Ok guys, sorry it took me so long to get this posted. Between being sick, computer viruses, and the internet being down, among several other things. I haven't exactly had the chance to get anything done. So please forgive me and don't kill me! I promise I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner!
Also: Thanks to all of you reviewers who wished me to get better! Ya'll are great!
Disclaimer: well once again, I sadly own not a darn thing. Although it would be wonderful. I don't
Please enjoy this next chapter, and as always let me know what you think!
The Match
After a hearty meal, and excitable conversation about the up coming event, the group of ten decided that it was almost time to make their way to the stadium for the match. "Well ladies and gentlemen, it is about time so why don't you all go get ready and we'll leave in about ten minutes." Suggested Mr. Weasley.
He was answered with a chorus of "Yes!" and "Finally!" from the younger group, and a nod from the adults. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny made their way over to their bunks. They gathered their wands, team memorabilia, and money pouches (which Harry noticed for the Weasley's was much smaller than his own; he would have to be careful not to let Ron see his. Knowing his best friend would become embarrassed about his own much smaller amount).
Just as Harry was finished gathering his items Fred, or maybe it was George, no it was Fred, made his way over to Harry. "So Harry, care to make a wager on the match?" he asked, just as his twin made his way over.
"Yeah Harry, just pick a team Ireland or Bulgaria?" George encouraged.
"Sorry guys, I love quidditch just as much as the next person, but I was muggle raised remember? I know absolutely nothing about either team."
"Haaarrryyyy, come on just a galleon," started Fred
"You never know…" continued George
"Just pick a team…"
"place your bet…"
"and you might win!"
"Right Gred?"
"Right Forge!"
"Alright, alright, I have a feeling that you two won't stop asking until I do...ok here one galleon for Ireland to win." Harry acquiesced handing the twins a galleon from his money bag. He didn't really want to bet, but he figured that one; the twins wouldn't leave him alone until he did. Two; that if nothing else maybe if they won enough, they would put the money towards some good jokes. After all, the way things had been going lately, Harry was sure they could all use a good laugh.
"Ok kids, everyone partner up!" called Mr. Weasley. "Everyone have their emergency portkeys? Not that we'll need them I hope."
"Yes sir" was the response from the group.
"Well Harry I guess that makes us partners" Ron grinned.
"Sounds good to me" Harry smiled back.
The five pairs; Professor Snape and Charlie Weasley, Mr. Weasley and Bill, Fred and George, Hermione and Ginny, and Harry and Ron, made their way out of the tent and out towards the stadium.
Harry having no clue where they were going asked, "Um Professor?" and waited until the man looked at him. "Do you know where the stadium is?"
"It should be just through those trees up ahead, you can't see it from here because of all the charms." answered the potions master.
"How is it that all of the muggles know we're here but none of them seem to notice anything out of the ordinary and come looking? Isn't it kind of a risk to be out in the open muggle world?" Severus gave a slight nod of his head to Mr. Weasley indicating for the man to answer since he worked at the ministry.
"Ah you see Harry, good observation by the way, all of that has been taken care of, we simply place a muggle repelling charm around the outside of the camp grounds and around the outskirts of the area. That way, when a muggle starts to get curious and comes close, the charm actually causes them to remember something 'very important' that they need to attend to right away. We do have someone that has to do slight alterations to the campsite attendant continually. We do need for him to be here in order to run the campgrounds." Arthur explained.
"I guess that makes sense" Harry replied as he and Ron began to look around at all the other tents and people in the area. Harry was sure there had to be at least one group of people from every country. There were flags, and banners, but the main give away was all the people speaking so many different languages. Given that, of course, a majority of the occupants were from either Ireland, Bulgaria, or the Britain. There were still about half as many from other countries such as France, Germany, Spain, Harry thought he even saw a flag from the United States!
"Arthur! Arthur Weasley!" They all turned to see a rather large but rather short man heading their way, waving his arms.
"Ah Ludo! Everyone I'd like you to meet Ludo Bagman! This is who we have to thank for getting us the tickets! He is the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Ludo this is my group, starting with the youngest, we have Ginny, Ron, Fred and George, Charlie, Bill and of course you know Professor Snape I'm sure." Bagman nodded shook hands with the Weasley's and only just inclined his head at Severus, making Harry a bit weary of the man. "These here are Ron's friends, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter."
"Harry! How nice to finally meet you. Heard a lot about you young man! Keep up your skills and you could become as famous a quidditch star as I was!" He was enthusiastically pumping Harry's arm so hard up and down, that Harry thought it was about to be ripped from his body. Finally the man let go.
As Bagman turned back towards Mr. Weasley, Ron leaned over and whispered to Harry "He used to be a beater for the Wimbourne Wasps years ago. I over heard dad talking once, he was accused years ago of passing on ministry information to You-Know-Who's people. Said he got out of it by saying that the guy was an old family friend and he never once thought it was possible for him to be on the dark side. From the way dad talks, sounds like he's got a bit of a gambling problem. I think I heard Bill say that he was indebted to some goblins. Hate to be him mate!"
As if on cue, Bagman leaned over into the group and said "So I'm not supposed to be doing this but what's a little friendly wager gonna hurt? Any takers?" He eyed the boys especially with a big grin on his face.
"Well Gred?"
