Chapter 68: Waiting for Tonight
The morning of the World Cup dawned clear and cool. Harry woke early, stepped out of the tent and let his bare feet sink into the dewy grass. The celebration of last night went long before the families retired for the night. Inspiration struck and Harry asked Dobby to bring some supplies. He was midway through chopping vegetables when Hermione walked out of the tent.
"Good morning, Harry," she yawned as she stretched in the early morning air. "What are you doing?"
Hermione rubbed her eyes while Harry continued to chop.
"Making omelets," he said without looking up.
"You don't have to do that you, know?" Hermione sat down next to him. "Can I help?"
"If you could put the pan on the fire, I think it's hot enough now."
"Good morning, Harry," Mrs. Weasley stepped out of the Weasley tent. "What are you doing, chopping away at this hour? You could cut yourself."
"Ooh are you making omelets?" Richard heard Hermione's voice and popped out of the tent to investigate.
"Do you want the usual, Richard?" Harry looked over his shoulder to ask.
"Yes please. I'll go get Helen," Richard popped back into the tent so quickly the tent looked like it was blowing out a breath.
"You don't need to do that," Mrs. Weasley chided. "There are plenty of adults here who can do that."
"I wanted to," Harry said simply. Dobby popped in with the eggs, whipped just the way Harry preferred. "Thank you, Dobby."
"All the same, I'll take it from here," Mrs. Weasley pulled her wand but her husband stayed her hand.
She never noticed the scandalized looks on the Grangers nor did she see the look of hurt on Harry's face as the bowl sat suspended over the pan. Hermione's hands came into his vision and tipped a bit of the egg into the pan. When Harry heard the sizzling of the eggs, he returned his focus to the pan.
"Trust me," Helen said to the Weasley woman as Harry added the onion, tomato and spinach to the pan. "You are about to experience something truly special."
"Richard's is ready," Harry slid the first omelet out of the pan. "Yours will be ready in a moment, Helen."
"Thank you, Harry," Helen sat next to her husband while Harry was cooking Hermione's
"Do you want anything special in yours, Mrs. Weasley?" Harry asked after passing Hermione hers. Hermione noticed Dobby doing his best to refresh the eggs with every serving.
"N-no," she stuttered out. A few minutes later, both Weasley parents had their own omelet. With trepidation, Mrs. Weasley took a small bite of hers. Her eyes widened similarly to the Grangers that first Christmas.
"Told you," Helen laughed. "It's incredible, isn't it?"
"Still has nothing on your Italian food, Helen," Harry said. "I've worked on it all year and it's just not the same."
"You're too hard on yourself, Harry," Hermione hugged him from the side. "It was wonderful whenever you cooked it."
The smells soon brought out the rest of the Weasley clan, nose-first, followed by the Patils, Browns and, finally, Sirius.
"What smells so good?" Sirius, who drank more than he should have last night, lumbered from the tent.
"Breakfast," Harry made one more omelet for Padfoot. He ended with one for Dobby and then one for himself. Even Ron couldn't make a disparaging comment, the food was so good.
"Thank you for breakfast," Samantha said. "That was wonderful. Would now be a good time to do the interview?"
"Would that work for you?" Harry asked the twins, Lavender and Parvati who nodded in turn. Ron begged off to go find Seamus.
"Yes but not too long," Lavender said. "We still need to get ready to open our booth."
"So Harry, do you mind if I call you Harry?" Samantha pulled out a dictaquill and had it start transcribing.
"I think I'd prefer that to the Boy Who Lived, honestly," Harry replied.
"Why is that?" Samantha's blue eyes brightened as she arrived in her element.
"By calling me the Boy Who Lived, it reminds me that my parents didn't," Harry said.
"I guess we never thought about that," Samantha thought aloud. "It actually seems pretty callous to celebrate two people dying."
"It's not just my parents," Harry said. "My godbrother's parents were tortured into insanity. Another classmate lost her parents and was raised by her aunt. So many people had their lives altered by that war and they're never spoken of. Like the wizarding world is trying to move on and ignore that it happened all while foisting a title onto a baby who did nothing to deserve it. I am alive because of my mother, because of something she created."
