August 20th, 2012
"And the Tutshill Tornadoes score again, so the points tally up to 170-30 Tornadoes to Cannons! If the Chudley Cannons don't step their game up, well, folks, it looks like catching the golden Snitch won't help them at all!"
"Damn it!" Ron swore, earning himself nasty looks from Heather, Romilda, Fleur, Hermione, and Ginny.
"There are children present!" hissed Romilda, glancing around at the scattered children, and then glaring at the other present fathers in the suite.
The Malfoys, Smiths, Potters, and Weasleys were currently viewing a match between the Chudley Cannons and Tutshill Tornadoes in the Malfoy Suite at Ilkley Moor Quidditch Staduim. Hermione guessed she should have expected this, but it still shocked her when Draco revealed that the Malfoy family had a suite in almost every stadium in Great Britain, and they were in the best viewing positions possible.
So here she was, surrounded by friends and family, watching a Quidditch game. As usual, Ron's favorite team was losing badly, enraging him, but this time, even Draco was on Ron's side, simply because of the fact that he still didn't quite like the Birch brothers, who were currently being whooped and cheered for by many wild screams coming from the other suites.
Although Trevor had lost quite badly in terms of Quidditch during Hermione's last year at Hogwarts, he had still managed to fly with the Tornadoes upon graduation, which Hermione suspected Brevis had something to do with. Since then, both brothers had married; Brevis to Cho, and Trevor to Astoria; and it happened that the Birch Suite was right next door to the Malfoy Suite.
Both couples had had children as well. Brevis and Cho had two sons, Brandon and Channing, and Bradon would be going to Hogwarts in September, just like Austrina and Zanavian. Channing would be in Berenice's year. Trevor and Astoria had married a little bit later, and had twins Tracey and Travis, who were the same age as Hyperion.
"We still have a chance." Draco comforted the redhead, ignoring Hermione's look of irritation.
"Daddy, you're making Mummy mad." sang Scorpius, who loved Quidditch as much as his father did, but was very observant of his surroundings. Next to him was Albus Potter, who, like his best friend Scorpius, had inherited his father's love of Quidditch. Both boys were just as engrossed by the rather boring match as the grown men were.
"All right, all right." Draco held his hands up, and then smacked Ron on the back, eliciting a snicker from the redhead and the rest of the adult males. Since the children had come along, all the people in the room, especially Ron and Draco, had bonded with each other much more, and were pretty much as close as family now. They were godparents to each other's children, (Ron had asked Draco and Hermione to be godparents to his and Romilda's son, Hugo, who was two years younger than Rose) and frequently arranged gatherings such as this one.
The only exception was the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Narcissa and Andromeda. Therefore, George and Percy's families were not among the Weasleys present right now, as they were visiting at the Burrow. However, many other Weasleys were present, and some new additions were chasing each other around the suite, creating a mood of nostalgia for the adults not concentrating on the Quidditch match.
Victoire now had a five year-old sister, Dominique, and a three year-old brother, Louis. James and Albus had a four year-old sister as well: Lily. Although they were not present, George and Angelina now had five year-old Roxanne and three year-old Fred, and Percy and Audrey had three year-old Molly and two year-old Lucy.
Teddy was there, too, brought along by his Uncle Draco. Ready to start his fourth year at Hogwarts, he was an excitable chap, and now got along very well with James, his godfather's son, especially if Gabriel wasn't around, such as right now. James, as well as Zanavian, had forgotten all about the Quidditch game, and were enraptured with tales of Teddy's pranks at the school. Victoire, as always, was leading Austrina and Berenice in behaving like civilized young ladies, and making sure her own sister and brother, who were running around with Lily, Rose, and Hugo, didn't disturb the chatting ladies too much.
