Harry Potter Squib Tales Chapter 93: Quidditch World Cup (Part 1) (Patreon)

Chapter 93: Quidditch World Cup (Part 1)

“Everyone ready?” I asked, looking over at the large group who’d assembled in an empty football field.

Harry had wanted to see the Quidditch World Cup with his friends, and I wanted to ease the integration of Muggleborn families into the magical culture, so invitations had been sent out to every Muggleborn student in his year at Hogwarts. Second and First Years were also invited.

There were a lot of people standing in the field with bags and packed supplies, but between Sirius and Cyrus, I had plenty of tickets to spare. Many parents were accompanying their children, and I knew this would be the first taste of magic for most of them outside of Diagon Alley.

Several misdirection spells and a couple ‘Not My Problem’ charms ensured that nobody would question it when they all suddenly vanished.

“We’re ready,” Harry said eagerly. A couple other parents and children nodded, and I pulled out a long length of rope from a pocket.

I enjoyed the way the eyes of the people widened as they watched me pull it out like one of those endless handkerchief stage magicians.

“Alright, then! Everyone, grab onto the rope!” I urged as I held up the disguised Portkey. “One hand on the rope, and don’t leave anything behind! Keep your bags on you on held in your other hand!”

Everyone shuffled around, grabbing ahold of the rope. It was just long enough for everyone to do so, and I grinned before checking my watch. Almost time.

“Okay, everyone! You’re going to feel a bit of vertigo, so I suggest closing your eyes. When you feel like your stomach isn’t in your mouth anymore, you can open them again,” I said.

Most of the people followed my instructions. Not everyone did, but I didn’t mind. If they wanted to feel like they’d done a flip while standing on their heads, they could.

The hand of the clock ticked down, and then, finally, a tugging sensation in the depths of my chest. It was over as quickly as it happened, though I still heard a few groans from those who hadn’t followed my advice.

Opening my eyes, we found ourselves in the countryside, standing in a field of tall grass that had been trampled down by thousands of feet before ours. In the distance, I could make out tents as well as plenty of witches and wizards, many in bizarre 'Muggle' get ups.

“Welcome, welcome!” a couple of witches called out, clipboards in their hands. “You are the Rose party, yes?”

“That’s right,” I confirmed.

“Wonderful, right on time!” one of the women said. “Here’s the map where your plot is located. Please do not go beyond it!”

I took the parchment slip, eyeing the number and size of the lot. Thanks to magical tents we didn’t need that much space, even with over a hundred people in our group, but it was still a sizable plot of land near the edge of the site itself.

“Thank you,” I said.

I then walked off, leading the party off from the site we’d teleported to, and approached the giant city of tents that was steadily being assembled.

It was half past nine in the morning, as the group had come quite early in order to set up. The match wasn’t until this evening, meaning we had several hours to explore and have fun.

Personally, I had a shopping list of things I wanted to get. The Omnioculars were at the top, because those were incredible pieces of magical engineering. I had plans to buy as many as I could. Some to experiment with and see if I could make some sort of magical security cameras using them, others I was going to give to Crucible’s security guards, because the different settings and features they had were really useful for military purposes.

As we got closer, it became clear to see that some witches and wizards had very loose definitions of ‘blending in.’ It wasn’t just an elderly wizard wearing a woman’s skirt instead of a kilt or regular trousers, there were some who thought the 1920s had never ended and were dressed up in that era’s fashion.

Others had dressed up in bright, flamboyant colors, and a couple of Polish mages were wearing what appeared to be live foxes around their necks. It was all very chaotic, and add in the obviously magical tents, camping sets, and stalls? Hiding the existence of magic from the uninitiated would need dozens of Obliviations by day’s end.

‘So glad I moved the family who lives here away from this mess,’ I thought with a hint of relieved exasperation.

Based on advice I’d offered Madam Bones, she had removed the mundane family who owned the farm and land where the World Cup was being held, relocating them to London for a ‘vacation’ they’d won through a radio raffle.

I’d personally put up the money for this, and even sponsored the radio competition through my company. I did not want the poor man or his wife and children to be repeatedly Obliviated, or to end up in the sight of the Death Eaters if they showed up like they did in the original timeline, and Amelia agreed, having them relocated for a few days before and after.

“Okay, folks, this is our spot!” I called out as we came to a stop in front of a large, roped off rectangle with my name on it in a rather empty clearing in the woods.

