Author's Note: I cannot tell a lie so…I must tell you that all I own is Alex and some unrecognizable plot points.

Chapter 4 How to Arrive to a Wizarding Gathering in Style

"You look pale, Alex," said Harry as they sat down to eat a quick breakfast, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Never better," said Alex grumpily as she let out a jaw-cracking yawn, "I hate waking up early."

"Unless when she's going to Hogwarts or the first day of classes," chimed in Hermione with a tired smile.

Soon, Fred and George came down with identical, sleepy looks on their faces. Alex looked around and noticed Percy wasn't there, as well as Ron's other brothers.

"Mr. Weasley," said Alex and he looked up from the Prophet, "Where's everyone else? Aren't they coming too?"

"They are, but they've all passed their Apparation tests," said Mr. Weasley, "It doesn't take them as long to get there as it does us."

"So they get to sleep in?" exclaimed George, "That's not fair! Come on Fred, let's make a lot of noise and wake them up."

"Oh no you don't," said Mrs. Weasley, coming down the stairs in her nightgown and robe, "They studied hard and are getting their reward."

The twins sat down, looking angrily at their mother. After breakfast, Alex packed some extra clothes and her sketchbook in a bag, and went downstairs. Before she reached the landing, however, she heard Mrs. Weasley shouting at Fred and George. Apparently they had sweets hidden in their pockets. Alex wasn't sure whether to go back upstairs or wait until Mrs. Weasley stopped yelling. It wasn't long before Ron and Harry came down next to her and Mrs. Weasley stopped.

"Have a good time everyone!" she said happily, but then said darkly to the twins, "And behave yourselves!" Alex was really freaked out how Mrs. Weasley could change her emotions so quickly.

They waved to Mrs. Weasley and made their way. Alex had no idea where they were going, but she enjoyed the walk. It was very early and mist was just beginning to rise off the grass. The sky was a dull grey with hints of pink starting to appear. Finally, after hours of walking, the sun was completely out and Mr. Weasley seemed to be looking for something.

"Mr. Weasley," Alex asked curiously, "Where are we going exactly?"

"We need to go up that hill and then I'll tell you."

With Alex in the lead, the group hiked up the steep hill. Alex reached the top first, panting slightly and waited for the rest. They made their way slowly up, panting for breath and holding stitches in their side.

"Now, has anybody seen garbage lying around?" Mr. Weasley asked, "Something Muggles call libber, I think."

"You mean litter?" Hermione asked.

"That's it! Now look around."

Alex walked around the area, looking for garbage. She felt extremely stupid and wondered what someone would say if they saw a grown man and seven children looking for litter. A voice shouted and Alex looked up.

"Arthur! I found it!"

Alex had never seen the man in her life, but she knew the younger one fairly well. Cedric Diggory had played Gryffindor last year and had caught the Snitch, though only because Harry fell off his broom. Even though he tried to have a rematch, Hufflepuff still won and Alex harbored a dislike for him ever since. Apparently so did Fred and George, as they were Beaters on the team, and Harry because they only nodded to Cedric. Hermione and Ginny, on the other hand, were practically drooling all over him. Alex admitted he was good-looking, but she would never submit herself to drooling over a guy.

"Amos Diggory, good to see you. And this must be your son, Cedric. Hello!" Mr. Weasley shook hands with Cedric and his father.

"Are all these children yours, Arthur?" Amos asked, raising his eyebrows at them all.

"Oh no, only the redheads. These are my sons Fred, George, and Ron. That's my daughter Ginny. The rest are good friends of ours: Hermione, Alex, and Harry."

"Harry? Harry Potter?" Amos Diggory was beside himself. He turned to his son and said, "The one you beat in Quidditch last year?"

"Dad," Cedric muttered, turning pink, "Harry fell off his broomstick; it wasn't a fair match."

"So modest," the father said, shaking his head. Alex just stared at him with raised eyebrows, "I'll bet Harry here will say it was fair and square, right Harry?"

"Um, yeah," Harry said uncomfortably.

"Speaking of Quidditch," said Alex quickly, not giving Amos Diggory time to talk, "Shouldn't we get going to the match?"

