Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its related works. The rights to the books, movies, and everything else belong to J.K. Rowling and her many business affiliates. This is a fan made work of fiction that will never earn me a single penny. Now buy something official so you can support the woman who made this world possible for us to play in and explore.
Harry Potter And The Game of Death
Level 1
Chapter Thirty-Six: Setting the Field
It was the day of the Quidditch World Cup. The final match that would decide it all. And after a hard-fought series of matches, with the toughest match coming against Uganda's defensively brilliant team, Harry and the other players on England's national squad had won the right to be in it.
The nation's papers were going ballistic. Case in point, the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly had made a joint game-day edition featuring over one-hundred-fifty articles on the team. Harry's teammates had been clustered around the paper when he and Sirius had Apparated to the stadium, and the group had eagerly pointed out their favourite articles. Half of which had been about Harry's theoretical love life, much to his consternation and his teammate's amusement.
But more importantly than that, with his team in the title match, everything was finally in place for Harry to stop Malfoy's plans to attack the World Cup.
They had a plan. They had the people to carry it out. Everyone was in position. And the Game of Death's penultimate hint could appear at any moment, while Hestia or one of the others could spot Malfoy's goons at any time as well.
Which meant the only thing Harry could do now was to wait. Something which made Harry grit his teeth and clench his fists, for waiting had never been one of his strong suits.
As he walked down one of the stadium's corridors on his way to the team locker room, Sirius bumped Harry's shoulder. "Penny for your thoughts, kiddo? Your face looks like you bit into an overripe melon."
Harry glanced at his godfather and looked away. The corridor was filled with people going both directions, none of whom he knew, so Harry did not want to say what was really on his mind. Instead, he gave a shrug and a short, "I'm fine. Just a little agitated, I guess."
"Ah. Worried about the big game, are you? Or is it because of the side project we started back at home?"
Harry felt a wave of gratitude well up inside his chest at the older man's words. Trust Sirius to come up with a clandestine way to refer to stopping a Death Eater attack on innocent civilians.
"The latter, I suppose," Harry said softly. His left hand curled into a fist as he spoke. "After all, if the others aren't careful with it, someone could really get hurt."
"And you'd like to be there with them. Is that it?"
It was. And it was eating him up on the inside to not be in the thick of things with Hermione and the others.
His thoughts probably showed on his face, for Sirius chuckled softly and ruffled Harry's hair. "Don't worry about it so much, kiddo. We've got good people working on it in our absence, and it's not like you didn't help set everything up, right? Besides, the only reason the project can complete at all is because of you. You know I'm not the biggest fan of it, but without your special gift the project would never have come about, and who knows what might have happened?"
Well, that was a rhetorical question if Harry had ever heard one. And after years of being the butt of such questions with Snape, Harry was not very fond of them. Even if Sirius was doing a good job of taking the sting out of it.
"That doesn't make me feel any better, Sirius," Harry snapped with a pointed glare.
"Maybe, maybe not. But think of it this way," the dark-haired man replied jovially. "You have a gift, albeit a troublesome one, and you used it to effect a change. One which will probably lead to a positive outcome. And now all you need to do is play in a game most kids your age would kill to be in. So, when the next bit of information falls into your lap, just pass it on to me and focus on the match. Because we all have our parts to play today, and it doesn't do you any good to wish otherwise."
Harry looked at his godfather and grimaced sourly.
He hated it, but Sirius was right. Grousing about things like he was right now would not change anything. He had already added Remus, Hermione, and Sirius into his 'Party' so they could communicate with each other. Which meant that unless the Game of Death suddenly gave him new abilities, or Malfoy tried to attack someone right in front of him, Harry had done all that was within his power to do at this time.
After a moment's thought, he nodded to Sirius and bumped the older man's shoulder in quiet thanks. Then did his best to keep his balance when Sirius enthusiastically bumped his shoulder in return.
When Harry finally opened the door to the team locker room, ready to put his full attention on the upcoming match, a familiar noise from the Game of Death rang out in his mind.
Ding!
