Jake was dusting himself off when he looked at his surroundings; they were in a deserted stretch of misty moor, but the giant stadium for the World Cup was impossible to miss for a Witch or Wizard. In front of them was a pair of tired and grumpy-looking Wizards, one of whom was holding a large gold watch, the other a thick roll of parchment and quill. Both were dressed as Muggles, but Jake noticed they were dressed poorly as Muggles; the man with the watch wore a tweed suit with thigh-length galoshes and his colleague was wearing a kilt and a poncho. Jake turned his head and covered his mouth; he was unable to stop the laughter that escaped his throat.
"Morning, Basil," he heard Arthur say as he picked up the boot, handing it to the kilted wizard, who then threw it into a large box of used Portkeys beside him.
"Hello, Arthur," Basil said wearily, "not on duty, eh? It's all right for some... We've been here all night... You'd better get out of the way, we've got a big party coming in from the Black Forest at five-fifteen. Hang on, I'll find your campsite... Weasley... Weasley..." He consulted his parchment list, "About a Quarter of a mile's walk over there, first field you come to. Site manager's called Mr. Roberts. Diggory... second field... ask for Mr. Payne."
"Thanks, Basil," Arthur said and beckoned everyone to follow him.
Jake was making his way, following behind Hermione, when the Wizard named Basil stopped him, "Ah... you must be Mr. Kidd?" Jake nodded, noticing that everyone stopped and turned when he was addressed. "Yes... you specifically requested that your tent be placed next to the Weasley's tent, and you'll be happy to know that it's already set up for you," Basil said, smirking as he did.
"Um... thanks," Jake said, feeling like it already being set up had something to do with his somewhat recently announced heritage. He continued forth, ignoring the looks he was getting from the Weasley's, or really just Ron. He walked past them, and Harry, and was quickly followed by Hermione.
"Hey... er - are you okay?" She asked him.
"Fine," was all he said as he trudged forth. They all set off across the deserted moor, unable to make out much through the mist. Twenty minutes later, a small stone cottage next to a gate emerged through the mist. Beyond the gate, Jake could make out hundreds and hundreds of small tents.
Jake was the first inside the cottage and saw an actual Muggle standing near a window that was in serious need of a repair, and some pane replacements. He turned around upon hearing Jake enter, "Morning," he said in a dull tone.
"Morning, you're Mr. Roberts?" Jake asked him.
"Aye, I am, and who're you?" He asked back, giving the fact he had an eye-patch no mind.
"Kidd, the Weasley's, well all but two of them are Weasley's, they are-" he turned when they all entered behind him, "right there," Jake pointed as he spoke.
"Alright, which ones are the sites? The one night ones for Kidd and Weasley correct?" Mr. Roberts asked him.
"Yes," Jake said and handed over the required number of Pound Sterling for both his and the Weasley's tent.
"Never been this crowded," Mr. Roberts said suddenly, looking out over the misty field again, "Hundreds of pre-bookings. People usually just turn up..."
"Do they?" Jake asked, not sounding that surprised.
"Aye," he responded thoughtfully, "people from all over. Loads of foreigners. And not just foreigners, weirdos, you know? There's a bloke walking 'round in a kilt and a poncho."
"That's an odd bit of clothing to be wearing in combination," Jake said, looking back at the Weasley's, Harry, and Hermione, and he shrugged, kind of wanting the guy to just shut up so they could get going.
"It's like... it's like some sort of... I dunno... like some sort of rally," Mr. Roberts said, "they all seem to know each other. Like a big party."
At that exact moment, a wizard in plus-fours appeared out of thin air next to Mr. Roberts' front door, " Obliviate !" He yelled sharply, his wand pointed right at Mr. Roberts.
In an instant, Mr. Roberts' eyes slid out of focus, his brows unknitted, and a look of dreamy unconcern fell over his face. Jake and Hermione immediately knew that his memory had been completely modified, "A map of the campsite for you," Mr. Roberts said in a placid tone to Jake.
