Birthday birthday birthday birthday!!!!!! (She will try very hard not to wake Ellie at an ungodly hour but BIRTHDAY!)

She's picked up on Fay's highly suspicious level of secrecy around gifts, of course. It's - pulled her out of her funk, at least for now.

(Presents though!!! She needs to preserve a lot of this wrapping paper, too, all of her friends seem to have realized she likes weird sparkly pretty paper so it's all too pretty to tear up. But she cannot tear them up until Ellie wakes up so instead she is sitting in the kitchen vibrating out of her skin.)

"G'morning," Ellie yawns when she comes down and sets her tea up.

"Happy birthday."

"Morning! Thanks!"

Anathema is only maybe staring at Ellie intently. 

Sip.

"Mm?"

"Present time?"

"...It's your birthday. Why are you asking me?"

"I like having you here for my birthday stuff."

"Well. Here I am." She mutters an incantation under her breath and starts her toast buttering itself.

She sticks her tongue out at Ellie. 

And, presents!

She sorts them, of course, pouting at the temptation of 'open last.' But, well, Ellie's presents are always the most exciting, so, that first!

Ellie got Anathema two things: first, replacement ammunition for the Bedazzler that was last Christmas's present. Second, a thick packet of sheet music for singing, some magical, some not.

Hug! (She's grinning like she has plans for that Bedazzler refill.)

Ellie would be disappointed if she didn't.

They'd have to make sure she's not an imposter.

Check her for Polyjuice.

Not an easy thing to do. 

Just gotta stall for an hour and not let her drink anything.

Distracting her that long might be hard...

Body-Bind Curse.

Kind of boring... But a fake her wouldn't need to be entertained the same way.

Right.

"Though the real me would be very put out if you just guessed wrong."

"Then I won't guess wrong."

"An acceptable compromise."

Ellie munches some toast.

"So what else did you get?"

"Well... A mystery envelope I can't open until last..." Pout. "But let's see the rest."

Classmates: have mostly sent her books! A lot of them are fiction or poetry. One classmate (Lisa, who always sends everyone baked goods for Christmas) has apparently branched out into weird experimental cupcakes and sent Anathema one with crystal clear icing containing roiling clouds of iridescence, topped with little sugar pearls, with a just-melty-enough creamy center. Anathema spends about a minute admiring it before setting to slowly licking off the icing as she opens her other gifts.

Sirius (currently present as Grim): somehow found giant cat toys he's pretty sure are tiger-resistant. Anathema leans down to give Grim some ear scritches and valiantly restrains herself from immediately running out to play.

Fay's father: a card saying he's arranged for knife fighting lessons for her over breaks (and he's looking into shooting lessons and getting her a gun, he has heard about the nonsense at their school). She giggles and puts it somewhere safe.

And then Fay's mystery envelope, opened slowly and dramatically...

Anathema's mouth falls open, her expression stunned. The envelope is a bit inconveniently angled - Ellie can't see what's within from where she is.

"What is it?"

Nope no answering Anathema is busy setting her de-icinged cupcake down and tackling Fay.

"Thank you thank you thank you - wow - how did you get these - "

Grim lifts his head, making a curious noise.

She laughs, rocking back with Anathema's weight and wrapping an arm around her. "Luck, mostly; I was getting nervous I'd have to scramble for a different gift. Or bribe someone."

"There's three. Yours to distribute as you see fit."

Happy sounds and happier wiggles!

"Three of what? Tell me, tell me!"

"Tickets! To the Quidditch World Cup!"

"What!" she shouts.

"I know!!!" She spins, clutching the envelope to her chest.

"That's so cool!"

"You're giving me one, right?"

"Hmmm..." She taps her finger to her chin. "I don't know... I mean, Grim sure seems to want to go a lot..."

(Grim is currently at her feet, staring at her with the widest puppy dog eyes ever.)

"Aw," she wheedles, making her own puppy eyes at Anathema. "He'd have to go as a dog anyway and I don't think they'd check his ticket..."

She fake frowns a bit. "But I'm not sure you really want it..."

"Nooo, I definitely do! Really, really really. Pleeeeeease?"

"Really really?"

Sad face.

...Aw sad face is so unfair.

She pouts.

"You're cheating."

Ellie sticks out her bottom lip and tries to make her eyes go wider.

Oh no.

Anathema tries to play it cool, but - "Well, I can be magnanimous..."

"Please?" Ellie asks softly.

She crumples.

"I'll take you. Of course."

Ellie's face instantly brightens. She whoops with joy and launches herself at Anathema for a hug.

She laughs, wrapping her arms around Ellie. "You're my favorite anyways," she says amid her giggles. 

"I know," she says smugly.

Heee. 

She peers at the tickets a bit.

"Looks like they're really really good seats, too..."

"Oh, I can't wait."

"It's an entire month away... That's so far!"

"Plenty of time to plan, at least."

"Yeah. We have Fay's tent... It might be a bit small for all of us, though..."

"Who're you giving the third to?"

"Fay, of course."

She turns to Fay - "If you want it?"

"I'd love to."

"We can cuddle up, I guess."

"Fine by me. You're a very good pillow."

"Or maybe we'll have to camp out in the stands, if the match goes on too long."

"Then your pillow quality will really come in handy."

"Suppose so."

Demonstrative lean.

Fake collapse.

She falls into Ellie, laughing.

Ellie starts giggling too.

Hug again.

"Thank you guys so much."

"It was all Fay's idea."

"I liked your presents too, silly." She boops Ellie's nose with her finger. "This all would be a lot less fun without you."

"Well. Good."

There's a bubbly antsy feeling in her, like Anathema wants to bounce and do something but she doesn't know what, and Ellie's so - interesting and pretty and Anathema likes her so much -

She hugs Ellie again, even though that isn't the stimmy thing she wants to do, and bounces back to her cupcake and getting her other presents all sorted, chattering excitedly about getting ready for the game -

(Maybe she should play with those giant cat toys some, actually, maybe that'll get out some of this weird energy.)

