Chapter Fifteen: They Get Wings and I Get Anger Issues?
Rolling hills surrounded a beautiful, white house. It was classic looking, with four large pillars at the front and a navy blue door. There were tall windows and what looked like multiple floors. Any on-looker would see the house and notice there was something almost magical about it. It truly looked as if it were surrounded in a mystical glow. A garden with beautiful, unnatural looking flowers led up to the tall front door that was at least 9 feet high. The closer you got to the white house amongst the green hills, the taller it seemed to become. It wasn't necessarily a large house, but it was grand. The air seemed crisper around it and it was clear that the people who lived in the home loved deeply.
It was in this wonderful home that Jamie Devereaux Bruce unceremoniously tumbled into through the fire place. Green dust exploded everywhere around her, but it was quickly brushed away in the air with the wave of a wand. The young blonde witch had just successfully flu-powdered for the first time in her life. She wore flared jeans and a cropped, striped sweater which looked very out of place next to the three wizards that stood before her in classic robes. However, the tall, young wizard in front of her did not seem at all taken aback by her muggle clothing and rushed to sweep her up in a large hug.
"I missed you!" Jamie squealed, hugging Cedric tight around the neck. When the Hufflepuff released her, Jamie turned toward the two familiar older wizards, "Hi Mr. and Mrs. Diggory!" She said. Mrs. Diggory, a tall and lovely woman hugged Jamie tight, while Mr. Diggory who was also tall and somewhat balding shook her hand.
"Very excited to have you, Jamie. Cedric told us that he absolutely had to have you come. Do you play Quidditch too? Of course, you know Cedric does. Captain and Seeker of Hufflepuff and we couldn't be prouder of him. He also got 9 OWLs, and 4 of them were Outstanding! Did he tell you? I am sure he didn't, he's so modest-"
Jamie and Cedric shared a look. Jamie was amused but Cedric looked extremely embarrassed at the rambling pride of his father. The blonde witch was used to it, having known Cedric and Amos Diggory for almost six years now. Jamie was so use to it, she had learned to make it more fun and interesting for both herself and Cedric, and anyone else involved.
"WOW! 4 Outstanding OWLS! Cedric, you must tell us how you did it!" This would then result in Amos Diggory telling her how Cedric did it. "Was it hard balancing studies and being Quidditch captain?" Jamie would later ask. Which would prompt Amos to say that of course it would be hard for any mere mortal, but not for his darling son Cedric.
It was rather amusing addressing Cedric in every question and only hearing long, excited responses from Mr. Diggory.
Mrs. Diggory was well aware of her husband's bragging, and would occasionally try and derail it long enough to learn more about her son's best friend that sat with them early that evening for dinner. Since Amos, Cedric, and Jamie had to wake up the next morning at 2am in order to leave for the Quidditch World Cup, they were eating early so they could get a good night's rest. "So you understand Quidditch well, Jamie?" Mrs. Diggory asked.
"Oh yes, ma'am! I'm not great at playing, but I know the ends and outs of games and try to keep up with the Quidditch teams during the seasons when I can. Personally I am hoping that Bulgaria wins. Victor Krum is absolutely incredible as a Seeker, I think there is at least a 70% chance he catches the snitch regardless of who wins." Jamie responded, happy for the first time in a month. She was eating a warm meal with her best friend and about to see the most anticipated wizarding sport event of the year in just a few short hours and one annoying nights rest.
"Would have pegged you as a Wasps fan." Cedric mumbled, causing Jamie to kick him hard under the dinner table. He grunted in pain and then coughed to cover it up.
"You think that Krum would catch the snitch even if the Irish were ahead?" Amos asked in disbelief.
Jamie shrugged, chewing her food before responding, "He's a bit of a hot head, Krum. I bet he wants to end the game on his terms. The Irish have overall a better team, but Krum is by far the superior Seeker. Unless he straight up let the Irish catch the snitch, it is doubtful their Seeker would ever beat him."
Thankfully, Amos Diggory had had enough—temporarily—of discussing just how fabulous Cedric was. The dinner conversation transformed into a lively Quidditch debate, which was occasionally interrupted by a question from Mrs. Diggory, who was a bit unfamiliar with the teams that were set to play in the match.
Cedric Diggory woke up to a silver-blonde girl attacking him with punches of excitement, "Wake up, Ced!" Jamie yelled in his ear, her voice drenched in anticipation of the mornings activities.
Cedric groaned and stood up just to be greeted by Jamie's bouncing blonde form in her muggle clothing and hat that covered her pig-tailed hair. She beamed up at him as he stood and told him she was going to wait down stairs with his father while he got ready.
