Author's Note: I have been trying to update as much as possible since I'm not sure I'll have much time to write over the holidays. I just want to thank everyone for the great reviews. Just a reminder that I don't have a beta so I may repeat myself every now and then and I do try not to contradict myself. I apologize if this messes anyone up. A lot of you have been asking for spoilers so here goes: Yes I like the idea of Snape and Hermione to be together, but I am also WAY against student teacher romances. I will lead the story to a place where they can hook up after she graduates. Everyone who has guessed so far has been right about who the princess will be, but that won't come out completely in this story. You will be able to tell who it is but she won't know yet. I plan on this story taking the gang up until graduation. I hope to do a short story after that to tie up all the loose ends and leave everyone in a happy place. Any ideas for their 7th year adventures are appreciated. Thanks again! Redfrog
Chapter 23: World Cup
The next morning Tonks and Moody woke Harry up very early to take him to Diagon Alley to get a back up wand. "Have Tonks set you up with a glamour charm so no one recognizes you. Make sure you wear robes and keep your wand hidden well. Olivander will recognize you straight away if he sees your wand." Moody growled before heading down to the entry way.
"So what should I look like?" Harry asked her with a grin.
"We will be introducing you as an auror trainee. Make yourself look a few years older and not like yourself." She told him and ruffled his hair.
Harry morphed into a short blonde haired man that looked in his early 20s. He had tan skin and vivid blue eyes. His hair was chin length and he had it slicked back how Malfoy usually wore his. His face was full and he looked pleasantly plump. "What do you think?" He asked her and spun around for her.
"Perfect Mr. Jones," Tonks told him with a wink. "You just finished university with a mastery in DADA and are going through auror training to complete your apprenticeship." They hurried down to meet Moody and head to Olivander's.
"Good morning Alaster, Mrs. Lupin what can I help you with?" Mr. Olivander asked as they entered his shop. He was staring curiously at Harry.
"Mr. Jones here is an auror trainee and needs a backup wand." Moody growled.
"Ah, yes," Olivander said coming over to measure Harry. "May I see your current wand to get a feel of where to start?" He asked and Harry knew he had to come up with a good excuse.
"I do not have it with me, it is at the Ministry." Harry told him hoping the eccentric old man would believe him.
Olivander looked closer at Harry and then at Moody and Tonks before checking that his door was shut. He flipped the sign to closed and shut the draperies. "Now tell me that nothing has happened to you wand Mr. Potter."
Moody growled out an obscenity and Tonks chuckled. She should have known better than to think they could fool Olivander. "Your damn glamours weren't strong enough." Moody accused her and Harry didn't know what to say to contradict that.
"Nonsense," Olivander said. "Potter's aura is strong and recognized it. Now tell me."
"My wand is fine Mr. Olivander but I require a back up wand, preferable one that does not share cores with you know who." Harry told him, he had decided that he needed a wand that would not lock up with Voldy's.
"I only have a half dozen phoenix feather wands and only 2 are from tail feathers," Olivander told them. "You will be most successful with a phoenix wand." They tried all 6 wands and none of them were acceptable. They tried a few others and none seemed good enough. "If I knew another phoenix with as much power as Fawks we could try and obtain a feather." He said shaking his head.
"Will you excuse us for a moment," Tonks said pulling Harry into the backroom. "I need a tail feather from Flames," she told him and he grinned before transforming. She quickly plucked a tail feather and he transformed back into Mr. Jones. They hurried back into the main area of the shop. "Harry was reluctant to part with this as it was a gift from his friend Flames. Will it work as a wand core?" She asked handing him the tail feather.
"As long as it was offered willingly," he said motioning them to follow him into the back room after they told him it had been. "Is this phoenix powerful?"
"Yes," Tonks answered. "The similarities between Flames and Fawks are staggering. In fact they are distant relations, many times removed. Flames is a very young phoenix."
