At this moment, a low and deep gong sound was heard from somewhere in the distance of the woods, and immediately, thousands of red, red, green and green lanterns bloomed brightly on the trees, brightening the way to the arena.

"It's time!" Mr. Weasley said, looking as excited as everyone else, "Hurry up, let's go." ”

Mr. Weasley led the way, and everyone walked briskly into the woods along the lantern-lit passageway, with their purchases in hand. They could hear hundreds of people walking around, shouting, laughing, and staccato singing. this

They walked in the woods for twenty minutes, laughing and joking loudly, and finally came out of the other side of the woods, when they found themselves in the shadow of a huge gymnasium. They could only see a part of the magnificent golden wall around the arena, and judging from the tip of the iceberg that was exposed, it could hold at least ten cathedrals.

"It can accommodate 100,000 spectators." Mr. Weasley said.

"Five hundred staff members of the Ministry of Magic have been busy with this for a whole year. Every inch of the place has been cast with a Muggle banishment spell. Throughout the year, whenever Muggles approached here, they would suddenly remember something urgent and hurried away. May God bless them! He said lovingly, leading the group to the nearest entrance, which was already filled with many shouting wizards.

"First class ticket." The Ministry of Magic wizard at the entrance looked at their tickets and said, "Penthouse!" Go upstairs, Arthur, to the top. ”

The staircase leading to the gymnasium is covered with a fuchsia carpet. They climbed the stairs with the crowd, and slowly the flow of people entered the stands on the left and right. Mr. Weasley's group continued to ascend until they reached the top of the stairs.

They found themselves in a small box, located at the top of the gymnasium, and facing the golden goalposts. There are about twenty purple and gilded chairs, divided into two rows.

They sat in the front row and looked down—

One hundred thousand wizards were taking their seats one after another, and those seats were arranged in a stepped upward pattern around the oval-shaped gymnasium. Everything here is shrouded in a mysterious golden light, which seems to come from the stadium itself. From their condescending vantage point, the arena looks as smooth as velvet. On each side of the court were three pitching hoops, fifty feet high; To their right, almost parallel to their line of sight, was a huge blackboard with golden text flashing on it, as if an invisible hand was writing on the board and then erasing it, an advertisement for a sponsor of the Quidditch World Cup.

Cornflower: a flying broom for the whole family – safe, reliable, with a built-in burglar buzzer...

Mrs. Skoll All-purpose Miracle Stain Remover: Easily removes stains...

Elegance brand wizard costume - London, Paris, Hogsmeade...

Harry withdrew his gaze from the billboard and turned his head to check the inside of the box, only to find a small, strange guy sitting in the penultimate seat in the row behind them.

The little one's legs are too short to stick out on the chair in front of it. It wears a tea towel around its body, like a loose robe, and its face is buried in its hands. However, those long, bat-like ears are so familiar...

"Dobby?" Harry said incredulously.

The little guy looked up and let go of his fingers, revealing a pair of huge brown eyes and a nose shaped and sized like a large tomato. Not Dobby, but, no doubt, it's also a house-elf, the same identity that Dobby was before he was free.

"Did Mr. call me Dobby?" The elf asked curiously from between his fingers.

After the elf spoke, Harry found out that the house-elf was a woman, so it seemed that the house-elves looked similar to each other, and it was difficult to distinguish them directly from their appearance.

Ron and Hermione also turned their heads at this time, and Maple stared at the empty seat next to the house-elf, where Barty Crouch Jr. was already sitting at this moment!

"I'm sorry," Harry said to the elf, "I think you're someone I used to know. ”

"But I know Dobby, sir!" The elf said sharply. She covered her face with her hands, as if she had been pierced by the light, even though the light from the top box was not strong.

"My name is Twilight, sir, sir" Her dark brown eyes widened as her gaze fell on the scar on Harry's forehead, "You must be Harry Potter!" ”

"Yes." Harry said.

