-And here we go! Getting into Fourth Year stuff!-
The summer continued on, with Harry and Sirius often going flying in the mornings after breakfast, then returning to do whatever work needed to be done. During dinner, Remus and Sirius would entertain Harry with stories of their time at Hogwarts. Harry was very content with his new life and was sad to see the new Hogwarts school letter come so soon.
"Look Harry," Remus had said that morning once the post had been delivered. "List of books is here. And it appears you got a note from Molly as well." He handed both pieces of parchment to Harry.
Harry scanned over the book list, but shrugged it to the side where Sirius could read it if he wanted. He opened Molly's letter, which requested that Harry join Arthur and the kids at the Quidditch World Cup.
"What does it say?" Remus said, looking down at Harry with a knowing smile.
"The Quidditch World Cup! Can I go?" Harry asked, looking excitedly between Sirius and Remus.
"Of course you can, Harry." Sirius said, clapping him on the shoulder. "We can't have our star seeker miss one of the biggest games of the year, now can we?"
Harry jumped up to give his godfather a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you!"
"Don't thank me, thank Arthur. He's the one that got all the tickets. I believe you'll be traveling by portkey tomorrow morning. You can spend the night with the Weasley's tonight if you want, that would probably be easiest, hmm?" Sirius said, smiling at his ecstatic godson.
Harry nodded then ran to Remus to hug him as well. He then ran upstairs to presumably pack for the few days ahead. Remus and Sirius both chuckled at his excitement. "I'm glad he's happy." Sirius said after a few moments of comfortable silence.
"Me too, Sirius. I'm glad he's here." Remus responded, staring at the door Harry just evacuated. "Well take him to Diagon Alley to get his books when he gets back from the World Cup."
Sirius nodded his agreement, and then the duo went up to Harry's room to help him get ready.
"Alright kiddo. Got your galleons, clothes, and toothbrush?" Remus asked, a hand on Harry's shoulder.
Harry nodded and added cheekily, "Now that we've checked my belongings thirty times, can I fly over there?"
Remus gave him a fake stern glance, then shook his head. "I'm afraid you are missing one thing."
Harry looked confused and then glanced around his room. "What?"
"A goodbye hug from your godfather, of course." Sirius said, walking in the room. Harry smiled and obliged.
"Don't forget about poor old Moony, now." Remus said before being engulfed by Harry himself. "Now you better be careful, I know you're a fantastic flyer, but just go straight there. I'm sure the boys will want to play quidditch once you get there anyway, so no need for detours."
Harry nodded his understanding before giving one last glance to Sirius. "Bye kiddo, take care of yourself. We'll see you in a few days."
Harry smiled up at them and began to walk downstairs to leave. On the last step, he looked back up the stairs at his guardians and smiled at them. "I love you guys."
"Back at you, Harry. Have fun." Sirius called as Harry stepped out the door and kicked off on his broom. Sirius sighed. "I know he's going to have fun, but I hate to say goodbye. He attracts trouble, you know. There's going to be thousands of wizards at the cup from all over. Not the safest place for the boy-who-lived, huh?"
"I know, Sirius, I'm nervous about it too. This is the first time he's been away from us since we got him. But you know better than anyone how brave and strong Harry is. If he's anything like his father and godfather, which I promise you, he is, then he'll be fine." Remus chuckled, patting Sirius on the shoulder before walking back downstairs.
The next morning came bright and early, much to Harry and Ron's displeasure. They woke up to Mrs. Weasley yelling at them from the kitchen to hurry, then, after a generous breakfast, followed Mr. Weasley up the hill to the portkey.
As the large group of Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry approached the hill, they noticed two other people coming close to the portkey sight. "Amos Diggory!" Mr. Weasley called to him. "Alright then?"
"Fine, Arthur, and yourself?" Mr. Diggory responded cheerily, his arm over his son Cedric, who Harry remembered from Hogwarts.