Quest Notification
I, Seeker
Progress:
You Have Fought Your Way Through the Competition and Stand at the Cusp of the Quidditch World Cup Final
Quest Rewards:
60,000 Galleons for Your Six Previous Victories (To be Deposited into Your Gringotts Account at a Future Date by the Ministry of Magic's Department of International Magical Cooperation), a Giant Boost to Your International Fame (You are now 'Somewhat Known' Throughout the Entire Magical World), and a 'Hint' for the 'Attack on the World Cup' Quest (Select 'Hint' to View the Information in a Separate Screen)
Win More Games for More Rewards
Quest Reward Update:
One Final Clue Will Be Given at the Conclusion of the Quidditch Match.
Detailed Information Will Be Given for a Win, while Losing Shall Only Provide Basic Information
"Well, here goes nothing," Harry murmured upon reading the Game's latest notification.
Steeling himself for what was to come, he looked up at Sirius and gave the man a subtle nod.
His godfather got the signal and began to cough loudly. Selling the act with the chops of a lord of the theatre, he grabbed the shoulder of a nearby ministry official and bumped into several nearby bystanders.
As the attention of everyone nearby shifted to his godfather, Harry selected 'Hint'. The information popped up in front of his eyes while the coughing Sirius loudly began to ask for a glass of water to soothe his suddenly aching throat.
Ding!
Quest Hint
Yaxley and Morgan, under Polyjuice disguises, have already arrived at the tournament's location. Their goal is to gain control over the defensive spell wards placed on the tournament grounds by employing a Dark Artefact currently in their possession. This will be done by fusing it to the Ward's control node located in the stadium's security command centre.
Destroy the Artefact or otherwise prevent it from being used to completely end this quest.
Harry had to give it to the Game of Death; the thing might be foggy as the Scottish Highlands at times, but it was certainly clear and direct in the 'hints' it provided. With this information, Harry now had confirmation of the Death Eaters' presence, their destination, and how to go about defeating them for good.
After absorbing the information and figuring out how best to relay it, Harry made a show of having difficulty with something at his locker and called out to Sirius for help. Harry's godfather made his way over, a glass of water in hand, and Harry hurriedly whispered the information into the man's ear.
Ginny sighed to herself as she followed her family through one of the stadium's many tunnels. Thanks to some tickets her father had received from a coworker, she and the rest of her brothers still at Hogwarts would be watching the game from the Minister's booth today rather than from Sirius' private box. Ginny would rather have been there with Hermione and the others as they had been doing throughout the tournament, but her mother had insisted they not show any disrespect to her father's coworker by refusing the invitation.
To make matters worse, her father had had the bright idea to go camping the night before the game. So rather than sleeping at home and going to the Stadium grounds with Hermione like usual, Ginny had woken up in an old tent smelling of mothballs and cat piss, and her three brothers already driving her batty with their opinions about the match.
In short, Ginny was having a miserable day, and it was not about to get better any time soon. If it weren't for the fact that Harry was playing in the Cup, she might have considered pretending she was sick to get out of it all.
But Harry was playing in the Cup. That fact, more than anything else in the world, enabled Ginny to put up with the foolish nonsense which had been foisted upon her thus far. And which would undoubtedly increase before the day was over.
After they showed their tickets to an Auror stationed at the door to the booth and were let inside, Ginny ran to the nearest window to see if she could see him.
It was much too early, but she could always hope for an unscheduled appearance, right?
"Arthur! Thanks for joining me in the Minister's booth today," a man's voice boomed out gregariously. Clad in a bizarre assortment of Muggle sporting gear, a sandy haired man she had never met walked over to her father and gave him a hearty handshake. "I truly owe you for your assistance with my brother the other day."
Ginny watched as her father doffed his head and smiled politely. "It was nothing, Ludo. Just a small spot of trouble that was easily sorted. Nothing worth getting tickets to the final match of the Cup."
"But I beg to differ! Things are looking stupendously bright in my life right now, and even a single cloud in the sky would be one too many. I still consider myself to be in your debt, so don't hesitate to ask me for something in the future."
