“The Portkey,” read Luna. “Looks like you're about to find out another way of wizarding transport.”
“So I know about Flooing, Apparation, and Flying, and now I'm finding out the fourth way,” Harry said. “I wonder which of these I'm going to like the most.”
“Well, honestly, I think Flying is the best,” Cedric said.
Harry felt as though he had barely lain down to sleep in Ron’s room when he was being shaken awake by Mrs. Weasley.
“I hate mornings like that,” Cedric said.
“Time to go, Harry, dear,” she whispered, moving away to wake Ron.
“Why did she wake me up first?” Harry said, pouting a bit.
Harry felt around for his glasses, put them on and sat up. It was still dark outside.
“Well, if you're portkeying there, then you probably you'll probably have to get to the portkey at a certain time,” Cedric said. Then he thought for a moment. “I wonder if I'm going or not...” he murmured.
Ron muttered indistinctly as his mother roused him. At the foot of Harry’s mattress he saw two large, dishevelled shapes emerging from tangles of blankets.
“ ’S’time already?” said Fred groggily.
“Apparently,” Hermione said.
They dressed in silence, too sleepy to talk, then, yawning and stretching, the four of them headed downstairs into the kitchen.
Mrs. Weasley was stirring the contents of a large pot on the stove, while Mr. Weasley was sitting at the table, checking a sheaf of large parchment tickets.
“Well, I don't see how he'll end up losing that, at least,” Hermione said.
He looked up as the boys entered, and spread his arms so that they could see his clothes more clearly. He was wearing what appeared to be a golfing jumper and a very old pair of jeans, slightly too big for him and held up with a thick leather belt.
“Considering that he sounds as though he usually wears robes, that's actually pretty good for what he needs to wear to look like a Muggle,” Hermione said.
“What d’you think?” he asked anxiously. “We’re supposed to go incognito – do I look like a Muggle, Harry?”
“You mean that he doesn't think that he looks like one,” Hermione said, sounding surprised.
“Yeah,” said Harry, smiling, “very good.”
“Where’re Bill and Charlie and Per-Per-Percy?” said George, failing to stifle a huge yawn.
“Since there of age, they'll probably be Apparating,” Cedric said.
“Well, they’re Apparating, aren’t they?” said Mrs. Weasley, heaving the large pot over to the table and starting to ladle porridge into bowls. “So they can have a bit of a lie-in.”
“It's too bad that we can't Apparate,” Harry said. “It would be nice to get some more sleep, after all.”
Harry knew that Apparating was very difficult; it meant disappearing from one place and reappearing almost instantly in another.
“So they’re still in bed?” said Fred grumpily, pulling his bowl of porridge towards him. “Why can’t we Apparate, too?”
“You have to be seventeen, take a test, and have a license to do so,” Cedric said.
“Because you’re not of age and you haven’t got your test,” snapped Mrs. Weasley. “And where have those girls got to?”
She bustled out of the kitchen and they heard her climbing the stairs.
“I have a feeling we both fell back asleep,” Hermione said.
“You have to pass a test to Apparate?” Harry asked.
“Yes,” Luna said.
“Oh yes,” said Mr. Weasley, tucking the tickets safely into the back pocket of his jeans. “The Department of Magical Transportation had to fine a couple of people the other day for Apparating without a licence. It’s not easy, Apparition, and when it’s not done properly it can lead to nasty complications. This pair I’m talking about went and splinched themselves.”
“Ow,” Luna said, as she and Cedric winced.
“Splinched?” Hermione asked.
“The book is about to say what it is,” Luna said, before Cedric could explain it to her.
Everyone around the table except Harry winced.
“Er – splinched?” said Harry.
“They left half of themselves behind,” said Mr. Weasley,
“It's not so much that they leave half of themselves so much as parts of themselves,” Cedric said.
now spooning large amounts of treacle onto his porridge. “So, of course, they were stuck. Couldn’t move either way. Had to wait for the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad to sort them out. Meant a fair old bit of paperwork, I can tell you, what with the Muggles who spotted the body parts they’d left behind ...”
