BORN TO DIE ╱ DRACO MALFOY
꒷꒦ · ˚.‧ . written by ella . . . © -lostgardens
061 ━━━━━━ ❛ quidditch world cup ❜

Olivia was sitting at her desk when a great gray owl tapped on her window. And by "tapped on her window," it meant that the owl flew right into the glass, causing it to fall. She stood up quickly, her jaw hanging low in shock, and went over to the window to look through the glass. The owl flew back up, seeming to be holding a letter in its beak. It hit the window once, and then again, and then repeatedly until Olivia unlocked the clasp and took a large step back.

The owl, which she recognized from somewhere but couldn't quite place, landed on the sill of her window. Olivia slowly moved closer to it, not wanting it to be startled and attack her, and reached out to take the letter from its mouth. It stayed perched in the window for a moment, and then Olivia realized it was probably wanting a treat for its—what she was sure was—rocky journey.

Throwing the letter down on her desk, she began searching for something for the owl. It took a few minutes before she found the owl treats she had stashed away for moments like this. She put five in her hand and then walked back over to the owl standing in her window. She lifted her hand for it to eat out of, which it did. And once it flew away, Olivia closed her window and sat down at her desk.

Flipping over the letter a few times, she looked for a name or any indication as to whom it may be from. But there was nothing besides the wax seal. Then again, she didn't recognize the mark imprinted into the wax. She peeled the letter open from where it was sealed and unfolded the parchment. The not-so-neat-but-not-sloppy handwriting caught her eye next. And she began reading.

Olivia,
          If you're reading this, then that means that Errol didn't get completely lost on his journey to your manor. Anyway, I'll make this short and sweet. Oh, this is Fred Weasley, the more charming and better-looking of the two.

          Don't tell George I said that; he'll spiral if he hears the truth.

          My father's friend gave him tickets to the Quidditch World Cup, and we had two extra. We've all fought over who to invite, but then I had the brilliant idea to ask you. There are two, as said, so you are welcome to invite your brother as well.

         Write back if you're interested.

Yours truly,
Fred Weasley

To say Olivia was shocked would've been an understatement. She and the twins weren't exactly close in any sense. She wasn't close with any Weasleys, and she, and she was sure it implied to them as well, didn't want or plan on that to change. So she wondered how Fred had gotten his family to agree on her and Lucas joining them enough to send a letter. And she hated Quidditch. No matter, it would be rude to decline. Besides, she was certain Lucas would be ecstatic.

Drawing out a piece of parchment from one of the drawers on her desk, she grabbed her quill and inkwell and began formulating her letter in response. She supposed it would've been best if the owl, Errol, whom she believed his name to be—yes, she was right, it said so in the letter—would have stayed, but alas, he didn't. She'd just have to use Apollo instead. That owl was younger, and it seemed that he would get her response to the Weasleys all the quicker.

Dear Fred (and Weasley family),
          Lucas and I would be delighted to join you for the World Cup. Just send back the date and time, and we'll be sure to meet you when the time comes.

          Also, Apollo likes crisps, but only give him a few if you can.

All regards,
Olivia Mallard

She folded her parchment and sealed it with the Mallard crest and green wax, then got up from her desk and exited her room. She walked down and towards Lucas's room, ignoring the lingering eyes of the portraits, and knocked on the boy's door.

"Come in," her brother said from the other side of the door. Olivia twisted the handle and pushed the door open, entering the room with a small smile on her face. Lucas looked up at her, raising his brows. "What do you have there?" he asked, nodding at the letter in her hand.

She turned to close the door behind her and then faced her brother again, lifting up the folded parchment. "It's a letter for the Weasleys," she admitted, causing his brows to raise even higher in surprise rather than question. She moved a little closer to him, going over to where Apollo stood on his perch. "They've invited the two of us to the Quidditch World Cup with them," she continued, glancing over at him and watching his gaze go wider.

"We're going to the Quidditch World Cup!?" He practically jumped up from his chair and almost knocked it over in the process.