Laughing, Ludo Bagman – for now that her father had mentioned his surname, Ginny was able to figure out his identity – turned to face Ginny and the rest. "And these are your lovely children I assume. But why so few? I thought I gave you seven tickets total, but I only see four of them."
"Ah. Yes, well, my apologies for that, Ludo. I could only bring the four of them. My two oldest are currently working abroad, while the third recently joined Bartemius' department and is somewhere in the stadium as we speak. I gave the extra tickets to him, though, so he and his lovely girlfriend might make an appearance at some point. But allow me to introduce you to my four youngest."
Arthur Weasley smiled broadly as he placed an arm around each of the twins' shoulders. "These are my boys Fred and George, the other boy is my son Ron, while Ginny is my sole girl, and the youngest."
"A pleasure to meet you all," Bagman said as he shook each of their hands in turn. "By the way, I've heard tell that Harry Potter is great friends with you all. Is that true?"
"Yeah. Harry and I've been mates since the first day of school," Ron said proudly.
"While we," the twins chimed in unison, "play on the same Quidditch team at school."
"And I know him, too. If, erm, not as well as I'd like," Ginny said quietly, uncertain of what to say but refusing to be left out of things.
"Splendid! How absolutely splendid!" Bagman replied genially. The man gave a clap as he laughed happily. "Hearing that only makes me happier. The boy and I have become quite close since we met, you see, so any friend of his is a friend of mine."
"Would that happiness extend to making a friendly wager on the outcome of the match?" Fred said with a toothy grin. "George and I've been itching to get in on the action, and we've heard you and your assistant are the men to see."
Hearing her brother phrase it like that made Ginny wince. The twins might be brilliant and great at practical jokes, but when it came to boldness, they could stand to turn it down a notch or two. Especially when one of their parents was nearby.
Sure enough, their dad went red in the face at the boy's words. "Fred, George! Enough of that nonsense. Your mum and I've told you not to waste your time with that sort of thing."
"But dad–" the twins objected.
"But nothing. Our word is final, and there will be no gambling." Smiling sheepishly, Ginny's father turned to face Bagman. "Please, forget what they said, Ludo."
"Nothing to worry about there, Arthur. Lads will be lads, am I right?" Waving a hand in an airy manner, the man leaned in close to the four kids. "While I won't take any of your money out of deference to your father, I'll see if I can arrange a special surprise for you all should Harry win the match. Does that sound okay?"
"What would that be?" George asked suspiciously.
"And would it get us any gold?" Fred followed up.
"Nope. No golden galleons or anything else of the sort," Bagman said with a shake of his head. "Just an opportunity to greet the winning team before anyone else and maybe take the field with the winners."
Ginny felt her heart stop at the man's words.
"We'll take it!" Ginny blurted out, almost jumping in joy as she spoke. But when everyone's eyes turned to look at her, especially the twins' eyes which gleamed with dark amusement, Ginny felt herself blush hot enough to cook a brisket.
Feeling somewhat foolish of her rather obvious outburst, she straightened her shoulders and attempted to restate her position a little more eloquently. "Erm, um, I mean, thank you, sir. We would be, erm, happy – I mean, honoured, to accept it."
Bagman looked at her with narrowed eyes. Then, strangely, the man looked her over, causing her to blush even harder and her father to clear his throat in warning.
But Ginny was not worried about whatever it was that was bothering her father. Her worries were on something else entirely. Because unless she was wrong, yelling like that had publicly given away her feelings towards Harry. And she had no idea what this man before her might think of them.
"Oho. That's how it is, is it?" Bagman said softly. Straightening, the man began to rub his hands together in excitement as he looked at her with a big, toothy grin. "Arthur, I really cannot thank you enough for bringing your kids with you. Having you all here will complete the picture perfectly should young Harry bring us victory."
"It will? How?" Arthur said puzzledly, seeming to be confused by Ludo's change in tack.
