Chapter 56

Hiya Ollie,

Fred wanted to let you know, Dad was able to get Hermione's coming with you that we'd make sure she got you at the Finals!

Fredand George

Oliver laughed and shook his head as Errol shook himself, still recovering from his crash landing even though Oliver had already plucked the letter from his talons and read it. Reaching into his pocket once more, he retrieved the ink and quill. This time he didn't bother erasing the ink already there, but penned his response below it.

Hello Fred, Hello George,

You're late. See you when you get here I hope.

Oliver

He had just sent Errol off with his reply when an eagle owl swooped over head, causing him and Viktor to look up as it dropped something in Oliver's lap before it flew off again

Viktor looked over and laughed as he watched Oliver blink at the sealed letter. "You are very popular today," he said.

Oliver stared at the seal on the letter and swallowed over the lump that formed in his suddenly dry throat.

"Vell?" Viktor asked. "Are you going to open it?"

It was then that Oliver realized he'd begun shaking with anticipation as he watched the scroll shudder. Moving swiftly, he broke the seal and unfurled the scroll. Suddenly, Oliver jumped up and cheered loudly, waving the letter as he danced around. He heard a shout from across the field and looked up to see that his sudden loud shout had startled one of the Peruvians to crash into another when they were expecting a quiet practice. "Sorry!" Oliver called and waved when the Peruvian captain began yelling, and then let out another loud cheer, raising his hand with the letter in it before he sat down again and joined Viktor in a laugh.

"It is good news I take?" Viktor asked and Oliver showed him the letter. "Nice. Looks like one day we vill be competing after all."

Oliver was glowing with excitement that he was barely able to contain. "I am sorry, Viktor," he said after nodding. "But I really must go. Perhaps I will see you around some time before the Finals?"

Viktor nodded. "Take care," he said.

"You too," Oliver said and ran off, heading back to the campsite, dodging the growing throng of witches and wizards as the day of the finals drew closer.

"Mum, Dad!" Oliver yelled before he was even close to their tent. "Mum, Dad!"

"Yes, Oliver?" his mother cried urgently as she scurried out of the tent. "What is it? Is everything all right?"

"What is it son?" his dad asked coming out behind her as Oliver skid to a stop in front of them. His worry grew as Oliver then doubled over. "Son?"

Doubled over, his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath from his run all the way to their campsite frominsidethe pitch, Oliver panted for breath and thrust his fist out where he held a now crumpled letter.

"What's this?" his dad asked, taking the letter from him and reading it before he began to laugh.

"Oh for goodness sake, Hickory! What is it?" Oliver's mother asked. "Oliver here about gave me a heart attack and now you're laughing?"

Hickory handed her the letter when he caught his breath and could rein in his laughter. "Calm down, Juni, its good news!"

She gave him a doubtful look but took the letter from them and glanced over it before she began reading it aloud, her voice increasing in volume and pitch as her excitement grew.

Puddlemere United

In association with the British and Irish Quidditch League

From the desk of Philbert Deverill

Dear Mr. Wood,

On behalf of Puddlemere United, I would like to thank you for your application and your patience. Many apply seeking a position on our team. Being the first professional Quidditch team, we have to put a lot of thought and scrutiny into choosing from those applicants who will best fill the available and reserve positions on our team.

After careful consideration and thorough research into your background with Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, including but not limited to becoming Captain of your house team, we would like to offer our congratulations on your acceptance to our reserve team.

With the Quidditch World Cup upon us, our training season is delayed but we would be happy to welcome you to our first practice on September 8th at 10 am. If you're uncertain of our location, since we keep it secret due to the close location with several Muggle towns, you may be happy to know that Puddlemere is a wizarding village located in Dorchester triangulated between the Muggle towns of Fordington, Piddlehinton, and Puddletown. Our pitch is concealed by disillusionment and Muggle repelling charms in Puddletown Forest.

