Chapter 3 - The Quidditch World Cup and a Scare

Hermione sat about leisurely the rest of the day, occasionally laughing to herself as she recalled Mr. Weasley playing with the matches or the old wizard in the night gown. Other times, she and Ginny would play Exploding Snap in their tents or Hermione would stand around silently as Mr. Weasley introduce her, Harry, and his children to various wizards from the Ministry. The time for the Quidditch Cup was drawing nearer and nearer as the salesmen began appearing, the Golden Trio walking about them.

"Wow, look at these!" Harry rushed over to a cart that was laden with brass binoculars with knobs here and there.

"Omnioculars," said the salesmen who owned the cart. "You can replay action... slow everything down... and they flash up a play-by-play breakdown if you need. Bargain – ten Galleons each."

"I wish I hadn't bought this now," Ron said as he stood there looking at the Omnioculars while holding his dancing shamrock hat.

"Three pairs," Harry told the wizard.

"No – don't bother," Ron said as he went a bit scarlet. Hermione hated to see this happen. She loved how Harry always wanted to get them things and show them how much he cared, but she hated to see Ron embarrassed by it. 'Poor Ron' Hermione thought helplessly, but Harry soon made her smile as he tried to persuade Ron.

"You won't be getting anything for Christmas," Harry said with a wink to Hermione that went unnoticed by Ron. "For about ten years mind you," Harry continued to joke.

"Fair enough," Ron said as he took at least the first part of Harry's joke seriously.

"Oooh, thanks, Harry," Hermione said as she examined the pair Harry bought her. "And I'll get us some programs, look-" Hermione picked up a brochure that was velvet-covered and tasseled with pictures of the Ireland and Bulgarian team. It told about each player and the scores of the games the teams had won to get to the Cup. Hermione and the boys made their way back to the tents, happy and excited as they heard a gong sound in the distance as many wizards and witches began moving toward the woods.

"It's time! Come on, let's go," Mr. Weasley said with a rushing thrill as he and the rest of the group fell in line and walked to the stadium. Along a lantern-lit trial, up purple carpeted stairs, and to their seats Mr. Weasley led them as they laughed and talked animatedly about the nearing event. Hermione had taken her seat and began flipping through her program as everyone around her filled the seats and the game prepared to begin. She was deeply immersed in the program until she heard the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge; announce the arrival of Lucius Malfoy. Hermione, Harry, and Ron turned quickly around and saw Lucius Malfoy, Draco, and Draco's mother edging into the Top Box.

"Oh, great," Hermione groaned as she realized that being in the Top Box, the best seats in the stadium, wasn't going to be as enjoyable as she had thought. Then Fudge made the worse mistake possible as he began introducing people.

"And allow me to introduce you to Mr. Oblansk – Oblansk – Mr. – well, he's the Bulgarian Minister of Magic, and he can't understand a word I'm saying anyway, so never mind. And let's see who else – you know Arthur Weasley, I daresay?" There was a moment's tense silence in which Hermione wished she was anywhere else in the world during. Then Lucius made a remark that made her want to curse him to oblivion.

"Good lord, Arthur," Lucius said softly as he looked at all the Weasley children, Harry, and lastly Hermione with a special look of malice. "What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?" Hermione glared at the Malfoy's as she felt like tackling Draco and slapping both of his parents, but she was soon distracted as she had to try and keep Ron in his seat. Once Ron had calmed down, Hermione looked back up at Lucius who returned her glare causing her to flush a bit, but she wasn't going to show fear or weakness as she stared back with determination.

"Slimy gits," Ron muttered angrily as the Malfoy's took there seats, Draco throwing Hermione and the boys a rather nasty look. But that's all that was said as Ludo Bagman, Head of Magical Games and Sports came into the Top Box and began talking excitedly.

"Everyone ready? Minister – ready to go?"

"Ready when you are, Ludo," Fudge replied with a polite smile as he sat there looking comfortable and content.

"Sonorus!" Ludo's voice boomed out over the crowd from the top box like he was on loudspeaker. "Ladies and gentlemen... welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!" The good feeling of excitement and happiness filtered slowly back into Hermione as the fans screamed and she forgot all about Malfoy and his parents sitting behind her. "And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce... the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!"

"I wonder what they've brought," Mr. Weasley asked as everyone bobbed their heads back and forth trying to see the mascots come onto the pitch. Hermione was so busy trying to see that it scared her when Mr. Weasley exclaimed his excitement while cleaning his glasses on his robes. "Aaah! Veela!"

