A/N: The Leshen in Chapter 45 are taken/stolen/borrowed from the Witcher Series. I did not create them. I didn't mention this before since I thought that they were a part of Mythology, turns out they were not.
And the mention about Onyxes is from Pokémon if you couldn't tell.
I have added an A/N mentioning the same in Chapter 45 as well.
This Chapter is just 6k words of filler, and a set up for the next Chapter.
《••••••••••••••••••••》
A Song of Lightning and Fire
Arc I: Magic
Part V: The Goblet of Fire
《••••••••••••••••••••》
It was the 27th of August today, nearly 2 months after the Hogwarts term had ended, and Harry's life had been nothing short of chaotic since then.
He and Ginny kept meeting up during the Summer, and Harry was glad that Mrs. Weasley didn't stop them from doing so. But ever since he'd died, his emotions had been all over the place.
When he thought about Ginny before, he would remember the moments they'd spent together, her touching his arm, or his knee, or anywhere else really. Now, however, he only thought of the fact that she was the only one for whom he could actually feel anything. And he was worried that his earlier feelings had been snuffed out. God, he hoped that wasn't the case.
Dumbledore had said that dying would obviously have some negative side effects that not even a Djinn could cure, some of those side effects might be a lack/deficiency of emotions. It would take time for them to go back to normal, like, at least a year or so, give or take.
His theory was that since Harry and Ginny were already so close before dying, and that they'd been to the Afterlife together, they were the only ones that the other had an attachment to. Kind of like how Tortured souls recognized another tortured soul.
It sucked, but it was what it was. And it could always be worse, so they kept seeing each other almost every day, except for the last week because Muriel had visited. Ginny had told him to stay away since she didn't want him to be embarrassed or enraged on her behalf.
Today, however, was a different story.
The Quidditch World Cup Finals were tomorrow, and unlike last time- in 1990- there were no issues with management, meaning that the matches didn't need to be held in December.
Mr. Weasley was able to get tickets for everyone because of a contact he'd had at work. Sirius had already bought them of course, but his plan to surprise the Weasleys had been shot to shit, so he'd had to improvise by selling the tickets to a bloke named Ludo Bagman for half the price. Neither of the two men considered this a loss.
Harry had been invited for a stay at the Burrow, and he'd accepted. Unfortunately for him, Muriel was still there, but he'd take it anyway.
"Ready to go?" Sirius asked, cutting Harry's train of thoughts, and holding his arm out.
"Of course," Harry replied, clutching the offered arm with all his strength.
Sirius twisted and he felt the familiar feeling of being squeezed through a narrow pipe. As always, the feeling only lasted a few seconds before Harry could see, and breathe again.
They were in front of the Burrow right now, and Harry couldn't possibly be more thrilled to see one Weasley in particular. The Weasley in question could be seen sitting on the windowsill of her room, writing in a book of some sort, no doubt listening to something on the iPod Bill had bought for her.
Harry immediately ran over to the entrance of the Burrow- ignoring Sirius' chuckles- and knocked twice. The door opened not too long after, and Mrs. Weasley was standing in the doorway, looking up at him. Wait, since when did she look up at him?
She, too, had a surprised expression on her face. "Merlin, look at you," she said. "You've shot up a foot!"
"8 inches," Harry replied with a smile.
"Teenage growth spurts are ridiculous," Sirius said, coming up behind him. Every Weasley knew who he was now, they'd known ever since they'd found him sobbing his eyes out on Harry's bed back in April.
"They really are," Mrs. Weasley agreed, smiling at Sirius. She then turned back to Harry. "And you young man, how many times do I have to tell you that you don't need to knock? Honestly, you have a key."
Harry gave her an embarrassed smile. He kept forgetting about all of that. "Once more, I reckon," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Mrs. Weasley shook her head in amusement. "Ginny is in her room," she said. "The rest haven't woken up yet. Heaven forbid they wake up a minute later than 9:30 on a Summer Holiday."