"Excellent," Olivander said as he carefully pulled out a piece of beech wood that was wrapped in a singed blue blanket. "I retrieved this piece and two just like it from the tree that grew in the backyard of your parents' house." He told Harry as he unwrapped the wood. "It is very different than your wand but with the added powers from it being from your childhood home, I believe it will make you a very powerful backup wand." He expertly whittled the wood and inserted the phoenix core. He did many other things that they did not understand but in less than an hour he had crafted a beautifully polished 9" beech with phoenix feather core wand.
Harry took the wand and felt it warm him all the way to his toes. It felt as natural as his normal wand. He waved it and red and gold streamers shot out. "Perfect," Olivander told him. "And since it is a new creation it is not on record with the ministry." He told Moody with a wink.
"What do I owe you for it?" Harry asked him still fingering the wand lovingly.
"Nothing," Olivander told him. "The feather and wood belong to you."
"Do you have any leg mounted wand sheaths?" Harry asked before he forgot.
Olivander brought out a black leather leg holster and they watched as Harry used it to secure his new wand to his leg. He then took out a sack of galleons and handed the older man 20. "This should cover your time to make the wand and the holster." He said with a smile and headed to the door before he could object.
"I wonder if he's getting nervous yet." Ginny asked her friends as they sat around in the kitchen waiting for everyone else to get ready to leave for the world cup. The match was taking place in Ireland this year.
"I wonder what kind of cool things there will be to buy this time." Ron said as he remembered buying his Krum action figure and all the other memorabilia.
"Come on kids, it's time to go," Molly Weasley said from the door to the kitchen. They were taking a port-key as they did not know the exact position to be able to apparate. All 20 of them gathered around an old kid's jump rope taking hold to wait for the portkey to engage. They landed in the middle of their large campsite, one of the advantages of being Minister of Magic.
"Let's get the tents set up," Arthur told them and they got to work on the two large Weasley tents, each one had a kitchen, living room, bathroom and two bedrooms. Draco also had a large tent with a living room and three bedrooms (Malfoy's have to have the best). The Longbottom's tent was a lot like the Weasley's with two bedrooms but no living room or kitchen.
"So who is sleeping where?" Ginny asked as she wanted to set her bag down.
"Bill and I are sharing a room in my tent along with Fleur and Gabrielle in another room and Remus and Tonks in the last room," Draco told them.
"Neville, Colin and Dennis have their room next to ours," Frank Longbottom told them after finishing putting up his tent.
"That leaves Hermione, Ginny and Luna in the room next to ours," Molly told the girls and pointed to the first tent. "The boys will split up in the other tent."
They all dumped their gear and then headed back outside with the lawn furniture they had conjured while inside. It was alright to use magic inside the tents where muggles couldn't see it. Colin and Dennis were put in charge of lighting the camp fire as everyone settled into their chairs to discuss the coming match. "This is very exciting," Arthur told them. "My first term as Minister and our country's team makes it to the world cup.
"Hello Minister Weasley," a tall Irish man said as he approached the group. "My name is Seamus O'Connor head of Ireland's division of games and sports," he said as he shook Arthur's hand.
"Good afternoon Mr. O'Connor," Arthur told him with a jovial smile. "This is my family and a few of our friends. This is my wife Molly, our sons Charlie, Fred, George, Ron and Bill." They each waved as he named them. "This is Bill's fiancé Fleur Delacour, her sister Gabrielle and Gabrielle's fiancé Draco Malfoy. This is Remus Lupin and his wife Tonks whose nephew is our seeker Xavier Lupin. Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood are friends of Xavier's and my family. Then we have Frank and Alice Longbottom and their son Neville and Colin and Dennis Creevy. That is everyone." Arthur grinned at the man, "We don't expect you to remember their names of course."
"It's a pleasure to meet you all and an even greater pleasure to host the cup. The pitch is just over this ridge here. We extended the top box this year so that all of you could fit as well as the Brazilian Minister and their fans. I will be back to accompany you to the pitch in the morning before the crowds. Have a pleasant evening." He said and made his way across the campsite in the direction of the Brazilian contingent.
