The next day the three of them, plus Hedwig on Harry’s wrist and Jardin flying overhead, walked to the village just down from the wooded area where Ashdeir Fierion once stood.  Harry looked at his father expectantly and asked, “Where are we going?”

“Down to Naas.  Apparently the portkey is located on a hill there.”

“Naas?!” exclaimed Harry, looking at his father in surprise.  “Da, that’s over a half-mile away!”

Severus scowled at his son, only having to tilt his head slightly as the fourteen-year-old was almost as tall as he was now.

“I know.  I’ve lived here longer than you, remember?”

Harry shot the man a half-scowl as Severus pulled a pocketwatch from his jacket.  All three of them were dressed in Muggle clothes, as there was the chance that they’d be looked at oddly for walking around in robes and cloaks.

“Short range portkey,” he explained.  “It should drop us off at the bottom of the hill.  And what are you complaining about?  If there wasn’t a pair of wizards in Naas going to the Cup, we’d be heading to Clonmel by broom.”

Harry winced.  Clonmel was fairly well populated by wizards and the first time they had gone there, he had gotten a fairly good trouncing from a rambunctious group of sloshed wizards and then had been chased up and down several streets by a gaggle of fan girls.  Since then he had been hiding his scar beneath his long fringe of dark hair.

“Shouldn’t we use the portkey?” asked Niamh as the tiny village – aptly called Snapeshire – got closer.

Severus shook his head and replied, “We can’t use it until we’re under a half-mile…”  He looked about them, then held out the watch.  “Which is right now.  Grab hold…  Its set to activate at ten to five.”

Harry and Niamh grabbed the watch second before it activated.  There was the customary tug at their navels and then they were standing at the base of a small hill.  Niamh weaved dangerously but Harry steadied her so she could get back her bearings.

“I hate portkeys,” muttered the girl.

“Well, we’re about to use another one,” said Harry, his hand still on her shoulder.  “So hold onto your breakfast for a little longer, ay?  You look a little green.”

“Oh bugger off.”

Harry chuckled then lead the girl up the hill, following his father.  Two wizards stood at the top of the hill already, both of them dressed in an off assortment of Muggle clothes that didn’t match.  Niamh started to chortle at their appearance but was stopped when Harry gave her a sharp tap between the shoulder blades.  She glared at him and he scowled in return.

“Don’t do that too much,” whispered the girl before they got in hearing of the other two wizards,  “Someone might realize you and our dear professor are related.  As is, it’s not hard to tell.  You’ve got his bloody cheekbones and your hair doesn’t help any.”

Harry scowled fiercely at her now and gave her another sharp tap as she started to laugh at him.

“Very amusing, Lady Hex,” he hissed as he leaned down so his mouth was near her ear.  “But not something I’m going to allow to happen.”  He then pulled back and his face shifted into a grin.

Niamh shook her head at him then turned to Severus and the two wizards but not before asking, “Hey…where’s Jardin?”

“Still at Snapeshire probably.  I’ll see if he can hear me from this far away.”

Jar?

No response came, so Harry shrugged at Niamh then turned to look at the two wizards.

One, scowling darkly, spat, “Snape,” in such a tone that it made Harry and Niamh bristle.  It was the same tone McGonagall used on Slytherins.  His eyes, bright blue but dark with contempt, swept over the two teens.  He then turned back to the Potions Master and said, “Stuck as babysitter?”

Severus sniffed disdainfully and replied, “Two of my Slytherins.  They were unable to get to the Cup without aid.”

“And you thought I expected them to be Gryffindors?”

“Hardly,” replied Severus curtly.  “You know better than that, Macnair.  Now…when does this damned portkey activate?”

“What – no hello for me, Severus?” asked the other wizard in a false hurt tone.

Severus glanced at him and said gruffly, “Hello, Bole.  Where is David?”  Harry and Niamh blinked at the mention of the now graduated Slytherin Beater.

“With his mother,” replied Bole angrily.  “You didn’t hear?  That bastard Fudge awarded her custody.”

“Probably because he knows you were a Death Eater,” growled Macnair.  He scowled at Harry and Niamh and barked, “You two!  Names!”

“Don’t trust him,” hissed Hedwig from Harry’s wrist.  He glanced down at her for a half second then looked back at Macnair.