Harry laughed. "I'll see you later," he said, running upstairs. He knocked on the door to her room, and entered a few moments later, knowing she wouldn't be able to hear him.
He found her sitting just as she was a few minutes ago, humming along to the tune. She was bobbing her head from side to side as she kept scribbling away on her assignment.
He closed the door and walked closer to her, quickly pulling out an earphone from her ear. She jumped and swung the book at him, but he'd already ducked in anticipation. "Hi," he said, sitting next to her.
A grin graced her features as their eyes met. "Hey," she said, scooting over and giving him a tight hug.
"Missed me, then?" He asked, hugging her back, breathing in the flowery scent of her hair.
She nodded against his shoulder and let him go. "This week has been hell," she said. "Muriel's been here. Mum's been giving me chores to help me deal with Death. And I can't visit you because Muriel says it isn't 'proper', and what Muriel says goes in this house."
"Is she worried I'll corrupt you?" He asked with a smirk. "Charm you into doing whatever I want?"
Ginny made a face. "Yes," she admitted. "If only she knew what a bumbling fool you turn into in front of a girl."
"That was one time!" Harry cried, blushing as he remembered the whole scene. A girl named Sarah had asked him out in Hogsmeade, and… well, he hadn't been expecting it. At all.
"I… Er- I'm sorry, but… erm- no?" She said in a remarkable impression of him before she burst out laughing.
"It's not like you were any help," Harry muttered, turning red.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, biting her lip ro control her laughter. "But the way you said it…" she trailed off, seemingly not wanting to laugh any more at his plight, which he appreciated.
"That poor girl," Harry said with a sigh. "How do you say no to someone?"
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Well surely someone has asked you out?" Harry asked. A sinking feeling enveloped him as he realized she might have said yes to someone…
"Oh," she said, playing with a strand of her hair. "I just tell them I'm waiting for someone else."
Harry raised his eyebrows. "You have a crush?" He asked, not really sure he wanted the answer.
She blushed and ducked her head. "Yes," she said.
"Do I know him?" He asked. "Or her?"
"It's not a her," she said slowly. "And you do know him."
"Who is it?" Harry asked.
She shook her head. "Nope," she said firmly. "Forget it."
"Is it Devon?" He asked, hoping that his voice didn't sound incredulous.
"No."
"Neville?"
"No."
"Sirius?" He asked, making a face.
"Ew, NO!" She cried, folding her arms. "Harry. Drop it."
"Okay, okay," Harry said, holding his arms up. "Sorry."
Ginny sighed. "It's okay," she said. "There's no point talking about it anyway. Ever since I died- we died, I've been feeling different."
"You mean you… don't have a crush anymore?" He asked with a furrowed brow.
"I do," she said. "At least I think so."
"You think so?" He repeated.
"My feelings are… scrambled, okay?" Ginny said. "It's weird, whenever I see him I have a mad urge to kiss him, but when I'm not near him… I used to think of him that way before. Now, I just want to be near him when he's not there because I feel like he's the only one that can help me get past this… thing."
"Dumbledore did say it would take some time and effort for our emotions to get back to normal," Harry pointed out, not wanting to admit that he was feeling the same about her… "Maybe you should just… wait?"
"Maybe," Ginny said. "But it doesn't matter anyway. I don't think he likes me back."
Harry was about to point out that whoever it was, was an idiot of the highest order, that anyone would be lucky to even be her friend, but it didn't seem like it was something she wanted to talk about, so he pulled out his trunk instead. "I found this," he said, pulling out one of his discoveries from the Black Library.
She took the book from his hands and gasped when she read the title. Animagi: What they are, and how the fuck do I become one? It was a book that was particularly close to his heart, mostly because it was written by the Marauders themselves.
"Where did you get this?" Ginny breathed, running a hand over the cover page as though it was made of gold, which, in a sense, it was.
"Black Library," Harry said. "I was searching for a book on counter Curses, but this was much more interesting."
