Quidditch World Cup 2014.
"Let's go say hi to the Weasleys and Potters. Hurry Sam!"
"I don't want to."
"Come on!" My twin brother, Seth, caught my arm and dragged me to the tent across from us, which would be the tents owned by the Weasley and Potter family. Outside the big tent, I see a familiar blue haired boy, taller than ever, dressed in black and red, along with his usual partner in crime, the brilliant Fred Weasley Jr. Seth's best friends.
He smiled at the two of them. "Are you ready for the game tonight?"
"Of course! Bulgaria is going to have an easy win." The infamous metamorphmagus grinned before turning his attention to me, his smirk growing wider. "Hello darling. Did you miss me?"
"No." I scoffed, crossing my arms to turn away from him. "Hi Fred."
"Sammy." Fred picked me up and spins me around as he gave me a hug. "You've grown a couple of inches. You're not that short anymore. I'm proud of you, little Avery."
"So Fred gets a hug and I get nothing? I'm hurt, darling." He pouted and gave me the 'puppy dog' expression.
"Shut up, Edward."
"Teddy." He corrected, ruffling my dark red hair. "How many times do I have to tell you? Call me Teddy."
"How many times do I have to tell you? Stop calling me darling."
"Why would I do that, darling?" He just loves to annoy me, I swear.
"I want to punch you in the face."
"Or you want to kiss me."
"Seth!" I turned to my brother who, along with Fred, is simply watching me and the dork with amusement. "I'm going back to the tent. Have fun with Fred and the git."
I was just about to return to our tent, but then I heard my name being called. "Is that Sam we hear?" A familiar boy jumped out of their tent, followed by two girls. James Sirius Potter, Victoire Weasley and Roxanne Weasley. Roxanne is one of my best friends, even though she is a year younger than me. She's starting her 4th year on September while I, along with Fred, Lupin and Seth, will be on our 5th year.
"I knew it was her as soon as I heard someone say Edward. She's the only one who calls him Edward." Roxanne laughed as she pulled me in for a tight hug. "I see you're supporting Brazil." She commented, eyeing my scarf and dress colors. "Me too!"
"Bulgaria's going to win." James grinned. "Because they've got a secret weapon. Viktor Krum."
"That's what Aunt Hermione said." Victoire snickered. "Anyway, Roxanne, Dominique, Rose, Lily and I are planning to visit the gift shop before the game. Do you want to go with us? Or would you rather stay here with Teddy?"
"Nope. Let's go!" I stood by Roxanne's side and dragged her with me.
As I walked further away from the tent, I heard Lupin laugh and said, "She loves me."
Ugh! As if!
***
When the girls and I returned from the gift shop, I found mum talking to Ginny and Hermione on the Potters and Weasleys tent. Seth is still with the boys outside, painting their faces to show more support for Bulgaria.
Right now, Bulgaria is the last thing on my mind.
"Look Seth, it's an autographed poster of Armando Flores." I sighed happily, hovering my hand over the twenty-one year old Beater's attractive face. "He was at the gift shop talking with his fans and I met him. He gave me a hug and he's so cute!" Roxanne didn't freak out as much as I did when she saw him. I, on the other hand, had a mini heart attack.
"Armando Flores? Worst beater in the Quidditch history." Lupin commented, taking my poster to observe the autograph. "Darling, why are you fawning over boys like him?"
"Give me back my poster." I hissed, standing on my tiptoes to reach the poster, which he only held higher to piss me off. "Edward Remus Lupin, give me my bloody poster now."
"Or what?"
Without warning, I kneed him at his most sensitive, private area, causing him to crouch down in pain. I snatched back my poster and ran behind the group of kids, who are also getting their face fainted by Roxanne.
"You and Teddy are at it again?" Roxanne shook her head with disapproval. "Just get married already."
"Ha ha. Hilarious, Roxanne. Very funny."
