June train rides to King's Cross were never really a fun adventure for Harry and his gang, but this time it was particularly hard.
Harry spent most of the journey crying and feeling utterly upset.
Even bidding farewell to the rest of his roommates didn't turn out to be an easy task.
Out of the four pairs of eyes, none was dry when the boys formed a group hug.
Seamus and Dean wouldn't stop thanking him for all the good times and for giving them the strength to be themselves. Neville was the saddest to let Harry go, it seemed.
"I will never forget you, Harry Potter. You've been a hero to me and reason why now I believe in myself." When he said that, Harry wasn't able to suppress a sob.
Luckily, the pain of leaving Hogwarts was mitigated by the stay at the Weasleys' for the Summer.
Cohabitation in the Burrow felt completely right as it always had, but , that Summer, it was especially blissful.
The three couples were all granted separate rooms, so Harry could sleep in the same bed as his future husband without any unwanted guests-especially Percy- and the news of the double wedding infected the whole household with a spread of high spirits.
Mr and Mrs Weasly hadn't been informed about the true reason behind their son's engagement to Hermione, so they just thought that it was Ron's way to settle down and take things seriously.
Harry knew, though, that it would have been impossible for them to be completely clueless, since the whole school knew about it.
Bill and Fleur came to visit one weekend, while George and Angelina stopped by for a day to announce the woman's pregnancy.
Molly was euphoric about becoming a grandma. What she didn't know, though, was that she would be a grandmother of two, not one.
Charlie only sent letters from Romania as he was too busy with dragons and such.
The first month and a half was spent calmly, in a routine of comfort and games.
There was a Weasley Quidditch Battle, as Harry's birthday request, on July 31st, which was won by Draco.
For once, he had beaten Harry at something.
"How dare you? On my birthday!" The Green eyed boy scoffed when the match was over and Draco flaunted his prize - a homemade cookie- for everyone to see.
"What? I couldn't let you win on purpose!" Draco put his hands up defensively.
With a mischievous look, Harry snatched the cookie from his lover's hand with his mouth and munched on it right away.
Draco's jaw stayed dropped for the whole time it took Harry to eat the baked treat.
"This is so ethically wrong! I wonder how you will be able to sleep at night, after this disgrace!" Draco yelled, acting like he was outraged, then the chase began.
Their four friends cheered for the two of them as they both ran through the field, all while laughing hysterically.
Draco ended up tackling his fiancè to the ground.
"You little shit, I will end you!" he said menacingly.
Harry kissed him in response.
That was what it took for Draco to forgive him.
On August 10th the six friends had to leave the house to go to France for the European Quidditch Cup, which would have taken place the day after, on Ginny's birthday.
It was a gift from Luna to her girlfriend since she had won the bet.
The other four were also invited, so it was a great way to celebrate Draco's birthday as well, given it had been impossible to do it in the NEWTs week.
And, besides, the Quiberon Quafflepunchers had always been Draco's guilty pleasure.
Also, they had to go to France anyway, since the wedding would have taken place in Paris, only two weeks later.
They would have had to stay in a place that sounded like the Leaky Cauldron, only French, Le Chaudron De La Sorcière.
Due to the fact that Hermione was with child the three couples had to get there the muggle way, which was by airplane.
Arthur drove them to the Heathrow airport, from there they flew to Nantes, home of the Tournament.
The plane trip had been terrible for its first timers, who were everyone but Hermione.
Draco had almost thrown up when the aircraft had taken off and he had been scared out of his mind with the turbulences and the fact that he had never been this high in the sky, not even in the Quidditch Pitch.
Luckily, he had Harry's hand to hold throughout the whole journey.
Luna had spent the whole flight with her face on her girlfriend's shoulder, babbling that at their height they could have been attacked by Flying Cramplehorned Snorkacks.
Ginny's hearing had been temporarily lessened, Hermione had told her that it would pass, but still, she'd had a mild panic attack.
Ron, however, had got it worse than anyone else.
"I am never taking an airplane again!" he grumbled as he got out of the bathroom in the Nantes Airport. He had just been sick there.
Luna, Ginny, Harry and Draco were all sitting on top of their trunks, trying to recover from their traumatizing experience.
