"Yes... now enchant the torch to produce green flames instead of the normal colour." Helga instructed.
Harry currently was in the Chamber once again practicing the art of enchanting. So far he had enchanted a cup to produce unlimited water, a cap to change colours according to the weather and a glass to convert the water poured into it to red wine. Helga and Salazar were in their usual teacher–Slave driver mode, assessing his enchanting skills.
Suddenly a pop sounded breaking Harry's attention from the torch that he was enchanting.
"Tilly, what happened?" Harry asked the elf, who he had instructed to spy on Skeeter.
"Master Harry, Tilly saw the reporter woman converting herself into a bug. She flew away and went along with a wizard to his home by the floo."
"Come here Tilly. Now, concentrate on what you saw and I will remove the memory and view it in my pensive. Understood?" The elf nodded. Harry placed his wand at Tilly's Temple before drawing a silvery strand from it. "Come Tilly." He ordered and lead her to the pensive before promptly dropping the memory strand in it and promptly tapping relevant runes. A holographic image appeared above it.
Harry recognized the place as the Leaky Cauldron. She was eyeing a man who was eating his breakfast at the inn. As it seemed that he was about to finish his breakfast, Skeeter got up and went to the bathroom, where she transformed into a water beetle upon entering and promptly flew out again. She landed on the man's shoulder and quickly crawled under his collar. Soon the man flooed out, with Rita Skeeter tagging along.
"So she is a beetle Animagus, an extremely small and excellent Animagus form for spying. If it was revealed that she is an Animagus and used it to spy on people, she will have to pay a fine along with 3 months in Azkaban at the minimum and that is not considering trespassing charges and the charges for trying to find Family secrets of the sacred 28. If someone levied charges of stealing family magic on her, she would be given the kiss or be walked through the veil of death." Salazar said.
"True. Next time I meet her, I will use it to make her comply." Harry remarked. Tilly had hit a goldmine on blackmail for Skeeter. By the sheer number of people Rita Skeeter had tarnished the reputation of, she was likely to be sentenced to Azkaban for her whole life and that was if the family magic stealing charge wasn't proved in court.
"Tilly, you have done me a great service. I am extremely happy with you." The elf blushed. "So, here, take these 10G and buy yourself anything that you want. If you need more money, just come to me. And that is an order." Harry said as the elf opened her mouth to protest. She looked conflicted for a moment before bowing and taking the money from Harry.
"You are the greatest, Master Harry Potter Sir. Dobby's tales of your nobleness and generosity aren't exaggerated. Thank you." She said before popping out.
"What is Dobby telling the other elves now?" Harry questioned himself. He knew that Dobby had spread the tale of Harry saving him from the Malfoy's but Tilly had said tales meaning more than one.
"So, greatest master Harry Potter Sir..."
"Shut up."
"Are you going to complete the work on the torch or do I have to come out of my portrait to finish the enchanting?"
"Oh yeah! Doing it. No need to be snarky Salazar."
"Wake up Lionheart!" Sirius shouted, waking Harry from his morning nap... the one he took after doing his morning exercises and travelling back in time.
And yeah... Sirius and Remus had nicknamed him Lionheart after Harry had rejected some 1000 shitty names. At least Lionheart sounded good. Richard I, the king of England in 1190's was nicknamed Lionheart and was known to be an iconic warrior and military leader and also said to be one of the most respected kings. He also was highly educated. So not a bad name. Also it stroked Harry's Gryffindor pride.
"I am up Padfoot. Quit the shouting."
"Today is the world cup Harry. We need to take the portkey at 8.30. It is already 7.30. Andy and Nymmy will be here soon."
"I know. I know. Out now. Let me get ready. I will be down in fifteen minutes."
"Don't be late."
"Won't be, unless you stay here Sirius."
"Ok. I am leaving! And muggle clothes."
"Yup."
After 10 minutes Harry was dressed in a red t-shirt and blue jeans along with a leather jacket.
