song above ^
REAL LOVE BABY
CHAPTER 20
part one
SUMMER- Three weeks later, with daylight begging to linger, now present were heat filled long days and stormy nights. The end of academics had blazed the start of antsy withdrawal for the friends. Though craving the comfort of blood, they missed their artisanal family in Hogwarts.Truth have it, those three weeks went tentatively with slow waiting for when they would see eachother next and leisurely pass times of writing script parcels to each other, filled with words of absence.
The unfamiliar meeting point of the French Riviera, beautifully caressed by the cerulean sea in late June, had quickly satiated the group's sweats of isolation without fellow bandits.With the chaperones of the Potters and the destination of the 1976 World Cup, a night spent trudging to the open fields of France, finding a place with what little space there was to set tent, they had slept soundly, and by morning all had fallen into the archetypical duos and banter of droll.
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"Merlin, I am embarrassed to be walking with most of you." James stuck his head up tartly, taking obvious remarks to the green and red decorated Remus, and the others who had chosen to wear the advent colors.
Remus was possibly the most excited for the World Cup of 1976. His very own homeland of Wales had progressed all the way to the semifinals, and Remus felt very patriotic.
Decked out in green athletic shorts, a white undershirt, and an open bright red button up. Remus' mother, Hope, had sewn red dragons on his white beaten up Chuck Taylors and Ana had painted the country's flower of pale yellow daffodils on everyone's cheeks who had chosen to support the demure team.
It was the first time in history that the humble quidditch team had made it further than the first week of the international Cup. Before, three years ago, the Wales quidditch team was considered fair and practically unknown.
But after England's Scandal of using nifflers to steal from fans in the bleachers of games. Most of Britain's players had moved to the closest option of Wales.
James had been against the Wales support from the beginning, claiming that out of respect for his mother he would be covered in red and yellow, to support Spain.
James stuck to that truthfully with half of his face covered in red paint and the other in yellow. He wore every Gryffindor memorabilia he had, lucky the colors had matched. He had a flag fashioned into a cape, a hat that had two smaller Spain flags sticking out the top by wire springs, and painted across his lower thighs the letters S-P-A-I-N.
A divide had begun within the friend group the day before when the Welsh and Spanish boys had demanded everyone choose who they would be supporting on the edge of the Statue of Secrecy. The impartial had groggily agreed to play into the rivalry with tired eyes, sore shoulders from carrying luggage, and hungry stomachs.
Ana went with Wales claiming she had lived there, so she had too. Which led to the uncomfortable discovery of the friend group finding out that Remus and Ana used to be neighbors long before the rest had known each other.
Sirius choose Wales just so he could make the unamusing joke of "Liking the underdog." Lily went with Spain just to go against Sirius after the two had become cross over a petty fight on the travel to France via porkey and Mary followed with her decision.
Peter was unhappy with the whole trip but came along out of fear of being left out and had chosen Spain. Alice refused to say who she picked, but in the morning she showed in the festive colors, followed by Frank, who apologized to James, stating he couldn't betray his girlfriend's wishes. Marlene, as self designated mediator, had gone with Egypt.
"Well, I am embarrassed to be walking with you." Remus spit out, having to duck underneath one of the thousands of banners hung in between tents.
Wizards from all over the world came with the purpose of seeing the games live, and attending via 'camping' was a tradition that had been upheld since the first Cups. The already crowded tent city had only doubled in size, with it being the last week of the tournament, when the group had settled for their stay.
The campsite was vast and loosely constructed to pass as a muggle made site. If the off chance of a non-mag stepping through the Statue of Secrecy- a statue made to not allow any muggles to pass and a veil blinding the Wizarding Cup from any outside of the grounds.
Though the bust landowners who had rented their land to the month long championship had always had to be given a light obliviate spell after the tournament with the inevitable occurrence of magic showing itself. Proving the ministry's lack of strength.
With each staked in small tent was another barely two feet apart. Certain tents had completely lost hope of passing with thick chimneys sticking out the top, and some with so much as four story high picketing.
Fleamont had done well with a flimsy bright yellow tent, the size constructed for two but looked thin enough to only be comfortable with one person, for the teens; and a second red tent for him and Euphemia staked next to the adolescent ten's.
