ii. the quidditch world cup

❝WELCOME TO THE FINAL OF THE four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"

October swept her eyes over the large stadium, almost as if she were looking for someone, well she was. She knew she wouldn't see him, not from their seats and the large population that had attended the final game. She wondered what Harry thought of it all— the professional game, the magic that encased all the people in the area, the loudness that filled their ears. Applause roared in the stadium, applause that her god-brother, no doubt, heard and probably had his heart racing.

"Tobie, look!"

With Cedric's left elbow in her ribs, her line of sight followed his right hand and settled on the scene of the field. Approximately a hundred Veela had glided onto the green field, and for a moment, October swore she hadn't seen another beautiful creature. Even in the light of the afternoon sun, their skin shone like they were underneath the moonlight— and truthfully, October felt confused, but also on the verge of being tranced too.

She ran her hands down her jean-clad thighs and over her knees as she tried to force oxygen into her lungs. October began to worry a bit, and she felt her heart rate pick up a little as the creatures began to dance across the field. She watched as they danced faster and faster— capturing the attention of all the men in the stadium, and her apparently.

With a semi-stable mind, October sucked in a lung-full of air, which probably would've knocked her off her feet if she had been standing. She coughed, quietly, as she choked on the oxygen and reached for the bottle of water that rested at her feet. She unscrewed the cap, and swallowed numerous gulps of the water before she screwed the cap back on. As the music (was that playing before?) stopped, October glanced at her best friend.

Cedric was dazed, more so than she was, and looked confused when the music stopped and angry yells intruded the stadium.

He cleared his throat and shared a glance with his father before the two men settled back into their seats again. Cedric then glanced at October as she tilted the water towards him. "That was— That was odd."

October couldn't help the little giggle, but she knew, she agreed, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. Veela were known to be seductive to men, and well, October knew that she was most definitely not a man.

Ludo Bagman's voice boomed over the stadium again and announced the welcoming of the Irish team mascot. A green and gold comet flew into the stadium, and it reminded her of a falling star. It soon split into two smaller comets, either one hurled towards the goal posts at the end of the field, and was soon connected by a large rainbow. Shouts of amusement filled the stadium this time, and as the rainbow faded, the two balls of light reunited and came together one more. A gigantic, shimmering shamrock floated in its place.

Golden rain fell upon them, and many people scrambled out of their seats with the realization that the rain was actually gold coins. October laughed, but remained in her seat. While the thought of having handfuls of gold coins seemed reasonable, her mother's voice in the back of her mind kept her seated. She knew that her mother would've been upset at the idea that her daughter had acted a fool for some money— there was no need for greediness.

"Now look at those!" Amos shouted excitedly, pointing at the little men that drifted towards the ground from the sky. "Leprechauns!"

Cedric laughed, and leaned towards October. "Funky little fellas, don't ya think?"

"They're almost as tall as you, Diggory!"

He snapped his attention towards her, his eyebrows knitted together and he scoffed. "I'm taller than you, October!"

She couldn't help the laughter, and she shrugged her shoulders. "You're right, you're nothing like a leprechaun. You're not Irish, or a ginger. . ." she burst into a fit of laughter again. "Maybe I ought to ask Charlie if there's any relation—"

Her words died at the announcement of the Bulgarian team. Each of the member's names were called off, and scarlet figures flew around the stadium, and the announcement of the scarlet team ended with the call of Krum's name. It seemed that the crowd applauded louder with the arrival of the eighteen-year-old boy.

"People say he's quite handsome— Krum, you know."

"Yeah?" October murmured, as her eyes followed the blurred scarlet silhouette that she assumed to be Krum. She had seen his photograph in posters that advertised his position in the Quidditch final, and she wasn't quite sure what many people saw in the boy. He wasn't ugly, per se, but perhaps he just wasn't her type.

"Well, yeah." Cedric nodded, "Many girls have a crush on him. Heard 'em fawning over him when dad and I were in Diagon Alley not too long ago."

"Guess I'm not many girls."

"Who do you fancy?"

