Gone Awry

Shortly before Ash departed from the Leaky Cauldron, a small owl flew up to her window and hit its beak against her window.

Yawning she went over the the owl and opened the window for her, allowing the owl to fly in and stretch out her leg and show Ash the letter it was carrying.

Swiftly she took the letter from the owl and she hurriedly flew out of the room once again.

To: Miss Ash Weasley

From: The Annual Broom Racing Association

Dear Miss Weasley,

We are happy to inform you that you will be allowed to take the place of Mr. Hector Lanbone in the Annual Broom Race of 1998.

You are able to register in the registration office that you'll find in Diagongränden until 7.15 of the 26th of December, with this invitation and two Galleons for the starting money.

We wish you the best of luck,

Steve Magnusson

Ash frowned while starting at the letter... 7.15? 7.15... 7.15 in Kopparberg...

Ash looked at the clock at the wall. 6.00... Good she still had an hour. Quietly she let her head fall onto the pillows again.

6.00 o'clock...

6.00 o'clock...

6.00 o'clock... in London.

The girls head snapped up and she fell out of the bed she was laying in.

"6.00 o'clock in London means 7.00 o'clock in Kopparberg!" she screamed to herself and swiftly pulled on her cloths and raced out of the door, down the stairs. Told Tom the landlord that she was checking out, while throwing him 2 sickles to pay for the room and then quickly ran out of the pub.

When she was standing outside the door she tried to think how she could get there. As far as she knew London and Kopparberg were about 1500 Kilometres / 909 Miles away from each other and she had about another 10 minutes to appear in front of the registration.

Alright, I won't be able to make it in one go... so best I do a pit stop in... Denmark? Yes... Denmark, she thought to herself and tried to calm herself down enough to be able to apparate without any difficulties.

Suddenly she felt herself be squished through a tight tube, her body was being compromised, her eyeballs and eardrums pressed into her body. Iron chains seemed to be binding her and she couldn't breath any more.

After a few minutes of the torture she felt the pressure let go of her again and soon she was standing in Denmark. She didn't give herself any time to even open her eyes or breath in deeply before she pushed herself through the next tube.

It was hard. She shouldn't have rushed to the next apparation so quickly - she knew that and she could already feel her guts twisting inside her a bit - but she didn't have the time to think this through. Finally she got to her destination and swiftly found herself staggering towards another wizard - unmistakeably by the 80ies outfit he was wearing, in order to blend in.

"Sorry, Sir. Do you know where the registration is?" she asked him gasping, holding her stomach in pain.

"Vad? Registrering? För den årliga kvast ras."

Ash frowned at him, but nodded hoping he was telling her the right way.

"Säker, följ mig." Ash looked at him a bit confused, but she thought he told her to follow him, so that is want she did. Together the older wizard and the Weasley walked down the road.

"Could we please hurry up a bit?"

"Hurry?..." he asked and Ash gestured at a clock that they just passed. "oh, bråttom, säker," he said and picked up the pace.

A few minutes later the ageing Wizard and the teenage girl entered a tall building in the streets centre. In that building the men pointed her towards a small door at the end of the hallway and she thanked him, with the only word she know in Swedish "Tack!" - Thank you!

Without further ado, she hurried through the door and saw that the registration was about to close.

"Wait!" she screamed and ran up to the window. "Please! Please, let me register as well!"

"Sorry, ma'am its already 7.16. We told you in the letter to be here at 7.15 latest."

"I only got that letter 15 minutes ago and I was in London!" she gasped, holding up the window with her hand, while the registration person tried to push it close.

"Well, you should have been in Kopparberg before then."

"Please, I beg of you! Let me enter the race!" she cried.

"What is this commotion about?" another person said from behind the registry.

"This girl came to late."

"Well, Miss's that's to bad for you. We told you you had to be on time. You had since yesterday to register."

"I only got the invitation fifteen minutes ago, sir. I hurried here as fast as possible."

