The game hadn't started yet, but a massive Streaming Mirror was set up in the stadium. After playing several commercials, it began to continuously display highlights from the preliminary and semi-final matches.
Cheers erupted intermittently from the stands as people applauded and rooted for their favorite players.
As Harry and his friends discussed the athletes' performances, an argument was unfolding in the corridor behind the top-floor box seats.
"Master Barty, Master Barty, what are you doing?"
A brown-eyed House-elf tugged at the wizard's robes in front of it, urgently saying, "Master has been looking for you. Why won't you go home?"
"Home?" Barty Crouch Jr. said resentfully. "Go back for what? So he can keep me under house arrest for the rest of my life? Or send me back to Azkaban again?"
"Don't, don't say that, Master wouldn't do that to you." The House-elf pulled at him, saying, "Come back with Winky, Master Barty! Master loves you, he's your father!"
"I don't need a father like him! Get lost, Winky!" Barty said furiously. "Don't interfere with what I'm doing!"
He kicked the elf away and prepared to leave. After only two steps, his waist suddenly tightened, as if a rope had been tied around it.
"Winky!" Barty roared, turning around in a fit of rage.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Master Barty." Winky cried. "Master Barty is a bad boy, Winky can't let you just leave like this! Winky has to take Master Barty home! Otherwise, Master will be in trouble!"
The House-elf sobbed, crying heartbrokenly, large tears streaming down its face. Its small body swayed continuously, as if it were about to collapse.
But it persistently held out a hand, firmly gripping Barty Crouch Jr., preventing him from leaving. Even Barty's Wand flew into its hand.
Barty roared, struggled, and bellowed like a beast, but he couldn't break free from Winky's control. He was dragged downstairs by the elf.
The immense roar from within the stadium completely drowned out his voice, and no one noticed his twisting, struggling form.
"Wait, wait, Winky!"
After being involuntarily pulled down two flights of stairs, Barty finally stopped trying to break free. He tried to calm himself down and said, compromising, "Alright, I get it, I'll go back with you! Stop pulling!"
By the end, Barty finally shouted in exasperation.
Winky turned around, looked at Barty, and asked, both touched and suspicious, "Really? Master Barty is willing to go home?"
"I can go back with you, but on one condition… no, a request." Barty took a deep breath and said, "Can I watch this match first?"
Winky bit its lip, looking at him pitifully, hesitating.
"You know, Winky, if I go back, my father will definitely keep me under lifelong house arrest… so just this once! Let me watch the Quidditch World Cup final!"
Barty lowered his head and said, "You know how much I love Quidditch… If my mother were still alive, she definitely wouldn't make me live like this. She would give me everything I wanted!"
Winky wavered. It thought for a while and said, "Then… after the match, you'll go home with Winky?"
"Okay, I promise you." Barty whispered, "But how do I get there? I don't have a ticket… and I can't appear in front of others."
Winky quickly came up with a solution: "Master's Invisibility Cloak is still in his tent, and there's a seat reserved for Master in the top-floor box…"
"But he might not have time to go, you can take me there to watch the match," Barty continued.
"Okay… alright." Winky bit its finger, suppressing the unease in its heart, and treated this as a command from its young master.
Barty looked at Winky, a slight curve forming at the corner of his mouth, and said, "Thank you, Winky. I know you're the one who cares about me the most at home."
Winky used Accio to summon the Invisibility Cloak from the tent. Then, mustering its courage, it pushed open the door to the top-floor box, taking Barty, who was now draped in the Invisibility Cloak.
As soon as the scene outside came into view, Winky gasped and covered its eyes. The invisible rope around Barty loosened and disappeared.
The next second, Winky recovered and used its House-elf magic to bind Barty again. This time, however, Barty wasn't in a hurry to gain his freedom. Instead, he quickly scanned the box, then frowned deeply.
There were quite a few people in the box: Ministry of Magic Minister Fudge, some officials, the Malfoy family, and a few red-haired Weasley.
Killing intent flared in Barty's eyes. Most of the people in this box made him want to cast the Killing Curse.
But he couldn't; they weren't his targets.
Lucius Malfoy suddenly felt a chill down the back of his neck. He turned around and saw the House-elf that had just entered.
"What, even these things have tickets?" Malfoy said with displeasure.
"My name is Winky, sir," Winky said timidly, covering its eyes with one hand. "My master is Mr. Barty Crouch, and Master… Master sent me to the top-floor box to reserve a seat for him."
Draco Malfoy also turned to look at the ugly elf. Remembering Dobby, who had escaped from his home, he let out a displeased "tsk" and arrogantly asked, "Why are you covering your eyes?"
"Winky has a fear of heights…" Winky said fearfully, finding an empty seat in the back row and shrinking into it.
For some reason, five or six seats in this box were empty, so Barty also sat down next to Winky.
He looked ahead and saw two officials whispering to each other. One of them casually placed his binoculars next to his seat. Barty reached out and quietly stole the binoculars, hiding them under his Invisibility Cloak.
Winky, covering its eyes due to its fear of heights, didn't even notice the theft.
Barty held the binoculars, adjusted the focus, and scanned the other boxes.
He had learned from the ticket-taker at the door, using a Soul-Sucking Charm, that Harry Potter was in a top-floor box, but the foolish ticket-taker hadn't paid attention to their box number. Barty could only patiently search through them one by one.
Suddenly, Ludo Bagman rushed into the box and asked, "Minister, can we start?"
"If you say so, Ludo, then start," Fudge said.
Bagman pointed his Wand at his throat and said, "*Sonorus!*"
Immediately, a thunderous voice echoed throughout the entire stadium—
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome… Please allow me to introduce the mascot of the Bulgarian National Team!"
The Bulgarian supporters let out a loud cheer. In the box, Arthur Weasley leaned forward from his seat and exclaimed, "Veela!"
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