Just a pre-cursor there are some intimate moments in this chapter but nothing past PG.

Happy reading!

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There was a knock at my door.

"Are you up Marnie?" my father asked through my closed bedroom.

"Yes!" I said excitedly before going over to open it.

"Looks like you've been up for a while," dad regarded, seeing that I was already dressed and had been reading on my bed for about an hour.

"I couldn't really fall back asleep," I replied.

Dad chuckled and led me downstairs where he poured us each a bowl of cereal.

"I remember going to one of the games when I was a boy," dad said which surprised me that he hadn't said anything before.

"You did?" I asked with peak interest.

"Yea, Australia was playing in the finals and we actually flew out to go see it. I was five years old and Penn was six. I had never seen anything like it," dad said.

"You flew on a broom?" I asked, bewildered.

"No, my family managed to figure out how to buy tickets for a plane," he explained.

"Oh, those are the high-flying birds that you point out to me aren't they?" I replied.

Dad smiled and nodded.

"Granny and Gramps were always trying new things for you, weren't they?" I asked.

"Yes, they were never fazed that I was a squib whereas Penn was a wizard. I think they gave each of us the best life we could for what we were," he said fondly.

The buzzer went off on the oven which prompted dad to take my unfinished cereal away from me and put it in the sink.

"Time to get a move on," he said promptly.

The sun was only just starting to peak over the horizon as dad and I got ready and headed out of the cottage. We walked for probably twenty minutes before we stopped on the top of a foothill.

"Marnie!" I heard a familiar girl shriek before I saw Ginny and all the others come into view. I rushed over to hug the girl who was now an inch or two taller than me. When she finally let go the twins swooped in to take over and enveloped me in a sandwiched hug.

It felt good to see most of my friends as they each took turns hugging me. It was only when Ron gave his own timid hug that I saw Harry beside my father.

"Harry!" I said excitedly before I rushed over to him and wrapped my arms around him.

He was now also taller than me and had definitely fully adopted his father's unruly hair.

"It's only been a month and you've changed so much," I said, still holding onto him.

It had been quite lonely at the cottage. Without Harry, it had mostly just been me and my father while Remus was busier than normal. Apparently, he had been trying to locate Sirius, and once he had the two of them had been making plans to prove his innocence. Dad still hadn't seen Sirius since it was much too risky for Sirius to be out in the open and Remus had deemed it unsafe to travel to his location at the moment. I thought that Remus was still feeling guilty about his transformation at the end of the term even though we had never been upset with him and dad had outright told him he wasn't angry. It was nice though that Sirius had started sending me letters. Mostly he had just asked me about school, Harry and Cedric. Nothing too personal or even about my mother. But those were probably face-to-face conversations.

"Marnie!" I heard another familiar voice before I turned to see Cedric and Mr. Diggory approach up the hill.

I ran over to him and threw my arms over him for a brief hug before stepping back and smiling at him. I didn't want either of our fathers to say anything which is why I felt the physical contact should be minimal. I looked over at both of them and saw my own father had an embarrassed blush whereas Mr. Diggory had a sort of smug look. I didn't want either of them to voice their opinions in that moment.

"It'll be any minute now!" Mr. Weasley announced from a few paces away where he was standing beside an old looking boot.

I ran back to my father and looped my arms over his neck.

"I'll bring your trunk over to Molly when you're away," he said, bringing me even closer to him.

I felt it must be exceptionally lonely for my father with Remus constantly away. This summer had brought about a number of changes, and most of which were difficult to adapt.

"I love you," I said before kissing his cheek and then going over to join the rest of the Weasley's and Diggory's.

"I love you too Marnie. And you too Harry!" he exclaimed as we both waved back at him with smiles.

"Ready?" Mr. Weasley asked.

I had never used a portkey before, but Remus had told me about it last week when he had been over for supper. Apparently, it had a similar sensation as apparation but lasted longer and if you weren't careful you ended up flat on the ground.

I was only able to put one of my fingers on the boot since I was squished between Fred and Cedric before the boot started to emit a sort of glowing light. I pressed down my one finger to make sure I wasn't left behind before I felt myself lift off the ground.

"Let go!" Mr. Weasley said after a few moments, and I looked at him like he was mad.

As far as I knew we were as high above the ground as one of those plane birds.

But I trusted Mr. Weasley so I hesitantly let go and felt myself fall backwards. I tried to look around and noticed the ground was only a few feet away. I struggled to bring my feet towards the ground, but I was already falling backwards. Unfortunately, I ended up landing on my rear.

"You alright Marnie?" Cedric asked as I looked up and saw he had somehow landed on his feet.

But I was sure that him and his father travelled via portkey often when Mr. Diggory was doing research for the Ministry.

I took his hand and shook off the light pain radiating from my behind. I was thankful to see that besides Cedric, his father and Mr. Weasley, the rest of us had all landed ungracefully.

Cedric kept my hand in his as we walked to enter the gates for the Quidditch World Cup.

"We're headed this way!" Mr. Diggory announced once we were inside.

