Dark child

26

Clutching their purchases, Lucius in the lead, they all hurried into the wood, following the lantern-lit trail. They could hear the sounds of thousands of people moving around them, shouts and laughter, snatches of singing. The atmosphere of feverish excitement was highly infectious; They walked through the wood for twenty minutes, until at last they emerged on the other side and found themselves in the shadow of a gigantic stadium. Though Elara could see only a fraction of the immense gold walls surrounding the field, she could tell that ten cathedrals would fit comfortably inside it.

"Prime seats!" said the Ministry witch at the entrance when she checked their tickets. "Top Box! Straight upstairs, Lucius, and as high as you can go."
The stairs into the stadium were carpeted in rich purple. They clambered upward with the rest of the crowd, which slowly filtered away through doors into the stands to their left and right. They kept climbing, and at last they reached the top of the staircase and found themselves in a small box, set at the highest point of the stadium and situated exactly halfway between the golden goal posts. About twenty purple-and-gilt chairs stood in two rows here.

Elara's head turned around as she heard a familiar voice, Fudge's, calling out "Ah, and here's Lucius!"
Elara spotted Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were already seated there, turning quickly. Malfoys' four seats were situated right behind Mr.Weasley's.
"Ah, Fudge," said Lucius, holding out his hand as he reached the Minister of Magic. "How are you? I don't think you've met my wife, Narcissa? Or our son, Draco? But I'm sure you have met Elara before."

"How do you do, how do you do?" said Fudge, smiling and bowing to Lucius. "And allow me to introduce you to Mr.Oblansk — Obalonsk — Mr. — well, he's the Bulgarian Minister of Magic, and he can't understand a word I'm saying anyway, so never mind. And let's see who else — you know Arthur Weasley, I daresay?"

It was a tense moment. Lucius and Mr.Weasley looked at each other and Elara vividly recalled the last time they had come face-to-face in Flourish and Blotts. Lucius's cold gray eyes swept over Mr.Weasley, and then up and down the row.
"Good lord, Arthur," he said softly. "What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?"
Fudge, who wasn't listening, said, "Lucius has just given a very generous contribution to St.Mungo's Hospital, Arthur. He's here as my guest."
"How — how nice," said Mr.Weasley, with a very strained smile.

Lucius's eyes had returned to Hermione, who went slightly pink, but stared determinedly back at him. Elara knew exactly what was making Lucius's lip curl like that. However, under the gaze of the Minister, Lucius didn't dare say anything. He nodded sneeringly to Mr.Weasley and continued down the line to his seats. Draco shot Harry, Ron, and Hermione one contemptuous look, then settled himself between his mother and Elara.

Next moment, Ludo Bagman charged into the box.
"Everyone ready?" he said, his round face gleaming like a great, excited Edam. "Minister — ready to go?"
"Ready when you are, Ludo," said Fudge comfortably.
Ludo whipped out his wand, directed it at his own throat, and said "Sonorus!" and then spoke over the roar of sound that was now filling the packed stadium; his voice echoed over them, booming into every corner of the stands.

"Ladies and gentlemen... welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"
The spectators screamed and clapped. Thousands of flags waved, adding their discordant national anthems to the racket.
"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce... the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!"

The right-hand side of the stands roared its approval. "They've brought Veela!" said Elara, leaning forward in her seat.
A hundred veela were now gliding out onto the field, then the music started, and the veela started to dance. As the veela danced faster and faster, Draco and Lucius covered their ears with their hands. Elara looked at Narcissa and as they met each other's gaze, they both burst into laughter.
The music stopped and angry yells were filling the stadium. The crowd didn't want the veela to go.