It was still afternoon, so there was plenty of time for them to prepare. Harry went straight to the Owlery to fetch Hedwig. He penned a quick letter and asked her to find Zoe or one of his sisters. He would have searched for them himself, except that they were scattered around the Forbidden Forest, so he was not about to venture in there again after last time.

He also gathered Ron, Hermione, Neville and Katie and relayed the situation to them. Their game plan was that the four students would hide in the trees near the shack. Sirius would take a shortcut that he knew about from their own school days. Meanwhile, the Hunters would surround the area and Remus would take Harry to face Greyback head on.

At around half past nine, Remus and Harry made their way to the front entrance. As they walked down the path on that cloudy night, Remus casually said, "Oh by the way, I believe Bianca has gotten a Hogwarts acceptance letter about two weeks ago."

Harry's head snapped up towards him in surprise, "Say what?! But isn't she… I don't know, thirteen years old? I know that when we rescued her and Nico, she was 11 and he was nine. Isn't it a bit late to get a Hogwarts letter?"

Remus shrugged, "Well… Sometimes magic can manifest pretty late. Dumbledore was quite surprised when McGonagall came to him with her admission letter. Then again, maybe their time in the Lotus Casino could have suppressed her magical ability. That's just my own theory, though. I don't know if Nico is showing any magic though. Sirius took her to Ollivander's shop last week and her wand is Yew with Thestral Hair. I suspect that's largely because of her heritage as the daughter of the God of the Underworld. Sirius' cousin, Andromeda has been bringing her up to speed with First-Year and Second-Year curriculum."

Harry incredulously replied, "But for someone to be joining Hogwarts in their Third-Year…"

"Well, it's not that uncommon. Don't tell me you've forgotten about that Brazilian witch who joined after the Christmas break. What was her name again? Oh yes, Alanza Alves, she's joined Slytherin if I'm not mistaken."

Harry sheepishly said, "Oh, right."

After some more silence, Remus asked, "So, are you excited about the World Cup? The Quidditch World Cup, I mean. I know the FIFA World Cup has just finished. Anyway, the Quidditch World Cup final is being held here in England itself."

Harry had an excited look on his face, "Yeah, Ron and Seamus were gushing about it the other day. Come to think of it, they had a massive row about who would win the Final. Seamus thinks that Ireland will win, but Ron thinks that Bulgaria will crush them thanks to Victor Krum. According to Ron, Mr Weasley is expecting a bonus next week so they plan to buy tickets for the family. He's offered one to me and Hermione. He asked Neville too, but his dad bought tickets for themselves."

Remus smiled, "Well, Sirius has bought tickets for yourself and Mackenzie. I believe he's bought some more for Nico and Bianca. Also included are tickets for your friends Percy, Annabeth, Thalia and Grover. Would be nice to see the demigods be a little exposed to Quidditch."

Then Harry replied, "So how are things between you and Sally? Have you told her about your furry little problem yet?"

He made a face, "Don't remind me… Padfoot made a very idiotic joke about my furry little problem. Sally - bless her innocent little heart - simply assured me that she didn't mind me having a hairy chest."

His cheeks reddened a little, "Though she did ask me to trim my nut sack. She wasn't about to get a mouthful of hair, if she could help it."

Harry froze briefly before collapsing in laughter. Remus mock scowled, "Yes, yes, laugh it up. Sirius had the very same reaction when he heard it. I'm just glad that Percy wasn't around to hear it."

Finally, they stopped in front of a rundown old shack that was on the verge of collapse. They stopped to gather themselves and Remus checked to see if Harry had his weapons on him. Before he entered the jaws of the wolf, Remus placed a hand on his shoulder. He had a serious look on his gaunt face and said, "Listen Harry… Greyback is dangerous. He was the one who bit me when I was a boy. He's not one to be trifled with. Hopefully he has not touched Miss Lobosca, I wouldn't put it past him, if I'm being honest."

Harry turned and grabbed his honorary uncle's forearm before lightly squeezing it. He smiled, "Uncle Remus, I'll be fine. I can take care of myself. Nothing will happen to me or her. Besides, Chiara's just a bargaining chip to him. It's me he wants, because I'm the son of Artemis. His plan is probably to bite me first, before he attacks anyone else. His previous raids were probably intimidation tactics."

Letting go, Harry slowly opened the door and entered the Shrieking Shack. Taking out his wand, he tapped his holster and activated his shield. The main hall was deserted but Harry glanced down and observed the ground. He noticed some faint marks on the wooden floor, as it someone had dragged something on the floor. He slowly followed the tracks that led to a rickety staircase.

Taking a breath to steel his nerve, Harry slowly padded up the stairs. He made sure to keep his footfalls as silent as possible. Very soon, he reached a dark landing and in the darkness, he noticed that one door at the far end was open. His sharp ears heard a small moan, followed by a gruff voice mutter, "Quiet you little brat, or I will make good on my promise to turn you."

