A/n: Re-posted 08/22/2013

italics = Thoughts

Chapter 20 – The Quidditch World Cup

When Arthur and Molly went to get Harry the day before the Quidditch game, they were a little startled by the huge black dog that was lying beside Harry with its head on the boy's lap. And the woman was even more worried when Severus said that the dog was going with Harry to the Burrow and to the game. Severus had some fun trying to convince Mrs. Weasley that the dog was trained and made Sirius show them how he could sit and roll and give his paw and play dead. The couple new that Sirius Black was innocent, but Sirius and Severus decided that the least people who knew about Sirius canine personality the better. Ron and Hermione would obviously realize who the huge dog really was, but all the other Weasley would stay in the dark about it all.

As soon as Harry got up from the Burrows floor – he simply HATED floo travel – he grabbed his friends and explained that Sirius would be staying with them and that no one else was supposed to know who his new pet, Padfoot, really was.

The rest of the day passed quietly, or as quietly as it could pass when all nine Weasley were under the same roof. Bill and Charlie definitely surpassed Harry's expectations. He would never had imagine that someone so cool like Bill, with his dragon leather boots and long hair and an earring with some animal tooth – Harry guessed it was from a tiger or maybe a wolf – in his left ear, worked in a bank! Alright, so it was a bank run by goblins, but still...

Charlie, on the other hand... Harry almost embarrassed himself before the redhead could say a word. Harry stopped dead on the kitchen door, eyes fixed on the muscled arms of the red head. If Padfoot hadn't barked and taken Harry out of his stunned state, he would most likely have been trampled by the running dog.

Harry flushed red, but as he looked at the others he relaxed, seeing everyone was looking startled at the dog and not teasing him. The two oldest Weasley brothers got up to meet him, amazed that they were finally meeting the star of Ron, Ginny, Fred and George tales.

"I heard so much about you from Ron and the twins that it feels like I already know you." said Charlie shaking Harry's hand.

"I actually thought it was another prank when they told us how brave and shy you are." complimented Bill "Is it true that you went down in Slytherin's secret chamber?"

"Er..." Harry didn't know how to answer that "Yeah... Ginny was taken there... and there was a basilisk petrifying muggleborns and the teachers didn't know what to do so... I had to go there!"

"Merlin! We'll never be able to thank you enough for what you did for our Ginny." said Mrs. Weasley as she entered the kitchen.

Harry flushed red again, he really didn't know how to react with all those eyes on him.

"What did it look like? The chamber?" asked Bill "It must be full of artefacts from the founders time."

"I didn't look around much... too worried about the basilisk and Tom Riddle's memory..." Harry could see how much Bill would love to explore a place like the Chamber of Secrets.

"Oh... of course..." now it was the eldest son's time to be embarrassed "I didn't really think about that... You never had the chance to explore the Chamber of Secrets..."

"And who is your furry friend?" asked Charlie pointing to the huge dog.

"Ah! This is Padfoot, I got him for my birthday." answered Harry with a smile, remembering that Sirius had come searching for him on his birthday.

But his smile slowly melted when Fred and George glinting eyes rested on him. Harry had completely forgotten that the twins knew the Marauders' nicknames.

"Padfoot?" Fred and George asked at the same time.

"Yeah." answered Harry, a hint of panic starting to take over him, but it vanished when he looked at Padfoot and saw the way to innocent look the dog had "I thought it fitted him."

"Has he caused some trouble?" asked Fred.

"A name like that can only be trusted to a troublemaker!" finished George.

"Scaring my... Scaring Snape so much he actually stupefied Padfoot count as a troublemaker?"

"Oh, definitely!" agreed George.

"Scaring Snape is a very good reason to give him a Marauder name." said Fred.

"Who are these Marauders?" asked Charlie curious to know who could make the twins sound so reverently about.

"Just the best troublemakers Hogwarts ever had." was Fred answer.

"Till we came along." finished George.

