Author's Note:

I am posting today because my weekend plans involve me crying as I watch Endgame and the Battle of Winterfell so, here is your extra chapter! I hope you like my little changes here.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the parts of the dream from chapter one of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, that belongs to the lovely JKR nor do I own the parts from chapter eight.

The next few chapters, up to the beginning of the tournament, there will be some similarities to the book, but I've said it before — please be patient, I am setting it up which as you know by now — doesn't mean that it will be the same!

Reviews and Comments: To scrappy8: Thank you! To Steelcode: Thank you! Abraxas is a sick jerk, I agree! To Weltell: Thank you! I'm glad you loved my Ginny and Charlie scene and thanks for loving ASC. To xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: Thank you! It's fun to show some of Charlie! I have an interesting plot in mind with him, but not for a while yet! Thank you for liking my Pensieve scenes. To HGRHfan35: Lucius is definitely walking a very dark and grey path. I'm glad you loved my Harry and Zee shopping! Thank you! To Moony The Sheep: He is close to his family and I love that about him! I like writing some Harry and Zee bonding so I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yes, when will Sirius ask Zee to marry him? Hmm. As to Abraxas, he is creepy and very dangerous. I'm glad you're liking my take on Draco. I do know that Èire is the name for Ireland, yes, but thank you! To alix33: Thank you! I'm glad you are loving it and yes, Sirius is so kind for donating Harry's old clothes. That's what should happen! Draco, Theo, and Blaise are learning how to practice Occlumency.

To Leaf Ranger: I am sorry that you have problems with the darkness in my fanfic, but it is something I am not going to filter. Thank you. To geekymom: Thank you! To HinnyMe: LOL, you lucky bitch comment about Tonks' bragging about Remus' endowment made me laugh, thank you! I loved James being smitten with Lily's belly too! I'm glad you like how I write Ginny and her brothers, I love it as well! Thanks for loving Zee's mum moment shopping with Harry. Thanks for such a lovely review! To supersandman86: Thank you for saying you're liking how I am portraying Draco and his parents. You think I will pair Draco and Daphne together? Interesting. Thank you. To purplevictory: Thank you for liking Harry and Zee spending time together. Sirius joining them partway through was nice, like a family. Lucius did clarify his position to Draco, even if not entirely. Thank you! To speedsONEandONLY: Ha, no, Harry will not be following in his mother's footsteps and using Truth or Dare to kiss Ginny. Zee was taking her boy shopping and happy to do it! Thank you!

To trekkifulron: Shit is going to hit the fan soon, this is true. To Guest: Thank you! I'm glad you think the Jily memories are an important aspect of the story! I think they are! To Cf: I'm glad that Lucius Malfoy is a surprise! He is walking on the edge of danger, isn't he? Thanks for thinking Harry and Zee shopping together was adorable! Charlie and Ginny are very good at keeping each other's secrets. Yes, Remus and his big cock and poor embarrassed Harry! Thank you! To Guest: I love that your proud of Draco! Yes, Abraxas is dangerous. Lucius and Narcissa are making sure that Draco, Blaise, and Theo are skilled at Occlumency. To Saz J: Charlie is smoking hot! He did already show the tattoo to Tonks, but this Ginny's first time seeing it! I love Lily blindsiding James in the memory. When is Sirius going to ask Zee to move in? That is the question, isn't it? Thank you! To Jmcglynn522: Thank you! I love that your fluffy feels were drenched in an ice bath by Abraxas Malfoy. I consider that the highest of compliments. Thank you!

Thanks to Steel for his assistance.

Thank you to my Beta — SilverStarwolfe!

My posting schedule: Weekly and sometimes on weekends.

As always, thank you very much for reading and please, please review!

Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you for all of your continued support!

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FIVE:

The One With the Quidditch World Cup

When Harry went to bed that night, he dreamed that he was in a giant bubble with James Potter looking at him through the bubble, and talking to him as if he could hear and see him. He kept calling him his Little Bludger and then he sang to him.

Then the dream shifted: He was back in Georgia, in the barn and he had Harley pressed up against him in the blue dress from the dance, the straps falling off her shoulders as he kissed her. His fingers touched the straps, tugging them lower and revealing the lovely swells of her round breasts. He bent his head to kiss them as freckles appeared on her skin; a glimpse of sunlight in her hair, but it soon changed into something else, something darker and Harry woke with a start.

He lay flat on his back, breathing hard as if he had been running. The lightning bolt scar on his forehead was burning beneath his fingers as though someone had just pressed a burning wire to his skin.

He sat up, one hand still on his scar, the other hand reaching out in the darkness for his glasses, which were on the bedside table. He put them on and his bedroom came into clearer focus, lit by the sliver of moonlight coming in through the balcony doors.

Harry ran his fingers over the scar again. It was still painful. He turned on the lamp beside him, scrambled out of bed to look at himself in the mirror over his wardrobe. A tall, thin, and toned teenager of fourteen looked back at him, his bright green eyes puzzled under his untidy black hair, patches of stubble on his neck. He examined the lightning bolt scar of his reflection more closely. It looked normal, but it was still stinging.

Harry tried to recall what he had been dreaming about before he had awoken. It had seemed so real. He closed his eyes tightly and tried to remember what Voldemort had looked like in his dream, but it was impossible. All Harry knew was that at the moment when Voldemort's chair had swung around, he had felt a spasm of horror and it had awoken him with a jolt. Or had that been the pain in his scar?