"Thank you," Jake said and walked away with everyone, including the new wizard, toward the gate to the campsite. He looked exhausted; his chin was blue with stubble and there were deep purple shadows under his eyes. Hermione noticed that Jake had similar shadows under his own, but they were lighter and not as defined.
Once they were out of earshot, the man began muttering to Arthur, but Jake was too far ahead of them to hear what he was saying. He turned a brief moment when he heard the distinct sound of disapparition, before continuing forth.
"Did you know your tent was going to already be set up?" Hermione asked him quietly.
"No, but I did assume that the Weasley's tent was, until they all gave me that look, or just Ron gave me that look, told me that that wasn't supposed to be the case. Well... I'll be helping them set theirs up, least I can do..." he said with a distant look in his eye. Hermione could spot it even in the darkness.
They trudged up the misty field between long rows of tents. Most looked ordinary, but some were so blatant about their 'additions' that they were obviously more than just tents. It was no wonder that a Muggle like Mr. Roberts could get so easily suspicious.
Halfway up the field stood an extravagant confection of striped silk like a miniature palace, with several live peacocks tethered at the entrance. A little farther on they passed a tent that had three floors and several turrets; a short way beyond that was a tent that had a front garden attached, complete with birdbath, sundial, and fountain.
"Always the same," he heard Arthur say behind him, "We can't resist showing off when we get together."
"I'm sure the British Military sweeping through here, slaughtering every Witch or Wizard they came across would change everyone's tune about that, no amount of Protection Spells will block bullets," Jake said loudly. He hated the arrogance Witches and Wizards displayed so blatantly, putting them at risk of Muggles finding out about them.
"Er-" Arthur didn't quite know how to respond to that, so he chose to not respond at all to Jake, "Ah, here we are, look, this is us," he said and walked up to a small field of empty space, except for a small sign reading 'Weezly' which Hermione laughed at, and ended up snorting like a pig with how hard she laughed.
Next to the empty plot was a small tent that had a sign posted in front of it reading 'Kidd.' Jake took a quick look inside his tent and was in awe of the interior; the ceiling was fifteen feet, or five meters high; it was roughly twenty-five square feet with a large table, kitchen area, two beds, a bathroom area, and a small bookshelf. He didn't know why there were two beds, but he didn't dwell on that.
He exited the tent and saw Arthur struggling with the tent. Having been camping twice, once when he was seven and once when he was nine, Jake knew what he was doing. With his help, and pretty much telling everyone to just stand to the side, he was able to put the tent up fairly quickly. He didn't help put up their second tent, though, but after watching him with the first one, Arthur, along with Harry's help, was able to set up the tent somewhat quickly.
They all went into the first tent Jake setup and he noticed it was slightly larger than the one he was given, but not as clean. At this point, he was really glad he had his own tent; having to bunk with eight other guys was not ideal, even in a tent this big on the inside "Well, it's not for long," Arthur said, mopping his bald patch with a handkerchief and peering in at the four bunk beds that stood in the bedroom, "I borrowed this from Perkins at the office. Doesn't camp much anymore, poor fellow... he's got lumbago." He picked up a dusty looking kettle and peered inside it, "We'll need water..."
"There's a tap marked on this map," Jake said, "I can go get the water, it's on the other side of the field."
"Alright, why don't you take Harry, Hermione, and Ron with you?" He asked, handing over the kettle and some saucepans, "and the rest of us will get the wood for a fire?"
"Sounds good," Jake said, about to walk off.
Ron, however, couldn't stand the thought of doing something so Muggle, "But we've got an oven," he said in a complainy voice, "Why can't we just-"
"Ron, anti-Muggle security!" Arthur said, his face shining with anticipation, "when real Muggles camp, they cook on fires outdoors. I've seen them at it!"
Hermione grabbed Jake's wrist and quickly explored the girls tent with him and Ginny, and they both noticed that it was slightly smaller than the guys tent, actually it was the same size as the one Jake had, he noticed. After that, they all set off across the campsite in search of water.