"Merlin's beard, you're right Alex!" said Mr. Weasley, looking at his watch, "We better get a move on, Amos."

Alex and the others followed the Diggory's farther up the hill. When they reached the top, Alex saw a torn black boot. Everyone gathered around it and touched it, all shifting to make room for the others. Alex was squashed between Harry and Cedric, feeling lightheaded from lack of oxygen.

"What time did they say it would go?" Amos Diggory asked after they had waited in this position for two minutes.

"Right about…now."

Alex felt a jerking motion and her feet were lifted off the ground. The only thing keeping her connected to the boot was her index finer as she was jostled around. Suddenly as the motion began, it stopped. Alex was sent flying and landed on her side. She sat up and saw everyone but Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory, and Cedric on the ground, holding the side they landed on in discomfort. Cedric came over and helped Alex up.

"Thanks," she said, brushing herself off.

"You were on the Quidditch team last year, right?" Cedric asked.

"Just for one game," Alex said, shrugging, "Katie was hurt and I was the only other person who knew the Gryffindor tactics. Shame we lost, though," she added coolly.

Mr. Diggory was beckoning his son to come along and Cedric left, looking back at Alex. She followed the Weasleys and friends in the opposite direction towards a wooden shack with a man sitting inside.

"Ron," Alex asked as they walked, "What just happened?"

"What, you talking to Cedric? I don't know Alex, I don't really-"

"No," said Alex, slapping Ron's arm with a smile, "How did we get here with that boot?"

"Oh," said Ron, comprehending, "That was a portkey. They're junk, usually a ripped shirt or something that Muggles won't go around picking up. There's a charm on them that allows whoever touches it at a certain time to get taken to the place the portkey is designed for."

"Wow," said Alex with a grin, impressed.

They reached the shack and the old man looked at them strangely. It might have had something to do with the clashing colors of Mr. Weasley's sweater and tie.

"We've rented a camp site for this week," Mr. Weasley said with a smile.

Mr. Weasley, who never used Muggle money, gave Harry and Hermione the bills and had them pay the amount that the man told them. The old man took the money and went to give them their change but stopped, still looking at them.

"Ya know," he said in a whisper, "There've been a lot of funny folk comin' around here this week, like it's some kind of convention of weirdos."

"Really?" said Mr. Weasley nervously.

"Yup, I had this one fella try and give me these gold-plated coins, some kind of foreign money with weird symbols in it."

"Interesting," Mr. Weasley said, trying to keep his voice normal.

"I'm thinkin' it's some kind of cult," the man said. But just then, a man appeared next to him and shouted, "Obliviate!". The man's face seemed to relax and he handed Hermione the change and a map of the area.

"You all follow the path to right here, just outside the forest," the old man said with a smile, "Have a good time!"

"Thank you!" Mr. Weasley said with relief and Alex waved as they left. The man who had wiped the Muggle's memory seemed to know Mr. Weasley and they talked as they walked.

"I've had to wipe that man's memory five times today, and it's only nine in the morning!" he was complaining to Mr. Weasley, "Of course, it doesn't help that people are wearing robes and bantering about the winner of the match. And Bagman's been walking around, shouting his head off about Quaffles and Snitches! Honestly, I can't wait for this to be over. See you, Arthur."

The man disappeared and the others continued their walk. Alex was looking around in amazement. She knew that there were a lot of witches and wizards in the world, but she never expected this! It was amazing how all these people could keep a secret about a whole group of people from the rest of the world.

She saw there were two main sets of colors around the campground: red with black, and green with white. It was Bulgaria versus Ireland in this final match. Alex was going to Ireland because her uncle was mainly Irish, but she could not deny that the Bulgarians were a very good competitor.

As they walked, Alex saw all races of people with their families sitting outside their tents, just waking up. She saw a little girl on a toy broomstick hovering barely a foot off the ground, her mother talking very fast in another language to her. The girl got off the broom sadly and let a boy, probably her brother, get on. Alex smiled to the girl and waved slightly. The little girl waved back shyly and hid behind her mother's robes.

"Here we are, home sweet home!" Mr. Weasley said in a cheery voice.