"I'll see you soon Mar," Cedric said softly before stealing a kiss on my cheek.

The warmth where his lips had touched my skin radiated as I watched him disappear into the crowd.

"Come on Marnie!" Ginny called back before I ran up to walk between her and Hermione.

They were both giggling at my moment with Cedric. As much as I loved Cedric, I didn't miss the attention our relationship seemed to attract.

Mr. Weasley led our group to a small campsite before he set down an even tinier looking tent. We had read all about extension charms last year and I was excited to see the inside. Once it was set up, I led Harry inside who looked very skeptical at the tent compared to the size of our group. But once we stepped through, his face lit up in astonishment before we all started to look around.

"The girl's tent is up!" Mr. Weasley announced as he entered the main tent.

"Want to check it out?" Fred offered while I nodded and was led out of the main tent by the twins.

I had known they had wanted to tell me something since I saw them.

The girl's tent wasn't nearly as big but would fit the three of us with room to spare. There were also cots set up for each of us, so we wouldn't have to sleep on the ground.

"So, what's got you all riled up this morning?" I asked, wanting to get right to the chase.

"Our mother," George answered moodily.

I frowned and figured this meant Mrs. Weasley had finally figured out about the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes the twins had finally been creating over the summer. It had been ages that the three of us had been talking over ideas and dreaming up schemes, but the twins had decidedly set about creating joke products over the summer. Admittedly, I had been helping them out as much as I could; it served as a good distraction from the rest of my life. This had meant sending secret and even coded letters at odd times of the day, usually early in the morning before Mrs. Weasley was awake. I had felt bad about the secrecy, but the twins had argued their case well. We all knew that she would not approve of the products we were making. This was topped onto the fact that the twins had only received six OWLs between the two of them. I had admittedly been a little astounded since I knew they were good enough students, but they didn't seem phased by the lack of grades.

"When did she find out?" I asked, knowing by George's tone that I was right in my assumption.

"When we went and saved your brother," Fred answered.

"Oh yes, how were Mr. and Mrs. Horrible?" I asked, referring to the Dursley's.

I was originally supposed to go with the Weasley's to fetch Harry, but my father hadn't thought it was a good idea when I had said out loud what I wanted to say to them. My father had actually grown quite concerned. I also think he was still worried about the Unforgiveable curse I had tried to cast on Sirius. Remus had obviously told my dad and it had since become a taboo topic. The twins had been the most understanding when I had confided in them. Fred had been proud that I hadn't actually been able to cast it and also decided not to kill Pettigrew, even though he ended up getting away. Fred and George were also very keen now on wanting to meet Sirius, they figured he would have a lot of interesting stories now that we knew he wasn't a murderer.

"Well, that uncle of his was an alarming colour of purple, and his aunt looks like a horse. It was his cousin though, had 'git' written all over his face," Fred said slyly.

"You didn't!" I said, already knowing the answer.

"Freddie here "accidently" dropped one of his Ton-Tongue Toffee's. It was genius and that gullible oaf fell right for it!" George explained excitedly.

"But then dad yelled at us when we got home—" Fred continued with a sullen expression.

"Mum of course heard and brought up the whole OWL thing again—" George said.

"And this morning she confiscated all the Toffee's," Fred said in an annoyed and dejected tone.

I felt my own annoyance flare up. I had helped develop those and had even dropped some of my own money to be able to order in a specific type of sugar I had read about in my Wizarding Agriculture book. But I didn't think this was the time to say anything, not that I cared about getting the money back. I had known the risk going in.

"Did it work though? I mean on Harry's stupid cousin?" I asked, wanting to change the mood.

Both of the twins lit up smiling.

"Dad said his tongue got to ten feet easily!" George said proudly.

"That's brilliant!" I said, glad that we had at least been successful before Mrs. Weasley confiscated our product.

We then spent the rest of the morning sitting in the girl's tent talking about new products and other products we still had in development. Thankfully I was storing some of our newer experiments and ingredients so to try and protect our investments. I didn't think dad would outright rid of the stuff if he found it haphazardly stashed in my closet. Most of it however was now in my trunk ready for the next school year.

When our stomachs started to grumble the three of us headed outside to join the others for lunch.

"Where have you three been?" George asked when Harry, Hermione and Ron came back.

They had been tasked with getting the water when we had first gone into the tent and arrived only twenty minutes after we came out for lunch. Mr. Weasley was trying to start the fire which didn't give me much confidence that we would be eating soon. Thankfully Hermione knew what she was doing and kindly took over the duty. Once the fire was started, we passed the time by looking at all the wizards who had come to watch the match. People from all different countries were walking about the campsites and setting up their tents. It was interesting to watch them all try and pass off as muggles. Thankfully my dad had attended a muggle school and knew how to dress to fit in. I was currently in denim pants and a t-shirt.