"Yes Forge?" answered Fred, or maybe it was George, Harry couldn't tell from where he was. They looked at each other for a moment and gave a slight nod to each other.
"You have a bet Mr. Bagman.."
"21 Galleons, 11 Sickles, and 5 Knuts..."
"On Ireland..."
"But Krum gets the Snitch." They finished.
"Oh well, yes, that is quite a bet." began Bagman smiling widely.
"Yes it is. Boys your mother would have our head if she knew what you were doing! Besides, that's about all the money you brought with you."
"Arthur, Arthur!" called Bagman with a mischievous glint in his eyes as he pulled the man slightly to the side, "Think about it. What better way to teach them about betting than to let them experience the loss for themselves? The bet they made is ridiculous, what do you say we let them learn from experience eh?"
"I don't know… Molly would have my head on a platter if she found out. Oh what the hey, fine. Not one word to the misses though." He discretely leaned over towards the man "go ahead and add 5 galleons to Bulgaria on my name." Arthur finished with a slight blush in his cheeks.
"Oh Arthur, you devil you." Bagman winked.
"Ok boys, I will allow it this one time. Do NOT tell your mother! This is a one time deal, in order to teach you a lesson. Understood?" Arthur winked at the boys. He was secretly worried for Ludo. He knew his boys knew almost more about the quidditch teams than anyone else.
"Aye Aye Dad!" The chorused with huge smiles on their faces.
Severus leaned over towards Harry and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. Harry jumped slightly at the sudden contact.
"I did not mean to startle you." He intoned, which was about as close to apologizing as Severus Snape was going to get in front of five of his other students.
"No, no, you didn't...ok well maybe you did...but it's ok." Harry stumbled over his words.
"A quick word if you don't mind?" Severus motioned with a step back. Harry nodded his head and followed his guardian just off to the side.
"Harry, I am hoping that you are not doing any gambling?" he raised his eye brows at the sudden shameful look that crossed Harry's face.
"It was just a galleon; I figured it was the only way to get the twins to leave me alone. Besides they'll probably use it for a joke, and after the way the school terms have been lately, I think we could all use a good laugh." Harry looked up and saw the look on his guardians face, one of stern disappointment. "I'm sorry sir, I'll cancel the bet. I shouldn't have done it. I won't do it again. I'm sorry." he rambled. He hated being in trouble. He was just starting to get along with the man and now he had gone and broken a rule. He didn't know it existed but still...that wouldn't have mattered at the Dursley's either. He was breathing quickened and got heavier.
Seeing that the boy was beginning to get upset, and possibly have a panic attack. 'What in the world is he getting so upset about? I only implied that I did not want him gambling. He had a sound reason. What is causing him to panic?' Severus thought. "Harry, Harry...look at me" He placed his hands on either of the boys shoulders (ignoring the automatic flinch when he did) and waited for the boy to look up at him. "Come on Harry, look at me. Breath you silly child, that's it. It's ok. I just wish you not to gamble. Take deep breaths. That's it. Feel better?"
Harry could only nod. He hated that he reacted like he did, but it couldn't be helped. For a moment he had forgotten where he was and who he was with. He knew that Severus wasn't like his uncle, but he still worried sometimes. "I'm ok. Err...sorry about that. I'll just call off the bet with the twins." He repeated.
"No, you are correct. It is only a galleon and I dare say we could use a laugh. Just try to refrain from any gambling in the future. Understood?" Severus clarified.
"Yes sir, umm... Maybe we should get back to the others before we get left behind. Mr. Weasley does have the tickets after all." Harry looked down at his shoes like they were the most interesting thing in the world.
Severus raised an eyebrow at the boy before producing two tickets from his pocket. "He thought it might be wise for me to have our tickets." He placed the tickets back in his pocket and looked at Harry once more. 'I'm really going to need to work with him on getting over his past treatments. He needs to confront them.' he thought. "Are you alright Harry?"
"Yes sir, I er… just forgot where I was for a moment there." Harry looked over at the group of others.
Severus looked at his charge questioningly. "Where did you think you were?" he asked.
"No offense sir, but can we talk about this later? I just don't feel like talking about it right now." Harry tried to push the subject away.
"Later it is. Let's get back to the others then." Severus accepted. He knew that Harry wouldn't want to talk about it later but knew the boy needed to get it out. He wasn't sure what had caused the reaction he had gotten, but from the way he acted he figured it had something to do with the treatment from the boy's relatives.
They walked back over to the group of Weasley's, plus Hermione, noticing that Bagman had left. Severus didn't really like the man. It was just that he had a bit of a gambling problem and would do anything for money. Severus had no doubt that Rookwood, the Death Eater that Bagman had passed on the information to, had been paying him a hefty sum for it.
As the group of ten made their way towards the stadium they ran into several people that they knew, including Percy, Ron's older brother, with his boss Mr. Crouch. There was another woman with them that Harry did not recognize. She was said to be Minister Fudge's niece, and was taking an internship just as Percy was. She seemed nice enough but Harry just had an odd feeling about her. She also didn't accept when he extended his hand to her in greeting.
Pretty soon they were through the edge of the trees. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred and George stopped dead still, mouths gaping wide open like fish. The stadium was huge. It had to be at least ten times the size of the quidditch pitch at Hogwarts. From what Harry could tell the large wall of gold that surrounded the pitch. Harry thought it looked rather odd; it was almost shaped like the apples you buy at the market. Smaller at the bottom and then it went further out as you go up and then the top rounded over on top of it. He could tell the top of it was open by all of the light that was glowing from the top of the stadium. In a nutshell, it was beautiful!
