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Two grumpy-looking men strode up to the group of fifteen, both attempting to look like Muggles, though failing miserably. Serena had to choke back a laugh at the sight of their clothes: one wearing thigh-high galoshes while the other wore a poncho and a kilt.

After the Weasleys and Maisie's group were assigned to the first field, while the Diggorys were sent to the second, the large group set off on another twenty minute walk through the seemingly deserted moor, the mist of the early morning blocking anything from view.

Finally, they reached a small cottage beside a gate, parting with Amos and Cedric Diggory. Serena could see the faint outline of hundreds of tents across a field, all the way to the edge of the woods on the other side. Excitement bubbled within her just at the sight.

"That must be Mr. Roberts, the Muggle that owns the campsite." Serena said, pointing at the man at the doorway.

Fred looked amused. "A real Muggle, you say?"

"The only one for miles, for sure." George laughed. The three watched as Mr. Weasley fumbled about with Muggle money, before Maise Mallard kindly stepped in, showing him which notes were the correct ones.

"Your Mum sure knows a whole lot more about Muggle money than Dad." George said.

Serena laughed. "Well, she ought to, being a Muggleborn and all."

"So should Dad!" Fred grinned. "You'd think he'd know how to use it, being as obsessed with Muggles as he is."

After the adults paid for the tickets, Serena waved goodbye to George, awkwardly nodding to Fred, before walking away with her family and friends. Trudging up the small hill, the cheers grew louder and louder, and when they reached the top, everyone stared in amazement as Maisie announced, "Everyone, welcome to the Quidditch World Cup!"

People of every background were milling about, talking and laughing with each other, flags of every colour waving around. The enthusiasm was practically tangible. As the six of them walked toward their tent, they whipped their heads around left and right, the brightest of grins on their faces.

"Look!" Ramona shouted, pointing at the sky as three people on brooms zoomed overhead, making them all simultaneously duck. Serena and Iyla were jumping up and down at this point, hearts swelling with happiness.

They all came to a stop in front of a small plot of land a few miles from the edge of the woods, with Maisie in front. "Other wizards insist on putting up their tents by hand, but there aren't any Muggles around, and I don't fancy physical work much, so..." Raising her wand, she magically conjured a small tent out of thin air.

Ramona tilted her head. "Er... Mrs. Mallard?"

"Maisie." Serena's mother kindly corrected.

The girl chuckled. "Right, Maisie... so how are all six of us going to fit in that one tent?"

Azalea shook her head with an excited smile. "Actually, five. I'll be sharing a tent with the rest of team." She lowered her voice so only Serena, Magnolia, and Ramona could hear. "And a bed with my boyfriend."

"Ew, get out of here!" Magnolia groaned, pushing her sister away as Azalea happily skipped in the other direction to the Appleby Arrows' tent, everyone waving goodbye.

"Well, Ramona, to answer your question, take a look inside." Maisie smiled, walking through the tent as the rest followed.

Though Serena was expecting it, she still couldn't help but be impressed: the inside of the tent was completely furnished with a dinning table, couch and a couple of chairs. There was also a bathroom, kitchen, and a room with a twin-sized bed, and two sets of bunk beds.

"I love magic," Ramona breathed out.

Serena nodded. "As do I."

While Maisie put her bag on the twin-sized bed, Serena strode over to one of the bunk beds, choosing the top while Ramona choose the bottom, with Magnolia and Iyla sharing a bunk of their own.

Ramona immediately laid down on the bed, eyes shut tightly, despite hating laying on fresh sheets with dirty clothes. Magnolia and Serena glanced at each other, then back at her, knowing exactly what was wrong.

"Are you alright there, Mona?" Serena spoke softly.

The girl opened her eyes, and nodded. "Yea... just a little dizzy."

Magnolia sat on the edge of her bed. "With all that walking, of course you are. And that's alright."

"Here," Serena said, forcing a spare water bottle she was carrying into Ramona's hands. "Drink, you'll feel better."

Taking the water bottle, Ramona gave her friends a grateful smile. "Thank you, really."

After a few minutes, Ramona was feeling much better, following the other three girls to the living room when Maisie had called them over. "Alright, girls, we'll need water. And firewood. But I'll take care of the latter." She said, to which they all nodded, while Iyla took a step forward.

"Er... well actually, you know my best friend Ginny Weasley, right Mum?"

Maisie slowly nodded. "The sassy but sweet red-head?"

Iyla chuckled, nervously playing with her fingers. "That's her. She asked if it were alright if I could meet her before the match... so I can watch the game with her family, and my other friends, Ron, Harry, and Hermione."

Maisie knew there was no point in saying no, so she simply handed a few kettles and the map of the campsite to Serena and her friends. "Oh alright, go on ahead. You three will get the water."

Iyla grinned, giving Maisie a quick hug before all four exited the tent, much to Serena's annoyance. "Well, I'll see you lot after the match!" Iyla said.

Serena rolled her eyes with a scowl. "Really left us to do all the work, huh Iyla?"

The youngest Mallard only waved a dismissive hand, already walking away. "As if you wouldn't do the same."

"I wouldn't!" Serena called after her.

"Yes, you would." Magnolia and Ramona said together.

