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Chapter 453: The Top Box
Chapter 453: The Top Box
Bill only woke up when it was evening, thanks to a rather complicated process.
Fred and George had devised the plan, Ron had fetched the water, and Ginny had handed over the bucket to Charlie, who then dumped the entire bucket of cold water on Bill's face.
Even if Bill wanted to lose his temper, he didn't know who to direct his anger at.
It was a rare occasion for both Bill and Charlie to be back home, plus it was Karl's birthday, so Mrs. Weasley had been busy in the kitchen since noon, preparing a sumptuous dinner.
Just as Karl had expected, Chris arrived with his bottle of 150-year-old Firewhisky.
The large number on the bottle immediately caught Mr. Weasley's eye, and it shone with anticipation.
Bill couldn't resist the temptation and asked for a small glass, but he had learned from his previous mistake and sipped it sparingly, just like Mr. Weasley.
So this time, he didn't pass out on the spot but managed to stay conscious until the end of dinner, at which point he fell face-first onto the table.
The soup from his plate splattered all over Percy, much to his displeasure, and he grumbled that it was the very suit he intended to wear to work tomorrow.
Even after Mrs. Weasley had magically cleaned the soup off, he still muttered under his breath as he returned to his room.
"If you're so worried about stains, then don't wear it to dinner," Fred couldn't help but comment.
"Maybe he thought Mr. Crouch would suddenly drop by," George added with a laugh.
Mrs. Weasley gave them a light smack, and the two finally closed their mouths.
However, this little incident didn't dampen the cheerful atmosphere among the rest of the group.
After dinner, the children who hadn't been drinking helped carry the passed-out Bill upstairs to his room.
As for Charlie, he had also passed out on the table, facing Bill on the left and right.
Ron and Ginny struggled to drag him for a long time without any success, and in the end, they just moved him from the chair to the floor.
A few curious gnomes gathered around and poked his face with their slender fingers.
"Shoo!" Ron waved his hands to chase away the annoying gnomes, and then he and Ginny each grabbed one of Charlie's arms and dragged him back to their humble abode.
This resulted in Charlie waking up the next day with a vague feeling of pain all over his body, as if he had been stepped on by a dragon.
And so, another two weeks passed.
One evening in mid-August, Mr. Weasley returned from work at the Ministry of Magic and suddenly called out to everyone, brimming with excitement.
"Did you get the tickets, Dad?" Fred asked eagerly.
"Oh, I was going to give you all a surprise," Mr. Weasley said, pretending to be disappointed, though he couldn't hide the smile on his face.
"A big surprise!"
He took out a stack of colorful tickets. "Thirteen in total, and all for the best seats."
Fred whispered, "What do you mean by the best seats...?"
"The top box," Mr. Weasley replied. "The Minister of Magic will be right in front of us."
"Oh, wonderful!"
Fred and George were so excited that their faces turned red, and they slapped each other's shoulders vigorously.
They had always thought that Mr. Weasley could get tickets for the regular stands at most, but they never expected it to be the top box.
That was arguably the best place to watch the game, with a clear view of the entire arena.
"Dad, how did you do it?" Ron asked admiringly.
"Due to special circumstances, many people in the ministry won't be able to attend the game, so the folks in the Sports Department just gave the tickets to Chris and me," Mr. Weasley explained. "They said this way, the top box won't look too empty.
"Don't worry, dears." Mrs. Weasley smiled and said, "I'm not really fond of those crowded events anyway. It's perfect that we can give the tickets to Harry and Hermione."
"So are we." Chris smiled. "We have more important things to deal with than watching the Quidditch World Cup. That's also why the top boxes are vacant. By the way, we bumped into Diggory as we were leaving the Sports Department."
"In that case... we'll only need eleven tickets then." Fred did a quick calculation. "The remaining two can be kept for Fall and Connor."
"Wonderful!" Fred and George high-fived again.
Soon after, they arrived at the Burrow.
Mrs. Weasley prepared to write letters to Harry and Hermione.
It was straightforward with Hermione, as they just needed to send the letter via owl. However, Mrs. Weasley hesitated when it came to Harry.
She recalled that Harry's Muggle aunt and uncle strongly disliked wizards, and sending an owl would likely upset them.
"Leave it to me, Molly." At that moment, Mr. Weasley stepped forward confidently and said, "I know exactly how Muggles send letters... They need these."
As he spoke, Mr. Weasley pulled out a handful of colorful stamps from his pocket.
"Just stick these stamps on the envelope and drop it into a postbox. There happens to be one near the entrance of the Ministry of Magic... I've been wanting to give it a try."
"Are you sure, Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley asked, "Just by putting it into that... box?"
"You should trust me... I'm a professional."
"Alright then..." Mrs. Weasley took the stamps. "How many should I stick on?"
Mr. Weasley froze for a moment, then thought about it before gritting his teeth and said, "Cover it all up. If there aren't enough stamps, the letter will be returned."
"Okay!"
Then, Kyle watched as Mrs. Weasley pasted all the stamps on the envelope, leaving only a small area of about one square inch for the address of the Dursleys' house.
"Actually..." Kyle couldn't help but speak up: "One stamp is enough. Putting too many might arouse suspicion."
"Oh, is that so? Is one stamp enough?" Mr. Weasley asked in surprise.
"Yes." Kyle nodded, picked out a ten-penny stamp, and said, "This one will do. Let's peel off the others."
Mr. Weasley was the quickest to act, and he put all the stamps away in a few seconds.
These stamps were his treasures, and he had felt the pain of parting when they were pasted on, but now he felt like he had regained what he had lost.
After settling the matter with the letters, Mrs. Weasley clapped her hands.
"Alright, the match is on the weekend. We'll just wait until Friday to pick up Harry, and that will be perfect timing."
"What if his aunt and uncle don't agree?" Ron asked. "He can't miss this match."
"Of course, he can't."
Mrs. Weasley said, "Regardless of what that family thinks, we will go and get him. However, it's more polite to pretend to ask for their opinion."
(End of Chapter)
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