A/N: Thank you to everyone who faved/followed/reviewed.
Chapter III: If the KKK were wizards, wore black, and openly admitted to wanting to eat Thanatos.
Cedric Diggory bit back a yelp as Will Solace, son of Apollo and Camp Half-Blood's resident teen MD poured a vial of liquid on his burn wound.
Just hours earlier Cedric thought the end of the world was upon them…again. Gaia had risen and the Romans had started their siege on Camp Half-Blood. But just as things looked like they were going to take a turn for the worse, Reyna Ramirez-Arellano, daughter of the Roman goddess of War Bellona, appeared with the Athena Parthenos and brokered the peace between the Greeks and the Romans. From there on out, the Romans and Greeks fought side by side defeating Gaia and her monster army, along with a giant bronze dragon that flew directly into Gaia destroying her, just when Cedric had thought that he had seen it all.
He remembered how surprised he was that he was not surprised when Malcolm had informed him of the existence of the Romans during their first fireplace chat after they met up in Hogsmeade before Christmas. But not much else happened for Cedric during that time. Siris Black had been captured at Hogwarts towards the end of the year, but he had escaped and was on the run…again.
Cedric had constant updates from Camp during the summer, but he did not get involved until a week earlier when Lou Ellen had appeared randomly in his room practically kidnapping him. 'What is it with women coming into my room and kidnapping me?' Cedric had thought to himself at the time. If someone had said that multiple women would kidnap him a year or two prior, he would be all for it. Now it was just inconvenient
He still had not informed his father that he went back to camp. Lou Ellen only had to say that she needed his help and that was that. He knew things were serious when Lou Ellen was asking him for help. And since he had just turned seventeen, and had received his apparation license, he really did not see a reason why he shouldn't or couldn't go.
"Stop squirming, you're only making it hurt more." Will ordered drawing Cedric out of his thoughts. The son of Apollo continued to pour the substance onto his injuries.
Cedric held back a slew of curses once he had emptied the contents of the vial on his arm. Will threw said empty vial in a waste basket sitting next to the cot Cedric was laying on. He proceeded to grab an ambrosia square and handed it to Cedric to eat.
Will closed his eyes as he sighed, "Di Angelo, I swear to your father if you try to get up one more time!" Will yelled, not turning around to look at the son of Hades who was attempting to sit up from his cot.
Cedric turned his head to see Nico bang his head on his pillow, frustrated that Will had caught him.
"I'm fine Solace." Nico grunted.
"If your definition of fine is nearly phasing out of existence, then by all means, you are fine." Will replied with a sneer that would rival Snape.
Nico let out a loud sigh before muttering a string of curses in Italian.
"The disrespect." Will sarcastically said to Cedric which made him laugh.
"Ow, ow, ow." Cedric gasped in pain. "Please don't make me laugh." Cedric weakly said to an apologetic Will.
"After you finish your ambrosia square drink this nectar and you should be good to go within the hour." Will said writing on his clipboard before placing a small vial on the table next to Cedric's cot.
Cedric nodded as he slowly sat up to eat the small square.
Will turned back to Nico and picked up a clipboard at the end of his cot and started reading through it.
"Solace let me go. You can't hold me here." Nico ordered grunting in pain as he tried to sit up.
Will did not acknowledge his complaints. "Hey Ced, did you hear something?" Will asked looking over to Cedric who quickly looked between Nico and Will.
Nico rolled his eyes, "Will, I swear to Hades." Nico warned but it did not phase the son of Apollo.
"I swear I hear this buzzing sound, like…like it's trying to tell me that it knows more about medicine than I do." He said pointedly looking directly at Nico. "But that's insane, because out of the people in this room, only two of us have the god of healing as our father. And Amber's treating Pollux so it's not her." Will said walking closer to Nico trying to get his point across to the son of Hades.
"Ugh you're impossible, fine you win." Nico groaned and laid back down on his cot.
Will quickly smiled and went to tend to some of the other campers. Nico continued to mutter in Italian and turned away facing the other wall. Cedric's lip quivered as he tried to reframe from laughing at Nico's displeasure.
He liked the kid, even though they had just met. But he had a warrior's heart, even if the unhealthy amount of black he wore was a little unsettling for a fourteen-year-old.
Cedric looked down to his arm and saw it starting to heal over. The burn marks were lighting up and were now a pink color compared to the dark melted red they were a few minutes earlier.
"Oh my gods. What happened?" Cedric heard Malcolm yell and turned to see him quickly walk over to him, nearly pushing Amber over as he passed her.
"Watch it Brain Boy!" The other blonde yelled.
Malcolm quickly apologized and pulled a chair over to sit next to him. "Gods, she's scary for a thirteen-year-old." Malcolm to whispered.
"I heard that."
Cedric laughed at Malcolm's displeasure before wincing in pain.
"Okay whatever, TJ's a whole lot more tolerable than you." He muttered about the girl's twin brother before turning his attention back to Cedric. "What happened? I literally turned around and you were being dragged away by Lou Ellen." The concern was present in his voice as he resisted reaching out to grab Cedric's hand, not wanting to put him in any more pain.
"It's just a little burn. Tends to happen when you take on an army of Roman demigods with just four other people." Cedric said casually trying to put Malcolm at ease.
"An army of demigods, is that seriously the story you're telling people?" The voice of Lou Ellen asked laughing as she walked over to stand behind Malcolm.
Malcolm looked up at the daughter of Hecate, confused at what she was talking about. "What do you mean?"
Cedric sighed, "Seriously, you can't just let me have this?" Cedric asked.
Malcolm nearly fell out of his seat in surprise when Nico spoke up, "Wait, you're telling people the Romans did this to you?" He asked surprised.
"Ugh, I hate you all." Cedric whined banging the back of his head against the wall behind him.
"What really happened?" Malcolm asked.
Everyone was looking at Cedric waiting for him to speak.
"Fine, I'll tell him." Lou Ellen excitedly said much to Cedric's displeasure.
"Malcolm. Sweet old Cedric here was not injured because he fought off a hoard of Romans. No, dear ol' Ced wasn't listening when I mentioned that the Roman Onagers were shielded, making it impossible to use direct magic on them. And because of that, someone decided to shoot a firebolt spell at the siege weapons, which was rightfully redirected at the caster of the spell. And you can figure out the rest." Lou Ellen gleefully said, smiling through the entire story.
Cedric looked away embarrassed.
"Oh my gods, are you okay, why do you think that was funny, he could have died!" Malcolm yelled, standing up so fast that his chair fell behind him startling nearly everyone who was awake in the cabin.
"Jeeze, calm down." Lou Ellen said holding her hands up defensively.
Cedric looked up at him, shrugging his left shoulder. "Malcolm, I'm fine. Lou's right, I should have been paying attention."
"That is beside the point, you could have been killed or-"
"Malcolm, I gave him emergency field treatment on the scene, he was in good hands the entire time." Will spoke up walking over to the assembled group.
