Melody Riddle and the Goblet of Fire

Chapter 6: Accidents and Souvenirs

We stood on a seemingly deserted stretch of misty moor. Standing there talking to Lucius and Narcissa were two grumpy-looking wizards dressed up as Muggles – sort of. One wore a tweed suit with thigh-high galoshes, the other a kilt and a poncho. I never realized how hard it could be for a wizard to dress like a Muggle.

Draco and I walked up to them, no longer tired after being thrown to the ground.

The one with the galoshes consulted his list, "Malfoy... About a quarter of a mile's walk over there, second field you come to. Your Site Manager is Mr. Bumblebee."

"Aww... bumblebee," I said. Draco snorted.

We walked away through the mist that was just starting to clear as the sun came up over the horizon. About twenty minutes later we could see hundreds of tents that rose up the gentle slope of a large field toward a dark wood just on the horizon. A little more walking and we came up to a cottage door where a man with tousled gray hair stood. He wore wizarding robes so this was no Muggle, it made the Malfoys relax a touch. But we needed to pay him Muggle money so he could pay the person who owned all the land they were on.

I took out the Muggle money and asked, "How much?"

"Just a thirty – some wizards have been trying to give me Galleons, and I have to remind them that this is Muggle land," Mr. Bumblebee said. "Luckily they had me to tell them, but to those who have Muggles as their Site Managers, I hope they know what was expected. Some have brought tents that look more like miniature palaces."

"We brought one that's... fairly fancier," Lucius admitted as I gave Mr. Bumblebee the money. "But it won't be too fancy, I assure you."

Mr. Bumblebee bowed his head to us, gave us a map of the campsite, and went to go help another wizard that just arrived.

Lucius led us through the long line of tents – of which all looked more regal than normal. We finally reached a tight space with a small sign hammered into the ground that read MALFOY. A very short distance away was the field where the match was to take place.

"Is this space big enough for your tent?" I asked, looking at the tents next to us.

To our left was a long line of red Bulgarian tents, and to our right were a surprising number of tents that looked like my definition of a Hobbit hole. The Bulgarian flag – white, green, and red – sat high above them, fluttering in the light breeze. They were bedecked with plant life and every last one of them had the exact same poster of a guy with a surly face with heavy, black eyebrows just blinking and scowling.

The little Hobbit holes had roundish looking wooden doors that opened in and out, but the rest of it looked like the fabric of a regular tent. Only they had little mail boxes and gardens out front as though they were their own mini homes. Could these matches ever be long enough to last a whole year?

"We have enough room," Lucius said, looking around him cautiously before taking out his wand. With a wave, the tent set itself up. I shook my head regrettably. There was no magic allowed on these Muggle grounds. The tent itself was just as fancy as much of the others, it had the Bulgarian colors on it and looked like a mini-castle. Yeah, only a little fancier, right Lucius?

Inside it was surprisingly bigger than it looked on the outside. It was two floors, about five rooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a dining room. It was quite nice, but it felt like I was about to stay in a rental home instead of a tent.

"You want to go out for a bit?" Draco asked once we set our bags down.

"Sure," I said, following him out of the tent. "So.. who's that on the Bulgarian posters?"