YOU HAVE TO TELL HIM SOMETIME.

ON THE MORNING OF THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP, Harry, Ivy, and Sirius took the Floo Network to the Weasleys' home at a horribly early hour. The sun wasn't even up, something all three of them were less than thrilled about. Ivy was still leaning sleepily against Sirius as they sat at the breakfast table.

Everyone else was already in the kitchen except for Bill, Charlie, and Percy, who would all be Apparating to the game, meaning that they got to sleep in. Sirius was regretting agreeing to take the long way with Harry to keep him company. And though Ivy felt the same, she didn't complain about how tired she was as Molly handed her a warm bowl of porridge, which she quickly scarfed down while listening to Sirius explain to Harry how Apparating worked — he had little knowledge of it, and part of that was Ivy arriving Splinched and bleeding out in the living room.

"But Bill and Charlie and Percy can all do it?" Harry asked after Arthur had explained why he preferred traveling by brooms.

"Charlie had to take the test twice," Fred said, grinning. "He failed the first time. Apparated five miles south of where he meant to, right on top of some poor old dear doing her shopping, remember?"

"Yes, well, he passed the second time," Mrs. Weasley said in a firm voice, making the snickers at Charlie's expense stop.

"Percy only passed two weeks ago," Ron told Harry in a dull tone. He let out a hearty yawn before continuing. "He's been Apparating downstairs every morning since just to prove he can."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Harry asked, looking to Ivy worriedly.

"What happened to me doesn't happen often — only when one isn't concentrating enough," Ivy explained softly.

There were footsteps down the hallway and Hermione and Ginny came into the kitchen, both looking pale and drowsy — they all looked pale and drowsy. Not even wearing a kit with Ethan's name on the back of it could brighten Ivy up yet.

"Why do we have to be up so early?" Ginny asked, rubbing her eyes and sitting down next to Ivy and leaning against her as she leaned against Sirius.

"We've got a bit of a walk," Mr. Weasley answered.

"Walk?" Harry repeated. "What, are we walking to the World Cup?"

"No, no, that's miles away," Mr. Weasley told him, smiling. "We only need to walk a short way. It's just that it's very difficult for a large number of wizards to congregate without attracting Muggle attention. We have to be very careful about how we travel at the best of times, and on a huge occasion like the Quidditch World Cup —"

"George!" Mrs. Weasley's sharp voice cut Arthur off, making them all jump in surprise. Ivy smiled at the twin, wondering what he could've done so early to have his mother yelling.

"What?" George asked, feigning innocence that no one believed.

"What is that in your pocket?"

"Nothing!"

"Don't you lie to me!" And then their mother pointed her wand at George's pocket, which seemed to be full of something. "Accio!"

Several small, brightly colored objects zoomed out of his pocket. Ivy knew exactly what they were as he tried to grab a few of them out of the air but missed, and they sped right into their mother's hand.

"We told you to destroy them!" Mrs. Weasley shouted furiously, holding up what were unmistakably more Ton-Tongue Toffees. After the incident with testing them out on Harry's awful cousin when helping him move in with Sirius, Molly had yelled at the two boys for what seemed like hours about their joke products. "We told you to get rid of the lot! Empty your pockets, go on, both of you!"

Ivy bit her lip and sat back while Sirius and Remus just snickered. Clearly, the boys were trying to smuggle as many of the toffees out of the house as possible. No doubt, their mother would search the house high and low for more. Fred and George didn't willingly hand any more candies over, making Molly use the Summoning Charm again. The candies flew out of everywhere — the lining of their jackets, the turned-up hem of Fred's pants, and every pocket of their backpacks.

"We spent six months developing those!" Fred shouted at their mother as she threw the toffees away.

"Oh a fine way to spend six months!" she shrieked. "No wonder you didn't get more O.W.L.s!"

By the time they left the Burrow, the twins were ready to leave. Fred and George were quite upset about the loss of their products. Ivy squeezed her way in between them and intertwined her arms with theirs.

"C'mon. Cheer up, boys. It's not the end of the world," Ivy said. "Besides, I've still got those ones you gave me, Freddie."

"I bloody love you!" Fred exclaimed, crushing her in a hug while George kissed her cheek. Sirius grumbled to himself at the sight, but most thought he was just tired from the early morning.

"You're brilliant," George said excitedly.

The news certainly brightened the boys' moods as the others finally caught up to the twins and Ivy. They walked for quite a bit. When they had started, it was still dark out and the moon was in the sky. Ivy was glad that the shirt she was wearing had long sleeves because it was quite cool, but she knew it would warm up once the sun came up. They walked for so long that Ivy felt like her legs were going to fall off. According to Arthur, the Portkey was just up ahead — the problem was that it was at the top of a hill. Ivy stopped at the base of it and looked up with dread.

