Over the next couple of months during summer break, Ellie had been practicing more with her magic and studying to keep on top of her lessons for when she were to return to Hogwarts later in the week. She had grown more confident in her self control over her magic and was learning new abilities as she trained with Remus. She and George had been writing letters to each other the whole time and she had also gotten some letters from her father as well.
She was currently packing up a bag as George and his family invited her to join them at the Quidditch Worl Cup along with Harry and Hermione. She was excited to finally see George after so long but was also nervous about meeting his parents. She felt at ease that Harry and Hermione would be there as well but the thought of George's parents not liking her absolutely terrfied her. George reassured her in his letters saying that his mum and dad were very excited to meet her but she still couldn't help but feel nervous. She tried her best to push those feelings to the side as she zipped her bag up and walked down the stairs from her room. Remus was already waiting for her as he stood by an antique mug that she hadn't seen before. She gave him an odd look as she stared at the mug, "What is that?"
Remus looked from her to the mug with a smile, "This is a portkey, Ellie. Just one simple touch and it'll take you straight to the Burrow." Ellie nodded her head in amazement before she looked at her Uncle, "Couldn't I just fly there myself? I've been practicing a lot, ya know...", she muttered as Remus sighed, "Yes, you have been practicing but I already told Arthur and Molly that you would be arriving by portkey." She knew that Remus had already talked to George's parents about her powers and George had also blabbed about them on several occasions. She huffed with a pout before she walked over to the mug, giving her Uncle a quick goodbye, before placing her fingers on the mug. Instantly she began to feel dizzy as she saw things spinning around her before she landed with a thud on the grassy ground. She got up with a groan and wiped the grass off of her before she looked out to see a tall house that looked like it were three houses stacked awkwardly ontop of each other. She shrugged her shoulders before she walked along the path, her hair blowing in the breeze.
Inside the burrow George was waiting anxiously for Ellie to arrive. Fred had been teasing him all day about how much he missed Ellie and would make kissing noises whenever he was near George. George was also nervous because he had grown his hair out over the summer and wasn't sure how Ellie would react to it. Molly Weasley was in the kitchen cooking up some breakfast for everyone as she watched her son pace around the living room. "George, dear, she's not going to get here any quicker if you keep on pacing. Come, sit down, and eat some food", she said to him but he didn't listen as he looked out the window in the living room. Footsteps came down the stairs as Harry, Ron and Hermione appeared with bags over their shoulders. "I'm guessing Ellie isn't here yet", Ron said as he watched George pace in the living room before going to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat.
Hermione and Harry followed Ron into the kitchen, gretting Molly on their way in, before taking a seat at the kitchen table. Molly placed more food on the table before whispering to the trio, "I've never seen him like this before. She must be a really special one", she said with a smile as they all watched George. Molly went back to the sink and began to clean the dishes when she looked out the window above the sink and saw a head of orange hair that she didn't recognize walking up the path to the burrow. She dropped the dish she was holding in surprise with a gasp, gaining the attention of the trio and George in the living room. "Oh, George dear, she's beautiful!", she said making George run over to the door and opening it to see Ellie making her way up the path. Her red hair had gotten lighter turning it into a bright orange color, just like the Weasley's. Her skin had gotten a little more tan than usual she looked more confident than ever.
Ellie heard a door open and looked up ahead and saw George standing in the door frame. His hair had gotten longer, stopping just at his shoulders, but she thought he looked as handsome as ever. She smiled brightly as he ran down the steps to the door and engulfed her in a huge hug, lifting her off the ground and swinging them around in a circle causing her to giggle. She placed her hands on his shoulders as he steadied them both and set her feet back down on the ground. "Merlin, I've missed you so much", he said as he wrapped her in a hug again and took in a huge breath. She smelled sweet, like honey, and he didn't ever want to let her go. Ellie giggled lightly and smiled at him as he took her bag in his hand, "I missed you too, Georgie."
They walked up the small set of stairs and into the burrow where Ellie was hit with a delicious smell in the air. "Gods, that smells amazing!", she says to George before an older woman with short, curly red hair walks up to her with a sweet smile, "Oh! You must be Ellie! I'm Molly Weasley dear. Are you hungry at all? There's plenty of food to go around now", Molly said as she wrapped Ellie in a quick hug. "Starving actually. Thank you, Mrs. Weasley", Ellie said politely as she waved at Harry, Ron and Hermione who all waved back. Molly smiled at the girls manners before ushering her to an empty seat at the table, "Please, dear, call me Molly", she said sweetly before getting a plate ready for Ellie. George came into the kitchen from setting Ellie's things down and took a seat next to her with a giant smile on his face.
"So, how has your summer been Ellie? Anything new to share?", Hermione asked her. The two girls had also sent letters to each other during the break and Hermione knew that she had been practicing with her magic. Ellie's eyes lit up as she shook her head in excitement, "Lupin visited my childhood home in Godric's Hollow to see if there was any possibility of anything that could have been recovered from the wreckage. He found one of my mom's old journals she kept when she was younger and just learning about our magic. I've been studying it all summer and there's this thing called Astral Projection. Basically I can project someone's consciouosness or spirit from their body whether their dead or alive.", she explained in excitement. The day Remus brought home that journal was the day Ellie decided for herself that she needed to learn more about herself and her powers, not just for herself, but so she could protect the ones she cared for as well.