"Whoa." Ron whispered in awe. "I never dreamed it would look like this."
"It's beautiful" Said Hermione and Ginny together.
"Wicked" Harry finished.
"Well gang, lets get a move on, the match will be starting soon and we need to go find our seats." Mr. Weasley gently nudged them.
Harry looked over at Severus with a huge grin on his face, and his eyes shining like never before. The look on Harry's face was one of pure excitement and joy. Severus felt a portion of the ice wall around his heart melt at the look on the boys face. It was then and there that Severus wished that he could always see that look on his charges face. He wanted to be the one that put it there.
"Come on guys!" Harry shouted. They made their way to the stadium. Mr. Crouch broke off from the rest of the group to go attend to some 'important business', but left Percy and Fudge's niece Linda, to accompany the group to the match.
They reached the entrance which in itself was about fifteen meters wide and about five meters tall. There were aurors and other ministry officials about 3 feet away from each other taking tickets from those who entered.
Severus and Harry stepped up behind one group of people to give their tickets and the others did the same. When they reached the front, the man taking their ticket was dressed in auror robes. He was a fairly tall African man of normal build. "Shacklebolt" Severus inclined his head to the man.
"Professor" The man replied to in kind. "Watch for trouble" the man whispered to where only Severus and Harry could hear. Severus made a slight bowing motion and thanked the man. They met the others inside of the stadium. Severus went over and proceeded in hushed conversation, to inform Arthur of what Shacklebolt had warned him. Bill, who was near by, walked over and laid a hand on his father's shoulder,
"Come on dad, we need to move, we're blocking the way." he said.
Harry was looking around in awe. From where they were now, you could consider it the foyer of a sort of the stadium. It was a large area, directly to the front when you walk through the ticket area was vendors. They had everything from food and drinks to souvenirs and team memorabilia.
Behind them was the entrance where you walked through and ministry officials took your tickets. To each side was a stair case leading up to the stands and boxes.
"Ok Guys and girls" Mr. Weasley smiled at Ginny and Hermione. "I believe we need to head this way. Thanks to Ludo, we will be in the same box as he and Mr. Crouch, some of the best seats in the house if you ask me." He stated.
Harry watched in awe as they made their way up to their box, passing vendor after vendor stationed on each level. Just as they making their way up to the next two levels to their seats Harry heard the one voice he was sure he could do without for the rest of his life...
"Well, if it isn't perfect Potter. Hope you brought your wand Potter. You'll need it to spell all of the blood away. No doubt you'll be way up in the nosebleed section. We however will be in the Minister's box. Minister Fudge himself invited us." Said a beaming and sneering Draco.
"Now now Draco, don't boast. There is no need with this riff raft, you'll only waste your breath. Come now, good. Ahh Severus, almost didn't see you behind all of the shabby folk. Why don't you come down and sit with people of your own status?" He said smirking up towards the group.
"Lucius" Snape nodded his head to the man. "Unfortunate of you to invite me at this time, it seems I have other duties I must see to." He replied. He hoped that Harry would understand and not take it the wrong way. Then again, what should he care? More importantly, why should he care if the boy understands or not?
Lucius scanned the group and his eyes stopped and lit up on one certain individual. "Ah yes, I am to understand that the old fool has you babysitting the Boy Who Lived. Unfortunate that." He drawled before quickly snapping himself back to attention. "Maybe you would care to join a couple of your old friends for a drink after the match?"
"Unfortunately I am under strict orders, not to let Mr. Potter out of my sight. I'm afraid he shall want to stay with his...friends, perhaps another time." Severus intoned with his usual sneer towards Harry.
"Yes, another time indeed. You may want to watch yourself Severus. Don't want to be caught in cohorts with the wrong sort anytime soon." Lucius stated, as if it were some kind of coded warning.
Only Severs knew the true meaning of that statement. It did make him a bit uneasy. He nodded to Arthur and caught his eye letting him know he would speak to him later about the matter.
"This way kids!" Arthur drew the attention back to finding their seats.
Severus walked over and placed and hand on Harry's shoulder. Seeing the boy look up at him with questioning eyes, he gave in a smidgen. "I don't believe I need to explain the importance of you staying far away from that man." he paused with a strained expression on his face before continuing, "and his son. Not to mention also sticking to your partner?" he asked.
"No sir, Malfoy's are always nothing but trouble. I don't need to be told." Harry responded.
"Good, it seems we need to catch up. I believe our seats are on the next level up." He stated with a slight nod of his head towards the rest of the group making their way up the stairs.
They sped up some to catch up with the rest of the group just as they entered one of the VIP boxes.
.
"Wicked!" Harry heard Ron whisper.
The 'box' as they called it was more like a big semi-enclosed room. There were doors on each side closing the room off from the rest of the area, however part of the area above and the whole area to the front was completely open for viewing the pitch... and what a wonderful sight it was.
"Brilliant" exclaimed Harry.