Serena glared at the pair. "Whose side are you on?"

"I would be on yours if you'd only talk to Fred normally!" Magnolia rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, Serena. I've never seen you act so flustered before. You aren't the type to get nervous." Ramona said, searching the campsite for someone as they walked.

Serena flicked both of her friends' foreheads. "Oh, shut it you two. I was not flustered. We're only friends."

Magnolia snorted. "Okay, sure. Friends of five years act like that around each other. It's as if you two have just met today! You've been on the same Quidditch team since second year, you should be used to each other's presence if you were only 'friends'."

"It's... it's different now." Serena admitted quietly, playing with her curly hair as she tried to stop the growing smile on her face when she thought of Fred. "Ever since our last game last year, I suddenly can't even look him in the eye."

Magnolia grinned. "Oh, I remember! When your team won the Quidditch Cup. Fred picked you up off the ground and spun you around in the air! It was quite an adorable sight from the stands. Remember that, Mona?"

Both girls looked toward their right, only to see the space empty. Eyebrows furrowed in confusion, the pair looking around until they finally spotted Ramona a meter away, talking animatedly with someone.

Serena and Magnolia's jaws dropped when they finally realized who it was. Serena yanked her friend's sleeve, dragging her behind the side of a tent and out of view. "Is that who I think it is?" Amusement clear in her voice.

"You mean the pretty boy now chatting with our Ramona?" Magnolia smirked.

"That's the one. Cedric Diggory!"

"Hufflepuff prefect."

"Hufflepuff perfect."

"Look at them," Magnolia sighed. "Shamelessly flirting in broad daylight. Leaving us to get water all by ourselves."

Serena squealed, tugging on Magnolia's arm. "Did you see that? Ramona tucked a strand of hair behind her ear! She only does that when she's nervous! And she says I get flustered."

"Our cinnamon bun is all flushed red. And she's gotten Cedric looking like a tomato as well."

"We're never gonna let this go, are we?" Serena turned to Magnolia.

"Never."

"Never let what go?" Two voices behind the girls said at the exact same time.

Now, Serena doesn't usually get scared. Practically fearless, her friends say. But at the sound of Fred and George Weasley, the girl practically jumped ten feet in the air while Magnolia casually turned around. "Never let that go." The brunette pointed behind them, where Cedric and Ramona were still standing.

"Pretty Boy Diggory talking with Ramona?" Fred mused.

"Darn. He's taken all the good ones." George sighed with a frown.

"Not all of them, of course." Magnolia said, which caught the attention of George. As if they had an entire conversation with just their eyes, they both glanced at Fred and Serena with a nod of understanding, evil grins apparent on their faces.

"So, what are you two doing here?" Magnolia said coolly.

"We were sent to fetch some water." Fred began.

"Well, actually, we're supposed to be getting firewood," George continued.

"But we didn't want to do that, now did we, Georgie?"

"Of course not, Freddie. Splinters, you know."

"Hurt a lot, those do."

Serena rolled their eyes. "You two are beaters, yet can't handle a few splinters?'

"Oh, we can, we'd just really rather not." The twins said together, identical grins on their faces.

Before anyone said anything else, George announced loudly, "Well, I'll be off with Magnolia then. Haven't gotten a chance to really get to know each other, have we?"

Magnolia nodded, wrapping an arm around his. "We have not. Let's go do that now, George!"

"Wait, Georgie, where are you-"

"Magnolia! You can't just leave-"

Fred and Serena's protests were cut short as Magnolia and George had already disappeared behind the crowd of people.

Staring at the spot the two had just occupied with curses flying in her mind, Serena awkwardly turned to Fred. "Well, erm... let's go get the water, then."

Fred dramatically waved his arm. "Lead the way, Mallard."

With a shake of her head, the two walked started their walk in silence, Serena distracting herself with trying to find the tap while Fred was staring in awe at all the shamrock covered tents. "So, who do you think is going to win?" Fred asked, hiding his own slight nervousness behind a lazy grin.

This got Serena's attention. "Oh, Ireland, for sure. There's no way they're going to lose."

"Exactly what I said! My little git of a brother, Ron, says Bulgaria's going to win. Completely in love with Krum, that one."

The curly-haired girl laughed loudly at that. "My sister said that, too! But Bulgaria hasn't got a chance. The fact that they even made it to the finals is a surprise."

"You might want to keep quiet, their glares might kill," Fred playfully nudged her, gesturing to where they were. They had just entered Bulgarian fan territory, posters of none other than Victor Krum hung on every tent, the people nearby who had heard Serena glaring at her as she walked.

The girl only laughed harder. "They'll glare now, but will be crying when their precious team loses."

While Serena was busy making fun of the hundreds of Krums staring at them, Fred Weasley was grinning down at her, wondering when in the world he started to feel something for his best friends.

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Author's note:

Hey everyone! The fact that I've gotten 200 reads in four days blows my mind, I feel so loved right now. 🥺

Just a few notes for the future;
-Ramona and her dizzy spells are very, very important :).
-The next chapter is the one we've all been waiting for 🥳

Well, I hope this extra long chapter was alright! Let me know if you'd prefer shorter chapters and I'll try my best to shorten them!

With potions made of love,

~Lena