"In a way that is certain to make the papers and go down in history! Now, please sit down and leave the details to me. I'll be back as soon as I finish arranging things. Li! Where are you? I've got an addition to the matter we spoke about earlier. And damn Bartemius if he objects, because this is pure entertainment gold!"
Clearly finished with them, Bagman ran off like a man possessed. Leaving behind the five Weasleys to stare at one another in confusion.
"Well, Ludo always has been an odd one," Arthur stated aloud as he started to guide them to their seats. "But it should be okay to let him do his thing. And if what he's after gives the four of you and Harry a pleasant surprise, then it'll be worth his penchant for the dramatic."
Along the way they passed a House Elf, several Aurors, and, worst of all, the Malfoys. After their usual batch of rude comments about Ginny's family and an angry retort from each of her three brothers, her father manged to shepherd them to their seats without further issue.
Ginny settled into her seat with a twin on either side. Then she reached below her seat to grab her complimentary Omniocular. Whereupon she started to started to play with its settings as she waited for Harry to make his appearance on the field.
Ding!
You Have Received a Messages from One of Your Party Members
Select to Read
"Bollocks!" Hermione cursed as the Game of Death's noise caused her to jump. She rubbed her eye sockets furiously, as the Omnioculars she had been holding had been shoved into her flesh upon being startled. "Professor Lupin, did you also…"
"Receive a message? I did. Let's read it now."
Hermione rubbed her eyes a little more before opening the message. Once she did, she saw that it was from Harry and proceeded to quickly read its contents.
A slight 'tsk' of annoyance escaped her lips when she reached the part detailing that Morgan and Yaxley had already made their way past the first line of defence.
After reading it over several times to commit the details to memory, Hermione looked towards Remus. "It looks like Phase 1 has failed. We'll need to recall Hestia and Dedalus and proceed to Phase 2, right?"
The werewolf professor sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Agreed. I'll advise them to return and meet up with myself and Andromeda. Hestia and I should be able to use our official credentials to get into the stadium's command centre, while Andromeda can use press passes to position herself and Dedalus nearby for backup."
Hermione nodded in agreement. She had really hoped they would be able to avoid using this backup plan since it placed them almost entirely on the defensive. But without a way to undo Polyjuice transformations, drawing in tight to protect the most vital area in the entire stadium was the best they could do under the circumstances.
Remus took out his mirror and contacted Hestia and Andromeda. While that happened, Hermione used the 'Party' feature to compose a message to Sirius and Harry to keep them in the loop.
After receiving an affirmative reply from everyone, including Sirius and Harry, the professor gave Hermione a pat on the shoulder and stood to leave.
"Keep an eye on things up here, okay? I've placed a few spells on the suite which should keep out anyone short of Dumbledore or Mad Eye… but contact me if you even think you might be in danger. And remember, if things go wrong, do not open this door for anyone whose identity you cannot verify."
"I will," Hermione said primly.
A flash of annoyance ran through her at the reminder. The man had repeated that mantra to her several times, and he should know her well enough to understand that she could grasp instructions the first time they were issued. "And please, watch out for yourself as well, professor."
Student and professor shared a quick smile. Then Remus made his way to the door and exited the booth while Hermione picked up her Omniocular and resumed her quiet vigil.
Harry fidgeted as he stood in the flight tunnel. The team had been hustled into it far earlier than had been done in the previous games, which had done nothing to help his nerves.
Thankfully, Harry was not the only one who seemed to be feeling nervous.
Captain Bronwen clutched her broom in a white knuckled grip. Malcom was muttering something his breath. Brian had a faraway look in his eyes as he stared at a wall. And Anabelle, who had just accidentally knocked Genevieve over, was apologizing profusely for being a clutz.
As for Alistair… well, the big Beater's accent was in full swing as the man sauntered amongst everyone else.
"Alright, lads and lassies, this is where it's all been leadin'." The man said in a gleeful tone. "It's th' moment of truth. Th' biggest time o' yer life. When all o' our 'ard work pays off. Th' time when th' men are separated from th' boys. When the girlies get –"
"Annoyed because a certain lumbering idiot won't stop blabbering?" Anabelle muttered pointedly as she finished patting Genevieive down.
