Chapter Seventeen - World Cup Year
The New Year brought with it a growing excitement with the approach of the Quidditch World Cup. Hermione and Ginny were busy at Marauders Institute in those first few months, getting the Translocators into production and ready for sale. The Cannon's continued to win their games, and had won eleven games, and lost just one by the end of February.
Luna's marketing of the Translocator was masterful, and when they went on sale in March, it spawned a complete change in how the Wizarding World moved just about everything. There wasn't the kind of rush that the 3MP's and the WWVN's had created, but instead there was a quiet steady river of sales that quickly climbed into tens of millions sold.
Valentine's Day was on a Thursday this year, and while Ginny had a lot on the go at the Institute, it hadn't been too difficult for Harry to talk her into spending a long weekend on the island. Ron had to work out with the Cannons on Thursday and Friday, but when he and Hermione were done work on Friday, they joined their best friends on the island for the rest of the weekend.
Victoire celebrated her second birthday in March. Most of the family was there for the party, and to watch her delight as she opened presents, playing games and making an adorable little mess of herself while having cake and ice cream. Teddy was the only other child there for the day, and he managed to have fun except for when Victoire gave him a kiss to thank him for the birthday present that he and Uncle Harry had picked out for her. He definitely did not like that at all!
In April there were big news stories that created media storms that lasted for weeks. The biggest was the House Elf Bill of Rights, which after months of haggling in the Wizengamot, was passed and made into law. Harry and Ginny were over at Ron and Hermione's house to watch the announcement made on WWVN. Professor Slughorn, as bill sponsor, was chosen to make the announcement, along with the Minister of Magic, and a delegation from the Ministry of Magic. The four friends celebrated Hermione's behind the scenes victory as they watched the signing ceremony.
"It's still a long way from them being free," Hermione commented.
"At least it will eventually stop Wizards and Witches from abusing elves, though," Ginny told her. "And House Elves are so against being free, this is the best you can do for now." Harry nodded his agreement.
"Let's just enjoy this first big step in changing the world," he suggested. "I think you've done brilliantly to get this far so fast."
The other Ministries of Magic in countries around the world quickly followed suit with similar bills, and Hermione's once one-witch drive towards helping House Elves was now a truly global accomplishment. The following week, England's Quidditch team was announced for the upcoming Quidditch World Cup tournament. Ron, Dennis, and Demelza were all chosen from the Cannons, and the sports experts predicted that England had a good chance at making the finals this year.
Harry and Ginny had Teddy for most of the day on his fourth birthday. They took him, and Victoire, into London for the day, where they played and shopped, had lunch, opened presents, and played some more before it was time for him to go back to Hogwarts. The grown ups might think that things like the House Elf Bill of Rights and Quidditch World Cups might be important, but the wisdom that four whole years had given Teddy told him that 'best day evers' like his birthday had been was what was really important for everyone.
There was a meeting at Gringotts at the end of April. Mrs. Weasley began this meeting with a proposal to develop a private island resort exclusively for everyone that worked for their rapidly spreading organization. She wanted to build a resort hotel, and also have a small community of private bungalows. There would be a variety of entertainment businesses that would include restaurants, dance clubs, shopping, spas, and other activities that would give the visitors to the island many choices for having fun and relaxing.
She had studies that suggested the potential for improved productivity of the workers, and more importantly from Harry's point of view, the improvement this would make in the quality of their lives would be significant. Mrs. Weasley continued with her presentation, going through the detailed revenue and expense projections she had put together for her project.
If they went ahead with this, it would take just over a year to build, and cost one hundred million galleons. This investment would not make significant money annually, but would have enormous value as a long-term investment. When she was finished, they discussed the proposal in detail. This was much different than the usual build and sell or rent that they normally did. While Harry listened to his Account Managers voice their opinions on it, and haggle about the advantages and disadvantages, he made his decision and held up his hand to get everyone's attention.
"Mrs. Weasley, your proposal is approved. I'm going to have a couple of stipulations we can discuss later, but please go ahead with acquiring the island and beginning to build your hotel." His mother-in-law was obviously thrilled, and couldn't stop smiling. They were well ahead of their business plan so far this year, and so Harry was also presented with a total of ten other proposals, re-investing an additional fifty million galleons, and then they adjourned the meeting.
