Chapter 843: A Massive Social Disaster Unfolds
Chapter 843: A Massive Social Disaster Unfolds
Albert reached out and took the ice cream from the vendor, paying with six galleons from his pocket. He then turned to the girls beside him and asked, "Would you like to buy anything else?"
The girls shook their heads, indicating that they had nothing else they wanted to purchase at the moment.
"The game should be starting soon," Catherine remarked as she glanced at her pocket watch. "We should head towards the pitch; the queues will be long."
"Please lead the way!" Albert nodded at Catherine and held onto Nia's hand. He whispered, "Let me know immediately if anything feels off, and don't wander off or let go of my hand."
"Mhm," Nia murmured in response, lowering her head as she quietly enjoyed her ice cream.
Watching this exchange, Katrina sometimes got the impression that these two were the couple. But remembering Nia's Muggle background, it was no surprise that Albert was so cautious, ensuring Nia remained within his line of sight.
As they ate their ice creams, the group strolled alongside Catherine towards the forest. Upon reaching its edge, they found that many other spectators had the same idea. Hundreds of people milled about, their laughter and shouts blending together. The feverish excitement was infectious, gripping each attendee.
"Albert, it is you," Sirius said, approaching with Harry and his friends. He smiled and greeted Albert.
"Yeah, I wanted to get into the stadium early, but I didn't expect so many people here," Albert said helplessly.
"I know, everyone had the same idea. Queuing is such a hassle. By the way, who do you think will win today?" Sirius asked, making casual conversation.
"Bulgaria," Albert replied without hesitation.
"I also think Bulgaria will win. The American Seeker is a bit lacking; it will be hard for them to beat Krum. That guy is a genius," said Blake as they walked. "I bet Bagman will lose a fortune tonight. To be honest, I doubt he can even afford to pay up."
"Ahem." Catherine coughed lightly, defending her old friend. "I think Jenny isn't as bad as you make her out to be. At the very least, she can still catch the Golden Snitch for the American team."
The eyes of the others fell on Catherine, their gazes filled with surprise, confusion, and bewilderment.
"Your friend?" Albert asked suddenly.
The atmosphere suddenly turned awkward, especially for Sirius. He didn't argue the point but merely apologized and turned to speak with Lupin instead.
However, Harry, Hermione, and Ron's gazes remained fixed on the beautiful girls surrounding Albert. The two young men even looked a little strange, quickly averting their eyes. Hermione's attention, on the other hand, was drawn to Nia, whom Albert was holding hands with. She wore a thoughtful expression.
Just then, a crackling sound came from a short distance away, followed by a painful moan. Everyone turned to see a wizard spinning and crashing into a nearby tree. He fell to the ground, writhing in pain, eliciting a round of mocking laughter from the onlookers.
Two wizards hurried over to check on the unfortunate man, quickly using magic to ease his pain.
At that moment, a strange sound emanated from the forest ahead, followed by countless lights illuminating the darkness and forming a path leading to the pitch.
"It's time; follow me, everyone," Sirius said, taking the lead and guiding the group along the lit path into the woods.
Albert kept a close eye on Nia, wanting to ensure she was unaffected by the Anti-Muggle charms as they entered the forest.
The group followed the flow of people, walking for a long time through the woods until they finally reached the other side, where a massive open-air oval stadium stood.
"This stadium is huge!" Nia exclaimed, marveling at the grand structure before her.
"It's said to accommodate up to a hundred thousand people," Isabel said quietly as she moved to Nia's side, flanking her with Albert.
"The ticket check is over there; let's go!" Sirius called out to Albert's group to follow him.
At the entrance stood a witch in her thirties from the Ministry of Magic, looking at Albert with surprise as he handed over four tickets. "First-class tickets, top-tier box seats. Keep going upstairs, all the way to the top."
Catherine and Valeria's tickets were also for the top-tier box seats, which they had obtained through Nicholas' connections.
"Where did you get so many first-class tickets?" Sirius asked, intentionally slowing his pace as he overheard the witch's comment.
