Memories of Them

Cassie hated apparition. Once she and Mrs Carlisle had landed she doubled over, closing her eyes, breathing deeply. In through her nose and out through her mouth. Mrs Carlisle began gently rubbing her back and pulling her hair away from her face. 

“Thank you, Mrs Carlisle, I’m not the best at travelling.” mumbled out Cassie embarrassedly.

“Don’t worry Cassandra, the first time I ever apparated I vomited, all over my shoes and my apparition instructor. I was so embarrassed I didn’t get my licence until I was 25.” she said with a laugh in her voice. Cassie managed a small giggle. 

Once the world had stopped spinning Cassie stood up straight, rubbing her eyes and looking around her. They appeared to have landed in a golden hoop in a farmer's field, the number 74 was written in large golden numbers on the floor in front. All four sides of the field were lined by dry stone walls, a wooden gate to her left was flanked by a small thatched cottage. A man, who seemed to be a muggle, was waving glassy eyed at the wizards who were streaming through the gate. They were all heading towards the back of the field, through another gate and disappearing into a wooded area. Cassie had never seen so many wizards in one small space in all of her life. The air was electric, alive with the sound of excited chatter, laughing and the occasional verse of ‘don’t aim your bludger over there’. 

Cassie was startled from her nosiness by a loud popping sound on either side of her. Landing in hoops 73 and 75 on either side of them were the rest of the family. Hugo and Henry appeared standing, unfazed by their experience. Odette on the other hand landed, stumbled and fell face first into the grass, a low groan leaving her lips. Cassie rolled her eyes and rushed forward, helping the girl up off of the floor for the second time that day. Cassie heard a low chuckle from behind them and turned to see Mr Carlisle with his hand over his mouth, trying to muffle his laughter. Hugo and Henry sauntered over to join the rest of the group. 

“Even the house elves are able to master apparition. Honestly, this is getting kind of embarrassing now.” Hugo said, malice clear in his eyes and tone.  

“Hugo!” Cassie gasped defensively, “Odette is top of her class in both Transfiguration and Alchemy, she is one of the most intelligent and hardworking witches I know! Nobody is perfect and good at everything; do you want to talk about all of the hours I spent tutoring you in potions last year?” she snapped. 

Hugo looked shocked, opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish, Cassie turned her back on the blond boy flicking her hair in his face as she went. She’d had quite enough of his name calling for one day. Going to stand by Odette, Cassie linked her arms with the girl listening to Mr Carlisle explain how to get to their campsite. His directions were interrupted by a short, balding man in a pinstriped suit shouting at them.

“The next family are coming in any minute now! I will not be responsible for any injuries caused if they apparate on top of you! Get out of the way now!” he yelled, spit flying out of his mouth as he spoke. 

With mumbles of apologies the group grabbed their bags and began to follow the tidal wave of wizards heading towards the wooded area. The shouty man returned to his post muttering rudely under his breath as he went. 

They started down a mud track looping through the towering trees on either side. The canopy above blocked out almost all of the sunlight creating dark shadowed patches, giving the wood an eerie atmosphere. The sounds were muted as well, their footsteps were muffled by fallen leaves and pine needles on the floor, most of the crowd appeared to quiet down whispering to others in their group rather than shouting and hollering. Cassie felt a tug on her arm, turning she met the gaze of the still slightly pink cheeked Odette. 

“Thank you for standing up for me back there. I can’t get the hang of magical transportation, no matter how hard I try, I’m too clumsy! I can barely walk in a straight line normally,” she whined, tripping over a tree root as if to make a point. “Hugo has been at it all summer, anytime we go anywhere he has a snide remark to make about how clumsy I am, it doesn’t help that Dad and Henry laugh along with him. He told them all about our last flying lesson, I still can't believe I managed to get my cloak hooked over the turret of the east wing. I’ve never been so mortified in all of my life!” she groaned, covering her face with her hands. 

Cassie couldn’t help but chuckle slightly, their abysmal flying skills were one of the things that the girls had bonded over. 