Harry had a sudden vision of a pair of legs and an eyeball lying abandoned on the pavement of Privet Drive.
“That's pretty accurate as to what could happen,” Cedric said.
“Were they OK?” he asked, startled.
“Probably,” Cedric said.
“Oh yes,” said Mr. Weasley matter-of-factly. “But they got a heavy fine, and I don’t think they’ll be trying it again in a hurry. You don’t mess around with Apparition. There are plenty of adult wizards who don’t bother with it. Prefer brooms – slower, but safer.”
“So, brooms are preferable to Apparition,” Hermione said. “Are brooms also preferable to flooing?”
“It depends on the person,” Cedric said.
“But Bill and Charlie and Percy can all do it?”
“Charlie had to take the test twice,” said Fred, grinning. “He failed first time, Apparated five miles south of where he meant to, right on top of some poor old dear doing her shopping, remember?”
“I remembered hearing about that,” Luna said. “The twins had a really good laugh over it.”
“Yes, well, he passed second time,” said Mrs Weasley, marching back into the kitchen amid hearty sniggers.
“She's probably made sure that Ginny and I are up,” Hermione said.
“Percy only passed two weeks ago,” said George. “He’s been Apparating downstairs every morning since, just to prove he can.”
“I have no doubt that when the twins pass their tests, they'll do the same thing,” Cedric said.
There were footsteps down the passageway and Hermione and Ginny came into the kitchen, both looking pale and drowsy.
“Why do we have to be up so early?” Ginny said, rubbing her eyes and sitting down at the table.
“That is a good question,” Harry said. “Why are we up so early?”
“We’ve got a bit of a walk,” said Mr. Weasley.
“Walk?” said Harry. “What, are we walking to the World Cup?”
“No,” Luna said. “The world cup stadium is probably miles away.”
“No, no, that’s miles away,” said Mr. Weasley, 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 –“
“It's even more imperative that we're careful,” Hermione finished.
“George!” said Mrs. Weasley sharply, and they all jumped.
“What?” said George, in an innocent tone that deceived nobody.
“What is that in your pocket?”
“Probably one of their pranks,” Harry said.
“Nothing!”
“Don’t you lie to me!”
Mrs. Weasley pointed her wand at George’s pocket and said, “Accio!”
Several small, brightly coloured objects zoomed out of George’s pocket; he made a grab for them but missed, and they sped right into Mrs Weasley’s outstretched hand.
“Ton-Tongue Toffees,” Hermione said.
“We told you to destroy them!”
“Why should they have to destroy them?” Harry said.
“They shouldn't,” Luna said, shrugging.
said Mrs. Weasley furiously, holding up what were unmistakeably more Ton-Tongue Toffees. “We told you to get rid of the lot! Empty your pockets, go on, both of you!”
“They should have been a bit more careful,” Harry said.
“Do you think that spell can work on humans?” Hermione asked.
“I don't see why not, once you learn it. Why?” Cedric asked.
“Well, I was just wondering, because if it can, it would have been great for our book selves to know in the previous book,” she said.
“You could have summoned Pettigrew,” Luna said.
“Exactly,” Hermione nodded.
It was an unpleasant scene; the twins had evidently been trying to smuggle as many toffees out of the house as possible, and it was only by using her Summoning Charm that Mrs. Weasley managed to find them all.
“I wonder if they'd be able to sneak them out of the house if they had asked someone else to help them,” Harry said.
“Possibly,” Cedric said.
“Accio! Accio! Accio!” she shouted, and toffees zoomed from all sorts of unlikely places, including the lining of George’s jacket and the turn-ups of Fred’s jeans.
“Interesting hiding places,” Hermione said.
“We spent six months developing those!” Fred shouted at his mother, as she threw the toffees away.
“That's probably not a good idea to mention,” Luna said.