She fought back a smile, acting careless as she shrugged her shoulders and lifted her hand to pet Apollo's head. "I mean, only if you wan—"

"We're going to the Quidditch World Cup!" he interrupted excitedly, dancing about in his spot, completely and utterly matching the sound of Queen's Man on the Prowl as he moved his hips, threw around his arms, and kicked his legs.

Olivia just let out a laugh, watching him. And when she glanced over at Apollo, she saw the bird giving him a curious look as well, with his head tilted to the side. It was safe to say Lucas wasn't the best dancer there ever was. "So should I send this letter, telling them we'd like to go?" she inquired, waving the folded parchment in front of him.

He stopped dancing, giving her a dumbfounded look, as if the thought of not sending it was a completely and utterly crazy concept to him. "Of course you should send it!" He took a step closer.

She nodded, continuing to brush her hand on the barred owl's head. "Good, because I need to borrow Apollo, if that's all right." The boy simply nodded, so she turned to the owl, handing him the folded and sealed parchment, which he kindly took in his beak. "Take this to the Weasleys," she instructed, and then Apollo flew out of Lucas's open window.

After that, it was a few hours of Olivia sitting in Lucas's room, waiting for a reply. But when the familiar owl finally landed on the window sill, she got up from her seat on the edge of his bed, closed the book she had been reading, and fetched the letter. Lucas came up to stand beside her, looking over her shoulder since he was now almost above her height, as she opened it.

          Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon, England, just outside the village on 18 August at 5 a.m.

          The Burrow won't be hard to miss, and don't be late.

          Also, don't Floo, or else you'll get rather dirty.

That was all the letter said. Olivia and Lucas glanced at each other, him with a bright smile and her with a soft one. That information lingered on their minds for the next few days, until it was the eighteenth day in August, and they were heading towards the front doors of their family's manor, preparing to apparate to the Weasleys household.

"Where are you two sneaking off to?" the chilling voice of their mother asked, sounding completely disinterested in the question.

Oh, yeah. They hadn't told their parents, who were oddly home.

Olivia and Lucas met each other's eyes with matching expressions that let the other know that they believed they were caught and wouldn't be able to go. "Uh, we're going to the Quidditch World Cup," Olivia stated, turning to face her mother and father, who both sat on the couch.

Clodagh dropped her paper, seeming to think about this for a moment. "With whom?" Her eyes found her daughter's and slightly narrowed as Andrew focused on them as well.

"The Weasleys invited us," she replied.

Clodagh inhaled deeply through her nose, then let out the breath through her mouth in an almost sigh, and her gaze found her husband's. They just stared at one another for a long moment, as if they were speaking to each other with their eyes. And then they focused on their children, who stood next to the doors still, Olivia with her hand on the handle. "All right, you can go," she told them, then lifted her paper and began reading it again.

Olivia and Lucas looked at each other knowingly, their parents not being the only ones who could speak nonverbally. "We were going to go whether we had permission or not," Olivia admitted, sounding as if that were obvious. And then she and Lucas exited the manor without waiting for a response.

They made their way to the apparition place on the grounds of their manor and twisted and turned until they arrived at the Weasleys' burrow. The snap of them arriving must've alerted the family because the twins came walking out of the front door immediately. They had grins on their faces; the one in front—Olivia believed it was Fred—had his arms open wide in welcome as they walked over to her and Lucas.

"You're not late," he gleamed.

Olivia smiled at him. "Never am."

They walked into the tall house, and Olivia saw all of the Weasley clan piling into the kitchen, their eyes landing on the two Slytherins. Potter and Granger were there, too. They all seemed to have gleeful looks on their faces until they realized who was standing in their home. Especially the youngest Weasley boy, who looked as if he had just rolled out of bed.

"I still don't understand why you two invited them," the boy muttered, addressing his brothers but narrowing his eyes at Olivia.