“It’s not as if I’m that much better, Odd, I hover a metre of the ground, panic and have to hop off. We’re never going to be professional quidditch players, but who cares! Hugo needs to learn the difference between laughing with someone and laughing at someone,” Cassie huffed. 

“Yes but Cassie, you’ve got so many other things going for you. You’re top of the year in all of your classes, you’re that smart. You’re kind, funny and popular. Next year you are going to be head of year! I’m just the clumsy girl that falls over all the time.” Odette said, sounding defeated. 

“You’re not just the clumsy girl to me. You’re the friend I go to when I’m so homesick I think I’m going to cry. You’re the only one brave enough to sneak food out of the dining room when I have forgotten about dinner and am too busy studying. I wouldn’t have survived at school without you Odette, you’re one of my best friends!” Cassie said, trying her hardest to convey how much Odette meant to her. 

Odette gave Cassie a small smile and squeezed her arm looking more content. The girls continued to follow the rest of the Carlisle family in comfortable silence. 

As they got deeper into the forest, balls of warm golden light appeared at regular intervals casting a soft glow across the path, upon further inspection Cassie noticed that they were hovering fairies. Finally they reached a fork in the path, the sign on the left pointed towards the stadium whilst the sign on the right directed them towards the campgrounds. Cassie’s shoulder was starting to ache after carrying her heavy bag for so long; when sunlight began to appear ahead she couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. Stepping out of the woods, Cassie used her hand to shield her eyes as they adjusted to the sunlight. In front of her was the strangest assortment of tents she had seen in her life. Most of the tents were brightly coloured with eccentric patterns covering the canvas, some had front gardens complete with flower beds, water fountains and gnomes, others had turrets and moats like mediaeval castles, she even spotted one with a thatched roof. Cassie couldn’t quite believe her eyes. 

“I love magic,” she whispered. 

Making their way through the rows of tents Cassie finally got a look at the other occupants of the campsite. Whilst some had chosen to wear traditional wizard robes, most were dressed in muggle clothing in an attempt to fit in, this had been done with varying degrees of success. Whilst she spotted most people wearing jeans, t-shirts and jumpers, there were a couple of wizards that stood out. One older gentleman was talking to his neighbour over the fence wearing a silk nightie and robe set, a middle aged witch was collecting water wearing a full wetsuit and a young man was wandering the grounds in full American football gear, helmet included. Catching both Hugo and Odette’s eye she couldn’t help but snigger. These outfits almost made Mr and Mrs Carlisle look normal.

Up ahead Mr Carlisle finally came to a stop, double checking the slip of paper he was carrying with the number of the plot he nodded in confirmation. 

“Here we are my wonderful family, home for the night!” he said excitedly. 

They were standing in front of what appeared to be a small alpine log cabin, complete with a smoking chimney. Stepping through the low front door and directly into the living room Cassie couldn’t help but gasp in surprise. All of the walls were clad in dark wood, framed images of mountainous landscapes adorned the walls. In the middle of the room was a large leather sofa, flanked by two high backed leather armchairs, the floor of the seating area was covered in a plush, red patterned rug.  On the wall directly across from the sofa was a dark wood, ornately carved fireplace, a log fire joyfully crackling in the hearth. On the opposite wall were three doors leading to two bedrooms containing a set of bunk beds and a downstairs bathroom. To her left through a beautiful archway was the small kitchen with a circular dining table in the centre. In the back corner of the living room a ladder led up to a balcony room that overlooked the living room below, upstairs had a singular double bed. 

“Right everyone, go and get settled, we’ve got about 2 hours until the others join us,” Mr Carlisle said, stifling a yawn and heading towards the ladder that led upstairs.

Beside her Cassie felt a slight nudge as Odette picked up their bags and began heading towards the rooms at the back of the cabin. Cassie started to follow when she heard Hugo call her name from behind her. Looking back she saw he was sitting on the sofa, nervously twiddling his fingers whilst looking at her.  