"Oops, Dobby talks about you all day long, and a gentleman named Maple, sir!" She said, lowering her hands a little, with a look of awe on her face.

"I'm the Maple mentioned by Dobby, hello, Twilight!" Maple said to Twinkle, "How's Dobby, how are you doing after freedom?" ”

"Ah, sir," said Twinkle, shaking her head, "ah, sir, to say something disrespectful to you, sir, I am afraid it will not do him any good if you free Dobby." ”

"Why?"

"Dobby thinks about freedom all day, sir!" "It's all unrealistic," said Twinkle sadly, "sir. He can't find a job, sir! ”

"Why can't Dobby find a job?" Harry asked with concern.

Twinkle lowered her voice by half an octave and whispered, "He wants to be paid, sir!" ”

"Remuneration?" Harry asked blankly, "What, shouldn't he be paid?" ”

Twinkle seemed frightened by the thought and closed her fingers so that her face was half covered again.

"House-elves are not paid to work, sir!" She shrieked from behind her fingers, "No, this doesn't work, it doesn't work." I said to Dobby, and I said, find yourself a decent family to settle in, Dobby. He knows all day long that he is having fun, sir, that is not appropriate for a house-elf. I said, you're playing around like this, and then I'm going to hear that you've been caught and questioned by the Department of Magical Beasts Control and Control like some lowly goblin. ”

"But he should have some fun, too." Harry said.

"House-elves are not supposed to be fun, Harry Potter," Sparkle said earnestly, covering her face with her hands, "House-elves are completely at the behest of their masters, I have a fear of heights, Harry Potter." ”

She glanced towards the edge of the box and took a breath of cold air, "But my master sent me to the top box, and I'm here, sir!" ”

"He knows you have a fear of heights, so why did he send you here?" Harry asked, frowning disapprovingly.

"Master, master wants me to take a seat for him, sir! He's too busy," Twilight turned her head to look at the empty seat next to her, "Sparkle would have liked her to go back to her master's tent, Harry Potter, but Twilight did what she was told, Twilight was a very good house-elf." ”

Maple looked at the house-elf twinkle and felt pathetic. I've been kneeling for too long, I'm used to kneeling, and when I'm numb to kneeling, I can't stand up anymore.

What's even more tragic is that in the eyes of the kneeling minions, they feel that the same kind who does not want to be slaves is an outlier, a heresy that should be purged from their group!

"That's a house-elf?" Ron whispered, "What a weird guy, huh?" ”

"Dobby is even weirder." Harry said.

Ron pulled out his panoramic telescope and began to debug, looking at the crowd on the other side of the gym.

"Awesome!" He fiddled with the replay knob on the side of the telescope and said, "I can get that old guy over there to pick his nose again, again, again... ”

Hermione flipped through the game manuals she had bought and read, "There will be a performance of the team's mascot before the game." ”

Oh, that's always worth a look. "You know, the national teams bring some amazing animals from their own countries to put on a show here." ”

For the next half hour, the box they were in gradually filled with people. Mr. Weasley kept shaking hands with people, who looked like great wizards of great stature. Percy scrambled to his feet again and again, looking like he was sitting on the back of a porcupine covered in thorns.

When the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge himself, arrived, Percy bowed so low that his glasses fell to the ground and shattered. Embarrassed, he fixed the lenses with his wand, and sat down in his seat. When Cornelius Fudge greets Harry like an old friend, Percy casts a jealous look at Harry. Fudge shook Harry's hand like a father, greeted him with warmth, and introduced him to the wizard sitting next to him.

At this moment, Maple was treated as air by Cornelius Fudge like Ron Hermione, and it was obvious that all the fame he had made at Hogwarts was not worth mentioning in the eyes of the Minister of Magic.