Mrs. Weasley smacked her son's arm, causing his eyes to snap to her as he rubbed his hand over where she'd hit. "Ronald, don't be rude," she scowled. Then she turned to Olivia and Lucas, offering them a bright and sweet, motherly smile. "You two are just in time for breakfast!" she gleamed as she walked towards them. Her eyes studied Olivia for a moment before she put her hands on each side of the girl's face, slightly squeezing her cheeks. "You look just like your mother," she said softly. "It's uncanny."

Olivia smiled at her, fighting back the sternness in it at the thought of her mother. "I get that a lot."

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

Walking out of the Burrow, Olivia and Lucas trailed behind the boys with Girl-Weasley and Granger. Mrs. Weasley wasn't with them, and Olivia believed that the woman, like her, didn't quite enjoy Quidditch. And the three eldest Weasley boys weren't with them either, saying something about traveling via apparition or something along those lines.

The group was heading towards the forest, only having walked a couple dozen feet, but Olivia's legs were already tired, and when she was tired, she got grumpy. If the three eldest redheads could travel via apparition, then why couldn't she? It would keep her from doing all the extra walking and legwork; therefore, she wouldn't end up full of tiredness and grumpiness. They continued to walk some more, approaching the forest. And some more, now in the forest. Then more, further into the forest.

Olivia already wanted to go home.

"Ron, where are we actually going?" Potter inquired, his voice breaking through the sound of footsteps crunching leaves.

"Don't know," Weasley replied, looking at his best friend. Then he went quiet for a moment as they continued walking, focusing forward. "Hey, Dad," he called out, catching Mr. Weasley's attention. The man, who walked at the front of the group, turned around to look over his shoulder and focused on his son, as did everyone else. "Where are we going?"

"Haven't the foggiest," the man admitted, causing Olivia to snort in amusement. "Keep up!"

They walked only a few moments longer before... "Arthur!" The sound of a man's cheerful voice rang in Olivia's ears as she grew closer to the rest of the group as Mr. Weasley stuck up a hand and bowed his head in greeting. "It's about time, son."

"Sorry, Amos," the eldest redhead of the group admitted, and continued towards a rather large tree. "Some of us had a bit of a sleepy start." He glanced back at Potter and his son as the latter yawned, confirming his words.

Olivia rolled her eyes at the boy. He should be glad he could have a sleepy start; her mornings always started early. She continued alongside Granger, Ginny, and Lucas, listening to the father of redheads continue.

"This is Amos Diggory, everyone," he introduced, approaching the other man, who simply gave them a tight-lipped smile and a nod. "Works with me at the Ministry."

Olivia was looking over the glasses-wearing man. His last name sounded familiar to her. And something large fell out of the tree beside him, almost startling her. She quickly realized that it was not something, but rather someone. A boy. He was a boy who had landed right on his feet and wasted no time standing up. A rather not-hard-to-stare-at boy with a rather dramatic entrance.

"And this strapping young man must be Cedric, am I right?" asked Mr. Weasley, sticking out his hand for the boy to shake.

He was something, all right.

Olivia watched the boy, Cedric, closely and curiously as he took the man's hand in his own and gave it a firm shake. "Yes, sir," he replied, raising his brows in acknowledgement with a half-smile as his father patted his shoulder with a smile of his own on his face. Then he let go of Mr. Weasley's hand.

Olivia moved in front of them all, going closer to Cedric, who was saying his greetings to everyone one by one as her boots crushed the leaves they stepped on. And then his eyes landed on her. He took a few steps forward, coming to stand in front of her, and stuck out his hand. "Cedric Diggory."

She stared right into his piercing blue eyes as she took his hand. A small half-smirk curled at the corners of her mouth. "Olivia Mallard," she replied, shaking his hand.

His brows raised, and the hand holding her stilled. "Are you really?"

She nodded with a short hum.

"Right." He dropped her hand, a small smile on his lips, which Olivia glanced at. He looked up at the tree branches above them, nodding his head. And then their gazes met once more. "I've heard about you. The infamous demon girl, dark witch, cat murderer, or whatever you're being called these days," he continued, narrowing his eyes teasingly. "You don't look as scary as they say."

