Hermione opened her eyes. Everyone but Amos, Cedric and Mr Weasley were on the ground, and even they looked very windswept, but everyone was slowly getting up. Ron helped Hermione up and they followed everyone else towards two wizards who were appalling at dressing as Muggles
"Morning, Basil" said Mr. Weasley, giving the boot to one of them
"Hello there, Arthur" Basil yawned "Not on duty, eh? It's all right for some... We've been here all night... You'd better get out of the way, we've got a big party coming in from the Black Forest at five-fifteen. Hang on, I'll find your campsite..." he looked at a long parchment list "Weasley... Weasley... About a quarter of a mile's walk over there, first field you come to. Site manager's called Mr. Roberts. Diggory... second field... ask for Mr. Payne"
"Thanks, Basil" said Mr. Weasley, and they all set off down the field
After about twenty minutes, they found a small cottage next to a gate. They bade farewell to the Diggorys before walking up to the cottage. The person standing in front of it was clearly one of the only real Muggles for miles around
"Morning!" said Mr. Weasley
"Morning," said the man
"Would you be Mr. Roberts?" asked Mr Weasley
"Aye, I would" said Mr. Roberts "And who're you?"
"Weasley - two tents, booked a couple of days ago?"
"Aye" said Mr. Roberts, glancing at a list taped to the front door "You've got a space up by the wood there. Just the one night?" "That's it" said Mr. Weasley brightly
"You'll be paying now, then?" said Mr. Roberts
"Ah - right - certainly-" said Mr. Weasley slowly, before walking a small distance away with Harry. He clearly hadn't used 'Muggle Money' often before
"You foreign?" asked Mr. Roberts as they both returned
"Foreign?" repeated Mr. Weasley, a blank expression on his face
"You're not the first one who's had trouble with money" said Mr. Roberts "I had two try and pay me with great gold coins the size of hubcaps ten minutes ago"
"Did you really?" said Mr. Weasley anxiously
"Never been this crowded" he said as he rummaged in a tin for change "Hundreds of pre-bookings. People usually just turn up..."
"Is that right?" said Mr. Weasley
"Aye" he said "People from all over. Loads of foreigners. And not just foreigners. Weirdos, you know? There's a bloke walking 'round in a kilt and a poncho." "Shouldn't he?" said Mr. Weasley anxiously
"It's like some sort of... I dunno... like some sort of rally" said Mr. Roberts "They all seem to know each other. Like a big party"
Suddenly, a wizard Apparated next the Mr Roberts' front door
"Obliviate!" he said, pointing his wand at Mr. Roberts. Mr Roberts' face went blank, and his eyes slid out of focus. Hermione could tell that he had just had his memory modified
"A map of the campsite for you" Mr. Roberts mumbled "And your change"
"Thanks very much" said Mr. Weasley
The wizard looked exhausted. He had deep shadows under his eyes, and was stumbling rather than walked
"Been having a lot of trouble with him" he said to Mr Weasley "Needs a Memory Charm ten times a day to keep him happy. And Ludo Bagman's not helping. Trotting around talking about Bludgers and Quaffles at the top of his voice, not a worry about anti-Muggle security. Blimey, I'll be glad when this is over. See you later, Arthur"
He Disapparated
"I thought Mr. Bagman was Head of Magical Games and Sports," said Ginny "He should know better than to talk about Bludgers near Muggles, shouldn't he?"
"He should," said Mr. Weasley, smiling, as they walked into the campsite "but Ludo's always been a bit... well... lax about security. You couldn't wish for a more enthusiastic head of the sports department though. He played Quidditch for England himself, you know. And he was the best Beater the Wimbourne Wasps ever had"
They had reached the campsite. Tents of all different sizes were pitched as far as the eye could see. Most of them looked like regular Muggle tents, occasionally slipping up with chimneys and front gardens, but some of them looked like they weren't even trying. They passed at least three that had multiple floors, two that had turrets and one with an Olympic sized swimming pool in front of it and firewoods attached to the top, spewing multicoloured sparks everywhere. Hermione couldn't blame Mr Roberts for thinking it was odd
"What's the chance that that one is the Malfoy tent?" whispered Ginny, pointing at a massive castle shaped tent
"I didn't know that Malfoy had siblings" said Hermione, gesturing to the three peacocks tied up outside. Ginny burst out laughing, and Hermione grinned
"Always the same" Mr. Weasley sighed "We can't resist showing off when we get together. Ah, here we are, look, this is us"
They stopped at the bey edge of the field, right by the forest. There was a sign there that read Weezly.
