Eva and Hermione arrived at the Burrow together early in the morning. Apparently, the Weasleys all had tickets to the Quidditch World Cup final and had kindly offered to take the girls along too. This was a relief for Eva since, yet again, her family had done absolutely nothing over the summer. All she'd achieved was another annual haircut.
Eva and Hermione walked into the familiar Weasley kitchen and spotted Molly preparing breakfast. "Hello, Mrs. Weasley," Eva greeted with a warm smile.
"Oh, hello dears, you've arrived just in time for breakfast." Molly glanced up and gasped. "Goodness, you haven't grown an inch since you were 11!"
Eva playfully rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the reminder."
"Are Harry and Ron nearby?" Hermione asked, removing her bag to place it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs.
"Just upstairs, dears," Molly responded, cracking a few eggs into the frying pan. "Do me a favour and wake them up, and tell Ronald that I've already made breakfast so he'd better get his sorry butt down here."
"They're still in bed?!" Hermione grumbled, taking Eva's hand to lead her up the set of rickety wooden stairs with a candle held in the other.
Hermione confidently burst open the door to Ron's bedroom. Ron was fast asleep on one bed, snoring away peacefully, while Harry was squirming uncomfortably on his. His hand was over his forehead, and his face contorted in agony.
"I wonder what would happen if I were to throw a glass of water over Ronald McDonald," Eva pondered. "Would he wake up? Or would he continue to sleep like a baby?"
"Not the time Eva," Hermione snapped anxiously, moving straight over to Harry and holding the candle in front of him in hope that the light from it would wake him up. "Harry!"
Harry's eyes snapped open in fear. As he slowly took in his surroundings, he began to relax and his breathing finally returned to normal. He reached over to his bedside table and clumsily slid his glasses over his nose.
"You good, glasses?" Eva asked, standing just behind Hermione.
Harry nodded breathlessly. "Bad dream. When did you two get here?"
"Just now," Hermione replied as she set the candle down beside Ron's bed. "You?"
"Last night," Harry responded.
Hermione took one look at the sight of Ron still in bed and began shouting at him to wake up. Meanwhile, Eva sat on the edge of Harry's bed, tapping her boots rhythmically against the floor beneath them.
"What was your dream about?" Eva asked him. "Must've been pretty horrendous from the way you reacted to it."
Harry rubbed his eyes tiredly. "It was nothing too bad, Eva, I promise." He yawned and stretched his arms above his head. "I've experienced much worse."
"Can't relate." Eva shrugged. "As soon as my head hits my pillow, I'm out. I'm lucky if I dream about anything to be honest."
He raised an eyebrow. "Are you really going to sit here and complain about never experiencing nightmares?"
"No," Eva sighed, "you can keep your sleepless nights, I'm good," she laughed.
Hermione was finally finished with shouting in Ron's startled and bewildered face. She took Eva's hand and again proceeded to impatiently drag her down the stairs with her.
"Breakfast's ready by the way!" Eva called.
"I've already told them," Hermione argued.
She scoffed. "Jeez, keep your hair on."
They set off quite early in the morning, only giving Harry and Ron a few minutes to actually haul themselves out of bed. Eva walked ahead with Fred, George, and Arthur, while Hermione, Ginny, Harry, and Ron trailed just behind them.
Eva skipped along the dry ground underneath them, her hair swishing in all directions. "This is fun, I love walking!"
"Mental," Ron muttered.
"I heard that," she sang behind her. "Skip with me," she requested to Fred and George.
Of course, the two idiots didn't hesitate to skip alongside her, leaping inelegantly with each individual step they took. She could still hear the sarcastic comments Ron was making behind her back, but she convinced herself that he was just jealous he hadn't been included in skipping.
"Ron, where are we actually going?" Harry asked after a few minutes.
"Dunno," Ron replied. "Hey dad!" he called towards the front. "Where are we going?!"
Arthur turned his head amusedly. "Haven't the foggiest! Keep up!"
Eva laughed. "Oh, I do love this family."
After half an hour or so more walking, which mostly consisted of a few failed games of 'I spy' and Ron and Harry falling asleep at the back, it still felt like they weren't getting any closer to whatever destination Arthur had in mind.
Just a few metres away, a man came into view, although Eva couldn't see his face from the distance. "Arthur!" he called. "It's about time, son!"
"Sorry, Amos!" Arthur replied. "Some of us had a bit of a sleepy start." He stared pointedly at Ron, who yawned again at the perfect time. "This is Amos Diggory, everyone. Works with me, at the Ministry."
Eva paused for a moment. "Wait, Diggory-?"
Again, with perfect timing, Cedric appeared from in the tree. He landed on his feet gracefully with his usual polite smile on his face, although he didn't notice Eva at first.
