The entire residential area of the stadium was built along the coastal hillside. At the top of the slope, the Ministry of Magic had excavated a massive pit to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of spectators who had come from all over the world, and draped the area in enormous curtains to keep it concealed.
Naturally, layers upon layers of magical arrays had been laid over the area. Enchantments covered a hundred-mile radius, rendering even the satellites in the sky unable to detect anything within.
Just after nightfall, the Quidditch match began right on time. Tonight was the final between Bulgaria and Ireland.
Regulus Black led the three girls up into the stands. Ginny had already arranged with her family to watch the match with Hermione.
In truth, that was just an excuse to watch the match with Regulus Black.
As they passed by, they happened to see Lucius Malfoy speaking with Harry. Clearly, Lucius had sensed something during their earlier interaction with the Malfoy family.
Even though he had lost some key memories, from what Regulus had said, Lucius was now quite certain that the Dark Lord would return.
Naturally, he felt no need to be polite toward the so-called Savior, Harry Potter, who had once been responsible for the Dark Lord's downfall.
The Ministry had placed the entrance to the stadium midway up the slope, excavating a tunnel from there straight into the stands. This made it easier for the crowd to move upward or downward. The boxes were, of course, arranged at the middle level.
The Weasley family was steadily making their way up, with the Malfoys right behind them.
"Dad! How much farther do we have to climb?"
They hadn't even started moving yet, and the Weasley twins were already complaining in unison.
After all, the Weasleys had bought the cheapest seats—at the very top. Admittedly, the view from there was still quite good.
Thanks to the three-dimensional nature of Quidditch, that was a blessing. If it were Muggle football, the top seats would be good for nothing but watching ants run around.
"To put it another way—if it starts to rain, you'll definitely be the first to know."
Lucius Malfoy, hearing the twins' complaints, naturally couldn't resist the opportunity to mock them. Just one line was enough to sap the Weasleys' enthusiasm for the climb.
"The Malfoy family has seats in the Minister's box. Minister Cornelius Fudge invited us personally."
Draco Malfoy, as always in sync with his father, added a sharper jab for good measure.
"Stop bragging, Draco. They're not worth it."
Lucius pretended to scold his son for being rude but still took the chance to sneer at the Weasleys.
Mr. Weasley knew exactly what kind of person Lucius Malfoy was, especially since they both worked at the Ministry. The more you argued with him, the more delighted he became.
So, he acted as if he didn't know Lucius and simply kept climbing the stairs.
Being ignored, of course, annoyed Lucius Malfoy greatly. Even though he had been the one to start it, he was still irritated.
Right behind the Weasley family, Harry Potter happened to be passing by. Lucius gave a flick of his wand and pinned down the hem of Harry's robe.
"Enjoy yourself—while you're still alive."
The words sounded almost like concern, but were laced with deep malice. With that, Lucius turned to leave.
"Lucius! How dare you say that to Potter?"
Sirius Black saw his godson being bullied by the Malfoy patriarch and immediately flew into a rage.
Without a second thought, he leapt over the railing from the upper walkway, charging straight at Lucius—impulsive as ever.
"Separation!"
Regulus Black swept his wand in their direction. The magical blast landed perfectly between Sirius and Lucius.
Normally used to open doors or separate objects, the spell now forced the two apart.
Lucius staggered back a step, while Sirius was bounced right back up onto the higher walkway.
"Harry! Take care of your godfather. This is the Quidditch World Cup—if something embarrassing happens, the entire wizarding world will be watching."
Regulus Black made a valid point, forcing Harry to hold Sirius back tightly. Though Sirius didn't mind making a scene—after all, what could be more satisfying than punching Malfoy in the face?
"Lucius! You shouldn't have said that to Harry Potter. He's my brother's godson. The Black family will not tolerate such provocation. If it happens again, I won't intervene."
Regulus Black's stance was entirely fair—he had given both sides a clear warning.
"Alright! For your sake, I'll keep my distance from them."
For Lucius Malfoy, saying something like that was already a roundabout way of apologizing.
With a haughty flick of his platinum-blond hair, Lucius left the scene with his wife and son in tow.
"Sirius! Want to come with me to the private box? Harry too—how about it?"
Regulus Black had booked a large private box, far superior to the regular seats, offering much better service.
"I'm not going to the box with you! That would put me too close to that white-haired guy—it makes my skin crawl. Of course, Harry's staying with me."
Sirius Black pointed toward the retreating Malfoy family, though he clearly didn't dare curse in front of his younger brother, Regulus.
"Don't forget, Narcissa is family too. Technically, we're very closely related to the Malfoys."
After Regulus Black said this, he had no intention of continuing the conversation, but his words made Sirius swallow the complaints he was about to voice. He had always treated the Malfoys as enemies, conveniently forgetting that the two families were actually connected by marriage.
Harry Potter was a bit surprised. For someone like him who hadn't grown up in the wizarding world, the complex web of wizarding family ties was completely foreign. Who married whom, and who was related to whom, was a total mystery.
"Sirius, you're actually related to the Malfoys?"
"Yeah, unfortunately. We are. Can we not talk about it?"
Regulus Black arranged the three little girls in their seats and left Kreacher to look after them, then turned and left the box.
For sports enthusiasts, today was a grand celebration. But for someone like Regulus Black, it was no different from a family banquet or a ball—more of a social opportunity than anything else. To him, the athletes fighting it out on the field were nothing more than pawns in a game. And players never cared how hard their pieces worked; winning or losing was just an outcome.
First up was Team Ireland. Their mascots, the leprechauns, collectively cast a spell, creating glowing orbs that floated up and combined into a giant leprechaun figure in the center of the field. It began dancing an Irish folk dance.
Then came the Bulgarian team, who charged straight through the airborne figure, breaking it apart and angering the leprechauns on the ground.
Leading the Bulgarian team was Viktor Krum. His name, "Viktor," means conqueror or victor in Latin—fitting for a powerhouse player and the world's top Seeker.
He was a student at Durmstrang Institute and the Seeker for the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team.
Most importantly, he would later become one of the champions of the Triwizard Tournament.
Regulus Black watched both teams with great satisfaction—after all, they were using Rocket Crossbows, which were worth a fortune.
Even when selling in bulk to these national teams, Regulus hadn't instructed his staff to offer discounts. Getting a group price below 90% of retail required pulling serious strings.
There was no way anyone would ever get a deal like Sirius had—snagging a Rocket Crossbow for just 6,000 Galleons. That kind of bargain wouldn't come around again.
The Bulgarian team's mascots were Veela. A group of Veela began performing seductive dances by the sidelines, instantly pushing the atmosphere to its peak. Many wizards couldn't control themselves and began swaying to the rhythm—some even started stripping.
Ron Weasley, in particular, nearly jumped off the top tier, only to be dragged back and beaten into sense by his twin brothers.
After the glowing leprechaun figure had been destroyed and the crowd hypnotized by the Veela, the Irish leprechauns were furious. But they still had a secret weapon.
Suddenly, golden coins began raining from the sky. Countless Galleons fell into the stands, pelting the enchanted wizards back to their senses. But now, those who had remained clear-headed were utterly distracted—scrambling to snatch up as many coins as possible.
This time, it was the Weasley twins' turn to go wild. They even took off their shirts to use as bags for stuffing Galleons.
"Oh no! Now they're taking off their pants!"
Watching his twin brothers lose their minds with greed, Ron Weasley couldn't help but grimace. It hurt just watching them!
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