"Yeah, no shit," she said. "Have you read it?"
"Not fully," Harry answered. "But I know you've wanted to become an Animagus since… well, forever, so I thought you might like to do this with me?"
Ginny blinked. "By ourselves?" She asked.
"You can ask for help," he said. "I'm not. I want to do this by myself. Like my Dad, and Sirius did."
She smiled, and opened the book. He let her read while he asked if he could read through her Potions assignment. A few minutes later, she spoke. "This is amazing," she said. "And we can do it ourselves too."
He smiled. He already knew all of that of course, but it was nice to see her so happy about learning something. She deserved it. "I'm glad you think that," he said. "Do you want to start at Hogwarts?"
Her eyes went wide with anticipation. "Yes," she said. "I would love that."
"Great," Harry said as the door opened.
"So, you're Harry Potter," an old woman who looked a lot like a Walrus asked. "Shorter than I was expecting."
"I'm… sorry to disappoint?" He asked more than said. Who the fuck was she anyway?
"As you should be," she said primly. "Ginerva! Come help an old woman. I'm sick, I'll have you know."
By the look on Ginny's face, she would be more than happy to let the old woman fall down the stairs, but she nodded politely and got up anyway. "Harry, this is my Great Great Aunt Muriel."
Oh. That made sense. He got up off the bed and made his way towards the woman. "It is good to meet you Mrs. Prewett," he said, placing a kiss on her knuckles like he'd seen Sirius do.
She seemed pleased, but he said a hasty goodbye to Ginny, turned and started walking downstairs to warn Sirius. The two of them had met before apparently, and things… hadn't gone well.
When he reached the Living Room, he saw Mrs. Weasley chatting away with Sirius about the Twins' pranks over the years, and Sirius was laughing all the way through it.
"You wouldn't believe me when I say, they actually set off a Dungbomb under her seat," Mrs. Weasley was saying. "Bilius nearly had a heart attack, he was laughing so much."
"Bilius seems like the kind of guy I would hang out with," Sirius said before noticing Harry. "Hey, kid. What's up?"
"Muriel's coming," Harry whispered.
Sirius sighed, and Mrs. Weasley closed her eyes. "Well, that's my cue," Sirius said, standing up.
"Are you sure?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "I'm sure Muriel has improved-"
"Honestly, Ginerva!" Muriel barked. "You can't even hold a walking stick properly! What will you do when you're my age?"
"Well, I won't be a miserable, overweight cow like you, that's for sure!" Ginny snapped back.
Harry and Sirius burst out laughing uproariously, and even Mrs. Weasley smiled a little but quickly composed herself. "Ginerva Weasley!" Mrs. Weasley screamed, though there was very little bite in it.
"Sorry, mum," Ginny said, coming down the stairs. "She's on the First floor, let her help herself. Hey, there Mutt."
"Hi," Sirius managed to gasp through his laughter. "I'll take my leave now."
"Yes, you do that," Mrs. Weasley said, looking at her daughter like she didn't know whether to pat her back in congratulations or punish her.
"Don't burn the house down," Harry said to Sirius. "I happen to like Grimmauld more than Black Manor."
"Anyone with more than half a brain would like Grimmauld more than Balck Manor," Sirius said dryly. "I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" He added, giving Harry a one armed hug.
"Can't wait," Harry replied.
Sirius quickly made his way out of the house as footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. "Who were you all talking to?" Muriel asked, glaring at Ginny, who was more than content to ignore the woman.
"A friend of mine," Harry quickly said, when no one said anything. "From school. Devon Lennox," he added. Devon would back him up if anyone ever asked him.
Muriel hummed in acknowledgement. "Breakfast?" She grunted.
"You've already had yours?" Harry asked Ginny in a whisper.
"Of course," she whispered back. "Do you want to go to the Village?"
"Definitely," Harry agreed, following Ginny who was already making her way out of the house.