"So why invest the way you have?" Samantha challenged. "Why have you taken an interest in these two businesses when you could largely leave the wizarding world to its fate?"
"Part of it is a continuation of my family legacy," Harry leaned in as he spoke. "My grandfather, Charlus was notorious for investing in businesses. Those investments have made Diagon Alley what it is today. My mother also made some investment suggestions with the goblins that have paid off immensely and got me thinking of finding different places to invest. I've seen the work the Weasley Wizarding Wheezes have been doing since my first year and last year I noticed the products Lavender Petal developed. I just knew they both were driven and on the path of something special. Helping them to achieve their dreams felt like the right thing to do."
"Are you worried that they'll take your investment for granted? Or that someone else will come along and try and swindle you out of your investment funds?"
"The goblins run the investments," Harry shrugged. "I just provide the startup capital. If someone has an idea that I like, I will gladly run it by the goblins. If they take the money and run, so to speak, that's their loss. To do so would anger the goblins which is very bad for business. Wizards forget that according to the treaty after the latest goblin war, we entrusted the goblins with all our financial futures as compensation for them not being allowed to carry wands."
Samantha paled, considering how many times she had seen a wizard treat a goblin as a lesser being. Yet the terrifying creatures just seemed to take it in stride every time. Using that as a turning point, Samantha interviewed the four kids before they departed to finish getting ready, promising to disclose that Lavender was her daughter.
"What can you tell me about the person next to you?" Samantha asked, pointing at Hermione.
"I met her, rather she introduced herself to me, at King's Cross and we sat in the same compartment as we went up to Hogwarts first year," Harry said. "As I had been raised muggle, I was not informed of the way to access the platform. Hermione and her parents helped me board the train. Ever since she's been my best friend and confidant. Her parents have become surrogate parents to me since then, even taking me into their home when they discovered my home life was… not great."
"And Hermione," Samantha turned to her. "What can you tell our readers about the witch who stole this boy's heart? Lavender tells us you are quite brilliant."
"I have always been studious," Hermione said. "I love to read and learn. While others were playing with dolls, I had my books. When I met Harry, he got me to relax a little without sacrificing my studies. For the first time in my life, I have friends, in addition to becoming part of the wizarding world, which has been amazing."
"She's top of the class," Percy cut across. "As a prefect and later Head Boy, I never needed to worry about Hermione Granger. She's usually the first to get a spell and is able to master it. She's a bright and brilliant mind; sure to be an asset to the wizarding world once she graduates."
"Thank you, Percy," Hermione squeaked out an embarrassed reply. Harry beamed at the bespectacled young boy. "Now if you will excuse me, I need to get ready for today."
"And how do you find Hogwarts, Harry?" Samantha focused back on him. "You said you were raised muggle; how does a magical education compare to the muggle one?"
"Well I don't think you'll find anything like Hagrid in the muggle world," Harry joked. "Overall it has been great. History is about the same as it was when my godfather was in school, according to him. Potions are dangerous and kind of scary but thanks to the Potions club the founders of Lavender Petal started, the subject is interesting when you break down the steps and why the reactions happen as such."
"Word is you're also quite the flyer."
"I have found a certain affinity for flying yes," Harry said. "Quidditch is really fun, especially playing against Hufflepuff and their Seeker Cedric Diggory."
"Someone mention my name?" Harry looked over his shoulder and Diggory was standing there with what Harry assumed to be his mother and father.
"Cedric!" Harry shot out of his seat and embraced Cedric warmly. "I was wondering if we might see you."
"I just had to wait until you mentioned me," Cedric laughed. "This is my father Amos and my mother Meredith."
"Amos Diggory," the elder Diggory aggressively shook Harry's hand. "Good to meet you Mr. Potter."
"So you two are friends at school?" Samantha called the attention back to her.
