Change the Future

GOF 5

A deep, 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!" Mr. Weasley said, looking as excited as any of them. "Come on, let's go!"

Mr. Weasley lead the way into the wood, following the lantern-lit trail. They walked through the wood for twenty minutes, talking and joking loudly, until at last they emerged on the other side and found themselves in the shadow of a gigantic stadium. "Seats a hundred thousand," Mr. Weasley said, spotting the awestruck look on Harry's face. "Ministry task force of five hundred have been working on it all year. Muggle Repelling Charms on every inch of it. Every time Muggles have got anywhere near here all year, they've suddenly remembered urgent appointments and had to dash away again bless them," he added fondly, leading the way toward the nearest entrance, which was already surrounded by a swarm of shouting witches and wizards.

"Prime seats!" said the Ministry witch at the entrance when she checked their tickets. "Top Box! Straight upstairs, Arthur, and as high as you can go." The stairs into the stadium were carpeted in rich purple. They clambered upward with the rest of the crowd, which slowly filtered away through doors into the stands to their left and right. They kept climbing, and at last they reached the top of the staircase and found themselves in a small box, set at the highest point of the stadium and situated exactly halfway between the golden goal posts. About twenty purple-and-gilt chairs stood in two rows. Rory was sat between Charlie and Harry. A hundred thousand witches and wizards were taking their places in the seats, which rose in levels around the long oval field. Ron pulled out his Omnioculars and started testing them, staring down into the crowd on the other side of the stadium.

"Wild!" he said, twiddling the replay knob on the side. "I can make that old bloke down there pick his nose again and again and again"

"That's disgusting Ron" Ginny said making him shrugs in response.

Hermione, meanwhile, was skimming eagerly through her velvet covered, tasselled program.

"'A display from the team mascots will precede the match,'" she read aloud.

"Oh that's always worth watching," Mr. Weasley said. "National teams bring creatures from their native land, you know, to put on a bit of a show." The box filled gradually around them over the next half hour. Mr. Weasley kept shaking hands with people who were obviously very important wizards. Percy jumped to his feet so often that he looked as though he were trying to sit on a hedgehog. When Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic himself, arrived, Percy bowed so low that his glasses fell off and shattered.

The hall filled with laughter at this.

Highly embarrassed, he repaired them with his wand and thereafter remained in his seat, throwing jealous looks at Harry and Rory, whom Cornelius Fudge had greeted like old friends.

"Harry Potter, you know and his sister Aurora," he told the Bulgarian minister loudly, who was wearing splendid robes of black velvet trimmed with gold and didn't seem to understand a word of English. Rory hid slightly facing Charlie trying to avoid the conversation as he smirked at her. "Harry Potter... oh come on now, you know who he is... the boy who survived You-Know-Who. you do know who he is" The Bulgarian wizard suddenly spotted Harry's scar and started gabbling loudly and excitedly, pointing at it. "Knew we'd get there in the end," Fudge said wearily to Harry. "I'm no great shakes at languages; I need Barty Crouch for this sort of thing. Ah, I see his house-elf's saving him a seat. Good job too, these Bulgarian blighters have been trying to cadge all the best places... ah, and here's Lucius!" Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned quickly. Edging along the second row to three still-empty seats right behind Mr. Weasley were Lucius Malfoy, his son, Draco and Narcissa Malfoy.