There were a few other roped off zones for other groups, and I knew the Weasleys, Abbots, and Greengrasses would be in the area with us. Cyrus had pulled some strings to allow all of us to stick together, so we didn’t have to worry about having our tents set up next to any Death Eaters or the like.

Some of the parents eyed the space we had, clearly thinking there wouldn’t be enough room for all of us. Their tones changed when the mages in the group started setting up the expanded tents.

Buying enough high-quality ones to fit the entire group cost a pretty knut, but it was a worthy expense. And I’d write it off as a charity thing on my taxes. Which wasn’t even a lie! I’d set up a couple charities, one of which was meant to help integrate Muggleborn into the Wizarding World more easily, and these tents were just a part of that process.

“Now remember, boys in the blue tents, girls in the red tents,” I said as the parents stared in shock at the vastly different interiors of the seemingly mundane tents. The adults would have to share with the kids. Gender segregated, of course. For the parents’ peace of mind.

“The bathrooms work the same as they do anywhere else, no need to worry about digging holes or outhouses, or running out of hot water,” I continued. “The kitchens are also fully function, so kids should stay away from the stoves and ovens unless accompanied by an adult. There are bunkbeds for the kids, and plenty of space on the floors for sleeping bags if you want the full camping experience.”

“And food?” one of the parents asked.

“Should be some in the pantry and fridge, but that’s just snacks. We will order more when lunch and dinner roll around,” I informed them. “If you’re need anything else, I have gallons you can exchange for pounds.”

That made some of the adults (and a couple kids) sigh in relief. I’d seen fourteen different food stalls selling a variety of street food on the way here, and there was no doubt a bunch more near the stadium itself.

‘Not to mention all of the crazy toys and trinkets,’ I thought with amusement. There would be a lot of money changing hands in the near future.

With that done, everyone rushed about, claiming rooms and bunks in the tents for themselves. They wanted to see what there was, while the adults, still unused to magic, were a bit more cautious as they entered the expanded interiors.

“Everything seems to be going well so far,” I commented to Delilah, who nodded.

“Yes, you appear to have things in hand. I’m going to go find the Delacours,” Delilah said. “When I do, I’ll bring Fleur and Gabbi over here.”

“Sure thing. Harry wants to find his pen pal, so he’s gonna see if he’s here yet,” I said. “I’ll be here, watching over everyone. And the Weasleys and other magical families should be arriving around noon so we’re going to meet up and have hotdogs and other camp stuff for lunch, so invite the Delacours over for that.”

Delilah nodded then waved to Harry as she left. The Boy Who Lived, meanwhile, was getting Hedwig out of her cage.

“Here’s the letter,” Harry said, giving it to his beautiful snowy owl. “Take it to Vik for me, please!”

She made an owl noise of confirmation and took off, and a few of the mundane families watched it with interest and a hint of disbelief. I understood, honestly. Owls? When I’d just shown them instantaneous movement was possible?

‘Yeah, I feel the same,’ I thought privately to myself. ‘But one day I’ll modernize these Victorian LARPers. Just not anytime soon.’

“Alright, everyone!” I called out, clapping my hands to get some attention on me. “The game starts this evening! Keep ahold of your ticket to ensure you can actually get into the stadium when its time! If you need anything, just come find me! And have fun!”

My words were met with some chuckles and excited murmurs, and the Muggleborn dragged their parents off to explore the growing festival grounds.

With everyone off to do their own thing, I was left with a couple parents and younger children who hung back. Deciding I’d do something fun, I gathered some magical toys and games and laid them out.

“Who wants to play Gobstones?” I asked, rolling the enchanted marbles around inviting. “Perhaps Exploding Snap would be more your speed?”

Curious children gathered around, and I grinned as I began to teach them the rules for some of the silliest games magical folk had come up with. Seriously, marbles that squirt people with smelly slime? Playing cards that explode like firecrackers? Definitely something only a mage lacking common sense would come up with.

Thankfully, I wasn’t lacking that particular skill. Instead, I’d had Sirius modify several copies of these games so they were decidedly less lethal and annoying. Instead of slime, the Gobstones squirted conjured water. Exploding Snap cards just released colorful light and loud noises. And Wizard Chess… well, I kept that the same. Watching a Bishop brutally execute a Knight was still damn cool.

A little bit later, and some of the parents had gotten involved in the games as well. They seemed intrigued by the toys I’d brought, while others were reading copies of my magical history books to familiarize themselves with the world they were now involved with.

