An Eventful Night

As the afternoon passed, a feeling of excitement spread across the campsite like a tangible cloud.

As dusk fell, even the quiet summer air seemed to tremble with anticipation.

As night fell like a curtain over the thousands of eagerly waiting wizards, the last trace of pretense vanished: the Ministry of Magic seemed to succumb to the inevitable trend, ceasing its opposition and allowing obvious signs of magical use to emerge everywhere.

Every few steps, Apparition vendor would descend from the sky, carrying a tray and pushing a cart filled with strange and wonderful things.

There are glowing rose-shaped badges—green for Ireland and red for Bulgaria —that can shout out the team members' names; there are tall green hats decorated with shamrocks dancing in the wind; there are Bulgaria sashes printed with a roaring lion; there are the national flags of both countries that play their respective national anthems when waved; there are miniature models of real flying Firebolt; and there are collectible statues of famous team members that can walk around in the palm of your hand, looking quite smug.

Skylar didn't buy anything, but Gareth, who had already returned to the camp, bought everyone an Omnioculars worth ten Galleon. It could replay the game footage and quickly display analysis of the match.

Ludovic Bagman visited the camp to solicit bets on his own betting scheme, Gareth placed a bet of ten Galleon on Ireland to win.

Skylar also wanted to place a bet, but he was afraid that, like the Weasley Twins in the original story, Bagman would abscond with the money. So he deliberately and bluntly pointed out Bagman's untrustworthiness to Gareth. Although Bagman was furious, he didn't dare to act out in front of Skylar. Although Skylar was young, everyone in the Ministry of Magic knew that he had powerful backers; otherwise, how could Wizengamot have broken with tradition and named him the youngest Merlin?

After some provocation and discussion, Bagman agreed to make Unbreakable Vow with him.

Skylar bet 700 Galleon on Ireland to win, but Viktor Krum would catch the Golden Snitch, and according to the pre-arranged odds of 4x, if he won, he would receive 2800 Galleon. 700 Galleon is a huge gamble; if the bet were any larger, Bagman probably wouldn't be able to pay it back— Skylar estimated that 2800 Galleon was almost four months' salary for Bagman, not even including taxes and living expenses...

(Note: The salary of Hit Wizard is 700 Galleon. As an important armed force of the Ministry of Magic, this salary should be similar to that of a less important director-level figure in the Ministry, such as the Department of Magical Games and Sports.)

Just then, a deep, resonant gong sounded from somewhere in the distance of the woods, and thousands of red and green lanterns lit up the trees, illuminating the path to the arena, and the competition began.

The process of the match was as described in the original work, so I will omit it here.

After the match Skylar saw that Bagman's face was ashen, and he guessed that Bagman had lost Unbreakable Vow unbreakable oath he had made, Bagman dared not try to fool Skylar with the goblin gold coins. After all, those who break the Unbreakable Vow will die. Of course, even if he dared to do so, the goblin gold coins would not escape Skylar's Magic Eye.

[Received for 2800 Galleon!]

Back at the camp, Gareth was about to tell them to go back to their rooms and get some rest so they could return to the manor early the next morning.

Skylar spoke up, "Don't rush back to your rooms yet." He looked at the group, took out several bottles of Magic Restoration Potion and Invigoration Draught from his luggage, and then slowly said, "Gentlemen, according to my intelligence, tonight may not be peaceful—I suggest everyone stay in the hall. We can chat to pass the time, and if anyone is really too tired, they might as well try the Invigoration Draught I personally concocted; it's absolutely effective. Uncle Gareth, Mr. Morganton, as men, we have a responsibility to protect the ladies' safety. I think we should prepare our wands and remain vigilant and alert at all times. What do you think?"

Gareth, as the head of his clan and a man of keen insight, immediately understood. "Skylar, you wouldn't be talking about...?"

"They're just some the Clown who can't stand being alone, bored out of their minds and trying to get attention—don't worry, as long as we're careful enough, nothing will happen, and I doubt they're targeting us anyway."

Gareth gave Skylar a meaningful look. "I'm finding it harder and harder to understand you. This morning's bet with Ludo, my gut feeling told me you were sure to win, and now you seem to know things that even I haven't been able to confirm."

"Uncle Gareth, I don't believe you hadn't heard a thing. You just couldn't confirm it—besides, as a member of the Malfoy family, with my father busy every day and making quite a commotion lately, how could I not have noticed anything unusual?"

After drinking Skylar's Invigoration Draught, the group perked up and sat on the sofa in the hall, engaging in a lively discussion about the highlights of the recent game.

Skylar changed into the Supreme Robe, donned the Night Star Cloak, put on the Ravenclaw's Diadem, donned the Duelling Gloves, checked the dagger and wand in his hidden pocket, and stood spiritedly at the entrance of the tent, gazing at the people still cheering and singing in the distance.

Gradually, the sounds in the camp changed. The singing stopped, and Skylar heard screams and the sound of people running in panic. He turned and greeted the people inside the tent. Because they were already prepared, they were fully armed and calmly followed Skylar out of the tent.

The two House Elf were ordered to stay behind to guard the camp, preventing anyone from taking advantage of the chaos, and also to let the mob recognize that this was Pure-blood families's camp, since only ancient families could have House Elf, which was almost a symbol of status.

By the light of the few campfires still burning, Skylar saw people running into the woods, as if fleeing something moving toward them from the camp. The thing was flashing strangely and making sounds like gunshots. Loud jeers, maniacal laughter, and drunken shouts also moved toward them.

Then, a bright green light flashed, illuminating everything around them.

A group of wizards huddled together, each pointing their wands upwards, and moved forward slowly across the field.