The teen's yellow tent on the inside looked to be the size of the Lupin's cottage, with the use of a strong extension charm. A steel fire place, beams of red wood holding up the drapping yellow bolt fabric. Oil lamp chandeliers and multiple thickly cushioned sofas. It had a large living area leading into a small kitchenet, tapering off into two large rooms with short stair journeys up to each. Bunk beds and twins size suits.
The group had attended the jovial game of watching Wales beat Japan, affirming its place in the finals in the early noon. And by evening they had ventured into the amusement part of the fields.
Just over a hill, a brush of wilderness from the campsite was the fair, filled with muggle fashion concession stands. Butter beer dyed to match the country of your choices colors. Acid Pops that look like bludgers, pretzel brooms, dolly beads in the shape of snitches, and green apple caramel quaffels.
The had game booths asking for mere sickles in the hope of winning invaluable treasures. Whack-A-Troll, Mermaid-bowl, and catch a fairy. The fest was still muggle enough, with a Ferris wheel, a unicorn ride, and a carousel.
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"What did you do to make that kid hate you so much, James?" Mary let out. The group walking away from the Gringotts mine bumper cart game.
"Nothing! I couldn't get my cart to move! And kids love me. That was not a child!" James exclaimed, rubbing his back in pain.
"He didn't look old enough to be a first year." Lily laughing. She and Mary holding eachother as they stumbled over their own feet in snigger.
"That was a demon, not a child. And you! Two! Kept egging him on." James pointed to Lily and Mary.
"Oh mee mee mee hit him harder mee mee he's stuck hahaha it so funny." James mocked the two. "Lily I thought better of you."
"I can only thank Annie and Marlene for telling that devil that Santa Claus wasn't going to come for him for what he was doing to me."
"You're very welcome, James, though Marls was the one to tell him about Father Christmas, not me." Ana tried to keep her twitter down, patting James' shoulder.
"No regrets." Marlene added, taking a bite out of a pepper imp.
"Yes, see you know what" James held his hands up, stopping the crowd of a group from walking, finding his acceptable form of punishment for the giggling girls, who thought the ordeal was the funniest thing they had ever seen.
"I will now bestow lady Marlene and lady Annie as... true Marauders." James declared, glaring at the girls who only laughed harder at his decree.
He took hold of a long sugar quill of a sword from Peter's hands, tapping the blonde's shoulders in coronation style. Placing imaginary crowns onto their heads. "You shall be Foxy and.... er Blondie."
"Blondie!?" Marlene flicked the edge of James' baseball cap.
"I'll find something better." James held his hand in innocence as if the group's animal-centric names weren't already ghastly, Padfoot, Prongs, Moony, and by god Wormtail.
"We don't want to be a part of your stupidly named group, anyway." Mary crossed her arms. "Stupidly isn't a word." Lily added, met with a exasperated look from Mary and a piqued 'I'm on your side'.
"It. Is. Not stupidly named." Sirius jutted, pointing at Lily.
Sirius had come up with the name "Marauders" during their second year, as plans of the map had begun. He contributed to the blueprint of their greatest creation by stating that it needed a name. Since it would belong to the four of them. They needed a name.
Sirius was forced to read copious amounts of literature from a young age and his rebellious nature had chosen him to love all his parents hated. A word foreign to most tongue, Sirius had seen it in French prose; and asked his mother, Walburga Black, to tell him what it meant. She exclaimed her disdain for everyone maraud. It stuck.
And impossibly over proud of the name, for a whole month, Sirus demanded everyone in Hogwarts refer to them as such.
Beautifully happy about it, joyed to be a part of something; Peter loved it. James didn't want his mother to know, after finding the meaning of the word in a thick dictionary. Remus had denied any affiliation with name; But Sirius and his never invisible self made it stick.
And they were referred to in the rarest circumstances- "Marauders", now was used mostly as a nostalgic joke.
Authors Note:
PART TWO OUT TONIGHT
been listening to so much father John misty
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 4k 😘😘😘😘
Kisses for all of you
Date Posted: August 18th, 2023