Malcolm stopped frantically looking around and put his chair back upright, but he still did not look satisfied with what happened to Cedric.
Everyone hung around in silence for a few moments until Lou Ellen spoke up. "I heard the Ministry was reserving reduced price tickets for the World Cup, did your dad get some?" Lou Ellen asked Cedric who looked slightly surprised that she was asking him a serious question.
"Uh, yeah. Nosebleed seats, but yeah. He got some tickets." Cedric responded.
"Cool, cool. I guess that means I might see you there then. Fudge convinced dad to go, and he's bringing the future step-monster with him." Lou Ellen quietly said, looking slightly uncomfortable about talking about her family openly.
"Oh yeah, box seats, you'll forgive me if I'm slightly jealous." Cedric laughed, while also noticing that it did not hurt nearly as much to do so anymore.
Lou Ellen scoffed, "I would trade for regular seats any day. Box seats are awful, you can't see anything, there's no crowd environment. It's like watching a game from home. It's just not the same." Lou Ellen complained shaking her head.
"Hey! Look, we're all getting along and bonding, and it only took us to start talking about a sport I know nothing about!" Malcolm cheered giving Lou Ellen a pat on the back. She responded by punching him in the arm.
"Don't touch me." She ordered.
"Sorry."
"Well, I'm going to leave you two disgusting love birds alone and go pack. The future step-monster insisted on driving me back into the city, so I will have to live like a normal No-Maj for an hour." She complained heading for the exit. Malcolm flustered while Cedric let out a laugh under his breath.
Malcolm suddenly looked up confused for a moment before yelling after the witch, "Isn't your dad's fiancé like a gazillionaire?" Malcolm asked forcing Lou Ellen to quickly turn around and march back towards him, anger radiating from her.
"Malcolm, you don't understand. Everything, and I mean everything she wears, drives, flies… Hell! Even her mansion back in England is pink! Pink!" She yelled, her fists balling up.
Malcolm held up his hands defensively.
Lou Ellen took a breath, "Malcolm, she's British Barbie." Was all she said before turning around and walking out of the cabin.
Cedric looked over at Malcolm, "What's a British Barbie?"
Malcolm shook his head, "Don't worry about it, it's probably better that you don't know."
Cedric nodded his head, "Since Lou Ellen brought up the Quidditch World Cup, I was going to wait and ask until things calmed down a little, but my dad got an extra ticket, and he said I could bring a friend along, so…?" Cedric asked shrugging his shoulders.
"Seriously?" Malcolm asked surprised.
"Yeah, it could be fun…" Cedric trailed starting to get a little worried by Malcolm's hesitance.
"I would love that, but I'm going to need to get permission from Chiron." Malcolm responded, a big smile forming on his face.
"Awesome. We're going to have to work fast because we only have a few days until championships, so we need to quickly ware Chiron down." Cedric laughed.
"Gods, this is going to be so much fun." Malcolm said happily with Cedric nodding along in agreement.
Lou Ellen Blackstone sighed as she tried to lay as far back in the back seat as possible, embarrassed to be in the the obnoxiously large pink car. Which also had six wheels, and a large bubble dome for a top. The driver's seat was in the middle of the car. It was truly the strangest car she had ever seen. Meanwhile her father's fiancé, the British heiress Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward sat next to her reading a newspaper.
The blonde woman wore an all pink sequenced jacket with a matching skirt and hat. Lady Penelope was the definition of what one would think of when they heard 'British aristocracy'. Nothing said normal about her.
"How was your time at summer camp? I saw a bunch of SUVs out front, was their plans for a trip of some kind?" Penelope asked, not looking up from her paper.
Lou Ellen sighed, not wanting to hold any conversations with the woman. "No, it's just campers from a rival camp. We were holding… a huge contest. Kind of like an Olympics, but for summer camp." Lou Ellen lied. It was one thing for the No-Maj to have extensive knowledge of the magical world, she was defiantly not informing her of the mythical.
"How… exciting. I know you would rather have apparated back home, but I figured this would give us time to talk, one-on-one. Get to know each other a little better." Penelope sweetly said. Lou Ellen could not tell if the tone was authentic or not, or whether it was just her accent. But it was still a little unsettling to her.
"What do you want to know?" Lou Ellen asked still looking away from the woman. Not that it would have mattered because Lady Barbie was still ingulfed in her newspaper.
"How's Ilvermorny? Your father said you were awarded Head of Thunderbird House last term?" She asked. Her tone did come off as genuine, but it was hard to believe that with her head buried in the paper.
"It's great." Lou Ellen muttered. "I mean, there's really three types of people at Ilvermorny; my actual friends, believe it or not I do have friends. There's the people who pretend to be my friends because they want a job at the MACUSA, and then there's the people hate me because they hate my father or are just plain racist, that too!" Lou Ellen ranted, her tone getting louder and angrier as she continued attempting to stare Penelope down through her paper.
That was enough for Penelope to put the paper down and finally look Lou Ellen in the eyes. "I'm not going to pretend I know the experience you are going through. I…I was born into the public eye; I grew up with the scrutiny of having a famous father. But you were thrusted into this, you deserve to have a normal life." Penelope said, reaching for Lou Ellen's hand. "Well, normal for a witch."
Lou Ellen pulled away from Penelope's grasp. "You're right." Lou Ellen stated. "Because you will never have my experience. You will never have the whispers behind your back whether you should be here. You've never had people sneer at you just because your skin's darker than someone else's. You've never been black in America!" She yelled to an unfazed Penelope.
"Feel better now?" She asked nonchalantly.
Lou Ellen shook her head, "No! How the Ha-heck am I supposed to feel better?"
"Good, you're weren't supposed to feel better. I want you to channel that anger. You're the smartest, most talented witch on this side of the planet. Don't let those assholes define who you are." She said sternly.
Her sudden shift in tone put Lou Ellen off balance. This was the first time she had broken her 'proper tone' in front of Lou Ellen. Not that they have had much time together. But it was still significant enough for Lou Ellen to notice.
"Quite right milady!" The thick English accent of Parker called out from the driver's seat. Because every ridiculously rich British woman needed a former SAS soldier as a chauffeur.
"Thank you, Parker." She replied nodding her head towards the older man.
Even though Lou Ellen had her reservations about her future stepmother, she bared no ill-will towards Parker. He was a cool guy who could kick anyone's ass if they came within ten feet of Penelope or Lou Ellen's father.
The ride after that remained quiet until Parker mentioned that they had arrived.
On face value, the entrance to what the press dubbed "The Hudson House" was just a warehouse on the bank of the Hudson River. But that, like all things in the MACUSA was just a front for the real thing.
Parker rolled FAB1, the name of the car which was also written on the front license plate into the darken warehouse. Because, again, every rich British lady needed to also name their fleet of pink automobiles.
