Camping

Loren and the other young wizards paused for a moment, waiting for the discomfort from crossing space to gradually subside before curiously looking around at the surrounding area.

This was a desolate swamp. The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the thick fog made it almost impossible to see anything.

Two wizards dressed as Muggle stood in front of them. They were probably just putting on an act, dressed in a mismatched way. The man on the left wore a tweed suit jacket but tall rubber boots that reached his thighs; the one on the right wore Scotland- style pleated kilt and a South America cloak.

"Oh, it's Basil. Good morning, buddy." Arthur greeted them warmly, tossing his old boot into the box in front of them. "You guys are dressed really well. From my professional point of view, very Muggle- style."

The wizard in the short skirt looked exhausted from working overtime all night. He gave Arthur a resentful look and said, "It's you guys, Arthur, Amos... Some people are so lucky that they didn't have to work... Unlike us, we've been here all night."

Arthur and Amos Diggory chuckled.

Another male wizard in a suit said in a low voice, "You'd better make way. A large group of people are coming from the Black Forest at 5:15."

Arthur was about to say something more when Molly slapped him. She glared at him and then stepped forward with a smile, "Could you please help us confirm the location of the camp?"

"Let me see, Weasley ... Weasley ..." The wizard Basil searched through the parchment list. "Go about a quarter of a mile, the first field ahead is it. The campmaster is Mr. Roberts. Diggory ... you're in the second field... find Mr. Payne."

"Thank you, Basil... Amos, we'll be going now."

Goodbye Arthur, goodbye Molly...

After saying goodbye to Diggory and his son, Arthur beckoned everyone to follow him into the thick fog where nothing could be seen.

After walking for about twenty minutes through the desolate swamp, a door gradually appeared before them, followed by a small stone house. Behind the stone house were hundreds of oddly shaped tents, which rose up the gentle slope of a large area that stretched all the way to a dark forest on the horizon.

In Loren's view, the slope was covered with countless points of light, some bright and some dim, some as bright as an incandescent bulb and some even dimmer than a firefly. Each point of light represented a wizard.

Loren blinked and turned to look at the people around him. Harry and Ron's faces were full of excitement, and even Hermione's eyes were sparkling. She was also very interested in such a grand gathering of wizards, not to mention the Ministry of Magic matters she had learned along the way.

"I have a question..." Loren suddenly spoke up, drawing everyone's attention, "Mr. Weasley said there are 100,000 spectators at this game, right?"

Harry nodded. "Is there a problem?"

Hermione suddenly had a bad feeling, and sure enough, Loren's next question made her feel dizzy.

"How was the excrement of 100,000 people handled?" Loren looked at the hillside in front of him with great interest. "The last Quidditch World Cup final lasted five days, and the excrement of tens of thousands of people for almost a week must have amounted to at least several hundred tons. Did the Ministry of Magic bury it on the spot or transport it away?"

"..."

Hermione opened her mouth, let out a weary sigh, and ultimately said nothing.

Ginny glanced at Hermione with pity, then subtly moved to the side, distancing herself from Loren.

I misunderstood you, Hermione. It seems your love life isn't easy either...

Harry and Ron were somewhat bewildered. They tried to control their minds from thinking about the hundreds of tons of excrement, but the more they tried to restrain themselves, the more vivid and clear the scene became.

Ron for a moment and decided to ask his brothers, just in case they knew the answer.

At the entrance of the stone house, Arthur was enthusiastically approaching Mr. Roberts, the Muggle camp administrator.

Good morning! Are you Mr. Roberts?

"Ah, yes."

Arthur said casually, "Weasley —two tents, booked two days ago, do you have them?"

"Let me see... Weasley... is he only staying one night?"

"Yes."

"Okay, Mr. Weasley, your camp is near the woods, you can see it as soon as you walk over, there's a sign on the ground... So, may I pay now?"

Arthur's expression froze, and he stammered, "Ah—okay—no problem—wait a moment."

Arthur quickly stepped back a few paces and stood in front of Loren, Hermione, and Harry: "Help me, kids."

