Chapter 5



I apologize for the following mistakes:

1) I was away for a week, and I had to cut that last chapter short. If you thought it was abrupt, well, its because it was. Mybad :)

2) I looked back in GOF and found that Malcolm's last name is "Baddock", not "Braddock". I guess I must have mixed up notes or something, I dunno. For future chapters, I will continue use of "Braddock", I just got used to it.

3) For the story, I will have to use some direct quotes from J.K. Rowling, the things people say and such. I will try to mark them with a star so you will know I didn't write it.

4) I realize that I have a few typos in the story, I will try to correct them the best I can, but sometimes the words blend in so well that I cannot see them. Sorry.

5) Oh yes, I have given up on the "no author's notes" policy, it got too hard.

I ask you to please review so I can know if people are reading my story. Feel free to give me some constructive criticism, it helps me as a writer. Flames are welcomed.

Thank you.

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"Shall we go?"



Marisa looked into the daylight to see a large, triple decker bus in front of her. It was a light blue, and in silver lettering the words "The Day Bus" scrolled around the front, along with some advertisements. An old, balding driver was sitting in the front right corner, looking decidedly bored. He wore an old uniform and hat, it looked like he had not washed it in a long time. There was mustard stains on the front and a large hole in the front of his hat.





He picked at his teeth with a toothpick and swished his coffee around, occasionally taking a sip. He saw his new passengers standing before his bus, so he got up. Grumbling, he opened the door as he flicked his toothpick away and stepped out into the light. He pulled out a clipboard from his pocket and scanned down the names, looking for theirs. He stopped halfway down the list and located their names.









"Mr. Alvarez," he said in a curt greeting. Mario nodded his head and took the luggage out of his pocket. He began sorting them in the palm of his hand, checking his pocket to make sure he hadn't forgotten any, and counting them. Athene was now curling a strand of her dark hair with her fingertips, glancing at some of the passengers already on the bus. She saw some she knew and waved gracefully. Mario spoke to the man while still looking down at his palm.







"Yes," he said, "and this is my family. My daughter Marisa and my wife Athene." He paused to let his family acknowledge the other man's presence. Athene simply nodded, but Marisa was too busy studying the bus to say anything. She just waved her hand at him while still examining the side of the vehicle. A new advertisement was scrolling by, "Oswald Ogden's Overstocked Owlry, when in a bind, just remember the four O's". Mario shook his head at his daughter's impoliteness but didn't reprimand her. Marisa walked closer to the bus while overhearing her father's conversation.





"I trust everything is in order? The seating, the grounds, the arrangements?" Mario looked up from his tiny luggage and awaited his answer. The driver nodded while yawning. He took off his hat to scratch the back of his head. Marisa glanced at his name tag before looking back at the bus. "George Atlas, London" it read.





"Excellent! Here is our luggage," he said, handing the tiny pieces to the driver. George took them in his hand and began to store them in the usual compartments before Mario stopped him. He placed a hand out to George, signaling for him to stop, and lowered his voice.





"I do not wish to have them mixed up with any other luggage, there is some important cargo in here. Please, put them in a private compartment." Mario took out his wallet, a handsome dragon skin import, and handed George a Galleon. He took it right away. He inspected it to make sure it was real, shined it with his jacket, and then looked up at him. He didn't look bored anymore. Smiling with his grotesque yellow teeth, he stuck the large coin in his pocket.





"Yes, sir. Right away, sir." He took the luggage and jogged over towards the other side of the bus.





Marisa assumed he was going to find their own compartment for their luggage. She looked up from the marquee, ("Are your potions just simply not what they used to be? Review your potions license today!") and to her father. He was now walking towards the front of the bus. He stopped in front of a door and waited. It slid open automatically and allowed a large blue carpet to roll out. It unfurled like a tounge, and then formulated itself until it changed into walkable steps.





Athene walked up first, of course, hiking her dress up so not to ruin her robes. Mario went up next, fixing his hat to impress the travelers on the bus, and Marisa trailed after him, trying her best not to trip. Once she walked up the stairs, she gasped. On the outside, the bus looked like a normal vehicle that could seat about 50. She saw about 500 people on the first deck alone. Mario looked down and sensed her surprise.