From there the talk changed to quidditch and the next day's match. They spent the whole afternoon talking and basking in the knowledge that the whole family was there and enjoying the great food Mrs. Weasley had prepared. When the Weasley matriarch finally sent them all to bed, Harry laughed, seeing Padfoot sprawled in his bed. Harry didn't mind the restricted space, having his godfather there with him, protecting him allowed Harry to sleep like a rock, no dreams, but no nightmares either. Well, he slept as well as he could, until Mrs. Weasley came to wake them up, when it was still so dark out that Harry could barely see.

WHOSSON?WHOSSON?

Making Sirius to touch the portkey before it was activated was almost as difficult as explain his presence to Amos and Cedric Diggory, but in the end, they said it was for Harry's protection (Sirius Black was still on the loose, after all) and Harry hugged the dog, using one hand to put Padfoot's paw in the boot and touching the portkey with his other hand so that both of them would be taken.

Even waking before dawn, Harry, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny and Hermione were widely awake while they tried to help Mr. Weasley with the tents. The Weasley patriarch wanted to do everything the muggle way, but didn't know what exactly that entitled, and Padfoot wasn't helping at all, laying on the canvas or the sticks, whichever they would need next. The hours before the match were spent talking and gossiping about all the strange people that came to talk with Mr. Weasley. Bill, Charlie and Percy arrived right before lunch and joined the others in their talk.

Harry's first surprise came when they arrived at the place from where they would watch the game. No one had told him they would watch the match from the Top Box, and Harry could just look, amazed, at all the people gathering around them in the stadium. And that's when he was surprised again. A few minutes after they arrived, Lucius Malfoy entered the box, his eyes darkening for a second when he saw that the best places where already occupied, and by the Weasleys! Draco came after him and a blond woman that could only be his mother followed him. But the true surprise came in the form of Severus Snape, who entered the box after Mrs. Malfoy.

Harry felt anger and disappointment fight inside of him at the sight of his father. Sirius is already here for my protection, right? WHY is he here too? And WHY didn't he tell me he would be here? Those thoughts and others similar to those ran through his mind, and it was only when the mascots began their presentation that he managed to forget his father's presence. Intriguingly Harry wasn't affected by the Veela's beauty so he watched amused as Ron, Fred, George and even Draco made a fool of themselves trying to get closer to the creatures.

WHOSSON?WHOSSON?

Watch as Krum caught the snitch was one of the more thrilling moments of Harry's life. The whole match was amazing, but Harry just couldn't take his eyes off of the seekers. Krum was just wonderful in his broom it's a shame that the rest of his team is not anywhere near as good as him, he thought when it became clear that not even the hundred and fifty points Krum would get for the snitch would be enough to win the match.

After the game, Harry and the Weasley went back to the tents, they were all so excited that sleep was far away from their mind. Harry sat between Ron and Hermione, Charlie sitting right in front of him with Bill in one side and Ginny in the other. The twins were sat beside Ron and Percy and Mr. Weasley were talking close by. They had already gone through every single move of the match and were now talking about various things, mostly Hogwarts related. Harry looked at the calloused hands of Charlie and asked:

"Charlie, how is Norbert?"

The redhead looked at Harry for a few seconds, trying to understand where the question had come from.

"Do you mean Norberta? The female dragon that was born at Hogwarts?" Charlie asked with a smirk.

"Born at Hogwarts? A dragon?" asked Bill "Since when does Hogwarts have dragons?"

"It doesn't." answered Ron "Not anymore, at least."

"Hagrid won a dragon egg in a card game" explained Hermione "and he thought it would be a good idea to hatch it in his hut. His wooden hut. We obviously had to convince him that... Norberta, you said? Would be much happier living in a dragon reserve."

"She's huge." Charlie finally answered Harry's original question "found herself a mate and is about to lay her first eggs."

"Hagrid wanted to raise a dragon?" Ginny was pale "Thank Merlin you three managed to convince him to give up!"

"Norberta was just a baby..." said Harry with a smile that would make the marauders proud "it was nothing compared to a three headed dog that was stuck in a small corridor."

"A cerberus?" asked Charlie "Hagrid has a Cerberus?"

"Fluffy." stated Harry "I'm not sure what he did to it, though..."

"Flu-fluffy?" Bill Choked in his tea "a Cerberus named Fluffy! Only Hagrid would name a Cerberus Fluffy!"

"It's better than Aragog..." grumbled Ron.

