The Conspicuous Seats, Malfoy's Special Contribution

A deep, resonant gong sounded.

Millions of red and green lanterns were lit on the trees, illuminating the road leading to the Quidditch arena.

Jeans led the way, while Aaron and the other two followed behind with Omnioculars for watching the game.

A dozen minutes later they arrived at a magnificent, large stadium, large enough to hold 100,000 spectators.

"Premium tickets," the Ministry of Magic witch said respectfully to Jeans. "The penthouse box. Just keep going up, and you'll see it. Those are your exclusive seats."

Jeans gave a brief thank you and then led the three of them up the steps.

The crowd gradually moved towards the left and right stands, and the space became wider and wider as they walked, until they soon reached the highest box.

"Don't tell me that's our reserved seat?" Aaron looked at the seat number on the ticket, then at the dozens of gold-plated seats and the leather sofa in front of it, his face twitching slightly. This was way too conspicuous!

The most outrageous thing is that there is a low cradle next to the sofa, which is obviously a Pet Seat prepared for Abei.

"Uh... if nothing unexpected happens, it should be. Fudge said he guaranteed he would satisfy us," Jeans said with an awkward laugh. "I didn't expect him to make such a big deal out of it."

"He's trying to send a signal to others, a signal to us, a pointless little trick," Adrian said dismissively. "I bet when he gets back he'll reveal our three identities to others, giving him an advantage in the next Minister for Magic election."

"The Oji family, huh!" Leon shrugged. "Among all the Minister for Magic, he's only considered below average, and he likes to cover things up."

"This is troublesome! Let's switch seats!" Aaron suggested.

"No need," Adrian said generously. "We don't provoke others, but we're not afraid of them either. Let's not refuse their kindness this time."

As she spoke, she sat down on the sofa and placed Abei on the Pet Seat.

Aaron and Leon exchanged a glance, then reluctantly sat down on either side of Adrian, while Jeans sat next to Aaron.

One hundred thousand Warlock gradually filled the entire venue, and the number of people in the private boxes also gradually increased.

To Aaron's surprise, the Weasley family were also in this box. He had thought Ludo Bagman had given Arthur just a regular ticket, but he didn't expect them to be assigned to this box.

"Oh, what a coincidence." Fred and the others were sitting in the back row. "I didn't expect to see you here too."

"I never expected you to be here," Aaron said bluntly. "It seems Mr. Bagman is more likely to abuse his power than I thought."

"This is the only thing that makes us feel at ease," George said. "Even if we lose the bet, we can still break even on the ticket price."

But if we win, we'll find Ludo Bagman immediately and make him pay us back.

"The worst thing to do is to leave a way out for others, so that you can meet again in the future." Leon interjected, "Leave a way out for others, so that you can meet again in the future."

If you win, just ask him to return your principal.

"That's not right!" George frowned slightly. "If we win, the odds are ten times the payout, and we'll get more than three weeks' Galleon."

"On the surface, that's true, but do you really think he can afford to pay?" Leon said sarcastically. "Forcing a gambler is unwise, especially during the Quidditch World Cup."

But if you only want the principal, he won't refuse to give it to you; in fact, he'll give it to you quite readily, since including Mr. Weasley, it's less than forty Galleon.

Also, here's a piece of advice: be polite when asking for money, and always double-check the coins he gives you.

The twin brothers remained silent for a moment, then reluctantly nodded.

The investor still had to give him face, and what he said wasn't without reason.

If Ludo Bagman is really that unreliable, they'd be lucky if they didn't lose money.

"Your seats are a bit different from ours!" Ron said enviously, looking at the other empty sofas. "Can we switch seats?"

"Ron, stop overthinking it," Arthur said, half-laughing and half-crying. "These seats were specially prepared by Fudge for people who have made special contributions to the Magic World or have a transcendent status."

"Special contribution? Extraordinary status?" Ron was completely bewildered. Aaron and the others were about his age, so how did they meet these two criteria?

"Uh... can you stop insulting my noble character with your suspicious gaze?" Leon said somewhat displeased. "I admit we are just a group of ambitious young people full of aspirations for the future, but this private room is reserved for the powerful and influential, and you still got in."

Ron was speechless and awkwardly sat back down in his original seat.

"Dobby?" Harry looked at the House Elf sitting in the row behind them, somewhat incredulous.

"I'm not Dobby, I'm Winky." The House Elf spoke in a high-pitched voice, slightly shrill, making it easy to tell that the House-elf was female.

"Sorry, I mistook you for someone else," Harry said apologetically. "You look unwell."