Fay laughs and ruffles Anathema's hair, while Grim flops and puts his paw over his eyes.

So much to get ready.

She knows!

(And, of course, the intervening month does still happen - studying and playing, Ellie's birthday, their little family trips... Anathema's mood isn't at a perfect high the whole time. She still has frequent melancholy periods, frequent times she'll just pause and stare into space, but - things feel a little bit better, lately.)

The final's on August Eighteenth, with the play offs stretching for a week before, though it's recommended they get there a day earlier than even that to set up their tent. They can bring Grim at least as far as the tent; Anathema suggests putting him under the invisibility cloak if the Ministry won't let them bring their dog in.

There's few enough of them Fay can apparate everyone in - Anathema frowns, a bit, learning that the field's groundskeeper is being near-constantly Confunded and frequently Obliviated...

Should have just slipped him a thousand pounds and nudged him into a Caribbean vacation.

Yeah. Heck, you really don't even need magic to manage that - 'convince random people to buy what you're selling' is probably the only good use of people like Lockhart.

Ugh, Lockhart.

She laughs.

Yeah, it'd be very rude to inflict Lockhart on the poor muggles.

Still though. Might be better than the current solution.

...Yeah. It probably would be.

They're still here for the World Cup, though. That's exciting.

One thing at least!

The tickets come with a reserved spot on the field - the spots are all pretty tightly crammed together, but there's definitely enough space for their tent. There's a lot of wizards here, more than they've ever seen in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade. Mostly European, but some from all over.

Magic tents are pretty easy to pitch, so they're left with some time to wander around before bed - the games start pretty early tomorrow, so now's probably the best time to get oriented to where everything is...

Good idea.

She spends a little bit of time memorizing the signs around their spot - then off!

This area is mostly fancy rich people who could afford the tickets through something other than a lottery - there's actually a few of their classmates, though the only ones who're kind of interesting are Serpens and her little sister... Wandering out farther gets them to a lot of international visitors - people seem to be grouping by home country. 

Their tent spot is pretty close to the stadium - which no one's being allowed into. There's some only kind of discreet betting going on, a lot of pickup Quidditch and other broom games especially among kids their age... They'll have to turn around to get their brooms from the tent, but Anathema bets she can negotiate them into one of the loose teams. 

That sounds like fun.

(Ellie almost summons her broom before remembering that they're in public and even if she does it wandlessly, there might be Questions.)

Giggle. (Yeah Anathema has that problem too...)

Anyways: game! Arguing Quidditch rulings when you have half of a shared language with someone is actually kind of fun... Most of the games aren't really formal, and they mostly use a non-standard set of rules to make the game go faster and happen on a smaller field. 

Anathema and Ellie aren't the best kids there at all, though they seem to be in the upper brackets for skill. It's fun.

(A couple of adults stop to watch. Some of them seem to actually be recruiters - one stops to talk to one of the older teens who'd been doing pretty well.)

Anathema manages to tire herself out a bit after getting into some trick flying competitions, and makes a friend who promises to show her more tricks after the games tomorrow. 

Typical Anathema.

Ellie had fun too. This was a nice way to kill some time.

Yeah.

She's really looking forward to the games...

Same.

The stadium for the play offs is less crowded than the final match will likely be. Their tickets stretch for the whole week long session. Anathema sets up some omnioculars to record, but watches the live games with her own eyes, fascinated. Two clear contenders emerge pretty quickly - Bulgaria, whose Seeker Victor Krum is remarkable and actually still a student at Drumstrang, and Ireland, who're the only Isles team to do anything resembling decently. 

The population of people out on the fields swells dramatically before the semi-finals, and the place feels like it's overflowing by the day of the final match - Bulgaria versus Ireland.

(Anathema's honestly pretty torn about which to support. Bulgaria's team's doing a bit inconsistently, she feels, but they have pretty good Beaters and of course the best Seeker, but Ireland's got a better Chaser team going on...)

It's gotta be Ireland. Can't let the Continentals get too full of themselves, even if England's performance was just... shameful.

She snickers. "Closest we're gonna get to a worthy home team, really."

"Pretty sure you were a better Beater second year than what's-his-face, Woolmersey."

"Nah, I was better first year."

Giggle. "Did you see the captain's face when he whiffed that swing after the fifth goal-"

She laughs. "I got it recorded!"

"Thought he was going to fall off his broom!"

She breaks into helpless giggles. "How do these people even get onto professional teams..."

"Good question."

"I guess if there's not much competition..."

"Maybe we should go for '98."

"Found our own team. Isaac and his girlfriend, maybe drag Captain Hayes back into it... Only need another Chaser and a Keeper and we're golden."

"Wood over in Gryffindor wasn't bad."

"I suppose we can branch out a little... Grab a Slytherin Chaser, maybe, to round out the lot."

"Show that interhouse unity," Ellie nods. "Spencer?"

"Hm... Not the best Chaser, but fairly pleasant and easier to work with than some, I bet..."

"That's also important for a good team."

"Yeah. Especially with Chasers."

Nod nod.

Stretch. "The finals will be epic, though... There's gonna be a pregame, so we'll wanna get up early..."

"Yeah. Can't wait to see what Krum's been saving for the last game..."

She laughs. "Too bad there aren't any Beaters that're just as famous..."

"Open field for you, though."

"True, true. No one's gonna be calling me 'Britain's Victor Krum.'"

Ellie grins and elbows Anathema.

"Or writing tabloids about whether I'm dating any rival Seekers - "

Ellie groans loudly.

"Can you not?"

She collapses into giggles. 

"Sorry, sorry. Maybe you can be the world's first anonymous Seeker, then."