Alex turned and saw two rather small tents lying in a pile. She looked up at Mr. Weasley, who was grinning broadly.

"Um, Mr. Weasley," said Alex, "Are we all going to fit in there?"

"Of course, now someone help me set these up."

Alex, who had the most experience with tents and camping since she went a few times with her guardian, set up a tent by herself while Hermione and Mr. Weasley worked on the other. In the end, Alex set up both the tents and started the fire outside. Once this was finished, the girls went into one tent while the boys went into the other one. Alex walked in and gasped. It was like walking into a normal-sized room. She had to go back out and walk in again to make sure she wasn't imagining things.

"Don't Muggles use tents?" Ginny asked as she lay out on a bed.

"Yeah, but they're the same size from the inside too," said Hermione as Alex walked back in for the fourth time.

"I love magic!" exclaimed Alex as she ran and jumped on another bed, laughing, "This is gonna be the best time ever! I'm actually going to see a professional game of Quidditch!"

Fred and George poked their heads in and told them someone needed to get water from the pump nearby. Alex and Hermione agreed to go, along with Harry and Ron. They each took a bucket and followed the map to find the pump. As they walked, Alex saw more children running around, laughing as they chased mini-Quidditch balls.

On their way back, they ran into Seamus Finnegan, a boy in their year and a Gryffindor. They also saw Fred and George's friend Lee Jordan, commentator for the Hogwarts Quidditch matches, as well as Oliver Wood. Wood had been the Gryffindor captain when Harry had started as well as when Alex subbed in. They didn't talk long because their buckets were getting heavier by the minute.

After they set down their buckets, it was lunch time. Mr. Weasley produced a few sausages and sticks to roast over the fire that was burning merrily. As they sat with their sticks over the fire, Alex wished Sirius could have been there, even as Orion. She sighed and knew that it wasn't safe for him to be around so many people, especially since it was only a few months since he was last spotted. Plus with all the extra security measures, who knew if his Animagus disguise would even work? No, it was better not to risk it. She had just gotten a father; she didn't want to lose him again.

Once everyone had finished eating, they went back to their tents and prepared for the match. Alex made sure nothing on her, around her, or within five feet of her, was red or black. She had painted her nails green and white for the occasion as well as picked up some green face paint. She dipped her fingers and drew green war stripes in her face, as well as her friends' faces.

When the girls came out of their tent looking like leprechauns had thrown up on them, the sky was just starting to get pink. Everyone was moving into the forest wearing their teams' colors. Alex and the others followed the crowd until they came to the largest stadium they had ever seen. Alex let out a long whistle and grinned.

"It's huge!" she said, "How does the Ministry keep Muggles from finding it?"

"This area from a ten mile radius has been charmed so that if a Muggle were to stumble upon it, they would remember something important they have to do and leave," Mr. Weasley said as they entered, "It takes a lot of work and preparation to host the Quidditch World Cup. You have to make all the necessary precautions as well as find means of getting everyone here. There are so many portkeys in the world and not everyone can Apparate. Your uncle has been working around the clock for quite sometime."

Alex's smile, if possible, grew even more with pride. Her uncle had helped organize one of the world's most anticipated events of the Wizarding World. It was like the Wizard version of the Olympics!

They passed several booths with shop owners shouting out to them, trying to outdo the other competitors. Alex picked up a large green top hat with a four-leaf clover that shouted the names of the Quidditch players. She also got a book with pictures of the matches leading up to the World Cup for her dad to see.

As Alex was debating between a pair of omnioculars, a kind of binocular that had some awesome features, and a green collar for when Orion came by, Ron was buying a miniature figurine of Victor Krum, the Bulgarian seeker. He had shown it to her and she watched as it walked around his hand, his face solemn as he looked down his severely broken nose.

"Ew Ron," said Alex, but smiling nonetheless, "Get that away from me, it's bad karma!"

Once everyone bought a souvenir, they went to find their seats. It was a long climb but, when they reached their destination, it was well worth it. They were able to see everything and they were right by the commentator's area. In fact, they were in the same box. Alex saw Uncle Monty talking to a man in a very snug yellow and black Quidditch uniform. They looked up as the group entered and the man in the robes grinned at them all.

