I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
Extended Family
Chapter 152 – Then the Storm
Takes place directly after the last chapter.
There was a palpable energy in the air.
Magic had a distinct feel to it. When it was strong enough, even Muggles could feel it. To most it was a tingle, a sense of something else being there. Others could taste it. Some could hear it. Magic had a presence and when more Magicals were there or if a place was so infused with magic, it had a feel and a life to its own. A feel that could be heightened by emotion.
Trafalgar's Pitch was not just buzzing, it was humming. The stands were packed full of eager and excited people. The air seemed to vibrate from presence, sound, magic, and excitement, all in one. Not only did England win the last Cup, the returning team was very much the same. The team went from underdogs to Champions and last time it took a few games for England to build steam and momentum and to develop the faith and following of the watchers.
This time, no build up was needed.
The stands were full of mostly England's fans. Some wore the jerseys and paraphernalia they saved from the last Cup run, others wore the newer ones that had barely reached the market before the start of the placement games. Flags were waved and people sang and chanted the team name and the names of their favorite players. The sounds were so loud and prevalent, they easily penetrated the stone exterior of the walls and seeped even down into the locker rooms.
Oliver looked over everyone with a sense of deep satisfaction and barely-restrained excitement. Last time, they were nervous and rightfully so. Most of them had not played much together, usually against one another. But they were all united in purpose and found their teamwork and groove swiftly. Back then, there was a much smaller sense of expectation, knowing that any victory would be a successful World Cup attempt.
This time however, expectations were high. They were returning Champions and the fact that the team was very similar as their previously successful run was as much a detriment as it was a boon. Now they were expected to win. Now people knew that the Cup Championship was not out of their grasp or reach. They were now the favorites and failure would be even crueler now, the blame would be heavier.
All that said, the team that was there was not buckling under the strain nor the expectation. They were ready. They were excited. They were eager.
They were Champions.
And Oliver Wood loved it.
He whistled loudly and everyone stopped chatting and turned to him, their eyes bright and shining and hungry. He grinned, his usual easy-going expression with a hint of the same hunger and want and excitement. "Here it is!" he started.
"The big one!" nearly everyone replied and they all laughed.
"The one we've been waiting for," Oliver continued, his smile from ear to ear. "The first one we've been waiting for, the first of many running to the last. We've worked hard for this. We did the impossible last time and got England the World Cup for the first time in decades!" He led the applause.
"Which means, we can do it again," he said. "We can be one of the few that not only win it again, but back-to-back!"
"Back-to-back!" the team shouted.
"Remember, we're still a team in the end. We win together and we lose together. As long as we go out and do our best, we can walk away with pride no matter if we win or lose." He winked. "I rather us win of course, but I'm optimistic that way."
"I think it's our Cup and they'll have to earn it to take it away!" Shelia shouted.
"We got this!" Angelina yelled, fist in the air.
"England and the Cup!" Harry yelled.
"England and the Cup!" everyone shouted back.
"Let's go out there and remind them that we're Champions!" Oliver said to raucous applause and cheering. "And just like last time, show a little flair as you take the pitch."
"Pre-emptive sorry and I love you,' Harry said sheepishly.
Katie sighed and rolled her eyes and kissed him sweetly before headbutting him in the chest. "Yeah yeah, go on. Do your mad thing and give me heart palpitations."
"You give me those every day," he said, batting his eyes at her.
"Gross!" Angelina said. She pushed him in front of her. "There are other people here, you two!" She yelped and glared at Katie.
Katie glared back and put her wand in her wrist holster. She smiled lovingly after and sighed with heartfelt emotion. "I love my Harry."
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"Hello everyone! I am so glad to be here with all of you!" Kenneth's voice filled the air and the watchers in the stands cheered loudly. "I'm Kenneth Gapboat and once again, it is my distinct honor to be your announcer and commentator for this year's Quidditch World Cup!" He cheered with the crowd and the air vibrated from the sound of their voices.
"And I am even more excited about this year! I have had the pleasure of sitting in on a practice or two of Team England's and let me tell all of you, it is going to be an amazing Cup tournament! The Team is looking great and win or lose, it'll be another one for the history books!" His enthusiasm was infectious and the cheering somehow became even louder.