A flash of light appeared, and Lou Ellen saw three of her father's security personnel approach the vehicle.
One of the wizards gently tapped on the window of the car and Penelope rolled the window down and handed the wizard her credentials.
"Welcome back Lady Penelope." The wizard said to the blonde and he looked past her at Lou Ellen. "And to you Mrs. Blackstone."
Lou Ellen nodded to the security officer who handed Penelope back her card. The guard quickly walked away from the car and Lou Ellen braced herself for the floor of the warehouse to drop.
"Hang on, we're about to drop." Parker warned and Lou Ellen gripped the arm rest on the door of the car as the floor underneath the car dropped and they headed into the Hudson River, well into a large glass structure on the floor of the Hudson River.
Her father's residence was built near the end of the Revolutionary War and was perhaps one of the most iconic locations in Magical United States. Although the mansion was only three stories tall, it was at least a half mile long, running along the floor bed of the Hudson River. Its official name was the York Palace, but over time the press and the people of the MACUSA took to calling it the Hudson House. Lou Ellen suspected it was to make the historic manor more appealing to the common wizard and witch. But it was still the home for the most powerful family in the western hemisphere.
The grounds were lit by an artificial sun made of Witch-Light which gave the illusion of a day and night cycle due to the manor being built underneath the river. While magical charms and enchantments prevented No-Maj commercial travel directly above the palace.
They almost had a No-Maj breach of security during the Battle of Manhattan when Percy had given the river spirits the sand dollar, cleaning up the magical wards which cloaked the underwater residence with the pollution and other obstructions. No-Maj satellites noticed the Witch-Light projections, but luckily the MACUSA Ambassador to the No-Maj President of the United States… persuaded him to cover the incident up.
Parker rolled the pink car up to the main gate just as the warehouse elevator ascended back to the surface.
The gates opened and two more security wizards approached the car opening both doors for the trio to get out of.
"Parker, thank you so much for bringing my girls back safely." The booming voice of Thomas Blackstone called from the main gate as he shook the chauffer's hand.
"Of course, sir." Parker replied.
"Penny, glad you could get away long enough for this." Thomas greeted his fiancé as he pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek.
"I'm thrilled to be able to finally see a quidditch match." She replied before pulling away to allow Thomas to greet his daughter.
"How was camp? I heard…about the incident." He whispered into her ear as he hugged her.
"It… was taken care of." She responded, nervously eyeing Penelope.
"Of course." He whispered back before turning to face Parker and Penelope. "I hope you found the campground all right?" Thomas asked Penelope.
"It was a little unsettling having to wait next to the road, but we found everything just fine." Penelope replied while Parker nodded along.
"We should head inside and get ready for dinner." Thomas said stepping aside as two of the house staff levitated Penelope's pink suitcases from the car and into the mansion.
Thomas hooked his arm around Lou Ellen's shoulders as he led the them into the mansion.
Lou Ellen found herself in the middle of a large graveyard. Daunting statues surrounded the grave site. While many more tombstones dotted the landscape. It was pitch black out, clouds blocking out any light from the moon and the stars.
A loud yell caught her attention and she quickly ran up a hill and saw a body lying still on the ground and she saw someone trapped in the grasp of one of the statues that looked like an angel of death.
Lou Ellen squinted and saw a small plump figure walking closer to the person trapped in the statue and several other cloaked figures in the background.
She quickly ran down the hill and slid behind a large tombstone, trying to eavesdrop. She could only hear muffled cries coming from one of them, most likely the trapped kid.
Lou Ellen slowly peeked her head around and had to cover her mouth when she saw the figure motionless on the ground. It was Cedric, wearing a black and yellow athletic suit. His eyes were wide-open, but void of life.
She slowly looked up and saw the person who was trapped in the grasp of the statue was Harry Potter, but she did not recognize the short plump balding man. What hair he did have was a light brown. He held a knife in one hand and a bundle of dark cloth in the other.
Lou Ellen tried to step back, and reassess her surroundings, but the crack of a stick breaking underneath her feet turned the attention towards her.
"Kill the intruder!" A whispery voice commanded, and the short man pointed his wand at Lou Ellen.
"Avada Kedarva!" The short man yelled hitting Lou Ellen dead center in the chest.
"Ahhhh!" Lou Ellen screamed waking up in her bed. "What the Hades?" She asked herself before looking over at her alarm clock and seeing that her alarm was about to go off in a few minutes.
"Ugh, I hate prophetic dreams!" She yelled before yanking the covers back over her face.
It was the morning of the World Cup when Lou Ellen walked into her father's office already decked out in her green and white for Ireland. She had to keep it to herself that she really wanted Bulgaria to win; but Minster Fudge was rooting for Ireland, so that meant so was she and her father.
Her father, Penelope, and two of his advisors were looking over a handful of files and documents. Most likely discussing last minute details for whatever negotiations this trip was a cover for.
Lou Ellen stood at the door quietly, not wanting to disturb the meeting. It was another minute before her father looked up and noticed her presence. "I think we're good for now. Thank you all." Her father said dismissing his advisors.
Lou Ellen stepped aside as the two wizards walked past her, each nodding their heads in acknowledgement of her.
Thomas stood up from behind his desk and flicked his wand to push his chair in as he walked over to greet his daughter.
"You all set for tonight?" He asked.
Lou Ellen nodded her head.
Penelope wore a creamed color coat overtop a golden blouse. It was a strange sight for Lou Ellen because it was one of the only times that the woman was not wearing pink. She walked over to join Lou Ellen and Thomas. "I can't wait to see a match, there was always so much fuss about it when I worked with the Ministry." She said, smiling and looking genuinely excited.
Lou Ellen had almost forgotten about Penelope's time in the Ministry of Magic, even though that was how she and Thomas met. About four years ago, then MACUSA President Jamison had asked Thomas to serve as the MACUSA ambassador to the Ministry of Magic in Britain. During his time serving abroad, Thomas had met the No-Maj U.K. Ambassador to the Ministry of Magic, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward. She served the Queen's government as her and the Prime Minister's chief liaison between the two governments. After she and Thomas started to have a serious relationship, she resigned from her post and was now working as an art collector for some rich American former astronaut.
A sudden burst of music blasted through the residence which made Lou Ellen jump in surprise.
Penelope reached into her pocket and pulled out a bright pink cellphone and quickly answered it shutting off her ringtone, which was a catchy British march. It was not a ring tone Lou Ellen associated with the British heiress.
"Hello Jeff… Right… of course… I'm on my way." Penelope said before hanging up on 'Jeff'.
"I'm assuming that was Jeff Tracy?" Thomas asked Penelope as she bit her lip.
"I'm afraid duty calls." She whispered before giving him a kiss on the cheek. Penelope gave Lou Ellen a surprise hug before she got back onto her cellphone. "Parker, have the car ready, we're flying to Tracy Island." Lou Ellen heard her order as she walked out of the office.
