Clues

"They believe there is a loophole to exploit in the market for family vehicles."

"However, in England, the Flying Carpet can never replace the flying broom."

"I remember my grandfather had an Axminster carpet that could seat twelve people... of course, that was before Flying Carpet were banned."

Barty Crouch's voice was unhurried, steady, and powerful, as if he were adhering to some strict rule.

Hermione's eyes brightened slightly as she gazed at the burning campfire.

She overheard the conversation between the three, filtered out the unnecessary information, and pieced together the collected fragments of information. Now she has figured out the Ministry of Magic's model for managing import and export goods.

It's rather rudimentary, making it easy to manage and also easy to exploit loopholes.

It's as if... these laws were designed with these loopholes in mind.

As Hermione thought this, she slowly raised her head and glanced at Mr. Crouch. Barty Crouch and Mr. Weasley, who was involved in the business... The two of them were just chatting casually about the matter, their expressions relaxed, saying whatever came to mind, completely unaware of this flaw.

Loren silently observed Bertha Jokins sitting opposite him, noticing her unfocused pupils and bewildered face.

As she listened to Arthur and his two colleagues' conversation, Ms. Jokins would occasionally show a look of reminiscence, a fleeting moment of realization crossing her face as if she remembered something they had mentioned, but confusion would quickly creep back onto her face.

It seemed as if her mind was shrouded in a thick fog, making it difficult to recall past memories or form new ones.

This state reminded Loren of his respected Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Gilderoy Lockhart.

Such a wizard has clearly lost some of his self-care abilities and should now be recuperating in a closed ward at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, but Ms. Bertha Jokins is still at work...

Loren blinked, a subtle feeling creeping over him.

In the Ministry of Magic, filled with classified documents, a Witch's memories have been erased or altered using a powerful Memory Charm, and it seems no one has noticed...

Was it an outside dark wizard or someone from within the Ministry of Magic who made the move?

What could be the hidden secret...?

He silently withdrew his gaze, harboring some suspicions, and observed Mr. Crouch. Barty Crouch of the Department of International Magical Cooperation without making a sound.

The Ministry of Magic staff continued their idle chatter, mostly Ludo Bagman doing the talking, with Arthur only chiming in when his duties were involved. Barty Crouch's words and demeanor always carried a rigid dogma, as if every speck of dust in his house was etched with legal documents. Bertha Jokins wore a thoughtful, reminiscing expression.

Unable to get a word in edgewise about the Flying Carpet, Ludo Bagman steered the conversation toward his area of expertise. "How's it going, all busy, Barty?"

Barty Crouch nodded. "Quite busy. You know, organizing and arranging the Portkey across five continents is no easy task, Ludo."

Arthur, who was on vacation, said with a smile, "I think you all would prefer this to end quickly, right?"

Bagman burst out laughing, "Of course not, I've never been so happy... and after the Quidditch World Cup, there's something even more important waiting for us, don't you think, Barty?"

"We promise not to announce it to the public yet..."

Crouch frowned, and seeing that he was about to continue, he said sternly, "Ludo, we should go see those Bulgarians."

"There's no point in hiding it. I bet these kids will find out soon enough. I mean, it happened at Hogwarts ..." Bagman waved casually, seemingly unconcerned about secrecy, but still slowly stood up. "See you later! You'll be with me in the top-floor box—I'm the commentator for the match!"

Crouch looked at the dazed Witch: "Bertha, let's go."

Bertha Jokins took a moment to realize what was happening. She hurriedly got up and walked to Crouch's side, but once she was standing still, she realized that her wand had fallen to the ground. She ran back to pick it up, and after some fuss, she finally used Apparition to disappear from the spot.

Crouch shook his head and left with Bagman.

whoosh—whoosh—

Boiling water hissed restlessly inside the kettle, and scalding steam billowed from the kettle on the campfire.

Upon hearing the noise, Molly hurriedly ran out of the tent, quickly poured boiling water into the teapot, and poured a cup of scalding hot tea for each of the people sitting around the fire.

"..."

A group of people held their scalding hot teacups, hesitating to take a sip.

Molly added firewood to the campfire, glancing at George and Fred with a dismissive look that made them shrink back in fright. "If I find out you're gambling on football, your magic Joke Shop will be shut down, and all those random goods will be like this firewood... Understand?"

George and Fred nodded repeatedly.

Molly glared at Arthur again, then began to berate him. "Look at the friends you keep, do they even look decent...?"

Arthur quickly smiled apologetically, "Don't be angry, Molly, it's just Ludo's hobby, a trivial one..."

"Oh, Merlin above, someone has a hobby of getting children involved in gambling, why don't the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic arrest him... And you two, I dare say if it weren't for Loren, you would have gotten involved."

Listening to Molly's incessant lecturing of the Twins, occasionally even including Arthur in the lecture, and glancing at the scalding hot tea in their cups, knowing they wouldn't be able to drink it anytime soon, Loren and the others, fearing they might be implicated, put down their tea and slipped away.

Nearly 100,000 wizards continued to pour into the area hidden on the edge of the swamp and forest. As the sun rose, the thick fog gradually dissipated, and the camp, crowded with tents, gradually became lively.

Loren and Hermione strolled slowly around the tent side by side. After listening to Hermione recount the legal loophole she had discovered, Loren nodded noncommittally. "I didn't pay attention to what they were talking about, but I did notice Ms. Bertha Jokins."

"Bertha Jokins?"

Hermione recalled the lady who had only spoken two sentences at the beginning, and she hadn't thought about it until now, when she looked back, she realized that there were indeed many things that were not right.

"Dilated pupils, always reminiscing..." Loren meticulously pieced together the suspicious points about her. "I've seen these symptoms of memory problems in Gilderoy Lockhart before."

"You mean... the Memory Charm!" Hermione's mouth gaped open slightly. "But she's an employee of the Ministry of Magic!"

"I don't know the specifics either..." Loren looked at the colorful tents in the camp, recalling the Quidditch World Cup from his distant memories, and paused for a moment, "Anyway, let's be as careful as possible. I have a feeling this match might not go so smoothly."

Hermione nodded worriedly.

As the Quidditch World Cup final drew near, the long-suppressed excitement permeated the camp with the wizards' breaths. The summer air seemed unable to bear such excitement and anticipation, gradually heating up until it became unbearably hot and humid, causing a slight shiver.

As night fell and all the wizards arrived at the scene, the Ministry of Magic could no longer conceal the supernatural phenomena and simply loosened its control, resulting in the emergence of all sorts of magical signs.

Throughout the camp, vendors seemed to have fallen from the sky, some carrying trays, others pushing carts filled with all sorts of strange and wonderful things.

Rose-shaped badges that can scream and glow, bizarre wizard hats inlaid with live specimens, miniature models of flying Firebolt, light sticks supporting the Ireland team and Bulgaria team, and magical statues of famous players...

A lively scene.