He walked over to the railing and looked over the stadium. It was extravagant. It looked much like the giant football stadiums that Harry used to see on the telly at the Dursley's. The ground of the pitch was covered in beautiful white sand. The whole way up, lining the walls of the stadium were seats for the spectators. At one end of the pitch just behind the goal rings was a gigantic Irish Flag, at the other end behind the other set of goal rings was a huge Bulgarian Flag. Harry looked and noticed that directly across from where he was sitting, at the top of the stadium was a huge magical billboard that constantly displayed ads for various magical products.
"Hey, let's go get souvenirs! And snacks!!" shouted Ron.
"Can we sir?" Harry asked, as he turned a look at his guardian.
"As long as you stick together. Be careful and keep your eyes open." Severus replied.
Harry graced his guardian with a rare smile. "We will sir, I promise. Do you want anything?"
"No, I am content." He responded. He almost had the urge to smile again for some reason. Maybe it was the fact that Potter had taken a moment to ask of his approval, and to see if he wanted anything. Harry simply nodded in response.
Harry, Ron, Fred, George, Hermione, and Ginny all left the box in search of souvenirs and snacks. They began on their level. On the way up Harry noticed that each level along with seats, also had vendors. Ron immediately ran over to a vendor, who was selling miniature replica's of each team's players that moved in you hand, as well as banners, flags, various attire supporting each team.
Ron proceeded to pick out various items, among Hermione's protests of him to save some of his money. Harry, who wasn't actually an avid supporter of either team, purchased a small pennant flag for each team. Ron bought a small, round shouldered, duck footed, miniature of one of the Bulgarian players, a couple of pennant flags, something that favored a muggle foam finger -except the wording alternated every few seconds - and a reversible poster of Ireland on one side and Bulgaria on the other.
Once they purchased their items and left, Hermione all but demanded they stop by the program vendor and purchase programs. Ron was avidly against it, Harry on the other hand was apathetic, he saw the usefulness, however he didn't absolutely 'have to have it' like Hermione did. After purchasing the program -which Ron grumbled about being a 'waste of good money' – they started searching for snacks.
Harry bought some chocolate frogs, each a special edition one that had the card of one of the teams players. He also found a sweet that he thought was quite fun, he almost choked on it upon the first taste though. It resembled a muggle candy apple, however, it would shoot smaller bite sized ones into your mouth. Depending on where you went to bite it at, it would give you either caramel covered, candy coated, or chocolate covered. It was quite delicious. He also decided upon some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.
He waited for the others to finish buying their snacks. Ron came over with all of his pockets and hands loaded down just about, while the rest - like Harry - only purchased a few.
They began to head back to their seats when they spotted another vendor. "Oh no!" Ron groaned.
"What's wrong mate?" asked Harry.
"I got all of this stuff and forgot to save enough money to by some Omnioculars!" he whined.
"Omni-what?" Harry asked, with a confused look upon his face.
"Those." Ginny answered, pointing over to a man that was selling something that looked like golden binoculars.
The group walked over and Harry picked up a pair of the omnioculars and started examining them.
"The look like muggle binoculars" he stated.
"Ahh, but my dear boy, they are not like the muggle binoculars. You must be muggle raised at the least!" the vendor replied.
"Yes sir, I was. How are these different?" Harry asked.
"Do you see the buttons and knobs on the top there?" at the nod of Harry's head he continued. "They allow you to stop, pause, rewind, fast forward, slow down, and replay events seen through them. As well as normal zooming in and out. I believe I once heard a muggleborn refer to them as a cross between a pair of muggle binoculars and a muggle video camera." The man finished with a large grin on his face.
Harry decided to get himself a pair and at the dejected look on Ron's face decided to help his friend out as well. He knew Ron would never just accept them though, he'd have to think of a reason and quick. He also decided that it would be nice to get Severus a pair too.
"How much are they?" He asked the vendor.
"Fifteen galleons"
"I'll take three pairs please." Harry told the man, who's eyes lit up at the prospect of gaining 45 galleons from one single customer.
"Harry! What do you need three pairs for?" asked Hermione.
"I don't, thats why only one is for me." He grinned back.
Harry got his money bag back out and paid the man the forty-five galleons. He started thinking maybe it was a good thing that Severus gave him so much money. If he kept spending it like this, he would be broke before the match even began.
After taking the omnioculars from the man, he turned to Ron and shoved a pair in his hands. "Here Ron." he said
"Harry I can't take these. They cost way too much, I'm sure you could sell them and get your money back." Ron replied with a surprised look on his face as he tried to hand them back to Harry.
"No I bought them for you." Harry responded.
"But Harry, I can't, you-" Ron began his refusal only to be interrupted by Harry.
"Just don't expect anything from me for Christmas this year..or your birthday" Harry replied with a cheeky grin on his face. He knew that it was the only way Ron would accept the omnioculars. Ron didn't have to know that Harry still planned on getting him a Christmas and birthday gift.
"Thanks mate, I'll pay you back." Ron told him with a big smile creeping up on his face.
Hermione huffed, "You should have let him just go without! It's his own fault he spent all his money on those souvenirs and snacks, but that was a very nice thing to do Harry." She graced him with a slight smile, and Harry smiled back.
The group made their way back to their seats, with time to spare before the match began. Harry sat and took the extra pair of omnioculars and handed them to Severus. "Here sir, I thought you could use these."
"Indeed. Most useful. Very thoughtful Mr. Potter." He smirked at the boy.