“Neville Longbottom,” he replied, making Severus arch an eyebrow in surprise.

Macnair then looked at Niamh, who bared her teeth at him, and spat, “Lavender Brown,” taking a name from a Gryffindor fourth year as Harry had.

Macnair snorted at them then look at Bole, who nodded.  He then picked up an old boot and growled, “Grab.”  Bole and Severus took hold of it immediately, the professor motioning Harry and Niamh forward.  Just as the two teens grabbed a hold of the worn leather, the portkey activated.  Harry had just enough time to call out to Jardin again.

Jar!  We’re going to the Cup!  Meet us there if you can!

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

They hit the ground so hard that even Harry, who was quite used to portkeys from frequent usage and already steady on his feet from years of learning how to stay up after being punched, staggered.  He did, however, manage to get his balance back in time to catch the collapsing Niamh.

“Thanks,” she wheezed as a voice suddenly spoke.

“One past five from Lynch Vale,” proclaimed the voice.

Macnair picked up the boot and chucked it at two grumpy-looking wizard standing nearby on the misty moor.  He then stalked off, followed swiftly by Bole.  One of the wizards – dressed in a kilt and a poncho – caught the boot and tossed it into a box with other used portkeys.  He then sighed heavily and said, “Good morning, Severus, Harry, young lady.”

“Basil,” said Severus with a nod.  He eyes his cousin’s off attire then added; “The Ministry had you on duty?  What about the shop?”

Basil nodded, sea green eyes weary.  He pushed his wire spectacles up his nose as they had slipped down then replied, “On duty until everyone cleans out of here.  Been here since three.  And Issa’s minding the shop.  Not that anyone will be buying.  Half of England’s here.  Oh, and you might want to move back a bit. There’s a party coming in from Stoatshead Hill…”

“That’s near Ottery St. Catchpole!” breathed Niamh.

“Seven after five from Stoatshead Hill,” declared the other wizard, jotting it down on a scroll as the group appeared.  It didn’t take long to figure out who was in the group from the several sets of flaming red hair.

“Hello, Arthur,” said Basil, taking another worn boot from Mr. Weasley.  “You too, Amos.”

The other man standing with the Weasley’s nodded and Harry recognized the boy with him as Cedric Diggory, seventh year Hufflepuff and Captain/Seeker for their team.  The gray-eyed teen recognized him and grinned, striding over to them as the Weasley’s conversed with Basil.

“Harry!  Fancy seeing you here.”

“’Lo, Cedric,” said Harry, taking the hand the older teen extended.

“Heard you were staying the summer with Professor Snape, Harry.  You and someone – ah, I don’t believe I caught your name.”  Cedric smiled charmingly at Niamh, who scowled slightly at him.

“Niamh O’Feir,” she growled.

Cedric grinned and grasped her hand, bringing it to his lips.  He murmured around it, “A lovely name for a lovely lady.”

Niamh flushed and disengaged her hand from Cedric’s.  Inadvertently, Harry felt something well up inside him at the sight of Cedric kissing Niamh’s hand but smothered it after a moment of confusion.

“Th-thank you.”

“Cedric!  What are you doing…ah, hello.”  The man Basil had called Amos strode over to them and they could now see the resemblance between him and Cedric.  He looked at Cedric and asked, “Who are these two?”

“Dad, meet Harry Potter, Slytherin’s Seeker, and Niamh O’Feir.”  Cedric peered at Niamh and added, “Going to be a Chaser this year, right?”

Niamh nodded numbly as Amos eyed her and Harry.  “Harry Potter,” he murmured, reminding Harry of the way Voldemort had said it when he’d gone after the Sorcerer’s Stone.

“Yes, sir.”

“Slytherin Seeker?  Never would have thought…with your parents…”

Harry smirked slightly and stated, “Can’t always judge a child by their parents.”

Amos peered at him for a moment then laughed uproariously, clapping Harry hard enough on the shoulder that he staggered.

“Well said!” roared Amos as Harry regained his balance.  “Can’t judge Slytherin either.  You Slytherin too, girl?”  When Niamh nodded Amos grinned and said, “Odd thing.  Muggleborn?  Wife’s Muggleborn.  Slytherin too!”