And who had the old man been? For there had definitely been an old man; Harry had watched him fall to the ground. It was all becoming muddled. Harry put his face into his hands, blocking out his bedroom, trying to hold on to the picture of that dimly lit room, but it was like trying to keep water in his cupped hands; the details were now trickling away as fast as he tried to hold on to them. Voldemort and someone named Selwyn had been talking about someone that they had killed, though Harry could not remember the name and they had been plotting to kill… him, he realized in alarm.

His eyes flew open and he turned to fling open the balcony doors, taking deep gulps of air for a moment, suddenly feeling confined and anxious. Once he felt like he could breathe normally again, he stood a moment and took in the cool night air before he hurried across the hall into Sirius' bedroom, forgetting that Zee had stayed the night. He jolted at the sight of his father's girlfriend, snuggled into Sirius' embrace, dark golden brown curls tucked under his father's chin. He tiptoed towards the bed, shaking Sirius slightly.

Sirius turned, blinking in the dark and Harry made a gesture with his head before he left the room. His father yawned as he padded down into the kitchen a few minutes later, wiping sleep from his eyes. "What is it, Harry?"

"I just had a dream and… I need you to pull it out from my head and watch it in the Pensieve."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Quick, please, I'm already forgetting it!"

Sirius seemed to catch himself and moved to extract the memory from his son's head. "Get the Pensieve from the sunroom."

Harry did, carrying it over to the kitchen table as Sirius dropped the memory into the basin.

"Now tell me what's going on."

Harry let out a slow breath. "I had this dream, but it didn't feel like a dream, it felt… real… and when I woke up, my — my scar hurt."

Sirius' eyebrow rose. "Does it still hurt?"

Harry nodded. "More like a dull pain now, but it felt like someone had put an open flame on it."

"Has this happened at all since the last time you told me that it hurt?"

Harry shook his head. "No."

Sirius nodded. "What was the dream, Harry?"

Harry let out a slow breath. "Voldemort was there… it felt real."

Sirius stared at him. "Okay, let's watch this together then, okay?"

Harry nodded and leaned forward, sticking his face into the memory as Sirius joined him. He found himself watching an old man climb dust-covered stairs in a house full of decay. A flickering light shone ahead through the gap of a door that stood ajar and the man grasped his walking stick firmly, the fire in the grate flickering as he stopped and listened to the man talk.

"There is a little more in the bottle, my Lord, if you are still hungry."

"Later," a second male voice said, but this one was strangely high-pitched, and cold as a sudden blast of icy wind. "Move me closer to the fire, Selwyn."

There came the chink of a bottle being put down upon some hard surface, and then the dull scraping noise of a heavy chair being dragged across the floor. Harry could see a glimpse of a tall man, his back to the door, pushing the chair into place. He was wearing a long black cloak, and he had dark brown hair. Then he disappeared from sight again.

"Where is Nagini?" The cold voice demanded.

"I — I don't know, my Lord. She set out to explore the house, I think…"

"You will milk her before we retire, Selwyn. I will need feeding in the night. The journey has tired me greatly."

"My Lord, may I ask how long we're going to stay here? The house in Croatia was more than adequate and so much better protected. I feel that we are too exposed here. It offers no real protection for you."

"A week," the cold voice said. "Perhaps longer. The place is moderately comfortable for now, and the plan cannot proceed yet. It would be foolish to act before the Quidditch World Cup is over. We may move back to your father's house after it has transpired."

"The — the Quidditch World Cup, my Lord? Forgive me, but I do not understand… why should we wait until the World Cup is over?"

"Because, fool, at this very moment wizards are pouring into the country from all over the world, and every meddler from the Ministry of Magic will be on duty, on watch for signs of unusual activity, checking and double checking identities. They will be obsessed with security, lest the Muggles notice anything. So, we will wait."

"Your Lordship is still determined, then?" Selwyn said quietly. "With Pettigrew having gone missing and Bella in a rage over losing the Longbottom boy, I wasn't sure."

"Certainly I am determined."

There was a note of menace in the cold voice now.

A slight pause followed and then Selwyn spoke, the words tumbling from him in a rush, as though he was forcing himself to say this before he lost his nerve. "It could be done without Harry Potter, my Lord."

"Without Harry Potter?" The second voice breathed softly. "I see…"

"It is merely that if we were to use another witch or wizard, the thing could be done so much more quickly!"

"I could use another wizard," the second voice said softly. "That is true…"

"My Lord, it makes sense," Selwyn said, sounding thoroughly relieved now. "Laying hands on Harry Potter now would be so difficult, he is so well protected!"

"And so you volunteer to go and fetch me a substitute? I wonder… perhaps the task of nursing me has become wearisome for you, Woodrow? Could this suggestion of abandoning the plan be nothing more than an attempt to desert me?"

"My Lord! I — I have no wish to leave you, none at all!"

"Do not lie to me!" The second voice hissed. "I can always tell. You are regretting that you ever returned to me. I revolt you. I see you flinch when you look at me, feel you shudder when you touch me…"

"No! My devotion to your Lordship —"

"— Your devotion is nothing more than cowardice. You are upset that I made you bring me here; took you away from the beautiful Kata, who you were so lovely bestowing yourself upon every day and night. You forget that in serving me you must do what I ask, and in return, you can play with whomever you'd like when I say you can. How am I to survive without you, when I need feeding every few hours? Who is to milk Nagini?"

"But you seem so much stronger, my Lord."

"Liar," he breathed. "I am no stronger, and a few days alone would be enough to rob me of the little health that I have regained under your clumsy care. Silence!"

