Bagman & Crouch

A/N Yes, I've decided that for chapters that relate to those in the books, I'll be using the chapter names that correspond. And yes, I am taking a lot of general text from the book, but I'm adding my own flare and the whole story won't be like that, it's just kind of a filler in-between Fremione happenings! Just an FYI.

And I suppose:

Disclaimer: Sadly, I'm not J. K. Rowling, so I don't own this, I just revise it.

When the Weasleys (minus Bill, Charlie, Percy, and Mrs. Weasley, of course), Harry, and Hermione set off early in the morning, there was barely any light from the sun. Everyone except Mr. Weasley was yawning occasionally and rubbing their eyes to try to get the still-present sleep to leave.

After walking for a good while, Mr. Weasley told the bunch to split and start looking for the portkey. They had only been at it for a couple minutes, however, when a shout rent the still air.

"Over here, Arthur! Over here, son, we've got it!"

Two tall figures were silhouetted against the starry sky on the other side of the hilltop.

"Amos!" said Mr. Weasley, smiling as he strode over to the man who had shouted. The rest of them followed.

Mr. Weasley was shaking hands with a ruddy-faced wizard with a scrubby brown beard, who was holding a mouldy-looking old boot in his other hand.

"This is Amos Diggory, everyone," said Mr. Weasley. "He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric?"

Cedric Diggory was an extremely handsome boy of around seventeen. He was Captain and Seeker of the Hufflepuff House Quidditch team at Hogwarts.

"I know him," Harry whispered to Hermione. "He plays for Hufflepuff. He's the one that wanted a rematch last year when I fell off my broom." Hermione nodded; she vaguely recognised him from school, walking down hallways and such.

"Hi," said Cedric, looking around at them all.

Everybody said hi back except Fred and George, who merely nodded. They had never quite forgiven Cedric for beating Gryffindor in the first Quidditch match of the previous year.

"He's cute!" Ginny whispered to Hermione as Mr. Weasley chatted with Mr. Diggory.

Hermione looked him over. He was rather handsome, with chocolate brown hair that curled into ringlets on his head. He was very tall, lean and built for Quidditch. Hermione, as well as everyone else that had ever watched a game of Quidditch in their lives, knew that you had to be very fit to keep up with the game; Cedric was no different.

Hermione was pulled out of her reverie by Mr. Weasley loudly interrupting a rather nasty comment Mr. Diggory was in the process of voicing.

"Must be nearly time," said Mr. Wesley quickly, pulling out his watch again. He and Mr. Diggory began walking. "Do you know whether we're waiting for any more, Amos?"

Hermione and Ginny lagged behind the group, and as Cedric made to fall in with the Weasley boys and Harry, he spotted Hermione and smiled. She gave a friendly smile in return, but Ginny let her mouth fall open slightly as they walked behind him, and she kept looking from Hermione to Cedric, and back again.

There happened to be another person who noticed this exchange, and he was very curious to know what was between Hermione and Cedric, if anything.

When they arrived at the campsite, the sight that greeted Harry and Hermione was like nothing they'd ever seen before. Hundreds upon hundreds of tents were lined up neatly in rows, some towering over the others with multiple levels and turrets. Some had makeshift gardens with plastic decorations, and others had different varieties of flowers and plants. Some even had live animals (one had peacocks) tethered to the entrance.

"Always the same," said Mr. Weasley, smiling. "We can't resist showing off when we get together. Ah, here we are, look, this is us."

They had reached the very edge of the wood at the top of the field, and here was an empty space, with a small sign hammered into the ground that read WEEZLY.

"Couldn't have a better spot!" said Mr. Weasley happily. "The field is just on the other side of the wood there, we're as close as we could be." He hoisted his backpack from his shoulders. "Right," he said excitedly, "no magic allowed, strictly speaking, not when we're out in these numbers on Muggle land. We'll be putting these tents up by hand! Shouldn't be too difficult...Muggles do it all the time...Here, Harry, where do you reckon we should start?"

Hermione missed what happened next, as she was tapped excitedly by Ginny. "Hermione, we should see if we can find Cedric later. You should talk to him!"