"This strapping young lad must be Cedric, am I right?" Arthur asked, extending his hand towards him.
Cedric shook it timidly. "Yes sir."
"Cedric!"
Eva ran up to him and, as soon as he realised she was there, he pulled her into a tight hug, lifting her feet off the ground because she was so much shorter than him.
"Do you two know each other then?" Arthur questioned.
Eva blushed as she glanced sideways at him. The pair untangled themselves from one another and Cedric placed her back down on the ground gently, giving her a moment to readjust her hair.
"Um, yes, Cedric and I are quite good friends, actually," she explained.
"Hey, we never get that kind of greeting!" Fred and George chorused in unison.
Eva rolled her eyes. "Yes you do, literally every time I see you."
Cedric laughed and shook his head. "Come on, this way."
With Eva and Cedric catching up at the front, the others followed just behind. He told her all about his summer, while she had considerably less to tell him about, other than her hair had been trimmed to the same length as before.
"Yes it's . . . just over there!" Amos pointed to an old boot sitting atop of a grassy hill with his walking stick.
Hermione ran ahead towards it, and Eva ended up sprinting after her. Somehow, she was expecting to see something mildly interesting, like maybe the boot glowed or fire came out of it, but instead it was just like any old boot. She even tried kicking it lightly, but absolutely nothing happened.
"The hell is this thing?!" she shouted over to them, causing Cedric to laugh at her.
"Come on, nearly there now. Get yourself into a good position!" Arthur said.
The others gathered around this old boot while Eva continued to eye it confusedly. Clearly there was something she was missing, although she wasn't sure what.
"Why are they all standing around that manky old boot?" Harry asked.
"That isn't just any manky old boot, mate," George corrected.
Fred nodded. "It's a Portkey."
"Time to go!" Arthur announced.
Eva was still looking at it confusedly. "Okay, then what the hell is a Portkey?!"
George grabbed her arm and placed her hand over the boot. "You're going to want to hold onto that, Eva. Wouldn't want you to get left behind."
"Ready?" Amos checked. "After three. 1 . . . 2 . . ."
"Harry!" Arthur yelled.
Harry, who had been standing idly around the old object, snapped out of his daze and placed his hand over the boot just in time. Amos reached '3', and suddenly Eva felt herself jerk into motion. She was incredibly confused and disorientated, but she could feel air whipping around her hair harshly as she was tugged along in some unknown direction.
"LET GO, KIDS!" Arthur shouted over the noise.
"WHAT?!" Hermione asked in shock.
"LET GO!" he repeated.
With a deep breath, Eva removed her hand from the surface of the boot. She suddenly felt herself spiralling out of control, and couldn't help the scream that escaped her lips. The ground underneath her seemed to almost appear out of nowhere as she slammed onto the grass, knocking the wind out of her.
Eva rolled over onto her stomach slowly. "Ouch? Why is this ground so uncomfortable?"
"Because you're on top of me, idiot!" Fred coughed, shoving her back to the side so that she was lying on top of her backpack.
A little further away from them, Arthur, Amos, and Cedric descended from the sky, treading on the air until their feet made contact with the ground. All three smiled mockingly at the scene of the kids sprawled across the ground.
"Bet that cleared your sinuses, eh?" Arthur asked, his hands over the straps of his backpack. "Total shambles, as per usual."
Hermione appeared in front of Eva. She rolled her eyes and helped Eva to her feet, also dusting some of the mud off her jacket from where she'd skidded slightly along the ground when she fell.
They scaled up the grassy bank, where Eva could hear lively music playing just in the distance. Since she was still feeling quite dizzy, Cedric had to tug her the rest of the way up before she had the chance to lose her balance.
"Well kids, welcome to the Quidditch World Cup!" Arthur announced, motioning to the vibrant scene in front of them.
As they made their way through the crowd of bright and excitable festival-goers, Eva, Hermione, and Ginny held hands so that they wouldn't get lost—more specifically, so that Eva wouldn't get lost. Even Ginny was now much taller than her.
Quidditch fans flew broomsticks over their heads and across the campsite and flags from almost every country were waved enthusiastically in the air. At some point, Amos and Cedric parted ways from them, leaving the rest of the Weasleys to hunt for their tent.
"Ah." Arthur approached a small tent which was sandwiched between a few others and held the fabric door open. "Home sweet home."
Fred and George walked in first, followed by Eva and then the others. Eva gasped when she took in the interior, which was questionably more luxurious than the Burrow itself. There was a living room in the centre, filled with plush sofas, a kitchen, and even a bedroom containing several bunk beds.
"Damn, this is pretty rad," Eva commented as she placed her bag down and joined the twins in the kitchen.