Their day out was certainly fun. They'd gone down to the village, had an ice cream each, and then were asked if they wanted to play in a football game. Harry, of course, said yes, and Ginny was never one to back out of a challenge either. Two hours later, they ended up losing 6-5, but they had a damn good time to show for it.
Harry and Ginny came back late in the evening, with a bag full of Muggle soft drinks, biscuits, and a few more things. Muriel glanced at them disapprovingly, but they didn't care. It was easier not to nowadays.
"You're a bit too late, don't you think?" Mrs. Weasley asked, not unkindly.
"Sorry," Harry said. "We got a bit carried away."
Ginny laughed. "That's an understatement," she said. "We played a football game with the Muggle kids for two hours. Harry was great."
"You were too," Harry pointed out. "Or did you forget who went psycho when our team wasn't scoring?" He asked with a smirk, remembering her enraged shouts of 'What the Hell!?' and 'How on Earth does that even happen!?' among many other phrases.
"What's football?" Ron asked, coming in from the back door, interrupting their conversation, and probably also saving Harry's hide.
"It's that Muggle game, isn't it?" Fred asked, coming in behind Ron.
"Yeah, the one you play with your feet," George said.
"It is," Harry said.
Suddenly, a large bang was heard outside, and all of them ran outside, earlier inquiries forgotten. The source of the commotion was revealed as they entered the garden and saw that Bill and Charlie both had their wands out, and were making two battered old tables fly high above the lawn, smashing into each other, each attempting to knock the other's out of the air.
"Oi!" Fred cried. "You said you'd wait!"
"Bill! Charlie!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "Put those tables down this instant!"
"Sorry, mum," they both called back with a grin, making her roll her eyes as the rest of them laughed.
Well, most of the rest of them. Muriel- who had reached the garden with a speed that should not have been possible at her age- was glaring at the two men, who gave her a salute in return, and Harry and Ginny were watching the proceedings with a small smile, but he was sure that they would be laughing their heads off if they were still normal.
Bill and Charlie did set the table soon, though, and Mrs. Weasley served dinner shortly after with Harry and Ginny helping her.
It was a lively dinner, Mrs. Weasley was occupying Muriel with a discussion about Politics. Mr. Weasley was talking with Percy about Cauldron Bottom regulations. "They are quite important, you know."
Bill was telling the rest of them about his new Job as a teacher at the Gringotts Adventurer's Guild. He would be teaching Curse Breaking to pretty much every aspiring Curse Breaker in London since he felt like he needed a break, and an excuse to come visit.
He was just finishing up his discussion about how he could still go abroad if he wanted to, when Harry noticed Ginny- who was sitting next to him- lean forward, observing his face, and accidentally dipping her elbow in the butter dish.
No one else had noticed this little incident, though, something he was very thankful for. She pulled her elbow back like nothing had happened, and Harry pulled out a handkerchief- yes he carried one with him now- out of his pocket and passed it to Ginny under the table.
"Thanks," she whispered.
"You alright?" He asked as she discreetly wiped off the butter.
"Fine," she said, flushing. "Absolutely fine."
"What's happening at Hogwarts?" They heard George ask sharply.
"Now boys," Mr. Weasley said. "That was a discussion between your mother and I. You don't need to know."
"Oh come on Arthur," Mrs. Weasley said, surprising all of them. "What? I can be fun," she added in defence of herself, crossing her arms.
"Never said you couldn't, mum," Fred said quickly. "Just surprised us is all."
"Right, well," Mrs. Weasley said. "You're going to find out at Hogwarts anyway, we might as well tell you now."
"Fine," Mr. Weasley sighed. "There's a Tournament happening at the School. It's called the Triwizard Tournament, have you heard of it?" He asked, receiving negative responses from the children, except for Percy, Charlie, and Bill.
"It's a Tournament that has a Champion from three schools compete against each other for rewards," Mr. Weasley said. "Dumbledore will explain it to you, and I don't want to take away too much of the surprise, but it is very dangerous."
