Tragedy avoided

After Lunch, Bill offered to read once everyone had gathered. Harri sat between Hermione and Ron, feeling a little guilty about her outburst during lunch. She knew she had overreacted. Hermione was just concerned. But she meant what she had said. She didn’t feel she should be forced to tell either of them if her scar hurt.

Harri felt as though she had barely lain down to steep in Ginny’s room when she was being shaken awake by Mrs. Weasley.

Harri couldn’t say she was looking forward to that. She really did enjoy being able to sleep in during the rare times she was allowed.

He was wearing what appeared to be a golfing sweater and a very old pair of jeans, slightly too big for him and held up with a thick leather belt.

“What d’you think?” he asked anxiously. “We’re supposed to go incognito - do I look like a Muggle, Harri?”

“Yeah,” said Harri, smiling, “very good.”

“Really?” Arthur asked, pleased with himself.

“Doesn’t sound too bad to me,” Harri shrugged before offering, “If you want, I can go with you sometime to pick out muggle clothes.”

“I’d rather like that.”

“Oh yes,” said Mr. Weasley, tucking the tickets safely into the back pocket of his jeans. “The Department of Magical Transportation had to fine a couple of people the other day for Apparating without a license. It’s not easy, Apparition, and when it’s not done properly it can lead to nasty complications. This pair I’m talking about went and splinched themselves.”

“Splinched?” Harri asked, confused. “What’s that?”

“The books explain it here in a second,” Bill informed her, having already skimmed the page he was reading. “But I can explain it if you want.”

“No, that’s alright. I can wait.”

“They left half of themselves behind,” said Mr. Weasley, now spooning large amounts of treacle onto his porridge. “So, of course, they were stuck. Couldn’t move either way. Had to wait for the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad to sort them out. Meant a fair old bit of paperwork, I can tell you, what with the Muggles who spotted the body parts they’d left behind.....”

Harri winced. That did not sound pleasant at all. No wonder you have to take a test. It was almost like getting your driver’s license.

Harri had a sudden vision of a pair of legs and an eyeball lying abandoned on the pavement of Privet Drive.

“That’s rather morbid,” Colin shuttered violently. It was an image he could have done without.

“Charlie had to take the test twice,” said Fred, grinning. “He failed the first time. Apparated five miles south of where he meant to, right on top of some poor old dear doing her shopping, remember?”

“So glad you felt the need to share that,” Charlie grumbled as he shoved Fred’s shoulder. He would be getting him back for that. He wondered what embarrassing story he could share about Fred the next time he sat with Harri during a break, for there were several for him to pick from.

“Percy only passed two weeks ago,” said George. “He’s been Apparating downstairs every morning since, just to prove he can.”

Percy flushed, a little embarrassed he had shown off in such a way.

“George!” said Mrs. Weasley sharply, and they all jumped.

“What?” said George, in an innocent tone that deceived nobody.

Harri raised an eyebrow at George, who winked back at her. What could he have done now?

Several small, brightly coloured objects zoomed out of George’s pocket; he made a grab for them but missed, and they sped right into Mrs. Weasley’s outstretched hand.

“We told you to destroy them!” said Mrs. Weasley furiously, holding up what were unmistakably more Ton-Tongue Toffees. “We told you to get rid of the lot! Empty your pockets, go on, both of you!”

“Like we would have listened to that,” Fred snorted dismissively.

“We worked hard on those Toffees,” George agreed, the resentment for Molly clear in his tone.

Molly couldn’t help but be reminded of her conversation with Cassandra. Was she really pushing the twins away? Would they resent her if she forced them into proper jobs?

“We spent six months developing those!” Fred shouted at his mother as she threw the toffees away.

“Oh, a fine way to spend six months!” she shrieked. “No wonder you didn’t get more O.W.L.s!”

“Why must everything be a test score to you? Merlin, is that all we’ll ever be to you?” Fred raged at his mother. They had spent their own time and money on those Toffees she had no right.

“I don’t see you as a test score,” Molly protested. “I just want what’s best for you, and you can’t get a proper job without good test scores.”

“What about what we want,” George added his two cents into the fray. “Did it ever occur to you to even think about what would make us happy, or is it all about what you want?”

“That’s enough,” Arthur cut in, coming to a stand. “Apologize to your mother this instant. You know she cares about you.”

A limited number use Muggle transport, but we can’t have too many clogging up their buses and trains - remember, wizards are coming from all over the world. Some Apparate, of course, but we have to set up safe points for them to appear, well away from Muggles. I believe there’s a handy wood they’re using as the Apparition point. For those who don’t want to Apparate, or can’t, we use Portkeys. They’re objects that are used to transport wizards from one spot to another at a prearranged time. You can do large groups at a time if you need to. There have been two hundred Portkeys placed at strategic points around Britain, and the nearest one to us is up at the top of Stoatshead Hill, so that’s where we’re headed.”