"Aragog?" asked Bill with a hint of fear in his voice.

"You REALLY don't want to meet Aragog." Answered Harry.

They kept talking till Ginny feel on the table, asleep. Mr. Weasley then decided it was time they all went to bed and they all went without much of a fuss, well, everyone but Harry, who almost felt like he was still watching the game. Charlie decided to keep the brunet company and Padfoot lay down between Harry and the door, his ears moving when the sounds from outside got closer. The Irish were still partying and their voices could be heard by them.

"Now that Ron is gone, who is Aragog?" asked Charlie.

"Aragog's and acromantula" said Harry "an acromantula with more than fifty years with a mate and thousands of children."

"Do I want to know HOW you know about him?" asked Charlie.

"Ron and I followed the spiders into the forbidden forest..." Harry answered and when he looked at Charlie, the redhead was looking at him as if asking are you insane? "Hagrid told us to do it! We were trying to figure out what was in the Chamber of Secrets..."

Charlie holded Harry's hand and looked into the green eyes of the teen.

"Do you have any idea how amazing you are? Fighting basilisks, following spiders into the forbidden forest, saving Ginny... you are amazing, Harry."

Harry didn't have time to flush with the compliment because the noises coming from outside picked that moment to turn from happy to terror. Padfoot was up in a second, growling to the door. Charlie and Harry took a second to understand the change in the atmosphere, but were soon waking everyone else up.

When they were all up, Arthur made then leave the tent, which was a good idea, seeing as there was already various tents crumpled or burning around them, people running past them not knowing where to go. Mr. Weasley made Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Hermione and Harry hid in the forest near them, Padfoot running with them growling to anyone who dare come near them.

Harry was never so happy to see Severus Snape as he was in that moment. A few moments after they were inside the forest, the potion master was beside them, guiding them to a less crowded place, keeping them together even when they almost lost themselves amongst the others.

"Is everyone alright?" asked Severus. The question was for all of them, but his eyes were fixed in Harry.

"Fine." said Harry looking around a little frightened. They couldn't hear the screams anymore, but their echoes were still inside Harry's mind.

"Very well, what you will do now is touch this" he showed them a piece of rope "it's a portkey that will take you to just outside of the Burrow."

When all six teens were touching the rope, Harry once more helping Padfoot, Severus let go of the rope and pointed his wand to it.

"But... what about you?" asked Harry letting go of the rope. The idea that Severus was staying in that dangerous place didn't sit well with the green eyed boy.

"I have to stay and help, Harry. And someone has to tell Arthur where you all are. Stay inside the house. As soon as everything is cleared here I will come for you, Harry. Now touch the rope, I need to activate the portkey.

Reluctantly, Harry obeyed and Severus didn't wait another second before activating the portkey sending his son and his friends to safety. He chose not to analyse the relieve he felt knowing that Sirius was still beside Harry, protecting him. Not losing any more time, Severus went back to the fight, masked men were torturing a muggle family that was suspended in the air. Aurors and other ministry employers were trying to save the muggles and arrest the alleged death eaters.

Two of the most audacious – or stupid – aurors started to hex the death eaters while another wizard enchanted the ground so it would be soft, in case the muggles fell.

The idea almost worked, two death eaters fell under their attack, but what really stopped the criminals was the appearance of a huge green skull in the sky. Severus felt his left arm tingle when the green light touched him, in the next moment all the death eaters were gone, taking with them the two unconscious men.

Ministry workers tried to get the responsible for the dark mark, but they weren't able to find him.

"Arthur" called Severus when he saw the Weasley patriarch start his search for his younger children with the help of his three oldest.

"Severus, if you're looking for Ha..."

"I already found him." interrupted Severus "I found your children in the forest and sent them back to your home."

"Oh! Thank you." Arthur didn't know what to say, the man in front of him seemed to want to keep his relationship with Harry a secret "In this case I think we can go back. Molly must be having kittens by now."

Severus nodded and saw Arthur vanish followed by his sons. When he was sure it was safe, Severus also apparated to the Burrow. As soon as he found his feet in the ground Severus was tackled by a human projectile with dark messy hair. Hugging his son he finally managed to relax a little. They were all all right.

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