"There are three tasks that you have to complete," Mr. Weasley continued. "There has almost always been at least one Death in the competition, though. It was banned around a hundred years ago because all of the champions died. But they've implemented several security measures now, so it should be okay for those who do enter."
Harry and Ginny shared a worried glance. Everything wrong that had happened during this point seemed to happen to them. He wouldn't be surprised if one of their names were entered without them even knowing.
"What kinds of rewards do you get?" Fred asked.
"The usual," Mr. Weasley said. "Money, fame, and there are a few more that keep switching every year. I'm not too sure on those for this year."
"Cool," Fred and George said.
"Not cool," Mr. Weasley said sternly. "None of you are entering this tournament, do you understand? None of you," he continued, looking around the table, as if daring anyone to object. "Good," he said when no one did.
《••••••••••••••••••••》
The next morning, Harry woke up much earlier than anyone else. This was an ability he both loved and hated, because while needing only five hours of sleep did sound amazing, everyone else still needed seven. Everyone except Ginny of course, since she'd been right with him.
He was thinking of going outside for a fly when Ginny came down the stairs. "Good morning," she said.
"Morning," he replied. "This less sleep thing isn't stopping anytime soon, is it?"
"No," she replied. "I don't mind it actually. It's nice to have some quiet time."
Harry hummed in acknowledgement, but didn't dispute her point. "Are you hungry?" She asked.
He shook his head. "I was thinking of going for a fly actually," he said, holding up his broom. "Till the others wake up."
She nodded. "Mind if I join?" She asked, holding her hand out. Her own broom came down the stairway and into her hand.
"Show off," Harry couldn't resist teasing.
She winked at him with a smile. "Admit it," she said. "You wouldn't want me any other way."
He really wouldn't, he knew. "Come on," he said.
In short order, the two of them were in the air, Ginny remembering to grab a quaffle on the way up so that they could play 'pass'. She lobbed the Quaffle at him as soon as they got into position.
"This Triwizard thing," Ginny began as he threw the Quaffle back. "What do you think of it?"
"It should be shut down again," Harry said. "I wouldn't be surprised if our names end up in it."
She nodded as she threw the Quaffle, probably thinking the same thing as him. "Would you enter?" She asked.
"If the rewards are worth it, maybe," Harry said. "Otherwise… well, what's the point?"
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked, swerving down to catch the Quaffle that Harry threw.
"There's deaths in the tournament, Gin," Harry said as she came up. "Speaking from experience, it isn't that bad, but I'd still rather be alive for now unless the reward is worth it"
Ginny hummed. "I'd enter," she said.
"The fame you have isn't enough for you, is it?" He asked with a grin.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "It is," she said. "But, I would like a way to… test myself, if you know what I mean."
Harry shrugged. "You already know what you can do," he pointed out. "The Cursed Vaults were challenging enough."
"They were," Ginny admitted. "But… I don't know. I think I'd like to try something more… risky, for the lack of a better word. What about you? If the rewards were worth it, would you enter?"
Harry gave the question the time it deserved. He reckoned he would, if only as a chance to probe to the world that he was more than the Scar that was the symbol of his Mother's Protection. He could show the World exactly what Harry Potter was capable of.
"I think so," Harry said. "Only if the rewards are right."
"Exactly," Ginny agreed.
About an hour later, they were called back to the Burrow for breakfast by Mrs. Weasley. They finished it pretty soon, and had a shower since most of the family took a rather long time to actually get up.
After showering and having breakfast, they all made their way up a hill. Ron, Fred and George were all grumbling about the unfairness of the fact that Bill, Charlie, and Percy could apparate there layer along with Mrs. Weasley. "Even I could do it if they'd let me," Fred was saying. "But no. The Ministry has to set the above 17 rule to everything, don't they?"
Harry and Ginny only nodded along sympathetically as Mr. Weasley chuckled at their children's plight. Harry had never been more glad to need less sleep.