"Ron, get out of the kitchen," Arthur chided, "we're all hungry."
Fred, George, and Eva were already sat lazily at the table. "Yeah, get out of the kitchen, Ron!" Fred and George added in unison.
"Feet off the table!" Arthur snapped at Fred and George.
"Feet off the table!" they repeated and took their feet off the wood table only to place them back on again once Arthur wasn't looking. While this was happening, Eva was quite literally sitting on top of the table with her legs crossed like a 5 year old.
Harry was still standing across the room, completely awestruck. "I love magic."
The evening of the world cup final eventually arrived, although Eva felt like she'd been sitting around for days. Borrowing some of the twins' face paint, she drew a line of little green and white dots below her left eye, swirling up to above her right eyebrow, and completed the whole look with a green and white scarf.
"This is so cool!" Eva squealed as she climbed up the metal staircases beside Cedric.
"Blimey, dad!" Ron exclaimed. "How far up are we?"
A familiar arrogant voice caught their attention. Eva leaned over the railing and saw both of the Malfoys, Draco and Lucius, looking as entitled and smug as they always did. Some things just wouldn't change . . .
"Well, put it this way: If it rains, you'll be the first to know," Lucius remarked.
"On the contrary," Eva countered with a forced smile, "if it floods, you'll be the first to drown. Just a little food for thought, Mr. Malfoy."
"You'd best keep your tongue in check, Miss. Infernum," he snarled back, narrowing his eyes at her.
"Father and I are in the Minister's box," Draco bragged, following Lucius across the platform, "by personal invitation of Cornelius Fudge himself."
Draco was suddenly stopped and took a few steps back when Lucius shoved the end of his walking stick into his torso. "Don't boast, Draco," he chided. "There's no need with these people."
With an irritated shake of his head, Harry began to move everyone along, ignoring the arrogant father-son duo. Just as Eva and Harry went to go after them, Lucius hooked the end of his walking stick over the railing, narrowly whacking Eva's poor fingers.
"Damn it, that hurts like a bitch," she muttered as she gripped her pained fingers tightly.
"Do enjoy yourself, won't you?" Lucius said with a tone that should've been kind but was quite the opposite. "While you can."
Eva again plastered a smile over her face and leaned over the railing. "I really don't like you."
"And I really don't care." Lucius removed his walking stick and smiled back with a completely identical forced energy, filled with hatred and disgust for each other.
The group continued up a few more flights of steps, Arthur briefly complimenting how easily she made Lucius feel uncomfortable. They stopped at one of the highest levels and walked across the narrow metal grate which was filled with tiny holes Eva could easily drop something down.
"Come on up, take your seats!" Arthur said behind them. "I told you these seats would be worth waiting for!"
Eva was squished up between Hermione and Cedric as they piled themselves in as closely as possible. She briefly glanced up at Cedric and shook her head when she realised he wasn't exactly sporting any team's colours.
"No face paint, huh?" Eva asked.
Cedric shook his head. "I don't like having things on my face."
Suddenly, a fleet of brooms flew onto the field from just over their heads. Colours of green and white streamed out from behind them as music began playing and the crowd cheered wildly.
"There's the Irish!" Fred yelled, pointing into the stadium. "There's Troy!"
"And Mullet!" George added.
"And Moran!"
A series of fireworks exploded in the air above them, leaving sparks in the shape of a dancing Leprechaun in the sky. Eva cheered and laughed in delight, leaning over the railing excitedly.
"Here come the Bulgarians!" George shouted.
Fred laughed. "Yes!"
The Bulgarians, easily distinguishable from their red Quidditch robes, flew straight through the Leprechaun fireworks, causing the sparks to disappear into a flurry of bright red flickers. They circled through the air skilfully, earning gasps and 'whoa' sounds from the crowd. Eva could barely keep up at the show of light and colour before her eyes.
"Who's that?" Ginny asked, pointing to one of the Bulgarian players who performed a few stunts on his broom.
"That, sis, is the best Seeker in the world!" George replied, a broad grin on his face.
The crowd chanted "Krum" over and over again as he swooped through the stands and signs showing his, admittedly handsome, face appeared across the stands. Clearly he was a fan favourite, judging by people's reactions.
"Good evening!" Fudge's voice rang through the stadium. "As Minister for Magic, it gives me great pleasure to welcome each and every one of you to the final of the 422nd Quidditch World Cup! Let the match begin!"
Even back at the tent after the match, the entire group was just as lively as they had been earlier. Their energy levels weren't going down at all from the looks of things, not that they were complaining.
As Ron and Harry chanted the word "Krum" over and over again, Fred and George shuffled across the ground and imitated the sound of a fiddle which was still playing music outside. With an Irish flag wrapped around her shoulders and her face still covered in face paint, Eva danced between them, laughing along happily.
