The Champions

As Harry walks around the grounds of the Quidditch World Cup, he couldn't help but grow a bit curious. After all, many of the people around him weren't from here, so what sort of things would they bring with them? In his excitement though, he somehow didn't notice that he'd gotten separated from his friends. At least, he didn't notice until that moment when he turned around to ask if Hermione knew what some of the people were talking about so she could help him and Ron understand it.

Now that he realized he was alone though, he began to panic a bit. He couldn't help it though! After all, he was in an environment where he would be alone, and he didn't have his friends to help him!

As he thought about it, he also began to realize that this also meant he could look for things he usually couldn't. After all, Ron wasn't the biggest fan of stuff he considered “dark”, and Hermione was usually not too big a fan of his actions when he was feeling more… rambunctious.

It wasn't that she was bad, she just seemed to constantly get worried when he would do so.

Why didn't she seem worried for Ron though? Or at least, she didn't seem as concerned about the redhead.

That was something for future Harry to worry about. For now, he felt like looking around!

Seeing all the stuff and people around did make Harry a bit nervous, but he was happy for not being the center of attention. In fact, most people seemed to not even notice him; too focused on something else. Or rather, someone else.

Deciding to see what all the people were focusing on, he followed the gazes of the various witches and wizards around him. When his eyes reached the person they were looking at, he both understood and held no understanding of why they were all staring.

The one they were staring at was a blonde woman who he easily noticed was taller than him. Her figure was one he could only describe as beautiful. Long legs leading up into a flowing skirt, noticeable, but not too large breasts, an hourglass figure that most women would apparently kill for, if the mutterings he'd heard from Aunt Petunia anytime she found Dudley or Vernon with a porn mag were anything to go off of.

But Harry couldn't figure out why the others around him couldn't stop looking! Yes, she was beautiful, but she must be feeling uncomfortable with all the staring, and when Harry looks at her expression, he can see he's right. So, Harry got to the front of the crowd with surprising ease, none of the people around him paying much attention until he started getting closer to the blonde.

“Hey there. It's been a while, hasn't it?” Harry asked with a smile, trying to exude confidence while looking her in the eyes, trying to tell her to play along.

Her eyes widened a bit, though Harry couldn't really understand why. She then seemed to catch on quickly, smiling back like they'd known each other for a long time.

“It's good to see you again! It's been far too long. Maybe we should try catching up?”

Harry smiled back and nodded, and they both walked off, with Harry flaring out his magic in a way he remembered Sirius, and Snape, doing when they wanted to be intimidating. While not as effective as it was from either of the adult wizards, it did still hold enough weight to keep the other people from getting too close.

As they walked, the blonde spoke, not turning to him.

“Thank you. I could have gotten out of that by myself, but you likely saved me a lot of time and effort, and some of those people a trip to the medical tent. My name is Fleur, by the way.”

“And I'm Harry,” he responded with a smile, not able to keep himself from turning to her momentarily out of habit. When he did, he saw a small smile on Fleur’s face. It made him happy that he was able to help her have that smile.

“So, why did you help me?” Fleur asked, her tone obviously curious.

Harry thought about it for a moment, but decided to just be honest, even if his reasoning was a bit simplistic. “You looked uncomfortable and unhappy, and I didn't like the fact that nobody seemed to realize that.”

Harry then muttered underneath his breath. “Besides, it's not like I enjoy that kind of attention either.”

This had Fleur turn to Harry and truly look at him for the first time. Saw the bags under his eyes, the tension in his shoulders. She then noticed the details that made her realize what he meant. Namely, his hair and the scar above his emerald green eyes.

“You're…”

Harry cut her off. “I'm just Harry,” he says, trying to make his voice firm. It doesn't come off as firm. If anything, he just sounded nervous, and a little scared.

He didn't want to be thought of as Harry Potter.

Fleur smiled gently as he looked at her, his nerves clearly getting the best of him as she giggled. “Well then, just Harry, where should we go? After all, we are supposed to be old friends.”

Harry shrugged. “I'm not sure. I was just gonna wander around for a while. You have any places you wanna check out?”

“How about we check out some of the vendors. Who knows, maybe you'll find a fun looking spellbook,” Fleur replies, and Harry nods, gesturing for her to lead the way.

So, they begin walking, and Harry begins to realize he was with a group of idiots who didn't think to give the children a map of the place when Fleur pulls out one of her own.

Once they get to the more shopping based area, Harry is smiling ear to ear, the two of them finding that they got along quite well.

In the shopping area, which looked more like a farmer's market, or a bazaar, the two new friends began walking around, checking out the various shops. Some sold food from various cultures, while others were selling spellbooks filled with spells many of the tellers were willing to demonstrate. There were some exceptions though, and those exceptions got Harry interested.