"How are you two even awake?" Ron asked them. "You've never seemed like morning people."
Ginny looked at Harry, but he just shrugged, hopefully conveying that the choice was hers. "We sleep a lot less now," she said finally. "We only need, like, five hours at most."
"Only five?" Ron asked wide eyed.
"It was six earlier," Harry offered.
"Is that because you two… you know?" George said, wringing his hands.
"Yes, it's because we died," Ginny said.
That effectively put an end to any and all conversations about unfairness, and they were all able to make their way up the hill in blissful silence.
"This reminds me of the Mountain of Resurgence," Harry said wistfully. Despite his euphoria at being alive, he still missed his parents, and he was glad he got a week to spend with them…
"I miss them too," Ginny said, smiling. "Sorry. Is that weird? Me and them becoming closer?"
Harry shook his head. "They would have loved you even if they were alive," he said. He couldn't explain how he knew that it was the truth. He just did.
Ginny smiled. "At least we got to get to know them. Even if it was for a bit," she said.
"Yeah," Harry said, a small smile on his face. "For what it's worth. I'm glad you were there. Not that you were dead-"
"I know," she interrupted him. "I was glad to be there. Despite everything."
They lapsed into silence again, and soon, they reached a plateau-like area. "This is it, I think," Mr. Weasley said, checking a pocket watch-like device. "The Diggory Family should be meeting us here."
"Hello," a male voice boomed from a few metres away.
A healthy looking man was limping towards them with a walking stick in one hand. He was wearing glasses and had brown colored shoulder length hair.
Behind the man, they could see another man, a younger one, with chiselled features, grey eyes and similar brown hair. Harry quickly recognized Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff Seeker and Prefect.
"This is Amos Diggory everyone," Mr. Weasley said. "He works in the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry of Magic. And this young man must be Cedric?"
"Hello," Cedric muttered, looking away. He always was weirdly shy when he wasn't with his friends…
"Hey/Hi," everyone greeted him.
"They're all your children then?" Amos asked curiously.
"Not all of them, just the redheads," Mr. Weasley said. "But Harry is like family either way. The taller twin is Fred, the shorter one is George, that's Ron, that's Ginny, and that's Ginny's best friend, Harry Potter," he finished, pointing to each of them in turn.
"Ah, I have heard of you two," Amos said to Harry and Ginny. "I must say, I am quite impressed."
"Thank you," they responded.
Amos seemed a bit disappointed at their lack of enthusiasm, but the alarm on his watch rang and he quickly ran toward the edge of the plateau. "Follow me," he called as he went.
They followed his lead and they saw that there was an old, battered, and harmless looking boot on the ground. "All of you have travelled by Portkey before?" Amos asked, receiving nods. "Good. This should be over quickly, then."
A minute later, he felt the brief pull behind his navel, and he was sucked into the Portkey Vortex. The world spun around them in a flurry of color before it stopped and they landed on the ground.
Harry was quite proud of the fact that he'd managed to land on his feet this time.
Whatever Harry was expecting at a Quidditch World Cup, this wasn't it. They were in a large, open field with countless tents stretching over the lands. There was a Forest to the side, and it looked like they were pretty isolated.
"They had to isolate us again," Mr. Weasley said. "There are loads of Charms over this place that repel Muggles. It took the Ministry ages to set it up."
"So none of the Muggles can see this?" Harry asked.
"None," Mr. Weasley said.
"What if you wanted to bring any?" Harry asked, thinking of Devon and his parents.
"There is a Runic bracelet that is keyed into the Wards," Mr. Weasley answered. "If you're worried about a Muggleborn friend, then don't worry, everyone who buys a ticket will get one of those bracelets to give to someone trusted."
Harry nodded in understanding, and they reached a reception area a few seconds later. "Plot for Weasley," Mr. Weasley said, showing the man behind the desk a slip of Parchment.
The man observed the slip before referring to a map. "347," the man replied. "Weasley, yes?" He asked, receiving nods. "Yes, it's 347. Have fun."
