It may have only been four little words, but as Harry read that single line his heart rate had picked up immensely and his thoughts began twisting together into a giant knot he was sure would probably never unravel. He thought he was done with all of this, all of the drama that surrounded everything that seemingly always had him or people he cared about at the centre of everything. Unlike a lot of people who were aware of the circumstances that were surrounding certain people, he had decided to not heed the warnings that had been there from the very beginning. He should have realised immediately that Felicity was getting visions and they were not dreams. He should have possibly sent her to see if there could be anything done like when he himself was getting visions during his school years as the world descended into war. He should have taken action the second he learned about Bellatrix Lestrange possessing a horcrux of her own. He should have taken that prophecy seriously and not treated it as something that would happen in time. He should have realised that something was amiss with there being deatheaters who were not recorded officially.
He's always been someone like this, taking blame for things that were out of his control. A lot of people would simply blame this on him simply being a Gryffindor. Normally courage was seen as the best option but this was not always the case. If that hadn't been proven before then it most certainly had been proven now. As soon as he had been handed the newspaper and the magazine he had proceeded to lock himself up into his own office before running his fingers through his insanely messy black hair and tugging slightly on separate strands. Despite it being rather painful, Harry had to do something to keep his mind from going into complete overdrive. He of all people should know now that trouble is never far away if he is somewhat involved. He had gone four years now of having peace surrounding him and even that should have sent warning bells ringing alarmingly at him.
He took a few deep and shaky breaths in an attempt to stop his nerves from getting the best of him. How had nobody ever realised previously that there were people working in the shadows for the other side when they themselves had people doing the same? Logic is something a lot of witches and wizards do not possess as to them it as seen as a muggle topic and therefore nothing they should be worrying about. It made perfect sense now that he thought of it and dread began to sink into him as the feeling of failure took over him. Eventually he managed to lower himself into a chair and he began reading the information that had been released and to see if there was anything that could tell him how they had escaped Azkaban. Deep down though, he knew the answer. There couldn't be any other possible option for it other than the one way he knew had succeeded once previously.
Dementors cannot feed off of animals- only humans. Unregistered animagi were rather common and it was only now a thought struck him. With this thought in mind he read the articles in depth and right then his suspicions were indeed confirmed. Felicity's vision was almost a perfect parallel to the events of the previous night. This meant that Kyra was behind this and the petite blonde was kind enough to draw him a rough sketch of her face so that if he ever came into contact with her he would know her. It wasn't likely because from what he knew was that she was a planner and not a fighter. So she would most likely stay away from the frontlines and would hide in the shadows coming up with numerous battle plans that she was sure would have a fighting chance of her getting what she wanted.
It wasn't a secret what she wanted because there were only two things she clearly did. The first was obviously that pure blooded witches and wizards were to be treated with respect and anyone else was to essentially serve them as if they were royalty. The second was also obvious and if Harry was being completely honest with himself he knew it was very likely- after all it had happened before as well. The memory of a graveyard and seeing a flash of venomous green before seeing Cedric slump to the ground dead. Kyra clearly wanted to revive her old master and if Felicity's vision was as accurate as it has currently proven to be- then Kyra had the horcrux. It was unlikely it wasn't false considering Narcissa's story from when he had asked her about it in person was also a parallel. There are simply too many parallels currently for anything to not be coming to a carefully calculated climax.
He could still hear all the chatter in the corridor through his door although it was muffled by the wood so he couldn't figure out the exact words that were being exchanged. This wasn't helping him much in attempting to sort out his thoughts so he tried one other option that he wasn't sure would work but it was certainly worth a try. He stood up from his chair and left his office to head to the department which dealt with unregistered animagi. It would probably be his best option to get as much information on this Kyra as he possibly could. After all, if there was nothing for him to go on then how can he help construct a plot to bring her and Rodolphus down?