"I shall cloak my face in a shroud of impenetrable darkness before every match. This will also make it harder for the opposing Seeker to predict my movements. I expect it will set a trend."

"Eventually spreading to the entire team. Except me, I'll be the only unmasked player - wearing something sparkly, maybe."

"We'll call it 'Stars in a Night Sky'."

"Aw! You should draw our posters, too - you'd be good at it."

"I could do that."

"We'll be the best team yet."

"Yep."

Lean.

Off to an early night, then? 

Sounds good. They'll be rested and fresh.

Helpful if the game goes on very long.

Quite.

Good night.

Good night.

They get there a bit before the rush the next day. Anathema's bouncing in her seat. Grim, hidden under the invisibility cloak at their feet, is trying very hard not to whine in excitement.

There's speeches, first, and assorted very very boring ceremony stuff, and some general grandstanding - and then the pre-show starts. Ireland won the coin toss for first, and sends out leprechauns throwing what Fay warns them is enchanted fake gold. Anathema watches the various acts, laughing.

Bulgaria sends out a team of Veelas. Very acrobatic Veelas, who proceed to run through an astonishingly complicated gymnastics and dance routine. Anathema is maybe staring a little. (Possibly a lot.)

They certainly are very... flexible, aren't they?

Wow. Yeah. Just. Wow.

Definitely very flexible, yeah.

Yep.

She got a very good recording, too! Maybe when they get back to school they should suggest an acrobatic dance sports club or something that has performances before Quidditch games.

Like American cheerleaders.

...What're cheerleaders?

Basically that but humans. They have them for American football in high school in the movies.

Oh, neat! Yeah they should definitely import cheerleaders.

Another for the list of improvements.

Everybody's going to be very grateful when they're done.

They'll have no idea how they managed to live life in the Before Times.

Future children will be shocked the past lacked such basic luxuries.

Hee.

She leans in, turning her attention back to the field as the match begins.

Time for the main event.

The game's fast paced and a bit chaotic. Krum pulls out an apparent love for feints - he manages to get Ireland's Seeker to crash into the ground, though the medics are prompt about getting him back in the air. Ireland's doing better on defense - but both teams have strong Keepers, and points take a while to rack up. Ireland gets an edge when a Bulgarian Chaser pulls a foul and they score the penalty shot. Bulgaria pulls back up... Ireland shoots forward... The Seekers both go after the Snitch - legitimately and feinting - several times, but the Beaters for both teams are very good at offense, less talented at defense.

The stadium's acoustics are good, so the crowd's cheers and boos at each turn of events aren't painful to hear. Still, Ireland seems to be pulling ahead as the game drags on - not nearly as much of a gap as many of the earlier games had, though, and when Krum catches the Snitch (thanks to a last minute save by Bulgaria's Beaters) the final tally jumps to Bulgaria at ten points behind, sending the game into a rather drawn-out and close overtime. Ireland still wins, though - the last shot takes the longest, the two teams tied for a while just under the overtime threshold.

Anathema's frequently on the edge of her seat, cheering and booing and hissing along with all the other Irish fans (though she accidentally laughs a bit at Krum's catch).

Ellie makes the same mistake. Krum is quite good, it's obvious why he's on the national team at his age.

It's kinda cool they went to overtime, means they got value out of the tickets. Lots of good Quidditch play.

Yeah. Both teams are really, really good. And the strategy is often so different from their school games - just the fact that you're not playing for House Cup points alone, removes some of the long game -

Yeah, yeah, exactly. This kind of elimination tournament is completely different. And then there's just the sophistication of some of the plays-

And of course you're all national teams with set memberships, probably just about anyone can look up recordings of your matches, or at least the bigger ones...

Yeah, so you can tailor to the opponent's weaknesses more finely.

And they'll know what your play style is, so - like you can learn if a Seeker likes feints, which was why Krum's big feint there was so surprising, right, usually his games rely pretty heavily on his good eye and timing -

Fay starts gently steering them out of the stadium as they chatter. (...And a bit more firmly keeps steering when she spots the Minister nearby. Nope, no need whatsoever to have that run in, let's go nerd about Quidditch somewhere less crowded...)

People are pretty jazzed, or at least the Ireland fans are - still, the Bulgaria fans don't seem to feel they were done too poorly, so the mood's rather good overall. It's late, so most people's plan - including Fay's - is to camp again tonight and start trickling out tomorrow.

Sounds good to Ellie. She wants to bask in the moment just a little bit longer.

Yeah. And camping together, all in the same room - Ellie and Anathema's pop up beds pushed against each other so they can whisper and not wake the adults - just feels... Very different from home. Special.

Yeah. It's nice.

They should go camping more.

But for now... Tonight seems like a night to stay up.

They've still got so much of the match to go over!

Absolutely.

Anathema's still excited, so she leans in closer to Ellie than normal so her baseline whisper's a lot quieter. Grim seems actually eager to sleep, for one, even if Fay's sometimes inclined to stay up.

Can't keep Grim from his rest, so they'll put their heads together and whisper.

It kind of feels like the best part of the day, really.

Not quite as good as that catch, maybe...

Maybe.

But... Cozier.

Well. Sure.

She does eventually end up yawning, small little noises as she tries to keep it down. More nose-wrinkling than jaw-cracking.

It has been a long day...

Yeah.

Anathema starts to drift off a bit.

Without external engagement, Ellie starts to do the same.

Neither of them's properly asleep when a loud sound comes from outside their tent, jolting them awake - it sounds like something crashed - 

And then there's a whistling noise, a sharp yell - 

Fay's on her feet with her wand in her hand before first crash settles.

Ellie startles fully awake, grabbing at a wand-

Anathema bolts up, scrambling to get her sheets off her and her wand in her hand.

There's a dull roar, and a rushing sound, and a crackle - like a fire's started.

