The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 372 Quidditch World Cup 1
The Quidditch World Cup 94, the joint entrance exams of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, were two grand events in the wizarding world. But beneath these grand events, there were hidden dangers, the threat of Voldemort.

The darkness seems to be getting closer and closer, maybe tomorrow, or maybe right before our eyes.

The even breathing of Hermione and Ginny could be heard in the bedroom, and Ada slowly fell asleep. But Ada felt that just as she fell asleep, Mrs. Weasley appeared in the bedroom and woke up Hermione and Ginny.

The reason why Ada was not woken up was that she had already taken the Apparition test in advance. She could use Apparition to rush to the competition venue just like Bill, Charlie and Percy.

But could Ada really continue to sleep? The answer is of course not. How could Fred and George watch Ada continue to sleep while they had to get up early?
So, an alarm clock was thrown into the bedroom. The ringing alarm drove away Ada's sleepiness, and she had to rub her eyes and walk into the kitchen.

It was dark outside the window, but the light was on in the kitchen. Everyone was too sleepy to open their eyes. Mrs. Weasley was stirring something in a large pot on the stove, and Mr. Weasley was sitting at the table, checking a bundle of large tickets made of parchment.

After breakfast, if eating before dawn could be considered breakfast, the group left the burrow under the moonlight.

The air was cold, the moon was still high in the sky, and only a faint gray-green tint appeared on the horizon to their right, indicating that dawn was gradually approaching.

Mr. Weasley walked in front, and Harry kept asking questions like a curious baby, while Mr. Weasley patiently explained the organization of the World Cup.

Mr. Weasley looked back from time to time to make sure the sleepy children were not left behind. But Mr. Weasley's worries were unnecessary. When the cold wind blew, everyone woke up immediately. Ada, who was at the end, even tightened her jacket.

They trudged along the dark, damp lane through the village of Ottery St. Catchpole, the only sound in the silence being the sound of their own footsteps.

As they began to cross the White Stoat Mountain, the sky finally brightened a little, and the original darkness gradually turned into a deep blue, which prevented them from tripping over the rabbit holes under their feet.

Half a summer of exercise was still useful, Ada was not the last one to reach the top of the mountain. The last one was Hermione, and the little girl held her clothes tightly with one hand.

"Oh," Mr. Weasley took off his glasses and wiped them with his jersey, panting, "Yes, we are on time. There are still ten minutes..."

Everyone dispersed and searched for the door key. Seeing Ada standing on the top of the mountain with a reluctant look on her face, Fred and George finally felt a little more balanced, and they also forgave Ada's "betrayal" a little.

After a while, a strange man called out to everyone to come in. It was Amos Diggory, Cedric's father, whose family also lived near St. Catchpole's.

Unlike Cedric, Mr. Diggory seemed to be a chatterbox. From the first moment he met him, he kept chattering.

"Arthur, are these your children?"

Amos Diggory asked, looking at the boys and girls standing together. The Diggory family only had Cedric as a child, while the Weasley family... well... had a Quidditch team.

"Oh, no, the red-haired one and the blonde one." Mr. Weasley pointed out his children one by one, including Ada. "This is Hermione, Ron's friend; this is Harry, also Ron's friend."

At the mention of Harry's name, Mr. Diggory's eyes widened, and he told over and over again how Cedric had beaten Harry in the match, the day the Dementors had unexpectedly entered the arena.

Unlike the chattering and proud Mr. Diggory, Cedric blushed and sheepishly moved closer to Ada and the twins, whispering an apology to Harry.

In that game, both Cedric and Harry were affected by Dementors, but Cedric was not affected as much, so Cedric always felt that he won unfairly.

Hufflepuff's noble qualities, Cedric's noble qualities, that's why Ada accepted Cedric and became his friend.

Ada suggested quietly, "Ced, need help? I can make Mr. Diggory shut up immediately, safely and painlessly."

Cedric immediately shook his head. He didn't believe what Ada said about safety and painlessness. This was a violent person! Fortunately, Cedric's embarrassment did not last long, because the time for the door key was about to come.

Ten people gathered around the old boot that Mr. Diggory had found, and each of them held out a finger, and as Mr. Weasley finished counting, each of them touched the dirty old boot.

Then, everyone disappeared from the spot under the help of the portkey and flew forward like a gust of wind.

After an unknown amount of time, they finally landed on the ground again, and the solid ground gave them a sense of security. Only four people were still standing, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory, Ada and Cedric, while the others had fallen to the ground.

Ada frowned and combed her hair again. Her long golden hair was blown askew by the wind. Ada felt that she must look like a crazy woman with disheveled hair.

