days at Hogwarts

Chapter 423 Quidditch Begins

The air was cold and the moon was still high in the sky.

Molly and Arthur were walking in the middle, with George and Fred on the right, Harry on the left, and Ron, who was holding his sister who could barely keep her eyes open. Loren and Hermione were walking on the far side, shoulder to shoulder. They bumped shoulders with each other and walked with difficulty along the dark and damp path towards the village.

Molly's small complaints mixed with the rustling footsteps, breaking the silence.

"Oh, why are you dragging me with you? I clearly told you to stay at home." Molly grumbled, "One more person will get one more ticket. How many galleons will it cost?" , if I use it to buy wool, I can give each of you one more sweater this Christmas...even if it is replaced by bread and spices, really..."

Fred's head was already in a daze because he woke up early. He suddenly felt even more dizzy when he heard his mother's constant chanting: "Stop mum, Bill got the tickets from Gringotts, half price."

Molly glared at him: "Half price is enough to knit you an extra sweater."

The Weasley children were silent, finding their mother disappointing and annoying at times like this.

Loren and Hermione looked at each other and laughed in unison.

Today was the day when the Quidditch World Cup final was held. They were woken up by Mrs. Weasley before dawn. After breakfast, they were on their way to the game. Mrs. Weasley, who was supposed to stay at home, was also forcibly Drag out of the Burrow.

"Don't they apparate?" Molly adjusted her baseball jacket and twisted her waist awkwardly. The tight jeans underneath her body made her uncomfortable, "so they can take a nap."

Although she complained that some people were ignorant, the smile that had been hanging on Mrs. Weasley's cheeks since she left the house betrayed her joy.

"Of course, dear, Muggles like to dress like this." Arthur looked a little proud. He raised his head and spread his arms, turned around and asked, "Harry, Loren, Hermione, I look like a Muggle to me." Bar?"

"Oh, good question..." Arthur raised his head and looked at the village of Ottery St. Catchpole in front of him. The villagers inside were still in a deep sleep. "Some places can really avoid Muggles. But imagine, how could we possibly cram a hundred thousand wizards into Diagon Alley or Platform Nine and Three Quarters?"

"No, no, no, that's too far. We only need to walk a short distance." Arthur explained, "It is very difficult to gather a large number of wizards together without attracting Muggle attention, especially in Quebec. It is such a grand occasion as the Digi World Cup, so the Ministry of Magic has to be very careful...choose the most suitable location and the time that is least likely to attract Muggle attention."

Loren looked up at Mr. Weasley, not expecting such a secret.

He thought for a while and suddenly asked: "Isn't it a place like Diagon Alley that Muggles can't enter?"

"Very good, 100% Muggle." Harry said with a smile. He looked at the village in front of him and asked, "Should we walk to the Quidditch World Cup?"

"Because you are not old enough and haven't passed the exam yet..." Molly couldn't help but adjust the thin cowhide belt on her trousers. She couldn't help but look at Arthur, who was also dressed up, and asked, "It really looks like hemp." Why are they dressed like this?"

Breathing the moist mist, they walked through the village path and walked towards the Stoat Mountain on the other side of the village. Everyone who was originally sleepy and confused gradually woke up.

Arthur sighed: "As you know, Muggles have expanded their footprints very quickly. In recent years, even the primeval forests where unicorns live and the islands where giants hide have been nearly discovered. Unexpected, it seems to be because of satellites or something... Maybe in a few years, the Quidditch World Cup will not be held. We can no longer hide a hundred thousand wizards and a group of players flying in the sky without Discovered by Muggles."

"So they are still sleeping soundly?" Fred asked angrily, "Why can't we also Apparate?"

Molly pulled her into her arms and rubbed her head distressedly.

Harry looked at Arthur again and asked curiously: "So how can everyone get there without attracting Muggle attention?"

"Yes, Mr. Weasley!" Loren replied seriously, "You look like a 100% Muggle!"

Arthur was extremely satisfied with the two people's reactions: "Harry, what do you think?"

