A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts C.340: The Peculiarity of Crouch

Gathered here were a hundred thousand Quidditch fans. Even if each person made the tiniest of sounds, it would turn the entire campsite into a seething cauldron. As the afternoon waned, the restive mood not only didn't diminish, but rather grew stronger, so much so that even the summer air seemed to tremble.

Felix had been inside the tent, going over the items for the upcoming lantern display with Lupin and others. According to the plan, they would hold a grand magical lantern exhibition the night after the Quidditch final and continue it until the end of the match. In addition, the Future World Company had spent a thousand Galleons on textual advertisements for the Quidditch World Cup opening ceremony.

The sun finally set, the twilight hues gradually fading away. Clementine and the young shop assistant, Aleck McKinnon, slipped out to play. Outside, it was livelyoccasionally, illusionary peddlers would appear, pushing carts laden with all sorts of memorabilia, weaving through the crowd.

Even the Ministry of Magic had given up its final resistance, allowing things to unfold as they may. All kinds of magical signs suddenly emerged: crackling apparitions, enthusiastic shouts and sales pitches, joyous and noisy conversations... The campsite was bustling with activity.

Lupin had also gone out; Felix stayed in the tent, manipulating a wall of air with his left hand while holding his wand in his right. He whispered softly, "Expelliarmus."

A red light shot from the tip of his wand, hitting his left hand directly. After a second or two, Felix's left hand trembled slightly. He dispelled the magic and looked at his palm, where a red dot had appeared.

"The effect is still quite limited," Felix mused. The spell he had just cast didn't have much power. A couple of hours passed, and Clementine and Aleck returned loaded with bags, placing them on a nearby table. Felix put away his magic and looked at the various memorabilia on the table.

There were glowing green rose-shaped badges, currently shouting at the top of their voices, "Ireland team for the win!" Clementine pressed the top of the rose with force, and it finally quieted down; then there were things resembling binoculars, covered in various strange knobs and dials. "That's a panoramic telescope," Clementine explained, "I think it's greatyou can replay scenes in slow motion and quickly analyze match situations."

Felix gave it a try. "Indeed, it's quite fascinating." He kept adjusting the buttons on it, slowing down the world before his eyes. Clementine was demonstrating a flying crossbow arrow miniature model in slow motion in front of him.

Additionally, there were collectible statues of famous players. Aleck McKinnon had bought a complete set of commemorative figurines for the Irish team. They were walking around the table with an air of pride, until one of them accidentally fell off.

"Oh, my Lynch"

Aleck said, quickly wiping the figurine's dusty nose. "Bad luck, be gone, be gone..."

Clementine and Felix both looked at him, and he explained, "This is my dad's way of doing thingsdriving away bad luck, can't let a good situation go to waste."

"Does it really work?" Clementine looked at him skeptically.

"Of course," he enthusiastically introduced, "Britain has been without the cup for thirty years now. There's a good chance this year, with the most cohesive teamConnolly, Ryan, Troy, Marlette, Moran, Quigley! And, of courseLynch!"

"He's a Seeker?" Clementine nodded at the 'Lynch' in Aleck's hand.

"Exactly, the Seeker is the soul of the team..." Aleck became quite talkative when it came to Quidditch. When he found out that Clementine didn't even know the basics of fouls, he stared at her as if she were an alien.

"Let me tell you, there are many ways to commit fouls in Quidditch, like the most common pulling, charging, elbowing, locking the opponent's broomstick, and more complex"

Felix quietly stepped aside, finding an interesting game. He set up thick walls of air in the atmosphere, throwing small, miscellaneous objects like cups and forks at them. They would stick to the walls and move forward in slow motion, their speed determined by the force with which they were thrown.

Clementine also discovered this game and attempted to knock Professor's cup off with her own.

After several failed attempts, she shifted her gaze to Aleck's player figurines.

"Absolutely not" Aleck said firmly, though he pulled out a bunch of small figurines from his pocket. "Here, you can throw this one for the Bulgarian team."

In no time, the air was filled with all sorts of cups, knives, forks, badges, and figurines, along with a sealed bag of snacks.

"Aleck wins, five points."

...

The sky had completely darkened. Felix invited everyone to have dinner. "Let's eat something. We can't watch the match on empty stomachs, and who knows how long it will go on."

"Where's Lupin?"

"Probably met some friends, chatted for a while. I'll make sure to bring him some food." Felix said.