'Elder wand? Check. Ebony wand? Check. Knife? Check. Necklace? Check. Rings? Check. Perfect' Harry thought while checking all his possessions. He wasn't taking any risks as he was going to be in the open where Voldemort's cronies may decide to take revenge for their late master's supposed demise.
Harry went downstairs and was immediately greeted by the aroma of delicious food. He immediately went to the dining room where he saw Sirius, Remus( who looked under the weather), Andromeda and Nymphadora seated at the table which was laid with plates filled with delicious food.
"Wotcher Harry!"
"Hey Dora. Good morning."
"Good morning to you too Harry. Come sit and have breakfast. And have a good fill as we will have a late lunch." Andromeda said. Harry needed no further reason to dig in immediately.
At quarter past 8 the four people were ready to go. A hairbrush was lying on a coffee table in front of them which was a portkey to the grounds of the QWC.
"Is everyone ready? And make sure you have everything you need specially money if you wish to buy anything. Sirius, have you collected muggle cash?"
"Yep! I have given it to Harry to handle the transaction. Don't wanna mess up." At that Harry showed Andromeda his wallet.
"And tent?"
"With me right here." Sirius said picking up the tent pack from his feet.
At half past eight sharp, the portkey activated and they were off.
They had arrived on what appeared to be a deserted stretch of misty moor. In front of them was a pair of tired and grumpy-looking wizards, one of whom was holding a large gold watch, the other a thick roll of parchment and a quill. Both were dressed as Muggles, though very inexpertly: The man with the watch wore a tweed suit with thigh length galoshes; his colleague, a kilt and a poncho.
"Half past eight from Somerset." a voice said.
"Lord Black and party. Wait, I will direct you to the camp site... Black...Black... here it is! First field- the VIP one that is. It is half a mile walk from here. Have a good day and remember to uphold the statute... even though ministry Obliviators are present in heavy numbers. Approach the site manager called Steve Roberts"
"Thank you. We will."
After walking a few meters, Harry felt the wards wash over him and immediately activated mage sight. 'Heavy muggle-repelling wards, basic protection wards, anti apparation, compulsion ward... to turn away if you aren't here for the World cup and increase muggles disbelief in magic. Also, a confusion ward to confuse muggles to see magic as a trick of light.' Harry determined feeling and seeing the wards. He also noted that his portkeys would work in case it was needed.
They approached a cottage which was there on the field. A man was standing in the doorway, looking out at the tents. Harry knew at a glance that this was the only real Muggle for several acres. When he heard their footsteps, he turned his head to look at them.
Harry approached the muggle. "Are you by any chance the site manager, Steve Roberts?"
"Aye! I am kid."
Harry felt an invisible presence approaching them and was on alert. The invisible guy stood next to the muggle as far as Harry could tell.
"One tent registered under Sirius Black." Harry said, playing ignorant of the fact that he knew that a person was standing there. The muggle consulted a list before nodding.
"Sirius Black, right there near the woods. Only one night, correct?" at Harry's nod he continued, "You will be paying now?"
"Certainly. Here" Harry said, handing over the right amount.
"Atleast you know to pay." The muggle remarked. At Harry's raised eyebrow he said, "You are one of the few who didn't have a problem while paying. I had two try and pay me with great gold coins the size of hubcaps ten minutes ago."
"Hmmm... I am pretty sure they would be foreigners." Harry quickly said mentally noting to find an oblivator and send them there. He still had to worry about the person standing next to the muggle.
"Never been this crowded," he said suddenly, looking out over the misty field again. "Hundreds of pre-bookings. People usually just turn up... People from all over. Loads of foreigners. And not just foreigners. Weirdos, you know? There's a bloke walking 'round in a kilt and a poncho."
"Is it? Well, people do tend to dress weirdly these days... Think it's fashion, but they actually look disgusting in it or like clowns."
"Aye! I completely agree lad. Here is your change."
"Thank you sir."
