𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗦

𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘘𝘜𝘐𝘋𝘋𝘐𝘛𝘊𝘏 𝘞𝘖𝘙𝘓𝘋 𝘊𝘜𝘗

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Alina thought only a couple of seconds passed after she finally closed her eyes until she was being gently shaken by Hermione, who was trying to wake her up.

"Come on, Alina. It's time to wake up," she whispered, greeting her with a smile when she finally opened her eyes. "Do you need help picking your clothes?"

Alina rose to a sitting position and yawned, then stretched out her arms. "No, thank you. I had them ready since I packed my bags. They're definitely incognito."

"I bet they are," said Hermione,  "you always dress up nicely. Should we try to wake Ron and Harry too, or should we let Mrs. Weasley do that?"

"Hm..." Alina scrunched up her nose. "I'd say we let Mrs. Weasley take care of the boys. Oh, you're already dressed up. I guess I better hurry."

She jumped out of bed and walked out of the room, heading to the bathroom to wash up and get changed. She dressed in silence, putting on a simple, Muggle-like outfit. She was wearing a plain black shirt, tugged in at the front in her Levi's shorts, paired with some leather ankle boots.

Her blonde waves were naturally falling down her shoulders, only combed by her fingers today. And, of course, her signature rosy, slightly shimmery lips. She didn't like lip glosses too much, particularly not sticky ones, but she didn't go out without some rose petal colored stain on her lips and maybe even a little bit on the apples of her cheeks.

She walked down the stairs, meeting Hermione and the Weasleys in the kitchen, who were having an interesting conversation about their Muggle outfits.

"Why can't we Apparate too?" Fred asked grumpily, stirring his spoon in the porridge he was eating. "Morning, van Blumenthal. You look very ordinary!"

"Because you're not of age and you haven't passed your test," Mrs. Weasley explained, bothered by her son's attitude. "That's not true. You look lovely, dear!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. And thank you too, Fred. This was actually the look I was going for," Alina said, taking a seat at the table, "Muggle fashion isn't that difficult to replicate, most of them don't put any effort in their clothings or looks."

"You have to pass a test to Apparate? I didn't know that," Harry said, walking in the kitchen right after Alina.

"Oh, yes," Mr. Weasley said, coming from the living room. "You need a special license for Apparition. It's not easy, and it can lead to nasty complications."

"Like what?" Harry asked.

"The other day, the Department of Magical Transportation had to fine a pair of people for Apparating without a license. It seems that they splinched themselves," Mr. Weasley explained, earning winces from everyone around the table. "Anyway, hurry up! We've got a bit of a walk."

"Walk?" said Harry, confused. "Are we walking to the World Cup?"

"Oh, no," Mr. Wesley quickly cleared it up, "that's miles away. We only need to walk a short way. Security protocol, it's difficult for so many wizards to meet without attracting the attention of the Muggles."

Before anyone could say anything else, Mrs. Weasley called out George's name and started to ask questions about the contents of his pockets. When she discovered that the boy still had some forbidden candy, she used her Summoning Charm to find and get rid of all the toffees.

"So how does everyone get there without any Muggles noticing?" Harry asked, still focusing on Mr. Weasley's words, rather than Mrs. Weasley screaming Accio every two seconds, revealing more and more candy.

"Did your mother tell you about the protocol, Alina?" Mr. Weasley asked. When he received a confirmation, he encouraged her to speak up and explain it to Harry.

"Since packing so many wizards into Diagon Alley or platform nine and three-quarters is impossible, the Ministry had to come up with some better alternatives. While some wizards use Muggle transport, their number is limited too, and the others either Apparate in a safe place, or they use Portkeys to get here. Which is probably what we're going to do today, since we can't all Apparate yet."

"Very well, Alina!" Mr. Weasley congratulated her. "You seem very interested in the Ministry's business. I assume you want to work there after you graduate from Hogwarts?"

"Actually, yes. I want to be an Auror, just like my father," Alina admitted. "But probably not in the department that handles international matters, he rarely gets a day off."

"It's never easy, being an Auror. But I'm sure you will do just fine," he said, then checked to see if everyone was ready to go. "Alright, then. Let's get going."

It was chilly outside and the morning sun wasn't going to warm them up anytime soon, it was just a dull tinge against the horizon. A symbol that daylight was close, but not there yet.

They walked down the village lane and Alina was already regretting she didn't bring a jacket with her that she could squeeze in her backpack later. It was almost mid August, the days were still warm, but not the mornings.

"Now, we need to look for the Portkey," Mr. Weasley announced, squinting at the ground. "It should be around here, somewhere, and it shouldn't be too big.."

"Over here, Arthur!" A shout disturbed the morning silence. "Over here, son, we've got it!"

"Amos!" Mr. Weasley greeted the man, smiling as he walked over to shake the hand of the wizard whose face was covered by a brown beard, and who was holding an old-looking boot in his other hand. "Everyone, this is Amos—"

"Cedric!" Alina exclaimed, a wide grin growing as her eyes laid upon the tall silhouette on the hilltop.

