The Portkey

Arthur felt as though he had barely laid down to sleep when he felt himself being shaken by Martha.

"Wakey, wakey, Arthur… time to wake up." She softly whispered.

He blinked himself awake and saw that it was still dark outside as Martha left the room to go and wake David up, who was in the room opposite Arthur.

He was so sleepy that he dressed himself in silence and joined David, Mary, Chrys and Mike downstairs to have breakfast in the kitchen, catching up with the twins.

There was Martha, who stirred in a large pot on the stove with Ben sitting at the table, checking over a sheaf of large parchment tickets. He looked up as they all entered, giving Arthur a better look at what he was wearing. He wore a casual blazer under a coat.

"Where's Rob, Kenny and Sam?" Kevin asked before he made a huge yawn.

"They're going to Apparate there." Martha told them all, heaving the large pot to the table and ladled porridge into various bowls. "Because of that, they get to have a lie in."

Arthur knew that Apparating is supposed to be a difficult feat as it meant disappearing from one place and reappearing in another pretty much instantaneously.

Jack groaned in jealousy that they got to lie in while they themselves had to wake up this early.

"If only we were of age and passed the test."

"Is it necessary to pass a test to Apparate?" Arthur asked.

"Yes." Ben said, tucking the tickets into a pocket inside his blazer. "The Department of Magical Transportation actually had to fine a few people the other day because they Apparated without a licence. And it's not easy, either, and if not done properly, there's nasty complications. This particular pair ended up splinching themselves."

Everyone except for Arthur winced, even Chrys winced.

"Splinching?" Arthur questioned, not exactly wanting to hear the results.

"They ended up leaving half of themselves behind." Ben said as he spooned some treacle into his bowl of porridge. "Therefore, they were stuck. They couldn't move. Had to wait for the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad to sort them out. It caused some paperwork because of the Muggles that spotted the body parts that were left behind."

Arthur struggled eating his porridge as he imagined the image of a pair of legs and an arm lying abandoned in the middle of a London street.

"Were they okay?" He asked, a bit disturbed.

"They turned out fine." Ben replied matter of factly. "But they did get a heavy fine, and I'm sure they don't want to try again in a hurry. Messing around with Apparition is not advisable. There are some adult wizards who much prefer using brooms. They may be slower, but they're considered safer."

"And Rob, Kenny and Sam can all do it?"

"Kenny actually had to do the test twice." Jack said with a grin. "He failed the first time by Apprating five miles south of where he's meant to and right over a woman who was doing her shopping."

"At least he passed the second time." Ben said among the hearty sniggers from everyone.

"So why exactly do we have to be awake this early?" Mary asked, rubbing her right eye as she ate some porridge that she had with some strawberries.

"Because we have to do a bit of a walk." Ben said.

"A walk?" Arthur said in confusion. "Why do we have to walk?"

"Because we're taking a particular way to get to the World Cup and it's some distance from here. It happens to be very difficult for a large number of wizards to congregate without attracting the attention of the Muggles. So we have to be really careful about how to travel at the best of times, especially with something as big as the Quidditch World Cup."

"Kevin, what is that in your pocket?" Martha suddenly said and Kevin pulled out a fake wand, explaining that he and Jack are planning to demonstrate them to those that are interested.


Once they've finished their breakfast, Martha kisses everyone on their cheeks and wishes them a good day, telling them that she'll send Rob, Kenny and Sam along at midday.

Everyone followed Ben down a pathway that led past the Quidditch pitch from the back of the manor and it was chilly, with the moon still out. The only hint of daybreak approaching was the dull, greenish tinge on the horizon to their right.

Arthur was trying to imagine what thousands of wizards speeding towards the Quidditch World Cup would look like and he just couldn't wrap his head around it. So much so that he walked up a bit to speak to Ben.

"How does everyone get there without Muggles noticing?" He asked.

"It's a massive organisational problem." Ben sighed. "The trouble is that, with a hundred thousand wizards turning up to the World Cup, we don't exactly have a magical site large enough to accommodate everyone. There's some places that Muggles can't penetrate, but imagine trying to pack a hundred thousand wizards into Diagon Alley or platform nine and three quarters. We ended up finding a deserted moor and set up as many anti-Muggle precautions as possible. The Ministry's been working on it for months. The first thing is to stagger the arrivals. People that have cheaper tickets need to arrive two weeks in advance. Also a limited number actually use Muggle transport, but we can't risk having them clog up their buses and trains as wizards from all over the world are coming. Some, of course, Apparate, though we have to set up safe points for them to appear, far away from Muggles. I think a handy wood is being used as the Apparition point. For those that don't want to Apparate, or can't, we have to use Portkeys, objects that are used to transport magical folk from one place to another at a prearranged time. If needed, you can do larger groups at a time. There have been two hundred of these Portkeys strategically placed throughout Britain, and the nearest one to us is up at the top of Stoatshead Hill, which we're going to."

Ben then pointed ahead of them, towards a large black mass that rose beyond the village of Ottery St Catchpole.

"What can be used as Portkeys?" Arthur asked in curiosity.

"Anything, really." Ben shrugged. "Of course, they'd have to be unobtrusive, so that Muggles don't pick them up and play with them, meaning they'd think they're just junk."

