If there was one thing Helena did not like, it was getting up early. Although she convinced herself that it was going to be worth it, for today they were all attending the Quidditch Wolrd Cup.
She regretted having spent all night talking into the late hours with Hermione and Ginny about the dress listed on their letters from Hogwarts, wondering why they would even need one for school.
Now that Helena could barely keep her eyes open, she would have preferred for it to remain a mystery.
"Nina, wake up!" whispered Hermione, shaking the girl after she had gone back to sleep yet again.
"A dress... Ughhh!" she groaned, recalling what kept her up at night, uncovering herself from the layers of blankets she was relunctant to leave. "It's still dark outside!"
You are going to the World Cup. Stop being a baby!
Helena ordered herself to get ready, putting on a pair of jeans and a green sweater to show her support for Ireland. Then, she washed her face, hoping the cold water would wake her up some more but it only made her shiver when a cool breeze came from Ginny's window. Nina let her hair down, too lazy and cold to do anything with it.
"You are not a morning person, are you, Hell?" asked Fred when she joined the rest in the kitchen, seeing how she had her eyes half-closed.
Helena groaned in response.
Mr. Weasley then walked wearing a golf sweater and jeans that were too big, held up with a thick leather belt.
"What d'you think?" he asked anxiously. "We're supposed to go incognito. Do I look like a Muggle, Harry?"
"Yeah," said Harry, smiling, "very good."
"Where're Bill and Charlie and Per-Per-Percy?" said George, failing to stifle a huge yawn.
"Well, they're Apparating, aren't they?" said Mrs. Weasley, heaving the large pot over to the table and starting to ladle porridge into bowls. "So they can have a bit of a lie-in."
"Lucky them," muttered Nina, sitting between the twins.
Mr. Weasley then explained to Harry what Apparating was, being the first time he has heard the term.
"But Bill and Charlie and Percy can all do it?"
"Charlie had to take the test twice," said Fred, grinning. "He failed the first time. Apparated five miles south of where he meant to, right on top of some poor old dear doing her shopping, remember?"
Nina sniggered, picturing it as she had a spoonful of porridge.
"Yes, well, he passed the second time," said Mrs. Weasley, marching back into the kitchen.
"Percy only passed two weeks ago," said George. "He's been Apparating downstairs every morning since, just to prove he can."
"Why do we have to be up so early anyway?" Ginny said, rubbing her eyes.
"We've got a bit of a walk," said Mr. Weasley.
"Walk?" said Harry. "What, are we walking to the World Cup?"
"No, no, that's miles away," said Mr. Weasley, smiling. "We only need to walk a short way. It's just that it's very difficult for a large number of wizards to congregate without attracting Muggle attention. We have to be very careful about how we travel at the best of times, and on a huge occasion like the Quidditch World Cup..."
"George!" said Mrs. Weasley sharply, and they all jumped.
"What?" said George, in an innocent tone that deceived nobody.
"What is that in your pocket?"
"Nothing!"
"Don't you lie to me!"
Mrs. Weasley pointed her wand at George's pocket and said, "Accio!"
What Nina could easily recognize as Ton-Tongue Toffees, zoomed out of his pocket. George made a grab for them but missed, and they sped right into Mrs. Weasley's outstretched hand.
"We told you to destroy them!" said Mrs. Weasley furiously, holding up treats. "We told you to get rid of the lot! Empty your pockets, go on, both of you!"
The twins had no choice but to obey and leave behind a handful of their products, surely with the plan of selling them at the World Cup.
They all finally departed the Burrow and started their trek into the dark, cold morning.
Helena was walking right beside Fred and George, who were in the back of the group, upset that their mother had taken away their Wizard Wheezes products.
"Aww, it's ok you two!" Nina said, patting their backs to cheer them up. "You can still sell them back at Hogwarts!"
"But we were going to expand our market--"
"--And try the new joke products," moaned George.
"Oh, you mean these?"
Helena smiled mischieviously at both redheads and reached inside the sleeves of her sweater, holding in her hand plenty of their joke treats.
The twins were marveled and confused as to why she had them in the first place.
"Wh-- How did you--?"
Fred was probably the most shocked the girl had sneaked them out with no one noticing.
"Grabbed some when you two were busy sulking and the rest were saying goodbye to your mother," Nina explained, smiling proudly. "...Please don't tell your mother."
"Very sneaky, Rosemund. Good job!" said George, taking the sweets from her hands and pocketing them back in his pants.
"Yeah, Hell. I guess having a goody two-shoes as a friend has its perks!"
Before Helena could argue with the boy, Fred took her by the shoulders and started pushing her up a steep hill as they approached their destination. Half-way there, the redhead began to slow her down, the climb exhausting everyone.
"Okay, Fredster! I can take it from here now!" said Nina, stepping away from the boy so that they wouldn't stumble on each other as they dragged their feet.
At last, they reached the top of the hill panting, trying to steady their breathing when Mr. Weasley asked them to help him find the Portkey that would take them to the World Cup.
Helena and Hermione were clutching a stitch on their sides as they searched for anything that could resemble a Portkey.
Nina was looking behind some trees when a loud thumping noise startled her, making her take out her wand and point it in the direction where sound came from.
"Don't attack! It's only me!"
"Cedric!" she yelled with a joyful grin. "Don't scare me like that, boy!" and Nina lightly punched his arm.
"Alright, alright," the Hufflepuff chuckled. "Note taken... I missed you, though."
Nina got on her tip toes to give the boy a kiss on the cheek, which made both blush after it.
"Diggory," the twins said rather bluntly, walking up to the two after spotting them.
"Hi, there! Excited for the Cup?" beamed Cedric.