It was more frustrating that he did not know their plans, only their intentions. If he had some kind of information, then perhaps- an idea struck him. Harry's eyes widened and he turned direction instead going to look for Hermione. He wanted to get a second opinion on this and if anyone would ever challenge his logic it was Hermione. Not many people liked to openly disagree with Harry because to them he was their saviour and therefore they trusted his theories. He didn't even need to knock on her door before she had opened it and ushered him inside with a panicked look in her eyes that he knew well from a decade of experience. She had obviously already heard and her mind was essentially becoming a frazzle and her conflicting thoughts borderline becoming an unsolvable maze. Harry made sure the door was closed tightly before turning to Hermione and briefing her on his current idea. At first she appeared startled but eventually agreed that it would be best. They needed information and if this was how they could get information then so be it.
Hermione left the room with Harry in tow. Some people turned to look at the pair before getting back to their work. Numerous people were whispering possible theories as to how this had happened again and Harry really didn't want to go into detail about the one fault that Azkaban had. Everything has a fault no matter the circumstance- it's just that this one fault had a deadly cost. After being stopped again Hermione just grunted and grabbed Harry's arm before a familiar tugging pooled in his stomach. Harry looked around and saw he was in a whole other department of the Ministry but he recognised it. The pair jogged down the hall and around a few corners before coming to another door. They stopped for a second in order to catch their breaths before knocking.
The woman who answered was a little on the wacky side to put it nicely. Bright blonde hair pinned up in a horrific attempt at pin-curls. Make-up piled on so heavy that Harry secretly thought she looked a bit like a Barbie doll that had begun melting in a fire. A strong scent of something sweet coming from her perfume and clothes that appeared to have come straight out of the eighties. Strangely shaped spectacles with gems of some kind on the black frames catching the light and shining numerous colours in the process it was almost impossible to tell which was the real colour of the gems.
"Yes Mr. Potter and Mrs. Weasley?"
They both seemed to come out of whatever state of mind they were in moments before and they looked at each other. Technically spying was illegal but in this case it was definitely the best option. So Hermione looked at Harry before saying to the woman;
"You still owe me a favour, Rita. Remember when you promised you would do something if neither of us spoke a word about what you are?"
Rita's eyes opened in alarm at her words before allowing the two of them in. Once the door had been closed and after she claimed that she had to do a charm that would stifle all of their exchanged words from anyone who might be listening, she turned to them and nodded. Harry tried his best to get the words out but for some reason his mouth just wasn't cooperating with him and Hermione saw this and instead took over;
"I assume you know of the events of last night, Miss. Skeeter?"
She bit her bright red lip and nodded. A confused look formed on her face as if she was wondering why they were bringing up the current talk of the day. Eventually Harry managed to get something out;
"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.
Ginny stopped him before nodding to the muggles with a strange look in her eyes that Dudley nor Felicity could decipher but Harry seemed to realise what it was exactly. He froze in his movements and placed the coin on the coffee table- giving the other two a glare which pretty much screamed to not touch it yet. Both of their faces screwed up as Harry passed them some kind of clothing and Dudley stood up to let it fall to its full length and his face immediately contorted into one of embarrassment at seeing it was a cloak.
"You can't wear muggle clothing there, you'll stand out too much and with all of this other crap going on it isn't good for muggles to be seen in a place full of magic."
Dudley continued glancing at the cloak a bit awkwardly before swinging it around and attempting to fasten it around his neck which had gotten Ginny chuckling. Eventually she stood up and showed him how exactly to fasten the cloak and Felicity followed her instructions and soon only their clothes underneath showed when they walked. They both took in their appearances in a full length mirror before looking to each other strangely at the attire. Dudley's cloak was jet-black whereas Felicity's was a pastel blue which made her blonde hair really pop. Harry had to force himself to hide his laughter at seeing the very uncomfortable look the two of them had etched on their faces as he didn't want them to feel anymore singled out than they already did.
