The Wolf's Lion ~ Harry Potter (Editing)

Chapter Two | The Quidditch World Cup

The next fifteen minutes were a mad dash. The patriarch of the Weasley family had headed everyone out of the house and on a hike.

The quartet had no idea where they were being taken. All they knew is that they were hiking through the grass plains that were accessible from the Weasley house, now going up a rather large green hill.

"Where are we actually going?" Harry asked, voicing the question they were all pondering.

"Don't know. Hey Dad! Where are we going?" Ron shouted to his father, who was ahead of them, his silhouette visible against the bright sun

"Haven't the foggiest, keep up!" Arthur replied.

Ariana frowned, stumped. "He doesn't know where we're going?"

Harry shrugged and continued on, he and his friends all in a group as per usual.

Ariana regretted bring two rucksacks. If she was older, she would of been able to place a charm on her bags that made them as light as feathers, but that was not possible.

When they reached the brow of the hill, she made out two men standing at the top. One was shorter than the other with greying hair, clearly in his late forties to early fifties.

The other was a fellow Hogwarts student, Cedric Diggory. He was seventeen and a proud Hufflepuff. Ariana had never really spoken to him except the odd 'hello'. He was the envy of most girls in the school; tall, dark and handsome.

"Arthur! It's about time son," the older man exclaimed, apparently glad to see Mr. Weasley.

"Sorry Amos. Some of us had a bit of a sleepy start," Arthur apologised, then addressed his children and their friends. "This is Amos Diggory everyone, he works with me at the ministry. And this strapping young lad must be Cedric, am I right?"

"Yes sir," Cedric replied politely.

Amos noticed Harry, his eyes widening. "Merlin's beard, you must be Harry Potter."

"Yes sir."

"Great great pleasure," Amos smiled, shaking Harry's hand eagerly.

"Pleasure to meet you too sir," Harry responded.

Ariana knew she was about to be recognised and wished she was invisible. She was a very private person, and recognition was one of theast things she wanted. Nonetheless, she smiled when Amos turned to her.

"You must be Ariana O'Connor, delighted to meet you," he said kindly, shaking her right hand.

"The delight is all mine, sir," Ariana smiled respectfully, returning his sentiment.

With the slight introductions over, the growing group continued up the hill. The early morning sun was shining brightly, catching off of the droplets of dew on the plush grass beneath their feet. A few birds flew overhead, their songs carrying in the small amount of wind.

As Ariana walked, she was aware of the parchment folded in her jeans pocket. She wished she had the opportunity to read it, but the havoc of leaving had not given her the chance. Each second it lay in her pocket unread was painful, so the witch planned to analyse its contents as soon as possible.

"That's it, just over there," Mr. Weasley announced, pointing in front of him.

Ginny ran ahead of the group, eager to get going. Ariana brought up the rear with her friends. On top on the hill lay a disgusting old combat boot, looking as if it had been worn for a decade straight.

"Shall we? We don't want to be late," Amos enquired, hurrying to get everyone in position at the boot.

"Why are they all standing around that manky old boot?" Harry asked, not knowing what the others knew: it was a Portkey, an object that had been enchanted to act as a portal.

"That isn't just any old manky boot mate," Fred stated, appearing beside Harry.

"It's a portkey," George explained.

Ariana joined the others by the boot. Each person lay on their stomach with a hand in the boot, prepared to take off.

"Time to go. Ready?" Amos asked, lying in between his son and Arthur.

"What's a 'portkey'?" Harry enquired, still standing.

"An item that's been enchanted to act as a portal to a specific location," Ariana elaborated, jammed in between Hermione and Cedric.

Amos began counting down."After 3. One... Two..."

"Harry!" Arthur shouted urgently, seeing that the boy was about to be left behind.

Spurred on, Harry dashed over and grabbed the boot at the last second.

"Three!"

Ariana blinked when a violent flash of white cracked and the boot sucked them all into a portal. It felt as if she had been pulled into a black hole, the vacuum intense.

Suddenly, they were all flying through the air, rotating rapidly. Ariana was astounded when she did not feel like throwing up, which is what she had anticipated. It seemed like a quite natural way to travel, despite never having done it before now.

"Let go kids!" Arthur shouted over the wind that thumped in their ears.

"What??" screeched Hermione, thinking the idea was absurd and would get them killed.

"Let! Go!"

With Gryffindor bravery, Ariana released the boot and began tumbling down into the white mist that surrounded them. The witch gasped and screwed her eyes shut as she, Harry, Hermione and the young Weasleys fell.

In a flash, green grass appeared below them. All of them unceremoniously crashed to the ground, their bags falling around them like luggage rain.

Ariana groaned as pain radiated around her body from the impact, thankful she was still alive. She watched as Arthur, Cedric and Amos all glided down from the sky gracefully, landing on their feet.

"I bet that cleared your sinuses eh?" Mr. Weasley chuckled as he landed softly on his head.

A hand appeared in Ariana's line of vision, which she saw belonged to Cedric. She reached up and grasped his hand, allowing him to aid her as she stood up. "Thank you."

The boy smiled and nodded, than helped Harry to his feet. Once everyone had recovered their belongings, the younger people were lead across a field.

"Well kids, welcome to the Quidditch World Cup!" Arthur called, spreading his arms wide.

Ariana peered ahead and her eyebrows raised to her hairline. Spread out on a massive field were hundreds of tents, huge crowds of Magical people swarming back and forth. Broomsticks darted about over their heads, the joyous shouts of the spectators much louder than the music that was playing.

The atmosphere was positively booming, attracting many people to it like bees to honey. As the group filed into the crowds, Amos and Cedric bid them goodbye.

"Home sweet home," Arthur sighed happily, stopping in front of a tiny white tent.

He held the flap back so the others could enter. On the inside, the tent was many times bigger than the outside. It was fully equipped with a kitchen, a plush sitting area, a few of bunkbeds. It was like a small flat lay inside, prepared to accommodate its inhabitants.

Ariana smiled, taking in the brilliant undetectable extension charm. She looked over at Harry beside her, who was smiling in awe, having never seen anything like it before.

"I love magic," the boy grinned, his eyes searching his new home.

A smile curled Ariana's lips and she patted Harry's shoulder, then headed over to a bunk and set her bags down. Her mind drifted back to the scroll in her pocket, her fingers itching to feel the smooth paper, her eyes desperate to read the sweet words etched upon it.