"Yep. But only if they don't kill him first," Genevieve stated dryly.
"So say we all," Bronwen chimed in with a grin. "First woman to off the idiot gets my share of the winnings!"
"Och! Why d'ye 'ave t'be so cruel, lassies?" Alistair cried out as he placed a hand over his chest in mock pain. "Ah'm just tryin' ta lighten things up a wee bit is all."
"Then choose a different tack, moron! Like how you got shot down last night, hard, by the hot Veela at the bar after she turned you into a drooling mess."
"Oi! That there was a low blow, Annabelle. It's not mah fault that th' lady was nae interested in me; she 'ad a younger daughter wit 'er that ah didnae see when ah first approached 'er, and that changed everything."
"So, you're saying that any woman with kids wouldn't like you? Wow, way to cut down on your already slim dating pool."
"Whoa there. Don't go twistin mah words when I didnae say that, Genevieve!"
"Then be more precise with what you say! Real men don't leave a lady confused," Bronwen jabbed. "They say what they mean and mean what they say."
"And I do! Argh! Mah fellow men, ahm beginnin' ta suspect that there are no ladies on this team. Only shrieking banshees out ta eat mah soul."
Glad for the distraction, Harry watched with some amusement as Alistair was playfully ganged up on by the female members of the team. And though it had taken a much different track than the large man had aimed for, his antics were serving to lighten the group's pre-game atmosphere.
Though not even it could fully clear Harry's mind.
Despite all their precautions and planning, he had a nagging feeling they were still missing… something. Something important. And the lack of any certainty in the matter was maddening. Like something dangerous was right behind him, ready to pounce. Only when he turned around to look at it, nothing was there.
Maybe it really was just nerves before the big game. Or maybe it was just because Harry was not in the thick of things with everyone else like usual. Or maybe all that time with Trelawney last year had rubbed off on him and he was seeing signs of doom where there were none.
But whatever the case, the world did not seem to be interested in giving Harry the time he needed to figure it out. Ludo's magically amplified voice boomed into his ears, cutting off the antics of Harry's teammates and knocking him out of his thoughts.
"Aaaaaalright ladies and gentlemen, the moment we've all been waiting for is close at hand. Strap into your seats and get ready for some fun, 'cause here come the mascots!"
From her mother's box, Fleur Delacour huffed to herself as she watched the Bulgarian Veela march into the stadium. After a little dance and wave routine, the five-score crowd of beautiful ladies focused and combined their Allures in a manner that was illegal in thirty-four countries. Their Allure's combined, magnified, and exploded outward, blasting a nearly visible wave of magical energy into the cheering crowd.
The effects were immediate. Men of all ages began to leave their seats in a mad rush towards the field as they fell under the Allure's spell, their more basic instincts overriding what little mental power they might have previously possessed
A few, such as one redhead Fleur saw sitting in the Minister's official box, were held back by friends and family still in possession of their senses. While others, like a blonde-haired boy in the same box, broke free of any restraint and made a mad dash towards the field, only to get hit by a stunner in the back by a dark-skinned man wearing the robes of a British Auror, who was undoubtedly wearing a form of magical protection tailored for this event.
Appolline placed a hand on Fleur's shoulder as a runic barrier flared into life around the field to contain and filter the rampaging Allure. "Pay close attention, my daughter, to the men who are able to resist an unveiling such as this. Our power affects the male physiology on a basic, instinctual level. So those who are able to resist, even in part, are specimens worthy of our pursuit."
Fleur's lips curled as she watched the stupidity of the males continue to increase even with most of the Allure's power being filtered out. "Oui, maman. Zo eet eez 'ard to see any."
"Really? Then you are not paying close enough attention, my dear. Look closely at the Minister's box. I can see at least eight men who are resisting the Allure without the aid of any magicks, and two who seem to be completely unaffected."
Curious, Fleur looked more closely at the Minister's box as her mother had asked. Thanks to the greater eyesight of her Veela heritage, she was able to pick out details without the use of an Omniocular.
