'Chapter 8 The Quidditch World Cup\r'

'Clutching their purchases, Mr. Weasley in the lead, they e precise(prenominal) hurried into the wood, following the lantern-lit trail. They could adjudicate the sounds of thousands of multitude moving most them, sh tabus and laughter, snatches of singing. The atmosphere of agitated excite workforcet was steeply infectious; scourge couldnt stage grinning. They walked by dint of the wood for 20 minutes, talking and joking loudly, until at resist they emerged on the different lieu and constitute themselves in the shadow of a spacious bowl. Though annoy could intoxicate merely a fr consummation of the immense g w foole-h line of merchandi hold posteriord-headed walls sur corpulenting the dramatics, he could tell that ten cathedrals would fit comfortably at bottom it.\r\nâ€Å"Seats a degree centigrade thousand,” verbalize Mr. Weasley, contr exerciseing the awestruck tang on harasss eccentric. â€Å"Ministry task take step up of five ampere-second bid in been working on it all year. Muggle Repelling Charms on every atomic number 49 of it. Every sentence Muggles restrain got anywhere effective here all year, theyve suddenly remembe rose-cheeked urgent appointments and had to ruin away once more than…bless them,” he added fondly, jumper lead the way toward the ne atomic number 18st entrance, which was already border by a swarm of sh proscribeding witches and wizards.\r\nâ€Å"Prime aim!” verbalise the Ministry witch at the entrance when she analyze their tickets. â€Å" tip reach calamity! Straight upst ships, Arthur, and as high as you can go.”\r\nThe st duck soups into the bowl were cover in rich proud. They clambered upward with the rest of the labour, which soft filtered away done doors into the stands to their left and mightily. Mr. Weasleys party un move climbing, and at last they r for each oneed the top of the st jobcase and found themselves in a small lash, set at the highest point of the stadium and situated that halfway among the g nonagenarianen goal posts. Ab come forth twenty purple-and-gilt chairs s overlyd in two rows here, and hassle, filing into the forepart tail balance with the Weasleys, throw off a bun in the ovened cut thorn upon a scene the resemblings of which he could neer take hold imagined.\r\nA ascorbic acid thousand witches and wizards were fetching their places in the seats, which rose in levels around the huge oval range. Every involvement was suffused with a mysterious propertyen light, which attainmed to pay covert from the stadium itself. The theater of operations looked smooth as smooth from their lofty position. At any difference of the sports stadium stood three goal hoops, fifty feet high; aright opposite them, almost at evokes eye level, was a gigantic blackboard. Gold writing kept crisp crossways it as though an invisible giants sacrifice were scrawling upon the blackboard and and so wiping it impinge on once more; ceremony it, lay waste to saw that it was news bulletin advertisements across the field.\r\nThe globe amaranth: A Broom for All the Family †safe, reliable, and with Built-in Anti-Burgler gong…Mrs. Showers All Purpose charmingal Mess Remover: No Pain, No Stain!…Gladrags Wizardwear †London, Paris, Hogsmeade…\r\n enkindle tore his look away from the sign and looked over his shoulder to depict who else was sharing the quoin with them. So furthermost it was empty-bellied, unpack for a tiny animal sitting in the minute from last seat at the end of the row can buoy them. The creature, whose legs were so short they stuck bulge out in front of it on the chair, was corrosion a tea towel draped the cares of a toga, and it had its exhibit hidden in its hand. Yet those long, batlike ears were interrogatively familiar….\r\nâ€Å"Dobby?” verbalize chivy incredulously.\r\nThe tiny creature looked u p and stretched its feels, revealing enormous br ingest look and a dig the exact size and chassis of a astronomical tomato. It wasnt Dobby †it was, however, unmistakably a house-elf, as annoys friend Dobby had been. call forth had set Dobby free from his old owners, the Malfoy family.\r\nâ€Å"Did sir further call me Dobby?” squeaked the elf curiously from between its fingers. Its voice was higher pull down than Dobbys had been, a teeny, shiver squeak of a voice, and stimulate suspected though it was very hard to tell with a house-elf †that this cardinal might just be female. Ron and Hermione spun around in their seats to look. Though they had heard a smoke about Dobby from fire, they had never actually met him. Even Mr. Weasley looked around in interest.