Philophobia // Fred Weasley

I

I. The Quidditch Cup

Rowen Bishop walked out of her tent followed by her father. The tent sat close to the Quidditch stadium, near the players' tents. Rowen and her father watched most of the Quidditch matches over the past two weeks. Although both of them enjoyed watching the sport, neither had any business playing it. Rowen wore a green Ireland jersey with Ryan embroidered on the back in silver. The Irish Keeper, who was only a few years older than Rowen, was a close family friend. A green clover covered the girl's left cheekbone.

Rowen came from a wealthy pureblood family, and as she headed towards her seat in the Top Box she had to force her way through a crowd of nearly a hundred thousand people coming to watch the match. This was the final game of the cup. Ireland v Bulgaria.

Rowen finally found her seat and looked around, observing her surroundings. Tens of thousands of witches and wizards took their seats around the stadium. Ludo Bagman rushed into the Top Box. "Everyone ready? Minister ready to go?"

"Ready to go when you are," Fudge replied.

Ludo pointed his wand at his throat. "Sonorus," he said, "ladies and gentlemen welcome. Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup." Ludo Bagman's voice boomed over the stadium and the crowd erupted into cheers. "And now, without further ado allow me to introduce the Bulgarian team mascots." Rowen watched wide-eyed as a hundred Veelas soared onto the Quidditch pitch. Their skin glistened as if moonlight shined off them and their golden hair whipped behind them, despite the seemingly windless day. Rowen couldn't help but notice how beautiful they were. They danced, and Rowen couldn't look away. The music suddenly stopped and angry yells filled the stands.

Ludo placed his wand on his throat again. "And now, kindly put your wands in the air for the Irish national team mascot." A green and gold ball of light zoomed onto the pitch. It lapped the stadium before splitting into two and a rainbow appeared in the sky. The crowd cheered. The ball merged and exploded into a shimmering shamrock. Gold coins rained from it, but Rowen was so transfixed by the shamrock that she didn't reach for any. Looking closer, Rowen realized that the shamrock consisted of thousands of leprechauns. The crowd applauded. The shamrock dissolved and the leprechauns settled across from the Veela, along the opposing side of the pitch. "And now ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome the Bulgarian national Quidditch team." Half of the crowd exploded into deafening cheers and applause as Ludo introduced the team. The same happened when he introduced the Irish. At last, the match began.

After both teams scored a goal, the Seekers of both teams dived amazingly fast towards the ground. Rowen stood hoping for a better look. Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker, pulled away from the nosedive at the last second. The Irish Seeker was not so lucky, and he hit the ground with a loud thud. A groan rang through the stands and a timeout was called. The crowd cheered as the Irish Seeker stood and kicked into the air. About fifteen minutes later Ireland had scored ten more goals and the Irish were in the lead 130-10. The Bulgarian Keeper fouled Ireland's Chaser, and Ireland received a penalty shot. Half of the stadium cheered while the other booed. Two Bulgarians argued with the referee, and a second penalty was awarded to Ireland. Ireland scored both penalties before a third was awarded. The leprechauns formed a hand and gave the Veelas the finger. The Veelas darted across the pitch and launched what looked like fireballs at the leprechauns.

"And that boys, is why you should never go for looks alone." Rowen heard from beside her and couldn't help but laugh. She turned her head to see an older man with fiery red hair who she assumed was Arthur Weasley. He spoke to his sons and Harry Potter, whom she recognized from school.

Rowen looked back at the game and realized the Irish had scored another goal. However, the Irish cheers were drowned out by the screaming Veelas. The Irish Beater hit the bludger straight at Viktor Krum and struck him square in the face. The crowd groaned and blood was smeared across the Seeker's face. His nose seemed broken but suddenly the Irish Seeker spotted the snitch and zoomed after it. The Irish crowd roared but was quickly silenced when the Irish Seeker hit the ground -again- and Viktor Krum emerged with the snitch. Despite this sudden upset, Ireland emerged victorious, scoring 170-160. "Ireland wins!" Ludo shouted. Rowen cheered along with the rest of the crowd.