Remember, not everything is going to be exactly the same as the books. I'm changing the plot a lot to match the story I'm trying to create! I hope you enjoy it! Leave a comment after!
Disclaimer – I own nothing except my own ideas. Everything else belongs to Rowling.
Chapter 2
Hermione smiled to herself as she spotted the crazy structured house that they all happily called 'The Burrow'. She clutched her trunk and waved goodbye to her parents as she made her way up to the front door of her third home. She knocked hard, assuming that everyone was probably still asleep, but luckily for her Molly Weasley opened the door quickly and ushered her in after embracing her in a back breaking hug. The familiar scent of homemade biscuits and meat pies greeted Hermione as she hugged her second mother tightly.
"Oh dear, I wish you could have gotten here last night." Molly rattled off. "It would have been nice to spend some time together before you left with the others to the World Cup. Have you eaten breakfast? Hmm, of course not. It's too early. Oh where are your parents? They should come inside too for breakfast. Let me go get them. Are they still out there?"
"They're rushing to meet a few of their friends for a morning hike." Hermione answered quickly before the mother figure could waste her time. "I'm sorry, I just wanted some extra time with them before coming here and starting school next week. And no, I haven't eaten yet."
"As I suspected." Molly grabbed her hand and pulled her into the kitchen.
Hermione was instantly pulled away and engulfed into another tight hug from a slightly smaller person, but with the same fiery red hair as everyone else in the family. Hermione squealed in joy as she clung tightly to Ginny, the youngest Weasley.
"How was your summer?" Ginny asked as she pulled away, spotting the freshly made meat pies her mother was pulling out of the oven. She slide over to the counter and plucked one off the tray, nibbling on it lightly. "Mmm, mom, this is amazing. Hermione, try one."
"Yes, yes, go ahead!" Molly gestured for Hermione.
Hermione nodded excitedly and moved to stand next to Ginny, tasting the savory treat herself. She moaned in pleasure as she glanced out the window at the gardens and swamp beyond. The sun was just getting ready to rise and Hermione wondered when they were leaving for the stadium.
"Hmm, Hermione dear, would you be so kind as to run upstairs and wake up Ron and Harry? Breakfast is ready and you all must be off within the hour." Molly asked.
Hermione nodded and made a move to the stairs before two pairs of arms quickly embraced her.
"Ello 'Mione!" Fred and George said at the same time. "We missed you this summer!"
"You missed being able to play pranks on me." Hermione corrected.
"Same thing either way." Fred chuckled.
"I'm sure you've missed us too." George winked.
"Hmph." Hermione gave them a teasing smile before ascending the stairs.
She smiled to herself as she heard Molly tell the twins to not eat the meat pies because they were meant to be taken with them to the world cup. She understood why Molly spoiled Ginny sometimes. She was the only girl in the family after all.
Hermione pushed open the door to Ron's room and spotted Ron snoring on his bed, half covered by his blanket, while Harry was shaking slightly in his cot, sweat dripping down his forehead and cheeks. She knew he was having yet another nightmare. He had written to her over the summer, telling her that they had returned recently and he didn't know why. She had promised to look into it but couldn't find anything that would give them answers. She sighed, now seeing firsthand how the nightmares made him look.
She walked over to Harry's cot and shook him hard, wanting to wake him up from the dream.
"Harry!" she yelled down to him as she shook him.
Harry inhaled sharply as his eyes shot open, a look of terror on his face before realizing that it was Hermione. He smiled slightly as his body instantly relaxed.
"Hermione…hey." Harry murmured. "When did you get here?"
"Just now." Hermione answered quickly, moving over to Ron's bed, knowing that Harry wasn't about to reveal his dream just yet. "You?"
"A few days ago." Harry cleared his throat and sat up.
"Come on, Mrs. Weasley is ready with breakfast and we have to leave soon." Hermione grabbed a fallen pillow from the floor and wacked Ron's face with it. "Ron! Get up! Breakfast is ready and we have to go!"
Ron's eyes shot open as he sniffed the air around him.
"Mmm, yes…meat pies." He sat up quickly and pulled on his shirt. "Oh, hey 'Mione."
Hermione rolled her eyes and ran back down to the breakfast table. She sat down and began eating from the different dishes that Mrs. Weasley had laid out. Everyone slowly made their way to the table and began shoveling food into their mouths rushing to be on their way.
Once breakfast was done, Mr. Weasley rushed them all out of the house, leaving a tear stricken Molly to stare after them. They hiked for almost an hour before reaching the top of a hill.
"Blimey dad, I didn't know we were walking to the World Cup!" George complained.
"We're not walking. We're taking that." Mr. Weasley pointed to a random old dirty boot. "We're just waiting for Amos and his son."
"We're taking…a boot?" Fred frowned slightly. "I think dad's finally lost it."
"It's a portkey!" Hermione gasped as realization dawned on her.
She and Draco were reading about them earlier in the summer and he had expressed how much he wished he could try one, but it was apparently not a very common thing for upper class families to use. She knew she would write to him about this once they got back. He would be very interested in knowing how it felt to use one.
After a few minutes of waiting, a shaggy haired man with glasses appeared with a tall handsome teenager at his side.
"Amos!" Mr. Weasley greeted.
"Oh wow, I thought we would be late." Mr. Diggory shook Arthur's hand. "So, shall we?"
"That's Cedric Diggory." Ginny whispered to Hermione. "He's the Hufflepuff seeker, and all the girls love him. Now I can see why."
Hermione stared up at Cedric as he met her gaze with a heartbreaker smile. She returned the smile, noting his grey eyes, but felt nothing except the unnerving want to stare into a different pair of grey eyes.
"Come on everyone. Touch the boot, because it's almost time!" Mr. Weasley ordered.
