Quidditch World Cup, 1994
"You're mum shacked up with our Potions Professor?" Harry laughed. "I mean, it's bad enough that your cousin is trying to get with Moony, but this? Wait… Is this how you beat Hermione in potions?"
"Snape says it's not. I think he's a liar," Draco huffed.
"There's a good chance that Snape's not lying," Sirius commented distractedly.
"I'm being replaced. Replaced!" Draco raged, pacing.
"Yeah, tell us about being replaced." Ron said rolling his eyes. Fred and George nodded in agreement.
Ginny walked in at that exact moment and received a death glare. Being the smart witch she was, she backed away slowly…
"When's Remus getting here with Hermione?" Fred asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from its current topic.
"Why? Worried she'll forget all about you?" George teased. "Merlin knows we spent enough time stalking the poor girl last term. She'll not be forgetting you any time soon."
"I don't know what you are talking about," Fred huffed.
"Sure you don't. Even I heard about that one. Moony and I still have money on that," Sirius smirked.
"Of course. The Marauders have money on me. My dreams have come true," Fred said into his hands, face as red as his hair.
"Look at that! He can get redder than Ron!" George crowed, laughing and pointing.
"Thanks, wanker! You're supposed to be on my side!" Fred shouted, punching his twin in the arm.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked, coming into the tent the group was staying in for the Quidditch World Cup.
"Nothing!" Fred shouted again, sitting on George in an attempt to shut him up.
"Ah, I understand," Remus said, following Hermione in.
"What's going on, Professor?" Hermione asked again.
"Remus, or Moony, if you please. Nothing that matters. Where's Ginny and Luna, Harry?" Remus corrected politely.
"Ginny ran out of here a bit ago when these wankers were complaining about being replaced by younger siblings," Harry said, gesturing at the Weasley boys.
"And Luna?" Remus asked patiently.
"She's probably hunting down invisible, make believe animals down by the brook," Ron said dismissively with a wave of his hand. When everyone gave him incredulous looks, he added, "She's lived over the hill from us our entire lives. I know how she acts. You'd have to be blind not to."
"Hermione!" Ginny shrieked, rejoining the group. "C'mon, we have to go! Right now! Luna's got a thing and we need to go. Right now."
"What kind of thing?" Hermione asked. Ginny, instead of responding, just whispered quickly into Hermione's ear. The noise was shrill enough that not even Padfoot and Moony could pick up on the words. Hermione's eyes went wide and she quickly ditched her bag in favor of running after Ginny.
The males left behind as the girls ran off sat in silence for a bit before Harry commented, "Girls are weird. And it's getting worse the older we get."
"HA!" Sirius barked his mirth. "You sound like Prongs in fourth year!"
"Really?" Harry asked, clearly pleased that his godfather likened him to his birth father.
"Yeah, really, Prongslet," Sirius said, giving Harry an affectionate hair ruffle.
"I see we're talking about teenage angst instead of the game. That's tedious," Remus commented, going into the kitchen area of the tent they'd chosen to camp in.
"Moony, they're teens. You remember what this age is like. They think teen angst is the only thing happening, even when the Quidditch World Cup is the backdrop," Sirius laughed. "Besides, it's not like they could make a decent wager on the game anyway."
"I'm sure you're right, Padfoot. Perhaps we should continue talking about how hard it is for Draco to be a handsome teenaged scion to a filthy rich family. Or perhaps how hard it is for a handsome teenaged boy such as Fred to charm the proverbial pants off of a teenaged girl. Or we could talk about Harry's continued disrespect for adults, even after the conversation we had about his parents. Does one of those topics sound entertaining enough?" Remus said dryly.
"Hey now!" The twins yelled.
"We could make a decent wager," Fred started.
"But you'd be too chicken to take it," George finished.
"Now, that sounds like a challenge, Moony," Sirius laughed.
"Let's hear it then," Remus said stoically.
"Ireland wins," George took the lead.
"Obviously," Several voices said sarcastically.
"Krum catches the snitch," Fred finished.