He muttered to himself as he pulled a roll of Muggle money from his pocket and separated the bills one by one, "This one is... um... um... ten dollars? Oh, right, I see the small number printed on it... so this one is five dollars?"

Hermione couldn't stand it anymore and lowered her voice to correct him, "It's twenty dollars... this one is only five dollars... we need it like this..."

"Ah, I see..." Arthur's eyes were full of excitement, as if he found it very interesting. After recognizing the Pound Sterling banknote, he once again confidently went forward.

Roberts counted the money, glancing sideways at Arthur: "Are you a foreigner?"

Arthur paused for a moment. "A foreigner?"

"You're not the only one who doesn't know the value of money..." Roberts carefully examined Arthur and the children behind him, a faint glint in his eyes. "Just ten minutes ago, two people offered to pay me a huge gold coin the size of a hubcap. They didn't look like normal people."

Arthur somewhat guiltily, "Really? Is it true?"

"I've never had so many people before," Roberts said, glancing at his physique and probably thinking he couldn't possibly abduct so many children. He lowered his guard for the moment and reached into his coin jar to give him change. "Hundreds of people have booked tents, and people keep coming in. It's been going on for days."

Arthur nervously took the change and tentatively asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Something's not right, something's definitely not right! There are people from all over the place, countless foreigners... not just foreigners, but also a lot of weirdos, you know what? There was one guy who was walking around wearing a pleated miniskirt and a South America cape."

"Is it not allowed?" Arthur asked thoughtfully.

Is there something wrong with Basil's outfit? He thought it was perfectly normal...

"I don't know either..." Roberts shrugged. "It's like a drag party, they all seem to know each other, it's kind of like a cult or something... Anyway, if it's still like this today, I'll call the police."

Just then, a wizard wearing lantern pants suddenly descended from the sky and landed in front of Roberts.

"[Obliviate] "

He pointed his wand at Mr. Roberts, and immediately Mr. Roberts's gaze became unfocused, his brows relaxed, and his face showed a dazed and indifferent expression.

"Weasley, here is your camp map."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Roberts."

Arthur didn't seem surprised by this scene. He stepped aside to avoid the administrator, Roberts, and called to Molly and the children behind him to follow.

The wizard in the harem pants looked exhausted. His chin was covered with a bluish tinge from not shaving for a long time and staying up late, and there were purplish shadows under his heavy eye bags.

Seizing this brief moment, he grumbled to Arthur, "To keep him in a good mood, I have to cast the Memory Charm a dozen times a day... I'm busy enough already, Ludo Bagman just walks around making things worse, yelling about Bludger and Quaffle, completely ignoring the need to be wary of Muggle and ensure safety. God, I wish this would all end soon... See you later, Arthur."

After he finished speaking, he vanished in Apparition.

Hermione stared intently at the scene, her brown eyes shrouded in the thick fog that had not yet dissipated, appearing hazy and gray.

Loren grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

Even if Mr. Roberts doesn't develop Alzheimer's, he'll become forgetful in the next few years if Memory Charm a dozen times a day...

No one noticed anything unusual about the two Muggle-born wizards. The group walked through the gate into the camp and laboriously made their way through the mist-shrouded ground, passing between two long rows of tents.

Most of the tents on the periphery look unremarkable, just like ordinary tents produced normally. Some tents have been embellished with chimneys, bell ropes, or weather vanes, making them look out of place.

As you walk towards the center of the venue, the tents become more and more conspicuous. The tent in the very center is like a small palace, built in the shape of a four-story building. There are several corner towers next to it, and a garden in front of the entrance, with marble statues, a sundial, and a fountain. At the striped silk entrance, several live peacocks proudly raise their necks.

After passing through the cluster of tents, we arrived at a clearing at the edge of the site, right next to the woods. There was a sign in the clearing that read: Wezley.

"Alright!" Arthur said excitedly, "Strictly speaking, no magic is allowed. Now that so many of us are on Muggle territory, we'll set up the tent with our own hands! It shouldn't be too difficult...that's what Muggle do..."

The group naturally split into two groups. Arthur led the boys to set up one tent, Molly led the girls to set up another. Loren and Hermione were somewhat silent, but they assumed the two were just tired from climbing the mountain early in the morning and didn't think much of it.

