Black and Potter | H. Potter

21 ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆ the quidditch world cup.

"Y-yeah." Harry cleared his throat when his voice slightly broke. Luckily for him, Mrs. Weasley had just placed a plate full of food in front of Ara and she didn't appear to have heard his stutter.

"Where're Bill and Charlie and Per-Per-Percy?" said George, failing to stifle a huge yawn, him and George giving Harry a sideways look.

"Well, they're Apparating, aren't they?" said Mrs. Weasley, heaving the large pot over to the table and starting to ladle porridge into bowls, ignoring the disgusted look Ara was giving the contents. "So they can have a bit of a lie-in."

"So they're still in bed?" said Fred grumpily, pulling his bowl of porridge toward him. "Why can't we Apparate too?"

"Because you're not of age and you haven't passed your test," snapped Mrs. Weasley. "And where have those girls got to?"

"Ginny's awake, I don't know about Hermione, though," Ara said after swallowing a mouthful of toast.

Mrs. Weasley sighed, bustled out of the kitchen and they heard her climbing the stairs.

"You have to pass a test to Apparate?" Harry asked.

"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 licence. 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."

Everyone around the table except Harry winced.

"Er — splinched?" said Harry.

"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. . . ."

"Were they okay?" Harry asked, startled.

"Oh yes," said Mr. Weasley matter-of-factly. "But they got a heavy fine, and I don't think they'll be trying it again in a hurry. You don't mess around with Apparition. There are plenty of adult wizards who don't bother with it. Prefer brooms — slower, but safer."

"But Bill and Charlie and Percy can all do it?"

"Charlie had to take the test twice," said Ara, grinning. "He failed the first time."

"Yeah, he Apparated five miles south of where he meant to, right on top of some poor old dear doing her shopping, remember?" Fred added, as amused as Ara.

"Yes, well, he passed the second time," said Mrs. Weasley, marching back into the kitchen amid hearty sniggers.

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

There were footsteps down the passageway and Hermione and Ginny came into the kitchen, Hermione looked pale and drowsy, but Ginny, who had woken up before her to wake up Ara, seemed okay enough.

"Why do we have to be up so early?" Ginny said.

"We've got a bit of a walk," said Mr. Weasley.

"Walk?" said Harry. "What, are we walking to the World Cup?"

"No, no, that's miles away," said Mr. Weasley, smiling. "We only need to walk a short way. It's just that it's very difficult for a large number of wizards to congregate without attracting Muggle attention. We have to be very careful about how we travel at the best of times, and on a huge occasion like the Quidditch World Cup —"