"Thank you," Mr. Weasley responded as they made their way forward.
They walked around the plots for a while before they figured out how the numbering system worked, which was when they found themselves on a small plot of land, just a tiny bit smaller than the Living Room at Number Four Privet Drive.
Mr. Weasley immediately began setting up a campfire with enthusiasm. "What are you doing, Dad?" Ginny asked.
"Setting up a campfire, dear," Mr. Weasley said. "The Muggle way."
"You've tried it before?" Ginny asked in surprise.
"Yes," Mr. Weasley replied. "We took Ron camping once when he was a young lad. You went to visit Egypt with Bill, I think."
"Oh," Ginny said.
In short order, Mr. Weasley had the campfire set up, and used a lighter to see whether or not it worked. It did. "I'll need some help to set up the tents," Mr. Weasley said. Harry and Ginny volunteered and it didn't take them more than 10 minutes to set them both up.
They were both small tents, and it didn't look like they'd fit more than one person in there, but when Harry entered the tent, it all made sense.
It was Magically expanded from the inside, and the whole thing looked like a tent from Egypt. It had three different sections. A Large open area in the middle with couches and chairs, and comfortable looking rugs; a section to the right that had bunk beds on either side of the Wall; and lastly, a basic kitchenette to the left.
"I love Magic," Harry said, causing Ginny to giggle.
Soon, he, Ginny, and Ron decided to wander around the place and have a look around at what other people were doing. Mr. Weasley was hesitant to let them go at first, but he had to agree when Harry pointed out that he'd had very little exposure to the Wizarding World outside of Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, and Hogsmeade.
They found that their tents were the most basic (and the most cozy) variety. It didn't matter to Harry either way, but some of the designs were breathtaking. Such as the one belonging to the Delacour Family, a large tent that looked more like a small Fort than anything else.
There were also some that looked like they could be hills, but were actually the Irish tents that were specially made to look that way. Harry didn't know why, just that they did.
A white colored peacock running down from a raised slope soon caught Harry's attention. There was a blonde haired woman chasing after it, and Harry recognized her as soon as her son revealed himself behind her.
"Potty," Draco Malfoy said. "Come to greet your betters?"
"That's the best you can do?" Ginny asked. "Your betters?" Ginny repeated in a mocking tone. "Fuck's sake Malfoy."
"Now we know why he only hangs around Crabbe and Goyle," Harry said. "It's not because he's gay, it's becuase they're the only ones dumber than him."
She laughed and they walked away, ignoring Narcissa Malfoy's look of utter confusion at her son being defeated in a verbal battle.
They soon met up with Hermione, and Ron told her everything that happened to Harry and Ginny except their 'Deaths', with their permission of course. She kept shooting him and Ginny curious glances every chance she got, though, which got annoying really fast.
But thankfully she wasn't able to ask any more questions as at that moment, a group of girls not that much older than them walked past, looking at Ron and Harry and giggling, muttering something in rapid French.
Harry felt the heat rush to his face, and Ginny found the humor in it, judging by the giggles of her own that she was letting out. "Don't turn into an idiot," she advised him, even though there was a strange look on her face… one of… longing? No, it couldn't be. Surely not…
His frankly ridiculous thoughts were interrupted when Ron waved at one of the girls that turned back to them. Thankfully, she only gave Ron a smile and went back to her conversation.
"Aww. Look at you!" Ginny said, clapping Ron's back as he blushed. "Keep that charm up at Hogwarts and you'll have more girls than Bill did. Of course, I still want to be there when Mum finds out, but…"
"Oh shut up," Ron finally said with a smile, punching her in the shoulder as she and Harry laughed. Hermione had gone really quiet in the past few minutes, though, he noticed.
He also noticed a lot of boys eyeing Ginny appreciatively, something that made his blood boil. It felt like there was a monster inside the chest, begging to be let loose against those boys. He reigned it in. For now.