Jamie Devereaux's excited and bubbly attitude disappeared after the fifth mile of their 2am walk. She was lagging behind the two tall Diggory men, her short legs barely being able to keep up with their strides. Almost every five minutes she would point to some object on the ground before them and ask "Is that the port-key?" And each time the two Diggory men would respond with a short, tired "no."
"Cedric." Jamie panted pathetically after another hour of walking had gone by, "I think-I think I am dying." She panted hard, "Remember me and tell my mum I loved her, okay?"
"The drama." Cedric said rolling his eyes. He stopped and let Jamie's short legs catch up with him. Bending at the knees, he nodded his head toward the little witch, "Come on, you little gremlin."
The blonde witch smiled and sighed loudly as she scrambled up his back, "Oh, Cedric, you truly are just the most gentlemanly wizard in the world. Don't you think, Mr. Diggory."
This comment, of course, put Mr. Diggory in a much better mood and the three of them approached yet another hill. The lull of Amos Diggory talking and the smooth movements of Cedric's long strides began to lull Jamie's exhausted body. She felt her eyes grow heavy and her head lull toward the shoulder of her best friend.
Fred Weasley was tired and in a continued bad mood. He had spent the summer moping and only felt like himself when he and George were successful in creating another product. Using the Ton-Tongue Toffee on Harry's obnoxious cousin had brightened his spirits a bit, just as heading to the Quidditch cup had as well. But, his fight with his mum and her confiscation of their hard work was yet another damper on his life. Every time his mind would wander it would go back to the anger and spite that was in Jamie Devereaux's eyes when she had stared up at him and declared him a "puppy dog." The more he thought about it, the more he believed that that description perfectly incapsulated his feelings toward the little blonde witch. He was a little puppy dog, eager to please and be in her line of sight. If she had even deigned to pet him he would be forever thankful. That thought alone made him resentful. What made him feel this way toward the girl? Every time he was away from her he couldn't quite understand it. But then he would be near her again. Fred would see her smile and the way she got angry or happy or how she laughed, how she concentrated hard in class until she got the spell correct, or how she would stick her tongue out at Professor McGonagall of all people. He would see all these things and remember very clearly why he was in love with her, and why he truly was a puppy dog.
The red-head stopped in his tracks, causing George to bump into his back, "Oi!" George exclaimed, looking at Fred confused. But when the Weasley followed his brother's line of sight he saw the unmistakable head of Jamie Devereaux, riding on the back of Cedric Diggory. Her long hair cascaded in pig tails over his shoulder and she appeared to be sleeping, but woke up when Arthur Weasley loudly greeted Amos Diggory upon their arrival with the Portkey.
"This is Amos Diggory, everyone," Fred's father declared joyfully. "He works for the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric. But who is this?" Arthur addressed the small, groggy eyed witch that was being let down off of the handsome Diggory boy's back in that moment.
The leader of the Weasley family blinked twice at the lovely girl before him as she put out a hand for him to shake, "Jamie Devereaux." Arthur recognized the name immediately, his eyes flitting to his middle child before smiling wide, "Arthur Weasley."
Jamie Devereaux Bruce felt Fred's presence. Whenever she looked over at him she would notice that his eyes were purposefully looking anywhere but her. Her heart was pounding and Jamie scooted an inch closer to Cedric in discomfort at the intense gaze of the entire Weasley, Potter, Granger combo that was before her.
She caught Ginevra's expectant look and walked closer to the girl Weasley to greet her with a half hug. Hermione got the same greeting and the three girls stood near Cedric as the fathers spoke. Jamie distantly heard Amos continuing to talk about Cedric's Quidditch prowess and watched as he broke apart from the clustered Gryffindor girls to defend Harry's honor against Amos's boasting. A small sly grin sprung to her face, "Mr. Diggory loves to talk about Cedric, I had no idea he worked for the regulation of magical creatures, he's never spoken about himself before."
It began to dawn on Jamie that it was probably why Cedric found The Vanishing of Veela Men so interesting. He had grown up most likely hearing about creatures of all kind from his father. As the thoughts of her Half male-Veela heritage sprung to her mind, she felt a wave of dread about being around Fred yet again. She couldn't believe that he was here, as if she had manifested his presence in her own life just by wanting him bad enough.
The blonde witch caught George Weasley's eyes and she gave a small raise of her hand, which he returned. Fred Weasley saw the exchange and looked at Jamie. He nodded his head in a greeting, but then turned his back on her and spoke to George in a small voice she couldn't hear. Jamie Devereaux felt like she had been slapped in the face.