Lou Ellen quickly looked back to her father, "How the Hades does she have cell reception down here?"
Thomas shrugged his shoulders, "Jeff's a smart man and he also has the smartest people working for him, who probably built that constantly ringing No-Maj device for her. I think you go to school with his youngest son, Alan."
Lou Ellen tried to associate the name with a face before it hit her, "Alan freaking Tracy. He's a smartass, going into his fourth year. The number of detentions I wrote out for him was ridiculous. All he does is complain about going to school, always saying that he wants to be an astronaut…like his dad. Gods, how didn't I put two-and-two together." Lou Ellen ranted facepalming while her father rose his eyebrows in response to her frustration while suppressing a laugh.
"Well alright then. MACUSA Security already contacted me, right before you walked in, they gave us the all clear to apparate to our meeting spot with the Minister." Thomas said changing the subject.
"Well-" Lou Ellen said turning to the door and waving her wand and her backpack flung into her hand. "Ready when you are."
Thomas grabbed a brief case sitting on his desk and placed his hat on top his bald head. He held his arm out for Lou Ellen to take.
"You know, I can apparate myself." She said before reaching for his arm.
"You don't even know where we are going." Thomas said. Lou Ellen rolled her eyes.
"Whatever." She muttered and closed her eyes just as Thomas teleported them from his office.
Lou Ellen opened her eyes and saw a menacing black gate closed in front of them. She looked over and saw two of her father's security personnel approach them.
"Sir, we've swept the premises, you're all clear." One of the wizards said to Thomas.
"Thanks Sean, you and Travis can head out. The Minister's security detail is going to take the lead from here." Thomas told the MACUSA security officer.
"Sir, I have to insist-"
"So do I. Go home Sean. Take the day off, I'll have the best security in the world by my side the entire time." Thomas said putting his arm around Lou Ellen; Whose face flustered at the compliment.
Sean and Travis both looked skeptical but nodded their heads and apparated away.
"Welp, welcome to Malfoy Manor." Thomas said, but there was nothing warm in his voice. Lou Ellen had never met the Malfoy family, but her father would constantly tell her stories of having to deal with Lucius Malfoy during his time working as a Ambassador.
"These are the racists, right?" Lou Ellen asked, even though she already knew the answer.
Her father gently nodded before the gates opened in front of them, and a small house elf greeted them.
"Hello ma'am and sir, master wished for me to bring you inside." The small creature said shyly. Lou Ellen closed her eyes, hating to see the poor creature, knowing the conditions he was probably living in.
Part of disdain people had, not just in the U.S. but around the world towards her father was the fact that he was the lead sponsor on a bill years ago that outlawed unpaid workers of any sentient intelligence. Which was directed towards house elves, but was also a way to prevent the term 'slavery' to be reintroduced into written American law. But that bill also led her father to a populist election landslide. Mainly on the backing of the younger generations and minority voters. There is even a bill sitting in the MACUSA Senate that would allow voting rights to goblins, centaurs, house elves, and some other magical creatures, unfortunately her father already told her it was 'dead-on-arrival' in the House.
The two continued to follow the creature up a large hill on a stone path surrounded by large hedges which led to the large mansion overlooking the grounds. The mansion itself was not anything too special. It was large and tall, but it did not look warm or inviting. The stone walls were faded beyond their original color, looking almost gray. While the large windows were all tinted and almost impossible to see through. The roofs were made up of several large dark blue triangles. In many ways the mansion gave off 'haunted house' vibes.
The house elf opened the large wooden door and led them to an enormous sitting room with several couches surrounding a coffee table. A large chandelier hung from the tall ceilings, acting as the primary source of light besides the sunlight coming from the windows.
Minister Fudge sat across a man with long white hair, who Lou Ellen suspected to be Lucius Malfoy. Both were in deep conversation before the house elf purposely coughed into his hand to draw their attention.
"Masters, I proudly present Mr. and Mrs. Blackstone." The house elf said shyly.
Lucius and Fudge turned to meet Thomas's eyes and they both smiled up at Lou Ellen's father.
"Elf, you're dismissed." Lucius ordered harshly. The elf respectfully bowed before quickly disappearing down a staircase at the other end of the room.
"Thomas, how good it is to see you again." Fudge cheered and quickly walked over to shake Thomas's hand. Thomas smiled back and returned the greeting to his British counterpart.
Lucius slowly followed up on the Minister's greeting.
"Mr. President, pleasure to see you again." Lucius said coldly shaking Thomas's hand.
"Same with you Mr. Malfoy." Thomas replied in the same tone.
Fudge shook Lou Ellen's hand, "Glad to see that you are wearing your Irish green!" Fudge said pointing to her green and white shirt.
"Of course, got to send it to them Bulgarians." Lou Ellen laughed, internally rolling her eyes.
"Quite right, when England's out of it, got to root for the best next thing!" Fudge laughed before turning to look at Thomas, "Or when the Americans aren't in either."
Lou Ellen tried to suppress her laughter at Fudge's attempts of 'sucking up'.
Even though Britain was essentially the magical capital of the world, the economic power still rested with the U.S. Much like how the No-Maj economy started to shift from the U.K. to the U.S. during the First World War and following the Second. Much of the world's trading and raw resources still came from U.S., despite the growing magical industries coming from India and North Africa.
Her father was constantly worried that India would become the world's largest magical trading economy and would take away from the U.S.'s dominance in the field. Lou Ellen thought he was just being paranoid, but there was enough fear coming from Thomas's economic advisors, and the rest of her father's political party, the 'Caucus for the Future' (CFTF), within the Magical Congress.
Much like the No-Maj political system in the U.S., the MACUSA was dominated by two political parties, the CFTF were the more left leaning party. Meanwhile the 'Traditionalists' were perceived to be center-right. Though the Traditionalists had started shifting further right ever since her father's election.
Lucius Malfoy approached Lou Ellen dragging her out of her thoughts. "Mrs. Blackstone, I don't think we have had the pleasure. I am Lucius Malfoy. One of the Minister's top economic advisors." He greeted, holding his hand out.
Lou Ellen looked up at him for a moment before hesitantly shaking his hand. She knew the only reason why he was an advisor for the Minister was because he and the other Pureblood families pretty much bank rolled Fudge's election(s).
"Draco, why don't you show Mrs. Blackstone the manor." Lucius called out and a boy about a year or two younger than Lou Ellen walked out from a door on the other side of the sitting room. He wore an all-black suit, and his hair was white like his father, Lou Ellen assumed that he was Lucius's son anyways, and his hair was also short and well kept. The most unsettling thing about him was just how pale his skin was. It reminded Lou Ellen of Nico. 'Y'all need to get some sunlight.' Lou Ellen thought to herself as the teen approached her.
"Can't a house elf do it?" He whined.
