Chapter Three- Early Mornings and Cedric


I felt like I'd barely got any sleep when I was violently shaken awake early the next morning. Groaning and squinting my eyes open, I was met with a very excited Ginny Weasley, who was already dressed in a bright green t-shirt and jeans. She'd even painted green stripes on her cheeks. "Come on, Maisie! You don't want to be late!"

"Bloody hell, alright." I swung the covers off (shivering at the wave of cold air I was met with) and sat up. "It's not even four in the morning, Gin. I really doubt I'll be late."

"Do you really want to take that risk?!" She replied, grinning at Hermione who, like Ginny, was already up and dressed.

"Yeah, yeah." I mumbled, grabbing my toothbrush and praying that the bathroom would be free. Leaving Ginny's room, I smiled as I saw the bathroom door open with the light off; It was extremely rare to find the bathroom free in a morning with so many people sharing it. Dragging my feet towards the room, I froze as I saw Fred shuffle out of his own, obviously heading to the same destination I was. He stopped, looking between me and the room we both needed before getting the same idea as me. We both started running in an eager bid to reach the bathroom first. We were both only a few metres away, but as luck would have it, my first few steps I'd made before Fred came out into the hallway allowed me to reach the door first. Stepping through the doorway, I gave Fred a smug grin as I waved my toothbrush in his face.

"Better luck next time, Freddie." I smirked, shutting the door in his face, which looked incredibly annoyed. I didn't doubt I'd be paying for this later in some form or another.

I didn't take too long to brush my teeth and wash my face with a splash of cold water. I'd been planning on plaiting my hair in an effort to not wash it so early in the morning, so after drying my face I made my way back to Ginny's room, ignoring the impatient huffs of Fred who had been waiting outside the entire time.

After only about five more minutes, I'd changed into a pair of jeans, a green vest top (the colour at Ginny's insistence), and a grey jumper. The other two girls had already gone downstairs when I'd began to change, so one I'd laced up my boots and put my hair in a very quick braid, I trudged downstairs. I wasn't surprised to see everyone except the three eldest Weasley children sat around the table, all picking at their food half asleep. How Fred had beaten me downstairs was beyond me.

"Hello, dear." Said Mrs Weasley, hurrying over to where I was sitting at the table and placing a plate full of food in front of me. "Eat up, you'll all need to be leaving soon!"

"Thanks, Molly." I said, quietly. Despite not being very hungry, I'd never been one to turn down Mrs Weasley's cooking so I tucked in.

"Nice of you to finally join us." Said Fred through a mouth full of eggs. Not bothering to reply, I just flicked a chunk of bread at his face, smiling when it hit him in the eye.

"Where're Bill and Charlie and Per-Per-Percy?" asked George, through a huge yawn.

"Well, they're apparating, aren't they?" said Mrs Weasley, bringing more food over to the table. "So they can have a bit of a lie in."

"So they're still in bed?" said Fred, grumpily. "Why can't we apparate too?"

"Because you're not of age and you haven't got your test." Mrs Weasley snapped. It seemed the tension between the twins and their mother hadn't disappeared.

"You've got to pass a test to apparate?" asked Harry.

"Oh yes." Replied Mr Weasley, who was checking he had all of our tickets by tucking them safely into his pockets. I'd never seen him look so strange in his muggle clothing. "The Department of Magical Transportation had to fine a couple of people the other day for apparating without a license. It's not easy, apparation, and when it's not done properly it can lead to nasty complications. This pair I'm talking about went and splinched themselves."

I flinched along with everyone else around the table. I'd seen someone splinch themselves when I was younger, and it was nasty.

"Er... splinched?" asked Harry, looking confused.

"They left half of themselves behind. So, of course, they were stuck. Couldn't move either way. Had to wait for the Accidental Magic 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?"

"Oh yes. 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 apparation. 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?"

Bloody hell, it is far too early for all these questions, I thought to myself as I looked towards George, who from the looks on his face, agreed with me.

"Charlie had to take the test twice." Said Fred, who seemed to have perked up from his earlier mood. "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 second time." Said Mrs Weasley, giving Fred a stern look.

"Percy only passed two weeks ago." Said George. "He's been apparating downstairs every morning since, just to prove he can."

Shovelling my last bit of toast into my mouth (which earnt a nice snort from Fred and a 'very ladylike' comment from George), I stood up to stretch my legs; I was still very stiff from the rude awakening I'd got. But while I was feeling more awake, it seemed Ginny's early morning rise had worn off as she struggled to keep her face out of her porridge.

"Why do we have to be up so early?" she yawned.

"We've got a bit of a walk." Replied Mr Weasley.

"Walk?" asked Harry. "What, are we walking to the world cup?" I mentally groaned at the thought.

