I do not own…
A/N: For the Irish dance scene, picture it like the titanic party third class scene.
Chapter Forty-Five: Quidditch World Cup
The sun had barely risen when Mrs. Weasley came into their rooms and woke the younger teens up. Bill, Charlie and Percy were able to sleep in as they were gonna apparate there. It took a while for them to get up but they were able to and got dressed. After breakfast they had left but with a bit of a sour mood for Fred and George. They tried to seek some of their prank treats to the game but their mother caught them and took the stuff away before throwing them away. Vanessa was able to cheer them up a bit as she was able to smuggle some of their stuff without Mrs. Weasley noticing. The walk continued a couple of miles until they reached Stoatshead Hill. When they got to the top of the hill sunlight was barely starting to peak.
"Whew." Mr. Weasley panted. "Well we've made good time…we've got ten minutes…"
Everyone stumbled down when they stopped and were able to catch their breath while clutching the stitches that were on their sides.
"Now we just need the Portkey." Mr. Weasley said and squinted around at the ground. "It won't be big… Come on…"
They spread out, searching. After a couple of minutes of searching a shout rent the still air.
"Over here, Arthur! Over here, son, we've got it!"
Two tall figures were on the other side of the hilltop.
"Amos!" Mr. Weasley said, as he strode over to the man who had shouted.
The rest of them followed. On the other side was a ruddy-face wizard with a scrubby brown beard and was holding a moldy-looking old boot in his hand. Next to him was Cedric Diggory, the sixth year Captain and Seeker of the Hufflepuff House Quidditch.
"This is Amos Diggory, everyone." Mr. Weasley said "He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric?"
"Hi." Cedric said
Everybody said hi back, except Fred and George. They just nodded when Vanessa nudged them to greet him back. She knew that they would never forgive Cedric for beating their team from last year. The two older wizards talked for a bit until Mr. Diggory noticed how many kids Arthur had. Mr. Weasley explained which kids were his and who the others were. When he got to Harry and Vanessa, Amos was amazed to see the boy and girl who lived but showed a hint of arrogance as he bragged about how Cedric beat Harry in Quidditch. Vanessa was getting annoyed every minute as he talked. She sends a glare at Cedric for not mentioning the Dementors part to his father. Cedric noticed her glare and looked away in shame and embarrassment from his father. Mr. Weasley was able to break the tension as he took off his watch as he believed it was almost time. He asked if there was anyone else they were waiting for but Amos informed him that they were the last one left. After looking at his watch a third time he told everyone to grab ahold of the boot. They all stood there, in a tight circle.
"Three…" Mr. Weasley muttered "Two…one…"
In a second they were all lifted from the ground and were taken to somewhere else. What felt like a minute Harry, Hermione, Ron, Fred and George slammed onto the ground while Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory and Cedric stood. Harry looked around for Vanessa but looked up when he heard her laughter. She used her powers to conjure the wind to help lower her down gently.
"Show off." Fred muttered
After they got up they went to find their area in the campsite. The muggle that owned the campsites had given them the map to it before he had his memory erased. He was getting a bit suspicious as his campsite has never been this crowded before. Not to mention…not many of the witches and wizards that were there weren't hiding who they were. Mostly it had to do with the muggle clothes that didn't match or go well together. Vanessa knew Evie would faint at the sight. Another is the tents that were out. Some had extra stuff that would never go on a tent. Then it's the magic that most campers were using. From what they saw it's no wonder why the Muggle owner had to get his mind Obliviate ten times a day.
It took awhile until they found their area. They had reached the very edge of the wood at the top of the field, and there was an empty space with a small sign hammered into the ground that read WEEZLY.
"Couldn't have a better spot!" Mr. Weasley said happily. "The field is just on the other side of the woods there, we're as close as we could be."
He then took out the tents and had them fix it the muggle way. Mr. Weasley was happy to try this. Harry, Vanessa and Hermione were able to set it up as he wasn't sure how to. The tent was small on the outside but on the inside it was pretty big for the rest of the family to fit in.