Now, with the sun newly risen and the mist lifting, they could all clearly make out the city of tents that stretched out in every direction. They made their way through the rows slowly, staring eagerly around to see if they saw anyone they knew.
They passed a young boy, no older than two, with a wand, poking a Slug in the grass. It was slowly swelling up to the size of a Salami. When they had gotten to the point of passing him, his mother came out and began to scold him, only to step on the slug, which caused him to begin yelling.
Hermione smiled and wondered for a little bit how nice it'd be to have a family a few years after graduating from Hogwarts. She glanced at Jake and wondered if he was of the same or similar thinking.
Jake suddenly quickened his pace, causing the three of them to keep up with him at a tiring pace, especially after the hike they had a while ago, "Jake? What's wrong?" Hermione asked him.
"The sooner we get the water and get back, the better. I don't want to be recognized by many people if I can help it. You saw how Cedric's father acted upon learning my heritage," he said, not slowing down.
Even at the increased pace, Hermione looked around at the different ethnicities and cultures that showed up to watch the World Cup; there were three African Wizards dressed in long white robes who were sat in serious conversation around a fire that was cooking what looked to be a rabbit; a group of middle-aged American Witches sat gossiping happily underneath a spangled banner, 'Jake could've gone to the American School, been here at the World Cup, and I'd not even realize it was the same boy I'm in love with... he'd be so different probably... I'm so thankful he was enrolled in Hogwarts,' Hermione thought to herself.
"Er - is it my eyes, or has everything gone green?" Ron asked, but it wasn't his eyes; everything had gone green with thick rows of shamrocks.
Before they got very far into the Irish supporters tents, they all four heard their names from behind them, "Harry! Ron! Hermione! Jake!" Came the voice of one Seamus Finnigan.
"Shit..." Jake cursed quietly.
Seamus was sitting in front of his own shamrock-covered tent with a sandy-haired woman who had to be his mother, and his best friend at Hogwarts, Dean Thomas.
"Like the decorations? Ministry ain't too happy about them," he said with a shrug.
"Ah, why shouldn't we show our colors?" His mother asked, "You should see what the Bulgarians have got dangling all over their tents. You'll be supporting Ireland, of course?" She asked and they all assured her they were. She looked at Jake, "Very nice to meet you, sorry to hear about your eye," she extended her hand and he shook it politely.
"Nice to meet you as well, Mrs. Finnigan, and thank you," Jake said. She gave him a look that told him all he needed to know. She was trying to keep her excitement in, but she was struggling.
They soon walked away to get back on track, "Like we'd say anything else in that area..." Ron said with minor disgust.
"I mean, I'm supporting Ireland anyway. No way I'd support Bulgaria," Jake said, not looking at Ron as he spoke.
"I wonder what the Bulgarians have dangling on their tents?" Hermione asked thoughtfully.
"Who cares except maybe Ron?" Jake asked her, again without looking back.
"Well, we are going to find out in a moment anyway," Harry said, pointing up just a little off to their right, "their tents are coming up on the right."
Their tents had not been bedecked with plant life, but each and every tent had the same poster attached to it, a poster of a very surly face with heavy black eyebrows. The picture was moving like all Wizarding pictures did, but all the man in it did was blink and scowl, "Krum," Ron said quietly.
"What?" Hermione asked, giving him a look.
"Krum!" Ron got excited, "Viktor Krum! The Bulgarian Seeker!"
"He looks really grumpy," Hermione said, looking around at the many Krum posters all scowling at them.
"You think they'd all be mad if I just torched all of these posters to stop that stupid scowl?" Jake asked quietly.
"You will do no such thing, because it would only cause a riot," Hermione said with her bossy tone that Jake oddly missed hearing.
"Could be fun, though," he said with a smirk, but relented and decided to not do it.
"Who cares what he looks like? He's unbelievable, he's really young, too. Only just eighteen or something. He's a genius , you wait until tonight, you'll see," Ron said excitedly.