Dudley's eyes glanced down to the small coin and wondered what was so special about it. It looked really ancient, a bit like something out of the Roman times and what might have been a face carved into what he presumed to be bronze was now just a lump on the side of it. He reached out so he could see what it was in more detail but with a very stern look directed his way by none other than Ginny, he immediately retracted his hand as he wasn't in the mood to face her wrath. These two days he should just try to forget about everything else going on around him and just try to have a good time. He tried his best to get into the exact same frame of mind he had been in when he first visited Diagon Alley. Just full of wonder, adventure, and the unexpected. Dudley has come to realise that everything that is expected is normally useless but what is unexpected becomes the most important.
That much was obvious with everything that has been happening as of late.
Once both Harry and Ginny were satisfied that the two muggles didn't look too out of the ordinary as far as their clothing goes, they pointed to the tiny coin that appeared no larger than a twenty pence piece. Dudley furrowed his brows as he looked down at it and trying to at least figure out something about it because it was clearly important right now even though it really didn't look like it. Was it maybe just worth a lot of money? He wouldn't doubt it with how old it looked. He vaguely heard Harry explaining something about port-keys and at first his mind went into a frazzle at trying to remember all of the new information that was being thrown his way but that just wasn't happening.
He heard Ginny give them a small countdown as she stared at the clock on the living room wall and instructed them all to grip it in their palms. Ginny's hand enclosed it first, followed my Felicity's, then Harry's, and finally Dudley's. For a couple of seconds nothing happened but just as he was about to ask questions the room around them began to spin until their surroundings changed. He couldn't pinpoint what exactly it was that was changing but at the same time he also felt like he would be violently sick if he dared to open his mouth. The entire thing lasted only a mere ten seconds in total but it felt like hours to him with the way everything was spinning. Once this stopped though, he noticed he was a few feet in the air and he couldn't get over his initial shock in time and landed in a painful position on the ground.
A small grunt escaped his mouth before he opened his eyes only to be met with brilliant blue skies which were dotted with numerous white fluffy clouds. He also didn't fail at noticing the immediate rise in climate. He looked around but he got more and more confused with this as it was plain as day they were no longer in London, not even England. A strong accent broke the silence and he turned his head to face his wife who seemed to be fighting off a huge dizzy spell.
"Where are we exactly?"
Dudley looked around once more and his confusion grew at seeing Ginny was not here. Harry seemed to figure out what exactly it was that he had been thinking and replied;
"About a mile from Johannesburg, South Africa. Ginny just apparated a few seconds ago in order to get to the pitch for some last minute practise. Follow me, we're around a ten-minute walk from the tent."
He was about to mention that they could just apparate there but he remembered briefly of Harry telling him that it was dangerous to apparate with somebody who is with child as the risk of splinching was a lot higher. So with that thought in mind, he closed his mouth and followed Harry through the slightly rocky terrain and trying his best not to trip over the cloak which he was still not used to. He wasn't sure if it was something he could ever get used to but he should probably just accept it because there are going to be times when he cannot escape dressing a certain way. He was silently cursing himself for not bringing a pair of wellington boots considering where they were going was most likely going to be completely covered in mud and he doesn't want to get too mucky. Although now that he thinks about it, Harry could probably just cast a very simple spell that could stop any of his clothing getting ruined.
They were only walking for ten minutes like Harry had said before they came to a large campsite- or so Dudley presumed although it looked decidedly different to other camping sites he has seen in his lifetime. Instead of tents that were big enough for a family, these ones looked like they would only be able to hold one person if they were curled up into a very tight ball. Felicity gave him a look that he caught in his peripheral vision and he mentally sighed that she was just as confused as he was. His eyes trailed down and a small smile came onto his face at seeing the way the pale blue hugged the baby bump almost perfectly. It still doesn't feel right to him, knowing that he is going to have a little baby of his own before the end of the year. At least they've got plenty of time to prepare and hopefully by them all of the drama will have passed.