"Which is it?" Sirius asked, not understanding.
"Both," the twins shrugged together.
"It can't be both! It has to be one or the other!" Sirius shouted, suddenly very… serious.
"It actually can, Padfoot," Moony said in awe.
"'It actually can, Padfoot,'" Sirius mocked, oh so maturely. Remus put his hands up in surrender.
"He's not lying. But if you're too chicken…." Fred shrugged, buffing his nails on his shirt.
"I'll take it. In fact, if you win on a hare-brained wager like that, I'll double it. What are we betting?" Sirius asked.
"Dunno, like 173 galleons?" George replied.
"Where the hell did you get 173 galleons?" Ron exploded.
"Unlike you, ikle Ronnikins," Fred sneered.
"We've saved our knuts since we've been earning them doing odd chores for everyone," George finished, a matching sneer on his face.
"We've got that much, at least," the said in unison.
"You're both serious, aren't you?" Sirius asked.
"No, that's you. We're Fred and George," they chimed in unison again. Remus smacked his forehead as the twin terrors encouraged his oldest friend's horrid joke.
"I'll take that bet. It's too weird for me not to," Sirius allowed, shaking hands with the twins, sealing the deal.
With that, the group wandered out of the tent to find the girls and head to the Quidditch stadium, ready to take the game, no matter how long the game went on for.
After finding the girls, who had been in the Bulgarian camp ogling Victor Krum posters, the group headed up to the top box, determined to set well away from the Minister and his cronies. They met up with Hestia, Alice, Frank, Tonks, and the slew of kids they brought with them. Hestia had badgered an old school friend into getting them one of the late portkeys, resulting in the younger kids being allowed to stay home until game time.
The opening ceremonies were interesting, to say the least. The leprechauns the Irish brought were hilarious, but Sirius warned the kids against taking the gold, as it was likely to disappear before the game was over. Everyone except Rigel, Olivia, and Adhara heeded Sirius' advice. The youngest of the children played with the shiny bits of metal since their parents were usually against that sort of behavior, but couldn't argue in this instance as the enchanted coins actually held no intrinsic value.
The veelas the Bulgarians brought caused a bit of an uproar. Remus, Sirius, Frank, and Arthur found themselves immune, or nearly immune to the effects of the gorgeous women on the pitch. The younger, unwed males were not so lucky. The spell was broken when Charlie almost nose-dived from the box in order to get closer. Ginny rolled her eyes and lamented the strong genes her father had obviously failed to pass on to any of his offspring except her. Hermione laughed, both at her and at the way Harry and Draco were drooling a bit. After that, the game started and they just stood in the stands and let the moment wash over them, basking in the glory of being young and at the largest sporting event of the year. Everything around them convinced them that, for that moment in time, nothing bad could ever happen again.
"What do you mean they should have won? Ireland was up by enough before the game even started!" Neville yelled at Ron.
After the game they all found their way back into the three tents. The little children were playing in the smallest one, next to where the adults were having something to drink. Even Tonks joined them, a reason Luna, Ginny and Hermione couldn't guess why. Bill and Charlie had abandoned the lot after the game to celebrate with old classmates.
All of the Hogwarts students piled into the tent on the furthest side. Their pile of Butterbeer was half empty and their laughter floating from the tent.
"Will you both stop going on about it," Luna said with a sigh. "Logically, it shouldn't matter to either of you since it isn't your lives that will have an affect from the outcome of the game. All teams next year will start at zero."
Hermione laughed.
"Luna," Harry sighed, "You'll never understand unless it matters-nevermind."
"Let's change the subject, shall we?" Ginny said wrapping her arms around George's neck.
"What did you have in mind, lil' sis?" George smirked.
"I don't know big brother number five."
"Is that an order or a ranking?" Fred yelled.
"Order, honestly." Ginny sighed. "Draco, what were you saying about this school year? Besides the fact that you're going to mope about this whole baby ordeal."
The screaming changed for them at that moment in time. The little children who were still playing didn't notice it at first. Nor did the teens. Still in their high spirits from the games. It was like a light switch went off for the adults.