"We are," Harry said. "Cedric Diggory has been my mentor in Quidditch and one of the founders of the Hogwarts Defense Association where kids from every house come to practice and refine their defense spells."
"That's my son," Amos said while rubbing his son's shoulders. "The only person to ever beat Harry Potter to the Snitch."
"Oh, that game," Harry facepalmed. "I learned a lot that day about how the game is played. Cedric has become very much like an older brother to me and I am grateful for it."
"You're two years my junior and you still can defeat me in a duel," Cedric said. "It's been fun."
"Back to your question," Harry turned back to Samantha. "I am a part of the back-to-back defending Hogwarts Quidditch Cup Champions, playing as their Seeker. It would be three if not for the person sitting next to me. I enjoy Quidditch and am eager to see the game tonight."
"And are you interested in any specific part of tonight's game?"
"We got to watch Viktor Krum in Germany this summer and I am eager to watch him play again, though the Irish Chaser line is supposedly very, very good."
"Sounds like a good game for the Beaters to make their presence felt," another voice cut through.
"Ludo!" Samantha smiled warmly as a blonde man walked up. He was wearing black and gold robes with a wasp on the front. The middle of the robe was straining to keep his gut from bursting forth like one of the Xenomorphs in Alien. "Harry this is Ludo Bagman, former Beater of the Wimbourne Wasps and current head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Ludo Bagman, Harry Potter."
"Yes everyone knows the Boy Who Lived," Bagman missed Samantha's wince as he extended his hand for Harry to shake. "Word has reached my ears of the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor Seekers who put on a show in the most recent match. You look just like your father, Harry. How did you snag this interview, Sammy? I know Rita's been chomping at the bit to get this exclusive for three years."
"A journalist never reveals her secrets," Samantha giggled coquettishly. "He's actually a classmate of my daughter, if we're being honest."
"Well good on you," Bagman said. "Rita won't like it but I am excited to see your piece."
"Good to see you again, Ludo!" Sirius had been silent up to this point. "I see you haven't fixed that nose yet."
"Well the Bludger just enhanced my beauty, really," Ludo grinned at Sirius. "You look like you've recovered well from Azkaban, Lord Black."
"I get by with a little help from my friends," Sirius gestured at the Grangers. "What brings you down here with the plebes?"
"Delivering the tickets to Arthur," Ludo pulled an envelope from his robes. "Top box, as I promised. Thank you again for sorting out those biting rubbish bins in our offices. Still don't right know who set that prank up. Were Sirius not locked up, I'd suspect him."
"Hey!" Sirius protested.
"So you're saying you wouldn't do it?" Hermione said, back from the tent. She was also in her formal robes, hers a tasteful blue, tailored to fit her slim figure. With the Lavender Petal products used for her makeup and hair, she looked absolutely ravishing to Harry's eyes.
"Well…" Sirius shrugged.
"Exactly," Hermione giggled.
Harry was about to get back to his interview when another figure came up, this one dressed immaculately in a muggle suit with his hair gelled perfectly into place.
"Barty!" Ludo clapped him on each shoulder, making the shorter man's mustache bristle. "What brings you to this neck of the woods."
Bagman laughed at his joke.
"I am looking for the Bulgarian Minister," the man said. "I need to speak with him about the exact number of seats his delegation needs. The Irish upped their delegation to 20 and I need to know if he wants to match."
"May I offer you some tea, Mr. Crouch?" Percy hurried up to the man with a cup of tea made.
"Ah yes," Crouch, as Harry knew him now, accepted the tea. "Thank you, Weatherby."
"Since I have the two architects here," Samantha turned toward the two men. "How has it been setting up the event?"
"We are prepared for a safe and successful World Cup," Crouch said.
"'We are prepared for a safe and successful World Cup'," Bagman placed his hand over his upper lip, his tone mocking Crouch's formal one. "This has been great and we are excited for a wonderful match tonight. As we are excited for…"
"The event to finish," Crouch cut across Bagman and glared at the man. "That's all we have to say on the subject. Now if you don't mind, we'll find the Bulgarians. Thank you for the tea, Weatherby."