"No, Hermione is a genius. Krum, he's - he's-" Jake stared at the poster with a growing detestable opinion for the guy, "he looks like the kind of guy who would throw a tantrum if he didn't get his way." Hermione was busy looking off to the side to hide her reddening cheeks.
" What ?" Ron asked, looking as though he'd just been slapped in the face.
"I don't see what you see, Ron, that's all there is to it," Jake shrugged and walked towards the already long line for the tap. Hermione got in behind him, and Harry and Ron got in behind her.
There was a pair of men in front of them having a heated argument. One of them was a very old wizard who was wearing a long, flowery nightgown. The other was clearly a Ministry wizard and he was holding out a pair of pinstriped trousers; he looked about ready to cry from exasperation, "Just put them on, Archie, there's a good chap. You can't walk around like that, the Muggle at the gate's already getting suspicious-"
"I bought this in a Muggle shop," Archie said stubbornly, "Muggles wear them."
"Muggle women wear them, Archie, not the men, they wear these ," the Ministry Wizard said, holding the pinstriped trousers out for Archie to take and wear.
"I'm not putting them on!" Archie said in indignation, "I like a healthy breeze 'round my privates, thanks."
The next thing Jake heard was giggling, lots of giggling behind him. He turned and saw Hermione holding her stomach, lurched forward, with a hand covering her mouth as she giggled uncontrollably. She ducked out of the queue and only re-entered when Archie collected his water and walked away.
Jake had lifted the now heavy water containers with ease and they walked back at a casual pace. On the way back, they saw a few familiar faces from Hogwarts, current and past students like Oliver Wood, who dragged his parents over to meet them, telling them that Jake and Harry were the reason for winning the Quidditch Cup a few months ago. His parents, as expected, acted differently upon seeing Harry, but more so upon seeing Jake. He was polite about it all, but he inwardly loathed every second, 'Damn you, Trelawney.'
After seeing Oliver, they saw Ernie MacMillan, who's parents, Jake could tell, were asking about 'the boy with the eye-patch'. Upon being told, they waved back eagerly. Jake gave a simple wave and sighed upon being out of their sight. After Ernie, they came across Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw Seeker that Jake faced off against last school year. Hermione saw her smile and wave at Harry, who waved back awkwardly.
Ron then got their attention with a group of teenagers he didn't recognize, "Who do you reckon they are? And what school do you reckon they go to?"
"I'm not sure, it could be anywhere in Europe, or North America," Hermione answered.
They managed to finally make it back, with only a couple more incidents of someone recognizing Harry or Jake. He really wanted to know what that Prophet article said about him, but it was forgotten about when they finally made it back to an unlit fire, "What the hell?" Jake asked in an irritated tone.
"Ah, you're back," they heard George ask, "you've been ages."
"Met a few people," Ron said as Jake set the water down, "You not got that fire started yet?"
"Dad's having fun with the matches," Fred said, irritated.
Arthur, upon one glance from Jake, was indeed having fun with the matches. Every time he got one to light, he dropped it in surprise. Jake sighed in exasperation; if it hadn't been for Hermione intervening and helping Arthur with the matches, he would have pulled his wand out and lit it himself. He couldn't understand why it would be so easy for some Muggleborns to adjust quickly to magic, or in his and Harry's case, not being exposed to it until they were each of age, but Pureblood Wizards, aside from himself, had trouble with simple Muggle things.
When the fire was finally lit, they still had to wait an hour for it to warm up enough to be able to cook anything, "All because Mr. Weasley was playing with the matches," Jake voiced inside his tent with Hermione, who had followed him in. Her first order of business had been to look at the books on his bookshelf, just to see what was available.
"Give him a break, he's never had to do it before," Hermione said.
"And that's the problem. He knew we were going to be camping out, he knew we'd have to do Muggle camping techniques to blend in. He came so unprepared, and I imagine all other Purebloods are the same," Jake said with a slight edge to his voice.
"You're not the same..." Hermione pointed out.
