A Cup Affair

Chapter One

Good evening, everybody! Hope everything's alright with you guys!

It's been quite some time, but I gotta admit: surgical residency has taken its toll on me and my creativity.

I was trying to look at my non-published wip and found this one! It's actually a translation of a story I've already posted in Portuguese and had forgotten. I'll try to post it every Sunday - if not possible, either Saturday or Monday should do it.

The whole thing is translated already, but I'm revising and fine-tuning it. It was originally written in 2018 during Russia FIFA World Cup, and as a few of you know, English is not my native tongue, so there will be mistakes and you won't be able to discern between British and American English because I'm not great at it.

Nothing further to add, hope you enjoy this multi-chaptered 1982 wizarding adventure!

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Lily absolutely despised working with celebrities. This was general knowledge in the Ministry of Magic. Every time Alastor Moody put her in charge of a case that involved someone mildly famous, she'd roll her eyes and curse under her breath, indicating her clear distaste for the job.

Moody didn't even flinch.

"Is there a problem with the case, Miss Evans?" he'd ask, fixating both of his eyes on her (Lily had learnt a long time ago to not appear intimidated by the odd and vibrating fake eye that the Head Auror possessed).

"To be honest, sir..."

Moody wouldn't let her finish. He'd throw the case files on her table and nod, saying, "reckoned there wasn't. Good luck."

Lily's problem wasn't, as many imagined, the celebrity per se. She had nothing against the person, even if, more often than not, she had to bring the famous being back to reality. What really bothered her was the attention brought to the case, and how much harder it made her job.

And, of course, she hated being under the spotlights.

Lily had always been the sort of person who preferred to be on the backstage rather than being the star. She liked to act subtly, and seeing her name on the papers whenever a case got more attention than usual always made her uncomfortable. Her best friend Marlene considered it hilarious, which only exasperated Lily.

"'...and once again, Lily Evans did not let the fact that she is young interfere with the investigation, and was able to identify and capture the culprit in only two days. Despite her good work, the Pretty Red refused to be interviewed, claiming a busy schedule'." Marlene had read in the morning after Lily's latest arrest. "At least they called you pretty this time," she said with a huge smile while Lily got up from her desk.

"Honestly, Marlene, I've got no idea why you still read these articles," Lily retorted, blushing, while she took her purse to leave for lunch.

"Because I love to see you this mad, Pretty Red," Marlene replied, openly laughing now. Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Lily! You don't like the attention, but most of the time it's positive. Everybody loved how you dealt with the Contraband Cauldrons Case."

"I particularly hated how my two following cases were muddled by reporters who wanted a picture. Even more when they followed me into The Leaky Cauldron."

Marlene laughed again before they apparated at the restaurant they had chosen to meet up with Remus Lupin. Despite Lily's reluctance with the press, Remus, who worked on a weekly paper, was one of her best friends.

Lily soon recognized him by his frail appearance and remembered that the full moon was near – it was an easy assumption because of the bags under his eyes and how messy his light-brown hair was. But the way he smiled as he saw Lily and Marlene was just the same.