George shook his head and listened to his mother's nagging. His sleepiness gradually dissipated. He looked around and asked with some confusion: "Why don't you see Bill, Charlie and Percy?"

Ginny rubbed her sleepy eyes: "Is this why we got up so early and rushed on our way?"

"It's really difficult to organize. The main problem is that there are about a hundred thousand wizards coming to watch the World Cup, and the Ministry of Magic can't find a magical venue that can accommodate so many people without being noticed by Muggles."

Hermione was holding back her laughter.

Hermione looked at Arthur with the same curiosity.

Arthur spoke unhurriedly about the Ministry of Magic's preparations for the Quidditch World Cup: "So we had to find an uninhabited swamp and take all measures to prevent Muggles. The entire Ministry was busy with this matter for several days. moon."

"First of all, we must stagger everyone's arrival time. People with cheap tickets have to arrive two weeks in advance. Some people use Muggle transportation, but only part of it. We can't let too many people fill up Muggle transportation. Buses and trains.”

"There are wizards coming from all over the world, and some people use Apparition, so we have to provide some safe places for them to Apparate, away from all Muggles. I heard that the golf course is located next to a forest and can be used for Apparition. A place to stay.”

Arthur spread his hands: "For those who are unwilling or unable to apparate, we use portkeys."

"Portkey?" Harry repeated.

"You know the portkey, right? The function of this thing is to transport wizards from one place to another within a specified time. If necessary, a large number of people can be transported."

Arthur pointed to the vaguely visible Stoat Mountain shrouded in the morning mist not far away: "The Traffic Management Department of the Ministry of Magic has placed two hundred door keys across the UK. The one closest to us is on the top of Stoat Mountain. We’re going there now.”

"What kind of portkey?" Harry asked curiously.

"Ah, there are all kinds of things." Arthur was very talkative. "Of course, most of them are inconspicuous things, so that Muggles won't pick them up and play with them. They will think that this is It was thrown away carelessly by others..."

Listening to Arthur's ramble, it was already half an hour after the group arrived at the foot of the mountain. The cold mountain wind blew down from the slope, as if it would freeze their hands and feet.

"Hey, Arthur, here! Come here!" A rough voice suddenly sounded, cutting through the quiet night sky. A middle-aged wizard stood under the tree and waved to them. .

"Hey, Amos!"

Arthur smiled and strode up, and the others followed silently behind him.

The middle-aged wizard had a warm smile on his red face. When he shook hands with Arthur, his short brown beard trembled, and he looked a little happy: "You made me wait so long!"

"Sorry Amos, our little cat likes to stay in bed!"

Ron yawned and said listlessly to the people around him: "He's talking about Crookshanks, right?"

George laughed out loud: "It could also be Kitten Ronnie." Arthur shook hands and introduced enthusiastically: "This is Amos Diggory. My colleague, he works in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures .”

Before he finished speaking, an agile figure jumped down from the tree and stood firmly next to Amos Diggory.

"This tall young guy must be Cedric, right?" Arthur smiled.

"Yes, sir." Cedric smiled at Loren and the others behind him, "Hey, hello."

"Hello!" George and Fred winked at him.

Harry nodded awkwardly.

Loren looked at Cedric meaningfully... My friend, your hall is dark and you are in danger of bloodshed.

Amos Diggory looked at the large group of little wizards kindly, then turned to look at Arthur: "Are these your children?"

"Oh, no, the one with red hair is the one." Arthur couldn't help laughing, "This is Hermione, this is Loren, and this is Harry. They are all friends of Ron."

"Harry?" Amos Diggory suddenly opened his eyes, looked at Arthur, and then at Harry, his eyes resting on the lightning-shaped scar, "Oh my god, you mean ha?" Leigh, Harry Potter?”

Harry was used to such looks and smiled flatly at him: "Well, yes."

"Oh, Thad talked about you. He told us about last year when he played against you, and I was like, Hey, Thad, this is something you can tell your grandkids about when you're old... ..." Amos Diggory paused and lowered his voice deliberately, "You defeated Harry Potter!"

