Chapter 524: The Mad Mascots
Chapter 524: The Mad Mascots
Wade was about to drink his coffee when a sudden scream made him jump to his feet, his eyes scanning the distance.
Bill, however, remained calm, chuckling as he said, "It's probably just the Irish team's fans getting up to their usual antics. These guys can get pretty wild, you know."
Wade didn't relax at all. He saw the distant campsite growing brighter, and a sudden burst of flames illuminated the night sky.
The next second, a deafening explosion echoed from that direction, followed by a sharp rise in the volume of screams. The cries became more frequent, filled with fear and urgency, slicing through the night air like sharp blades.
"Something's wrong!" Bill's eyes sharpened, and he grabbed his wand, standing up quickly. "I'll go check it out. You wake everyone else up!"
With that, Bill vanished with a pop. Theo and Ryan, still half-asleep, rushed out of their tent, panic evident in their voices. "What's going on? Did something explode?"
"There's trouble at the campsite", Wade said grimly, turning to them. "Wake everyone up. We need to move to a safer place."
Without another word, the two of them dashed back into the tent. Moments later, the rest of the group, still groggy and disoriented, hurried out. Hermione, not forgetting her backpack, slung it over her shoulder.
By now, the campsite was a scene of chaos. Adults were shouting, children were crying, and the night air was filled with a cacophony of sounds. Countless dark figures were running around, and Wade even saw someone being lifted into the sky, only to fall back down with a sickening thud!
A long, agonized scream pierced the night, and Padma instinctively hid behind Michael. Hermione, tense, muttered, "What's happening? Oh, I'm so stupid—Lumos!"
The bright light dispelled the surrounding darkness, and with another pop, Bill reappeared.
"What's going on, Bill?" Charlie shouted.
"The mascots have gone mad", Bill said, grabbing Ginny. "Let's go, we need to head to the forest!"
"What? The mascots?" Harry was confused.
But his confusion didn't last long.
A Veela flew over from the distance, her beautiful, perfect head now resembling a bird's, with a sharp beak and scaly wings that flapped powerfully, propelling her far and wide. Even her legs had transformed into eagle talons.
The Veela, now resembling a harpy, seemed completely deranged. She threw balls of flame at the tents in the campsite, then suddenly dove down, grabbing a fleeing wizard with her talons and lifting him high into the sky.
"No—"
The man struggled frantically, his screams filled with despair.
The Veela carried him up to several dozen feet before suddenly releasing her grip. The man screamed as he plummeted, and several wizards on the ground hurriedly cast spells to catch him, but their aim was poor.
Just as it seemed the man would hit the ground and turn into a bloody mess, another figure swooped in from the side, catching him with outstretched hands.
Before anyone could celebrate, their hearts sank once again.
"Oh, no—"
Padma covered her eyes in fear.
The figure was the Irish team's mascot, a Leprechaun, whose body had swollen to the size of a horse, with bulging muscles and a grotesque face. It cackled evilly as it flew higher, its expression twisted and sinister.
Upon closer inspection, the Leprechaun's small vest was stained with blood. As it flew over the crowd with the wizard in its grasp, Wade and the others saw the man's pale, lifeless face, as if he were about to die.
“Merlin… the mascots… they’ve really gone mad!” Ron muttered.
“Stop staring and run!” Charlie pulled the group to move, but was suddenly held back by Wade.
“It’s too late!”
Wade thought of the nearby forest, which was almost completely destroyed. The distance to reach it would be much farther than everyone imagined.
Moreover, the forest might not be safe tonight either.
He pulled out a pencil case from his pocket, tossed it to the ground, and it transformed into a wardrobe. He patted Harry’s back and said, “You all go inside—quickly!”
Michael glanced at Wade, then led Padma into the wardrobe. Seeing the two of them successfully rush into the wardrobe, which was as tall as a person and half a meter wide, Ron’s eyes widened.
Bill’s eyes lit up, and he immediately pushed Ginny inside, urging the others to follow. Charlie kept a watchful eye on the sky to avoid being ambushed by the mascots.
Without a word, everyone rushed in one after another. Even Kreacher folded up the Black family’s tent and dragged the bag-like bundle, grunting as he squeezed into the wardrobe space.
In the end, apart from Bill, Charlie, and Percy, Wade was the only underage wizard left outside. Charlie and Percy had already taken their wands and run off to deal with the flying mascots.
“You should go hide inside too,” Bill said to Wade. “I’ll help you hide this thing in a safe place.”
“No, I can help too.”
As Wade spoke, a red light and a cloak flew out of the wardrobe space, landing beside him. He then tapped the wardrobe with his wand, and it transformed back into the original pencil case.
The cloak dutifully picked up the pencil case and handed it to its owner.
Beside him, a small, golden-red bird was preening its wings. Despite its size being no larger than a fist, it gave Bill an intense sense of deadly danger.
Bill looked at Wade, then at the cloak and the phoenix, and nodded. “Be careful, protect yourself!”
Then he ran without hesitation to help a witch who was being attacked by a Veela.
“Mihal,” Wade said softly to the phoenix, “don’t reveal your Fiendfyre form. Just keep the attackers from flying.”
The phoenix let out a cry and took flight. When it reached its top speed, it looked like a red lightning bolt streaking across the night sky.
Mihal swooped past a Veela from behind, and her wings immediately ripped from the base and caught fire.
She let out an agonizing scream, spinning as she fell from the sky. Before she hit the ground, she was hit by a dozen spells.
The phoenix then collided head-on with an enlarged Leprechaun, setting the creature ablaze. In less than two seconds, the Leprechaun’s swollen body shrank back to its original size.
The flames disappeared, and the Leprechaun’s eyes rolled back as it plummeted from the sky. It was then bound by a rope that appeared out of nowhere.
Wade observed for a moment. Although most ordinary wizards’ spellcasting skills were poor, as long as they didn’t drop their wands in the chaos, they could still handle the mascots that Mihal brought down.
Relieved, Wade put on the cloak, then took out the Polyjuice Potion, dropped a black hair into it, stirred it twice, and drank it in one gulp.
A moment later, another “Harry Potter” appeared in the camp.
(End of Chapter)
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