"Oh, but I am."

He looked her up and down. "We'll see about that." Then he took a step back. "This way," he added, nodding in front of him, then he began walking away as everyone followed.

And with that, Olivia took a glance back at Lucas, and she saw him staring at her, as well as Granger knowingly looking at Ginny, who stood beside her, giving her the same look in return. And the two girls looked at Olivia with knowing smirks, which Lucas joined in on, letting out small giggles as they continued forward.

Olivia just turned around with a roll of her eyes. Her gaze was trained on the back of Cedric's head as they started walking again, but she could still hear his father say, "Merlin's beard!" as Potter passed by him. "You must be Harry Potter!"

"Yes, sir," Potter responded, and Olivia stopped listening after that, not really caring about another conversation about how Potter was famous and how it was a true honor to meet him.

They continued forward for what felt like an hour, but truly, it was only about twenty minutes or so. Olivia really was tired, and her legs burned. Perhaps she needed to exercise some more. That thought was quickly tossed away with a sigh.

But finally, she knew the walking journey was mostly almost done as they climbed up a hill when Mr. Diggory said, "Yes, it's, uh, just over there."

"Shall we?" the red-headed man asked.

"Oh, yeah," his colleague answered.

They all continued up the hill, going to what looked to be an old boot as Mr. Weasley continued, "We don't want to be late."

"Come on. Nearly there now," the other man added, ushering the teens towards the top. "Get yourself into a good position."

Everyone surrounded the boot, while Potter and Weasley clambered up the hill. "Why are they all standing around that manky old boot?" The famous boy sounded quite confused, and the fact that he had lived with Muggles for the worst part of the first ten years of his life without knowing a thing about magic had almost slipped Olivia's mind.

"That isn't just any manky old boot, mate," said one of the twins.

Olivia was still struggling to tell them apart. It was incredibly frustrating.

"It's a Portkey," the other added, while the first moved forward.

Olivia stood next to the boot, with Lucas to her left and Granger to her right. Then they all bent down, placing one hand on the old leather, as Potter looked even more confused. "What's a Portkey?"

No one answered him as one of the twins moved around them, getting on the ground, and he placed his hand on the boot as well.

"Ready! After three," Mr. Diggory instructed, loud and clear enough for everyone to hear. "One...  two..."

Mr. Weasley looked up, his eyes falling on the brunette boy. "Harry!"

Potter quickly grabbed onto the boot, nearly missing his chance to go to the World Cup.

"...three!"

Everyone screamed as they began spinning rapidly in a circle, and Olivia felt like she was going to showcase the wonderful breakfast Mrs. Weasley had made for them that morning. This time, it wouldn't be quite as pretty-looking. Then a bright light blinded her as they began traveling from one place to the next. The spinning wasn't as intense any longer, and she could see the surprised, gleeful, and somewhat looked-like-they-were-going-to-cry faces in front of her.

"Let go, kids!" Mr. Weasley instructed, a bright smile on his face.

"What!?" asked Granger with a disbelieving tone.

"Let go!" the man repeated.

Potter was the first to let go, and then Granger, Olivia, Weasley, and Lucas all at once. They screamed as they were sucked back, going down a tunnel of light before landing harshly on the ground. Well, Potter, Granger, Weasley, and the others of the Weasley clan, excluding the eldest man, landed harshly on the ground. Olivia and Lucas, having used a Portkey a few times before, gracefully walked through the air down to the ground, like Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory, and Cedric were doing.

"I'll bet that cleared your sinuses, eh?" joked Mr. Weasley, sounding rather enthusiastic with a smile on his face. Olivia glanced over at the man, seeing the ones beside him grinning as well as they stared at Potter.

"Total shambles, as per usual," Mr. Diggory added as his son walked over to the glasses-wearing boy.