"Come on, don't whine! We have to go, our ride is expecting us!" said a chirpy Hermione, getting up from her seat and leading the way out of the building.
Their ride was the French version of the knight bus, the Magicobus, which took them to Le Chaudron de la Sorcière.
The place looked very similar to the Leaky Cauldron, however, it didn't have that same vibe.
The rooms looked pretty tidy and there was no dust in them, they were also very bright and the home decor was impeccable.
The pillows looked weird, though, as they were square.
The next day, they took the Magicobus again to reach the stadium.
It was located near a deserted beach. It was concealed from Muggle eyes with a disillusionment charm, as the stadium would been to big to hide.
There were so many excited people that it was almost impossible not to get lost in the screaming crowd. Not to mention, it contributed to the August heat's worsening.
The six friends had VIP passes, which meant that they could meet with the players after the game. Also, two gadgets per person were included.
Draco got himself a hot pink banner for his team, while Harry got a green Hollyhead Harpies pin.
They both got Omnioculars.
The two girlfriends were both fans of the Welsh team, so they picked matching hats and Omioculars.
Ron and Hermione, too, dug in the Omnioculars. They also got HH pins.
When they reached the Stadium, a witch muttered something in French, showing them the way to their VIP seats.
The arena was significantly smaller than the one they had seen in the World Cup, but it still looked colossal.
It held roughly fifty thousand people inside.
When they arrived in their first class seats, Ginny could barely hold her excitement. She felt happiness take over her, as she jumped around squealing.
Her blouse fluttered as she did so. That earned her a glare from Luna, as she had risked exposing her body.
The gallery soon became packed with wizards and witches of all ages.
A woman, who must have been the French Minister, was sitting next to a flamboyant looking man, who was dressed in a purple suit. He had a fuchsia feather boa around his neck-everyone identified him as head of Magical Games.
Draco sat next to Harry. They were both very ecstatic and couldn't wait for the game to start.
Draco, in particular, was looking forward to seeing his most beloved team play. He hadn't seen them in a while, so he didn't know who was in the team. He was excited to see who would play and if they were able to beat the former players.
When the flamboyant man shouted "Sonorus!" Draco and Ginny squealed loudly, looking at each other.
Luna was happy, too, and she showed her emotions by twirling around.
The man spoke in English, since half the spectators didn't know French well.
"I welcome you to the semifinal of ze Quidditch European Cup of 1999!"
The crowd roared so loudly that it was impossible for the group to hear what their friends were saying.
The European Cup didn't have the show of Mascots, but there was a presentation of the team members.
The two teams flew to the center of the field, the visual effect was mesmerizing as their colours merged, creating a flash of pink and green light.
"On our left we have ze Hollyheard Harpies!" the head of the Magical games shouted, pointing his hand at the Welsh team.
"Captain and beater Gwenog Jones!"
Ginny screamed upon hearing her name. "Go, Gwen!" she yelled, then she laughed for the enormous amount of happiness that her presence gave her.
Luna's heart was warmed at the sight of her cheerful girlfriend. This was definitely more worth it that taking her to the Nargle Convention.
"Morgan! Griffin! Ambers! June! Conrad and, last but not ze least, Seeker Thompson!"
Ginny continued her screams of joy. "Stella Thompson is a terrific seeker! She's my second favourite player!"
Ron, too, cheered for the team, accompanied by a clapping Hermione.
"And now, our team, we are proud to present you...the Quiberon Quafflepunchers!"
Draco's yell was louder than Ginny's. He was fangirling, to say the least.
He waved his banner frantically.
Harry couldn't help giggling at that.
"Should I worry about them stealing my man?" he joked, but Draco couldn't hear him.
"Captain and Seeker Adrian Martin!" the man bowed as he said that name.
"Laurent! Fabron! Segal! Deschamps! Travers! Brun!"
From a distance, the French Seeker didn't look familiar, but, with the touch of the Omnioculars he most certainly did.
Adrian Martin had dark hair, a pointy nose and a large jaw. His protective specs covered his face but they didn't completely hide it. Draco and Harry recognized him right away.
"Jean Jacques?" the couple said in unison when they looked away from the devices in their hands, their jaws dropped and their eyes widened.
"Is that Pansy again?" Harry spat, worried that the girl had done it again.