"Weird," Harry said.
"No kidding," Samantha agreed. "We keep getting interrupted and I cannot remember where we were. Oh, I know! What was it about Weasley Wizarding Wheezes and Lavender Petal that inspired you to invest in them?"
"For the Weasley Twins, it was their drive," Harry said. "The common room of Gryffindor is rather raucous and the twins are usually at the center of it. They're renowned the school over as being pranksters. However, when it is quiet, I learned they were working and when they were working, I was listening. Their ingenuity and dedication was fascinating. They knew what their dream was and they just needed someone to believe in them and invest.
"As for Lavender Petal," Harry looked up as Lavender walked out of the tent with her hair and makeup done in the same dress robe as last night, just with comfortable shoes instead of heels. "They spent the last three years innovating and pushing themselves. My girlfriend and I got to see first-hand all the products they were doing as they liked to have us test them or simply give them as gifts. When they had their breakthrough last year with the perfume and cologne, I knew they were for real. It's their passion that attracts me."
"Thank you, Harry," Samantha looked over her shoulder. "Well, it looks like things are starting to move. We should probably leave it off there. Thank you for your time and I hope to have this piece done for next month's issue. Is it okay if I poke around the booths for more information and quotes for the article?"
"It was my pleasure," Harry stood to stretch. "It was a pleasure to meet you and the interview was actually less painful than I thought it would be. I'll see you at the game as well, I am sure."
Harry quickly retreated to the tent to get showered and dressed for the day, glad that Richard had taught him how to shave this summer as he needed to. When he stepped out of the tent again, this time in his green formal robes, Hermione's eyes dilated.
"Mister Potter," Hermione said. "My you do clean up nice."
"I had to dress to impress," Harry said, adjusting his cuffs as he spoke. Hermione noticed he had the antler cufflinks adorning his robes. "You see I have this girlfriend who is truly gorgeous and I have to impress her."
"Careful," Hermione kissed him. "Flattery will get you everywhere."
Hand-in-hand, they walked across the field, toward the booth. When they got closer to the booth, they saw a crowd similar to last night, with a clear division of males to the left and women to the right, each side looking equally excited. Steering around the throng, Harry and Hermione observed Lavender and Parvati were working with a different customer, giving them a trial of their products. The booth was set up with two tables with chairs in front, facing a mirror. On the table, their products were set up in tiers. Lavender and Parvati were working in front of the tables and behind them, Padma, Susan, Daphne, Astoria were handing out products and taking payments.
Samantha was watching from the sides and rapidly taking notes while Chandra was bouncing from foot to foot, trying to find a way to help but also nervous about getting in the way. At the other booth, Ginny and Tracey were helping the Weasley twins with collecting payment. Richard, Sirius and Mr. Weasley were standing behind, ready to help if needed. Dobby could barely be seen popping in with products that either needed. It was a symphony of motion and cooperation. Hermione shook off her shock and surged forward to help as well. Harry circled around the back to stand next to the parents.
"Are you doing okay, Chandra?" Harry asked the tittering woman.
"I would like to help but I don't want to be in the way," she said.
"Just ask Padma how you can help," Harry pointed to the Ravenclaw twin. "She's the one coordinating. I'm sure she'll put you to work."
"Thank you," Chandra gave Harry a watery smile and stepped forward to help.
Harry watched from the sidelines as person after person flocked to their booth to buy the products. He recognized quite a few Hogwarts students visiting the Weasleys' booth and chuckled at the headaches they were about to cause Professor McGonagall.
Sirius and Richard turned out to be less helpful, taking turns to test the fake wands on one another, laughing raucously as they engaged in a sword fight with their wands which were now a rubber chicken and a bowling pin.
"That's my child," Helen shook her head in silent laughter. "I never thought my daughter would be more mature than my husband."
"Well I think that's the effect of Sirius," Harry said. "He seems to bring out everyone's inner child. Myself included."
