Harry Potter: I started checking in from Diagon Alley

A criminal who should have been imprisoned in Azkaban, and also a Death Eater.

Eric glanced at it twice, then looked away and stood up.

"Where are you going? The competition might start soon," Sirius asked.

“The restroom,” Eric said, walking outside.

As Eric passed by Shining's spot, he slipped and accidentally stepped on Shining's foot.

Eric quickly apologized, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Shanshan is alright, it's not Mr.'s fault!" Shanshan said hurriedly, clutching her foot.

Eric pulled a small statue of Victor Krum from his pocket, a souvenir he had bought when he passed by the stall earlier, and handed it to Shining, saying, "This is for you."

Shining became even more nervous and refused, saying, "Sir, you are too kind. Shining cannot accept such a thing!"

“Take it. Accepting gifts from strangers won’t make you free,” Eric laughed.

If a house-elf accepts any clothing from its owner, it means that the owner has released it from its constraints.

This is a tradition of keeping house-elves.

Shining blushed, but in the end she silently accepted the gift and clutched the small statue tightly in her hand.

……

When Eric returned, the private room was already quite lively.

Apart from Gilgamesh, the other people in the same private room were all well-known figures in the magical world.

For example, after Eric returned to his seat, British Minister of Magic Fudge walked in together with Bulgarian Minister of Magic Obalonsk.

Eric and Sirius were sitting together.

Hearing Fudge's voice from behind, the two turned around at the same time.

Everyone around them turned to look.

Upon seeing Fudge appear, Percy excitedly stood up and bowed to him.

His glasses fell to the ground because of the sudden movement.

Percy awkwardly picked up the glasses and tried to fix them with his wand.

George and Fred burst into laughter when they saw this.

Fudge was chatting and laughing with the people around him, but when he saw Eric and Sirius in the private room, his smile immediately froze.

One he couldn't afford to offend, and the other he didn't want to face; Fudge wanted to disappear immediately.

Unfortunately, magic is not a panacea.

While Fudge stood frozen in place, Eric spoke first with a smile: "Hello, Minister, how's the process of awarding Sirius the Order of Merlin going?"

Fudge stammered, "Okay...very good, don't worry, I...I'm trying."

Sirius Black also said, "The Daily Prophet has not published an article apologizing to me yet. Minister, do you have any clue about this?"

Fudge was overwhelmed, sweat beading on his forehead. He pointed to the Bulgarian Minister of Magic beside him and said, "I'll keep an eye on them. Can you give me some time? ... Please excuse me, Mr. Obalonsk doesn't understand what we're talking about."

The Bulgarian Minister of Magic winked discreetly at Eric and Sirius.

The two understood each other perfectly; he clearly understood, but pretended not to.

After a few teasing remarks, Eric and Sirius stopped bothering Fudge.

There will be opportunities in the future.

It's become the norm to tease Fudge whenever we run into him.

Fudge was like a puppet, suffering one loss after another in silence.

But he was powerless to resist.

His power is already precarious; now he needs to salvage his position, not be angry at being fooled by Eric and then settle scores with him.

This situation started after Peter was caught during the Christmas break last semester and has continued for quite some time.

At least for now, Fudge has absolutely no way to deal with Eric and Sirius.

After Fudge and the Bulgarian Minister of Magic left, the guests in the private boxes began to arrive one after another.

This includes Ludo Bagman, the Director of the Sports Department, whom the group just met on the road.

and also……

Draco Malfoy with his parents.

Chapter 168 The game begins

The arrival of the Malfoys instantly brought the atmosphere in the private room to a freezing point.

"Lucius! Welcome!" Fudge, who was completely bewildered, was the first to stand up and welcome the Malfoy family.

Draco Malfoy's father, Lucius Malfoy, had been all smiles, but when he saw Sirius Black behind Fudge, his expression immediately turned ugly.

Lucius Malfoy was also a Death Eater during Voldemort's reign.

Sirius Black was a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and the two had met many times on the battlefield back then.

After Voldemort's downfall, Malfoy claimed that he was under the influence of the Imperius Curse. After donating a large sum of money to the Ministry of Magic, he was confirmed to be under the Imperius Curse. Many dark wizards were imprisoned in Azkaban, but he was not implicated.

Now, enemies meet again, their eyes blazing with hatred.

“Hello, Minister…” Lucius Malfoy said slowly, “but I didn’t expect that a fugitive would be sitting in the same box as me.”