After everyone had settled in Mr. Weasley had sent Harry, Ron and Hermione to get some water while he tried to start a fire with matches. Vanessa had left to find some of her friends that she knew that were there. Hunter said that he and Dawn will be there as Hades was able to get tickets. Mal said she wasn't gonna go as she wasn't that much of a Quidittch fan. She was able to find Rain, Malcom and Artism first before finding Hunter, Dawn and his friend Axel. They had met with some more people that were from Hogwarts; like her old Quidditch captain Oliver Wood, who joined the Puddlemere United and other kids from different countries. After walking around they saw some people in complete fan motion with both teams. The most fun they had when they went to an area that supported Ireland. There was even a band playing Irish music and people dancing to it. Malcolm was so in tune with it that he jumped at the chance to dance and had asked Rain to dance with him. Seeing the two having a blast got Hunter to grab Vanessas' hand and danced with them. Axel was asked by another girl that was in the crowd while Dawn had dragged Artism to dance on the floor. No one knew the right moves but they just went with the flow. The crowd around them were cheering and clapping along with the music. At one point both Hunter and Vanessa had tried to do some Irish step dancing. They were making fools of themselves but they had so much fun.
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When it was starting to get dark everyone had gone to get souvenirs for the game. Some got some luminous rosettes or flags or hats with the color of the two teams they're supporting. Then there were the tiny models of Firebolts and collectible figures of famous players. The most popular items people got were the Omnioculars. They can replay action, slow everything down, flash up a play-by-play breakdown if the person needs it.
Then a deep, booming gong sounded somewhere beyond the woods, and at once, green and red lanterns blazed into life in the trees, lighting a path to the field.
"It's time!" Mr. Weasley said with excitement. "Come on, let's go!"
With Mr. Weasley in the lead all his kids, Hermione, Harry and Vanessa followed and hurried into the woods. They could hear the sounds of thousands of people moving around them, shouts, and laughter, snatches of singing. There was excitement everywhere and it was infectious. They got to the gigantic stadium within twenty minutes and to their seats which happened to be in the Top Box. They claimed upward with the rest of the crowd for a while until they reached the top. There they met up with Hunter, Dawn, Axel and Hades who also sat in the Top Box.
Their seats and the views were amazing. There were a hundred thousand witches and wizards in different levels taking their places in their assigned seats. The field looked smooth as velvet from their lofty position. At either end of the field stood three goal hoops, fifty feet high; right opposite them, almost at the Top Box level, was a gigantic blackboard that flashed different advertisements.
Harry couldn't get enough of this. That was until he looked over his shoulder and noticed a familiar looking creature. The creature, whose legs were so short they stuck out in front of it on the chair, was wearing a tea towel draped like a toga, have batlike ears and it had its face hidden in its hands.
"Dobby?" He asked
The tiny creature looked up but it wasn't Dobby. However, unmistakably it was a house-elf.
"Did sir just call me Dobby?" The elf squeaked
It's voice was higher than Dobby but Harry suspected this one was a female.
"Sorry." Harry said "I just thought you were someone I knew."
"But I knows Dobby too, sir?" The elf squeaked, shielding her face again. "My name is Winky, sir…and you, sir…" She looked up at him and saw his scar. "You is surely Harry Potter!"
When Harry asked how Dobby was, Winky believed that freeing the elf was not the right thing to do. Believing that freedom was going through Dobby's head and had been wanting to be paid for his work. She explained to them that house-elves are not to be paid but supposed to do what they are told. For example, she didn't like heights but her master had sent her there to save his seat for him.
"Huh, so that's a house-elf?" Axel whispered to Vanessa. "Weird creatures."
"Believe it or not, Dobby was weirder." Vanessa muttered
"A display from the team mascots will precede the match." Hermione read the blackboard.
"Oh that's always worth watching." Mr. Weasley said "National teams bring creatures from their native land, you know, to put on a bit of show."
It wasn't long till the people started filling in the Top Box. Most of the people were very important wizards that both Mr. Weasley and Percy kept shaking hands with. Vanessa and the twins snicker when Percy makes a fool of himself in front of Minister Fudge as he bows so low that his glasses fall off and shatter. Out of jealousy he glared at Harry and Vanessa when he greeted them like old friends. Fudge introduced them to the Bulgarian minister before announcing that the Malfoy family were there.