“Dad,” said Cedric in an exasperated tone, rolling his eyes at Harry and Niamh.  He gently grabbed his father’s arm and tugged.  “C’mon, Dad.  Let’s go find our spot.”

“Eh?  Ah, yes, our spot.  Be seeing you two later!”

As they watched the two walk off Niamh said, “well.  That was…”

“…interesting.”

“Yeah.”

“Harry!  Niamh!”

A whirlwind of bushy brown hair squirmed out from the gaggle of Weasley’s and hurled itself onto the two other teens.  There was squeal and then Ginny, hair bouncing in a short braid, ran and leapt on Harry with enough force to send the much taller Slytherin to the grass.

“Sorry,” murmured the girl as she saw what she had done.  Harry simply laughed and told her that the grass was quite springy and much better than landing on something hard.

“But,” he added, “perhaps we should get up.”

“Good idea,” said Ginny with a grin.  She rose first then extended a hand to Harry, pulling him to his feet with one good pull.  Harry grinned at her as he brushed grass off the back of his jeans.

“Good arm there, Gin.”

Ginny flushed slightly then asked, “Have you heard from Mika?”

“Yeah.  He didn’t owl you?”

Ginny shook her head.

“Is something wrong?”

“Remember when he told us his dad wanted him to go to Durmstrang but his mum insisted he go to Hogwarts?”

“Oh, no…” moaned Ginny.

“Yeah.”

“So…he’s not going to be here.”

Harry shook his head.

“The Slytherin Four has now become the Slytherin Trio.  Oh, and guess what?”

“Hmm?”

“His dad is coming to teach.”

Ginny blinked.

“DADA?”

“Yep.”

“Which means we’ll finally get a teacher that’s not an idiot or evil,” proclaimed Niamh as she slung her arms over both of their shoulders, having to stretch slightly to get to Harry’s.  Hermione came around to stand by Ginny as she said that and frowned.

“Professor Lupin wasn’t evil.”

“Ah, yes.  Let me rephrase that.  A teacher that’s not an idiot, evil, or a werewolf.”

“So, Professor Lupin left?  Why?”

“Incident at the end of last year,” said Ron as he strode over to them.  He looked at Harry and blinked when he found himself looking straight into his friend’s eyes.  Harry grinned at him and Ron laughed.

“You five!  Come on!”

The four fourth years and one third year looked up to see Severus waving at him.  They all looked at each other then chorused, “Yes, Professor Snape!”

Severus rolled his eyes then scowled at Basil as he said something.  Grunting a goodbye to his cousin, he stalked off after the retreating backs of the Weasley’s.

Harry waved to Basil as the five of them followed swiftly.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

“Erm, Professor?  What are we doing?”

Severus looked down at Niamh as he watched the Weasley twins and Ron

“Apparently we are rooming with this bunch.”

“Sir??”

Severus sighed and waved a hand, muttering something that sounded like, “Molly insisted.”

Niamh frowned at him then hurried to help Hermione, Harry, and Ginny with their tent.  The thing had been about to collapse but she deftly grabbed the tilting front pole and held it as they got the other one’s in the ground and tied down.  Harry came around to the front to check that pole and grinned at her.

“Thank, Ni.”

“Always welcome, mate,” replied Niamh with a smile, not knowing her cheeks had flushed slightly.  Harry noticed but didn’t say anything.

“Oh!”

Everyone turned to look as Mr. Weasley got a few sparks as he tried to light the fire with matches but dropped it in his surprise.  Hermione was about to move forward but Severus beat her to it.  He knelt down by the other man and grabbed the box from him.

“Give me that, Arthur.  Now, look…  Not at me, man, the matches!  The matches!”

A minute or so later the fire was going and Arthur was clapping Severus on the back as though they were old friends.

“Well done, Severus!  Where’d you learn how to do that?”

Severus muttered something and Mr. Weasley frowned slightly.

“Ah, yes,” he said.  “I forgot about that.  What do you say to some tea?”

“I’d say it’d be welcome,” replied Severus.

The two men entered the tent then twins and Ron put up, not noticing the stares they were getting from child and student.

“Er…” said Ron as he walked over to Harry, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at the tent.  “What was that?”

Harry frowned slightly then Niamh said, “Apparently they know each other.”