Cedric offered Potter a hand, for which he was thanked, and pulled him up. And then they continued on their way. Going up a hill, there was some faint music, and then the sight of hundreds and hundreds of tents caught their eye. Olivia's brows raised in surprise at just how many people were actually there. She didn't know why she was surprised; it was the Quidditch World Cup, after all. But still, this many people actually enjoyed the sport?

"Well, kids, welcome to the Quidditch World Cup!" Mr. Weasley gleamed.

Lucas's happy and wide eyes met his sister's, reminding her of the reason they were there in the first place, and all of her annoyance, tiredness, and grumpiness quickly vanished. Brooms wooshed through the hair, folk music played about, and people were hanging around, chatting with others, enjoying the sights, and doing anything and everything they could do to pass time.

They moved forward, during which the redhead man continued, "Stay together! Keep up, girls!"

Olivia, as well as all of the others, glanced around, taking in everything; they were more excited than her. She walked closer to Granger and Girl-Weasley, while Lucas piled forward with the boys, now having something to talk to them about. Quidditch, of course. She heard Mr. Weasley as he continued to tell them to keep up. And she pushed forward through the crowd as Granger and Ginny followed, coming closer to the boys. She got to them just in time to see Cedric and his father parting ways. Her brows furrowed, and she took a few steps closer to Lucas, tugging at his sleeve to catch attention.

"Where are they going?" she asked, still staring at the Diggorys.

Before Lucas could answer, one of the twins faced her. "Going off to their own tent."

"They'll be back with us for the match," added the other.

Then they glanced at each other, and Olivia looked at them suspiciously before they focused back on her with matching smirks. "Missing your new boyfriend, are you, Olivia?" they questioned her in unison. It was unsettling to her bones that their voices matched so perfectly.

"He's not my anything," she countered, shrugging her shoulders. "I was just curious." She walked off without saying another word and without listening to any of the nonsense they spewed as she followed Mr. Weasley. The others trailed behind her, catching up with the man as well, until they finally came to a stop at a tent.

It was a rather small tent that seemed to dampen the glee on the twins' faces, and Olivia wondered how more than two of them were meant to fit in there. Their father, however, still had a bright smile. And that made Olivia curious.

"Home, sweet home," the man said, turning to face the ones behind him.

Olivia crossed her arms over her chest, ignoring the feeling of her extension-charmed bag hitting her hip. She watched the man pull open the cloth flaps of the tent, alluding to their entry. The twins went first, then followed Ginny and Granger, who also looked confused, then Lucas. Then Potter muttered, "What?" as Weasley went in. Olivia was second-to-last of the teenagers, besides Potter. Mr. Weasley was giving her a curious look, but with a smile still on his face as she moved forward. It seemed as if he was hesitant about her being there. She didn't blame him. The rumors about her family around the world weren't the nicest. And half of them weren't even true, but, alas, most didn't know that. She just gave him a small smile and stepped into the tent.

He followed her after, leaving Potter alone.

The tent was much bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside. The brilliant wonders of magic. There were cushioned chairs, a patterned carpet on the floor, windows, a kitchen area, a table, a bathroom, and loads of other things. It was quite nice. Olivia's eyes danced around, taking in all of the different patterned clothes that made up the sides and top of the inside before they landed on Potter, who still stood outside, looking confused.

"Girls choose a bunk and unpack," Mr. Weasley instructed, throwing his own bag down onto a chair.

Olivia glanced over to where the other two girls were standing, not even paying attention to how Potter walked in with a shocked, almost stunned expression on his face. She met the redhead girl's eyes, watching as she waved her over with a smile. It was odd, to say the least. The last time Olivia had been this close to Ginny was in the Chamber of Secrets, and she was sure that wasn't something she wanted to be reminded of, let alone spend any amount of time with someone that had barely helped her as she was dying.

No matter, Olivia slowly walked over to them, hearing Mr. Weasley say, "Ron, get out of the kitchen. We're all hungry."

She stopped in front of the two girls.

"Yeah, get out of the kitchen!" the twins, in unison, added.