Everyone continued trudging through the dark, dank lane towards the village, the silence being broken because of their footsteps. The sky started lightening up very slowly as they went through the village, the sky going from inky black to deepest blue. Arthur's hands and feet were currently freezing and Ben kept checking his watch.

Everyone didn't have any breath to spare for any chatter as they started climbing up Stoatshead Hill, sometimes stumbling because of hidden rabbit holes and slipping on thick black tufts of grass. Each breath Arthur made was so sharp and his legs started seizing up by the time his feet found level ground.

"Finally." Ben panted, taking out a handkerchief and used it to wipe his forehead. "We have ten minutes left, so we've made good time."

Chrys was the last to come over the crest of the hill, clutching a stitch on her right side.

"We just need to find the Portkey, which would be a small object, let's go…." Ben then said as he now squinted at the ground.

Everyone had spread out, searching for the Portkey. A couple of minutes remained when a shout disrupted the still air.

"Over here, Ben! Over here, son, we've got it!"

There were two tall figures that were silhouetted against the starry sky on the other side of the hilltop.

"Amos!" Ben said as he strode over to the man who had shouted, everyone following after him.

He shook hands with a ruddy faced wizard with a scrubby brown beard, who held a mouldy old boot in his other hand.

"This is Amos Diggory, everyone." Ben introduced him. "He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. You all know his son, Cedric."

Cedric Diggory was a really handsome seventeen year old. He was captain and Seeker of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team at Hogwarts.

"Hi." He greeted everyone.

The only ones who didn't say "hi" back were the twins and Arthur, who just nodded back. All three of them, especially Arthur, was still resentful towards him for beating their own team, Gryffindor, in the first Quidditch match of the previous year.

"Long walk, Ben?" Amos said.

"It wasn't too bad." Ben shrugged. "We live in the forest on the other side of the village there. What about you?"

"Had to get up at two, didn't we, Ced? I tell you, I'll be glad when he's got his Apparition test. Still… not complaining…. Quidditch World Cup, wouldn't miss it for a sackful of Galleons, and the tickets cost about that. Mind you, looks like I got off easy…." Amos said, peering good naturedly around at the three Merlon boys, Arthur, Chrys, Mike and Mary. "All these yours, Ben?"

"No, only the ones with the silver hair." Ben said, pointing out his own children. "This here is Michael McGonagall, this one's Chrysanthemum Ranger, friend of David's and here's his other friend, Arthur Pendergast."

"Merlin's beard." Amos said with widening eyes. "Arthur? Arthur Pendergast?"

"Yeah." Arthur replied awkwardly. He's used to, though bothered, by people looking at him curiously, especially at his lightning scar on his forehead.

"Ced's talked about you, of course." Amos said. "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 Arthur Pendergast!"

Arthur held back his growl as he, the twins, as well as David and Mike all scowled at Amos. Of course, Ben noticed this and had to say something.

"Arthur fell off his broom, dad." Cedric muttered, looking embarrassed. "I told you… it was an accident…."

"Yes, but you didn't fall off, did you?" Amos roared genially, slapping his son's back. "Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman… but the best man won, I'm sure Arthur'd say the same, wouldn't you, eh? One falls off his broom, one stays on, you don't need to be a genius to tell which one's the better flyer!"

"Actually, Amos, Arthur fell off his broom because of the Dementors that swarmed the Quidditch pitch when they weren't permitted on the grounds. And they have a severe effect on him. So if the Dementors weren't there, Arthur would still be on his broom and would still be the better flyer. So next time, actually know all of the facts before you come across as an idiot." Ben corrected him, defending Arthur.

Everyone was so satisfied to see Amos look flabbergasted at being called an idiot, as he was for bragging about his son over something that wasn't exactly fair.

"Anyway, it must be nearly time." Ben then changed subjects, pulling out his watch again. "Are we waiting for anyone else?"

"Uh… no… the Lovegoods have been there for a week already and the Fawcetts couldn't get tickets." Amos said, moving past from his embarrassment. "There aren't any more of us in this area, are there?"

"Not that I know of." Ben said. "Anyway, it's a minute off… we need to get ready…."

He looked over at Arthur and Chrys. "You'll need to touch the Portkey. You can do it with just a finger."

So with some difficulty, due to the bulky backpacks, all ten of them crowded around the old boot that Amos held out.

Everyone stood in a tight circle as a chilly breeze swept over the hilltop. No one spoke, making Arthur think of how Muggles would find the sight of them all weird.

"Three…" Ben muttered as he looked at his watch. "...two… one…."

It all happened so suddenly that Arthur felt like he was about to jump out of his skin. He felt like a hook had suddenly jerked forwards from just behind his navel. His feet then left the ground and felt David and Chrys on either side of him with their shoulders banging onto his.

They all sped forwards in a howl of wind and swirling colour, Arthur's index finger stuck on the boot like it pulled him magnetically onwards until….

His feet slammed onto solid ground; David staggered into him and he fell over. The Portkey then hit the ground near his head with a heavy thud.

Arthur looked up and saw Ben, Amos and Cedric standing on their feet, looking very windswept and everyone else was on the ground.

"Seven past five from Stoatshead Hill." A voice then said.


Trust me, I've desired to put Amos in his place for making himself look like an idiot for bragging about his son over something that wasn't really a fair situation.