“You go and get us the best room Odd, I’ll be in in a minute,” she told Odette. 

Turning on her heel, Cassie went and sat in one of the big leather armchairs, pulling her legs into her chest and wrapping her arms around them to make herself comfortable. Resting her chin on her knees she looked at Hugo expectantly.

“Please don’t look at me like that Cas,” Hugo whined.

“Like what?” Cassie said innocently.

“Like I’ve disappointed you, your grandma and your grandma’s niffler!” he huffed. Cassie snorted, trying to hide her smile. Hugo seemed to let out a small huff of relief, a small smile began to appear on his lips. 

“I’m sorry,” Hugo continued, “I was only joking earlier, you know what Odd is like, I just wanted to make light of the situation.”

“She told me Hugo, how you’ve been making fun of her all summer, making everyone laugh at her expense. We don’t do that to the people we love.” Cassie said.

“Don’t. She’s my twin sister. Of course I love her, more than anything or anyone else on this planet.” Hugo whispered, anger clear in his voice. 

“Hugo, it’s really none of my business. I know how close you and Odette are and I promise you I will not come between you, I just felt like I had to say something that’s all. Anyway it’s not me you should be apologising to, go and speak to Odette.” Cassie said, leaning forward and placing her hand gently on top of Hugo’s. 

“I will, thanks Cassie,” Hugo said, removing his hands from Cassie’s grip and brushing his hair out of his eyes. 

Standing up the pair headed towards the back of the cabin hoping to get some rest before the evening's festivities began, the door to the first bedroom had been closed, Hugo put his finger to his lips and pressed his ear to the door, listening for any noise from within. Turning to Cassie he just shrugged his shoulders. The other bedroom door had been left open, on the bottom bunk Odd lay sprawled reading a book. Cassie went straight into the room, picking up her discarded bag and began rifling through looking for her earplugs and sleep mask, she was determined to have a nap. Hugo hung back leaning against the doorframe, waiting for Odette to notice him, it seemed to Cassie however as though Odette was trying her very hardest to ignore the boy. Hugo then cleared his throat.

“Come on Odd, please just let me apologise!” Hugo begged. Odette rolled her eyes, dropped her books and stood up. Hugo made a gesture towards the living room, looking hopeful. Odette ignored the boy and stepped around him, leaving him gaping in the girl’s doorway.

“Well are you coming?” came an agitated voice from the hallway. Cassie gave him an encouraging nod of the head as he turned to follow his twin.

Cassie just chuckled slightly to herself, the twins had had plenty of arguments in the past and were always able to make up in the end. She wasn’t worried. Climbing up the wooden ladder of the bunk bed she snuggled under the duvet, her eyes instantly drooping. 

✵❂✵

Cassie awoke to a loud bagging outside of the bedroom and a groan from the bed below her own. Trying to ignore the ruckus outside Cassie rolled over, burying her head under her pillow. The two girls were suddenly startled awake by the door being violently swung open with a bang that vibrated the whole cabin. 

“Lib! I’ve found the sleeping beauties!” screamed Bonnie at the top of her lungs. 

“I swear to everything magical and holy Bonnie if you don’t shut up I will personally shave your eyebrows off in your sleep,” mumbled Odette making Cassie and Libby snort with laughter.

“Hello sunshine, I’ve missed you too,” Bonnie muttered, voice dripping with heavy sarcasm. 

Sitting upright in her bed, Cassie let out a massive yawn stretching her arms up high, her fingertips brushing against the textured ceiling. Peering over the edge of her bunk, a massive smile spread across her face, standing in the bedroom doorway all staring at her with goofy grins on their faces were Liberty Mason, Bonnie Cartwright and Fabian Bartlett. Her friendship group was finally complete. As quickly as possible, Cassie untangled herself from her duvet, jumped down from her top bunk and launched herself at the group of best friends. They each let out a chuckle pulling her into a group hug.