"It stretches magically to fit the capacity needed. Being that the World Cup is today, they needed to alter it so it was as big as it could get," he explained. Marisa nodded with understanding.





"Can I sit here?" Marisa asked as she took a seat by the window. The seats were a light silver, and comfortable with many cushions. In front of her was a tray, she pulled it down and saw a menu appear. She put it back in its proper place and pushed the tray back. She looked next to her and saw that there were two seats next to her, one for her mother and one for her father. It was perfect.





Mario shook his head, much to Marisa's disappointment, "No, my princess, the group is upstairs." Marisa wasn't very disappointed when she heard that. She leapt up and looked around.







"Which floor?" she asked. Before Mario could answer, he was cut off by the bored voice of George.





"All aboard who's staying aboard?" he asked as he walked up the carpet. He didn't wait very long for anyone to answer, though. He glanced at his clipboard for a moment and looked up. "Great," he said to himself, "Next stop, the Quidditch Grounds." Some impatient witches and wizards cheered at this. "Only 37 more miles." Now they were groaning.





He trudged to his chair again, it was not at comfortable and stylish as theirs, Marisa noted. He pressed a few buttons and the carpet rolled back in the bus and disappeared. He took another swig from his coffee and shut the door. On the front of the bus was more scrolling words, it read "The Alvarez Estate". George pulled a silver cord and Marisa saw the words dissolve and reappear to spell, "Quidditch Cup Grounds".





Mario quickly ushered his wife and child to the back of the bus, "Quickly, upstairs! Before the bus begins to move!"





Marisa was forced into a circular room at the very back of the bus. She was pushed into a wizard already in the room and had to apologize. After stabilizing herself, she looked around the room the find that it was spacious and lavishly decorated. More advertisements scrolled around the top of the room.





"This bus is a walking billboard, it is," she heard a witch say. Marisa saw her mother inching away from that particular witch. She figured she was a Mudblood, or some friend of that riffraff.





"Deck three," Mario said. The others glared at him, they were stopping at deck two. Mario was blatantly unaware of his rudeness, or didn't show it. Marisa was confused, why was her father talking to a room? Why was he being rude to the other witches and wizards? Then she realized it.







"Yup, definitely Mudbloods," Marisa thought to herself. After noting this, she also moved away from the others in the room. She wiped her robes off as if some scum was lodged on it. She turned up her nose and walked over to her mother. Her mother encased her arms around Marisa, as if protecting her. All of the sudden, a tired voice filled the room. Marisa looked all around and wondered who it could be. Seeing no one speaking, she realized it was the room.





"Deck three?" asked the room. Mario nodded. Marisa jumped a little at being talked to by a room. Her mother patted her head, as if trying to sooth her. Marisa was angered by this, so she broke out of her mothers embrace and stood by herself. Athene was not angry at this, she seemed to be relieved. The room began to move upwards, Marisa realized it was an elevator of some sort. The ride was very smooth and came to a gentle stop.





"Deck three," the room said, "Have a nice day." It sounded like the poor room had been reciting lines like these all day.





Marisa stepped out and looked around. This room seemed much smaller and more luxurious. Instead of 500 chairs, there were about 25. Fountains spurted everywhere and witches were serving food to the men and women seated up here. Marisa heard faint music playing in the background. She turned around and saw a large, shiny grand piano enchanted to play itself.





Over the places where everyone was seated, their names appeared in thin air. She saw the names "Malfoy" and "Warrington" hovering in the air, among other familiar names. The room was much cooler than the one downstairs. At the back of the room, there was a sign that said in silver, cursive handwriting, "First Class". Marisa noticed that there were no advertisements up here.



Athene glided towards Marisa and pointed her finger at the left side of the bus. Malcolm was seated there, looking out the window. He was wearing Quidditch robes very similar to hers. He had a pin on his robes that said "Bulgaria" on it with the team's colors. Over his head, the words "Braddock, 3" were suspended in the air. Marisa nodded wordlessly at Athene and she glided off towards the other women. Mario walked to Marisa.





"Have a nice trip, princess," he said as he put his hand on his shoulder. The words "Alvarez, 1" were hanging over his dark hair. "I will be on business for most of this trip, so you should keep company with your little friend." Marisa looked up and pursed her lips. She placed her hands on her hips and frowned in typical brat fashion.