Harry collapsed his shield, but still had his wand out. He entered the room to find two figures. One was the familiar white hair of Chiara Lobosca, who was cowering on the floor. Facing her was a large vicious-looking man with matted grey hair. He turned around and Harry got a good look at his face for the first time. Greyback's whiskered face lit up with a big feral smile, showing off pointed teeth.

He beckoned with yellowish nails, "Well, well… Hello Harry Potter. So nice of you to show up! Now this is a party. Welcome to this humble abode. I figured that you could not resist playing the hero, so naturally, I capitalised. If I may be honest, I was hoping to nab one of your friends, but then again, can't complain about the results, eh, hero?"

Harry brandished his wand and aimed it at the werewolf, "Well… You've got me now. Let her go! She's not part of this! It's just between you and me."

Greyback responded by grabbing her by the hair and yanking her to her feet. She whimpered in pain but the werewolf ignored her. He advanced and Harry retreated simultaneously. Slowly, they made their way down the stairs and finally outside the shack. Once outside, Greyback took a deep sniff of air, "Ahhh! Much better for our little show."

He spotted Lupin in the distance, "Hello Remus… I should have known that you would be here."

Lupin's wand was out and aimed at the criminal, "Let the girl go!"

Greyback didn't move for a while, before suddenly shoving the terrified Chiara towards Harry. He grabbed her and she clutched at him for dear life. Slowly, he moved towards Remus and gently pried her off him and into the older man's arms.

Remus hurried off to bring her inside the safety of the castle, leaving Harry with Fenrir. The werewolf called out to the demigod, "Make no mistake, Potter! This isn't mercy! I will get her eventually, right after I turn you."

He chuckled sinisterly and ran his tongue over his sharpened teeth, "Oh ho! Imagine the delicious irony! The child of the Moon and The Boy-Who-Lived, will soon be a werewolf. I cannot wait to see the fallout with the Ministry once they find out that their hero is now a monster."

With that, he lunged towards Harry, claws extended and jaws agape. In that very instant, Harry activated his shield and braced himself as the claws impacted the shield. Harry retaliated by using said shield to bash Greyback in the face, sending him skidding back.

The criminal wiped a small stream of blood from his mouth, "Good… Very good… I love it when I fight for my meals! Makes it much more fun for me!"

He lunged again and Harry fended him off once more. The next time Greyback attacked, Harry bashed him with his shield again, this time following it up with a Stunning spell. The spell blew him back, but did not have the desired effect.

Greyback chortled, "Tut, tut, tut, Potter. You haven't been doing your homework. A measly little Stunning spell won't work on me."

Just then, the darkness became a little lighter, and Harry peeked up at the sky. The moon had come out from behind a cloud, a full moon. Greyback also looked up at the sky, and his face broke into a big smile, "Oh ho ho ho! You are in big trouble now!"

His limbs began to shake and with a snarling sound, his head lengthened. Greyback's body did the same and his shoulders hunched. Hair began visibly sprouting from his face and hands. The hands themselves curled into clawed paws. The transforming Greyback reared, snapping his long jaws.

On cue, Harry decided to pull out his own bag of tricks. Concentrating, he immediately transformed into his dire wolf form and took up a battle stance. Once the transformation was complete, Harry went on the offense, seizing the werewolf around the neck and pulled him backward. They were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other and snapping away.

They must have been fighting for ages, when another dark shape impacted them. It was another werewolf, and Harry assumed that it was Lupin and he was helping in the attack. A minute later, a third, smaller shape, joined the party and attacked Greyback. This was definitely Sirius in his Animagus form.

The four of them grappled, until Harry, Sirius and Remus were thrown backwards by Greyback. Greyback lunged for Harry with his jaws agape, before emitting a roar of pain. A silver arrow protruded from his shoulder, which was quickly wrenched out and flung away. He resumed his attack, only for Remus to tackle him and both were sent rolling away. The two werewolves continued grappling until Greyback gave an almighty shove. With Lupin separated, Harry dove back into the attack with his jaws agape. He managed to get a good bite to the calf.

He roared in pain and swiped at the boy with his clawed hands. It was only Harry's ADHD-fuelled reflexes that prevented him from being clawed in the face. He attacked and dodged repeated swipes, before Remus and Sirius leaped back into the fray. Finally, Harry managed to grab Greyback in mid lunge and flung him backwards into a tree. There was a sickening snap and the werewolf's head slumped forward as his body went limp.

On cue, Lupin let out a victory howl at the full moon. Then with a growl, he turned towards Hogsmeade village, but Harry and Sirius surrounded him and growled threateningly. The two Animagi slowly herded the werewolf back inside the Shrieking Shack and stood guard. Harry then grabbed Greyback's corpse and dragged it back with them. By then, the dead wizard had transformed back into human form. The two alive wizards remained in the shack, keeping Remus company.