"What are veel–?" Harry had begun to ask what Hermione was wondering, she had never read about anything like that before. Their question was soon answered though as about a hundred veela came gliding onto the field. Hermione watched in curiosity as music started and the veela began to dance on the field. 'Oh, if it isn't bad enough that it's a jug-headed men's game, they have woman dancing out there' Hermione thought in irritation, but she was soon snapped from her thoughts as she noticed Harry and Ron rise from their seats.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Hermione felt anger go coursing through her as the music stopped and Harry and Ron came to their senses. Both looking thoroughly embarrassed climbed off the wall of the Top Box. Hermione rolled her eyes as Ron began shredding the shamrocks on his green dancing hat.

"You'll be wanting that," Mr. Weasley said as he took the hand out of Ron's hands, "once Ireland have had their say." Hermione made a loud tutting noise as she grabbed Harry by the back of his shirt and pulled him back into his seat.

"Honestly!" Harry caught the furious bark to Hermione's tone and blushed as she sat there with her arms folded across her chest.

"And now," Ludo Bagman roared, "kindly put your wands in the air... for the Irish National Team Mascots!"

"Excellent!" Ron was now excitedly grabbing up gold as it fell from a large green and gold shamrock that had emerged from a great fireworks display.

"Leprechauns!" Mr. Weasley had directed Hermione's attention to the little beard men that made up the shamrock that was flying overhead, but her attention was drawn back to Ron who was shouting happily.

"There you go," he yelled as he shoved gold into Harry's hands as Harry sat there looking astonished, "for the Omnioculars! Now you've got to buy me a Christmas present, ha!" Hermione giggled as she watched the coin in her hand disappear, but she wouldn't say anything to the two of them. Ron was so happy she didn't want to spoil it, and she knew it wouldn't matter to Harry anyways. Her attention was now directed back to the field as Ludo Bagman began announcing the players.

"Ivanova! Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Aaaaaaand – Krum!"

"That's him, that's him," Ron exclaimed pointing to the scarlet robed player who had just came soaring onto the field as he bounced up and down in his seat. Hermione looked through her Omnioculars at the man on the broom. 'Wow, he's eighteen' she thought as she looked at him. He didn't look eighteen, and in fact, he looked much better in person than he had on the posters where he was scowling. Hermione stopped staring at Krum though, as Ludo announced the Irish players and they came out onto the pitch.

"And now, please greet – the Irish National Quidditch Team! Presenting – Connolly! Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! Aaaaaand – Lynch! And here, all the way from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa!" The game had begun, Hermione sitting on the edge of her seat with the Omnioculars in front of her eyes, watching every play closely with the play-by-play feature of the Omnioculars on. "TROY SCORES," Ludo screamed as Hermione continued to watch the game through Omnioculars, his words ringing in her ears and making her wince a bit. Hermione was fast growing bored with what was happening though as she watched it. She could stand the games at Hogwarts because it was her friends and that excited her, but this was people who she knew nothing about besides what she read in her program.

"What's the matter with you," Ron asked as he heard Hermione sigh in a bored sort of way.

"Nothing," Hermione said as she lowered the Omnioculars and stared around at the mass of red and green that was the crowd. Just then, there was a group gasp from the crowd that made Hermione look up at the players in surprise. She saw the two Seekers diving down straight to the ground, speeding madly as though the only thing that would stop them was the turf below. Hermione's eyes grew wide as she quickly raised her Omnioculars back up to her eyes, focusing them on the Seekers. Hermione didn't see a Snitch, adjusting the lens, she still didn't see it. Suddenly it hit her what was going on. "They're going to crash," she screamed, but she was only half right. She watched Krum pull out at the last minute as Lynch hit the ground, unable to stop because of his speed and momentum.

"Fool! Krum was feinting!" This got Hermione interested as she wondering what Mr. Weasley was talking about. 'Feinting?' Hermione pressed a little button on her Omnioculars marked 'replay' and then twisted the speed dial as slow as it would go while the play-by-play flashed upon the screen of the Omnioculars. WRONKSKI DEFENSIVE FEINT – DANGEROUS SEEKER DIVERSION the words flashed as Hermione watched Krum on the replay. 'He is brilliant considering he did that' Hermione thought as she watched a smile appear on his face while he looked out of the corner of his eye at Lynch who was soar downward beside him. 'And he's got quite a cute smile too!' Hermione put her Omnioculars back to normal as Bagman continued to call the game.

"And Mostafa takes the Bulgarian Keeper to task for cobbing – excessive use of elbows! And – yes, it's a penalty to Ireland!" At this, the leprechauns began to tease the veela who jumped to their feet and began dancing. Hermione watched on either side of her as Harry and the Weasley men put their fingers into their ears. Hermione looked back down onto the field and found what she saw quite funny.

"Look at the referee!" She pulled Harry's fingers out of his ears as she sat there giggling at what was taking place. Mostafa was in front of the dancing veela, flexing his muscles, obviously trying to impress the veela. Hermione broke into an even worse fit of giggles as Ludo Bagman began speaking again.

