sensation pulling at his navel as he was sucked in.
They spun round and round for a long while making Harry feel queasy before they finally ended up on solid ground.
When Harry landed he retched up much of his breakfast.
Someone handed him a water bottle.
He went to thank them and saw it was Cedric "thanks" he said hoarsely.
The older boy replied "no problem".
After Harry had drunk his fill he passed the bottle back and his family, the Weasleys and Diggory's and Hermione all walked through the field up to what looked like a farmhouse.
Sitting in a deck chair on the porch was a man in a brown jacket wearing a flat cap.
He looked at them curiously as they approached.
No doubt he was bemused by the way Mr Weasley was dressed.
Given that Mr Weasley was wearing flared jeans and a leather jacket that was not at all his style this wasn't surprising.
Harry watched as his Dad, Remus, Mr Diggory and Mr Weasley all approached the man to pay for their tent pitch.
Remus being half muggle and half wizard knew a lot about muggle money and so was made spokesman for them.
"Hello" he said to the farmer "we're here to pay our pitch fees for out tents" he gestured to the the other three adults that had joined him "the bookings are in the names of Weasley, Potter and Diggory" he said.
The man consulted his book and after some searching, found the entries "ah yes three tents, Potter, Weasley and Diggory".
Remus handed him the correct muggle money to which the farmer tipped his cap in thanks and then said "which of you is Mr Diggory?".
Mr Diggory stepped forward "that would be me".
The farmer gestured "you see the that vacant pitch all the way over to the North?" Mr Diggory nodded "that's yours" the farmer told him.
Mr Diggory thanked him and turned to the rest of them "we'll probably see you later" he said and he and Cedric walked off with their packs slung over their backs.
"Mr Weasley and Potter" the farmer said.
Harry's Dad and Ron's Dad both stepped forward.
James said "I'm Mr Potter and this is Mr Weasley".
"Right" said the farmer looking oddly at Mr Weasley "you're pitch is directly west of here where there's a vacant pitch in between two other tents" he informed them and then added "you aren't the first we've had here today".
Harry saw his Dad stiffen "oh, who else has been through?".
"Loads of them" the farmer said "thousands of them!. Lucky I've got such a big field. You know...I'm almost sure I saw..." in a flash a Ministry official appeared, pointed his wand at the man and said "Obliviate".
The man's face took on a dazed expression and Harry knew that he'd been Obliviated.
He felt sorry for the man but knew it was necessary.
Still looking dazed the man said "you'll be wanting a map of the campsite" he reached behind him and fished out two maps which he handed to Harry's Dad "have a nice stay" he said.
The Weasley and Potter groups moved off followed by the Ministry official who Harry realised was John Dawlish "alright for you lucky sods" he grumbled to Harry's Dad "nice day off and a game of Quidditch while we've got to keep Obliviating that muggle and keep all these wizards in line" he gestured at the row upon row of tents.
Many were just ordinary looking tents but some had towers atop them, others had chimneys and still others had second story's.
Mr Weasley chuckled "always the same when we're together" he commented "we can't help showing off".
Harry's Dad, Sirius, Remus and Peter all laughed at this.
The group reached their pitch and were surprised to hear a voice calling out from a tent nearby "oh great!, you're next to us!".
It was Neville who was standing outside a tent next to the empty pitches.
Standing with his was his Dad Frank and Mum Alice who were both Aurors for the Ministry.
"Neville!" Harry, Draco, Ron Ginny and Hermione all exclaimed happily.
They went over and clapped him on the back or shoulder or in the cases of Hermione and Ginny they hugged him.
"Hello Mr and Mrs Longbottom" Harry said politely with a smile.
They greeted him back and other greetings went on as Neville said "hey you'll never guess who's in the tent next to us!".
"Who?" they all chorused.
"Me!" a happy voice exclaimed.
They looked over and saw Luna heading towards them.
"Luna!" they all shouted happily.
There were more hugs and greetings and Luna informed them that it was just her and Dad as her Mum was busy back at Firefly Cottage "what's she working on now?" Draco asked his girlfriend keenly after a quick kiss.