"Let me see... It says we need to install positioning pins first!"

As soon as Arthur finished reading a passage, he excitedly went to find the hammer, picked up the handle, and was about to hammer it into the ground.

The Weasley around him watched expectantly, completely oblivious to anything amiss with this step. Harry, however, showed a hint of doubt, but lacking camping experience, he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong.

Loren:...

Hermione:...

Forget about being sentimental, the two could only start assembling tents with their respective groups. To be honest, the Weasley family were full of enthusiasm, but this enthusiasm was more of a hindrance than a help. The Twins were fiddling with poles and screws everywhere, while Arthur was carrying a sledgehammer, getting excited whenever he saw a hammer that was needed.

By the time the sun was fully up, they had finally managed to set up two crooked two-person tents.

Everyone stepped back a few paces, admiring the fruits of their labor with satisfied expressions.

Aside from Loren and Hermione, they only felt mentally exhausted.

Arthur admired it for a while, then crawled into the first tent on all fours. Loren then noticed a Magic Power fluctuation coming from the tent, similar to the fluctuation when the space of the Untraceable Extension Charm was unfolded.

Recalling the tents he had seen along the way, as well as the tent products he had seen in Diagon Alley, Loren had some guesses in his mind... Some wizards used complete sets of magical tents, such as that luxurious four-story palace, while other wizards, like Arthur, used ordinary Muggle tent shells, and after setting them up, unfolded their own magical tents inside the space.

"It might be a bit crowded, but I think everyone can squeeze in. Come and take a look." Arthur's voice came from inside the tent, sounding somewhat muffled through the flooded canvas tent.

Inside the tent was an old-fashioned three-bedroom house, along with a bathroom and Kitchen. The bedroom was filled with double beds, the furniture was somewhat worn, and the air was filled with a stuffy smell that was neither pleasant nor unpleasant.

"We need water to clean the house..." Arthur tossed the dusty empty water bottle, took out the camp map, and examined it carefully. "On the map that the Muggle gave us, there's a water tap marked on the other side of the field..."

"Alright, in that case..." Arthur glanced at the group of children, took three water jugs and two stew pots from the box, and distributed them to Loren, Hermione, Ginny, Harry, and Ron who came in later. "You guys go fetch water over there, and then—"

His face lit up with eager excitement. "The rest of us will go gather some firewood and start a fire!"

"But..." Ron looked at his father's excited face and asked weakly, "Why don't we use Cleaning Charm or Fire Charm?"

"Ron! Don't forget to be mindful of Muggle safety regulations!" Arthur looked at him seriously. "Real Muggle always make fires outdoors when they camp. I've seen it."

Everyone:...

If you ignore the excited smile on his face, his words are probably more convincing.

Because of the lush foliage, the thick fog in the forest always dissipates more slowly. Deep within the dark and secluded forest, a magnificent stadium with golden walls stands out.

This is a design that no construction company could have imagined.

Scattered patrol personnel moved through the stadium, while the training teams of Ireland and Bulgaria occasionally pointed around the 50-foot Quidditch hoop, solemnly discussing their tactics for the evening.

Barty Crouch, Director of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Magic, stood in a penthouse box, looking down at the crowds coming and going below.

The World Quidditch Festival, held every four years, brings together wizards from all over the world. They have to squeeze in seats in every corner, even the top-tier boxes with first-class tickets have seats for twenty people.

Barty Crouch rubbed his temples wearily and said softly to someone who was alone nearby, "You all stay here until the show is over."

A House-elf appeared in the seat next to them and said in a shrill voice, "Don't worry, Master, I'll keep an eye on Master Barty."

"Um..."

Barty Crouch's voice was barely audible. Many people in the Ministry of Magic knew his house -House-elf, Winky, and they would assume that he had asked Winky to reserve a spot for him in advance. Although there would be some criticism, it was insignificant.

In the seat next to him, Barty Jr. Crouch Jr., shrouded in Invisibility Cloak, remained expressionless, his fingers trembling slightly as they hung down.