Okay, I'm really starting to freak out about my GCSEs now!
Ugh, it's so annoying, but as I write this, I get ideas for scenes and dialogue for the rest of this series, and I just have to write them down before I forget, since it'll be ages probably until I've finished this series since school is starting again soon.
I decided to change the name to 'Three-Step' because 'Threestep' just didn't sound right to me. But stupid FanFiction won't let me put a hyphon in, so even though it says 'ThreeStep', it is actually 'Three-Step'. Anyway, I hope you like it!
Chapter Three
Carla was right when she said we'd be up at the crack of dawn. It was still dark when she shook Maria and I awake. We got up and dressed, still half-asleep, and headed downstairs into the kitchen where Rai, Clay, Omi and the twins were eating their breakfast in a zombie-like state. Antonio was re-checking a large sheaf of parchment tickets and he was wearing a golfing jumper along with an old pair of jeans that looked a little short. You know, they look kinda like papa's clothes…
"What do you think?" he asked anxiously. "We're supposed to go incognito – do I look like a muggle, Kimiko?"
"Yeah. Very good." I grinned. For some reason, adult wizards found it exceedingly difficult to dress like muggles, so it really was a huge achievement.
"Where's Juan and Carols and Pedro?" yawned Fernando.
"Well, they're aspirating, aren't they? So they can have a bit of a lie in." Carla responded, ladling porridge into mine and Maria's bowls.
"So they're still in bed? Why can't we apparatus too?" grumbled Fernando.
"Because you're not of age and you haven't got your test." Carla shot back.
Apparition is the main form of transport for of-age wizards, though you had to pass a test to get your licence first.
"Why do we have to be up so early?" whined Maria as she continued to miss her mouth with her porridge-laden spoon.
"We've got a bit of a walk." Antonio replied.
That jerked Maria awake and she noticed the porridge accumulating on her cheek. "Walk?" she asked incredulously, wiping the porridge from her cheek. "We can't walk all the way to the World Cup – it's in England!"
"Oh no, we only need to walk part of the journey." Chuckled Antonio. "It's just that it's very difficult for a large number of wizards to congregate without attracting muggle attention. We have to be careful about how we travel at the best of times, and on a huge occasion like the Quidditch World Cup-"
"Fernando!" Carla cut across sharply, making everyone jump. "What is that n your pocket?" she demanded.
"Nothing." Oh, Fernando, that never works!
"Don't lie to me! Accio!" she pointed her wand at his pocket and several of the twins' Ton Tongue Toffees flew into her hand. "We told you to destroy them! We told you to get rid of the lot!" She was swelling with anger now. If I look even one tenth as angry as that when I'm angry, it's no wonder Rai, Clay and Omi back away looking terrified. "Empty your pockets. Go on, both of you!"
The twins had obviously been trying to smuggle as many toffees from the house as they could carry, but Carla – through the use of the summoning charm, Accio – managed to find them all. The twins looked outraged as she threw them out.
"We spent six months developing those!"
"Oh, a fine way to spend six months!" she shrieked. "No wonder you didn't get more O.W.L.s!"
And like that the mood took a complete 180 degree turn. The twins hoisted their rucksacks onto their backs and stormed out without another word to their mother.
"Well, have a lovely time." Carla called after us as we hurried after the twins, to whom she called, "And behave yourselves!" but still received the silent treatment. "I'll send Juan, Carlos and Pedro along around mid-day."
"So how do we get there without all the muggles noticing?" Maria asked, picking up on the conversation before we were interrupted by the toffee fiasco.
"It's been a massive organisational problem." Antonio sighed. "The trouble is, about a hundred thousand wizards turn up to the World Cup, and of course we just haven't got a magical site big enough to accommodate them all. There are places muggles can't penetrate, but imagine trying to pack a hundred thousand wizards into Diagon Alley or Platform 9 ¾." Maria and I glanced at each other, stifling giggles at the sudden mental image. "So we had to find a nice deserted moor, and set up as many Anti-Muggle precautions as possible."
We had just reached the forest near the Pedrosa house and stopped just outside it. Antonio stooped down and began searching for something on the ground. "Now there are many methods used – apparition and muggle transport among them – but we're using a portkey. An object used to transport wizards from one spot to another at a prearranged time. Two hundred portkeys have been placed at strategic places around Britain. They're mostly used by British wizards but, since there's so many of us, we're going to use one. We've just got to find the portkey that's to take us to the village of Ottery St Catchpole first… Aha!" He straightened up triumphantly, holding up an old boot. "Everyone grab on, we're just in time."
We all did so and almost as soon as we did, the boot picked us up, and almost immediately we landed on a hill in the typical British breeze. I pulled my jacket tighter around me, the sudden change from the heat of Brazil made it even colder.
"Right, we've got ten minutes. Everyone look for the portkey."
We had barely begun to look for it when a voice called from across the hill, "Over here, Antonio!"
"Amos!" We walked over and Antonio shook hands with the wizard who, I assumed, had talked to us. "This is Amos Diggory, everyone." That name sounds really familiar… "Works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures." No, that's not it… "And I think you know his son, Cedric?" Ah, that's why.
Cedric Diggory was a seventh year in Hogwarts and was captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team. He appeared from the other side of the hill and smiled in greeting. "Hi."
We all said 'hi' back. Well, all but the twins, who hadn't gotten over the outcome of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff's last Quidditch match.