If you have any questions, please feel free to send an owl, otherwise we look forward to seeing you on September 10th.

Sincerely,

Philbert Derverill

"Oh, Oliver!" his mother exclaimed when she finished reading. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you, mum!" Oliver said as she hugged him.

"Now we mustreallycelebrate this after the finals," she said. "Isn't that right, Hickory?" she asked, giving her tall, burly husband a stern look.

"Yes, of course dear," Oliver's father said.

"Meaning you'll take time off of work?" his mother asked.

"Yes, Juniper," he said with a sigh. "I have some vacation coming up anyway, I can take a few more days off."

"Good," Juniper said with a nod, her dark brown shoulder length hair falling into her face at the movement.

"So was practice over?" his father asked.

"No, not really," Oliver replied. "Though I don't think the Peruvians want me back to watch anymore."

"Oh? How come, dear?" his mother asked. "It never seemed to bother anyone before."

"Yeah, well," Oliver explained. "I guess that tends to happen when you're too distracting."

"How were you distracting when you were just watching?" his father asked.

Oliver blushed with embarrassment. "On account of making noise when they weren't expecting it. I was yelling and cheering when I first read the letter. I made the Peruvian Chaser crash into one of their Beaters. The Captain wasn't too pleased."

Hickory Wood erupted in a deep belly laugh, one that shook his entire six foot burly frame.

"So what are your plans for the day then?" his mother asked after rolling her eyes and shaking her head at her husband.

"I was thinking of wandering around the camp ground and maybe checking out the woods," Oliver said. "The match with Ireland against Peru isn't until later this afternoon. Who knows, maybe I'll run into Viktor Krum again."

"You met Viktor Krum?" his father asked in surprise.

Oliver nodded with a grin. "Nice guy," he said with a wave before heading off.

Ireland flattened Peru securing their match with Bulgaria. Oliver had wondered why Viktor had seemed so relaxed earlier that day. Turned out that he was trying to find out which team he would be facing in the finals, Bulgaria having already secured their spot with a solid defense when they won twelve seasons in the Eastern European Championships. Oliver guessed that Viktor had been so relaxed and chatted with him so much earlier not only because he'd seen him watching other practices, but because he must not have really thought of Peru as a threat even if they won over Ireland due to the crash Oliver's shout had caused.

Oliver's excitement grew the closer the finals came. He saw Viktor over the course of those few days and they became fast friends regardless of the occasional barbs that one day they might face each other on the pitch. Each day he found himselflookingfor things to do to keep him distracted when Viktor was busy and unavailable to talk. He felt like he was hopped up on Chocoballs, Sugar Quills and Chocolate Frogs. When he was awake, he always had to be moving, or he felt like he was going to go crazy with anticipation; not just for the finals themselves, but the possibility of seeing Hermione again. He groaned as he remembered with dread how Hermione had chewed him out for his overzealous attempt at pleasantries when he met her parents. He hoped the same would not happen with her when she met his parents.

"Harry!" Hermione asked urgently when she entered Ron's room at the Burrow to wake them up and found Harry in the throws of a nightmare. "Harry, are you all right?"

Harry groaned and squinted against the brightness coming from the candle she held in her hand and reached for his glasses, blinking in the semi-darkness of the room. "Hermione," he said relief filling his voice. "Bad dream. When did you get here?"

"Just now," Hermione replied as she headed to Ron's bed. "You?"

"Last night," Harry answered.

"Wake up! Wake up, Ronald," she called to the red headed boy who grumbled and rolled over .

"Bloody hell," Ron exclaimed sleepily when he realized Hermione was in his room, and pulled his blanket higher.

"Honestly!" Hermione said and rolled her eyes. Get dressed and don't go back to sleep. Your mum says breakfast is ready!"*

Hermione turned and headed back out into the hall, but not before she heard Ron groan again and then grouse, "What is she evendoinghere, Harry?"

