Hogwarts is My Home (A Harry Potter Fanfiction), Part 4/7

Chapter 2

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the fabulous @ravenclawpride_ because she's just now trying out fanfiction and she's into Harry Potter right now so you should go check out her fanfictions :) she also stole the name for my characters but I love her anyway! 

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I wake up around 9:00 because of the sunlight filtering in through the fibers of the tent. Everyone else is already up. We're not allowed to use magic, so Draco and I go to get water from the pump. Of course, there's only one. We're pretty close to the pump, though, we're just farther away from the field. We have to walk through the Bulgarian sector of the field, with green, red, and white flags flying high. Their tents are covered with posters of a surly-looking man.

"Who's that?" I ask Draco.

"Viktor Krum, Bulgarian Seeker," Draco says. "Rumored to be the best Seeker in the world. I don't think so, though."

"Who do you think is the best Seeker in the world?" I ask him.

"Me," he says. I give him a look. "No, just kidding. It is Krum."

"But you just said --" I begin.

"Shush. Let's go take a detour and see the Irish. Go Ireland!" he exclaims.

We navigate through the crowded Bulgarian section of the campsite. I can see a sea of bright green not too far away. We get there and there's shamrocks everywhere! Green, green, and more green.

"Ashlyn!" I hear a shout from across the campsite. Hmm, who do I know that has an Irish accent? Hi Seamus.

"Seamus!" I shout back. He reaches us and I give him a hug. "I know you said you would be here, I just didn't know where you were."

"Our tent is over there. Dean's here, too," he says. "Come on." I glance at Draco.

"Go ahead, I'll get the water," he says. Seamus looks at Draco.

"Malfoy," he says stiffly.

"Finnigan," Draco says back. He goes off to get the water.

"Let's go," Seamus says, back to his lively self. I follow him to another, you guessed it, bright green tent.

"Mam!" Seamus shouts into the tent. A sandy-haired woman comes out. "Mam, this is Ashlyn, my Potions tutor."

"Ah, I've been looking forward to meeting you! Seamus has told me so much about you" Mrs. Finnigan says. I look at Seamus, he looks awkward. "I'm Cassandra," Mrs. Finnigan says. She holds out her hand for me to shake. I shake it.

"Ashlyn," I introduce myself.

"Come in, come in!" she says enthusiastically. "We just finished breakfast. Would you care for a cup of tea?"

"That would be great," I say. She bustles around the kitchen of their tent, getting the tea ready. I see Dean sitting at the table, an empty plate in front of him.

"Hey Dean," I say to him. Dean looks from me to Seamus to me again. He seems to be stifling a laugh.

"Hey Ashlyn," he says. Yup, he's definitely stifling a laugh. Mrs. Finnigan comes to us with the tea.

"Sit, sit!" she says. She hands me a cup of tea.

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Finnigan," I say politely.

"Please, call me Cassandra. I'm not much for formalities," she says.

"Okay then, Cassandra," I say. I've been taught my whole life in the orphanage to always address adults as Mr. or Mrs. This feels weird.

"I think you've helped my Seamus so much in Potions," Cassandra says.

"He definitely doesn't blow stuff up as much," I say. Everyone laughs.

"And you're in Slytherin, am I correct?" Cassandra asks.

"Yes I am," I say. She makes a tutting noise.

"Shame, Gryffindor could have used you well. I hear you're also an excellent Chaser," she says.

"Oh. . . I'm alright," I say. She seems delighted.

"And so modest, too! Seamus talks about you a lot," she begins. I look at Seamus. He gives his mom a 'cut-it-out' look. She doesn't get the signal. "He says you're really nice, smart, funny, pretty --"

"All right, mam," Seamus says. "I'm so glad Ashlyn could join us for tea, but I think Draco is waiting for her."

"Oh, no, I think she can stay for a little longer!" Cassandra says.

"I'm sorry, Seamus is probably right," I apologize. "Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy probably don't want to be kept waiting. Thank you so much for the tea!"

"Anytime, dear, anytime," Cassandra says. I wave and leave.

As soon as I'm out of the tent, Dean bursts out laughing. There's a poof and an 'ow!' from Dean. It sounds like Seamus just threw one of the couch pillows at Dean. I chuckle softly to myself. Seamus looks exactly like his mum, except in guy form. I find Draco with the bucket full to the brim with water. We go back to the tent.

* * *

The tension grows as the afternoon wears on. By dusk, I'm surprised the campsites haven't exploded. I'm surprised I haven't exploded. The Ministry has stopped trying to cover up signs of magic. There are merchants Apparating every few feet. We walk through the crowd, buying stuff. I buy everything Ireland-related I can find: a green rosette that shouts the Irish players' names, a pointed green hat with dancing shamrocks, an Irish flag that plays the Irish national anthem, and a tiny model of a Firebolt with a figurine of my favorite Irish Chaser, Alexandra Moran.

There's also these really cool things called Omnioculars, which look like binoculars with dials and knobs all over them. They can replay action, slow everything down, and have a play-by-play breakdown. Draco and I each buy one. There's a deep, booming gong through the trees. Green and red lanterns light a path to the stadium. It's time to go!