"There's Susan and her father!" Ron yelled enthusiastically and waved his girlfriend over. They were joining them in the top box but had their own camp site. Mr. Bones was introduced to everyone.
"Susan told me there would be a lot of people but I never realized the turnout would be like this!" He said laughing jovially. As they sat around talking they were visited by many of their friends. Seamus and Dean were there again with Seamus' mum. The Patil girls stopped by to talk to Ginny about X and see if they thought she could get his autograph and to as Hermione if Wood was fair game now. Quite of few of the order members and other ministry employees stopped by to say hello to Arthur as well so their camp was never quiet. Although with Fred and George around it would be hard to imagine it ever being quiet.
The next morning was hectic around camp as everyone tried to get ready for the match. Ginny was wearing the robes X gave her and they were all decked out in England colors. Mr. Weasley bought all the women rosettes and the guys had flags. Draco bought them all little models of X on his broom and omnioculars for everyone who didn't have them. Remus called them all over to look at a display of t-shirts that said 'X-treme Quidditch Fan' in all different colors with Xavier's number on the back. Ginny laughed and bought a purple one while Ron got an orange one, Hermione green, Gabrielle blue, Tonks pink and Remus red.
Hermione was looking though a cart with different buttons on it when a young girl pulled on her robes. "Are you Hermione Granger?" The girl asked with her eyes lit up wide.
"Yes I am and who are you?" Hermione asked her with a smile. The girl looked to be 6 or 7 years old.
"I'm Emma and my older sister says you are a hero and saved her life along with Harry Potter. Did you really?" The girl asked and pointed over at a girl Hermione recognized as a third year Ravenclaw girl (soon to be 4th year).
"Yes I did," Hermione told her. "There were some scary people trying to hurt all the students and some of my friends and I fought them off so they couldn't hurt anyone."
"She says you get to do magic now! If I save someone do I get to use magic?" Emma asked her while jumping up and down.
"Maybe if you study real hard but I hope you won't have to be a hero because to be a hero someone has to be in danger first and we don't want anyone in danger do we?" Hermione asked her as she shook her head no. "So what house do you want to be in when you get to Hogwarts?"
"I want to be a Gryffindor!" The girl told her, "I don't want to be a Ravenclaw like Claire, she doesn't have any fun." Hermione laughed at how accurate the statement was.
"There you are Emma!" A lady said running over to them, "You know you're not supposed to go running off alone."
"But mum it's Hermione Granger; she really is a hero just like Claire said!" Emma pouted and pointed at Hermione.
"I'm very sorry if she bothered you Miss Granger," the mother said taking her daughter's hand. "She gets so excited whenever my older daughter tells of your adventures with Harry Potter."
"It's not a problem," Hermione said with a smile and called after Emma, "Good luck on getting into Gryffindor!"
"So you're a celebrity now huh?" Ginny said with a chuckle as she watched the little girl being dragged away by her mum.
"Seems so, it makes me curious what the other students say about all our adventures," Hermione said with a laugh as they thought of all the things they had done over the year.
The top box was huge and had a perfect view of the pitch. Hermione didn't want to know how much the 22 tickets had cost Harry; she knew it was more than her parents probably made in a year. They sat on green padded gold seats. The whole stadium was white with green details except for the top box which was gold with green. The box was divided into three sections, two large sections and a smaller center section. Each of the larger sections was for the England or Brazil fans and the center for Irish officials or neutral fans.
By late morning the stands were full of spectators. The girls were busy laughing at the different advertisements that would appear on the board. The Ireland national team was out on the pitch doing drills and tricks to amuse the fans as well as flying around signing autographs. Everyone was very excited to see the match.
The daughter of the Brazilian minister came over to Remus and Tonks to tell them that she was a fan of Xavier. She had very good English skills and Hermione and Gabrielle talked to her for a few minutes comparing the different countries. Seamus O'Connor came back into the top box and told them the match would be starting shortly. They all took their seats and waited for the teams to be announced.
