— — — — — —
Today was the day of the Quidditch World Cup.
Before the sky had even begun to lighten, Ginny was gently shaken awake by Hermione. Half-asleep, she stumbled after her downstairs to wash up, brushing her teeth on pure autopilot.
Everyone else looked about the same. They wandered around the room like zombies, yawning nonstop as they collapsed into their seats at the table, waiting to eat breakfast and finally set off.
Arthur appeared with a thick stack of tickets in hand. He deliberately walked back and forth in front of everyone twice, then spread his arms wide to show off his outfit.
"Well? Hermione, Harry, do I look like a Muggle?"
"Uh… yeah. Pretty good," Harry said, nodding against his conscience. Honestly, the clothes looked like something Dudley had outgrown. They were at least two sizes too big.
Arthur happily sat down beside George and began straightening the tickets in his hands, unable to hide his pride. "These weren't easy to get. Even though the stadium can hold three hundred thousand people, even more showed up hoping to get in. Plenty of officials from different countries are attending too. Private boxes were almost impossible to come by."
Then he smiled at Harry. "We also have Sirius to thank. The tickets he helped arrange are much better than the ones the Ministry handed out."
"This should really count as a gift from Tom…" Harry muttered under his breath, careful not to let anyone hear.
The tickets Sirius had given him were technically part of the rent Tom paid. The Invisibility Cloak was still with Tom, after all.
"Ginny, are the Lovegoods going with us too?" Molly asked as she set the last plate of sausages on the table.
Arthur answered for her. "Yes. Xenophilius will head to the departure point first. We're meeting at Stoatshead Hill."
Molly sighed. "Make sure you look after Luna. Her father… honestly." She trailed off.
Molly had never liked that eccentric, scatterbrained middle-aged man much. Poor Luna, really.
...
The air was biting cold when they finally set out. The moon was still hanging in the sky, and only a faint golden glow on the far side of the mountains hinted that sunrise was on its way.
As they walked, Arthur enthusiastically explained just how massive an undertaking this event had been for the Ministry and Astra Abyssum.
"The preparations were unbelievably difficult. Ministry staff have been busy for over half a year. And then it became even more absurd. Three hundred thousand people coming to Britain, far more than the country's entire wizarding population. To be honest, I thought Astra Abyssum had lost their minds. But they actually pulled it off."
"I did notice a lot of strange people in the streets," Hermione chimed in. "You could tell at a glance they were witches or wizards."
"Exactly," Arthur said, nodding. "They had to arrive in batches. Otherwise, no matter how good the disguises were, that many people would attract the Muggle government's attention."
"So how are we getting there?" Harry asked. "Apparition? Or the Knight Bus?"
With Sirius as his godfather, Harry wasn't nearly as clueless about the wizarding world as before. He knew most of the basics now.
"I'm not capable of Apparating this many people," Arthur said with a self-deprecating laugh. "We're using Portkeys. The Astra Abyssum Guild placed over a thousand of them across the country. The closest one to us is at Stoatshead Hill."
What followed was a thoroughly miserable climb up the mountain. By the time they reached the top, everyone was panting, exhausted, and barely awake.
Two other families were already waiting there.
Luna Lovegood with her father, Xenophilius Lovegood, and Cedric Diggory with his father, Amos Diggory.
Amos greeted Arthur with boundless enthusiasm. The moment his eyes landed on Harry, he boomed about last term's match, proudly recalling how Hufflepuff had beaten Gryffindor—a memory that instantly darkened the faces of every man in the room. Undeterred, Amos continued to brag, endlessly praising how exceptional his dear son was.
Ginny and Hermione slipped away to Luna's side, whispering among themselves.
"Luna, did you go see the pandas?" Ginny asked.
"I did. Just yesterday," Luna said dreamily, nodding.
"Then did you see Tom and Daphne too?"
Luna tilted her head, thinking for a moment. "I saw Tom. Daphne… I heard her screaming."
"Screaming?"
Ginny and Hermione exchanged a look, suddenly very curious about what had happened to Daphne.
"Never mind," Hermione said. "We'll find out soon enough. Let's go."
Ginny nodded. The three of them rejoined the group and reached the summit, where they found their Portkey.
It was an old boot.
Everyone crowded tightly around it. Arthur checked his pocket watch and began counting down in a low voice. When he reached three, the boot began to shake violently.