Harry took Mrs. Weasley and Fleur out for lunch when they were done. They ordered their meals, were served drinks, and then Harry began to talk about Molly's resort plans.
"Fleur, Gabrielle is going to be done school in one more year, right?" Fleur nodded her agreement.
"Yes – there are just six years at Beauxbatons instead of seven years like at Hogwarts," she told him.
"Do you think she'd come work for us this summer?" he asked, and Fleur smiled brightly, nodding again.
"You know that she would love to, Harry." Harry looked at Molly and smiled.
"I'd like you to have Gabrielle work for you on the resort this summer," he told her. "I'm told that she's the brightest student at Beauxbatons. If she likes the island and the work, I want to offer her the job to come and run the resort starting next summer when it opens." Both of the women looked at him as if he'd lost his mind and Harry laughed at their reaction.
"I know you were a late bloomer as a property management genius, Mum, but if you remember, your daughter was only eighteen when she started running Marauders Institute, and I'd say she's done fairly well." He took a moment while their server stopped by and re-filled their drinks.
"Gabrielle is bright, and she loves the sun and fun. I think this would be perfect for her. Let's give her the job this summer, and decide later if she'll run the resort when it opens." Fleur and Molly both agreed. Their lunch was delivered then, so it was a few minutes before he was able to continue.
"Your annual operational expense estimate is twenty million galleons, with projected revenue of thirty million galleons, not including revenue from the entertainment sector of the island," he summarized, and Molly nodded. The numbers were rounded off, but that was about right.
"Then my second stipulation is that I will be paying the operational expenses, we will take no profit from that part of the business, and everyone that works for us can have two free weeks vacation there every year," he told them, and was smiling again as the two women were once more rendered speechless.
"Revise your plan, Mum," he instructed her. "Every room, and every bungalow will be free, and let's include a free breakfast every morning. Our guests will only have to pay for the rest of their meals, and whatever entertainment they choose to participate in." Molly had recovered from her surprise.
"Are you sure, Harry?" she asked him. "That'll add up to over one hundred million galleons just in the first five years." He nodded, smiling.
"Trust me. This will have the same effect as the incentives do." They knew by now not to bother second-guessing him on these kinds of decisions, since he had been right every single time - so far.
"Fleur, could you offer the summer job to Gabrielle for us, and I'm sure that Mum and Apolline can work out arrangements for her accommodations when they're here or at the island." Fleur agreed, and they stopped the business talk, enjoyed their meal, and had Fleur tell them all about the latest antics she and Bill were facing with their cute little terrible two-year old, Victoire.
The Cannons were in first place at the end of the season for the second year in a row, and eventually faced the Harpies in the Championship game, after the all-Witch team upset the Tornados in their semi-final match. Harry and Ginny were at the game with Hermione, Molly, and Arthur to watch Ron have the first shutout in Championship finals history. They watched Demelza score eleven goals, and cheer Dennis on as he caught the snitch to end the match with an amazing dive toward the pitch that had the spectators holding their collective breath, sure that he would crash to the ground. The celebration of the team's first League Championship in one hundred and ten years continued into the early hours of the next morning as the whole town of Chudley turned out to congratulate their team.
Finally, it was the last day of school at Hogwarts. Harry and Ginny were there for the end of school banquet to make their presentations. Professor McGonagall welcomed them again, and then invited them to make their announcements. Harry began with the award for the Quidditch Cup winning House, which was no surprise to anyone, since the Quidditch Cup had been awarded after the final game of the season in May.
"This was a great year of Quidditch here at Hogwarts," Harry began. "Ravenclaw and Gryffindor went into the final game of the year tied with two wins each. With a hard fought win in one of the best games ever, I am pleased to present the first set of tickets to the students of Gryffindor!" The Gryffindor table erupted in cheers. When they returned to their seats, Ginny took over.