Sirius was a little dispirited as first-class tickets were quite expensive. Initially, he had wanted to buy them himself, but Lupin had persuaded him to opt for regular tickets instead. He hadn't expected Albert's group to all have first-class tickets.
"A old friend gave them to us," Albert replied.
Albert parted ways with Sirius' group on the sixth floor, heading upward with his top-tier box seat tickets. He continued climbing until he reached the very top, where he separated from Catherine and Valeria. The four of them quickly located their seats based on the ticket numbers.
Nia held Albert's hand, taking in the breathtaking view before her and exclaiming, "The view from here is spectacular!"
"Indeed. Here, I got this for you," Albert said, handing out two buckets of popcorn that he had asked the house-elf to prepare beforehand.
"What's this?" Katrina asked curiously.
"Popcorn," Albert replied, popping a piece into his mouth. "I also have drinks here."
"You're always so thoughtful," Isabel said, taking the popcorn and passing some to Katrina. "Try some; it's quite good."
Katrina sampled the popcorn and found that it was indeed delicious, though there wasn't much of it.
"You can eat this for a long time; you'll see," Albert said, as if reading Katrina's mind. He smiled at her.
The small boxes were meant to make it convenient to hold, but they had actually been expanded with the Undetectable Extension Charm.
As the group happily chatted about trivial matters, an unwelcome figure appeared in their box.
Lucius Malfoy, upon seeing Albert and his group in the box, wore a look of astonishment on his face. He likely hadn't expected Albert to be able to obtain tickets for the top-tier box seats.
Mr. Malfoy's gaze swept over Nia and lingered on the McDougal sisters before returning to Albert. The corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly, as if he had said something.
"When did this place become accessible to just anyone?" Draco muttered under his breath, only to be quickly silenced by his father. The self-proclaimed pure-blood Malfoys would not voice such inappropriate remarks aloud.
At least, not loudly enough for others to hear.
Just then, Mr. Barty entered the box with two other wizards. The short, plump witch among them lit up upon spotting Albert in the backseat, raising her hand to wave enthusiastically.
"You're quite popular," Nia remarked in surprise. It seemed that no matter where Albert went, he would run into someone he knew.
Albert smiled and nodded at the girl before him, his mind racing to recall who she was.
Oh, right. The chubby girl before him was the short female student from Durmstrang Institute during the Magical Schools Potions Championship.
The chubby girl seemed to say something to the wizard beside her, and the wizard in the lavish black velvet robe with golden trim looked over at Albert and then spoke to the Barty Crouch beside him, seemingly inquiring about Albert.
"Albert Anderson, the most outstanding genius in the British magical world in nearly a century," Barty Crouch introduced in Bulgarian, "Perhaps you've also seen his name in the newspapers. He recently won several more international awards. Oh, and Anderson should be able to understand Bulgarian if you'd like to go over and introduce yourself."
"Of course, I'd be delighted to meet this young genius," Mr. Oblansk said.
"Mr. Oblansk, Minister of the Bulgarian Ministry of Magic," Barty introduced the wizard beside him, "and beside him is his granddaughter, Rumiana, whom you may know."
"Oh, hello, Mr. Oblansk," Albert said, shaking hands with the elderly man in a friendly manner, "I believe tonight's victory will belong to Bulgaria. Krum is an excellent Seeker."
"Thank you, I believe Krum will be delighted to hear someone acknowledge his abilities," Mr. Oblansk said, his eyes curiously studying the young man before him, impressed by his fluent Bulgarian.
"I see the newspapers say you plan to participate in the International Duelling Competition next year?"
"Yes, I plan to if I have the time," Albert nodded.
The actions of the Bulgarian Minister of Magic made Mr. Malfoy uncomfortable, especially when they conversed in a string of Bulgarian, causing his face to grow even gloomier.
However, for Mr. Oblansk, an outstanding wizard who had already demonstrated his talent was worth paying attention to, especially one who had won four international awards before even reaching adulthood, and who was an acquaintance of his granddaughter. It was always beneficial to forge good relations, especially since every wizard present here today had some level of influence.