"So I won't see you?" she whined. She was very disappointed. She had been looking forward to spending some time with her father, he had been going on many more trips since the beginning of summer.





"No, and I'm sorry," he said. He pinched her cheek as he added, "But next week, when we begin your training, we will have plenty of time together." He placed a finger on her nose and kissed her forehead. He straightened himself out, and began to walk away. Over he shoulder, he added, "I believe your friend is looking at you."





Marisa turned around and saw it was true. Malcolm was trying to get her attention, waving and beckoning with his hands. Marisa smiled and walked over.





When he saw his friend approaching, he said, "Finally! Gosh, what's a kid got to do to get his best friend to notice him?" He had his arms outstretched like she saw some of the men sometimes do to their wives.. She figured Malcolm was still copying their motions. He patted the chair next to him and she sat down. The seats were much cushier and softer than those downstairs.





"Grow," Marisa replied. She shifted her backside in the chair, settling in to her new environment. Finding some Chocolate Frogs on the floor, she helped herself to Malcolm's stash. The bus started with a lurch, and Marisa hung on to the arm rests. After getting used to the speed, the relaxed a little. Still munching on chocolate, she sank back in her chair and looked at her friend. He seemed a little disappointed.







"You haven't read my letter, have you?" he asked. He frowned a bit. Marisa sat up as she remembered it. She started searching through her robes





"Oh yes! I'm sorry! I was reading it this morning, and Mother said it was impolite, and I tried to get a chance later, and the bus came, and I got on, and..." she began. She found the letter halfway through her little tirade and pulled it out. She used her hand with the letter in it to punctuate her sentence, making wild hand motions with it. Malcolm grabbed her hand and made her stop.





"Okay, okay, I get it," he said, cutting off her rambling. He took the letter from her hand, studied it for a while, and handed it back to her, "Just read it."





Marisa took it back and turned it around. She saw a handsome wax seal on the back of the letter. Upon closer investigation, she saw it contained Malcolm's family crest. There was the letter "B" surrounded by ivy. In the ivy there were three arrows tangled in it, one of them was broken. She hesitantly broke the seal and took out the letter. The paper was cool and crisp.





"Nice parchment," she said. Malcolm grinned when she noticed.





"Thanks, I used my father's special stash. He mainly uses it for business, but I managed to steal some. Keep it down, I don't want to get in trouble," he said, sill grinning. Marisa, however, was not interested in parchment when she saw something different about Malcolm.







"Your tooth came back in!" she said. He didn't look so much like a little baby now. Marisa wondered why she didn't notice it before. Malcolm ran his tounge over his new tooth, trying to get used to it. He rolled his eyes and looked back at her.





"Duh, if you had read the letter you would have known that," he replied., rolling his eyes again. He reached out with his hand and pushed the letter back to Marisa, "Well, go on, read it!"





Marisa sighed and looked back down. In messy, loopy handwriting, was written a fairly short letter. She began to read.





"Dear Marisa,"





"When you get this, it will probably be the day of the Cup. I could wait until the bus ride, but I just had to tell you now. My tooth grew back in! I had to go to this creepy Healer's office who dealt specially with teeth. She was really old and wrinkly. Anyways, the 'operation' was supposed to be very painful, but I didn't feel one thing. The receptionist said I could deal with pain very well. I'm so excited!"





"Of course," thought Marisa, "Malcolm is the only person I know who would be excited about being immune to a tooth surgery." She continued to read.





"I also grew a whole 2 inches since you saw me last at your party. Mom said it was amazing that I grew so much in only one month. I guess it was all of my hanging upside-down that did it. I reckon if I keep doing it I can grow another inch before the beginning of the term. What do you think? I should now be almost as tall as you, I want to measure when we get there. Before you know it, I'll be TALLER than you."







Marisa laughed. "Fat chance," she thought.







"You missed my birthday last week, but its okay, you can buy me a big fat gift at the Cup. Every day that you missed, that will be another Galleon. It's been 8 days, so you have to buy me something worth 8 Galleons. Haha. And yes, you HAVE to do it, or else I will hate you forever. Don't roll your eyes at me."