Ginny and Granger moved closer to Olivia, and the older Gryffindor girl grabbed her wrist and dragged her along with them.

"Feet off the table!" the man continued, pointing a telling finger at his twin sons, who indeed had their feet on the table, as the girls rushed past him.

"Feet off the table!" they repeated, still in matching tones.

Granger pulled Olivia up some steps as Ginny followed, laughing in awe, going towards the small bunks. The two Gryffindors sat down on one, tossing their bags down, and turned to Olivia, who was giving them a peculiar look, her eyes slightly narrowed in suspicion. She sat down on the bunk opposite them, placing her bag beside her.

What had she gotten herself into? And where was Lucas?

She turned to her right, looking to see if she could see her brother and needing some assistance. The only girls that she'd ever spent time with were Pansy and Daphne, whom she could find things in common with, though the latter no longer counted. Did she know how Lucas was supposed to help? No, but he could somehow.

And as if he sensed her trying to find him, the boy walked up a few steps. He offered the girls a small smile, stopping in his place for a moment as they all stared at him, then moved over to the bunk Olivia sat on. Setting his bag down next to hers, he muttered, "Just going to put my bag here." He stared at his sister, then glanced at the two sitting across from her, who gave him bright smiles, then back to her with confusion in his gaze. He cleared his throat and then pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "I'm going to hang out with the boys, if that's alright."

Curse you, Lucas! "Yes, you can do what you'd like," Olivia replied, ridding her thoughts from her head and offering a small smile.

He quirked a brow, like he knew what she was feeling. "You sure?"

She simply nodded, humming in response.

"Okay," he mumbled, taking a short step back. He lingered for a moment, then walked off, sending one last glance at the two girls, who were still staring at him with those bright, toothy smiles and gleaming eyes.

Once he was out of their sight-line, Ginny and Granger turned to Olivia, who met his gaze. The smiles were still on their faces, just not as bright and toothy. Their brows were also slightly raised, like they were excited about something.

"Your brother's quite cute," Ginny admitted.

Oh? Olivia raised her brows and her face with just the smallest hint of shock.

"Is he interested in anyone, perhaps?"

Granger swatted at the girl beside her arm. "Ginny!" she gasped at the boldness.

Olivia looked between the two, breathing out in awkwardness. "Uh..." How was she supposed to tell them that they weren't his... type without letting them know something that Lucas held so close to his chest and didn't tell anyone but her?

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

Hours later, the sun was beginning to set, and Olivia had somehow managed her way out of Ginny's question about her brother, and she was glad for it. They were now out of the tent after spending time in there as well as exploring everything else the land on which the tent sat offered. Once they finally stopped, enjoying the sights of the arena, Weasley asked, "Blimey, Dad. How far up are we?" He was slightly out of breath due to the number of stairs they had climbed. No fault to his belt, that was; it had been quite some stairs. Even Olivia could agree with him on that—in her mind, she would never say it out loud.

"Well, put it this way," a man's voice began. A stupid, annoying, belongs-to-a-Malfoy voice. Olivia's eyes found her brother's, who stood beside her, and gave him a knowing look. Lucius was down below, off to their right, and she stood behind Weasley and his father, seemingly out of sight of the man. "If it rains, you'll be the first to know."

If Lucius was there, that surely meant...

"Father and I are in the minister's box," that all-too-familiar tone bragged, causing Olivia to inhale deeply. Was she still confused about whatever she felt? Yes, she was. Had time away from the boy helped her forget about it at all? Only slightly. But now he was close again, so close to her with his known-to-her voice, smugness, and presence. She couldn't see him, though, and she hoped he couldn't see her either. "By personal invitation of Cornelius Fudge himself."

Lucius seemed to move forward as Draco continued talking because the Weasleys moved as well, going to stand at another part of the railing. Still, she was unseen by either of the blondes down below. She could see them, however, and she could see how Lucius hit Draco in the stomach with his cane, causing the boy to grunt. "Don't boast, Draco," he told him. Draco rubbed his hand along where he'd been hit as Olivia took a step forward, her eyes narrowing on the man. "There's no need with these people," he added, still not looking up.

