Neophobia | H. POTTER [2]

1 | portkey

"Harry!" Hermione shouted as she shook the boy awake. His eyes shot open and he was still flustered and panicking from whatever he had been dreaming about. "Are you alright?"

"Hermione," he breathed out as he rubbed his head. "Bad dream," he explained as he looked around for a moment, "When did you get here?"

"Just now," she replied, "You?"

"Last night," he answered as he sat up.

Hermione made her way over to Ron's bed. "Wake up," she tried, "Wake up, Ronald!"

"Bloody hell," Ron groaned.

"Honestly," she rolled her eyes. "Get dressed," she ordered, "And don't go back to sleep." She flipped the lights on as she approached the door, "Come on, Ron! Your mother says breakfast is ready."

"Is Abby here?" Harry asked as the three of them made their way downstairs.

"Not sure," Hermione shrugged. "As soon as I got here, I came straight up here." They entered the kitchen to see the table had food on it. Ginny sat with Abigail discussing something as they waited for everyone else to arrive.

"There's no way," Abigail protested. "I don't believe it."

"Just because you don't believe it, doesn't make it not true," Ginny countered and Abigail nodded.

"Touché."

"Hey," Hermione greeted with a smile as she took a seat and Ron and Harry sat down next to her. "When did you get here?"

"Oh, I got here last night," she answered as she turned to face forward. Her eyes flickered overed to Harry for a brief moment before she quickly looked away. "It was late so I just went straight to bed."

Harry watched her curiously. She seemed to have gotten a lot older over the summer and the bags under her eyes were far more prominent then he remembered, indicating that she was barely sleeping or possibly not sleeping at all. He glanced down at his plate before anyone could notice that he had been staring and pushed the food around.

"Out the door everyone," Arthur Weasley suggested as he ushered everyone out of the house. The kids followed one another out, "We'll be late if we don't hurry."

"Where are actually going?" Harry asked Ron as they all started to walk to wherever the intended destination was.

"Don't know," Ron shrugged before calling to his father who was up ahead. "Hey Dad!" he shouted. "Where are you going?"

"Haven't the foggiest," he replied, glancing back. "Keep up!"

Harry slowed down so that he kept in pace with Abigail who was at the back of the group. "Hey," he greeted and she looked up, pulling away from whatever she had been thinking about. She smiled at him but it didn't appear to meet her eyes and he frowned slightly.

They had been talking all summer, exchanging letters constantly. At least that was how it was up until about two weeks ago when she stopped replying to him. He wasn't sure if she just hadn't gotten them or she didn't want to talk to him anymore. He waited a week before sending another one and when she didn't respond to that one either, he decided it was best to just drop it.

"Hi," she replied. He opened his mouth to ask her the question that had been bugging him for awhile now but they could hear voices from up ahead and he clamped his mouth shut.

"Arthur!" a man shouted in greeting as they arrived at a bottom of a hill of sorts. "It's about time son."

"Sorry, Amos," Arthur apologized, "Some of us had a bit of a sleepy start." He turned to face the kids, "This is Amos Diggory everyone, he works with me at the ministry." He looked over at the boy who was next to the older man, "And this strapping young lad must be Cedric, am I right?"

"Yes, sir," the boy replied with a nod.

"Merlin's beard," Amos gaped as his eyes landed on Harry. Abigail took the distraction as an opportunity to move away from the boy and join Ginny and Hermione as they made their way up the hill. "You must be Harry Potter."

"Yes, sir," he confirmed although he was a little distracted as he watched Abigail walk away,

"Great, great pleasure," he grinned, taking the boy's hand in his own and shaking it.

"Pleasure to meet you too, sir."

Everyone migrated up the hill and once they were all at the top, he pointed at an object that was at the center, "That's it sir, just over there."

"Shall we?" Amos suggested and they all circled around the old shoe. "We don't want to be late."

"Why are they all standing around that manky old boot?" Harry asked as he looked at it in confusion.

"That isn't just any old manky boot mate," Fred pointed out.

George nodded, "It's a portkey."

They all reached forward and placed their hand on the boot except for Harry. "Time to go," Amos pointed out, "Ready?"

Abigail glanced behind herself to find Harry still confused. "What's a 'portkey'?" he asked.

"After three," Amos announced. "One...Two..." Abigail quickly reached out and pulled Harry toward herself by his hand. "Three." Her hand was over his as she placed it on the boot just in time. There was a white flash before they were all flying through the air.

Harry looked over at Abigail for a moment when Arthur shouted, "Let go kids!"

"What?" Hermione exclaimed in surprise.

"Let! Go!" he shouted once more and they all obeyed.

Harry, Hermione and the Weasley children crashed to the ground with a thud. A moment later, Arthur, Amos, Cedric and Abigail lowered to the floor far more gracefully.

"I bet that cleared your sinuses, eh?" Arthur joked.

Abigail mader her way over to where Harry laid on the floor. She reached her hand down and he placed his hand in hers. She helped him to his feet and he smiled at her, "Thanks." She sent him a tight-lipped smile and a nod before walking over and re-joining Ginny and Hermione.

The group made their way across the field and the massive crowd could be seen cheering. There were tents set up in almost every empty space. "You're Professor Lupin's daughter, aren't you?" Cedric asked from beside her and she jumped. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

She looked over at him and ignored the flash of green, "Yes. I'm Abigail."

He stuck his hand out for her to shake, "Cedric."

"Well kids, welcome to the Quidditch World Cup!" Arthur grinned as he gestured ahead of him.

Abigail looked around, a slight frown on her face. She was hesitant about joining the Weasley's. She told her dad that she would have preferred staying home and working at The Leaky Cauldron so he had enough money to last him in between jobs. He insisted that she go and have fun.

She had been staying at the Leaky Cauldron every full moon for as long as she could remember. By the time she would have been able to stay in their home alone, she had come to enjoy her monthly trips to the inn. And after she returned from Hogwarts, he offered her summer job so she could earn some extra money.

Abigail insisted on the money going into the funds to pay for rent and everything but her father said she should keep it. She reminded him that it would still be benefiting her and she didn't need the money. After much deliberation, they agreed seventy five percent would go to the house and she would keep twenty five percent for herself.

"Are you okay?" someone asked her. She shook her head and saw that it was Cedric talking to her. She figured he would have walked away but he hadn't. The whole group had stopped in front of a small tent, wizards on brooms flying overhead.

"Parting of the ways I think old chap," Amos announces, "See you at the match."

Abigail looked around for a moment before looking back at Cedric who was watching her with a curious expression. "I'm fine," she answered, shaking her head slightly. "I should go."

He nodded although he appeared confused, "I'll see you at school then."

"Right, school," she agreed passively before she turned away, making her way into the tent where everyone else had gone.