"Little ones, go find your mums, now." Arthur Weasley screeched loud enough for all to hear. "Where the devil are those older ones!"
"In the other tent," Rigel cried, finding Hestia's hand. "What's going on Uncle Arthur?"
"Everything will be alright. It's just some people causing trouble. You go on home," Arthur directed as he led the teens out of the tent. "You lot run for the forest, you'll be safer there. I'll send the older boys that direction when they show up. They can apparate you lot out then."
The teens didn't need any more incentive to bolt. The screaming they had been ignoring was now too insistent. They ran for the woods, not caring to stop for anyone, their own safety at the forefront of their minds. Harry fell behind, but no one noticed for several minutes in their blind panic.
"Wait!" Neville screamed, the first to notice Harry's absence. "We have to go back! Harry's not here!"
"You lot wait here," Fred said, stuttering to a stop. "We'll keep going. If you don't find him soon, keep moving. He's a big lad, he can take care of himself."
With that, Fred grabbed Hermione by the hand and continued to lead her into the forest.
"Fred, let go! Why didn't we stop, we're going to lose everyone?" Hermione gasped several minutes later, struggling to keep up with the tall redhead.
"They're all fine, it's you that we have to keep safe," Fred bit out.
"What do you mean, it's me?" Hermione stopped dead in her tracks, resulting in her falling over when Fred kept walking.
"You're a Muggleborn and wizards like that, they hate your kind. They think you stole your magic or some shit. They won't bother the rest of us too bad, but you…."
"Why are you the one telling me this? Why didn't Professor McGonagall warn me that this was a possibility?" Hermione asked, her need to understand overriding her need for safety.
"Because, the war was supposed to be over. Dumbledore won't let Aunt Minnie warn Muggleborns about this shit. It hasn't really been a problem, so we didn't say anything. Harry's mum went through the same thing when she was in school. There are quite a few purebloods that can't fathom your ability to tie your shoes, let alone outperform every student in Hogwarts. So, we have to keep moving," Fred explained hastily. Then, he continued dragging Hermione further from the group.
Minutes later, the Dark Mark appeared in the sky. Fred panicked, not knowing what to do next. George and Ginny stumbled upon them, followed by Ron, Neville, and Draco.
"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked, looking up. "And what's that?"
"That," Fred started.
"Is the Dark Mark," George finished.
"It's the sign of Lord Voldemort," Neville continued. "It means his followers were here and they were the ones that caused the chaos."
"Oh," was all Hermione managed to get out.
"We should head back now. That usually means they've left," Draco said, shaking a bit. "At least…. At least that's what…That's how Mum explained it."
"It's okay," Neville said, patting his shoulder comfortingly.
"Let's head back. See if we can't find Harry along the way," Ginny said, taking George's hand to lead the gang towards the chaos.
The field was now a mess. Tents were on fire, food was displaced all over the ground. It looked as if something came through the air, tossed it like a salad and threw it down like a toddler would.
The teens split apart, attempting to find their friend. Their screams echoed through the air, almost mockingly.
"Guys!" Ginny yelled picking up a wand from the ground. Neville, Ron, and Draco rushed over to her. "Here's Harry's wand." She told them as her face went pale with worry.
"He has to be close," Ron told her, continuing in the direction she had.
The sound of crackling wood was the first thing Harry heard. Besides his forehead throbbing in pain, and not because of the voices he was hearing. He quickly, too quickly sat up, groaned. "Over here!" He yelled into the wind.
Finally, they had found him. Ginny wrapped her arms around his neck, greeting him. Hermione, Fred, and George caught up to them, all relieved.
"Harry, here's your wand. Why are you clear back here? We thought you were with us." Ginny asked, confused.
"What, couldn't keep up, fatty?" Draco smirked.
"Naw, I was too busy staring at the light show your daddy orchestrated," Harry shot back.
"You forgot, my father is in Azkaban. How could he have orchestrated this?" Draco sneered, one eyebrow raised.