"What a great honor that is," said Olivia in a completely sarcastic tone. She moved to stand in front of the railing, placing her left elbow on the cold metal of it and her chin in her hand. The two below looked up quickly, focusing on her as she offered a smile.

Draco's eyes narrowed when he realized who he was staring at. "What are you doing here?" He sounded so confused yet stern. "You hate Quidditch," he reminded her, as if she didn't already know that fact.

She stood up straight again, carelessly shrugging her shoulders as she clasped her hands together behind her back. Her hips swayed, one to the front and the other to the back, and reversed as she looked down at the two. "I was invited by the ones that apparently are not worth boasting to—and since I am with them... Well, I suppose that applies to me as well." She watched as Draco's mouth opened and closed. "It would've been rude of me to turn them down," she continued, glancing behind her. "Besides, Lucas is a major fan of the sport, as you know."

"Olivia..."

She looked Draco up and down, now noticing his attire. "Nice suit," she cut in, then glanced over at Lucius before focusing on the boy again. She'd be lying to herself if she said that it didn't flatter him. But at this moment, that didn't matter. "You look just like your father." She narrowed her eyes with a fake smile curling at her lips. Then she rolled her eyes, turning to leave as the others did the same.

Before she could even take one step, Lucius was smacking the top of his cane down at their feet, specifically hers and Potter's. They focused on him as he looked up at the glasses-wearing boy. "Do enjoy yourself, won't you?" He sneered. "While you can." He let out a half-smirk on his face before turning to Olivia, who was glaring at him. "You and your brother, dear girl, might want to join us in the minister's box... to save face for your family." He didn't sound at all concerned for her, Lucas, or their family; it just seemed he wanted to best the Weasleys. "I'm sure there's plenty of room, and you can... keep Draco company," he muttered the last bit, glancing back at his son with a glare.

A smile fell on her face, and she could tell it made the man think she was going to agree with him. As if. Olivia wanted to scoff. "No, thank you," she snarkily replied instead. "Spending any longer with the likes of you would ruin any bit of good reputation my family and I have left worse than it ever would with the Weasleys." The man's smirk fell off his face as she kicked his cane away. "At least they are decent people; the same could not be said for you." She sent one last glare in Draco's direction, which he returned, and then turned to walk away.

Everyone else followed her as Lucas came to her side. "You didn't break his cane this time," he whispered into her ear.

With a small wave of her left hand, which rested at her side, the sound of wood snapping caught their ears. But she didn't look back like the others, who only saw Lucius sneering as he held two parts of his cane; she just continued forward. "Whoops," she muttered, glancing over at her brother, seeing him shake his head in amusement as he focused on her.

A second later, she felt Mr. Weasley's gaze on her, and she turned to him. "You're not going to get me in trouble for using magic outside of school, are you?" She asked with a hopeful tone.

The man just laughed, shaking his head as an answer.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

The crowd was cheering loudly as they sat in the stands, while Olivia and the others made their way to their own seats, which were at the top of the arena. As much as it made her want to bang her head against a wall until she was bleeding, Olivia had to admit that Lucius was right about the rain. But that didn't matter, because no matter how high they were, they could see everything, as opposed to the more expensive and lower seats.

Mr. Diggory and Cedric were now with them again. "Come on up. Take your seats," the man said, gesturing for them to follow him. And everyone, who was now accessorized in the fan gear—scarves, hats, painted faces—of whichever team they were going for, except for the Mallard girl, did. "I told you these seats would be worth waiting for!"

The Weasleys, short of the youngest boy, who was in support of Bulgaria, were in Ireland's colors—green and white—as well as Granger. Lucas and Potter were in the other team's colors—red and black—as well. And Cedric, Olivia, and the two older men stood in just their regular clothes that they had arrived there in.

