Chapter 218: "The Quidditch World Cup Final"

As the sun began to set, casting long shadows across the campsite, Amelia and Sirius returned to fetch Harry, Susan, and Aries for the match. The excitement in the camping grounds was palpable, with witches and wizards rushing to the stadium, their faces alight with anticipation.

"Ready for the show of a lifetime?" Sirius grinned, scooping up an eager Aries. His eyes sparkled with boyish enthusiasm, a welcome contrast to the serious Auror he'd been all day.

They set off along a lantern-lit trail through the woods, joining the throng of spectators making their way to the stadium. The walk took about twenty minutes, filled with excited chatter and speculation about the upcoming match.

As they emerged from the woods, Harry's breath caught in his throat. Before them stood a colossal stadium, its walls gleaming gold in the fading daylight. It was a magnificent sight, dwarfing anything Harry had seen before. The books truly did not do justice to how grand the stadium was.

"Merlin's beard," Susan whispered, her eyes wide with awe. "It's... it's incredible!"

Sirius chuckled at their reactions, his pride in the wizarding world's achievements evident. "Seats a hundred thousand," he explained. "A Ministry task force of five hundred has been working on it all year. Muggle Repelling Charms on every inch of it. Cost a fortune, but worth every Galleon, I'd say."

At the entrance, Amelia presented their tickets for the Top Box. Harry couldn't help but feel a twinge of amusement as they began the long climb up the purple-carpeted stairs. Even with all the magic at their disposal, some things remained stubbornly mundane in the wizarding world.

As they neared the top, a commotion caught their attention. Amelia and Sirius exchanged a look before moving to investigate, Harry and the children following closely behind.

They arrived to find the Malfoy, Weasley, and Potter families engaged in a heated exchange. Ron Weasley's voice carried over the crowd, "Hey Malfoy, our seats are in the Top Box. Where are yours?"

Harry watched as Draco Malfoy's face flushed with embarrassment. It was clear the Malfoys' financial troubles had affected even this grand outing.

Lucius Malfoy, his face a mask of disdain, sneered at Arthur Weasley, "Good lord, Arthur. What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?"

Mr. Weasley's retort was sharp, his usually kind face hardened with anger. "Nothing. It pays to have good friends. You know what friends are, right?"

The exchange quickly devolved into thinly veiled threats and accusations.

Mr. Malfoy's voice dripped with venom. "Is that what you call selling favours now? Friends? I know how you got the seats from Bagman, Weasley. You want me to ask the Ministry to investigate you?"

Mr. Weasley's face reddened, his hands clenching into fists. James Potter stepped in, his voice calm but laced with menace. "Investigations can go both ways, Malfoy. Do you want the Aurors at your manor tomorrow?"

Harry watched with amusement as the tension escalated until the Malfoys finally retreated to their seats, Lucius's face a mask of barely contained fury.

As the crowd dispersed, Sirius turned to Amelia with a grin. "Well, that was something. Looks like bad days for Malfoy. He couldn't even use favors to the Minister to get top seats. Poor Lucius and cousin Narcissa."

Amelia shot him a reproachful look. "Don't talk like that, Padfoot. As if you and Arcturus weren't responsible for most of their problems and their current situation."

Sirius's grin widened. "Amy, don't say you don't like watching Lucius Malfoy like this. I remember he was the one who annoyed you the most in the Ministry."

Amelia sighed, checking her watch. "We don't have much time. The match is about to start, and we have to go."

They rushed to their seats in the Top Box, where about twenty purple-and-gilt chairs stood in two rows. The Weasleys and Potters were already seated, which Harry's group pointedly ignored. Sirius and Amelia, after ensuring Harry, Susan, and Aries were settled, bid a hasty goodbye to return to their security posts.

As Harry took in the view of the stadium, he felt a sense of awe wash over him. A hundred thousand witches and wizards filled the stands, which rose in levels around the long oval field. Everything was bathed in a mysterious golden light that seemed to emanate from the stadium itself. The field looked smooth as velvet from their lofty position, with three fifty-foot-high goal hoops at either end.

Opposite them, a gigantic blackboard flashed advertisements across the field, gold writing appearing and disappearing as if written by an invisible hand. It was the first time Harry had seen these kinds of adverts in the wizarding world, and he couldn't help but marvel at the blend of magic and commerce.

