The Golden Quartet: Year 4

CHAPTER 2

They landed in a large, green marsh of sorts. They all got up and looked around; there were hundreds – probably thousands – of tents covering the land.

“Right, well, we’ll see you later then,” Amos gave them a smile and nod and headed off. Cedric smiled and waved and followed after his father.

Mr. Weasley turned to his group. “Alright, let’s go find our tent.”

On their way to find their tent, the group passed several witches and wizards – all of which were dressed as muggles, though not so well. One wizard was wearing a quilt and a poncho.

They also ran into their fellow Hogwarts students like Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas who were sporting Ireland’s colors.

Much to Astrid’s pleasure, they came across Oliver Wood who dragged them over to his tent to meet his parents. He told the group excitedly that he had just signed to the Puddlemere United reserve team.

Next they were hailed by Ernie Macmillan, a Hufflepuff fourth year, and then a little further on they saw Cho Chang, the Seeker for Ravenclaw. She smiled and waved at Harry, who eagerly waved back with a silly grin on his face.

Astrid rolled her eyes and scowled.

“Ah, here we are!” said Mr. Weasley as they came to a small tent that had a sign in front of it that read, WEEZLY.

Hermione and Harry exchanged glances, obviously confused as to how twelve people were going to fit in that small tent.

“We’ll be a bit cramped, but I think we’ll manage. Come and have a look.” Mr. Weasley opened up the tent and entered it, followed by the others.

The tent opened up to look like an old-fashioned, three-room flat, complete with a bathroom and kitchen. Its décor was a bit like the Weasley’s home: knitted covers, mismatched items, and homey. The only thing that was off was the strong smell of cats.

As they all got settled, Mr. Weasley started up the oven and began cooking up some eggs and sausages.

Astrid looked over at Athena who was trying to talk to Fred and George. A few moments later, Athena crossed her arms and came over and plopped down next to Astrid.

“Still mad?” Astrid asked.

“Yes. They say they won’t have anything to do with me until I speak to Mrs. Weasley. Honestly, if they wanted me to talk to her they should have said so earlier instead of putting me on the spot like that! Oh-“

But Astrid was no longer listening to Athena, a familiar tingly feeling washed over her as images flashed through her mind. It was the match between Ireland and Bulgaria… Ireland won! But… on Bulgaria’s terms… Krum had caught the snitch!

“Astrid? You aren’t even listening. Wonderful.” Athena huffed.

A grin spread over Astrid’s face, “Athena, shut up for a moment,” Athena frowned. “I know how you can get back on Fred and George’s good side right now.”

“What? Really? How?” Athena asked, curiously.

“I just had a vision.”

“Oh, what about?”

“The match.”

Athena gasped, “You saw who won?”

“Yup. Tell Fred and George Ireland wins, but Krum gets the snitch.”

“Oh, that’s great! But… how will that help?” Athena asked, not understanding how that would help the twins to stop being upset with Athena.

“Bets.” Astrid said simply, with an inconspicuous smirk.

“Gambling? You want them to gamble?”

“Yes. They’ll win for sure thanks to my vision, and with the money they win they can buy more supplies for their tricks.”

“That is a good idea, but, Astrid, they haven’t got any money to bet.”

“No, but you do.” Astrid said, giving her sister a serious look.

“What?”

“Invest your money to them. It’ll really show them that you trust and believe in them and their plans.”

Athena thought about for a moments and then let out a heavy sigh, “Yes, you’re right.” Then Athena turned a small glare at her sister. “How do you know about my money?”

“You’re frugal. You have practically saved every knut, sickle, and galleon you have ever gotten or found,” Astrid said while rolling her eyes.

“Well, I’ll just take that as a compliment.” Athena stood up and walked over to her bag and riffled through it. She pulled out a large pouch and frowned for a moment while staring at it. Then she looked over at the twins and her frowned faded into a small smile and she headed over to them.

“We said we aren’t speaking to you until-“

“Here,” Athena shoved the coin pouch into Fred’s hands, cutting him off.

“Trying to bribe us, are you?” George said, eyes narrowed. “Well, it won’t work.”

“Now, hang on George, you haven’t felt how heavy this is.” Fred said, weighing the pouch in his hands.

Athena rolled her eyes, “I’m not bribing you. I’m investing in you. In both of you, and your plans.”

“Investing?” Fred asked.

“Yes. Also, I know how you two can double what’s in that pouch.” Athena said.

“Really?” George said, delighted.

“Remember I told you my sister was a Seer? Well, she just had a vision.”

“A vision? Of what?” Fred asked.

“Ireland winning, but Krum catches the snitch.” Athena answered him.