"It's some new potion or other. I think it's meant to delay ageing or something" she said.
After a time they said goodbye to Luna and Harry, Ron and Draco went off to collect water while Hermione and Ginny stayed with Fred, George and the adults to help assemble the tents.
As they were walking Harry bumped into someone and was surprised to find himself face to face with Oliver Wood the former Gryffindor Quidditch Captain "Oliver!" he said grinning.
His former Captain grinned back "Harry" he said shaking his hand "glad to see you".
Wood greeted the others and walked and talked with them as they headed to the water pump "so what are you doing with yourself now?" Harry asked him.
The older wizard smiled "I've been accepted into the reserves for Puddlemere United!" he said happily.
"That's great Oliver!" Harry enthused "I'm really please for you".
"As they reached the pump Oliver said "I expect Angelina is the new Captain".
Harry grinned "don't know yet they haven't told us but she'd be the obvious choice".
Oliver nodded "I reckon you'll get made Goalkeeper this year Ron" he said to Harry's friend.
Ron's face turned red and he mumbled "I'm not good enough".
Oliver however picked up his words and replied firmly "yes you are good enough Ron. I should know. I didn't select you for the team simply because you are friends with Harry. It's because you were the most talented option".
Ron grinned at this and Harry flashed a grateful smile to Oliver.
Ron had always been very self conscious and disbelieving of his abilities and needed to be told he was good.
They filled up their buckets, said goodbye to Oliver and headed back to their tents.
On the way there they passed through a section of tents bedecked in shamrocks.
Harry noted the tents were the colours of the Irish flag.
They saw a familiar boy with short brown hair sitting outside a tent with a middle aged couple.
Harry called out "hi Seamus!".
The Irish wizard looked up and smiled "oh hey Harry, Draco, Ron, so you made it" he said with a grin.
They grinned back.
The middle aged couple stood up and Seamus introduced them "Mum, Dad, this is Harry Potter, Draco Black and Ron Weasley, we're all in Gryffindor together".
"Oh yes you've mentioned them a few times" the woman said with a heavy Irish accent.
She extended a hand and shook each of theirs "pleased to meet you all" she gestured to the man "this is my husband Harold" the man was more reserved and merely nodded and said "hello".
They sat with Seamus for a few minutes chatting about who would win and Seamus was pleased to believe that Draco and Harry were backing Ireland but bemused by Ron's belief that Krum would win it for Bulgaria.
By the time they returned to their pitch the tents had already been assembled and Mr Weasley and their Uncle Peter had the cooking equipment out along with a great many sausages and some bacon.
"Ah there you are" Harry's Dad said to them as he emerged from the tent.
Behind him Sirius, looking grumpy, emerged from the tent also and said "what took so long. I'm hungry".
Everyone laughed and Remus who was sitting down reading remarked "you are always hungry Padfoot".
"I am not!" Sirius said sounding mock outraged.
Harry and the others laughed even more "you are Padfoot" Harry said wiping tears from his eyes "you even eat the skin on bananas!".
Sirius couldn't grinning himself and held up a finger "that was one time!" he declared causing more laughter.
As the sausages and bacon were cooking on the camping stoves three men with red hair emerged from out of nowhere.
It was Bill, Charlie and Percy the oldest Weasley children who all looked relieved to have arrived "oh great, breakfast!" Percy said happily as he licked his lips.
"Don't mind slobbering Percy" Bill remarked "how much is there?".
Peter laughed "as much as we want!" he said.
As soon as the food was ready everyone sat down on chairs or blankets or on the grass made yellow by the sun.
As they ate Harry asked "Percy, how did your Auror exam go?".
The older boy smirked. After he had swallowed his food he replied "good I think. I should pass hopefully".
"Good to hear" Harry said genuinely.
He was really happy for Percy.
He had looked out for Harry several times in the past and laughed and joked quite a bit while still managing to be serious.