"Harry fell off the broom because of the Dementors..." Cedric's expression was very helpless, "Dad, I told you, it was an accident. Later we had a rematch, and Harry was the last one." winner."

"Yeah, but you didn't fall off, did you?" Amos Diggory shook his head, "Our Ced is always so humble and gentlemanly... I'm sure Harry will too That's what you say, right? One guy falls off the broom and the other one stays on top, and you don't need a genius to tell who's the better player!"

Harry didn't know how to answer, so he could only force out a smile at him, and Cedric gave him an apologetic look.

Molly couldn't stand it anymore, so she stretched out her hands to pull Harry and the other little wizards into her arms, and walked up the mountain: "Arthur, let's go up the mountain first. You guys can talk slowly behind..."

George and Fred put their hands on Cedric's shoulders and dragged him away, leaving the two middle-aged men alone.

"Oh, oh, okay." Arthur watched them go away in confusion.

Amos Diggory also found it strange, but thought nothing of it.

Molly whispered in the ears of several people: "I know he is very proud to have an excellent son, and I can understand it, but it is really rude for him to use Harry as a cushion to praise others..."

Harry felt warm in his heart and whispered shyly: "It's nothing..."

"But I feel uncomfortable." Molly said bluntly.

Hermione glanced at Ginny, who was next to Harry, with the same sly smile in her eyes.

Amos Diggory and Arthur walked behind, and the sound of chatting could be heard faintly. They realized belatedly that Cedric's father might be a chatterbox.

"Was it a long way, Arthur?"

"Fortunately, we live on the other side of the village. What about you?"

"Don't mention it, Ced and I got up at two o'clock. It would be okay if I was alone. To be honest, I really hope that he passes the Apparition test early."

"Yes...really?" Arthur scratched his head. Hasn't his son not graduated yet?
"But there's nothing to complain about. You can't miss the Quidditch World Cup, even if you have to pay a bag of Galleons - in fact, it did cost so much to buy the tickets. But I finally managed it, it's not too much. Disaster……"

From time to time, his feet would stumble into hidden rabbit holes, or slip on dark, sticky grass blades. Dragging his sleep-deprived body up, Amos Diggory's voice gradually became quieter, very I almost ran out of breath to speak.

The sky gradually became brighter, and the originally dark sky gradually became brighter. A faint gray-green appeared in the clouds on the top of the mountain, indicating that dawn was gradually approaching.

The group finally climbed to the top of the mountain and stepped on flat ground.

"Yo..." Arthur said breathlessly, "Yes, we arrived on time...there are still...ten minutes..."

Amos Diggory put a hand on his chest, feeling a stinging pain in his chest every time he took a breath: "Huh... go back... I must... make suggestions to the Department of Traffic Management... Next time, let They put the door key at the foot of the mountain..."

The others kept nodding in agreement.

Arthur squinted his eyes and looked around: "Now we just need to find the door key, it won't be big... look for it quickly..."

Loren raised his eyelids, and the corners of his eyes twitched a few times. The thing was emitting a bright magical light, and he couldn't help but see it.

He pointed to the moldy old boots on the mound not far away and asked, "Mr. Weasley, is that that?"

Amos Diggory hurried over: "Oh, of course, yes, yes..."

"Children, come here quickly!" Arthur greeted, "As long as you touch the door key, that's it, just hold out a finger..."

Others gathered around, forming a circle on the windswept mountaintop, their index fingers pressed against the top of their old boots.

Amos Diggory shouted excitedly: "Get ready! Three...two...one!"

"Ahhh-"

There seemed to be a hook behind the navel that suddenly hooked forward with unstoppable momentum. They were carried by the hook and flew forward involuntarily. A gust of wind flew forward rapidly. They could not see anything clearly in front of them. Their index fingers were tightly attached to the hook. It's like there's a strong magnetic force on the boots.

There was a strong feeling of weightlessness, and they fell involuntarily. After an unknown period of time, they staggered and fell onto a piece of soft ground.

"Five and seven, from Stoat Mountain," said a cold voice.

(End of this chapter)