Harri was amazed at how much effort and planning went into the World Cup. She wondered if the Ministry would be actually useful if they put this much thought and manpower into making sure Death Eaters didn’t still run amok.

Hermione came over the crest of the hill last, clutching a stitch in her side.

Hermione scowled as this was mentioned. Why was she the only one affected or mentioned to be soo affected?

Cedric Diggory was an extremely handsome boy of around seventeen. He was Captain and Seeker of the Hufflepuff House Quidditch team at Hogwarts.

Cedric smiled teasingly toward Harri, rather pleased with hearing how she described him. It was always nice to hear she thought him to be rather attractive.

“Hi,” said Cedric, looking around at them all.

Everybody said hi back except Fred and George, who merely nodded. They had never quite forgiven Cedric for beating their team, Gryffindor, in the first Quidditch match of the previous year.

Cedric would bet money on the twins being upset over him beating Harri and not the Gryffindor team as a whole. They would have had to watch how hard Harri had been on herself over the loss.

“You made it,” Cedric beamed at her, ignoring the sour looks the twins sent him.

“Surprise,” Harri grinned back, happy to see her friend.

“You could have at least written me a letter letting me know. I was worried when I didn’t hear back from you.”

“I didn’t mean to worry you,” Harri winced, giving Cedric her best apologetic smile, “I was just trying to have a bit of fun.”

Cedric did his best to look put off at her but quickly caved.

“Aren’t you two getting bold,” Tonks teased mercilessly. “Flirting in front of everyone like that.”

“What, no! We weren’t flirting.”

“Ced’s talked about you, of course,” said Amos Diggory. “Told us all about playing against you last year...I said to him, I said - Ced, that’ll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will....You beat Harriet Potter!”

Amos ignored the look his wife sent his way. He had already agreed to be nicer to the girl. He said what he said under false information. He wasn’t going to apologize for being proud of his son.

Harri couldn’t think of any reply to this, so she remained silent. Fred and George were both scowling again. Harri was sure if it wasn’t for the way Cedric’s cheeks seemed to burn brighter than Ginny’s hair, she might have felt a little annoyed at Amos Diggory’s comment, but as it stood, it seemed she was just handed the perfect way to tease Cedric for the rest of the year.

“I deserve that,” Cedric groaned, not looking forward to how Harri would use this against him.

“Harri fell off her broom, Dad,” he muttered. 2I told you...it was an accident....”

Harri raised an eyebrow at Cedric, unaware Dementor interference counted as an accident. Cedric mouthed the word sorry to her in return, face still burning.

Harri let herself peek over at Cedric to find his face a bright shade of red now too. Oh, yes, her book-self was correct. This was definitely a sight worth making happen more than once. It was lovely to see Cedric seem so flustered when he was so put together all the time.

“Yes, but you didn’t fall off, did you?” roared Amos genially, slapping his son on his back. “Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman...but the best man won, I’m sure Harriet’d say the same, wouldn’t you, eh? One falls off their broom, one stays on, you don’t need to be a genius to tell which one’s the better flier!”

Cedric hid his face in his hands as shame overtook him. Merlin, why did his father have to go and insult her that way? It was mortifying the first time and not any less so now. He was never going to forgive himself for lying to his parents.

Harri was sure she should feel insulted, but watching how horrific Cedric appeared at his father’s words brought her amusement. She was definitely never letting him live this down.

“Mercy, please,” Cedric begged weakly, unsure he could handle it if Harri did decide to hold this over his head.

“Absolutely not,” Harri denied him such kindness, eager to see what her book counterpart would do. She knew why he had done it now, and even though she had forgiven him, she thought a little teasing wouldn’t do any real harm.

It happened immediately: Harri felt as though a hook just behind her navel had been suddenly jerked irresistibly forward. Her feet left the ground; she could feel Ron and Hermione on either side of her, their shoulders banging into hers; they were all speeding forward in a howl of wind and swirling colour; her forefinger was stuck to the boot as though it was pulling her magnetically onward and then - Her feet slammed into the ground; Ron staggered into her and she fell over; the Portkey hit the ground near her head with a heavy thud.

Harri winced at the description as she wrote off Portkeys as a way to travel. It seemed a broom really was the best option.

Harri looked up. Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory, and Cedric were still standing, though looking very windswept; everybody else was on the ground.

“Seven past five from Stoatshead Hill,” said a voice.

“That’s the end,” Bill announced, closing the book.