The Cupboard Series 4: The Fourth School

Chapter 10

Twin cracks rent the air almost simultaneously, depositing two muggle hula-hoops, each surrounded by a multitude of people, upon the grassy knoll.

"E-leven ah em from Pot-tah Hav-en," Harry heard an officious voice announce.

Extracting himself from the various arms, legs and bodies lying around him where they'd all crash-landed, Harry climbed to his feet. Sirius and the other adults, he noticed to his annoyance, all seemed to have landed on their feet, smirking at the dozen teens who'd arrived with them.

"Lord Black's party?" the voice asked.

"Yep, that's us," Sirius replied, bounding across to the man with the quill and clipboard.

As Harry helped Hermione to her feet, he saw the feathered end of the quill quickly counting heads.

"Five adults and twelve minors. All correct there. If you'll kindly step to the left, my associate will get you sorted out and the space will be clear for our e-leven ten from Greenock," the man said.

"Chuck us those hoops," said associate – a short, dumpy man wearing an odd combination of tweed jacket, fishing overalls and fedora – instructed.

Colin and Neville did as instructed before the two hoops were thrown into a box which looked far too small to accommodate them.

"Right then, you lot are in Area C," here he looked up and around speculatively at them. "One of the deluxe cabins, I see. Follow that path down and around the base of the hill and Mister Foggarty will look after you."

As the group wound their way down the path, Harry overheard Dan whispering to Sirius.

"Why was he dressed like ... that?"

Sirius looked back at the man before his barking laugh began to echo around the hill.

"He's a pureblood," Sirius stated, "and a Ministry one at that. That means that he has absolutely no idea how a muggle dresses while being ordered to dress 'as inconspicuously as possible'."

"That's inconspicuous!" Dan spluttered.

"Well, you've got to remember that most purebloods have never encountered a muggle in their life," Sirius replied. "If it wasn't for Lily, Harry's mum, drumming it into my head years ago, I reckon I'd be just as clueless."

"He probably ventured into the first muggle store that he could find and bought the first things that he liked the look of," Cyrus agreed.

Harry could only shake his head, an action that Dan was also making.

As they rounded the far side of the hill, the path dipped into a shallow valley. Before them, a long, low ramshackle stone wall spread to either side. Almost directly in front of them, a wooden stile was manned by a man seated in a camp chair.

"Hello, there!" Sirius greeted him. "Are you Mister Foggarty?"

Pushing himself up, the muggle farmer, judging by his clothes, reached out and clasped Sirius' hand before nodding at the rest of them.

"I am. I take it you're here for a spot of camping?" he asked.

"We are, we are," Sirius replied. "Looks a good spot."

"That it is, that it is," Mister Foggarty replied. "We're quite close to the forest here if you're interested in a spot of walking or bird watching, mind you, with the numbers that've arrived in the past day, you'll be lucky to spot anything. 'Course, you could always try a bit of fishin' if'n you've a mind. The creek ain't big, but there's trout in there."

"Sounds perfect," Sirius beamed.

"Right then. That'll be five pounds for each adult, two pounds fifty for the young'uns," Mister Foggarty told them.