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chapter three | cruise, marry, kill

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WHEN THE TIME CAME AROUND, the group joined many others in waking to the stadium, ready to watch the game.

Kaya, Jaeden, Maisie and Milo had all painted their faces with the Irish colours, the two girls having matching Irish flags on their cheeks and the boys pretty much painting random swirls on theirs with the Irish colours. They cheerfully walked around, holding up banners and waving around flags.

Kaya was distracted by a babble of voices coming from the group of people behind her. She could've sworn she'd heard a familiar voice talking with the family, but as she turned her head to see who it was she could hear, Jaeden had started talking to her about something.

The group finally came to a halt, although it wasn't for long, as they stood gawping at a large staircase in front of them.

"Shit a brick," said Jaeden.

"You'd think wizards and witches would be able to develop something that didn't make us have to climb stairs like these." said Kaya, as her mother tapped her lightly on the shoulder to start walking up.

"How far up are we going?" asked Milo.

"Quite far," his dad said. "But we'll be alright, it's a lot more than it looks,"

"Besides, it'll all be worth it in the end,"

"That depends on the game," Jaeden said to Kaya. "If Bulgaria win and it's a shitty game then I'm suing,"

"Me too," she muttered back, her back lowering even more every time she climbed a step.

After what felt like forever, the group reached their seats and started filing in, Kaya sitting next to Jaeden and having Maisie on her left, sitting at the end of the row. Milo took his seat on Jaeden's right.

"Your swirl is already smudged," Kaya told the boy, pointing to the paint on his cheek that had a long, green smudge trailing up the side of his face.

"What?" Milo replied, his forehead creasing.

"Your face paint," Kaya said a little louder. "Is already smudged!"

"Oh, bloody hell," Milo grumbled. "I always forget I have paint on my face and then I mess it up!"

Kaya frowned and tilted her head with a confused expression. "I can't hear you!"

Milo said something that was drowned out by the buzz of the crowds in front and behind them, and Kaya nodded, still being unable to hear him. She just hoped that whatever he said wasn't a question. The brunette turned to Maisie, and started talking about the impending game.

Around ten minutes later, Kaya felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned around to see Fred Weasley, staring at the stadium and acting as though he hadn't seen her. The girl decided to play along with his game, and tapped him on the knee, before whisking around and facing Maisie again, who gave her a funny look.

It wasn't long before the taps turned into thumps, and Kaya failed to notice Maisie and Jaeden exchanging grins, raising their eyebrows and nodding towards her.

"Bloody hell, Fred," Kaya said, after receiving a great wallop to the shoulder.

"What?"

"I'm not a punch bag, you shit,"

"I dunno what you're talking about," the ginger replied, a mischievous grin creeping up onto his face. "Anyway, how'd the candy floss go down?"

"Great," Kaya nodded, before elbowing the dark haired boy sitting next to her. "Jae stole quite a lot of it, though, greedy pig."

Jaeden turned around and grinned.

"Alright gingers?" He greeted, as George leaned forward to join in the conversation. Maisie and Milo also turned in their seats to face the Weasley boys.

"Jae," George nodded. "How's Alicia doing?"

"As if he'd know," said Milo. "He hasn't gotten around to 'seducing' her,"

"Yet." Jaeden added. The twins chuckled. "I'm still working on it."

"Yeah, you keep doing that," said Maisie.

Their conversation was interrupted by Ludo Bagman's voice filling the stadium, as though he was speaking through a very large megaphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he announced. "Welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"

"I think the mascots are supposed to show up first," Milo muttered to Jaeden, who shrugged. "I wonder what they'll be,"

"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce... The Bulgarian National Team Mascots!"

"Ah, Veela!" Kaya heard Arthur Weasley say from behind them.

The four friends leaned forward to see around a hundred Veela enter the stadium. Quite a few people started to gawp at them as they danced. Jaeden and Milo raised their eyebrows and leaned forward a little more, as Kaya and Maisie giggled to each other while watching the two.

"And now kindly put your wands in the air for the Irish National Team mascots!"

Kaya looked up to see a green and gold comet fly over the stadium. Jaeden and Milo were still half distracted by the Veela.

The mascots spent a few minutes entertaining everybody, until the game began.

Jaeden and Kaya ended up yelling at nearly everything, in several stressful moments where Bulgaria scored or Ireland missed. Maisie was leaning away from Kaya every time she screamed. Milo was red in the face from laughing at his friends.

"No! Throw it in!" Jaeden bellowed over the crowds who were also getting very worked up about the game.

"Go! Go! Go! Oh no- FUCK!" Kaya barked. "Oh, shit... YES!"

Seeing what was going on was a lot more stressful than hearing it on a radio. Kaya had seen Ireland drop the ball twice now, and Bulgaria had nearly stolen it from them. However she was glad the crowd was as loud as it was - she could swear without getting a scolding from her parents.

Everyone gasped as Krum and Lynch - the two Seekers of the opposing teams - plummeted towards the centre of the Chasers, who were very unprepared for what looked like was going to be a collision.

