Disclaimer: I do not own anything of this story. Harry Potter and all of the notable characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

Magnolia Crescent

Chapter Twenty-One

Dreams and Games

"Morning, Harry," Sirius said as Harry came down the stairs for breakfast. It was about a week until he was scheduled to catch the Hogwarts Express and the day before the Quidditch World Cup. Sirius glanced up from the Daily Prophet to see the look on his godson's face. "Something wrong?"

"Nightmare, I think," he murmured, attempting to brush it off. "I think we need to be extra wary of Nott Sr. though."

"And why is that?" Sirius pressed, wanting to get the whole story. "I want to hear all about it."

"The dream I had last night. I saw him and I'm assuming Voldemort talking about a plan for his return – and it involved me. There was some mention of a woman that they killed and I saw them kill a Muggle right before the dream ended," Harry explained.

Sirius adorned a thoughtful expression and he mulled over the pieces of the dream that Harry had presented him with. "Quite the strange dream, if I do say so myself," he finally said. "Well, we'll be at Hogwarts within a week's time. We'll have to talk to Dumbledore about this. Perhaps he can offer some insight."

"Sounds like a plan then," Harry agreed, finally sitting down and starting on his breakfast.

"Hey, you never did tell me who you invited to come with us to the World Cup," Sirius pressed.

"Oh, a friend from school. His name is Leo Holmes," he replied. "He helped us set Buckbeak free. I figured I should probably repay him somehow."

"I like the way you think," Sirius smiled. "When did he say he was going to show up?"

"Some time tonight. Oh, I forgot to ask if it was okay for him to spend the night," Harry grinned.

"I got no problem with it. That might actually make things a little less stressful," Sirius laughed. "Then we won't have to wait for him, just Remus, and he's always on time so we don't have to worry about that." Harry nodded, finishing off his breakfast. The two spent the rest of the day going over new spells for the third and fourth years. Shortly after dinner, Leo arrived in the fireplace, Lupin right behind him.

"Remus, I thought you were going to show up in the morning," Sirius said, furrowing his brow in confusion.

"Figured this might be easier," he shrugged. "I see Leo will be joining us as well," he commented, looking at the blonde boy readjusting his ponytail.

"Harry invited him along," Sirius explained.

"So, how's your summer been?" Leo asked Harry, stepping away from the adults. "I didn't know you guys knew a teacher personally."

"It's been pretty good," Harry replied, leading him to the upstairs. "Sirius and Lupin have been making me learn new spells. The only good thing is that I'm going to have a headstart on everybody else."

"Sounds like it's been relatively fun then," Leo laughed. "Where's the rest of your group?"

"We're going to meet them at the Cup," Harry replied. "We had thought about everyone staying at the Burrow but we remembered that their house isn't exactly all that big. Besides, Ron's parents aren't the biggest fans of Sirius."

"Why? I thought he was proven innocent," Leo stated.

"Yeah, but the people who were around when he was imprisoned are still uneasy around him, an assumed Death Eater and murderer," Harry explained. "But the fact that I have no issues staying with him and that nothing has happened to me thus far should speak volumes."

"Hey, I'm with you guys. In fact, I'm still trying to figure out why I was placed in Slytherin," Leo said, extending his hand to Hedwig.

"I don't know, you seem to fit the bill fairly well," Harry joked.

"Says the man who, in my opinion, doesn't belong in Gryffindor," Leo grinned.

"Hey, don't stay up too late," Sirius hollered up the stairs. "We have to get up extremely early to get there on time tomorrow."

The following morning was hectic. Sirius had Leo and Harry awake far earlier than they would have liked. In fact, it was so early, all the boys did was push around their breakfast, a fact that Lupin was quick to comment on.

"Did we have to get up this early, Sirius?" Harry asked, setting aside his breakfast.

"Would you rather be rushed out the door right before we miss our ride?" he asked, finishing off his own food.

"Dude, neither of us are hungry. Can we get going now?" Leo asked, standing to his feet. Sirius gave him a glance before inclining his head and motioned for them to follow him. He led them to the park that wasn't far from Grimmauld Place.

"Sirius, why didn't we take the Floo Network?" Harry asked, following his godfather around a large tree.

"There's no fireplace there. We have to travel by something entirely different," he replied. Harry opened his mouth to ask but Lupin cut straight to the chase.

"We're taking a portkey, Harry."

"A portkey?" Leo asked. "What in the world is a portkey?"