"Allow me to introduce the visiting team for the first placement match! Please welcome Team Switzerland! First, your Chasers: Agatha Baumann, Celia Aacker, and Dorian Bieri!" The three Chasers came flying out of their tunnel, wearing bright red jerseys with the flag on their chest and back and their names in white. They weaved around each other in a dazzling display of agility and stopped at the top of their hoops and waved both their arms to the cheers of the crowd.
"Your Beaters: Alexander Egger and Gian Fischer!" The Beaters came out, clacking their bats off each other in a spirited duel and zoomed around, puffing their chests out.
"Your Keeper: Captain Anna Berge!" Their team captain came flying out and she looked cheery and imposing in equal measure, flying elegantly and taking her position, waving energetically.
"Finally, your Seeker: Jacob Schmid!" The Seeker came rocketing out and flew around the pitch twice at incredible speed before returning to his team and looking the most intense of the lot.
"Looks like they're pretty confident," Tanya smiled.
"Let's show them how confident we are," Oliver said proudly.
"And now, introducing Team England!" Kenneth cried and the cheers got even louder. "First, your Chasers! Returning in their primary positions: Angelina Weasley, Ginerva Weasley, and Silas Selwyn!" The trio rocketed out of the tunnel and England cheered for their champions. They gasped at the debut of the SnowBolts, making them feel that much faster. Angelina weaved around the posts in a complicated pattern before stopping at the top hoop, her one foot resting on it. Ginny looped around them before flying through all the hoops with space to spare and took position on the right hoop. Silas flew around the left hoop in a tight spiral and came to a stop at the top and the three waved their arms at the adoring crowd.
"Your Beaters: Tanya White and Atton Alberts!" Atton repeated his feat from last time, flipping his bat around and catching it on his head and balancing it on his nose as he flew around at a fast pace, making the crowd laugh appreciatively. Tanya treated hers like a baton, twirling it and spinning it and throwing it high and catching it neatly before they took position slightly in front of the hoops, smiles for all to see.
"Your Keeper: Captain Oliver Wood!" Oliver flew out and soared low over the crowd, extending his hand to give high-fives to people reaching out. He flew around the pitch, clapping and cheering with the crowd and the fans and blew a large kiss to a particular box that was high up and nearly in the middle. He flew to the hoops and roared out loud like a lion, arms out and head back.
"And last but not least…" An expectant hush fell over the crowd and you could hear the smile in Kenneth's voice. "Your Seeker…Harry Potter!"
Harry came flying out of the tunnel, already surfing it, no attempt to hide it or appear otherwise. He balanced on the broomstick with his feet perpendicular, almost like he was standing firmly planted on the ground. By now, many have seen him do things like that but this time, he looked even more natural and comfortable. The crowd shrieked and roared as they saw him jump and kick the broom, his feet leaving it briefly as it spun around before he landed neatly. He too did a circuit around the pitch, waving to everyone and waved the hardest at the particular box before mounting the broom in mid-air and taking position with the rest of the team.
"And that's our Wind Rider!" Kenneth shouted while the crowd cheered the loudest yet. "Harry Potter is a master in the air and anytime you watch him fly is sheer delight! What a start to the game!"
"I love you and hate you, Rabbit!" Angelina shouted, pulling him close and kissing him on the cheek while tightening her grip around his neck with her arm.
"I love you though!" he gasped, half from exertion and half from pressure.
"'Let's show them how confident we are'," Ginny said mockingly. "I'm telling Mum you said that."
Oliver winced. "Hey come on, you know more than anyone that confidence on the pitch is half the game."
"There is confidence, then there is madness, then there is Potter," Silas said with a smile.
"One of these days, he's going to give me a heart attack and before I die, I'm going to kill him," Alicia growled under her breath, glaring beadily at Harry. "Insane bloody baby bird!"
"No matter how many times I've seen it, I can't get used to it," Jean said, rubbing her chest.
"Daddy is the best!" Dahlia and Iris and the other children in the box shouted and cheered, dancing up and down.