Hermione felt as if a hook had snagged her right behind the navel and yanked forward. Her feet left the ground as she shot through the air like a gust of wind. She couldn't see anything clearly. The world around her flickered and warped like a rapidly changing slideshow until her feet slammed hard into the ground.
People tumbled everywhere. Ginny reacted quickly and grabbed Hermione before she fell. Everyone else, except Arthur and Luna, ended up sprawled on the ground.
"To the stars and the abyss, adventurers. Welcome to the Quidditch World Cup."
Catherine's voice was gentle as she released Luna and asked with concern, "Miss Luna, are you feeling all right?"
"Thank you," Luna said slowly, nodding. "It feels like I got stung by a dizzying bee. My head's spinning a little."
Catherine smiled and inclined her head toward Hermione and Ginny. "Miss Ginny, Miss Hermione, please wait here for a moment. One of my colleagues will be here shortly to escort you to the master's residence."
"Has Tom arrived already?" Hermione asked.
"Yes. The master arrived last night."
"Lucky him," Ron muttered. "Servants everywhere he goes…"
"Ronald," Arthur snapped, shooting him a glare.
He then handed the old boot over to Catherine. "Good morning, Catherine."
"Good morning, Mr. Weasley. Mr. Diggory. Five oh seven AM, arrival from Stoatshead Hill."
Catherine quickly located the corresponding record. "Your campsite is to the northwest. About two miles straight ahead, through the marsh and over the hill. One of my colleagues there will handle the exact placement."
"Thank you."
As another Catherine walked over, Arthur leaned down and asked Ginny in a low voice, "You're heading over to Tom's place?"
"Of course, Dad. I'll be back before you leave tomorrow."
Luna looked up at Xenophilius with pleading eyes. Her gaze eventually wore him down. "Go on, go on. Just make sure you come back with Ginny."
"Mhm."
Luna answered quickly. The girls followed Catherine, heading in roughly the same direction as Harry and the others. They didn't split up until after crossing the marsh.
When they climbed the hill Catherine had mentioned, a breathtaking sight spread out before them. Thousands of oddly shaped tents filled the basin between two hills.
"So many people…" Harry breathed.
"This is only a tiny fraction," Amos Diggory said, raising his hand and gesturing broadly. "I heard from Bagman that there are twenty camps this size. This mountain and several nearby ones were all bought from the Muggle government by Astra Abyssum. Every single one has Muggle-Repelling Charms on it. Otherwise, there'd be no way to keep this quiet."
Harry swallowed hard.
He was genuinely stunned by the scale of Tom's operation.
With something this massive, could it really turn a profit?
He would soon realize how small-minded that thought was.
On the way to their own campsite, he spotted advertising boards at least three times. Ahead of the camps, a temporary market had been set up, with witches and wizards from all over the world running stalls. Almost everyone was intrigued. Even those who had planned to pitch their tents and collapse immediately were suddenly wide awake, insisting on going to have a look.
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Tom was nursing a headache.
"I'm begging you. Can you all please go to sleep?"
"No!" x2
Cassandra and Ginny answered in perfect unison. After speaking, they immediately glared at each other, as if competing to see whose eyes would dry out first.
Penelope held a handful of sunflower seeds. Hermione was sitting with Luna, absently petting a panda and enjoying the show.
And Astoria, the well-behaved little sweetheart, had just run all around the house but still hadn't seen Daphne.
"Tom, where's my sister?"
"Your sister?" Tom waved it off casually. "She hasn't been feeling well these past few days, so she couldn't come. I left two Catherines at home to take care of her."
Honestly, he was already regretting coming to the World Cup.
Gathering everyone together like this was pure self-inflicted suffering. But not bringing them wasn't an option either. Penelope's parents couldn't accompany her, same as Hermione's situation. Cassandra had traveled a long way. That wasn't easy either.
"Big brother! I'm here!"
A bright, childish voice rang out from outside the sitting room. Under Catherine's watchful eye, a tiny girl came bouncing in, full of energy. Her cuteness instantly drew the attention of every girl in the room.
But the little girl didn't even look at them.
Like a fluttering butterfly, she leapt straight toward Tom.
Tom hurriedly opened his arms and caught her.
The successful landing earned him a giggle. Soft lips pressed against his forehead.
"Mua!"
The girls: ???
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