Lou Ellen gently shook her head at his tone. 'Great, I'm stuck with the spoiled brat.' Lou Ellen thought to herself as she faked a smile and walked over to the boy, "Well, hello to you too." She said in a faux cheerful voice and she could almost hear her father internally groaning.
Draco closed his eyes, most likely rolling them before facing Lou Ellen. "I meant no disrespect, just that I'm not a tour guide."
"And I would rather be at home blasting target dummies with my wand but here I am." Lou Ellen retorted. "But they clearly don't want us to take part in their little negotiation because they know they we could come up with a better deal, and faster because we aren't a bunch of boomers." Lou Ellen ranted while everyone looked at her confused.
"A what?" Minster Fudge asked while Thomas facepalmed and shook his head.
"I apologize for my daughter; she attends a summer camp that's full of No-Majs and she picks up on some of their slang." Thomas apologized sending his daughter a pointed look.
Lou Ellen huffed before turning back to Draco. "All right, let's get this over with, where are we starting first?" She asked a confounded Draco Malfoy who quickly led her out of the large room and started their tour.
Malcolm Pace was shaken awake and quickly sat up in his bed, nearly bumping his head into Cedric's.
"Wow, careful." Cedric said excitedly. "Get dressed, we're going to be late and we can't miss our portkey appointment." Cedric ordered.
Malcolm did not budge, still trying to wake himself up. It's not that he isn't a morning person, but the time change was already affecting him… badly.
"Dude, you know it's still like midnight on the East Coast right now. Like, I would just now be getting ready for bed." Malcolm complained as he begrudgingly got out of the bed and headed over to his suitcase to track down his jeans.
He had commandeered Cedric's guest bedroom. He and Cedric had left from Camp Half-Blood early in the morning the day before. For the most part they hung around Cedric's house, not doing much outside of playing a round of 'Wizard's Chess' and Cedric giving him a crash course on quidditch and all the key players. The only thing Malcolm had gotten out of that conversation was that some guy named Krum was the best seeker in the world… and Malcolm was fairly sure Cedric had a crush on the Bulgarian.
But the one time they did leave the house, Cedric had taken him to that pub a few miles from his house he promised to take Malcolm too when they were at Hogsmeade. It was never established whether or not if it was date, but they both had a good time. Malcolm at least assumed Cedric had a good time and he did not want to ruin it by asking whether it was a date or not.
Cedric had run back to his room while Malcolm finished throwing his clothes on, he did not pack much, but he still struggled to find the rest of his clothes, somehow.
Malcolm turned back to the door when he heard Cedric's footsteps. Cedric was holding a red and black jersey in one hand and a green and white one in the other. "The Irish or the Bulgarians?" Cedric asked lifting each hand as he asked.
Malcolm eyed both of them, "Which ever one you don't want." Malcolm said not caring. The only thing he knew about either team was that one was from Bulgaria and the other was from Ireland. He just wanted to watch the game; he honestly did not have a preference.
"Merlin." Cedric groaned in annoyance, "Which color is your favorite, red or green?" Cedric asked, almost pleadingly.
Malcolm smirked up at him, "Blue."
Cedric inhaled deeply and began ranting in French. "Fine, just take this one." Cedric sighed and threw the green jersey at Malcolm.
Malcolm looked down at the Irish team shirt before looking back up at Cedric who was placing his red jersey into his backpack.
"You giving me the green one has nothing to do with your crush on Viktor Krum does it?" Malcolm asked, suppressing a smirk.
Cedric started to squirm in place, his face flustering. "Wha-what are you talking about? I don't have a crush on Krum."
Malcolm chuckled, "Cedric, it was kind of hard to miss the giant poster behind your bedroom door… of him shirtless riding on a broom."
Cedric started to blush, his face more red than not. "It's a sports poster." Cedric said trying to justify it.
Malcolm shook his head as he put the green jersey into his backpack and walked over to Cedric. 'Yeah, a shirtless sports poster.'
"I'm only teasing, I'm not trying to embarrass you." He said, somewhat honestly before stepping closer to the son of Aphrodite, "He is objectively hot. There's no denying it." Malcolm whispered before walking passed him and down the stairs. He left Cedric standing in complete confusion.
"Come on, I thought we were in a hurry!" Malcolm yelled behind him.
Malcolm rounded the corner of the stairs and nearly ran into Amos Diggory.
"Malcolm, sleep alright?" He asked, his voice filled with joy and excitement.
"As well as I could have." Malcolm said shrugging his shoulders as he grabbed some toast and scarfed it down.
"Good, good." Amos said, his smile still plastered on his face. He walked over to the staircase, "Cedric, we're going to be late!" He yelled up the stairs.
It was a few seconds later before Cedric ran down the stairs struggling to get a jacket on.
"We have everything? Tent?" Amos asked while looking through his own backpack.
"Checked and rechecked." Cedric said while slinging his backpack over one shoulder.
"Malcolm, you have everything." Amos asked.
"Yep, all set."
"Alright then, Malcolm if you want to go with me, we'll apparate near the portkey and meet up with Arthur Weasley and his kids." Amos explained as Malcolm reached for the older man's arm, bracing himself for the unpleasant form of transportation. "It's a good thing Cedric passed his apparation test because we would have had to leave at two in the morn', because there was no way I would be apparating the both of you." Amos added randomly which made Malcolm internally sigh, 'Can we just get this over with.'
Malcolm kept his eyes closed in anticipation as he heard the loud crack and the familiar unpleasant feeling of being shoved into a small hole and being shot out the other side. He fell out of Amos's grasp and opened his eyes to see he was in the middle of the woods. Sunlight pierced through the canopy of trees as he squinted at the sudden change of light. It was a little chilly, considering how early it was in the morning, but it was still pleasant.
"Amos is that you?" Malcolm heard an unknown voice ask. They both turned around and saw a group of people walk around a large pine tree. Most, including the adult of the group were red heads, while a brunette girl and a dark-haired boy stood out as the only non-redheads.
Malcolm recognized the twin boys as the ones that Lou Ellen had run through back when they had traveled to Hogsmeade. While the brunette girl also looked familiar. He was pretty sure he recognized her from the wizarding village as well. And now that he was really thinking about it, the younger redheaded boy also looked familiar.
"Arthur, right on time." Amos said greeting the newcomer.
"This wouldn't be Cedric would it?" Arthur asked looking at Malcolm.
Amos gave a full-throated laugh. "Merlin no, much to smart to be mine. No, this is Malcolm. He's a friend of Cedric's, from America." Amos introduced while Malcolm nervously looked around, not used to all the attention.
"Hi." He nervously waved.
"Amos, Malcolm. These are Fred, George, Ginny, Ron, their friend Hermione, and-"
"Harry Potter, of course. Pleasure to meet you." Amos said cutting Arthur off and racing over to shake the teen's hand.