"Arthur, it's so good to see you! And this must be your lovely family!" the man said in a booming voice.

"Not all of them are," Mr. Weasley said, "My three oldest are on their way. This is Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny. Alex is Elian's niece and Hermione and Harry are good friends of ours."

"Is that…Harry Potter?" the man said. He reached out and shook Harry's hand jovially, "I'm Ludo Bagman, it's a pleasure to meet you in person!"

Harry just smiled politely and they took their seats. Alex was in between Harry and Hermione. It was when she was finding her seat that she noticed there was another person in the box, or rather another something. It took Alex a moment to see that it was a house-elf like Dobby. Dobby was a house-elf that worked for the Malfoy's until Harry set him free with clothes. Could it really be him? The creature had its eyes shut tight and was holding its head in its small hands.

"Excuse me, is your name Dobby?" Alex asked and the house-elf looked up. It wasn't Dobby, it was a girl elf. Alex didn't know how she knew, but she did.

"I'm sorry," she said with a smile, "I thought I knew you."

"Winky has heard of you and your friends," the house-elf said in a squeaky voice, "Harry Potter freed Dobby and forced him into a terrible life."

"I didn't force him to do anything," said Harry, turning around to the elf, "In fact, if anything, Dobby was the one using force. He almost killed me! Anyway, Dobby said he wanted to leave, he hated working for the Malfoy's."

"How did you know who we were?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Winky has seen pictures of you in the newspapers," the house-elf said.

"We're in the newspapers?" asked Alex, "That's the first I've heard of it."

"Yes miss, Harry Potter and his friends were in the paper when it talked about Hogwarts being saved from closing," said Winky.

"Remember Alex? They were outside the gates as we went to the station," said Hermione and Alex nodded, remembering how many reporters there were. It was difficult to get to the train what with all their trunks and animal cages.

The little elf was shaking so badly, Alex thought she was going to fall off her chair. The seat next to her was on the end of the box, but it was empty.

"Are you up here by yourself?" Hermione asked kindly.

"Winky is waiting for her master to come," Winky said nervously, "Mr. Crouch asked Winky to save him a seat for the match while he settles things at work."

"Are you cold or something?" Alex asked, "You're shaking like it's the middle of winter."

"Winky is terribly afraid of heights."

"But why would your master make you do something when he knows it frightens you?" Hermione asked, frowning.

"Winky is a good house-elf," the little creature said, sitting up straighter, "And Winky will do whatever her master says she must."

Hermione opened her mouth to comment, but Alex turned her around and shook her head.

"Don't try to reason, Hermione," Alex said sadly, "House-elves are very loyal to their masters and will do anything to make them happy. Dobby was just an exception."

Hermione looked upset and, every few minutes, would look behind her at the elf. Alex used her omnioculars to scan the stadium in search of the players and the referees. Ron was telling her about how they could replay parts again, showing her a man picking his nose, when someone knocked into Alex's seat, almost causing her to drop her omnioculars over the box. She turned around and saw Draco Malfoy sitting in the row behind her.

"Sorry Ratcliff, didn't see you there," Malfoy said. He sounded sincere but, after a look from his father, he gave her a sneer.

"Quite all right, Malfoy," said Alex coldly, "If your eyes act like they do on the Quidditch pitch, I'll forgive you for being blind."

Ron sniggered and Malfoy shot him a dark look. Alex shook her head and turned back in her seat, but not before seeing who she guessed was Malfoy's mother.

Mrs. Malfoy looked as though she had been gorgeous when she was younger, but being married and raising a son seemed to be draining her. She had silvery blonde hair, like all the Malfoy's, grey eyes similar to her son's, and a haughty face. She seemed to have an air around her that radiated superiority.

Alex looked away and instead leaned forward, looking towards her guardian. He was chatting with Mr. Weasley and Percy, who had just arrived with his other brothers a few minutes ago. Uncle Monty saw Alex and waved.

"How did you get these seats?" Alex asked excitedly, hoping this wasn't all a dream.