"I wasn't raised as a Wizard my whole life... if my biological parents hadn't-" he paused a moment, he hadn't told Hermione about his dream in detail of what he could remember from it, "-hadn't given me to my adoptive parents, I wouldn't be the way I am now..."
"Maybe not... but you are the way you are, and that's what matters," Hermione smiled at him and after about an hour had passed, they walked back out to rejoin the Weasley's in time to see Harry putting some eggs and sausages on a pan over the fire.
A few minutes later, Bill, Charlie, and Percy all came strolling out of the forest towards them, "Just Apparated, Dad," Percy said proudly and loudly, "Ah, excellent, lunch!"
They were halfway through their plates of eggs and sausages when Arthur jumped to his feet, waving and grinning at a man who was striding towards them, "Aha!" He said in excitement, "The man of the moment! Ludo Bagman!"
Jake looked and saw a man who walked with confidence and dressed nicely, but definitely looked far from his heyday. He wore long Quidditch Robes in thick horizontal stripes of bright yellow and black. An enormous picture of a wasp was splashed across his chest. His nose was squashed, but his round blue eyes, short blonde hair, and rosy complexion made him look like a very overgrown schoolboy, "Ahoy there!" Bagman called happily. He was walking as though he had springs attached to the balls of his feet and was plainly in a state of wild excitement, "Arthur, old man," he puffed as he reached the campfire, "what a day, eh? What a day! Could we have asked for more perfect weather? A cloudless night coming... and hardly a hiccough in the arrangements... Not much for me to do!"
Behind him, Jake saw a group of haggard-looking Ministry wizards rushing past, pointing at the distant evidence of some sort of magical fire that was sending violet sparks twenty feet into the air. Percy hurried forward with his hand outstretched. Jake had heard that Percy disagreed with how Bagman ran his department, but he figured that wouldn't stop him from trying to make a good impression.
"Ah - yes," Arthur said, grinning, "this is my son Percy. He's just started at the Ministry - and this is Fred - no, George, sorry - that's Fred - Bill, Charlie, Ron - my daughter, Ginny - and Ron's friends, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter." Jake saw Bagman do the smallest of double takes when he realized it was Harry, his eyes flicking up to the boy's forehead, "Oh, and this is Jake Kidd," Arthur said almost hesitantly.
Bagman turned and saw the one-eyed boy still sitting in his seat, focusing on his food. Hermione had been eyeing Bagman the whole time, and the look on his face was far from flattering. She actually sneered at the man for the way he was looking at Jake, like he was something to be gawked at.
"Everyone, this is Ludo Bagman, you know who he is, it's thanks to him we've all got such good tickets, save for Jake who bought his own," Arthur said with a nervous laugh at the end.
Bagman beamed and waved his hand as though to say it had been nothing at all for him to do so, "Fancy a flutter on the match, Arthur?" Bagman asked eagerly, jingling what seemed to be a large amount of gold in the pockets of his yellow-and-black robes. "I've already got Roddy Pontner betting me Bulgaria will score first - I offered him nice odds, considering Ireland's front three are the strongest I've seen in years - and little Agatha Timms has put up half shares in her eel farm on a week-long match."
"She should probably be retracting that bet of hers," Jake said without looking up.
"Oh, you say otherwise?" Hermione saw Bagman get a glint in his eyes. He had to know that the Ambrosius Dynasty was incredibly wealthy, so upon hearing Jake say what he did, he must figure that Jake will also make a wager.
"They're all a bit young to be gambling," Arthur said, "Molly wouldn't like-"
"I do, I say the match won't see the sunlight," Jake still refused to look at Bagman as he finished his last Sausage.
"Really? How much is the last remaining member of the Ambrosius Bloodline willing to put up on that wager?" Bagman asked in a cocky tone.
Since he was on Jake's left, he didn't see the loathing in his eye. Jake turned to Bagman, "I don't gamble."
"Oh, come now! Surely, you have plenty of money to spare on a little-" Bagman was talking, but stopped when Jake slowly stood up.
He walked up to Bagman, stood two feet away from him, and looked down at him, "Don't you fucking dare bring my family or my wealth into this."
