As they walked towards the stadium, Leona jumped onto Fred's back, a large green and white hat she stole from George in her hand.
"Feeling better now Freddy?" she asked him as he caught her easily, hooking his arms under her legs as her head rested on his shoulder.
"Rosalee, you're going to pay for that, you know right?" he asked over his shoulder and he could feel her smile grow.
"I look forward to whatever it is you have in mind,' she grinned sinisterly as she kissed his cheek.
Fred being Fred, had had Leona put a clover and small rectangles of green and white on one cheek. And on the other cheek, were several lipstick marks from where Leona had kissed him and reapplied her makeup before doing it again.
His lips were also slightly stained with the Irish colours.
Three guesses as to how that happened.
Arthur had merely shaken his head at but didn't protest when he saw it. And George had only laughed at his brother, which was quite ironic considering he was the one with his entire face covered in paint.
"Blimey, dad! How far up are we?" Ron asked in amazement as they climbed what had to be the hundredth staircase. Millions of people had to be here, the cheering deafening and lights flashing as they counted down the minutes until game time.
"Well put it this way, if it rains, you'll be the first to know," drawled the voice of none other than Lucius Malfoy from the platform below them, Draco at his side dressed in a smart suit that was purely black.
"Father and I are in the Minister's Box. By personal invitation of Cornelius Fudge himself," Draco bragged.
"Don't boast Draco," Lucius reprimanded as he jammed the snakes head on the top of his cane into Draco's chest, the boy flinching. "There's no need with these people."
"Rosalee, don't listen to him. Ignore him. Let's just keep moving," Fred whispered to her as she exhaled deeply, trying to let her rage dissipate with the breath. And it seemed to work as they began to move, Harry pulling Hermione along before Lucius hooked the silver teeth of his snake staff into Harry's shoe, Arthur gripping his shoulders tightly.
"Do enjoy yourself, won't you? While you can," he said ominously before removing his cane and moving away from them.
"Come on kids, don't let them ruin this," Arthur said to them and Leona was determined to heed his advice as she put a smile on her face, grabbed Fred's hand and pulled him up the stairs with her where they met Amos and Cedric who led them to their seats.
"Come on up!" Amos invited. "I told you these seats would be worth waiting for," he said as they arrived in the highest row of the stadium, balloons of red, white and green floating up into the sky from the lower rows.
"Come on!" George screamed as they leaned on the railing that prevented them from falling a hundred feet. He had his hat back and on his head, Ginny donning a similar one as Leona, Fred and Hermione were left with Irish scarves. Ron and Harry were the only two rooting for the Bulgarians as they dressed in red and black colours, both with large hats. Ron had even had her paint a small red 'K' on his cheek in honour of the Bulgarian Seeker.
And the trio screamed like mad as the Irish team zoomed over them, leaving white and green smoke in their wake.
"It's the Irish!" Leona screamed in excitement. "There's Troy!" she said as she pointed him out.
"And Mullet!" Fred yelled.
"And Moran!" George added as fireworks went off, a little boy dressed in Irish clothes doing a jig appearing in the sky.
And the stadium began chanting.
"IRELAND! IRELAND! IRELAND!" Fred, George and Leona joined it, Lucius and Draco long forgotten, and they jumped up and down, Leona in between the two boys.
"HERE COME THE BULGARIANS!" George bellowed as the little boy made of fireworks exploded in red sparks as the red-dressed Bulgarian players flew through the area where the Irish team hovered, the green players barely moving out of the way.
And the cheering grew louder as the spotlight landed on a boy, who was around the trio's age as he did a trick on his broom before rejoining his team and zooming around the stadium.
"Who's that?" Ginny asked.
"That, Gin, is the best Seeker in the world!" Leona explained. Even though she was rooting for Ireland, she respected the talent that Viktor Krum had.
And the seats of the stadium were displayed with a picture of the seeker as a flag dropped, his name in Bulgarian colours behind him.
"KRUM!" they cheered.
"Good evening!" then came the amplified voice of the Minister himself, from his box no doubt. "As Minister for Magic, it gives me great pleasure, to welcome each and every one of you to the final of the 422nd, Quidditch World Cup! Let the match...begin!"
And an orb of white light was released from the Minister's wand as the game began.