He continued scanning the area and his face only held massive confusion when he spotted a certain grin on Harry's face. He didn't know much about Quidditch despite the occasional ramble from his cousin and now his fiancé due to Ginny introducing her to the game herself and to be honest he had no idea what to expect. From what he's gathered from all of this talk was that it was a bit like football except it was played on broomsticks. There was no need to ask questions now, not until they got to their tent. Most of the Weasley family were in attendance to watch the baby of the family in her first really big game but they were all getting a separate tent. Dudley, Felicity, Harry, and Ginny were going to be sharing another. Dudley still had no idea how four people would possibly even be able to squeeze into one of these tents never mind anything else.
Still though, he bit his tongue because Harry clearly knew what he was doing and proceeded to lead the two of them to the opposite side and shaking the occasional hand from people who recognised him. It was still weird for Dudley, knowing that his cousin was very famous and for something he could not control nor could he even remember. He vaguely recalled Harry telling him that all he can remember is seeing a venomous green light along with a high pitched scream- nothing else. How horrifying must that be for him? The only real memory he has of his mother and it was her dying scream? Dudley shivered on the spot just thinking about it and a really cold feeling seemed to seep directly into his bones as he thought that single fact.
No matter how hard he tries to block out this horrible part of his family, there is no way to escape it. Not with Harry walking around with that scar on his forehead that he received the very night that it happened. Not with the look Petunia seemed to always have and how she tried her best to avoid speaking of her sister as it was too painful to do so. Not with knowing all of the fame that came with it. He can try to deny it all that he wants, but he knows that some people may also consider him famous in the wizarding world due to Harry and the fact that they had grown up together.
"You ok?"
The words seemed to pierce the silence like a sword would pierce human flesh. Almost immediately, Dudley blinked and he realised that he was standing outside of a tent with a slightly worried wife and cousin. He stopped for a few moments in order to catch his breath before assuring them he was fine and that he was simply lost in thought. Despite the pointed looks that were being directed at him, they both left it at that which he was glad about as he didn't want to be the person raining on the parade. They're supposed to enjoy themselves these two days and not have this seemingly never-ending raincloud following them everywhere they go. He watched as Harry pulled away a part of the canvas of the tent and disappearing out of sight, Felicity gave him a look but they both just shrugged their shoulders and followed expecting to be crushed up inside.
Instead this didn't happen, and the two muggles probably looked like fish out of water with the way their mouths kept opening and closing in astonishment. It was like an entire house in here and Dudley found himself being very grateful for magic existing. A large light was in the centre and providing a slightly orange hue around the tent and creating a rather welcoming feel at the same time. The area they were stood in currently was easy to see was an open-planned living room and kitchen. There was a door near the back that he assumed was where the bedrooms were and hopefully a toilet as well because he didn't exactly like the idea of having to use those horrible public ones.
Ten minutes later they had wandered around the entire place and Dudley was sure their faces were becoming more cartoon-like as the seconds passed. They all proceeded to sit on the couch soon after and before the oldest could even blink it seemed he had been asking Harry questions about the game that was taking place tomorrow night. Harry furrowed his brows as he thought about a possible way to simplify it so he would understand it better but he eventually gave up and walked into the bedroom he was going to be sharing with Ginny and re-entered with a rather battered looking book. He put it down on the table and made a gesture towards it, he read the writing on the cover and frowned a little bit to himself:
Quidditch Through the Ages.
He quickly scanned the contents and hummed a little to himself at seeing there were pages dedicated to the rules of the game. Felicity leaned over so her head was rested on his shoulder and read along with him considering she only knew the basics. Harry left them to it and proceeded to wander around outside and hopefully meet up with Ron if he wasn't having his ear bitten off by Molly or Hermione over something. He snickered silently to himself because there weren't many times that he wasn't being harassed by either the best-friend-turned-wife or his mother. Ron and Hermione have a completely different dynamic than himself and Ginny do but somehow it works. Well, each to their own he's always said.
