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Chapter 844: An Exciting Match
Chapter 844: An Exciting Match
After the entrance of both teams' mascots, it was time for the Quidditch players to take the field.
Ludo Bagman was shouting out the name of each player at the top of his lungs, and when Viktor Krum entered the arena, the atmosphere truly ignited. Countless spectators cheered for Krum.
"Is that Viktor Krum?" Albert asked with great interest as he observed the young Seeker hovering on his broomstick through the Omnioculars. He had thick eyebrows, large eyes, a hooked nose, and yellowish skin. He was tall and thin, not particularly handsome, and definitely not a pretty boy.
With a sharp blast of the referee's whistle, the match officially began.
Both teams' Nimbus brooms were incredibly fast, and the Bludgers were swiftly passed between the Beaters from the start. Even Albert had to admit that compared to this thrilling match, the Quidditch games at Hogwarts seemed like child's play.
However, rather than focusing solely on the exciting game, Albert was more intrigued by the Omnioculars in his hand. He discovered that by turning the slow-motion knob on the right, he could slow down the action within his field of view—it was like magic! As far as Albert could remember, there was no spell in his magical repertoire that could achieve this effect.
Even more fascinating was the fact that by pressing the match analysis button on top and pointing the Omnioculars at the Chasers during their attacks, purple text like "Eagle Formation Offense" would appear. For a moment, even Albert was baffled by the principle behind this feature.
Yet, despite possessing such advanced technology, the wizarding world seemed exceptionally backward in certain aspects, especially when it came to communication devices like the ones showcased at the International Alchemy Conference.
If he hadn't witnessed it himself, Albert would never have imagined that witches and wizards lacked the means of instant communication and still relied on owls for sending messages.
Truly, this was the world of fiction.
Perhaps trying to explain magic with logic was a foolish endeavor.
Albert put down the Omnioculars and glanced at Nia beside him. The girl was holding the Omnioculars with both hands, intently focusing on the game. Unlike other spectators who shouted and yelled, Nia's excitement was evident, and the novel rules of Quidditch provided her with a unique visual experience.
Right from the start, the match was intense, with both teams keeping the score close. However, any wizard familiar with Quidditch could see that the Bulgarian team was being slightly suppressed by the American side.
It wasn't until twenty minutes into the game that Bulgaria finally scored their first goal, and the Veela celebrated with a dance.
As the music for the dance started, Albert felt his mind go blank, filled with an extreme sense of joy, somewhat similar to the sensation of being under the Imperius Curse. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and immediately freed himself from that feeling.
Of course, it might have had something to do with the Veela stopping their dance.
Thankfully, he hadn't done anything embarrassing.
Albert breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed some popcorn to munch on, disguising his emotions.
"I don't get it," Albert thought. "Holding those binoculars for so long, don't your hands get sore?"
The game had been going on for over half an hour, and Bulgaria was consistently trailing in points, currently at 50 to 20 in the Americans' favor.
In fact, Albert was more curious about how a match like this could last for three months. Even lasting two days seemed unimaginable.
Perhaps they would take breaks and continue the next evening? Albert chalked it up to yet another instance of the magical world being filled with nonsensical things.
Aside from their Seeker, the Bulgarian team's players were rather mediocre. It was safe to say that their entry into the finals was largely due to the prowess of Viktor Krum.
The American Seeker, Janie, was clearly no match for Krum. This was the third time she had been led astray by him. When Krum accelerated and dived, everyone thought he had spotted the Snitch, but it was just a tactic to distract his opponent.
Janie was lucky to have caught herself in time, preventing a face-first crash into the ground. It was only when she saw Krum ascending that she realized she had almost fallen for his ruse.
That was Krum's signature "Lansky Feint."
Thus, Janie stopped focusing on Krum and instead concentrated on spotting the Snitch herself.
"I think the American team is going to win," Nia said, lowering her binoculars and rubbing her wrists. Her hands had been sore from holding the binoculars for so long.
"It's best not to jump to conclusions about the outcome until the Snitch is caught or a significant point gap is established," Albert replied.
