Quidditch World Cup – Final Part
While Lynch, Ireland's Seeker, was being attended by a large group of healer wizards who kept him conscious with all kinds of potions, the match remained on pause.
Harry lifted his gaze toward the sky, where Krum was still flying. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he observed his face. He could tell how the Bulgarian was moving his eyes across the entire field, as if he were using this moment to search for the Golden Snitch. Everything suggested that this had been planned by him in order to prevent Ireland from continuing to score points and, at the same time, buy himself time to catch the Snitch. Truly, a good strategy.
His friends seemed to notice the same thing, judging by their expressions, as if they were all thinking exactly alike. For a brief moment, Harry wondered whether he was projecting his own way of thinking onto the others, turning them into villains just like himself in that kind of analysis. The thought amused him more than it probably should have.
Even so, Lynch got back up after recovering, giving Krum no more time, who failed to find the Snitch to his own misfortune. Still, judging by Tommy's expression as he stared intently behind Krum, it seemed the Bulgarian had not realized just how close it actually was.
After the heavy hit Lynch had taken, Ireland appeared more fired up than ever to win. In barely fifteen minutes, the Irish team managed to score ten more times, reaching a total score of one hundred and twenty to ten.
That caused Bulgaria to start playing far dirtier than before. Even their Keeper elbowed an Irish Chaser who was about to score yet another goal, earning himself an immediate warning.
And a penalty for Ireland.
That sparked a small conflict between the mascots of both teams. In response to the leprechauns' mockery, the veela began to dance once again.
What caught everyone's attention was that Mustafa suddenly approached where they were, flexing his muscles and adjusting his mustache with a completely dazed expression.
Tommy clutched his stomach in laughter, without a doubt having the most fun out of everyone.
"What an idiot," he said without thinking.
He immediately earned a stern look from his mother for the curse that had slipped out, making him shut his mouth at once and pretend nothing had happened.
"Someone please give Mustafa a slap," Bagman shouted, drawing the attention of the mediwizards.
One of them approached and, covering his ears, finally managed to wake the referee.
Mustafa, embarrassed by what had happened, seemed determined to expel the Bulgarian team's mascots. However, that only made things worse, as two Bulgarian Chasers approached and began arguing, angrily pointing at the leprechauns, who were mocking them by forming a twisted laugh in the sky using their own bodies.
That only caused Mustafa to sanction the Chasers with two more penalties, granting Ireland two additional penalty shots.
Bulgaria's rage only grew further. The team began attacking even with their bats, deliberately crashing into the Irish players and committing foul after foul. One penalty after another.
While the leprechauns continued to mock them, the veela formed a massive hand in the sky, making a vulgar gesture that completely enraged their rivals. Their faces shifted and elongated, turning into avian heads with sharp, fearsome beaks. Long, scaly wings burst from their shoulders, and without hesitation, they hurled a fireball toward the leprechauns.
Harry's gaze, tinged with a mockery that bordered on revenge, shifted toward Fleur. She was watching the veela with a frown, until she felt Harry's eyes on her. That irritated her greatly, as if he were deliberately comparing them.
"This reminds me of when we broke grandma's vase," Luciel said with a laugh before turning toward Fleur. "I never asked you this, but… can you transform into that?", he added curiously.
The response was a flurry of punches from his older cousin, which were only stopped by Apolline. Even so, it took her a couple of hits to restrain her. After all, she was more veela than Fleur.
"That's so men don't only think about outer beauty," Hermione said with a smile, glancing toward Draco and Harry for a moment. "But understand that what's inside is what truly matters," she added.
"Well, this time it's actually pretty entertaining, to be honest," Daphne commented, continuing to bring snacks to her mouth without taking her eyes off the absolute chaos unfolding on the field, both on the ground and in the air. Both fronts had turned into a total battlefield.
After a moment, with Krum's face covered in blood from a blow that had most likely broken his nose, Mustafa's broom set on fire by the veela, and the rest of the players seemingly trying to kill each other, Lynch suddenly dove straight toward the ground. Or rather, he deliberately directed his broom downward. This time it was not because of a hit, but because he had spotted the Golden Snitch.
And Krum, even with blood pouring freely from his nose, followed after him as best he could, his face soaked in red and leaving a trail of blood droplets through the air.
"They're going to crash!" Hermione shouted, lightly covering her eyes.
Harry's gaze, however, remained fixed on the Golden Snitch.
Lynch slammed into the ground with a dull impact, even harder than before, and almost immediately the veela surrounded him, beginning to kick him while he lay there.
That made Harry shift his eyes away from the Snitch toward the veela, before his gaze drifted slightly toward Fleur, with the clear sense that it might not be a good idea to keep provoking her too much with his constant teasing.
"He's got it! Krum's got it!" Tommy shouted excitedly. He had not taken his eyes off the Snitch for a single second, and he climbed onto his seat, starting to jump uncontrollably.
Krum, his clothes soaked with the blood running down from his nose, slowly straightened up, raising his arm to display the Snitch in his hand.
At that very instant, the scoreboard changed.
Bulgaria: 160.
Ireland: 170.
An absolute silence fell over the field, as if everyone were trying to process what had just happened. A second later, a deafening roar exploded from the stands, shattering the stunned stillness.
"Ireland has won!" Bagman shouted after snapping out of his daze, just like the rest of the Irish supporters. "Krum caught the Snitch, but Ireland has won!" he repeated for those who still did not understand.
"That was incredible, right?" she said as she leaned slightly forward to watch Krum land, just as a large group of mediwizards rushed over to help heal his nose.
Draco glanced briefly toward Krum before answering.
"He did it so they wouldn't end with an even worse score. If things had continued like that, Ireland would have crushed them. He did not even wait for his team to score one more goal," he commented before looking away.
"I wonder if he'll be left deformed," Daphne said after watching for a moment longer, before shifting her gaze toward the Irish team, who were dancing in celebration while the leprechauns showered them with gold like confetti.
Fudge quickly descended to present the enormous, shining cup, while both teams lined up at his sides. The Bulgarians looked utterly defeated, in stark contrast to the Irish players, who were overflowing with joy.
…
As the event came to an end and the crowd slowly began to leave, still buzzing with excitement from the match, Harry and the others also prepared to descend from the stands. That was when Harry noticed the Weasley twins running straight toward Ludo Bagman.
Bagman wore a defeated expression, his sadness poorly hidden behind a forced smile.
Harry ignored him completely. That man did not give him a good impression at all. With just a quick glance, without even trying to enter his mind, he could tell that Bagman was burdened with far too many problems.
In the end, everyone moved through the crowd toward their tents. The match was over, leaving a powerful sense of excitement lingering in the air. Later, after a cup of hot chocolate, everyone went to sleep.
Not before a small and interesting incident, however. While Tommy was playing with the gold coins, he accidentally hit Billy in the eye, causing a brief scuffle between the two. The result was that both of them ended up punished by Wanda, in her usual, playful way.
That alone was enough for Harry to decide to go to bed early, fearing he might get caught in the crossfire.