Malcolm seemed to know Marisa better than herself, she was indeed rolling her eyes at that moment.





"I can't wait until training starts, Pop says that we can start a little after the Cup is over. I think that McNair guy is going to train us, I certainly hope not, he looks a little intimidating. Maybe it will be your dad, after all, it was his idea. Anyways, now you have my address so you can write back to me anytime you want. It should be on the return address on the front. If not, just ask your dad, he should know."





"See you at the Cup!

Your very tall friend,

Malcolm"





Marisa looked up form the parchment to see Malcolm looking expectantly at her. She inched back form his exuberant face.





"Well?" he asked, "Does it looked like I've grown?" He tried to stand up in a regal pose, but was thrown back down in his chair because of the speed of the train. "Hey!" he cried, indignantly, "What gives?" Marisa looked outside to see the objects whiz past the mirror. She saw whole farms zoom past her vision in less than a second. She rolled her eyes and looked back at Malcolm. He was scratching his head, trying to figure out what force knocked him back down. Marisa explained to him like a child.







"We're going at top speeds on a magical bus," Marisa started in a soft voice. She closed her eyes and made hand motions to explain, "Do you know what happens when you stand up on a fast-moving object?" Malcolm suddenly realized, and his mouth formed an "O".






"Oh, we're moving? I didn't even notice," Malcolm said, still scratching his head, "Smooth ride, this bus." Marisa smirked when she realized he was doing IT again, trying to sound like an adult.







Marisa and Malcolm chatted for a while about everything from Quidditch the house elves. They discussed Mudbloods and their future training. They were occasionally interrupted with a collective laugh from the men on the other side of the bus, Marisa could always hear the distinctive laugh of her father. During their conversations, Marisa realized she was glad that she finally had a friend. Sure, Prestia kept her company, but she was a slave, not a playmate. The only downside to having a male friend was that she couldn't "girl talk" with him.







The second she brought up clothes, Malcolm cried, "Noooo! Girly stuff!" He stuffed his fingers in his ears so he wouldn't have to "suffer" through her talks of beauty and fashion. Marisa rolled her eyes and unplugged his ears.







"Fine, fine, would you rather talk about....Oh, I dunno....bugs?" Marisa brought up the first "boy" subject that came to her mind. Malcolm just rolled his eyes.







They continued talking for about 15 more minutes when a young witch walked up to their seats. She bent down to eye level with them (Grownups seemed to do that a lot to them) and smiled. Marisa saw that she was wearing a uniform similar to George's, except it was much cleaner, and her name tag read "Irva Spelling, Scotland". She informed Marisa that the bus would be stopping soon, and they should gather all the belongings they took on board. Marisa thanked her and began to collect all of her things. Malcolm picked up a black bag he had on the floor and hoisted it on his shoulder.







A female voice filled the room, repeating the same message the Irva girl just told them. "Please, stay seated, the bus can come to a very abrupt halt." she finished. Marisa looked at Malcolm, telling him with her gaze to stay put.







"What?" he said in a sarcastic tone. He shrugged his arms just like he did earlier. Marisa just punched him lightly in the arm and turned around.







"You may wanna hold onto your arm rest, those stops can be pretty brutal," Malcolm warned. Marisa obliged and held on tight.





Malcolm was right, for once, and Marisa was glad she was holding on. The bus creaked and groaned while the brakes struggled to make it stop. Marisa looked out the window and saw that they were in the middle of a grassy plain. They were slowing down rapidly, but it was not enough to get them to come to a complete stop. All of the sudden, another loud *BANG* was emitted by the bus, and the occupants were jerked forward. Marisa saw one woman hit the chair in front of her with her head. Thankfully, because she was holding on to the arm rest, Marisa did not share a similar fate.







"Ouch," she said, pointing to the injured woman, "That's gotta hurt." Malcolm and Marisa both winced as the poor woman rubbed her head gingerly. After a while, Malcolm turned around at Marisa and beamed. His freckles stretched across his wide smile.







"Go ahead," he said, elbowing Marisa, "Say it." Marisa knew right away what he was talking about. She sighed.





"Alright," she said slowly and annoyed, "You were right." Malcolm punched the air and let out a *whoop!*. "...for once," she finished. This didn't faze him, and he continued in his glee.