Sirius chuckled at her exhausted expression before getting down on his knees, silently offering for her to climb on. She did so happily while slyly kissing his neck in thanks, her sign of affection going unnoticed by everyone but Ginny and Hermione.

"I love you," she whispered, relaxing as he trekked up the hill. "Thank you for carrying me up a mountain."

Sirius had no trouble getting up the hill with what good shape he was in. He and the twins seemed to fair the best by the time they all reached the top — aside from Ivy, who hadn't even broken a sweat. As everyone took a moment to catch their breath, she hopped off Sirius and checked to make sure that the two braids in her hair were still intact. Then Arthur told them to look out for the Portkey. They only looked for a few moments before a voice called out to them.

"Over here, Arthur! Over here, son, we've got it!" They could see two tall figures that were hard to make out as it was still dark outside.

"Amos!" Mr. Weasley called, smiling as he strode over to the man who had shouted. The rest of them followed. Mr. Weasley was shaking hands with a ruddy-faced wizard with a scruffy brown beard that Ivy had met many a time, who was holding a moldy-looking old boot in his other hand. "This is Amos Diggory, everyone. He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric?"

"Yes," Sirius said, his jaw tense. "He's been over with the other kids a few times."

Ivy was already bounding over to Cedric as soon as she saw him. Cedric was just as sleepy as the others but was prepared as Ivy jumped into his arms, giving him a big hug. He grinned and hugged his friend back just as tightly, then addressed the others, keeping an arm around Ivy's shoulder. And all the while, Sirius glared at her, knowing exactly what she was doing.

Everyone said hello back except for Fred and George. They all knew Cedric of course — they still were upset about losing the match against him that was ruined by the rain and Dementors. Clearly, they were still pressed about the loss.

"Long walk, Arthur?" Cedric's father had asked.

"Not too bad," said Mr. Weasley. "We live just on the other side of the village there. You?"

"Had to get up at two, didn't we, Ced?"

Ivy made a disgusted face which made Cedric laugh. She couldn't imagine waking up so early — Sirius wouldn't have been able to coax her out of his warm bed.

"I tell you, I'll be glad when he's got his Apparition test. Still, not complaining — Quidditch World Cup, wouldn't miss it for a sackful of Galleons — and the tickets cost about that. Mind you, looks like I got off easy." Mr. Diggory paused and looked at the faces of all the children. "All these yours, Arthur?"

"Oh no, only the redheads," said Mr. Weasley, pointing out which ones were related. "This is Hermione, friend of Ron's — and Harry, another friend —"

"Merlin's beard," Mr. Diggory suddenly said, his eyes widening. "Harry? Harry Potter?"

Ivy shot Harry a sympathetic look, knowing what was coming. She could only hope that Harry wouldn't be too bothered.

"Er — yeah."

"Ced's talked about you, of course," Mr. Diggory said. "Told us all about playing against you last year. I said to him, I said — Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will. You beat Harry Potter!"

Harry didn't quite know how to respond to that, so he stayed silent. At the mention of the game, Fred and George started scowling at Cedric, who looked quite embarrassed.

"Harry fell off his broom, Dad," he muttered. "I told you, it was an accident."

"Yes, but you didn't fall off, did you?" Mr. Diggory bragged. "Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman, but the best man won. I'm sure Harry'd say the same, wouldn't you, eh? One falls off his broom, one stays on, you don't need to be a genius to tell which one's the better flier!"

"Ced offered for a rematch," Ivy said, looking pointedly at Fred and George. "Not Hufflepuff's fault that Wood turned him down. And you still won the Cup. Besides, I think it did some good for you guys to lose a game. Humbled you."

It seemed that Mr. Diggory had just noticed the young girl that was under his son's arm, too distracted by Harry Potter before. "Oh, hello, Ivy, dear," he said, grinning as he pulled her into a hearty hug. "Was beginning to wonder when I'd see you again. Cedric just never stops talking about you."

Cedric's cheeks reddened, though it was hard to see in the dim lighting. Sirius caught it, feeling a bit smug. Sure, Ivy was tucked under Cedric's arm, but it was Sirius who'd been deep inside her the night before, making her cry out his name like it was the only word she knew.

"Must be nearly time," Mr. Weasley said, checking his pocket watch. "Do you know whether we're waiting for any more, Amos?"

"No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already and the Fawcetts couldn't get tickets," said Mr. Diggory. "There aren't any more of us in this area, are there?"

"Not that I know of."