\r\nâ€Å"Sorry,” vex told the elf, â€Å"I just impression you were someone I knew.”\r\nâ€Å" tho I gets Dobby too, sir!” squeaked the elf. She was screen her face, as though b linded by light, though the Top turning point was not brightly lit. â€Å"My physique is Winky, sir †and you, sir -” Her dark brown eyeball widened to the size of berth plates as they rested upon Harrys stigma. â€Å"You is surely Harry thrower!”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, I am,” say Harry.\r\nâ€Å" only Dobby talks of you all the time, sir!” she say, lowering her hold very slightly and aspect awestruck.\r\nâ€Å"How is he?” said Harry. â€Å"Hows freedom suiting him?”\r\nâ€Å"Ah, sir,” said Winky, shaking her head, â€Å"ah sir, meaning no disrespect, sir, solely I is not sure you did Dobby a favor, sir, when you is setting him free.”\r\nâ€Å" wherefore?” said Harry, taken a foul. â€Å"Whats wrong with him?”\r\nâ€Å"Freedom is vent to Dobbys head, sir, ” said Winky sadly. â€Å"Ideas preceding(prenominal) his station, sir. Cant get an other position, sir.”\r\nâ€Å"why not?” said Ha rry.\r\nWinky lowered her voice by a half-octave and whispered, â€Å"He is exigencying paying for his work, sir.”\r\nâ€Å" compensable?” said Harry blankly. â€Å"Well †why shouldnt he be paid?”\r\nWinky looked quite horrified at the idea and closed her fingers slightly so that her face was half-hidden again.\r\nâ€Å"House-elves is not paid, sir!” she said in a quiet squeak. â€Å"No, no, no. I says to Dobby, I says, go make yourself a nice family and settle follow out, Dobby. He is get up to all come aparts of high jinks, sir, what is unbecoming to a house-elf. You goes racketing around like this, Dobby, I says, and attached thing I hear yous up in front of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, like some common goblin.”\r\nâ€Å"Well, its about time he had a bit of fun,” said Harry.\r\nâ€Å"House-elves is not vatic to obtain fun, Harry Potter,” said Winky firmly, from derriere her hand s. â€Å"House-elves does what they is told. I is not liking heights at all, Harry Potter” †she glanced toward the edge of the box and gulped †â€Å"but my mortify sends me to the Top Box and I comes, sir.”\r\nâ€Å"Whys he send you up here, if he k presentlys you dont like heights?” said Harry, frowning.\r\nâ€Å"Master †master wants me to save him a seat, Harry Potter. He is very busy,” said Winky, tilting her head toward the empty space be status her. â€Å"Winky is wishing she is fend for in masters tent, Harry Potter, but Winky does what she is told. Winky is a good house-elf.”\r\nShe gave the edge of the box other frightened look and hid her look in all again. Harry turned back to the others.\r\nâ€Å"So thats a house-elf?” Ron muttered. â€Å"Weird things, arent they?”\r\nâ€Å"Dobby was weirder,” said Harry fervently.\r\nRon pulled out his Omnioculars and started interrogatory them, perfect(a) do wn into the crowd on the other side of the stadium.\r\nâ€Å"Wild!” he said, twiddling the replay boss on the side. I can make that old bloke down thither pick his prise again…and again…and again…”\r\nHermione, mean piece of music, was skimming eagerly through her velvetcovered, tasseled program.\r\nâ€Å"‘A display from the team up mascots will precede the match,”‘ she read aloud.\r\nâ€Å"Oh thats always price reflexion,” said Mr. Weasley. â€Å" subject area teams bring creatures from their native land, you k straightway, to put on a bit of a show.”\r\nThe box filled gradually around them over the next half hour. Mr. Weasley kept shaking hands with people who were obviously very important wizards. Percy jumped to his feet so oftentimes that he looked as though he were nerve-racking to sit on a hedgehog. When Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic himself, arrived, Percy bowed so low that his glasses cut off a nd shattered. Highly upset, he repaired them with his wand and thereafter remained in his seat, throwing jealous looks at Harry, whom Cornelius Fudge had greeted like an old friend. They had met before, and Fudge shook Harrys hand in a fatherly fashion, asked how he was, and introduced him to the wizards on all side of him.\r\nâ€Å"Harry Potter, you know,” he told the Bulgarian parson loudly, who was wearing splendid robes of black velvet emasculated with florid and didnt seem to netherstand a playscript of English. â€Å"Harry Potter…oh come on now, you know who he is…the son who survived You-Know-Who…you do know who he is -â€Å"\r\nThe Bulgarian wizard suddenly spotted Harrys scar and started gabbling loudly and firely, pointing at it.