Celestial Ascendancy

Celestial Ascendancy

Chapter 3: The World Cup (I).

Elias Blake.

The burrow.

"Wake up, dears. You need to walk to the Portkey Point and are already late, " Mrs. Weasley shouted at the top of her lungs.

Casting a tempus, I saw it was already four thirty in the morning, and we needed to be at five sharp to leave with the rest of the families from this zone. 

Grumbling a bit, I stood up and went to get ready, sleepy. I did the last check of my trunk. I would shower in one compartment when we arrived at the World Cup site. Thankfully, when I bought my trunk, I asked for multiple rooms, including a bathroom. While staying inside was not recommended for long periods, a simple shower was all right. I planned to offer the bathroom to the girls since I knew they cared more about it than the males. Also, I did not wish to have Ron bathing or anywhere close to my trunk if I could help it.

There were days that I was sure Ron did not shower in school, and I believed he only used freshening charms to hide that fact. Cleaning yourself with Magic was good and all, but it wasn't the same as a hot shower. In the long run, freshening charms would begin to drop in efficiency, and the smell would be noticeable, something Ron did not care about or ignored.

When Iris arrived at the entrance with Ginny in tow, they were rubbing their eyes and yawning all the way. She walked straight to me and hugged me. I did not know why she had been all touchy-feely since my arrival yesterday, but I was going to find out soon. I was afraid to reciprocate their actions, having read them wrong, and I did not want to make our relationship awkward. I did not have much experience with girls in my previous life, and I cared way too much about Iris and Mione, so I did not wish to ruin what we had.

"Sleepy?" I yawned, "I thought the excitement would wake you up."

"I'm not a morning person; not even the World Cup would make me energetic at this hour." She grumbled. "Not everyone can be like Mione."

Looking at Hermione at the back, I saw her reading another book about transfiguration, and I snorted.

She looked up from her book defensively, "What?" she asked.

"Nothing, nothing," I lifted my hands in defeat. "I was just looking at your beautiful bushy hair."

Hermione blushed like a tomato. Thanks to my advice, she went to Madam Pomfrey to get her teeth fixed during our second year, and her confidence soared early. However, her untamable hair was a personal characteristic that Iris and I loved, and we made sure to remind her every time we could.

"Come on, kids," said Mr. Weasley, almost marching with his face set in a firm line. The twins, walking behind him with disgruntled faces, said nothing.

"We need to head to the top of Stoatshead Hill, the nearest Portkey point. The Diggorys will wait for us there." Mr Weasley continued, "We must hurry since it is somewhat far."

Walking behind him, I observed the surroundings. Thankfully, it was quiet, and the walk went smoothly.

"Will Bill and Charlie go with us?" asked Iris while yawning.

"They will arrive later, lass," replied Mr. Weasley. "They will appear at noon, so they are still sleeping."

"Lucky bastards," grumbled one twin, who I suspected was Fred.

"None of that now." said Mr. Weasley sternly, "You know that it is illegal to do so without a permit, and that did not stop you when you practiced this break. I swear to Merlin, where did we go wrong with the two of you."

"How do you expect us to trust you both if you do irresponsible things whenever you are awake?" he continued his tirade, looking older by the second, "Magic is wonderful, but it can be dangerous. What do you expect to do if you were to lose an arm while splinting?"

"Sorry, Dad," said Fred?, "We will be careful in the future, at least with that."

"Both of you are good kids, and while I am not against your work, unlike your mother, there are dangers in what you both do in the house. I am sure Professor Snape warned you about potion's mishaps."

Tuning them out in that private moment, I could feel my legs hurting. While the walk was without a problem, there were multiple rabbit holes and uneven terrain; Mione even had to close her book to focus after almost falling. That alone showed how difficult it was.

"Whew." painted Mr. Weasley, "We made it, barely," he whispered, looking at his wristwatch.

The rest of us were not far behind, almost everyone panting. Thanks to this reminder, I planned to exercise more than usual—something that I usually did, but it did not seem enough. If we were tired after this walk, a high-intensity duel would be almost impossible to finish.

"Over here, Arthur!" shouted a voice from far away. I was afraid you would not make it!"

"Amos!" said Mr Weasley with a bright smile, motioning for us to follow him.

When we arrived, we could see Mr Weasley shaking hands with someone I knew to be Amos Diggory, Cedric's father. Cedric was somewhat of an acquaintance, not close to us, but we talked in school sporadically. He was part of an Unsanctioned dueling club on the school grounds, nowhere near the top, but he was there almost every time we attended.

Last year, It was led by some seventh-year Ravenclaw, and Iris, Hermione, and I participated several times to train how to fight against another wizard. They were a reclusive group and only invited specific people who showed promise and would not snitch on them.

They feared Hermione going since she was somewhat of a teacher's pet, but Iris and I promised to keep her in check, so they allowed her to go. She was not happy with it, but when they started teaching us some combat spells, she shut up and listened.

We had fun in all those sessions, and having multiple sparring partners immensely helped. Everyone fought differently, so we learned even from the ones who were weaker than us.