"We're great, as a matter of fact." Arthur said, smiling. "I'm taking my group out to the campsite. These are my children, you know Percy, Fred, and George I'm sure. This is Ron and Ginny, my youngest two, then their friends Hermione and, well, I'm sure you've heard of Harry."
"Harry Potter," Amos Diggory said, sticking a hand out to shake. "It's a pleasure. Of course, fame might not indicate skill, correct? I mean, I remember Cedric and the Hufflepuff team beating your team in Quidditch just last year. I was so proud." He said, patting Cedric on the shoulder.
"Dad, I told you what happened. Harry fell off his broom." Cedric said, giving an apologetic look to Harry.
"Oh Cedric, so modest. Anyway, may the best team win this year, correct, Mr. Potter?" Mr. Diggory said, raising his eyebrows to Harry.
Harry simply nodded, repressing his anger, and walked back over to Ron and Hermione to prepare to grab the portkey.
"Alright kids, it's time. Hold on tight and let go when I tell you to, okay?" Mr. Weasley said, grabbing the portkey to demonstrate. The rest of the group followed suit. Harry felt a pull behind his navel, and then all of the sudden, he was spinning in the air down towards a large, grassy field.
Once they landed, Arthur went to the muggle that owned the campsite to find out where they would be setting up, and the kids went off to look around the camp and talk with friends from Hogwarts. The afternoon went on with no major occurrences, and soon Harry, Hermione, and Ron were buying souvenirs for the game. The evening continued on in a blur, with an amazing game won by the Irish, despite the Bulgarian Seeker, Victor Krum, catching the snitch.
At one point during the game, Hermione had stopped watching to comfort the distressed house elf of Barty Crouch.
"How could he leave her up there alone like that? She was obviously miserable!" Hermione exclaimed to Harry and Ron as they walked away from the stadium when the game had ended.
"I don't know Hermione, but I'm sure Mr. Crouch had his reasons. He's a brilliant man, you know." Percy said, walking past the three. Hermione scowled and Ron grumbled something about an arrogant git before they continued on to the tent to sleep.
"KIDS, WAKE UP!" Arthur exclaimed, pushing on the beds to rouse the group. "Come on, it's an emergency. I need you to get up and run to the woods, stay together, and don't go looking for trouble. Don't ask, we will explain later."
The group, still feeling groggy, jumped out of bed to put on their jumpers and trainers, before running out of the tent. Harry stuck with Ron and Hermione as they ran straight for the forest, desperately trying to get away from the flames and mobs of people.
"Wait!" Harry yelled, reaching into his pockets desperately. "Where's my wand? I had it earlier."
"Harry come on, we'll find it," Hermione said, yanking him forward. They continued to run until they reached an empty clearing in the forest.
"What do you think is happening?" Ron mumbled, looking out at the destruction from where they stood.
"I… I'm not sure. I saw masked people and, well, from what I've read in the History of Magic book, they looked like death eaters, Voldemort's followers. And did you see what they were doing? They were levitating the muggles that run the camp site! How awful!" Hermione gasped, trying to peer out further at the scene. A twig broke near by and all three turned their heads to see who it was.
All of the sudden, a great green light shot into the sky, and a skull with a snake tongue appeared amongst the stars. The screaming intensified and about twenty wizards apparated around the three and shot stunning spells. The trio ducked just in time to miss the spells, and they heard Arthur yell out "Wait! That's my son, don't fire!"
"Which one of you did it?" Barty Crouch whispered venomously. "Which of you shot the dark mark into the air?"
"Mr. Crouch, consider who you are talking to! That's Harry Potter!" Mr. Weasley said, running to the children's aid.
"We heard a noise over there before it… the dark mark, was shot into the sky," Harry said, pointing them in the direction.
The other wizards ran over to the spot and frowned. "Winky? My own elf!" They heard Crouch yell, enraged.
"What is it, Mr. Crouch?" Percy yelled to him, eager to partake in the important duties of the ministry.
"Where did you get this wand, Winky?" Crouch whispered maniacally to his trembling elf.
