"I swear, I'm stuck with the two most clueless boys on the planet," muttered Daphne, shaking her head. "Listen here, lover boy. This is not a competition for my sister's heart, but even if it were, you would win. You and Tori are already close friends. You are a model student; people like talking to you - trust me, there are many who don't like Draco because of his arrogance - you are a Lestrange, so you have the money and standing in society -"
"And a bastard to boot," said Dylan bitterly.
"Dylan, you have to get over that!" Harry said harshly. "There is no escaping it, just like there is no escaping the fact that I'm a Parselmouth. You need to accept the situation for what it is and move on. There isn't anything you can do about it!"
"- not to mention you are much better looking than albino Draco," finished Daphne, acting as though she hadn't been interrupted.
"I'm not better looking than Malfoy," protested Dylan.
"Okay, now you are just fishing for compliments," Daphne glared at him. "Trust me, Dylan, I'm a girl. I know what to look for in a guy and what makes him desirable and there is no comparison between you and Draco. You were looking very handsome today and you know it! I never had to give this speech to Harry because unlike you, he knows of his good looks and is rather proud of it."
"I'm not vain," Harry exclaimed. "Besides, I still stand by the notion that looks aren't everything, but who listens to me?"
"I never said you were," Daphne chuckled. "My point is, if there ever is a choice between you and Draco, I'm confident Tori will make the right choice."
"Daphne, they're only twelve," said Harry, rolling his eyes.
"Yes, and we are only fourteen. It doesn't matter. From what I have heard from some of the Muggle-borns in school, most Muggles tend to date a lot of different people before they settle down. In the magical world, that doesn't happen, does it? My grandmother - who is a magical theorist, mind you - believes that a witch or wizard's inherent magic would guide them to people who might be the best match for them. Not sure how true it is, but it does explain why such attraction starts young for some and later for others. Your father had an eye on your mother since the age of eleven, did he not?"
Harry nodded in confirmation.
"Well, with my parents, they hardly dated anyone until they were nineteen, which was when they became friends and developed feelings for the other," said Daphne. "But that's not the problem right now. Let me talk to Astoria and -"
"Wait, don't!" cried Dylan, panicking. "If she realises that I like her then -"
"Oh, give me some credit, Dylan!" said Daphne, sounding irritated. "I'm not going to do it directly. I'll let you know of any progress. I'll see you guys tomorrow."
Giving Harry a kiss on the cheek, she headed towards the fireplace to Floo home.
Harry folded his arms behind his head. "This certainly has been an interesting day," he muttered.
Dylan groaned as his head hit the back of the sofa. He really hoped that Daphne did not blow it with Astoria. The last thing he wanted was for him to lose his best friend.
...
At the end of August, the finals of the Quidditch World Cup approached. Security was beefed up considerably as a million people had come to watch the finals. The turnout was greater than anyone expected. Apparently, Fudge had done a number on international relations, but Sirius took that job seriously when he became Minister of Magic. That, in turn, led to more witches and wizards coming to Britain for the World Cup. The stadium was truly an awe-inspiring spectacle of magic. Great care was taken to ensure that no Muggles were near the vicinity.
Harry and Dylan had taken their respective roles well; Sirius being their guardian meant they had to take part in many diplomatic functions. Harry barely had time to finish attending the sword-fighting class he had enrolled for the summer with how busy he was in interacting with so many international ambassadors and heads of magical governments, not to mention their delegates.
Since he was the Boy-Who-Lived, it generated a lot of attention for him. No one else in the history of the nine hundred plus years of the Killing Curse had ever survived it after making contact with a person, much less reflect it back at the caster - as a baby! Harry didn't mind, though. This was an outstanding opportunity to make international contacts and he was quite happy to speak with them. Languages weren't a problem in the magical world. A translation potion ensured that you could speak and understand any other language, but unfortunately, it didn't work on magical languages like Parseltongue.
The finals of the World Cup had Ireland playing Bulgaria. The stadium holding a million people was packed with advertisements and vendors of every kind. Harry smiled when he saw the biggest hit of them all - Miller's Magic Mirrors. Stores had opened in all six continents after Harry had been willing to spend an additional twenty-five million Galleons on it - it had been worth every single coin of gold. The mirrors had been a major hit everywhere and Harry couldn't believe the amount of gold he was receiving as he owned half the company. Serena Miller had become a world-famous enchantress in a blink of an eye. Her face now appeared in magical business magazines and she had repeatedly thanked Harry for what he had done. Truthfully, she would never have become this big without Harry willing to contribute millions of Galleons to fund her business.
Then there had been the simple, unintentional investment he and Sirius had made a few years prior. Firebolt Broomsticks had been very new to the market and Harry had found it interesting that the manufacturer said he was going to create a new form of broomsticks that would be the fastest in the world. Giving him a chance, they both had invested in it on the advice of Ragnok - not knowing that it would be very profitable in the future. The Firebolt had become THE broomstick for Quidditch in international matches. Harry himself had been gifted one by his godfather for his birthday and he couldn't believe how amazing it was.
As they climbed up the stairs of the stadium, they reached the Top Box which had several purple and glit chairs, clearly meant for important people - and those who could afford the outrageous prices needed to sit here. Apparently, Lucius did not mind spending thousands of Galleons on three seats as he, Narcissa and Draco were here. Harry chuckled mentally. Say what you want about Lucius, but there was no denying that he loved his family. Not many would have spent that much money to take their son to a Quidditch match and acquire seats at the Top Box, but then again, Lucius might have been here to make business connections himself.
Sirius and Amelia were dressed in rich robes as they greeted the delegation brought by the Minister of Magic of Bulgaria. Harry had to blink a few times when he spotted the last people he expected to see here.
"What are you guys doing here?" asked Harry with a surprised smile.
....
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