"Why are they all staring at me?" Ginny asked in a whisper, causing Harry to turn to her incredulously.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"All those boys," she said, shoving her hands in her pockets. "There are a few girls too. Do I have something on my face?"
"You're taking the mickey, right?" Harry asked. She had to be.
"What are you talking about?" She replied, blinking.
"They're staring at you because you're pretty," Harry explained, causing her mouth to drop open.
"Bullshit," she said. "I'm not…" she trailed off, shaking her head.
"Oh, please," Harry said. "You're easily the prettiest in the school."
She blushed bright red. He hadn't seen her blush this much since the day he'd met her actually. "Thanks," she managed to mutter. Harry just shook his head in bewilderment. How she couldn't see what he and quite a few others did was beyond him.
"I'm serious, you know," Harry said. "Any bloke would be lucky to have you."
This time she gave a genuine smile, even through her blush. "Thank you," she said. "And trust me, any girl would be lucky to have you."
"I'm not so sure about that," Harry said with an embarrassed laugh. Okay, maybe he did see where she was coming from.
"Does it bother you too much?" Harry asked a while later, a worried tone to his voice.
She shook her head. "It bothered me too much before," she said. "Not knowing. I'm still not sure I believe you, but I'll take your word for it, I guess."
They soon reached their tent, where the rest of the Weasleys had already arrived. They were setting up logs for everyone to sit on around the campfire.
"Welcome back," Bill said, waving them over. "Just on time too, Lunch is almost starting."
They sat down on the logs, and Mrs. Weasley soon distributed the plates for them to eat in. Just as she did, however, Harry felt fingers poke him in the armpit and he whirled around, plate still in hand, and came face to face with Sirius Black in his Adam Parker disguise.
"Hello there," Sirius said.
"Should've known you'd come with the smell of food," Harry said, rolling his eyes at his Godfather, but hugging him anyway.
"It's been 14 years since I've had Molly's cooking, sue me," Sirius replied, seating himself on Harry's other side as Marlene sat on Sirius' empty side.
"If you had a girlfriend back in the day, she never would have tired of you, you know," Mr. Weasley said to Sirius a moment later.
Sirius smiled. "All part of the Charm, my friend," he replied. "I've even turned straight men gay. They called me the Skillet."
Harry choked on his water as everyone burst out laughing. "No one called him the Skillet," Remus said, walking by and whacking Sirius over the head with a newspaper. "And yes, we can bring dogs with us, so long as it's only one dog per family."
"Good," Sirius said. "I was worried I'd have to keep this disguise on all day. It gets very itchy very quickly. Now, about that Skillet thing-"
"Did Sally call you that?" Harry asked suddenly, remembering the name his Dad had mentioned.
Sirius blinked at him and paled, but Remus laughed uproariously. "N- no. She didn't," Sirius muttered.
"Oh- I almost forgot about that," Remus gasped before bursting out in laughter again.
"Who was she?" Harry asked.
"No one you need to worry about," Sirius said firmly as everyone else looked on curiously. Remus gestured that he would tell them later, to which Harry nodded.
Many hours later, they'd all settled into their tents after the game. Ireland had won against Bulgaria because the Irish Chasers had scored a lot more points than those of Bulgaria, and even the Bulgarian Seeker, Victor Krum, catching the Snitch four times wasn't enough to pull Bulgaria ahead.
Cheers could still be heard as they were all headed to sleep, and Harry felt that the Irish deserved their celebration. But seeing Sirius' tense face forced those thoughts out of his head.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, standing next to him.
"The screams…" Sirius trailed off.
"What about them?"
"I can't hear any cheers among them," Sirius clarified. "Not even with my Heightened Hearing."
Harry's eyes went wide, but his question was cut off when Mr. Weasley came into the room, panting. "Death Eaters are attacking," he said between breaths. "We have to leave."
《••••••••••••••••••••》
A/N 2: Leave a review if you liked it, and I'll see you next time!
Byee!!