Hermione had to stop herself from turning around and laying into him as she sucked in a breath as his words struck her. Instead, she shouted "Come on!" and hurried back down the stairs to help Mrs. Weasley with breakfast. It wasn't long before Hermione and a yawning Harry and Ron followed Mr. Weasley, the twins, and Ginny through the pre-dawn light over the moor.

"Ron, where are we going?" Hermione heard Harry ask tiredly as they stumbled along.

"No idea," Ron replied and yawned again. "Dad, where are we going?"

"Haven't the foggiest," Mr. Weasley answered briskly. "Keep up."

Hermione hurried up to him in surprise, leaving Harry and Ron behind. "You don't know where we're going?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Mr. Weasley didn't stop, but turned and winked at her. "Well, notspecifically," he whispered to her. "But not to worry. It won't be long now."

Just after sunrise, though still early, they met up with two others, and Hermione's suspicions about identity of the Hufflepuff seeker who had been hurt in the match against Gryffindor last year when the dementors had attacked during the game where confirmed when Mr. Weasley introduced them as Amos Diggory and his son, Cedric.

The Diggorys, Hermione found, had more information on where they were headed, and whatexactlythey were looking for.

"We're looking for an old boot apparently," Cedric told her as they walked, coming out of the trees at the bass of a steep hill. "Up there," he said pointing to the top.

"Ah," Mr. Weasley said catching up with them. "Stoatshead Hill."

Where this old boot was located at the top was anyone's guess though, and the first thing they had to do was climb. In a way, Hermione felt sorry for Ron, and his brothers, their shoes were worse for the wear than hers were and, she found her self really wishing she'd brought a more suitable pair as they slipped over tufts of grass and stumbled over hidden rabbit holes. She thought sure she'd twisted her ankle at least once on the way up, and was panting for breath and holding a stitch in her side as she crested the top

"Found it!" Mr. Diggory called after a few moments when they'd reached the summit and split up to look, finding lots of discarded items there. Mr. Weasley had thought it best to split up and look since the time was counting down swiftly to the moment that it was scheduled to depart and they didn't want to miss it. Everyone gathered around Mr. Diggory as he held up the ratty old boot with the sole hanging loose.

"Come on, gather round everyone," Arthur said. "Closer now. Don't want to miss it. Come on, we all need to touch it. Just a finger will do."

Hermione found herself pressed in between Harry and Mr. Diggory as she reached out to touch the boot.

She felt a yank in her navel as though someone had grabbed her with the hook and was pulling her forward as the world spun and blurred around her.

"Let go!" Mr. Weasley shouted.

"What?" Hermione cried in panic, not feeling the ground beneath her feet any more.

"Let go!" Mr Weasley shouted again. "Now!"

Against her better judgement, Hermione found herself releasing the boot, not wanting to be left behind if she didn't. She was correct though, when she found herself falling through the air along with Harry, Ron, Ginny and the twins. They landed on the ground hard and Hermione grimaced, carefully rotating her wrist to loosen up the tightness after she used her hands to catch herself, preventing her head from slamming into the ground. She sat up slowly, and looked around to see Harry and the others still collecting themselves and getting to their feet. Looking around she didn't see Cedric, his father or Mr. Weasley. Looking up, she was stunned to see them descending as though they were walking on air. She blinked and shook her head, looking again, but they were beside[ her in the next moment, Mr. Weasley helping her to her feet.

"You all right there, Hermione?" Fred asked coming up behind her on one side when he noticed her gingerly rotating her wrist.

"Not hurt, are you?" George asked, coming up on her other side.

"No. No," she said, continuing to rotate her wrist. "Just a little sore. I think I may have jammed it when we landed. I'll be okay soon."

"Oh, good," George said with a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, Ollie would have killed us if you got hurt."