"That's mad! Do it to me!", Fred exclaimed as he walked into the kitchen, obviously having heard what Ellie had been talking about. Ellie turned to Fred and rolled her eyes at him, "Absolutely not. I'm still learning it, Fred, and if I did do it now who knows what could happen to you", she said before she turned back around, not missing the huff of annoyance Fred gave her. Arthur Weasley walked into the kitchen next with a bag over his shoulder, "Alright, everybody up! It's time to get going", he exclaimed before he turned to Ellie and introduced himself. "Ellie! It's so nice to finally meet the girl who has my son wrapped around her finger", he said making her smile as George groaned at his father in embarassment. They all got up from the table and said goodbye to Molly before grabbing their bags and walking out the burrow.
"Hey, dad. Where are we going?", Ron asked from behind the twins and Ellie. "Haven't the foggiest. Keep up!", Arthur yelled at his son before turning back around and leading the group through the forest. Ellie laughed quietly as she heard Ron groan as they continued to walk along a dirt path.
Ginny Weasley, the youngest of the family, seemed to be slowing down as she was also the smallest and was having trouble keeping up with the rest of everyone. Ellie noticed this and waited for Ginny so that she didn't get lost before walking beside her. "So are you a Quidittch fan Ellie?", Ginny asked as she looked up at the older girl beside her. "Well, I've only been to one Quidditch game in my life and it was rather eventful, to say the least. But I'm very excited for the World Cup", she said to Ginny as she remembered her last experience at a Quidditch match where Harry fell from his broom.
Before Ginny could say anything else a yell is shouted towards them, "Come one you two! Quidditch doesn't wait for slow pokes!", Fred yelled out and Ellie shook her head at him before the two girls rushed up to the rest of the group. As Ellie reached her spot between Fred and George she raised her hand to slap the back of Fred's head. "Ow, bloody hell Ellie!"
"Don't rush me next time", she said with a smirk as he rubbed the back of his head. A warm hand grabbed hers and she looked down to see George's hand in hers as they continued on the trail. A male voice yells out as they round a bush, "Arthur! It's about time, son!"
Ellie looks up to see a man with a cane and a bag on his back, wearing small glasses, "Sorry, Amos. Some of us had a bit of a sleepy start", Arthur said, sending Ron a look as he looked behind him. The group reached Amos as Arthur introduced him, "This is Amos Diggory, everyone. Works with me at the Ministry", he says giving Amos a smile before a young boy drops down from the tree beside Amos. Ellie lightly jumps in surprise as the boy lands on his feet and stands straight up. He had shorter, light brown hair, and was wearing a yellow sweater with two white stripes on it. "And this strapping young lad must be Cedric, am I right?", Arthur said as he shook hands with Cedric. "Yes, sir."
Ellie looks behind her to see Hermione and Ginny gazing at Cedric with longing eyes as she giggles quietly at them before turning back around to see Cedric already looking at her. When she catches his gaze he quickly looks away before walking with his father. This didn't go unnoticed by George as he glared at the back of Cedric's head and held tightly onto Ellie's hand as they followed everyone. The sunt began to set as the night got darker as they continued walking. "It's just over there!", Amos exclaimed as they reached what looked like to be an old boot in the middle of nowhere.
"Get yourself into a good position", Amos said as everyone circled around the boot. Ellie stood in front of boot with George to her right. She looked up as someone shuffled their feet and looked to her left to see Cedric at her other side as he gave her a small smile. She smiled back to be polite before turning her head to listen to Arthur and Amos, not noticing as George sent glares at Cedric. "Why are we all just standing around this manky old boot?", Harry asked the twins as he stood in between them. "That isn't just any manky old boot, mate." "It's a Portkey!"
Ellie groaned at the mention of another portkey she had to go through. She was still slightly dizzy from the first one and her bum still hurt from landing wrong. George looked down at her with a smirk, "Don't worry, love. I'll catch you if you land wrong", he teased her, earning a slap to the arm. "Time to go!"
"Ready! One, two, three!", Amos yelled as they all began to scream as they swung around the boot in circles. Ellie saw the wind blowing past her as Arthur yelled for them all to let go. Ellie let go with a scream as she closed her eyes, waiting for a bad landing. She landed on her back with a harsh thud and pain instantly shot up through her. She went to get up before she felt a heavy weight land ontop of her knocking her back down with a gasp. She looked up to see George already staring down at her from ontop of her with a smirk. "Well that's one way to get ontop of you", he said as he quickly rolled off her to dodge her hands as she tried to hit him. "George!", she yelled out in embarassment as he reached his hand down to pull her up off the ground.
Amos, Arthur and Cedirc follow suit and somehow land on their feet, "I'll bet that cleared your sinuses, eh?", Amos asked with a laugh. They all walked up the hill as Ellie heard folk music in the distance and someone on a broom flew over them. When they reached the top of the hill Ellie was amazed at the sight in front of her. Hundreds of tents scattered the ground as Quidditch fans danced to the music and cheered. People were waving flags as others flew on their brooms, "Well kids, welcome to the Quidditch World Cup!"