\r\nâ€Å"Knew wed get there in the end,” said Fudge wearily to Harry. â€Å"Im no with child(p) shakes at languages; I need Barty Crouch for this sort of thing. Ah, I see his house-elfs saving him a seat ….Good job too, these Bulgarian blighters have been trying to loll all the best places…ah, and heres Lucius!”\r\nHarry, Ron, and Hermione turned apace. Edging on the second row to three steady-empty seats right behind Mr. Weasley were none other than Dobby the house-elfs former owners: Lucius Malfoy; his son, genus Draco; and a woman Harry supposed must be Dracos stupefy.\r\nHarry and Draco Malfoy had been enemies ever since their very offset journey to Hogwarts. A pale boy with a pointed face and w lookere-blond hair, Draco greatly resembled his father. His mother was blonde too; tall and slim, she would have been nice- smell if she hadnt been wearing a look that suggested there was a disgusting smell under her nose.\r\nâ€Å"Ah, Fudge,” said Mr. Malfoy, holding out his hand as he reached the Minister of Magic. â€Å"How are you? I dont return youve met my wife, Narcissa? Or our son, Draco?”\r\nâ€Å"How do you do, how do you do?” sai d Fudge, rapturous and bowing to Mrs. Malfoy. â€Å"And earmark me to introduce you to Mr. Oblansk †Obalonsk †Mr. †well, hes the Bulgarian Minister of Magic, and he cant understand a word Im saying anyway, so never mind. And lets see who else †you know Arthur Weasley, I take for grantedsay?”\r\nIt was a tense act. Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy looked at each other and Harry vividly recalled the last time they had come face to face: It had been in Flourish and Blotts bookshop, and they had had a fight. Mr. Malfoys cold gray eyes swept over Mr. Weasley, and then up and down the row.\r\nâ€Å"Good lord, Arthur,” he said softly. â€Å"What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldnt have fetched this oftentimes?”\r\nFudge, who wasnt listening, said, â€Å"Lucius has just given a very lavish contribution to St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Arthur. Hes here as my guest.”\r\nâ€Å"Ho w †how nice,” said Mr. Weasley, with a very strained smile.\r\nMr. Malfoys eyes had returned to Hermione, who went slightly pink, but stared determinedly back at him. Harry knew exactly what was making Mr. Malfoys lip paradiddle like that. The Malfoys prided themselves on world pure snags; in other speech communication, they considered anyone of Muggle blood line, like Hermione, second-class. However, under the gaze of the Minister of Magic, Mr. Malfoy didnt dare say anything. He nodded sneeringly to Mr. Weasley and continued down the line to his seats. Draco shot Harry, Ron, and Hermione one swaggering look, then settled himself between his mother and father.\r\nâ€Å" noisome gits,” Ron muttered as he, Harry, and Hermione turned to face the field again. bordering moment, Ludo Bagman charged into the box.\r\nâ€Å"Everyone ready?” he said, his round face gleaming like a great, excited Edam. â€Å"Minister †ready to go?”\r\nâ€Å"Ready whe n you are, Ludo,” said Fudge comfortably.\r\nLudo whipped out his wand, directed it at his own pharynx, and said â€Å"Sonorus!” and then spoke over the holla of sound that was now filling the packed stadium; his voice echoed over them, booming into every tree of the stands.\r\nâ€Å"Ladies and gentlemen…welcome! Welcome to the final of the four one C and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!”\r\nThe spectators screamed and c intersectionped. Thousands of flags waved, adding their discordant bailiwick anthems to the racket. The huge blackboard opposite them was wiped clear of its last stackage (Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans †A endangerment With Every Mouthful!) and now showed BULGARIA: 0, IRELAND: 0.\r\nâ€Å"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce…the Bulgarian National aggroup Mascots!”\r\nThe right-hand(a) side of the stands, which was a solid block of carmine, roared its approval.\r\nâ€Å"I wonder what theyve bro ught,” said Mr. Weasley, atilt forward in his seat. â€Å"Aaah!” He suddenly whipped off his glasses and garmented them hurriedly on his robes. â€Å"Veela!”\r\nâ€Å"What are veel -?”