When the group of Weasley and Co. began to surround the raggedy boot, Jamie squeezed in between Cedric and Mr. Weasley. She was told to hold on tightly and with one hand, the blonde witch gripped the boot and with the other Cedric's wrist. The air around her tilted and turned. She felt her feet leave the ground and suddenly she was tumbling and turning. She hit an unfamiliar ground with a light thump, as if she had floated onto it from a small distance.
Jamie was farther away from Cedric now, and much closer to the twins. Standing on shaking feet she took a deep breath and spoke, "Had a good summer?" She addressed the two of them.
"Fantastic. Wasn't it, George?" Fred responded, looking at Ron and Harry who had tumbled onto the ground in a heap. "Oh, look. Dad's walking. Better follow." And the red-head who had plagued all of Jamie's thoughts that summer walked quickly toward his father and away from her. George Weasley looked at her with thoughtful consideration, as if absorbing her reaction to Fred turning away, and then followed his twin.
Jamie sighed to herself before joining Cedric and Mr. Diggory as they were told to head toward the second field for their tents. The blonde Gryffindor waved a general goodbye to the Weasley's and walked with the Diggory's to a muggle man named Mr. Payne. Jamie helped Mr. Diggory with the muggle money as they paid and collected their change and map for the campsite. Her mood noticeably less eager than it was this morning, Jamie replayed every exchange that she had ever had with Fred Weasley since she realized she had a crush on him. When was it? Was it when she finally understood she could never be with him without hurting him? No. And it was before she started staring at his hands. Maybe even before she was practically poisoned by him.
When she had giggled and run away from him in detention for professor Lupin? Or was it before that, when she realized she missed messing with him? All Jamie Devereaux knew for certain was that she was an absolute moron who had had conflicting feelings for a boy that drove her insane. And she was conceited and pompous enough to believe that she could get any boy she wanted, which lead to their confrontation in the castle. If she had only let Fred Weasley be the one to turn her down maybe she would be able to save face. Maybe having seen him with his family and watch him act so coldly polite to her wouldn't have destroyed her.
She turned to Cedric, her rock in all things. The only person besides Loren Bruce who knew what had happened between her and Fred after their OWLs. As if sensing her sadness, Cedric threw a large arm over her shoulder and pulled her to his side, "It's okay, Jamie. You got rid of the worst part—seeing him for the first time after everything. When school starts you'll be busy and you will be able to move on from him, especially since he won't be teasing you anymore."
"I hope you're right." Jamie mumbled, joining Amos Diggory as they began to set up their tent. Cedric Diggory watched his best friend from the corner of his eye as he tried to figure out why there were four metal rods but only one twisted-looking thing for the tent. He had been shocked when Jamie Devereaux had told him what Fred had said. Mainly because, along with the whole of Hogwarts, thoroughly believed that Fred Weasley had a crush on Jamie Devereaux. But, knowing how it was impossible to lie to the little Veela, Cedric had had to endure a train ride back to Kings Cross watching his best friend fight back tears. Having only seen Jamie cry a handful of times having known her, he knew it was deeply impacting the emotional girl.
Walking through the low tents in a large field was a father and son, both tall and broad shouldered and wearing green and white hats that seemed to dance around their heads. The younger one had a bemused, somewhat embarrassed, look on his face. The source of his embarrassment was right next to him, twirling around and practically floating in the air. "Victor Krum, my sweet, Krum! The Krum-cake of my heart!" The beautiful girl sang. Her silver blonde hair floated around her in waves. She wore black pants, a large red sweater and red hair band that pulled her locks out from her face to reveal red and black face-paint that marked her cheeks.
"Why are you singing that?" Cedric moaned, smiling at people who stared, enraptured in the little witch.
Jamie stopped twirling and giggled, excitement surrounding her as she thought about the fact that, in just a few minutes, she would be in the stadium of the most anticipated Quidditch game of the year. "I heard a little girl and her mum singing it and it just stuck." She shrugged, smiling with her dimples and causing Cedric to shake his head. He took a deep breath, "The Krum-cake of my heart!" The two bellowed together, causing Amos Diggory to turn at them in shock. The pair laughed and began walking faster when the stadium was just within reach.
