Haley Potter and The Goblet Of Fire

The Quidditch World Cup

"Blimey, Dad, how far up are we?" Ron asked excitedly.

"Well, put it this way," came an almost familiar voice, "if it rains, you'll be the first to know."

"Lucius," Mr. Weasley whispered, his anger evident but restrained.

"Father and I are in the Minister's box, by personal invitation of Cornelius Fudge himself," Draco said with a taunting tone. He was dressed in an all-black suit, his platinum hair slicked back, and his usual sneer in place. Oh, how much Haley loathed this boy.

"Don't boast, Draco. There is no need with these people," Lucius reprimanded.

Haley took Hermione's hand and started walking, but before she could get far, Lucius trapped her wrist between the railing and the hand grip of his fancy walking stick.

"Do enjoy yourself, won't you... while you can, Potter?" And with that, Lucius left.

Draco, however, looked at Haley with a mysterious expression, one she seemed to be getting a lot from him lately, and then walked away. Haley had no idea what to think of it. The trio continued to their box and settled down, the weight of Lucius Malfoy's words hanging over her.

As the World Cup finally began, the excitement and cheers filled the air, but Haley couldn't shake the ominous feeling that something was going to happen. She tried to push down that feeling, focusing on the match and the magical spectacle before her.

The first stage of the match is a display from the team mascots. The mascots for the Bulgarian team are veela. Veela look like beautiful women. They enchant every man in the stadium to forget everything else but their beauty.

Then, the Irish mascots come on the field: they're leprechauns. The leprechauns make gold rain down on the stands. Ron gives Haley a handful of leprechaun gold for the Omnioculars Haley bought him. Then the Irish and Bulgarian teams come flying on to the Quidditch field. Play starts off fast and furious. The Irish team has a really organized offensive formation, and they're scoring one goal after another. 

But even though Ireland's score is going up and up, everyone is most impressed by the Bulgarian Seeker. Viktor Krum gets in some really fancy and difficult flying. Aidan Lynch, the Seeker on the Irish team, flies straight into the ground trying to keep up with Krum. Things are definitely getting tense. Finally, all of a sudden, as Ireland is now leading Bulgaria 170 to 10, Aidan Lynch (even though probably a little stunned) spots the Snitch. 

He and Krum fly for it, but Krum is better on a broomstick. Krum gets the Snitch. So the final result of this Quidditch World Cup Match is Bulgaria 160 to Ireland 170 – Ireland wins, but Bulgaria got the Snitch. Ludo Bagman (who's been announcing for the game) calls the final result. 

Haley, Hermione, and Ron agree that Krum had no other choice but to catch the Snitch when he did – Bulgaria was never going to catch up. Hermione thinks Krum "was very brave", but deep inside they both know Hermione is swooned by him. The whole stadium is cheering for Ireland and for Krum. As Ludo stops his announcing, Fred and Cass are waiting for him: they won their bet with him about the outcome of the game.

Mr. Weasley warned Fred and Cass not to tell Mrs. Weasley that they've been gambling. The whole campground is filled with celebrations for the Ireland performers. There's lots of singing and noise – the night is going to be a long one. Haley, Hermione, and Ron decide to go to sleep.

Mr. Weasley just then woke Haley urgently and said "No time, Haley – just grab a jacket and get outside – quickly!"

People outside are screaming. There's a crowd of wizards moving through the campground setting tents on fire and frightening everyone. They're wearing hoods and masks. They are making a family of Muggles – Mr. Roberts, his wife, and two children – float through the air sixty feet above the ground. They're laughing at the terror of the poor Muggles.

"Fred! Cass! Ginny is your responsibility. Run all of you.. stick together and get to the Portkey!" With that, Mr. Weasley and the older Weasley brothers take off to help the Ministry get the crowd under control. Haley, Ron, Hermione, Fred, Cass, and Ginny all head towards the forest to hide. They have the misfortune of bumping into Draco Malfoy.

"Granger, you'll need to run faster than your friends if you want to protect yourself. And Potter, aren't you supposed to take better care of yourself? They won't leave you alone, not after you made the Dark Lord disappear. Trust me, they care more about you than anyone else," Malfoy sneered before leaving.

Hermione instinctively held back Ron and Haley from reacting to Malfoy's taunts. However, in the chaos that followed, the group got separated, and a frenzied crowd swarmed in, snatching Haley away in the opposite direction. She stumbled and fell to the ground, and as the crowd surged, she was accidentally struck on the head and stepped on, causing her to lose consciousness.

The last image that registers in Haley's mind is Hermione, her voice filled with desperation, screaming her name before the crowd engulfs them, and fire breaks out, adding to the mayhem.