Harry walked back into the tent maybe an hour later after talking to many people and trying to answer as many questions as he could without looking too suspicious over his and Hermione's plan. It could very easily fail but at the moment it is their best option. He might not trust the reporter at all and he has good reason for this over the way she treated him throughout the Triwizard Tournament. Even if it only for a few days, just until they have some kind of information that can help them move forward hopefully without any detection from the deatheaters and more specifically Kyra and Rodolphus.
"You used to play Quidditch?"
Once again, words sliced through the air but this time it was Harry on the receiving end of the spectrum instead of Dudley. The shorter turned his head towards his much taller cousin and nodded a bit shyly. A lot of people assume Harry to be a massive attention seeker but this could not be any further from the truth considering he absolutely hates it. He'd much rather keep to himself if he could help it but thanks to a specific scar on his forehead he's got a permanent reminder that this will never be the case.
"It says here you were the youngest player on a school team in a century, is that true?"
There was an underlying emotion in Dudley's voice that Harry couldn't quite put his finger on but it wasn't one of distaste, jealousy, or resentment. It was more along the lines of pure awe and Harry's rapidly heating cheeks told Dudley that it was in fact the truth. He could already see the clogs turning in his head and Harry noticed that Felicity wasn't anywhere but he assumed she might just be sleeping considering she has been really exhausted as of late.
"Complete coincidence, really. How I got onto the team. There was this boy in my year who I absolutely hated and he hated me equally as much- Draco Malfoy. To put it simply his parents are billionaire's and he was spoiled rotten right to the core and he liked to throw it in people's faces that he had it better than them and always would because of this. So when another boy in my year Neville got a remembral- some kind of plastic sphere which glows red if you've forgotten something- he stole it during a flying lesson at school and I went to retrieve it. As it would turn out Professor McGonagall saw me dive for it and took me to see the team captain and got accepted onto the team."
Dudley felt his stomach flip really awkwardly now that he was sure if he had eaten it would not stay put much longer. The way that Harry described this boy even though it was clear that he was sugar coating it- sounded scarily like his younger self. He was about to ask what happened to him but he decided against it and instead focused more on reading the page he was on. Even though he doesn't really tend to follow sport, he could see why Quidditch was such a big deal in the magical world and he could feel excitement brewing in his body at getting to witness the biggest game of the year with his own eyes.
A few more hours had passed since then and the sun was beginning to set. It was still really bright outside and still rather warm but there was now a cool breeze whistling through the air which was welcomed by the majority of people in attendance. Dudley didn't venture outside of the tent because he didn't want to feel singled out considering himself and Felicity are probably the only muggles here unless there are family members of the players who also do not possess magical properties. He also didn't want to go out because Harry had told him that muggles cannot even see the pitch or anything else due to a charm so he would most definitely stick out like a sore thumb. Either something must get permission from whoever placed the charm around the area to get access or someone is immediately transported by a witch or wizard personally.
A small yawn fell from his mouth as he realised just how tired he actually was but the excitement bubbling up inside was easily going to prevent him from sleep. Ginny had soon entered the tent covered in mud and sweat beads running down her forehead that it looked more like rain but with a large grin on her face. Dudley knew that she absolutely loved doing this for a living and he chuckled at remembering someone telling him once that she used to steal her brother's brooms to practise behind their backs for years. He shook his head in amusement because of course it would be Ginny who would do that. They all ate in silence around the table followed up by plenty of magical treats and Felicity turned a questionable shade of green at spotting the jelly beans- she's only ever had one in her life and it turned out to be vomit. Needless to say, Felicity had not touched a jelly bean since that entire thing even though they were a firm favourite beforehand.