"Couldn't have a better spot!" said Mr. Weasley brightly "The field is just on the other side of the wood there, we're as close as we could be"
He took his backpack off and opened it. He looked very excited
"Right" he said "no magic allowed, strictly speaking, not when we're out in these numbers on Muggle land. We'll be putting these tents up by hand! Shouldn't be too difficult... Muggles do it all the time... Here, Harry, where do you reckon we should start?"
Hermione had only been camping once, and Harry never had been, but together they managed to work out where everything went. After about an hour, as Mr Weasley kept getting in the way and he unfortunately had the hammer, they had built two small tent. Though, to Hermione, it didn't look at all like ten people would fit in them, as would be necessary after Percy, Charlie and Bill showed up. Harry seemed to have realised that too, but nobody else seemed deterred. Mr Weasley crawled into the first tent in his hands and knees
"We'll be a bit cramped" he called "but I think we'll all squeeze in. Come and have a look"
Hermione crawled into the tent and her jaw dropped. She had just entered what looked like a three roomed apartment, furnished with armchairs and a fireplace. Harry looked just as shocked, but no one else seemed to
"Well, it's not for long" said Mr. Weasley "I borrowed this from Perkins at the office. Doesn't camp much anymore, poor fellow, he's got lumbago. We'll need water..."
"There's a tap marked on this map the Muggle gave us" said Ron "It's on the other side of the field"
"Well, why don't you, Harry, and Hermione go and get us some water then" said Mr Weasley, passing them a kettle and some pans "and the rest of us will get some wood for a fire?"
"But we've got an oven" said Ron "Why can't we just-"
"Ron, anti-Muggle security!" said Mr. Weasley brightly "When real Muggles camp, they cook on fires outdoors. I've seen them at it!"
They had a quick tour of Hermione's and Ginny's tent, which was slightly smaller and didn't smell of cats, like how the other one did, and the Hermione, Ron and Harry set off towards the tap
As they walked through the field, people were starting to wake up, starting with people with young children. They passed a boy no older than two prodding a slug with a wand and watching gleefully as it started to expand. The boy's mother came out and tried to wrestle the wand out of the boys hand
"How many times, Kevin? You don't - touch - Daddy's - wand - yecchh!"
She accidentally trod on the slug, which burst. Kevin started crying
"You bust slug! You bust slug!"
Further along they saw two girls, slightly older than Kevin, riding on toy broomsticks that only hovered about a ruler length above the ground. A Ministry Official had spotted them as well, and was hurrying towards their tent
"In broad daylight!" he muttered as he passed them "Parents having a lie-in, I suppose-"
Hermione saw Harry watching the two little girls wistfully, and smiled sadly. He would've had a childhood like that if Lord Voldemort hadn't murdered his parents when he was younger than Kevin. Instead he had to live with his horrible aunt and uncle, and all the stuff he was seeing had been taken away from him
"Er - is it my eyes, or has everything gone green?" said Ron. It wasn't just Ron. The tents up ahead were so covered in shamrocks and Irish flags, the door was the only part of the tents you could actually see. Hermione spotted several pictures of a bright green clad Quidditch team, smiling and waving at the camera
"Harry!" called a voice behind them "Ron! Hermione!"