“How?” asked the twins in unison.

“Well…hey, he knows you all’s mum too!  Remember, Harry, when he went to the Burrow last year?  They seemed like they knew each other.”

Harry scowled down at her and she blanched, as did everyone else.  Their stay at the Burrow last year had not been the best.

“Anyway,” continued Niamh.  “Maybe Mr. Weasley and Professor Snape know each other too.”

“How?” asked the twins again.

Niamh rolled her eyes and growled something under her breath.

Hermione took his chance to say something.

“Well…maybe they were in school together.”

The twins looked at each other then Ron said, “Our Dad older than Snape.”

“So?  Maybe your dad was a seventh year and Professor Snape was a second year.”

“More like a first year,” said Harry.

“Okay, first year.  And if your mum was a seventh year too, perhaps they knew each other.”

The twins looked at each other and shrugged while Ron frowned slightly.  Ginny made no remark, just looked interested.

“Or,” suddenly said the youngest Weasley, “perhaps Mum was a Slytherin like Professor Snape.”

The three older Weasley’s looked at her like she’d grown a second head.

“Mum?”

“A Slytherin?”

“Gin, that’s nuts.”

“Mum?”

“Hey,” exclaimed the girl, glaring at her three older brothers.  “I’m a Slytherin!”

“But…” said Ron.

“This is Mum,” said George.

“SO?!”  The youngest Weasley glared at her older brothers.  She had just opened her mouth to say something else when Mr. Weasley and Severus emerged from the best, crouching down by the fire and busying themselves with the tea.  Mr. Weasley grabbed a pot and tossed it to them.  Harry caught it just before it would have hit Ginny in the forehead.

“Would one of you go get some water?”

“Sure,” chorused five voices and then they were off.  They walked past tents in odd shapes and colors and wizards trying to light fires with matches or stealthily using wands to do so.  A Ministry wizard rushed by them to catch two girls riding about on toy broomsticks, muttering to himself.

“Is it me, or had everything gone green?” asked Ron and Niamh as the same time.

Indeed everything had gone green.  The tents all around them were covered in shamrocks, making them look like tiny hills in themselves.

“Ron!  Hermione!”

The five of them turned to see sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan waving at them from in front of his own shamrock-covered tent.  His best friend Dean Thomas sat beside him, also waving.

Harry felt a pang as he saw the sandy hair.  Tyls…

An arm slipped around his waist and he looked down to see Niamh smiling sadly up at him.  Harry smiled in response, thinking, What is this girl, physic?

“Hey, Seamus,” said Ron as they approached, Niamh pulling away from Harry as they did so.

“Hey.  Like our decorations?  The Ministry’s not to happy.”

“Why shouldn’t you show your colors?” asked Harry.

Seamus shrugged as Dean, laughing, said, “You should see what the Bulgarians have all over their tents!”

Seamus nodded then looked up at the five of them.

“You lot are supporting Ireland, right?”

Harry grinned in response and said, “Of course,” while the other four’s responses were less enthusiastic.  As they walked away Ron muttered, “As though we’d say anything else around that lot.”

“Hey,” remarked Harry, “I was being serious.”

“Odd – you didn’t look like Sirius.”

Harry scowled at Niamh, who chortled.  He gave the girl and slight shove then said to Ron, “Anyway, Ireland’s supposed to be a fair shot better than Bulgaria.”

“But Bulgaria’s got Krum!”

“Irish team has Firebolt’s.  Krum’s got a Nimbus 2001.”

“But still!  They have Krum!”

Harry opened his mouth to say something else but Ginny reached up and snapped her hand over it.  Hermione did the same to Ron.

“Enough Quidditch talk,” remarked the bushy-haired Gryffindor, the red-haired Slytherin echoing her with a nod.  “We’ve got to get that water.”

The five of them continued on through the Bulgarian section and saw that their tents were plastered with posters of a surly face with heavy black eyebrows.  It blinked and scowled at them as they past and Niamh remarked to Harry and Ginny, “He looks like a relation to Hagrid with that face.”

When they finally reach the queue in a corner of the field, a rather odd site greeted them.  An old wizard in a long flowery nightgown was in a heated argument with a Ministry wizard holding out a pair of pinstriped trousers.