"It's like some sort of... I dunno... like some sort of rally," said Mr. Roberts. "They all seem to know each other. Like a big party."
At that moment, the wizard removed an invisibility cloak. He looked in his instantly slid his wand into his hand, ready to face the wizard
"Obliviate!" he said sharply, pointing his wand at Mr. Roberts. Instantly, Mr. Roberts's eyes slid out of focus, his brows unknitted, and a took of dreamy unconcern fell over his face. Harry recognized the symptoms of one who had just had his memory modified.
"A map of the campsite for you," Mr. Roberts said placidly.
"Thanks. Have a pleasant day." Harry said and walked away. He was relived to see that the guy was an Obliviator and not an enemy.
They trudged up the misty field between long rows of tents. Most looked almost ordinary; their owners had clearly tried to make them as Muggle-like as possible, but had slipped up by adding chimneys, or bell pulls, or weather vanes. However, here and there was a tent so obviously magical that Harry could hardly be surprised that Mr. Roberts was getting suspicious. Halfway up the field stood an extravagant confection of striped silk like a miniature palace, with several live peacocks tethered at the entrance. A little farther on they passed a tent that had three floors and several turrets; and a short way beyond that was a tent that had a front garden attached, complete with birdbath, sundial, and fountain.
Harry received several appreciative looks from a lot of girls and women as he walked towards the designated area much to everyone's amusement.
They reached their allotted location. A board displayed the name Black on it. Sirius put the tent on the ground and turned to them. "We need to pitch a tent! I have done it once. Lets see how much I remember!" He said excitedly. Harry merely rolled his eyes and waved his wand. within a couple of seconds a tent stood in the place.
"Spoilsport." Sirius pouted.
"Wait! You just did magic outside school Harry!" Nymphadora said.
"So?"
"You will receive a warning! It is illegal to do magic until you are an adult. You will receive a warning letter from the ministry soon." Andromeda said.
"Tell that when the letter comes. Now, let's camp!" Harry said dismissive towards their concerns. He had a permit signed by the minister of magic to do magic outside school.
"You mean there won't be a letter! Why? And how?"
"I never said that. But you are correct. There won't be a letter."
"How?"
"I mask my magical signature. No detector can prove or detect the magic usage."
"What! Really? How do you do it? I didn't even know such a thing was possible!" Nymphadora asked excitedly.
Harry suddenly burst out laughing.
"What?"
"Can't believe you fell for that. HaHaHa. I just have a permit to use magic outside school, you know? HaHaHa. You fell for the ruse of masking magic!" Harry laughed. It was possible to mask the magical signature once stage 6 of Occlumency was mastered by an individual, but Nymphadora didn't need to know that.
"You bastard! You- you pranked me!"
"Course I did. Son of a marauder, remember? And you forgot that I participated in a magical tournament too and dueled with you ata the black house."
Tonks just rolled her eyes mumbling, "I thought it was due to some wards on the property." before they entered the tent. It was beautiful and Harry let out a low whistle. A whole damn house in a tent! How magical was that!
After exploring the tent, they went outside. Harry spotted some redheads a distance away and walked toward them- The Weasleys.
He saw that Mr. Weasley was having fun with the matches and trying to ignite a fire, trying being the keyword. "Mr. Weasley! Fred! George!"
"Harry!" Mr. Weasley looked up from his failed attempts at fire-lighting. "You are here!"
"Course I am. Where are Ron and Hermione? Or Ginny, Bill, Charlie and Percy for that matter?"
"Percy, William and Charlie will apparate here afterwards. Hermione, Ron and Ginny have went to collect the water from a nearby tap to cook food."
"Why didn't you use Aguamenti charm?" Harry questioned
"Anti-muggle measures Harry."
"The only muggle here is at that cottage, Mr. Weasley. And do you think that these folks are exactly being discreet?" Harry said pointing at a tent which had a chimney with smoke coming from it. Outside a little girl was flying on a toy broom.