Then, the sky darkened again as clouds obscured the moon once more. With no moon in sight, Lupin transformed back, and the other two did as well. Lupin panted, "Well… I'm glad that's over with. He will never sully this land again. Nice Animagus form, Harry."

Harry's answer was cut off by the sound of a hunting horn. Moments later, door of the shack flew open to let in a large group of girls in silver hunting gear. Harry spotted the lead girl and ran up to her, "Mother!"

With a big proud smile, Artemis embraced her son. She softly spoke, "My little moon, I am so proud of you. A successful hunt, I take it?"

The goddess glanced at the corpse and turned back to Harry, "My son, could you please do the honours?"

Harry nodded and turned his wand into a sword. In one fluid motion, he separated Greyback's head from his body. Sirius used his wand to cauterise the wound and Zoe picked it up. She spoke, "My lady, this shalt be a fine trophy for thy abode."

Artemis turned to the two other males in the room. They had knelt before her with their heads bowed low. She raised a hand, "Rise, you two. I thank both of you for your aid in our hunt. More than that, I thank you for fighting alongside my son."

Sirius hesitantly said, "Think nothing of it Lady Artemis. His father made me his godfather, so I was only fulfilling my duty."

Then she turned to Lupin, "Remus John Lupin. I suppose my gratitude is in order. You have fought bravely and at risk of your own life. For that, you shall have your reward for aiding us in this hunt."

She raised her hand and began chanting in Ancient Greek. At the same time, her hand glowed and Remus was lifted into the air. A bright flash enveloped the room and later died down. When she finished, Artemis smiled, "There… It is done. You shall henceforth live a life without fear of hurting others."

Remus bowed, "Thank you, My lady, for your blessing."

As the moon showed up, she smiled once more, "It is no ordinary blessing, Mr. Lupin."

He was confused for a second before Sirius exclaimed, "Remus! The moon! B-b-but you haven't transformed!"

Artemis answered for them, "That would be my doing. I took away the werewolf curse, but not completely. Mr Lupin is now, what you wizards call, an Animagus. Make no mistake, I cannot cure lycanthropy just like that. Those who have been tainted by King Lycaon, are beyond my power. However, Greyback was a lieutenant and it took some significant power from my end. As I said, I have not cured your lycanthropy, but I had the power to modify it to turn you into an Animagus."

A delighted Sirius tackled Remus in a hug, "Congratulations Moony! You no longer have to worry about your furry little problem!"

Once they broke the hug, Remus bowed to Artemis once more, "Thank you, my lady. I am forever in your debt."

Finally, Artemis turned to Zoe, "Zoe, do you mind escorting my son back to his dormitory? It is high time he went to bed."

The girl brought a fist to her chest, "It shall be done, my lady. Come Harry, let us get thou to bed."

The next morning, Harry and his friends came down to breakfast, to see Artemis talking to Dumbledore. Ron quietly nudged him, "Hey, isn't that your mum?"

Harry nodded excitedly, "Yeah, she's probably here to deliver good news."

Dumbledore got everyone's attention and announced, "Dear students! It gives me great pleasure to announce that the threat of Fenrir Greyback is no more!"

That evoked loud cheers from everyone. When it died down, he continued, "Following the disappearance of the dementors, I took the liberty of contacting a group of mercenaries. I'd like you all to meet Diana Olympia. She and her team personally hunted the notorious Fenrir Greyback and defeated him. I think we all owe her our lives."

Soon afterwards, Harry was called to Dumbledore's office. After lunch, he entered to find Sirius and Remus inside as well. Dumbledore sat down in his chair and gestured for them to sit, "Well, now that the threat of Fenrir Greyback is over, I think it is time to address the elephant in the room, the Dark Lord himself. Harry, that diary you discovered last year, was a Horcrux."

That got Sirius and Remus' attention, as that was the first they'd heard of it. Sirius was aghast, "Wait, wait, wait… So he's still alive? I thought Harry had defeated him for good in '81."

Dumbledore nodded gravely, "Indeed. I had thought the same until Harry's First Year and the brouhaha with Quirrell. Then last year was the Chamber, which again had shades of the Dark Lord's work. Now, Sirius and Remus, I have an important task for the two of you. I would like the two of you to hunt down the remaining Horcruxes. I am positive that he would have made more than one. Already, two have been destroyed, the Diary, and a partial one in Harry himself."

The two men stood up sharply, "Harry was a Horcrux?"

Dumbledore raised his hands placatingly, "A partial one, but you do not need to worry. It was discovered on the night of the attack, and Lord Thanatos, God of Peaceful Death, was the one to remove it. Remus, I'm afraid that this means that you will not be returning as the DADA teacher next term."

Remus shrugged, "Oh well… That's a pity. Just when I was starting to enjoy this little job."