Harry felt that Percy would be a real asset to the Auror Squads, a sentiment shared by his Dad judging by his Dad's words "he's one of the best Auror candidates I've seen in years" his Dad told everyone.
Percy blushed at these words evidently feeling a bit embarrassed.
"You'll do fine Percy" Sirius added.
They had their dinner early that evening and were still discussing the match when a loud horn sounded letting everyone know that the match would be starting soon.
Harry and the others trudged up to the stadium. In his hand he held a programme which Hermione had bought for everyone and a pair of omnioculars.
He had bought a pair for himself and Hermione, Draco had bought his own and Harry had given money to Ron's Brother Charlie to buy him one as he knew Ron's sensitivity would not allow him to accept what he felt to be charity.
As they headed inside the stadium and began to head up the steps Mr Weasley informed them all "we've all got seats in the commentators box alongside the Minister of Magic, the Bulgarian Minister and Ludo Bagman".
Harry grinned at this. He really enjoyed Mr Bagman's commentary from the Quidditch League and would love to hear it in person.
They were halfway up when a smug voice said "going all the way up are you?" Harry turned and scowled.
Standing near them was his nemesis Theodore Nott.
Before Harry could reply his Brother got in first "we're in the top box with Ludo Bagman and the Minister of Magic" he said grinning.
Nott's jaw dropped for a moment before he scowled.
"Where are seated?" Draco asked.
Harry marvelled.
The way the question was phrased sounded innocent but Harry knew it was a dig.
Nott went red in the face "well you can..." he began to say only for his Dad to intervene "come Nott. Do not be exchanging words with the riff raff".
Harry's Dad looked ready to thump the snob as did his Godfather Sirius.
Thankfully Remus, Peter and Mr Weasley moved them all on before a fight broke out.
They finally reached the top box and sat down.
Ludo Bagman who Harry had met before greeted all them with vigorous handshakes and warm words.
They greeted the Minister and then Ludo Bagman asked "ready Minister?".
The Minister smiled "ready when you are Ludo" she said looking like she was enjoying herself enormously.
Harry had met her a few times and had been told she was a massive Quidditch fan being a supporter as it happened of Harry's favourite team the Wimbourne Wasps.
Bagman tapped his wand on the microphone and said "Sonorous".
There was a loud noise indicating the microphone to be working.
Bagman stepped back to allow Minister Bones the chance to speak "my fellow Witches and Wizards it gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to the final match of the 422nd Quidditch World Cup. Begin!".
She sat down and Harry heard a great roar from the crowd.
Bagman retook his seat as the Minister remarked "I've never liked long speeches".
Harry grinned at this.
Bagman began to speak "Here come the mascots ladies and gentlemen, first for Ireland the Leprechauns!".
The crowd cheered as a group of Leprechauns wearing green top hats and green and black coats.
They danced jauntily in the air to an Irish jig and then threw coins about the place.
Ron scrambled to pick up some only for Draco to tell him "they are real Ron. They'll disappear once you leave the stadium".
Ron was disappointed and chucked the coins away.
Bagman spoke again "and here come the Bulgarian team mascots the Veela!".
A group of extremely attractive looking women sauntered onto the pitch sighing and dancing in such a way as to have Harry transfixed.
From somewhere far away he heard an irritated voice "oh really! will you all sit down!" he felt a tug on his arm and came to his senses.
When he saw where he was standing he looked down, gave a yell of surprise and jumped back off the ledge.
He sat back down next to Ginny his heart pounding in his ears "you need to be more careful Harry!" she scolded him.
Harry looked sheepish "sorry love" he replied "thanks for saving me" he kissed her on the cheek.
She smiled "what are girlfriends for?".
Harry noticed Hermione pull down all of the other men and as Harry looked at the Veela's he suddenly saw them as they were.
They weren't attractive at all.
They merely put on the visage to trick people.
"Here comes the very popular Egyptian referee Hassan Mostafa!".
The referee walked onto the pitch, broom under one arm and a crate in his right hand.
He waved to the crowd acknowledging the applause and then waited for the players.