Fay strides over to the tent flap, standing just to the side of it as Grim lays down at the base, lifting the flap up just enough he can peer out at the fields.

The flap drops, and Grim becomes Sirius - "That copse off to the right's on fire," he says, grimly, "And there's a Dark Mark over it. It sounds like a panic's starting. No fighting's reached us yet."

Fay frowns. "A stampede might be worse than a battle."

There's a loud whistle, a crackle - Sirius turns to scowl at the tent flap. "Pretty sure that's the point, here."

"...We need people to stay in their tents," she says, and turns to Ellie and Anathema. "I'm going to help coordination and emergency response," she says, and then hesitates briefly. " - I need to know what's going on closer, but. I want you two to stay safe."

"We can help."

"Ellie's cloak should hide us. And then we can use a Patronus relay."

"Yeah."

There's a loud crack outside.

"Okay. Take Grim. And stay safe."

Sirius flows into Grim again, woofing.

Ellie gets the cloak for the both of them.

Fay ducks out of the tent ahead of them, wand at the ready, and calls out that it's clear.

Then... Under the cloak for Ellie and Anathema, and out with Grim.

What are the problem spots?

Well, there's all the people emerging from their tents and starting to panic, though Fay seems to be on that - she takes off onto her broom and amplifies her voice to begin calmly directing people.

For Ellie and Anathema -

The big, obvious thing is an enormous green skull with a snake coiling through it, glowing in the sky out toward the edges of the field - where the muggle groundskeeper's cottage was, if their memory serves well. There's a growing fire over there, and it looks like the worst of the panic is happening over that way, though the ripples are rather quickly spreading out.

"We should check on the groundskeeper."

"Yeah."

That way, then, weaving through the increasingly chaotic paths, Grim just ahead of them to get people to part.

There's a few people in black robes - hoods pulled up, they glimpse a white mask on one facing halfway toward them - at the center of some of the worsening panic. They're sending spells lashing out into the tents around them, setting many on fire, hexing anyone who hasn't run away quickly enough. There's a few figures floating above the building flames - the groundskeeper and his family, apparently all still alive by how they're screaming.

Anathema's hand tightens on her wand as Grim ducks behind a still-intact tent, growling at the cloaked figures. She casts a quick Patronus, frowning a bit and then sending it into the ground so it won't give away their location by emerging from the invisibility cloak.

"We need to rescue them," she whispers.

"Yeah. Summoning? Disrupt the levitation jinx at the same time."

"They might get cursed on the way over..."

"Mm. Flame-freezing charm, disrupt the jinx with a bigger distraction, soften the landing, and sneak them out on the ground. We'd have to split up."

"Yeah."

"Me and Grim can handle the flames and distraction."

"Don't let them catch you."

"I won't. I promise."

"Do you need the cloak?"

She hesitates, then - "No. You'll need it more."

"Okay. Let's go."

She nods and ducks out of the cloak, keeping low to the ground as she heads toward the center of the mess, Grim following her.

She's out of Ellie's sight fairly quickly - not hard, with how dark it is, and how much smoke is in the air.

Ellie circles around to get into a better position to catch the family, gets her wand out- she had better use Discovery for this if she's going to catch them all with a single charm- runs over the incantation in her head-

-waits for them to drop.

A large wave of flames freeze as a number of transmuted creatures, about dog-sized and shaped an awful lot like Ellie's Animagus form, swarm the wanna-be Death Eaters from out of the tents around them. A Disarming Charm hits one of the figures an instant later, sending his wand flying - 

And the family drops as their enemies turn to face the bolt's source.

She flicks her wand in a broad sweep, arresting their momentum before they hit the ground and lowering them gently.

She scurries over, popping her head out of the cloak. Do they seem basically intact?

Yes, and the groundskeeper's wife and oldest daughter - who've been being Obliviated less often - seem even mostly still coherent, trying to grab the two younger children and the groundskeeper himself and drag them away from their attackers. The wanna-be Death Eaters are now being drawn away into the tents - where Grim tackles one, and it seems Anathema's either gotten help or the wizarding victims started fighting back on their own once they got a chance to get on their feet. Still, the area's pretty dangerous.

"Hey!" she hisses. "This way. Can you walk?"

The two look up, faces pale, nodding - the mom gets her nearly catatonic husband, practically carrying him, while the daughter picks up her youngest sibling and prods the other one into stumbling over. 

"Who're you?" the daughter whispers. "What's - what's going on - "

"-Terrorist attack. Come on, we need to get into the woods, under cover."

They nod, shaking, and follow.

Off they go. Ellie keeps alert for any approaching threats. Once they get to a safer position, she'll send a Patronus message to Anathema.

There's been a lot of small explosions coming from Anathema's direction - but there's also some loud cracks, and Anathema comes running to her a few minutes later.

"They Apparated out," she says, nearly breathless.

"Are you all right? Grim?"

"I'm okay. Grim was right behind me - "

She turns just as the large dog comes bounding up, panting. He seems to have a cut on his shoulder, but no more major injuries.

"We're all more or less okay here, at least physically. If they're retreating we should link back up with Fay."

"Yeah. I think the Ministry finally showed up."

She glances, concerned, at the muggle family. 

"Not sure what to do with them," she says in a lower tone. "If we take them back chances are they'll just get Obliviated again. Which isn't going to do them any good."

"Yeah. Especially with - all the earlier ones. The Ministry might forget they're around, but - they might need medical care..."

"Could have Grim watch them here and go ask Fay?"

"...Maybe, yeah, but if he's - busy being Grim - he can't talk to them..."

"Split up again, then?"

She nods a little. "Probably best."

"Okay. Do you want to stay here or go?"

She hesitates. "...Not sure. I can stay, though."

"Okay. I'll be back." She gathers up her cloaks and sets off to find Fay.