"Hope you didn't have too long to walk. We had to get up at two, didn't we Ced?" But…wouldn't miss the Quidditch World Cup for a sackful of galleons – and the tickets cost about that. Mind you, it looks like I got off easy… All those yours, Antonio?"
"Oh, no!" Antonio laughed. "Just the brunettes, my three eldest are apparating later and my youngest is at home with Carla. These are Raimundo's friends: Omi, Clay and Kimiko."
"Merlin's beard! Kimiko? Kimiko Tohomiko?" Oh, boy. Not again. "Ced's talked about you, of course. Told us all about playing against you last year… I said to him, I said – Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will…you beat Kimiko Tohomiko!"
Really bad move to bring that up in front of over half of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. It didn't exactly bring back good memories, and while the twins' scowls had returned full force and both they and Rai clenched their fists in anger, I clenched mine and squeezed my eyes shut in an attempt to dispel the memory of my grandparents' dying screams reverberating through my head. Rai knew what I was trying to do – he always seems to know when it comes to me – and he took my hand, unclenching the fist, and held it. It helped.
"Kimiko fell off her broom, dad." Cedric muttered embarrassedly. "I told you…it was an accident…the Dementors-"
"Yes, but you didn't fall off your broom, did you? Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman…but the best man won. I'm sure Kimiko'd say the same, wouldn't you, eh? One falls off their broom, one stays on – you don't need to be a genius to tell which one's the better flier!"
"A better flier?" Rai demanded in a low, deadly voice. I know that voice. It's the voice he uses when he's about to give someone a serious tongue-lashing. "You think it came down to who was a better flier? No, it came down to who was more affected by the Dementors. What do you hear when Dementors come near you, Cedric? Do you hear your grandparents being mercilessly murdered by Wuya? Oh…wait…no, that's Kimiko. Do you think you could've remained conscious under that much despair from multiple Dementors?"
There was complete silence on that hill now. A small gust of wind blew, making the surroundings just as cold as the atmosphere, reflecting Rai's emotions as usual. Everyone's eyes flickered between me and Rai. I hadn't actually told anyone else what I hear when Dementors come near me. "And could we please move on, so that Kimiko can stop hearing their dying screams in her head?" Oi! Stay out of my head!
"Uh, must be nearly time.! Antonio said quickly, checking his watch. "It's a minute off, we'd better get ready."
"Here." Amos Diggory held out an old boot that looked as if it could be the pair of the one we had recently used. Probably was.
After a minute we travelled again by portkey and landed next to two wizards who had obviously attempted to look like muggles. They failed, though. One was holding a large pocket watch and the other a roll of parchment. The one with the parchment directed us to our campsites and we split up – the Diggorys one way and the rest of us the other.
As we started to walk away, Cedric caught my arm. "I just wanted to apologise…my father…"
"Oh, don't worry about it. He's just proud of you."
"And – uh – sorry if the subject brought up any bad memories…"
I shrugged. "You didn't know. Besides, I can handle bad stuff. Wouldn't be here if I couldn't."
"Alright." He nodded and looked as if he wanted to say something else, but he merely smiled. "See you at school."
I hurried to catch up with the others. We only hit a minor snag when paying since the site manager got suspicious when Antonio had to consult me for the money, and eventually a security wizard had to come and place a memory charm on him.
We had to put the tent up by hand and Antonio was buzzing at the prospect of acting like a muggle for the rest of the day. Inside the tent was like a small flat with a bathroom, kitchen and three bedrooms.
"We'll be a bit cramped, but we'll all squeeze in. Right, we'll need water."
"I can-" Omi started but Antonio cut across him.
"Ah, there's a tap marked on the map." He pointed to it on the map the site manager had given us. "Raimundo, Kimiko, Clay and Omi, you go there and get the water, and the rest of us can go and get some firewood."
"But we've got an oven!" Rai argued. "And Omi and Kimiko can-"
"Anti-Muggle security, Raimundo!" Antonio exclaimed excitedly, looking like a small child at Christmas. "When real muggles camp, they cook on fires outdoors – I've seen them at it!"
We sighed good-naturedly at his enthusiasm as he pressed pots and pans into our hands and pushed us out the flap.
I held back a bit from Clay and Omi, who had started to debate Quidditch again. Rai held back with me. "Hey…you okay?"
"Yeah. I just…wanted to say thanks. You know, for earlier. For sticking up for me."
"No problem." Rai said, rubbing the back of his neck in the way he did when embarrassed or sheepish. "Anytime."
"Although, you could've been a little less harsh on Cedric." Rai's eyebrows rose incredulously. "He's actually pretty nice – he even apologised."
"Hmmm." Rai's mouth set in a grim line – actually pretty reminiscent of Professor McGonagall's when she's angry – and hurried after Clay and Omi. I scurried quickly after them, confused.
On the way to the tap we passed through the Irish supporters' tents – completely covered with green shamrocks. We saw Aidan and Sishi and I met their mother – who was actually really nice, and from Ireland, so was very anxious to know who we'd be supporting; and then we had to fight not to laugh at a wizard in line for the tap who was wearing a muggle nightgown.
So far this was shaping up to be one of the best summers ever.
Hee hee, I'm getting really excited for the match itself, despite the fact that I've already written it! I only have to type it up and post it since I wrote it on spare sheets of paper in Portugal. Please let me know what you think!