bacchusnovels Chapter 437 Welcome to the 422nd Quidditch World Cup!
Chapter 437 Welcome to the 422nd Quidditch World Cup!
Chapter 437 Welcome to the 422nd Quidditch World Cup!
The group walked along the main road of the camp toward the stadium, and the closer they got to the stadium, the more enthusiastic the atmosphere became.
The tents lining both sides of the road were almost empty; everyone was rushing in the same direction, waving flags of their respective support groups, and the air was filled with excited shouts and chatter.
"Hurry up, kids!" Arthur urged from the front, clutching the tickets in one hand and protecting his hat from being knocked off by the crowd with the other. "We need to get in quickly, it's getting more and more crowded!"
"Look at those!" Ron pointed to several wizards in the crowd dressed in Irish green robes, their garments gleaming with dazzling gold.
Behind them, streaks of golden shooting stars appeared in the background. "The Irish fans are really giving it their all! Look at their hats!"
It's practically glowing like a golden snitch!
"And there's Bulgaria too!" Ginny pointed to another group, where people were wearing crimson cloaks with the Bulgarian flag emblazoned on their chests, and many were holding flags decorated in the shape of brooms. "Krum's supporters seem even more fanatical than the Irish."
Harry looked around, feeling an unprecedented excitement about everything around him.
He noticed several wizards releasing colorful fireworks with their wands, which formed the Irish shamrock symbol in the air. Then, a huge Bulgarian eagle emerged from the smoke, its wings spread out lifelike as it soared through the sky.
"My God, this is even more exciting than Quidditch itself!" George and Fred exclaimed in unison.
"Alright, don't get distracted by these things!" Arthur turned to remind them, "The arena is just ahead; we need to find our entrance as soon as possible!"
As the stadium drew closer, Harry finally saw its full form.
This is a huge and magnificent building, the entire structure supported by metal and magic, like a giant bowl with gold trim upside down on the ground.
Huge flags of Ireland and Bulgaria hang on the exterior walls, fluttering in the wind.
As the crowd surged toward the stadium entrance, Harry felt like a drop of water flowing into a turbulent river.
The ticket checkpoint at the entrance was packed with wizards, each waving their tickets excitedly, eager to get in.
"Alright, this is our entrance." Arthur pointed to a small sign that read "Top Tier Seating" and led the group into the queue.
The wizard who checked the tickets took them, glanced at them quickly, and pointed to a spiral staircase: "The seats on the top floor are up the stairs."
"The top floor?" Ron muttered softly. "Dad, isn't your ticket a bit...too high?"
"Don't complain, Ron," Arthur said encouragingly. "The top floor has the best view; you can see the entire site!"
These were complimentary tickets from the Ministry of Magic; most of the people sitting inside were officials from the Ministry of Magic, and Arthur didn't pay a single penny.
"Yeah, and we don't have to worry about getting jostled by those crazy fans," Sean added with a smile, following Arthur toward the stairs.
The staircase winds its way up around the perimeter of the stadium; the higher you go, the stronger the wind gets, but the wider the view becomes.
Harry looked down through the gap in the stairs and could see the crowd surging into the stadium like a tide. The entire stadium looked like a giant awakening, full of life.
A few minutes later, they finally arrived at the top-floor VIP box.
This is a wide area with soft cushions, and there are guardrails in front to ensure that no one falls due to excitement.
Harry's gaze was completely drawn to the scene in the center of the field.
The Quidditch pitch was huge and magnificent, with its grass trimmed smooth and vibrant green, and tall goalposts on each side.
The flags of Ireland and Bulgaria fluttered in the stands on either side, while thousands of wizards sat in their respective areas, waving flags and banners.
"Wow—!" Ron exclaimed, his mouth agape. "This place is amazing! Dad, you were right, the view from here is absolutely incredible!"
"Yes!" Harry nodded in agreement. "I've never seen such a big stadium!"
