A/N: There is some French in this chapter that I got from an online translator. I am sure parts of it are not correct, but I don't know enough French to know. If you notice mistakes, I would be happy to be informed and make corrections, but please don't leave me nasty reviews over it.

Chapter Three: World Cup and Warm Welcomes

All seven members of the group quickly moved out of the way. Peter watched the space they had just landed in with amazement as one minute later, twenty wizards all dressed in Bulgarian colors appeared in the space, all of them touching an old grocery bag. The witch in charge spoke quickly to them in what sounded to Peter like Bulgarian, then turned back to Nick and the rest of the group.

"Eef you follow zis map, you can get to ze campsite we 'ave rented," she said hurriedly, handing Nick a map.

"A campsite?" Lily asked surprised.

The witch rolled her eyes. "Yes, ze campsite. We can't have all of ze wizards 'oo come stay in town, can we? Ze attention zey'd attract!" She turned back to watch for the next group.

Lily looked shocked at the reply, but Peter noticed she quickly shrugged it off as Nick announced cheerfully, "I thought we might be camping, good thing I brought the tents." He noticed the Bulgarian group was waiting to follow him, smiling happily, so he said, "Let's go!"

He walked over to the Bulgarian group, pointed to himself and said, "Nick Lupin," a bit louder than necessary.

A man who seemed to be the patriarch of the group grinned more broadly and answered, "Nickoli Oblansk."

Nick nodded and pointed down the trail they were to take and motioned the Oblansks to follow. The entire group trudged wearily down the path, but Peter felt very at home in the large, noisy crowd. He even tried to talk to the youngest Oblansk, but they couldn't get each other to understand. Finally, they reached the wide field where they would be staying. No Muggles lived for miles around, so the French Ministry of Magic was regulating the campsite. Peter was sorry to see the Oblansks go, when they had paid the wizard in charge of reservations and headed off to the Bulgarian section of the campground, but it was hard not to be excited as they made their way toward the English tents.

There were dozens of tents already up, and many wizards milling about. The decorations seemed to be split pretty evenly between the French and Columbian teams. 'This could get really ugly,' Peter thought a bit nervously, remembering how bitterly James and Sirius had looked at each other over dinner the other night.

As they set their things down at their site, Remus looked at the tents his father had brought. "Uh, dad?" he asked. "How are we all going to fit into those tents?"

Sirius laughed. "They're wizard tents, Remus. They're like houses inside, right Nick?"

Nick looked awkwardly at Sirius. "Nope, these, actually, are Muggle tents." He laughed nervously. "I had gotten rid of our wizard tents long ago..."

Sirius' face fell. "Oh...well that should be fine, we have two, right?"

"One is Lily's," Nick replied, looking away.

Lily, of course, offered to share despite being the only girl, but no one else thought that was a good idea, so after magically setting up the tent, Peter and the other five male persons moved their things into it. Since it was obvious they all couldn't sit around inside their tent, the Marauders, along with Austin and Lily decided to wander around the campground.

"Be careful," Nick called out as they walked away. "Don't wander too far into the German area!"

"Why's that?" Lily asked quietly as they walked away.

Peter was delighted that he knew the answer. "Since Dumbledore defeated their most powerful wizard in 1945, they don't like the English too much."

"Oooh," Lily sighed happily. "Why don't we learn that in History of Magic? It's much more interesting than goblin rebellions."

Peter nodded his agreement, but had no answer for Lily. He knew that Grindelwald's rise was the reason his family had fled from Germany to England, but his attention was caught by the colorful displays of each country's area, so thoughts of history were soon gone. Ireland's tents were covered in green shamrocks, despite have had a very poor showing that year. Walking through Spain's area was like walking through a sea of red and yellow, which reminded them all a bit of Gryffindor Tower (though nobody but Remus and Lily thought that she was reminded as well), except the Spanish music that resounded through the area. Peter was entranced, almost forgetting his shyness enough to start dancing to the beat, but was luckily persuaded in time to go over to the Australian tents and see the kangaroo some wizard had for a pet.