Before long, school was over and they were back on their way home. This time though, Harry and Mackenzie chose not to go to Camp Half-Blood, but chose to stay with Sirius and Remus at Sirius's Ancestral home, Grimmauld Place A couple of months flashed by and in no time, it was August and they were packed up in a van, along with Nico and Bianca, waiting to pick up a few people, as opposed to the other way round. Sure enough, at the Portkey pickup area, he met up with Jackson, Annabeth, Thalia and Grover.

As Remus drove their minivan, Nico bounced in his seat, "Man! I can't wait to watch my first ever Quidditch match!"

Thalia peered at Harry, "So… can you explain the basics of Quidditch again?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Thals! We went over this three times on the bus ride to the Portkey area."

Thalia shot back, "You went off on a tangent about Quidditch strategies and the history of the game. How the Tartarus did you expect me to retain that insane information dump. And don't call me Thals. Oh, by the way Harry, Wizarding travel sucks, no offence."

Harry laughed and calmly explained, "None taken, So this is a sport that is played on flying brooms. There are seven players per team. One Keeper, two Beaters, three Chasers and one Seeker, that last one is my position. Now there are four balls in play. A Quaffle, which is handled by the Chasers and the Keeper defends the goal from them. Then there are two Bludgers, which are hard iron balls and fly on their own. The Beaters use them to knock off other players. Finally, the Seeker has to focus on catching a small cricket ball-sized ball with wings, call the Golden Snitch."

Thalia nodded, "Okay, easy enough. What else?"

"Well, scoring a goal with the Quaffle is worth 10 points. Meanwhile, the Snitch ends the game and is worth 150 points."

Thalia cocked her head in confusion, "So… if one team's Chasers scores 140 points and the Seeker from the other team catches the Snitch, the first team loses?"

Sirius chirped from the front seat, "In a nutshell, yes."

Thalia was still baffled, "That doesn't seem very fair."

Remus shrugged, "Oh well. We've been used to this sort of gameplay, so no one's really questioned it. However, what Harry doesn't know, is that in the Quidditch World Cup, the rules are different."

The Weasley kids and Hermione were taking a Portkey to the location, along with Arthur. He explained that Molly elected not to come because 'someone had to look after the house'. Meanwhile, Harry and company would meet them over there at the camp site.

Remus then began the long drive to the venue, a campsite owned by a Mr. Roberts in Dartmoor. As they drove, Harry and Mackenzie checked their camping supplies to see if everything was in order. Katie was also going to meet them at the site, along with Angelina, Alicia and Robyn.

Then Thalia interrupted, "So what are the World Cup rules? Harry explained the basic rules, but what makes this different?"

Sirius eagerly jumped in, "So there are several nations who could enter but they have to qualify. They are all divided into 16 groups and all teams in each group play each other in several games spread out over a span of two years. In the group stage, there is a time limit of four hours to avoid player exhaustion. If the Snitch isn't caught, then the score decides who wins. One win earns two points, but if the gap is more than 150 points, the winning team earns three bonus points. A 100-point win margin earns two points, and a 50-point win margin earns one extra point. Then in each group, the top teams qualify for the World Cup."

Remus picked up where Sirius left off, "So, the 16 qualified teams are ranked according to the number of points won in the qualifying stage. They matchups are decided in such a way that the team with the most points plays against the team with the least, then second highest, to second lowest, and so on and so forth."

Bianca chipped in, "So who do you think's going to win"

Remus sagely replied, "It's got to be Ireland. They flattened Peru in the semi-finals."

Sirius argued back, "Nah, it's going to be Bulgaria. They've got Viktor Krum."

Jackson asked, "Hey isn't Krum-"

He was interrupted by Remus arguing back, "Krum's just one decent player. The Irish have a more well-rounded team. Wish it could have been England in the final. Man! They were massacred by Transylvania, 390-10. According to one of my mates, who watched the football World Cup, the footballers were at least a little more competent. Meanwhile, Wales lost to Uganda and Scotland got a drubbing from Luxembourg."

By late everning, they all pulled into a parking lot and disembarked. Sirius straightened his coat, "Right! We've got to meet a Mr. Roberts. He's non-magical, so let's be careful about what you say."

From there, they began the long trek to find Mr. Roberts. Before long, they found their man and got through with no problem. Though the party after them were not exactly subtle in hiding the fact that they were wizards. That led to poor Mr. Roberts getting his memory wiped.

Annabeth simply mumbled, "Wouldn't it have been far easier to get someone who knows about magic?"

Sirius snorted, "Yeah, I agree with you there, but wizards and witches have grown so used to defying logic that they have forgotten that it even exists."

Finally, they found the Weasley clan and Hermione. The brunette immediately rushed over and tackled Harry in a hug. Ron also ran up and gave him a bro-hug. Together they walked over to the tents when Harry stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the assorted tents in disbelief.

Most looked almost ordinary, as their owners clearly tried to be inconspicuous. However, the images were ruined by the addition of chimneys, or bellpulls, or weather vanes. However, here and there was a tent so obviously magical that Harry could hardly be surprised that Mr. Roberts was getting suspicious.