Fay's moved from where they left her, and the field's big - still, Ellie can find her by heading to the tightest knot of people coordinating crowd management and emergency response.

She slips out of the cloak on the fringes of the crowd and stuffs it away as she makes her way over.

It takes her a minute to detangle herself after she spots Ellie, but she steps aside, frowning. "Is everything alright? Where's Anathema?"

"We're both fine, but it's the groundskeeper's family. We got them out but- We're not sure it's safe to bring them back."

She nods. "I'll hand off here, then I can come with you."

"Okay."

She turns to manage that, finishing fairly efficiently, then lets Ellie know she's done and can head over.

She leads the way back to where she left Anathema and the Muggles.

The muggles seem to have calmed down a little bit. Anathema's talking to them quietly, especially the younger two, while Grim keeps guard. The husband still seems out of it, though, staring fixedly into the distance and shivering even though Anathema apparently draped her robe over him.

Anathema looks up when the two approach, hand hovering over her wand, though she relaxes when she sees Ellie and Fay.

"Over here," she calls, softly.

Fay walks up.

"Who're you?" the wife asks, sounding now more tired than alarmed.

"I'm Fay - I'm a professor, and I have some emergency medical training. I can make sure everyone's okay, get you medical help," Fay says, voice calm and firm.

The woman nods, slowly. "I - my husband won't respond to anyone, and my children are... Really shaken, and I'm afraid they're hurt."

Fay glances over. "Do you have any injuries?"

The woman bites her lip, shifting, and: "A few. But they're not bad. You should see to the others first."

"Alright," Fay says, gently. She closes her eyes then, apparently struggling with herself, and - "I'm not... Using the sort of medicine you're used to. There might be repercussions if it's known I spoke about it, but I want you to be fully able to consent to treatment - "

The woman frowns, but - "I won't ask. I won't tell. I've lived near - the sort of hills we don't talk about, all my life. Just - do whatever you have to, to get my kids unhurt."

Fay nods. "Thank you." And she turns to the husband first, casting diagnostic spells, peering into his eyes, feeling his hands. "You'll need to keep him warm and comfortable for a bit," she says. "And make sure he eats hearty food." She casts several spells - the girls can only recognize a few, but they look like some of the stuff Madam Pomphrey uses when kids have been out in the snow too long, or sprained their joints, or after a brush with Dementors. Warming, pain-relief, anti-inflammatory, general healing. Deep breath, and she tilts his chin toward her, staring into his eyes for a long minute.

To the smallest children, then, who stare at her. "Are you a fairy?" the youngest asks.

Fay smiles. "Somewhat. But you can't tell anyone, okay? The Fairy Queen will be very angry if she finds out I was here." The children nod, seriously, and Fay lets them touch her wand, then casts several spells over them (adding calmness, clarity, comfort, and staring into their eyes only briefly).

To the teenager, who has her shaking arms crossed over her chest, looking uncomfortable - she glances at her mom, then stubbornly at Fay, and asks what each spell does.

Fay regards her - and explains, in a low tone and simple terms, waiting for a nod between each one.

The mother, then, who'd been very carefully paying attention to none of it - Fay doesn't make her even look at what she's doing.

"That's - as much I can do, with the resources I have here," Fay says. "You'll likely have nightmares for a while, the younger children especially. You might have memory issues, especially your husband. You'll likely start feeling aches again at the sunrise after next - it's alright to take an aspirin then. You might have muscle tremors and twitches for a bit, and some weakness - be cautious about carrying heavy stuff, and watch the children carefully when they're playing." She takes out a piece of parchment, writing on it. "If the aches get so bad you're having trouble moving, or if anyone gets a fever, or if you can't remember what happened here, or if anyone has a seizure - call the number here. He's normal, just... In the know."

Pause, and: "Don't talk about this. You might want to put the number somewhere you'll see it with a little note, in case you forget what it's for."

"Right," the woman says, voice only a little shaky. "I - our house is. How do we get out of here?"

"I can take you to your sister's," Fay says after another short pause. "Instantly - it'll be the same time, and you won't be any older or younger, or any more hurt."

"...Right," the woman mutters. "Very helpful fairy paths." She glances around, looking stressed, but gathers her family in at Fay's nudging, and Fay Apparates away with them - two at a time, the mother on each trip after a brief discussion about capacity limits.

Fay reappears alone after the last round, looking exhausted.

Hug.

Hug.

"Thank you for getting me," she says.

"Thanks for coming."

Squeeze. "You two did very, very well."

Small smile.

"Sorry we didn't stay - as safe as promised."

She tugs Anathema into the hug, too. "You avoided harm, and you rescued people. I... Can't reasonably expect you both avoid all risks, especially when I would have done the same."

Hug. "Okay."

"What happened in the rest of the camp?"

"The panic didn't spread as far as we feared. We're doing search and rescue, still, but so far we've only found people with treatable injuries. The fires have been put out. I'm unsure if any of the attackers were captured - it sounded like they might have all Apparated away before they could be arrested. Aurors are currently handling coordinating the response."

"Was it Death Eaters?"

"People who wanted us to believe they were Death Eaters, at least - the Dark Mark is theirs, and they used the standard uniform. Though neither of those is exactly a state secret."

Ellie frowns.

"We're unsure if they specifically targeted any muggleborns, but - "

"This will be taken as a blood purist attack. With no retaliation against the attackers... It'll likely embolden blood purists, and it'll also likely be used against the United Kingdom politically, both internationally and within the system. There are - a lot of motives someone could have to do something like this."

"None of them good," she surmises.

"Absolutely."

"Mm."

"For now... We should focus on getting home."

Nod. Back to the tent?

Yeah.

Their tent fortunately seems to have been spared from the fires. Fay packs it up fairly efficiently, coordinating briefly with a Ministry official to let him know their group is accounted for, uninjured, and going home.

And then - Apparating out, back to the yard in front of their house.