“Yeah, she'll turn it around and say that it's no wonder they didn't get more O.W.L.s,” Cedric said.
“Oh, a fine way to spend six months!” she shrieked. “No wonder you didn’t get more O.W.Ls!”
“Looks like you were right,” Hermione said.
All in all, the atmosphere was not very friendly as they made their departure. Mrs. Weasley was still glowering as she kissed Mr. Weasley on the cheek, though not nearly as much as the twins, who had each hoisted their rucksacks onto their backs and walked out without a word to her.
“Well, considering that she just destroyed six months of work for no reason other than a hissy fit because they don't want to be robots, it makes sense,” Hermione said.
“Well, have a lovely time,” said Mrs. Weasley, “and behave yourselves,” she called after the twins’ retreating backs, but they did not look back or answer.
“I don't think I can see the twins getting up to much trouble, but it is them,” Luna said.
“I’ll send Bill, Charlie and Percy along around midday,” Mrs. Weasley said to Mr. Weasley, as he, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny set off across the dark yard after Fred and George.
“What time do you think the match will start?” Harry asked.
“I don't know,” Cedric said. “They all start at different times.”
It was chilly and the moon was still out. Only a dull, greenish tinge along the horizon to their right showed that daybreak was drawing closer. Harry, having been thinking about thousands of wizards speeding towards the Quidditch World Cup, sped up to walk with Mr. Weasley.
“So how does everyone get there without all the Muggles noticing?” he asked.
“Yeah, I can definitely see you being interested in knowing the answer to that,” Luna said.
“I'm glad your book self asked, because I want to know as well,” Hermione said.
“It’s been a massive organisational problem,” sighed Mr. Weasley. “The trouble is, about a hundred thousand wizards turn up to the World Cup, and of course we just haven’t got a magical site big enough to accommodate them all. There are places Muggles can’t penetrate, but imagine trying to pack a hundred thousand wizards into Diagon Alley or platform nine and three-quarters.”
“It really wouldn't work,” Hermione said.
“So we had to find a nice deserted moor, and set up as many anti-Muggle precautions as possible. The whole Ministry’s been working on it for months. Firstly, of course, we have to stagger the arrivals. People with cheaper tickets have to arrive two weeks beforehand. A limited number use Muggle transport, but we can’t have too many clogging up their buses and trains – remember, wizards are coming from all over the world.”
“I have the feeling, since most of them would wear robes, that it wouldn't be ideal,” Hermione said. “Otherwise, it wouldn't be too bad.”
“Some Apparate, of course, but we have to set up safe points for them to appear, well away from Muggles. I believe there’s a handy wood they’re using as the Apparition point.”
“There probably is,” Cedric said.
“For those who don’t want to Apparate, or can’t, we use Portkeys. They’re objects that are used to transport wizards from one spot to another at a prearranged time. You can do large groups at a time if you need to. There have been two hundred Portkeys placed at strategic points around Britain, and the nearest one to us is up the top of Stoatshead Hill, so that’s where we’re headed.”
“You'll luck,” Cedric said. “The Weasleys' are not that far from Stoatshead Hill. You probably only had to get up half an hour before the sunrise.”
“So, it's not that early,” Hermione said.
“No, it's probably not,” Cedric said. He then frowned, knowing that, if he was going, they'd probably take a Portkey as well, and that one would be the closest to them... Yeah, that would not be that fun, because he lived much farther away from Stoatshead Hill than the Weasleys did.
Mr. Weasley pointed ahead of them, where a large black mass rose beyond the village of Ottery St. Catchpole.
“What sort of objects are Portkeys?” said Harry curiously.
“Anything unobtrusive,” Luna said, having experience with them – her family did use a lot of them for vacations after all.
“Well, they can be anything,” said Mr. Weasley. “Unobtrusive things, obviously, so Muggles don’t go picking them up and playing with them ... stuff they’ll just think is litter ...”
“I hope he knows that there are some people who will go out and pick up the litter around,” Hermione said.
