Seeing as Fred and George had spent all their savings on a gamble, I decided to treat them to some souvenirs. For myself I bought a Bulgarian scarf because I liked the fact that the lion roared, though George teased me for being an enemy supporter. "I'm a Gryffindor, and I like lions. Sue me." I shrugged, wrapping it loosely around my neck where the lion roared, making me grin. I also bought myself a model Firebolt that flew round, then a couple of Irish rosettes to wear. The twins tried to go for just some cheap little knickknacks but I insisted they have whatever they wanted, getting George an Irish Hat and Fred a singing flag, then bought a pair of omnioculars to share between us. "You can have it after, take it apart and see how it works. It'll be good for merchandise."
"Euphemia Selene Black, I could kiss you." Fred said to me almost seriously so I rolled my eyes and chose not to answer. Happy with our purchases we returned to our tents until the gong sounded, signalling it was time for the match to begin. Tensions were high as we practically steamed forwards, all of us eager to get to our seats. Ginny was almost skipping ahead, chattering excitedly beside me as we discussed the Irish players and compared them to the Bulgarians, weighing their chances. We all had to stay close in order to not get lost or separated from one another, as thousands of witches and wizards were currently making their way to the stadium.
The sheer size of it was enough to make anyone stop and stare, though Harry seemed particularly in a state of disbelief as Arthur told him it could seat a hundred thousand and that it had muggle-repelling charms all over it. Still stupefied, I laughingly grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him along before he could be left behind. Our seats were in the top box, high above everyone else and I was now glad I'd bought the omnioculars, otherwise all we'd see were colourful flies in the air. Although my legs were aching at the end of the climb, it was well worth it for the view and once I'd sunk into a seat between Fred and Ginny, I was glad to relax my feet for a moment or so. It was interesting to see so many wizards come through the box, all of them knowing Arthur and Percy was always close at his shoulder to shake hands next, and was particularly eager to see the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.
He paid Percy only a brief allowance of attention before focusing on Harry, smiling broadly and clasping his hand to shake as he then tried to introduce Harry to the wizards stood behind him. "Harry Potter, you know." Fudge spoke loudly and rather condescendingly to whom I could only guess was the Bulgarian Minister who just looked at him blankly. "Harry Potter…oh come on now, you know who he is…" Fudge tried desperately, explaining why Harry was famous with very little success. The Bulgarian Minister eventually caught on, noticing Harry's scar. "Knew we'd get there in the end. I'm no great shakes at languages, I need Barty Crouch for this sort of thing…"
Standing up, I pushed Fred's head down sharply and playfully in order to speak in a quick, foreign tongue, asking the Bulgarian Minister a question about his team. He stared at me for a moment before smiling slightly with amusement, asking how I knew his language so well so I shrugged and told him ambiguously that I had been bored one summer and decided to teach myself languages out of interest, and that I could speak a few. He seemed impressed, answering my question then asking me if this boy here was really Harry Potter, so I told him he was and that he wouldn't say it out loud, but he hated it when people stared at him so I asked him to please be discreet. He then asked me my name and if I was supporting Bulgaria or Ireland, humorously pointing out my rather confused collection of merchandise so I laughingly yet apologetically said I was supporting Ireland, but I liked the scarf because of the lion then told him my name.
Meanwhile, Fudge was just staring at the both of us, turning his head back and forth as each of us spoke with a wide open mouth. "My dear girl! Am I to take it that you speak Bulgarian?!"
"Yes sir, I can. Not very well though, just basic conversation."
"You speak the language very well, though your accent is strong. A little more practice and you could be fluent." Came a response from the Bulgarian Minister, so now it was my turn to look amused.
"You understand English? Why haven't you told Fudge?"
"It is funny to see him waving his hands around." Laughing, Fudge quickly demanded to know what he'd said so I just turned a twinkly eyed look to our minister.
"He says he appreciates your hospitality, minister." Catching my eye, the Bulgarian Minister winked at me. Seemingly pleased, Fudge nodded his head, muttering to himself as he turned his head before he then noticed someone approaching.
"Ah! And here's Lucius!" Sure enough, the Malfoy family of three were making their way towards us for their own seats, much to my clear distaste. When the foreign minister asked me about my expression, I whispered to him that the Malfoys were a bunch of prideful snots and weren't well liked by me or my friends. He huffed slightly, glancing to the Malfoys who were now shaking hands with the minister. This was the first time I'd ever gotten a good look at Draco's mother, a tall and strong boned woman with prominent cheeks. I was brought back into the conversation by Fudge, who requested I translate for them all and I was made to introduce the Malfoys. "Allow me to introduce Mr Oblansk, he's the Bulgarian Minister for Magic. My dear, if you please?"
Translating between the two parties was tricky since I struggled with some words, occasionally needing help from Mr Oblansk to find the correct one, one or twice discussing which word I meant so that he could give it to me before I managed to convey the expressions of both Lucius Malfoy and Mr Oblansk. It went fairly well, but then Fudge pointed out Arthur Weasley to Mr Malfoy where there was an immediate tension in the air. "Good lord, Arthur, what did you have to sell to get seats in the top box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?" I growled sharply, surging forwards but Fred wisely grabbed hold of me before I could do anything as Arthur took the insult silently, Fudge completely oblivious to it all.
"Lucius has just given a very generous contribution to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Arthur. He's here as my guest." Arthur smiled weakly as Mr Malfoy then stared coldly at Hermione, who to her credit did not back down from him and rather boldly glared back. Thankfully they didn't stay long and as they all moved off, I felt better for having some distance put between us and the Malfoys. Fudge thanked me for my help, saying that if Crouch didn't show up he may have to call on me again, then Mr Oblansk took my hands and kissed them in farewell, telling me to keep practicing.
"Blimey Mia, I didn't know you spoke Bulgarian!" Ron said to me, clearly impressed.
"There's plenty you don't know about me Ron. Keeps things entertaining." I winked at him before sitting back down where Fred rubbed my shoulder lightly then left his arm looped around me as he lowered his head to whisper.
"Malfoy's a prat, but you shouldn't let them get you worked up. The last thing we need is you turning into a lion and biting someone's arm off. We'd lose these excellent seats, you know." His joke made me feel better, though I elbowed him in the ribs.
"So you just care about the seats. Typical, Fred. In any case, I wouldn't have bitten anyone's arm. I'd have gone straight for the head!"