Harry ran forward with his own fake wand, courtesy of the twins.
"En garde!" Harry engaged Sirius in a fake swordfight. Like the others, his wand transformed, this time into a balloon. Sirius cracked up at Harry's weapon.
"What are you going to do with that?" Sirius cackled. Harry looked down at his balloon and hit Sirius over the head with it, the balloon bouncing off with a dull thunk. Richard, Harry and Sirius collapsed into one another in laughter.
"They're helpless," Hermione said, giggling as she watched her boyfriend play with her father and Sirius.
"Helpless," Helen said. "But not hopeless."
Harry broke suddenly out of his laughter. His keen eyes spotted a figure hobbling around the edge of the forest.
"Pardon me," Harry excused himself and went to investigate. "Vinny?"
"Hey," Vinny shrugged and continued hobbling away.
"What happened?" Harry put his hand on his shoulder and immediately regretted it when the boy winced in pain. "Your father again?"
"He told me," Vinny wheezed out. "He told me that things were happening; events are in motion and I better pick a side. I… told him I pick you, your side. He didn't like that. He cast the torture curse on me and beat me while the curse was still working. Greg's dad had a similar warning but his dad's never been one for physical violence. My father, on the other hand, loves the violence. He gets off on it. After the Cup, I'm running away; I've had enough but I don't know where to go. Greg's dad isn't much better."
"Potter Manor," Harry said, firmly. "There's plenty of room. Sirius is the only one currently living there."
"You'd do that?" Vinny's eyes widened.
"Of course," Harry said. "It's what my father would have done. Dobby!"
Dobby popped in.
"Can you grab Vinny's school trunk and other things he'll need and move it to Potter Manor?"
"Dobby can, sir," the elf nodded and popped away.
"Head to the Leaky Cauldron where we can pick you up. You can make other arrangements thereafter but for now, you'll be safe," Harry noticed the crowd surging near the Weasley tent. "Pardon me."
"Go ahead," Vinny said. "Thank you, Harry."
"You got it, Vinny," Harry sprinted back to the tent to see what the commotion was.
"That'll be 10 galleons," Fred said to the haul of products in his younger brother's arms.
"But I'm your brother!" Ron shouted. "I should get a discount!"
"That is a discount," George said, his arms crossed. "We know you spent your savings last night on the Krum figure."
"You guys never give me anything," Ron scoffed, dropped the stuff on the ground and walked away. George put it back with a flick of his wand.
"Everything okay?" Harry asked.
"We were going to give him some of our products," Fred said. "That was until he tried to walk away with them without paying. Ron has started to act entitled lately and we're tired of it. Mum decided not to follow through on her promise to punish him even though his grades were still pitiful."
"Joy," Harry was not looking forward to sharing the dorm with him again. "How's it going overall?"
"Splendid," the twins said in unison.
"We've almost-" George began.
"-Run out of product," Fred finished
"Same with Lavender Petal," George looked over his shoulder. In fact, it looks like they are closing up shop.
On cue, Lavender's voice cut through the air.
"Thank you all for coming out," she said. "It is almost time for the match. Orders can be made through Owl Order addressed to Lavender Petal."
"That's my cue," George pointed the wand toward his throat to enhance his own voice. "Same can be done with the Weasley Wizarding Wheezes."
The crowd dispersed, Susan and the other helpers departed to find their families heading toward the stadium. Sirius flicked his wand- his actual one- and closed up the booths.
"Well done you four," he said. "If you need anything, let me know. It's about time the Black vaults were used for beauty and laughter."
Lavender was overjoyed beyond measure. She brought Parvati into an embrace and kissed her fiercely, forgetting they were not alone.
"Lav?" Samantha's voice brought her daughter up short.
"Mum," a blushing Lavender pulled away from Parvati to face her mother. "This is Parvati… my girlfriend."
"Parvati," Chandra grabbed her daughter by the shoulders and locked eyes. "Is this truly what you want?"
"It is," Parvati stood with Lavender.