Harry smiled back, he knew that was about the closest he would get to a 'thank you' from him with all of his friends around. "I have some extra snacks too if you'd like some." He offered holding out the items toward his temporary guardian.
"No thank you Mr. Potter, I will leave you to rot your teeth all by yourself." He scowled at the sweets.
Harry laughed. "Ok sir."
Harry looked around and noticed that there were several other people in the box with them. Some of those people being Ludo Bagman, Fudge's niece (Harry thought he remembered her name to be Linda), Mr. Crouch, along with Percy, and the Irish and Bulgarian Ministers.
Minister Fudge stopped by at that moment to introduce himself and the others to the foreign Ministers. After rounds of introductions and greetings, -all of which the minister shouted for some reason, believing that it would help the 'non-English speaking' amongst them to understand- Fudge gave an exasperated sigh and retreated back to his own box to join his guests. As Fudge left the Bulgarian Minister approached Harry and shook his hand once again stating in a thick accent, but perfectly understandable English "I am very pleased to meet you Mr. Potter. Many in my country know of your story and your greatness. It is an honor to ve in dey same seating vith you. If ve can ever 'elp you, please let us know."
"Thank you sir. I will." Harry replied.
Just as the Minister returned to his seat Ludo Bagman stood and cleared his throat. He then placed his wand to his adam's apple and incanted "sonorous" and began the introduction to the match.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!!" he began. He paused a moment as the crowd started cheering only continuing once the noise had dissipated some.
"I do hope that everyone has a smashing good time! Now it's time for the introduction of the top two teams in the world and their mascots! So lets get on with it and get this match underway!"
The crowd began cheering again and Hermione leaned over and whispered to Harry "Each team was also allowed to bring country mascots. Creatures that are brought to represent each country. This is so exciting!!"
"And here we have the Bulgarian mascots!!" boomed Mr. Bagman
Harry watched the pitch with excitement, wondering what kind of creatures they could have brought. He suddenly looked wide eyed onto the pitch as about a hundred beautiful women suddenly entered. Each of them had beautiful clear skin like the pale moon, and long flowing white blond hair blowing in the invisible wind in their wake. Harry stood mesmerized, how could these women be creatures? They are so beautiful, he thought. He suddenly heard Severus leaning down behind him and whispering "Cover your eyes and ears"
"What?" he asked, confusion alighting his face.
"Don't ask questions, just do it." Severus quickly said.
Harry reluctantly covered his ears and shut his eyes. After a moment he felt Severus tap him on his shoulder. He turned towards him and Severus pulled his hands from his ears and told him that he could open his eyes now. Harry did so and was shocked at what he saw and heard.
Ron beside him was just about standing on the edge of the box, as well was Fred and George. Hermione was reaching pulling Ron back as Mr. Weasley pulled back Fred and George. The crowd (mostly the men) were booing and shouting in anger and disapproval. Harry looked down to see the creatures leaving the pitch.
Ron looked disgruntled and was trying his best to rip apart the Irish pennant that he had bought, until Mr. Weasley reached over and took it from his hands stating "You'll thank me later".
"And that ladies and gentlemen were the Bulgarian Veelas!!" Bagman announced. Now Harry understood. He had heard about Veela before, not in very much detail though. Just that they were extremely beautiful and always put men into a trance with their charm and music. He looked back and Severus and gave him an appreciative smile.
"Lets see what the Irish have to say to that! Here are your Irish National Mascots!" yelled Bagman.
Harry saw a streak of green and gold fly out of the pitch entrance on the Irish side. He watch in fascination as the streak of light soared high over the pitch and then appeared to explode and form several different forms, like fireworks. After several forms the creatures -Harry still wasn't quite sure what they were- formed two giant shamrocks. Harry watched in awe as they somehow formed a rainbow between the two shamrocks and began circling the pitch over the crowd showering them with what looked like gold colored rain.
When the creatures got to them, Harry noticed that they were tiny little men with beards carrying gold or green lanterns. Also not only was it not rain they were dropping but gold galleons. Ron scooped up several handfuls and handed them to Harry with a large grin on his face.
"There! Told you I would pay you back. Now you have to get me presents! I like chocolate frogs, and anything to do with quidditch!"
Harry shook his head and smiled at his friends words. He took the gold and place it in his pocket.
"Lets hear it for the Irish Leprechauns!" Bagman roared. "And now, for the team introductions! Let's hear it for the Bulgarian National Quidditch team!!" He announced and was greeted with loud cheering and cat calls from the crowd. "We have Dimitrov!"
A player wearing scarlet robes, flew out of the entrance at the bottom of the pitch and began to circle at the cheers of the fans.
"Ivanova!" a second player wearing red robes followed and began circling with the first.
"Zograf and Levski!" two more entered and began circling with the others.
"Vulchanov and Volkov!" continued Bagman as these two players joined their teammates.
"Annnnddd we have KRUM!!" at that pronouncement the crowd went absolutely wild.
"Harry! Harry! Look! It's him! It's Victor Krum!!" Shouted Ron, as he began looking through his omnioculars. "He's one of the youngest seekers ever! He's only 18!"
Harry picked up and was looking through his own omnioculars. He focused in on Krum and noticed that he had a very sallow skin tone, round shoulders, thick eyebrows, and a curved nose.