"Is that so?" Nia asked.
"Yes," Albert said gently. "What do you think of the Quidditch World Cup so far?"
"It's fascinating and thrilling!" Nia exclaimed excitedly. "But do you think the Bulgarian team can make a comeback? The score gap is already 70 points, and it's only going to get wider, isn't it?"
"A 70-point gap is the same as a 140-point gap; only when the gap reaches 160 points can we say a team has truly won," Albert explained. "Because catching the Snitch earns you 150 points all at once. If Krum catches the Snitch before that, he can easily turn the tables."
As Bulgaria's opponent, the American team had undoubtedly studied their weaknesses and knew that by restricting Krum and widening the point gap, even if Krum did catch the Snitch, Bulgaria would still lose the match.
So, the Americans focused their strategy on Krum, preventing him from concentrating on searching for the Snitch. However, this tactic wasn't easy to execute.
Just then, another cheer erupted from the crowd as the American team scored again, gradually pressing down on Bulgaria. Their strategy seemed to be working... until the referee blew the whistle to pause the game, and things started to get a little dirty.
Although the Beaters weren't physically attacking each other with their bats, the referee was blowing the whistle more frequently.
"Is the Bulgarian team doing that on purpose?" Nia asked, puzzled by the sudden pause in the game.
"The Bulgarian team is trying to break free from the Americans' suppression by committing strategic fouls," answered Isabelle, who had been silent until now. "Disrupting their opponents' rhythm and ensuring Krum can break free from their suppression is key to Bulgaria's victory."
"The Bulgarian team usually wins by having their Seeker catch the Snitch, and their other players are just average," Albert said, understanding their strategy. "So, they have to resort to these tactics, especially in this situation."
"As long as they're not disqualified, certain actions are acceptable to win the game, and the victor shouldn't be blamed," Isabelle continued. "I remember someone at school once grabbing another student's broom from behind during a match."
As Albert spoke, he couldn't help but glance at someone. The perpetrator of such an act was right in front of them.
"Look, Krum's about to catch the Golden Snitch!" Katrina shouted, alerting the three guys who were chatting casually.
The spectators cheered for their respective Seekers, with waves of red and green rippling through the stadium, and countless eyes fixed on the two figures diving downward.
Viktor Krum of the Bulgarian team was in hot pursuit of Janie from the American team, accelerating in a dive like an athlete jumping out of a plane without a parachute.
"They're going to crash into the ground!" Nia screamed in terror.
At the last moment, Janie slowed down. With the Golden Snitch so close to the ground, she wasn't confident she could catch it in such a steep dive and ensure she didn't face-plant into the earth.
However, her companion in the dive, Krum, showed no signs of slowing down and soon overtook Janie.
There was a loud bang as Krum crashed heavily into the ground.
Everyone thought Krum would pull up his broom at the last moment, but what unfolded before their eyes was beyond their imagination.
Could Krum's Lansky Feint have failed?
"Is he dead?" Nia cried out, turning away and burying her face in Albert's arms.
"Don't worry, he's probably not dead. Wizards are quite resilient," Albert whispered soothingly to Nia. In fact, this was something he had always wanted to point out. Falling from such a height and crashing into the ground without breaking his neck, only managing to twist his nose—it was truly unbelievable.
Perhaps the athletes' protective gear had been enchanted with cushioning charms to lessen the impact, otherwise, he really couldn't explain how Krum had only broken his nose. He certainly didn't believe that a hooked nose had any special effect in absorbing the shock of the fall.
With the help of the medics, Krum soon regained consciousness. The genius Seeker, admired by countless fans, struggled to raise his right hand, and the audience quickly noticed his action, spotting the glint of gold between his fingers.
"My God, Krum has caught the Golden Snitch, he's caught it!" Bagman shouted, "Bulgaria wins!"
The final score flashed on the scoreboard: USA: 90, Bulgaria: 170.
The atmosphere in the stadium suddenly stalled, the voices of the spectators growing louder until they erupted in joyous cheers.