"Err..."
"HARRY!" Harry heard his name before being engulfed in a hug from Hermione. He then fist bumped Ron. "Good Morning Ginny." He said looking at the only female Weasley present there. She went tomato red before returning the sentiment. Her crush was apparently still present.
Soon they were sitting as Mr. Weasley, still insistent on the muggle-way stroked the fire. He kept a running commentary on the witches and wizards who passed them. "That was Cuthbert Mockridge, Head of the Goblin Liaison Office... Here comes Gilbert Wimple; he's with the Committee on Experimental Charms; he's had those horns for a while now... Hello, Arnie... Arnold Peasegood, he's an Obliviator - member of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, you know... and that's Bode and Croaker... they're Unspeakables."
Harry filed away the information for later use. They also saw an old, bald wizard wearing a female sundress of all things. Several others had also worn hilarious clothes which looked completely out of place. They were soon approached by Bagman (who was wearing robes with yellow-black theme of the wasps).
"Ahoy there!" Bagman called happily. He was walking as though he had springs attached to the balls of his feet and was plainly in a state of wild excitement. "Arthur, old man," he puffed as he reached the campfire, "what a day, eh? What a day! Could we have asked for more perfect weather? A cloudless night coming... and hardly a hiccough in the arrangements... Not much for me to do!"
Behind him, a group of haggard-looking Ministry wizards rushed past, pointing at the distant evidence of some sort of a magical fire that was sending violet sparks twenty feet into the air. Percy hurried forward with his hand outstretched. Apparently his disapproval of the way Ludo Bagman ran his department did not prevent him from wanting to make a good impression. "Ah - yes," said Mr. Weasley, grinning, "this is my son Percy. He's just started at the Ministry - and this is Fred - no, George, sorry - that's Fred - Bill, Charlie, Ron - my daughter, Ginny and Ron's friends, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter."
From Bagman's expression, Harry immediately knew that he was here to meet Harry specially. Harry was also certain that the Weasley's had received top box tickets by using Harry's name as Arthur and Bagman didn't know that Harry was already invited. He had gathered that much from the shock on Mr. Weasley's face when they had discussed the QWC at Harry's birthday party.
"Everyone," Mr. Weasley continued, "this is Ludo Bagman, you know who he is, it's thanks to him we've got such good tickets -" Bagman beamed and waved his hand as if to say it had been nothing.
Bagman then tried to rope them into betting on the match results. Arthur betted 5G on Ireland winning. Bagman told them that Agatha Timms, whoever the hell she was had put up half shares in her eel farm on a weeklong match. Harry was sure that even he could catch the snitch before a week passed and a legend like Victor Krum was playing. But, it wasn't farfetched though as the longest match ever played had lasted 3 months.
The Weasley twins were about to gamble a huge amount of Galleons but Harry pulled them aside.
"What do you think you are doing?" He hissed.
"We are betting 100G on Ireland winning and Krum catching the snitch."
"Yeah... that's alright but don't. Bagman has a lot of debt with the Goblins. I seriously doubt he will pay you both back. If you want, bet 10G instead. If he pays properly, I will give you the amount that you would have received by betting 100G."
"Harrykins..."
"I am serious. Deadly serious." The twins relented under his glare and betted 5G each instead on Krum catching the snitch but Ireland winning.
Soon Crouch arrived and greeted Bagman, right after Percy was gushing about how he could speak 200 languages and Harry remarked that he could speak more along with parseltounge and called Crouch a moron who didn't do his basic duties properly. Percy looked highly offended by Harry's insult on his idol.
"Ludo, Arthur. How's it going?"
"Oh everything is perfect Barty. No worries."
"The Bulgarians are insisting we add another twelve seats to the Top Box. And the obliviation squad is being run ragged." Crouch remarked dryly.
"Oh pish posh Barty." Bagman said.
"Mr. Crouch, will you like tea?"