"Then go," Chandra said. "Live your life to your heart's desire. We'll talk later."
"I'm just glad you found someone as special as you," Samantha cupped her daughter's face with her hand. "Take care of her, Parvati."
"I will," Parvati nodded, ignoring the glares her father was giving her.
"Thank goodness that's out in the open," Padma said. "What? You didn't think I noticed how you looked at one another? I am glad I don't have to hide how happy I am for you."
"I think the game beckons," Hermione said. Fred and George left to meet up with their family. At the gate, Dobby popped in with the tickets. Harry presented them at the gate.
"Box 7," the man examined the tickets. "Take the stairwell behind me up to the top level. Enjoy the game."
Inside the stadium, there was a constant thrum of drummers, the crowd buzzing as the sunset. The box was lined with purple carpet, furnished with two tiered rows of chairs forward and a bar in the back. On each seat sat a set of binoculars. Harry picked up the golden binoculars with "Omnioculars" embossed on the side. Each side had a series of knobs that slowed play down, replayed the action, zoomed and gave play-by-play.
"Cool!" Richard was playing with the binoculars. "These things are incredible!"
Hermione sat down next to Harry, handing him one of the two butterbeers in her hand, and a box of Bertie Botts in her other hand.
"Oh no," Harry shook his head.
"Just one," Hermione pleaded, holding out a blue one.
"Earn it," Harry opened his mouth. Like the previous time, Hermione threw the bean into his mouth. Harry hesitantly bit down.
"Blueberry," Harry licked his chops in appreciation. "Your turn."
Harry picked out a white bean for Hermione. She quickly popped the bean into her mouth and promptly spit it out.
"Mayonnaise," Hermione said as she took a swig of butterbeer to wash the taste out of her mouth.
"I haven't had one of these in decades," Sirius fished out a green one. The animagus swallowed with a grimace. "Fish. That's why I haven't had one in decades."
"Do you want one?" Sirius offered the box to Helen and Richard.
"No thank you," Richard said throwing his hands up in surrender with Helen shaking her head.
"Smart," Harry nodded with a smile.
"Look!" Lavender pointed down to the turf. "The mascots are taking the field."
"Wonder what the Bulgarians brought with them," Sirius leaned forward. "Ahh… Veela!"
"You're kidding," Hermione said.
16 of the most beautiful women took the field. The males in the audience went wild as music started to play and the women started to dance. Harry felt magic take hold as the air itself seemed to heat up. Harry felt a sudden compulsion to dance and impress these women.
Why? A voice in the back of his mind said. What do they have that Hermione doesn't?
Thinking of Hermione shook Harry out of his trance. He shook his head and changed his occlumency barriers to keep the compulsion locked away.
"Having fun?" Hermione sounded amused. That's when Harry realized he was in front of the box, flexing his arms. "I was curious if you'd shake it off."
"Your father certainly hasn't," Helen pointed to Richard who was doing one-armed pushups. Sirius changed into his dog form and had his paws on the railing, wagging his tail excitedly. Lavender and Parvati looked similarly interested while Suresh was doing a dance.
"I'll admit their effect is… significant," Harry said. "There was a feeling that I wanted to impress them but thinking of you brought me back to my senses."
"Good boy," Hermione kissed him on the cheek. Once the Veela stopped dancing, gold started falling from the sky. Over the boundary of the stadium came Leprechauns from each direction came green streaks. When they arrived at the center, they exploded in the shape of a shamrock. After that, the teams were announced, and the game was underway.
It was not particularly close. The Irish Chaser formation was too quick, looking like a trident powering through the air. They even unveiled a special attack called the "Flying V" where they passed the Quaffle between one another so quick, the Bulgarians could not properly attack it. The only saving grace was Krum, whose superior flying skills allowed the game to finish close but the Irish ended up winning 170-160.
Harry relived the match with Richard and Sirius until the adrenalin from the match wore off. As he was preparing for bed when he felt a light rumble.
Across the field, a group of men in cloaks gathered.