100 CP awarded, 250 CP Total.

Choosing to bank the points for the moment, I focused on the scene before me.

Mr. Weasley and Mr. Diggory talked animatedly about the ministry, and Cedric was a couple of paces away from us.

"Cedric," I smiled at him. "How are you? Excited for the game?"

"Elias," he shook my hand. "And hell yeah, I am. Bulgaria will win, you will see!"

He was extremely handsome, and I didn't know if my eyes deceived me, but sometimes I believed his skin shined under the sun. He was in a budding relationship with Cho Chang, a fifth-year Ravenclaw, but he still went out to help everyone who needed it. He was famous and loved for that reason; not even the Slytherins could say anything bad about him.

"Will you be going to the club this year?" he asked in a hushed whisper. It was a shame that he wasn't low enough.

"What club?" asked Ron, loudly and with a bit of jealousy in his tone.

"Gardening club," Iris replied rapidly, rolling her eyes at the older student.

"Bah," snorted Ron, "Hufflepuffs and their hard work."

Crisis averted; we just nodded to Cedric, who looked sheepish.

"Kids, this is Amos Diggory." he told the older man, "He works at the department for the regulation and control of magical creatures."

Waving at him, we kept silent.

"Tough crowd." laughed Mr. Diggory, "I'm sure waking up so early does not help the matter."

"We just need to touch the boot; a finger will do," continued Cedric's father, moving the boot on his hand, "Quickly now, we will be transported there any second now."

Hurrying up, we all touched the Portkey and waited, but out of nowhere, I felt as if a hook in my navel was suddenly jerked forward, and the rest exclaimed in awe. A second later, I could feel solid ground, and some of us fell forward.

Gracefully, I grabbed both Hermione and Ginny by their waists. Iris was the only one apart from me who did not fall from the still students. I thanked my lucky stars that the perk I received helped me in these kinds of situations.

"Portkey from Stoatshead Hill," announced a voice.

Pulling the girls, we straightened and looked around. The space was filled to the brim with wizards and witches, and if I focused, I could see even some non-humans milling around. The air was lively, and the noise could be heard everywhere. Music, shouts, people talking, the noise was so loud that it was a marvel that non-magicals did not notice everything happening in here.

"Could we go and set the tents now?" Iris asked impatiently. "My Godfather told me he sent one for us alone."

Mr. Weasley looked uncomfortable but sighed, "Molly told me we should all stay together, even if we were a little bit cramped. But I won't deny a girl a gift from her Godfather."

Nodding in self-assurance, Mr Weasley continued with anticipation, "Follow me then. We will set camp like muggles do!"

We walked around the site, and the Wizarkind showed why they should not be trusted around muggles. Multiple people were using Magic in public, forcing the Obliviators to work overtime when a muggle noticed some inconsistencies with the people around them. 

Iris, Mione, and I scowled at each other seeing this. Prolonged use of memory charms in a single person caused multiple complications, and the obliviators did it without a care in the world. I was pretty sure some purebloods present were doing Magic in the open to force the ministry workers to keep doing so. It was a terrible scene that showed magicals' disregard for their normal counterparts, but we could do nothing. 

Even someone supposed to love and respect the muggles, such as Arthur Weasley, showed only a little sympathy but did nothing else. Even the staunch supporters of Dumbledore, who supposedly fought for the betterment of the people, did nothing about it. 

When we finished our trip to where Arthur said we would find the muggle in charge of the logistics, I could see the balding man looking at everyone weirdly. And before Mr. Weasley could even pay, the obliviators arrived to mess with the poor sod mind. 

I exhaled softly, "should we start setting the tent?" I asked out loud, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feelings the scene caused me. 

Iris was the same. She looked at Mr. Robert apologetically and nodded at me, trying to do something that involved leaving this place. Hermione, on the other hand, looked in outrage. She was visibly fuming and trembling in agitation. 

"Calm down," I told her in a soothing voice. "Even if we make a scene, the culture of the wizarding world will not change in a single night. Bide your time, and change it from a position of power."

"Yeah!" Iris smirked at my side, "We will have your back, future minister of magic," she teased Hermione. 

With the bomb defused, at least for the moment, we focused on setting the tents in our designated spots. 

Hermione did not have experience settling tents, but I did. The main reason was that when money was tight in the orphanage during my younger years, the matrons decided to camp in the backyard to make us have fun without spending much money. 

With my experience and some common sense, we managed to finish before long, but Mr Weasley was entirely out of his depth, and the other Weasleys were in the same boat. Iris, thanks to her muggle upbringing, at least could infer how to do it, even if her family tried their damn best to stump her growth. According to her, the Dursleys did not take her out, preferring to leave her with Mrs. Figgs, Dumbledore's spy, whenever they had family outings.

When we were done setting the tent Sirius gifted Iris, and we marveled at the inside. It was almost at the same level as my trunk; something like this must have been really expensive. Sirius probably didn't care at all, thanks to the Black's riches and all those years he left Iris alone with the horrid Dursleys, thanks to his stupidity. 