"Now, we can't have that! Somebody slap the referee!" There was a loud roar of laughter from the crowd as a mediwizard came running across the pitch, fingers in his ears as he stopped and kicked Mostafa in the shins, bringing him back to his senses. A few minutes later, Bagman called that there was now two penalties for Ireland because the Bulgarian Beaters were arguing with the ref about sending the veela away. The game resumed and Hermione found herself growing bored again as she watched the game, playing with the buttons on her Omnioculars now as they laid in her lap. Hermione felt that she was going to die of boredom soon, when Harry suddenly began to yell.

"Look at Lynch!" Hermione hurriedly put the Omnioculars to her face and watched Lynch, the Irish Seeker, speed off after the Golden Snitch, but Victor Krum was fast to catch up and stay on his tail. Hermione's eyes grew wide as she dropped the Omnioculars and she gasped as she clapped her hands to her mouth.

"They're going to crash," she shrieked.

"They're not," Ron roared.

"Lynch is," Harry corrected in a yell. For the second time in the game, Lynch hit the ground and that left Krum to catch the Snitch. "He's got it – Krum's got it – it's all over," Harry shouted excitedly as Victor rose gently into the air with the Snitch in hand and his nose bleeding badly. 'When did that happen' Hermione wondered as she looked at him through her Omnioculars.

"IRELAND WINS!" Hermione's ears rang with Bagman's bellow of the winner as she turned her gaze to the scoreboard which read BULGARIA: 160, IRELAND: 170.

"What did he catch the Snitch for?" Ron seemed to be angry with Krum for catching the Snitch, but Harry knew exactly why as he explained it to him.

"He knew they were never going to catch up! The Irish Chasers were too good... He wanted to end it on his terms, that's all..."

"He was brave, wasn't he?" Hermione didn't actually mean to voice that, but she thought he had done a great job, bloody nose and all. She leaned curiously over the edge of the Top Box and watched Krum land as he was encircled by mediwizards who were trying to fix his nose. 'My, my! He's smart and determined! And eighteen too' Hermione thought as she watch Krum refuse the help of the mediwizards.

"And as the Irish team performs a lap of honor, flanked by their mascots, the Quidditch World Cup itself is brought into the Top Box!" Hermione turned around after hearing Bagman announce this and watched the Cup itself being brought in and handed to Fudge. Hermione continued watching in thrill as the Bulgarian players entered the Top Box and began shaking hands with the Ministers. Hermione saw Krum enter and she giggled as she realized that he was much different up close and off of his broom. He walked a little bit funny and even though his face was a mess, he was cute in a weird sort of way, at least to her. The Bulgarian players began to file back out as the Irish players came carrying their Seeker in to accept the Cup. Hermione watched them pass by, a row above her seat. When Krum came past he looked down at her and gave a crooked sort of smile at made him wince from moving his seemingly broken nose. Hermione smiled back as she felt heat rising in her cheeks.

Hermione was extremely tired, but she was so happy because the atmosphere around her was filled with laughter and jokes and talk of the past World Cup. It was so joyous, that it was infectious. Hermione was sitting around a table with the Weasley's and Harry when Ginny gave a yawn that seemed to pass around the group. Hermione continued to listen to the boys talk about the match before she was startled by Ginny who fell over and upset her hot chocolate as she lay sleeping on the tiny table they were at. After a waking by Mr. Weasley, Ginny and Hermione got up and went to their own tent to go to sleep.

"Good night, Ginny," Hermione said as she crawled into the bottom bunk on the bunk bed in their tent.

"G-Gooooood night," Ginny yawned as she snuggled beneath the covers. Hermione felt as though she had barely touched her head on the pillow when she heard Mr. Weasley and some other wizards yelling as screams sounded all around them.

"Girls, get up!" Mr. Weasley was standing at the entrance of Hermione and Ginny's tent, pulling on a coat.

"What's going on," Ginny asked as she suddenly woke up and became frighteningly aware of her surroundings.

"Come on, Ginny," Hermione instructed as she grabbed their coats and pulled Ginny from the tent. Mr. Weasley ushered them over to where Harry and Ron were standing. Hermione looked up to see what they were looking at and she saw something that made her stomach drop as she felt as though a bucket of ice had been poured into it. The Muggle named Roberts was flying above the campsite with what must have been his family. Hermione's eyes welled with tears as she watched one of the tiniest Muggles begin to spin, his head flopping from side-to-side as he gained speed.

"That's really sick..." Hermione totally agreed with Ron, in fact it was more than sick to her as she felt like she was going to throw up. Hermione saw Charlie, Percy, and Bill come running out of their tent and head towards the commotion as Mr. Weasley ushered them off in the other direction.