"Well, seeing as I helped plan this entire thing," Uncle Monty said, "I got them for half off. We paid for the rest for two tickets."

"How's Orion?" Alex asked, remembering her father saying he would leave soon.

"Left just yesterday evening," Uncle Monty said in a lowered whisper so Alex had to lean across Harry and Ron to hear, "You know he can't stay in one place for too long. It's too dangerous."

Alex nodded and sat in her chair. Suddenly, there were cheers from the Irish sections and she saw a group of glittering objects flying through the sky. Ludo Bagman magically magnified his voice for the commentating.

"Ladies and gentlemen, witches and wizards of all ages, I give you the Irish mascots!"

Alex cheered loudly as the glittering dots came together to form a man in a green outfit and orange hair. The man began doing an Irish jig to the music blaring throughout the stadium.

"What are they?" Alex shouted to Ron over the noise.

"Leprechauns," yelled Ron, "Oh look, they're coming over here now."

The leprechauns flew over their part of the stadium and gold began to fall onto them. Alex used her hat to gather the pieces and grinned. She must be filthy rich by now.

"I hate to burst your bubble, Alex," Uncle Monty said, seeing his niece's face, "But leprechaun gold only lasts for a few hours. It's not real."

Ron, who had armfuls of gold, looked put out and slumped into his seat. Alex sighed because she knew the Weasley's didn't have a lot of money. Everything Ron had was a hand-me-down from one or more of his older brothers. Alex was willing to bet her green hat that Ron had been planning on what he was going to do with all that gold.

"AND NOW, HERE ARE THE BULGARIAN MASCOTS!" Ludo Bagman shouted and pulled out a pair of earmuffs and turned his head away.

At first, Alex didn't see anything, but after adjusting her omnioculars, she saw a group of women coming out onto the field. And yet, they weren't human women in that they seemed to radiate beauty. Their hair was long and silver, sparkling just right in the stadium lights. The entire stadium was silent, watching the strange people. Then, they danced, if it could be called that. As Alex watched, she was captivated by their movements. They were flowing so gracefully, so effortlessly that Alex wished she could learn how to do that. Movement next to Alex caused her to tear her eyes away and what she saw made her shout. Harry was trying to climb over the box wall to get to the women.

"Oh no you don't!" said Alex, grabbing Harry around the middle and pulling him back with such force that Harry flew back into his seat, stunned. The women stopped dancing and walked off, the crowd cheering for an encore.

"Wow," breathed Ron, a strange smile on his face, "That was the most amazing thing ever!"

"Sit down, lover boy," said Alex with a grin on her face and turned to Hermione. Her face was stony, but unreadable.

"What were they?" Hermione asked, her voice with a hint of ice to it.

"Veela."

Alex turned and saw Malfoy looking at her.

"You sound like we should know what "veela" are," said Alex frowning.

"No one knows what exactly they are," Malfoy continued, seeming not to notice the angry expression his father was wearing, "They're not exactly human women. Some say they're the children of angels and humans. When they dance, they captivate whoever is watching, though men usually go crazy while the women grow envious. Whatever they are, they're the most beautiful creatures of our world."

"Well, thanks for the Magical Creatures lesson," said Alex and turned back to the stadium.

The teams flew out of the locker rooms. Alex started cheering for the Ireland team when the Bulgarians came out. A chant seemed to be rising among the people, thought Alex couldn't understand it.

"What are they saying?" Hermione asked Ginny.

"Krum," Ginny replied, "He's the Bulgarian seeker. He's the best in the league and he's not even out of school yet!"

Alex watched as the teams lined up. The Quidditch World Cup was about to begin.

Author's Note: Hello readers, I'm back! I hope you all had a nice holiday season, whether it be Easter or Passover or Insert-Holiday-Here. As I said before, I was lucky enough to be in Florida where I went to Disney and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I literally felt like I died and went to heaven. It is so realistic and the rides are TOTALLY AWESOME! I won't bore you with all the details or make this A/N too long for you all. If you want to hear more about my trip, I'd be happy to tell you about it in a PM. If you really don't care, sorry for boring you with this.

Please take the time to tell me how my story is coming along. Reviews not only make me smile, they make the world go round! :D