It did not have a shower, so only some things were good. Thankfully, Mr Weasley went ahead in search of water for his tent and left us alone. The twins were plotting in the background, Hermione had a book in her hands, and Iris and Ginny talked animatedly about the incoming game. 

"I'll go and take a shower," I told Iris while grabbing my shrunken trunk and tapping on it twice with my wand. The trunk grew up rapidly, and I went in. This was the last time I could roll before the "riot" of the World Cup, and I hoped for the best. 

+100 CP awarded 350 CP Total. 

Choosing to roll, I waited with bated breath. I could feel the grimoire trying to pull something, and I let out a relieved sigh when it managed to do so.

[Gem Encrusted Blade ] –200 CP

One of Castlevania's many experimental arms, the Jewel Sword is a fairly unique blade in that its power can vary with the wielder, or even on the day of the week. A fool would think it untrustworthy, but its secrets have long since been discovered - the sword grows more powerful in the presence of gems. And, it should be noted, the sword also has the power to transform defeated foes into gems of all kinds, from diamond and opals to zircon and onyx. As such, one simply needs to slay enough monsters or civilians, wear as many of the gemstones it will eventually create, and the sword's power will rise. Eventually, you'll be wearing more diamonds than not, and the sword will be as powerful as you are gaudy.

200 CP spent, 150 CP remaining.

This was going to be undeniably useful for the future. Not in the short term, though. Even if I was not as queasy as the rest of the people in the Wizarding World about killing people, I did not believe that I could start doing so right now in the World Cup. The amount of gold I could obtain selling the gems I gathered from the DE's would be staggering. From my understanding, the followers of Voldemort reached almost a thousand wizards only in the British Isles, and I did not believe for a moment that he had support only from here.

Reading about the war, I noticed some inconsistencies in my previous beliefs. The war was bloodier than the one in the books, with some of Grindelwald's ex-followers following little Tom.

The details about the supposed battle, including Dumbledore defeating his ex-lover, were scarce. No one knew what really happened, and Dumbledore avoided answering questions about it, but both conflicts were significantly more extensive than what I had read in the books or movies.

I lifted the sword and felt it was the perfect weight for me. I did not know if the grimoire changed its properties or if the sword was originally like that, but I loved it. It was not so heavy that I needed both hands to lift it, but enough that I knew it was a good-quality sword. Honestly, I was a complete novice with bladed weapons and mainly was talking out of my ass, but I knew someone who could help me practice.

Professor Flitwick was a bloody world champion duelist and one of the few people who actively used swords in wizarding Britain. It was a mark of status; from what I've heard from some of the Ravenclaws, a lot of the Scions of Pureblood families had at least some knowledge about sword fighting, but almost no one specialized in it since it did not have the same versatility as wands.

Even then, I had a good relationship with the half-goblin, and I was almost sure I could convince him to teach me when I returned for my fourth year.

Finally done with my shower, I put on some trunks and a white shirt and stepped out of my trunk. Looking around, I could see Iris, Ginny, and Ron sleeping on the bunk beds. The only one who was awake was Hermione, who was scribbling on one of the tables. 

"Mione," I called out, drying my hair with a towel. 

"Yes, Eli?" she tilted her head. "Is there something I can do for you?" she joked, looking at me up and down. 

"Heh," I snorted, "Not for the moment, but if you want to shower, I am already done with it. You could use different hair products on the shelf, so knock yourself up."

Hermione smiled and stood up quickly from her seat. While doing so, she dropped a heavy book she was using for her homework, waking up the rest.

"Go," I said when I noticed her returning to fix the mess she had caused. "I'll take care of it. Just let me know when you are done so that Iris can take your place."

"Thanks, Eli. You are a lifesaver," she blew me a kiss from the entrance of my trunk, and I was left speechless. Since I arrived at the burrow yesterday, both girls have been acting differently than usual. We were the best of friends, and while we were really close, they never showed affection as they had done since yesterday in all our time together. I did not know if age was the reason or another one, but I could not deny that it gave me hope. They would grow to be beauties, and they weren't some bimbos like Lavender; no, they had brains and beauty.

"Mione is taking a shower right now," I explained when Iris looked at me groggily from her bed. "Are you going to do the same when she is done?"

Iris replied slowly, taking her time to rub her eyes cutely and yawning mightily.

"Yeah," she nodded slowly, "I stink." she furrowed her nose.

"Yes, you do," I smirked at her and dodged the pillow she sent at me in retaliation.

Before I could reply in kind and start a pillow fight to pass the time, Mr. Weasley entered the tent.

"It's time, kids!" he said energetically, "We need to start moving to our seats! The game will start in an hour."

"Mr. Weasley, Iris wished to bathe before going, and Hermione is in the middle of doing so. You can go with your family if you want, and we will arrive later. We can hide Iris in her cloak so that no one bothers us during our trip."

Mr. Weasley was torn between staying with us and going, but after Ron whined and Iris said convincing things, he allowed us to stay.

"All right, all right. We will be waiting for you three in the top box. Make sure to make it on time!" he warned us, looking directly at me. "Take care of them, lad," he said seriously.

"With my life," I smiled at him before he left.

100 CP awarded, 250 CP total.

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