"The world doesn't pity honorable losers, Wade. If you need to stop at nothing to win, then do it."
Antoine said this.
Wade barely managed to hold back from saying—
"Fifty years ago, Grindelwald chose to bear infamy, and he still didn't win. If he had just raised his moral bottom line a little, perhaps he wouldn't have made enemies of the whole world?"
Some of the Alliance's ideas were deeply ingrained. Even for a "new generation" like Antoine, while he seemed to be changing on the surface, his underlying logic was still the same as before.
Wade didn't argue, appearing thoughtful as if he agreed with Antoine's statement. Antoine seemed pleased, then brought up the real reason he had stopped Wade.
"These are the files for the other magic schools participating in the competition."
Antoine pulled out a thick stack of documents and patted them.
"Their preferred types of Magic, their standout students from the past two years, and their working styles are all in here. You can take your time looking through them when you get back… Isn't there an old Chinese saying? 'Know yourself, know your enemy, and you will not be defeated.'"
Wade's heart skipped a beat. He asked, "Are there magic schools from China participating this time too?"
"No," Antoine said. "The Wizards there are very mysterious. They basically have family-based inheritances, and I hear their connection with the Muggle government is even closer than ours."
Wade didn't ask any more questions. He collected the files and said, "I should go, otherwise Harry and the others will probably think I was teleported away by a toilet."
"See you around." Antoine raised his voice from behind him, reminding him, "Oh, and when you see me back at Hogwarts, remember not to reveal my identity!"
"Don't worry, I won't cause trouble for myself." Wade waved his hand, pushed aside the curtain, and exited the tent.
...
Evening quickly arrived, and the air in the camp grew restless. By the time it was completely dark, the sounds of Apparition echoed from all directions.
Wade bought a panoramic telescope from a street vendor, and Harry enthusiastically explained how to use it: "It can replay footage… and switch to slow motion, and even analyze the game! It's practically more professional than the commentators on TV!"
After they checked their tickets, they walked up a narrow staircase all the way to the top floor. Following the corridor into their private box, they finally saw the view on the other side.
It was a massive oval stadium. The stands rose in tiers, with dense rows of seats at the bottom and individual private boxes on the middle and upper levels.
Sirius's box had an excellent location. When the game officially began, the athletes practically zoomed past them, and they could even see the ball being hit with the naked eye.
There were at least twenty seats in this box. Even after Wade and the others all came in, they only occupied a small portion. But clearly, Sirius would rather they all remain empty than invite others to share.
"But if you have good friends from school, feel free to invite them over," Sirius said casually, stretching his legs out in his seat. "There are plenty of seats anyway."
Wade asked Harry, "You didn't invite Ron and Hermione?"
The other members of the SSC—Michael, Neville, Theo, and the others—their families all had ways to get tickets, and even if the seats were slightly worse, there was no need for them to freeload in the Black Family's box.
Harry was leaning over the railing, looking up at the changing text on the scoreboard. Hearing Wade's question, he turned and said,
"Ron said his dad could get tickets, and Hermione went traveling with her parents and won't be back in Britain until tomorrow!"
Wade nodded, shifting his gaze, feeling a pang of emotion.
In the original story, these three were inseparable, like conjoined twins. But now, Harry had Sirius as a godfather to rely on, and after a few years of school, the Savior's aura still shone brightly, but the trio wasn't as close as they were in the plot.
Wade remembered that Mr. Weasley could only manage to get a few tickets for the final. Ron might not want to come to the game now, but out of some sense of pride or perhaps inferiority, he hadn't accepted Harry's invitation.
And Sirius hadn't invited the Weasley family either.
When he entered school, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had already graduated from Hogwarts. During the First Wizarding War, the Weasleys hadn't joined the Order of the Phoenix; they were neither comrades nor classmates.
Although both sides were now in the Order of the Phoenix, which Dumbledore had re-established, and Sirius and Molly Weasley were still related as in-laws (cousins), Wade observed that while their relationship was friendly, there wasn't a deep bond between them.
Voldemort hadn't yet been resurrected, and the Alliance's activities were outside of Britain. The Order of the Phoenix naturally lacked that tense, precarious atmosphere, and there was less of the intimate camaraderie of life-and-death companions among its members.
After a few activities last semester, the organization had once again fallen silent, as it currently had no objective.
Wade was comparing the original plot to the current situation, lost in thought, when he suddenly heard a thunderous voice announce:
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome! Welcome everyone to the 422nd Quidditch World Cup Semi-Finals—Ireland versus Peru!"
A deafening cheer erupted from the stands. Supporters of both teams vigorously waved their flags; one side was decorated in grassland green, the other in red and white, making the stands look like undulating waves.
The commentator and host was Ludo Bagman. He enthusiastically introduced both teams and their mascots.
Ireland's Leprechauns flew everywhere, forming neat formations, first transforming into a giant Shamrock, then into shapes like the Golden Snitch, a trophy, and a harp.
The Peruvian team's mascot was incredibly impressive: a beautiful woman riding a giant Griffin flew over the stadium, followed by several Andean Condors, sprinkling trails of golden-red light wherever they flew.
Amidst screams, the players from both teams also made their appearance. They flew incredibly fast, making it impossible to see them clearly without a panoramic telescope to accurately pinpoint the players.
"I knew it,"
Wade muttered silently. After watching the game for a while, he aimed his lens at the boxes in the stands.
The Ministry of Magic had arranged top-level boxes for the magic schools that had traveled so far to watch the match. Wade just casually scanned the area and immediately spotted the Beauxbatons students.
The silver-haired girl must be Fleur Delacour, the champion from the original story; her beauty was truly striking.
Then Wade's gaze shifted to another box. Inside, there was a magnificent Cheetah crouched, wearing glasses, and next to it was a rat with a scarf. The scene was quite peculiar.
"Uagadou," Wade thought to himself.
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