"The House points have been tabulated, and Headmistress McGonagall has allowed me the privilege of announcing that this year's House Cup, along with the Quidditch World Cup tickets has been won by Ravenclaw!" It was the Ravenclaw table that now erupted in shouts of victory. Harry watched the Slytherin and Hufflepuff tables, as the students of those two Houses couldn't hide their disappointment. Harry waited until the Ravenclaws had finished their celebration.
"Ginny and I spoke with all of your Professors earlier today, and they told us about how exceptionally all of the Houses and students did this year. You should all be proud of the fact that your academic achievement was the best in this school's long history." He paused as the students clapped politely. "You also had the fewest points taken away from you Houses, and the most points awarded for both academic and non-academic excellence." He looked at the students at the Hufflepuff and then Slytherin tables, smiling as he looked from face to face.
"While we congratulate Gryffindor and Ravenclaw on their victories, we think the entire school won this year, and you should give yourselves an ovation for having such a terrific year." Ginny took his hand as the students applauded.
"Because we think you've all done such great things this year," she told them, also smiling brightly, "Harry and I have decided to take all of the students of Hogwarts to the Quidditch World Cup finals." She laughed as the entire hall now erupted in cheers that lasted for several minutes. Ginny concluded their announcement. "Instructions and your itineraries will be sent to your homes the first week of July. We look forward to seeing you all in Spain this August!"
Gabrielle started working with Mrs. Weasley the next week. When they were working in Diagon Alley, she stayed with Bill and Fleur, and when they were on the island, she and Mom stayed in a bungalow that had been one of the first buildings completed so that she'd have a place to stay when working there. Harry and Ginny took a week off to spend on their island with Teddy and Andromeda. Ron was busy training with the National team, and then he was into the World Cup Matches. Ginny fit a couple of 'girl's days' into July, taking Gabrielle and Fleur to salons, followed by shopping trips to the Malls in London or Paris.
Harry handled getting everything ready for all of the students they'd be hosting at the World Cup Finals. He'd had a tough time basically doubling all of the accommodations and meals he'd arranged nearly a year earlier, but managed to get that done. He had no problems finding eighty willing Wizards and Witches to come as chaperones for the students. The portkey locations were set up, and by the end of July, he had everything ready.
Wizards and Witches were flocking to portkey locations all over the world the morning of the big game. Harry and Ginny were at their assigned location, with Teddy and the twenty students that were assigned to them. While they had tried, whenever possible, to keep families and friends together, they did insist on mixing the age groups so that there wouldn't be some chaperones with a lot of very young students, and others with only sixth and seventh year students.
Their group was all Gryffindors, except for one Ravenclaw brother of a Gryffindor. There were four students from each of the first four years, and two students from the sixth and seventh year classes. When they were all ready, Harry and Ginny each took a portkey, and had their ten students, and Teddy, who was in Harry's arms, hang on when it was time to go. Harry had remembered his first portkey trip, and had explained to the younger students who hadn't used one before what to expect, and what to do. They all arrived safely, and there were no falls, thanks to his quick lesson.
He and Ginny led their group of students to the rows of tents that had been set up for the Hogwarts students. There were forty tents, ten tents for each house, two groups and their chaperones per tent. Ginny settled the students into their tent, while Harry made a quick tour, making sure that all of the groups had arrived safely. Everything had gone smoothly so far, and all of the students and chaperones were excited and ready for an adventure of a lifetime.
England's National team had, as predicted by the experts, made it to the finals, and they were going to be facing the surprise team of the tournament, Argentina. They had upset Victor Krum's Bulgarian team when their Seeker caught the snitch to hand them a razor thin three hundred and thirty to three hundred and twenty win.
They had a few hours to let the students wander around, pick up some souvenirs, and enjoy the atmosphere the enveloped the campgrounds. Harry and Teddy went with some of the younger students, and he outfitted his little group with flags and hats supporting their team. When it was time to get everyone to the stadium, all of the students and chaperones gathered together at the stadium entrance.
Because Harry had purchased such a large block of premium seats, they were taken through a VIP entrance, and escorted to their seats, which were centre field, first level. When the Hogwarts students saw where they'd be watching the game from, they let out such a loud cheer that other spectators turned to see what was going on.
