17/4/25

Happy Easter!

"You've been ages," George said as they returned, holding a sausage on a kebab stick over a small but well lit fire.

"Met a few people," Ron said setting the bucket down and starching out what little muscles he had.

"How long'd it take for you to get the fire going then? Seeing your dad wanted to do it 'the Muggle way'?" Jack asked taking an offered precooked sausage from Elisa.

"Well to be honest..." she whispered looking around for Mr Weasley "Sirius lit the fire with magic while Mr Weasley was playing with the matches."

"Snowflake, you know not to let children play with matches," Jack said looking over to where Arthur was trying to help the wizards in the tent next door light their fire who were all giving 'Can this really work' looks to the little bits of wood.

"Oops" he said quickly dropping one he just managed to light in surprise.

"Give them to me Mr Weasley, I'll show you how to do it," Hermione said showing the grown Wizards how it's done properly, getting their fire lit and letting them have a go themselves.

As everyone was starting to get comfortable on the spiky grass, Bill, Charlie, and a rather proud looking Percy came over to them from the woods.

"Just apparated, Dad," Percy said smiling, getting eye-rolls from his siblings. "Ah, lunch." he said reaching for a premade hotdog.

"Not so fast," Elisa said slapping the third son's hand away. "Those are for us, if you want a hotdog, you need to cook it yourself."

"That's right Perce," Fred said giving his brother the necessities to make the snack-food "After all why should we slave over an open fire cooking food just for you to come and take it?"

"But, but they're already done," Percy said trying to grab one again, once again getting slapped away – this time by Annie.

"You are a grown man now boy," Bunny said helping himself so some salad that was made in the tents "You need to learn how to care and cook for yourself. Besides it shouldn't take more than 10 minutes, depends how well done you want that tube of meat to be."

"Quit complaining and just do it Percy," Bill said already having his sausage over the fire.

"Yeah, not everyone is as big a fan of your voice as you or mum are," Charlie said learning from Hermione how to cook a burger.

Grumpily Percy took the 'Hot-dog' kit and sat down.

While that was happening, and all throughout the day, Wizards were passing their tents and Mr Weasley (having finished helping their neighbours) was telling Harry, Hermione, Elisa, Annie, Jack and the Guardians who they all were.

"That was Cuthbet Mockridge, Head of the Goblin Liaison Office... here comes Gilbert Wimple, he's with the Committee on Experimental Charms, he's had those horns on his head for a while now..."

"Probably always had them," Jack said quietly, gaining snuffles from Elisa and the boys and a whack around the head from Bunny.

"Hello Armie!" Mr Weasley called out to the next wizard. "Arnold Peasegood, he's an Obliviator – Member of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad."

"Oh really?" Tooth said to this getting up and dusting her dress off.

"Toothy... what do you think you're doing?" North said in a worried way.

"I just want some questioning words with Mr Peasegood about his job," she began politely, before turning more angry than some around that fire have ever seen. "And ask him how he let Gilderoy Lockhart take the memories of 12 different witches and wizards with no one noticing until Harry and his friends found out two years ago."

With that she put on her 'happy mask' and gently ran after the man calling him out.

"Should someone go with her?" Fred asked unsure "You know, in case she ends up killing him or something?"

"The best alibi for a murder case, is to not be part of the murder case to begin with," Jack said turning back to the fire and his three marshmallow's.

"You speak as though you have experienced things like this before..." Percy said raising an eyebrow putting his now black sausage into the hotdog bun.

"Murder is like pranks, Sir Percy-the-Annoying," Jack said in explaining "One just gets you sent to prison, and the other gets you a slap on the wrist and sent to bed without supper."

They were coming to the end of finishing their meals, a few more wizards had passed by – some being called Unsepakable's, Tooth hadn't come back quite yet worrying everyone, and then a balding fat, yellow Quidditch wearing robes man came over with a big smile.

"The man of the moment," Mr Weasley said getting up and shaking the man's hand "Ludo Bagman, he's commentating the match tonight." he explained.

"Hello, hello," he said waving to everyone looking around with a big smile. "Anyone want to have a say on the match?" he asked looking at everyone with a notepad in his hand "What about you Arthur? I've got Roddy Pontner saying Bulgaria will be first to score – good odds on this I say, what with Ireland's chasers being the best I've seen in years. While Agatha Timms is giving up half her eel farm saying that it will be a week-long match."

"Who would want half an eel farm?" Annie asked shivering at the thought of it, all those long slimy fish snakes slither-swimming around... "Who would want to farm eels in the first place eww."

"The kings of the past used to eat eels as a delight," Jack said while the adults talked about bets. "In fact King Henry I actually died from over eating lamprey – which is sort of an eel like fish."

Again Annie shivered at the thought of the eels and what eating them would have been like.

"Of course, over eating is better than a few other ways English kings have died, grinning a little. "One or two have actually died on the loo by excess amounts of –"

He was cut off my Bunny silencing him and giving him a glare.

"We bet 37 Galleons, 13 Sickles, 3 Knuts, that Ireland will win but Krum will get the Snitch," Fred says, as he and George emptied their pockets "And we'll throw in a fake wand."

"You don't want to show Mr Bagman rubbish like that!" Percy hissed at them but was ignored as Bagman tested it and was surprised when it turned into a rubber chicken making Bagman roar with laughter.

"Excellent! I haven't seen one that convincing in years! I'd pay 5 Galleons for that!"