Fay sighs.

Not the greatest end to the vacation, yeah.

"...Well, the first week was fun."

"It was."

"And - if that was going to happen anyways, I'm glad we were there. Since - I don't think a lot of other people would've rescued that family, or would've rescued them without hurting them more."

"Yeah. We did good, there."

She nods. "One good thing, at least."

"Yep."

She sighs.

"Well, I guess next is getting ready for school..."

"I think we can put that off until tomorrow."

"Probably, yeah."

So for now, bed.

Bed!

The next day, Fay points out their new textbooks on their shopping lists, and specifically highlights the dress robes - "The school's having a winter ball this year, since we're participating in a competition within our network. The robes are actually optional, even though they didn't word it like that, since attendance at the ball isn't required - and there's not exactly a dress code for it anyways."

"We need new robes anyway..."

"You two have been shooting up like weeds."

"Like fine young flowers of womanhood," Ellie corrects.

"Dandelions, maybe."

Ellie sticks her tongue out at Fay.

She laughs. "Dandelions are very fine flowers! Underappreciated."

"We're not underappreciated, though."

"Everyone knows how excellent we are. Like roses!"

"Well, I have heard someone arguing roses are a weed before..."

"The weed part is what you should give up on!!"

"I think a weed's a lovely thing to be, though."

"Then you need to really be very clear about that, because that's the opposite of common usage."

She smiles. "Well, common usage has no taste."

Hee.

Onward to shopping, then?

Sure.

Anathema doesn't actually super like dress robes - she's feeling like a muggle-style dress, maybe.

Perfectly doable.

(It also gets them out of Diagon Alley for the longest and most involved step - especially given how much Anathema likes to try on clothes - at a time when the dominant gossip is the attack yesterday.)

Ellie ends up feeling most comfortable in a trim three-piece suit, with a bronze silk shirt and blue velvet jacket and pants.

Wow. Yeah. That is. Very excellent on her. Extremely. Ellie will definitely have guys falling all over her.

(Anathema spends a bit eyeing a deep red dress with a swooshy skirt, before spotting a clingy dress in a similar blue to Ellie's jacket. A bronze scarf and shoes to go with it, maybe. It is such a pretty color scheme, appropriate to their house... Some new matching jewelry, too, she hasn't really outgrown the kids' stuff, but she's developing an appreciation for some less tacky pieces...)

Ellie does need cufflinks now...

There's some pretty ones here, in a lighter bronze than her jacket.

Ooh, pretty. Maybe with the sapphires, like this necklace?

Oh, yeah! They've got a really nice sparkle...

Then they can match.

Perfect! The effect will be ruined if they get mismatched dates... Though Anathema's not sure who she'd ask, anyways, so she'll probably go single. Dance with anyone standing awkwardly on the sidelines. 

Shrug.

Plenty of time to worry about that later.

True.

They're as prepared as they can be, for now.

Pretty much.

She's curious about the multi-school event coming up - but it sounds like details will be announced at the opening feast.

Maybe it'll be exchange students.

"That'll be cool... We're in that school system network thing with Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, right?"

"Those are the ones."

"Maybe we'll have a giant regional Quidditch tournament."

Ellie giggles. "Krum's at Drumstrang, isn't he? Might not be much of a tournament..."

"You could probably challenge him."

"Depends how they tune the Snitch..."

She laughs. "I'll be Beater this year, so I can give you an edge."

"An important factor to consider."

"It's really the team that carries the game."

"True enough."

Shoulder bump. "We'll have to see, I guess."

"As always."

Despite a media storm around the World Cup - deftly avoided by never reading newspapers - nothing major happens before September First, or, even, on the train. It's a rather pleasant trip, actually, and Anathema's in a decent mood for the ride up to the castle.

After the Sorting, Dumbledore stands, and the students turn to him with interest. Most people have heard about the mystery event happening this year by now, after all.

There's the usual opening spiel - stay out of the Forbidden Forest, no pranks in the halls, no dueling without professor supervision. Then, Dumbledore cheerfully announces: "We are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held in about two centuries. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You were half right," she whisper to Anathema. "Doesn't sound like a Quidditch tournament."

"Awww..." she whispers back. "Maybe we can arrange a Quidditch game anyways, though."

Dumbledore keeps speaking. "The Triwizard Tournament takes place among schools party to the Triwizard Alliance - Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, and the Durmstrang Institute. A Champion is selected for each school, to compete in three tasks spread out over the school year."

"While in previous centuries, the tournament has been opened to any student, this year we'll be limiting it to students seventeen or older for safety reasons. There will also be other measures in place to ensure Champion safety - while the exact nature of the challenges is currently a secret from students, I am working with my counterparts at Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, as well as all of our respective Ministries, very closely to ensure effective oversight and response in case of emergencies."

"The delegations from both schools will arrive late Friday, October the Twenty-Eighth, and eligible students will have through Sunday, October the Thirtieth, to enter their names. While only the Champions will stay at Hogwarts the entire school year, in the interests of increasing inter-school bonds, we are arranging several exchange days and group events for everyone."

He ends with a few cheerful remarks then sits, commencing the feast.

"Huh. Should be fun to watch."

"Yeah! It'll be neat seeing other schools' specialties, too."

"And the exchange days."

"Yeah. Though I think I'd rather sign up for Beauxbatons exchanges than Durmstrang."

"Probably has a better climate."

"Yeah. I bet prettier architecture, too."

"They are French, after all."

"...You know, I don't think I actually know that much about different countries' architecture traditions..."

"Probably have to get Muggle books to really dig into that."

"Next time we're in London, maybe."

"Sure."

The rest of the opening feast goes fairly well - their History professor this year is a mousy, shy-looking woman named Sayuri Dunn. She looks younger than any professors they've had before. People are taking bets on whether she's secretly evil.