"You're not as mad as you usually are," Sirius observed.
"No reason to lose composure now without him within pinching and scolding distance," Andromeda said prosaically. "I will vent my ire when it is most efficient."
"Oh good, I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels that way," Samantha laughed. "I was wondering if I was becoming jaded."
"And here comes the referee team!" Kenneth said. The crowd became silent as the team took to the air while the head referee opened the box. "There goes the Bludgers, and the Snitch. He's throwing the Quaffle up and there's the whistle. THE RUN TO THE WORLD CUP STARTS NOW!"
As soon as the whistle was blown, the players flew into action. The Chasers swarmed for the Quaffle while the Keepers took positions in front of their goal posts. The Beaters started their own plays and the Seekers flew up into overwatch positions. England's black uniforms warred against Switzerland's red as the players jockeyed for position.
"Angelina Weasley will go by Johnson like usual to prevent any mix-ups with her teammate," Kenneth announced. "Aacker has the Quaffle, passes back to Bieri, back to Aacker and White knocks the Quaffle out of the sky with an amazing shot mid-pass! Recovery by Weasley and there she goes! Those new SnowBolts are living up to their names as she dodges the other Bludger and Baumann! Passes back to Selwyn and back to Weasley who dives low and-she can't possibly make the shot from below-yes she can! First score to Weasley! What an amazing shot from underneath the hoops and just gets it in! England is 10 up and it's the first score of the Cup run!"
Ginny waved happily as she took her victory lap and the players took their ready positions as the Quaffle was thrown out by Berge. Baumann caught it and took off at an angle with Aacker flying to screen for her.
"Baumann has possession and she dodges a shot by Alberts. Dives low, avoiding Johnson, and passes it Aacker. They're using what I am told is the Pendulum formation with two Chasers swinging back and forth and passing it between them. Nice dodge by Aacker, she throws it and it goes wide and-no it's a pass to Bieri! Bieri lines up for a shot and blocked by Wood!"
Oliver leaned out and managed to snag the Quaffle with his fingertips, bouncing it up and catching it neatly. He threw it hard and Silas caught it and tucked it underarm and zoomed off low. He weaved around a Bludger shot at him by Fischer. He flew up at an angle to avoid an interception run by Aacker and then suddenly spun around and threw the ball hard.
Angelina caught it and did a pin-point dive, dodging Bieri and Baumann easily, making them gape at the maneuver. She evened out and bent low over the broomstick, flying fast. She rolled, avoiding another Bludger and came up for a scoring run. Berge flew in a tight circle angling towards Angelina when she saw movement to her side and had to fly away at a sharp angle.
"Distraction by Potter and Johnson scores!" Kenneth shouted. "Potter distracts Berge with a classic spin run and Johnson ricochets the Quaffle off the leftmost goalpost and sinks it through the rightmost hoop with room to spare! England 20, Switzerland nil!"
"That's my girl!" George cheered from the box and led the chanting of Angelina's name with the children.
"Their teamwork has gotten better!" Daphne exclaimed, applauding happily.
Switzerland called a time out and the two teams clustered together for a quick break and meeting. "Good job everyone," Oliver praised. "How's everyone feeling, does anyone need a sub out?"
"Not right now," Silas said and everyone agreed.
"It's been a bit since we played them in the European League, right?" Ginny asked.
"Can't remember the last time," Atton nodded.
"You can have some fun then," Ginny said to Harry.
"Maximum distraction and interference?" Harry asked.
"Go for it," Oliver said. "But stop any run if you see your opposite starting to do anything specific."
"You got it," Harry said confidently.
"And game resumes!" Kenneth took a sip of tea to clear his throat. "And the Quaffle is out and Bieri has possession. Fischer is flying overwatch beside him and they're weaving about the pitch. Fischer is lining up a shot with the Bludger and-CLAPPING KELPIES!"