Harry met the Minister of Magic, Fudge, but there was no greeting. Both Harry and Fudge remembered their last meeting where Fudge had tried to get Harry arrested on suspicion of killing Bellatrix Lestrange. There was no chance of friendship between them, even though Fudge regretted his moves after seeing Harry become the European Dueling Champion. He could have used Harry's popularity in his reelection campaign, a fact that clearly grated on the Minister.

Harry's attention was quickly drawn to a house-elf wearing a tea towel draped like a toga, sitting in one of the seats with her hands covering her eyes. He recognized her as Winky and noticed Charles and his friends talking to her. But Harry's focus was on the seemingly empty seat next to the elf.

He knew Barty Crouch Jr. was hidden there under an invisibility cloak, but he resisted the urge to act. Exposing Crouch now would leave Harry blind to Voldemort's plans for resurrection. It was a calculated risk, but one Harry felt necessary to maintain some control over the coming events.

Harry knew it would not be easy to kill Voldemort. Just last week, Harry had visited the Riddle house in Little Hangleton to see if the baby Voldemort was there so he could end everything before it started but did not find anything. The Riddles had been murdered, as had their caretaker Frank, so Voldemort had been there, but he and Pettigrew had left for a safer location. Harry assumed they would not be back until maybe the third Triwizard task for the ritual.

His thoughts were interrupted as Ludo Bagman's magically amplified voice boomed through the stadium, "Ladies and gentlemen... welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"

The mascots were introduced - first the alluring Veela for Bulgaria, then the mischievous Leprechauns for Ireland. Harry watched with amusement as many of the males in the Top Box, including Charles and Ron, nearly jumped out of their seats at the Veela's dance. The Leprechauns had the ignorant people scavenging for the fake gold. It was a funny start to the match, highlighting the magical world's capacity for both beauty and mischief.

As the match began, Harry found himself swept up in the excitement. The Irish team's skill and teamwork were truly impressive, dominating the field and taking the score to 170-10. The final was one-sided, but that did not reduce the excitement for it. There were also many amusing incidents between the referee and the team mascots to give the audience a show.

The Bulgarian team was disappointing, though. It looked like Bulgaria had reached the final only because Krum caught the Snitch before the other teams could destroy their defense. It was quite apparent to everyone watching.

The match was exciting till the end, with the chase for the Snitch attracting everyone's attention. Krum showed why he was considered the best seeker in the world as he skillfully chased after the tiny gold ball. Krum's capture of the Snitch for Bulgaria provided a thrilling end to the match, even as Ireland clinched the victory.

"IRELAND WINS!" Bagman shouted, his voice carrying over the roar of the crowd. "KRUM GETS THE SNITCH — BUT IRELAND WINS — good lord, I don't think any of us were expecting that!"

As the prizes were distributed, Harry noticed Fred and George Weasley celebrating exuberantly. Harry knew what was going to happen next. Feeling sorry for their counterparts in the canon and taking into consideration that they had been behaving decently these past few years at Hogwarts, Harry decided to help them a little.

"Hey twins, why is your celebration over the top? It's not the English team that won," he asked, approaching them casually.

Fred grinned widely, his freckled face alight with joy. "Hey Harry, we're not celebrating that. We're celebrating our bet!"

George chimed in, his excitement palpable. "We bet with Mr. Bagman that Ireland would win but Krum would get the Snitch. Got great odds. We're going to be rich!"

Harry's face grew serious, and he lowered his voice. "Well, congratulations. A word of advice though, if you bet with Bagman, be very careful. I saw him pocket some leprechaun gold during the Irish Mascots celebrations earlier. Just be careful he doesn't hand you those. Have your father test your winnings."

The twins' faces fell slightly at this news, but they quickly rallied, thanking Harry profusely before rushing off to find their father. Harry watched them go, hoping he'd managed to avert Bagman scamming the twins of their life savings.

As the excitement of the match began to die down, Harry settled in to wait for Sirius and Amelia's return. The night was young, and Harry knew the excitement of the evening was far from over. He could feel a tension in the air, a premonition of the chaos to come.