Hermione shook her head at the girl. "What would we talk about, Gin? Why would I want to search the whole campground for him when I could be here, talking to my friends about things we actually have in common?"

She didn't let Ginny answer, and went over to help Harry with pitching the tents. He and Hermione had worked out where most of the poles and pegs should go, and though Mr. Weasley was more of a hinderance than help, because he got thoroughly excited when it came to using the mallet, they finally managed to erect a pair of shabby two-man tents.

Hermione was admiring their handiwork when she realised that once Bill, Charlie, and Percy arrived, they would be a party of ten. She gave Harry a quizzical look as Mr. Weasley dropped to his hands and knees and entered the first tent.

"We'll be a bit cramped," he called, "but I think we'll all squeeze in. Come and have a look."

They all crawled in after Mr. Weasley, and though the Weasley's might have seen magic like this before, Harry and Hermione were not as used to it. Harry's jaw dropped as they walked into what looked like an old-fashioned, three-room flat, complete with bathroom and kitchen. As Hermione was looking around, she heard Harry mutter something about, "Mrs. Figg," and "smells like cats."

"Well, it's not for long," said Mr. Weasley, mopping his bald patch with a handkerchief and peering in at the four bunk beds that stood in the bedroom. "I borrowed this from Perkins at the office. Doesn't camp much anymore, poor fellow, he's got lumbago."

He picked up the dusty kettle and peered inside it. "We'll need water..."

"There's a tap marked on this map the Muggle gave us," said Ron, who had followed Harry and Hermione inside and seemed completely unimpressed by its extraordinary inner proportions. "It's on the other side of the field."

"Well, why don't you, Harry, and Hermione go and get us some water then,-" Mr. Weasley handed over the kettle and a couple of saucepans "-and the rest of us will get some wood for a fire?"

Fred inwardly groaned-he had wanted to be sent out on a chore with George and Hermione, but he guessed he'd just have to wait.

"But we've got an oven," said Ron. "Why can't we just-"

"Ron, anti-Muggle security!" said Mr. Weasley, his face shining with anticipation. "When real Muggles camp, they cook on fires outdoors. I've seen them at it!"

"But we're not Muggles," complained George.

After a quick tour of Hermione's and Ginny's tent, which was slightly smaller than the boys', though without the 'smell of cats' Harry had been reminded of in the other one, Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off across the campsite with the kettle and saucepans.

As they walked to the tap, the trio saw many interesting scenes playing out before them: a little wizard playing with his father's wand and making insects grow to abnormal sizes, young witches zooming around on broomsticks that only went about two feet above the ground, and many, many more.

A while into their journey, they were stopped by Seamus Finnigan, his mother, and Dean Thomas on the Irish side of the campground.

After they left, Ron made a comment about supporting Ireland, and Hermione voiced a question. "I wonder what the Bulgarians have got dangling all over their tents?" she said.

"Let's go and have a look," said Harry, pointing to a large patch of tents upfield, where the Bulgarian flag was fluttering in the breeze.

The tents here had not been bedecked with plant life as the Irish tents were, but each and every one of them had the same poster attached to it, a poster of a very surly face with heavy black eyebrows. The picture was, of course, moving, but all it did was blink and scowl.

"Krum," said Ron quietly.

"What?" said Hermione."

"Krum!" said Ron. "Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker!"

"He looks really grumpy," said Hermione, looking around at the many Krums blinking and scowling at them.

Ron made some comments about Krum being a genius, but Hermione didn't pay attention. She had already continued walking, as she had been wanting to get back to the tents to spend some time in the boys' tent with Fred before the game. It looked like she wouldn't get much time.

There was already a small queue for the tap in the corner of the field. The trio joined it, right behind a pair of men who were having a heated argument. One of them was a very old wizard who was wearing a long flowery nightgown. The other was clearly a Ministry wizard; he was holding out a pair of pinstriped trousers and almost crying with exasperation.

"Just put them on, Archie, there's a good chap. You can't walk around like that, the Muggle at the gate's already getting suspicious-"

"I bought this in a Muggle shop," said the old wizard stubbornly. "Muggles wear them."