"I-I was given it, Sir." Winky sobbed.
"Check the wand to see the last spell it casted." Mr. Weasley suggested.
Upon closer inspection, Harry, Ron, and Hermione recognized the wand. "That's my wand! We got out to this clearing and I realized I couldn't find it!" Harry said, walking forward.
Crouch gave Harry a suspicious look, but the glare from the other wizards made him relax his features. "Revealio." He mumbled at the wand, which showed that it did indeed cast the mark.
"My own house elf. I can't believe it." Crouch spat.
"Mr. Crouch, if I may, Winky doesn't have the proper magical ability to shoot such a spell. It couldn't be her." Hermione said, pleading with the man.
"Well, Winky, do you know what this means?" Crouch mumbled, ignoring Hermione all together.
"No, master please! Winky did not do it!" The small elf sobbed.
"Clothes you despicable creature! How dare you smear my name this way?" Crouch shoved the wand back into Harry's hand and the wizards all started to apparate back to the main scene.
"Come on kids, back to the tent, then." Mr. Weasley said, nudging them along.
"Sirius calm down, they will be alright." Remus said, though he too appeared to be worried sick.
"Death eaters! The dark mark!" Sirius yelled, throwing down the Daily Prophet on the kitchen table at the Burrow. "Of all things at the Quidditch World Cup. Can't they just enjoy themselves? Is it always some crazy dangerous occurrence with Harry?"
Mrs. Weasley and Remus shared a knowing look, but soon returned to their own concerned expressions. "Arthur sent a patronus saying the kids were okay, and I trust that they're fine. They'll be port keying back any moment." Mrs. Weasley said gently.
As she said this, the large group appeared walking back into the front yard of the house. All three wizards immediately ran out to greet them, Molly reaching first with Sirius and Remus just behind her. "What happened?" Molly asked, hugging her husband.
Sirius practically lifted Harry off the ground with the intensity of his hug. "Let him breath, Sirius," Remus mumbled, desperate to hug Harry as well, to make sure he was safe.
Once Molly, Remus, and Sirius had all been reassured that everyone was fine, they walked into the house to hear the story.
"They almost arrested Harry?" Sirius asked, gripping his godson's shoulder protectively.
"Well, I don't think Crouch would have gotten away with it, but I can't say the situation didn't seem suspicious. It was Harry's wand that shot the mark and they were-"
"In the wrong place at the wrong time, like always." Ron grumbled, finishing the sentence for his dad.
Harry smirked at his best friend. The statement had some truth to it, and he was reminded of all the adventures they had to endure the past three years.
"Of course it was Crouch that tried to arrest him," Sirius said, venom in his voice. "That blasted man was the reason I didn't even get a trial in the first place."
"You didn't get a trial?" Harry exclaimed, looking up at his godfather.
"No, I didn't. But I suppose I've been rewarded handsomely for that mistake now. Regardless, I can't believe this happened. The dark mark… you know, it worries me. Dumbledore's said-"
"Sirius," Molly interrupted, "Not now."
Harry looked up at his godfather. "Dumbledore's always said what? That Voldemort will return?"
"Harry!" Molly shrieked, cringing at the name. Then she turned on Sirius and Remus. "You told him, didn't you? He's a boy, he doesn't need to worry about that right now!"
"Mrs. Weasley, Dumbledore told me! I asked him my first year of Hogwarts after I defended the stone from Voldemort. Trust me, it's not a big shock." Harry said the last part almost bitterly, and Sirius squeezed his shoulder gently.
Molly looked solemn, but nodded. "Well, we don't know anything for certain. Let's not worry on it now, school is coming up and there are going to be some exciting things occurring this year. Why don't you three get on," she indicated Sirius, Remus, and Harry, "and we'll meet you in Diagon Alley tomorrow bright and early. Okay?"
Sirius and Remus thanked Mr. Weasley again for protecting Harry, and then the small family left to go home and discuss the not-so-bright future at hand.