"Harry Potter, you know," he said aloud to the Bulgarian Minister of Magic, who was dressed in a magnificent black velvet robe trimmed with gold trim and seemed to not understand a word of English, "Harry Potter, oh, come to think of it, you should know who he is, the boy who escaped death at the hands of that mysterious man!" You must know who he is—"

The Bulgarian wizard suddenly saw the scar on Harry's forehead, and immediately pointed at it excitedly, muttering a string of words out loud.

"I knew it was going to make him understand." Fudge said to Harry tiredly, "I'm not very good at languages, and when it comes to this kind of thing, you need Barty Crouch." Ah, I see his house-elf take a seat for him. It's so thoughtful, these guys in Bulgaria always want to get their hands on the best seats. Ah, Lucius is coming! ”

Harry, Ron, and Hermione immediately turned their heads, but Maple was still seated still, and the three seats still empty in the second row behind Mr. Weasley were none other than the house-elf Dobby's original owner, Lucius Malfoy, his son Draco, and a woman, who seemed to be Draco's mother.

Harry and Draco Malfoy have been bitter rivals since they first went to Hogwarts. Draco was a pale-skinned boy with a pointed face and pale yellow hair, who looked very much like his father. His mother was also light-skinned and yellow-haired, and she was not very ugly, but she always put on a look of disgust, as if she had smelled some unpleasant smell.

"Ah, Fudge," Malfoy held out his hand as he walked past the Minister of Magic, "Hello. I guess you haven't met my wife Narcissa yet, have you? And our son Decora. ”

"Hello, hello," said Fudge, smiling and bowing to Mrs. Malfoy, "allow me to introduce you to Mr. Obermenek, Mr. Obaronsk, who is the Minister of Magic of Bulgaria, and it doesn't matter, he doesn't understand what I'm saying anyway. Let me see who else you know Arthur Weasley, right? ”

It's a really nerve-wracking moment. Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy looked at each other, and Harry clearly remembered the last time they had met: it was at the Blotstag, and they had a fight. Mr. Malfoy's cold gray eyes crossed Mr. Weasley, looking back and forth at the row of seats. In addition to Mr. Weasley, Malfoy gave Maple an extra look.

Because his son Draco told him that it was Maple who controlled him with magic, he gave Dobby a pair of socks and made him lose his servant.

Seeing that Maple was the only one in the room who sat in his seat and didn't move in the slightest, not in the slightest because he was even the Minister of Magic, Lucius couldn't help but squint his eyes.

Maple's standing out from the crowd also caught Fudge's attention, enjoying the upward gaze around him, and the cautious Fudge immediately remembered the only figure of Maple who did not respect his status as Minister of Magic, but his displeased appearance did not show it.

"Oh my God, Arthur," he whispered, "what did you sell to get a seat in this top box?" Your belongings aren't worth that much, are they? ”

Fudge didn't know what was going on with the Weasleys and Malfoys, and he said, "Lucius recently donated a large sum of money to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and Injuries, Arthur, and he's my guest of honor." ”

"Oh, that's great." Mr. Weasley said with a forced smile on his face.

Mr. Malfoy's gaze swept over Hermione, his lips pursed slightly, Hermione blushed slightly, but did not flinch from his gaze. Maple suddenly turned his head to give Malfoy a warning look, which seemed to be ridiculous, but also offended.

He had always prided himself on his pure wizarding blood, and now a lowly Muggle wizard who had not even grown his hair was giving him a warning look.

However, Malfoy did not dare to be too presumptuous in front of the Minister of Magic, and finally turned his head to Mr. Weasley with a mocking look, and then walked to his seat with his wife and son.

After an unhappy farce, Ludo Bagman suddenly rushed into the box.

"Are you all ready?" He said, his round face shining like a giant spherical piece of cheese, "Minister, can we begin?" ”

"You say let's get started, Ludo." Fudge said kindly, Fudge was very satisfied with Ludo's attitude of asking for instructions, and in comparison, Maple's image was even more eye-catching, an ignorant stinky little ghost!