Hermione was watching them carefully. She glanced around at everyone else and they all had shocked expressions on their faces, but no one was as shocked as Percy; he looked like someone had just struck down his Letter about Cauldrons without giving it a second glance.
Bagman recanted his talks with Jake quickly and looked around, "A-Any other takers?" Jake sat back down, ignoring the man the rest of the time he was there.
"We'll bet thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles, three Knuts," Fred was talking as he and George pooled their money together, "that Ireland wins - but Viktor Krum gets the Snitch. Oh and we'll throw in a fake wand."
Percy looked like he wanted to say something, but he still hadn't recovered from his mild shock over what Jake said, and he had lost his voice. When Bagman had taken the wand from Fred, the wand suddenly gave a loud squawk and turned into a rubber chicken. Bagman roared with laughter, cutting the previous tension completely, "Excellent! I haven't seen one that convincing in years! I'd pay five Galleons for that!"
"Boys," Arthur said under his breath, "I don't want you betting... That's all your savings... Your mother-"
"Don't be a spoilsport, Arthur!" Bagman said in a booming voice, rattling his pockets excitedly, "They're old enough to know what they want! You reckon Ireland will win but Krum'll get the Snitch? Not a chance, boys, not a chance... I'll give you excellent odds on that one... We'll add five Galleons for the funny wand, then, shall we?"
Arthur looked on helplessly as Ludo Bagman whipped out a notebook and quill and began jotting down the twins' names, "Cheers!" George said when Bagman handed over the slip of Parchment and tucked it away carefully.
Bagman turned most cheerfully back to Arthur, "Couldn't do me a brew, I suppose? I'm keeping an eye out for Barty Crouch. My Bulgarian opposite number's making difficulties, and I can't understand a word he's saying. Barty'll be able to sort it out. He speaks about a hundred and fifty languages."
"Mr. Crouch?" Percy asked, suddenly abandoning his shock and positively writhing with excitement, "He speaks over two hundred! Mermish, Gobbledegook, Troll-"
"Anyone can speak Troll," Fred said dismissively, "all you have to do is point and grunt."
Jake tuned out the rest of the conversation until he heard Barty Crouch mentioned, "-talk of the devil! Barty!"
A Wizard had just apparated at their fireside, and he could not have made more of a contrast to Ludo Bagman, sprawled on the grass in his old Wasp robes. Barty Crouch was a stiff, upright, elderly man, dressed in an impeccably crisp suit and tie. The parting in his short gray hair was almost unnaturally straight, and his narrow toothbrush mustache looked as though he trimmed it using a slide rule. His shoes were very highly polished. Jake looked at the man and saw immediately why Percy idolized him. Percy was a stickler for following every single rule to ever be made, and Crouch had complied with the rule about Muggle dressing so thoroughly, Jake would've thought him a bank manager had he not met him in a Wizard convention.
"Pull up a bit of grass, Barty," Bagman said brightly, patting the ground beside him.
"No thank you, Ludo," Crouch said with a bit of impatience in his voice, "I've been looking everywhere for you. The Bulgarians are insisting we add another twelve seats to the Top Box."
"Oh is that what they're after?" Bagman said in understanding, "I thought the chap was asking to borrow a pair of tweezers. Bit of a strong accent."
"Mr. Crouch!" Percy said breathlessly, sunk into a kind of half-bow that made him look like a hunchback, "Would you like a cup of tea?" Jake began rubbing his face in annoyance, but it was never that hard for Percy to annoy him, even without acting like that.
"Oh," Crouch said, looking over at Percy in mild surprise, "Yes - thank you, Weatherby."
Fred and George choked into their own cups of tea, but Jake wasn't able to stop his own laughter, having to cover his mouth as he did. Percy, very pink around the ears, busied himself with the kettle.
"Oh, and I've been wanting a word with you too, Arthur," Crouch said as his sharp eyes fell upon Arthur.
