01
It was early in the morning of late July when a loud bang came from outside the window and woke up Hermione Granger. She groaned as she rolled out of bed and let in the familiar grey owl that was laying on the roof just below the window. Errol, who belonged to the Weasley family, was one of the oldest owls she had ever seen. As he hopped inside, Hermione noticed the envelope attached to his leg, most likely a letter from her friend Ron. She untied the string holding the envelope to the owl's leg and opened it. Enclosed was a newspaper clipping from the Daily Prophet, along with a short letter.
"QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP TO BE HELD IN ENGLAND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 30 YEARS"
Hermione opened the letter with a grin-- she had heard from Ron a lot more than usual this summer, since he was stuck at home with his family.
Hermione,
Dad scored tickets to the Quidditch World Cup! Can you believe it? Anyways, mum wants to know if you can come stay with us for the rest of the summer if you can come to the game with us. Send me a reply as soon as possible if you can come. We can come to your house tomorrow at noon.
Hope to see you soon,
Ron
P.S. Dad connected your fireplace to the floo network on Saturday until we can come and get you.
Hermione stared at the letter for a few seconds before running down to the kitchen to where she knew her parents would be.
"Mum! Dad! Guess what? Ron's dad got tickets to the Quidditch World Cup! And they've asked if I want to go and spend the rest of the summer with them!" Said Hermione ecstatically.
"Oh sweetie! That sounds wonderful! Of course you can go. When are you going? Do you need us to drive you?" Her mother asked.
"No, it's alright, mum. They're flooing here tomorrow at noon."
"Remind me what flooing is again, dear?" Asked her father.
"It's one of the ways that wizards travel. They have this dust called Floo powder, and you throw it into the fireplace and it can take you anywhere in the world as long as their fireplace is connected to the Floo Network. Mr. Weasley connected our fireplace a couple days ago so they could come pick me up."
"Oh, alright dear. That's lovely. Would you like a waffle?" Asked Hermione's mother, who couldn't keep up with how fast her daughter was speaking.
"Yes please mum. I just need to respond to Ron first. I'll be back in a few." Hermione ran upstairs and wrote her response.
Ron,
YES. I asked my parents and they said I can come to the World Cup and stay at yours for the rest of the summer. I can't believe your dad got the tickets! I've still got to eat breakfast but I'll make sure to give Eroll some of my waffle.
Love from,
Hermione
The day went by in a flash. Hermione packed all of her clothes and books into her trunk, along with her key to her Gringotts vault and her wand. Hermione was excited to see her friends again. Sure, she had been talking to Ron for most of the summer, she missed the wild sense of home and love that you could only find in the company of the Weasleys.When she had finished preparing, Hermione relaxed and spent the rest of the day with crookshanks and her parents, who's dental office was undergoing renovations.
The next day, Hermione woke up at the crack of dawn, and so did the butterflies in her stomach. She usually got nervous before leaving the house, especially if she wasn't returning for a while. She was worried that her upset stomach wouldn't allow her to eat, but when she saw the breakfast that her parents had prepared, her mouth was watering, and her stomach started to growl, demanding that she eat at least one of everything. Fresh fruit, eggs, breakfast sausages and muffins from Hermione's favourite bakery were arranged on the table, and her parents were drinking orange juice in their regular seats as Hermione sat down at their circular dining table.
"We'll miss you loads Hermione," Her mother said softly, grabbing Hermione's hand.
"Have fun at school. And come home for Christmas this year!" Said her father. "Your Aunt Catherine and your cousins are coming here, and I'm sure Ella and Emmett will want to see you."
"Thanks mum, thanks dad. I'll miss you too. I'll try my best to come home, but it depends on my studies," Hermione replied. "I've got my first set of really important wizarding exams next year, I want to make sure I'm prepared."
"Well don't push yourself too hard, Hermione. You should have fun too," Hermione's mother said.
"Don't worry, mum. I'm sure Harry, Ron and I will have loads of fun this year."
At noon , Hermione waited in the living room with her trunk by her side and Crookshanks in his cage on her lap when the flames in the fireplace grew especially large and George Weasley jumped out. Hermione's stomach swooped, her nervousness suddenly disappearing as she got up and hugged her best friend's brother.
"Hermione! Great to see you! Where's your trunk? Would you like a treat?" As George held out a handful of taffies, Fred came out of the fireplace and put his hand on his brother's shoulder, pulling him backwards.
