Celebration

Fred and George's idea of making the game last five days ultimately failed to materialize.

An hour into the match, Ireland's Lynch spotted the Golden Snitch, as did Krum.

The small golden ball with wings was about five feet above the ground.

They simultaneously accelerated and plunged downwards at an astonishing speed.

"They're going to fall to the ground!" Hermione screamed!

"No way!" Ron said firmly, "Krum is the best Seeker!"

"But Lynch will!" Harry, Cedric, and Charlie shouted almost simultaneously.

They were right; Lynch fell heavily to the ground for the second time.

The Veela were overjoyed and swarmed around the Leprechaun, laughing shrilly.

At the last moment, Krum steadied his Broomstick. He flew close to the ground for a while, then gracefully rose into the air, raising his fist high, a golden light shining through his fingers.

"Krum has caught the Golden Snitch! The game is over!" Harry shouted.

The scoreboard flashed the score: 170:160

"Ireland has won!" Bagman shouted, though a hint of doubt could be heard in his voice, as if he were somewhat bewildered by the sudden end of the match.

"Krum caught the Golden Snitch, but Ireland won... Good heavens, I don't think anyone expected this outcome!"

Not only him, but most of Bulgaria supporters also couldn't understand it.

In their view, Krum had successfully stopped Qilin, and should logically give up on catching the Golden Snitch until his teammates reduced the score to below 150.

This has been the practice for every year's competition.

Just like last time, the reason it lasted for a full five days was because the score difference was just too big... The trailing team's Seeker kept stalling and trying every possible way to prevent the opponent from catching the Golden Snitch.

But Krum... many people think it was incredibly foolish of him to end the game when Ireland were leading by 160 points.

"Perhaps he knew the score couldn't be caught up." Kyle looked at Ron's regretful face and said, "The gap with the Chaser is too big. His judgment was correct. Ending the game at this point was the best option."

Losing the game by ten points is regrettable, but it sounds better that way; at least it can be described as a narrow defeat.

If we continue competing and lose when we're down by 500 or even 1000 points, it would be quite impolite.

Not only would it be embarrassing, but the player's reputation would also plummet, so ending the game at this point is the most appropriate course of action.

Kyle looked back at the court.

The Leprechaun flew around in ecstasy, but one could still vaguely see the Bulgaria players gathered around Krum, shaking their heads and looking dejected.

Not far away, the Ireland team, who had won the championship, were dancing with joy, and their mascot once again showered down a shower of gold coins.

The Veela regained their original beauty, but they all looked dejected and gloomy.

"I said, we fought very bravely." A heavy voice came from behind Kyle; it was the Bulgaria Minister for Magic.

"Yes, that's right..." Fudge said subconsciously, but then he suddenly paused.

"You just now... wait, so you can understand what I'm saying, and you let me just stand here drawing all day!"

"Hey, that's fun, isn't it?" the Bulgaria minister said, shrugging.

Fudge was quite angry, and even when he presented the trophy to the champion team at the end, he didn't look very happy.

Meanwhile, the Bulgaria minister next to them kept smiling happily, as if they were the winners.

Then, Bagman pressed the wand to his throat again and Quietus.

"I dare say this match will be talked about for years to come," he said hoarsely. "It was such an unexpected turn of events... It's a pity the match didn't go any longer."

He glanced down.

The match was over, and it was time to leave, but some people didn't leave the stadium. Instead, they moved towards the top-floor VIP boxes, which were completely opposite to the exit.

They were all wearing clover-themed accessories and chatting and laughing with each other.

Bagman also saw those people, and his expression suddenly turned somewhat grim.

"Sorry, Arthur." He didn't continue the conversation with Mr. Weasley. "I have some things to do. See you next time."

After saying that, he quickly left the private room and disappeared into the crowd in the blink of an eye.

Mr. Weasley then led the others downstairs.

"Hey, Arthur." At the exit, a bearded wizard stopped them. "Have you seen Ludo? I remember you were in the top-floor suite just now."

"The minister left after presenting the trophy," Mr. Weasley said. "What's wrong, Otto?"

"Nothing much," the bearded wizard said happily. "It's just that generous Ludo has to pay for my ticket. Ireland won, and the match lasted less than a day... He lost fifty Galleon to me!"

"Congratulations!" Mr. Weasley said with a smile.

"Haha!" The other person laughed and waved, "I'm going to find Ludo, see you next time."

See you next time.

By the time Mr. Weasley Kyle finally returned to the camp, it was already quite late, but this did not dampen the spirits of the celebration.

The night sky was filled with the rough, loud singing of people, and Leprechaun flew overhead, waving their lanterns and laughing loudly.

"Can we go back now?" Kyle asked, looking into the deep darkness of the night.

"I'm afraid that won't work." Mr. Weasley shook his head. "Nobody expected the game to end so quickly. It will take a little more time to distribute the Portkey."

"Apparition?" Kyle continued.

"That won't work either," Mr. Weasley said. "Most of this area is protected by Anti-Apparition Charm, and there are Ministry of Magic personnel patrolling the area. Only the open area we came from is open. Look over there..."

He pointed ahead.

The long queue stretched all the way to the camp entrance, seemingly endless.

Kyle frowned.

"What's wrong?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"It's nothing," Kyle said. "It's just too noisy around here. I don't think I'll be able to sleep."

"Oh yes, you're right," Mr. Weasley muttered. "It's a good thing I wasn't on duty and didn't have to tell them to stop celebrating their victory, or it would have been unimaginable."

He looked at Kyle, pondered for a moment, and said, "Alright, you're right, it's really hard to sleep here... I'll go find Arnold, and if he agrees, we can Apparition back anywhere outside the camp."

With that, he left the tent.

Kyle stood at the doorway and watched for a while.

On the other side of the camp, the singing and strange crashing sounds still echoed in the night sky, as if they were preparing to celebrate their victory all night long.

Twenty minutes later, Mr. Weasley finally returned.

"What...?" Kyle was about to ask when he was pushed into the tent.

"Quick, wake everyone else up!"

Mr. Weasley's expression was grave. "Someone attacked Arnold. When I got there, I saw him being tackled to the ground in the woods by a hooded man."

"Who is it!" Bill, who was still awake, immediately took out his wand.

"I don't know, I can't see the face." Mr. Weasley shook his head. "I've already informed the Auror that we'd better stay in the tent and not go anywhere until they find the culprit. That's what Scrimgeour wanted."

"It must be those Bulgaria supporters," Bill said angrily. "They lost the game and want to cause trouble to vent their frustration!"

Mr. Weasley didn't speak, but in his heart, he also leaned towards this answer.

Everyone was woken up, dressed, packed their belongings, and sat in their tents to wait.

This incident also made Mr. Weasley feel a sense of crisis, worrying that those guys who had nowhere to vent their anger after losing the game might cause some more trouble. He planned to leave as soon as the Auror found the person.

"Honestly, what are those people trying to do? And why now of all times?" Ron complained, yawning.

He was so sleepy, sitting at the small table, his head nodding off, "Aren't they afraid of being Auror...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Kyle suddenly noticed that the sound outside had changed.

The singing stopped, replaced by screams and the sound of people running in panic.

"Arthur!" Someone pulled back the tent flap; it was one of the two Auror had appeared in the top-floor suite earlier.

He spoke rapidly, "Something's wrong, there are too many of them, be careful!"

After saying that, he took his wand and quickly left.

"Let's go!" Mr. Weasley declared decisively. "Get out of here quickly!"