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Luckily, Mr Diggory had spelled the bucket with a feather-light charm so it wasn't hard carrying it back to their camp. Cedric was still asleep, so Alex sat down on a sofa and picked out one of the books Snape and Kurata had gotten her- the one on rare magical creatures. She read up on Saphira's kind- earth dragons. Mr Diggory caught sight of her book.
"What an interesting looking book." He said.

"Thank you." She said. "It's about magical animals."

"Are you interested in that?"

"Oh, yes. I love magic creatures." She said. "You work in the department for the regulation and control of magical creatures, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. Are you looking for a future in the ministry?"

"No." She shook her head. "But I do want to work with magical creatures."

"It's a noble profession. Have you any experience?" Alex bit back her smirk. Unicorns, Dragons, Cerberi, Centaurs. She definitely had experience.

"Yeah, I take care of magical creatures. We studied hippogriffs last year."

"I heard about that. Hagrid caused quite the scandal if I remember. Good heart he has, though not the best judgement." Mr Diggory said. Alex silently agreed. "So what's your favourite magical creature?"

"I love unicorns." She said. "Though dragons are a close second."

"Unicorns are a bit tricky though. They're hard to study." He told her. "Hardly anyone can get near them."

"Right, that's true. But they're still amazing. I did some research in my first year, and found some great books in the Hogwarts library."

"Oh, interesting, interesting." He said.

"What's the coolest creature you've seen someone smuggle?" She asked.

"We usually get a lot of dragons, but the, uh, coolest you say? I think that has to be a chimaera egg that hatched while we tried to get rid of it. The fire seemed to only help it hatch."

"Why were you trying to kill it? Aren't they endangered as is?"

"Yes, but they're incredibly dangerous. They're killer animals, even if they don't mean to." He explained. "Especially as cubs. They're the most dangerous then. They don't know what they're capable of so any human that goes near them ends up dead. We have to employ vampires since they're immune."

"But that's a good thing though, right? They can't find jobs elsewhere. Wouldn't this be a step to helping them find paid work?"

"Not a lot of people would like that sentiment."

"Those would be the same people who value bloodlines?" Mr Diggory chuckled.

"The very same." Alex glanced up at Cedric who was coming out of his room. He glanced between them.

"Hi." He moved over to kiss Alex's cheek.

"Nice nap?" She teased.

"Very nice." He replied unbothered. "You should try it sometime." She stuck her tongue. "Dad, d'you mind if we go look around a little?"

"No no, of course." Alex stood up.

"Bye, Mr Diggory."

"Call me Amos." He smiled kindly at her. She linked arms with Cedric and he led her out.

Cedric attempted to buy her a stuffed leprechaun.
"Oh, come on." He said. "Let's show a little support."

"I am showing support. I'm supporting you by being here." He set the stuffed bear back down, pouting. "Stop making that face."

"What face?"

"You look like I've broken your heart."

"Maybe you have." He countered.

"Drama queen." She said, but picked the stuff leprechaun back up. "I draw the line at face paints."

"Oh no. I was hoping we could get those charmed paints." Alex pulled a face.

"Not sure they'd work on me anyways." She said. "What a shame." He laughed and they continued walking.

An hour later, they got to their seats. Alex could vaguely see her siblings from her vantage point. She ignored them and focused on the match, sitting comfortably with her boyfriend. She was half leaning on him with his arm around her and their fingers interlocked. Soon the commentator, Alex didn't care to learn his name, introduced the match.

"Ladies and gentlemen... welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!" He said. Everyone seemed to scream and yell, Cedric cheering along. Alex rolled her eyes but looked more amused than annoyed at her boyfriend's actions. "And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce... the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!"

Veelas took over the stadium and the entire male population, and some of the females, seem to all become drooling messes. Alex glanced over at Cedric whose eyes were glued to the veelas. She flicked his cheek and he looked down at her. He glanced once at the veelas on the pitch before turning to her sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Are you?"

"Veela magic might be enchanting, but you are bewitching." He said. She burst into laughter at the cheesiness but moved to kiss him anyway.

"And now," the commentator yelled. "Kindly put your wands in the air... for the Irish National Team Mascots!"

Alex was bored of the game, though Cedric was almost totally immersed. She zoned out, looking for Hermione and catching her friend's gaze. She waved softly before she turned to her hand that was interlocked with Cedric's. She began fiddling with his fingers.

Eventually, after the Irish scored goals, the Bulgarians got one in. This time when the veelas appeared on the pitch, Cedric looked at his girlfriend rather than the women.
"Are you bored?" He asked.

"No. That Veela kind of looks like Amélie." She replied.

"The girl from the competition?"

"Yeah. They really look alike." She looked a little longer before looking at Cedric who was staring. "You know the veelas are gone now?"

"Yeah?" He asked.

"The game's started back up."

"Nice to know." He still hadn't turned away from her. She reached up and turned his face to the game.

"You can stare at me later. This is your once in a lifetime opportunity." He glanced at her again.

"I love you." He said simply, before turning to watch the match.

Alexandra Weasley: Book 4Where stories live. Discover now