After their meal and a few bits of strange but delicious treats, they all collapsed into silence for a few minutes. This didn't last for long before Ginny pulled out what appeared to be a regular pack of cards and give some to Felicity. Dudley couldn't stop his eyes from bulging when a couple of them exploded and it seemed Felicity did too as she snatched her hand away and shook it rather awkwardly. He looked at Harry and Ginny who were both hiding amused smiles before saying something about exploding snap. It was getting rather stuffy inside due to the heat seeping in through the canvas and Dudley took this opportunity to finally look around at his surroundings. His mouth dropped when he took in the view. They were near the top of a hill which had a view over the pitch nearby, but what really caught his attention was the sunset.
The light was reflecting off the clouds in ways that lit the sky up in shades of blue, purple, red, orange, and yellow. The way they seemed to melt together looking like a very complicated dance. Dudley thought that Felicity would love to see this so he walked back inside the tent to ask her if she wanted to walk around but he was met with a shock. Felicity was sitting where she had been previously but her body was rock solid and her skin had gone paler than normal. He furrowed his eyebrows before walking in front of her and he immediately jumped back a couple of feet with his hand clutched to his chest whilst yelling for Harry and Ginny. Felicity's eyes were jet black and no longer that stormy grey that he knew so well and loved so much.
They were just one solid colour now, her pupil wasn't even visible and there appeared to be some kind of green undertone to them. If he was being honest, he genuinely thought that it looked like poison. He heard Harry yelling what was wrong but he just couldn't seem to speak nor could he turn away from his wife's eyes and unmoving face. He waved his hand in front of her in a rather futile attempt at getting her to respond but that didn't seem to be happening. She began shaking violently and a mixture of confusion and pure shock was rippling through Dudley as he genuinely had no idea what was going on nor what to do. He was vaguely aware of an arm pulling him out of the room and when he finally blinked out of whatever trance he had been in he noticed Harry had lowered him into a chair. He wanted to ask questions but he had no idea what to ask, if only he had some idea of what was going on...
He wasn't sure if it was seconds, minutes, or even hours before Ginny came into the room to let them know that Felicity had awoken from whatever it was too. Dudley shakily stood up as he didn't exactly trust his legs as he was still in a lot of shock over what had just happened. He knew his best bet would be to ask Felicity what exactly had happened but some part of his mind was telling him that she would also have no idea either. Once he walked back into the main room he saw she was shaking in fear and he immediately pulled her into a tight hug as she took a sip of what Dudley presumed to be hot chocolate from the scent. Harry and Ginny appeared to be having a silent conversation and just as he was about to explode with questions over what had just happened, Felicity turned to Dudley and said;
"Another one of those visions, this is the first one I've had whilst being awake which I'm assuming is why I reacted to it the way I did."
He was about to ask her what it was about this time as concern immediately flushed over him also with relief that it wasn't something worse like a possession or something- can that even happen in their world? He wouldn't doubt it as he's come to realise there is no use doubting something because it doesn't seem plausible. He decided against asking her however at the scared look that had now settled in her natural eye colour- Dudley has never been more relieved to see the grey colour before. He glanced around in hope to find out whatever time it was and his eyes caught site of a clock on the far side which read midnight. They all looked at each other and agreed to simply sleep on it and just hope nothing bad happens tomorrow.
They all awoke bright and early from songbirds outside along with excited chatter from everyone. For a while, neither of them got out of their beds but when they did it had easily been at least an hour after they first opened their eyes. Ginny was up first and she immediately shovelled down a lot of food before disappearing to the pitch- or so Dudley presumed anyway. They all took their time with eating the mountain of available food on the plates which kept refilling itself considering the game wasn't officially starting until 2P.M. so they still had a few hours. They had agreed to get to the pitch at least an hour beforehand to avoid the massive crowds and Dudley was silently glad that their tickets were in the VIP box that was reserved solely for family and close friends.