October rolled her eyes. "Draco Malfoy."

Cedric gagged audibly and glared at the girl next to him. "Malfoy, really?"

"No!" October whacked her hand against the back of his head. "He's my cousin, you imbecile!"

"Oi, you two!" Amos leaned forward and waved his hand between the two teenagers. "Knock it off, will you? The game's starting."

She said nothing more, and leaned forward in her seat, her mind quickly focused on the game before her. While most were content with the action of the chasers that zoomed across the field, October was concentrated on both teams' beaters. As a beater herself, she loved to see the professionals use moves that she had never tried herself. Perhaps she could try some this year, with Captain's permission.

Perhaps, seeing her name up on the board one day wouldn't be so bad, either.

Within the first ten minutes of the game, the Irish had scored, leaving the match at thirty to zero. Each passing minute the game became more brutal. Chasers used plays that October had only read about, and the Beaters used fierce tactics, and the Keepers dodged the attempted goals left and right.

An entire stadium gasped, and October pulled her eyes towards the seekers that were headed towards the grass. A scarlet figure pulled up at last minute, and left the Irish seeker to plough into the ground. Bagman and the referee called out for a time-out, and medi-wizards poured onto the field. It took a moment, but the Irish seeker got back onto his feet and the game resumed without a hitch.

More time passed by like the snitch, and Ireland was still in the lead with a hundred and thirty points to ten.

A penalty came to Ireland, and the referee found himself distracted by the veela. Mostafa, the referee, had landed a blow to his shins before he attempted to send the veela away and two Bulgarian players landed to argue. Once the two players finally went back to the game, two whistles signaled that Ireland had found themselves another penalty.

October had never seen a game so angry— and she thought that the Slytherins were brutal in their games. Beaters swung their bats in a violent manner, and she could only imagine Madam Hooch's reaction if these tactics were used on the field at Hogwarts.

Irish supporters yelled foul, all unanimously. Then Bagman called it, and the referee blew another whistle that confirmed the penalty.

Again, the leprechauns had jumped into the air and formed a giant hand that made an obscene gesture at the veela across the field. October could see the wrath that the veela felt, and she watched the creatures as they launched across the field and threw handfuls of fire at the leprechauns. She almost found it comical— the creature renowned for its beauty was not beautiful when it's anger had reared its ugly head. Their faces were elongated into sharp and cruel-beaked bird heads, and long, scaly wings were erected from their shoulders.

"Women aren't pretty when they're angry." Cedric murmured into October's ear, barely audible over the loud commotion.

October laughed, "Mum always said that women were beautifully crafted with the pros of heaven and hell. Pretty and sweet, but with the wrath that were  carved from the depths of hell." Cedric grimaced. "She once knew a woman— two women— that were unbelievably kind, but once showed no mercy to a man— lost her life protecting the ones she loved with that wrath, mum said."

"Good Merlin!"

Both October and Cedric looked back to the game in just enough time to see a bludger bounce off of Krum's face with a sickening crack. October cringed at the sight of the blood that came from the player's nose— although she had seen worse, experienced worse, and she knew that a bludger to the face wasn't any fun. There was no time-out that came.

Another player had gone into a dive, and the crowd roared with the excitement that the Irish seeker had caught sight of the snitch. Half of the crowd rose from their seats in support, but Krum was close behind. October shivered, not liking the way that the blood from the Bulgarian's nose splattered in the air. They hurtled towards the grass again, and October drew in a breath.

Someone behind October let out a shriek as the Irish seeker slid through the grass again, and immediately trampled by the angry veela. She looked up to see Krum slowly rise into the air, his fingers wrapped around a closed snitch— he had it!

BULGARIA— 160, IRELAND— 170 flashed across the giant scoreboard and the stadium erupted to cheers that were deafening.

October gasped, slapping her hand against Cedric's bicep. "Twenty points! They only needed twenty and they could've won!"

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 the author speaks | hi, welcome back! just a short little chapter including the world cup & cedric and october's friendship 🥰 I love them so much, anyway, y'all know what to do!