As soon as Fischer hit the Bludger, it flew towards his intended target of Angelina who was running an intercept course. However, Harry buzzed past as the Bludger was nearing the midpoint of the travel path and it veered towards him instead. Harry did an incredibly tight loop and the Bludger could not match the path. Instead, it barreled into Blaumann and Aacker who was also flying in to support Bieri and they had to scatter to avoid it. Tanya hit the Bludger back and it hit Bieri's side, making him drop the Quaffle and Angelina caught it neatly and flew off with it.
"Dangerous distraction play by Potter caused the Bludger to change targets!" Kenneth shouted and the crowd roared. "As we know, Bludgers can change targets if the hit makes them travel a minimum distance and they still haven't hit the target. Potter took advantage of that and buzzed it right when it hit the minimum distance, causing it to veer and scatter the other Swiss Chasers, letting White redirect the Bludger into Bieri! Now Potter is plowing the road for Johnson, screwing up any interception runs on her! She lines up a shot and scores! What a play!"
The game continued with almost no loss of energy or effort. Harry would make numerous runs to disrupt team Switzerland's formations and plays, resulting in many times where possession of the Quaffle was given back to England. He also did not ignore Schmid, leading the Swiss Seeker on fruitless chases. Eventually Schmid tried to do the same for his team, distracting and adding to plays, but he was not as successful as Harry. That said, the Swiss team were still very much in the game and fought gamely on.
"Good score by Aacker," Kenneth announced. "A back pass from Bieri managed to pull Wood out of position and he was just slightly out of range for the scoring shot. This brings us to Switzerland 70 and England at 100. Still a tight game! Johnson has the Quaffle and-wait!"
Harry saw a glint of gold far below and immediately dove. Schmid followed right after him and the two Seekers homed in on the Snitch. As if feeling their attention, the Snitch began to fly evasively, fleeing from them. Harry twisted around Silas and saw a Bludger flying right towards him. He rolled and hung upside down for a long moment, letting the Bludger fly through where he was, and continued to fly upside down, legs clamped firmly on the broom.
"Potter is flying upside down for a sustained dash!" Kenneth shouted in admiration. "Now he's rolling up and cutting right in front of Schmid who veered off. He's flying unstopped, dodges around Johnson who blocked Aacker and I think-YES! Potter has the Snitch! ENGLAND WINS! 250 to 70! The Champions are still here ladies and gentlemen!"
Harry slewed his broom around and held his hand up in victory, the Snitch beating its wings in his hand. He laughed out loud and punched the air with both fists as the rest of the team came flying to him. "Number one!" he shouted and they took up the call.
"We're on our way!" Tanya cheered.
"To the top!" Angelina shouted.
They landed and were mobbed by the rest of the team and staff and they thanked Switzerland for a great game and wished them luck on the rest of their placement games. The cheers from the rest of Trafalgar's Pitch rained down on them and they cheered right along with them.
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"How does he have the energy?" Silas asked later. "He flew like mad the entire game and look at him go."
The team were at Potter Village to have dinner together. Harry was currently running and laughing, being chased by the crowd of children and they ran around and around.
"Harry always has energy for the children," Katie said lovingly. "Even when he's about to pass out from exhaustion, he will never not spend a little time with them. In fact, I think he absorbs some of their energy to play with them."
"Luckily they match his energy a lot too," Angelina smiled. "They know when he doesn't have the energy for more active things and they're more than happy to just read with him or nap with him or play a game that requires little movement if need be."
"You can tell when he's about to stop though," Alicia smiled. "He lets the kids catch him earlier and he can lie down, just like that." They smiled as Harry let himself get caught by the children and he went over and was buried beneath them, putting up not much of a fight at all.
"Adorable," Miranda smiled.
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"Go Lizzie!" Harry and the others shouted.
Their second placement game against Uganda had been a tough one. The Ugandan team had come out fighting and Harry had been hit with both Bludgers in succession a portion of the way through the game, knocking him off his broom and bruising his ribs. Shelia had flown in and had harassed the opposing Seeker and Beaters for a good time, running them ragged. She had then tagged out for Elizabeth who continued the harassment campaign, making them even slower. Halfway through a dispersion run through the other team's Chasers, she had suddenly veered off.
Elizabeth came out of the dive with her hand up and the Snitch caught, shrieking victory and the rest of the team cheered wildly. She was mobbed by the others when she landed and they congratulated her loudly and boisterously.