The opening ceremony was colourful and exciting. Harry cheered with everyone else when the England and Argentina teams flew around the stadium. The Hogwarts students cheered loudest when their National team school alumni hovered right in front of them and saluted them. Ginny put her hand on Harry's arm, and pointed to one of the VIP boxes across the field from them. He saw Hermione and Gabrielle there waving at them, and returned the greeting. Bill and Fleur were with Hermione, and Mom and Dad had offered to take care of Victoire while the others were here.
When the opening speeches began, Harry excused himself. There was an official waiting to lead him around the field to the entrance being used for the participants of the pre-game program. He'd missed most of the Minister of Sports history of the game speech, and the Minister of Magic was just getting ready to introduce the members of the two teams.
Argentina was introduced first, to the enthusiastic cheering of the Spanish home crowd. When the members of England's team were introduced, he was sure that he could hear the Hogwarts group's shouts with every name that was called out, the loudest cheers for Ron, Demelza, and Dennis. He felt the thrill of the moment rush through him as he heard his friends names announced to the one hundred thousand fans in the stadium, and for the first time in history, to the millions of Wizards and Witches around the world watching the game on their WWVN's. Harry listened as the Minister of Magic continued.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have the distinct honour of welcoming a special guest, who will begin the match for us today. Please join me in welcoming HARRY POTTER!"
He had a big smile on his face as he walked out to a thunderous ovation. Harry waved to the crowd, and hugged the Minister of Magic when he reached the centre of the pitch. He took a few moments and shook hands with the other VIP's that were part of the ceremony, and then waited for the crowd to quiet down again.
"Welcome to Spain, and the Quidditch World Cup finals!" he shouted. The crowd cheered. "Would the team captains please join me?" Ron, and the Captain of the Argentine team walked over to him. Harry shook their hands.
"Both of your teams have earned the right to play today for the Quidditch World Cup," he told them. "You honour your countries and your sport today in this stadium." The crowd cheered again. "Good luck, and may the best team win!" The stadium erupted in cheers once more. Harry looked around the stadium, a gleam in his eyes as he stood in the circle with the Quidditch balls ready to go. He took the quaffle from the referee and held it up.
"Are you ready for some Quidditch?" he shouted. The crowd roared. "I can't hear you," he shouted back. "Are you ready for some Quidditch?" The stadium shook with the response. The teams were ready, and the crowd was obviously ready. "Then let the game begin!" he yelled throwing the quaffle into the air as the referee sent the snitch and bludgers soaring into the air, and the game was on.
Harry left the field quickly, and then ran back around the stadium to get to his seat. He hadn't missed any scoring, and Ginny hugged him when he got back.
"I know you don't like any publicity, but admit it - that was fun." Harry smiled, his eyes on the game.
"Yeah, it was," he agreed. "I'm glad you guys made me accept the invitation."
Harry and his guests had a lot to cheer about, and for England fans, it was an exciting match to watch, but the game was not close. After an hour, England was up by a score of one hundred and eighty to just twenty for Argentina, and after two hours, it was two hundred and ninety to fifty. There were several vendors that had been hired to keep food and drinks coming for the students and chaperones during the game so that nobody had to miss any of the game except for washroom breaks.
In the third hour the Argentine Seeker nearly ended the game, but was waved off by her coach, who wanted to keep trying for an unlikely come from behind win. That didn't happen, and in the fifth hour, Dennis ended the game, catching the snitch to give England a six hundred and eighty to ninety point, decisive victory.
Harry, Ginny, and Teddy were chaperoning their group of students for the night and there was a huge party going on in the campgrounds. Gabrielle joined them, sure that a party Harry and Ginny were putting on would be the one to be at. They had a giant buffet for all of the students, and the entire England team dropped by for a surprise visit. The band Harry had hired started playing after dinner, and an area for dancing had been set up. Harry was dancing with Gabrielle when Ginny, carrying Teddy in her arms, walked up to them. Teddy tapped Harry on the shoulder.
"You stole my girl friend, Unca Harry. Aunt Ginny said it was okay and she'd dance with me instead." He giggled, not able to keep a straight face. Harry laughed, and Gabrielle reached out for him.