Olivia was in front of the twins and behind Cedric. It was peculiar how that happened. She didn't even glance in the brunette boy's direction as one of the twins, who had his face painted green and white and had a matching top hat on, shouted, "Come on! Ha, ha!"

Ireland players flew above them, causing them to duck down for a moment. When they stood up again, Granger made her way, with Girl-Weasley by her side, to stand next to Olivia, as the ginger cheered loudly, and her brother said, "It's the Irish! There's Troy!"

"And Mullet!" the other twin added. Olivia believed it was George.

"And Moran!"

They watched as the Irish players flew up ahead, towards the sky, and let out green and white smoke from their brooms. And then there were fireworks, creating a giant leprechaun in the sky, and the crowd got even louder. The leprechaun then started doing the Irish jig, causing Granger to laugh and everyone to watch with bright smiles on their faces.

It was amusing; Olivia would admit that much.

The crowd began cheering Ireland's name as the players soared around to watch their entertainment. George cut through it, shouting, "Here come the Bulgarians!" And they all watched as the red and black team burst through the leprechaun, causing him to explode into a bunch of red sparks. They all, impressed, shouted, "Whoa!" as they watched the red team fly towards the green.

"Who's that?" Ginny, the girl who was wearing a large green hat with a black band and gold buckle, asked, her voice loud so she could be heard over the cheers of the arena. They watched one of the players spin around on his broom, flying skillfully around.

"That, sis, is the best Seeker in the world!" one of her brother's replied.

Olivia's eyes focused in on Weasley, who was holding a rather large telescope, which made him look even funnier than the small red hat with a black band and bow on his head did. She felt a tap on her shoulder and glanced over to see Granger smiling at her. "So, which team are you going for?" the girl asked over the noise.

Olivia gave her a curious look. She now stood in between Granger and Cedric, while the girl had Potter, Ginny, Weasley, Lucas, and the twins to her right. Letting out a breath, she turned back to the arena. "My mother was born in Ireland, so I'm obviously going for Bulgaria," she loudly answered with a smirk, causing the girl to laugh. She still felt odd about, dare she say, getting along with Granger, as well as the rest of them. It was all so strange.

The crowd began cheering, "Krum! Krum! Krum!" before Granger could say anything more.

Olivia recognized that name, Krum. She pondered it in her head for a moment before it dawned on her. Viktor Krum, Bulgaria's Seeker. Lucas had raved about the boy during the few days leading up to the game, going on and on about how good of a player he was. Olivia had just sat and listened.

Krum's face was showcased largely on the inside of the arena for everyone to see as he held up a fist, and people continued to cheer for him. He then flew, the sight of him following along around half of the stadium. When he stopped, a flag appeared behind him, in Bulgaria's colors, with his name on it.

"Krum!" The boys cheered.

The crowd continued to be loud, and the ones around Olivia whooped for the Seeker.

"Good evening!" Minister Fudge began, using his wand to make his voice louder so that everyone in the stadium could hear him by holding at the side of his neck. The cheers and applause died down at the sound of him speaking, and Olivia focused in on his box, where apparently Draco and Lucius sat. "As Minister for Magic, it gives me great pleasure to welcome each and every one of you to the final of the 422nd Quidditch World Cup!" He paused for dramatic effect. "Let the match..."—he took his wand from his throat, pointing it forward—"begin!" A ball of light fell from the tip of his wand as the crowd began cheering loudly and flew to the sky.

And then the game began.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

━━━━ ella's speaking !
13K already?? omg tysm!!

act four is finally here! i have the first eight chapters of this act written (there's going to be twenty in total)!! besides this one, they all need to be edited and then they'll be published one-by-one (or i may even double-update from time-to-time teehee). i hope you enjoyed this chapter bc i loved writing it !!

make sure to comment and vote 🫶🏻

kisses.

━━━━━━━━━━ born to die,
© -LOSTGARDENS,         mar 2024

word count: 6516.  written: 2.18-21.24.  published: 3.10.24.