“Now that was the welcome I was expecting!” Bonnie cheered, pulling away from the group hug. 

Question after question tumbled out of Cassie’s mouth, “How were your summers?”, “Bon, did you get the quidditch captain position?”, “Lib do you have an outfit Odd could borrow for tonight?”

The group just laughed at the small girl, shaking their heads slightly. 

“Slow down Cas! Your head is going to explode!” Fabian laughed. 

“Why don’t we answer all of your questions whilst getting ready?” Bonnie said excitedly. “We’ve got exactly 3 hours before the game and your hair looks like a bird's nest Cas,” Bonnie smiled.

“Plus I want to go and look at all of the merchandise stalls as well,” Fabian interjected, making sure that everybody heard.

“We know!” Libby and Bonnie both chorused, obviously sick of hearing Fabian pine over different Ireland Quidditch jerseys. 

Laughing slightly, Cassie came up with a plan, “Fabian, why don’t you go and make sure that Hugo and Henry are up? Get ready in their room whilst the girls get ready in here. Once we're all sorted we’ll meet you in the living room?” 

“Fine, just make sure you don’t take too long!” Whined Fabian, retreating back into the hallway. 

The girls spent the next 5 minutes coxing Odette out from under her duvet where she had decided to hibernate. Once they were all up, they started their well-rehearsed get ready routine. Since their first year they had used the conveyor belt system to get ready for exciting events, Bonnie was on hair duty, Libby on makeup and Odette on outfits. Cassie’s long brown hair was expertly twisted into Dutch braids and secured at the back in a curled ponytail, she then went and sat crossed legged on the floor in front of Libby. Libby used a small amount of foundation to even her skin tone and blush and bronzer to give her a healthy glow. She then covered Cassie’s eyelids in a beautiful glittering gold eyeshadow and completed the look with a classic cat eye precisely drawn in an emerald green eyeliner. Cassie grabbed her black pleated tennis skirt, oversized Irish quidditch jumper and some tights and went into the bathroom to quickly change. The jumper almost entirely covered the skirt as it fell just above her knees. To finish the look she tugged on her black lace up combat boots and went back into the room. All the girls were just perfecting their makeup when Cassie let out a squeal. 

“I almost forgot!” she said, jumping up and rooting through her bag. Turning to the girls she showed them a small face paint palette and some rhinestone shamrock face stickers she had bought in muggle London with Maya. All the girls lined up and Cassie placed a shamrock under their right eye and delicately painted a small Irish flag under their left. Standing in front of the mirror they all gave a nod of approval. 

Once everyone was dressed and ready the girls decided to lounge on the bottom bunk chatting and laughing, catching up on all of their summer excitement. Bonnie and Odette had spent their summer at their respective homes in the south of France whilst Libby had spent her time in Norfolk with her muggle parents. A knock on the bedroom door interrupted Libby’s story about getting lost at sea in a small wooden row boat that had the rest of the girls in hysterics.

“Come in!” Odette shouted.

“Are you guys ready yet?” Questioned Fabian with a slight tone of annoyance in his voice.

“No fair!” Hugo interrupted, “I want an Irish flag on my face!” he whined. Jumping up from the bottom bunk Cassie stepped forward laughing under her breath.

“Hold still,” she muttered as she painted a flag on Hugo’s face and placed three shamrocks on each side of Fabian’s face. 

“There, you both look beautiful.” she said with a smile.

“Can we go now?” whined Fabian, ushering the girls along. 

Cassie grabbed her small black handbag, making sure to pack her gloves, snacks and her money just in case. She wasn’t sure what time they would be returning to the cabin that night and she wanted to be prepared. 