Fred and George exchanged looks and then turned and walked some feet away and began whispering to one another. After a few short moments, they turned around and walked back to Athena.

“Alright. We’ll accept you investment and we’ll stop ignoring you – but you still have to talk to our mother.” Fred stated.

“Absolutely.” Athena stated, holding out her hand, waiting for Fred to finalize the deal with a handshake.

Fred smirked, grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a kiss and the tent irrupted with cat-calls and whistling.

Fred pulled back, “You’ve got yourself a deal,” he said with a wink.

Just then Bill, Charlie, and Percy entered the tent. “Just Apparated, dad,” Percy said. “Ah, excellent, lunch!”

They were halfway through their plates of eggs and sausages when Mr. Weasley jumped to his feet when a large man entered. “Aha! The man of the moment! Ludo!”

Ludo Bagman was a very noticeable man. He was wearing long Quidditch robes in thick horizontal stripes of bright yellow and black with an enormous picture of a wasp on his chest. His nose was squashed, broken, due to a Bludger. He had round blue eyes, blond hair, and a rosy complexion.

“Ahoy there!” Bagman called happily. “Arthur, old man,” he puffed, “what a day, eh? What a day! Could we have asked for a more perfect weather? A cloudless night coming… and hardly a hiccough in the arrangements… not much for me to do!”

Percy hurried forward, with his hand outstretched.

“Ah – yes,” Mr. Weasley said, grinning, “this is my son Percy. He’s just started at the Ministry – and this is Fred – no, George, sorry – that’s Fred – Bill, Charlie, Ron – my daughter Ginny – Athena and Astrid, Hermione and Harry, friends of the family.”

Bagman did a small double take when he heard Harry’s name and his eyes flicked up to the scar.

“Everyone,” Mr. Weasley continued, “this is Ludo Bagman, you know who he is, it’s thanks to him we’ve got such good tickets-“

Bagman beamed and waved his hand as if to say it was nothing.

“Fancy a flutter on the match, Arthur?” Ludo said eagerly. “I’ve already got Roddy Pontner betting me Bulgaria will score first – I offered him nice odds, considering Ireland’s front three are the strongest I’ve seen in years – and little Agatha Timms has put up half shares in her eel farm on a weeklong match.”

“Oh… go on then,” Mr. Weasley said. “Let’s see… a Galleon on Ireland to win?”

“A Galleon?” Ludo looked a bit disappointed, but recovered himself. “Very well, very well… any other takers?”

“They’re a bit young to be gambling,” Mr. Weasley said. “Molly wouldn’t like-“

“We’ll bet one-hundred and thirty-three Galleons, fifteen Sickles, and three Knuts that Ireland wins – but Viktor Krum gets the Snitch. Oh and we’ll throw in a fake wand.”

Mr. Weasley looked faintly, “Boys, where did you-? All that money – I don’t think your mother –“

“Don’t be a spoilsport, Arthur!” boomed Ludo, looking very excited. He took the wand, “Excellent! I haven’t seen one that convincing in years! I’d pay five Galleons for that!”

Mr. Weasley looked helplessly at Ludo as he whipped out a notebook and quill and began jotting down the twins’ name.

“Cheers,” George said, taking the slip Ludo handed him and tucked it away into the front of his robes.

“Couldn’t do me a brew, I suppose? I’m keeping an eye out for Barty Crouch. My Bulgarian opposite number’s making difficulties, and I can’t understand a word he’s saying. Barty’ll be able to sort it out. He speaks about a hundred and fifty languages.”

“Mr. Crouch?” Percy looked excited now. “He speaks over two hundred! Mermish and Gobbledegook and Troll…”

“Anyone can speak Troll,” Fred said dismissively. “All you have to do is point and grunt.”

Percy threw Fred a nasty look.

“Any news of Bertha Jorkins yet, Ludo?” Mr. Weasley asked.

“Not a dicky bird.” He replied. “But she’ll turn up. Poor old Bertha… memory like a leaky cauldron and no sense of direction. Lost, you take my word for it. She’ll wander back into the office sometime in October, thinking it’s still July.”

“You don’t think it might be time to send someone to look for her?” Mr. Weasley suggested tentatively.

“Barty Crouch keeps saying that,” Bagman said, “but we really can’t spare anyone at the moment. Oh – talk of the devil! Barty!”

A wizard had just Apparated by the entrance of their tent.

Barty Crouch was stiff, upright, elderly man, dressed in an impeccably crispy suit and tie. The parting in his short, grey hair was almost unnaturally straight, and his narrow mustache looked as though he trimmed it with the help of a ruler. His black dress shoes were also very polished.

“I have been looking for you everywhere. The Bulgarians are insisting we add another twelve seats to the Top Box.” Crouch said to Ludo.