Skylar squinted, scrutinizing them closely. These people wore hoods and masks. Above them, four struggling figures floated in the air, twisted into various bizarre shapes, as if the masked wizards on the ground were puppeteers, and the people above them were marionettes controlled by invisible strings protruding from their wands. Two of the figures were very small; they were Mr. Roberts, the camp administrator, and his family.

Several Ministry of Magic officials tried to rush forward to stop them, but the scattered attacks were no match for the now quite large group of masked wizards. Skylar even saw Mr. Weasley, the red-haired wizard, and his three sons rush over to help.

The colored lights that once illuminated the path to the stadium were now off. Some dark figures stumbled along in the woods, children cried, and anxious shouts and voices echoed around them in the cold night air.

"Follow me, I know where it's safe!" Mr. Morganton took the lead, guiding the group into the woods to find a safe spot away from the crazed thugs.

Not long after, someone shot a Dark Mark into the sky from the center of the woods. Officials from the Ministry of Magic rushed there, while the masked wizards scattered as soon as they saw the Dark Mark, as if nothing had happened.

Just when everyone thought the matter had been settled and they could safely return to camp, a Stunning Spell suddenly flashed, and Mr. Gareth was instantly knocked unconscious. Six masked men in black emerged from their hiding place and aggressively surrounded Skylar and his group, clearly with ill intentions. Judging from their figures, there were five men and one woman, and one of the men and one of the women gave Skylar a vague sense of familiarity.

At this time, the Ministry of Magic officials had all gone into the woods, and some curious fans had gathered there to gather information, while the others had returned to the camp. There was no one else in this secluded corner.

Skylar and the others drew their wands, ready to fight, but because they had to consider the safety of the three young ladies behind them, Skylar wasn't very confident. Only Morganton knew Apparition, and teleporting while surrounded by enemies was extremely dangerous. Besides, they couldn't possibly leave the unconscious Gareth behind and let him fall into the hands of these unidentified people.

Skylar broke the silence first, saying, "Is there some misunderstanding? Every one of us here is Pure-blood wizard, and we have no grudge against you. Are you trying to declare war on both the House of Malfoy and Greengrass Family at the same time?" Skylar wisely raised the banners of both families, intending to scare away the enemy.

"Don't misunderstand, we're not with those idle Death Eaters." One of the men in black spoke first. "Our purpose here is simply to ask Miss Shafiq to come with us. If you could do us this favor, we would owe the House of Malfoy and Greengrass Family a debt of gratitude."

To Skylar's Magic Eye, the six people before him possessed a violent, black aura of magic, very similar to that of Peter Pettigrew from before. He frowned, and in his mind, he roughly guessed who these people were.

He said slowly, "Are you the Shadow of the Magic Dragon?"

"You must be the rising star, Young Master Malfoy?" the man in black said. "Heh, I didn't expect you to know about our organization. You should be aware of our strength, right? Even the House of Malfoy would have to think twice before going against us!"

It seems that Peter Pettigrew's initial target for helping them kidnap Meredith was... (Author's note: Did anyone guess that?)

But why her? Shafiq was just a declining ancient family. Calling them a Pure-blood families was just a nice way of putting it. In reality, she was the only one left in the entire family. Many of the Shafiq Family's businesses had long been divided up and devoured by other families. The only valuable things the entire family had were their dilapidated ancestral home and a House Elf.

Although Skylar didn't consider himself a virtuous person, his initial motivation for pursuing power was to protect those around him. No matter what, he couldn't let Meredith get hurt!

However, Skylar was unwilling to drag the entire Greengrass Family into this mess, not to mention the potential danger to the other two girls. After a moment's thought, he made up his mind. "You can take her away, but on one condition: I must come with you."

"Impossible! Kid, if you want to play the hero, you should first assess your own strength. Most kids like you die young." The man in black said coldly.

"Leader, stop wasting time talking to them, or we'll attract others!" another tall man in black said in a deep voice.

The man in black who spoke first was clearly in charge of the operation. Both his figure and voice gave Skylar a sense of déjà vu, as if he had dealt with this man quite a bit before.

The opposing side was determined to finish the battle quickly—the leader gave a hand signal, and the six of them were about to make their move!

Unfortunately, they severely underestimated Skylar's abilities.

Upon their arrival, they first ambushed and knocked Gareth unconscious, and now their main concern is Mr. Morganton. They had heard of Skylar's reputation, but a lower-grade student was clearly at least two levels below them, the adult wizards, so they didn't take him too seriously.

A burst of intense light erupted from Skylar's body, like a human-shaped flashbang—it was the Flash Charm. In this pitch-black environment, the Flash Charm's effect was particularly powerful. Apart from the three girls who had already tacitly agreed, everyone else was temporarily blinded, including Morganton.

"Damn it!" the leader shouted. "Take care of that kid first, he knows Non-verbal Spellcasting a staff or sound!"

Although the opponent was blinded, he did not lay down his neck to be cut. Instead, he relied on his intuition to launch an attack in the direction of Skylar and the others in his memory. For a moment, colorful spells flew everywhere, but they were not very accurate.

Skylar focused his mind and summoned Aquila with his thoughts. Aquila let out a shriek and conjured six clones, which reached out with their claws to grab at the masks of the six people.

At the same time as he summoned the spell, Skylar multitasked. With his left hand, he cast Wind-Spinning Vortex Curse with his wand, and a tornado rose from the ground, sweeping two masked men into the sky. They roared and fired spells wildly, but to no avail. With a gentle wave of his right hand, the third masked man's wand suddenly appeared in Skylar 'Skylar hand, broken in two.

The situation has reversed.

In an instant, three of the six masked men lost their ability to fight.