Hours later, they returned to their site, exhausted. Peter wanted nothing more than to drop right into bed, but then his stomach growled, reminding him he hadn't eaten in quite some time. He helped Sirius prepare a fire, while Remus and James got dinner ready. Sirius complained to Peter the entire time about how Nick was insisting on cooking out like Muggles.

"We could have easily conjured up some food," Sirius whined, as his stomach growled again.

Peter nodded, silently agreeing, but not wanting to hurt Nick's feelings. He saw Remus look over at Sirius and shake his head, signaling to his friend to keep quiet. Sirius noticed as well and shut up, but his face still held a scowl.

All things considered, it wasn't too long before dinner was ready, and Peter ate his hot dogs and baked beans very quickly. He was surprised at how good they tasted.

"These are really good!" he mumbled through a mouthful.

Nick laughed. "That's what cooking outside does to food."

"I'm sure glad we cooked this over a fire," Sirius stated, looking elated. "This is the best food I've ever had."

Peter and Remus laughed loudly, and after a moment, everyone else joined in heartily, though a bit confusedly. After a dessert of s'mores, which Peter had never had before, but was delighted to eat, he crawled into the boys tent and fell fast asleep, oblivious to how many other boys were crammed into the tent.

The next day was spent in much the same way, running around the campground, meeting wizards from all over the world. The only part that got Peter a bit worried was their ventures into the Columbian and French sections. Much to his surprise, James and Sirius were quite civilized the entire time, and the only problem was trying to get Lily to leave a slightly older Columbian wizard named Carlos. The time until the game flew by rather quickly; soon it was time to go to the stadium.

The stadium was nearby, just out of sight of the campground. As they neared it, Nick handed each of them their ticket. Peter looked carefully at his. It was a big square of parchment, which said "Admit One to the Quidditch World Cup," in ink that changed colors. Beneath that, it gave the place and the date, as well as Peter's seat number. When he got to the front of the line, a witch aimed a spell at the ticket, and when a puff of green smoke went up from it, she seemed satisfied it was genuine and let Peter in. He followed Nick to their seats, too awed by the view to say anything. The stadium had thousands and thousands of seats, but what caught Peter's eye was the quidditch pitch itself, so far below. The grass was an immaculate emerald green and the officials standing on the sidelines next to it looked like mere ants.

The game wasn't scheduled to start for another hour ("To get everyone seated," Nick explained to nobody in particular), so Peter and Austin watched the crowd, and tried to determine which team had more fans (France, easily, having the home pitch advantage). When a wizard-vendor came around selling Every Flavor Beans, Peter bought a box and shared them with everyone. Just as he spit one out, saying, "Ugh, sushi," a voice boomed out, "Bienvenu à la Coupe du monde Quidditch! Je suis Henri L'Orateur, ici annoncer le jeu entre l'Équipe nationale française et l'Équipe nationale Colombienne. Le départ pour la Colombie est aujourd'hui Alfonso Perez, Mariano Bolivar, Simon Reyes, Jorge Lopez, Jose Nunez, Gabriel Herran...et chercheur Carlos Diaz!"

As the announcer spoke, the billboards around the stadium showed his words in every language imaginable. Peter read, "Welcome to the Quidditch World Cup! I am Henri L'Orateur, here to announce the game between the French National Team and the Columbian National Team. Starting for Columbia today are Alfonso Perez, Mariano Bolivar, Simon Reyes, Jorge Lopez, Jose Nunez, Gabriel Herran...and seeker Carlos Diaz!"

L'Orateur continued, "Et pour votre équipe domestique, l'Équipe Quidditch nationale française..." which Peter read as, "And for your home team, the French National Quidditch Team...Charles de Monfort, Louis Martel, Hugh Grenoble, Philip Brittany, Eleanor Valois, Lothair du Guesclin...and seeker Jeffrey LeMessurier!"

