never thought that she would be forced out of her bed in pitch-black darkness just to go for a midnight stroll. But, there she was, beside her two favourite Weasley twins, doing exactly that.

After staying at their house for a few nights - along with by Hermione, Ron and Harry - she was exhausted from staying up late. Fred and George were her best friends, and considering they knew her seemingly well, they quickly noticed her agitated mood that night. How the two redheads still managed to be energetic, Bella didn't know.

"Ron, where are we actually going?" Harry asked, though Ron just shrugged in reply. Everyone was aware that this was the journey to the Quidditch World Cup, though none of them - including Arabella - realised they would be going there in the middle of the night, and that a hike through the forest would be involved.

"Hey Dad, where are we going?" The boy echoed.

Arthur Weasley turned to the group of teenagers behind him; a pleasant grin on his face as he trudged through the leaves with a large rucksack on his back. "Ottery Saint Catchpole. Keep up!"

At his instructions, everyone sped up their pace, though Arabella was beginning to find it hard with the heavy bag she carried. She was aware that the trek would be long, tiring and tedious, though she never thought she would be short of breath after only five minutes. It was then that she realised just how little exercise she does.

"Arthur! It's about time, son!" A voice said, and a man approached with a walking stick in his hand, banging it with every step. This began to annoy the fiery-haired girl, because obnoxious noises during her irritable mood was not something that made her feel the slightest bit better.

"Sorry Amos; some of us had a bit of a sleepy start." The older man replied, and Bella furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She had never heard of, nor seen this 'Amos' before, so she was understandably wary of him as he approached. The Weasley man noticed this, and smiled. "This is Amos Diggory everyone - he works with me at the Ministry."

Suddenly, there was a loud bang and rustle of leaves as a blurred figure emerged from a tree branch. "And this strapping young man must be Cedric Diggory, am I right?" Arthur shook the boy's hand willingly.

"Yes, sir." Arabella saw Ginny and Hermione exchange suggestive looks, making the older girl roll her eyes. Even though they were only two years younger than her, she still considered herself to be far more mature than them. Confidence and pride had something to do with that - meaning she was, in her eyes, truly a Ravenclaw like the Sorting Hat had said.

The sky covered the ground like a blanket, casting shadows and orange and pink hues. As they approached the Portkey, which Arabella was disappointed to find was an old boot, all she could stare at was the beautiful clouds and the rays of light casting down upon her two best friends.

"Come on everyone, get in positions!" Arthur ordered, and Harry became instantly puzzled at the situation. Clearly, he had never seen nor used a Portkey before.

"Why are you all standing around this manky boot?" He questioned, making Fred and George laugh beside their female friend. Arabella Flannery was - for some reason - not amused at the bespectacled boy's perplexity, and the twins could only blame it on her deprecating spirit. Giving the girl a playful shove on the shoulder, she whipped her shining red hair around and scowled.

"It's not just any ol' boot, Harry. It's a Portkey." She replied, no element of emotion displayed on her face. Her eyelids became drooped and tired, and she yawned so hard her jaw hurt.

She had grown to realise over her sixteen years of being alive that she needed a good amount of sleep to fully function for the rest of the day. That morning was far too early for her to be completely awake, with it being almost one o'clock, and she adored the idea of getting in the tent and falling into a pleasant sleep.

"What's a Portkey?" Harry asked, still not understanding the concept of the magical enchantments. Everybody lay on the ground, gripping the boot tightly as instructed.

"Everyone ready?" Amos Diggory bellowed. "One..."

Harry was bewildered, causing him to panic and stumble onto the grass, taking hold of the top of the shoe. "Two..."

He was completely taken aback with no idea of what he was being made to do, but he still obeyed and reluctantly put his trust in the people around him. They seemed to know what they were doing, though that didn't stop him from shutting his eyes; preparing for the sensation that he knew was going to be extremely uncomfortable. "Three!"

They were plummeted into a tornado in the sky, whirling around as the wind howled beneath them. Amos and Cedric laughed in delight, while Hermione let out an ear-piercing scream. It amazed Bella how anyone could enjoy travelling by Portkey, like the father and son were, and she surprisingly understood why Hermione was screaming. She did too, on her first time using a Portkey.

"Let go, kids!" Arthur suggested.

