"Do not ever ask a Cerberus to fetch. At least one head will always take offense."

-Rubeus Hagrid

Chapter 25: Bread Crumbs

"ARE YOU READY TO SEE A FIGHT?!"

Screams erupted from all around me as we made our way to our seats in the sixth row. We were just in time for the opening featherweight match.

"THAT WAS PATHETIC! I SAID ARE YOU READY TO GET STARTED!"

This time the stands shook with the force of stomps and screams. Errol's hand found my shoulders as he hunched himself around me and guided me through the crowd. Eventually we were able to push into our seats. As soon as Errol let go, I nearly tripped.

"внимателен." When I looked up to see who was speaking, there stood an older boy. He had reached a hand out to steady me. Not an adult like most people here. Maybe the same ages as Errol, Nicholas, and Kal.

"Sorry," I winced, standing upright. He just gave a gentle smile and turned back to the ring. What was that he had said? It got lost in the noise of the cheers around us.

"I've been waiting for this all year!" Kal giggled with a smile so wide, it almost looked like it would break his face. He and Nicholas joined in on the bleacher stomping. The air was filled with an electricity that jooosteled? me back and forth. That was wrong. I fingered a small piece of torn parchment in my pocket where I had five words with their definitions written down. I couldn't take a break on my studies. Not even today. And ESPECIALLY when I knew no good smug faced Zacharias already knew all kinds of words.

I had been receiving owls from the boys for the past week. There were no specific words that had ever said I couldn't leave the guest house, but it was an unspoken rule. So, when Kal and his smooth-talking charmer of a brother showed up. With a few words and grins, he had Mrs. Finnigan eating out of the palm of his hand, much to the annoyance of Mr. Finnigan.

We floo'd away to Kal's home where Nicholas and Errol waited. Kal slipped his older brother wizard coins- I wasn't exactly sure how much each one was worth yet, and he disappeared. "But I thought he was supposed to come with us?" I asked, curious as to where he was going.

"Trust me. You don't want my stupid brother around. He's only good for snogging girls and finding trouble."

"What's a snog?" I whispered to Nicholas, but he just laughed me away and directed me toward the floo.

So here we were. I sat in awe, my hands never fully leaving my face at any moment as I watched the two men in the ring beat each other to smithereens. Different colored lights would surround their hands and feet when they punched, kicked, blocked. At times one fighter would flip out of danger and stick a landing on the side of the cage wall feet first. "How did he do that?!" I gasped but it was lost in the jeers and cheers of the crowd.

I could feel someone watching me. I was getting to know that feeling well since attending Hogwarts and becoming a witch. Unlike recently, this didn't feel malicious. When I looked to my right, the boy I had tripped into earlier had been staring. I didn't know what to do, because he didn't look away, so I just nervously smiled and looked away. He eventually returned his attention to the fight, cheering and shouting with the rest of us.

I couldn't describe this feeling, but I was happy I came. This must be what Papa felt when he watched his college football. The energy from the crowd literally flows from the people around you and into you and out of you again. By the time the heavy weight fight was underway, my voice was hoarse from having screamed so much. I wasn't even sure who I was cheering for. I shouted any time someone did something cool. That earned me some side eyes from certain people, letting me know that the majority of the crowd clearly had a favorite.

The heavyweight fight made the earlier match look like a couple slap boxing kittens. The hits here were harder, the kicks deadlier. It was like a 4th of July fireworks show in there. Where you lost most of the acrobatics, it was made up in just plain powerful head to head, punch for punch, bone cracking holds.

I was being stared at again.

"Hello?" I finally said, brave enough that if this boy became scary, there were three other boys right behind me. Three boys that practice their punches and kicks on owl feed bags. They're not very good but they practice.

"Hello." He nodded. He seemed like he was ready to ignore me again, but he decided not to at the last moment. "Трябва да говорите български." At my confused look, he seemed disappointed. This time he spoke slowly. "Sprichst du Bulgarisch?- Извинете. Проклет. Немски. Не говоря английски."

I stared at him, slowly shaking my head in confusion. He really seemed like he was trying to say something, but it was clear he couldn't speak a lick of English. He had a very sturdy look to him. Almost like he could have worked a farm or maybe been in that ring in a fight himself. He was just as tall as Errol and maybe not as wide but all brick shoulders in his deep dark red robes. His brow set in a straight line making his face look serious and a little intimidating. His dark eyes and light tan reminded me a lot of Jackie's grandmother from school. She used to pick Jackie up every now and then but one day a couple of the older kids threw rocks at her van. They said they were going to call Immigration on her and made fun of Jackie for being crippled. It was the same two kids that always threw rocks at our classroom window when they even decided to come to school. And they got suspended right after saying all that mean stuff to the lady, but Jackie's mom started picking Jackie up from then on. When I asked her about it, she told me that her Grandma was fine and that she had papers, but she didn't want to give her any trouble because she couldn't speak much English.