"I told you!" Harry shouted, half in glee and half to be heard over the roaring crowd. "I told you that you'd be great! That was an awesome catch!"
She hugged him tightly, forgetting until too late about his ribs and had turned bright red when she remembered, apologizing profusely while Harry winced and laughed.
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"Congratulations on your last win!" Hermione said.
"Thanks! We won all our placements," Harry said happily. "So that means we're up there again for the rest of the Cup games and we'll have good matchups. I also have some really good news to share. Sirius told me to tell everyone that he rented out a nice place to stay for the World Cup game in Greece and it's really big. He's also going to cover travelling costs for everyone that wants to go. He's keeping it even if we don't play in the final. It's also right next to the stadium."
"Oh that's very nice of him," Tracy said. "It's still a while away, I think we can try to work stuff out to go."
"Even if we do not watch the game in the stadium, we will be right there and can listen easily," Daphne nodded. "Might be possible to go even with the very small ones."
"I think Fred and I were going to close for the day anyways this time," George said. "Plenty of time to put out notice beforehand and we can go and enjoy it. And that'll give us plenty of people to look after the sprogs."
"Let's work it out," Luna said eagerly.
The sound of flapping wings made them look up and an eagle owl came swooping in. It landed in front of Oliver and dropped an envelope in front of him. It then bobbed its head respectfully at a watchful Hedwig and it flew away.
"Do all owls know not to cheek you if they come to the Village?" Hermione asked.
Katie rubbed Hedwig's back as the owl nodded with lordly authority and puffed out her chest. "I guess so," she said with a big smile.
Oliver whistled as he read the short message. "They put up first matches for the final bracket into the final. We're going against Bulgaria."
"No way," George said.
"Oh this will be interesting," Alicia remarked.
"Seriously, we haven't gone against them in a while," Oliver said. "We keep not getting paired up in Euro Leagues."
"I assume Krum still plays?" Daphne asked.
Angelina nodded. "He's still really consistent from what I've seen. Solid stats and a solid player."
"This time though, Harry's better since the last time they played and that was years ago." Katie's smile was hungry and so was Hedwig's. "Harry will get him this time. I'm sure of it."
They turned and laughed as they watched the children carrying him between them, running out of the Triangle and heading towards the creek with Harry pretending to flail out of feigned fright.
"No need to put him on edge and ruin the mood," Oliver said comfortably. "I agree too, Sir Harry's only gotten better and I know Krum hasn't gotten worse per se, it's not the same thing though as constantly improving."
"Do we know who else is in your bracket?" Ron asked.
"France and Japan for sure," Oliver said. "Luckily Ireland is in the other one so we won't play them unless we both hit the final. Germany is really strong and they're in the other bracket too. We'll just have to see how the first games go."
"We can handle any team," Angelina said loudly and proudly. She looked over at the direction of the creek when they heard loud shouting and laughter. "You know, if the babies don't drown Rabbit that is."
"He looks okay," Hermione giggled. They laughed as the children came running back to them, shrieking and squealing as a very soaked Harry was chasing after them, laughing his head off. "He got his second wind."
"Getting dumped in the creek will do that to you," Katie smiled.
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MauricoPS - Glad you liked it and hope you enjoy the rest.
Hawk2010 - Thank you. It will be a similar format but won't be the exact same.
odonnellzoo99 - That felt like a Shelia and Miranda thing to do. She does think it's hysterical and it really is.
AshokaTheGreat - Time for more Quidditch action.
Ghostwriter - Hoppe you enjoy more fun having, especially by some of the characters especially.
alix33 - Always try to stay on Hedwig's good side.
TheSphynx - She can do it like no one else can.
scpotter - Hope you like this next set then.
poka - It felt good to have the grand reveal of the SnowBolt to be with the second World Cup run. I like the idea that objects in the setting can gain a form of magical identity if they are used well and for a long time. There's a Japanese term for it actually, tsukumogami. It's the idea where treasured tools become alive after long use. I always liked that folklore.
DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - More Cup, more better.