I was pleased to see so many people eagerly learning, though I could tell more than a few adults were less than impressed with some of the things they were reading. I made a mental note to discuss some of those things with them to assuage their worries. Nothing else I could really do other than that, sadly, but I hoped it would at least provide some relief to them.

Harry had also wandered off at some point after Hedwig had returned with a reply letter, and he’d gone to find his penpal and the other friends who had also come along to the World Cup.

After checking with a couple of kids who’d nearly lost their eyebrows to a very intense game of Exploding Snap, I noticed that it was starting to get close to noon, and I got up from my lawn chair to grab the iceboxes where I’d stored the cooking ingredients.

While I was getting hot dogs and buns out, my girlfriend returned, several familiar people trailing behind her.

“Ed!” Delilah called out as she returned, and I flashed her a grin before look over at the family accompanying her.

“Mr. and Mrs. Delacour,” I said politely, standing up and shaking their hands. “Good to see you again. The same to you, Fleur and Gabrielle.”

“Bonjour, Ed,” Fleur said, flashing me a smile. “It is good to see you again.”

“Merci, Monsieur Rose,” Fleur’s mother said. She then glanced at the adults nearby, some of whom, both male and female, were staring and drooling at her and her eldest daughter. “Zey are not used to ze Allure, I see.”

“Nope. Muggles and Muggleborn,” I replied apologetically. “Family of some of Harry’s schoolmates. Thought they should see the world they’ve gotten involved with. Sporting events seemed like a fun way to do so.”

“A clever idea,” Mr. Delacour commented as Delilah went around to the Allure stricken parents and helped snap them out of it.

“Where is Harry?” Gabi asked, looking around hopefully for the Boy Who Lived.

“Off to find a pen pal,” I replied. “He should be back soon.”

I then waved a hand for the four of them to join the group. “Come on over. When noon rolls around we’ll be having hotdogs and other camping food. Until then, pull up a chair and relax.”

The Delacours nodded, and Mr. Delacour waved his wand, conjuring some wooden chairs for them. That, of course, got a reaction out of the onlookers, who were very impressed and began to talk with the French couple about their magic and what it was like in the mystical side of France.

Smiling a little to myself, I watched the situation happily. This is how it was supposed to be! Mundane folk and mages, just hanging out together without any issues.

‘Someday,’ I vowed to myself. ‘Someday, this will be the norm.’

If I wanted such a thing, I would need to work even harder! Later, though. Today was my first vacation in a long while, and I didn’t want to suffer burnout. I couldn’t help anyone if that happened.

“Who wants hot dogs?!” I called out, holding up a pack of wienies.

Cheers rang out and I laughed as I was soon swarmed by children hungry for processed sausage tubes full of mystery meat.

111 &&& 111

Harry POV

Following Hedwig through the campsite for the Quidditch World Cup, the Boy Who Lived admired the sights as he did so.

Walking through the crowds, Harry was glad he was wearing a baseball cap to cover up his scar. So many people were around that even one person recognizing him could have created a cascade effect that would have trapped him.

Yet even as he moved through them, Harry couldn’t help but notice just how many people weren’t from England. There were countless groups and individuals from so many different magical cultures!

He recognized only a few of them thanks to Ed’s lessons. There were mainland Europeans, of course, and he heard everything from Bulgarian to Dutch to Italian, but there were also swarthy Arabs from the Arabian Ministry of Magic and tanned Asians and Middle Easterners from the Golden Horde. Japanese mages wearing the robes of their magical school mingled with mages from the remnants of the Chinese Jade Empire.

‘So many people,’ Harry thought, impressed. He’d only had a chance to visit Magical France and the United States so far, but seeing countless other cultures made him want to explore them all!

Harry’s daydreams about exploring the world took a backseat as Hedwig let out a “Prek!” and began to circle somebody standing off under the shade of a tree, trying to avoid being seen.

They were a tall person, with baggy clothing that looked like it had come straight out of the seventies. He also wore a hat to cover their face, though theirs was a large, floppy sunhat whose brim drooped heavily.

Given how Hedwig was circling him, and that the young man seemed to recognize the owl, gave Harry confirmation just who he was.

“Vik!” Harry called out, waving a hand towards them.

“Harald?” Vik inquired, using Harry’s penname. His accent was thick, and Harry wondered where he was from.

“Yup!” the Boy Who Lived said, holding out a hand to shake.