“Oh, is that what they’re after? I thought the chap was asking to borrow a pair of tweezers. Bit of a strong accent.” Bagman replied.

“Mr. Crouch!” Percy said breathlessly, and bowed. “Would you like a cup of tea?”

“Oh,” Mr. Couch looked over at Percy in mild surprise. “Yes – thank you, Weatherby.”

Fred and George choked on their own cups. Percy, very pink around the ears, busied himself with the kettle.

“Oh, and I’ve been wanting a word with you too, Arthur,” Mr. Crouch said, his sharp eyes fell upon Mr. Weasley. “Ali Bashir’s on the warpath. He wants a word with you about your embargo on flying carpets.”

Mr. Weasley heaved a heavy sigh. “I sent him an owl about that just last week. If I’ve told him once I’ve told him a hundred times: Carpets are defined as a Muggle Artifact by the Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects, but will he listen?”

“I doubt it,” Mr. Crouch said, taking the cup Percy handed to him. “He’s desperate to export here.”

“Well, they’ll never replace brooms in Britain, will they?” Bagman said.

“Ali thinks there’s a niche in the market for a family vehicle,” Mr. Crouch said.

“So, been keeping busy, Barty?” Bagman asked breezily.

“Fairly,” Mr. Crouch said dryly. “Organizing Portkeys across five continents is no mean feat, Ludo.”

“I expect you’ll both be glad when this is over?” Mr. Weasley said.

Ludo Bagman looked shocked. “Glad! Don’t know when I’ve had more fun… still, it’s not as though we haven’t got anything to look forward to, eh, Barty? Eh? Plenty left to organize, eh?”

Mr. Couch raised his dark eyebrows. “We agreed not to make the announcement until all the details-“

“Oh, details!” Bagman said, rolling his eyes. “They’ve signed, haven’t they? They’ve agreed, haven’t they? I bet you anything these kids’ll know soon enough anyway. I mean, it’s happening at Hogwarts-“

“Ludo, we need to meet the Bulgarians, you know,” Mr. Crouch said sharply. “Thank you for the tea, Weatherby.” He pushed his undrunk tea back at Percy who quickly grabbed it.

“See you all later!” Bagman said. “You’ll be up in the Top Box with me – I’m commentating!” He waved, Barty Crouch nodded curtly, and they both Disapparated.

“What’s happening at Hogwarts, dad?” Fred asked immediately. “What were they talking about?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Mr. Weasley said, smiling.

“It’s classified information, until such time as the Ministry decides to release it,” Percy said stiffly. “Mr. Crouch was quite right not to disclose it.”

“Oh shut up, Weatherby,” Fred said.

~~~

A sense of excitement washed over the campsite as the afternoon wore on. By dusk, the still summer air itself seemed to be quivering with excitement, and as darkness spread like a curtain over the thousands of waiting wizards, the last vestiges of pretense disappeared: the Ministry seemed to have bowed to the inevitable and stopped fighting the signs of blatant magic now breaking out everywhere.

Salesmen were Apparating everywhere, carrying trays and pushing carts full of merchandise.

“Been saving my pocket money all summer for this,” Ron said, as they all bought souvenirs. Ron purchased a dancing shamrock hat and a large green rosette, he also bought a small figure of Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker. The miniature Krum walked backward and forward over Ron’s hand, scowling up at the green rosette above him.

“Wow, look at these!” Harry said. He hurried over to a cart piled with what looked like brass binoculars only they were covered with all sorts of knobs and dials.

“They’re Omnioculars!” Astrid said, grabbing one to inspect it. “You can replay actions and slow it all down… oh, look, this one will flash a play-by-play breakdown! How much are they?” she asked the salesman.

“Bargain – ten Galleons each.” He said with a nod.

“Wish I hadn’t bought this now,” Ron said gesturing at his dancing shamrock hat and gazing longingly at the Omnioculars.

“Four pairs!” Harry said.

“Don’t bother,” Ron said going red.

“It’s alright, Harry, I’ll pay for mine.” Astrid pulled out a large coin bag.

Athena’s mouth fell ajar, “Where’d you get all that?”

“Hey, you might find and keep all the money you get, but you’re lousy at keeping track of it.” Astrid said, as she and Harry paid the man for their Omnioculars.

“Wait – are you saying you stole that from me?”

“No, well, not all of it.” Astrid smirked.

“Oh, wait until I tell mother about this!” Athena said, glaring at her younger sister.

They all headed back to their tent, everyone had souvenirs except Fred, George, and Athena who had given all their money to Ludo Bagman.

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!” Mr. Weasley said, looking very excited. “Come on, let’s go!”