A stadium unlike and Jamie Devereaux had ever seen came within their reach. She had been to muggle stadiums before with her mother, but never this large. It looked as if it could fit a hundred thousand witches and wizards, which was good considering how many seemed to be there. The red and green lanterns that created a light to their path showed the hundreds of wizards from all around the world. Jamie had never know there to be this many people in the wizarding community. Amos Diggory handed their tickets to a woman in a yellow robe and they were directed upward toward a box that seemed to reach impossible heights. But, in Quidditch, the higher you could be the better. The box that the Diggory's and Jamie were guided to was only 3 boxes down from the top box—the best seats in the stadium. Jamie saw heads of red hair hike upward toward the top box. One of the tallest of the heads was talking eagerly with his twin and a strange looking man wearing a bee on his chest and Quidditch robes. "Who's talking to the Weasley twins over there? And what is he wearing?"
Cedric craned his neck to see, "Oh it's Ludo Bagman!"
Recognition of the name dawned on her, "The really good Quidditch player? Why is he wearing his old Quidditch robes?"
Amos Diggory held open the door of the box and gestured his son and the silver haired witch through, answering her question, "He's a bit odd, that Ludo. I suspect he's had to many bludgers to the head after all those years playing professionally." Jamie giggled and sat next to Cedric in one of the seats of the box. Mr. Diggory excused himself to go talk to other Ministry wizards.
Jamie was sitting on the edge of her seat in excitement, but her eagerness seemed to dull in comparison to Cedric's, "Did you see in the program? About the mascots of Bulgaria?"
"No, what?" The blonde witch asked, trying to read over his shoulder.
"They brought Veela with them! We're going to get to see real life Veela!"
Jamie's eyes narrowed, "Technically you see one almost every day."
Cedric shrugged, "No that's different. These are female Veela."
"Right, I forgot about my own gender silly me and my foolish male brain."
But when the Veela did come into the stadium accompanying the Bulgarian team and the young Victor Krum, neither Jamie or Cedric could deny the difference. The female Veela were striking and…dancing. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Cedric begin to rise out of his seat. She grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the daze, "What are you doing?"
"I don't know." He responded, still looking at the dancing women, "I had a weird urge to try and jump onto one of the players brooms and prove I was better."
Jamie laughed hard at that. Cedric, always good natured, joined in. When the game began, with an unsurprising early lead to Ireland, Jamie couldn't help but split her gaze between the exciting game and the Veela on the side lines. She couldn't deny her similarity to them. Their hair was a bit more golden than her almost silver locks, but it fanned out the same way hers did. Having a wave texture without being actually wavy, just a mimic of a sweeping cascade of hair. Their skin was lighter than hers, but Jamie was sure that was due to Loren. None of the Veela looked identical, just as people don't look the same, but there was a strange cohesion in their alluring features—as if intending to draw everyone who looked at them in. Subconsciously, Jamie recognized a similarity in her own features amongst them. Slanted eyes, straight noses, full lips—none the same but all enough alike. A twinge of yearning hit Jamie as she thought of what Devereaux might look like. She shook it off quickly. None of these Veela had Loren Bruce's dark green eyes, deep dimples, and wide smiles as Jamie did. That was enough for her.
As the game continued, Jamie and Cedric were by far the loudest fans in their box. They groaned, screamed, and cheered at every movement. It didn't matter that Jamie was wearing red, she was just a Quidditch fan in that moment.
Watching Victor Krum play was like no other seeker she had ever seen before. When he did his fainting move, Cedric had absolutely freaked out, "Did you see that? That move? I've never seen it executed so well. If I could do that during the next Hufflepuff match we might have a good chance against Potter!"
"And Cho?" Jamie asked, teasingly, noting the funny blush on Cedric. His crush on the Ravenclaw Seeker was definitely new, but something Jamie had noticed during the end of last term since she had spent almost all of her time with the Hufflepuff boy.
"You could easily do that, Ced!" Amos cheered, clapping his son on the back in excitement—as if Cedric Diggory had already performed it tonight.
There was a commotion on the field and the Veela were attempting to distract the Irish players. When the Irish were given penalties and the Veela were asked to leave the stadium, something incredible happened. Giant, feathered wings sprung from their back and all of their heads transformed into that of birds. Jamie's mouth opened and so did Cedric's. Reading about the female Veela transformation was much different than seeing it in person.
"Bloody Hell." Cedric said. He looked at Jamie Devereaux, uncertain of what her reaction was going to be. The little blonde stared at the Veela in utter shock.
"They get wings and I get anger issues?" Jamie sat slumped in her chair, "Utter rubbish. No wonder Male Veela died out. They get to fly around and be part bird and I have pesky feelings and a mother that makes insect puns about me. Ridiculous."
"Are you seriously pouting?" Cedric asked in disbelief.
Jamie turned her head sharply to look at him, "WINGS, Ced. Think of the possibilities. I could fly all the time, I wouldn't need to take the train or the bus. Ugh, this is going to bug me forever."