Fudge looked extremely embarrassed. Adhering to the Ministry of Magic's treatment of Sirius Black, he only offered superficial politeness, saying, "Mr. Black has now been exonerated, regardless of what he did before..."

Sirius looked directly into Lucius Malfoy's eyes and said, "Money isn't everything, Malfoy. Watch out, you might fall into a trap someday. I'll definitely send you to Azkaban one of these days."

"What did you say?!"

"What is the greatest pain in life?" Sirius suddenly turned and asked.

Eric laughed and replied, "You might earn Galleons, but you might not live to spend them."

Lucius Malfoy's face turned red, and he shouted sharply, "And who are you?"

"Why don't you ask your son? Draco definitely knows who I am. How was your meal today, Draco? Be careful not to throw up here later," Eric laughed.

Eric's words elicited a burst of laughter.

Harry and Ron laughed the loudest.

Draco Malfoy turned pale and couldn't help but take two steps back.

Eric should have kept quiet about it, because the mention of it brought up the scene where he vomited in front of everyone in the auditorium during the dueling club days.

Draco Malfoy used to be eccentric and liked to cause trouble for Harry, but he wasn't stupid.

He used to cause trouble for Harry because he was about equal in strength to Harry at the time.

But things are completely different now, especially with Eric around.

Eric was able to fight Snape to a standstill; ten of Snape combined wouldn't be enough to beat Eric.

Unable to contain himself after his son was verbally insulted, Lucius Malfoy turned to Mr. Weasley in the box and taunted, "You brought this rude fellow in, Weasley? How much did your family spend on these tickets? Did you go bankrupt?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Weasley also stood up; he and Malfoy were mortal enemies.

Two years ago, the two of them even got into a fight in Diagon Alley.

Sirius Black stopped Mr. Weasley and said, "Don't worry, Malfoy, with the Black family's wealth, buying a few tickets is a piece of cake. Don't worry about how we got here; at least we don't have to worry about our former Death Eater comrades coming after us."

"you……"

Draco Malfoy's mother keenly sensed her son's unusual behavior and subtly tugged at Lucius Malfoy's sleeve from behind, signaling him to stop talking.

Lucius Malfoy, having gained no advantage, snorted coldly, shook off Narcissa's hand, and walked towards his seat with his wife and children.

As they passed Sirius Black, he whispered, "Long time no see, cousin."

Narcissa Malfoy trembled slightly, offering no response and not even glancing at Sirius.

Narcissa Malfoy, whose real name was Narcissa Black, was Sirius Black's cousin.

She has two sisters, Andromeda and Bellatrix.

Andromeda is Tonks' mother. She has been expelled from the family because she married a half-blood wizard named Tonks.

Bellatrix, on the other hand, is a loyal Death Eater who is currently imprisoned in Azkaban.

The three Black sisters have very different personalities and each has their own unique experiences.

In fact, many well-known families in the wizarding world are related.

Even Harry is no exception; the Potter family and the Black family have a history of intermarriage.

In reality, it's like a dense tangled ball of yarn; without dedicated effort, it's impossible to untangle it.

The atmosphere in the box was awkward. Mr. Weasley saw Malfoy's embarrassment and wanted to say something sarcastic, but Fudge smoothed things over by saying, "Everyone, sit down, sit down, don't stand there like idiots, the match is about to start."

Before he could finish speaking, Ludobagman, the director of the Sports Department, stood up and said loudly, "That's right, it's almost time."

Outside the private box, a loud firework exploded at just the right moment, and the audience cheered.

Ludobagman walked to the window of the box, took out his wand, pointed it at his throat, and used an amplification spell. After being enhanced, his voice resounded throughout the room.

"Welcome! Welcome to the final of the 422nd Quidditch World Cup!"

A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the audience.

The blackboard that had been continuously playing advertisements stopped changing and began displaying the names of the two opposing teams: Bulgaria and Ireland.

Below the names is the real-time score, which is currently 0:0.

"Now, please allow me to introduce you to the Bulgarian team's mascot!" Ludobagman said.

As Ludo's voice rang out, more than a hundred women rushed out from the Bulgarian team's formation, gliding onto the field with swift and joyful steps.

She may be the most beautiful woman in the world.

Their fair skin was as radiant as moonlight.

Even though there was no wind, their hair moved on its own, fluttering behind their heads.