“Muggles do that?” Cedric said.
“Yeah. Sometimes for a small crime that's not worth jail-time, others to be nice and do something good,” Hermione said.
They trudged down the dark, dank lane towards the village, the silence broken only by their footsteps. The sky lightened very slowly as they made their way through the village, its inky blackness diluting to deepest blue. Harry’s hands and feet were freezing.
“Even thought it's summer, is probably very cold outside,” Luna said.
Mr. Weasley kept checking his watch.
They didn’t have breath to spare for talking as they began to climb Stoatshead Hill, stumbling occasionally in hidden rabbit holes, slipping on thick black tuffets of grass. Each breath Harry took was sharp in his chest, and his legs were starting to seize up when at last his feet found level ground.
“Whew,” panted Mr. Weasley, taking off his glasses and wiping them on his sweater. “Well, we’ve made good time – we’ve got ten minutes ...”
“We probably should have left earlier, then,” Hermione said. “If we've only got ten minutes and all. I mean, how will we know what the Portkey is if it can be any type of litter.”
Hermione came over the crest of the hill last, clutching a stitch in her side.
“Now we just need the Portkey,” said Mr. Weasley, replacing his glasses and squinting around at the ground. “It won’t be big ... come on ...”
“How nice, we have no way of knowing what it is, but he's having us look for it,” Hermione said.
“I have a feeling that he's been told what it is, or there's some spell on it that'll allow witches and wizards to know that it's not just another piece of litter,” Cedric said.
They spread out, searching. They had only been at it for a couple of minutes, however, when a shout rent the still air.
“Over here, Arthur! Over here, son, we’ve got it!”
“I wonder who that is,” Harry said.
Two tall figures were silhouetted against the starry sky on the other side of the hilltop.
“Amos!”
“That's my dad's name,” Cedric said.
“Which means that the other figure is probably you,” Hermione said.
“Most likely,” Cedric said. “Mum doesn't care for Quidditch all that much, and I'm an only child.”
said Mr. Weasley, 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 scrubby brown beard, who was holding a mouldy-looking old boot in his other hand.
“This is Amos Diggory, everyone,” said Mr. Weasley. “Works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric?”
“Yes,” Hermione said, smiling over to him. He smiled back.
Cedric Diggory was an extremely handsome boy of around seventeen.
“At this time, I am only sixteen,” Cedric said. “My birthday isn't until October.”
He was captain and Seeker of the Hufflepuff house Quidditch team at Hogwarts.
“Hi,” said Cedric, looking around at them all.
Everybody said “Hi” back except Fred and George, who merely nodded.
“I don't think they've forgiven you yet,” Hermione said
They had never quite forgiven Cedric for beating their team, Gryffindor, in the first Quidditch match of the previous year.
“It wasn't my fault,” Cedric said. “I think the only reason why I was able to catch the snitch before realizing the dementors were there is because I don't have any truly horrifying memories that would cause me to take notice of them as soon as you did.”
“Long walk, Arthur?” Cedric’s father 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?”
“I feel sorry for you,” Hermione said.
“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 ...”
“I think Mr. Weasley did too, if Ludo Bagman had anything to do with it,” Cedric said. “It's possible that he's actually Bagman's guest, him and his 'family'.”
“But Harry and I are not his family,” Hermione said.
“I just meant that his family was supposed to be his group,” Cedric said. “Not that you are his family, though, if you get closer to the family, he will probably start considering you that way. The only difference is that his thinking comes with no strings attached. You'll be his kids, no matter what, meaning you could marry anyone, and he wouldn't care, so long as your happy.”
“How do you figure that?” Hermione said.
“My father knows him pretty well, and I've gotten to know him quite a bit from ministry functions and when I used to go over to the twins house a lot,” Cedric said. “It actually pretty easy to tell when you get to know him.”
Amos Diggory peered good-naturedly around at the three Weasley boys, Harry, Hermione and Ginny. “All these yours, Arthur?”