"And now I give you your Irish National Quidditch Team!!" yelled Ludo Bagman. "I give you Connolly! Ryan!" he began as two players in silver and green blurred onto the pitch and began circling. Once again the crowd started shouting and cheering.
"Troy! Mullet!" Bagman continued.
"Moran and Quigley!" he announced.
"Annnnnd LYNCH!" Just as they had done for Krum, the crowd went absolutely wild. The Irish players circled the pitch and then hovered in mid air over on their end of the pitch.
"Everyone please welcome our referee, Acclaimed Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch – brought all the way from Egypt- Hassan Mostafaaaaaaa!"
Out walked a referee dressed in gold. He was a rather short and skinny man, with a large mustache. In one hand he carried a trunk containing the quidditch balls, and in the other, slung over his shoulder was his broom.
All of the players got into position. The referee walked to the center of the pitch and dropped the trunk to the ground.
Harry was watching through his omnioculars as the referee dropped the trunk and mounted his broom before kicking the truck open. As soon as the truck was open the two bludgers, the quaffle, and the snitch sprang up into the air. The referee kicked off and blew his whistle to begin the game.
"And here we go folks!!" Bagman announced the beginning of the match, just as Harry caught a brief glimpse of the snitch before it vanished at high speeds.
"And it's Troy with the quaffle! Mullet, Dimitrov, Back to Troy! Levski, Moran! Dimitrov!"
Harry had never seen a faster paced game in his life. There wasn't even enough time for Bagman to tell what was going on, just announce their names. He watched in fascination as the players from both sides smoothing passed the quaffle back and forth so fast that it just appeared as a red streak. He watched in awe through his ominoculars as the Irish teams chasers formed a triangular formation, like migrating birds. Mullet was in the lead with Moran and Troy on either side.
Harry watch in slow motion through with his ominoculars as they tried to dodge the Bulgarian chasers. Ivanova headed straight towards Mullet who waited until the last second to pull up. He was headed straight towards and oncoming bludger. He dropped the quaffle to Troy and veered off out of the bludgers path.
Harry's nose was starting to hurt from having the omnioculars pressed so hard against his glasses that the nose pads were digging in. He watched as Troy then looped around and passed to Moran. Moran sped forward and passed the quaffle back to Mullet who aimed for the left goal. "MULLET SCORES!!" Bagman announced. "Ten points to Ireland!" he yelled.
Harry watched as Ireland once again regained possession of the quaffle. Harry knew from just watching the match so far that the Irish had a superb group of chasers and beaters. He watched in slow speed as Ireland passed the quaffle back and forth before being intercepted by Leveski.."TROY SCORES!!" screamed Ludo Bagman.
"Huh? How? Bulgaria had -" Harry began
"Harry, you're watching in slow motion, how do you expect not to be lost if you don't watch at normal speed?" Hermione asked him.
"Oh yeah..sorry." he replied. Harry looked over and saw the Leprechauns flying up and forming shamrocks and pots of gold. He looked over to the Veela and noticed them looking very sulky. Ireland scored once more in the next few minutes, bringing the score to Ireland 30, Bulgaria 0. There was not an Irish supporter at the match that was not on his or her feet cheering and stamping and clapping.
Harry continued to watch the game in normal speed, lest he get behind again. It seemed like the game got even faster and more brutal. Bulgaria was tired of being behind and meant business. The Bulgarian beaters knocked several bludgers towards the Irish chasers, keeping them from using their formations to score. Harry was on the edge of his seat as one of the bludgers smacked straight into Moran from behind, making him drop the quaffle. Ivanova recovered the quaffle and weaved and dodged his way through the Irish team, and finally their keeper, Ryan, to score Bulgaria's first goal.
This time all the boys covered their ears and eyes, as the Veela started their song and dance. After a second Harry barely opened his eyes to check if they were finished. The game was already back in play and Bulgaria had the quaffle.
"Levski, Dimitrov! Ivanova and back to Levski!" roared Bagman's voice. "Oh looky here!"
The stadium suddenly quited except for the sounds of several thousand gasps, as everyone watched both seekers Krum and Lynch speeding straight down towards the ground, as if they didn't even have their brooms.
"They're not going to make it!" yelled Ginny. She was only a little off, at the last second Krum pulled up and out of the dive. Lynch who was only a millisecond behind did not have the opportunity. A dull thud was what the whole stadium heard as Lynch slammed into the ground. The Irish supporters all groaned at once.
"Time out for both teams,trained medi-wizards are rushing in to examine Aidan Lynch." Bagman explained.
Hermione looked like she was about to burst into tears. "It's ok Hermione" soothed Bill "He's going to be fine he only hit the ground."
"Thats the famous Wronski Feint Harry! Krum never saw the snitch at all. He merely wanted Lynch to follow and maybe get put out of the game!" Ron explained to Harry.
Harry watched as below, Lynch was treated with spells and potions by the medi-wizards. Above, Krum was busily using this time to circle the pitch in search of the snitch. After a few minutes, the medi-wizards revived Lynch from unconsciousness with several potions. Lynch stood to several cheers and kicked off on his broom, heading back up into the game.
As soon as the referee blew his whistle, Ireland played with renewed spirits. The game began to get dirtier and dirtier. After several more goals from Ireland and several minutes later, the score was one hundred and thirty to ten, with Ireland in the lead.