The group of teenagers stepped out of the cabin shouting their goodbyes to Mr and Mrs Carlisle and Henry as they went. The sky had a pink hue to it as dusk began to fall, there was not a cloud in the sky. Although it was late August there was definitely a slight chill in the air, making Cassie glad she had her warm jumper with her. The atmosphere of excitement in the campground was palpable, crowds of people had already begun to head towards the stadium in massive tightly packed groups, shouting and laughing as they went. Cassie’s group of friends followed the crowds a short distance until they reached a round clearing in the middle of the campsite, the clearing was filled with snack and merchandise stands. Stall owners were shouting out products and deals, the group passed a group of middle aged men who were obnoxiously arguing about the outcome of the game, the sweet smell of warm butterbeer hung in the air, the place was alive with anticipation. 

Libby had grabbed both Bonnie and Cassie’s hands and was dragging them towards a stall full of bedazzled quidditch merch, the others followed in their wake, heads on a swivel trying to take everything in. 

“Look how beautiful this is,” Cassie heard Libby squeal excitedly. Turning around she saw Libby holding a bedazzled bomber jacket in front of her, the name and number of the Irish seeker, Lynch, was written in rhinestones on the back. Wandering around the stall Cassie’s eyes were drawn to an emerald green hair bow decorated with silver and green rhinestones, every 30 seconds the rhinestone pattern changed from stars to shamrocks. Grabbing one and going to pay she noticed the other girls lined up in the queue. Libby was paying for the jacket, asking the stall owner to cut the tag off as she wanted to wear it then and there, Bonnie was holding a pair of shiny earrings in the shape of firebolt broomsticks and Odette was holding a cardigan with the name of the Irish captain embroidered on the back. Joining the queue Bonnie looked at the bow in Cassie’s hand. 

“That is so cute! Where did you find that one?” she questioned. 

“Over there behind the necklace stand. Want me to go and grab you one so we can match?” Cassie asked.

“Please! I’ll hold your place in the queue.” Bonnie replied eagerly. 

Once the girls had all paid for their purchases and Bonnie and Cassie had fixed their matching hair bows in their hair, they headed off to find the boys at the mini figurine stand. Hugo was waiting to pay for a figure of the Irish chaser Troy and the Bulgarian seeker Viktor Krum. 

“I couldn't decide,” he said sheepishly when Cassie looked at him with her eyebrows raised slightly in amusement.

“Did you not want anything?” she questioned Fabian who was standing to the side slightly, waiting for the group. 

“I forgot to grab any money on the way out,” he said, eyes on the ground, a red flush taking over his cheeks. Without a thought Cassie rummaged in her bag grabbing out some big gold coins and handing them to him.

“Cassie, I can't take your money,” he said, eyes wide. 

“Of course you can, just pay me back later. Kingsley gave me 20 galleons to spend and Maya gave me 10. There is no way I can spend all of that!” she shrugged. 

Pulling her into a quick tight hug and muttering a thank you into her hair he rushed off to grab a small figurine and join the queue. 

The group spent the next half an hour wandering around the stalls, Cassie and the boys each grabbed a scarf from the official Irish quidditch squad stall wrapping it tightly around their necks to keep themselves warm. Odette grabbed a lanyard with the entire Irish quidditch team pictured on it, whilst Bonnie grabbed a broom maintenance kit, Krum apparently used the same one. When they had looked at all of the stalls they went to the butterbeer and pumpkin juice stand, ordering a round of drinks. 

“We should probably head off to find Mum and Dad,” Odette said, checking her small gold wristwatch. 

“Let’s head towards the path through the woods,” Hugo replied, “They said they would meet us by the signposts.” 

The crowd heading towards the woods had grown in the last hour, Cassie grabbed Bonnie’s hand noticing she was already holding onto Libby’s, Fabian was walking in front of them with Hugo and Odette, the only way for them to stay together was for her to grab his hood, giving it a small tug. Glancing behind him, Fabian smiled down at her, rolling his eyes at her childish antics. As they got closer to the woods the crowd began to get more tightly packed together, tripping and stumbling; it was almost impossible for Cassie to see where she was going. Suddenly Fabian veered off to the left towards the path they had walked down this morning. Standing there waiting were the Carlisle’s all dressed in varying shades of emerald green and quidditch paraphernalia. 

