Albert reached out to take the ice cream handed over by the vendor, took out Galleons from his pocket to pay for six servings of ice cream, and then turned around to ask the girls around him: "Do you want to buy anything else?"
Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads to indicate that they didn't want to buy anything for the time being.
"The game should be starting soon." Catherine, who had just checked her pocket watch, reminded, "We should go to the side of the court. We will have to wait in line for a long time."
"Please lead the way!" Albert nodded to Catherine, held Nia's hand, and whispered: "If you feel anything wrong later, tell me immediately. Don't get lost and don't let go."
"Um."
Nia responded quietly and lowered her head to eat her ice cream in silence.
Katrina, watching this scene, sometimes had the illusion that the two were actually a couple, but when she thought of Nia's Muggle identity, it was not difficult to guess why Albert was so nervous and didn't let Nia out of his sight.
Everyone ate ice cream while walking with Catherine towards the forest. When they reached the edge of the forest, they found that many viewers had similar ideas. There were hundreds of people walking around, laughing and shouting, and the fanatical excitement was infecting every audience member.
"Albert, it's you." Sirius brought Harry and his group over here and greeted Albert with a smile.
“Well, I thought about entering the gymnasium early, but I didn’t expect there would be so many people here.” Albert said helplessly.
"Yeah, everyone thinks so. Queuing is really annoying. By the way, who do you think will win today?" Sirius picked a topic at random.
"Bulgaria." Albert said without hesitation.
"I also think Bulgaria will win. The American team's Seeker is a bit disappointing. It's hard for him to beat Bulgaria's Krum. That guy is simply a genius." Black said as he walked. "I bet Bagman will lose a lot of money tonight. To be honest, I doubt whether he can pay it back."
"Ahem." Catherine coughed lightly and defended her former friend, "I don't think Jenny is as bad as you said. At least she can still catch the Golden Snitch for the American team."
The eyes of the other people around were all on Catherine, with surprise, confusion and incomprehension in their looks.
"Your friend?" Albert asked suddenly.
The atmosphere around them suddenly became a little awkward, especially for Sirius. He didn't argue anything. After saying sorry, he turned around and talked to Lupin.
However, Harry, Hermione and Ron's eyes were always on the pretty girls around Albert. The two older boys even had a strange look on their faces and looked away. Hermione's attention was more on Nia, who was held by Albert's hand, with a thoughtful expression on her face.
At this moment, there was a crackling sound not far away, followed by a painful whimper. Everyone turned their heads and saw a wizard appearing, spinning, and slamming his head against the tree next to him. He lay on the ground groaning in pain, causing a burst of gloating laughter.
Two wizards hurried over to check on the unfortunate guy and quickly used magic to relieve his pain.
At this moment, a strange sound came from the forest ahead, followed by countless lights appearing in the darkness, forming a path leading to the stadium.
"The time has come, everyone follow me." Sirius led the way in front, leading everyone along the illuminated passage into the woods.
Albert had been keeping an eye on Nia's situation to see if she would be affected by the spell if she entered the range of the spell to expel Muggles.
The crowd followed the crowd and walked in the woods for a long time, and finally came to the other side of the woods, where there was a huge oval open-air gymnasium.
"This stadium is so big!" Nia couldn't help but open her mouth wide as she looked at the magnificent stadium in front of her.
"It is said that it can accommodate 100,000 people." Isobel walked quietly to Nia's side, and she and Albert protected her in the middle, one on each side.
"The ticket gate is over there, let's go over!" Sirius called Albert and others to go over to check the tickets.
At the entrance was a female wizard from the Ministry of Magic who was in her thirties. She looked at the four tickets Albert handed over in surprise, "First class tickets, top floor box, just go upstairs and you'll arrive."
Catherine and Valeria's tickets were also for the top box, and they got them through Nicholas's connections.
"Where did you get so many first-class tickets?" Sirius, who was about to go upstairs, deliberately slowed down his pace after hearing the witch's words.