The redhead who had previously caught Fleur's attention drew her eye once more. The boy was being held back by his sister and father; the older man was clearly one of the two her mother had said was unaffected, as his eyes remained clear and alert. While two other redheaded boys standing nearby, clearly twins, fell into the resisting category.
Fleur gazed over the rest of the box, noting the various individuals her mother had mentioned. Only to give a huff after looking at every male in turn. "Eetz a pity, maman."
"How so?"
"None oof zem are to my taste. Most oof zem are much too old. And ze ozzers, zey are not to my liking."
"Hm. A pity indeed. But fear not, my little flower. I am sure that at least some of those at Hogwarts will be worthy of your pursuit. There are several hundred students there, half of whom are boys, and I expect you to have your pick of them before long."
That comment dragged a third huff out of Fleur. The likelihood of there being any boy at Hogwarts capable of meeting Fleur's exacting standards was low to say the least.
A chilly silence fell between them. During it, the Bulgarian players made a spectacular entrance onto the field. Magical fireworks went off in the air, with shining symbols that represented Bulgaria bursting into light. And when Viktor Krum made his appearance, soaring around the stadium on his Firebolt, the crowd itself was used to broadcast a likeness of his face.
Fleur leaned back in her chair as the roar of the crowd became distant to her ears. Her mind was not on the game. Instead, it was focused on what could come after.
Since her discussion with her mother, she had come up with a plan of her own. It would be risky. But if the plan worked… it could see dozens, or even hundreds, of lives spared from the coming storm.
But for now, all she could do was sit and wait for this plebian game to finish. And hope against hope that what she knew in her heart to be coming was just a figment of her people's imagination.
"That's enough out of you, Ron. The Veela dance is done," Ginny grumbled sourly. Her face ached from where her brother's flailing arm had slammed into it short moments ago. "Sit down before you embarrass me any further."
"Ginny, dear, don't get too mad at Ron. He was actually one of the better behaved of those who were affected," her father said genially. Arthur Weasley smiled wryly as he pointed to their right. "Look at Draco over there; the poor boy was halfway over the balcony before Kingsley was able to stop him."
She turned and looked over at where the Malfoys were standing. Sure enough, the younger of the two lay slumped in his chair. When his clearly annoyed father used a spell to revive Draco, the boy had a look of total disorientation writ wide across his narrow face.
In comparison, Ginny's brother only had a slightly goofy look on his face. One that was quickly turning to embarrassment.
The lanky boy gave a shudder as he sat down. "Bloody hell. That Allure thing they've got is no joke. I'm sorry for whatever I did while I was out of it, Ginny. And I am so glad Harry and Hermione weren't here to see this."
"Me too, brother dearest. A real shame to the bloodline you are," George said with a grin. Or at least Ginny thought it was George; she could never be fully certain.
"Absolutely," Fred continued. "Maybe we can banish him once we return home?"
"Shut it," Ron snapped back. The boy's face was now flushed with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. "You guys were affected too, right?"
"Yeah, but unlike you, we were able to control ourselves."
"Yep. Because we're strong of both body and mind. Right, Gin Gin?"
Ginny rolled her eyes upon seeing their puffed-out chests. The twins looked so proud of themselves to have avoided Ron's fate, but in her eyes they were not much better. "It was close. If you hadn't stopped moving after you stood up, I was ready to sic a Bat-Bogey Hex on the both of you."
"Then we thank you for being kind and merciful to us, oh wise and beloved sister."
"What he said, Gin Gin, but with twice the love added in. Because I'm your favourite big brother, right?"
"Whatever," Ginny said as she turned to look at the field. Her Bat-Bogey Hex had become infamous over the summer as her training had progressed, with all three of her brothers learning not to underestimate its power just because she was younger. "Stop picking on Ron and focus on the field. It's hard to think with the three of you blabbering nonstop, and it's almost time for Harry…"
When she spoke Harry's name, the world seemed to change.
Sound melted away. The brightness of day switched to the dark of a cave. And for a moment, a brief moment, Ginny's body felt as though it were not her own.