"What?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Let go!"

Reluctantly, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny took their hands away from the worn leather. They found themselves plummeting down at a rapid speed, screaming and yelling in fear. George shot Bella a wink before releasing his grip, with the girl following both brothers just moments after.

The seven of them all fell together, a simultaneous thud sounding as their bodies impacted with the hard soil. The redheaded Ravenclaw's head began to throb, and she grimaced while rubbing the tender skin on the back of her scalp.

She punched the ground in annoyance as she saw Cedric, Amos and Arthur float down to the ground peacefully. "Bet that cleared your sinuses, eh?" Amos chuckled.

"Why couldn't you have taught us to do that instead of letting us fall?" She moaned, running her slender fingers through her ginger hair.

Cedric approached her with a toothy grin, and she looked up, feeling embarrassed that she was still sat on the floor. "Because," he said. "It takes a lot of practice and time, which we don't have." He offered out a pale hand, and she took it. She was pulled forcefully upon her feet, and she thanked the boy before walking over to Fred and George.

She started dusting off her denim jeans, silently praying that the grass stains would wash out. "Hey, Freddie--"

"Welcome to the Quidditch World Cup!" Arthur yelled enthusiastically, interrupting Arabella. She didn't mind though, because the sight upon her as she turned around was enough to silence her - and that didn't happen very often.

People on broomsticks flew in circles above the array of white tents that made up the population of the field. The crowd was scattered around; cheers of support and drunken delight riddling the air. Men wore strange hats, people painted their faces, some even danced around campfires. It seemed to be very patriotic, with flags hung up on nearly every tent - red and black for Bulgaria, and white and green for Ireland.

Personally, Bella supported both teams, purely because she was never good at making decisions, and choosing which Quidditch team to support was not a choice that she found easy to settle with. She had tried asking Fred and George for advice in the past, though they had proven to be of no use, since all they would do was tease Ron about his supposed love for Viktor Krum - the eighteen year old Seeker from the Bulgarian team.

Arabella had never heard of Krum before she became friends with Fred and George (which meant spending most of her summer holidays at the Weasley household), yet she still only had a vague idea of who he was, and she felt a little bit out of place with her lack of knowledge on the sport. She loved to watch it, though never played it, and she would never pay much attention to the players unless one caught her eye.

"See you at the match!" Arthur yelled over the noise to both Amos and Cedric as they parted from the rest of the group, supposedly wandering off to their own tent. "Now let's go find our tent, shall we?"

They snaked through the busy crowds of witches and wizards, aimlessly following Arthur Weasley until he stopped at a small, off-white tent. "Here we are; home sweet home."

"How are we all going to fit in that?" Arabella wondered, staring at the tent with disappointment.

Fred patted his female friend on the back as lightly as he could. "Just wait and see, Bella." He said, raising an eyebrow.

She nodded, stepping into the tent just as everyone else had already did. She expected to be displeased with the living space, but to her own surprise, the girl was overjoyed. Arabella hadn't realised that the tent was enchanted to become bigger inside, and it had several different rooms of generous sizes that made her tired heart flutter. This was the kind of place that she was looking forward to falling asleep in; not some dirty old tent that could barely sleep one person.

"Girls, choose a bunk and unpack!" Arthur suggested excitedly.

"Well I don't know about everyone else, but I'm going to bed." Announced Arabella, making Fred and George laugh harmoniously.

"Bed?" Fred exclaimed.

"It's not time for bed." George continued. "It's time for dancing." He joked, grabbing the girl by the hands and swaying her. She forced herself from her friend's grasp, and threw her bag onto the growing pile of rucksacks.

"Boys, it's half past one in the morning." She said, checking her watch (she hadn't learnt a spell yet that presented the same function as a Muggle watch). "I don't know about you, but I am usually asleep at this time."

"Fine," Fred moaned. "But don't blame us if you find yourself waking up covered in water." He winked, gesturing the motion of tipping over a bucket.

Bella rolled her eyes, and trudged over to her new bunk bed - of which she didn't share with anyone - and climbed to the top bunk since that was where she liked to sleep. Kicking off her shoes, she emerged herself under the covers, soon falling into the pleasantly deep sleep that she had hoped for.

Hope you like the first chapter!!