This left Hyperion alone, but he didn't really mind, as he was reading the newest edition of Hogwarts, a History. Hermione was sure her eldest son would be sorted into Slytherin, ambitious as he was. He had already confided to her, one night when she was tucking him into bed, that one day, when Daddy passed his business down to him, he planned to make it even better, and not just sell dental potions, but other products as well, maybe even making a "supermarket," something his Muggle experiences had taught him, but was still a rather unknown idea in the Wizarding world. On top of that, he rather liked to be with the children of her Slytherin friends as well.
His best friend was Blaire Zabini, Blaise and Daphne's son. They were the same age, and as inseparable as Teddy and Gabe, or Albus and Scorpius. Unfortunately, none of the Slytherins, (as Hermione still grouped them in her mind, though now without the negative connotation), could make it today, so Hyperion was on his own. He seemed happy, though, sitting next to his mother, occasionally watching the dejecting game, and enjoying the attention of the ladies, who would fawn over what a good-looking child he was, just like his father.
"Yes! Yes! YES!" Harry started whooping, jumping up and down like a crazy person. A moment later, a collective groan went up. "Sweet Merlin!" Zacharias cried. "How did that happen? The Quaffle clearly should have made it through the hoop that time! I call foul play! Peakes (yes, Jimmy Peakes), deserves a free pass!"
"Calm down, Minister." Bill joked. "You're almost as purple as Ron." Indeed, Ron was now spluttering with disbelief, unable to form actual words, resorting to moans and groans instead.
"I think zat zis ees too much emphasees on winning and losing." Fleur interjected.
"She's right. It's not good for the kids." Ginny agreed for once with her sister-in-law. "And the Cannons have never been good, so why fuss over the inevitable? The Tornadoes are going to win. We might as well just leave now if you guys can't accept that."
"We know." Harry said sadly. "But I can't stand those Birch brothers! Remember when we ran into them a couple of days ago at Flourish and Blott's?"
"They were pretty rude." Romilda, who had gone shopping with the Potters that day, agreed. "They openly snubbed my husband and children! As if they're any better." she sniffed. Whatever problems Romilda had had with wanting fame, she was now entirely devoted to her children, as well as husband. Even Ginny had become friends with her now.
"Well, keep it down. They're right next door." Heather said quietly, cocking her head to the right. "We all know Astoria's a sneaky little-"
"HE'S CAUGHT THE SNITCH!" Albus screamed. "GALVIN GUDGEON'S CAUGHT THE GOLDEN SNITCH! THE CANNONS WIN 180-170!"
Scorpius was about to comment about how the Cannons manager, Ragmar Dorkins, might faint from the shock of winning once again, but was interrupted by a collective roar from everyone else in the room. Even Hermione found herself pulled up by Hyperion, and cheered as well, but partly for the fact that they could go home now. She would soon be losing Austrina in September, and wanted to have as much time with her oldest daughter before her magical experience at Hogwarts would begin, and thus draw her away for a long time.
Ron, grinning from ear to ear, uncorked a bottle of Firewhiskey, and started pouring generous shots of the liquor, clinking glasses with the rest of the adults. Albus and Scorpius were doing some sort of victory dance in the corner, James, Zanavian, and Teddy were in deep discussion with Victoire, Austrina, and Berenice on the results, and Lily, Hugo, Rose, and Louis continued running around the snacks table and shrieking with joy.
Everything was going great until suddenly, the door to the suite was flung open, and there stood Astoria Birch, hands on her hips, looking furious. Behind her was her sister-in-law, Cho Birch, who was trying to pull away the four Birch children, who seemed eager to see what Astoria was going to do and refused to leave, no matter what Cho said. Spoiled, as expected. Hermione grimaced
"I'm sorry, but this is NOT a circus. I would like you to all keep your monkey howls to a minimum, if you don't mind." said Astoria with much venom.
"That's funny. I don't recall you harping on yourselves when the Tornadoes were winning." Draco drawled. Beside him, Scorpius had his arms crossed, and was glaring at the rather rude lady.