As Xavier was announced it seemed like the entire stadium cheered, it was obvious he was a favorite of many. The quaffle was released and the match was on. Ron and Draco were seated next to each other discussing both teams strategies while Ginny kept her eyes glued to X. He had winked at her as he took his warm up lap and she had smiled and waved.
The game went all night and into the next morning. The teams had subbed out their players so they could sleep. X had refused to leave the game since he was afraid the other seeker would see the snitch while he slept. The Weasley's and the rest of the top box fans took turns sleeping so they could wake everyone if anything spectacular happened. The score was 360 to 410 in favor of Brazil at 6 am.
Xavier was tired but he was determined. He had not seen the snitch once in all that time and was getting upset. He wondered if they charmed it to go invisible so the game would last longer. "Take a break already," Wood called out to him as he came back onto the pitch from his 4 hour nap.
"As soon as I catch the snitch I promise I'll sleep for 12 hours!" X yelled back at him. He was just turning to see if Wood was going to respond when he caught sight of movement below him on the pitch. "I see you, you little devil," he mumbled as he twisted his broom and took off in a direct dive toward the snitch. Brazil's seeker was on the other end of the pitch talking to his keeper who had to point out that X was moving.
The snitch was hovering barely a foot off the ground as he sped after it. He pulled out of the dive in time for his toes to skim the grass and followed the ball as it sped away still only a few inches from the grass. It was extremely difficult to fly fast that low to the ground and the fans were amazed with his flying skills. "That is some X-tremely low flying by Lupin. What an amazing flyer!" The announcer said as the stadium was finally on their feet and cheering again.
"Come on X!" Ginny was yelling while jumping up and down along with the rest of the Weasleys and Remus and Tonks. Draco was even yelling and cheering along with them, just not bouncing. "Get that snitch! Get that snitch!" The crowd started chanting.
X put on one final burst of speed and closed his fingers around the little winged ball. He held it up and on closer inspection someone had charmed the ball to be white like the entire stadium. The only reason he could see it was because it had ventured close enough to the green grass! The stadium was buzzing with sound as his team descended on him a pile of brooms and limbs.
X headed over to the referee for the match and showed him the snitch so they could test it to see who altered it. "This would explain why the bloody match took so long and why that was the first time it was spotted." The man said in his deep Irish accent.
The team took their victory lap around the pitch waving at all the fans before making their way to the top box to get the cup. The announcer introduced each of them and they shook hands with Arthur, the Brazil minister and Mr. O'Connor. Xavier was the last one announced and he waved to the wildly cheering crowd before shaking hands and being handed the World Cup trophy. It was one of the best feelings he had ever had!
Ginny was bawling she was so happy. She could feel how elated Harry was and found it hard to keep her emotions in check. The Brazil team entered the box and was introduced as well and shook hands. Then everyone in the top box got to shake hands with both teams. Hermione hugged X and Wood, who kissed her cheek and told her that he was sorry and was glad they were still friends. X wrapped Ginny in his arms and just held her he was so emotional. He just wanted to share the moment with her. He set her back down after a few seconds and kissed her lightly before moving on to hug Remus and Tonks.
"That was the best match I've ever been to!" Ron told them as they all headed to the camp site to get some sleep.
"I wonder who it was that charmed the snitch." George asked and you could see the evil genius at work in his mind.
"I can't believe he saw it the way it was charmed," Charlie commented. "If it had been anyone else playing seeker we'd still be there and you'd all be late back to school!"
"Harry could have caught it," Colin told them all firmly. "He's the best seeker ever. He should have made the team instead of X."
"You're right Colin," Bill told him. "Harry would have been able to catch it too."
They all went straight to sleep once they got back to the tents since they had only napped during the match for an hour at a time or at least between big plays. They were all going to sleep until late afternoon, have a large and early dinner and then head back.