Everyone gathered around the mangy old boot and touched a piece of it quickly. After a few seconds, Hermione was pulled into a spinning vortex. Her stomach did somersaults as she flew through time and space, screaming with everyone else around her before landing on a soft grass patch with a loud thud. Everyone around her looked up as Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory, and Cedric easily floated down towards them.
"Alright Arthur, enjoy the game!" Mr. Diggory clapped him on the back and walked off with Cedric.
"See you at school Cedric." Fred and George nodded to him.
Cedric gave them all a winning smile before following his father towards their tent.
"Come along everyone." Mr. Weasley walked them through the loud and busy camp ground towards their tent.
They spotted many other students from Hogwarts there, such as Lee Jordan, Seamus Finnigan, the Patil twins, and Lavender Brown, who was giving Ron a longing look that Hermione noticed clearly. Once they got to the tent Hermione was amazed at how huge and spacious the inside was. Even though she would have to share a bed with Ginny, it was still big enough for them all to have fun in.
"This is amazing, Mr. Weasley!" Hermione gushed as she followed Ginny to the girl's section of the tent.
"I'm glad you approve!" Mr. Weasley beamed with pride, having felt relief that his family loved his choice of living quarters, even though he had to dish out more money than he had intended. Seeing them so happy was worth every sickle.
"Can we walk around and explore a bit?" Ron wondered.
"I don't see why not." Mr. Weasley smiled at them. "Just stick together ok?"
They all dropped their bags, except for Hermione and left the tent to go in search of their other classmates. Hermione watched them leave, noticing that they didn't even realize she had chosen to stay behind. She smiled at Mr. Weasley and pulled out a book to do a bit of light reading.
"I'm going to say hello to a few work friends. Are you going to be ok here by yourself?" Mr. Weasley wondered.
"Yes." Hermione reassured him. "I have my wand with me in case anything happens."
Mr. Weasley nodded his head and swept out of the room. Once the coast was clear, Hermione threw her book aside and switched into a red jacket, which she knew Draco would recognize, and made her way out of the tent, towards the woods where they had agreed to meet briefly in their letter exchanges yesterday, with her tiny backpack secured on her shoulders.
She walked for almost fifteen minutes into the woods before a familiar cold hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her behind some bushes, hiding her from the main walking path. She twirled to face the person, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.
She wouldn't deny that she had missed him for most of the past week. She was so accustomed to spending the entire summer with him that it pained her heart to have to say good bye almost two weeks early. Draco pulled her against his chest, burying his face in the sweet strawberry scent that erupted from her bushy brown hair.
"Are you ok?" Hermione hurriedly asked.
She pulled away and frowned as she already noted the sullen look on his face. He looked as if he hadn't slept in days and she knew that the source of his sudden change in physical appearance was his father. She sighed and hugged him again, noticing how her entire body relaxed by itself the minute she was in his arms, but quickly pushed that thought to the side.
"I missed you." Draco uncharacteristically admitted.
The past few days, particularly the nights, had been torture for him. His father had decided to try out some new spells on him, as if he was a lab rat, and his mother could do nothing except stand by and watch with tears in her eyes. Draco only took his ministrations because if he didn't, he knew his mother would have to take it.
"I missed you too." Hermione sighed and reluctantly pulled away. "I sneaked something for you."
She pulled out a meat pie from her backpack and smiled as Draco's face lit up. As much as Draco hated the Weasley's, he would never deny that he had an obsession for Molly Weasley's cooking. During the school year, Hermione often shared little treats that Molly would randomly send her and Harry, and Draco had fallen in love with them all.
He bit into the pie, savoring it's perfectly seasoned taste before shoving the entire concoction into his mouth. Hermione frowned, realizing quickly that he once again wasn't eating at the Manor.
"Can you meet me here tonight? After the match?" she wondered.
"Yes, why?" he raised an eye brow at her.
"I'll bring you more food." She sighed. "I know you're not eating."
"It's just one more week, Hermione." Draco tried to reassure her. "Then all will be right again."
"That's not good enough for me." Hermione snapped and then gave him a pout that only he had ever seen before. "Please…Draco…let me bring you some more treats."
"You know I'll never say no to that face." He rolled his eyes and pulled her in for another tight hug. "I should get back."
"So should I." she glanced down at her watch.
Draco looked around them slightly and frowned to himself. Something didn't seem right. Ever since he had arrived here with his father, something seemed off, but he just shoved that thought aside and smiled down at Hermione. There was no need to worry her. He knew that her friends caused her to worry enough already.
"Let's meet back here around…midnight?" he suggested.
She readily agreed and pulled away from his embrace, walking back out onto the path. She knew that he would never leave first. She couldn't explain the unshed tears that stung her eyes, or the feeling of dread that entered her body as she walked away from Draco. She felt as if something significant was about to happen, but she had not the slightest idea what it was.
She made it back to the tent before anyone else returned and quickly shrugged off her jacket, flopping back onto the cot and reading her book once more. After another fifteen minutes of waiting, everyone fell into the tent, laughing happily amongst themselves, not even noticing that she was in the room. She pushed that thought aside as well. It would do her no good to ponder over such things. These were her best friends after all and they loved her.
"Ok everyone, let's get our fan gear on and head to the stadium!" Mr. Weasley announced.
"The Bulgarians are going to win for sure." Ron shouted as he grabbed his Bulgarian hat. "They have the best seeker in the world. No one can beat Krum."
"You sound like you want to shag him, Ron." Fred teased.
"Piss off." Ron glared at his brother while everyone else laughed. He glanced over at Hermione and smiled slightly. "See, told you guys that she was just reading. Blimey Hermione, you need to come out and have some fun with us sometimes!"
Hermione just shook her head and stood up, ready to accompany them to her first Quidditch World Cup match.