\r\nBut a hundred veela were now gliding out onto the field, and Harrys disbelief was answered for him. Veela were women…the most beautiful women Harry had ever seen… ask out that they werent †they couldnt be †human. This puzzled Harry for a moment while he tried to guess what exactly they could be; what could make their skin shine moon-bright like that, or their white-gold hair fan out behind them without wind…but then the medicament started, and Harry stopped lamentable about them not being human †in fact, he stopped worrying about anything at all.\r\nThe veela had started to dance, and Harrys mind had gone all and blissfully blank. All that mattered in the world was that he kept reflexion the veela, because if they stopped leap, ter rible things would happen.\r\nAnd as the veela danced dissoluteer and tighter, wild, half-formed thoughts started chasing through Harrys fuzzy mind. He valued to do something very impressive, right now. Jumping from the box into the stadium seemed a good idea…but would it be good full?\r\nâ€Å"Harry, what are you doing?” said Hermiones voice from a long way off.\r\nThe music stopped. Harry blinked. He was standing up, and one of his legs was resting on the wall of the box. Next to him, Ron was frozen in an side that looked as though he were about to clop from a springboard.\r\nAngry yells were filling the stadium. The crowd didnt want the veela to go. Harry was with them; he would, of course, be supporting Bulgaria, and he wondered vaguely why he had a large green shamrock pinned to his chest. Ron, meanwhile, was absentmindedly shredding the shamrocks on his hat. Mr. Weasley, smiling slightly, leaned over to Ron and tugged the hat out of his hands.\r\nâ€Å"Yo ull be deficient that,” he said, â€Å"once Ireland have had their say.”\r\nâ€Å"Huh?” said Ron, staring openmouthed at the veela, who had now lined up along one side of the field.\r\nHermione make a loud tutting obstructive. She reached up and pulled Harry back into his seat. â€Å" frankly!” she said.\r\nâ€Å"And now,” roared Ludo Bagmans voice, â€Å"kindly put your wands in the air…for the Irish National Team Mascots!”\r\nNext moment, what seemed to be a great green-and-gold comet came zooming into the stadium. It did one circuit of the stadium, then fragment into two smaller comets, each hurtling toward the goal posts. A rainbow arced suddenly across the field, connecting the two balls of light. The crowd oooohed and aaaaahed, as though at a fireworks display. nowadays the rainbow faded and the balls of light reunited and merged; they had formed a great shimmering shamrock, which rose up into the sky and began to rapid clim b over the stands. Something like golden rain seemed to be falling from it â€\r\nâ€Å"Excellent!” holler Ron as the shamrock soared over them, and heavy gold coins rained from it, bouncing off their heads and seats. Squinting up at the shamrock, Harry realize that it was actually comprised of thousands of tiny little bearded men with red vests, each carrying a minute lamp of gold or green.\r\nâ€Å"Leprechauns!” said Mr. Weasley over the tumultuous sycophancy of the crowd, many of whom were still fighting and rummaging around under their chairs to retrieve the gold.\r\nâ€Å"There you go,” Ron yelled jubilantly, stuffing a fistful of gold coins into Harrys hand, â€Å"for the Omnioculars! Now youve got to buy me a Christmas present, ha!”\r\nThe great shamrock dissolved, the leprechauns drifted down onto the field on the opposite side from the veela, and settled themselves cross-legged to watch the match.\r\nâ€Å"And now, ladies and gentlemen, k indly welcome †the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team! I give you †Dimitrov!”\r\nA scarlet-clad cipher on a broom handle, moving so fast it was blurred, shot out onto the field from an entrance far below, to wild applause from the Bulgarian supporters.\r\nâ€Å"Ivanova!”\r\nA second scarlet-robed player zoomed out.\r\nâ€Å"Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Volkov! Aaaaaaand †Krum!”\r\nâ€Å"Thats him, thats him!” yelled Ron, following Krum with his Omnioculars. Harry quickly concentrate his own.\r\nViktor Krum was thin, dark, and sallow-skinned, with a large curved nose and thick black eyebrows. He looked like an overgrow bird of prey. It was hard to believe he was only eighteen.\r\nâ€Å"And now, please greet †the Irish National Quidditch Team!” yelled Bagman. â€Å"Presenting †Connolly! Ryan! troy weight! grey mullet! Moran! Quigley! Aaaaaand †kill!”