Harry Potter and the Hidden Treasure (Volume 3)

Chapter 478 The Game Begins

"The Veela performance was truly outstanding, and the Bulgarian National Team really brought in excellent mascots!" roared Ludo Bagman's voice, "But now, please kindly raise your wands in the air and welcome the Irish National Team Mascots!"

What seemed to be a large, green and gold comet zoomed into the stadium.

It circled the stadium before splitting into two smaller comets, each heading towards the goal posts.

A rainbow suddenly arched across the field, connecting the two balls of light.

The crowd exclaimed "oooh" and "aaaah", as if they were watching fireworks.

At that moment, the rainbow faded away, and the balls of light came together, merging to form a huge, glowing shamrock that rose into the sky and began to ascend over the stands.

Something like a golden rain seemed to fall from it...

"Incredible!" exclaimed Ron, leaning over and grabbing as if he were crazy.

The shamrock rose above them, and heavy gold coins rained down from it, hitting their heads and seats.

Evan didn't even look at the gold coins. He knew they were all fake.

Even if they were real, he didn't care.

For Evan, a master of advanced Alchemy, gold was the most useless of all.

He looked up and observed carefully the shamrock in the sky, realizing it was actually composed of thousands of small bearded men with red waistcoats, each carrying a little gold or green lamp.

"Irish leprechauns," whispered Sirius.

They were highly representative native creatures of Ireland, appearing in many fairy tales.

The story of the leprechaun dates back to ancient times when this magical creature lived in ancient ruins scattered across the countryside.

Typically, there are clovers around them symbolizing luck.

Some say this is because leprechaun magic works. They make simple clothes from clover leaves.

Among all magical creatures known to date, leprechauns are the ones most fond of drawing attention from muggles.

Therefore, they are deeply ingrained in Muggle children's stories.

They are very intelligent and speak the human language. Smarter than fairies and less malicious than the goblin, pixie, or Doxy, the leprechaun is mischievous nonetheless.

Leprechauns produce a substance akin to gold that vanishes after a few hours, purely because they delight in seeing the astonished expressions of wizards or muggles.

In the stadium, there was a tumultuous applause from the crowd, many of whom were still fighting and rummaging under their seats to retrieve the gold.

It's astounding that so many greedy fools naively believed the gold coins were real.

"Here you go!" exclaimed Ron joyfully, shoving a handful of gold coins into Harry's hands, "For the Omnioculars! Now you have to buy me a Christmas gift, ha-ha!"

A few minutes later, the large shamrock dissolved, the leprechauns descended onto the field on the opposite side of the Veela and settled cross-legged to watch the match.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Bulgarian Quidditch team! I present to you, first of all, Dimitrov!" declared Ludo loudly.

A figure dressed in scarlet on a broom shot out onto the field from a lower entrance. He moved so swiftly that he was a blur, earning enthusiastic applause from the Bulgarian supporters.

With each Quidditch player entering the stadium, there were cheers from the Bulgarian fans.

But when Ludo announced Viktor Krum, the entire place shook.

Whether a fan of the Bulgarian National Team or not, most people were admirers of Krum.

This reminded Evan of Lockhart. In his view, both were overly flashy, and only due to their false fame and rhetoric could they deceive the girls.

"Look, there he is, there he is!" shouted Ron, tracking Krum with his Omnioculars.

Upon hearing his cries, the others quickly focused their Omnioculars on him.

Long before the Veela arrived, Evan secretly used magic. He didn't need to use Omnioculars, and now he could see clearly.

Viktor Krum was slender, dark, with a sallow skin, a large hooked nose, and thick black eyebrows. He resembled a giant bird of prey. It was hard to believe he was only eighteen years old. (Note: Yes, I know this differs from the movies, but this is how he was described in the books.)

He gave the impression of being very strong, as if he exercised outdoors frequently, experiencing the wind and the sun.

In comparison to Evan, who was a slender and fragile-looking boy, the two individuals had nothing in common in terms of style.

"And now, please welcome the Irish National Quidditch Team!" shouted Ludo Bagman. "Introducing...Connolly! Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! And... Lynch!"

Seven swift green streaks glided onto the field. All were riding "Firebolts."

On their backs, their names were embroidered in silver.

"And here, straight from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed President of the International Quidditch Association Council, Hassan Mostafa."

A small, slim wizard, dressed in robes of pure gold matching the stadium, strode out onto the field. He was completely bald, save for a mustache to rival Uncle Vernon's.

A silver whistle protruded from beneath the mustache, and he carried a large wooden box under one arm, his broom under the other. He mounted his broom and opened the box with a flourish. Four balls shot out suddenly: the scarlet Quaffle, the two black Bludgers, and the tiny fluttering Golden Snitch.

With a sharp blow of his whistle, Mostafa soared into the air after the balls, and the match officially began!

Undoubtedly, this was a world-class competition. The Quidditch players from both teams displayed a high level of skill and great ornamental value.

They executed enough intricate moves for Evan, a novice, to enjoy the game.

For the first time, he realized Quidditch could be played in such a manner.

Not to mention Harry, Ron, and other Quidditch enthusiasts, who were completely absorbed in the game.

The Irish team's level was clearly superior to the Bulgarian team. They formed a "Falcon Head Attack Formation" and outmaneuvered the Bulgarian national opponents with dazzling feints, swiftly scoring a goal.

The pixies watching from the sidelines soared up again into the air, forming a huge gleaming clover leaf.

On the other side of the stadium, the Veelas gazed at them solemnly.