"I'm sorry," I winced, gripping tightly to the Hufflepuff scarf around my neck. I didn't have another scarf. I also wore my Hufflepuff gloves and hat. I should really go shopping. "I'm really sorry. I don't speak no Spanish." He looked confused, staring back at me. I shouted louder over the crowd. "I don't speak Spanish! No-um-HABLE! No hable Spanish!" Oh, I knew that was no good. I could tell it didn't translate either but that was all I knew how to say aside from 'Hola' and 'Gracias'.

"Mary Smith?" Oh- he knew my name? I nodded slowly. He held up a hand signaling I…I wait? He then dug into his robes and pulled out a vial full of small purple flower heads. He pulled one out and grabbed my hand, placing it in my palm. He was giving me flowers? My face grew hot. What was going on? I don't want this!

He was looking at me expectantly and, not wanting to disappoint, I reached up and put the flower in my hair. I've only been a girly looking girl for a week and already Daphne has boys giving me flowers. I was never going to comb my hair again. Daphne was currently at her Grandmother's Cabin with the promise to return another day before the break ended. We would need to talk about this.

The boy went from looking hopeful to horrified and immediately removed the small flowerhead from my hair. With an exasperated look, he held it up for me to see, and then he ate it.

It was my turn to look horrified. Out came his vial and he handed me another flower. I couldn't just eat this! You can't just eat anything a stranger gives to you.

But he also ate it. Maybe it was okay? Witches at sporting games share snacks I suppose? I didn't see anyone around selling hotdogs or sodas. Just then my stomach growled.

So I ate it.

It tasted like a spicy flower. My tongue felt funny. I would not recommend this snack to others.

The boy finally cracked a grin. "You understand fine now, don't you?"

I was shocked. So, eating the flower helped him speak English? Or did it help me understand Spanish? "Yes I can hear you- er- understand you."

He glanced behind me before looking to me again. "You have a body guard? You are this famous in England, too?"

"Famous? I'm not famous. These are just my um-friends. We go to school together."

He had to bend a little to hear me. His long hair slid forward over his shoulder. His hair was so beautiful the way it waved. "Do you use hair lotion too?" I blurted out before I could stop myself. Stupid Mary! Stupid!

He looked a little taken aback before bursting into a laugh that was swallowed in another roar. The bleachers shook. "You are funny. No one back home will believe I met the Mary Smith. It is shameful that you do not speak your father's tongue but I suppose that is not your fault."

"I didn't think my father was Mexican."

"Mexican?"

"I mean, there are a lot of countries that speak Spanish. Sorry."

"Spanish?" He stood upright a moment to look behind me again. "Spanish…" He mumbled again. "You know nothing of your father." It wasn't a question, but I shook my head anyway. "His home still stands. Would you like to see it?"

My mouth opened and closed a couple times. My father's home? I could see my father's home? Would I have family there? "Yes!" I found myself answering before fully thinking things through. When he held out a hand I took it. Don't go wandering off with strangers. Don't talk to strangers. Don't eat food from strangers. I was breaking all the rules today, but I needed to find out more about my parents. How could I claim to truly become an English witch if I didn't do all that I could to find out where I came from? No matter how suspicious, how could I pass up the opportunity to learn more about my parents? My father?

With another roar from the crowd, he held up a finger to his lips and pulled me through the audience. I guess now I could see it was inconsiderate to just leave my friends behind. I suppose I would really feel bad about this later. We walked out of the warehouse that housed the event, until we were a few yards away. There, he pulled a pouch from under his robes. Then from this small pouch, his entire arm disappeared, and he pulled a broom, mounting it. "Hop on. The fight is almost over and then there won't be any time for it." I did, climbing on the way Cedric taught me. It was odd doing it with someone else there. I tried grabbing onto the back of his robe, but his arms forced mine around his torso. "Don't be foolish. You will fall off. Have you never ridden before?"

"I'm still learning," I winced. His stare became so blank. Somehow, I could feel disappointment rolling off him. I knew in the same way I just knew things. He caught me with a firm but gentle grip when I started to tip off.

"Like this then," he said, scooting further back on the broom. He positioned me in a way that reminded me of horseback riding side saddle. I was like a dainty lady in a western. "Make yourself small little Smith," he mumbled, leaning forward to grasp the front end. "Hold on very tightly. This will be a long ride to a Floo." And we were off.

(Lidia: Thank you all for the views, the follows, the favorites, and the reviews! They're all greatly appreciated.

Panda735170 – Thank you! Character development is a huge compliment! I try to present Mary as a normal student struggling with her studies that just so happens to have an attention deficit. I'm glad you enjoyed what I've put together so far.

ChocoGummies – A second review! Thank you! My main secondary characters are Daphne and Dean. Seamus will be around but not nearly as often. And yes I do plan to drop many dangerous things in Mary's direct path.)