"You all know what to do," Nott said behind his mask. "Three groups. Mayhem and destruction. Make it big. There will be a signal for us to bug out. You will know it when you see it."
They drew their wands and launched a series of blasts to wake those around them and incite panic.
Harry felt the ground rumble. Something felt off; he just knew it. Opening the door from his room, Harry saw Hermione doing the same. Sirius was at the mouth of the tent looking out. He looked back in with fear in his eyes.
"How bad?" Harry asked.
"Bad," Sirius said as he pulled his wand. "Hermione, get your parents and grab your wand. Remember there are exceptions to underage magic restrictions in life-threatening situations."
Harry's eyes widened when Sirius finished speaking.
Is it really that serious? Harry wondered. Dobby popped in with his and Hermione's battle robes and daggers. Harry pulled his on as Hermione arrived with her parents. Once he fastened the gauntlets, he handed his dagger to Richard.
"Just in case," Harry said. Richard took the dagger and its holster and strapped it to his forearm while Hermione gave her mother her dagger and fastened her battle robes.
"There is a wood not far from here," Sirius said. "It is up on the hill so you should be protected. I will meet you there to take you home."
"Be safe," Harry locked eyes with his godfather.
"You too," Sirius said. "It's time for them to remember what it's like to face a Marauder again."
Harry followed Sirius out of the tent into a warzone. Tents were burning, people were screaming and running away from a group in black cloaks with skeleton masks.
"Who are those guys?" Richard asked Sirius.
"Death Eaters," Sirius growled. "Voldemort's followers. The ones who avoided prison."
"Come on," Harry pulled Richard away. Sirius met up with the Weasleys. Mrs. Weasley led the children toward the wood while Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie and Percy pulled their wands. They followed Sirius into the fray. The Patils and Browns moved in the opposite direction, away from the fray.
"This way," Harry pointed toward a path that was clear of people and headed toward it. As he got closer, four of the masked men surrounded them.
"What do we have here?" A reedy voice spoke with glee. "Muggles and what's that? A mudblood! Our lucky day."
The two from the rear stepped closer.
"I'll start with the older one. She looks tasty."
The man reached to grab Helen. Before he could get there, Richard's army training kicked in. He grabbed the man's arm and snapped the wrist. The man's wand fell from his limp hand as he screamed in agony. Richard followed up his attack by pulling the dagger and sliced through the other man's arm. While Richard manhandled the two behind, Harry and Hermione launched spells at the ones in front. While the duo worked well together, the robed men were equal to the challenge, deflecting and shielding the spells away. Hermione was mostly playing defense to keep the spells from hitting her parents.
Harry pulled out one of his tricks to freeze the ground. He felt the man's shield falter as he tried to pull his frozen foot off the ground. Hermione noticed and launched her attack.
"Stupefy," she shouted. Her fear at her parents' peril overpowered the spell and the man flew backward into the burning remains of a tent. His partner looked over his shoulder and dropped his guard. Harry subsequently stunned both of them while Hermione bound the two Richard had incapacitated. Three more advanced on them but were subsequently knocked back by a spell. Standing behind him was the Turtle Hermit himself.
"You make for the trees," the man held a staff that was pushing the attackers back with a violent windstorm. Roshi never saw the man advancing on his left.
"Kamehameha!" Harry could swear he hear Richard laugh as he launched his signature attack at the oncoming man, blasting the man back and setting his robes aflame.
"Nice one, boy!" Roshi gave him a toothy grin and advanced on the others. He moved fluidly without any wasted effort. Knowing things were under control, the group pushed for the trees.
They made it to the tree line when Harry spotted another group in a copse of trees, all gathered around three Veela from the game.
"You owe us for that show you gave us," one of the men said. "I've been hard ever since and I think it is time you take care of it."
The women cowered in terror, making Harry's blood boil. Without a second thought, he sprinted toward them.
"Bombarda!" Harry shouted, hearing an echo when he cast the spell.