They turned. Seamus Finnigan, a Gryffindor in their year, was hurrying towards them, followed by a woman who was presumably his mother and Dean Thomas, Seamus' best friend
"Like the decorations?" said Seamus cheerfully "The Ministry's not too happy"
"Ah, why shouldn't we show our colors?" said Seamus' mum, whom Hermione noticed had the exact same sandy coloured hair as her son "You should see what the Bulgarians have got dangling all over their tents. You'll be supporting Ireland, of course?" she added. They all very quickly assuredher that they were
"Like we'd say anything else surrounded by that lot" said Ron a few minutes later, as they left Seamus and his extremely patriotic friends
"I wonder what the Bulgarians have got dangling all over their tents?" said Hermione
"Let's go and have a look" said Harry, pointing to a large Bulgarian flag in the distance
The tents clustered around the Bulgarian flag weren't as vibrantly decorated as the Irish tents, but they all seemed to have the same large poster stuck to them. It was a picture of a young man with dark hair and thick eyebrows
"Krum" Ron whispered
"What?" said Hermione blankly
"Krum!" said Ron eagerly "Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker!" "He looks really grumpy" said Hermione, gazing at the posters. All the many Krums seemed to be able to do was blink and scowl
"'Really grumpy'?" said Ron, rolling his eyes "Who cares what he looks like? He's unbelievable. He's really young too. Only just eighteen or something. He's a genius, you wait until tonight, you'll see"
By the time they reached the tap, there was already a small queue leading up to it, which they joined. Right in front of them was an old man wearing a pink, floral patterned nightdress, and next to him was a Ministry wizard who was holding up a pair of pinstriped trousers
"Just put them on, Archie, there's a good chap" said the Ministry wizard "You can't walk around like that, the Muggle at the gate's already getting suspicious-"
"I bought this in a Muggle shop" said the old wizard firmly "Muggles wear them"
"Muggle women wear them, Archie, not the men, they wear these," said the Ministry wizard, indicating to the trousers
"I'm not putting them on" said Archie huffily "I like a healthy breeze 'round my privates, thanks"
Hermione started giggling so hard that she had to leave the queue and could only return when Archie had gone
On their way back, they saw more than one classmate and friend with their families: Ernie Macmillan, of Hufflepuff; Oliver Wood, Harry's old Quidditch Captain who had graduated last year; and Cho Chang, a relatively pretty Ravenclaw in the year above who was the Seeker for the Ravenclaw team and whom Harry clearly fancied. At the sight of her, Harry blushed scarlet and dropped a lot of water down himself. Ron found this highly amusing
A little while later, they saw a large group of teenagers that Hermione had never seen before. They were all Asian, and were wearing robes of various shades of pink and gold. Hermione assumed that they went to Mahoutokoro, the Japanese Wizarding school
"Who d'you reckon they are?" said Harry "They don't go to Hogwarts, do they?"
"'Spect they go to some foreign school" said Ron, before Hermione could explain "I know there are others. Never met anyone who went to one, though. Bill had a penfriend at a school in Brazil... this was years and years ago... and he wanted to go on an exchange trip but Mum and Dad couldn't afford it. His penfriend got all offended when he said he wasn't going and sent him a cursed hat. It made his ears shrivel up"
Hermione assumed he was talking about Castrlobroxo, and was surprised that Ron didn't know the name. Harry looked flabbergasted at this new piece of information, which Hermione found very odd. Surely Harry knew that there were other wizarding schools? Especially considering that on the way there they had passed a group of African girls on the way there who clearly didn't go to Hogwarts. Hermione had assumed that they went to Uagadou, the largest and oldest wizarding school in the world
"You've been ages" said George as they reached their tents
"Met a few people" said Ron "You not got that fire started yet?"
"Dad's having fun with the matches" said Fred, grinning
Mr. Weasley was sitting around many splintered matches, enthusiastic delight written on his face
"Oops!" he said brightly as he lit a match and dropped in on the dewy grass in shock
"Come here, Mr. Weasley" said Hermione. She took the box of matches off him, and eventually, they had a fire going
It took a while for the fire to be hot enough to cook, and add they waited Mr Weasley provided a running commentary of the Ministry people that passed. This was mainly for Hermione and Harry, as the Weasley's knew do much about the Ministry that they were beyond the point of caring
"That was Cuthbert Mockridge, Head of the Goblin Liaison Office... Here comes Gilbert Wimple; he's with the Committee on Experimental Charms; he's had those horns for a while now... Hello, Arnie... Arnold Peasegood, he's an Obliviator- member of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, you know... and that's Bode and Croaker... they're Unspeakables..."
"They're what?" said Harry, who apparently hadn't read a single book on the Ministry of Magic
"From the Department of Mysteries, top secret, no idea what they get up to..."
They had just started cooking lunch on the fire when they spotted Percy, Charlie and Bill walking out of the forest towards them
"Just Apparated, Dad" said Percy smugly "Ah, excellent, lunch!"
They were halfway through their lunch when Mr Weasley jumped up to greet the man walking towards them
"Aha!" he said gleefully "The man of the moment! Ludo!"