"Are you a fan of Krum?" Rumiana asked.
"You could say that," Albert replied vaguely.
"You'll definitely be in for an unexpected surprise this year," Rumiana said with a hint of regret, "It's a shame I've already graduated. If only I could have graduated a year later."
"Are you talking about the Triwizard Tournament?" Albert asked with a smile.
"You know about it!" Rumiana exclaimed, immediately relieved, "Are you planning to participate?"
"I probably will, it seems like an interesting competition," Albert replied casually.
Rumiana suddenly felt sorry for Albert's future opponents. It would be like an adult bullying a child to have a wizard who had won the Barnabas Finkley Exceptional Spellcasting Award and was planning to participate in the International Duelling Competition also join the Triwizard Tournament.
"Ladies and gentlemen..."
A thunderous voice reverberated throughout the entire stadium as Ludo pointed his wand at his throat and addressed the spectators, "Welcome to the 422nd Quidditch World Cup quarter-finals!"
The spectators below erupted into a chorus of cheers and applause, accompanied by a chaotic medley of national anthems, creating a truly lively atmosphere.
Albert and Rumiana stopped their idle chat and turned their attention to the pitch before them. The giant blackboard had erased the previous advertisements and now displayed:
USA: 0, Bulgaria: 0 "...Let's welcome the mascot of the US National Team."
As soon as he finished speaking, a peal of thunder tore through the air, and a thunderbird soared over the heads of the crowd, bringing with it lightning and torrential rain.
"What is that?"
Nia gazed at the lightning and clouds in the sky, edging closer to Albert in trepidation.
"A thunderbird, a famous magical creature from America. Its appearance is always accompanied by storms," Albert whispered in explanation.
Following the thunderbird's appearance, the spectators below were drenched in the downpour, a rather unfortunate turn of events.
However, the boxes were unaffected, as they had been equipped with rain-shielding canopies.
These had been hastily installed by the Ministry of Magic upon learning that the US team's mascot was a thunderbird, so as not to dampen the spirits of their esteemed guests.
Next up was Bulgaria's mascot, and Albert witnessed a hundred beautiful women gliding towards the pitch amidst the pouring rain.
"They're so gorgeous," Nia exclaimed in awe.
"Those are veela," Albert replied.
As the music started, Albert closed his eyes, not wanting to be entranced by the veela and end up doing something embarrassing in front of his sister.
In Albert's opinion, the allure of the veela's dance might be even harder to resist than the Imperius Curse, and he certainly didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of his sister.
"Why are you closing your eyes?" Nia asked, puzzled.
However, she soon realized why, as there was someone in the box who was acting strangely.
Draco Malfoy, the son of the Malfoy family whom she despised, seemed to be under a spell as he jumped onto a chair and struck an incredibly embarrassing and shocking pose, while his parents tried in vain to pull him down.
Not just Draco, but every man in the entire stadium was acting peculiarly under the veela's influence.
"The veela's dance makes men forget everything and fall under their spell," Albert explained with his eyes closed, "So it's a good idea to look away."
Of course, Hermione had no idea what veela were, so she could only stare in bewilderment at the bizarre behavior of the men around her.
"Harry, Ron, what are you doing?" Hermione was trying to stop her friends from making fools of themselves, but to no avail.
Similar scenes were playing out like an epidemic across the entire stadium.
When the music ended, the stadium erupted in angry roars. The men didn't want the veela to leave, and many supporters of the US team even threw away their US-themed items and switched their allegiance to Bulgaria.
Albert opened his eyes after the music stopped and glanced at the extremely embarrassed Draco Malfoy in the front row, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he whispered, "This is turning into a massive social disaster!"
In the box, only Draco Malfoy had fallen under the veela's spell, and his mortifying display was witnessed by all the important figures present.
Draco seemed to realize what he had just done, and his cheeks turned crimson as he shrunk back into his parents' embrace, not daring to show his face again for fear of attracting further attention.
(End of Chapter)
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