"Amos Diggory. And his son, Cedric Diggory," Mr. Weasley finished what he was trying to say, his tone lower than before. He let out a low chuckle, watching the couple greeting each other.

The two of them started to walk towards each other. When he reached her, Cedric tightly wrapped his arms around the smaller girl, sweeping her off her feet and spinning her in the air. It wasn't hard to read the enthusiasm written all over Cedric's face, and it was all thanks to the blonde girl in his arms.

"Alina, you're freezing," Cedric said, pointedly, and took off his backpack and his jacket. He helped her take off her backpack too, then dressed her up and closed her zipper for her. "Here, now you should warm up."

"But you're going to get cold," Alina said, her hand reaching for the zipper.

She was stopped by Cedric, who grabbed her hand and helped her put her backpack on once again, then rubbed his hands against hers, trying to heat them up.

"I'll be fine, I'm wearing more clothes than you do," he said. "But you're still looking as pretty as ever. How have you been? It's been a while.  Have you had a good summer?"

While Cedric Diggory attacked her with questions, the others were mostly left speechless. Either because of the unexpected familiarity between these two, or, in Amos Diggory's case, it was Harry's presence that surprised him.

"I never knew van Blumenthal got along so well with Diggory," Fred said to Hermione, his eyebrows raised teasingly.

"Well—" Hermione started, but was interrupted by George.

"Maybe they get along even better, and we just don't know it."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ron asked, clearly clueless about what was going on around him.

"Nothing, Ron. Don't stress your mind too much," Hermione mocked him, a little irritated by how oblivious he could be sometimes.

"Must be nearly time," Mr. Weasley said, taking a look at his watch. "Are we waiting for any more, Amos?"

"No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already and the Fawcetts couldn't get tickets," Amos Diggory replied.

"Then we better get ready..." said Mr. Weasley, then looked around for Harry and Hermione. "You just need to touch it, even a finger would do."

The ten of them gathered around the old boot Mr. Diggory was holding earlier. They stood there, in a right circle, and reached out to touch the Portkey.

"Ready to go?" Cedric asked. His question, although was meant for everyone, felt more like it only targeted Alina, as his eyes never left hers while he spoke, earning an excited nod from her.

"Three..." Mr. Weasley muttered, starting the countdown. A cold breeze swept over the hilltop and everything suddenly turned silent. "two... one..."

As soon as Mr. Weasley finished the countdown, the transportation happened immediately: it felt as if they have been caught by a hook and suddenly swept away and then—

Their feet hit the ground. Alina had a rougher landing, but Cedric was quick to wrap his arms around her to hold her steady. Only Mr. Diggory, Mr. Weasley, Cedric and Alina were standing on their feet, the others landed directly on the ground, followed by the Portkey who almost hit Ron's head.

"You know, one day, you'll be cheering for me from these very same seats," Cedric proudly said, slowing down his walking pace so she could easily keep up with him.

"Or maybe I'll be playing right next to you," Alina corrected him in a playful voice.

"So you want to try for the National Team?" he asked.

"I'm not sure yet," Alina said, "but I'm not crossing it out of my list yet. Maybe I will, maybe I won't."

"Alright, then let me take that back. One day, you'll be either playing by my side or cheering for me on the World Cup. Does that sound better?"

A wide grin grew on Cedric's face. Alina chuckled and they continued to walk, side by side, joking and dreaming about the future.

They crossed paths with Lucius Malfoy and his son, Draco, but they were too focused on each other to notice anything else around them.

That, until the youngest Malfoy spoke: "It's such a shame to see pure blood getting ruined by these filthy Muggles. Don't you think so, Father?" Draco bitterly said. Although he was speaking to his father, his eyes never left Alina's. And when he finally looked away, he looked down at the clearly oversized jacket around her shoulders and he frowned. "How did you even get seats for the game? Wait, let me guess—you're going to be the firsts to know if the rain starts."

Alina scoffed. She would have said a thing or two to Malfoy, if it weren't for his father standing right there. It wasn't that she respected him, but she would rather not insult his son right in front of him. And Cedric seemed to share the same opinion as her.

"Let's go, Alina," Cedric says, reaching out to grab her wrist. Before they walked away, he forced a smile and said: "It was a pleasure, as always, Mr. Malfoy."

It was like he completely ignored Draco's presence and he did his best to not look too much at Lucius Malfoy's disgusted face either. It probably ran in the family.

"Aren't you afraid that your bloodline is going to be ruined forever if you mix it up with Muggle blood, Diggory?" Draco insisted.

Before they could walk away, Lucius Malfoy used his walking stick to stop them from leaving.

"Didn't your father tell you that it's rude to walk away when somebody is speaking to you, Mr. Diggory?" Lucius asked.