"The invitation only 15 minutes ago? But we send them out 6 months ago."

"I'm Ash Weasley, I was the last minute person that took the place of Hector Lanbone, your association had to send me the invitation a bit late. I guess the owl didn't find me fast enough... but I swear, I only got the letter 15 minutes ago while I was still sleeping in the Leaky Cauldron in London! I came here as fast as possible"

"Ash Weasley... Weasley... I've heard that name before... show me your invitation."

Ash smiled at the man and quickly got out the invitation she had in her trouser pockets, "here sir."

The man - who seemed to be in charge of the registration took the letter from her and scanned over it. Next he took out his wand and lightly tapped on it.

All of a sudden the invitation folded itself and started speaking. "This letter was send of by Sven Hansson on the 25th of December 1998 at 12.36 o'clock Swedish time and was received by Ash Weasley on the 26th of December at 6.59 o'clock Swedish time."

The Registration person scowled a bit before he asked, "where was it received?"

"Leaky Cauldron, London, United Kingdom at 6.59 o'clock Swedish time."

The man looked at her. "and you came here at 7.16? How did you manage?"

"I apparated," she answered truthfully.

"Alright," he said nodding to himself, "give her the badge."

"But sir!"

"We'll make an exception. It wasn't her fault that this Sven was to stupid to send the invitation of earlier we knew about the change in competitors since Saturday, as far as I remember," he told his subordinate, before turning to Ash. "You'll be allowed to enter," he told her, while the other one gave her a badge with a flashing 124 on it.

"Thank you, sir!"

"No need. But be sure to be on time at the start of the race and promise me to life through it," he said with a smile and shut the windows as she nodded her head violently.

As soon as the windows closed and she was alone she let herself fall on the ground and clutched her stomach.

"Damn it. I think a few organs switched positions," she mumbled to herself. Slowly she took a few deep breaths and got up from the ground again. Bend over she staggered to the door and went through it. "Now.. where is that medical squad when you need it?" she asked herself and walked out of the door and looked around.

Again she tried to help herself by asking passer-byers. "Excuse me, do you know where the healers are?" she asked a boy that seemed around her own age.

"Healers? Yeah, their at the start," he said with a thick Swedish accent.

"Could you show me there? I really need to see them."

The boy looked up and down the street and crossed glances with one of the others he was with. "Sure. Come with me."

"Thank you very much!" she said with a smile.

"No problem... really," he said and he and his friends changed direction to show the girl to the starting line.

"Is one of your relatives participating today?" the boy asked her, with interest.

"No," she said smiling.

"Then why are you here?"

"I've been watching the race every year so far with my parents -" she started but the boy didn't let her finish.

"Ah! So, whom are you rooting for?"

"I'm rooting for myself," she said and started grinning when she saw his astonished face.

"You're participating?"

"Yeah, I was allowed to take the place of my friends 'step-father'."

"But how old are you?"

"Just turned 17."

"Don't you have to be at least 20 to participate?"

"No, they changed the rules a few months ago. You only have to be overage now - thankfully in the wizarding world that is 17."

"But if you just turned 17... then you weren't overage when you had to sign up."

"Yes... but I took the place of someone else, who was. And as I am overage now, they don't have a problem with it."

"Wow... that means you must be the youngest racer since, forever!"

Ash looked at the boy and nodded. "I do believe I am..." she said astonished with the fact herself.

The boys and her talked a few more minutes until they reached the healers quarters.

"Thank you a lot that you brought me here!" she told them with a smile and waved the boys goodbye as they left her to fend for herself again.

"Hello, my name is Ash Waesley," she said walking up to a bored looking lady.

"Sorry, we are only responsible for racers."

"I am a racer."

The lady looked at her. "Where's you badge?" she asked and Ash swiftly pulled out her badge to show it to her. "Alright. What's the problem."

"I think a few organs changed position. Could you check?"