"I'm serious! All you two do is fight like a married couple. He teases you a lot and you two just look so adorable, honestly. When he flirts with you constantly, you'd get flustered before you start hitting him. I don't know. I just think you and him would be a lovely couple. Weird, but cute."
"You don't know what you're saying, Roxanne."
"Probably." The girl shrugs. "Still though."
"No."
Basically, Lupin and I have this thing. We're kind of friends, but not really. He enjoys annoying me and would do anything to get on my nerves for no reason at all. He would tease me a lot and he just likes to ruin my happy moments. He's very flirty around me, and pretty much every girl in Hogwarts and he pranks too much. I don't know how Seth can stand him.
He didn't make a very good impression either. Seth and I are sorted to Gryffindor for our first year at Hogwarts, and we sat right next to Lupin and Fred. At first, Lupin was this shy and quiet boy who seems really nice and brilliant. But once we all got to know a bit more each other, he turns into this massive crazy loud boy. He pulled a prank on me on the night we first met, and everyone laughed at me and I was teased about it for a week. Ever since then, he and I have been acting the way we act today. He teases me and I'm always annoyed with him, yet we're still somewhat friends. It's complicated.
***
Mum, Seth and I are sitting at the minister's box this year, along with the minister himself, Kingsley Shacklebolt. Harry, Ron and their family are also invited, as well as other workers who are close with the minister, which includes the Malfoy family. My mum works in the same department as Hermione Weasley so our families are quite close. It's a bit unfortunate for me since I see Lupin so much.
"Avery, if Bulgaria wins, you owe me 5 galleons." I felt someone stand next to me. Lupin had changed his hair to the color of dark red, matching Bulgaria's color. He's leaning by the railing, watching the veelas, Bulgarian's mascots. He didn't seem to be affected by it at all, compare to the other boys around me. Seth looks as if he's going to jump the railing just to get them.
"And if they lose?"
"I'll do whatever you want for a day." Lupin grinned.
"Deal."
"Since we're at it, if Bulgaria wins, you have to give me a kiss along with that 5 galleons."
"Not gonna happen, Edward."
He let out a chuckle, shoving his hands on his jeans pocket. "Worth a try."
***
For the first half of the game, Brazil was on the lead. Their star player, chaser Mario Silviera has made quite a lot of goals, despite Bulgarian's keeper's efforts of blocking them. I wasn't really paying attention to the seekers, but according to Harry, Seth and Lupin's cheers for him, I'm guessing he's closer to the snitch than Brazil's seeker.
Before the game goes to the second half, there is the famous half time shows. This year, they've got a performance from a couple of bands. The first band is called The Bent-Winged Snitches. They're an American wizarding punk rock band who had just had a hit song at the beginning of this year.
"These guys are my favorite!" Lupin exclaimed, screaming as the four men appeared at the center of the field. They're all dressed in black, ripped clothes and dyed hairs. Now I know where Lupin gets his appearance inspiration. As soon as they started to play, over half of the audience sang along to their songs while the rest simply sways along to their music.
The band played a fast rock song that has got everyone hyped up, then played a slow love song, which was definitely awkward when I'm standing next to Lupin, and their last song is another upbeat dance song. The next band that played is more for the adults: Weird Sisters. Apparently, the band had played for the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts years ago, which brought back memories from mum, Ron, Harry, Hermione, Ginny and basically every adult who went to Hogwarts at that time.
"Krum and I danced to this song, I remember!" Hermione laughed while she rests her head on Ron's shoulders. "Oh my god, this brought me back to the time when you were such a massive Krum fan."
"And then you ruined it for me." Ron replied smugly. "You and I could have gone to the ball. But no, you chose Krum."
Harry rolled his eyes at his two best friends. "See this, Teddy, Sam? That's why you should be nice to each other and fight less. Because in the future, you may or may not be together and be married. Just like Ron and Hermione, who's acted exactly like you two when they were your age. Now look at them."