"Muggle women wear them, Archie, not the men, they wear these," said the Ministry wizard, and he brandished the pinstriped trousers.

"I'm not putting them on," said old Archie in indignation. "I like a healthy breeze 'round my privates, thanks."

Hermione was overcome with such a strong fit of the giggles at this point that she had to duck out of the queue and only returned when Archie had collected his water and moved away.

As they made their way back to their spot, Harry had apparently been surprised to find that Hogwarts wasn't the only wizarding school in the world. He had looked at Hermione, who had looked unsurprised at the information Ron had just told him.

"You've been ages," said George when they finally got back to the Weasleys' tents.

"Met a few people," said Ron, setting the water down. "You not got that fire started yet?"

"Dad's having fun with the matches," said Fred, sneaking a glance at Hermione.

Mr. Weasley was having no success at all in lighting the fire, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Splintered matches littered the ground around him, but he looked as though he was having the time of his life.

"Oops!" he said as he managed to light a match and promptly drop it in surprise.

"Come here, Mr. Weasley," said Hermione kindly, taking the box from him, and showing him how to do it properly. She had hoped by helping Mr. Weasley, Fred would notice her and see how helpful and patient she was with his father. Not that she wouldn't have done it if Fred wasn't there, but it helped.

While waiting for the fire to get to cooking temperature, Mr. Weasley was pointing out Ministry workers to Harry and Hermione as they passed their tents; his own children knew too much about the Ministry to be greatly interested.

At last, the fire was lit and ready, and they had just started cooking eggs and sausages when Bill, Charlie, and Percy came strolling out of the woods toward them.

"Just Apparated, Dad," said Percy loudly. "Ah, excellent, lunch!"

"Egg-cellent, more like," Fred quietly commented, but Hermione, sitting across from him, had heard and snorted, quickly covering it up as a cough. Fred noticed and grinned.

They were halfway through their plates of eggs and sausages when Mr. Weasley jumped to his feet, waving and grinning at a man who was striding toward them. "Aha!" he said. "The man of the moment! Ludo!"

Ludo Bagman was easily the most noticeable person they had seen so far, even including old Archie in his flowered nightdress. He was wearing long Quidditch robes in thick horizontal stripes of bright yellow and black. An enormous picture of a wasp was splashed across his chest. He had the look of a powerfully built man gone slightly to seed; the robes we're stretched tightly across a large belly he surely had not had in the days when he had played Quidditch for England. His nose was squashed (probably broken by a stray Bludger), but his round blue eyes, short blond hair, and rosy complexion made him look like a very overgrown schoolboy.

"Ahoy there!" Bagman called happily. He was walking as though he had springs attached to the balls of his feet and was plainly in a state of wild excitement.

He chatted to Mr. Weasley about the perfect weather for the game, and just as he finished, a group of haggard-looking Ministry wizards rushed past, pointing at the distant evidence of some sort of a magical fire that was sending violet sparks twenty feet into the air.

Percy hurried forward with his hand outstretched. Apparently his disapproval of the way Ludo Bagman ran his department did not prevent him from wanting to make a good impression.

"Ah-yes," said Mr. Weasley, grinning, "this is my son Percy. He's just started at the Ministry-and this is Fred-no, George, sorry-that's Fred-Bill, Charlie, Ron-my daughter, Ginny-and Ron's friends, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter."

Bagman did the smallest of double takes when he heard Harry's name, and his eyes performed the familiar flick upward to the scar on Harry's forehead.

Mr. Weasley was being talked into placing a bet on the match when Hermione noticed Fred and George whispering frantically to each other. They started digging in their pockets and counting rapidly. She walked over to them and whispered scoldingly to them.

"You really shouldn't gamble-it's not a certain trade! You could loose all of your savings on one Quidditch match, and then you won't have any money to start your shop!"

They looked at her with identical looks of bewilderment. "How'd you know about our shop, Granger?" George asked suspiciously. "Been eavesdropping on our private conversations, have you?"