Selwyn, who had been spluttering incoherently, fell silent at once. For a few seconds, they could hear nothing but the fire crackling. Then the second man spoke once more, in a whisper that was almost a hiss.

"I have my reasons for using the boy, as I have already explained to you, and I will use no other. I have waited thirteen years. A few more months will make no difference. It gives me a chance to continue to build my strength and to strengthen my magical core. As for the protection surrounding the boy, I believe that my plan will be effective. All that is needed is a little courage from you, Woodrow – courage that you will find and get Bella and Brax to assist you with, unless you wish to feel the full extent of Lord Voldemort's wrath!"

"My Lord, I must speak!" Selwyn said, his voice slightly panicked now. "All through our journey I have gone over the plan in my head and Bertha Jorkins' disappearance has already been noticed, and if we proceed, if —"

"— If?" whispered the second voice. "If? If you follow the plan, Selwyn, the Ministry need never know that we are behind her disappearance. You will do it quietly, and without fuss. I only wish that I could do it myself, but in my present condition... one more obstacle removed and our path to Harry Potter is clear. I am not asking you to do it alone. By that time, my faithful servants will have rejoined us —"

" — I am a faithful servant," Selwyn interrupted, the merest trace of sullenness in his voice.

"Your father is a faithful servant, boy, you are merely a pup who hovers around waiting for me to let him play with the table scraps. I need somebody with brains, somebody whose loyalty has never wavered, and someone who thinks about something other than his cock. You, unfortunately, fulfil none of those requirements."

"I brought you Bertha Jorkins."

"That is true," the second man said, sounding amused. "A stroke of brilliance I would not have thought possible from you or Thad – though, if truth be told, you were not aware how useful she would be when you caught her, were you?"

"I – I thought that she might be useful, my Lord —"

"— Liar," the second voice said again, the cruel amusement more pronounced than ever. "You two were looking for a new playmate. However, I do not deny that her information was invaluable. Without it, I could never have formed our plan, and for that, you will have your reward. I will allow you to perform an essential task for me, one that many of my followers would give their right hand to perform… one that Wormtail was supposed to be honoured with…"

"R-really, my Lord?"

"Ah, you don't want me to spoil the surprise? Your part will come at the very end... but I promise you, you will have the honour of being just as useful as Bertha Jorkins."

"You... you…" Selwyn's voice sounded suddenly hoarse, as though his mouth had gone very dry. "You... are going... to kill me, too?"

"Why would I kill you? I killed Bertha because I had to. She was fit for nothing after my questioning, quite useless. In any case, awkward questions would have been asked if she had gone back to the Ministry with news that she had run into Bellatrix and met me." There was a low indiscernible mumbling before the second voice answered. "We could have modified her memory, true. But Memory Charms can be broken by a powerful wizard, as I proved when I questioned her. It would be an insult to her memory not to use the information that I extracted from her, Selwyn. Harry Potter is as good as mine. It is decided. There will be no more argument. But quiet... I think I hear Nagini coming…"

Something was slithering along the dark corridor floor, and as it drew nearer to the sliver of firelight, Harry realized with a thrill of terror that it was a gigantic snake, at least three and half metres long. He watched as the old man stood there, his hand on his walking stick, horrified, transfixed as he stared at it, as its undulating body cut a wide, curving track through the thick dust on the floor, coming closer and closer, but then the tip of its diamond patterned tail had vanished through the gap in the door.

"Nagini has interesting news, Selwyn."

"Indeed, my Lord?"

"Indeed, yes," the voice said. "According to Nagini, there is an old Muggle standing right outside of this room, listening to every word we say."

The man didn't have a chance to hide himself. There were footsteps, and then the door of the room was flung wide open.

"Invite him inside, Woodrow. Where are your manners?"

The cold voice was coming from an unknown source in the ancient armchair before the fire. The snake, on the other hand, was curled up on the rotting hearth-rug, like some horrible travesty of a pet dog.

Selwyn beckoned the man into the room. "You heard everything, Muggle?" the cold voice demanded.

"What's that you're calling me?" the man said, defiantly.

"I am calling you a Muggle," the voice said, coolly. "It means that you are not a wizard."

"I don't know what you mean by wizard! All I know is that I've heard enough to interest the police tonight, I have. You've done murder and you're planning more! And I'll tell you this, too," he added. "My wife knows I'm up here, and if I don't come back —"

" — You have no wife," the cold voice said, very quietly. "Nobody knows you're here. You told nobody that you were coming. Do not lie to Lord Voldemort, Muggle, for he knows... he always knows…"

"Is that right?" the man said, roughly. "Lord, is it? Well, I don't think much of your manners, my Lord. Turn round and face me like a man, why don't you?"

"But I am not a man, Muggle," the cold voice said, barely audible now over the crackling of the flames. "I am much, much more than a man. However... why not? I will face you... Selwyn, come turn my chair around."

Selwyn moved towards the chair to do as instructed. The snake lifted its ugly triangular head and hissed slightly as the legs of the chair snagged on its rug. And then the chair was facing him, and he saw what was sitting in it. His walking stick fell to the floor with a clatter. He opened his mouth and let out a scream as the thing in the chair spoke and raised a wand. There was a flash of green light, a rushing sound, and the old man crumpled. He was dead before he hit the floor.

Harry and Sirius emerged from the memory, Sirius' face was ghostly pale. "You dreamed this?"

Harry nodded. "I don't think that it was a dream, Uncle Siri, I think… I think it was real."