Ludo drew his wand and pointed it to his throat and said, "Loud voice! ”

Then his words resounded like thunder throughout the packed gymnasium. His voice echoed over their heads, resounding to every corner of the stands.

The audience erupted in cheers and applause.

Thousands of flags were waved at the same time, accompanied by the chaotic sound of the national anthem, and the scene was really lively. On the blackboard across from them, the last line of the ad (Bibi Duo Beans – every bite is an adventure!) ) was erased, and now it shows - Bulgaria: 0, Ireland: 0.

"Well, without further ado, allow me to introduce, the mascot of the Bulgarian national team!"

To the right of the stands was a neat bright red phalanx, which erupted into loud cheers at the moment.

"I don't know what they brought." Mr. Weasley said, leaning out of his seat. "Ahh He took off his glasses abruptly and hurriedly wiped them on his robe, "Mei Wa! ”

"What's a flatter—"

I saw that a hundred Meiwa had already slid towards the arena, Meiwa had amazing beauty, their skin was as bright as the moon, and their hair was fluttering behind their heads without wind.

The three most beautiful humanoid elves and spirits in magic, the blood clan, the mermaid, and the girl, among which the mermaid's song and the girl's dance have a strange magic that bewitches people's hearts.

Meiwa began to dance, and wizards who were weak-willed or who had seen this scene for the first time were seduced by Meiwa's magic. Their minds went blank, and their world was nothing but the baby in their eyes.

In order to occupy all their inner beauties, they are willing to do anything, as long as they can get her favor, they are willing to die.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Hermione's voice came from afar.

The music stopped. Harry blinked blankly. He stood there with one leg perched against the wall of the box. Next to him, Ron made a gesture that seemed to be about to dive off the springboard and stayed there motionless. Only Maple, who seemed to be there with his eyes closed and recuperating, did not seem to be affected in any way.

The gymnasium was filled with angry roars. People don't want to leave. Harry thought the same way. Of course, he was going to support the Bulgarian team, and he vaguely wondered why he was wearing a big green clover on his chest. Meanwhile, Ron is in a trance tearing off the shamrock from his hat. Mr. Weasley leaned over with a smile and snatched his hat from Ron's hand.

"Wait until the Irish show is over," Mr. Weasley said, "and you'll need it." ”

"Huh?" Ron just snorted, his gaze still moving with the babies, who were already lined up on the side of the arena.

"Now," Ludo Bagman's voice rang like a bell, "please raise your wand into the air and welcome the mascot of the Irish national team!" ”

Then, with a whoosh, a huge, green and gold object flew into the gymnasium, like a large comet. It flew around the pavilion and then split into two smaller comets and slammed into a set of goal posts.

Suddenly, an arched rainbow appeared in the entire arena, connecting the two large glittering balls. The crowd erupted in exclamations of "oops, oops", as if watching a fireworks display. At this moment, the rainbow disappeared, and the glittering balls connected and blended with each other to form a huge, shiny clover, which rose high into the air and began to hover above the stands.

Something crackled and fell from above, like golden raindrops—

"Great!" Ron shouted, and the clover swirled over their heads, scattering huge gold coins that landed on their heads and seats. Harry squinted his eyes and looked closely at the clover, revealing that it was actually made up of countless small people in red waistcoats and mustaches, each carrying a small gold or green lamp.

"It's an Irish leprechaun!" Mr. Weasley said in a cheer as people cheered and scramble, or burrowed under their seats to pick up gold coins.

"Here you go," Ron shouted happily, shoving a handful of gold coins into Harry's hand, "return your panoramic binoculars!" Now you have to buy me Christmas presents, haha! ”

The giant clover vanished, and the leprechauns slowly landed on the opposite side of the flattering babies in the arena. Under the temptation of money, the audience who was seduced by Meiwa all returned to normal. They sat cross-legged and prepared to watch the game.

Book Reading House