Dangerously Close

“How much longer, Mr. Weasley,” Harry asked again as we hiked our way up the large hill where our Portkey would be waiting. I was almost certain I wasn’t the only one whose feet were aching from climbing.

“Don’t worry, just up ahead,” he answered, pointing to the top of the hill. We could make out two figures, but they were hard to see from where we stood.

I walked next to Ron, Hermione, and Harry as we continued our way up.

“I thought your mum said we were going to the World Cup, not on a camping trip,” I mumbled.

“Stop being so sarcastic, Rosalie,” Hermione interjected. “It’s not that bad. We get to enjoy nature.”

“Pfft, nature can kiss my a-”

“We’re here,” the twins exclaimed, pushing us forward. I almost tripped on my own foot and toppled over, but luckily I caught myself.

Surely enough, we were now at the top of the hill, overlooking the town. I almost didn’t see we were now joined by two others because I was distracted by the breathtaking view. I stood there in awe when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I turned around and was almost swept off my feet. I knew who the boy in front of me was, Cedric Diggory - Hufflepuff Quidditch team captain. Standing in front of me, he looked much more different. His blonde hair was ruffled up, swaying slightly with the wind. His eyes were a melted chocolate brown, and he stood taller than me, with a smile on his face that could make any girl swoon.

“Rosalie Potter, right,” he asked.

I snapped out of my sudden tranced and nodded. “Yeah, that’s me.”

He took out his hand. “Cedric Diggory,” he introduced.

I chuckled and took his hand, giving it a shake. “Nice to meet you.”

He chuckled with me for a moment. I walked over to Harry and looked at the sight. “This is beautiful - I want a house with a view like this,” I stated.

“And I need to know this why?”

I giggled and swat his arm. “You’re my younger brother - I’m allowed to ramble about random things on my mind to you.”

He rubbed at his arm and began to laugh. I turned around to hear Mr. Weasley calling our name before I realized they were counting down for the Portkey. Harry and I immediately ran towards it, grabbing it at the last second before being sucked away.

We were spinning in mid-air, travelling to our destination. The dizzy sensation rushing through me only made it worse. I shut my eyes closed as tight as I could.

“Now kids, let go,” Amos’s voice exclaimed.

Without hesitation, I released my grip on the shoe and began falling. I couldn’t help but let out a scream as my body plummeted to the ground. Suddenly, I landed with a loud thud on the ground. I didn’t feel as much pain as I thought I would, thanks to my backpack. I was about to stand up when Ron fell on top of me, causing me to let out a painful groan.

“Ronald, get off of me,” I complained, trying to squirm my way from under him.

His ears turned a bright red as he stood up, noticing who he landed on. I stuck my tongue out at him and watched as Amos, Arthur, and Cedric floated down gently to the grass on the floor, laughing to themselves. I huffed.

Why couldn’t we have landed like that?

Cedric walked over to me and extended his arm, allowing me to grab it. I pulled myself up and mumbled a barely audible thank you before walking back over to where the Trio and the twins stood.

“That was a rough landing,” I grumbled, wiping the grass off my shirt.

The group nodded, proceeding to doing the same and wiping the dirt and grass off of themselves. Arthur began to motion us to continue walking, leaving us no option but to hurry and follow behind him.

“Now that kids,” he said, pointing forward, “is where we will be staying,” he exclaimed.

The area finally came into view and I couldn’t help but gape. Thousands - if not ten thousands - of tents were scattered about the field. There were tons of witches and wizards in face paint or clothes to support their team. Above us, the loud whooshing sounds of people flying on broomsticks could be heard. I didn’t realize I was beaming.

“This is like a dream place - it’s like Quidditch wonderland,” I breathed.

“I know,” Ron agreed, staring at everything with wide eyes.

I didn’t notice the two Diggorys had left us and walked to their tent. We began walking forward with Arthur, who was explaining how everything would work.

“We’re staying in a tent just up ahead. If we keep on forward for a bit, the stadium where the game will be held is. Don’t worry about room, the tent is larger than you think. Rosalie, you’ll be sharing a room with Ginny and Hermione, as always. Boys, you know where you’re staying,” he rambled on.

We reached a rather small tent that was white and a bit rusty. It swayed a little bit in the wind, but stayed stable on it’s posts.

“Home sweet home,” Ginny said, walking inside the tent followed by everyone else. I walked in to find the tent like a house. It had a small dining room, a center, and divided in two areas to rooms. I couldn’t help but squeal a bit.

Bless Extension Charms.

I walked to the bunks on the left side of the room with Ginny where we would be staying and threw the backpack on the floor, leaving it where it was. I heard Hermione complain about “messy rooms” but I ignored her and continued to the kitchen to sit with the twins.

Arthur was doing his usual babbling and trying to get everyone sorted and ready.

“Alright, the match starts in around four hours, I think you all have enough time to put on your face paint, get ready, do whatever you lot do. We also need to - Ron get out of the kitchen!”

“Get out of the kitchen,” the twins repeated.

“Feet off the table, boys,” he said casually, pointing to them.

“Feet off the table,” they mimicked, placing their feet to the ground.

I rolled my eyes at their mocking and began to laugh.

“Who are you guys all rooting for,” I asked.

“Ireland,” Fred and George yelled loudly.

I grabbed the Daily Prophet in front of me and smacked their arms. “Will you stop repeating things like that? It’s scary!”

They stuck their tongues out at me.

“We all know who Ron is hoping to win,” I teased as he proceeded out of the small kitchen to where we were.

“You all know Bulgaria will come out of there winning,” he said, waving his finger at all of us before walking to the bunks.

I chuckled and yelled, “Bulgaria!” loud enough for him to hear.

Harry came out of the room and took a seat on the wooden chair next to me.

“Who are you rooting for, Rose?”

I scratched on my chin to pretend to think. “Hmm, as much as I love Ireland, I think I have to go for Bulgaria. They have some pretty good players.”

“Oh no, Fred, she’s turned against us,” George exclaimed.

“You know what this calls for,” Fred answered.

They jumped up and began to dance around like idiots. Harry and I burst out laughing at their stupidity and yelled things like, “Keep dancing, leprechauns!”

Arthur walked in to the room and saw us dying of laughter as Fred and George tapped their feet and jumped around the room carelessly. He clapped his hands to get our attention, causing the identical gingers to stop.

“Kids, why are you not getting ready? We have to leave an hour before the game starts!”

Chuckling, we all got up and headed to our bunks. I threw on a red and black hat and painted the Bulgarian flag on my left cheek.

I couldn’t help but smirk at my reflection in the mirror - I looked like a full-on Quidditch fan.

With that, I plopped on the bed and closed my eyes, deciding on taking a nap before the match.

Let the games begin.