Harry looked through some of the books, wondering what he would find. He found a few that looked really interesting.

The Serpent’s Magic

The Darkest Arts and How to Defend Against Them

Creation of Magic

Harry grabbed the three books and brought them to the witch running the tent.

“Hey, can you show me some of the magics in these, and can I buy them?” Harry asks.

The witch, a woman with dark skin and deep brown eyes with barely noticeable crow’s feet at the edges, smiled at him. “Well, let me see what it is you're buying, young one. I’m not one to stop a young Wixen from furthering their education, so of course you can buy them!”

Harry gave her the books without questioning it, smiling as she said that. After all, he'd nearly been caught by Madam Pince more times than he'd care to count while helping Hermione find new stuff to learn after she told them they couldn't look in the Restricted Section without permission from a teacher. The one on top was the Creation of Magic book he'd found. She chuckled a bit when she saw that one. “Well, I can't show you the magic in this one because it's almost entirely on how to create spells.”

That interested Harry. Perhaps he could make a spell that would keep Ron away from his stuff.

The next book she picked up was the book he assumed was an advanced DADA textbook, and he wasn't scared to admit that it was his favorite class, and the only one he spent a notable amount of free time on. As the older woman looked at it, she seemed to freeze for a moment before frowning. This made Harry a little concerned.

“Why do you wish to purchase this book, young one?” The woman asked, her tone dead serious. The slight accent that Harry hadn't really noticed deepened. It made him nervous.

“W-well, it looked like it was meant to be some advanced textbook for Defence Class. I'm pretty good in the class, so I figured I could try and impress my teachers by studying ahead.”

The woman sighed, her accent fading back to its previous level, and, as Harry only noticed because it was going back to normal, he magic also returned to a resting state.

“I can't show you the spells in here either. Not while I'm here in your country, at least. This book is on the spells even other countries consider dark, and even contains black magic. It also contains ways to fight those who use it. If you're sure about this, I'll be recommending other books for you to buy.”

Harry nodded. “I'd like to learn the stuff this book has to teach me.”

She nods and grabs the last book Harry had been interested in. She seemed confused.

“Boy, are you a parselmouth?” She asked, clearly confused.

Harry was also confused, but nodded. “Yes, I am. It's part of why I grabbed that book.”

The woman paused for a second as she set down the three books Harry had picked. “I can’t show you the spells in this book either. After all, I'm not a Parselmouth. My wife is the one who put it there. Allow me to go grab some more books for you.”

So, she handed him his three books and went through the tent, grabbing multiple books from the shelves. When she returned, she checked through the books she'd grabbed and smiled before handing them to him.

Soulforging: the Art of Making Magic Items

Harry saw this, and the first thought that came to his mind was making a broom. The second thought was a cool sword.

Black Magic: From the Abyss

As much as Harry hated to admit it, this did interest him, if only cause it might help him defeat Tom.

Serpent Healer

Well, Harry could definitely do with a way to heal. After all, Madam Pomfrey just might kill him herself if he keeps showing up injured as often as he does.

And finally, a fourth book with no title, held shut by a lock. Instead of a keyhole though, there was a pin.

The woman then handed him a bag and a sheet of paper.

“Here, sign this paper, and then you can put those books in this self-expanding bag, and go about your day.”

Harry nodded and read over the paper. It just had the titles of the books, the bag, and a blank space. Each had a price next to it, and the total was at the bottom. He quickly signed it without much thought before the woman put all the books in the bag and handed it to him.

“Um, thank you. What was that paper for though?”

She tilted her head to the side. “Oh, it's to tell the goblin running your vault to transfer the funds used to buy the books and bag to my vault. Don't worry about distance. They have their ways to get it to me. Besides, this way, we don't have to worry about me having to double convert the money you give me.”

“Ah, that makes sense. Why wasn't I told about this sooner?” Harry asked, legitimately curious.

“Oh, most shops in Britain don't do it due to many not trusting the goblins because of all the rebellions. Foolish, in my opinion. That'll just cause another rebellion, if they aren't careful.”

Harry smiled and looked over, seeing Fleur holding a bag of her own, and gave the woman a quick bow. “Well, I should be off. My friend is about to leave, and I don't wanna be alone again.”

So, Harry walked back over to Fleur with a smile. “Sorry, I ended up finding a few books, and the older lady gave me a few other books. You find any fun books?”

Fleur giggled. “Yes, I found a few on fire magics and one on more advanced charm work. How about you?”

“Two on an ability I have, one on Defence, one on some advanced stuff, and two involving creating things.”

Fleur nodded her head. “Well then, what else should we check out?”

Harry thought for a second before his mind got dragged away by a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Oliver Wood.

“How about we check out the Quidditch tent? After all, this is the World Cup, so they may have some interesting stuff.”

