Harry felt as though he had barely lain down to sleep in Ron's room when he was being shaken awake by Mrs. Weasley.
"Time to go, Harry, dear," she whispered, moving away to wake Ron.
Harry felt around for his glasses, put them on, and sat up. It was still dark outside. Ron muttered indistinctly as his mother roused him. At the foot of Harry's mattress he saw two large, disheveled shapes emerging from tangles of blankets, instead of the three he expected.
"'S time already?" said Fred groggily.
They dressed in silence, too sleepy to talk, then, yawning and stretching, the four of them headed downstairs into the kitchen.
Mrs. Weasley was stirring the contents of a large pot on the stove, as Ben was seated at the table, drinking tea, while Mr. Weasley was sitting at the table, checking a sheaf of large parchment tickets. He looked up as the boys entered and spread his arms so that they could see his clothes more clearly. He was wearing what appeared to be a golfing sweater and a very old pair of jeans, slightly too big for him and held up with a thick leather belt.
"What d'you think?" he asked anxiously. "We're supposed to go incognito - do I look like a Muggle, Harry?"
"Yeah," said Harry, smiling, "very good."
"See," Ben said, rather chipper for this time in the morning. "I told you that you looked alright."
"Where're Bill and Charlie and Per-Per-Percy?" said George, failing to stifle a huge yawn.
"Well, they're Apparating, aren't they?" said Mrs. Weasley, heaving the large pot over to the table and starting to ladle porridge into bowls. "So they can have a bit of a lie-in."
"So they're still in bed?" said Fred grumpily, pulling his bowl of porridge toward him. "Why can't we Apparate too?"
"Because you're not of age and you haven't passed your test," snapped Mrs. Weasley. "And where have those girls got to?"
She bustled out of the kitchen and they heard her climbing the stairs.
"So, when are Sirius and Remus coming over?" Ben asked.
"Some time soon," Mr. Weasley replied. "We managed to get our tents next to each other."
Ben nodded. "Good. Good."
Mrs. Weasley came into the kitchen after Ben finished. There were footsteps down the passageway and Hermione and Ginny came into the kitchen, both looking pale and drowsy.
"Why do we have to be up so early?" Ginny said, rubbing her eyes and sitting down at the table.
"We've got a bit of a walk," said Mr. Weasley.
"As do we," Sirius's voice came from the other side of the door.
Mrs. Weasley opened the door, letting Sirius and Remus in.
"Why do we?" Ben asked. "I thought we were side-along Apparating."
"We decide to walk with the Weasleys, hitchhiking with them if they'll let us," Remus replied.
"Of course you can," Mr. Weasley said. "I don't think anyone else would -"
"George!" said Mrs. Weasley sharply, and they all jumped. "What?" said George, in an innocent tone that deceived nobody. "What is that in your pocket?"
"Nothing!"
"Don't you lie to me!"
Mrs. Weasley pointed her wand at George's pocket and said,
"Accio!"
Several small, brightly colored objects zoomed out of George's pocket; he made a grab for them but missed, and they sped right into Mrs. Weasley's outstretched hand.
"We told you to destroy them!" said Mrs. Weasley furiously, holding up what were unmistakably more Ton-Tongue Toffees. "We told you to get rid of the lot! Empty your pockets, go on, both of you!"
It was an unpleasant scene; the twins had evidently been trying to smuggle as many toffees out of the house as possible, and it was only by using her Summoning Charm that Mrs. Weasley managed to find them all.
"Accio! Accio! Accio!" she shouted, and toffees zoomed from all sorts of unlikely places, including the lining of George's jacket and the turn-ups of Fred's jeans.
"We spent six months developing those!" Fred shouted at his mother as she threw the toffees away. Ben winced in the background as Sirius frowned.
"Oh a fine way to spend six months!" she shrieked. "No wonder you didn't get more O.W.L.s!"
All in all, the atmosphere was not very friendly as they took their departure. Mrs. Weasley was still glowering as she kissed Mr. Weasley on the cheek, though not nearly as much as the twins, who had each hoisted their rucksacks onto their backs and walked out without a word to her.
"Well, have a lovely time," said Mrs. Weasley, "and behave yourselves," she called after the twins' retreating backs, but they did not look back or answer. "I'll send Bill, Charlie, and Percy along around midday," Mrs. Weasley said to Mr. Weasley, as he, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ben, Sirius, Remus, and Ginny set off across the dark yard after Fred and George.