After they ate, they quickly brushed their teeth and got ready for the day. This time Dudley had been given another black cloak and Felicity had been given a deep plum shade. It was still weird and he walked around a bit in an attempt to get used to the strange clothing item but it quite simply wasn't happening. He felt like it would be something he would wear to a fancy-dress party or Halloween, not every day wear. Still, there was no reason for him to complain as he would rather not be the odd-one-out today considering this was a wizarding sport.
To entertain themselves, they decided to walk around outside considering the sun was once again out in full force. The heat was a bit intense but it wasn't to the point that he felt like he would just drop of dehydration. There was a low chance of this happening considering they each had water bottles which kept filling back up with the ice-cold liquid which cooled them down and quenched their thirst perfectly. It was weird though when people kept coming up to Harry asking for an autograph, picture, or for a simple conversation but he politely declined them all by stating he was just here with family and wanted to keep it that way. Much to Dudley's surprise, a lot of people just smiled at this and left them all alone.
He wasn't really keeping track of the time and he was glad for Harry wearing a watch because he told them they had better start making their way to the pitch if they wanted to avoid the madness. It was probably a good thing that they done this because they were in their box within twenty-five minutes and just in the nick of time seemingly as he observed the crowds building up at the entrance. The box they were in was quite close to the front yet high enough so they would be able to see everything clearly. His eyes widened as he took in the height of the goalposts and it appeared Felicity was just as shocked considering the ones that Harry and Ginny had were at most twenty-feet. These ones were easily around fifty-feet and his stomach flipped uncomfortably just at the thought of being that high up travelling at death-defying speeds.
The rather morbid question arose of whether people had died playing this but he quickly shook his head to rid himself of such thoughts. He's warmed up a lot to Ginny in the time that they've known each other and she was also warming up to him too. She hadn't been giving him deadly looks for a couple of months and occasionally had civil conversations with him without being told to. It was definitely a start and it was a relief that it was the fiery woman he had won over. Harry stood in front of Felicity and muttered something under his breath and Dudley watched as some kind of transparent mist surrounded her.
"That should keep out the bang of the fireworks when they come onto the pitch, don't want you to get shocked or scared with the baby."
A small smile came onto Felicity's face at the kind and very thoughtful gesture. The box quickly filled up with a lot of people with flaming red hair along with a couple of others Dudley recognised but couldn't put a name to them. He felt a few glares directed his way but he ignored it the best that he could and instead focused on the pitch and occasionally rubbing soothing circles into Felicity's bump. This small gesture generated a few awes from the few females there was and the males to roll their eyes at the cheesiness.
A loud bang caught everyone's attention and Dudley noticed a large red firework in the shape of a dragon in the sky. This was already impressive enough but he was only more impressed when the mouth opened and he expected a jet of fire to emerge but instead emerged burgundy cloaks and seven people on broomsticks. The opposite side of the pitch immediately roared with cheers from their supporters and he heard Felicity asking who they were playing to which Harry replied with an American team. The dragon immediately shifted into a brilliant blue shade and morph into what he presumed to be a serpent of some kind which slithered around. Much like the other entrance, the sparks disappeared and there were the other players. It wasn't difficult to spot Ginny, her orange hair shining brilliantly.
He heard someone commentating but he wasn't sure who it was until he finally pinpointed who it was and his heart done a leap as he recognised him. He'd remember those midnight blue robes from anywhere even if he's only met the man once in his life and it was when he accompanied Minerva and Tonks to explain the situation to the Dursley's in the first place. Kingsley he recalled his name as although he wasn't entirely sure if this was correct considering it was almost five years ago now. He spoke something about him wanting this to be a clean game and what he assumed were the team captains shaking the other's hand before the players took their places on the pitch. The balls were soon released and Dudley cringed outwardly at just how quick the bludgers were.
A whistle was blown and the game had officially started.
