Redemption (Dudley Dursley)

XXII. Sporting Chance.

"Would you be willing to do a bit of detective work in your other form?"

At first she seemed to immediately reject the idea but as the words buzzed over in her head she began to see what page the young witch and wizard were both on. She was biting down harder on her lip that Harry began to question if the red was her lipstick or if it was blood from her tearing the sensitive skin in such a manner. He was pretty sure that he could feel his heart thumping harshly against his ribs and the hair on the back of his neck sticking up in a way that was even unnatural for him. It was so quiet that they were all silently thinking that neither were breathing and were just frozen in fear of the outcome of this.

"If I do this, then I get two-hundred galleons as a reward."

Hermione opened her mouth about to protest for the large amount but she eventually decided against it just as the words were about to escape her lips. Silence still echoed around them and after a very tense few seconds they both shook Rita's hand. She asked for some information to go on and they told her what they already knew. It happened pretty much in the blink of an eye. One second Rita was stood there and the next was only a beetle scuttling along the floor. Hermione quickly performed the countercharm before they opened the door with the unregistered animagus scuttled past them and going down another corridor.

"Do you really think it is wise to trust her with something like this?"

Harry turned to face Hermione before quietly stating;

"It's the best option we have right now, that is unless Felicity has another vision."

---

The week flew by after this plan was set into motion. Rita had still not come back yet but Harry knew that she was going to take her time. She had to find them first before getting any kind of information. At least there was something to look forward to tomorrow. Due to terrible weather conditions and threats of landslides the match had finally been rescheduled. Ginny had been practically vibrating in a mixture of excitement and nerves because this was her first time competing in the Quidditch World Cup. Harry watched in amusement from a bench as his wife zig-zagged through the air and practising numerous borderline death-defying stunts on her broom. Occasionally she asked Harry to chuck a small rock into the air for her to catch as practise.

Not much had been revealed about the break-out although everyone who knew about magic really existing were aware of the dire circumstances currently. Harry didn't want any false theories getting out and he was waiting patiently on Rita to reappear again. He crossed his legs and leaned back whilst letting out a contented sigh. There isn't really a time where he can just sit back and relax in his hectic life so when he does get the rare opportunity for this he takes full advantage of it. The world might be beginning to descend into a possible Armageddon but he could ignore it for a couple of days. The match would be a good thing for everyone to get their minds off of all the evil things in life and to focus more on the positives.

They had to leave soon anyway to meet up with both Dudley and Felicity considering they were both going to accompany them for the two days. Felicity was adamant that she be there to support her friend when she needed it and Dudley just wanted to actually see it with his own eyes. Reading and hearing about something is never the same as actually seeing it with eyes. This year the match was being held in South Africa and Harry was a bit apprehensive about introducing his cousin to port-keys. Heck, Harry himself has used them so little he could count the amount of times on his fingers. He should probably be used to all the ways of travel that were so common in the magical world but he quite simply is not.

He watched Ginny for another ten minutes before doing a ridiculous little dance to catch her attention which had the redhead in hysterical laughter at just how goofy Harry could be at times. She leaned forward slightly and soon her feet were back on solid ground and she stored her broom away in the shed. She re-emerged after a few seconds and they were soon apparating to Fulham to meet Dudley and his wife. They were greeted warmly and after a few minutes of talk Harry carefully removed the tiny coin that he had carefully wrapped up so he didn't just end up in South Africa without the others.