"We're going to help the Ministry! You lot – get into the woods, and stick together. I'll come and fetch you when we've sorted this out," Mr. Weasley ordered as he rolled up his sleeves and then ran off to join his sons. Fred and George had joined them and had taken charge as Fred grabbed Ginny's hand.

"C'mon." Everyone followed Fred as he led them into the woods, Hermione peering over her shoulder at the sickening scene behind her. Hermione felt fear coursing through her like blood through her veins as she heard children crying, people screaming, and figures running through the woods. Hermione's fear increase as she heard Ron yell in pain from somewhere in the darkness.

"What happened," Hermione asked as she stopped and Harry ran into her. "Ron, where are you? Oh, this is stupid – lumos!" Hermione was a little more relieved to have her wand with her as she pointed the light about the ground until it landed on Ron.

"Tripped over a tree root," he said as he got up from the ground.

"Well, with feet that size, hard not to," said someone from behind them. The Golden Trio spun around, Hermione tossing her wand light onto none other than Draco Malfoy. Ron was furious just at having tripped over the tree root, but Malfoy's remark sent him further into rage as he told Malfoy to do something that made Hermione gasp. "Language, Weasley," Malfoy said. "Hadn't you better be hurrying along, now? You wouldn't like her spotted, would you?" Hermione shivered as he nodded to her at the same time a blast issues from the campsite and a bright green light lit the trees. Draco smirked as he saw the fear in her eyes and she knew that it wasn't good to let him see that as she spoke up.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Granger, they're after Muggles," Malfoy hissed. "D'you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Because if you do, hang around... they're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh." Hermione wanted to protest, but Harry beat her to it as her heart began to beat madly in her chest.

"Hermione's a witch."

"Have it your way, Potter," said Malfoy with a malicious grin. "If you think they can't spot a Mudblood, stay where you are."

"Watch your mouth," Ron shouted as something dawned on Hermione. Where was Draco's mother and father? The little git wouldn't run off by himself. The last time he had been in this kind of situation, he had ran and left Harry to deal with Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest. Why was he so cool now?

"Never mind, Ron," Hermione said quickly as she grabbed Ron's arm to pull him back away from Malfoy. Hermione's assumptions were only become clearer and clearer with each happening blast from the campsite. People around them were screaming as Draco laughed.

"Scare easily, don't they? I suppose your daddy told you all to hide? What's he up to – trying to rescue the Muggles?" Draco's tone was lazily and careless and this angered Hermione more than if he were to laugh, at least if he laughed, it would acknowledge that he knew something was going on. Harry had apparently been on the same wavelength as Hermione as he spoke to Draco.

"Where're your parents? Out there wearing masks, are they?"

"Well... if they were, I wouldn't be likely to tell you, would I, Potter?" Hermione threw a disgusted look at Malfoy. 'He just pretty much confessed it and he's not a bit ashamed of it... gutless slime' Hermione thought angrily.

"Oh come on," she said finally as she could no longer stand to be near Malfoy, "let's go and find the others."

"Keep that big bushy head down, Granger!"

"Come on," Hermione repeated as she pulled Harry and Ron along with her in fear that if she stayed any longer, she would be the one needing to be held back.

"I'll bet you anything his dad is one of that masked lot," Ron said hotly as they went along the forest path by Hermione's wand light, looking for the twins and Ginny.

"Well, with any luck, the Ministry will catch him," Hermione said as she tried to calm herself some. She needed to hope for something right now, or else she would fall to pieces from fear and anxiety. They didn't see the twins or Ginny anywhere as they ran into some girls along the path.

"Où est Madame Maxime? Nous l'avons perdue–," one of the girls quickly said as she tried to ask them something.

"Er– what?" Ron had no idea what she wanted and this seemed to anger her as she turned and walked away while saying something about that sounded like 'Ogwarts.'

"Beauxbatons," Hermione muttered.

"Sorry?" Harry seemed to have no idea what Hermione was talking about.

"They must go to Beauxbatons. You know... Beauxbatons Academy of Magic... I read it in An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe."

"Oh... yeah... right," Harry said as he still sounded confused.

"Fred and George can't have gone that far," Ron said as he took out his wand and lit it like Hermione's.

"Ah, no, I don't believe it... I've lost my wand!" Harry was searching frantically in his pockets for his wand as Hermione and Ron turned to him.

"You're kidding," Hermione said in anxiety.

"Maybe it's back in the tent," Ron said.

"Maybe it fell out of your pocket when we were running?" Hermione was starting to feel sorry for Harry as she realized that this couldn't happen at a worser time.

"Yeah, maybe..." Harry was still searching his pockets as he agreed, hoping that one of them were right and that he would be able to find it. Just then, something in the bushes moved and the three of them drew closer as it get nearer to them.