Setting Off for the Quidditch World Cup

After playing games for quite a while, the children of all ages finally went to bed.

Evita shared a room with Ginny. Harry aside, it was her first time meeting a child so young, so she asked tentatively, "Would you like to hear a bedtime story, Ginny?"

"What kind of bedtime story?" Ginny lay under the covers, only her big, round, bright eyes showing.

"A Muggle one or a wizarding one," Evita said confidently. "Whichever you want. I can tell you either."

"I've heard several wizarding ones." Ginny put on a thoughtful expression. "What kind of fairy tales do Muggles have?"

"Lots. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, The Little Merpeople..."

"Merpeople?" Ginny asked with interest. "The ones who live in the sea? Mum says some of them are very ugly, but others are beautiful."

"Yes and no. Do you want to hear it?"

"Yes." Ginny nodded.

So Evita began the story. "Once upon a time, there was a little mermaid, the youngest daughter in an undersea kingdom, who longed for an eternal soul."

"But only by learning to love could she obtain such a soul. After saving a prince, the little mermaid fell deeply in love with him. She gave up her beautiful singing voice and became mute, losing the fish tail she was born with and gaining legs that felt as though she were walking on knife points with every step."

"Only if the prince married her could the little mermaid obtain a noble, immortal soul. If he didn't love her, she would turn into foam on the sea."

"The prince loved a princess from another kingdom. To save their younger sister, her sisters gave the sea witch their long hair in exchange for a dagger. If the little mermaid killed the prince, she could return to the sea."

Ginny clutched the covers. "Was the little mermaid like a Selkie or a Merrow?"

"No. Merpeople like Selkies and Merrows, who live in cold water, aren't as beautiful as Muggles think, and their language doesn't sound lovely on land, either."

"They're intelligent and proud. They rejected the classification of 'being' and chose to be 'beasts' instead. They're warlike, they keep sea monsters, and they use Lobalugs as weapons."

"The little mermaid was kind. She didn't want to kill the prince, so she chose to turn into foam herself and disappear into the boundless sea."

Ginny gradually grew sleepy and murmured, a little childishly, "If only the little mermaid had a hairy heart. Or did she want to have a human heart?"

"You can think of it however you like." Evita's voice gradually softened. "If you don't like the ending, you can change it to one you like better."

After a while, she too gradually fell asleep.

The next morning, Evita was woken by Ginny, who was pushing at her with both hands, her face red from the effort. Evita opened her eyes in a daze and realized she was holding the girl tightly in her arms, like an oversized toy.

Evita, who had never shared a bed with anyone before, immediately let go and stammered out an embarrassed apology.

Ginny readily forgave her. The two of them washed up together, then went downstairs.

"Morning," Bill greeted them.

"Morning." Evita yawned. "Are you the only one here?"

"Charlie went outside to practice," Bill said, eating his breakfast slowly. "He started half an hour ago."

Evita drew a sharp breath. "He started practicing this early?"

"He wants to beat you in next year's final." Bill cheerfully sold out his younger brother.

Evita's eyes widened. Wasn't that a bit too much effort?

As for her... Forget it. She would worry about it when the time came, she thought without mercy.

As Ginny ate the sausages on her plate, she said with interest that she wanted to go and watch too.

So the three of them went outside together, carrying their plates to watch Charlie fly around the hill behind the house.

Evita, too, speared a sausage from her plate, browned and glistening with oil. She stuffed it into her mouth and asked a little indistinctly, "Is he always like this?"

"He has been this summer," Bill replied. "That time you trained together gave him quite a shock, and he's been working hard ever since."

"Why?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Charlie thought you looked like you were hunting when you caught the Golden Snitch," Bill said without hesitation. "When he came back, he said you didn't let the Snitch escape your sight even once."

"Honestly, being your opponent is really awful," Charlie added as he got off his broom. "Sometimes I almost thought you were going to take me out before you caught the Snitch."

"You should be clear on one thing," Evita said slowly. "We Hufflepuffs are honest, kind, and gentle. We would never cast a jinx on a fellow student."

"That's not very convincing coming from you," Bill said with a laugh. "Students from every house always have another side to them, don't they?"

"Looks like you've become a great thinker," Ginny said bluntly to her brother. "So what did you find out in the end?"

Bill said, "The all-capable Hufflepuff and the clever Gryffindor, for example?"

"Was that last part you boasting about yourself, Bill?" Charlie remarked.

"Thank you for thinking I'm clever, Charlie."

Evita couldn't help laughing. Just then, Molly came over, looking as kind as ever. "I thought you might like some ice cream."

"Of course," the children chorused.

All in all, Evita was very comfortable and happy at the Burrow. Soon, it was nearly time for the Quidditch World Cup.

Although Molly and Mr. Weasley had both passed their Apparition tests, the children hadn't.

So they had to travel by Portkey, and the Portkey had been placed on a nearby hill.

The group got up very early and struggled up the hill when it was barely light. It was rather tiring for the younger children.

They found a battered old handbag and formed a circle, each reaching out a finger to touch the Portkey.

"Thank goodness we don't have to carry big bundles," Molly said with relief, standing beside them. "Thank you so much, Evita."

"You're welcome," Evita replied. "The bundles are very light once they're inside."

"All right," Mr. Weasley said, looking at his watch. "Three seconds left-"

In an instant, Evita felt a hook behind her navel jerk her irresistibly forward. The battered handbag pulled her along as though she were flying, and she finally landed heavily on the ground.

The children staggered this way and that, and the two parents hurried to steady them.

Not far away, two listless wizards registered their arrival. "Four forty-three, Stoatshead Hill."

Another voice called out, "Weiwei? What a coincidence."

It was Lily, with Nagini beside her.