Sirius was a little depressed, because the price of first-class tickets was not cheap. At first, he also wanted to buy first-class tickets, but he changed to ordinary tickets after Lupin's persuasion, but he didn't expect that Albert and his group all had first-class tickets.
"It was given to me by an old friend."
Albert separated from Sirius and his group on the sixth floor, and walked forward with the ticket for the top box, all the way to the very top, where he separated from Catherine and Valeria. The four of them quickly found their seats according to their ticket numbers.
Nia kept holding Albert's hand, looking at the scenery ahead, and couldn't help but sigh: "The view here is really spectacular!"
"Yes. This is for you!" Albert took out two buckets of popcorn that the house-elf had prepared in advance.
"What is this?" Katrina asked curiously.
"Popcorn." Albert picked up a piece of popcorn and threw it into his mouth. "I also prepared some drinks here."
"You are always so thoughtful." Isobel took the popcorn and passed it to Katrina, "Try it, it's not bad."
Katrina ate some popcorn and found it to be quite good, though a little small.
"This thing can keep you going for a long time. You'll know later." Albert said with a smile, as if he saw through Katrina's thoughts.
The box was made small just to make it easier to hold, and the inside had actually been expanded by the Traceless Extension Spell.
While everyone was happily chatting about trivial topics, a not-so-pleasant guy appeared in their box.
When Lucius Malfoy saw Albert and the other three in the box, he showed some surprise on his face. He probably didn't expect that Albert could get a ticket to the top box.
Old Malfoy's eyes swept from Nia to the McDougal sisters, then looked at Albert again. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and he seemed to say something.
"Since when has anyone been able to come here?" Draco muttered quietly, and was stopped by old Malfoy. Malfoy, who claimed to be a pure-blood, obviously would not say anything too outrageous at a time like this.
At least, not out loud for anyone to hear.
At this moment, old Batty brought two wizards into the box. When the short and fat girl saw Albert in the back seat, her eyes lit up and she raised her hand and waved towards them.
"You are so popular." Nia was a little surprised. She always felt that no matter where Albert went, he would meet acquaintances.
Albert smiled and nodded at the other person, but he was trying to recall who this person was in his mind.
Oh, by the way, the girl in front of me seems to be the short and fat girl from Rydmstrang Academy who participated in the Magic School Potions Championship.
The short and fat girl seemed to say a few words to the wizard next to her. The wizard, who was wearing a gorgeous black velvet robe with gold edges, looked at Albert, and then said a few words to Barty Crouch beside him, seemingly asking about Albert.
"Albert Anderson, the most outstanding genius in the British wizarding world in the past hundred years." Barty Crouch introduced him in Bulgarian. "Perhaps you have seen his name in the newspaper. He has recently won several international awards. Oh, by the way, Anderson should be able to understand Bulgarian, if you want to go over and get to know him."
"Of course, I would be happy to make the acquaintance of this young genius," said Obalons.
"Mr. Obalonsk, the Minister of the Bulgarian Ministry of Magic." Batty introduced the wizard next to Albert, "Next to him is his granddaughter, Miss Lumiana. You should know her."
"Oh, hello, Mr. Obalonsk." Albert shook hands with the old man in front of him in a friendly manner and said with a smile: "I think the victory tonight will belong to Bulgaria. Krum is an excellent seeker."
"Thank you, I think Krum will be happy that someone recognizes his abilities." Mr. Obalonsk looked at the young man in front of him curiously. The other party spoke Bulgarian very well.
"The newspaper said you were going to participate in the International Duel Tournament next year?"
"If I have time, I will probably attend." Albert nodded.
This move by the Bulgarian Minister of Magic made old Malfoy feel uncomfortable, especially when he heard them chatting in a series of Bulgarian, his expression became even uglier.
However, for Mr. Obalonsk, an outstanding wizard who has already shown his talent is worthy of attention, especially since he has won four international awards before he reached adulthood and is also an acquaintance of his granddaughter. It is always a good thing to build a good relationship with him. What's more, wizards who can watch the game here have some background.