The Irish team was introduced first "introducing the Irish National Quidditch Team, Troy, Mullet, Moran, Lynch, Connolly, Quigley and O' Haire!" the Irish supporters and many others in the stadium roared their approval, Harry amongst them.
"And now the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team!" Bagman announced "Volkov, Vulchanov, Ivanova, Dimitrov, Levski, Zograf and Krum!".
The Bulgarian fans exploded into cheers and many others cheered as well as Krum and the other Bulgarians circled the stadium.
Krum being a Seeker was one of Harry's favourite players.
Referee Mostafa talked to the Captains about the rules, flipped a coin, the toss was won by Ireland and the two team Captain shook hands.
The whistle blew, the crate flew open and the fourteen players, one referee and Quidditch balls flew into the air.
It was a very fast paced encounter. 'Even faster than the Quidditch League' Harry thought as he marvelled at the sheer speed and intensity of the play.
One minute Ireland were streaking down the wing, the next Bulgaria had beaten off the goal attempt and counterattacked.
All the while flying above the action was Krum and the Irish Seeker Lynch.
Harry watched through the omnioculars in fascination as Ireland managed to go forty points up in one passage of play.
Bulgaria hit back and took the lead only for Ireland to retake the lead.
And so it went on as the game got more and more brutal with much pushing, shoving and sending bludgers at people.
At one point the referee blew his whistle and awarded Ireland a penalty due to one of the Bulgarian Beaters throwing his bat at Moran who hit him in response.
Bulgaria was thus also awarded a penalty.
Both teams scored taking the score to Ireland 100 Bulgaria 90.
The Seekers still tried in vain to find the snitch.
Ireland went on a relentless scoring streak notching up 160 more points to bring their total to 260 points.
Ron groaned at the score and then gaped in amazement as Krum caught the snitch and held it aloft.
He clapped in amazement at Krum's ability but still asked "why did he catch the snitch?".
Harry who had read practically every book on Quidditch there was answered him "he knew that Bulgaria couldn't come back from it so he chose to give his team some dignity in defeat" he explained to his best friend.
Ron nodded at this "makes sense" he replied.
Harry noticed that Ludo Bagman looked despondent about the result even as he announced that Ireland had won.
Harry had a feeling he'd bet on Bulgaria winning.
A quick look at Fred and George who were rushing over to him and Bagman's hasty retreat confirm this theory. He grinned widely as Bagman ran away.
The Irish Team came over and Minister Bones presented them with the trophy announcing "the winners of the 422nd Quidditch World Cup, Ireland!".
Most of the stadium roared it's approval as the team put their medals on and the Captain held aloft the trophy.
As they headed back to their tents that night Harry felt elated.
It had been one of the most fun experiences of his life and not one he was sure to forget in a hurry.
They spent the rest of the night discussing the match as everybody was much too excitable still for sleep.
They drank hot chocolate and reminisced about the parts they had all most enjoyed.
The discussion only ending when Ginny fell asleep and knocked over her mug.
"Time for bed I think" Mr Weasley had announced.
All of them agreed and Harry and his family bid the Weasleys and Hermione goodnight as they headed for their own tent.
Harry was so exhausted as he climbed into bed that night, that he fell asleep at once.
Harry was awoken by the feel of someone shaking him roughly and an urgent voice shouting "up! get up Harry!".
He opened his eyes, yawned and blinked.
The first thing he saw when he slipped his glasses on was his Dad "there's a disturbance on the campsite".
Harry could now hear much noise but it wasn't the laughing or singing of earlier but much more sinister sounds of people crying, screaming, shouting and of people running.
"You and Draco need to take Molly, meet up Fred, George, Ron and Ginny and head into the woods. Do you understand?" he said.
Harry nodded and scrambled off his bunk.
He found Draco at the tent flap looking ready for anything while Molly trembled in fear next to him.
Authors Note: This chapter was longer than I planned. I am splitting it and finishing off the summer and adding the start of Fourth Year in the next one.