"They really did it, huh." Bella laughed.
"Aw Bella, you should have seen it." Ron gushed.
"I told him not to bother with those toffees." Freya sighed.
"What do they do exactly?" Emily asked.
"They're called Ton-Tongue Toffees. So when you eat them your tongue swells and it's massive!" Ron explained.
"They've been testing them on me all summer." Bella added. "Some of it was not pretty."
"What happened?" Hermione asked, looking intrigued.
"Well, this one time -" Bella pushed for dramatic effect. "my tongue fell out."
"No way!" Harry cried.
"Did your tongue really fall out?" Freya asked.
Bella and Ron looked at each other and both burst out laughing.
"Of course not." Bella laughed.
"I knew it!" Harry chuckled.
"Mum found the order forms." Bella informed Ron.
"She didn't," he gasped.
"Yip." she replied with a nod. "Went absolutely mental, she did - burnt them all."
"Order forms?" Hermione asked. "What for?"
"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, by any chance?" Freya asked, both Ron and Bella nodded their heads. "Fred told me about that at the start of the summer."
"What's going on with you two?" Ron asked, a look of confusion on his face.
The six girls in the room all looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"You're being serious?" Bella asked when Ron and Harry didn't laugh. "They're together."
"Really?" Harry asked.
"Yeah." Freya replied with a chuckle.
"No way." Ron said. "How did I not know this?"
"You're a bit dim Ron, that's why." Ginny laughed.
"What are Fred and George going to do now your mum's burned their order forms?" Emily asked.
"They're going to make more, George told me yesterday that they're planning to invent some more stuff and want me to test it out." Bella replied.
"And you're happy to do that?" Hermione asked.
"Well, yeah. If it helps Fred and George." Bella said. "They test them on themselves and Lee as well so it's not just me."
"I'd rather you than me."
After dinner that night, every single one of them was banished to bed with the warning of an early rise the following day. The girls struggled to sleep, spending most of the night talking and laughing. Bella, the last awake, felt as if she had only just drifted off to sleep when she was shaken awake by her mother.
"Good morning, sweetheart." she smiled softly. "You couldn't wake your brothers for me, could you?"
"Sure mum." Bella replied sleepily, pulling herself out of bed.
Bella's mother woke Ginny and the others while Bella climbed the stairs to the floor above Ginny's room. She rubbed her eyes tiredly as she pushed open Fred and George's bedroom door.
"Come on." Bella said, shaking George weakly. "Mum said we need to get up."
"Five more minutes." he groaned, rolling over onto his side.
Bella, with the little strength she had at that time in the morning, pushed George and he tumbled out of bed. The thud of George hitting the floor woke Fred and he sat up in bed, looking between Bella and George's empty bed with half-lidded eyes.
"Whasamatter?"
"That little witch pushed me out of bed." George said, pulling himself up from the floor.
"Mum said to wake you up, so I did." Bella replied.
She left Fred and George's room and climbed the stair case to her and Ron's attic bedroom. She pushed open the door and Ron's soft snores drifted into her ears. She shook his shoulders gently and he opened his eyes slowly.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Time to get up." Bella replied, crossing the room and shaking Harry's shoulders gently.
"It's time to get up, Harry." Bella said softly when he opened his eyes.
Bella left Harry and Ron to get dressed and returned to Ginny's room. She dressed quickly and the five girls trudged down the stairs, all too tired to exchange a few words. Fred and George caught up with them on the stairs and Harry and Ron appeared behind them just as they made it to the kitchen. Their mother was standing over a huge pot on the stove and their father sat at the table, going over a wad of parchement tickets.
"What do you think?" their father asked, standing and opening his arms so they could see his outfit. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a jumper much too big for him. "We're supposed to look like muggles - do I look like a muggle?"
"Yeah." Harry said. "Very good."
"You look great, Mr Weasley." Freya smiled.
"Thank you." her father said with a bright smile, taking his seat at the head of the table again.
"Where's Bill and Charlie and Per-Per-Percy." George asked, trying and failing to stifle a yawn.