"This is just the beginning." Arthur smiled as he sat down and put the tickets away. "When the game starts, you'll truly witness the magic of Quidditch."
There weren't many people in the private room at that time.
Harry, however, encountered a "friend of a friend," namely the house-elf "Shimmer," who was Dobby's former colleague.
While Harry and Gilgamesh were chatting, Sean was also chatting.
"Boss."
"Boss."
One by one, Sean's trusted lieutenants, whom he had previously promoted at the Ministry of Magic, greeted him respectfully.
In addition, some passing figures who were highly respected in the wizarding world also nodded to Sean and even stopped to chat with him for a few words.
Among these people were officials from other departments of the Ministry of Magic, as well as well-known businessmen and scholars.
Their attitude was both respectful and enthusiastic, showing great deference to Sean, who maintained a gentle smile throughout, responding politely and appropriately to everyone's greetings.
Meanwhile, Hermione seemed completely unsurprised by the attention Sean was receiving. She smiled as she watched those who came to greet Sean, a look of pride in her eyes. Luna, on the other hand, remained as composed as ever, even fiddling with her necklace—these scenes were of no importance to her.
Over the next half hour, the private room where the group was located gradually filled up with people.
Arthur kept shaking hands with people, and Percy kept hurriedly standing up.
"Harry! Harry Potter!" Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge arrived as well. He strode up to Harry with a friendly smile, reached out and shook Harry's hand tightly, as if they were old friends.
"It's so good to see you here!" Fudge said in a fatherly tone, patting Harry on the shoulder. "How are you?"
My child, is everything alright? Is your Hogwarts course going well?
"Yes, very well, thank you, Mr. Minister," Harry replied politely, but Fudge's overly enthusiastic attitude made him a little uncomfortable.
"That's good, that's good!" Fudge nodded, then turned to a wizard in a dark green robe beside him. "Everett, let me introduce you. This is Harry Potter, the famous 'Savior,' a legend in the wizarding world."
The wizard known as Everett had long heard of Harry's reputation. He nodded slightly and shook hands with Harry, saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Harry. Your heroic deeds have spread throughout the entire wizarding world."
Harry simply smiled politely and didn't say anything more.
He noticed that Fudge's gaze would occasionally sweep towards Professor Phillips, but each time he seemed to deliberately avoid it.
Sean remained seated, calmly listening to the fellow author, a wizard, eloquently explaining the ideas for his new book, making no attempt to interrupt Fudge and Harry's conversation. However, his composure and low profile did not diminish his presence—in fact, Fudge had been watching him out of the corner of his eye; clearly, Fudge was quite aware of Sean's presence.
Percy tried to appear calm, but his expression betrayed his excitement at Fudge's arrival.
He hurriedly stood up, trying to join the conversation, but nearly tripped over the edge of his chair in his haste. Fudge noticed him, raised an eyebrow slightly, and nodded: "Oh, Weasley's son, right? Percy, you're doing well at the Ministry of Magic, keep it up."
Percy's face immediately flushed red, and he stammered, "Th-thank you, Minister! I will continue to work hard!"
Ron, who was standing nearby, glanced at Percy furtively and whispered to Harry, "He's so happy he's practically jumping for joy."
Fudge seemed to finally lose his temper, and his gaze turned to Sean once again.
This time, he didn't hesitate and slowly walked towards Sean.
"Phillips," Fudge's voice was deliberately formal when he spoke to Harry, "it's been a long time. The last time I saw you was at 11."
"At Buckbeak's hearing," Hermione muttered quietly.
She hasn't forgotten the terrible price she paid to save Buckbeak.
"Oh, right, at Buckbeak's hearing." Fudge wasn't embarrassed at all. "These past few days, there's something I've been wanting to discuss with you, Lucius—"
Before the words had even finished, a series of clear footsteps suddenly came from the door of the private room, followed by a cold voice.
