ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴅʀᴀᴛᴛᴇᴅ ʟɪʟᴀ ʜᴏʟᴍᴇꜱ || ᴅʀᴀᴄᴏ ᴍᴀʟꜰᴏʏ x ᴏᴄ || ʏᴇᴀʀ 4

under pressure

After a few hours had gone by, the Ministry must have said 'to hell with Muggle security.' Salesmen were Apparating everywhere and Ron, Hermione, Harry, and I had decided to look around at the merchandise.

We returned to the tents an hour or so later with our souvenirs, including one Krum figurine (Ron's), four pairs of Omnioculars (courtesy of Harry), four programs (from Hermione), and a shit ton of green rosettes in support of Ireland (and fear of Mrs. Finnegan) from me. Fred and George thanked me profusely for the rosettes.

"Why don't you come be our sister instead?" said Fred slyly.

"I heard that!" Ginny said sharply, fastening her own rosette to her shirt.

"You didn't buy us any souvenirs." George said pointedly.

We relaxed again for a few minutes until suddenly, there was a deep, loud gong sounding from somewhere in the distance. In the dusk, red and green lanterns lit a path through the trees and the campground began to stir with anticipation.

"It's time!" Mr. Weasley hopped up excitedly. "Come on, let's go!"

Mr. Weasley lead us down the lanterned path. It was like going to a very crowded concert for a world-renowned band. There were thousands of people shouting and laughing and singing with excitement. I found the atmosphere rather infectious, and we talked loudly and joked around until we finally reached the end of the path. I took in the sight before me with amazement.

"Seats a hundred thousand," said Mr. Weasley. "Ministry task force of five hundred have been working on it all year. Muggle Repelling Charms on every inch of it." There were multiple entrances into the stadium, and Mr. Weasley lead us towards the nearest one.

"Prime seats! Top Box!" said the Minsitry witch who checked our tickets. "Straight upstairs, Arthur, and as high as you can go!"

There was a deep purple carpet over the stairs of the stadium, and I looked around, awestruck, at the pure amount of seats. Looking at the field itself, I saw the hoops had to be at least fifty feet high.

There were already plenty of people inside the Top Box, but of course the first person I locked eyes with was Lucius Malfoy. Draco was caged in between him and his mother, jaw set and eyes fixed pointedly ahead. Both of Draco's parents looked like they were rather peeved by our presence, and were looking at me with disdain. Instead of glaring back, like I wanted to, I bared my teeth in a smile before turning around. I turned slow enough so I could see that the pair looked properly taken aback, and Draco was biting his cheek trying not to smile himself.

Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, had stood and was welcoming us in. The last time I'd seen Fudge was last year, after helping an escaped convict evade capture once more. I still thought it was hilarious that Draco had Confunded him. Other Ministry officials sat around chatting amongst themselves. Ludo Bagman was seated in the front row next to a house elf that had their eyes squeezed shut.

"It's almost time," said Ludo Bagman excitedly, checking his watch.

I took my seat beside Hermione, who had just sat down beside Ginny. I leaned in close to Hermione to whisper. "Whose elf is that?"

"I'm not sure," she frowned, looking deeply upset.

"Dobby?" Harry asked, sitting on its other side. The house elf looked up at him — definitely not Dobby. "Er, sorry."

"But I knows, Dobby too, sir!" The house elf explained. "My name is Winky! And you sir — you is surely Harry Potter!"

"I am," Harry agreed. "How is Dobby, then?"

"Dobby talks of you all the time, sir, but you have not done a good thing for Dobby," Winky looked scornful — an impressive feat for a house elf. "Dobby can't find anywhere to work, see."