An hour later Bill, Charlie and Percy Weasley all apparated to the campsite in time for food. I got up and hugged the two oldest boys since I hadn't seen them in a few years. I actually hadn't seen Charlie since the end of my second year before he had moved to Romania to work with dragons. Although we hadn't been nearly as close as I was with the twins, or even Ron, I still always liked his company and honestly missed him being our prefect instead of Percy. But Percy had also graduated last year and was since working for the Ministry. Percy was currently going on about his paper on cauldron thickness and I felt myself start to drift off. The twins had warned me it was all Percy ever talked about. I had also known they had sent a fertilizer sample to his desk which he had apparently analyzed for a report. I had tried to feel bad for him, but I thought it was too funny to be too concerned.

Once lunch was over, I decided to go over and find Cedric's campsite to be able to properly say hello to him. We had been sending letters back and forth almost daily since he went abroad with his father again to Norway. Seeing him this morning had sent an excited chill through my body and was now almost guiding me to him.

I started walking towards the second field where Cedric and his father had been directed to go at the front gate. Mr. Weasley had given me permission to go and visit Cedric so long as I returned before everyone headed to the stands. I couldn't get over how many people were all congregated into the adjoining fields. I didn't really know how muggles dressed or how wizards were supposed to fit in, but I felt as if a lot were failing. The array of mismatched colours, fabrics and odd-looking robes which were adorning a lot of the witches and wizards couldn't possibly be considered normal for muggles.

"Mar!" I heard my name shouted excitedly from a few campsites over.

I walked towards the sound of Cedric's voice and smiled when I met his gaze. I couldn't stop myself from running into his arms and letting him hold me. Despite the heat, he still smelled like winter which I felt I couldn't get enough of. When I finally let go, he led me to a seat in front of their cooking fire.

"Where's your father?" I asked.

"Oh, he got led away a little while ago from some Ministry colleagues. He told me he would return in a while," Cedric answered easily.

I inched closer and sidled up beside him, so our sides were now touching. He clasped my hand in his after handing me a cup of tea. There was a pot sitting on top of the dimming fire to keep hot.

"I missed you," he said before leaning down and putting his lips on my forehead.

I knew he had also stopped to smell my hair which I'm glad I had left down today.

"How was Norway?" I asked, wanting to avoid being too distracted by him.

"It was an adventure. I had a lot of fun with my dad like I told you in the letters. But honestly, I would have liked to have stayed and have spent some time with you," he answered sweetly.

"Well, maybe we could plan to hang out next summer?" I asked as casually as possible.

He smiled brightly, "I would like that. I'll make sure I ask my dad to let me stay at home for at least a little while next year."

He then put his arm around me and pulled me close to his chest. My head was pulled into him, so I could hear his heartbeat. Its rhythm seemed a little elevated and I wondered if he was just as excited as I was.

"Mar, I hope you will excuse me being forward," Cedric started with as much nerve as he could muster.

I lifted my head to meet his eyes and smiled at his apprehension.

"I am trying to be a gentleman here, but I haven't seen you in over a month and all I want to do right now is snog," he said while his cheeks turned tomato red.

I felt my palms start to sweat in nervous excitement while I tried to muster up my own nerve. I brought my face, so it was only an inch from his and smiled at all the emotions I could see swimming in his eyes; apprehension, eagerness, excitement, and something else I couldn't pinpoint.

"I love you," I whispered before closing the distance between us.

He let out an uncharacteristic moan which didn't go past my own lips. I felt his body lean forward towards mine and his hands, which were around my wrist, tighten.

A moment later Cedric leaned back.

"Merlin, I love you Mar. But I do want to somewhat keep up my gentlemanly appearance with you," he said with a pause. "My dad won't be back for a while…"

I raised my eyebrow but quickly understood his meaning. In response I put my hand into his and let him guide me to his tent which he was sharing with his father. It seemed to be the same size on the inside as the Weasley's which meant there was lots of room for just two people. On each side I could see a bed and Cedric led me to the one on the left. I sat down on it and waited for Cedric to join me. When he sat down, I was very aware of the bed sinking down under his weight.

"I just want to kiss my beautiful girlfriend without an audience," he said reassuringly.

I swallowed before smiling but quickly closed the distance between us before I lost my nerve. But as soon as my lips met his all of my anxiety drifted away. His lips were soft and almost thoughtful across mine, as if he was ensuring I felt comfortable. I deepened it to reassure him which he responded to quickly. I had no idea how long we sat there in each other's arms. His hands went between running through my hair to running down my back to pulling me closer into our embrace.

By the time Cedric pulled back so not to be awkwardly interrupted by his father, he led me out of the tent and bid me farewell. He had offered to walk me back to my campsite, but I already noticed some people headed towards the pitch and I didn't want him to become separated from his father.

He pulled me back into one last embrace and brought me as close as possible so there were no spaces between us.

"Marnie, I hope you know how much I love you," he said sweetly but with a kind of severity behind it.

I looked at him with a smile.

"Well, I am known for forgetting important things," I said mockingly.

He just gave me a smug look in return.

"Well, I'll always be around to remind you," he said before I turned around and headed back towards my own campsite.

I spent the entire walk back trying to erase the stupid grin off my face, so no one would be suspicious.