“Ah, there you are! We were beginning to worry you’d got swept away with the crowd,” laughed Mr Carlisle. “This gentleman is selling something incredibly exciting,” he said, motioning to the man beside them. 

“Omnioculars! With this piece of equipment you can replay, slow down and caption flight sequences. Best way to view the game if you ask me!” he said in a thick Irish accent. Each of the teens began looking through their pockets excitedly, Bonnie pulled out 5 galleons and a couple of knuts, Odette and Hugo had 17 galleons between them and Libby and Fabian only had a couple of sickles and 4 knuts. They all looked disappointed.

“Maybe we could share a couple of pairs?” questioned Hugo, looking around the group. 

“How much for 6?” asked Cassie. 

“They’re normally 10 galleons each, but for you I’ll make a deal. 45 galleons for 6” he shouted, his yellow crooked teeth glowing in the light of the fairies circling above them. 

“Deal,” Cassie smiled, grabbing 6 pairs and passing them out to her friends, who all accepted them with curious looks on their faces. Grabbing the money that the group had pooled together from Hugo’s hand and taking out her secret stash of pocket money she had put in her bag just in case, she paid the gentleman. Her friends crowded around her, hugging and thanking her.

“At least I don’t have to do lots of Christmas shopping this year,” she shrugged. 

Placing the neck strap around her neck making sure her omnioculars were secure she turned to Mr Carlisle who looked at her with a smile and mouthed the words thank you. She smiled back timidly, bowing her head. 

“Right, we had better head in soon, we don’t want to miss the mascots!” said Mr Carlisle, putting the group of teenagers into pairs and asking Henry to walk at the back making sure no one got lost. Bonnie and Cassie were right at the back, linking arms to make sure that they didn’t get separated; they began to follow the group. Fabian was in front of her again, grabbing his hood, tugging on it lightly and she shouted “giddy up!” encouraging him to walk faster. 

“Stop!” he laughed trying to tug his hood out of her grip.

“Trot, canter, gallop!” shouted Cassie, laughing along with the rest of the group. 

Suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks. It couldn’t have been, they wouldn’t be here, would they? She was almost positive she had seen a large group of ginger haired witches and wizards following the crowd along the path. Standing on her tiptoes she tried to get a better view but the stream of people was moving too fast, as soon as they had appeared they were gone. 

“Come on Cassie, you’ve got to move before we all get trampled to death,” encouraged Henry, pushing her slightly making her catch up with the rest of the group. She continued the walk to the stadium in a daze, barely looking at what was going on around her. 

A break in the tree’s gave Cassie her first glimpse of the stadium. A large metal oval structure dominated the moorland surrounding it, dwarfing the trees from the wood the group had just emerged from. The outside of the stadium was emitting a light glow, metal beams of copper, gold and silver were intertwined in intricate patterns making the building look like an oversized bird's nest. Wizards in cranberry red robes were directing tens of thousands of wizards through the countless doors. Mr Carlisle led the group forward to the middle entrance and flashed the man guarding the door their tickets. Upon entering the stadium they were squeezed into a long hallway; scarlet fabric lined the walls and thick plush carpet squashed underfoot. They pushed their way to the very end of the hall, turning left through an archway they found themselves in a stairwell. Cassie looked up straining her neck to see how high the stairs went; however the top was shrouded in shadows making Cassie gulp. 

“19th floor, box M,” Mr Carlisle was muttering to himself under her breath. 

The group climbed up and up, by the 8th floor Cassie’s legs were burning, her breath coming out in short pants. At the 15th floor the group had to stop, Bonnie flung herself precariously over the bannister, hanging limply. Whilst the rest of the group threw themselves on the floor, Libby and Cassie sat side by side on a step, heads between their legs, trying to calm their gasping breaths. 

“Should have just waited for the elevators,” wheezed out Mr Carlisle who was slumped in the corner of the stairwell.

Suddenly a chirpy voice rang out loudly across the stadium “15 minutes until the game of the season commences, take your seats one and all!” 

