Chapter 225: Intense Match

Penelope watched the men's foolish behavior with great interest, even feeling a bit tempted to record it all. Then, she suddenly asked curiously, 

"Why are some people not reacting at all?"

She noticed several Ministry officials in the neighboring box, including Ludo Bagman, who remained unaffected by the Veela's presence.

"In fact, if you prepare in advance, you can avoid most of the Veela's influence," Alaric explained. 

"This isn't Bulgaria's first time participating in the World Cup; they have experience dealing with this."

"And what about you?"

"Of course, it's due to my strong will."

Finally, the music and dance stopped, and all the strange movements immediately froze.

The stadium was filled with angry shouts as people were unwilling to let the Veela leave.

"Now," Ludo Bagman's voice boomed like a bell, "please raise your wands to the air… Welcome the mascots of the Irish National Team!"

Immediately, with a swoosh, a giant, green-and-gold object flew into the stadium like a huge comet.

It circled the arena and then split into two smaller comets, each heading towards a set of goalposts.

A rainbow arch suddenly appeared, connecting the two shining balls. The crowd erupted in "oohs" and "aahs," as if watching a fireworks display. 

Then, the rainbow vanished, and the shining balls merged and intertwined, forming a huge, dazzling shamrock that soared high into the air, circling above the stands. 

Something fell from it with a crackling sound, like golden rain—

The shamrock circled above people's heads, continuously raining down large coins that landed on their heads and seats. 

Alaric squinted, carefully observing the shamrock, and realized it was actually composed of countless little men wearing red vests and sporting tiny mustaches. 

Each of them held a tiny gold or green lamp – they were Irish Leprechauns.

People cheered while scrambling to catch the coins, or dove under their seats to pick them up.

"Don't disgrace yourselves like them," Alaric glanced at Harry and the Weasleys in the neighboring box, who were stuffing coins into their pockets, hats, and any other containers they could find.

He reminded the girls, "These are Leprechaun coins; they will disappear after a while."

"Really?" Hermione picked up a coin and examined it curiously. "I wondered who would give away money for free."

The huge shamrock disappeared, and the Leprechauns slowly descended to the pitch, sitting opposite the Veela, ready to watch the match.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, please warmly welcome—the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team! Introducing—Dimitrov! Ivanova! Zograf! Levski! Volkov! Vulchanov! And—Krum!"

Seven blurry green figures flew into the pitch.

"Now, please welcome—the Irish National Quidditch Team!" Bagman shouted loudly, "Out comes—Connolly!"

A green-clad figure on a flying broom shot into the stadium from an entrance below, moving so fast it was hard to see. He won fervent cheers from the Irish supporters.

"Ryan!"

The second green-robed figure zoomed out.

"Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! And—also—Cho Chang!"

"It's her, it's her!" Penelope and Hermione shouted excitedly, and Alaric heard exclamations from the neighboring box too.

Alaric watched as Cho Chang flew with her teammates. 

Compared to a few weeks ago, she still looked adorable, but once on the broom, her gentle demeanor transformed into one of confidence and determination. 

Her beautiful black hair was tied into a ponytail, and even girls would be drawn to her beautiful appearance now.

Seven blurry green figures flew into the stadium, all riding Firebolts, but Cho Chang's broom was unique.

Next to enter was the referee, Hassan Mostafa, who released the Quaffle, Bludgers, and Golden Snitch.

With a whistle blow, the referee ascended with the balls, and the match began.

"They're off!" Bagman screamed, "That's Mullet! Troy! Moran! Dimitrov! Passes to Mullet! Troy! Levski! Moran!"

The level of the Quidditch World Cup far exceeded that of the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup; the players' speed was astonishing. 

The Chasers passed the Quaffle so quickly that Bagman could barely call out their names.

The three Irish Chasers flew closely together, Troy in the middle, slightly ahead of Mullet and Moran, all of them closing in on the Bulgarian players.

Troy pretended to shoot upwards with the Quaffle, drawing the Bulgarian Chaser Ivanova away, and then threw the ball to Moran.

One of Bulgaria's Beaters, Volkov, fiercely struck the incoming Bludger with his bat, aiming it at Moran. She ducked to avoid it and threw the Quaffle to Levski, who, under the pressure of three Irish Chasers, hastily passed the ball.

Troy seized the Quaffle and charged towards the Bulgarian goalposts—

"Troy scores!" Bagman's voice boomed, the entire stadium erupted with cheers and applause, shaking the stadium, "10-0, Ireland leads!"

The Leprechauns watching from the sidelines rose into the air again, forming the giant, glittering shamrock. Across the stadium, the Veela watched them with grim expressions.

The Irish Chasers were top-notch. 

They coordinated seamlessly, their movements perfectly synchronized as if they could read each other's minds. 

In ten minutes, Ireland scored two more goals, bringing the score to 30-0, inciting a wave of cheers and applause from their green-clad supporters.

The match grew more intense and more brutal. Bulgaria's Beaters, Volkov and Vulchanov, desperately aimed Bludgers at the Irish Chasers, trying to block their best maneuvers. 

Twice, they were forced to scatter, and finally, Ivanova broke through their formation, dodging Keeper Ryan to score Bulgaria's first goal.

Now it was the Veela's turn to celebrate, causing another uproar in the stands. 

Even the players were affected, and when the Veela stopped dancing, the Quaffle was back in the hands of the Bulgarian team.

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