Hermione blushed. "No, but I overheard your mother yelling at you for not getting enough O. W. L. S. last year, and then I heard her mention Weasley's Wizard Wheezes after you two, Ron, and your Dad got Harry."

"Well, then you'll know that we've spent all that time and money on it already, and we're willing to bet and double our savings to be able to start our shop. It's what we've been wanting to do for years," Fred said reassuringly.

Mr. Bagman then spoke, "Any other takers?"

"They're a little young to be gambling," said Mr. Weasley. "Molly wouldn't like-"

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

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

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

Percy froze in an attitude of stunned disapproval.

"Boys," said Mr. Weasley under his breath, "I don't want you betting...That's all your savings...Your mother-"

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

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

"Cheers," said George, taking the slip of parchment Bagman handed him and tucking it away into the front of his robes.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the twins but they only grinned at her. She couldn't help but smile in return. Fred had the most brilliant smile; it was different from George's, but only small differences, like the way his smile was more lopsided and cheeky, and his eyes got smaller as his grin got bigger...

Wait! What was she doing? She wasn't supposed to be focusing on smiles! She was Hermione Granger, for Merlin's sake! The Brightest Witch of Her Age should not degrade herself to thinking so intently on the smile of the guy she fancied. Right?

Hermione was snapped back into reality with Percy loudly sharing yet another accomplishment of Mr. Crouch.

"Mr. Crouch?" he said, suddenly abandoning his look of poker-stiff disapproval and positively writhing with excitement. "He speaks over two hundred! Mermish and Gobbledegook and Troll..."

"Anyone can speak Troll," said Fred dismissively. "All you have to do is point and grunt."

Percy threw Fred an extremely nasty look and stoked the fire vigorously to bring the kettle back to a boil.

As Mr. Weasley asked Mr. Bagman about one of their coworkers, Hermione was in deep thought about her emotions. She shouldn't be thinking about boys right now, because then it would most likely carry on at Hogwarts and distract her from her studies. She couldn't allow that, she had to stop!

Mr. Crouch had just appeared, and Hermione finally decided that she would speak to Ginny about this later, as she has knowledge on things like this.

"Pull up a bit of grass, Barty," said Ludo brightly, patting the ground beside him.

"No thank you, Ludo," said Crouch, and there was a bit of impatience in his voice. "I've been looking for you everywhere. The Bulgarians are insisting we add another twelve seats to the Top Box.

"Oh is that what they're after?" said Bagman. "I thought the chap was asking to borrow a pair of tweezers. Bit of a strong accent."

"Mr. Crouch!" said Percy breathlessly, and sunk into a kind of half-bow that made him look like a hunchback. "Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Oh," said Mr. Crouch, looking over at Percy in mild surprise. "Yes-thank you, Weatherby."

Fred and George choked into their own cups. Percy, very pink around the ears, busied himself with the kettle.

A little while later, after Mr. Crouch's tea had been poured and all but a little had been drunk, and after Mr. Weasley and Mr. Crouch had discussed Ministry business going on at Hogwarts (with Percy trying to cut in with smart comments every other sentence), Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman left to go meet with the Bulgarians.

"What's happening at Hogwarts, Dad?" said Fred at once. "What were they talking about?"

"You'll find out soon enough," said Mr. Weasley, smiling.

"It's classified information, until such time as the Ministry decides to disclose it," said Percy stiffly. "Mr. Crouch was quite right not to disclose it."

"Oh, shut up, Weatherby," said Fred.

A VERY BIG THANK YOU to the following readers/reviewers/assistants:

• Raven that flies at night

• Fandomqueen104

• GakuenLME

• Anyone else who has read what I have so far in this story

• My dogs, for listening to me talk to myself about conversations the characters have and giving me their opinions

• My computer/phone/tablet for not crashing (knock on wood) while writing/posting

If you haven't noticed by now, I'm trying to do an update every two days; I figure that gives me enough time to write a chapter well and revise it if need be. This might not be possible in the near future, as I'm going to be very busy in the coming months, but I will try to write/update when I have time!

Keep reading and reviewing!

All my love,

B