So, the two of them went to the tent with a Firebolt on display outside of it, Fleur rolling her eyes a bit as Harry’s face devolved into that of a kid in a candy store.

While looking around Harry bumped into someone a lot taller than him, falling over as he did so. It also knocked the glasses off his face.

“Oh, sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going,” Harry said as he looked for his glasses. Then, what Harry assumed was a hand came into view holding the black blob that Harry hoped were his glasses.

“Here you go, and don't worry. Besides, I'm usually more aware of my surroundings myself,” the hand said. Then, Harry internally facepalmed. Not the hand, the one holding his glasses in their hand.

Harry gently took his glasses back, not wanting to break them. He then put them back on and saw the hand was still held out. Harry took it, letting the much larger boy help him up.

“Thank you for that. So, who are you?” Harry asked innocently.

The older boy seemed a bit shocked about Harry’s question. He was just curious!

“Well, my name is Viktor. It's nice to meet you. What about you? What's your name?” Viktor asked in return.

Harry smiled. “I'm Harry. Nice to meet you. So, you like Quidditch too?”

“It's basically my life at times,” Viktor chuckled, sounding both happy and a bit annoyed about that fact. “I was coming here for some broom care equipment. I accidentally forgot to bring my own, and need to take care of the old girl.”

Harry chuckled. “Yeah, I feel you there. I brought mine, but I wanna just do some basic maintenance on it before I go flying. Not to mention, I wanted to see if there were any foreign brooms being sold here.”

Viktor gave Harry a good natured, but rather hard, slap on the back, grinning happily. “Oh, I can already tell we will be very good friends! How about we meet up near the practice field for the recreational games, and we can just work on our brooms, and we can help each other improve on them?”

Harry smiled back, rubbing his back as best he could. “That sounds fun! And maybe we can fly around for a bit, just a bit of friendly competition?”

Viktor held out his hand, and Harry held out his own after a second of confusion. Then, instead of taking his hand, Viktor took Harry by the forearm. Harry quickly realized what he was doing and gripped the older teen’s forearm in kind, sharing a Roman handshake with the man he hoped could be considered a friend.

Then, Fleur found him.

“Ah, there you are, Harry! I was looking for you. Honestly, how do you find your way around here?” She said, sounding extremely bitter.

“Brooms in the back, sorted by what position they work best for, each aisle being a different player. And the front is sorted by maintenance supplies for certain brooms, and training equipment, with the good stuff towards the front,” Harry and Viktor responded in unison before looking at each other with shocked expressions. Then, they both just laughed a bit, Harry being a bit lighter, while Viktor’s laughter boomed a bit. Meanwhile, Fleur smiled, giggling a bit as well.

“I see there are two Quidditch nuts here now. Good to know. Honestly, I wouldn't be shocked if you two already planned to go on a broom prep hang out, based on you two being such nerds for this sport,” Fleur said sarcastically. When they remained silent, she stared at the two of them. Harry shifted a bit while Viktor clearly felt no shame for the fact.

“Did you two seriously set it up that quickly?!”

They both nodded, making Fleur sigh, but she couldn't keep the smile off of her face, and the two boys couldn't either.

“Well then, I'll see you two there. I may not be as much of a broom and Quidditch nerd as you two, but I can at least make sure you two stop and eat when you need to.”

So, they both agree on a place to meet up, since they got a good bit of shopping done. The World Cup match would be the next day, but a good bit of fun never hurt anybody! Besides, it would just get them more hyped for the game!

Harry and Viktor quickly bought the supplies they had found.

And, with that, Harry nervously asked for a copy of the map so he could find his way back to his tent. They both blinked owlishly at him before Fleur pulled out her map and used a duplication charm to make another one before handing the copy to Harry.

“Now, make sure you keep that on you. I marked the location of our little hang out on it,” Fleur told him.

Harry nodded, and they all said goodbye before going their separate ways to prepare for their little meetup later. It made Harry much happier than he'd actually admit when they made the agreement of where to meet. After all, he didn't really get to hang out with his friends outside of school, so getting to hang out with two new friends was something Harry was really happy about! Then, he thought about it, wondering if he should invite his other friends. Ron was a no go. He didn't know why, but his instincts told him it wasn't a good idea to bring him, and Harry preferred trusting his instincts. Hermione probably wouldn't wanna come, if only because it would basically just be Quidditch talk. Harry continued to think through all the people that had come with him, and decided there was one that would likely be able to have fun with all the Quidditch talk, didn't set off his instincts, and that he could admit to wanting to get to know better, and maybe be friends with: Cedric Diggory.

With that in mind, Harry smiled and headed back to his tent and marking the spot on his map with a quick spell he'd learned from Hermione.