The ground erupted underneath the advancing man, kicking dirt up as he was thrown back into the tree with a sickening crunch. That was when he noticed he wasn't the only person to cast the spell. On the opposite side of the trees was a burly man. Harry didn't have time to ponder the man when the others started throwing spells. Harry deflected a yellow curse into another of the attackers. The man threw off his mask and screamed as his skin started to boil and melt. The caster looked over his shoulder.
"You'll pay for that boy!" He shouted as he started flicking his wand.
"Silencio! Incarcerous!" Hermione's spells flew over Harry's shoulder. She turned the chords into razor wire. "I wouldn't struggle if I were you."
The man struggled only to immediately stopped when the chords tightened and bit into his flesh. The boy on the other side was holding his own, Two of the attackers were down and bleeding, another was unconscious and another was laboring, his shield almost failing.
"Insolent girl!" the last one's mask slipped and Harry recognized him as an older version of Vinny. "Crucio."
Hermione's eyes widened at the torture curse sped toward her. Time slowed for Harry as he saw the curse head toward her. Thanks to Flitwick, he knew this one to be unblockable using a shield. Quickly, he conjured a stone slab. The curse blew the slab to pieces which Harry transfigured into spikes and shot back at Crabbe Senior. Crabbe blocked most of them but enough came through to shred his robes. One of the shards cut through his fledgling shield to snap his wand.
"Guess I'll need to do this with my bare hands then!" Crabbe pushed himself up and charged at Hermione. Harry stepped in front but was easily dispatched by the bigger man. He clocked Harry with a right hook and threw him to the side. Hermione backpedaled, tripping over her a branch as she did. She brought her wand up only to have it swatted away by Crabbe. The man smiled victoriously as he reached out his hand, only to have a hand clasp over his.
"Don't even think about touching my daughter," Richard growled. Crabbe swung wildly at Richard with his other hand. Richard easily dodged it and contorted the arm he was holding into a chicken wing, kicked his knees out and pinned him to the ground. "Just in case you need a reminder…"
Richard torqued the man's arm, breaking his elbow. Richard stood as the man howled in agony.
"That's what you get!" Helen was next, delivering a kick to his balls. "You two okay?"
"I'm okay," Harry wiped blood away from his mouth as he summoned Hermione's wand. "Hermione?"
"I am fine," she huffed. "He won't be though."
She bound Crabbe with the same razor wire chords just as the sky lit up with a green apparition. It was a skull with a snake slithering out of the mouth. As they looked up, all who were able apparated out. One was dead, his skin still dripping off his face to go with the two Hermione bound and the one Harry knocked into the tree.
"You know, Princess," Richard bumped her daughter. "I was hoping to see you do some magic but this isn't quite what I had in mind."
Hermione couldn't help it: she laughed, setting off a chain reaction of laughter through the group while the other man checked on the condition of the mascots and walked their way. From the other side, Harry could see Master Roshi leading an Auror contingent toward them.
Across Britain, Lucius Malfoy stood in front of the Grangers' house. He had sealed all the doors, and windows, cutting off any escape. He picked up the bottle of liquor with a rag shoved down it. He hated using a muggle method to do this but it was worth it in this case. He lit the rag with a muggle lighter and threw the bottle threw the window, repeating the procedure with the other window in front.
"Time for Miss Granger to know what the cost is of being close to Potter," Lucius sneered as he watched the house burn. "Let her cry over the ashes of her parents; see if she truly knows what she has gotten herself into."
(A/N: Longer chapter here just because I didn't want to feel like I was stringing you along. I could have gone into the game in detail but there wasn't a whole lot different. Thanks for the suggestion of including a cameo of Master Roshi which allowed Harry to show off the Kamehameha to him and Richard at the same time. Also love the idea that a wizard is taken down by someone with hand-to-hand combat, especially Crabbe. Harry is powerful but he's still a young boy who would be rag-dolled by a full-grown man. Hermione's never had someone charge at her so she panicked as she has a tendency to do in unfamiliar situations.)