Harry attempted to keep up with the excessively fast paced game. He watched as Moran flew towards the goal but was met by Zograf. Harry couldn't tell what happened because everything happened so fast. One moment they were flying towards each other and the next Harry heard the referee blowing his whistle to signal a foul. Many of the Ireland supports jumped to their feet and shouted in outrage.
"And Mostafa charges the Bulgarian Keeper with Cobbing for his excessive use of elbows! This may be a penalty to Ireland. And yes there it is!" informed Bagman.
Harry watched as the Leprechauns leaped into the air and formed a face that blew a raspberry at the Veela. The Veela started dancing in return. Harry and the other boys once again plugged their ears and closed their eyes. After a moment Harry felt Ginny tapping him on his arm. He opened his eyes and removed his hands from his ears.
Ginny was laughing so hard she could barely speak. "Look...at..the...ref...eree..." she gasped out.
Harry scanned the pitch and found the referee over in front of the group of Veela's. He had taken his shirt off and was showing off his muscles and rubbing his chest in a seductive way for the Veela's. Harry and the rest of the group started laughing themselves.
Bagman who was trying to control his laughter gasped out "Oi, thats not good! I think somebody needs to knock our referee back to reality there!"
They all watched as one of the medi-wizards (female so she wasn't affected by the veela) took off stomping hurriedly across the pitch. She reached the referee and smacked him across his face. The referee finally regained his composure, not without a good bit of embarrassment and anger however. He actually started shouting and trying to make the veela leave the match.
"Watch out people, this could turn nasty! I don't believe we've ever had a referee try to send off a teams mascots before! This could go in the history books people" announced Bagman with a bit of amusement in his voice.
Two of the Bulgarian chasers flew down and landed on either side of the referee, shouting and pointing in protest. Mostafa in return started shouting and gesturing for the players to get back in the air. Blowing his whistle and signaling for a second penalty when they refused.
"And thats a second penalty to Ireland! Those players better get back in the air if they want a fair chance at winning." declared Ludo Bagman.
The two disgruntled players mounted their brooms and took off back into the air. The leprechauns however were delighted and shot up into the air in two groups. One making a rude gesture towards the Veela and the other spelling out the words "HA HA HA".
The game resumed at a whistle from the referee, as the two players returned to their positions. Troy regained the quaffle and headed towards the goals. After several plays, both teams were becoming more vicious. The beaters were targeting anything with their bats they could, sometimes even other players.
"FOUL!!" yelled Bagman and all of the green clad supporters. Harry had watched as Dimitrov deliberately flew straight into Moran as she had the quaffle.
"Dimitrov has deliberately flew into Moran who had possession of the quaffle. That's definitely going to be another penalty for Ireland- yes there it is now!" Bagman finished as Mostafa blew his whistle signaling the penalty.
The Leprechauns flew up into formation and mooned the veela before spelling out the words "HEE HEE"
The Veela upon retaliation abruptly changed to Harry's surprise. Their faces elongated to resemble that of a birds, and they grew large scaly wings out of their backs. They abruptly launched themselves across the pitch in fury and started attacking the leprechauns by throwing what appeared to be fireballs at them.
An all out battle was taking place on the pitch down below the players. Ministry officials flooded the field to try to stop the fighting. This did nothing to stop the match however.
As the match above the battle commenced, Moran scored once again. Possession of the quaffle was immediately gained by Dimitrov. One of the Irish beaters made his way to the bludger and aimed it directly for the Bulgarian seeker.
Krum didn't quite veer out of the way in time, and the buldger smashed directly into his face. Harry was sure after watching in his ominoculars that Krum's nose was broken. He was bleeding everywhere and his nose looked to be swelling some.
Even though Harry was mainly supporting Ireland, he wished that Mostafa would blow his whistle and have Krum checked on. After locating the referee however, he couldn't exactly blame the man for not noticing Krum. He was a little preoccupied at the moment. It appeared that one of the veela had sent a fireball towards the man, catching the tail of his broom on fire.
"TIME OUT!" called Ron "COME ON HE CAN'T PLAY LIKE THAT!" he yelled.
"LYNCH HAS SEEN THE SNITCH!" yelled Harry.
He watched as the man suddenly entered a steep dive. Harry was pretty sure this was no hoax, the man had really seen the snitch. As the Irish supporters all stood up cheering, Krum took off in the same direction as Lynch. He was gaining on him to the point they were almost side by side. Harry didn't have any clue as to how Krum could see with all that blood on his face.
"THEY'RE GOING TO CRASH!!" shouted Hermione.
"No they won't 'Mione" soothed Ron.
"Lynch will!" called Harry, and sure enough, as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Lynch barreled into the ground with a thud, for the second time in the match. He was immediately trampled by the attacking veela.
"Where's the snitch?!" asked Bill.
"Krum has it! The match is over!" shouted Harry
Sure enough Krum flew high up in the air. His clothes and face bloody and his fist in the air. Inside his fist was a struggling glint of gold with wings.
"AND VICTOR KRUM HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH!!" yelled Bagman, "The match is over! IRELAND WINS!! Bulgaria 160: Ireland 170!! The Irish are the new World Cup Champions!"
"I don't believe it! Why did he catch the snitch? He knew they would lose!" complained Ron.
"He knew they would never catch up. He wanted to end it on his own terms." commented Severus.