“Oh, no, only the redheads,” said Mr. Weasley, pointing out his children. “This is Hermione, friend of Ron’s – and Harry, another friend –“
“I have the feeling that he's going to know what Harry you are,” Luna said.
“Merlin’s beard,” said Amos Diggory, his eyes widening. “Harry? Harry Potter?”
“Er – yeah,” said Harry.
Harry was used to people looking curiously at him when they met him, used to the way their eyes moved at once to the lightning scar on his forehead, but it always made him feel uncomfortable.
“I can understand why. I mean, that would be very annoying,” Hermione said.
“Ced’s talked about you, of course,” said Amos Diggory. “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!”
“Oh no,” Cedric said, blushing a bit and he seemed to shrink in his seat a bit. He had a feeling that he knew what it was that his father was about to do.
Harry couldn’t think of any reply to this, so he remained silent. Fred and George were both scowling again. Cedric looked slightly embarrassed.
“Harry fell off his broom, Dad,” he muttered. “I told you ... it was an accident ...”
“And, before you say anything, I probably did mention the fact that the dementors, but my father kind of has a bit of a selective memory,” Cedric said, still blushing.
“It's okay,” Harry said.
“Yes, but you didn’t fall off, did you?” roared Amos genially, slapping his son on his back. “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!”
“Honestly, from the sounds of it, your the better flier,” Cedric said.
“Must be nearly time,” said Mr. Weasley quickly,
“Yeah, probably best to do that, partially because it could end up becoming an argument, and partially because it's probably almost time,” Luna said.
pulling out his watch again. ‘Do you know whether we’re waiting for any more, Amos?’
“No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already”
“Daddy was probably able to get some cheap tickets,” Luna said, not at all disappointed by the fact. She was glad to know that she'd been able to go in general.
“and the Fawcetts couldn’t get tickets,” said Mr. Diggory. “There aren’t any more of us in this area, are there?”
“I do believe that's every wizarding family near Ottery St. Catchpole,” Cedric said.
“I do think your right,” Luna said.
“Not that I know of,” said Mr. Weasley. “Yes, it’s a minute off ... we’d better get ready.”
He looked around at Harry and Hermione. “You just need to touch the Portkey, that’s all, a finger will do –“
Harry looked as if he was about to ask how a finger would be all he needed when Luna spoke up.
“You'll only need a finger because magic keep you connected to the Portkey once touched,” she said. He nodded in understanding.
With difficulty, owing to the bulky backpacks, the nine of them crowded around the old boot held out by Amos Diggory.
They all stood there, in a tight circle, as a chill breeze swept over the hilltop. Nobody spoke. It suddenly occurred to Harry how odd this would look if a Muggle were to walk up here now ... nine people, two grown men, clutching this manky old boot in the semi-darkness, waiting …
“Yeah, that would be kind of strange to see,” Hermione said.
“Three ...” muttered Mr. Weasley, one eye still on his watch, “two ... one ...”
It happened immediately: Harry felt as though a hook just behind his navel had been suddenly jerked irresistibly forwards. His feet had left the ground; he could feel Ron and Hermione on either side of him, their shoulders banging into his; they were all speeding forwards in a howl of wind and swirling colour; his forefinger was stuck to the boot as though it was pulling him magnetically onwards and then –
“I don't think I'll like Portkeying all that much,” Harry said.
His feet slammed into the ground; Ron staggered into him and he fell over; the Portkey hit the ground near his head with a heavy thud.
“It's not easy to stay on your feet,” Cedric said. “Takes some practice to get used to it, and not end up on the ground.”
“You mean there's a way to stay standing after that,” Hermione said. Cedric and Luna both nodded their heads.
Harry looked up. Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory and Cedric were still standing, though looking very windswept; everybody else was on the ground.
“Seven past five from Stoatshead Hill,” said a voice.
“That's the end of the chapter,” Cedric said, handing the book over to Luna. She turned to the next page.