"They're gonna crash!" Maisie yelled. Although, only one did, as Krum pulled up quickly at the very last second, leaving Aidan Lynch to crash into the ground. Kaya cringed at the thud it made.

"Krum was feinting!" Milo yelled, as the commotion from the audience around the stadium somehow got even louder at the Ireland seeker's injury.

"Time-out!" Ludo Bagman announced, as Kaya and Maisie pointed to the mediwizards rush onto the field to examine Aidan Lynch.

It didn't take long for him to be healed, and he was soon back in the air, quicker than Kaya thought he'd be. The game resumed, and was already beginning to become more brutal than before.

Kaya and Jaeden were getting even more stressed and were screaming, if possible, more loudly than before. There were times where Kaya thought she could see a gold flicker and she went absolutely mad over it.

And then, the most suspenseful and exciting part of the night was when Lynch dived, catching sight of the snitch.

"Oh shit!" Jaeden yelled, his eyes wide.

"I swear, if he crashes again-" said Maisie, as Krum began to fly alongside Lynch, his eyes on the snitch.

"Nah, he's not gonna crash this time!" Kaya yelled. But she was wrong. Yet again, Lynch launched himself into the ground, and Krum was getting closer and closer to the snitch by the second.

Kaya made a funny noise that sounded like a very stressed cat.

"Where's Krum?" Milo shouted. "Where's the snitch?"

"He's got it!" Jaeden said. "The game's over!"

And that was when Maisie, the only one who'd been keeping track of what the Chasers had been doing, realised that Bulgaria hadn't won.

"IRELAND WINS!" Ludo shouted enthusiastically, and the whole stadium erupted into a large mixture of cheers and yells.

"YES!" Kaya and Jaeden high fived each other, Maisie and Milo starting to laugh.

Of course, they were always going to enjoy the game, no matter what the outcome. But having your preferred team win was about ten times better.

It was a shame it would all be ruined later, and the shouts Kaya heard around the stadium would be nothing compared to the wails that would sound around the campsite a couple hours later.

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The walk back to their tent was filled with enthusiastic chatter about the game. The Wesley twins had walked ahead of their family to talk with the four friends, exaggerating almost everything they said.

"And I'm sure Lynch broke his face twice," said Jaeden. "No word of a lie, I heard a bone break each time he crashed,"

"Bollocks," said Kaya, causing Fred to laugh. "You couldn't even hear me talk, and I was next to you, let alone someone playing the game,"

"I did hear it!"

"Well then, you must be like, half dog or something, to hear that," Maisie said.

"The only dog around here is Kaya," Jaeden teased. Kaya flipped him off. Fred and George chuckled.

"I wouldn't say that, Jae," Fred said, winking at Kaya, who rolled her eyes.

"Neither would I," she added. "We all know I'm stunning."

"Damn right you are,"

Kaya cringed and covered her face with her hands as she laughed.

"Ew, Fred," said Jaeden. "My sister? Really?"

"She's not your sister-" George began, but was cut off by Jaeden yet again.

"Not by blood, but as far as you two are concerned," he pointed his finger at the twins. "She's my sister,"

"Yikes," Milo said, making a face.

"Good luck with that, Kaya," Maisie said, patting her on the shoulder. "Jaeden Ezra's your brother and Fred Weasley wants to be your lover. Ooh, that rhymed!"

"Uh, hold on, I never said that," Fred retorted. "Kaya's just fit, that's all. There's a difference."

"Let's talk about something else," Kaya said. "Before I cringe to death,"

Fred made a face to which she reflected back to him.

"This is the part where you're supposed to say I'm fit as well," he said.

"Yeah, well good luck on that front, Weasley,"

Jaeden laughed at Kaya's response.

"I know," he said. "How about we play Milo and I's favourite game?"

Maisie and Kaya groaned.

"Which is?" asked George.

"Cruise, marry, kill," said Milo. "You give someone three people, and they have to decide which of them they'd marry, go on a cruise with and kill."

Fred and George nodded.

"Alright then," Fred said. "Jae - cruise, marry, kill... Professor McGonagall, Madame Pomfrey and..." he paused for thought, before breaking into a mischievous grin. "Moaning Myrtle,"

Kaya started to laugh.

"But Myrtle's already dead!" Jaeden said. Fred shrugged, and Jaeden frowned in thought.

"I would... go on a cruise with Madam Pomfrey because if I got, like, sea sick or got food poisoning she could help me not die,"

Milo folded is arms, interested to see who Jaeden would pick next.

"I would marry McGonagall, for sure," Jaeden said.

Maisie scoffed.

"Just because you think you're her favourite,"

"I am her favourite,"

"No, you're not." Maisie said.

"And I'd kill Kaya," Jaeden finished. Kaya raised her eyebrows and huffed.

"I wasn't even one of the options!"

"Yeah, but Myrtles already dead,"

The group continued playing until they had to separate, Kaya, Jaeden, Maisie and Milo waving goodbye to the twins and heading towards their tent.