"Adopt me please," she sighed jokingly as Fred and George playfully hugged her from either side.
Ron stood on one of the short side tables. "There's no one like Krum," he said dramatically.
"Krum?" Fred questioned. "Dumb Krum?"
"He's like a bird, the way he rides the wind," Ron continued as Eva, Fred, and George proceeded to flap their arms like a flock of uncoordinated seagulls and chant "dumb Krum". "He's more than an athlete. He's an artist."
"I think you're in love, Ron," Ginny teased, high-fiving Eva as she walked past.
"Shut up," Ron grumbled.
George held his elbow and pulled him back down. "Viktor, I love you!" he sang, though not exactly in tune.
"Viktor, I do!" Fred chimed in.
"When we're apart, my heart beats only for you!" the others sang just as Eva burst into a fit of giggles.
"Sounds like the Irish have got their pride on," Fred remarked, still smiling as he listened to the loud shouts from outside.
"Stop, stop it!" Arthur snapped, dashing back into the room and yanking a pillow away from George. "It's not the Irish. We've gotta get out of here, now!"
As soon as Eva stepped out of the tent beside Hermione, she was met with a flurry of chaos. Frantic Quidditch fans were running uncoordinatedly and children were crying for their parents. Many of the tents were already on fire, flames exploding from all directions.
"Get out! It's the Death Eaters!" somebody screamed.
Eva remembered some of the Slytherins mentioning the Death Eaters, several times actually. Though they'd never explicitly explained to her who they were, it didn't take a genius to figure out that it was the term used for Voldemort's followers.
Hecate appeared beside her and took both Eva's and Hermione's hands. "We've got to get you both out of here," she murmured.
"Get back to the Portkey, everybody, and stick together!" Arthur ordered.
Without any further hesitation, Hecate began to lead the two girls to safety, shielding them from any open flames due to the fact that she was fireproof. For a while, Harry and Ron were following, but both got separated somewhere along the way, and they were never given a chance to go after them.
Just as they turned another corner, one of the masked Death Eaters appeared a few feet away, their gaze locking on the girls'. Hecate suddenly held her palms out, a large flame appearing between them, and sent a ball of searing white fire in the person's direction. It was safe to say that there wasn't much of them left.
Hermione stopped for a moment in horror which meant that Hecate had to forcefully drag her along. "There's no time to watch the fire if it's going to fry you up at any minute, girl!"
Once out of the campsite, the three of them continued running. Hecate had needed to throw a few more fireballs during that time, most just as a diversion, but eventually they made it into the woods in one piece.
A few minutes into their run through, Eva spotted Malfoy leaning casually against one of the trees, watching the scene from the campsite from a distance. Unlike everyone around him, his fully black and tailored suit was completely untouched, looking as straight and sleek as before.
His smile faltered for a moment as his eyes locked on Eva, who was looking considerably worse for wear. Her clothes were stained, the Irish flag draped around her shoulders was slightly charred on the edges, there were a few small cuts on her face, and in her free hand she held her wand threateningly.
"You might want to run," Malfoy advised casually, although there was an indescribable stress to his tone. "They're after muggles, and they're coming this way."
"What?!" Eva questioned, glancing around them nervously.
"Are you deaf? I said run," he repeated exasperatedly.
She nodded, retaking Hecate's hand and continuing to run through the trees towards the Portkey. A few minutes later, they were finally reunited with Fred, George, Ginny, and Ron, but Harry was still nowhere to be seen.
"W-where's Harry?" Eva questioned, glancing around them. "We have to go back for Harry!"
As soon as Eva took off in the opposite direction, Hecate circled her arms around her waist and pulled her backwards, refusing to let go of her. "You're not going back into that blazing inferno, and that's final."
"You don't get to tell me what to do, Catrina!" she snapped, struggling out of her iron-strong grip.
"I can, and I will," Hecate countered. "You may be my summoner, but you're still my human," she gritted through her teeth as she held Eva back, "and I'm not sending you on a suicide mission."
"Harry's still out there!" Eva shouted indignantly.
"We'll go," Hermione said calmly, placing a hand on Eva's shoulder and taking Ron's hand. "Go back to the Portkey with the others. We'll be fine."
Reluctantly, Eva agreed and sulked off with Hecate just behind her in case she decided to make a run for it. "Stupid demon," she muttered.
Hecate smiled condescendingly as they reached the Portkey. "Love you too."
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰
Author's note: Oop, got some fun Quidditch World Cup chaos here. Of course, Eva's got to piss off Lucius as she always does, and Draco does low-key care about her . . .
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, stay safe, and ily lots!