"Well they're Apparating, aren't they." their mother said, ladling large portions of porridge into bowls and passing them down the table. "They can sleep a little later."
"So they're still in bed and we're up earlier than the birds." Fred grumbled, pulling his bowl of porridge towards him. "Why can't we Apparate too?"
"Because you aren't of age and you haven't passed your test yet." their mother retorted.
"You have to pass a test to apparate?" Harry asked.
"Oh, yes." her father replied. "The Department of Magical Transportation had to fine a couple of people the other day for Apparating without a license. It's not easy, Apparition, and when it's not done properly it can lead to nasty complications. This pair I'm talking about went and splinched themselves."
Everyone at the table except Harry winced.
"What does that mean?" Harry asked.
"It means they left half of themselves behind." her father explained. "So, of course, they were stuck. Couldn't move either way. Had to wait for the Accidental Magci Reversal Squad to sort them out. Meant a fair old bit of paperwork, I can tell you, what with the Muggles who spotted the body parts they'd left behind..."
"Were they okay?" Harry asked, startled.
"Oh, yes." he replied. "But they got a heavy fine, and I don't think they'll be trying it again in a hurry. You don't mess around with Apparition. There are plenty of adult wizards who don't bother with it. Prefer brooms - slower, but safer.
"But Bill and Charlie and Percy can all do it?"
"Charlie had to take the test twince." Fred said, a big grin on his face. "He failed first time, Apparated five miles south of where he meant to, right on top of some poor old dear doing her shopping, remember?"
"Yes, well, he passed the second time." their mother said, taking her seat at the table. All the children sat around the table sniggered, even their father had an amused smile on his face.
"Percy only passed two weeks ago." Ron said through a mouthful of porridge.
"He's been apparating down stairs every morning, just to prove he can." Bella added.
"George!" their mother aid suddenly and they all jumped.
"What?" George said in an innocent tone that deceived no one.
"What is that in your pocket?"
"Nothing!"
"Don't you lie to me!"
She pointed her wand at George's pocket and said "Accio!"
Several small, brightly coloured objects zoomed out of George's pocket; he made a grab for them but missed, and they sped right into their mothers outstretched hand.
"We told you to destroy them!" she cried furiously, holding up more Ton-Tongue Toffees. "We told you to get rid of the lot! Empty your pockets, go on, both of you!"
Bella felt terrible for her brothers; they had evidently been trying to smuggle as many toffees out of the house as they could and it was only with her Summoning Charm that their mother managed to find them all. They were in all sorts of weird places including the bottoms of Fred's shoes and an inside pocket on George's jumper that he had attatched himself.
"We spent six months developing those!" Fred yelled furiously as their mother threw the toffees in the bin.
"Oh, a fine way to spend six months!" she cried. "No wonder you didn't get more OWLs!"
The atmosphere in the Burrow was rife with tension as they made their departure. Their mother was still brimming with fury as she kissed their father goodbye but she was not nearly as furious as the twins as they both hoisted their backpacks onto their backs and left without a word. Freya said a hurried goodbye to Bella's mother and chased after the twins into the darkness. It was chilly and the darkness intimidating as they made their way across the yard. Bella pulled her jacket tighter around herself and shuffled closer to Ron, for protection and warmth.
"So, how does everyone get there without the Muggles noticing?" Harry asked when they had been walking for a while.
"It's been a massive organisational problem." Bella's father sighed. "The trouble is, about a hundred thousand wizards turn up to the World Cup, and of course we just haven't got a magical site big enough to accomodate them all. There are places Muggles can't penetrate, but imagine trying to pack a hundred thousand wizards into Diagon Alley or platrform nine and three-quarters. So we had to fnd a nice deserted moor, and set up as many anti-Muggle precautions as possible. The whole Ministry's been working on it for months. Firstly, of couse, we have to stagger the arrivals. People with cheaper tickets need to arrive two weeks beforehand. A limited number use Muggle transport, but we can't have too many clogging up their buses and trains - remember, wizards are coming from all over the world. Some Apparate, of course, but we have to set up safe points for them to appear, well away from Muggles. I believe there's a handy wood their using as the Apparition point. For those who don't want to Apparate, or can't, we use Portkeys. They're objects that are used to transport wizards from one spot to another at a prearranged time. You can do large groups at a time if you want to. There have bee two hundred Portkeys placed at strategic points all over britain, and the nearest one to us is u[ the top of Stoatshead Hill, so that's where we're headed."