"Bertha Jorkins has been missing for over two weeks. She went on holiday in Eastern Europe and no one has seen her. She's the employee that Bagman was talking about this morning."

Harry swallowed slowly. "Voldemort killed her. Who is that Selwyn?"

"Woodrow Selwyn, a Death Eater," Sirius said, quietly.

"So, it was real, what does that mean? How did I dream that?"

Sirius ran his hands over his tired face, his grey eyes on his son. "I have no idea."

Harry nodded, his green eyes wide. "And Voldemort… he… he looked like a child, but his skin was… monstrous and he… he held a wand."

"I know," Sirius said, slowly, rubbing his hands back over his face.

"It was a nightmare, right?"

Sirius stared at him for a long moment. "I think that you already know the answer to that, Harry."

"But how… it doesn't make sense! Why would I be able to see something like that? I'm not a Seer!"

"Harry," Sirius said, slowly, his eyes on his green ones. "I…" he trailed off, closing his eyes.

He knew that this was the moment; this was the moment that he should tell him what Voldemort had put into his head, but he couldn't find the words. How could he tell him that the man who had murdered his parents had left a part of his soul inside of him? That he himself was a Horcrux. It was too horrible. He moved around the table and wrapped his arms around Harry from behind and he did the only thing that he could think of: He lied.

"I don't know."

Harry stared at him, his eyes wide in horror, but he nodded and hugged him back. "What does this mean? What should I do?"

Sirius pressed a kiss to the top of his son's head, gently running a hand over his back. "I don't know, Harry. Right now, I just want you to calm down. It was a dream and until we know more, we don't know for sure that it was anything more than that."

Harry pulled back to stare at him. "Yes, we do!"

"Remember what Dumbledore told you? That when the spell rebounded, Voldemort shared some of himself with you. That's why your scar hurt and maybe… it connects you somehow, like you can see into his head," Sirius said, trying to come up with an explanation.

"That makes sense," he said, letting out a slow breath. "I don't want to see into his head."

Sirius smiled. "I can't say that I blame you."

"Can we ask Dumbledore? Maybe he'll know more?" Harry asked him, looking up at his father hopefully.

Sirius nodded, pressing his lips to Harry's forehead until he felt his son calm down. "We'll ask him. We have the World Cup later today and then you need to get back to school. But I promise I will look into this, okay?"

Harry only nodded, his eyes wide. "Okay."

"Come on, you might as well hop in the shower. Neville should be here within the hour."

~ ASC ~

Neville arrived early at Black Cottage and Harry was still yawning as he came down the stairs in his Ireland Quidditch jersey and blue jeans. His overnight bag was slung over his shoulder and he had piled the tent near the front door.

"Hey, Nev, s'early?" he said, yawning.

Neville nodded, grinning widely. "That's okay, I think it will be worth it."

Sirius yawned as he came down the stairs. "You boys ready to go?"

"Where's Tonks and Uncle Moony?"

"They're going to Apparate there later and meet us. But we need to use the portkey to arrive."

Zee came down the stairs, her curly hair in a messy braid down her side and she wore blue jeans as well with a green vest and a white zip-up sweater. "You boys have everything?"

"Yes," Neville said as they headed out of the cottage.

"We have a bit of a walk," Sirius informed them. "But Zee and I will side Apparate each of you with us to The Burrow."

"If you're going to side Apparate us to The Burrow, how come you can't just side Apparate us to the World Cup?"

Sirius smiled at him. "The Weasleys are all using the portkey, not fair for you to get off easy, is it? Besides, this way we'll have lots of time to set up camp."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I hate your logic. It makes no sense."

Zee grinned at him, linking her hand with Sirius. "It's an adventure, Harry."

Neville Apparated with Zee and Sirius took a hold of Harry before they arrived just outside of The Burrow.

Mr Weasley was coming out of the house followed by Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Hermione who all looked just as tired as Harry and Neville felt. Fred and George looked more than just tired, in fact they looked livid.

"Morning, Sirius!" Mr Weasley called out as he approached.

"Morning, Arthur," Sirius said, smiling at him. "You remember Zee?"

"Yes, yes, splendid. Hello, Harry, Neville, you excited for the Cup?"

Ginny yawned so big from next to him that her jaw cracked. "How come we couldn't wait until the sun came up?"

George put his arm around his sister and she leant against him, asleep on her feet. "Tell me about it."

Mr Weasley grinned. "Come on, you lot! We're meeting Amos Diggory and his son on Stoatshead Hill and it's a bit of a walk."

Ginny yawned again and gave a half-hearted wave to Harry and Neville as George helped her walk forward.

"What's up with Fred and George?" Harry whispered to Ron.

"Remember all of those explosions and stuff we keep hearing?" At Harry's nod, he looked back at his brothers and then whispered to Harry. "Turns out they weren't just making noise. They were inventing stuff! They want to open a joke shop."

"That's brilliant! They'd be great at that!"

Ron nodded. "Mum disagrees. They had a huge row about it last night. Mum claims that they are wasting their talents; that they didn't get enough OWLs, and that everything they've made was rubbish. They invented this candy called Ton Tongue Toffee. Percy ate one last night and his tongue made it over two metres before he let Dad fix it. And Mum keeps stumbling all over their fake wands and getting angry. I think the toffee just sent her over the edge; Mum was furious."

Harry sighed, looking over at Fred and George. "What's wrong with opening a joke shop?"

Ron shrugged. "I don't know, but Mum's not impressed with it. They didn't even say goodbye to her when we left this morning."

