Following the conclusion of the Veela's dance, the entrance of the Irish team's mascots—the Leprechauns—felt somewhat less sensational.
However, they cleverly engaged in scattering gold coins throughout the stadium, drawing cheers and chaotic scrambles from the crowd, matching the Bulgarian team in causing pandemonium.
Ron stared at the glittering Galleons raining onto the floor of the box, his eyes burning with desire. He wanted to bend over and crawl on the ground to pick them up, but he couldn't bring himself to do it out of shame.
Not a single person present moved an inch.
Aside from Hermione, those seated in the front row of the box were all heavyweights: Grindelwald, Dumbledore, Kyle, Alfred, Konan...
Among these individuals, not a single one possessed disposable assets under one hundred thousand Galleons.
Hermione was also a little rich girl; dentistry was a remarkably lucrative profession in the Muggle world, and with both parents being dentists, it was impossible for Hermione to be short on money.
Those seated in the back two rows weren't short on cash either. Even Bill, Charlie, and Percy—who were relatively poorer—now had their own sources of income.
Out of everyone present, Ron was the sole pauper, his pockets cleaner than his face.
He roared continuously in his heart: You aren't short on money, but I am!
Yet in the end, Ron failed to pluck up the courage to go pick up the money. If he were the only person in the entire box doing so, it would be far too humiliating.
He had already nearly lost every shred of his dignity just moments ago; if he lost it again, he truly could be described as: "Physically, he is still alive, but socially, he is already dead."
What Ron didn't know was that the coins scattered by the Leprechauns were actually magical counterfeits—the kind that would disappear once their magic ran out.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, let us give a warm welcome to the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team!"
Perhaps influenced by the fiery atmosphere of the match, Ludo Bagman's voice no longer sounded as lacking in breath as it had at the beginning.
"Allow me to introduce—Dimitrov!"
A figure in red mounted on a broomstick soared into the pitch, and the Bulgarian team's supporters instantly broke into fanatical cheers.
Under Ludo Bagman's introduction, figure after figure flew into the arena in rapid succession.
Finally, it was time for the Bulgarian team's Seeker and star player—Viktor Krum.
"Next up—Krum!"
"It's him! It's him!" Ron shouted with wild excitement, "Harry, look! It's Krum!"
Viktor Krum was dark and thin, with sallow skin, a prominent hooked nose, and thick black eyebrows; he looked like a giant eagle.
Upon seeing this man, Kyle grinned.
He remembered meeting Krum back when he and Konan were watching a performance by the Circus Arcanus in France.
At the time, Kyle had been somewhat curious about the hostility Krum showed toward him, so he sent someone to investigate afterward.
He hadn't expected to discover that—lo and behold—the guy's grandfather had died at the hands of his own old man.
Following the Bulgarian team, the Irish team members began their entry as well.
Accompanied by Ludo Bagman's introduction, seven blurry green figures flew toward the pitch one after another.
Once all the players had taken the field, a short, frail old man dressed in pure gold robes that matched the stadium colors strode out onto the pitch.
The old man was Hassan Mostafa, Supreme Head of the International Confederation of Wizards, who would be serving as the referee for this match.
Without any tedious speeches from leadership, Mostafa mounted his broomstick and immediately released the Quaffle, the Bludgers, and the Golden Snitch into the air.
A sharp whistle echoed across the stadium, marking the start of the match.
After watching for a few minutes, Kyle began to feel that the match was rather bland.
Although the standard of the World Cup was much higher than their Hogwarts Quidditch Cup—with an endless array of brilliant passes, interceptions, offenses, and defenses—in terms of intensity...
Compared to Hogwarts' current matches—which were nominally for the Quidditch Cup but essentially Ace Combat—it was short by more than a long shot.
At the very least, a supersonic Bludger could never appear in the Quidditch World Cup; it couldn't even reach subsonic speeds.
At Hogwarts, a subsonic Bludger was merely the baseline standard.
As the match progressed, the Irish team scored three goals in succession, bringing the score to 30–0.
Not to be outdone, the Bulgarians fought back fiercely and managed to pull back a goal.
"Oh, my goodness!" Bagman said through his amplified, booming voice. "Has Krum spotted the Snitch?"
Under the gaze of the audience, Krum maneuvered his broom into a steep dive. Upon noticing his movement, Lynch, the Irish Seeker, immediately plummeted into a dive alongside him.
"They're going to crash into the ground!" Hermione shrieked as she saw their actions.
Kyle narrowed his eyes slightly. "No, it's a Wronski Feint."
Just as he finished speaking, Krum pulled out of his dive, while Lynch slammed heavily into the ground.
Hitting the earth at such high speed, even with the soft turf below, a loud THUD echoed through the entire stadium.
"Attaboy!" As a die-hard fan of Krum, Ron had completely thrown his previous embarrassment to the wind.
He leaped up from his seat in excitement. "I knew Krum was the absolute best!"
"Look, Harry! Isn't Krum super cool?!"
"Yeah, yeah," Harry replied very perfunctorily, a polite yet awkward smile plastered on his face.
His thoughts were actually quite similar to Kyle's. After experiencing Hogwarts' Ace Combat, the level of physical conflict in the Quidditch World Cup was genuinely unimpressive to him.
Seeing that his best mate's reaction was lacking enthusiasm, Ron couldn't resist tapping the back of Hermione's chair in front of him. "Hermione, what do you think?"
Before Hermione could open her mouth to answer, Kyle's eerie voice drifted over from the front seat: "Personally, I believe our Hufflepuff Magician is the absolute best."
Hearing Kyle's words, Mr. Diggory burst into hearty laughter.
Clearly, he thoroughly enjoyed Kyle's praise of Cedric. However, despite being a doting father, he didn't display excessive arrogance or overconfidence.
He waved his hands repeatedly. "Cedric still falls somewhat short compared to a world-class Seeker."
He said so, but the uncontrollable smile on his face betrayed him completely.
By all appearances, deep inside, he still felt his son was a cut above Krum.
Unlike the laughing Mr. Diggory, the moment Harry heard the moniker "Magician," he instantly felt depressed.
That was because Cedric had earned that title during a match against Gryffindor.
At the time, both teams were at a critical juncture in competing for the Golden Snitch. The Weasley twins had performed beyond expectations, hitting both Kyle's and Hannah's broomsticks with two consecutive Bludgers.
During the window when the two had to replace their brooms and return to the pitch, George and Fred quickly took down two more Hufflepuff players.
With four players down on the pitch and the remaining two constrained, Cedric pulled off a miraculous performance, using his exquisite flying techniques to make the Gryffindor players break into a cold sweat in sheer bewilderment.
In the end, amidst a six-on-one encirclement and pursuit by Gryffindor, Cedric successfully caught the Golden Snitch and brought the match to a close.
After that match, Cedric was bestowed the title of "Magician" by the students of Hogwarts.
Gryffindor had contributed greatly to Cedric earning this title, playing the role of a stepping stone to perfection and ultimately forging Cedric's reputation as the "Magician."
That was why Harry's expression looked so miserable upon hearing the name.
Losing a six-on-one scenario—it was a total, humiliating slaughter.
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