They all walked down the hill and through the crowds of people as Arthur and Amos led the way to their tents. George kept his hand firmly holding Ellie's so that she didn't get lost as they finally reached a small tent. Ellie wondered how everyone was going to fit in the tent before George pulled her inside with him and Fred. Ellie ducked and walked into the tent and was amazed at how much room was actually inside the tent. There were three bedrooms along with a bathroom and a living room area. Ellie felt a small hand grab hers as she looked down and saw Ginny smiling at her as she pulled Ellie into the room her and Hermione had already put their stuff in. Ellie sat her bag down on the ground as she looked around the room in awe. "This is amazing", she muttered to herself. Hermione rushed up to Ellie and took her hands in hers and pulled her over to the corner where Ginny already sat on the ground.
"Isn't this great? We get to room together, just the three of us, without those messy boys", Hermione said making Ginny and Ellie laugh as they both nodded their heads. Ellie noticed Ginny looking out from a peep hole in the cloth of the tent and leaned down so she could see what Ginny was looking at. Not to her surprise, she saw Cedric setting up a tent and she looked back at Ginny who's face was red. "Does Ginny have a little crush already?", she lightly teased the younger girl as Hermione nodded her head enthusiastically, "Oh she couldn't keep her eyes off of him on the way here."
The girls laughed as Ginny's face got even redder before Arthur was heard yelling at Ron, "Ron, get out of the kitchen! We're all hungry."
"Yeah, get out of the kitchen Ron", the twins said as they put their feet up on the table in the little dining room area. "Feet off the table!", Arthur scolded. "Feet off the table!", the twins repeated as Ellie laughed at how ridiculous they both were. "Would you two stop giving your dad a hard time already?", she asked them as she approached George who sat in a chair. He grabbed her legs and pulled her closer to him as he looked up at her, "It's just a bit of fun, love. Besides, the old mans used to it by now", he said as Fred agreed with him.
Later that same day it was time for the Quidditch match to begin as the group made their way to their seats. Vendors for the event were selling merchandise as everyone hurried to find their seats, not wanting to miss any second of the match. They were on a staircase that led to the seats that were higher up, "Blimey, dad! How far up are we?", Ron asked as Arthur was looking up with his mouth agape.
"Well put it this way, if it rains you'll be the first to know", a voice said as Ellie looked down to see Lucius Malfoy with Draco behind him in a black suit that didn't look like the right Quidditch World Cup attire in Ellie's opinion. Ellie rolled her eyes and scowled at the rude man as she caught Draco's attention and sent him a glare as well. Draco grabbed onto the railing next to his father as he looked up at the group, "Father and I are in the Minister's box! By personal invitation of Cornelius Fudge himself.", Draco said, earning himself a harsh slap to the chest by his father, "Don't boast, Draco. There's no need with these people", Lucius said as he stared up at Arthur. "Do enjoy yourself, while you can!", Lucius yelled out as the group turned their backs to him and continued up the stairs.
Loud cheering was all that was heard as they finally found their seats. Ellie stood in betweem Fred and George as always as Amos helped the others get through the crowd to their seats. George turned to Ellie with fresh green and white face paint on both of his cheeks and smiled at her in excitement, "Now, remember love. We root for the Irish and the Irish only!", he said loudly and she nodded her head as Fred leaned down on her other side, "We have some bets going on you see and it would be terrible if we lost all those galleons", he said making her eyes go wide. "You dimwits bet your money on this?!"
Before they could answer, three brooms flew above them as they set off fireworks, creating a moving Irish man dancing in the sky. Ellie laughed as she watched it dance before it disappeared and she looked towards the game. The crowd began to cheer for Ireland loudly as the players flew around the stadium. "Here come the Bulgarians!", George yelled out as more brooms with players dressed in red robes flew out straight at the Irish. Ellie leaned back into George as she watched them almost crash into the other players before they began to perform. She was leaned up against George's chest as his hands held onto the railing in front of her, trapping her into the small space between him and the railing. "Who's that?", Ginny yelled out as a Bulgarian player did some tricks on his broom. "That, sis, is the best seeker in the world!", Fred yelled as the crowd began to chant 'Krum! Krum! Krum!'
"Good evening!", was yelled out across the stadium speakers as Cornelius Fudge began to speak. "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", Fudge said as a light from his wand flew out into the stadium as the crowd began to cheer once more. After a grueling match from both teams the group made their way back to their tent. Fred and George were dancing about and whistling as they had Irish flags on their shoulders as capes. Ellie laughed at them as they continued to dance before she heard screams coming from outside the tent. Arthur must have heard them too as he cautiously looked out the tent, "Sounds like the Irish have got their pride on!"
Arthur looked out in horror at what was happening before he rushed back into the tent, "Stop! Stop it! It's not the Irish", he exclaimed. Ellie peaked out of the flap of the tent and was horrified at what she saw. She heard Arthur say they needed to get out of there but she couldn't move her feet as she stared at the green skull in the dark and cloudy sky.