As the teams circled the fields for a warm up lap, the announcer went on. "The official for today's game is Adolf Huxley. And he's tossing the quaffle, Columbian chaser Lopez has it and he's off towards the French goals. He's wide open as he shoots...and it passes keeper Valois! Columbia 10, France 0."

Peter watched in amazement. Before summer holidays he could hardly get his broom off of the ground and right in front of him, professional quidditch players were executing the most difficult plays. He watched Diaz and LeMessurier, the Columbian and French seekers, circle the field, high above the action, searching for the snitch. Below them, the other twelve players were involved in the fast paced game of quidditch.

'Wow,' he thought, as the score changed to France 70, Columbia 40. He tore his eyes away from the game for a moment and observed how excited James and Sirius were. They were barely on the edge of their seats, they were so involved in the game. Peter smiled and turned his attention back to the pitch, where Columbian chaser Nunez was scoring another ten points for his team. Two hours later, the game was still quite close; France was ahead by only 20 points.

The announcer's voice was starting to sound tired, when a jolt of excitement passed through it. "...And LeMessurier goes into a steep dive, which means he's seen the snitch. Diaz quickly follows. This is going to be close, folks."

Peter sat up straighter, straining to see the golden snitch the two seekers were chasing after. He thought he caught a glint of gold about 20 feet above the grass, but he couldn't be sure. Breathlessly, he watched to see which seeker would capture the snitch.

"It looks like LeMessurier will get to it first, securing France their first Quidditch World Cup in fifty years," the announcer shouted excitedly. As he spoke, Diaz began to overtake the French seeker, causing L'Orateur to exclaim, "Zut allors! The Columbian seeker Carlos Diaz has captured the snitch. Columbia wins 310-270."

Peter stared in amazement, then turned to Austin sadly. "Sorry," he said simply.

Austin, however, did not seem too sad. "Did you see that?" he yelled. "Amazing!"

"Bloody brilliant!" James shouted, on his feet. Sirius just smiled and shook James' hand.

"Good match," he said.

"No hard feelings?" James asked.

Sirius gave James a hug. "Nah, I'll let it go this time."

Peter felt relieved, watching his two friends smile. He had been worried that this game would cause serious problems between the Marauders. Yawning, he realized how tired he was and longed to be back in the tent, where Nick had promised they would spend only one more night. Unfortunately, most of the disgusted French crowd was also trying to leave, so it took some time. Finally, Peter was saying goodnight to Lily and climbing into the boys' tent.

The next morning, Peter and Remus were sent to get water for cooking breakfast, as their portkey back to James' wasn't for another few hours. As they made their way through all of the tents, they saw a familiar face from Hogwarts.

"Arthur!" Remus called, smiling as Peter followed him to where Arthur Weasley stood with a girl who had red hair to rival his own.

"Remus," Arthur said. "So nice to see you. You remember Molly."

"Nice to see you Molly," Remus said, extending his hand.

She bypassed the handshake and gave Remus a warm embrace. "Good to see you, too."

"This is my friend, Peter," Remus continued.

Molly smiled at Peter and hugged him as well. Peter felt a bit awkward, but surrendered to the embrace. "Nice to meet you, dear," Molly said as she pulled away.

Peter immediately liked her and smiled broadly. "Nice to meet you, too."

"Have you heard our news?" Arthur asked excitedly. Peter, feeling completely clueless, shook his head and was relieved to see Remus do the same. Instantly, Molly held out her left hand to show them the small diamond ring on it.

"Congratulations!" Remus exclaimed. "When's the wedding?"

"In about a week," Arthur quickly answered, looking like the happiest man on earth. "I proposed right after graduation and we want to be settled before I start my job at the end of the summer."

"Where are you working?" Peter asked, trying to break into the conversation.

Arthur proudly replied, "I'm going to be Mr. Perkins' assistant in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office of the Ministry of Magic. He even paid for mine and Molly's World Cup tickets."