Following the tradition, the Bulgarian team rode their brooms around the stadium for a victory lap, but it was clear to everyone that Krum was not in the best condition.
After the match, Albert didn't rush to leave. Instead, he and Nia stayed in their seats, munching on popcorn and chatting about what had just happened.
"Aren't you going?" Rumiana asked, seeing Albert and his group still sitting there eating.
"No rush, let the others go first," Albert replied. He didn't want to squeeze down the stairs with the rest of the crowd, especially since there were quite a few passionate fans who had lost money and were in a heated state. Who knew what they might do?
"Then we'll be off first!" Rumiana said as she left with her grandfather.
"Why did Krum crash into the ground like that?"
Katrina was curious about this, but she didn't know much about Quidditch, and Albert, a former Seeker himself, was in a better position to comment.
"Probably because the Golden Snitch was too close to the ground, and he only had that one chance, so he didn't slow down," Albert speculated.
"Doesn't that guy Krum care about breaking his own neck?" Nia muttered softly. "Quidditch is so dangerous. Ordinary people would definitely be killed if they fell from that height."
"Indeed, I'm also curious as to why Krum didn't break his neck. There must be some sort of protection in place," Albert mused.
"Don't you know?" Katrina asked in confusion. "I remember you used to be a Seeker too!"
"Used to be?" Nia asked curiously, blinking. "Why did you give it up?"
"Well, Quidditch training was too much of a hassle, and I had a ton of other things to do every day. Plus, Gryffindor already had a pretty good Seeker, so I just gave it up," Albert shrugged, indicating that they could leave now.
As they made their way down the stairs, they encountered several dejected American team fans who were still reeling from the loss. However, what surprised Albert the most was that quite a few American fans blamed the Veela from Bulgaria for their team's defeat, and this had even led to some unpleasant verbal clashes.
"When fans get heated, they can do all sorts of crazy things," Albert said as he pulled Nia away from the commotion, which was already being dealt with by Ministry of Magic staff.
"I thought they'd be more rational," Katrina muttered.
"They're just letting off steam after being suppressed in the American wizarding world. They've just lost a lot of money, so they're bound to be frustrated," Albert replied, shrugging. It wasn't hard to guess the reason behind the conflict.
Rationality had never been a strong suit of Americans.
The saying about gun violence happening every other day in the land of the free was no joke.
Albert had no doubt that every few days, there would be a wizard locked up in the Ministry of Magic's prison.
An hour later, as the four of them returned to their campsite, Albert said, "Four cups of hot chocolate." He then plopped down into a chair.
If it weren't for Nia, they probably would have just Apparated back directly.
The campsite was incredibly noisy, with the tents providing no sound insulation whatsoever. Celebrations for Bulgaria's victory echoed all around them.
"It seems some people aren't planning on sleeping tonight!" Katrina commented on the noise outside. "Poor Katherine must be so disappointed. The American team actually had a good chance of winning if their Seeker had been braver."
"It was the right decision for her to pull up. It wouldn't have been worth it if she'd broken her neck," Albert said. He didn't think Janie's decision to slow down was a problem. Krum's move had been very risky, and if his luck had been worse, he might have died from the fall.
The house-elf returned with four cups of hot chocolate, each with a generous amount of milk.
"After you finish drinking, go back and rest. If anyone can't sleep, I have potions that can ensure a good night's sleep," Albert said.
"Never mind, we don't need that kind of stuff," Katrina replied after taking a sip of her hot chocolate. She then returned to her room.
"Thank you, I had a wonderful time today," Nia said, giving Albert a hug before taking her cup of hot chocolate back to her room.
"Let's go back to our room too," Albert said to Isabelle.
"I remember you mentioned that something would happen at the World Cup. Is that still going to happen?" Isabelle asked suddenly.
"Yes, there will probably be some trouble caused by Death Eaters after the match. But we'll leave immediately after the final, so we should be able to avoid any potential danger," Albert replied. He already had a plan in place to deal with the situation.
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival (End of Chapter)
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