"George no! We've got to test them on the muggle! That way mum won't find out yet, and we can get back at him for Harry!" He said hurriedly, looking behind him towards the fireplace.
"You're not giving a trick to my dad, are you?" Asked Hermione. The twins' pranks could get out of control, and she didn't want to leave her home for almost a year after her dad was injured, or worse.
"Blimey no!" Exclaimed Fred. "It's that sorry excuse of a cousin of Harry's that we're trying to get. Harry told us he was on a diet, that just makes him even more desperate for treats!" The twins snickered as Mr. Weasley appeared in the fireplace.
"Hello Hermione, great to see you again! Are you all ready to go? You've got your trunk packed?" Hermione nodded her head and gestured to the trunk and cage behind her. "Excellent. Ron's on his way right now, Ginny insisted on coming, but we didn't know how large your fireplace was. Anyways, as soon as Ron gets here, we'll get ready to go." Right as Mr. Weasley finished, a blast of fire shot up in the fireplace, and Ron stumbled into the living room.
"Dad, Ginny is relentless. She told me if we didn't come back with Hermione in five minutes that she would floo here herself," Ron warned. Then, covered in ashes, Ron made his way over to Hermione and gave her a hug.
"Nice to see you Hermione," he shrugged.
"You too, Ron," Hermione replied as her father came into the room.
"Ah! Hello Arthur, how do you do?" Asked Mr. Granger as he walked upstairs.
"Oh! I'm very well, thank you William, and you?"
"Oh I am fine, thank you. Jean dear! Arthur and his children are here!" He shouted down the stairs.
Ms. Granger rushed upstairs and smiled at Mr. Weasley. "Hello Arthur," she greeted. "Hello Ron, Fred, George, how are you all?" She asked politely.
"Good," the siblings murmured, impatiently and awkwardly looking around the room and fidgeting.
"Alright boys, that's enough, grab Hermione's things and let's get going."Mr. Weasley said before turning back to Hermione's parents. "It was wonderful seeing you again, thank you for letting Hermione stay with us for the rest of the holidays."
Hermione watched as George grabbed her trunk and Fred grabbed Crookshanks' cage and they disappeared into the fire, followed by Ron. Hermione hugged her parents goodbye and followed them into the fireplace, still ablaze from when Ron left.
On the morning of the World Cup tournament, Hermione woke up bright and early to the smell of food cooking in the kitchen. Hermione felt spoiled. During the past two weeks that she had spent with the Weasley family, Mrs. Weasley had cooked every meal for them. Hermione was used to fixing her own breakfast and lunch. She quietly stepped over a sleeping Ginny and tiptoed down the stairs to avoid waking up Harry and the rest of the Weasley family. Not to her surprise, Mrs. Weasley was cooking a large pot of porridge and treacle for everyone. However, there were two guests who didn't have red hair or a lightning scar who were sitting at the table. At her footsteps, they turned around and revealed their faces.
One was a boy, a few years older than her, who she recognized from Hogwarts: Cedric Diggory. He was as handsome as all the girls at school claimed; she would know, Lavender and Parvati talked about him and his friend Ian almost constantly in the Gryffindor girls' dorm. His dark hair was tousled and his grey eyes gleamed as he smiled and greeted Hermione. She immediately became self conscious of her bedhead and morning breath, and put up her hair. The other man must have been Cedric's father. He had the same facial features and the same dark hair as Cedric, but he had a much fairer complexion.
"Amos, Cedric, this is Hermione, she's one of Ron and Ginny's friends. She'll be joining you lot for the game," said Mrs. Weasley.
"Hi," greeted Cedric, holding out his hand. "I think we've met before. When I went to check on Harry after that dementor attack last year.
"Hello," she replied, smiling as she lightly shook the hand that he had offered. "Yes, I remember." Hermione looked to Ms. Weasley to hide the redness that grew on her cheeks. "That porridge smells wonderful, Mrs. Weasley."
"Thank you, dear. Breakfast won't be ready for another fifteen minutes, why don't you go take a shower before the boys and Ginny wake up," She suggested with a smile, obviously noticing the violent shade of red that had appeared on Hermione's face.
"Sure," Hermione said. She looked at Cedric once more and he grinned. She could feel the heat rise to her face, and continue to do so as she ran up the stairs.