While they were talking, Jake noticed off to the side that Logan Pendragon was talking with someone, someone with long, blonde hair that he recognized, "Excuse me," he said and stood up to go talk to them. As he approached, Logan caught sight of him and waved, "Pendragon. I was wondering if I'd see you here," Jake said as he got closer, "Hey, Luna," he said when he was right next to them.
"Hello, Jake," Luna said in her usually dreamy voice, "always wonderful to see you."
"Likewise," he smiled and looked back at Logan.
"Jake, so is it alright if you meet my parents to prove I know the last living family member of Merlin's family?" Logan asked him.
"Are they going to act weird about it?" He asked.
"They shouldn't," Logan said and then looked behind Jake, "Ah, hello, Hermione."
She smiled at him, "Hello, Ivan," Hermione came up on Jake's right, like she always did, and looked over at Luna, "Hello to you too, Luna," she smiled at the Third-Year girl.
"Hello, Hermione," Luna looked behind them and saw Ginny, "Oh, excuse me, I have something to tell Ginny," she said and walked over to the campfire where Bagman and Crouch were talking about something, but Jake couldn't tell what.
"Hermione, want to come with Jake and I? He's going to meet my parents," Logan asked her.
"Er - sure," she smiled a little lopsided, but walked with them to an area farther than they walked earlier.
"So, Jake, did you get a seat in the Top Box?" Logan asked.
"Of course I did," Jake scoffed.
"I heard from Draco that Ron's dad was able to get Top Box seats as well. That was nice of Mr. Bagman to get him those tickets," Logan looked back at them as he led the way.
"It was a nice thing to do. Jake offered to buy me one, but with how expensive they can be, I politely declined..." Hermione said, laughing nervously.
"Here we are, my parents tent," Logan said and his parents walked out at that moment, "Mum, Dad, this is Jake Kidd, and his friend, Hermione Granger."
His mother was about the height of Hermione and his father was just slightly taller than Jake was, "I heard from Logan that you had an eye-patch..." She then looked him up and down, "How exactly is he an Ambrosius?"
"His eye, it turns red when he's doing wandless magic," Logan said, recovering from his moment of upset.
"Does it really?" His father asked, "Could you show us?"
"What do I look like?" Jake asked, irritated already. He felt Hermione place her hand on his forearm; she was standing slightly behind him.
"Well, I mean without proof, you could be anyone pretending to be a member of the Ambrosius family," Logan's father said.
"Ambrose, is what they called themselves in America," Jake answered.
"Speaking of that..." his mother spoke up, getting their attention again, "Why is your last name Kidd?"
"I'm not saying that's not a valid question, but that's a personal question, so excuse me for declining to answer," Jake said. Even with Hermione's hand on his forearm, his anger was steadily rising.
"Mum, Dad, what has gotten into you both?" Logan asked them.
"You can't just go around impersonating one of Merlin's Descendants and expect people to-" his father was about to say when the air around them got noticeably thick. Logan's parents both looked and saw Jake looking at the fire currently going, and they saw his eye, it was in fact changed to red. "As I live and breathe... you are related to Merlin."
"Jake, please... calm down...?" Hermione quietly begged him. She didn't want him to do something dangerous at the World Cup, it would not be good for him. He did calm down, the air thinned out, and his eye returned to normal, but his scowl remained. He looked at Hermione and she looked into his eye; it was full of thankfulness.
"I told you, Dad. I wouldn't have said it without being absolutely certain," Logan said in a tone that suggested superiority, but only a hint of it.
"I'm sorry, dear, for asking such a personal question earlier, may I ask that you forgive me?" His mother asked.
"I forgive you, Mrs. Pendragon," Jake said, looking at her. "If it's all the same to you both, Hermione and I are going back to the Weasley campsite."
"You know Arthur Weasley?" Logan's father asked.
"Yeah, I'm friends with his son, Ron. Well, more like I'm tolerating him after last year, but still," Jake looked at Hermione as he spoke, knowing that she was the reason why he was tolerating Ron in the first place.