Hermione thought that Ludo Bagman looked very much like an overgrown child. He had short, messy blond hair and bright blue eyes. He was slightly overweight; he clearly hadn't played Quidditch in a while. Despite that, he could just about fit into his old Wimbourne Wasps robes, bright yellow with black stripes. His nose showed signs of being broken once or twice
"Ahoy there!" Ludo cried, bouncing over to them "Arthur, old man, what a day, eh? What a day! Could we have asked for more perfect weather? A cloudless night coming... and hardly a hiccough in the arrangements... Not much for me to do!"
Behind his back, several Ministry wizards ran behind him towards a large purple fire in the background
Percy ran forward and held out his hand. Hermione smirked. Despite Percy's apparent disapproval of Ludo didn't stop him from wanting to introduce himself
"Ah - yes" said Mr. Weasley "this is my son Percy. He's just started at the Ministry - and this is Fred - no, George, sorry - that's Fred - Bill, Charlie, Ron - my daughter, Ginny - and Ron's friends, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter"
Just like Amos Diggory, Ludo jumped slightly at the sound of Harry's name and glanced up at Harry's forehead
"Everyone" Mr. Weasley continued as if nothing had happened "this is Ludo Bagman, you know who he is, it's thanks to him we've got such good tickets-"
Bagman grinned and waved his hand as if to say it was nothing
"Fancy a flutter on the match, Arthur?" he said brightly "I've already got Roddy Pontner betting me Bulgaria will score first - I offered him nice odds, considering Ireland's front three are the strongest I've seen in years - and little Agatha Timms has put up half shares in her eel farm on a week- long match"
"Oh... go on then" said Mr. Weasley "Let's see... a Galleon on Ireland to win?"
"A Galleon?" Ludo said, looking slightly crestfallen "Very well, very well... any other takers?"
"They're a bit young to be gambling" Mr. Weasley started "Molly wouldn't like-"
"We'll bet thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles, three Knuts" said Fred as he and George took all their money out of their pockets "that Ireland wins - but Viktor Krum gets the Snitch. Oh and we'll throw in a fake wand"
"You don't want to go showing Mr. Bagman rubbish like that-" snapped Percy, but Ludo found the fake wand fascinating. He took it off Fred and shouted with laughter as it turned into a rubber chicken
"Excellent! I haven't seen one that convincing in years! I'd pay five Galleons for that!"
Percy look stunned
"Boys" Mr. Weasley hissed "I don't want you betting. . . . That's all your savings... Your mother-"
"Don't be a spoilsport, Arthur!" said Ludo gleefully "They're old enough to know what they want! You reckon Ireland will win but Krum'll get the Snitch? Not a chance, boys, not a chance... I'll give you excellent odds on that one... We'll add five Galleons for the funny wand, then, shall we..."
Ludo wrote down Fred and George's names on a notebook
"Cheers" said George, taking a slip of parchment that Ludo had just passed him
"Couldn't do me a brew, I suppose?" said Ludo "I'm keeping an eye out for Barty Crouch. My Bulgarian opposite number's making difficulties, and I can't understand a word he's saying. Barty'll be able to sort it out. He speaks about a hundred and fifty languages"
"Mr. Crouch?" said Percy, brightening up at once "He speaks over two hundred! Mermish and Gobbledegook and Troll..."
"Anyone can speak Troll" said Fred "All you have to do is point and grunt"
Percy gave Fred a glare to rival Mrs Weasley's, but Fred ignored him
"Any news of Bertha Jorkins yet, Ludo?" Mr. Weasley asked as Bagman sat down next to them
"Not a dicky bird" said Ludo, unconcerned "But she'll turn up. Poor old Bertha... memory like a leaky cauldron and no sense of direction. Lost, you take my word for it. She'll wander back into the office sometime in October, thinking it's still July"
"You don't think it might be time to send someone to look for her?" said Mr. Weasley
"Barty Crouch keeps saying that" said Ludo "but we really can't spare anyone at the moment. Oh - talk of the devil! Barty!"