Ron just stared at the man as if he had grown two heads. All at once the Irish team stood and started cheering. Every single person that was clad in green raised their wands and shot off either silver or green sparks.
Harry was grinning just as big as the rest of them, then all of a sudden his vision went a bright blinding white and his body felt like it was about to explode with energy. He was trying to gain his bearings just as his world went black.
The potions master jumped over the seats to get to his charge just as Ron and Hermione yelled "HARRY!"
Mr. Weasley pushed all of his children and Hermione back and went to Harry's other side. Both men bent down over the boy. Severus laid him flat and noticed that Harry had a white glow about his whole body. "What on earth is happening Severus?"
"I'm not sure." the man replied. He had never seen anything like it before.
He opened Harry's eyes and noticed that they were so bright green they were glowing. His friends were all huddled over to the side with Bill and Charlie, watching with unguarded fear on their faces.
The Bulgarian Minister stepped over to Severus lightly tapping him on the shoulder. He had seen the boy when he collapsed and saw the symptoms and knew what was going on.
"He seems to ve avsorving the magical energies, It 'as overloaded 'is vody" he stated, pointing to Harry. "If I may?" he asked gesturing to his wand and Harry.
Severus nodded, albeit reluctantly. He didn't know the man, but figured that he would not harm Harry in a box full of witnesses.
The Bulgarian minister kneeled down over Harry's body, bringing his wand up. He made a spiraling motion with his wand over Harry's chest, incanting in a language that none of the others knew. As he did, the bright glow that seemed to transfer from Harry's body to the tip of the Minister's wand. With a sharp jab away with the end of his wand the glow dissipated, and Harry began to awaken. "Please 'old still Mr. Potter." he asked. With another quick incantation, and an arc of his wand, a slight blue aura appeared surrounding the boy and then seemed to vanish.
"Zat vill keep it from 'appening again for a few days. 'E vill still see ze magical energies, 'owever he vill not avsorve zem" he explained to the two men.
"Thank you Minister. Is there anything we can do for in return for your generosity?" Severus asked.
"No, no..Vell actually, my nephew vould be thrilled if 'e could 'ave Mr. Potter's autograph?" he asked looking towards Harry.
"Uh, sure" he replied, unsure of what just happened.
After signing a Bulgarian wizards hat for the boy, they bid the Bulgarian Minister goodbye.
Fudge entered the box just as the players finished their laps around the stadium. "Now we will congratulate both teams and award the World Cup." announced Ludo Bagman from somewhere behind Harry. "Now would the Bulgarian team come forth?!"
Harry stood and cheered with the rest of the stadium as the Bulgarian National Quidditch team entered the box. They were reintroduced by Bagman, each shaking hands with Bagman himself, Minster Fudge, the Irish Minister, and their own.
Harry noticed that Krum was not nearly as graceful on the ground as he was on a broom. He originally thought that maybe the figure Ron had bought had been a bad imitation. Now he saw that it was quite accurate. The real Krum, also had rounded shoulders, was duck-footed, and currently sported a bloody face from a broken nose. Obviously no one cared though, because as soon as his name was reintroduced, the whole stadium shouted and applauded.
After the Bulgarians left the box Bagman announced "And now, for you're World Cup Champions! The Irish National Quidditch Team!"
Once again the stadium was bursting with applause and cheering, as the Irish team entered the box. After re-introductions and handshakes, the team was handed the World Cup Trophy. At this the stadium erupted with an ear splitting roar. Harry and his friends were clapping just as hard as the rest of them.
After the Irish team left for another victory lap, Ludo Bagman canceled the 'sonorus' charm he used to amplify his voice. He turned to the twins who were smiling broadly from beside them. "Oh yes, the bet, good guess that – so how much do I owe you?"
After all the betting was settled, they prepared to leave the box and go back to camp. "Um sir?" Harry asked as he turned to face his guardian.
"Yes, Mr. Potter?" he replied.
"Um since nothing has happened so far, I know that you said it would be up to you if we stayed. Can we?" asked Harry. He tried his best not to look too hopeful.
"'May we stay' Mr. Potter." Severus corrected.
"I'm sorry sir, May we say?" he asked correctly this time.
Severus held back a sigh "I suppose we can." It's not that he didn't want the boy to enjoy himself, in fact quite the opposite. He believed that the boy needed all the 'fun' he could get. He supposed he would just have to put off resting until they were safely back at Hogwarts.
"Yes! Thank you sir!" he thanked the man.
Just as they were all crowded in together Harry felt somebody push him from the side and the lights in the box quickly flickered off for a few seconds and back on. Harry turned to see who just about knocked him over. It was Linda, Fudges niece. She had a fake smile on her face as she theatrically threw her hand over her mouth and began to apologize.
"Oh, dear me. I am sorry Mr. Potter. Please forgive me. I seem to have lost my balance there. Are you alright?" She asked
"Yes ma'am I'm fine." He replied turning away.
The group of Weasley's, Hermione, Harry, and Severus, finally began making their way back to camp amidst the other people at the match.
"Are you alright Mr. Potter?" Severus asked. Shooting the boy a calculating look.
"Yeah, I'm ok. She's just ...well...creepy I guess." he shrugged as they continued on to their camp site.
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Next Chapter: Chapter 13- Happy Ending or not so Happy?