Ella Potter (Draco Malfoy)

Chapter 18

Before anyone knew it one year had come and gone. It was once again Ella and Harry's birthday, the twins now turned 14. Ella hadn't gotten any letters from Draco. Regardless Ella enjoyed her birthday to the fullest. She got tickets to the final of the Quidditch World Cup. Ella was so excited.

The day came soon, Ella was so excited to go. People had slept in tents all around at night. Snape had trusted Ella to go alone, was going to be sitting with Mr. Malfoy. Mr. Malfoy was the one who bought the ticket for Ella for her birthday.

A deep, booming gong sounded somewhere beyond the woods, and at once, green and red lanterns blazed into life in the trees, lighting a path to the field. It was time.

The stairs into the stadium were carpeted in rich purple. A hundred thousand witches and wizards were taking their places in the seats, which rose in levels around the long oval field. Everything was suffused with a mysterious golden light, which seemed to come from the stadium itself. 

The field looked smooth as velvet from their lofty position. At either end of the field stood three goal hoops, fifty feet high; right opposite them, almost at Ella's eye level, was a gigantic blackboard. Gold writing kept dashing across it as though an invisible giant's hand were scrawling upon the blackboard and then wiping it off again; watching it, it was flashing advertisements across the field. 

"Ella!"

She turned around to see Mr. Malfoy, she ran up the stairs to the Malfoy's.

"There she is, we were wondering if you'd find us" Draco said taking her hand "Don't get lost"

They went up to the prime seats, along the second row four still-empty seats right behind Mr. Weasley were open. Lucius, Narcissa, Draco, and Ella moved over to them.

"Ah, Fudge," said Mr. Malfoy, holding out his hand as he reached the Minister of Magic. "How are you? I don't think you've met my wife, Narcissa? Or our son, Draco?"

"How do you do, how do you do?" said Fudge, smiling and bowing to Mrs. Malfoy "And who is this young lady?"

Mr. Malfoy looked at her then back at Fudge "Draco's girlfr-"

"I'm Ella, Ella Potter" Ella replied quickly

"Another Potter, fascinating" Fudge said "And allow me to introduce you guys to Mr. Oblansk - Obalonsk - Mr. - well, he's the Bulgarian Minister of Magic, and he can't understand a word I'm saying anyway, so never mind. And let's see who else - you know Arthur Weasley, I daresay?"

It was a tense moment. Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy looked at each other and Harry vividly recalled the last time they had come face-to-face: It had been in Flourish and Blotts' bookshop, and they had had a fight. Mr. Malfoy's cold gray eyes swept over Mr. Weasley, and then up and down the row.

"Good lord, Arthur," he said softly. "What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?"

Fudge, who wasn't listening, said, "Lucius has just given a very generous contribution to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Arthur. He's here as my guest. "

"How - how nice," said Mr. Weasley, with a very strained smile.

Mr. Malfoy's eyes had returned to Hermione, who went slightly pink, but stared determinedly back at him. Harry knew exactly what was making Mr. Malfoy's lip curl like that. The Malfoys prided themselves on being purebloods; in other words, they considered anyone of Muggle descent, like Hermione, second-class. 

However, under the gaze of the Minister of Magic, Mr. Malfoy didn't dare say anything. He nodded sneeringly to Mr. Weasley and continued down the line to his seats. Draco shot Harry, Ron, and Hermione one contemptuous look, then settled himself between his father and Ella.