I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling. I also have no beta or proof-reader (at least not a human one) so expect some mistakes from time to time. Finally, please read my profile before you review the story, as it may answer some questions that you could have, including my upload schedule.

Harry and Zoe saw each other as they exited their rooms at 5:00 in the morning, each dragging their suitcases behind them with grins plastered to their faces. Even though they had not been sleeping for that long, a mere six hours apiece, the excitement that they felt counteracted the drowsiness. Their mother and father, however, weren't so lucky. They both practically dragged themselves out of their room and plodded downstairs, only to grab a quick breakfast of nearly-blackened toast and a glass of orange juice. Harry cocked an eyebrow at them and his sister laughed.

"Not morning people, huh?" She jeered before her mum transfigured her glass of orange juice into water and dumped it on her head. Surprisingly, she didn't laugh herself, just groaned and dried her daughter with a quick flick of her wand.

"G'morning you two." Lily groaned groggily, trying not to fall back to sleep. She, like James, did not want to get up early and hadn't got the most amazing amount of shut-eye, so 5 in the morning was not a brilliant time to be up and ready to travel by portkey. But nevertheless, they all wanted to go, and apparating was off the table, since the moor where the World Cup final was being held was on the coast, far from Crawley.

The time came for them to leave, and it was a scramble to get out of the door, considering that James was still half-asleep, even though his wife was now ready. His kids managed to get him moving and out onto the pavement that ran along the road, though with far more effort than it should have taken. His wife simply reached into one of the pockets on her coat and pulled out a small vial of light blue liquid.

"A restorative mixture, Mum?" Zoe raised her eyebrows in puzzlement. Those were not something you would think of using to cure sleep-deprivation, more for a temporary affliction or loss of senses. So, when her mother made James drink every last drop of the potion and corked the phial back up, both kids were bewildered. At their looks, Lily shrugged and asked them: "Do you want to get splinched and half of you end up in Coventry and the other half at Hermione's house?" The answer they gave was obvious. A resounding "No, Mother." With no more apprehensions or questions, Zoe grabbed her mother's hand and Harry gingerly took his father's and with a sharp crack, they were gone.

Just moments later, Dan and Emma heard cracks from the back garden: 'normal for apparition', their daughter, Hermione had told them so that they wouldn't think they were being robbed at six in the morning. Dan rubbed the bridge of his nose in an attempt to get rid of the sleep still plaguing his vision, though to no avail. He yawned and stretched as he grabbed the milk for his breakfast, all but drowning his shreddies in it.

"Are you sure they couldn't have just driven, Hermione? Lily can drive, remember. It makes me jump out of my skin every time they- what was it? Apparitate? Apparite?" Hermione corrected him before he could insult their guests.

"Apparate, Dad. And it's perfectly normal for most witches and wizards to do that. It's far faster than driving, although, it has about the same risks… But never mind, the point stands, it is faster and easier to learn." Hermione was sat on the sofa, lazily sipping her orange juice and half-watching the morning cookery show hosted by some 'celebrity' chef that she'd never heard of. 'How does Harry manage to do all of that at once?' she pondered with a shake of her head. Then there came a knock from the back door and despite knowing exactly who it was, Dan still jumped a foot in the air from his seat at the kitchen table.

"Good- very early mind you- morning. Please," He yawned again, stifling it with his hand. "Come in." James stepped over the threshold with a jittery step and wiped his feet on the mat, making a decent attempt at wearing it, and the soles of his shoes out.

"Good morning to you, to you," he started to point at every person in the room and greet them, eventually getting stopped once he had gone twice around everyone. At Emma's questioning look, Lily smiled meekly and said, "We used a bit too much restorative mixture on him to wake him up and-,"

"He's acting like he's on laughing gas and adrenaline at the same time?" Hermione finished, observing the twitching smile on James's lips. Harry and Zoe nodded to her and their mother gave them all another sheepish smile. "Well, I don't mean to be too blunt, but can we get going, I really want to see what a real wizarding event is like, not to mention a portkey?!"

After giving their daughter tired hugs, Dan and Emma let Hermione go with her suitcase into Harry's waiting arms. After a quick kiss on the cheek, she smiled at her parents and was whisked away by a red-faced Lily Potter, still mortified at giving her husband too much restorative potion.

After they'd landed from the apparation, Hermione held her head to make sure it wasn't moving and promptly turned green.

"Crap, sorry Hermione, I forgot it'd be your first side-along. I should have warned you." Harry whispered with an embarrassed grimace. She poked him in the chest and punched his arm.

"Yes, you should have." She grabbed the bag she was supposed to be carrying and gave it to Harry, forgetting to scold him for his language. "Well, for that, you can carry my bag for the rest of the trip." It was clear from the tone and her playful expression that she was joking, but Harry still remembered Malfoy's broken nose from last year and how his pissed-off girlfriend was not someone to be messed around with.

"Luckily for me, the portkey is just a hundred yards away." He smirked as if he had won their spat, but again came the bad news. His sister tapped him on the shoulder and gestured to the hill about half a mile away.

"Actually, that is the hill where the portkey is." She jabbed her thumb at the hill. "Dad was so hopped up on Mum's potion that he overexerted the apparition distance and shot us about 900 yards from our actual planned destination. So, Mum says we have to walk. Good thing we got here earlier than expected." Harry sighed. This was going to be a long walk.

When they finally arrived at the portkey, Hermione was thoroughly underwhelmed. She had expected some sort of golden talisman or a pedestal of some point, but she was instead greeted with the sight of a disgusting brown boot, not too dissimilar to those worn by soldiers in the trenches in WW2.