Hermione blinked at them in surprise, but they just smiled and headed off to catch up the others. She found herself quite far behind and missed what apparently had been a conversation about directions from a wizard in a tweed suit wearing galoshes and another in a kilt with a poncho. She waved to them, motioning to the Weasleys as she hurried passed them to catch up with the twins.

Hermione finally caught up with them when a cottage came into view over the misty moor and she saw Harry looking nervously between Mr. Weasley and a Muggle man who was watching them. Hermione looked at Harry in confusion as she went by to wait by the twins.

"What's going on?" she whispered to them, making sure to keep her tone low.

"Dad's having trouble with paying that Mu -" Ron began to explain loudly catching her question but then gasped, looking decidedly sick as George elbowed him sharply in the stomach.

"Quiet, you idiot!" Fred hissed as Hermione glared at the younger boy.

"Honestly, Ronald," she scolded. "Are you still asleep, or do you not have sense at all?"

"Sorry," Ron said looking perfectly chastised. "I meant," he said glancing to the man to make sure he was distracted before he continued, his voice lower now, "that dad's having trouble paying that man for the campsite. He has Harry helping him."

"He thinks we're foreigners," George said quietly.

"That's not all bad," Hermione admitted and as she watched, she saw a wizard in plus-fours appear by the man's front door out of thin air.

"Obliviate!" the wizard said sharply, his wand at the man she had been about to warn, causing her to jump, her eyes wide. Immediately, Hermione's mind went to Gilderoy Lockhart, their second year Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who she had learned from Harry and Ron had oblivated himself with Ron's broken wand when he had tried to cast the charm on Ron and Harry, and ended up causing a cave-in that the boys had to dig through to get back out of the sewer system where they found the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets they had learned about that year.

"Will he be okay?" Hermione asked in concern as she saw the look on the man's face, as his eyes became unfocused and his expression changed from concerned to appearing dazed, as though he was sleep walking.

"A map to your campsite, and your change," the man said, handing them to Mr. Weasley.

"Thanks very much," Mr. Weasley said.

Hermione jogged along to keep up with the wizard in plus-fours as he accompanied them to the gate of their campsite.

"Will he be okay?" she asked again, since the wizard hadn't answered her question earlier when they were by the man's cottage.

"What?" the wizard asked, looking to her. She could tell by his appearance that he was exhausted. He had the unshaven growth that was more than five o'clock shadow; there was enough stubble to make his chin appear blue, he also had dark purple bruising under his eyes, evidence of not getting enough sleep."Oh. Oh, yes. Not to worry, we don't do very powerful spells when it comes to obliviating the Muggles that own the campground."

Hermione noticed that Mr. Weasley was paying attention on the wizard's other side when the man continued, "Been having a lot of trouble with him. Needs a Memory Charm ten times a day to keep him happy. And Ludo Bagman's not helping. Trotting around talking about Bludgers and Quaffles at the top of his voice, not a worry about Anti-Muggle security." Hermione turned and looked back at Ron over her shoulder with a glare and shake of her head before she turned away and continued to listen to the wizard. "Blimey," the wizard said with a weary sigh. "I'll be glad when this is over... See you later, Arthur."

Hermione blinked and he was gone.

"I thought Mr. Bagman was Head of Magical Games and Sports," Ginny said looking surprised. "He should know better than to talk about Bludgers near Muggles, shouldn't he?"

"He should," said Mr. Weasley, smiling and leading them through the gate into the campsite, "but Ludo's always been a bit...well...laxabout security. You couldn't wish for a more enthusiastic Head of the sports department though. He played Quidditch for England himself, you know. And he was the best Beater the Wimborne Wasps ever had."

Hermione couldn't agree with the girl more. She was still upset with Ron for nearly saying too much too loud, he could have had another strike against him by once more, breaking the International Statue of Secrecy, so she was grateful for the timing of the wizard who had accompanied them to the gate and took care of obliviating the Muggle, even though it had initially surprised and worried her. His timing couldn't have been more perfect.