But the feeling faded away as quickly as it had come.
In the blink of an eye Ginny was back in her body while her three brothers continued to argue.
"Huh?" Bewildered, Ginny tried to focus on what had just happened.
Whatever it was had been no trick of her mind. While still only at the beginner level, her training with Occlumency had progressed over the summer. Enough to where she had learned the feel of her own mind and could form the most basic of mental shields to protect it.
Yet something had managed to penetrate her mind just a moments ago without causing her shields to so much as ripple in disturbance.
Curious and fearful in equal measure, Ginny began to run through a set of techniques to calm her mind and increase her focus.
They worked, and after a short period of time she was able to follow the instructions Bill's book had mentioned to perform when encountering such a situation. Which was to focus her thoughts, raise her shields, and study the pathways of her mind to see if any force had changed or altered them in anyway.
After a minute of fumbling, blindly searching for something words could not describe, Ginny found… something. Something which had not been present when last she had checked.
It was a… presence. Faint, but filled with a warmth that eased her soul.
She poked and prodded the thing to see if it would react.
When it did not, Ginny became more bold. She stretched out invisible hands to touch and caress it; sent inarticulate thoughts towards it to see if it would respond; even trapped it within a cage to see if it would do something.
Still it did not respond.
Puzzled and stunned, Ginny ran through her mind over the possibilities of what could have caused this strange situation. And gasped when she realized what it could mean.
It was Harry! It had to be him. As to why, or how, a part of him was there, inside of her mind, Ginny was not sure. Regardless of the answer, however, Ginny was not going to object.
Not only because it was part of the boy whom she loved with every fibre of her being. But because closer inspection had revealed the warm presence was currently filled with fear and worry.
Ginny opened her eyes and blinked. Huh. So even Harry could get nervous before a big game. At the Hogwarts matches he had always seemed so cool and composed. As though his victory was assured the moment he took the field.
But this was the title match of the Quidditch World Cup. The biggest game of them all! If any game were able to cause Harry to feel nervous and scared, this would be it.
That was when an idea occurred to her.
It was a dangerous one. One which went against most of what the book on Occlumency had said was safe for someone at Ginny's level of ability.
But if she and Harry really were bonded… and if this was a sign that the bond between them was starting to become active… then the idea should be safe.
Ginny closed her eyes once again. A smile graced her lips as she began to reach into the part of Harry within her mind.
"Alright team. This is it! Final gear check. Make sure that you and the person to your right are ready to go. Then board your brooms and get ready to fly higher, faster, and harder than you've ever flown before!"
Captain Bronwen's voice boomed out as Harry and the rest moved to follow her orders. After checking his own gear and finding it to be good, Harry looked to his right and saw Brian looking back at him. The wiry Chaser gave Harry a thumbs up and turned around so Harry could check his gear.
Aside from a loose buckle on his left shoulder protector that Harry quickly fixed, the man was good to go. Annabelle then checked Harry's gear and gave his helmeted head a gentle blow to say that he too was clear.
Harry took a deep breath and straddled his broom. But rather than the normal feeling of liberation he would feel upon leaving the ground and riding a broom, the moment he touched it something felt… different.
It was strange, but Harry could have sworn that at that moment someone's arms had folded around him. Giving him a feeling of safety and security Harry had not felt since… well, ever, so far as he could remember.
Ding!
Someone Close to You Has Made a Temporary Spirt to Spirit Connection
Study Occlumency to Receive More Detailed Information
Okay… that was a new notification. One that Harry was not certain how to feel about.
Before Harry could try to investigate it any further, the signal to go came through. He put the notification away and watched as his teammates left the tunnel one by one at maximum speed, with the faint sounds of the stadium crowd echoing within the corridor.
Fifteen seconds after the last of his teammates had gone, Harry turned on the acceleration and shot into the air.
Yaxley gave a slight 'tsk' as he looked ahead.