Halfway up the field stood an extravagant confection of striped silk like a miniature palace, with several live peacocks tethered at the entrance. A little farther on they passed a tent that had three floors and several turrets; and a short way beyond that was a tent that had a front garden attached, complete with birdbath, sundial, and fountain.

The Weasley tent looked a bit ordinary, until Harry stuck his head inside. When he came back out, he looked furious. He ranted, "ΟΧΙ ΟΧΙ ΟΧΙ! Δεν δουλεύει έτσι! Αυτό δεν είναι καθόλου κάμπινγκ! Το κάμπινγκ υποτίθεται ότι έχει να κάνει με το να έρθετε κοντά στη φύση! Μόλις αντιγράψατε το εσωτερικό μιας έπαυλης!"

All of the wizards looked confused, and even the demigods were surprised at the rant. He stormed away and Mackenzie ran after him to calm him down. Then, understanding dawned on Annabeth's face when she peeped inside the tent. The blonde girl shot the group an apologetic smile, "You'll have to forgive Harry. He's a little bit upset because he's been camping all his life. Forgive my language but this is a bit of a bastardisation of camping, so Harry's taking it a little personally. He said 'NO NO NO! It doesn't work like that! This is not camping at all! Camping is supposed to be about getting close to nature! You've just copied the interior of a mansion!'"

Percy Weasley shot her a curious look, "You understood all that?"

She sheepishly laughed, "Heh, heh, yeah. Harry has a tendency to accidentally slip into Ancient Greek when he's upset. Don't worry, he'll calm down in a bit. Mr. Weasley, I'm terribly sorry to undo all of your hard work, but when he gets back, we'll show you how REAL camping is done."

Luckily, the man was very understanding, and in a few minutes, had packed the tents away. After a good 10 minutes, Mackenzie returned with Harry, who was looking visibly calmer.

They managed to bump into Katie along the way, and they returned with her. Katie ruffled Harry's hair, "Come on. Let's show them how it's really done. Good thing that you brought a lot of spares."

In about 30 seconds flat, one tent was up. Then the three of them slowed down to show the Weasleys how to set up a non-magical tent. Mackenzie then sprinted off and returned five minutes later with an armful of fist-sized rocks. With his shoe, Harry scuffed up a circular area, and the demigods arranged the rocks on the edge of the circle. Then, Nico and Bianca went and brought several logs and twigs. Harry fetched a few flint stones, which took a while to search for. With a few deft movements, he managed to get a fire started.

Once he was done, Harry proudly exclaimed, "And THAT'S how you set up a real camp."

It took ten minutes before everyone's tents were up. From there, they decided to wander around. As they walked, Harry had to fight down his anger as he saw all the luxury tents sprawled out. He could be heard muttering, "I'd love to see how they would survive in REAL camping conditions. We need to establish a Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts group to teach these idiots how to really survive in the wild."

Soon, Harry, Ron and Hermione walked into a patch of tents that were all covered with a thick growth of shamrocks, so that it looked as though small, oddly shaped hillocks had sprouted out of the earth. Grinning faces could be seen under those that had their flaps open. Then, from behind them, they heard their names.

"Harry! Ron! Hermione!"

It was Seamus Finnigan, their fellow Gryffindor fourth year. He was sitting in front of his own shamrock-covered tent, with a sandy-haired woman who had to be his mother, and his best friend, Dean Thomas, also of Gryffindor.

"Like the decorations?" said Seamus, grinning. "The Ministry's not too happy."

"Ah, why shouldn't we show our colors?" said Mrs. Finnigan. "You should see what the Bulgarians have got dangling all over their tents. You'll be supporting Ireland, of course?" she added, eyeing Harry, Ron, and Hermione beadily. When they had assured her that they were indeed supporting Ireland, they set off again, though, as Ron said, "Like we'd say anything else surrounded by that lot."

After a while, they returned to their own campsite and had begun cooking eggs and sausages. Suddenly, Mr. Weasley jumped to his feet, waving and grinning at a man who was striding toward them. "Aha!" he said. "The man of the moment! Ludo!"

Ludo Bagman was easily the most noticeable person Harry had seen so far, He was wearing long Quidditch robes in thick horizontal stripes of bright yellow and black. An enormous picture of a wasp was splashed across his chest. He had the look of a powerfully built man gone slightly to seed; the robes were stretched tightly across a large belly he surely had not had in the days when he had played Quidditch for England. His nose was squashed but his round blue eyes, short blond hair, and rosy complexion made him look like a very overgrown schoolboy.

"Ahoy there!" Bagman called happily. He was walking as though he had springs attached to the balls of his feet and was plainly in a state of wild excitement.

"Arthur, old man," he puffed as he reached the campfire, "what a day, eh? What a day! Could we have asked for more perfect weather? A cloudless night coming and hardly a hiccough in the arrangements. . . . Not much for me to do!"