"Winky has a fear of heights, but his master Barty Crouch, is too busy, so he asked me to come and save him a seat."

Winky wanted to return to its owner's tent, but Winky obeyed orders; Winky was a very well- House Elf.

After saying that, she couldn't help but shiver and buried her head in her loose robe.

"The two teams will display their mascots before the match," Hermione said with interest.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime event," Mr. Weasley said, barely able to contain his excitement. "They will bring Fantastic Beasts from their home country to perform."

"Fantastic Beasts?" Aaron pondered. "They're not some powerful or dangerous creatures, are they?"

"Of course not," Mr. Weasley laughed. "They were specially chosen by the team to create an atmosphere and attract fans; there's no danger at all."

Over the next half hour, the private room gradually filled with people, all of whom were respected Warlock.

Arthur and Percy shook hands with the other people again and again. Both father and son worked for the Ministry of Magic. Arthur was bound to be polite, while Percy hoped to get to know more people and leave a good impression on these seniors.

Fudge also brought over the Bulgaria Minister of Ministry of Magic, who enthusiastically introduced him to Harry Potter, a Warlock who had narrowly escaped death from the clutches of the You-Know-Who.

However, perhaps due to the language barrier, Fudge had to point to the scar on Harry's head to make him realize Harry Potter's identity.

Fudge also wanted to introduce Aaron and the other two sitting on the front sofa. The family power of these three adults was terrifying. With their support, he, as Minister for Magic, could at least serve another term.

However, the moment he had this thought, he received three sharp gazes and Jeans's smiling eyes, which immediately crushed the idea into dust and threw it to the back of his mind.

"Lucius, you're here." Fudge greeted the family of three as they approached with his standard smile.

"Fudge," Lucius smiled and shook hands with him, "This is my wife Narcissa, and my son Draco."

"Hello, hello." Fudge nodded, and then introduced them to the Minister for Magic of Gaboria.

After some polite greetings, the Lucius family sat down on the sofa in the front row.

"Aaron," Draco said with some delight, "Your family has also invited you to come watch the Quidditch World Cup."

"I guess so!" Aaron shrugged. "Let me introduce you. This one wearing the mask is my sister, Adrian, and this one is my childhood friend, Lyon."

"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," Draco introduced himself, his face slightly flushed as he looked at Adrian.

The two nodded and then turned their attention to the competition.

"Gaius, is there any time after the match?" Lucius asked, sounding slightly nervous.

Aaron paused for a moment, thinking that it was probably the Prophecy that he had Draco deliver for him.

However, he didn't want to get involved; he had already done more than enough by reminding Lucius first.

"Maybe next time! I came with my sister this time, so I didn't have time."

Lucius stared blankly at the man and woman beside Aaron, momentarily stunned.

He could barely guess who the two people were, and silently sat down in his seat.

"Looks like not everyone will give someone face." A sarcastic voice came from behind Lucius.

Upon hearing this, Lucius turned around with a displeased expression and sneered, "So it's you, Arthur."

"What did you sell to get this penthouse seat? Your possessions certainly aren't worth that much, right?"

"That's none of your business. I'm more curious about how you got a front-row seat."

Have you made significant contributions to the Magic World, or do you hold a position of extraordinary status?

"Arthur," Fudge stepped in to smooth things over, "Lucius is a distinguished guest I invited. He donated a large sum of money to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries and Gringotts, and also reached a cooperation agreement with Auror."

This is a great contribution to the Ministry of Magic and even to ordinary Warlock. The Order of Merlin has already awarded him a First Class Order, but Lucius is rather low-key, and not many people know about it yet.

Arthur's eyes widened in surprise, as did his children, Harry, and Hermione.

"Have you changed your personality? Or are you under Imperius Curse?"

"Arthur," Lucius said with a mocking smile, "I know you have a problem with me, but it's just a small grudge between us. You can't doubt my character over that!"

If you ever accidentally end up at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, remember to mention my name; it might save you some unnecessary paperwork.

Arthur Weasley's lips twitched slightly. Who was he cursing?

You talk a good game, but do you really think I have any doubts about your character?

Although he was unhappy, he could only suppress it for now. After all, Lucius was already in a very powerful position, and if he continued to cause trouble, he would be disrespecting Fudge, his superior.

"Alright! Thank you Malfoy, for your contributions to the Magic World."

Lucius immediately broke into a victorious smile; he was in high spirits at having made Weasley suffer a setback.

At that moment, Ludo Bagman walked into the box, looking extremely excited. "Minister, it's time. We can announce the start of the match."