"Tell him the Pendragon's say hello and that we shall see him in the Top Box," Mrs. Pendragon said.
"Will do. You folks enjoy your day," Jake said, managing to be polite and they began their walk back to their campsite. "I'm sorry, Hermione," he said suddenly.
"Why are you apologizing?" She asked, giving him an odd look.
"For getting angry back there..."
"I don't blame you for getting mad, I was a little ticked at the way they blatantly dismissed you as Merlin's Descendant. You tried to keep your anger in check, and I'm proud of you for that," she smiled and embraced him. He returned the embrace and they let go after a few seconds.
"I hope they don't have the impression that I hate them or anything, because I don't, their questions just kind of got to me..." he said, scratching the back of his neck.
"Oh, I'm sure they're fine," Hermione said with a smile and they walked back to the campfire to find Bagman and Crouch gone, but Luna was still there talking to Ginny.
"Well, I must be getting back. Daddy will begin to wonder where I've got to," Luna said, standing up and embracing Ginny, whom she cared for as though she was her actual sister. Luna began saying goodbye to everyone, and she stopped for a brief moment when she got to Jake, "It was wonderful to see you again, Jake, I'll see you on the Express," she then turned and walked away.
Hermione felt her eye twitch in slight loathing. She didn't want to feel that way about Luna, but with how she talked to Jake, Hermione couldn't help it.
They passed the time jovially until about Dusk when even the air had a hint of excitement to it, quivering with anticipation for the upcoming game. The Ministry Wizards eventually gave up and let the people have their fun and excitement as the game drew closer.
Salesmen were apparating every few feet, carrying trays and pushing carts full of extraordinary merchandise. There were luminous rosettes - green for Ireland, red for Bulgaria - which were squealing the names of the players, pointed green hats bedecked with dancing shamrocks, Bulgarian scarves adorned with lions that really roared, flags from both countries that played their National Anthems as they were waved; there were tiny models of Firebolts that really flew, and collectible figures of famous players, which strolled across the palm of your hand, preening themselves.
"Been saving my pocket money all summer for this," Ron told Harry as they, Hermione, and Jake strolled through the salesmen, buying souvenirs. Though Ron purchased a dancing shamrock hat and a large green rosette, he also bought a small figure of Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker. The miniature Krum walked backward and forward over Ron's hand, scowling up at the green rosette above him. Jake wanted nothing more than to stomp that thing into the ground. He didn't know why, but even just the look of Viktor Krum made him completely hate the guy, he wasn't sure exactly why.
"Wow, look at these!" Harry said, hurrying over to a cart piled high with what looked like brass binoculars, except that they were covered with all sorts of weird knobs and dials. Jake walked over to get a better look at them.
"Omnioculars," the saleswizard said eagerly, "You can replay actions... slow everything down... and they flash up a play-by-play breakdown if you need it. Bargain - Ten Galleons each."
"Wish I hadn't bought this now," Ron said, gesturing at his dancing shamrock hat and gazing longingly at the Omnioculars.
"Four pairs," Harry said firmly to the wizard.
"No - don't bother," Ron said, going red.
"At the very least, don't bother with mine. I'm not letting you buy me anything, Potter," Jake said with a smirk, "He'll be buying only two pairs," Jake said as he paid for his own Omniocular as well as Hermione's.
"Y-You didn't have to do that..." she said, her cheeks a light pink, "but thank you... I'll go get us some programs!"
They went back to the tents after their short shopping spree to see Bill, Charlie, and Ginny all sporting green rosettes as well, and Arthur was carrying an Irish Flag. Fred and George had nothing as they had given all their money to Ludo Bagman.
Suddenly, a deep and booming gong sounded somewhere beyond the woods, and at once, green and red lanterns blazed into life in the trees lighting a path to the field, "It's time!" Arthur said, looking as excited as anyone else, "Come on, let's go!"
Hermione looked to Jake and saw that he was more excited than he led on. He was about to see a Professional game of Quidditch for the first time, and she was going to witness his excitement first-hand. She had butterflies in her stomach from the thought.