"I'm smarter than Marisa," he said in a sing-song voice. Marisa crossed her arms and tutted.






Closing her eyes, she said, "Let's not go there." Malcolm just smiled more and hit her on the back.






"Aw....come on Miss Grouchypants, just admit it," he said while standing up. He hoisted his black bag on his back again, and turned around to walk out.







"I will not," Marisa said, still crossing her arms. She picked up the letter and stuck it back in her pocket, the only possession of hers that she brought on the bus. There was a queue to get back to the elevator, so Marisa and Malcolm just stood in their row until the line cleared up.






"You're just jealous," Malcolm said, "Excuse us," he said to a gentleman as he cut in line. The man grumbled and moved back a bit, leaving room for the two children."Come on, before the line moves again!" He held his hand out to Marisa and she grabbed it, walking into the line. The room looked a lot smaller when everyone was trying to get out at once. The names of everyone were hovering in the air, the letters so close together that you couldn't tell what they were supposed to read.






"Keep a hold of my hand," Malcolm said to Marisa. He had to raise his voice a little over the crowds, "You can get lost in a lot like this!" Marisa nodded and held onto his hand tighter. They wove through the group until they were directly in front of the circular room. Their small size had allowed them to duck through the crowd until they got to the front. The door to the circular room slid open and about 15 people tumbled in before it snapped shut again. Since everyone was very crowded, the room adjusted itself so there was more space. After a few seconds, everyone could move around comfortably.









"Deck One," Malcolm commanded in a manly voice. Some other adults gazed down at him and giggled at him, he didn't seem to notice. He let go of Marisa's hand and placed his hands on his hip. The room yawned and began to smoothly ride down to Deck One. While on the elevator, Marisa saw McNair, the man who might give them lessons. Malcolm was right, (again) he was a little intimidating. She noticed his head turning around and she quickly looked away at an advertisement ("Buy tickets for the Weird Sisters today! Touring in Ireland!") before he caught her staring at him.











"Deck One," said the room as they glided to a stop, "Have a nice day." Marisa imagined that if the room was an actual person, it would be stopping itself from sleeping right now.









Marisa and Malcolm walked to the front of Deck One. Thankfully, all of the passengers on that deck had cleared out by then, so there was no struggle to get out. She saw the marquee dissolve again and no more words appeared. George was at the front of the bus, shining his Galleon again. Marisa figured he didn't get payed very well. Without looking up, George pulled the silver cord and opened the door for the crowd to get out. The carpet once again descended, and Marisa once more tried to walk down without tripping. As soon as she was out of the bus, the words over her head disappeared.







Once Marisa and Malcolm were standing outside in the broad sunlight, she managed to get a look around. Hundreds of tents were scattered about the land. Children were running around with pet toads, she even saw two little witches playing on toy brooms. The adult wizards and witches had tried their best to look "Muggle-like", but had failed horribly. An old man walked past her wearing a woman's nightgown. She saw one young man dressed in a "costume" the muggles sometimes wore, it appeared to be a "clown" outfit. Realizing something wrong, Malcolm turned to Marisa.







"Shouldn't we be wearing muggle attire?" he questioned. He looked down at his Quidditch robes and back up at the other wizards. Marisa, however, was not the least bit worried. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and clicked her tounge at her magical peers.









"Don't be silly," she said, "Papa would never permit me to wear...muggle...clothes." She wrinkled her nose and winced, the idea sickened her. Malcolm nodded and peered at the crowd from his tallest height.









"I suppose he's right. It would be downright degrading to prance around wearing those rags. I don't know how the others can stand it," Malcolm stated. Marisa simply shook her head as if the other wizards were in deep need of mental help.









"Muggle-lovers, they are. Probably all for the Muggle Protection Act," Marisa said. She tightened one of her ribbons that had come undone.









"Yes, probably following that crack-pot Dumbledore," Malcolm said. When he saw Marisa's confused face, he quickly added, "Headmaster of Hogwarts. It's a shame they couldn't find someone more...suitable. It should only be a few years before he croaks, we won't have to put up with him too long." Marisa nodded and turned around to look back at the bus.











"Papa gave me instructions to wait for him until he came out. Then he'll bring us to our campsite," Marisa said, "I hope he doesn't take too long."