The group of teenagers quickly perked up, Odette was the first to stand offering her hands to Libby and Cassie to help them to their feet. Cassie’s legs still felt like jelly, wobbling so much that her knees knocked together. Fabian had gone over to Bonnie wrapping his arms around her waist carefully pulling her away from the bannister, as he did so she let out a dramatic groan. 

“I can’t go on,” she whined, lolling her head onto Fabian's shoulder, her long black braided hair covering her eyes.

The group laughed at the young girl's antics and began to continue their long climb towards the 19th floor. Cassie was just beginning to dramatically think that they would never make it when Hugo stopped suddenly in front of her, making her crash into his back and stumble almost falling back down the staircase; Libby grabbed her hand steadying her, Cassie looked up at the girl smiling appreciatively at her. 

“Here we are family,” Mr Carlisle huffed. 

They were standing in front of a pair of massive gold double doors, a crimson red number 19 was written in a swirly looped font on the left door. Henry grabbed the handles opening the door and ushering the group through. They entered yet another long corridor, identical to the one they had walked through downstairs. 

A loud pop echoed and bounced off of the walls, surprising everyone and making Cassie let out a small squeal. A stout man in red robes had appeared in front of them, tapping his foot impatiently on the floor and holding his hand out towards Mr Carlisle.

“Tickets please, you're cutting it fine Sir. Only 7 minutes to make it to your seats!” said the wizard, snatching the tickets from Mr Carlisle’s hand, pulling out some thin rimmed gold glasses and balancing them precariously on the very end of his nose as he read the information. 

“7th door down and on your left,” the man said, handing back their tickets. 

The group rushed forward, running down the carpeted hallway counting doors as they went. Ahead Fabian found the 7th door, the group all crowded around before he reached for the door handle and tugged it open. The group were met with a wall of noise, the stadium was alive with the sounds of screaming and shouting, barely audible above the sound of the crowd music was playing like a backing track. 

Mrs Carlisle encouraged the group of teenagers into the box, shouting above the noise of the crowd, she asked them to take their seats in the front row. Cassie couldn’t quite believe it. Their seats appeared to be in a private box; two rows of 6 seats faced an open balcony, giving a fantastic view of the pitch and stadium below. On either side they were boxed in by gold tinted frosted glass. 

Hugo started down the front row followed by Fabian, Bonnie, Cassie, Odette and then Libby. Sitting down and placing her bag under her seat Cassie turned around to take in the scene below. Hundreds of thousands of witches and wizards were sat in stands that rose in multiple levels around the long oval pitch. The whole scene was bathed in a soft golden light that appeared to be emitted by the stadium itself. They were positioned in the middle of the pitch, turning her head left and right Cassie saw 3 towering hoops at either end, they had to be at least 50 feet high glinting occasionally in the light. The field below was a luscious green and looked as smooth as velvet. On screens around the stadium various brightly coloured advertisements appeared flashing bright colours and catching the crowd's attention. Cassie decided to pull out her omnioculars, using them to look at the enthusiastic crowd below them. Her eye had been caught by a large group of Bulgarian fans who appeared to be performing a fan chant, accompanied by a dance that included a lot of wiggling and the occasional vulgar hand gesture. Chuckling slightly she pulled her eyes away turning to either side she noticed her friends were just as entranced by the crowd and scene before them as she was.

Suddenly the lights dimmed and a hush fell over the crowd, a single spotlight began to shine on a small man in a box at the end of the pitch dressed in canary yellow robes. 

“Welcome to the 422nd edition of the International Quidditch World Cup,” he cheered. The crowd went berserk, screaming and hollering. Cassie could just about make out what the crowd was chanting, the word “Bagman!” 

Turning around behind her, she motioned for Henry to come closer so that she was able to shout in his ear “What’s a Bagman?”

“Ludo Bagman,” he laughed, “Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, and a famous Beater for the Wimbourne Wasps” he shouted back. Cassie nodded in understanding and turned back towards the pitch.