"Are you a fan of Krum?" Lumiana asked.
"I guess so!" Albert said perfunctorily.
"You will definitely have unexpected surprises this year." Lumiana said regretfully, "It's a pity that I have already graduated. It would be better if I could graduate a year later."
"Are you talking about the Triwizard Tournament?" Albert asked with a smile.
"You know!" Lumiana was quickly relieved, "Are you going to participate?"
"I will probably participate. It seems like a very interesting competition."
Lumiana suddenly felt a moment of silence for Albert's opponent. It was a bit like an adult bullying a child for a wizard who had won the Barnabus Finkley Award for Excellence in Spellcasting and was planning to participate in the International Dueling Tournament to participate in the Triwizard Tournament.
"ladies and gentlemen… "
A thunderous voice resounded throughout the stadium. Ludo drew his wand, pointed at his throat, and explained to the audience: "Welcome to watch the 422nd Quidditch World Cup quarter-finals!"
The audience below erupted in cheers and applause, accompanied by a chaotic singing of the national anthem. The scene was truly lively.
Albert and Lumiana stopped chatting and began to look at the court in front of them. The advertisement on the huge blackboard had disappeared, and now it showed:
United States: 0, Bulgaria: 0,
“… Let’s welcome the mascot of the U.S. national team.”
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a roar of thunder in the sky and a thunderbird flew over everyone's heads, bringing lightning and heavy rain.
"What is that?"
Nia looked at the lightning and dark clouds in the sky and couldn't help but shrink towards Albert.
"The Thunderbird is a very famous magical creature in the United States. Its appearance is always accompanied by storms." Albert explained in a low voice.
After the Thunderbird appeared, the audience below was in dire straits, because it started to rain heavily, soaking them through.
However, there was no such problem in the box as they had an awning over their heads.
This thing was actually installed urgently by the Ministry of Magic after learning that the American team's mascot was the Thunderbird.
There's no other way. We can't let our distinguished guests get wet in the rain.
Next it was the Bulgarian mascots' turn. Albert saw a hundred beautiful women gliding towards the stadium in the heavy rain.
"They are so beautiful." Nia couldn't help but sigh.
"That's a Veela."
Albert closed his eyes the moment the music started. He didn't want to be bewitched by the Veela and do something indecent.
In Albert's opinion, the temptation of the Veela might be more difficult to resist than the Imperius Curse, and he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of his sister.
"Why are you closing your eyes?" Nia asked puzzledly.
However, she soon realized something because someone in the box was doing something strange.
The son of the family whose gaze she hated actually jumped directly onto the chair as if possessed, posing in an incredibly shocking and shameful posture, and his parents seemed to want to pull him to sit down, but to no avail.
Not only Draco, but all the men in the stadium were doing some puzzling things under the girls' puzzled gazes.
"The dance of the Veela will make men forget everything in the world and become obsessed with them." Albert explained with his eyes closed, "So it is a good idea to look away appropriately."
Of course, Hermione had no idea about Veela, so she just gaped in confusion at the strange movements made by the boys around her.
"Harry, Ron, what are you doing?" Hermione was trying to stop her good friend from doing something stupid, but to no avail.
Similar situations spread throughout the stadium like a plague.
After the music ended, the stadium erupted in angry roars. The men did not want the Veela to leave, and many spectators who supported the American team even threw away everything related to the American team and supported the Bulgarian team instead.
Albert opened his eyes after the music ended, looked at the extremely embarrassed Draco Malfoy in the front row, curled up a smile at the corner of his mouth, and said softly: "It's simply a large-scale social death scene!"
In the box, only Draco Malfoy was hit, and his miserable appearance was seen by the big shots here.
Draco seemed to realize what he had just done. His cheeks suddenly turned red and he shrank back to his parents like a quail egg. He didn't dare to show his head again for fear of attracting other people's attention.