Until the Very End

The Quidditch World Cup

Harry had bought Ron and Hermione Omnioculars (after slight protest from Ron, Harry said that those were his Christmas present for about ten years, which made Ron feel better) and Hermione bought programs as souvenirs for the Cup. Bill, Charlie, and Ginny were sporting green rosettes, and Mr. Weasleys was carrying an Irish flag. Fred and George had not souvenirs as they had given Bagman all their gold.

Hermione, who had bought a set of eight programs, went over to Fred and George and handed them each one with a small smile. George grinned and side-hugged her while Fred looked at her as though she was the best person on the face of the earth.

"Thanks, 'Mione," he grinned, giving her a full-on hug. He pulled away quickly so as to not draw suspicion, but continued to smile at her as she stood in front of them.

"No problem," she looked down and tucked a bit of hair behind her ear. "I thought that since you two don't have any souvenirs, you could at least use a program. I figured they'd be useful, and now you can look up names and facts and--" she stopped when she saw them smiling at her. "What?"

"Oh, nothing. You're just the nicest person ever," George smirked at her.

"Yeah, and we wish we were as good of friends to you as you are to us," Fred flipped through the pages of his program.

Hermione blushed. "You two are good friends, even if we don't hang out. My being friends with Ron and Ginny practically makes me a part of your family," she laughed lightly.

And then a deep, booming gong sounded somewhere beyond the woods, and at once, green and red lanterns blazed into life in the trees, lighting a path to the field.

"It's time!" said Mr. Weasley, looking as excited as any of them. "Come on, let's go!"

As the rest of the group started walking along the lantern-adorned path, Hermione handing out programs to Bill, Charlie, and Ginny, (Percy had his own 'official Ministry-provided program, but thank you') Fred and George stayed a few paces behind. George leaned over to reach his brother's ear.

"Yeah, if only she was really part of the Weasley family," he whispered slyly.

"Oh, bugger off."

"Never."

*********

Clutching their purchases, Mr. Weasley in the lead, they all hurried into the wood, following the lantern-lit trail. They could hear the sounds of thousands of people moving around them, shouts of laughter, snatches of singing. The atmosphere of feverish excitement was highly infectious; Harry couldn't stop grinning, and Hermione felt really happy, for some reason she couldn't explain. They walked through the wood for twenty minutes, talking and joking loudly, until at last they emerged on the other side and found themselves in the shadow of a gigantic stadium. Though Hermione could only see a fraction of the immense gold walls surrounding the field, she could tell that ten cathedrals would fit comfortably inside it.

"Seats a hundred thousand," said Mr. Weasley, spotting the awestruck looks on Harry's and Hermione's faces. "Ministry task force of five hundred have been working on it all year. Muggle Repelling Charms on every inch of it. Every time Muggles have got anywhere near here all year, they've suddenly remembered urgent appointments and had to dash away again...bless them," he added fondly, leading the way toward the nearest entrance, which was already surrounded by a swarm of shouting witches and wizards.

"Prime seats!" said the Ministry witch at the entrance when she checked their tickets. "Top Box! Straight upstairs, Arthur, and as high as you can go."

Mr. Weasley's party climbed and climbed, and at last they reached the top of the staircase and found themselves in a small box, set at the highest point of the stadium and situated exactly halfway between the golden goal posts. About twenty purple-and-gilt chairs stood in two rows here, and Hermione, filing into the front seats with the Weasleys, looked down upon a scene the likes of which she could never have imagined.