With the aid of Polyjuice potions and some forged credentials, he and Morgan had managed to penetrate the most secure level of the stadium. The closest they had come to being stopped had been when a clearly suspicious Andromeda Tonks had tried to halt them after through the first security check. But the blood traitor had failed when Yaxley had cleverly used the Imperius to make a Ministry worker halt the woman and her companion long enough for Morgan and himself to make a clean getaway.
Now, all that stood between them and their goal was a solid metal door that brimmed with spells.
Well, that and four Aurors. None of whom were supposed to be present according to their intel. Which was a major problem.
Coming to a stop, Morgan pretended to fiddle with something stored within his robes. "What do we do now? We need to fuse the item Malfoy gave us into the Wards as soon as possible… but taking out four Aurors this early on might cause too much of a scene."
Yaxley nodded. His eyes wandered around the hallway one more time before he went over to Yaxley and pretended to help him untangle something. "We'll have to improvise. Let's send Lucius a message that we've been delayed and that the item won't be in place until after the match is over."
"Isn't that cutting things close? Security might be tight now, but at least we're cleared to be here. Our passes won't cover the post-game security shifts."
"Yes. But the alternative is we gut the guards, break into the room, kill the people inside, and then pray to every Dark power we know that no one else comes along before we can get out." Yaxley gave a grunt as he thought the situation over. "I don't like the odds of that happening. Too much could go wrong."
"I disagree. The longer we remain still, the more likely it is that things could go wrong. And we only have enough Polyjuice doses to last five more hours. Time which we might need to make our escape unnoticed."
"That's definitely a problem. But if the Aurors follow standard procedure, they'll reduce the contingent half an hour after the game ends. And if we ration our doses by ducking out of sight and hiding, we can probably squeeze out another hour or two. It would be cutting things close for our escape, but still fall within our expected operational timeframe."
"Just barely," Morgan said with a quiet huff. "But alright. I'll find a quiet spot to use and update Lucius. Should take me fifteen minutes to do it without tripping the communication wards."
Yaxley nodded. "Then I'll wait here and keep an eye on things while you're gone."
"Agreed. I'll establish our cover with the Aurors on guard before I go, so if we come back sooner than planned, they won't be suspicious."
"Good idea. We'll meet at the last junction we passed."
Their discussion finished, the disguised Morgan made his way towards the Aurors. The man flashed his falsified security badge at the group and asked if they could direct him to the nearest lavatory. Which, of course, one of them did. The Auror, a brown eyed Mudblood, even offered to escort Morgan there, but the disguised Death Eater wisely laughed it off and strode away after thanking them for the assistance.
It was a pathetic sight which made the bile in Yaxley's stomach churn.
Had he wanted to, he could have easily taken all four of the Aurors out. They were supposed to be guarding the area and keeping an eye out for suspicious things, but so focused were they on Morgan that the entire group failed to notice a disgusting rodent which scurried along the floor behind them, its beady eyes squinted in fear as it darted towards a tiny hole in the wall.
"Of course any place guarded by Aurors would be infested by rats and mice," Yaxley muttered to himself as he watched the rodent disappear. "I'd bet half my fortune the room behind them is full of the blighters."
Which, in its own way, was a rather amusing thought. Yaxley smiled to himself as he pictured Amelia Bones and the rest of her Aurors dressed up in rat outfits and nibbling blocks of cheese like the vile vermin they were.
The image entertained him long enough for Morgan to make his way back from the loo. The two of them even shared a laugh over it as they moved to a safer location.
A/N: I'm back! And I am very happy to say that, with this chapter going live, the rest of Level 1 will roll out monthly until it is completely. Additionally, for everyone who has been reading this story prior to 1/4/2024, I thank you with all my heart for giving this story a read, hoping that it would someday be completed (and trust me, work on Level 2 is well underway by this point).
My apologies in advance to those of you who commented on the previous chapters 36 &37 and now find yourself unable to comment on the new ones; in the course of my edits, I ended up combining chapters 23/24 and deleting another one entirely. You can leave a comment on chapter 38, which is live.
The next few chapters are packed with action as I loosen the chains with which I've bound both the story and myself.
Stay Safe and Healthy!
~Elsil