Cedric had explained the reason behind Harry Potter's fame to Malcolm, several times. But he still did not understand the obsession and popularity. But the kid seemed nice enough and Cedric had always made it a point to mention that he never let the fame get to him. But Malcolm still does not see the hype with the poor kid. It was like he was a wizarding version of Percy, or Madonna.
'Because that's just what the world needs. Another Percy.' Malcolm thought to himself just as he heard another loud crack and Cedric appeared right behind the Arthur's group. Everyone turned around to greet Cedric. He shook the dark-haired kid's hand and flashed him his signature smile before being nearly tackled by the twins.
"Sorry, I forgot something back in my room." Cedric apologized to his father once he walked up to him and Malcolm.
"Quite alright Ced, but we've best be off. Don't want to miss our appointment with the portkey." Amos said and took the lead with Arthur.
Cedric fell in line with Malcolm as Arthur's group fallowed close behind them.
"What did you forget?" Malcolm asked Cedric who pulled out a small brown bag which clanged as he brought it out of his pocket.
"You forgot your money?" Malcolm laughed while shaking his head.
Cedric gave a fake pout. "Don't laugh. You and I both know I would have been unbearable if I wouldn't be able to buy any souvenirs while we were at this thing." Cedric said pointing his finger.
"You are certainly right about that." Malcolm replied.
"That was rhetorical." Cedric laughed before lightly punching Malcolm in the shoulder.
They both kept walking when Hermione suddenly walked up beside Malcolm. "Hi Malcolm, I was wondering where in America you are attending school?" She asked pointedly.
Malcolm heard Ron mutter something on the lines of, "Here she goes."
Malcolm nervously looked at Cedric before slowly answering, "Ilvermorny?" It came out more as a question than an answer, but Malcolm hoped his nervousness came off just as part of his personality.
"Should have figured, it is the largest school in the country." Hermione supplied.
"Hey Hermione, do you know what's going on at school this year, dad won't tell me anything other than it's a 'surprise'." Cedric interrupted, making sure to add air quotes.
"No, I haven't heard anything. Ron said his dad's been hinting at something big but that's it." She said and did not continue to press Malcolm for questions.
Malcolm silently thanked Cedric while they continued to follow Amos and Arthur to a clearing near the edge of a cliff.
Arthur, Amos, Cedric, the twins, Ron, and Ginny all gathered around an old warn boot sitting in the middle of the clearing.
"What's with the manky old boot?" Harry asked to anyone. Malcolm was thankful that he was the one to ask because he did not want to seem like the only confused person.
"It's a portkey, I think. I've read about them." Hermione answered stepping closer to the assembled group. That still did not give Malcolm any clue to what was with the boot. Harry still looked confused and looked at Malcolm for an answer. Malcolm shrugged his shoulders in response and Harry copied the gesture.
Harry walked around to stand by Ron and Hermione while Malcolm quickly walked over to stand next to Cedric and one of the twins.
"All right, on three…" Amos started and everyone, but Harry, Hermione, and Malcolm dropped to the ground and grabbed onto the muddy old boot. Hermione and Malcolm both quickly fell next, trying to find an empty space to put their hand.
"One…Two…-"
"Harry!" Arthur yelled.
Harry quickly dropped to grab on just as Amos shouted, "Three!"
Malcolm felt a weird sensation pull at him as he felt weightless traveling through the air, and just as quickly as it started, Malcolm found himself on the ground, in a completely different location.
"Hades that was weird." Malcolm muttered to himself as he was met by a hand at his face. Malcolm looked up and saw Ginny's hand, he quickly grabbed it that way she could yank him up.
"Thanks." He told the red head. She nodded and they both looked over and saw Ron help Hermione up and Cedric with Harry.
"It was good seeing you Amos, we're going to go track down our campsite!" Arthur shouted as he led his group up a large green hill.
"See you at the match Weasley!" Amos replied and the three of them waited for the seven to get out of earshot. Once they were up the hill Amos turned to face Cedric and Malcolm.
"So, you attend Ilvermorny now?" Amos chuckled.
Malcolm flustered as he scratched the back of his head. "I guess you overheard that?" He nervously laughed.
"You two better come up with an actual story, because there will be wizards from all over, including those that attend Ilvermorny. So, you best have your facts down to a tee." Amos warned.
"Better plan, I'll just let you two do all the talking." Malcolm said. Cedric shook his head while Amos just smiled on.
"Sounds like a plan worthy of Athena." Amos stated and began to lead the three up the large green hill.
By the time they were up there, Malcolm could see just how grand the world cup venue was. To begin with, it was a gigantic field, covered in tents, as wizards from all over the world filled the massive field. At the end of the green field, an oval structure sat in the distance. Malcolm assumed it was the stadium.
"Ready?" Cedric asked stepping closer to Malcolm.
Malcolm smiled up at the taller boy. "Born that way."
Cedric Diggory followed his father down the long rampway and up a large flight of stairs in the World Cup stadium.
"No one said anything about this." Malcolm muttered from behind Cedric.
He turned to look at the son of Athena who stared directly up the winding staircases and platforms.
"You wanted to come." Cedric stated.
Malcolm glanced at him, "You were the one that asked." Malcolm retorted.
"You could have said no." Cedric replied, smirking when Malcolm could not come up with a witty response.
Malcolm huffed and walked past Cedric, following Amos.
They walked up another three flights of stairs before coming to another platform where they ended up running into the Weasley's, Granger, and Potter.
"Fancy meeting you lot here." Amos said patting Harry on the back, who looked a little uncomfortable from Amos's sudden touch but quickly masked it before smiling up at Cedric's father.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Potter and his charity cases!" The snarky voice of Draco Malfoy called up from the platform just below them.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione quickly walked over to the railing and stared daggers at the youngest Malfoy.
"Oh my gods, can you please be a child somewhere else!" A familiar female voice yelled.
Cedric and Malcolm both quickly ran over to stand next to the three others and much to both Cedric and Malcolm's disbelief, Lou Ellen walked up behind Draco Malfoy and scolded him.
"Lou?" Cedric and Malcolm both yelled at the same time, gaining the four others' attention.
"Hey boys, glad you could make it." She responded. It was a little surprising to hear Lou Ellen be glad to see at least Cedric, but he would be glad to see her too if he had to spend the entire day with Malfoy. At least he assumed she did because she interjected herself so easily into his 'conversation'.
"How's it going?" Malcolm asked the girl just as Malfoy went back to bickering with Potter.
"Please, save me. I swear if I have to spend another minute with these people, I'm going to feed them to Mrs. O'Leary." She hissed garnering a strange look from Malfoy.
Malfoy shook off Lou Ellen's comment and went back to trying to one up Potter, "We've got box seats from the personal request of Cornelius Fudge himself." Draco stated gleefully.
"So did I, get over yourself." Lou Ellen countered walking past the bleached blonde.
Everyone on the top platform snickered as they slowly started moving upwards again.
"Draco don't boast." The cold voice of Lucius Malfoy interrupted pushing his son forward.