"Oh, Weatherby. What are you doing here?"
"He was gushing about your supposed competency in your job, you know. Poor guy idolizes you. Then I was reminding him of your incompetence before you arrived."
"Potter." Crouch growled.
"That is Heir Potter-Black to you Crouch." Harry calmly reminded him. Crouch was going to pay for Sirius being sent to prison.
"I apologize for Harry's behavior Mr. Crouch. He is merely jealous that you could speak so many languages."
"I can speak more than 7000 muggle languages Weatherby plus parseltounge and some Gobblegook. Shush now." It was true after all. Rowena Ravenclaw's all-speak Charm was such that he could understand and speak any non-magical language after he casted it.
"Seriously? You claim to be able to speak 7000+ languages?" Crouch asked skeptically like he knew Harry was lying.
"You are welcome to challenge me Crouch." Harry said with a light shrug. Crouch did and had a flawless conversation with Harry in a dozen different languages before giving up.
"How is it possible!" Crouch half yelled in frustration. Percy was looking wide eyed at both of them and so were Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys.
"I would have known even more if you had done your work properly and not illegally imprisoned my innocent godfather." Harry remarked lightly.
Crouch growled at the jab before turning and marching away. Harry took satisfaction on the fact that he had defeated Barty Crouch in something that Crouch prided himself on.
Soon Harry, Ron and Hermione left the Weasley tent and went exploring. First they reached the Black tent. Sirius and Andromeda were playing chess and by the looks of it Sirius was loosing. Horribly.
Nymphadora was nowhere to be found, probably going around the place to see her friends.
"I GIVE UP!" Sirius shouted, throwing up his hands in the air and flipping the chess board. Andromeda had a smug smile on her face. With a wave of her wand she righted the chess board.
"Don't be upset dear. I was the best chess player at Hogwarts. You were not even in my league." Andromeda said condescendingly .
"Really?" Ron asked. "I am the best player in all of Gryffindor. Never lost a match. Would you like to go against me Ms. ..."
"Ron, Hermione meet Andromeda Tonks nee Black, Sirius's cousin. Andromeda, My friends Ron and Hermione."
"Nice to meet you both."
"Likewise, Mrs. Tonks" Hermione replied.
"So... the match?"
"You bet!"
Two hours later, Ron was found fuming as he had lost several(read all) matches against Andromeda. While they played, Harry and Hermione went to explore the place further. They walked around, meeting several of Hogwarts students like Seamus, Cedric, Oliver Wood, Terry Boot, Angelina and Katie, and most prominently the Greengrass family. Daphne and Harry flirted for nearly 15 minutes before Hermione pulled him away chastising him for flirting when he already had a girlfriend. She didn't know they were dating. As far as everyone was aware, Susan was dating Harry.
Oh! And Daphne had whispered in his ears of rewarding him after they got to school for his epic win.
Harry walked up the stairs to the top VIP box, set at the highest point of the stadium and situated exactly halfway between the golden goal posts, along with Sirius, Andromeda, Nymphadora and the Weasleys. It was the prime spot to view the finals. They would be joined by the Ministers of Magic from Britain, Bulgaria and Ireland along with prominent people from those countries. Harry was also informed that Susan and Amelia would be joining them along with the Greengrass family there.
The atmosphere was of feverish excitement and infectious. People were cheering already. The stadium was HUGE and GRAND.
"Seats a hundred thousand," said Mr. Weasley, spotting the awestruck look on Harry's face. "Ministry task force of five hundred have been working on it all year. Muggle Repelling Charms on every inch of it. Every time Muggles have got anywhere near here all year, they've suddenly remembered urgent appointments and had to dash away again... bless them," he added fondly, leading the way toward the nearest entrance, which was already surrounded by a swarm of shouting witches and wizards
They arrived in what looked like a room fit for a king's palace. Even Arcturus Black's Public study was less grand than this. There were 5 rows of 20 comfy arm-chairs set in a theater like fashion so no one had a problem viewing the match. Harry could clearly see the whole field from there and the 1000s witches and wizards cheering from their seats in the common area. Advertisements were flashing from huge boards prominently displayed around the stadium.