Classes start up pretty soon - Professor Dunn speaks very softly, but seems to have a fairly deep knowledge of the subject, and actually is the first of their professors to declare she'll be teaching muggle history, too. ("They affect us," she says, "And our communities were largely intertwined until recently - and we still interact more than we'd like to admit.") Quidditch isn't too long after, though Captain Davies informs them that because of the tournament the usual game days are getting moved, and they might have to reschedule something on relatively short notice, or have some practices off the Quidditch pitch. The school's abuzz about the upcoming tournament the entire two months leading up - and nearly everyone manages to attend the welcoming ceremony.

The Beauxbatons delegation arrives first, in blue carriages drawn by large flying horses. The students' uniforms are a crisp light blue long jacket with pants or skirt, more modern-looking and fashion-forward than Hogwarts' robes. Their Headmistress is a large woman, who greets Dumbledore jovially. The students stand off to the side once they all file out of their carriages, to await Durmstrang's arrival - which comes in a magic ship that surfaces from the lake. Durmstrang's robes are more somber, more traditionalist, and the students all look serious. All of them have their hair cut short or bound tightly to their skulls. One of them's Victor Krum, sending the Hogwarts students around Ellie and Anathema into a flurry of whispers.

The ceremony is mostly fairly dull and long, but they do eventually get to go inside for a feast. The school heads chivvy their students into spreading out around the Great Hall rather than all clumping together as a delegation.

Still, more of the Durmstrang students clump in Slytherin than elsewhere, and the Beauxbatons students seem to favor Ravenclaw a bit. They're mostly sitting with the older students, so Ellie and Anathema are left to their own devices - or to listen to the gossip around them. Obviously all of the visiting students will enter their names in the dramatically revealed Goblet of Fire, but there's debate about which Hogwarts students will - all the seventh years and a lot of the sixth years are old enough, and some students are wondering if they can get past the age line Dumbledore draws.

Anathema jokes her schedule's way too busy to add breaking into a tournament - she might have to cut down on Quidditch! Or studying!

They're going to have their hands full just trying to find the time to watch the events.

It'll require very careful budgeting, that's for sure. Maybe they can sneak books in and read during the boring parts.

Assuming there's going to be very many of those. What with all the age restrictions and safety precautions.

Safety precautions seem like the type of thing pundits complain makes games more boring.

But the game organizers don't usually go this hard on them unless there's compelling precedent. And they may still undershoot.

Fair, yeah - apparently historic tournaments were really often fatal, which was why they got canceled for two hundred years.

Hopefully things aren't quite that exciting this time.

Definitely.

The exchange students aren't at all interested in the fourth years, and Krum's apparently avoiding 'eager fans,' so there's not actually a lot of interest for them over the next day and a bit other than some gossip about which students put their names in, who people think will be each Champion, which Hogwarts students tried (and universally failed) to cross the Age Line...

The drawing of the names is held after dinner Sunday - all of the schools have next week as a break, so no one's very concerned about getting back to classes on time.

Hogwarts, as the hosting institution, is called first - Cedric Diggory's name is spat out by the Goblet to general applause. (Anathema approves; he's a decent sort, and good at Quidditch.)

Durmstrang's next, and to basically no one's surprise (and a lot of students' excitement), Victor Krum is announced as the school's Champion.

Beauxbatons is last. The Goblet spits out Elodie Delacour, then goes quiescent as Dumbledore cheerfully asks the three Champions to come forward.

Elodie arises from the head of the Ravenclaw table and joins Diggory from Hufflepuff and Krum from the Slytherin table in front of the Goblet.

She's probably the most beautiful girl many of the Hogwarts students have ever seen, tall and graceful with a sway to her hips as she walks that makes it seem like she's gliding through the air. The Beauxbatons uniform flatters her very well.

...Definitely the prettiest Champion. Which of course doesn't speak to any of her other qualities, but, well. Probably the tasks are going to have very good turnout among boys and all. 

The heads and the other judges call the Champions back into a room behind the head table - 

And, just as they're leaving, the Goblet's flames flare again. 

It spits out a single piece of paper, which Dumbledore turns to catch, frowning.

"...Ellie Potter, please come up."

...She's slow to stand. This must be some kind of mistake.

There's an awful lot of whispering and some shouts in the Great Hall now! 

"The Goblet appears to have malfunctioned," Dumbledore says over the din, in his usual friendly tone. "I'd like to get it sorted out. So, please, come up."

Well. All right.

She walks up.

Anathema watches her go, expression worried.

And Dumbledore leads her into the back room, taking the Goblet with him. 

The other five judges - the official representatives of all three nations and the heads of the two other schools - turn to narrow their eyes. 

"What is the meaning of this, Albus?" Durmstrang's headmaster demands. 

"Somebody appears to have convinced the Goblet there's a fourth school," Dumbledore says, evenly. "Unfortunately, I believe we'll need to address this before anything else."

Beauxbaton's headmistress raises an eyebrow, before turning an interested gaze on Ellie. It feels a bit like being a bug under the microscope. "And the Goblet chose you as this - other school's Champion?" she asks. 

"Apparently."

"This is unacceptable," the Bulgarian representative says, voice frosty. She's scowling at Dumbledore. "Hogwarts cannot have two champions."

He raises his hands. "And we do not. Miss Potter was entered under a false school - the Hidden Academy of Music, which I am fairly sure does not exist. And, regardless, she is much too young for the competition and must be withdrawn."

"There's a binding contract on the Goblet," the British representative says, eyeing Ellie. "And it requires genuine effort because someone," he turns his gaze to the Bulgarian representative, who lifts her chin, "Didn't want Champions slacking."

"This is a resounding example of why I objected to those contracts - they are entirely against the spirit of 'increased safety,'" the French representative says, glowering at her opposite numbers. Both the other representatives wave her off.

