The Potion Princess

The World Cup (part 2)

The Irish had won.

Not only did the Irish win, but they won in the exact way that Fred and George had predicted they would, which put them in an even better mood than normal.  Audra, Clary, and Emmeline had just ducked into the Weasley's tent when Fred and George all but flattened them; the moment the three girls stood back up they were surrounded by a mob of vibrant red hair, freckles, and an overwhelming amount of green. 

"We won!  Can you believe it?"  Fred still had an arm around her neck, pulling Audra into his side with an almost painful amount of force.  She was just about to give him a hard jab in the ribs when Ginny grabbed onto her hands and pulled her out into the middle of the tent, spinning her round in circles in a strange kind of victory dance that involved a lot of hair flips and hand motions.  It wasn't until Mr. Weasley levitated mugs of hot chocolate in from the kitchen that the group settled down, and now that the overwhelming excitement of the past few days had abated somewhat, Audra began to realize exactly how tired she was. 

Sitting around the table with all of them was a change of pace from the types of activities Audra had been doing, but she still enjoyed it just as much.  Like Harry, she didn't say much, content just to listen to the conversation swirling around her.  She wasn't sure which one to listen to- Hermione and Ginny's heated debate with Harry about lack of gender equality in the quidditch league, during which Hermione badly butchered the pronunciations of the names and Harry seemed to become quickly confused, Emmeline's interrogation of Bill about the curses he had come across while working, or Fred and George's spontaneous outbursts of popular wizarding music.   Sitting like this felt right, like home, as comforting as a warm blanket or the sight of the Platform in the fall.  Coming from a childhood like hers, she had never managed to take moments like these for granted, and now she was trying to commit it all to memory.  She wanted a picture of it, with Mr. Weasley smiling at them fondly, Clary and Emmeline with hands intertwined, and one of the twin's arms a familiar weight across her shoulders. 

Just when the conversation in the tent had died down, Ron decided to make another astounding observation, poking his little Krum figure into motion and proclaiming, "Flies like a bird, he does!"  This incited another round of teasing and catcalls from his brothers, starting the process all over again. They were soon shouting and chasing one another around the tent, Ginny cornering Charlie against the sofa and Harry climbing to safety on one of the bunk beds. 

This didn't stop for a very long time, during which George broke his nose and had it magically repaired, Hermione quoted Hogwarts, a History  several times, Ron professed his love for Krum, and Harry got his glasses knocked to the floor and the group had to put a hold on the celebration until they were located. 

It was Mr. Weasley who finally called a halt, seeming to notice how the shouts from outside were becoming considerably more rowdy and drunken, and decided that it was time for the three girls to head back to their tent while they could still do so safely.  "Unless you want to stay here?"  He offered, not for the first time.

"We'll be fine, Mr. Weasley."  Clary smiled at him.  They had only met in passing before tonight, but seeing as how she came from muggle parents and he could quiz her endlessly, Mr. Weasley had become quite fond of her.  "Vance is staying with us."

"Still."  He said the word in a tone that made Audra think that he knew exactly what kind of things they had been getting up to, and knew that her brother had no intention of keeping an eye on them.  "If you need anything, you know where we are.  Maybe someone should walk you over there?"

Fred and George volunteered, which was lucky, because Percy had looked ready to prove that he was a much better guardian than Vance.  The twins and Audra hung back, letting Clary and Emmeline get ahead.  "Thanks for letting me come over.  I'm going to miss your family more than mine during school this year."