"Oh, I see him there in the window. He'll be but a minute," said Malcolm. Sure enough, within the next minute, Mario and Athene were standing in the daylight as well. Athene looked around and curled her lip in disgust, Marisa could guess why. Mario just frowned a little and shook his head.









"Hmph," he said while facing the muggle-clothed group. He turned back to the children and tried to smile. He clapped his hands and said, "Well! Is this not perfect? Beautiful weather, family, friends, and Quidditch! How nice!" He turned around and saw the rest of the group descending from the carpet/stairs. One poor employee of the Day Bus was in charge of all of their luggage. He held the luggage in the air with a spell, but he was struggling because of the force needed to lift it.







"Now to fetch our luggage!" Mario said cheerily. The luggage boy groaned. He followed Mario to the other side of the truck









Behind Marisa, some of the men had began to talk amongst themselves. She heard a few cackles here and there, so she figured they were planning something. In hushed voices they were whispering to each other, Marisa struggled to listen. She saw Malcolm trying to do the same thing. Her mother, how ever, was not interested in anything the men were saying. She pulled out a nail file and let it file her nails magically in the air. She looked bored, as always.











Marisa rolled her eyes and tried to make out some of the conversation. She heard the words "tonight" and "fun", but she couldn't hear much else. She didn't want to make it too obvious that she was spying on her own little "club". She eventually gave up and hit Malcolm in the back of his head to get him to stop eavesdropping too. She heard a "Hey!" of protest from him, but she wasn't paying attention. Her father and the luggage boy were walking back towards them. The boy seemed relieved to find out the Alvarez's luggage was quite smaller than the rest of the group.









"Quit screwing around, someone's going to see you," Marisa said into his ear, "Papa's here, we're going to go to our campsite now."









"Always on top of things, aren't we?" he said resentfully. He crossed his arms and pouted, "That could have been important information, you know!"









"Shut up, someone's going to hear you, you idiot!" Marisa hissed. Indeed, some of the men huddled in the group turned around and were looking at them. She saw the older Malfoy gaze at them with amusement in his eyes. He turned back around after a while and starting talking with the other men again. Malcolm, realizing that he was somewhat "caught", looked up at Marisa with apology in his eyes.









"Er...sorry 'bout that. I should have listened to you," he said. He kicked some dirt at the ground.









"Of course you should, SOMEONE has to boss you around, right?" Marisa said while smiling. Malcolm just frowned.She looked up and saw her father clearing his throat, about to address the crowd. He straightened the hat on his head and called attention to his associates.







"Gentlemen, to the tents!" he said, and pointed in a direction. Some of the impatient ones hollered and threw their hands up. Malcolm was one of them. Marisa was expecting a long, drawn out speech like he sometimes gave at business parties, but this time he was playful. It was almost like he was getting together with some of his old Durmstrang buddies. He walked off with some of the other men, laughing and punching some in the shoulder. Marisa had never seen this side of her father.









Marisa saw Malcolm tagging along with the men, laughing at their jokes even if he didn't hear the punch line. He waddled up to Mario and tried to show off to him. Marisa tried to stifle back a laugh, anticipating what was coming. She saw Malcolm try to remember something, and Marisa knew what was coming up next. She scooted closer so she could hear her father's reaction. She saw Malcolm clear his throat and tap her father on the shoulder. She waited for what would come.







"Usted se asemeja a una rata gorda, que muere, Sr. Alvarez," he said, proudly. Marisa started laughing so loud she had to keep her arms folded over her stomach to stop from falling over. He had recited the words that Marisa told him last month. He thought he was giving Mario some sort of fancy greeting in Spanish. Mario looked at the boy, confused for a moment. He then saw his daughter almost falling over laughing, and he put two and two together. Mario smiled and put his hand on the boy's shoulder.









"Where did you learn my native tounge? You must be a very bright boy," he said as he patted Malcolm's shoulder. Malcolm grinned ear to ear and looked over his shoulder at Marisa. He gave her a thumbs up. Marisa tried to keep a straight face as she gave him one back. "If you will excuse me, I must have a word with my daughter," he told Malcolm. Malcolm was too proud of himself to care. Mario walked over to Marisa and tutted at her.