They could see that large black outline of Stoatshead Hill up ahead of them. They trudged down the dark, damp lane towards the village, the only sound in the silence was their heavy footsteps. The sky began to brighten slightlyas they walked through the village. Bella was shivering with the cold and Ron wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him as they walked.
They had no breath to speak as they made their way up Stoatshead Hill, tripping occasionally on the hidden rabbit holes. Bella was panting for breath with every step she took and Ron took her hand, pulling her up the hill behind him.
"Whew" her father panted, taking his glasses off and wiping them on his jumper when he reached the top of the hill. "Well, we've made good time - we've got ten minutes..."
Bella was the last to the top of the hill, clutching her side and holding onto Ron for support.
"Now we just need to find the Portkey." he said, re-adjusting his glasses. "It won't be big, come on..."
They spread out to look for the Portkey on the brow of the hill.
"You guys go ahead." Bella panted, waving her hand in the air. "I'll just stay here and catch my breath."
"Over here, Arthur! Over here, son, we've got it!"
Bella squinted and saw two tall figures silhoutted against the dark blue sky on the other side of the hill.
"Amos!" her father called, smiling as he strode towards them. Bella jogged to catch up with the others as they followed him.
Her father was shaking the hand of a portly man with a thick brown beard who held a mouldy old boot in his hand.
"Cedric!" Bella said cheerily, her eyes landing on the other tall figure.
"Hey, tiny." he smiled.
"You two know each other?" her father asked, confused.
"Yeah." Bella smiled. "Cedric's my friend."
"Right, okay." her father said slowly with a chuckle.
"Long walk, Arthur?" Cedric's father asked.
"Not too long." her father replied. "We just live on the other side of that village there. You?"
"Had to get up at two, didn't we, Ced? I tell you, I'll be glad when he's got his Apparition license. Still, not complaining... Quidditch World Cup, wouldn't miss it for a sackful of Galleons - and the tickets cost about that. Mind you, looks like I got off easy..." Amos Diggory peered around at all of the children.
"All these yours, Arthur?" he asks.
"Oh no, only the redheads. Ron and Bella, Fred and George, and Ginny." her father replys, pointing out her and her siblings. "And this is Hermione, Freya and Emily - all friends of my children and Harry - another friend."
"Merlin's beard." Amos said, his eyes widening. "Harry? Harry Potter?"
"Er - yeah." Harry said, chuckling awkwardly.
"Ced's talked about you, of course." Amos said, "- and you too, Bella."
Cedric's cheeks immediately turned scarlett and Bella chuckled under her breath at him.
"Told us all about playing against you last year, Harry. I said to him, I said - Ced that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will... you beat Harry Potter!"
Cedric looked as if he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.
"Harry fell off his broom, Dad." Cedric said quietly. "I told you... it was an accident."
"Yes, but you didn't fall off, did you?" Amos said cheerily, slapping Cedric on the back. "Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman... but the best man won, I'm sure Harry'd say the same, wouldn't you, eh? One falls off his broom, one stays on, you don't have to be a genius to tell which one's the better flier!"
Cedric pulled back from beside his father, his cheeks darkening in embarassment.
"Come on." Bella whispered, linking her arm through his and pulling him away from the group.
"That was so embarrassing." Cedric groaned when he was out of hearing distance of his father.
"It could've been worse." Bella laughed. "He could have said that you tell him all about your undying love for Harry or something."
"Now that would have been bad." Cedric chuckled.
"I really don't like Portkeys." Bella commented as her father called them over.
"It'll be okay." Cedric assured her.
The twelve of them gathered in a tight circle around the mouldy old boot held out by Amos Diggory.
"Three..." her father muttered, checking his watch. "two... one..."
Just before the pull in her navel, Cedric clasped her free hand in his and she turned her head to him as the world swirled around them.