So far they were the only ones there so far. The first row was reserved for Ministry officials like the Ministers, Amelia Bones, Chief Warlocks including Dumbledore, Heads of Foreign affair department from the three countries, Sports Head etc. Their names were displayed on their seats. So Harry called dibs to take the seat behind Dumbledore. Why? He would be sitting in the exact middle as the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW. So Harry would be in the exact middle too.
Over the next half hour the box slowly started filling up. Harry shook hands with some people, half of whom he had never heard of. He greeted Robert Albertos and his pregnant wife, whose baby bump was clearly visible. Several even congratulated Harry on his win in the U-18 WDL. Percy was bowing low every now and then and shaking hands reverently with every person who came. Soon, The Greengrass family arrived and Harry shot a discreet wink to Daphne before formally greeting them. They took seats in the third row next to the Albertos couple.
Soon Fudge arrived along with another two wizards who were grandly dressed in their country colours as Madame Bones and Susan brought up the rear. The three ministers of magic with the Head of DMLE. Percy bowed so low that his glasses fell off his face. Fudge ignored him and led the others towards Harry. He greeted him with familiarity as if he was Harry's favorite uncle. All the while Percy shot jealous looks at Harry.
"Harry Potter, you know," he told the Bulgarian minister loudly, who was wearing splendid robes of black velvet trimmed with gold and didn't seem to understand a word of English. "Harry Potter... oh come on now..." Fudge made an ass of himself trying to introduce Harry. Didn't the moron know that English language was an essential language to be learnt to become the Minister of magic for any country which was a part of ICW? And Fudge wasn't trying to explain, he was speaking loudly as if the Bulgarian minister had partial deafness.
Harry saved him from further embarrassment by introducing himself in perfect Bulgarian. "Minister Aleksandar Oblansk, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Harry Potter. I hope you are enjoying the hospitality here."
The minister greeted him and congratulated him on his recent win and also, how he had heard a lot about Harry. To the rest the people it looked like excited gabbling.
"Thank Merlin! You know Bulgarian language Mr. Potter... It has been a pain in my ass to try explaining them what I am speaking... I'm no great shakes at languages; I need Barty Crouch for this sort of thing... Thank gods we have already reserved the seats in the front row...these Bulgarian blighters have been trying to cadge all the best places... ah, and here's Lucius!" Harry resisted the urge to kick and hex Fudge there and there itself. Insulting the Bulgarians in front of their minister! Who the fuck does that?
Harry quickly turned back to Minister Oblansk and spoke in Bulgarian, "Minister, I apologize for Minister Fudge's words. I know that you are understanding everything being said as the ICW has made it mandatory for a minister of a country to know English in order to communicate but it seems that our minister has forgotten it. Please don't let his behavior reflect on Britain..."
"Oh, I know Mr. Potter, you are the first one to figure it out. It was interesting and hilarious to see your minister trying to explain me things... Though, I am pleased to see that not every person is a moron here. Now, excuse me. I need to meet my Sports department head." Harry inclined his head in agreement and he left. He turned to see that the minister was conversing with the Malfoys.
"...And let's see who else - you know Arthur Weasley, I daresay? And of course, Harry Potter himself." Harry heard the minister saying.
"Harry, this is Lucius Malfoy, and Narcissa, his wife and Draco... he is with you at school."
"Of course I know them minister. We are acquainted and I daresay that Lucius and I enjoyed our last talk at the end of my second year, didn't we?" Harry stated innocently. Sirius and the rest of his party were listening with interest.
Lucius flinched a bit. "Yes we did. A lot indeed." He said through gritted teeth.