Percy just stood there, frozen, and stunned in disapproval.

"Boys," Mr Weasley said under his breath "I don't want you betting... that's all your savings... your mother..."

"Don't be a spoilsport Arthur," boomed Ludo Bagman, tapping his pockets for a pen. "They're old enough to know what they want! You recon Ireland will win but Krum will get the Snitch do you boys? Not a chance... I'll give you excellent odds on that one... we'll add 5 Galleons for the funny wand, then, shall we..."

Once they were done, Bagman looked around asking for any other takers turning to Sirius with a grin.

"Sorry, but while I was a betting man in the past, I am not going to do anything here, at least not with strangers." Sirius said having a bad feeling on Bagman for some reason.

"Of course, of course, I understand," Ludo said, chuckling to himself, packing his notepad away before asking if he could trouble them for some tea.

"What is it with you English and tea?" Jack asked in a whisper to Elisa and Annie while the adults talked about someone called Bertha Jorkins being missing.

"Don't ask us," Elisa said readying a new sausage holding it over the fire "I hate the stuff. In fact I only drink water if there is nothing else to drink – prefer fizzy drinks or juice."

"Jamie Turner, an old friend from school – before Hogwarts - says adults like tea so much because the people who harvest it put something in it to help those drinking it calm down after a long day. Or there's an addictive thing in it - like cigarettes, meaning they couldn't go 24 hours without one."

"Come on Annie, that's not the answer," Elisa said rolling her eyes, neither seeing Neville and the Weasley's looking at them confused. "Besides you know what a tall-tale-arm-twister Jamie is, right?"

"What other stories has he said?" Hermione asked curious.

"Oh, the usual... The Pyramids of Egypt are actually ancient alien space crafts, Stonehenge was built my giants, the sinking of the Titanic was a planned-out, minute-by-minute, thing to get rid of all the rich snooty aristocrats with the poor just getting caught in the cross-fire which was that dumb block of ice." Elisa listed counting on her finger. "You know stuff like that."

"If one of the things he said is Atlantis, you might want to tell him that's actually real," Jack said grinning at the spit-take she just did with a look at him to question if he was serious or not.

Just then a man in a three piece muggle suit that didn't belong on a campsite appeared.

Jack recognized him as Mr Crouch from the Ministry when he went there with Sirius a few months ago, seeing Sirius glaring at him and placing a hand on Harry's shoulder, protectively.

"Ah, Barty," Bagman said lying down on the grass in his Quidditch robes "Pull up some grass there, won't you?"

"No thank you, Ludo," Crouch said with a hint of impatience in his voice. "I've been looking for you everywhere. The Bulgarians are insisting we add another twelve seats to the Top Box."

"Oh, thats what they're after?" said Bagman. "I thought the chap was asking to borrow a pair of tweezers. Bit of a strong accent."

"I'm sorry, but 'I would like twelve more seats in the top box.' and 'May I borrow your tweezers?' in Bulgarian are not way alike." Jack said speaking up making everyone look at him.

"Everything sounds the same if you don't know the language, Jack," Bunny said while Percy made Mr Crouch some tea (and being misnamed Weatherby in the process).

Ignoring Jack, Crouch turned to Mr Weasley.

"I've been wanting a word with you too Arthur," he said "Ali Bastir is on a warpath. He wants a word with you about your embargo on flying carpets."

Mr Weasley sighed before saying "I've sent him an owl about that just last week. If I've told him once I've told him a hundred times: carpets are classed as a Muggle Artefact by the Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects, but will he listen?"

"I doubt it," said Mr Crouch, accepting a cup from Percy. "He's desbrate to set up an export here."

"Well, they'll never replace brooms in Brittan, will they" Bagman asked.

"Ali thinks there's a niche in the market for a family vehicle," said Mr Crouch. "I remember my grandfather had an Axminister that could seat twelve – but that was before they were banned of course."

"So we have a man named Ali, who has a magic carpet, and possible like for breaking rules..." Annie said grinning. "You think he's got 75 golden camels?"

"And 53 purple peacocks?" Elisa added with a grin just like her sisters.

Everyone magical just looked confused but Hermione, Jack and the Guardians told them it was something Muggle related so they ignore it.

"So been keeping busy, Barty?" said Bagman cheerfully.

"Fairly," he replied drily. "Organizing Portkeys across five continents is no mean feat, Ludo."

"Well, I'm sure you both can rest when this is all over," Bunny said sipping at his own tea.

"Ha, unlikely, with what we have planned, right Barty?" Bagman said in a mix of shock and cheer.

Mr Crouch raised an eyebrow at Bagman. "We agreed not to make the announcement until all the details –"

"Oh details, details," Bagman said waving him off. "They've signed haven't' they? They've agreed haven't they? I bet you anything the kids will find out soon anyway. It is happening at Hogwarts after all."

"Ludo we need to meet with the Bulgarian's" Crouch said quickly making Bagman stop. "Thank you for the tea Weatherby."

He pushed his undrunk tea back at Percy and waited for Ludo to get up – which took some time due to his round belly.

Bagman finished his tea, said he'll see them in the Top Box later and both men disapparated.

"What's happening at Hogwarts, dad?" the twins asked once they had left.

"You'll find out soon enough." Arthur said, smiling.

"It's classified information, until such time the Ministry decides to release it." said Percy firmly. "Mr Crouch was quite right to stop Mr Bagman from saying why it is."

"Oh shut up, Weatherby." said Fred.