Lupin and I frowned and looked at each other at the same time. We glanced back at Ron and Hermione then back to Harry, before we burst into laughter. "Oh my god, no." I snickered, leaning on Seth for support. "Don't worry about that, Mr. Potter. It's not going to happen."
"Or would it?" Lupin smirked, raising an eyebrow as he leaned closer to me. "But you're right. It's not happening. Why would I want to be with someone who has bad taste in Quidditch teams and hates pranks and is short and annoying and boring?"
"First of all, I do not have bad taste in Quidditch teams. Second of all, I don't hate prank. I just hate it when they're pulled on me. Third, I'm not short. You're just abnormally tall, you talking giraffe. Forth, you're the annoying one and last of all, I'm not boring. You just happen to not like the things I enjoy. You're the boring one, Lupin."
"Yup, I definitely see a Ron and Hermione between them." George Weasley agreed, smiling at his younger brother. "Make sure you invite us at your wedding in the future. And name one of your kids after me, will you?"
"I'm officially done listening to this conversation."
***
Bulgaria won. Bulgaria won and I'm so upset. I was really rooting for Brazil. They played with such great efforts but then the Bulgaria's chasers caught up and then bloody Viktor Krum just had to catch the snitch. Brazil scored 60 and Bulgaria scored 170. Still though, Brazil's players are still brilliant on my book.
"You lost the bet, darling. Pay up." Lupin walked next to me as we all head back to our tents. It would take a little while to return to our tents, considering there are thousands of other witches and wizards going to the same direction as us.
"Yeah about that, Lupin. I don't exactly have money right now. I wasted my money on the gift shop, you know where I met my lovely Armando Flores."
"You lost a bet and you're going to have to pay somehow..."
"I'll give you your damn money the next time I see you."
"Or...."
"Or I can hex you?"
"Or my other offer still stands. You know, the kiss?" He grinned, putting an arm around me.
"What, so I can be on your list of the people you've kissed?" I've heard girls from Hogwarts gush about how 'great' their kiss was with Lupin. "I prefer not." I looked around us and realized we separated from our group. Seth and mum are nowhere to be found. I don't see any of the Weasleys or Potters either. "Lupin, where are the others?" I asked, standing on my tip toes. All I see is everyone's backs and heads, hundreds of them.
Lupin scanned our surroundings and groaned, also realizing we're lost. "Damn it. We're lost, Avery." I felt his arm around me tightened. He lightly pushed me to go left, where there aren't many people. "It's better if we just stick together and wait until it's less crowded."
Normally, I would make a complain but in this case, the boy's right. I literally have no clue how to get back to the tents and if I'm alone, I would probably start to cry of anxiety. Lupin and I found a little wishing well at the side and we decided to just stay there for a while. Lupin and I stood on either side of the well and watched the crowd go.
We were in complete silence for a moment, then I heard a quiet gasp from the now white haired boy next to me. "Oh Merlin."
"What?"
"I just remembered, we were supposed to go to the other side of the stadium because we were meeting Krum and his team! How could I forget something as important as that? This is your fault Avery. I was following you." He groaned, giving me a death glare. "I could have met Krum and -- "
"You're the one who wasn't paying attention." I raised my hands up in defense, backing away from the metamorphmagus out of control. His hair just went from blue to white to red, so now he's angry.
Lupin and I have been like this ever since 1st year. I wish things would change a little between us. This year, I just want a nice, good change.
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a/n (please read):
**** this fanfic was started in 2015 and finished January 2016. it was written before harry potter and the cursed child came out (July 2016). it was written before JK Rowling announced that Teddy was a Hufflepuff and all the new generation info and stuff. for that reason, information aren't canon and accurate. ****
also, just a fair warning, lots of 2015-2016 pop culture references (especially music), there's a lot of cringeworthy moments since I've written this without much writing experience and I was a very cringy child, ya know?
originally published in quotev and was requested to be published here as well. so, if you dare keep going, you're awesome and I hope you enjoy and thank you for reading.