"No, no. That's miles away." I sighed in relief. "We only need to walk a short way. It's just that it's very difficult for a large number of wizards to congregate without attracting muggle attention. We have to be very careful about how we travel at the best of times, and on a huge occasion like the quidditch world cup…"

"George!" I jumped in shock as Mr Weasley was interrupted.

"What?" he replied innocently. I knew that voice. He'd done something and Mrs Weasley had noticed.

"What is that in your pocket?"

"Nothing!" I stared in concern. After all their arguments over the summer, I knew this couldn't end well.

"Don't you lie to me!" Mrs Weasley pointed her wand at George's pocket, and I knew immediately what she'd seen. "Accio!" I watched as the twins' faces switched between shock, annoyance and anger as several small, brightly coloured objects flew out of George's pocket into Mrs Weasley's outstretched hand. "We told you to destroy them! We told you to get rid of the lot! Empty your pockets! Go on, both of you!"

I stood awkwardly (along with the rest of the kitchen) with my hands in my own pockets. The twins had somehow managed to hide their toffees everywhere. As Mrs Weasley continued to use the summoning charm to find them all, they flew from all sorts of places, including from the up-turns of Fred's jeans and the insides of George's hood.

"We spent six months developing those!" yelled Fred, whose face looked like thunder. I don't think I'd ever seen him so mad.

"Oh, a fine way to spend six months! No wonder you didn't get more O. !"

Whatever Mrs Weasley could have said there, that was clearly the wrong thing. Without another word, the twins grabbed their rucksacks and stormed out of the kitchen into the garden. It was times like this that I had no idea how to make them feel any better. It was much easier to let them calm down before approaching them.

"Well, have a lovely time." Said Mrs Weasley, who was still glowering despite her attempt to be friendly. "and behave yourselves." She yelled after the twins. "I'll send Bill, Charlie and Percy along around midday."

I silently slipped outside with everyone except Mr Weasley, who was still saying goodbye to his wife. I caught up with the twins, putting my hands on their arms in an attempt to calm them down. "She'll get over it." I said, knowing as soon as I said it, it would do nothing to make them feel better- I just received two glares in return. "Look…" I held them back as we began our walk. "I didn't want to mention this back in the kitchen (for obvious reasons…), but I have something that might make you both feel better."

Fred scoffed. "Six months, Maisie. Six months wasted! We're going to have to start from scratch! And we'd just perfected them!"

"I don't know about that…" I trailed off, with a small smile.

"Maise? What do you mean?" asked George, pulling me to a stop. The others weren't walking quickly which meant we'd easily be able to catch them up.

"Well, let's just say that your mum should really not trust me as much as she does, as much as I hate to admit it." I replied, reaching into my pocket and pulling out several small toffees.

"How did you get these?" breathed out Fred, reaching out to take them.

"I stole a few of them out of your pockets last night." I explained, pulling my hand away and putting the sweets back in my pocket before continuing walking. "I got curious after you told me about them yesterday and I wanted to have a look at them for myself, I guess. Lucky I did. Molly never suspects me for some reason." I shrugged. "And I'll hang onto them. If you go back in that house with more, I actually think your mum will kill you."

"You are amazing." Smiled George, bending down and placing a quick kiss on the top of my head. "I don't know what we would do without you!"

I ducked my head down with a smile in an attempt to hide my blush. "Oh, you'd crash and burn, I'm sure." I was, for the first time that morning, incredibly thankful that it was dark as I looked up at the younger twin. He was grinning down at me with a look in his eye that I couldn't place, and I could feel my cheeks getting more flushed.

"Don't flatter us too much, Maisie." Laughed Fred, causing the heads of the others in front to turn at the twins' sudden mood change.

"Flatter you? I'd rather snog the giant squid!" I retorted, shrieking as Fred lunged towards me. "No, Fred, stop!" I squealed, as he grabbed me around my waist and rubbed the top of my head with his knuckles roughly. "George, save me!" I felt myself being pulled away and hoisted up onto George's back. I was perched above his rucksack rather uncomfortably, but I was saved the walk and I (much to my confusion) was very much enjoying being so close to George.

"Do not fear, my lady! I shall save you!" George exclaimed, quickening his pace to catch up to the others as Fred hurried behind.

"My hero!" I swooned, wrapping my arms around his neck to keep myself balanced. "You can probably put me down now though. I think we've proved our point and I can't be light."

"Don't be silly." George hushed. "I can see why my mum feeds you up, you barely weigh anything." With his words, my blush that had started to disappear, came back. This is getting ridiculous, I thought. He tightened his grip around my legs as if to prove his point.

"How are you three so awake?" groaned Ginny, who along with Hermione, was dragging her feet up the hill we were currently climbing.

"Must have been those extra few minutes of sleep I had compared to you." I joked, giggling as she scowled.