“Just put them on, Archie.  You can’t walk around like that, the Muggle at the gate’s already suspicious.”

“I bought this in a Muggle shop.  Muggle’s wear them.”

“Muggle women wear them, Archie, not the men, they wear these.”  The Ministry wizard brandished the pinstriped trousers as he said this.

“I’m not putting them on.  I like a healthy breeze ‘round my privates.”

Niamh, Ginny, and Hermione were overcome with giggles and had to duck of the queue, only returning when Archie had collected his water and moved away.

On their return trip, the five of them spotted more faces they knew.  Ron was dragged off momentarily by Oliver Wood then returned as Ernie Macmillan, the Hufflepuff fourth year who had compared all Slytherins to Malfoy in their second year but apologized later, hailed Harry.  Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw Seeker, waved at them and Harry scowled at her.  The girl seemed more like a Slytherin than a Ravenclaw to him.

“Harry, don’t you know better than to scowl at pretty girls?” remarked Ron as Cho stormed off in a huff.

“She may be pretty,” replied Harry, “but she’s got more Slytherin traits than Malfoy does.”

Niamh snorted.  “Malfoy doesn’t have any Slytherin traits.”

“Alright.  Pratish traits,” amended Harry.

“Now, that’s more like it.”

Ron rolled his eyes at them and Hermione whacked him on the back of the head.

“Hey, who are they?” asked Niamh suddenly, pointing at a group of teenagers that they had never seen before.

“Probably foreign students,” said Hermione.

“Foreign?”

“Yeah,” replied Harry, “other wizarding schools.  Durmstrang, where Mika has vanished off to, is one of them.  I think its in Russia or somewhere up in that area…”

“Oh.”

By the time they returned to the Weasleys’ tents, Percy and two others were there.  Mr. Weasley introduced them as Bill, the oldest, and Charlie, the one that the twins had told Harry had been the best Seeker Gryffindor ever had.

“Hiya, Harry,” said Charlie, extending a hand that Harry took.  “Heard you play Seeker for Slytherin.  Fred and George kept telling me that you could probably beat me.”

Harry glared at the twins, who whistled innocently and didn’t meet his eyes, before grinning at Charlie.

“I’m willing to try and see.”

Charlie laughed and said, “Alright then!  We’ll see.  Don’t know when, but we’ll see.  Here, have a seat.  And what about the rest of our introductions?”

Harry was introduced to Bill, who had hair as long as he did and an earring with a fang on it, then he and Ron introduced Hermione and Niamh.

Bill suddenly exclaimed, “Professor Snape!  What are you doing here?!”

Severus smiled from where he sat by Mr. Weasley and said smoothly, “I see you do remember some things better than most.  Such as potions ingredients?”

Bill winced and Severus said, “But as to why I am here – Mr. Potter and Miss O’Feir needed transportation.  I gave it and Arthur here has insisted I stay with you lot instead of my original plan.”

“Which was?” asked Charlie.

“To sleep under a cloak propped up by sticks,” replied Severus with a smirk.

The twins burst out laughing immediately and Harry, Niamh, and Ginny followed.  Everyone else joined in a few moments later, even Percy.

“You couldn’t do that, professor,” said Fred.

“We wouldn’t allow it,” continued George.

Severus eyed the two and growled, “And you two had better not try anything.  I’ll remember to take points from Gryffindor if you do.”

“C’mon, professor,” said Niamh, “leave the poor Gryff’s alone.  They lose enough points one their own.”

“Oy!” exclaimed both twins.

“Well, its true,” said the girl, sticking her tongue out at them.

“And what about you and Harry?” shot back George.

“Yes,” echoed Fred.  “Don’t the Lord and Lady Hex lose points too?”

“Of course,” said Harry.  “More than you two have done in three years.”

“Ha!” said both twins.

“You want to bet on that?” growled Harry and Niamh.

“Sure!  Two Galleons says we’ll lose more points than you two this year!”

“Deal!”

Harry grasped Fred’s hand while Niamh gripped George’s.  It appeared they were trying to break each other’s hands.

“Stop that,” snapped Mr. Weasley.  “Tea’s done.”

Cups were handed out and they all listened as Mr. Weasley pointed out Ministry officials rushing back and forth in front of the tents.