Behind him, a group of haggard-looking Ministry wizards rushed past, pointing at the distant evidence of some sort of a magical fire that was sending violet sparks twenty feet into the air.

Percy hurried forward with his hand outstretched. Apparently his disapproval of the way Ludo Bagman ran his department did not prevent him from wanting to make a good impression.

"Ah — yes," said Mr. Weasley, grinning, "this is my son Percy. He's just started at the Ministry — and this is Fred — no, George, sorry — that's Fred — Bill, Charlie, Ron — my daughter, Ginny — and Ron's friends, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. Of course, you know Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. These are their wards, Annabeth, Grover, Nico, Bianca, Thalia and Percy Jackson."

Mr. Weasley turned to the group, "Everyone, this is Ludo Bagman."

Bagman beamed and waved his hand before leaning towards Arthur. He eagerly said, "Fancy a flutter on the match, Arthur?".

On cue, he jingled what seemed to be a large amount of gold in the pockets of his yellow-and-black robes. "I've already got Roddy Pontner betting me Bulgaria will score first — I offered him nice odds, considering Ireland's front three are the strongest I've seen in years — and little Agatha Timms has put up half shares in her eel farm on a week-long match."

"Oh . . . go on then," said Mr. Weasley. "Let's see . . . a Galleon on Ireland to win?"

"A Galleon?" Ludo Bagman looked slightly disappointed, but recovered himself. "Very well, very well… Any other takers?"

Arthur nervously laughed, "They're a bit young to be gambling. Molly wouldn't like —"

"We'll bet thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles, three Knuts," said Fred as he and George quickly pooled all their money, "that Ireland wins — but Viktor Krum gets the Snitch. Oh and we'll throw in a fake wand."

"You don't want to go showing Mr. Bagman rubbish like that —" Percy Weasley hissed, but Bagman thought otherwise. His boyish face shone with excitement as he took it from Fred, and when the wand gave a loud squawk and turned into a rubber chicken, Bagman roared with laughter.

"Excellent! I haven't seen one that convincing in years! I'd pay five Galleons for that!"

"Boys," said Mr. Weasley under his breath, "I don't want you betting. . . . That's all your savings. . . . Your mother —"

"Don't be a spoilsport, Arthur!" boomed Ludo Bagman, rattling his pockets excitedly. "They're old enough to know what they want! You reckon Ireland will win but Krum'll get the Snitch? Not a chance, boys, not a chance. . . . I'll give you excellent odds on that one. . . . We'll add five Galleons for the funny wand, then, shall we. . . ."

Mr. Weasley looked on helplessly as Ludo Bagman whipped out a notebook and quill and began jotting down the twins' names.

"Cheers," said George, taking the slip of parchment Bagman handed him and tucking it away carefully. Bagman turned most cheerfully back to Mr. Weasley.

"Couldn't do me a brew, I suppose? I'm keeping an eye out for Barty Crouch. My Bulgarian opposite number's making difficulties, and I can't understand a word he's saying. Barty'll be able to sort it out. He speaks about a hundred and fifty languages."

"Any news of Bertha Jorkins yet, Ludo?" Mr. Weasley asked as Bagman settled himself down on the grass beside them all.

"Not a dicky bird," said Bagman comfortably. "But she'll turn up. Poor old Bertha . . . memory like a leaky cauldron and no sense of direction. Lost, you take my word for it. She'll wander back into the office sometime in October, thinking it's still July."

"You don't think it might be time to send someone to look for her?" Mr. Weasley suggested tentatively as Percy handed Bagman his tea.

"Barty Crouch keeps saying that," said Bagman, his round eyes widening innocently, "but we really can't spare anyone at the moment. Oh — talk of the devil! Barty!"

"A wizard had just Apparated at their fireside, and he could not have made more of a contrast with Ludo Bagman, sprawled on the grass in his old Wasp robes. Barty Crouch was a stiff, upright, elderly man, dressed in an impeccably crisp suit and tie. The parting in his short gray hair was almost unnaturally straight, and his narrow toothbrush mustache looked as though he trimmed it using a slide rule. His shoes were very highly polished. Harry could see at once why Percy idolized him. Percy was a great believer in rigidly following rules, and Mr. Crouch had complied with the rule about Muggle dressing so thoroughly that he could have passed for a bank manager.

Harry whispered to Sirius, "Who's Bertha Jorkins?"

He had an uncomfortable look on his face, "Will let you know later."

The adults talked among themselves, though Crouch and Sirius were a little cordial with each other. Afterwards, Crouch and Bagman left, and the group began to make their way to the stadium. They walked through a wooded area for twenty minutes, talking and joking loudly, until at last they emerged on the other side and found themselves in the shadow of a huge stadium. Apparently, Arthur pulled a few strings and got his family and Hermione seats in the Top Box. Sirius had a similar pull and got the same seats for Harry, Mackenzie, Katie, Jackson, Annabeth, Thalia, Grover, Bianca and Nico.