"You shouldn't go around telling your friends that I resemble fat, dying rats, princess," he said as he wiped a smudge of dirt off her face, "I know its funny, but I don't like to think I am dying," he said with a smile.







"Can I say you resemble a regular fat rat?" Marisa asked innocently. Father and daughter both giggled before any of the men turned around and looked at them. Mario took his daughter's small hand into his large one and laid a kiss on it.









"You can say anything, princess," he said. He gave Marisa a large hug and walked next to her. Marisa saw Malcolm walking with the older men again out of the corner of her eye. Marisa held her father's hand as they walked to the campsite. They walked through the grounds, observing all of the camp life. Marisa pointed out the man wearing the nightdress to her father and they both laughed. They walked through the emerald-green field of the Ireland supporters and through the camp plastered with a young player's face for the Bulgaria supporters. The player on the posters wasn't very friendly, he just frowned with his deep eyebrows.









"Krum," Mario said, pointing to the man, "Best seeker Bulgaria has ever seen. Oh, by the way, we're supporting Bulgaria."









"Of course, Papa," Marisa said, squeezing his hand. They walked in silence the rest of the way, listening to the sounds of the camp and the occasional uproar from the other Death Eaters. Finally, Mario came to a stop.









"Sorry, princess, this is where we leave," Mario said, hugging her daughter, "I'll be here if you need anything, but if its unnecessary, please do not bother us. We have business to discuss." Marisa nodded, even if she didn't believe him. She hugged him again and went to find Malcolm. He was still tagging along with the other Death Eaters. Marisa rolled her eyes and grabbed him out of the group.











"Hey!" he cried, a little disoriented, "What was that for?"









"Oh, so you'd rather hang out with them than me?" Marisa demanded. She was tired of Malcolm trying to grow up too fast.









"No...it's not anything like that! I can just learn so much from them..." he said. Marisa just shook her head and curtly accepted his "apology".









"Sure, whatever. Do you know where we are going to stay?" Marisa asked. She looked around for a tent or something, but she couldn't find any.









"Er....I dunno. Maybe we should see what those kids up there are doing," Malcolm said. He pointed to a group of about 10 kids huddled around a single spot. Upon closer examination, Marisa saw that it was more or less the same kids who attended her party last month.











"Sure, lets go," Marisa said. She grabbed his hand and dragged him over there, making sure he didn't get "sidetracked" by the many adults roaming around. When she got to the group, Marisa found that the children were listening to a thin, bony woman give out instructions. She was standing in front of an object that looked somewhat like a toy block.









"That's my Mum," Malcolm whispered. Marisa looked back and forth between the two and saw they didn't look anything alike. Mrs. Braddock was thin and petite, while Malcolm was a bit rounder. She also was very poised and blond, Malcolm wasn't either of those. He probably got his looks from his father. Marisa elbowed Malcolm so she could listen to what she was staying. Mrs. Braddock surveyed the crowd with half-lidded eyes, it looked like she was about to fall asleep.









"The children shall stay in this tent behind me, whilst the parents will stay in that tent over there," she pointed a thin, white finger to a large tent, decorated with peacocks, to the left of her. Some Death Eaters were already settling in there. Marisa saw Athene sitting on her suitcase, still filing her nails. The man named Warrington was chasing one of the peacocks, while his wife was desperately trying to get him to settle down. Mrs. Braddock cleared her throat and started again.









"The parents should be interrupted for no reason at all, that is unless one of you is in grave danger, and I assure you, that will only happen if you do not follow the rules I told you earlier."









"Oh great," Marisa thought, "I didn't hear them!" She looked at Malcolm, but he didn't seem alarmed. "Maybe his mother told him the rules earlier."











"I suppose that's it," Mrs. Braddock finished. She muttered an incantation and a tent sprung up behind her. It was large, but not a big as the Death Eater's tent. Also, instead of being decorated with live peacocks, simple doves were perched on the spikes and ropes of the tent. Mrs. Braddock opened the tent, revealing a room that looked as big as Marisa's whole house. "We expect you outside in about 3 hours. Have a nice rest."









And with that, Marisa walked inside.











Whew, long chapter. I was going to make it longer but I'm getting sore. Remember, review or I stop writing the story. Thanks.



Andrea