Peter was getting bored and shifting his weight restlessly from foot to foot. Remus picked up on this and said, "We'd better get going, or everyone will wonder where we've gone."

With a handshake for Arthur, another hug for Molly, and a 'good luck' for them both, Peter and Remus made their way to the water and back to the Lupins' tent.

Peter, his friends, and Remus' dad took a portkey (an old tin can this time) back to the Meadow. The boys went to James' room to repack their trunks for the trip home.

"Don't forget to keep reading your books," James mumbled to Peter, Remus and Sirius so that Austin couldn't hear. "We'll do the tests as soon as we get a chance."

Peter nodded silently as he closed his trunk and began to haul it down the stairs. Then he thanked the Potters' for having him over, said goodbye to his friends, and used floo powder to return to his house. No one was in his kitchen when he arrived, so he took his trunk upstairs.

"Mum?" he called. "Dad?" There was no response. Peter was disappointed, but not surprised. He helped himself to a snack and was munching away when an owl swooped in and dropped a letter on his plate and sat on the windowsill looking very superior.

"Another letter from Brian?" Peter muttered, disgusted. Still curious, he opened the envelope and pulled out the fancy parchment.

Dearest Mother, Father and Peter,

I hope this owl finds you all well. I am well indeed for today I offered my hand in marriage to Helen McKinnon, who I am sure you know, is from one of the oldest wizarding families in the UK, and is said to be the prettiest witch in Britain as well. Also, at work today...

It droned on, and was signed, "Yours, Brian L. Pettigrew."

Peter tossed the letter aside. All he needed was another reason for his parents to adore Brian. A thought occurred to him. 'If Mum and Dad never see this letter, I'll be spared their awful comparisons for a little while, maybe,' he thought. He wanted to light it on fire, but as he wasn't allowed to do magic and his house had no matches, he had to settle for ripping it into tiny pieces and letting the pieces fly out the window. After doing this, he shoo-ed the owl out the window and felt much better.

Of course, news of the engagement couldn't be kept from Peter's parents forever, it was only put off about a week. Peter was eating breakfast while his mother was reading The Daily Prophet and his father was reading the mail. He noticed his mother's eyes grow wide and he mouth open and shut without making a sound, and at the same moment, his father said gruffly, "Brian and his fiancee are coming to visit tomorrow," without looking up from the letter. "Doesn't say who that is."

Peter's mother looked up, eyes still wide and face now pale. "It's Helen McKinnon."

His father finally looked up and seemed interested, even proud. "Is it? Good, solid family, the McKinnons. Good for Brian."

"It's announced right here in The Daily Prophet," she continued excitedly. "I only wonder why we didn't hear sooner."

At this point, Peter felt it was best for him to leave, so he quickly mentioned the need to do some of his summer homework and, quite unnoticed, retreated to his room.

If Peter thought hearing about Brian was annoying, he soon found out that having him back at home was almost unbearable. All he ever heard or saw was Brian or about Brian. He was surprised to find that Helen was not only as beautiful as she was said to be, but also very smart and kind. He liked her very much and couldn't help but be annoyed by the look of pride and possession that crossed Brian's face every time he looked at her. Peter never got a chance to talk to Helen alone, though he wasn't sure he could have actually done it given the chance, and he was sad to see her go two days later. He was extremely glad to see Brian go, though, and in the end, he just longed to be back at Hogwarts.

Time dragged on until it was finally time to go back to school. Peter awoke early, extremely excited, and finished packing his trunk. He scurried down to the kitchen to have some breakfast, but to his dismay, his mother was not there reading the paper. Quickly, he went back upstairs and noticed her bedroom door was still shut. Nervously, he knocked twice. He heard a rustling, then his mother said, "What?"

"It's almost time to meet the train," he called softly.

There was a long pause, then, "What train?"

Peter sighed loudly, but calmly answered, "The Hogwarts Express. I go back to school today."

"Of course, Peter. We'll be ready in a moment," was the resigned response.