"Oh, impossible, Pansy cannot use magic, not anymore. That must be the original Jean Jacques. He's the guy that she cloned." Hermione added in her clever tone.
Pansy must have thought that the guy was just a random muggle, but, turned out, he was a Quidditch player, disguised as a foreign exchange student. He was probably just exploring the muggle world, just like the gang had done for Easter.
Draco was slightly annoyed at the sight of that person, he looked exactly like his former room mate from hell.
Harry, too, was triggered by his presence.
"Come on, guys, don't let this spoil the fun!" Luna intervened. "He's not the guy you think he is."
Luna had a point, the two decided to not let that ruin their excitement.
But, boy, was that hard.
The rest of the match was breathtaking. Gwenog Jones was a wonderful beater, she never missed a Bludger. Her seeker, Stella, was also pretty amazing, Harry observed.
He had played many games before, but he had never seen such a skilled seeker.
He had to admit that she was even better than himself.
He considered himself lucky to be able to talk to her after the match, he would have totally asked for advice.
Ginny would replay every move that her idol made, wishing that, one day, she would play alongside her.
She kept repeating "Best Birthday Ever!" as she did so.
Luna felt a bit jealous at her girlfriend's almost obsession with that Beater.
Additionally, it was strange to see that girl, as, in Ginny's room, a poster of her would often seem to stare at the two girls while they were having intimate moments.
Draco tried to imagine Adrian as someone else, but it didn't work too well. He felt hatred for him, even if the team's fate largely depended on him.
His attention fixed on the other players, he saw that the chasers, Leon Dechamps, Axel Segal and Basile Trevors, were very good and, also, they had a lot of presence in the show.
They were the most eye-catching players, their moves were impeccable and reminded Draco of dancers.
Dechampes was the one who scored the most points.
The Hollyhead Harpies Keeper wasn't really at the most of her forces, by the looks of it, as she was unable to stop the Quaffle from entering the hoops, multiple times.
Ginny frowned at that.
In the end, the Quafflepunchers beat the Harpies by two hundred points, as Jean Jacques' doppelganger caught the snitch.
The French plus Draco all rumbled in joy for their triumph on the other team.
He didn't mind the fact that the person showing off the snitch looked exactly like Jean Jacques anymore.
"We won!" He yelled, then he hugged his fiancè excitedly.
Harry wasn't too pleased with the results, but he still let Draco pick him up and twirl him around.
"Oh, man! The Keeper was probably ill or something! That is not fair, not in the least!" Ginny whined, feeling defeated.
"Oh, come on, honey bee, it was still a great match- my favourite part was when the seeker flew in that way you taught me!" Luna chirped.
"Yeah, it was still amazing! Thank you, baby! This was the best birthday ever, and it's all because of you!" said the redhead, then she kissed her girlfriend fiercely.
Luna was the best girlfriend in the world, if anyone thought they had a better girlfriend, they were wrong.
And the birthday would have turned a ton times better in moments. Now that the match was over, it was time to meet the players.
The six friends all descended the stairs, headed for the VIP Tent.
There was a very long line to get to the autograph signing, but the waiting was worth it.
"Oh Merlin, I can't believe I'm about to talk to Gwen!" Ginny squeaked, all while holding her girlfriend's hand. "This is a dream come true!"
Hermione couldn't wait to meet members from both teams, she was most excited about the beaters. Ron had been enchanted by the Keepers, even upon seeing that the Harpies one had not done her best.
Draco had mixed emotions about it. Sure, meeting the players would have been an amazing thing, but the Seeker looked too much like the guy who had almost ruined his relationship with Harry.
"I'm going to act like this Adrian guy had an evil twin." said Harry.
That wasn't a bad idea.
Something like an hour later, it was finally their turn.
Since the visitors were divided in groups of six, all friends were able to enter together.
Ginny timidly walked to her idol. Her heartbeat was very fast and her face was as red as her hair.
She didn't know how she could have prevented herself from jumping on the girl.
"Hi, Oh Merlin, I love you! I'm your biggest fan! I have a poster of you in my room!" Ginny blurted.
Miss Jones flashed her a bright smile. She was sitting at a desk, still in her Quidditch uniform, a quill in her hand.
