The Forgotten Twin

Chapter 5

Neither Harry nor Delilah had ever been camping in their life; the Dursleys had never taken them on any kind of holiday, preferring to leave them with Mrs. Figg, an old neighbor. However, she, Harry, and Hermione worked out where most of the poles and pegs should go, and though Mr. Weasley was more of a hindrance than a help, because he got thoroughly over excited when it came to using the mallet; they finally managed to erect a pair of shabby two-man tents.

All of them stood back to admire their handiwork. Nobody looking at these tents would guess they belonged to wizards, Delilah knew, but the trouble was that everyone had arrived, they would be a party of ten, and one of the tents barely would fit three people, let alone seven. Harry and Hermione seemed to have spotted this problem too; they gave her a quizzical look as Mr. Weasley dropped to his hands and knees and entered the first tent.

"We'll be a bit cramped," he called, "but I think we'll all squeez in. Come and have a look."

The boys headed into the tent, while Delilah, Hermione, and Ginny walked into theirs.

It was magical. It was an old-fashioned, two-room flat, complete with bathroom and kitchen. It was nice.

A quick tour of the main tent, which was slightly bigger than theirs, though it had a disgusting smell of cats, Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off to grab some water, which Delilah thought was pointless. She spent the time unsuccessfully trying to show Mr. Weasley how to start the fire. Fred and George had gotten the wood and stacked it in a pyramid shape, then Mr. Weasley kept trying with the matches.

By the time Harry, Ron, and Hermione got back, he still hadn't done it. Finely, Delilah grabbed them from him.

"Here." Delilah showed him how to light the matches properly, then quickly snuffed it out. "Now you try."

At last they got the fire lit, though it was at least another hour before it was hot enough to cook anything. There was plenty to watch while they waited, however. Their tent seemed to be pitched right alongside a kind of thoroughfare to the field, and Ministry members kept hurrying up and down it, greeting Mr. Weasley cordially as they passed. Mr. Weasley kept up a running commentary, mainly for Delilah, Harry, and Hermione's benefit; his own children knew too much about the Ministry to be greatly interested.

"That was Cuthbert Mockridge, Head of the Goblin Liaison Office. . . . Here comes Gilbert Wimple; he's with the Committee on Experimental Charms; he's had those horns for a while now. . . . Hello, Arnie . . . Arnold Peasegood, he's an Obliviator — member of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, you know. . . . and that's Bode and Croaker . . . they're Unspeakables. . . ."

"They're what?"

"From the Department of Mysteries, top secret, no idea what they get up to. . . ."

At last, the fire was ready, and they had just started cooking eggs and sausages when Bill, Charlie, and Percy came strolling out of the woods toward them.

"Just Apparated, Dad," said Percy loudly. "Ah, excellent, lunch!"

They were halfway through their plates of eggs and sausages when Mr. Weasley jumped to his feet, waving and grinning at a man who was striding toward them.

"Aha!" he said. "The man of the moment! Ludo!"

Ludo Bagman was easily the most noticeable person Delilah had seen so far. He was wearing long Quidditch robes in thick horizontal stripes of bright yellow and black. An enormous picture of a wasp was splashed across his chest. He had the look of a powerfully built man gone slightly to seed; the robes were stretched tightly across a large belly he surely had not had in the days when he had played Quidditch for England. His nose was squashed (probably broken by a stray Bludger), but his round blue eyes, short blond hair, and rosy complexion made him look like a very overgrown schoolboy.