“You are much shorter than I thought you would be,” Vik smirked, looking down at Harry as he shook his hand. “Even moreso than I thought when you said you were still in school.”

“Not everyone can be as tall as you!” Harry huffed. “Besides, I’m still growing! A lot taller than I used to be, too!”

It was true! Harry had begun to shoot up like a weed after Christmas! Ed thought he’d hit his teenage growth spurt, and Sirius agreed, mentioning that his dad, James, had also begun to get taller around his 5th year in Hogwarts. Harry was a year early, but that was fine. He was just tired of being the shortest person in his group!

“Did you get here okay?” Harry asked, changing the topic.

“Yes, me and my comrades made it without incident,” he replied. “We have been here since the morning. Very early.”

He looked around. “Have not seen much of your country, though. Very green and hilly from what I have had a chance to look at.”

“Yeah, it can be,” Harry agreed. “You should see the Highlands! You haven’t seen ‘green and hilly’ until you’ve been to Scotland!”

“Heh, I suppose I will,” Vik chuckled. “I might just have the chanced to do so later in the year, in fact!”

“Oh! Are you going to be at Hogwarts for the Tri-Wizard Tournament?” Harry asked, and Vik blinked.

“How do you know about that?” he asked. “I only know because my headmaster had to tell my… manager… about it, so he knew not to push me too hard and give me time off.”

“My big brother has connections with a lot of people,” Harry said, waving a hand dismissively. “Ed knows some folks in the Ministry, and he told me about what he’d heard.”

He then squinted at Vik. “Why do you have a manager? Are you famous?”

“A little,” the tall student chuckled. Sensing Vik didn’t want to talk about it, Harry just shrugged and changed the topic once more.

“Are you hungry? Ed should be making lunch, soon,” the Boy Who Lived offered. “Want to join us?”

“Why not?” Vik agreed. “I have some time before I must speak with my… traveling companions before the match.”

“Come on, then,” Harry said, and led the way back to his campsite.

They took a bit longer to get there as both of them kept stopping to look at interesting things that caught their attention, but eventually they made it, and just in time, too, as Harry could smell the hotdogs roasting over an open fire.

“Hey there, Harry!” Ed called out, spotting him – or rather, Hedwig – as they emerged from the woods and rows of tents. “Do you want ketchup or BBQ sauce? And what about your friend?”

“Harry?” Vik asked, looking down at the Boy Who Lived in confusion.

“Ah, yeah,” Harry said awkwardly. “Knew I was forgetting something…”

He cleared his throat and took his hat off, brushing his hair aside. “So, my real name is Harry. Sorry, forgot to tell you.”

Vik stared, before snorting in amusement. “To think I was friends with a celebrity!” he teased. “Though I understand why you would want to keep that on the downlow, as you English say.”

He took off his own sunhat. “Viktor Krum, at your service.”

To Harry’s embarrassment, it took him a whole minute before he remembered that that was the name of the youngest professional Seeker in history, and the star of the Bulgarian Quidditch Team who’d be playing later that day!

“Now I get it,” he sighed, and Viktor laughed at Harry’s expression before slapping him on the back.

“It’s alright! Now, I hear a hotdog call my name, yes?” he smirked.

Before Harry could answer, a missile of pale-blond hair rushed over and tackled him, arms wrapping tightly around his waist and giving him a crushing hug.

“‘Arry!” a girl’s voice with a thick French accent exclaimed happily.

“G-Gabi?” Harry choked out, looking down at the petite French girl who’d glomped him.

“Oui!” she said, nodding happily.

“This must be your other pen pal,” Viktor said, smirking at Harry.

“Y-yes,” he confirmed, before patting the younger girl awkwardly on the back.

“Hello, Gabi, nice to see you, too."

“Harry?”

Harry froze, terror surging down his spine, before he turned his head slowly to the side. There was Susan, staring at him with an expression that made him shiver while Hannah and her parents looked on with expressions that were a mix between amused and pitying.

“Who is this?” Susan asked in a sickly-sweet tone that had Harry very worried for his safety.

Viktor, the traitor, wisely got out of dodge and went to introduce himself to Ed and get a free hotdog, leaving his pen pal to face the wrath of his girlfriend alone.

‘And isn’t that a strange thing to have?’ Harry thought to himself as he scrambled to find his tongue again.