"Umm, is this it? I kind of expected a little more from a wizarding mode of transport. The bright purple Knight Bus, your gold-trimmed broomsticks, hell, the statue in the Ministry is solid gold, but an old boot?" She cocked her head in thought and then looked closer at the battered article of footwear. Realising her mistake at the fact that it smelled like it had been through the trenches, she backed up and put her hand to her chin. 'No-one had corrected me on this yet, so it must be something I can realise. Oh, hang on.'

"Mrs Potter, is this particular hill also accessible to Muggles?" The twins' mother grinned. "It has to be something inconspicuous, yes? Something that a muggle wouldn't dare touch because it's seen as nothing more than rubbish or a forgotten possession." Lily nodded and smiled. As did Harry, but he was still half looking at his Dad's impression of a drummer, slapping his feet in tune with some silent melody.

"Smartest witch of our age, as ever," Harry said with a loving gaze. His sister rolled her eyes and looked at the watch on her wrist.

"Oh, looks like we have just over 3 minutes to touch that thing and get there before the next one in an hour."

"Alright, then, let's go."

Again, Hermione felt slightly queasy after taking the Portkey to the Moor. She also punched Harry's arm again for good measure and hissed at him, to which he gulped nervously. Zoe simply sniggered at the exchange and grabbed Hermione's hand, dragging her away from Harry's sore arm and leading her to the tent that they had all been assigned, one right next to Neville and his Grandmother's. Being an Auror had its perks, and so the tent was less than a hundred metres from the stadium and they could all see the spectacle that it was going to be that evening. To anyone not in the know, the tent seemed far too small to fit three teenagers and two adults, but that was where the beauty in magic lay for Hermione.

As Zoe pushed through the flap in the fabric, they were greeted with a spacious living room area, a kitchen and several more tent-like openings that she presumed were the bedrooms. The younger Potter twin smirked and patted Hermione's shoulder teasingly.

"What, you didn't think we'd be squeezed into something as small as that, do you?" She jabbed her thumb back towards the opening of the tent, where Harry and her parents were now entering through.

"I love magic!" Hermione exclaimed with a quiet squeal of joy.

As the day went by, more and more people entered the camp and even though they were, for the most part, detached from the more private area where the ministry officials were staying, the din was so raucous that multiple silencing charms and some of Lily's own muffling spells had to be applied to every square inch of the tent. James had been called away four times over the day, just to break up some drunken fights and to stop Bulgarian from burning some Ireland fans' tents to the ground. Since James had left over an hour ago, and Harry and Hermione had gone to fetch some water, though Zoe assured her mother they'd be a while due to taking a 'detour', she saw the opportunity to let Lily in on some things. She had promised Daphne that she would keep their relationship a secret and if they were going to tell anyone, they would tell each other who first. And Zoe was more anxious than her about keeping secrets with her family, although Harry already knew. So she had written to her before they arrived at the World Cup: her only reply being a few sentiments long.

Zoe,

I understand your frustration better than anyone and I know that it must be difficult. So if you must tell someone so that it will stop it eating you up inside, please, only tell your mother yet. Whilst I appreciate that your father is first and foremost your parent, he is the Head of a Pureblood Household second. And you know as well I that the traditional views are not something to ignore lightly in their eyes.

Your mother was a muggle-born witch, yes? So she understands segregation and prejudices more than I'm sure she would admit to. Therefore, I believe she may understand you, and hopefully support us. But she cannot tell my parents yet. I'm not ready.

I love you,

Daphne.

The letter had been weighing heavily on the younger Potter sibling, and the permission of the woman she loved was enough to quell it for a time. But not for long.

"Mother, are you busy right now?" Zoe asked timidly from the sofa in the tent. Lily turned around and checked her watch.

"No, not currently, why? Is everything alright, sweetheart?" She questioned with a frown. Despite her Gryffindor placement, Zoe felt like her heart was going to start beating in her throat, though she stomached the feeling and with a deep breath, she began.

"I have wanted to tell you for a while, since just after the beginning of my second year. I never had the reason or courage until now…

I am in a relationship with a girl in my year and we've been together since about March." Lily cocked her head to the side to see any trace of a lie or a trick upon her daughter's face. All she saw was an earnest and worried look.

"Why are you shaking, sweetie? You didn't think I'd be disapproving or, bad-tempered with that, did you? I love you, Zoe, and no amount of change, no matter how big or small will change that." She sat down gently and pulled her daughter into a tight embrace. And suddenly, she felt her shaking and quivering in her arms. Lily stroked her head and whispered sweetly to her.

"I am not going to cast you out, I'm not going to be angry. I'm slightly hurt that you didn't tell me sooner in a letter or at easter break, but I understand why you felt the need to keep it from me. And Zoe," Her daughter looked up with tear-stained cheeks and sniffed. "I am so proud of you for letting yourself feel happy about this despite what other people think. And goodness knows the Potter men have a hard time being able to let their real emotions show." She gave the girl another gentle squeeze, making her smile inwardly.

"Thanks, Mum. It means the world coming from you. And… Please, don't tell Dad -or when you find out who she is, her parents- yet, none of them would understand and I don't want to ruin the holiday again. I'll introduce you to her when we're ready."

This was a bit difficult for me to write but I'll say this, I have the utmost respect for anyone who has the courage to say and be who they are, especially if they are afraid of the reaction. I can't say that I have been in this situation but I know that even back when this story is set (don't forget: 1994-1995) this would have been incredibly difficult to come out and say, given that being LGBTQ+ is still somehow frowned upon in some parts of the world.

On a way less deep and depressing note, thanks for reading this and for sticking with the story.