Right behind them, Minister Fudge and another man that Cedric recognized followed the father and son. It was bothering Cedric he could not remember who the younger man was standing next to Fudge, he could have sworn he had seen his image in the Daily Prophet or somewhere.
"Is that President Blackstone?" Cedric heard Hermione whisper to Ron and then it hit Cedric like running into a brick wall…that was not on Platform nine and three quarters.
Cedric suddenly stopped and proclaimed, "Lou Ellen's dad is the President of the MACUSA!" And Malcolm ran into the back of him.
"What did you say?" He asked, rubbing the top of his head from where he had ran into Cedric.
"Lou Ellen. Her dad is the President of the United States. That explains so much now." He said as Malcolm pushed him forward, making sure that they did not lose Amos in the crowd.
"Yep, explains a lot. Now can we please stop getting distracted and keep going?" Malcolm asked as a wizard inadvertently pushed into him trying to pass. But his request came off more as an order than anything else.
"Sorry, ADHD." Cedric said smirking at Malcolm as he rolled his eyes.
"Not how that works." Malcolm retorted.
The two made the final climb up to the top of the stadium, once again splitting ways with the Weasley clan as they went in the opposite direction of the stadium.
They found their seats near half pitch and waited patiently for the pregame show to start.
It was not much longer before a loud voice boomed across the stadium, "Now let me introduce the Bulgarian National Team's Mascots!"
Cedric looked down to the field and saw about hundred Veela running onto the field. The Veela were perhaps the most beautiful women in the world, it was impossible for Cedric to tear his eyes away from them.
"Hello, Earth to Cedric? What's going on?" Malcolm's hand waved across his face, trying to compete for his attention.
"Not now Malcolm, the Veela." He said, almost in a trance like state.
"Oh my gods! Are these bitches like the Sirens or something? Hello, Cedric, they're just women." Malcolm stated before punching Cedric in his arm, taking his attention away from the beautiful Veela to look at his now throbbing arm.
"Ow, Jesus! What was that for?" Cedric asked rubbing his arm, maybe a little dramatically, but he wanted to get the point across.
He shook his head before looking back at Malcolm who had a concern look on his face. "Right, the Veela. They have an alluring effect on men because of their immaculate beauty." Cedric explained and started turn back to the field before quickly turning back to Malcolm again. "Why aren't you affected by them?"
Malcolm shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe because I'm gay?" Malcolm said shrugging his shoulders.
"Yeah, but I'm bi so, shouldn't I not be affected because I'm not straight?" Cedric asked a facepalming Malcolm.
"If you are bi, you're still sexually attracted to women. Meaning that these… Veela will still have power over you or whatever." Malcolm groaned speaking through his hand as he refused to look up at Cedric.
"Oh, right." Cedric said his face burning up from embarrassment. "I knew that."
It was only a few moments later when a rush of 'boos' filled the stands as the Veela left the stadium and the announcer filled the empty airwaves by announcing the Irish Team's National Mascot.
A large golden comment sored through the air and exploded into fireworks as a large rainbow formed from the spectacular fireworks display. Golden objects started to suddenly fall from the sky and Cedric went to grab one, and when he opened his hand, a large gold coin sat in his palm.
"Finally, something that I can enjoy." Malcolm cheered as he grabbed a handful of coins.
Moments later both teams were lining up on the pitch and the referee flew in between the teams to the center of the pitch, quaffle in hand.
The referee threw the quaffle up and just like that, "And they're off!" The announcer shouted.
Malcolm Pace and Cedric sat around the small stove trying to keep warm from the chilly night air.
"I still don't understand how Ireland won; didn't Bulgaria get the snitch?" Malcolm asked standing up to pace around the tent. "And what's the point of everyone else if the seeker is really the only important position?"
Amos's head shot up from the bed he was lying on, "What's the point? What's the point?" He asked walking over to the duo in disbelief. "Merlin Ced, I thought you explained the game to him?" Amos asked his son staring daggers at Malcolm for asking such a question.
"Dad, trust me. I tried." Cedric said not looking away from the fire.
Amos looked like he was about to go on another rant directed towards Malcolm, but several screams pierced through the tent garnering their attention. Malcolm could have sworn he also heard a faint explosion in the distance.
Amos quickly walked outside before rushing back inside.
"What's going on dad, the Irish getting a little too drunk?" Cedric asked, standing up and walking over to his father.
"No, both you and Malcolm head for the woods. I'll meet you guys over there." Amos ordered grabbing his wand.
Both Cedric and Malcolm stood still, not sure what to do.
Amos turned back feverishly, "Come now, quickly! This isn't a game!" Amos yelled rushing over to grab both Cedric and Malcolm by their arms and pulling them outside of the tent.
They were met by hundreds of witches and wizards running around and screaming in fear. Malcolm ducked his head when he heard a loud explosion up the hill. He looked up and saw a horse-drawn cart, without the horses, on fire. It raced down the grass pathway, striking several wizards before it crashed into a tent and exploded. Malcolm prayed to the gods that no one was inside the tent.
Malcolm looked back in the direction the runaway cart had come from and saw a group of wizards carrying torches and shooting fireballs off, hitting tents as they marched on.
It was hard to make out what they were wearing beyond dark robes, dark pointed hats, and skull masks. It reminded him of KKK garb… if they were to wear anything other than white.
"Cedric, go!" Amos yelled and ran off in the opposite direction towards the wizard KKK group.
Cedric kept looking down the direction his father had run off. He had his wand drawn and looked ready to fight.
Malcolm reached up and tugged on Cedric's shirt. "Ced, we've got to go." Malcolm urged, pulling Cedric away from a group of wizards running right through the spot he had just been standing at.
"Ra-right." Cedric hoarsely said and he led Malcolm through the crowd as they dodged the fleeing mob and headed for a line of trees at the end of the field.
Malcolm watched as several wizards apparated right in front of them. "Hey, can't you just apparate us out of here?" Malcolm asked Cedric.
He shook his head. "I barely passed my apparition test like a week ago. I barely trust myself to apparate, much less taking you with me." He explained as he pulled Malcolm back from a large crowd running through an intersection right in front of them.
"Thanks." He said and Cedric nodded, and they ran the last hundred feet or so into the dark wooded area. Dozens of other wizards also had the same idea and were cowering behind trees or ran off deeper into the woods.
They slowed their pace making sure not to twist their ankles on any overgrown tree roots or a hole.
They walked another fifty feet or so into the tree line before stopping behind a clump of boulders. There was a group of teens probably around thirteen or fourteen sitting down with their heads between their knees. Faint cries were coming from them.
Malcolm debated whether to try and comfort them or make sure they were alright, but he was not sure how to approach the younger teens. He figured if they needed something he could help with, they would ask.
"Who were those guys?" Malcolm asked, leaning down and put his hands on his knees while trying to catch his breath.