Fred and George merely shrugged their shoulders in response, looking away. Nina sensed a bit of hostility on their part, but maybe they were just tired from the walk here.
"Okayyyy..." she clapped her hands together, "Let's go find ouserlves a Portkey!"
Then a man's voice was heard on the other side of the hill top.
"Over here, Arthur! We've got it."
"Amos!" said Mr. Weasley, smiling as he strode over to the man who had shouted. The rest of them gathered around and followed.
Cedric excitedly took Nina's hand and lead her at the front of the group, leaving a pair of sulking twins behind.
"This is Amos Diggory, everyone," said Mr. Weasley, introducing a brown-bearded wizard who was holding a moldy-looking old boot in his hand. "He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric over there?"
Cedric smiled back at everyone, still holding the girl's hand by his side. Hermione and Ginny giggled in the back when they caught Helena gazing at the boy.
"Had to get up at two, didn't we, Ced? I tell you, I'll be glad when he's got his Apparition test. Still...not complaining...Quidditch World Cup, wouldn't miss it for a sackful of Galleons. And the tickets cost about that. Mind you, looks like I got off easy...." Amos Diggory peered good-naturedly around at the three Weasley boys, Helena, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny. "All these yours, Arthur?"
"Oh no, only the redheads," said Mr. Weasley, pointing out his children. "This is Helena, friend of the twins and--"
"Helena Rosemund, yes!" said Mr. Diggory looking from the girl to his son. "Cedric here talks about you all the time, said he wanted me to meet his girlfriend!"
"Umm... that's me, I guess! Nice to meet you!"
Both Helena and Cedric were red in the face. She had to let go of the boy's hand because it was starting to get sweaty from the nerves.
When Mr. Weasley proceeded to present Harry and Hermione, Amos Diggory could not believe the famous Boy Who Lived was standing right infront of him. Harry just stood there awkwardly as Cedric's father mentioned how Harry had fallen on the match against Hufflepuff.
"Better get going, Amos!" called Mr. Weasley, looking at his wrist watch. "Don't want to miss it!"
They all followed the adults into the middle of the hill, where Amos Diggory placed the boot he'd been holding, motioning for them to gather around it, being the Portkey. Since it was a large group, they had a bit of trouble squeezing in together so that everyone could touch the old boot.
"Ouch, Fred! Careful!" Nina muttered, rubbing her temple after they accidentally bumped heads with each other.
"Well, scoot!"
At the count of three from Mr. Weasley, they all swirled around in the air, drinfting away towards their destination. Helena felt as though she was being pulled by a strong force until they finally stopped spinning. Everyone crashed on the ground, their limbs tangled with one another, except for Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory, Cedric and Nina, who the brunette had caught before she stumbled with the rest.
"Thanks," Helena said panting, steadying herself.
Parting ways with Cedric and his father, she walked up to the tangled mess where the twins were in, groaning under Ron's legs. So she reached for their hands to help them get up.
"Still better than the possibility of getting splinched, am I right?!" she joked, raising her hand in the hopes one of them would high-five it in approval.
Fred and George could not resist chuckling at her comment, both messing with her hair to the point where there hands got stuck on her head.
"Whoops!" they both said, tugging to free themselves.
"You just had to, didn't you?"
After Mr. Weasley fixed their hair problem with a flick of his wand, a muggle named Mr. Roberts welcomed them to the grounds, receiving the payment for the tent Mr. Weasley had reserved for them.
Mr. Roberts pointed out how a lot of the people that had shown up with him were dressed in an unusual manner. One had apparently been wearing a poncho and a kilt.
"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."
Right then, another man popped up from nowhere and used his wand to erase part of Mr. Robert's memory, making him knit his brows together in slight confusion, losing focus on his eyes. He then turned back to Mr. Weasley smiling.
"A map of the campsite for you. And your change!" said Mr. Roberts.
The tired wizard who had obliviated the muggle man, showed the way to their designated camping area.
"Been having a lot of trouble with him," the wizard started. "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."
And the man Disapparated.
"I thought Mr. Bagman was Head of Magical Games and Sports," said Ginny, looking surprised. "He should know better than to talk about Bludgers near Muggles, shouldn't he?"
"He should," said Mr. Weasley, smiling, and leading them through the gates 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, didn't he?" asked Nina. "And he was the best Beater the Wimbourne Wasps ever had."
"I see we have a Quidditch enthusiast ourselves!" cheered Mr. Weasley.
"Yeah, one who can't play the sport," added Fred, sniggering.
"If you must know, Frederick," Nina said, "I practiced during the summer."
Helena had indeed improved her catching skills but not by playing Quidditch. She had asked her father to take her to the nearest park and help her practice catching. Her father would throw a volleyball in her direction while she ran from one side to another.
She knew it wasn't exactly like Quidditch, but it helped.
"We'll see about that--"
"--When you try out for the team this year," finished George.
After walking between thousands of tents, passing wizards and witches of all ages and from different countries to witness the great event, Mr. Weasley lead them to the spot where they would be camping, assigning jobs to each of the teens to get their campsite ready.
Helena, Fred and George were in charge of getting wood for a fire. The twins were not amused by their task and kept groaning all the way, getting on Nina's nerves.
"Hey, guys... Do you have your Weasley Wizard Wheezes with you?" she asked them.
"You know we do," the twins smiled mischieviously.
Helena nodded her head in approval, turning her heel and walking towards the direction where a large group of Bulgarian supporters were loudly chanting Viktor Krum's name.
"Come on, beautiful idiots! We have some products to sell!"
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a/n supportive friends supporting each other!!
What do you think so far?
Sorry if it seems that the story is slowly moving! I want to add as many details from the book as possible. And that way Fred and Helena's relationship can gradually blossom hehe !!
Thanks for reading :)