"Schools can withdraw, anyways," Durmstrang's headmaster says. "This - Music Academy - shouldn't even be in the competition, so it won't affect anything to drop it."

"The school heads can withdraw their own school," Beauxbatons' headmistress says, voice a bit wry. "We can't kick each other out." To Ellie: "Unless you happen to know who the Goblet thinks is your school head? It'd be whoever entered the school - you, if this was all your idea."

"I didn't put my name in, and I don't know how it got in. I'd rather not compete, if that's possible."

"Surely there's an exception if someone else entered a student's name?" Dumbledore asks, frowning. "That should have been prevented, even."

"School heads can override it," the Beauxbatons headmistress points out. "Fairly easily."

"What I want to know is how someone even managed to enter a fake school," Durmstrang's headmaster says, frowning at both his opposite numbers. "You need another head's permission."

The British representative shrugs. "Well, what's done is done it seems," he says, cheerfully. "Miss Potter might just have to do her best - "

"Is this some kind of ploy, Bagman?" the Bulgarian representative snaps. "Get a propaganda piece in front of the crowds, distract from your shitshow of an administration - Hogwarts can easily add new schools after all, as the host - "

"I absolutely would never!" Dumbledore protests. "In fact, I would like to propose our schools withdraw, let the prize fall to Miss Potter here by default - an extra thousand galleons isn't much to our budget - and restart the competition."

"And deny our Champions their chance to compete?" Beauxbatons' headmistress asks. "The Goblet won't make the same calls twice."

"Don't use it, then, it's an antiquated piece of theater," the French representative says. "And then we can do away with this contract nonsense."

"I'm not withdrawing my school," the Beauxbatons headmistress says, hotly. "We've defied tradition enough."

The Durmstrang headmaster examines her, then: "I won't, either."

Dumbledore scowls at them. "You're both being unreasonable," he says, the French representative nodding along with him. 

The Beauxbatons headmistress waves her hand. "We've made sure the competitions are fairly safe," she says. "Miss Potter won't count as Hogwarts' representative, of course, but I doubt she'll be in that much danger."

Dumbledore sighs. Then, to Ellie: "I do apologize, Miss Potter, but it seems you are in fact required to compete."

Nod.

"If this little side drama is finished, perhaps we might move on to the rules?"

"Of course," Britain's representative says, cheer unaffected. "There are, of course, three Tasks you will all compete in. The exact nature of these Tasks is secret until the moment of. Cheating, such as by trying to find out what the Tasks are, soliciting help from a professor or head, sabotaging another Champion, or breaking the law is strictly forbidden, and it will get your points for that Task set to zero."

"After each Task, the judges will score your performance on a scale from one to ten, with ten representing something truly impressive. We each have our own tastes, but overall we're looking for sportsmanship, daring, creativity, and magical talent. All of the Tasks have at least one additional 'impartial' way to gain - or lose - points, such as by finishing a Task in the shortest time possible. Your scores from all sources will be added together to get your point total, and the student with the most points at the end wins. Your performance in prior tasks can also win you boons in later Tasks." 

"You cannot quit in the middle of a Task, though all of them have a time limit that we will end the Task after, and in all of them the judges can decide to intervene if you appear to be in genuine danger."

"You are allowed whatever objects, abilities, or knowledge you can legally acquire and use."

"For legal restrictions, we're following British law where the different countries disagree."

Seems fairly basic. Though presumably the precise details of the tasks will contain a significant quantity of devils.

He goes over the schedule next - the First Task is on Saturday, November the Twenty-Sixth. They will be reporting to the Quidditch pitch fairly early in the day to get ready. Prior to that, their wands needs to be 'weighed' in a small ceremony to check for flaws. They're allowed to have multiple wands weighed, but they cannot use any wand not checked at the ceremony in any of the Tasks. The Wand Weighing will be on Sunday, November the Thirteenth. 

Details about the Second Task will be revealed after the first. 

They can invite anyone they like to come watch the Tasks - the tournament is by default only open to students of the involved schools and anyone invited by the Champions, though. 

Will the Ministry be expediting the international Portkey visas involved?

Yes, of course, though naturally it's best to ask as early as possible if you wish to invite international visitors.

Of course.

There's some other clarification of minor details - you can bring (legal) magical implements other than wands, which do not need to be declared or checked ahead of time unless doing so is in general required by the British Ministry. The Tasks will take place on Hogwarts' grounds, which does mean no Apparating. The audience will also be kept safe.

It wraps up fairly quickly, and then the Champions are free to go.

Ellie-

goes to find Anathema.

She's hovering up near the head table, frowning. "Ellie? Everything okay?" (There's still a lot of murmuring in the Hall.)

"Someone entered me under a fake school and there's a magically binding contract on the Goblet, so apparently I have to participate."

"...That's bullshit!"

"Little bit, yeah."

She scowls.

"Well, we'll get you as well prepared as we can - can you ask Professor Reynolds for help?"

"Soliciting help from a professor is against the rules."

"...But you can solicit help from other students?"

"...As long as it's quiet, I think."

"Okay, cool. I can do quiet."

"Sure about that?"

"I've been getting better, haven't I?"

"Marginally," she allows.

"I think I'm good enough."

Shoulder bump. "Probably. I guess."

"You'll just have to trust me, then."

"I will do my best."

Shoulder bump. "I'll do my best to earn it, then. But for now - let's get out of here." She glances over at the head table. "And Professor Reynolds might wanna - check you're okay and all. Even if she can't help."

"...Technically he just said I couldn't solicit help."

"And you can't solicit help. Nothing to say she can't, oh, explain concepts to me entirely in her capacity as my teacher, while you happen to be in the room."

Nod nod. "Anyone else could have been in the room too, after all."

"Absolutely! She's a very helpful and generous teacher."

"True, true."

Giggle. "We can fetch her, then, or just wait in her suite until she's done here."