"I think they were Deatheaters." Cedric said, keeping his focus back towards the direction they came from.
Malcolm stood up with a perplexed look on his face. "Deatheaters? Seriously? And I thought the Greeks were overdramatic with their names." Malcolm said sarcastically.
Cedric ignored his comment but turned back to face him. "Okay, you stay here, I'm going to go help dad." He ordered.
Malcolm scoffed at his proclamation. "Like Hades you are."
"Don't try to talk me out of this, dad needs my help." Cedric said pointedly.
Malcolm shook his head, "I know, but you are not going out there alone." He said pulling out his sword from thin air, concealed by the Mist.
"Malcolm, no. These aren't monsters. And plus, we don't even know if your sword will work on them. It could just pass right through them like normal mortals." Cedric pleaded.
"It deflects magic, and that's all I need, now come on." Malcolm ordered. Cedric stood dumbfounded at Malcolm's eagerness.
"Hey Malcolm." Cedric said, still standing in the same spot he had been from before. Malcolm turned around to face Cedric.
He stepped forward before quickly planting a quick kiss on Malcolm's lips before pulling away to a shocked Malcolm.
"Alright, if I had the courage to do that, then I have the courage to fight off some dumbasses who forgot today wasn't Halloween." Cedric said and ran back towards the campsite.
Malcolm still stood completely still, unable to process what just happened, and found him to be the 'dumbfounded one' now.
"Cedric!" Malcolm yelled, running after the son of Aphrodite.
Malcolm stopped once he exited the woods and saw Cedric just standing there, looking at the destruction before them. The entire campsite was dark, with only embers burning from the vast destruction. There was no green for as far as the eye could see. Just gray ash covering everything and the remains of the tents and venues.
"Dad!" Cedric called out and started running through the destruction.
"Cedric." Malcolm hissed, trying to shut him up.
"Dad!"
"Ced." Malcolm called out again rushing over to stop him. "I know you want to find your dad, but giving our position away isn't exactly the most strategically sound tactic." Malcolm advised.
Cedric looked at him before nodding. "Then, mister master of strategy, what do you propose?" Cedric asked crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well, the… 'Deatheaters' were moving east while we were moving south, so-"
Malcolm summarized when Cedric interrupted his thoughts by tugging on his shirt.
"What?" Malcolm asked and then he saw Cedric staring up into the sky where a shadowy cloud formation had appeared with a poison green glow and it formed into a skull with a snake coming out from its mouth.
"The Dark Mark." Cedric whispered and he started running back towards the woods.
"Cedric, wait!" Malcolm shouted and sprinted to catch up with him.
Malcolm caught up with him at the edge of the woods when several bright red flashes of light caught their attention deeper in the woods.
Cedric and Malcolm both carefully ran towards the source of light which was perhaps a hundred yards further into the wooded area. Cedric and Malcolm both stopped when they saw about a dozen wizards surrounding a group of teens. Malcolm had to squint to see that it was Harry, Hermione, and Ron that were in the middle of the group.
"Dad!" Cedric yelled and ran over to his father who was in the middle of an argument with Arthur Weasley and another wizard. Malcolm quickly followed him, concealing his sword before he gained the stares of the other wizards.
"Cedric, Malcolm. I told you to hide." Amos hissed.
"What's going on?" Cedric asked.
"Nothing, I'm taking you both home." He said ushering both of them away from the group.
Before Malcolm or Cedric could protest Amos had whipped out his wand and apparated both him and Malcolm back to the Diggory residence. Malcolm clutched his stomach as he dried heaved from the unexpected magical travel.
Cedric appeared seconds later, looking extremely pissed off. "You had no right-"
"Cedric!" Amos yelled back cutting him off.
Cedric sighed waiting for Amos to explain himself. "It was the Deatheaters who attacked the World Cup." Amos said as if that answered all their questions.
Cedric gave him a gesture to keep going, "And…"
"And that's it." Amos said. "Stay here, Malcolm, I'll take you back to Camp Half-Blood in the morning, I have to get back and make sure there aren't any stragglers." Amos said quickly and apparated out of the house before Cedric could stop him.
Cedric sighed before sitting at one of the stools behind the kitchen counter.
"So…" Malcolm murmured sitting down next to Cedric.
"So…" Cedric repeated, he stared off at the wall across from his as he ran a hand through his hair, damp with sweat and coated in ash and dirt.
"We just going to ignore the fact that you kissed me or what?" Malcolm asked trying to get Cedric to look at him.
Cedric turned around to face Malcolm. "I-I should have asked you, I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable." Cedric carefully said.
"What? No, no, you didn't make me uncomfortable. I was just… surprised that's all. Honestly, it took you long enough." Malcolm laughed grabbing Cedric's hands to reassure him.
He flashed Malcolm his signature smile.
"Are you just going to stare at me or are you going to kiss me?" Malcolm asked, trying to prevent himself from blushing, but he could feel that he was failing miserably.
Cedric rolled his eyes before leaning over to abide by Malcolm's request.
"Better?" Cedric asked.
Malcolm only nodded in response.
Lou Ellen Blackstone sat next to Nico di Angelo on a cushion in the middle of Rachel Dare's cave. It was the day after the World Cup and her father had sent her an owl about the attacks on the camp site following the match. To make matters worse, that same night she had yet another nightmare, the same one she had the night before that.
She nearly had a panic attack after she read her father's letter, thinking perhaps something happened to Cedric and Harry because they had both been at the World Cup, and since it was attacked by Deatheaters, she figured those were the cloaked figures in her nightmares.
Thankfully, Malcolm showed up shortly after she received her father's letter assuring that both he, Cedric, and Potter were safe. She did not tell him the reason why she was so concerned, not wanting to bother him over something that she was not one hundred percent sure of.
She decided to go to Nico and see if he had any insight what her dream meant. And that is why they are now sitting in front of the host to the Oracle of Delphi.
"So, you need a prophecy?" Rachel asked as she sipped on a cup of coffee. "I can't promise you that the Oracle will show herself, but you can try." She said, brushing her long curly red hair behind her ear.
Lou Ellen turned to Nico before he nodded.
"Um… I need to know if Cedric Diggory is going to die?" Lou Ellen cautiously asked aloud. Rachel kept sipping on her coffee, and it did not look like anything was happening. Then a fog of green smoke started to flood the room, coming from Rachel as her eyes shifted and she stood up.
"In the Tournament of Three,
Four shall proceed,
Two who shouldn't be in the maze,
Travel forth to the grave,
For one to live the other must die,
Resurrected before their eyes,
The dark lord arises."
Rachel collapsed into the beanbag chair she had been sitting in a moment before.
She rubbed her head as she struggled to sit up.
Lou Ellen turned to Nico, a worried look plastered on her face.
"That bad?" Rachel asked weakly.
A/N: Please drop a review, Follow, and/or Favorite.
May the Force be with you because Felix is my new Stiles