"Minister, you seem to have gathered a rather interesting audience."
All eyes turned to the source of the sound. Standing in the doorway was a tall, thin man, dressed in an exquisite black robe, holding a cane adorned with a snake's head. His golden hair was neatly combed back, and his face was cold and arrogant; it was Lucius Malfoy.
Behind him followed his wife, Narcissa Malfoy, who wore an elegant dark blue robe and had an innate air of nobility and aloofness on her face.
Standing between the two of them was Draco Malfoy, his pale face bearing his usual stubborn arrogance.
Fudge was not surprised by the arrival of the Malfoys; on the contrary, his smile became even warmer.
He extended his hand and said warmly, "Lucius! It's so nice to see you! You and your family have come at just the right time. Phillips and I were just talking about you. Let's all have dinner together sometime..."
"With pleasure." Lucius smiled at Fudge and nodded to Sean, his fellow Death Eater.
Then, turning to Fudge, he said, "Fudge, I don't think you've met my wife, Narcissa, yet?"
"Hello, hello," Fudge said, smiling as he shook hands with Narcissa.
Narcissa maintained her usual elegance and aloofness, extended her hand, nodded politely to Fudge, and then turned her gaze to Sean.
She paused slightly, as if pondering something, then slowly extended her hand. "Professor Phillips, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Sean stood up, smiled slightly, and politely shook her hand. "Mrs. Malfoy, it is my honor to see you again."
Narcissa's expression changed slightly. Her usual indifference seemed to loosen for a moment, and a strange emotion flashed in her eyes when they met Sean's gaze.
She quickly lowered her head, as if to hide something, and gently withdrew her hand.
Fudge, seemingly oblivious to Narcissa's subtle expression, continued enthusiastically introducing Lucius to the others in the box: "Please allow me to introduce you to Mr. Obransk—Mr. Obransk—he's the Minister of Magic of Bulgaria. Oh, don't worry, he doesn't understand a word of English; I communicate with him entirely through gestures. Let me see who else—oh, you certainly know Arthur Weasley, don't you?"
Lucius's lips curled into a very faint smile, a smile tinged with contempt.
He feigned surprise and said, "My God, Arthur! You're here too? I thought you had to sell your old broom from your backyard to barely scrape together enough money for tickets to the game—let alone this penthouse box. How did you get here? What vegetables did you sell?"
Arthur's face flushed red, his fingers tightened on his sleeves, but he still tried to keep his tone calm: "Lucius, our family received an invitation from the Ministry of Magic, not a ticket obtained through any means."
However, Fudge, seemingly oblivious to Lucius's sarcasm (pretending), burst into laughter and patted Lucius on the shoulder approvingly: "Oh, Arthur, you may not know, but Lucius recently donated a large sum of money to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries! He's a guest I personally invited, so this seat is only natural."
"Oh, that's great." Arthur forced a smile, the corners of his mouth stiff as if nailed to his face.
The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat awkward. The Weasleys were clearly angry at Lucius's provocation, but because Fudge was present, none of them directly retaliated.
Just then, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open, and a series of footsteps broke the tense atmosphere.
"Is everyone ready?" Ludo Bagman strode in, an excited smile on his round face. His bright yellow robe stood out, making him look like a giant, shimmering sphere of cheese. "Minister, may we begin?"
Fudge turned around, smiling, and said, "You say start, then start, Ludo. The whole stadium is waiting for you."
Bagman nodded, quickly drew his wand, and cast an amplification spell on his throat: "Loud Voice!"
The next second, his voice boomed like thunder throughout the stadium: "Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the 422nd Quidditch World Cup!"
The entire stadium erupted in thunderous cheers, flags waved like waves in the hands of the spectators, and Ireland's green shamrock logo and Bulgaria's crimson eagle flag shone brightly in the air at the same time.
"Alright, enough chit-chat, please allow me to introduce—the mascot of the Bulgarian national team!"