The lady looked at her with an raised eyebrow and motioned Ash to follow her into the tent, where she felt Ash's stomach for each organ.

"No, their all where they should be." she said and Ash sighed in relieve. "They just got a bit twisted during apparation.... Here, take this it'll untwist the organs again and you should be fit in an hour or so."

Taking the potion from the healer, she quickly gulped it down and tried to shake the bad taste out of her mouth.

"Thank you! I'll be on my way now!" Ash said, trying to stand up, but the healer stopped her.

"And where do you think your going?"

"Meet a friend?"

"No chance. You'll have to lay down for a while, otherwise I won't let you start," she said and Ash looked at her wide eyed.

"But my friend is waiting for me!"

"Then go, but you won't be able to race," she threatened.

"That's blackmail, did you know that?"

"I don't care as long as we have a healthy racer in the start of the race," she countered and made sure that Ash wouldn't be able to sneak out.

After an hour that healer checked her patient again and allowed her to leave, telling her that she wasn't allowed to apparate for the next three days. Mentally cursing her, Ash went out of the tent to find Gringotts and Blaise before the race started.

"Blaise!" she whispered into his ear as she quietly came to a stop behind him. Tensing a bit, he turned around and smiled as he saw Ash stand in front of him. "I'm sorry for the delay! Where are the others?" she asked curious.

"Damn Ash! Where were you? I've been waiting here in the freezing cold for one and a half hours now! I thought you wouldn't be coming!" he fumed, when he remembered the wait.

"I know, I'm sorry. I apparated a bit to quickly and my organs got a bit... twisted?"

"Are you alright now?"

"Yeah, no worries about me! Where are the others?"

"I lost them a while ago," he said with a smirk.

"Nice! Then there's no chance that Molly will find me before the race and try to stop me!" she beamed at him and gave him a hug. He hugged her back tightly.

"I'm sorry about what happened yesterday, mother shouldn't have said anything about the race to your aunt..."

"It's no big deal! I'll probably be quite screwed once I finish the race and will have 1000 years of house arrest... " she laughed. "Oh, by the way, did you bring what I asked you for?"

"Of course," he said and pulled out her wand and a duffel bag with clothes in it.

Ash grinned at her friend and took them of him. "Thank you."

"Any time."

Suddenly her badge started vibrating and the voice of a man came out. "All racers are asked to make their way to the starting line, the race will start in 10 minutes."

"Fuck!" Ash cursed and looked at Blaise. "Come on, we have to hurry," she said taking her friends hand in her left hand and carrying her broom in her right hand.

Halfway to the start line, she threw her Nimbus to Blaise while she took out the black cape that Blaise had brought her and covered her face with it. Next she took the broom of her friend again and said goodbye to him. Leaving him alone while she went into the players only section - hoping that her aunt wouldn't see her until after the race.

The 124 racers where all standing in a row anticipating the signal that would tell them that the race started.

Ash was standing right in the middle of them all, feeling a bit out of place when she saw the tall, muscular or lean witches and wizards that where all at least 25 years old.

Right next to her was Konrad Weiss - the Seeker of the German National Quidditch Team, on her left was Olaf Andersen one of the Chasers of the Nordic National Quidditch Team and the winner of last years Annual Broom Race. Then a few people down she could see his colleges Lorre Gustafson, and Peter Hansen, the beaters Asgeir Knutsen and Asgard Pettersson, the Keeper Martin Helstrom and Seeker and Captain Tina Lundstrom. Furthermore she saw, Gianni Fedele from the United States team as well as Tim Sullivan, Justin Time and Ken Tersias - the three top Quodpot players in the United states.

Around them she could hear the calls of the fans, especially Olaf Anderson's name was echoing through the crowed.

Then they hear the whistle - Get ready. The racers get ready to jump of the ground.

A second whistle - Set. The racers tense and wait.

A loud bang shook the air and the racers propel themselves of the ground.

The race begins.