Natsu Dragneel and the Goblet of Fire

The Portkey

Natsu felt as though he had barely lain down to steep in Gray's room when he was being shaken awake by Cheney.

"Time to go, Natsu," she whispered, moving away to wake Rogue.

Natsu felt around for his glasses, put them on, and sat up. It was still dark outside. Rogue muttered indistinctly as his mother roused him. At the foot of Natsu's mattress he saw two large, disheveled shapes emerging from tangles of blankets.

"'S' time already?" said Sting groggily.

They dressed in silence, too sleepy to talk, then, yawning and stretching, the four of them headed downstairs into the kitchen.

Cheney was stirring the contents of a large pot on the stove, while Mrs. Milkovich was sitting at the table, checking a sheaf of large parchment tickets. She looked up as the boys entered and spread her arms so that they could see her clothes more clearly. She was wearing what appeared to be a golfing sweater and a very old pair of jeans, slightly too big for her and held up with a thick leather belt.

"What d'you think?" she asked anxiously. "We're supposed to go incognito - do I look like a Muggle, Natsu?"

"Yeah," said Harry, smiling, "very good."

"Where're Ul-Ul-Ultear?" said Lyon, failing to stifle a huge yawn.

"Well, she's Apparating, isn't she?" said Cheney, 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."

Natsu knew that Apparating meant disappearing from one place and reappearing almost instantly in another, but had never known any Hogwarts student to do it, and understood that it was very difficult.

"So they're still in bed?" said Sting grumpily, pulling his bowl of porridge toward him. "Why can't we Apparate too?"

"Because you're not of age and you haven't passed your test," snapped Cheney. "And where have Elfman and those girls got to?"

She bustled out of the kitchen and they heard her climbing the stairs.

"You have to pass a test to Apparate?" Natsu asked.

"Oh yes," said Mrs. Milkovich, tucking the tickets safely into the back pocket of her jeans. "The Department of Magical Transportation had to fine a couple of people the other day for Apparating without a license. It's not easy, Apparition, and when it's not done property it can lead to nasty complications. This pair I'm talking about went and splinched themselves."

Everyone around the table except Natsu winced.

"Er - splinched?" said Natsu.

"They left half of themselves behind," said Mrs. Milkovich, now spooning large amounts of treacle onto her 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..."

Natsu had a sudden vision of a pair of legs and an eyeball lying abandoned on the pavement of Privet Drive.

"Were they okay?" he asked, startled.

"Oh yes," said Mrs. Milkovich 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."

"But Ultear can do it?"

"Ultear had to take the test twice," said Lyon, grinning. "She failed the first time. Apparated five miles south of where she meant to, right on top of some poor old dear doing her shopping, remember?"