The eleven of them walked in almost silence for the rest of the almost twenty-five minutes until they reached the top of Stoatshead Hill. It was a rough walk, falling in rabbit holes and slipping on tufts of grass. He found everyone kept grabbing onto each other to prevent anyone from tumbling down.

"Now look around everyone, we're looking for something that could be a portkey, something a Muggle would just ignore, like a boot or a piece of trash."

"Arthur!" A voice yelled from the other side of the hill, waving at them. "We found it, it's up here!"

Mr Weasley smiled. "Excellent. Come along everyone."

Sirius held Zee's hand in his as they walked towards the man waving at them, reaching back to put his arm around Harry as they approached the top.

Amos Diggory was standing at the top beaming at them. He had brown hair, brown eyes with a bit of a ruddy face around his dark beard. "Arthur, Lord Black," he said before he spotted Zee. "Agent Zacarias, lovely to see you."

"Agent Diggory," she said with a smile. "Mr Diggory works in the DRCMC with me," she told Harry.

"You know my son, Cedric?"

Cedric Diggory nodded at them, smiling as Ginny and Hermione grinned at each other.

Mr Weasley smiled. "My sons, Fred, George, and Ron, my daughter Ginny, and their friends, Luna Lovegood, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom. You know Sirius' son, Harry?"

"Harry Potter?" Mr Diggory said with a grin. "Of course! Ced told me all about how he beat you in that game of Quidditch last year."

"Dad, I told you, it wasn't a fair game," Cedric said, quickly. "The Dementors came into the stadium and Harry fell from his broom."

"But you didn't fall off, did you?" he said, elbowing his son happily. "That will be a story to tell your grandkids one day, you beat Harry Potter in a Quidditch match."

Cedric rolled his eyes and glanced at Harry sympathetically.

Harry only smiled and shrugged.

Mr Diggory held up the old boot. "Supposed to send us off at six seventeen."

Sirius glanced at his watch. "Two minutes."

Harry yawned again and led his head fall onto Sirius' shoulder. "Can we have a nap when get there?"

Sirius smiled at him. "Sure, but I can guarantee that you'll be too excited once you arrive to even think about having a nap."

They all reached out to touch the portkey, holding onto each other and holding one finger on the old boot before Harry felt the familiar tug in his navel and they took off. Harry stayed upright this time, pleasing himself, but Ginny grabbed him as she went down and he fell on his bum as she toppled on top of him.

"Sorry," she said, apologetically.

He grinned as he helped her to her feet.

"Stoatshead Hill?" the man in front of them asked, his eyes on the clipboard. "Good, good. Throw the portkey over there," he said, pointing to the pile of random objects as Neville, Luna, Ron, and Hermione attempted to scramble to their feet. "And get moving, we have another one arriving in one minute and it's a large party."

Sirius led the way out as Mr Weasley got directions to their campsite which was run by a Muggle named Mr Roberts. They all moved down to their area and Mr Weasley smiled when they found the two signs marked Black and Weasley.

"All right," Mr Weasley said with a grin. "We're going to set up our tents the good old fashioned Muggle way!" He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Who knows how to do it?"

Zee took pity on him and hurried over to help as Harry opened up the tent from his bag and tugged it out. Sirius moved to help him.

"The tent Arthur borrowed is bigger, so we're going to stay in that one and the girls will stay in ours," Sirius told him.

Harry nodded and twenty minutes later both tents were erected though Sirius had used a bit of magic to adjust them when Mr Weasley wasn't looking. Harry let himself into the larger tent, grinning as he looked around the spacious kitchen and sitting area before moving over to claim one of the beds. Ron took the bunk below him with a grin.

"This is brilliant! We're actually here!"

Harry grinned, tossing his bag on the top as Sirius came in and took the bed across from them. "It's going to be great! You're staying with us, Uncle Sirius?"

"Boys in one tent, girls in the other," he said with a smile. "Zee and Tonks can stay with Ginny, Hermione, and Luna. We'll be tight in here, but it will be fine." He tossed his bag on the bed next to him. "Rem can have this bed."

Neville claimed the bunk above Sirius. "We're lucky this tent has so many bunkbeds!"

Sirius chuckled. "We just transfigured the cots into bunks, Neville. Have to make room. There's going to be eleven of us in here for the night. Why don't you guys head off and look around, see what you can find? I'll help Arthur try to get some breakfast going."

Harry, Ron, and Neville hurried off to explore leaving the girls to help settle in their own tent. Fred and George went off in search of their friend Lee Jordan.

If the witches and wizards were trying to stay under the radar from the Muggles, they were doing a really poor job. Harry could see people in unusual Muggle clothing, such as a man in a flowered dress, kids flying on toddler broomsticks, and witches and wizards using their wands to light fires and cook. He could see what Sirius had been talking about in terms of keeping the Statute of Secrecy being a nightmare in events like this.

Harry yawned again as they turned into a new area of the campsite and entered what looked like a giant shamrock. Every tent in the area was covered in large green shamrocks to show the support for Ireland.

"Harry! Ron! Neville!" A voice exclaimed and Harry grinned when he turned and saw Dean waving them over. He was sitting with Seamus and another tall boy with curly brown hair and green eyes.

"Hey, guys," Harry said with a grin. "Love the green."

Seamus grinned and pointed to Harry's jersey. "Ireland all the way!"

Harry laughed. "I hope so. They are definitely the team to win." He extended his hand to the curly haired boy. "Hi, I'm Harry."

"Will Matthews," he said with a grin.

