That took the wind out of Amos' sails, and there were several long, awkward seconds of silence before Mr Weasley coughed. "Do you know if we're waiting for any more, Amos? Must be nearly time."
"No, no, it's just somewhat stilted.
us," Amos replied,
"We'd best get ready, then. Gather round, everyone."
The portkey turned out to be an old boot, and it took them a minute to get situated so that all nine of them were stood in a tight circle, each with a hand on the boot. They waited as the sun slowly began to rise, Mr Weasley offering a countdown until—
Harry felt like a hook was jerking him from the navel, and suddenly his feet left the ground, Ron and Hermione slamming into his shoulders on either side as they sped upwards in a swirl of colour and wind. It all ended abruptly, his feet slamming into the earth, and he almost kept his balance until Ron staggered into him, knocking him to the ground.
Cedric offered him a hand up, grinning sheepishly. "Easy there, Harry." He brushed some dirt off Harry's arm. "Look, I'm sorry about my dad," he said under his breath. "I've tried talking to him, but he's just—"
"It's fine," Harry insisted. "Really. He's proud of you, it's nice." Cedric gave a half-grimace.
"We still on for that rematch?" he checked. Harry nodded keenly.
"Absolutely. See you later, yeah?" he added once he realised they were parting ways. "Enjoy the match."
He waved Cedric off, and as soon as they turned away he found himself accosted on either side by a Weasley twin. "You're getting awfully cosy with Diggory there, Harry," Fred muttered. It took Harry a second to realise what he was implying, and he blushed bright red.
"We're friends! He's a nice guy. He feels really bad about the match still, you should let up on him."
George eyed him doubtfully. "Hmm. Still. Bill's better looking."
Harry spluttered. They had noticed that! He covered his face with his hands, mortified. "Don't worry about it, Harry!" Fred said, nudging him in the ribs with a grin. "Our big brother's very fanciable." He wiggled his eyebrows salaciously. "Bit old for you, mind, but whatever makes you happy."
"I don't fancy your brother!" he hissed in an aggressive whisper, sure he'd never been redder in his life. He glanced around to check the others weren't listening. "I don't," he repeated insistently. The twins shared a skeptical look.
"Sure," they said in sarcastic unison. Harry glared at them. He didn't even like boys like that!
Okay. That was a bit of a lie.
And Bill was really attractive.
But that didn't mean Harry fancied him! He could think people were hot without fancying them. Besides, he much preferred blondes…
His cheeks burned when he realised what he'd thought. Where had that come from?? Either way, he wasn't interested in Bill Weasley. He was basically family!
"What are you three whispering about back there?" Ron asked suspiciously as Mr Weasley finished paying the muggle campsite manager, heading off into the field.
"None of your business!" the twins retorted cheerfully. Ron scowled at them.
Harry could hardly believe some of the tents they walked past, each more elaborate than the next. Wizards were ridiculous! The tents Mr Weasley had borrowed were much more ordinary-looking, and Harry shared a glance with Hermione when they walked in, wide-eyed at the space inside. "I love magic," he muttered, and she giggled, nodding in agreement.
He, Ron and Hermione were sent off to find water in short order. Harry wasn't sure why they couldn't just conjure some, but Mr Weasley seemed determined to have as much of the muggle camping experience as possible. It was still pretty early, so there weren't many people up and about, but the more they walked the more the campground began to come to life. Harry could see several familiar faces; it looked like half of Hogwarts had managed to get tickets!
While Ron and Hermione were talking to Seamus and Dean, Harry caught sight of Ernie Macmillan, and waved cheerfully, jogging over to the stocky Hufflepuff. "Hi, Ernie! Good summer?" he asked, as if he hadn't been owling the other boy semi-regularly.
"Oh, y'know, not bad," Ernie replied. "Yourself?"
"It's been great," Harry replied. "Got to learn a bit about my family. Get to know some new friends a little better," he said vaguely. Ernie's smile widened.
"Excellent, excellent. Glad to hear it. I've got to get going, but we'll catch up properly at school, yeah?" Harry nodded, letting the Hufflepuff get on with his morning. He hurried back to Ron and Hermione, who were just finishing up their conversation. "Who were you talking to, Harry?" Ron asked as they walked, and Harry shrugged.
"Just some people from school. Oh, look, there's the tap."
On the way back, Harry was almost bowled over by Oliver Wood, who jumped on his back in greeting and ruffled his hair, dragging him towards his tent to introduce Harry to his parents. "Charlie told me the news, by the way. That's amazing, Oliver, congratulations!"
Oliver glowed with pride. "Thanks, Harry. You'll have to come to a match once the season starts back up!"
Just then, a familiar head ducked out of the tent beside Oliver's family. "Oliver, I swear, are you going on about Puddlemere again?" He looked up and blinked at the sight of Harry. "Potter!"
It was Cassius Warrington, one of Harry's tentative new allies. "Warrington," he greeted neutrally, unsure exactly how to interact with the older boy in public, though they'd been writing all summer. He glanced between the two. "Are you two friends or something?" He hadn't thought they knew each other outside of quidditch rivalry. The pair shared a look, glancing away quickly.
"Nah, just coincidence," Oliver dismissed. "Randomly assigned campsites, y'know? Anyway, I don't want to keep you too long. Write to me when you're back at school, yeah? I want to know what the new keeper ends up like."
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