"Even I look forward to our next meeting, and of course, Narcissa. Sirius and I never received your letter that you must have sent after he was freed and I became heir of House Black. I was looking forward to meeting you since a long time..." Harry said with complete innocence. He had addressed Mrs. Malfoy by name clearly stating he was of a much higher station than her.
"So was I, Heir Potter. It is nice to finally meet you. I have... heard a lot about you."
"Don't believe anything Draco says, Narcissa."
Draco sneered, "Potter, you-"
"My, my. Do you have no etiquette Draco? It is heir Potter-Black. I am the heir of the house your mother is a member of... The house which you had the delusion of getting lordship of. Has your mother taught you nothing? Narcissa, I must confess myself... disappointed. I would have thought that as a Black, you would have taught basic etiquette to your son and how to address Heirs of the sacred 28."
"I did teach him, Heir Potter-Black." She replied sharply.
"Well... that means that your son is an imbecile who cannot follow your basic teachings... Can't say I would have expected any better from Draco... But anyways, I advise you to reteach him. I am his classmate and didn't take offense, if he does that with another heir or Merlin forbid, a Lord, he will get into a lot of trouble. Now, I need to talk with the Minister... Minister if you would kindly step aside." He said all this with faux concern, seeming that he actually cared. Draco was quite red and Narcissa was drilling holes into Draco's skull while Lucius held his cane tightly.
As soon as the minister and Harry stepped aside, Harry erected a silencing dome with a wave of his wand before turning to the Minister.
"Yes Harry, what..."
"What the hell do you think you were doing minister?" Harry hissed.
"Wh-what do you mean Harry?" He sputtered.
Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I was talking about you, insulting the Bulgarians when the Bulgarian minister was standing right there!"
"Harry, Harry, he couldn't understand a word of it. He can't speak English."
"Minister, can you kindly tell me the rules laid down by the ICW to become the Minister of magic and the ICW for a country which is a member of the body?" Harry asked. Fudge blinked before shaking his head. Harry groaned, "You can check all of them out later... but there is a rule stating that the minister of magic and the ICW representative for a country in ICW must be able to understand, speak and read the English language. They communicate only in English at the ICW."
Fudge paled, "Are you sure?"
"Even if I wasn't, while talking to Minister Oblansk, he clearly stated that he was having fun seeing you all trying to explain things thinking that he couldn't understand English. I even apologized on your behalf to him. He clearly stated that I was the first one to realize that he could understand English perfectly."
Fudge's eyes were wide and he was shaking. "Wh-what sh-should I do now?" He stammered. Harry sighed.
"Now, behave as you were behaving... but make sure to compliment him while talking to your other colleagues. If you go and start commending him at his face he would come to know that you are faking to make amends. Let him think that you are still under the delusion that he can't understand English. That is the best I feel you can do. I have apologized but it will be the best if he hears you speak highly of him... hopefully."
"Thank you. Thank you so much Harry. You saved me. I am grateful."
"Anytime Minister."
Soon Dumbledore and the all the others arrived except Barty Crouch whose seat was empty and his elf was saving a seat by standing there. Dumbledore even congratulated him on winning the WDL in front of everyone before taking his seat. Harry sat behind him with Susan at his left and Hermione at his right.
"Ladies and gentlemen. . . welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!" Ludo Bagman's voice boomed. "And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce. . . the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!"
Suddenly Hundreds of pretty ladies were moving into the field. 'Veela' Harry realized and immediately pulled occlumency to its full. He was glad that he did so as an extremely powerful wave of Veela Allure hit him as the Veela started dancing. The dancing was beautiful.
"Superb dancers, ain't they?" He whispered to Susan. She looked shock for a moment before beaming at him. He couldn't fault her for being happy. All the other boys were behaving like... Well, Draco and were being held back by Narcissa. George and Fred were drooling and leaning at the edge of their seats. Hermione was holding an enchanted Ron. Same was the case with several other men. He saw that Lord Greengrass and Robert had closed their eyes and ears. Smart men. Only Harry, Dumbledore, most of the ladies and a couple of other men were behaving normally and weren't enthralled by the Allure.