There was a tense moment when Draco Malfoy showed up, along with a woman, who Harry assumed, was his mother. Malfoy scowled, but the group ignored him. Finally, after much fanfare, the game began. Somewhere nearby, Ludo Bagman 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; his voice echoed over them, booming into every corner of the stands.

"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 showed BULGARIA: 0, IRELAND: 0.

Bagman's voice boomed again, "And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce . . . the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!"

The right-hand side of the stands, which was a solid block of scarlet, roared its approval.

"I wonder what they've brought," said Mr. Weasley, leaning forward in his seat. "Aaah!" He suddenly whipped off his glasses and polished them hurriedly on his robes. "Veela!"

Harry asked, "Veel — ?"

But a hundred figures were now gliding out onto the field, and Harry's question was answered for him. Veela were women . . . the most beautiful women Harry had ever seen . . . except that they weren't — they couldn't be — human. His mind began to fog a little, until he slammed down his Occlumency shields and he was able to think clearly. The girls were not as badly affected, but the boys were squirming. Meanwhile, Grover had to be restrained.

And now," roared Ludo Bagman's voice, "kindly put your wands in the air . . . for the Irish National Team Mascots!"

Next moment, what seemed to be a great green-and-gold comet came zooming into the stadium. It did one circuit of the stadium, then split into two smaller comets, each hurtling toward the goalposts. A rainbow arced suddenly across the field, connecting the two balls of light. The crowd gasped in wonder, 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. Something like golden rain seemed to be falling from it.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome — the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team! I give you — Dimitrov!"

A scarlet-clad figure on a broomstick, moving so fast it was blurred, shot out onto the field from an entrance far below, to wild applause from the Bulgarian supporters.

"Ivanova!"

A second scarlet-robed player zoomed out.

"Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Volkov! Aaaaaaand — Krum!"

Ron went ballistic, and Harry soon spotted Krum. Meanwhile, Bagman introduced the Irish team, "Connolly! Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! Aaaaaand — Lynch!"

"And here, all the way from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa!"

A small and skinny wizard, completely bald but with a luxurious moustache, wearing robes of pure gold to match the stadium, strode out onto the field. A silver whistle was protruding from under the moustache, and he was carrying a large wooden crate under one arm, his broomstick under the other. Harry watched closely as Mostafa mounted his broomstick and kicked the crate open — four balls burst into the air: the scarlet Quaffle, the two black Bludgers, and the minuscule, winged Golden Snitch. With a sharp blast on his whistle, Mostafa shot into the air after the balls.

"Theeeeeeeey're OFF!" screamed Bagman. "And it's Mullet! Troy! Moran! Dimitrov! Back to Mullet! Troy! Levski! Moran!"

This was unlike any Quidditch match that he had played. The speed of the players was incredible — the Chasers were throwing the Quaffle to one another so fast that Bagman only had time to say their names.

His sharper eyesight spotted the Hawkshead Attacking Formation. That soon evolved into the Porskoff Ploy. Then, Ireland drew first blood, courtesy of Troy. The Irish Chasers were like a well-oiled machine and they scored two more goals in the span of 10 minutes.

The match became still faster, but more brutal. Volkov and Vulchanov, the Bulgarian Beaters, were whacking the Bludgers as fiercely as possible at the Irish Chasers, and were starting to prevent them from using some of their best moves; twice they were forced to scatter, and then, finally, Ivanova managed to break through their ranks; dodge the Keeper, Ryan; and score Bulgaria's first goal.

Mr. Weasley bellowed, "Fingers in your ears!"

However, Harry, Annabeth and Percy had better ideas. They quickly dug out the candlewax from their Sea of Monsters quest, and stuffed their ears. Annabeth signed to him, "Glad you convinced us to hang onto the plugs."

This time, the veela celebrations did not affect him. Suddenly, Krum and Lynch plummeted like stones, rapidly approaching the ground.

"They're going to crash!" screamed Hermione next to Harry.

She was half right — at the very last second, Viktor Krum pulled out of the dive and spiralled off. Lynch, however, hit the ground with a dull thud that could be heard throughout the stadium. A huge groan rose from the Irish seats.

Charlie hollered, "Whoa! That's the Wronski Feint!"

Just then, Harry spotted the Snitch, but it did not seem like anyone else had. This Snitch was moving much faster than the ones at Hogwarts. When Ireland retaliated, it was their Chasers who did so, with 10 goals in fifteen minutes. Then the game evolved into a dirty one. All the stops were out.