Our walk couldn't have lasted any longer than an hour. By the time we'd started to climb what Mr Weasley said was the final hill, the sun was just beginning to rise in the distance, and I'd taken to playing with George's hair as a way to entertain myself. His huffed whenever I'd accidentally tug at a knot, but I heard no complaints, so I was content to continue until he told me to stop.

"Whew." I heard Mr Weasley huff. "Well, we've made good time- we've got ten minutes…"

I hopped down from George's back as he caught his breath. While I was looking contently into the distance at the sun rise, everyone around me was bending over, clutching their sides and trying to catch their breath.

"You know, considering three of you play quidditch for the majority of the year, you'd think you'd be a little fitter…" I quipped, causing Harry, Fred and George to all send tired glares my way.

"If… I had the energy… I'd throw you off this hill so you'd actually… have to climb up it…" panted Fred, lying on his back. I skipped over and sat on his stomach in retaliation.

"Now we just need the portkey." Continued Mr Weasley. "It won't be big… come on…"

Not bothering in moving (it was far more fun listening to Fred complain about my 'fat arse'), I watched as the others spread out in an attempt to find the portkey.

"Ya know, you could be useful for once in your life and help dad look." Fred grunted, twisting onto his side and causing me to fall flat on my face.

"What? Like you are?" I snapped back, rubbing my nose.

"Over here, Arthur! Over here, son, we've got it!" I heard a voice shout.

"Amos!" said Mr Weasley, striding over to the two figures that had appeared, the elder holding what looked to me like a mouldy old boot. "This is Amos Diggory, everyone! Works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric?"

I knew Cedric, of course. He was in my year, captain of the Hufflepuff quidditch team and rather popular from what I gathered. Fred and George (who were currently busy glaring daggers at him) had never particularly liked him- something that was amplified after he beat Gryffindor at quidditch last year. I, however, found his company quite enjoyable on the occasions I spoke to him, which tended to be in the library after we'd been assigned particularly tough essays. He was incredibly good at charms.

"Hi." Said Cedric, giving us all a little wave. I gave him a wave and a small smile back, elbowing Fred and George as they continued glaring.

"Be nice." I muttered.

"This is nice." Replied George, rubbing his side. "Don't know how you can talk to the guy."

"Because he's nice, and I really don't know why you don't like him."

"Just…because." George muttered under his breath.

"Uh huh."

"Long walk, Arthur?" asked Cedric's dad, unaware of the tension that was building.

"Not too bad." Said Mr Weasley. "We live just on the other side of the 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 test. 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…" He looked across all of us. "All these yours, Arthur?"

"Oh, no, only the redheads. This is Maisie." Mr Weasley said, pointing over to me. "She's a friend of Fred and George. This is Hermione, friend of Ron's- and Harry, another friend…"

"Merlin's beard" said Mr Diggory, his eyes widening. "Harry? Harry Potter?"

"Er- yeah." Said Harry. I could feel his awkwardness from where I was standing.

"Ced's talked about you, of course. Told us all about playing against you last year… I said to him, I said- Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will… you beat Harry Potter!"

Fred and George looked like they were positively fuming now. Even I was getting a tad annoyed at Cedric's dad. I didn't care for quidditch, but that match was a sore spot for the team and most of the house, after all.

"Harry fell off his broom, dad." Muttered Cedric, looking over at us with an apologetic look. "I told you… it was an accident."

"Yes, but you didn't fall off, did you?" replied Mr Diggory, 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 need to be a genius to tell which one's the better flyer!"

"Must be nearly time!" said Mr Weasley, quickly, seeing most of our faces morphed into scowls. "Do you know whether we're waiting for any more, Amos?"

"No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already, and the Fawcetts couldn't get tickets. There aren't any more of us in this area, are there?"

"Not that I know of… yes, it's a minute off… we'd better get ready." It was difficult fitting ten people with very bulky backpacks around a rather small boot, but after a few seconds of manoeuvring (in which I ended up being squished between Fred and Cedric), we all got into a position where we could reach the portkey. "Three… two… one…"

It happened immediately. I'd never travelled by portkey before, and in that moment, I made a vow I was never going to again. It felt like a hook had grabbed me behind my navel and I was jerked roughly forward. I left the ground, my finger still on the portkey and my shoulders banging into the two figures on either side of me. I kept my eyes squeezed shut as I felt the wind rush through me and then… it was over. I was on the ground, feet first. I looked around dazed for a split second before my feet gave way and I fell backwards.

"Oomf!"

"Bloody hell Maise!"

"Oh, sorry George! I didn't know you were behind me!"

"Obviously." He replied. I could hear the smirk that no doubt adorned his face. "Not that I don't love having you on top of me, Maise, but you gonna get off me any time soon?"

Blushing fiercely, I scrambled up, offering George a hand to pull him up too. I let go of his hand immediately after, giving him an awkward smile. This blushing needed to stop.

"Seven past five from Stoatshead Hill." Said a voice, announcing our arrival. We were here!