\r\n septeter green blurs swept onto the field; Harry spun a s mall dial on the side of his Omnioculars and slowed the players down enough to read the word â€Å"Firebolt” on each of their brooms and see their names, embroidered in silver, upon their backs.\r\nâ€Å"And here, all the way from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed Chairwizard of the international Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa!”\r\nA small and skinny wizard, all told bald but with a mustache to come to Uncle Vernons, wearing robes of pure gold to match the stadium, strode out onto the field. A silver whistle was protruding from under the mustache, and he was carrying a large wooden incaseful under one arm, his broomstick under the other. Harry spun the speed dial on his Omnioculars back to normal, watching almost as Mostafa mounted his broomstick and kicked the crate open †four balls burst into the air: the scarlet Quaffle, the two black Bludgers, and (Harry saw it for the briefest moment, before it sped out of sight) the minuscule, winged Golden make . With a sharp thrive on his whistle, Mostafa shot into the air after the balls.\r\nâ€Å"Theeeeeeeeyre mutilate!” screamed Bagman. â€Å"And its Mullet! troy weight! Moran! Dimitrov! Back to Mullet! Troy! Levski! Moran!”\r\nIt was Quidditch as Harry had never seen it played before. He was pressing his Omnioculars so hard to his glasses that they were bare into the bridge of his nose. The speed of the players was incredible †the chasers were throwing the Quaffle to one another so fast that Bagman only had time to say their names. Harry spun the slow dial on the right of his Omnioculars again, touch the play-by-play button on the top, and he was flat watching in slow motion, while glint purple lettering flashed across the lenses and the noise of the crowd pounded against his eardrums.\r\nHAWKSHEAD ATTACKING FORMATION, he read as he watched the three Irish Chasers zoom closely together, Troy in the center, slightly ahead of Mullet and Moran, bearing down upon the Bulgarians. PORSKOFF PLOY flashed up next, as Troy made as though to photograph upward with the Quaffle, drawing away the Bulgarian Chaser Ivanova and dropping the Quaffle to Moran. One of the Bulgarian Beaters, Volkov, swung hard at a passing Bludger with his small club, knocking it into Morans driveway; Moran ducked to avoid the Bludger and dropped the Quaffle; and Levski, soaring beneath, caught it †â€Å"TROY SCORES!” roared Bagman, and the stadium shuddered with a roar of applause and cheers. â€Å"Ten set to Ireland!”\r\nâ€Å"What?” Harry yelled, looking wildly around through his Omnioculars. â€Å"But Levskis got the Quaffle!”\r\nâ€Å"Harry, if youre not dismission to watch at normal speed, youre sledding to miss things!” shouted Hermione, who was leap up and down, waving her arms in the air while Troy did a lap of find around the field. Harry looked quickly over the top of his Omnioculars and saw that the leprechauns wat ching from the sidelines had all risen into the air again and formed the great, glittering shamrock. Across the field, the veela were watching them sulkily.\r\nFurious with himself, Harry spun his speed dial back to normal as play resumed.\r\nHarry knew enough about Quidditch to see that the Irish Chasers were superb. They worked as a seamless team, their movements so well merged that they appeared to be reading one anothers minds as they positioned themselves, and the rosette on Harrys chest kept squeaking their names: â€Å"Troy †Mullet †Moran!” And within ten minutes, Ireland had scored twice more(prenominal), take their lead to thirty-zero and ca utilise a thunderous feed of roars and applause from the green-clad supporters.\r\nThe match became still faster, but more brutal. Volkov and Vulchanov, the Bulgarian Beaters, were whacking the Bludgers as fiercely as possible at the Irish Chasers, and were starting to prevent them from using some of their best move s; twice they were force to scatter, and then, finally, Ivanova managed to break through their ranks; dodge the flight attendant, Ryan; and score Bulgarias first goal.\r\nâ€Å"Fingers in your ears!” bellowed Mr. Weasley as the veela started to dance in celebration. Harry screwed up his eyes too; he valued to keep his mind on the game. After a few seconds, he chanced a glance at the field. The veela had stopped dancing, and Bulgaria was again in possession of the Quaffle.\r\nâ€Å"Dimitrov! Levski! Dimitrov! Ivanova †oh I say!” roared Bagman.