Harry smiled at the name. So, this was the bloke that Seamus had been spending so much time with last year. He raised his eyebrow at Seamus, but he blushed and shook his head. "Nice to meet you, Will."

Dean and Ron were arguing about the Bulgarian Seeker Krum and his ability to outperform the rest of his team as Neville asked Will about something Herbology related (apparently Will was another frequent helper of Professor Sprout's in the greenhouses). Seeing his opportunity, Harry tugged Seamus to the side.

"Is Will here with you?"

Seamus shook his head. "No, we just ran into a him about twenty minutes ago. I told Dean that he was tutoring me in Potions, which he was." He blushed a bit. "I've been writing to him all summer."

Harry grinned. "I'm happy for you, mate. You shouldn't hide it."

Seamus smiled at him, looking over at Will, a rather goofy look on his face. "Maybe. We'll see."

They said goodbye to Seamus, Will, and Dean and headed back out to wander. They ran into Oliver Wood who eagerly pulled Harry over to introduce him to his parents. He told them how he had just been hired on as a reserve Keeper for Puddlemere United and Harry congratulated him. They spoke Quidditch statistics for a bit before moving on.

Neville blanched when he ran straight into Cho ten minutes later.

Harry nodded at her. "Cho," he said, kindly.

She stared at him for a minute, her eyes moving over his friends. "Harry. How's your summer been?"

"Good. Yours?"

"Good," she said, simply.

"See you around," he said and she only nodded and scurried off.

Neville looked at Harry, his eyes wide. "I thought for sure she was going to go off on you or something?"

Harry shrugged. "We broke up a long time ago, I think she's over it. At least, I hope she would be. Besides, wasn't she snogging Roger Davies on the platform at the end of the year?"

Ron grinned. "And you dated someone way totally lush over the summer, way more fit than Cho."

Harry blushed as he thought about Harley and her soft skin. "Yeah, Harley, she was great."

Neville grinned at him. "Mate, how is it that you've already snogged three different girls and I can barely talk to one without my palms sweating?"

"Good point," Ron said with a grin.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know, guess I've just been lucky. If you fancy someone, you have to do something about it. That's my advice."

"What if there's absolutely no way that they can possibly fancy you back?" Ron asked as they headed back to their own campsite.

Harry grinned sympathetically at his friend. "You won't know until you ask."

Neville seemed to nod as if taking this into stride, grinning at the vendor selling souvenirs up ahead. "Hey, look!"

Harry loved the idea of the Omniculars, which gave the viewer the ability to break down each play-by-play of a Quidditch match if they desired. It showed the names of each Quidditch manoeuvre performed by the players and could slow down and replay the action if needed.

Neville pulled out his own coin purse. "This is wicked! Ten Galleons?"

The vendor nodded and handed Harry and Neville each a set. Ron shook his head when the vendor looked at him just as Sirius came up behind them.

"Good, Omniculars, we need some of those," he said to the vendor. "Harry, Nev you boys already have a pair so, I'll take fourteen please."

The vendor beamed at him, accepting 140 Galleons with glee.

Sirius passed Ron the set. "Sometimes we have to splurge a little."

Ron thanked him and eagerly put them to his eyes as Sirius moved to pass out the sets to everyone else. Remus, Tonks, Charlie, Percy, and Bill had all arrived by now and were sitting around the campfire eating breakfast.

Ludo Bagman and Bartemius Crouch wandered over a little while later to talk to Mr Weasley and Sirius. Percy's eyes lit up at the sight of Crouch.

"Hello, Sir! Nice weather for the match today, isn't it?"

Crouch looked over at Percy in confusion and then nodded. "Yes, wonderful day."

"Would you like a cup of tea, Mr Crouch?"

"Sure, thank you, Weatherby."

Percy's ears flushed as Ginny grinned at him.

"Percy, why don't you tell him that's not your name?" Ginny whispered.

Percy shook his head and responded in a clipped, impatient tone. "He's a very important and busy man, Ginevra. He has more important things to worry about."

Sirius stood up and moved into the tent when Crouch's eyes met his and a moment later Harry followed him inside.

"Is that the same Crouch who sent you to prison without a trial?"

"One in the same," Sirius said carefully, moving to change his shirt from the Aerosmith tee shirt to an Ireland Quidditch jersey over his black jeans. "We mostly avoid each other as much as possible," Sirius admitted, smiling at Harry. "But he works in the Department of International Magical Cooperation now so it makes sense that he would need to be present at the World Cup."

They walked out of the tent as Bagman grinned at them. "Sirius! Want to make a little bet on the action? Odds are in Ireland's favour."

"Not a gambling man, Bagman."

"Ah, come on! A little bit of a risk never hurt anyone."

Sirius sighed. "Fine, fifty Galleons on Ireland winning by a fifty points."

"Ah, good odds, good odds," he murmured, writing it down and passing the slip of paper over to Sirius.

"We'd like to make a bet, Mr Bagman," Fred said as he and George rushed over.

Bagman grinned, taking out his notepad. "What can I put you boys down for?"

"We'll bet thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles, and three Knuts," Fred, as he and George quickly pooled all their money, "that Ireland win, but Viktor Krum gets the Snitch. Oh, and we'll throw in a fake wand."

"You don't want to go showing Mr Bagman rubbish like that," Percy hissed, but Bagman didn't seem to think the wand was rubbish at all; on the contrary, his boyish face shone with excitement as he took it from Fred, and when the wand gave a loud squawk and turned into a rubber chicken, Bagman roared with laughter.

"Excellent! I haven't seen one that convincing in years! I'd pay five Galleons for that!"