"A portkey is any item that a Muggle is bound to believe as rubbish. The only difference is that it is enchanted to teleport a witch or wizard to someplace else," Lupin explained. "The portkey we're looking for is designed to leave at a preset time, the reason why we woke so early this morning."

"Aha! I found it!" Sirius shouted, rushing a few feet ahead of them. The three quickly caught up to see Sirius holding onto a folded old newspaper that was beginning to turn yellow.

"That's a portkey?" Harry asked in astonishment.

"Yep, now get in close and take hold of it. We've only got a few seconds left until it leaves," Sirius stated, holding out the newspaper. They took hold, Harry and Leo more tentatively then Lupin. The two young boys exchanged a glance only a second before a hook seemed to grab them behind their belly button.

Suddenly, the group was rapidly spinning through the air, the wind creating a deafening sound in their ears. Harry thought he might become sick at any given moment and right before he thought he could take no more, everything stopped. The world still felt like it was spinning but it wasn't.

"London's just arrived," a man spoke not too far away. Harry and Leo glanced up to see Sirius handing the used portkey to a man behind a table.

"Sirius Black, party of four," Sirius stated, pulling tickets out of his pocket.

"What a way to travel," Leo said, eyes clearly unfocused as he tried to gain his bearings again. "I don't like it." Harry grinned at his statement.

"Well, are you boys ready?" Sirius asked, rejoining the group. "I've got all of the-" Sirius paused what he was saying as another portkey arrived a few feet away from them. Harry and Leo turned to see a family of fiery redheads accompanied by Hermione. Not far behind them, Harry saw Cedric Diggory, the Captain and Seeker of Hufflepuff house, with a man that must have been his father.

"Oi, Harry! You made it!" Ron cried, stumbling over the ground towards where Harry stood. "Mum and Dad were a bit worried but we completely forgot that Lupin was coming with you."

"Honestly, Ron. He's fine, can't you tell?" Hermione sighed, stepping next to the trio of boys.

"Hey, Granger," Leo said, drawing out her surname. "Didn't know you were into sports. You never cease to surprise me." Hermione rolled her eyes, smirking none the less.

"Do you guys have any idea where your tent is at?" Ron asked in a hurried voice.

"You'd have to talk with Sirius," Harry shrugged. "It sounded like he was going to tell us right before your portkey arrived."

"Poor timing on our part, huh?" Ron grinned.

"Hiya, Harry!" Fred and George said in unison, each clasping a hand on Harry's shoulder. He jumped slightly before grinning at the twins.

"Well, kids," Mr. Weasley said, walking over to the group. The adults all followed after him. "It seems fate is smiling on you. Our spots are right next to each other." Harry and Ron turned to each other and exchanged a rather large smile.

"Looks like there'll be at least one representative from each of the Hogwarts houses," Leo said dryly, staring pointedly at Cedric, and another man presumably the man's father.

"Well, close enough. We are still missing a Ravenclaw," Hermione pointed out.

"Good point," Leo admitted, frowning with realization.

"Sirius Black," the man said, panic seeping from his eyes.

"Oh, yes. This is Amos Diggory and his son, Cedric. Amos works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures," Mr. Weasley explained.

"Yeah, he was one of the seekers back when James and I were in school. Good to see you again," Sirius said, clearly on his best behavior.

"Yeah, so, this must be Harry Potter and Remus Lupin?" Amos replied casually, regaining his composure. Lupin, Harry and Leo all said hi to them both.

"Ced's talked about you before, of course," Amos continued, directing his attention to Harry. "Told us all about playing you last year. I said to him, I said – Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will. You beat Harry Potter," Amos said. Harry stood there, unsure of how to respond. Cedric gave an embarrassed grin as he looked at his dad. Lupin glanced over at the man, clearly not comfortable with the comment.

"Yeah, too bad for you, Amos, there were no dementors to take me out when I finally took you out in my fourth year," Sirius smiled, looking over at Amos. "Maybe next Quidditch season, we can see what happens when we don't have magical creatures attacking the field," Sirius said, clearly unhappy with the comment directed at his godchild.

Amos opened his mouth, doing his best interpretation of a fish as Cedric shook his head, leading his father away from the group. Lupin frowned at Sirius.

"What?" Sirius asked, looking a bit hurt at the accusing glare his friend was giving him. "He was picking on my godson, rather childishly at that. I wasn't going to stand around and let them pick on him." Lupin said nothing but shook his head.

"Some things never change," he muttered under his breath.