"Let's just all calm down now, before things get out of hand. We'll try and be more quiet." Zacharias, ever the compromiser, said soothingly.
Astoria blinked, and then simpered a most disgusting smile. "Of course, Minister. As long as these Mudley Cannons can keep their voices down, we shouldn't have a problem."
Both Ron and Draco were about to lose it. Ron was furious simply that Astoria had made fun of his team's name, but Draco was a little deeper than that. The use of "Mud" still had a great significance to him. Wand drawn, he started to lunge towards the smirking woman, but was restrained by Harry and Bill.
Ron was free, though, and took it to yell at Astoria for both of them. He strode over to the, in comparison to him, small woman, and jabbed his finger in his face.
"Who the HELL do you think you are, woman? I happen to be a war hero here, AND I'm an Auror. If you've still got your little blood prejudices going on, you can get your fat ass out of here! And, it also happens that I'm a good friend of this here fellow-" Here, he pointed to Zacharias briefly, "- that you so ADORE. So I'm warning you, Birchette, if you don't leave right now, or keep your stupid, big mouth shut, I'll-"
"You'll what, blood traitor? I'd like to see you and your pathetic family of weasels try, you worthless, poor, moneyless-"
Suddenly, without warning, four year-old Hugo raced past his father, and head-butted the snarling Astoria straight in the stomach, making her stumble back a few paces.
"No one talks like dat to my Daddy!" he screamed, shaking his little fist at the flabbergasted woman. "Go away! No one likes you!"
"Why you little-" Astoria snarled, drawing her own wand. She clearly doesn't know when to stop. Hermione sighed. She looked to Draco, who had finally been released by Bill and Harry, but was making no further attempt to charge Astoria. He looked rather amused, seeing Ron take on the vicious woman, but was ready at a moment's notice to intervene if necessary, wand still clenched in his hand. Most of the other grown males, with the exception of Zacharias, had their wands drawn as well, but they seemed to want to let Ron have his moment of glory in teaching Astoria the lesson she deserved. Even Ginny, for once, decided not to burst in and add her own brand of "education."
She glanced at Romilda, who was terrified now, seeing her son being right under the point of Astoria's wand, but was unable to move, frozen by her fear. She needn't have worried, though, for suddenly, a big, fat purple pimple appeared smack-dab in the middle of Astoria's forehead and exploded, setting trails of green pus running down her face.
Astoria let out the most horrifying shriek Hermione had ever heard, turned on her heels, and hobbled out of the room, arms flailing, and shouting broken curse words in between. Cho, whose mouth had literally dropped open, murmured a quick, "Sorry about that." to those in the Malfoy Suite, before quickly ushering the four Birch children, who were rooted to the spot, after Astoria.
Hugo, a grin splitting his face, ran to close the door to their suite, and then said happily, "That was fun! Da nasty lady's face 'sploded!"
"All right, who did it?" Hermione asked, less annoyed than amused. "It can't happen again, you hear me?"
Louis giggled, and said, "Dummy did it! Dummy did it!"
"I did not, you little turd!" Dominique yipped, pushing her brother away from her. "It was an accident! She insulted our whole family-"
She ran sobbing to her mother, and Fleur automatically started stroking the little girl's silver-blond hair, and comforting her, saying it was alright.
"Well, she isn't going to Hogwarts, so I think everything will be fine, Aunt Hermione." Teddy said, exchanging smirks with James and Zanavian. "Mrs. Birch pretty much deserved it, anyways. Dom just did what everyone else in the room wanted to."
Everyone in the room started laughing, and eventually, even Dominique, her face still streaked with tears, gave a small smile.
"Did you see all that green pus running down her face?" Berenice squealed, giggling uncontrollably. "It was simply disgusting!"
"Okay, kiddos. Let's get going now, before Brevis and Trevor come here and try to avenge what happened to Astoria." Draco said firmly, though his eyes were still merry. "You ready, Mione?"
