This Ticket Was So Worth It

After the team members left, Ludo Bagman introduced the referee for the match, the president of the International Quidditch Association... a short, thin wizard.

Amid cheers, he strode towards the arena, a large wooden box tucked under his arm.

Everyone fell silent, holding their breath.

The referee mounted his Broomstick and kicked the wooden crate away... Then, the whistle blew.

"Ah... they're off!" Bagman screamed. "Now it's Mullet with the ball! Troy! Moran! Pass it to Mullet again! Moran!"

In the penthouse box, Harry had completely forgotten his embarrassing behavior. He pressed the Omnioculars tightly against his glasses... because only in this way could he see the game clearly.

Kyle was also intently watching the game. The professional players were incredibly fast, and the Chaser kept passing the Quaffle to other players as if it could explode at any moment.

The three Ireland Chaser huddled together, rushing towards the Bulgaria goalposts simultaneously. The Quaffle bounced back and forth between them, leaving even the commentator Bagman bewildered.

Finally, he gave up on saying names and just shouted, "Ireland used the standard Hawkshead Attacking Formation... it's their specialty... Bulgaria Team has absolutely no idea who to intercept... Oh! The Porskoff Ploy... Moran drew away Bulgaria's Beater Ivanova... she threw the Quaffle to Troy..."

"Troy scores!" Bagman roared, and the whole stadium erupted in cheers and applause, shaking the stadium.

"10-0, Ireland are in the lead!"

"Wow, that's amazing! The school games are nowhere near as good as this..." Hermione waved her flag and couldn't help but say, "But why does it seem like their Bludger has gotten faster..."

She frowned, trying to recall carefully.

Before, when watching school games, she could clearly see the trajectory of the Bludger, but now she could only see two blurry shadows.

"This is a special ball for the competition," Cedric explained. "The Firebolt is too fast; if we continued using the previous ball, the match might have ended in five minutes."

Therefore, in order to address this situation, the International Quidditch Association made adjustments to the Bludger and the Golden Snitch several months ago, increasing their speed.

"I see." Hermione nodded and continued looking at the arena.

Just as predicted in the pre-match analysis, Ireland, with three top-class Chaser, quickly took the lead from the start. Within ten minutes, they scored two more goals, making the score 30-0.

Mr. Weasley couldn't help but cheer, but for Harry, Ron, and Charlie, who supported Bulgaria, their laughter seemed somewhat forced.

Fortunately, a few minutes later, Bulgaria's two Beater used Bludger to force them to spread out and no longer be able to use some of their best offensive moves. Ivanoja seized the opportunity to break through their formation, evade the goalkeeper, and score the first goal for Bulgaria.

"Plug your ears, Veela is about to start dancing again," Mr. Weasley said.

This time, without his prompting, Harry immediately lowered his head and closed his eyes the moment the Veela jumped up, thus avoiding embarrassment again.

However, the Bulgaria Team supporters' joy was short-lived... the rest of the match became a one-sided affair.

Ireland scored five goals in a row, completely stunning Bulgaria.

On the other side, Krum also successfully tricked Ireland's Seeker Lynch with Wronski Feint, who fell heavily to the ground due to excessive force.

A muffled thud could be heard throughout the stadium, and a chorus of sighs and roars erupted from the Ireland spectators' seats.

A well-trained therapist rushed onto the field to check on Lynch's injury, while Krum circled around him a hundred feet above, his dark eyes scanning the entire field.

He was using the time Lynch was recovering to search for the Golden Snitch without any interference.

"That's fantastic..." Fred exclaimed, his blood pumping with the various feints and classic tactics. "I hope the match lasts a long time!"

"It would be best if it lasted a full five days, like last time," George said.

"Oh... I don't want that..." Percy raised his voice, as if deliberately wanting someone to hear, "If I'm gone for five days, my file basket will be overflowing with documents. The thought of that sends chills down my spine."

"Yeah, who knows, someone might stuff Dragon dung into an envelope and send it to you again," Fred said.

"Those are fertilizer samples sent from Norway!" Percy's face flushed red. "They're not for private individuals!"

"Really..." Fred smiled and whispered to Kyle, "That's what we sent to him."

His voice was very soft, and it was masked by the noise from the stands, so no one except Kyle could hear him.

Finally, Lynch stood up, and amidst the cheers of his supporters, he mounted his Firebolt and soared into the air once more.

The Ireland Chaser regrouped almost instantly, and with their seamless teamwork, the opposing defense was like a playground in front of Hogwarts —the ball was easily passed...

Twenty minutes later, Ireland scored five more goals, and they now lead 130-10.

With no goals scored, the Bulgaria Team began to panic, and the game gradually started to take a different turn.

Bulgaria's Zograf couldn't resist elbowing Mallet as she approached the Mullet, but the referee saw it because the action was too aggressive.

Ireland takes a penalty kick.

Next, the two Bulgaria Beater transformed into relentless swinging machines, wildly swinging and hitting the ball regardless of whether it was a person or Bludger in front of them.

On one occasion, Moran was almost knocked off his broom by them.

Bulgaria has committed another foul.

The Leprechaun all rose into the air, seemingly in celebration, yet also making a very rude gesture at the Veela in a mocking manner.

The Veela, already seething with anger, could no longer tolerate it and instantly exploded.

Instead of dancing, they flew up and threw handfuls of fiery things at the Leprechaun.

They are no longer beautiful; instead, their faces have become elongated, turning into pointed, beaked bird heads, and a pair of scaly wings are emerging from their shoulders...

"You see, children, this is what Veela truly looks like," Mr. Weasley said with a laugh, his voice rising above the murmur of the crowd. "So you must never just look at appearances!"

Harry and Ron nodded in unison.

Only Kyle's eyes shone brighter, and his hand unconsciously reached for the Mokeskin Pouch... His box was inside.

The battle between the two mascots grew increasingly fierce, and wizard officials rushed into the arena to try to separate the Veela and the Leprechaun, but with little success.

The fierce battle below is no less intense than the match taking place above. Although the Leprechaun can't throw fireballs, they can throw gold coins.

Even if you throw a huge wad of gold coins with all your might, it can still hit a Veela on the head and cause a bump.

For a moment, Veela's screams, the popping sounds from wizard wands, and the cheers of supporters from both teams rang out in a cacophony, making for a truly lively scene.

The audience was overjoyed; no one had told them about this before the game... paying one ticket for two shows was definitely worth it.

Kyle kept glancing at the game on the screen, then at the Veela and the Leprechaun who were outmaneuvering the wizards from the Ministry of Magic; he was incredibly busy.

He should have bought a Omnioculars before the competition.