It was chilly and the moon was still out. Only a dull, greenish tinge along the horizon to their right showed that daybreak was drawing closer. They trudged down the dark, dank lane toward the village, the silence broken only by their footsteps. The sky lightened very slowly as they made their way through the village, its inky blackness diluting to deepest blue. Harry's hands and feet were freezing. Mr. Weasley kept checking his watch.
They didn't have breath to spare for talking as they began to climb Stoatshead Hill, stumbling occasionally in hidden rabbit holes, slipping on thick black tuffets of grass. Each breath Harry took was sharp in his chest and his legs were starting to seize up when, at last, his feet found level ground.
"Whew," panted Mr. Weasley, taking off his glasses and wiping them on his sweater. "Well, we've made good time - we've got ten minutes. . . ."
Hermione came over the crest of the hill last, clutching a stitch in her side.
"Now we just need the Portkey," said Mr. Weasley, replacing his glasses and squinting around at the ground. "It won't be big. . . . Come on . . ."
They spread out, searching. They had only been at it for a couple of minutes, however, when a shout rent the still air.
"Over here, Arthur! Over here, son, we've got it!"
Two tall figures were silhouetted against the starry sky on the other side of the hilltop.
"Amos!" said Mr. Weasley, smiling as he strode over to the man who had shouted. The rest of them followed.
Mr. Weasley was shaking hands with a ruddy-faced wizard with a scrubby brown beard, who was holding a moldy-looking old boot in his other hand.
"This is Amos Diggory, everyone," said Mr. Weasley. "He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric?"
"Hi," said Cedric, looking around at them all.
Everybody said hi back.
"Long walk, Arthur?" Cedric's father asked.
"Not too bad," said Mr. Weasley. "We live just on the other side of the village there. You?"
"Had to get up at two, didn't we, Ced? I tell you, I'll be glad when he's got his Apparition test. Still . . . not complaining . . . Quidditch World Cup, wouldn't miss it for a sackful of Galleons - and the tickets cost about that. Mind you, looks like I got off easy. . . ." Amos Diggory peered good-naturedly around at the three Weasley boys, Harry, Hermione, Ben, and Ginny. "All these yours, Arthur?"
"Not quite, Amos," Sirius replied. "The blond's my nephew, Ben," - he waved - "Hermione's the brunette, a family friend, and the black haired one is my godson, Harry."
"Merlin's beard," said Amos Diggory, his eyes widening. "Harry? Harry Potter?"
"Er - yeah," said Harry.
"Ced's talked about you, of course," said Amos Diggory. "Told us all about playing against you last year. . . . I said to him, I said - Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will. . . . You played against Harry Potter!"
Harry couldn't think of any reply to this, so he remained silent. Ben, Fred, and George were trying valiantly not to laugh. Cedric looked slightly embarrassed.
"Lots of other people play against, Dad," he muttered.
"You and Ben were the only challenge for me last year," Harry replied.
"See Ced," Amos roared genially, to Cedric's complete embarrassment. "You're the one of the only challenges to him. Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman… don't need to be a genius to know you're great!"
"Must be nearly time," said Mr. Weasley quickly, pulling out his watch again. "Do you know whether we're waiting for any more, Amos?"
"No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already and the Fawcetts couldn't get tickets," said Mr. Diggory. "There aren't any more of us in this area, are there?"
"Not that I know of," said Mr. Weasley. "Yes, it's a minute off. . . . We'd better get ready. . . ."
He looked around at Harry and Hermione.
"You just need to touch the Portkey, that's all, a finger will do -"
With difficulty, owing to their bulky backpacks, the twelve of them crowded around the old boot held out by Amos Diggory. They all stood there, in a tight circle, as a chill breeze swept over the hilltop. Nobody spoke. It suddenly occurred to Harry how odd this would look if a Muggle were to walk up here now . . . twelve people, four of them grown men, clutching this manky old boot in the semidarkness, waiting. . . .
"Three . . ." muttered Mr. Weasley, one eye still on his watch, "two . . . one . . ."
Harry barely braced himself for the sudden jerk. The familiar sensation of being hooked just behind his navel was felt before they sped forwards in a howl of wind and swirling color. He could feel Ron and Hermione on either side of him, their shoulders banging into his. His forefinger was stuck to the boot as though it was pulling him magnetically onward and then -
His feet slammed into the ground; Ron staggered into him and he fell over; the Portkey hit the ground near his head with a heavy thud.
Harry looked up. Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory, Sirius, Remus, and Cedric were still standing, though looking very windswept; everybody else was on the ground, although Ben was sitting.
"Seven past five from Stoatshead Hill," said a voice.
AN: Well, nothing much to say. Hope you enjoyed the new chapter and have a good rest of your day.
Uploaded: May 1st, 2022