"Oh Gods', no." Hunter muttered as he rolled his eyes.
"Ah, Fudge." Mr. Malfoy said as he shaked the Minister's hand. "How are you? I believe you remember my wife, Narcissa. But I don't think you've met our sons Lucas and Draco?"
"How do you do, how do you do?" Fudge smiled "And allow me to introduce you to Mr. Oblansk…Oblansk…Mr…well, he's the Bulgarian Minister of Magic, and he can't understand a word I'm saying anyway, so never mind. And let's see who else…you know Arthur Weasley, I daresay?"
"Good lord, Arthur. What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?" Lucius said
Fudge, who wasn't listening, said, "Lucius has just given a very generous contribution to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Arthur. He's here as my guest."
"How…how nice." Mr. Weasley said, with a very strained smile.
Mr. Malfoy's eyes looked over at Hermione and almost snarled at her but didn't as the Minister was there. Not to mention Hunter had placed himself in front of her and gave him a look that dared Lucius to say or do something. Lucius couldn't believe that one of the sons of the dark lord befriends and stands up for Muggle-borns. So he just nodded sneeringly to Mr. Weasley and continued down the line to his seats. Lucas glared at Hunter, Dawn and Axel as he sat down in his seat before winking at Vanessa, which made her roll her eyes and scoff. Draco just shot Harry, Ron, and Hermione one contemptuous look before settling between his mother and father.
"Slimy gits." Ron muttered as they all turned back and looked at the field.
Next moment, Ludo Bagman charged into the box.
"Everyone ready?" He said with excitement. "Minister…ready to go?"
"Ready when you are, Ludo." Fudge said
Ludo whipped out his wand, directed it at his own throat, and said "Sonorus!" and then spoke over the roar of sound that was now filling the packed stadium.
"Ladies and gentlemen…welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"
The spectators screamed and clapped. Thousands of flags waved, adding their discordant national anthems to the racket. The huge blackboard opposite them was wiped clear of its last message and showed BULGARIA: 0, IRELAND:0.
"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce…the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!"
On the right-hand side of the stand, which was a solid block of scarlet, roared its approval. Gliding out onto the field were a hundred Veelas. These are nearly-human magical beings who appeared as young, beautiful women with white-gold hair and moon-bright skin. The moment they started to dance and sing, Hermione and Vanessa had to stop Harry and Ron for making fools of themselves and taking off their support Ireland items. Axel was immune to their charm thanks to his demon blood inside. Hades had already given Hunter special wax to cover his ears to block the Veelas' voices. Bill, Charlie, Percy and Mr. Weasley already knew how to block their charm.
"And now, kindly out your wands in the air…for the Irish National Team Mascots!"
On the other side of the stadium a great green-and-gold comet came zooming in. It did one circuit of the stadium, then split into two smaller comets, each hurtling towards the goalposts. A rainbow arced suddenly across the field, connecting the two balls of light. The crowd oooohed and aaaahed, as though at a fireworks display. Now the rainbow faded and the balls of light reunited and merged; they had formed a great shimmering shamrock, which rose up into the sky and began to soar over the stands. Then gold coins started to fall from it. This perk-up Ron as he and many others in the stadium reached out and captured the gold. Then thousands of tiny little bearded men with red vests, each carrying a minute lamp of gold or green appeared.
"Should have known they would be Leprechauns." Dawn smiled
"Are you gonna tell Ron what happens with Leprechaun gold?" Axel asked Vanessa.
"Nah, I think it's best that he finds out by himself." Vanessa said
Once the mascots were done and everyone had settled down Ludo spoke again.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome…the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team! I give you…Dimitrov! Ivanova! Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Volkov! Aaand…Krum!"
"That's him, that's him!" Ron yelled
Both he and Harry were following Krum with their Omnioculars. Viktor Krum was the youngest player in the team and looked to be around eighteen.
"Wait Vanessa…is he the one…" Dawn whispered
"Yeah, that would be him." Vanessa said
"Feeling jealous yet, Hunter." Axel whispered to Hunter in a teasing tone.