They all crowded around the old boot that Amos was holding after Arthur explained to Harry and Hermione how the Portkey worked. It was rather crowded with all of them surrounding the small boot, trying to grab ahold of it. It was a few more seconds and then it happened immediately. Everyone felt a jerking feeling as they were being transported. And then it was over as soon as it had finished. Never having used a Portkey, Ivy landed harshly on the ground with Ginny slamming on top of her.

Ginny rolled off her friend, groaning out an apology, and then Ivy sat up. She ran a hand over her hair, where her braid was no doubt ruined — it would have to be redone once they found their tent. Ivy glanced up and saw that Sirius, Remus, Arthur, Mr. Diggory, and Cedric were all standing, looking hardly bothered by the trip while everyone else was scattered on the ground.

Sirius smirked at her as he offered a hand to help her up. She grabbed it and let him help her up, but not without narrowing her eyes at his hair, which looked perfectly windswept.

"Oh, don't pout, Bunny," he murmured, keeping her close. "Makes me want to kiss it right off your lips."

Her face burned as they continued toward the crowded land ahead of them. As the two families parted to find their tents, Ivy hugged Cedric and promised to come and find him later.

"So, is Val coming?" Remus asked, sounding almost nervous while fiddling with his collar while making their way through the large field of tents.

"Of course, she is," Ivy said softly. "But she's traveling with her parents. She'll find us soon, though."

He nodded in understanding, keeping his eyes down. Then they all kept walking until they spotted the two tents that were side by side — one read 'Black' and the other 'Weezly' which made Ivy and the twins laugh.

Inside, the tent was huge, meaning everyone would have plenty of space. Harry looked around in awe, still so unused to the things magic could be used for. Remus and Sirius just smiled at him while setting their bags by their designated beds.

"Oh no," Harry said, looking around. "There's only three beds. We forgot mine."

Ivy's smile fell, unable to believe he automatically assumed he wouldn't have a bed. Truthfully, Sirius had forgotten that Ivy wasn't meant to be sleeping in his bed every night.

"Don't worry, HJ," Ivy told him, squeezing his shoulder. "I'll share with Sirius."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, narrowing his eyes at a pleased Sirius. He didn't want him taking advantage of the situation. "I can just go over and share with Ron."

"Well, it's up to you. You might be so excited after the match that you want to stay with them over there," Sirius said while running a hand through his hair.

"I'll go ask if he'd mind," Harry said, knowing already that he wouldn't. He just didn't want Ivy to feel like she had to share a bed with Sirius — if only he knew that she did every night already.

Once Harry ran off, Remus sighed and looked at the other two. "You have to tell him sometime."

"We will eventually — probably before he goes back to school next week," Sirius told him. Then he looked at Ivy, who was combing her fingers through her hair, undoing her braids from before. "Bunny, want me to redo your braids?"

"Since when do you know how?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. But she still moved to sit in front of him on the bed.

"His hair was far too long in school," Remus said, a smile on his face. "And he didn't want to deal with it, so it was always pulled out of his face."

As Sirius gently began sectioning her hair into two different French braids, Ivy did her best to picture a young Sirius — one with softer features and long, wavy hair like he'd had when he escaped Azkaban. And she knew that if she'd gone to school with him, she'd have been one of countless girls that was obsessed with him.

"Speaking of things you haven't told Harry," Remus then said, pulling a copy of the Daily Prophet out of his back pocket. They were still searching for Peter with no luck. He'd disappeared just as easily as Sirius had the year before.

"We just want him to enjoy his summer," Sirius muttered, anger coursing through him as he thought of Peter. Braiding Ivy's hair helped calm him down some though. "But I won't let him go to that school without knowing. If I could get in, so could Peter. He needs extra protection."

"So do you two."

They all looked up, seeing Val at the entrance of the tent. She was wearing the exact same kit as Ivy, ready to support Ethan. Remus thought she looked exhausted, and it wasn't because of the early morning. It was Val's first day off since Peter escaped, and she and every other Auror had been putting in extra hours to search for him.

"We'll be fine, Val," Remus told her, avoiding eye contact.

"Not if he decides to come after you," Ivy said with a frown.

"Please," Sirius scoffed. "Peter's a coward, and Voldemort is gone. He's got no one to scurry to anymore. He doesn't have it in him to come after us — knows he won't live through it a second time."

"Careful, Sirius," Val said with a somber expression. "The last few times you underestimated him—"

"We're perfectly aware of what he's capable of," Remus cut her off bitterly.

"Right," she muttered. Then Val looked to her best friend. "Hand over your Bunny, Sirius. We've gotta go wish Ethan good luck. I'll return her to you in perfect condition."

"You'd better," he muttered before kissing Ivy sweetly. She smiled and deepened it, thanking him for fixing her hair.

"Gross!" Val exclaimed, moving to pull Ivy off of Sirius. "Get off her, Grandpa!"