Meanwhile, the Snitch was fluttering all over the place and Harry's eyes never left it. Before long, Lynch was looking in the same direction that Harry was, and shot off like a bullet. Krum caught on quickly and chased after him. The two drew level and dived towards the ground yet again. Once again, Lynch lost the battle and Krum pulled back up with the struggling Snitch in his hand. The scoreboard was flashing BULGARIA: 160, IRELAND: 170 across the crowd, who didn't seem to have realized what had happened. Then, slowly, as though a great jumbo jet were revving up, the rumbling from the Ireland supporters grew louder and louder and erupted into screams of delight.

"IRELAND WINS!" Bagman shouted, who like the Irish, seemed to be taken aback by the sudden end of the match. "KRUM GETS THE SNITCH — BUT IRELAND WINS — good lord, I don't think any of us were expecting that!"

Harry murmured, "Oh Bloody Nora, he's not going to be happy"

A while later, the exhausted group staggered back to their camp and in their sleeping bags. Harry slept, dreaming of the match and perfecting the Wronski Feint. Then suddenly, he found himself being shaken awake. He was so startled that he nearly seized his hunting knife from under his pillow. Jackson reeled back to avoid getting stabbed, and Harry's mind focused. He heard Mr. Weasley frantically yelling at everyone to wake up.

He quickly dressed and grabbed his bag, his wand and his wand holster. He could hear screams, and the sound of people running.

By the light of the few fires that were still burning, he could see people running away into the woods, fleeing something that was moving across the field toward them, something that was emitting odd flashes of light and noises like gunfire. Loud jeering, roars of laughter, and drunken yells were drifting toward them; then came a burst of strong green light, which illuminated the scene.

Hermione and Ginny came hurrying toward them, pulling coats over their nightdresses, with Mr. Weasley right behind them. At the same moment, Bill, Charlie, and Percy emerged from the boys' tent, fully dressed, with their sleeves rolled up and their wands out. Jackson, Grover and the demigods also came rushing up and looking ready for a fight.

"We're going to help the Ministry!" Mr. Weasley shouted over all the noise, rolling up his own sleeves. "You lot — get into the woods, and stick together. I'll come and fetch you when we've sorted this out!"

Bill, Charlie and Percy sprinted after their father, Sirius and Remus, while the rest of the group ran for the woods. The crowd thronged and Harry felt himself getting buffeted about by several bodies.

Harry continued running, but suddenly tripped and he blacked out. When he finally came to, he found himself alone. He hollered, "Ron! Hermione! Mackenzie! Where are you lot? Annabeth! Jackson!"

There was no answer, he was well as truly alone. Harry drew his wand and began looking around him, moving slowly and carefully. Suddenly, there was a rustle of leaves somewhere to his right and he spun around, facing that direction. He didn't see anything, but he didn't relax in the slightest. Another rustle sounded, and it came from behind him. Once again, he spun around, and saw nothing.

After a tense minute, he had a bad feeling and suddenly ducked as something swiped the air where his body used to be. He rolled and found himself facing a massive creature that had a man's face, a lion's body and a scorpion's tail.

Said tail launched a projectile, which Harry dodged. He rolled away, trying put some distance between them. In an instant, he turned his wand into a sword, parrying away another projectile. The now identified manticore slowly and steadily circled him and spoke in a thick French accent, "Bonsoir. I am Doctor Thorn. Hello 'Arry Potter. I know who you are. My client paid good money for this. I trust, you've seen my distraction? What delicious chaos those people have sown."

Another projectile launched from his tail, and Harry dodged yet again. He kept trying to get the manticore to talk, trying to buy himself time. Then an idea struck him. He pointed his sword at the monster, before turning it skyward and shooting out red sparks.

Suddenly, his right shoulder exploded in pain as a projectile buried itself there. Gritting his teeth, he pulled it out and staggered away, his legs getting heavier with each step. Thorn tailed him, looking like he was in no hurry. He coolly said, "Don't worry mon ami, this will not kill you. My client thinks that you are much more valuable than that."

Harry kept staggering and slowly shucked off his backpack. He then spotted Ron in the distance as he fumbled through the bag. The redhead spotted him and his eyes widened at the sight of the manticore. That was the only thing preventing Ron from running to his aid. Harry's hand then closed around the object he was looking for and flung it towards Ron with his last remaining strength. Finally, his vision turned black and he crumpled to his knees and fainted.

Ron stared, absolutely frozen in terror as he saw the scorpion-like monster use his tail to scoop up the unconscious Harry and make off with him. So he did the next best thing, he hollered at the top of his voice, "HELP! HARRY'S BEEN KIDNAPPED! HARRY POTTER'S BEEN KIDNAPPED!"

He then rushed forward and picked up the object that Harry threw in his direction. It was a hunting horn, and the redhead knew immediately what he had to do. He raised the horn to his lips and blew a loud, long blast.

So this chapter is a little longer than I would have liked. I know I usually switch to the PJO storyline immediately after finishing the HP storyline, but adding the Quidditch World Cup scenes from Goblet of Fire was crucial to kick-start the Titans Curse arc. Especially since Nico and Bianca were rescued way earlier than usual.