Alina could never understand the Malfoys' need for the attention. It was like they couldn't live unless they screamed out loud and told everyone how pure and noble their blood was and how influential their family was. Clowns, they were nothing but clowns in her eyes.

"There's nothing I have to say to him, or to you, Mr. Malfoy," Cedric replied. "And now, if you'll excuse us, we would like to get to our seats before the game starts. As your son said, we have some stairs to climb."

He didn't wait for an answer. He let go of Alina's wrist and reached out for her hand instead, tightly lacing their fingers together as they walked away from the Malfoys.

"Don't let him get to you, he's not worth it," Cedric said, gently squeezing her hand.

"I'd be damned if I ever let Draco Malfoy get to my head," Alina replied, squeezing his hand right back.

She knew the boy was nothing but loud. He wasn't a threat to anyone, all he could do was to put on a show at Hogwarts to impress his brainless minions, but that's about it.

They climbed up the stairs together, still holding hands, until they made it to the top floor. They looked around and searched for their families and friends and when they spotted them, they quickly made their way there.

"There you were!" Mr. Weasley said. "We've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Dad wanted to go back and look for you, but we told him he should give you a few more minutes of privacy," Fred said, wiggling his eyebrows at Cedric and Alina. Then, he winked and added: "Thank us later."

"Everybody, to their seats!" Mr. Weasley announced, a few moments before the game was about to begin.

Cedric finally let go of Alina's hand and smiled briefly at her before he went over to stand next in between his father and Mr. Weasley, while Alina took a seat in between Harry and Hermione.

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

The stadium was filled with roaring sounds of excitement and clapping from the audience. All around the place, people were waving their flags and banners, chanting for their favorite team. Today, the competitors were Ireland and Bulgaria.

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

A hundred ethereally-looking women strolled across the field. Their skin was as bright as the moon and their golden hair was gently caressed by the breeze. Veelas, semi-human magical beings who appear as the most beautiful, charming women, native to Bulgaria.

The half-fairies started to dance, putting the entire audience under their spells. It was impossible to not look at them, the veelas were breathtaking creatures that could enchant every living being with their out worldly features and their skilled movements.

Alina had never seen them before. She has been to many places around the world, given her father's workplace, but never to Bulgaria. She heard many stories about them and she came to realize that people weren't exaggerating at all. Even looking away from them was hard, they made your mind go blissfully blank.

But a few levels below, standing in the Ministry's lodge, the youngest Malfoy was not paying much attention to the Bulgarian surprise. He was too busy looking up at the blonde half-blood he ran into only a couple of minutes ago, clicking his tongue in disapproval.

The music came to a stop and was replaced by angry yells that were now filling the stadium. The audience didn't want the velas to go, but it was time for the Irish surprise.

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

Next moment, a green-and-gold comet was flying over the stadium and it split in two. A rainbow arced across the field, connecting the two split comets. The audience was once again excited, enjoying the light show the Irish put on.

The comets unified once again and started to fly over the stands, a golden rain falling from it. Alina was amazed by the show. She didn't have a hat with her, but she caught the falling golden coins with her bare hands. When taking a closer look, she realized that there were thousands of tiny men on the comet who were throwing golden coins all over the place.

"Leprechauns!" Mr. Weasley pointed out, laughing as he watched everybody, including his own children, use their hats to collect as many golden coins as they could.

All of a sudden, a large hat filled with gold landed on Alina's lap, snapping her out of her daydream. She looked around confused, but then she met Cedric's gaze and understood he was the one who sent it. In his hands, he held another hat, and he was collecting even more gold with that. When his eyes met Alina's, Cedric smiled and motioned for her to fill it up with as many coins as she could.

In the Ministry's lodge, Draco Malfoy was paying close attention to the interaction these two had on the top level and he didn't seem happy at all. Instead of watching the mascots, the silver haired boy was scoffing, like a silly kid whose toy had just been stolen by an older boy.

"And now, ladies and gentleman, kindly welcome—The Bulgarian National Team! I give you—Dimitrov! Ivanova! Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov, Volkov! Aaaaaaand—Krum!"

The audience cheered for the Bulgarian team. Alina couldn't help but notice the way her friend, Hermione, was carefully watching the last announced player, the famous Viktor Krum, and if she would usually let it slide, this time, however, she had to say something about it.

She leaned over to her, so she could whisper in her ear.

"He's pretty handsome, you know?" Alina said, teasingly. "Krum. He looks quite brutal, but he's still handsome."

Hermione's cheeks quickly turned into a bright shade of red because of Alina's comment, but the girl wasn't going to let her get away with it.

"You know who else is pretty handsome?" Hermione asked. She didn't wait for Alina to answer her question before she replied: "Cedric Diggory."

"Oh, shut up!" Alina chuckled, then playfully hit Hermione's arm with her elbow. Touché.

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i'm so excited to share this book with you, you guys have no idea! i have a few chapters ready so far, so i'm going to update once or twice per week, according to how much love this story gets!