He already knew that this was a very fast and dangerous game but as he took in all of the action live he realised just how fast and dangerous it really was. He'd already saw Ginny have to spin upside down for a few seconds to escape one of the furious black balls. He wasn't really paying attention to the commentating and instead focused solely on what was going on and trying to remember names as he went. Within a few minutes, Ginny had been passed the large red quaffle and she was zipping around the field in amongst everyone to the opposite end of the pitch where the goals were. One of the bludgers came scarily close but someone got in between and batted it towards another player and freeing up her path. He held his breath as she got a few feet from the posts and seemed to be taking aim for the leftmost circle but instead she threw it directly through the right.
They all cheered for her and Dudley felt that excitement from the day before bubbling up in the pit of his stomach once again. Not much changed for the next thirty minutes apart from the other team scoring once so they were now tied 10-10. He counted six times that the chasers got close to the goalposts before the ball had been snatched from under their arms or a bludger flew their way and they had to get away before they ended up with a broken bone. He watched as Harry was looking at the righthand side of the pitch and his eyes weren't moving nor was he blinking- he clearly had his concentration on something. Dudley glanced in the same direction in search for whatever was grabbing Harry's attention. At first he didn't see anything but he eventually caught a hint of gold and he knew it was the snitch.
How Harry had spotted it from so far away he had no idea but he decided not to ask questions and instead enjoy the game going on. Three more goals were scored within the hour and neither of the seekers seemed to have spotted the snitch yet and were still lazily flying around and looking around for it. He noticed that Harry's eyes never once left the tiny gold ball that could easily fit into the palm of his hands. His eyes found Ginny once again and an uproar echoed when someone came up right beside her and grabbed her broom a little to steer her off course and a foul was called. The player who done it had an incredibly sour look on his face but he didn't appear to be saying anything and instead flew away from her.
Cheers erupted again along with a lot of held breaths and Dudley craned his neck trying to see what all of the commotion was about now and he soon got his answer. The snitch had been spotted and now both seekers were speeding along so close to each other that their shoulders were touching. It was only now that he realised he had been biting hard on his lip and also holding his breath, even if the one in the blue cloak was an inch ahead. His head snapped over when the current scores were called out again, they were now 110-90 and the rival team were winning. He spotted that flaming hair again and he also watched in silence as she got possession of the quaffle once again and managed to score. They were almost even now and the two seekers were still insanely close to each other.
This didn't last for long as another vicious black ball flew towards them and forcing them to split up but neither took their eyes off of the tiny gold ball which had now soared up a lot higher than it had been previously. Dudley had to really squint to see it with the way the sun was beaming directly down onto the pitch. Both players zoomed up but one of them went a bit too high and the snitch immediately fell in a dropping motion towards the ground. The seeker in the blue turned into a spectacular dive that made his heart leap into his throat and he had to close his eyes waiting on the impact. Nothing came, instead all that came was a giant cheer and he opened his eyes in a bit of fear of seeing the player splattered across the ground- instead he was flying around the pitch holding his hand up triumphantly with the tiny golden ball in his palm for everyone to see.
They won, they had won the world cup for Quidditch.
The cheer only got louder and effectively drowned out the numerous boos from the other team's supporters. They all began to file out of the pitch and they were greeted by Ginny who was again dripping sweat but Harry didn't care as he ran over and scooped his wife up and spun her around causing her to laugh and the spectator's to grin. Eventually he let her down and pulled her in for a short kiss before the celebrations began. Plenty of food and drink circled around the room and Dudley even had the nerve to try something called fire whisky although he kind of wished he hadn't as he felt the burning in his throat. It wouldn't surprise him if the drink contained real fire to be honest because there is a lot of things that should be completely impossible that are possible in the magical world. The next morning, they all woke up with ridiculous headaches that came from the alcohol consumed the night before but even then they couldn't hide their beaming grins. Before they could even blink it seemed, they were back in their Fulham home. These past two days had really done the trick and the stress that had been weighing them down had disappeared somewhat.