Percy froze in an attitude of stunned disapproval.

"Boys," Mr Weasley said under his breath, "I don't want you betting... that's all your savings… your mother —"

"Don't be a spoilsport, Arthur!" Bagman boomed, rattling his pockets excitedly. "They're old enough to know what they want! You reckon Ireland will win, but Krum'll get the Snitch? Not a chance, boys, not a chance... I'll give you excellent odds on that one... we'll add five Galleons for the funny wand, then, shall we…"

Mr Weasley looked on helplessly as Ludo Bagman whipped out a notebook and quill and began jotting down the twins' names.

"Cheers," George said, taking the slip of parchment Bagman handed him and tucking it away carefully.

Sirius moved over to sit next to George. "Let me see one of those fake wands." He accepted the one from Fred and grinned when it turned into a rubber chicken with a loud squawk. "Bagman's right, this is very well done."

"We have an assortment," Fred told him. "This one turns into a rubber chicken. Some turn into a rubber haddock or a tin parrot and we have a few of them that actually turn on the user and beat them around the head and neck, all rubber of course."

"Brilliant boys!" Sirius said with a grin, turning to nudge Remus. "Tell Moony and I what else you've come up with."

Fred grinned and sat down between Sirius and Remus as George moved closer to Sirius' other side. "We have flying toy cars and telescopes that punch you in the face, which resulted in us having to create a bruise removal paste as George and I had black eyes for weeks."

George chuckled. "Try explaining that one to our Mum! We also have Ton Tongue Toffee makes your tongue incredibly long and we have this new cream puff called Canary Creams. The problem is that we're still trying to test it all and see how everything works out."

"What's the problem with the Canary Creams?" Remus asked.

"Fred and I each have a different reaction even when we eat the same puff so we're not sure what that's about," George admitted. "We were thinking of eventually getting some taste testers once we get back to school. We'd pay them of course. But that's down the road, Fred and I aren't ready yet."

Sirius grinned. "A definite possibility," he told them. "I'm intrigued by your good work, boys. What else have you got?"

Fred beamed at him as he and George immediately launched into a detailed discussion of their inventions as they ate around the fire.

It wasn't too long afterwards that a deep, booming gong sounded somewhere beyond the woods and suddenly green and red lanterns blazed to life in the trees, lighting a path to the field.

"That's the signal, folks, we can start heading down to the stadium. Everyone have everything that they need?" Mr Weasley asked. "Good, good, let's go!"

Harry walked with his friends. He could hear the sounds of thousands of people moving around them, shouts of laughter, snatches of singing. The atmosphere of feverish excitement was highly infectious and Harry couldn't stop grinning when after twenty minutes of walking they finally arrived at a gigantic stadium.

"Seats a hundred thousand," Mr Weasley said with a grin as he looked at the awestruck faces of his children and their friends. "The Ministry had a task force of over five hundred working on it all year. There's Muggle Repelling Charms on every inch of it. Every time a Muggle has come close to it all year, they've suddenly remembered urgent appointments and had to dash away — bless them!"

The Ministry witch at the entrance checked their tickets and sent them up to the Top Box. The stairs were carpeted in a rich purple as they moved up the endless stairs to the top of the stadium, everyone slightly out of breath when they finally reached the Top Box, which was situated exactly halfway between the golden goal posts. Thirty purple chairs stood in two rows and Harry eagerly hurried after Ginny as she ran over to the edge, her eyes wide.

"Wow," she said, grinning from ear to ear. "This is amazing!"

Harry had to agree. Advertisements flashed across a gigantic blackboard in gold writing. The entire stadium seemed to emit a mysterious golden light. He turned to look at the row behind them to see who else was going to be in the Top Box and he was surprised to see a tiny house elf sitting by herself, her hands covering her face. He glanced at Sirius in curiosity, but his father just shrugged.

Hermione was skimming the velvet covered tasseled program in interest. "Harry, it says that there will be a display from the team mascots before the match."

"Oh, that's always worth watching," Mr Weasley said with a smile. "National teams bring magical creatures from their native land, you know, to put on a bit of a show."

Harry frowned at that and looked at Zee. "Creatures?"

Zee nodded. "Not like what you're thinking, Harry. The Bulgarians will probably have Veela, that's their usual choice. Veela are very popular in the Eastern European countries."

The rest of the box began to fill around them, different witches and wizards coming to shake hands with both Sirius and Mr Weasley. Percy kept jumping to his feet to greet them and when the Minister of Magic arrived, Percy bowed so low that his glasses fell off and shattered. His ears flushed red in embarrassment as Ginny grinned at him.

Bagman, who had come up into the box with Fudge, looked at the house elf. "Winky! Where's Barty hiding? I haven't seen him since this morning!"

The house elf carefully lowered her hands from her face, big brown eyes wide in fear. "Master — master wants me to save him a seat, sir. He is very busy! Winky is wishing she is back in master's tent. I is not liking heights at all, but master send me up to the Top Box and I comes, sir!"

Bagman frowned. "Yes, yes," he murmured, dismissing her as a man in gold-trimmed black velvet robes came up the stairs and approached them. "Lord Black, you must come meet the Bulgarian Minister!"

"Lord Black," Fudge said, nodding at Sirius as he moved over. "This is Oblansk, I mean, Obalonsk, no Oblansk, the Bulgarian Minister of Magic."

Sirius smiled at him. "Nice to meet you, Sir."