I shouldn't have gotten up, I shouldn't have chosen the door key, wouldn't Apparition be great? Five o'clock, seven o'clock, they got here at five o'clock, how much sleep did they lose!

Crossing the deserted swamp, they saw a Muggle in front of a small stone house. This Muggle was the guard of the camp. He was very surprised by the wizards wearing strange clothes. In order to conceal the game, the wizards who came to watch the game were required to wear Muggle clothes, which made the wizards on the field look strange.

Looking at this group of "monsters", Ada felt that their brains must have been eaten by ghouls. Even if they couldn't tell the difference between Muggle clothes, they could still tell the difference between men and women, right? They could always tell the difference between skirts and pants, right?

But the wizards told Ada that they couldn't tell the difference. Walking around in women's skirts was not strange anymore. Ada even saw an old man wearing black fishnet stockings, with thick leg hair sticking out of the stockings. It was really eye-catching!
There was an open space next to the woods at the end of the venue, with a small sign stuck on the ground that read: Wezley.

Although the name was written wrong, this was the camping site that Mr. Weasley had booked in advance, and Ada finally didn't have to suffer from the wizards' strange costumes.

At Mr. Weasley's strong request, they set up two crooked double tents in a Muggle way. These two tents were borrowed by Mr. Weasley from his colleagues in the office. The tents looked small on the outside, but they were actually full of space, with bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and living rooms.

Fred and George quickly ran to the table and took up two chairs, putting their feet up on the table.

"Take your feet off the table," said Mr. Weasley. "We need some water..."

"Take your feet off the table." The twins repeated their father's words in unison, taking their feet off the table, but when Mr. Weasley's attention was not on them, they put their feet back on.

The sun had just risen, the mist was gradually dissipating, the campers on the field gradually woke up, and there were more and more strange people. Ada saw another eye-catching scene.

A male wizard with a height and waistline of similar size was wearing a lady's silk nightgown. Ada thought she saw Umbridge in this nightgown.

Beside the tent, Mr. Weasley was playing with matches obsessively. He struck a match, then screamed and threw it away, as if he was frightened by the sudden flame. He quickly used up a box of matches.

Ada first met Mr. Crouch, whom Percy had been thinking about. Barty Crouch was about fifty years old, wearing a spotless and neat suit, his hair was neatly trimmed, and his moustache looked like it was trimmed with a slide ruler.

At first glance, you can tell that Crouch is difficult to get along with, and is a rigid and strict person.

And this is indeed the case. Every word he said seemed to emphasize the law and regulations. Perhaps it was because of this that he sent his son to Azkaban for the sake of justice!
Percy wanted to show off in front of his boss, so he entertained Mr. Crouch attentively. However, Barty Crouch called him the wrong name and called him Weatherby.

Fred and George nearly spit their tea into their cups with laughter, something the twins would remember forever. Percy's ears turned pink and he pretended to concentrate on tending to the teapot, losing his previous enthusiasm.

After Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch left, Fred couldn't help himself and asked immediately, "What's going on at Hogwarts now, Dad?"

"You will soon find out," said Mr. Weasley, smiling, continuing to maintain the mystery.

"This is confidential. We won't know until the Ministry decides to make it public." Percy said seriously, "Mr. Crouch is right not to disclose confidential information easily."

"Oh, shut up, Weatherby," said Fred.

When Weatherby appeared, everyone burst into laughter, and Percy shrank back to the teapot in embarrassment. Percy's actions made everyone laugh even louder, and Ginny laughed so hard that her stomach hurt.

Ada wiped away the tears from her eyes and said, "If you two are willing to talk to me, I will tell you what the secret is."

Everyone stopped laughing, but they didn't look at Ada. Instead, they stared at the twins, and their meaning was obvious.

"Okay, we compromise," Fred said. "You win, dear female student union president."

Ada tilted her head and pointed at Fred. She said, "Watch your words, Mr. Weasley. You need something from me now."

Fred was immediately criticized by everyone, and Percy brought up the matter again and again, which really whetted everyone's appetite.

"Okay, Ada, what's the secret?" George asked softly. Although the words were gentle, the threat behind them could not be hidden. If Ada couldn't explain it clearly, the twins would definitely give her a hard time.

Ida cleared her throat like Percy did and said seriously, "After school starts, Hogwarts will host the Triwizard Tournament..."

The news of the three-school joint exam immediately sparked discussion among everyone, and many of them expressed their desire to participate in the competition. Even the youngest Ginny was eager to try. It was not until Mr. Weasley told everyone that the competition was dangerous that everyone lost their enthusiasm.

Unlike other people who wanted to sign up enthusiastically, Harry was very quiet. He didn't want to sign up, let alone participate. If possible, Harry wanted to spend each school year quietly.

(End of this chapter)