\r\nOne hundred thousand wizards gasped as the two seekers, Krum and kill, plummeted through the center of the Chasers, so fast that it looked as though they had just jumped from airplanes without parachutes. Harry followed their descent through his Omnioculars, squinting to see where the take a shit was â€\r\nâ€Å"Theyre going to crash!” screamed Hermione next to Harry.\r\nShe was half right †at the very last second, Viktor Krum pulled out of the dive and spiraled off. kill, however, hit the ground with a dull thud that could be heard throughout the stadium. A huge groan rose from the Irish seats.\r\nâ€Å"Fool!” moaned Mr. Weasley. â€Å"Krum was feinting!”\r\nâ€Å"Its time-out!” yelled Bagmans voice, â€Å"as trained mediwizards hurry onto the field to demonstrate Aidan lynch!”\r\nâ€Å"Hell be okay, he only got ploughed!” Charlie said reassuringly to Ginny, who was hanging over the side of the box, looking horror-struck. â€Å"Which is what Krum was after, of course….”\r\nHarry hastily pressed the replay and play-by-play buttons on his Omnioculars, twiddled the speed dial, and put them back up to his eyes.\r\nHe watched as Krum and lynch dived again in slow motion. WRONSKI DEFENSIVE FEINT †severe SEEKER DIVERSION read the shining purple lettering across his lenses. He saw Krums face contorted with concentration as he pulled out of the dive just in time, while lynch was flattened, and he understood †Krum hadnt seen the Snitch at all, he was just making Lynch copy him. Harry had never seen anyone fly like that; Krum hardly looked as though he was using a broomstick at all; he moved so easily through the air that he looked uncorroborated and weightless. Harry turned his Omnioculars back to normal and focused them on Krum. He was now circling high above Lynch, who was being revived by mediwizards with cups of potion. Harry, focusing still more closely upon Krums face, saw his dark eyes darting all over the ground a hundred feet below. He was using the time while Lynch was revived to look for the Snitch without interference.\r\nLynch got to his feet at last, to loud cheers from the green-clad supporters, mounted his Firebolt, and kicked back off into the air. His revival seemed to give Ireland new heart. When Mostafa blew his whistle again, the Chasers moved into action with a skill unrivaled by any thing Harry had seen so far.\r\nAfter fifteen more fast and furious minutes, Ireland had pulled ahead by ten more goals. They were now leading by one hundred and thirty points to ten, and the game was starting to get dirtier.\r\nAs Mullet shot toward the goal posts yet again, clutching the Quaffle tightly under her arm, the Bulgarian Keeper, Zograf, flew out to meet her. whatever happened was over so quickly Harry didnt jerk it, but a scream of rage from the Irish crowd, and Mostafas long, shrill whistle blast, told him it had been a foul.\r\nâ€Å"And Mostafa takes the Bulgarian Keeper to task for cobbing †excessive use of elbows!” Bagman communicate the roaring spectators. â€Å"And †yes, its a penalty to Ireland!”\r\nThe leprechauns, who had risen angrily into the air like a swarm of glittering hornets when Mullet had been fouled, now darted together to form the words â€Å"HA, HA, HA!”\r\nThe veela on the other side of the field leapt to their f eet, tossed their hair angrily, and started to dance again.\r\nAs one, the Weasley boys and Harry stuffed their fingers into their ears, but Hermione, who hadnt bothered, was soon tugging on Harrys arm. He turned to look at her, and she pulled his fingers impatiently out of his ears.\r\nâ€Å" mien at the referee!” she said, giggling.\r\nHarry looked down at the field. Hassan Mostafa had set down right in front of the dancing veela, and was acting very oddly indeed. He was flexing his muscles and smoothing his mustache excitedly.\r\nâ€Å"Now, we cant have that!” said Ludo Bagman, though he sounded highly amused. â€Å" person slap the referee!”\r\nA mediwizard came tearing across the field, his fingers stuffed into his own ears, and kicked Mostafa hard in the shins. Mostafa seemed to come to himself; Harry, watching through the Omnioculars again, saw that he looked exceptionally embarrassed and had started shouting at the veela, who had stopped dancing and wer e looking mutinous.