After that the Irish mascots were announced even though there was a lot of protests from the crowd. The Irish had Leprechauns conduct a light show in the sky and rained fake gold on the audience. Ron was about to pick up the gold before Harry told him that it was fake and would disappear in a few hours. Ron sat back sulking.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome - the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team! I give you - Dimitrov! Ivanova! Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Volkov! Aaaaaaand - Krum!"
"Its Krum!" Ron half yelled as Krum shot into the field and did an impressive bit of aerobatics. Viktor Krum was thin, dark, and sallow-skinned, with a large curved nose and thick black eyebrows. He looked like an overgrown bird of prey. It was hard to believe he was only eighteen.
"He looks grumpy, and okay-ish ... what's so great about him?" Hermione asked.
"Who cares how he looks? He is one of the best seeker to ever play!" Ron remarked.
"And now, please greet - the Irish National Quidditch Team!" yelled Bagman. "Presenting - Connolly! Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! Aaaaaand - Lynch!
"And here, all the way from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed Chair-wizard of the International Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa!"
And the game was on. The Irish chasers were working seamlessly changing formations and quickly scoring.
"Krum is moving! He has seen the snitch!" Bagman yelled over the microphone.
"He's feinting! The snitch is by the Irish stands" Harry said loudly enough for the nearby people to hear, which included Dumbledore, the ministers and Amelia Bones along with some others. They all immediately looked towards the Irish goalposts and spotted the glint of gold hoovering there before it disappeared a second later.
"How did you see that?" Sirius asked flabbergasted from.
"I have Omniculars to zoom in, unlike the players playing there. Also, I am a seeker myself Sirius." Harry said.
"The youngest seeker in the century who is yet to loose a match for Gryffindor." Ron added.
The conversation was broken as medics rushing into the quidditch field due to the fact that the Irish seeker had crashed onto the ground due to the Wronski Feint by Krum, who was now hoovering and looking around the field for the elusive snitch.
After another half an hour, the match ended in the same way that the Weasley Twins had predicted: Ireland winning but Krum catching the snitch. The score was 160-170 in Ireland's favor. It took another half for the reward ceremony and everything to get finished. It was a bit disappointing as Bulgaria had only been able to score a single goal in front of Ireland's 17. Harry had spotted the snitch another 7 or 8 times by his omniculars before Krum had caught it. The most amusing incident was that the referee had became enthralled by the Veelas mid-way during the match when Bulgaria had managed to score a goal. It had soon lead to a fight between the Veelas and the Leprechauns. Ministry aurors and hit-wizards had flooded into the stadium to separate the two mascots.
Also Bagman had given the Weasley twins Leprechaun gold instead of real money. They had smugly came to Harry and shown him the 100G they had won before Harry waved his wand and declared it to be Leprechaun gold. To prove his point he had vanished two coins from the pile. Real Goblin Galleons couldn't be vanished.
Currently Harry, Sirius, Andromeda and Nymphadora were sitting outside their tent, near a fire, toasting marshmallows. Nymphadora was in a heated discussion with Sirius on the topic 'Did Krum do the right thing by catching the snitch when they were 160 points down. They were going to leave the next morning after having breakfast there, having decided to make it a camping night instead of going home. For Harry it was a completely new experience.
They soon went to sleep. Harry was a nice wet dream of a threesome between him and his girlfriends when he was awoken by shouting from outside. Harry quickly flicked his wand into his hand. He saw that on the nearby bed, even Sirius was awake and alert. They shared a look before both leapt to their feet and went outside their room. They saw that Andromeda and Nymphadora were already there.
"What's going on?" Harry questioned.
"Don't know. Probably a fight between Bulgarians and the Irish who went overboard with drinks. We should go out and check nonetheless." Andromeda said before the four went outside.
As soon as they reached outside the atmosphere could be described only as one thing: Pure chaos.