“Please put your hands together and give a warm welcome to the Bulgarian National mascots!” screamed Bagman, almost manically. 

A hundred women gracefully glided onto the pitch, their skin as pale as snow, their hair glittered gold and fanned out perfectly over their shoulders. The speaker system of the stadium began to hum, the music causing the ground beneath Cassie’s feet to vibrate. As the tempo of the music increased the women began to dance. The males in the stadium appeared to be particularly affected by the presence of these women. 

“Bloody Veela,” mumbled Bonnie who was looking at Hugo with disgust clearly written across her face. Hugo appeared to be trying to take his top off, however he had become tangled, his head stuck in an arm hole and his midriff on full display. Cassie could help but let out a small laugh looking at her friend's predicament. The music in the stadium began to fade, angry yells from the crowd replacing the noise.

The Veela began to line up along the edge of the pitch, waving and blowing kisses towards the fans in the stands.

“And now… kindly put your wands in the air… for the Irish National Team Mascots!” Bagman whooped. 

Soaring in through the open roof of the stadium, a giant green and gold comet zoomed around making a circuit of the entire stadium, high above the heads of the adoring crowd. After its first loop and directly in front of Carlisle's box, the comet broke into two, each smaller comet taking off down to opposite ends of the pitch at breakneck speeds. Coming to a halt just before they collided with the goal posts the comets were connected by the brightly coloured arch of a rainbow. The crowd let out a series of awed oohh’s and aahh's. As the rainbow began to fade the two comets hurtled towards the middle of the pitch colliding and forming the shape of a massive, emerald green, glittering shamrock. It began to rise from the pitch, gaining speed as it sailed over the heads of the crowd, golden rain began to fall all around. In front of Cassie, great gold coins began bouncing off the floor and rolling under their seats. Turning around in utter shock, Mrs Carlisle let out a laugh.

“Leprechaun gold,” she laughed, “it’ll disappear in less than a day!” 

The glittering shamrock stopped at the end of the pitch, rippling in front of the box Ludo Bagman was standing in. Gracefully the shamrock then began to fall, floating towards the pitch below. It was only as the tiny, bearded men in red waistcoats began to break away and line up along the edge of pitch, opposite the Veela’s, that Cassie realised what they were. 

“Of course the Irish Mascots would be leprechauns,” she giggled.

 Ludo Bagman cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the waiting crowd, “and now- wizards, witches and magical folk alike. Put your hands together and welcome the Bulgarian National Quidditch team” yelled Bagman, his voice cracking slightly on the last word.

From an entrance far below them a group of scarlet clad figures mounted their brooms, kicking off the ground they began rising so fast their forms became blurred. Bagman began listing their names and positions as they did a welcome lap of the stadium. The Bulgarian seeker, Krum, appeared to be the player to watch as the shouts from the crowd drowned out the game facts Bagman was saying.

“And now- give another warm welcome to- The Irish National Team!” whooped Bagman, seemingly jumping up and down in excitement.

The Irish team swooped in, going low over the Irish stands and raising their arms proudly, eliciting roars and screams from the crowd below. The whole Carlisle box was standing, whooping and cheering the players as they flew past. It had got so loud in their box Cassie had completely missed the Irish roll call, unsure of who was playing in what position.

Her eyes were glued to the pitch as a short balding man in metallic gold robes strode confidently onto the pitch, a large wooden box was under his arm and a silver whistle bounced off of his chest with every step he took. Once he’d reached the middle of the pitch, he placed the box down at his feet. The teams landed in their positions, the two captains walking towards each other and shaking hands. Once all of the players had mounted their brooms, the referee gave each team a slight nod, bent down and opened the box; instantly two black balls flew quickly in the air, blending in almost perfectly to the sky above. A small golden speck danced out of the box and disappeared almost instantly. The referee then grabbed the large red leather ball, held it high in the air, blew his whistle and threw it skywards. The game had begun.