"I didn't forget, I'm just assuming," Harry quipped. Draco looked as though he were about to respond when a group of adults, mostly Aurors, came onto the scene.
"What are all you doing here?" A tall, black man glared.
"What one of you did this!" A small pudgy man bellowed.
"Which one of us," Hermione corrected.
"None of us, " Fred said, putting his hand over her mouth. "We came back to find our friend. We're the Potter, Wealsey, Longbottom and Malfoy children."
"Did you see who conjured it?" The man asked, lowering his wand.
"No, we didn't. We were too busy trying to get to safety," George informed them.
"Whose wand is this?" Another Auror asked. "It's at the scene, so we have to test it."
"It's mine," Harry spoke up. "It fell out of my pocket when I was running."
"Why didn't you have it in your hand?" The Auror questioned.
"And get charged with underage magic? No thanks," Harry scoffed, crossing his arms.
"Kings, that's enough," Sirius said, bursting through the crowd. "What's going on, Prongslet?"
"My wand fell out of my pocket. Now these guys want to know if it shot the Dark Mark into the sky," Harry replied, gesturing at the Aurors.
"That's ridiculous. Why would you have done that?" Sirius scoffed. "More importantly, your trace would have triggered something at the Ministry and they would have sent a notice by now, if it had been you."
"No need to call the lawyers yet, we've not even done Priori on it yet," Kingsley laughed.
"Uh, they just did," Harry said, pointing to where the pudgy Auror had just performed the spell.
"It says this wand was used to cast the Morsmordre," he announced to the crowd around them. "Would you like to explain your movements again, young man? This time, no lying."
"I told you! I didn't do it! My wand fell out of my pocket. I turned around to find it, searched for a long time, the Dark Mark went up, then Ginny found my wand on the ground," Harry shouted, throwing his hands in the air.
"Don't bring me into this!" Ginny shouted, breaking away from her brothers.
"You're a Weasley, we know you didn't do it," Kingsley said, waving her off.
"Oh, but Harry is under suspicion because I raised him?" Sirius asked, cocking his eyebrow in a challenging way.
"He is Harry Potter," Arthur Weasley said, running to his children, clapping the twins on the back for a job well done. "Why would Harry conjure the Dark Mark? Not when the person who made it killed his parents! I'm sure Harry would be the last suspect on the list, Crouch."
"Bartimus Crouch! That's why you look familiar!" Sirius shouted. "Isn't your son stuck in Azkaban because you were a crappy father?"
"Black, shut up. You're only going to make it worse!" Auror Moody announced his presence to the group. "Now, let's get this squared away. Harry, did ya lose yer wand because it was in yer back pocket?"
"Yeah," Harry said sheepishly.
"A simple mistake by a young wizard. I blame his upbringing," Kingsley teased.
"Eh, he knows better," Moody waved Kingsley off as Sirius made a rude hand gesture at the laughing wizard.
"It's late, let us just take the children home, there could still be Death Eaters around," Arthur sighed. There were several shouts of protest, especially from the twins, about being called 'children,' but they were all ignored.
"That sounds fine. Potter had nothing to do with this. To think so is completely unprofessional and alarmist. Black, Weasley, take the adolescents and get out of here. If I need more information, I'll have the Longbottoms interview you. The rest of you, get to work processing this scene and quit spouting off wild theories," Moody demanded, banging his cane on the ground.
With that, everyone jumped to do as they were instructed, eager to put this terrifying night behind them.
Gabs: So, we did not post as soon as we thought we would. Still gonna blame real life cause it's true.
Kat: It really is. I've got like, two papers left for this semester...then a full semester of Grad School this summer. Then, you know, actual work. Adulting sucks.
Gabs: So, updates will sporadic as adulting takes time, effort, and brain cells.
Kat: Today was also the first day we saw each other since our last post. Maybe reviews might push us along. We do have part of the next chapter written.
Gabs: We own nothing. We're poor twenty-somethings. Pity us.
XOXO
Gabs & Kat
