KNIGHT IN SHINING HUMOR 》F.WEASLEY

4.

Following Cedric's long footsteps was more challenging than it sounded as he effortlessly climbed the countless stairs up to the prime minister's loge where their seat was located. Ciaran wasn't in bad shape but to keep up with an active Quidditch player full of excitement was quite a challenge. But he couldn't help but smile from ear to ear as his panting got worse, just because Cedric was even more radiating than before. Amos Diggory had an even harder time keeping up with his boys, so they had lost him about four floors ago; perhaps he had even stopped to talk to a familiar face on the way. But Cedric couldn't be held back.

"Ahh, the Diggorys.", Ludo Bagman greeted them as soon as they entered the lodge, already holding out a hand to shake before they walked through the door. "Mr Bagman." Cedric took it as the politely golden boy he was, and Ciaran did the same shortly after, although only with a nod due to his short breath. Over Bagman's shoulder, he could see Lucious Malfoy converse with Minister Fudge with his son Draco beside him. The younger boy sent him an acknowledging nod. He was one of Cedric's many competitors in the Hogwarts house cup, and Ciaran never really liked him. But with their fathers being close to Fudge, they had encountered multiple times during official gatherings.

Amos always asked his sons to include Draco in their conversation, but they always ended silently instead. The Diggory Family was as pureblood and well known as the Malfoys, in fact even related to them like all pureblood families were, but their upbringing differed quite drastically. Amos Diggory was conservative, maybe homophobic, but he held nothing against those called blood traitors or muggle-borns. At least not that Ciaran ever witnessed.

So it was only natural that the boys had no topics to share with the other family, so they were thankful they didn't have to bother trying right now. Instead, Ciaran seated himself comfortably and let his gaze roam freely over the stadium.
From all the way up here, he could inspect the sea of green and red in all its glory—a magnificent view.

" Isn't it beautiful?" Cedric asked next to him. Ciaran nodded.  "Here, I got you some omniocculars." Cedric handed him the glasses with a grin, knowing how much his brother enjoyed watching the crowd at events like this. And Ciaran immediately brought the omniglasses to his eyes, focusing on the audience as long as the game hadn't started yet. As he roamed over faces, he suddenly was confronted by a pair of eyes looking back at him, a few rows up. Devilishly, Fred Weasley was waving at him, having stolen the glasses from his younger brother. Ciaran huffed. This boy proved himself to be rather persistent. But he had to admit, his height and confidence worked to his advantage.

Not that he was planning on giving him another chance anyways. It was just something he noted down for later, then moved on. He had managed to inspect the whole opposite ring when he hot nudged from beside. Irritated, he looked at his brother, who nodded towards Fudge and his colleague, who had risen to open the game. Ciaran didn't listen; he never liked Fudge and his endless speeches, nor did he particularly like Begman. He just smiled politely and applauded when needed to. Then the mascots entered the pitch.

Ciaran scolded at the Velas waving and dancing and especially at the man who needed to be kept from jumping off the railings. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see his father and Cedric moving forward and was thankful for the spell that kept them in place. Thankfully, everyone was too distracted to notice his lack of attraction towards the women. That gave him time to peek through his glasses again, to see what the Weasleys were doing. Not much to his surprise, the youngest boy needed to be kept save by his friend Hermione Granger. Harry Potter looked suspiciously uninterested as well, and Fred was also busy keeping his brother from leaping over the railing. Something in Ciaran appreciated that.

A wave of protest, mainly male, echoed through the stadium as the leprechauns of Ireland took the show.
As mentioned, Ciaran had never cared about Quidditch, so he was the only one not thrilled as the teams finally made their introduction. He didn't know their names nor their faces, but Cedric, next to him, was delighted with every single player he recognised. He had always admired his brother for this conventional hobby that fit in so well with his golden box persona. Everything that Ciaran liked was just odd and mostly muggle. His father disapproved well of that. He always asked his son to at least try and join any club at Hogwarts or friend group so that he wouldn't spend his days alone in the library.

Of course, he didn't know that Ciaran had another, rather risque hobby. While the game was on and everyone cheered, Ciaran had found himself pretty content with observing the Weasleys once again. All of them were great Quidditch fans; most of them played or had played themselves. The boy would have to pay better attention to the Gryffindor Beaters, knowing what lay hidden underneath their tricots. Fred Weasley was just very nice to look at, and his brothers were not hard on the eye either. Charlie Weasley looked more potent than ever from his work with the dragons, a passion Ciaran admired deeply. Also, it was quite literally hot.

So was the oldest, Bill, with that long hair and earing. Ciaran wondered why his focus hadn't laid on that family before as Arthur Weasley had many pretty sons, and if he would like girls, he would have to add that the only daughter was a sight for sore eyes. Safe to say, Ciaran had found a very eye-pleasing occupation for the otherwise dull Quidditch cup.