After saving everyone from the Dementors last Christmas, Harry and Susan had gotten closer. Finally, during Valentine’s, they both had awkwardly tried to ask each other out. Both had spoken in circles until Hannah, fed up with their antics, and shoved the two into a broom closet and locked the door, refusing to let them out until they agreed to go on a date with each other.

Of course, Harry and Susan both knew the Alohomora spell, so they weren’t locked up for long, but after punishing her best friend Susan had agreed to Harry’s stammered request to go to Hogsmeade together on the Valentine’s weekend.

Ron had laughed and said it was about time when he heard the story, as even he’d noticed, and Hermione had shoved a five-foot-long list of dating activities he could take Susan on. Neville had just asked Harry if he could borrow the list for his date with Hannah.

Only now, Harry had a sinking feeling he wasn’t going to have a girlfriend anymore if he didn’t come up with a satisfying answer soon!

“Um, Susan, this is Gabi – I mean Gabrielle, my, uh, other pen pal,” Harry said slowly. “You know? We met in France after our first year at Hogwarts? I think I told you about her?”

Susan’s expression simply continued to darken as she folded her arms and began to tap her foot impatiently, and Harry couldn’t help but swallow nervously at the sight of those two gestures.

‘Listen close, Harry, because I am going to tell you a couple secrets about relationships and women,’ Ed’s voice said as a memory resurfaced in the back of Harry’s mind. ‘When a woman wants to express her anger towards you, there are two big signs to look out for: folded arms, and tapping her foot. A single one on their own means you’ve really stepped in it and need to find a way to make it up to her ASAP! If she combines both? You better start groveling.’

Before he could say something – anything! – to salvage this situation, another blonde missile streaked towards him.

“HARRY!”

“Oof!” he uttered as Astoria Greengrass bulldozed into him from behind.

“Who are you?!” Gabi exclaimed, scandalized as someone else began to hug Harry closely, completely ignoring the fact that she’d done the same thing a minute ago.

“I’m Astoria! Hi!” the youngest Greengrass said.

“ASTORIA!” an irate Daphne called out to her sister, the older Slytherin rushing after her, stumbling to a halt when she saw the position she was in.

“Hi, Daph!” Astoria said, waving cheekily at her sister even though she was still wrapped around Harry’s waist like a limpet.

“Get off of him!” she exclaimed.

“There’s room for one or two more, you know~!” Astoria teased, and Daphne’s face turned crimson while Susan’s expression darkened further.

“Yay! Group hug!”

“Luna?!” Harry exclaimed when a third blonde ballistic glomped him from the side.

“What? Everyone else was doing it,” the pale-haired, dreamy-eyed Ravenclaw said, tilting her head innocently as if she didn’t have a clue what she was doing.

Laughter rang out from several sources, and Harry realized with a sinking heart that he was currently the center of attention for the entire group, and several others were snickering, giggling and openly commenting on his ‘misfortune.’

“Seems like you have a type, pup,” Sirius said with a wide grin, walking over with a hotdog. “Blondes, huh? James was more into redheads, but to each his own. He’d be proud of you all the same for catching the fancy from so many ladies!”

He then took a bite out of the dog. “Mm. Lily would be proud, too, though she’d pull your ear something fierce afterwards and warn you about breaking their hearts.”

“Da,” Victor agreed, wandering over with his own hotdog. “It is interesting to see it from the other side. I now get why my team laughs at me when it happens to myself.”

“Don’t worry, I already told him about the birds and bees. Or, uh, Unicorns and Mooncalves, as it were,” Ed, the traitor, spoke up, causing Harry to blush even redder.

After finding him and Susan on the couch together, his big brother had decided it was time to educate him on puberty and all that it entailed, and Harry could still feel the embarrassment from seeing all the graphs, charts, and pictures.

“Okay, okay!” Remus called out, deciding to help Harry out. “I think we’ve teased the poor lad enough.”

His words caused the parents and siblings of the girls currently clinging to him to finally approach and pry their relatives off of him.

“Honestly! You should know better!” Fleur scolded Gabi as she dragged her sister away.

“Don’t do that again!” Daphne hissed at Astoria, who just shrugged.

“Did you have fun?” Mrs. Lovegood asked her daughter, who bobbed her head happily.

“Thank you!” Harry breathed out in relief.

“No problem,” Remus said, patting him on the shoulder. “Now, better take care of that.”

He gestured towards Susan, who was glowering most fiercely, and Harry nodded weakly. Why was this scarier than facing down the Dementors?!