WITH HOW BUSY AND CROWDED THE whole World Cup was, I completely forgot that Poppy would be there as well. That was until she arrived at our tent with her Dad and two guests standing behind them. As I got closer, I saw Tommy and Stella standing there. "Oh my God!" I squealed in excitement, not expecting them to be there.
We all had a quick group hug and Stella explained how Poppy's Mum couldn't come due to work so they managed to get her ticket, instead. Tommy's parents managed to get him and his older brother, Scott, a ticket as well. Before we left for the match, Poppy, Stella, Tommy, and I sat on camp chairs, outside the tent, keeping warm beside a fire.
Stella told us all about her summer and how they went to Spain on holiday. Tommy and his family didn't really get up to much in the summer and he said it was pretty boring as he didn't really do anything, excluding meeting up with us a couple of times.
All of us fell into a comfortable silence, listening to the crackling of the fire in front of us. It reminded me of being back in the Common Room at school, which I was incredibly excited to go back to. "So, Tasmin," Stella started, Poppy leaning in closer towards me. "How are things with you and Malfoy?"
I paused for a moment in thought. I wasn't even sure, myself. "I mean, we've sent each other Owls over the summer," I explained, a bit uneasy on the topic. "But I haven't seen him at all. I sort of miss him but at the same time I'm really nervous to see him."
Poppy nodded her head and Tommy didn't seem interested in the slightest so stood up to go inside my tent, presumably to find Harry and Ron. "He's going to be here, isn't he?" Poppy questioned me, furrowing her brows. "With his father working so closely with the Minister."
I nodded my head at her and let out a small sigh. "He's in the Minister's box..." I trailed off, finally figuring something out. "Oh my God," I said in almost a whisper. Poppy and Stella looked at me very confused. "My Aunt and Uncle are in that box," I told them, starting to feel sick. "They offered me to come with them but I said no."
Stella shook her head at me. "They don't know about you and Malfoy, do they?" She questioned me, to which I just nodded my head. She stifled a laugh, covering her mouth. "Oh God, that's going to be awkward," she pointed out.
It wasn't long before we were heading up to the pitch, with flags and face paint, and we'd met up with Cedric, Amos, and Scott. Tommy, Scott, and Cederic were a bit ahead of everyone but eventually waited up for Stella, Poppy, and me. Scott had a very amusing look in his eyes and Tommy was kind of nudging him, slightly.
When we finally reached the boys, us three girls were beyond confused. "Tasmin," Scott spoke up, Tommy telling him to knock it off. "Is it true that you're Draco Malfoy's girlfriend?" He asked me and I furrowed my brows at him.
I turned to Stella, not knowing how to answer that question. I wasn't but I didn't want to say no and make it out like there's nothing going on between us. "It's... complicated," I concluded with, feeling Harry and Ron's eyes on me.
Ron had no self-control on this matter and shook his head at me. "I, honestly, don't get what you see in him, Tasmin," he told me, continuing to shake his head. "Like what does he have that makes him so appealing to you? He's a bully."
I could feel myself getting angry at him but I didn't want to cause a scene in front of people I barely knew so I just kept quiet. "He's all mysterious," George interrupted, nudging me and sending me flying due to the height difference. He managed to grab my hand just in time to stop me from falling.
"Yeah, Ron," Fred joined in, playing with Ron's long hair. "Girls love that kind of stuff," he added on, getting everything wrong.
I exhaled sharply as we began to walk up the many stairs until we reached our seats. "Actually, I think you will find that Draco is actually a very nice, caring person on the inside," I defended him, my anger slowly simmering away. "He's just got walls built up, you've just got to get through to him to see the real him."
Harry didn't seem to understand, either. "But would you really want to be with someone that is nice to you and not nice to your friends?" He asked me. I could feel the anger coming back as they just wouldn't understand that's not what he is really like.
"Harry's got a point, Tasmin," Hermione added on, agreeing with the boys. "Draco Malfoy is a foul boy and if you can't see past the facade he's putting on to reel you in," she paused, taking a breath in. "Then more fool you."
I opened my mouth to argue back, but Cederic spoke before I could. I thought he was going to join in but I was actually wrong. "If he treats Tasmin right, and she believes him to be the person she says he is, then what is wrong with that?" He questioned everyone.
Tommy agreed with Cederic and it was pretty much just left at that. Many flights of steps later, I found myself walking up beside him. "Thanks for earlier," I told him. He looked down and sent me a smile. "Sticking up for me and not laughing at me this morning when I completely embarrassed myself."
He shook his head with a smile on his face. "Don't worry about it," he brushed it off. "So, you're rooting for Ireland?" He asked me, pointing to my facepaint and scarf.
I let out a laugh and shook my head. "The twins forced me," I explained, which had been very much true. "I'm not bothered, either way, I'm just here for the experience, I guess."
"Blimey, Dad!" Ron exclaimed, letting out loud huffs with every step. "How far up are we?!"
"Well, put it this way," a voice answered, coming from the flight of stairs below us. We all looked down to see Draco and what seemed to be his father. "If it rains, you'll be the first to know."
I was stood a little behind Cederic, not wanting to catch eye contact with his father. He seemed very judgemental and I would like to be introduced to him properly, rather than in a passing conversation.
"Father and I are in the Minister's box," I heard Draco speak up. Ron turned his head to me, flashing me an 'I told you so' look. "By personal invitation of Cornelius Fudge, himself!"
I peaked around Cederic, slightly, to see his father jabbing him with his cane. "Don't boast, Draco," he scolded him. "There's no need with these people." Harry began to pull Hermione away but Draco's father put his cane on Harry's foot through the bars to stop him from moving. "Do enjoy yourself won't you," he told him with a bitter voice, "while you can."
My curiosity got the best of me and I made my way to the bars, looking over at Draco. He was in a full black suit, nothing that I had ever seen him in before. He looked as though he had grown a few inches over the summer. My eyes landed on his ring, the same one he wore all last year. My eyes made their way up to his face to see him looking up at me, a shadow of a smile on his face. I forced one back as Fred and George unintentionally pulled me away.
It wasn't long before we all made our way to the top. The crowd was roaring with excitement but I felt something in my chest that prevented me from matching the energy. I felt so low. I hadn't felt this way in a long time. I heard Mr Weasley uttering something about the seats being worth it but I didn't really listen in much.
Fred and George were leaning over the bar, yelling at the pitch with excitement. When I didn't join in, they turned around to face me. "What's wrong with you, faceache?" Fred questioned, while George nudged me before pulling me closer to the railings.
I shrugged my shoulders but George almost threw me over his shoulder, jumping up and down in excitement until Mr Weasley scolded him for acting so stupid when we were so high up. I finally laughed along with them until the Irish flew right over our heads on their broomsticks. "It's the Irish!" Fred yelled while George pointed out all of the players to me.
A large firework boomed in the sky of an Irishman dancing. We were all looking up in awe at the magical firework until the Bulgarians flew into it, causing it to disappear. Fred and George chanted as the Bulgarians flew on to the pitch. They pointed out Viktor Krum, apparently the best seeker in the world.
"Good evening!" The Minister's voice echoed loudly across the stadium. "As Minister of Magic, it gives me great pleasure to welcome each and every one of you to the final of the 442nd Quidditch World Cup!" The stadium became a lot quieter to listen to what the Minister had to say, all excited and anticipating the match that was about to begin. "Let the match begin!"