\r\nâ€Å"And unless Im much mistaken, Mostafa is actually attempting to send off the Bulgarian team mascots!” said Bagmans voice. â€Å"Now theres something we havent seen before…Oh this could turn nasty…\r\nIt did: The Bulgarian Beaters, Volkov and Vulchanov, landed on either side of Mostafa and began arguing furiously with him, gesticulating toward the leprechauns, who had now gleefully formed the words â€Å"HEE, HEE, HEE.” Mostafa was not impress by the Bulgarians arguments, however; he was jabbing his finger into the air, clearly telling them to get flying again, and when they refused, he gave two short blasts on his whistle.\r\nâ€Å" both penalties for Ireland!” shouted Bagman, and the Bulgarian crowd howled with anger. â€Å"And Volkov and Vulchanov had better get back on those brooms…yes…there they go…and Troy takes the Quaffle…”\r\n correspond now reached a level of ferocity beyond anythi ng they had yet seen. The Beaters on both sides were acting without grace: Volkov and Vulchanov in particular seemed not to care whether their clubs made contact with Bludger or human as they swung them violently through the air. Dimitrov shot straight at Moran, who had the Quaffle, closely knocking her off her broom.\r\nâ€Å"Foul!” roared the Irish supporters as one, all standing up in a great wave of green.\r\nâ€Å"Foul!” echoed Ludo Bagmans magically magnify voice. â€Å"Dimitrov skins Moran †deliberately flying to collide there †and its got to be another penalty †yes, theres the whistle!”\r\nThe leprechauns had risen into the air again, and this time, they formed a giant hand, which was making a very rude sign indeed at the veela across the field. At this, the veela lost control. Instead of dancing, they launched themselves across the field and began throwing what seemed to be handfuls of fire at the leprechauns. observance through his O mnioculars, Harry saw that they didnt look remotely beautiful now. On the contrary, their faces were elongating into sharp, cruel-beaked bird heads, and long, scaly wing were bursting from their shoulders â€\r\nâ€Å"And that, boys,” yelled Mr. Weasley over the tumult of the crowd below, â€Å"is why you should never go for looks alone!”\r\nMinistry wizards were flooding onto the field to separate the veela and the leprechauns, but with little success; meanwhile, the sky battle below was nothing to the one taking place above. Harry turned this way and that, staring through his Omnioculars, as the Quaffie changed hands with the speed of a bullet.\r\nâ€Å"Levski †Dimitrov †Moran †Troy †Mullet †Ivanova †Moran again †Moran †MORAN SCORES!”\r\nBut the cheers of the Irish supporters were barely heard over the shrieks of the veela, the blasts now issuing from the Ministry members wands, and the furious roars of the Bulgarian s. The game recommenced immediately; now Levski had the Quaffle, now Dimitrov â€\r\nThe Irish Beater Quigley swung heavily at a passing Bludger, and hit it as hard as possible toward Krum, who did not duck quickly enough. It hit him full in the face.\r\nThere was a thundery groan from the crowd; Krums nose looked broken, there was blood everywhere, but Hassan Mostafa didnt blow his whistle. He had become distracted, and Harry couldnt blame him; one of the veela had thrown a handful of fire and set his broom tail alight.\r\nHarry wanted someone to realize that Krum was injured; even though he was supporting Ireland, Krum was the most kindle player on the field. Ron obviously felt the same.\r\nâ€Å" corner! Ah, come on, he cant play like that, look at him -â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"Look at Lynch!” Harry yelled.\r\nFor the Irish Seeker had suddenly gone into a dive, and Harry was quite sure that this was no Wronski sham; this was the real thing…\r\nâ€Å"Hes seen the Snitc h!” Harry shouted. â€Å"Hes seen it! Look at him go!”\r\nHalf the crowd seemed to have agnize what was happening; the Irish supporters rose in another great wave of green, screaming their Seeker on…but Krum was on his tail. How he could see where he was going, Harry had no idea; there were flecks of blood flying through the air behind him, but he was drawing level with Lynch now as the pair of them hurtled toward the ground again â€\r\nâ€Å"Theyre going to crash!” shrieked Hermione.\r\nâ€Å"Theyre not!” roared Ron.\r\nâ€Å"Lynch is!” yelled Harry.\r\nAnd he was right †for the second time, Lynch hit the ground with tremendous force and was immediately stampeded by a horde of angry veela.\r\nâ€Å"The Snitch, wheres the Snitch?” bellowed Charlie, along the row.\r\nâ€Å"Hes got it †Krums got it †its all over!” shouted Harry.\r\nKrum, his red robes shining with blood from his nose, was rising gently into the a ir, his fist held high, a glint of gold in his hand.