"No." Hunter said and his gritted teeth when Axel chuckled at his lie. "Shut up."
Viktor Krum was Vanessas' boyfriend when she was 11. It only lasted for a year but they still remained as friends and will write to each other once a month. Vanessa had told most of her girlfriends that she knew wouldn't make a big deal or blabbed to anyone else as she and Viktor liked their private life. Then she told Hunter as they were telling each other about who they dated in the past on one of their date nights. He wasn't jealous as they had dated five years ago. But he got a bit jealous when he found out that Krum was now a famous Quidditch player.
The referee, Mostafa, of the game kicked open the crate and two black Bludgers sped out, along with the Golden Snitch. Mostafa grabbed the Quaffle and the moment he threw it in the air the game began.
The game was an amazing match. Ireland was in the lead in the long run as they were working as a team while the Bulgarians were trying their best to keep up. Krum was the only one that was working harder than his team. He did a feinting move to the other seeker, to make him crash, so he could get more time to search for the Snitch. At one point the team's mascots got interested when they nearly started a fight. That's when Harry and Ron saw how dangerous and hideous Veelas can be when they're angry. The game had continued for a few more hours until the Irish Seeker, Lynch, saw that the Snitch and made a dive for it. Half the crowd seemed to have realized what was happening; the Irish supporters rose in another great wave of green, screaming their Seeker on. But Krum was on his tail. He may have a busted nose now, thanks to a Bludgers hitting him in the face but he wasn't gonna give up. He drew level with Lynch now as the pair of them hurtled towards the ground again.
"They're going to crash!" Hermione shrieked.
"They're not!" Ron roared.
"Lynch is!" Harry yelled
Harry was right on that part. For the second time, Lynch hit the ground with great force and got stampeded by a horde of angry Veela.
"The snitch, where's the Snitch?" Charlie bellowed
"He's got it…Krum's got it…it's all over!" Harry shouted
Krum was rising gently into the air, his fist held high, a glint of gold in his hand. The scoreboard was flashing BULGARIA: 160, IRELAND: 170 across the crowd. It took a while till they realized who won and the Ireland supporters grew louder and louder and erupted into screams of delight.
"Ireland wins!" Ludo Bagman shouted in disbelief. "Krum gets the snitch…but Ireland wins…good lord, I don't think any of us were expecting that!"
"What did he catch the Snitch for?" Ron asked as he jumped up and down, applauding with his hands over his head. "He ended it when Ireland were a hundred and sixty points ahead, the idiot!"
"He knew they were never going to catch up!" Vanessa shouted "The Irish Chasers were too good… He wanted to end it on his terms, that's all…"
"He was very brave, wasn't he?" Hermione said "He looks a terrible mess…"
"Vell, ve fought bravely." said a gloomy voice behind them.
They looked over and saw that it was the Bulgarian Minister of Magic.
Fudge was outraged that the man could understand and spoke English while he was minming everything all day.
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After the game Vanessa and the others had headed back to their tent. Those who have supported Ireland were celebrating with fireworks, music and dancing. The Weasleys', Potters and Hermione were also celebrating. Even though he supported the Irish, Ron couldn't help but talk about Krum.
"There's no one like Krum." He said
Fred and Geroge couldn't help but tease him and threw the Ireland flag on him.
"He's not just an athlete. He's an artist." Ron said
"Aw, look girls. It sounds like little Ronny is in love." Vanessa teased
"Shut up, Vanessa." Ron glared
"Oh Viktor, I love you." Fred mockingly sang and George continued the rest. "Viktor, I do"
"When we are apart my heart beats only for you!" Everyone sang
They started a pillow fight until they heard loud booms and blasting outside of their tent. Mr. Weasley quickly went to check it out.
"Looks like the Irishs are getting their pride on." Fred smirked
They continued on with a pillow fight till Mr. Weasley stopped them.
"Stop! Stop it!" He said with a serious tone. "It's not the Irish. We gotta get out of here."
Vanessa looked outside and her eyes widened at the horrifying sight before her.