Her hand was a bit stained with ink from the many signatures she had placed on things.
"Oh, you don't know how honoured I consider myself for that, girl." Gwenog said, sighing contentedly.
Ginny bashfully took off her hat and gave it to her. "If you cold sign this, I'd be happy." she managed to say. "I'm Ginevra Weasley, by the way."
"Sure! To my biggest fan Ginevra, I hope you make it big." Gwengo pronounced the words as she wrote them.
Ginny fought the urge to scream for joy.
"Thank you! Today is my birthday, you've just made it unforgettable!" Ginny squealed, trying to keep her tears from falling, but to no avail.
She was right in front of her favourite Quidditch player ever, she had fantasized about that moment so many times and now, there she was, so unbelievably close to her.
Now I can die happily, she thought as Gwenog Jones in person got up from her seat to squeeze her into a hug and wish her a happy birthday.
That had just become the best day of her life, hands down.
Harry was engaging in a long conversation with Stella Thompson, she was telling him about some strategies, but he wasn't listening to her that much, he was too busy staring at Adrian Martin, who was talking to his fiancè.
Draco had decided to ignore the fact that the Quiberon Seeker reminded him of someone he hated, so he still went to get his banner signed.
"What's your name?" Adrian asked, completely clueless that Draco was trying not to associate him with a terrible person.
His voice sounded exactly like Pansy's puppet.
"Um... Draco." He said, staring at the guy opposite him.
If only he knew what a girl has done with his features, Draco thought.
Maybe he actually knew, if the news of Pansy's craziness had reached the French as well.
"Ok, to Dracó, hope you reach your goals, Adrian Martin."
Mr Martin signed the banner. He even added a drawing of himself catching the snitch.
At least, the way he said Draco was different.
Adrian Martin's eyes then fixed on a redhead girl who was talking to his opponent.
Everyone noticed it, even Ron, who had been fangirling over the Harpies Beater signing a piece of parchment.
"Say, Dracó, can you introduce me to your friend there, a little spicy ginger!" The french guy said, looking captivated.
He definitely wasn't gay.
"Hey!" Luna intervened, her nostrils flaring with anger.
She was a very jealous girlfriend, she had let her hug Gwenog Jones only because she knew she had been wanting to for ages, but this guy was crossing a line.
"That spicy ginger is my girlfriend, so stay away!" The blonde girl ran from her position, which was in front of a Harpies Chaser, to the French Captain's desk.
"Wow, lesbiennes? They turn me on ever more." Adrian giggled softly, as he put a hand on Luna's cheek to caress it.
Harry felt a lot of disgust for that man.
Pansy had chosen the right person to imitate. Both he and his "alter ego" were insufferable gits.
Luna pushed that hand away so fast that it hit the wooden surface below it.
Adrian winced in pain, then he held his injured hand.
Everyone looked at Luna, even the players. She didn't look like it, but she was very strong.
Ginny stopped her girlfriend from taking her wand. "Baby, it's fine, let's just go. He's not worth getting in trouble for."
There were two aurors for bodyguards and they both glared at Luna intensely.
When the three couples exited the tent, they well all astonished that no one had said anything about the French Seeker's attempt at molesting girls.
"He was vile!" Said Hermione, feeling utterly disgusted. "Just like his look-alike."
"All molesting types." Said Draco, shaking his head in disbelief.
"I wonder how it is that he didn't touch Pansy at the hair salon."
"Luna, sweetums, really, you shouldn't have done that to him. Sure, he was an asshole and I wanted to kill him for touching your face like that, but you could have been arrested!" Ginny scolded as she pulled on her girlfriend's arm.
The other girl was still livid with rage.
"He deserved it! He called you a spicy ginger, only I can call you that!" Luna snorted.
If Ginny hadn't stopped her, she would have broken that guy in two.
The redhead sighed softly. Her girlfriend's act had actually made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. She felt protected by her.
"Lucky I have this dame to save me!" She said dramatically, putting her arms around her neck.
"I will save you forever!" Luna exclaimed, finally dropping her anger.
"I love you more than anything!" Ginny gave her girlfriend yet another kiss.
"Aw!" Their four friends said at the same time.
Once again, that couple had proven themselves as the cutest.