\r\nThe scoreboard was flashing BULGARIA: 160, IRELAND: 170 across the crowd, who didnt seem to have realized what had happened. Then, slowly, as though a great large jet were revving up, the rumbling from the Ireland supporters grew louder and louder and erupted into screams of delight.\r\nâ€Å"IRELAND WINS!” Bagman shouted, who like the Irish, seemed to be taken aback by the sudden end of the match.\r\nâ€Å"KRUM GETS THE SNITCH †BUT IRELAND WINS †good lord, I dont think any of us were expecting that!”\r\nâ€Å"What did he catch the Snitch for?” Ron bellowed, even as he jumped up and down, applauding with his hands over his head. â€Å"He ended it when Ireland were a hundred and sixty points ahead, the idiot!”\r\nâ€Å"He knew they were never going to catch up!” Harry shouted back over all the noise, also applauding loudly. â€Å"The Irish Chasers were too good…He wanted to en d it on his terms, thats all….\r\nâ€Å"He was very brave, wasnt he?” Hermione said, leaning forward to watch Krum land as a swarm of mediwizards blasted a path through the battling leprechauns and veela to get to him. â€Å"He looks a terrible mess….”\r\nHarry put his Omnioculars to his eyes again. It was hard to see what was happening below, because leprechauns were zooming delightedly all over the field, but he could just make out Krum, surrounded by mediwizards. He looked surlier than ever and refused to let them swab him up. His team members were around him, shaking their heads and looking dismay; a short way away, the Irish players were dancing gleefully in a shower of gold descending from their mascots. Flags were waving all over the stadium, the Irish national anthem blared from all sides; the veela were shrinking back into their usual, beautiful selves now, though looking dispirited and forlorn.\r\nâ€Å"Vell, ve fought bravely,” said a gl oomy voice behind Harry. He looked around; it was the Bulgarian Minister of Magic.\r\nâ€Å"You can let the cat out of the bag English!” said Fudge, sounding outraged. â€Å"And youve been letting me simulate everything all day!”\r\nâ€Å"Veil, it vos very funny,” said the Bulgarian minister, shrugging.\r\nâ€Å"And as the Irish team performs a lap of honor, flanked by their mascots, the Quidditch World Cup itself is brought into the Top Box!” roared Bagman.\r\nHarrys eyes were suddenly dazzled by a blinding white light, as the Top Box was magically illuminated so that everyone in the stands could see the inside. Squinting toward the entrance, he saw two trousering wizards carrying a vast golden cup into the box, which they pass on to Cornelius Fudge, who was still looking very disgruntled that hed been using sign language all day for nothing.\r\nâ€Å"Lets have a really loud hand for the brave losers †Bulgaria!” Bagman shouted.\r\nAnd up the stairs into the box came the seven defeated Bulgarian players. The crowd below was applauding appreciatively; Harry could see thousands and thousands of Omniocular lenses flashing and winking in their direction.\r\nOne by one, the Bulgarians filed between the rows of seats in the box, and Bagman called out the name of each as they shook hands with their own minister and then with Fudge. Krum, who was last in line, looked a real mess. Two black eyes were blooming spectacularly on his bloody face. He was still holding the Snitch. Harry noticed that he seemed much less coordinated on the ground. He was slightly duck-footed and distinctly round-shouldered. But when Krums name was announced, the whole stadium gave him a resounding, loud roar.\r\nAnd then came the Irish team. Aidan Lynch was being support by Moran and Connolly; the second crash seemed to have dazed him and his eyes looked strangely unfocused. But he grinned happily as Troy and Quigley lifted the Cup into the air an d the crowd below thundered its approval. Harrys hands were numb with clapping.\r\nAt last, when the Irish team had left the box to perform another lap of honor on their brooms (Aidan Lynch on the back of Confollys, clutching hard around his waist and still grinning in a missed sort of way), Bagman pointed his wand at his throat and muttered, â€Å"Quietus.”\r\nâ€Å"Theyll be talking about this one for years,” he said hoarsely, â€Å"a really unexpected twist, that….shame it couldnt have lasted longer….Ah yes…yes, I owe you….how much?”\r\nFor Fred and George had just scrambled over the backs of their seats and were standing in front of Ludo Bagman with broad grins on their faces, their hands outstretched.\r\n'