"Anyway," Mr. Weasley interjected, glancing at the twins. They were chuckling over the comment Sirius made. Both stopped quickly when they saw Mr. Weasley looking at them but they couldn't hide the approving grin on their faces. Sirius reached into his pocket, pulling out a handful of bills, seeming to count them in his head.

"Now for the fun part," Sirius griped. "Muggle money – always so complicated," he cursed under his breath. "Here, our tent should be here." Sirius pointed to a spot on the paper he was handing Lupin. "I need to go pay for our campground," he informed. Lupin nodded, taking the paper.

"As do I. Um, would you, um," Mr. Weasley said nervously as he fished out a few bills of his own. Sirius nodded as he walked off with the redheaded father right behind him.

"Hey, um, Hermione, I was wondering if I could sit next to you so I can get a good view?" Leo asked.

"How would sitting next to me improve your view?" she asked, a little confused. Leo gave her a pleading smile. "Fine," she consented, sighing as she turned away. Leo did a victory fist pump. Ron gave him a solid glare while Harry glanced between them, confusion evident on his face.

"Well, here we are," Lupin stated, tossing a small bag in the middle of a small patch of grass before them. Leo gave a quick nod, taking out his wand. He walked over to the side of the tent, Harry following suit. With a quick swish and flick, the tent started to rise. Harry quickly grabbed the tent poles as he fed them into the tent. With the last stake in place, the three entered to find a two room cabin-like area.

"Wow," Harry said, glancing around. There were two doors to the side, not to mention a fireplace on the back wall. He would never have guessed the tent had all these things inside of it.

"The world never ceases to amaze, huh, Harry?" Lupin asked, sitting down at one of the wood chairs around the kitchen table. Harry nodded, noticing a sofa and recliner near a crackling wood fire. Leo quickly hopped onto the recliner, kicking up his feet and making himself at home. A fine layer of dust erupted from the chair causing Leo to cough.

"Yeah, it's been a while since we dusted the old thing off," Sirius commented, walking into the tent. "Good job on putting the old girl up," he said, smiling as he looked around.

Sirius walked over, shooing Leo out of the chair. He grumbled a bit as he made himself comfortable on the sofa.

"Sirius, I have a question I need to ask you," Harry stated. Sirius glanced over at his godson, giving him a warm smile.

"Sure thing, Harry, ask away," he replied casually, leaning back in the recliner.

"How do you know so much about Muggle money? Most wizards I can think of hardly handle it," Harry asked. Leo and Lupin both glanced over, curiosity evident in both of them.

"Well," Sirius started, shifting uncomfortably under their gaze. "I learned about it because it would spite my mother," he explained. Lupin nodded, grabbing the Daily Prophet. He quickly opened it up, clearly understanding what Sirius meant by the statement. Leo and Harry exchanged glances, a little confused.

"What do you mean, Sirius?" Harry asked, hoping for some clarification on the statement since he didn't know a whole lot on the Black family.

"I would rather not talk about it," Sirius murmured, glancing over at Leo for a brief second. Leo shrugged, understanding why he would be a little uncomfortable talking about his family with a relative stranger in their presence. "Well, I better look over the fridge. I need to make sure the preservation spells are still working," he said, changing the topic as he stood up from his chair. He glanced at Harry for a brief moment. "We'll talk about it later. Besides, I will need you to know about it eventually, being the newest addition to the Black family." Sirius gave Harry a slap on the back, walking over to the dinosaur of a fridge.

"Hey, Harry! You want to hang out? We got some time before we need to head to the stadium," Ron mentioned, poking his head into the tent. "Wow, you guys got a lot more room than we do. Can I bunk with you guys?" he asked, a big smile on his face.

Harry looked over at Lupin who simply shrugged as he went back to his paper.

"I don't care!" Sirius shouted, rummaging through the fridge.

"Wicked," Ron grinned, racing inside. "I can't wait for the game! This is going to be so cool to see Krum back in action. England's Puddlemere United vs. Bulgaria and Viktor Krum. I have no idea who to root for. And the best part, Wood is playing Keeper!" he all but shouted. Harry blinked in surprise as he glanced over at Leo.

"Well then, things are going to be interesting. Britain vs. Bulgaria. My money is on Wood. Honestly, Krum is such a showoff," Leo replied, waving the Quidditch star off. Ron looked as though he had just been slapped in the face.

"Take that back," Ron said in a low voice.

So, they've finally made it the Quidditch World Cup. So, what's going to go down between Ron and Leo? You can almost feel the testosterone in the air. But, you'll find out soon enough. Until then, R&R as always. Love the reviews, guys! Keep 'em coming!

~LE