The man answered in rapid Bulgarian and Fudge stared at him helplessly. "Crouch was supposed to be up here to translate. I have no idea what he's been saying." He turned back to the man, noticing Harry by the wall. "That is Harry Potter, you know, Harry Potter, surely you know who he is, the boy who survived You Know Who, The Boy Who Lived?"

The Minister said something in Bulgarian again, pointing to Harry's scar and started speaking loudly and excitedly.

"Knew we'd get there in the end," Fudge said wearily to Harry and Sirius. "I'm no great shakes at languages; I need Barty Crouch for these sort of things!"

"Well, I'd prefer if you didn't use my son as a symbol in the meantime," Sirius said, quietly.

Fudge flushed red, but nodded in apology.

The Bulgarian Minister said something else and Fudge stared at him in confusion. Zee stepped over, answering him quickly.

"Nash Ministr ne ponimayet. A ty govorish' po Russki?"

"You speak Bulgarian?" Fudge asked in surprise.

Zee shook her head. "Very little, I'm afraid, but I do speak Russian and it's kind of similar." She spoke in Russian again and it seemed to work because the Minister immediately answered her in the same language and she smiled. "He said thank you for showing him the top box. He'd like to watch the match and see Bulgaria win."

Fudge beamed at her. "I could kiss you!"

Sirius merely lifted an eyebrow as he snaked an arm around Zee's waist and tugged her up against his side. "Not on your life, Fudge. She's mine."

Fudge chuckled. "Lucky man."

Zee smiled and settled the Bulgarian Minister of Magic near her and Sirius.

Draco nodded in Harry's direction as he moved to take his seat, but made no move to say anything and Harry didn't either. He watched instead the way that Abraxas Malfoy took his seat next to Narcissa, who looked rather uncomfortable with his choice of seat. Blaise and Theo nodded in his direction as well, but they didn't speak any more than the Malfoys.

"Are we ready to go, Minister?" Bagman asked.

"Ready when you are, Ludo," Fudge said with a smile.

Bagman pulled out his wand and used the Sonorus charm on himself and his voice boomed out across the stadium. "Ladies and gentlemen… welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!" The crowed cheered and thousands of flags waved below. "And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce, the Bulgarian National Mascots!"

"I wonder what they've brought," Mr Weasley said, leaning forward in his seat. He suddenly whipped off his glasses and polished them hurriedly on his robes. "Aaah Veela!"

Zee grinned at Harry. "Told you."

A hundred Veela glided out onto the field and Harry's eyes widened. Why, Veela weren't creatures at all, they were the most beautiful women that Harry had ever seen except that they couldn't possibly be human and this puzzled him. Their skin shone as bright as the moon and their white-gold hair fanned out behind them without any wind and then the music started and they started to dance.

Harry felt his mind go blissfully blank. All that mattered in the world was that he had to keep watching them.

Ginny touched his arm, leaning over to him. "They really are wonderful dancers, aren't they, Harry?"

He stared at her, blinking slowly. Her long flaming red hair tumbling over her shoulders in the sunlight and he nodded, coming back to himself. They could dance all right, he supposed, looking at the way the light danced along Ginny's red hair as she looked at the stadium. But he didn't think that they were anything to brag about.

"Yeah, they are."

Zee smiled at him, her eyes twinkling as she nodded towards Ron who looked like he was trying to decide if it was a good idea or not to jump out of the Top Box; Neville also looked dumbstruck and as Harry looked around the box, he realized that all of the men were staring at the Veela with peculiar expressions on their faces. All except for Remus, who was staring at Tonks with adoration in his eyes. He murmured something into her ear that made her blush and she hit him playfully, taking his face and kissing him. Zee was staring in amusement at Sirius, but she grabbed his hand and he turned to look at her, his blank expression vanishing and he grinned, leaning in to kiss her.

Then the music stopped and angry yells were filling the stadium. The crowd didn't want the Veela to go. Ron started to shred the green shamrock on his chest and Mr Weasley grinned at him, stopping his fingers.

"You'll want that in a minute," he said, sympathetically.

"Huh?" Ron asked, staring openmouthed at the Veela who had now lined up along one side of the field.

Hermione made a loud tutting noise. "Honestly!"

Ginny grinned at Harry and they both shrugged.

"And now," Bagman's voice roared. "Kindly put your wands in the air for the Irish National Team Mascots!"

Suddenly, what looked like a green and cold comet came zooming into the stadium, flying around it and then splitting into two comets, each one hurtling towards the goal posts. A rainbow arched suddenly across the field, connecting the two balls of light and a fireworks display followed. The rainbow faded and the balls of light reunited and merged forming a great shimmering shamrock.

"Leprechauns," Zee said with a smile as the crowed applauded and gold coins seemed to rain down on them. "The Irish always love to have them perform."

The great shamrock dissolved and the leprechauns drifted down onto the field on the opposite side from the Veela and settled themselves cross-legged to watch the match.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen," Bagman said loudly, echoing across the entire stadium. "Let us kindly welcome the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team! I give you — Dimitrov! Ivanova! Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Volkov! And Krum!"

Viktor Krum, only eighteen years old, earned the loudest applause and cheers from the crowd.

"And now, please greet the Irish National Quidditch Team," Bagman yelled. "Presenting, Connolly! Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! And Lynch!"

The green and red blurs on the field settled themselves amidst the applause and the ref signalled the start of the match.

And Harry couldn't stop grinning.

End Author's Notes:

(Bulgarian) Nash Ministr ne ponimayet. A ty govorish' po Russki = our minister does not understand, do you speak Russian?

Thanks for reading and please review!