"Why don't you just cut in, and dance with me," she suggested. "These old folks can't keep up with us anyway." She swept the giggling little boy out of Ginny's arms, and Harry wrapped his arms around his wife instead.
"Good plan," he complimented her.
"Why thank-you," she answered, smiling up at him. "I thought so too." He smiled back at her.
"Do you think we'd cause a scandal if they caught two of their chaperones kissing?" he asked. Ginny looked into his eyes, getting lost for a minute.
"We've survived worse than a kissing scandal," she suggested. When Harry kissed her, they heard some 'oohs', a few whistles, and a lot of giggling around them, and they ended the kiss with both of them laughing.
Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes put on an incredible fireworks display at midnight that ended with a finale that left the message - 'Congratulations to the Quidditch World Cup Champions – England!' - written across the sky. They were all up celebrating until very late. Harry was sure that at least a few of the young couples had managed to sneak off for a little snogging, but otherwise the students were all very well behaved. A few hours of sleep later, breakfast was served, and then they all headed back home, loaded down with a few souvenirs and a lot of really great memories.
There was just over a week before school would start up again, and Harry had a morning meeting at Mrs. Weasley's office, followed by an end of summer lunch for Gabrielle before she headed home to get ready for her last year at Beauxbatons. When he got to the office, Fleur had already joined Mrs. Weasley and Gabrielle. When they were all seated, Harry started the meeting. He smiled at Gabrielle.
"Ms. Delacour, Mrs. Weasley has been sending me regular reports on your progress this summer as you worked on her resort project." Gabrielle smiled, a little amused at his formality. "She and Fleur have expressed how impressed they've been with your performance, and with your ability to do your job so well." He picked up the folder he had brought with him, and looked through it.
"This summer, with your help, the resort is two weeks ahead of schedule, and I also see here that you cut costs by twenty-five thousand galleons just by coming up with the idea of using Translocators to move all of the dirt excavated from the building sites." He looked up at her, impressed, and she smiled happily. He continued going through the different memos he'd collected over the past two months.
"Here's your proposal to add a teen only nightclub, complete with a very good financial analysis." She nodded her thanks of the praise when he looked up again. He closed the folder.
"Everyone that I've talked to loved working for you, Gabrielle. How did you like the job and the island?" She smiled brightly.
"I loved every minute of it," she told him. Looking at Mrs. Weasley, she said - "I love the island, and what you're doing there. The job was so much fun, it hardly seemed fair to get paid for doing it - not that I'm planning on giving you a refund." Harry laughed.
"I was actually thinking more along the lines of a bonus - Fleur, I think ten percent of those cost savings is fair. Could you have twenty-five hundred galleons transferred to Gabrielle's account for me?" Fleur smiled, making the note, and Harry continued.
"This is your last year of school coming up," he said, and Gabrielle nodded. "You're the best student in your year, and we asked you to come work for us this summer to find out if you could handle the job I had in mind for you. We all think you definitely can." Harry nodded to Mrs. Weasley, and she handed Gabrielle a folder.
"When you're done school next June, I'd like you to be the Executive Manager of the new resort," he said as she opened the folder. Harry loved to see his friends and family during their moments of joy and happiness, and this was definitely one of those times. Gabrielle was speechless, but she was also obviously thrilled.
"If you look through that folder, you'll see the details of the offer. You'd report directly to Mrs. Weasley. Along with your base salary, you would also have the use of one of the bungalows for your home. Because the resort will essentially run with no expectations of profit, but will be an integral part of our employee's compensation, your incentive would be based on the overall performance of the organization." Gabrielle quickly read through the pages of parchment that were in the folder, eventually looking up at Harry again when she was finished. "What does a half percent work out to?" she asked him, referring to the bonus listed in her offer.
"That will vary depending on how well all of the investments and companies do each year," he answered, and then waited a moment, fighting to hide a grin. "Last year, a half percent would have meant about five million galleons." He laughed as her jaw dropped open.
"Why don't you just agree to take the job, sign the contract, and we can skip the rest of the meeting, go straight to the hugs and kisses, and get some lunch?" he suggested. Gabrielle laughed, jumping up to hug them all, and they went out to celebrate. Harry thought it was a really great way to wrap up what had been a really amazing summer.