The wizard that had just Apparated next to the couldn't look more different from Ludo. He was rather old and wearing a suit. The parting in his grey hair and his mustache both looked unnaturally straight. Hermione could understand why Percy idolised him, though Hermione thought that he'd probably be very dull
"Pull up a bit of grass, Barty" said Ludo cheerfully
"No thank you, Ludo" said Mr. Crouch impatiently "I've been looking for you everywhere. The Bulgarians are insisting we add another twelve seats to the Top Box"
"Oh is that what they're after?" said Ludo "I thought the chap was asking to borrow a pair of tweezers. Bit of a strong accent"
"Mr. Crouch!" said Percy eagerly "Would you like a cup of tea?"
"Oh" said Mr. Crouch, looking slightly surprised "Yes - thank you, Weatherby"
Fred and George snorted. Percy went red and buzzied himself with the kettle
"Oh and I've been wanting a word with you too, Arthur" said Mr. Crouch "Ali Bashir's on the warpath. He wants a word with you about your embargo on flying carpets."
Mr. Weasley sighed
"I sent him an owl about that just last week. If I've told him once I've told him a hundred times: Carpets are defined as a Muggle Artifact by the Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects, but will he listen?"
"I doubt it" said Mr. Crouch, taking some Tea from Percy "He's desperate to export here"
"Well, they'll never replace brooms in Britain, will they?" said Ludo brightly
"Ali thinks there's a niche in the market for a family vehicle" said Mr. Crouch "I remember my grandfather had an Axminster that could seat twelve - but that was before carpets were banned, of course" he assured them
"So, been keeping busy, Barty?" said Ludo
"Fairly" said Mr. Crouch cooly "Organizing Portkeys across five continents is no mean feat, Ludo."
"I expect you'll both be glad when this is over?" said Mr. Weasley
Ludo looked shocked
"Glad! Don't know when I've had more fun... Still, it's not as though we haven't got anything to look forward to, eh, Barty? Eh? Plenty left to organize, eh?"
Mr. Crouch gave Ludo a warning look
"We agreed not to make the announcement until all the details-"
"Oh details!" said Bagman, waving his hand impatiently "They've signed, haven't they? They've agreed, haven't they? I bet you anything these kids'll know soon enough anyway. I mean, it's happening at Hogwarts-"
"Ludo, we need to meet the Bulgarians, you know" Mr. Crouch interupted "Thank you for the tea, Weatherby"
Him and Mr. Crouch got up. Mr. Crouch hadn't drank any of his tea
"See you all later!" Ludo said merrily "You'll be up in the Top Box with me - I'm commentating!"
They both Disapparated
"What's happening at Hogwarts, Dad?" said Fred the moment they left "What were they talking about?"
"You'll find out soon enough" said Mr.Weasley
"It's classified information, until such time as the Ministry decides to release it" said Percy pompously "Mr. Crouch was quite right not to disclose it"
"Oh shut up, Weatherby" said Fred, grinning as Percy flushed
About an hour before the match, the Ministry witches and wizards gave into the inevitable, and let people perform magic. Saleswizards were Apparating every few metres, carrying trays filled with merchandise, green for Ireland, red for Bulgaria
"Been saving my pocket money all summer for this" Ron said as they walked past yet another Saleswizard. He was covered in shamrocks, but Hermione noticed that he had also bought a miniature model of Viktor Krum, who walked around on Ron's hand, scowling at every green thing in sight
"Wow, look at these!" said Harry eagerly, running over to a cart filled high with metal binoculars coveredwith dials and buttons
"Omnioculars" said the saleswizard brightly "You can replay action... slow everything down... and they flash up a play-by-play breakdown if you need it. Bargain - ten Galleons each"
"Wish I hadn't bought this now" said Ron gloomily, gesturing to his green hat. Ron had a lot less money to spent, as his family wasn't very well off. Hermione didn't care, but Ron didn't seem to like it
"Three pairs" said Harry
"No - don't bother" said Ron, flushing
"You won't be getting anything for Christmas" Harry said, giving one pair to Ron "For about ten years, mind"
"Fair enough" said Ron, brightening
"Oooh, thanks, Harry" said Hermione as Harry gave one to him "And I'll get us some programs, look-" she added, wanting to pull her weight
They went back to the tent, to find the rest of the Weasley's were already back. Fred and George were the only ones without souvenirs, as they'd spent all their money on the gambling
A gong sounded somewhere and a path lit with red and green lanterns appears, leading into the forest
"It's time!" said Mr. Weasley eagerly "Come on, let's go!"