"Let's go home." Hermione agreed. She took Hyperion's hand in her own, and Scorpius ran to claim her other hand. Teddy, who would be going home with the Malfoys, since Andromeda was visiting with Lucius and Narcissa, joined them. "You have the car keys, right?" Hermione called.
Draco pulled them out of his jeans pocket. "Right here, love. Girls, come on, it's time to go." he called to Austrina and Berenice, who were bidding Victoire farewell. "Grandma, Grandpa, and Great-Aunt Andie are going to be waiting with dinner soon, and it's a three hour drive back to the Manor. Let's go!"
Austrina and Berenice ran over to their father, and the Malfoys and Teddy, after saying goodbye to the Potters, Weasleys, and Smiths, left the suite and went down to the parking lot, ignoring the strangled cries of fury coming from the Birch Suite.
"You know, we could've stayed longer if not for your allergies." Berenice grumbled at Hyperion as the party made their way to the car. "Then we can all Floo to the Manor like everyone else back there."
It was true. No doubt, the Potters and Weasleys were already back at the Burrow, relaying the results of the game and what had happened after to George and Percy's families, and the Smiths were probably at home, celebrating with some more Firewhiskey and Pumpkin Juice.
"I'm sorry." Hyperion shot back, sticking his tongue out at his sister. "But I can't quite help it that I'm allergic to Floo powder. There's something called genetics, you know, and since Daddy had it when he was a kid, it's only logical that Cory and I inherited it, too. But, if you were paying attention to the part of how Dad only had it when he was a kid, then you should know that we'll outgrow it in a few years."
"That's enough now, kids." Draco said warningly, cutting off Berenice's retort. "You two need to learn to get along."
"Your father's right, children." Hermione agreed as they all settled into the car and Draco turned on the engine. "Teddy, do you mind sitting in the backseat with Rion and Cory? I think if the girls sit in the middle, then we'll hear less bickering."
"No problem, Aunt Mione." Teddy replied, settling into the middle of the backseat, Hyperion and Scorpius on either side. The middle of the car only had two seats, which Berenice and Austrina took. Hermione settled into her spot next to Draco, and soon they were off, driving towards the nearest highway. Draco drove with only one hand, not the safest idea, but his free hand was entwined with one of Hermione's, so she couldn't really object.
"Who would've thought the Cannons would win?" Draco said at last, quietly, for all five children had fallen asleep after about ten minutes of drive time. "Ron will be bouncing off walls for the next week or so."
Hermione smiled, and nuzzled Draco's hand affectionately. "I'm glad that Trina's last game with us before she sets off for school had a positive outcome. But that last bit with Astoria was rather ugly. I'm sorry the kids had to witness that display of vulgarity. I'm sure Romilda will really chew Ron out for his language later."
"Well, the kids enjoyed it." Draco laughed softly. "That Dom's going to be a powerful witch, being able to do that sort of magic as a five year-old. I'll bet Fleur and Bill are secretly proud, no matter how much they'll pretend to disapprove."
"Daddy, what if it was me?" a groggy Hyperion said, rubbing his eyes as he woke up. "Would you be proud of me, too?"
"Well, I guess that depend on your mother." Draco replied, flashing Hermione a quick grin.
"Mummy?" Hyperion asked.
"Well, I wouldn't encourage it, but it's still pretty good magic." Hermione responded slowly. "Was that really you, Rion?"
"Well, I think Dom was the one who made the pimple form. I just exploded it." Hyperion admitted sheepishly. "You aren't mad, are you?"
Draco burst into loud laughter, waking up the rest of the children, and Hermione chimed in after a moment.
"What's going on?" asked Austrina, yawning and stretching.
"Nothing, Trina dear." Hermione responded, a tear running down her face. How she loved her family. "Rion, honey, your father and I love you so much."
"I love you too, Mummy and Daddy. You guys are the best parents in the world!"