"I really hope the match goes on for ten days and nights." At the dining table, Clementine said sincerely. That way, they would have more time to showcase the magical lanterns.

Felix chuckled.

"Haven't you made a decision yet, Vera? You're already thinking of yourself as part of the company."

Clementine blushed slightly, "I haven't made up my mind yet. I enjoy being a Curse Breaker, but this place is amazing too... Am I being a bit greedy, Professor?"

Felix shrugged, swallowed his chicken, and poured himself a glass of chilled lemonade. He smiled, "That's a fortunate dilemma to have. I can't offer much help in this regard, but there's no need to rush into a decision or put undue pressure on yourself."

Raising his tall glass, he toasted from a distance, "This place will always welcome you, Vera."

At that moment, Lupin walked into the tent with a worried expression. Felix poured him a glass of lemonade, and he thanked him before relaxing his furrowed brows. "I just came from Harry's place. Almost had a confrontation."

"What happened?" Felix inquired, guiding plates and dishes to Lupin's side. "You might want to try this, fried halloumi cheese. Aleck got it from a vendor. It's quite unique when paired with chicken."

Aleck McKinnon, sitting next to Clementine, gave a cautious smile. Lupin patted his shoulder and said gently, "Thanks." He sat down and explained, "Sirius and the Weasleys were staying together, and they encountered Barty Crouch. You know..."

Felix understood instantly. It seemed that Sirius might have had some issues with Barty Crouch, but Lupin's words were unexpected.

"Barty Crouch provoked Sirius with his words," Lupin's brow furrowed again, and he continued slowly, "Crouch is in charge of the camp's security. When he spoke about Death Eaters, he brought up old matters, claiming that many Death Eaters have escaped justice"

"But Sirius has been proven innocent."

"Indeed, but he kept looking at Sirius while speaking. You know Sirius's temperament. The two of them already had a history. If Harry hadn't intervened..." Lupin shook his head, leaving the rest unsaid, but Felix could easily imagine the scene.

They might have drawn their wands.

A deep and resonant gong sounded from somewhere in the woods. Immediately, thousands of red, green, and lanterns burst to life in the trees, illuminating the path to the stadium.

"The time has come!"

The four of them stood up, exited the tent, and followed the excited crowd into the woods. Emerging from the other side of the woods, they faced a massive oval-shaped open-air stadium, brilliantly illuminated from within. The light projected onto half of a wall gave it a golden hue.

"They say it can hold a hundred thousand people," Aleck murmured.

Armed with tickets to a top-tier box, they ascended a staircase lined with deep purple carpet. By the time they reached the top, they were at the stadium's zenith.

Below them was a spectacular sightten thousand wizards were taking their seats. Clementine tugged at his sleeve, and he noticed a huge blackboard by the Quidditch hoops. Various advertisements were being cyclically displayed:

'Daisies: Family-friendly brooms for flyingsafe, reliable, with built-in anti-theft Bee-Buzzer...'

'Future World: Watch the match, enjoy the lantern displaysay goodbye to oil lamps and dizzying torches, the future is right before your eyes...'

Felix nodded to acknowledge he'd seen them. Soon, their private box started filling upWeasleys, Malfoys, Sirius, Harry, and Hermione, followed by Cornelius Fudge and the Bulgarian Minister for Magic.

Lucius Malfoy cast a cold glance toward the Weasleys and Sirius, then nodded slightly before engaging warmly with Viktor Krum. When Felix's gaze met his, he instinctively looked away.

"You still haven't made up your mind, Lucius." Felix thought.

After everyone was seated, the box was only occupied by Krum and the Bulgarian Minister, struggling to communicate due to the language barrier. Krum seemed to be greatly missing Barty Crouch, despite their personal differences. Even though they weren't on good terms, Crouch's linguistic prowess was well known. He could speak a hundred languages, including the languages of many magical creatures.

Later, Barty Crouch arrived with Ludovic Bagman. Crouch had a terrifyingly stern expression, his face frosty, his body rigid. However, Bagman was being tormented by the Bulgarian Minister's awful accent and didn't seem to notice.

"Thank Merlin, Barty, you're finally here. I need you to translate"

"I practically dragged Barty here," Ludovic Bagman cheerfully said, "I told him that you deserved the most credit and should be at the highest place..."

"Apologies." Crouch's expression was full of disgust, his lips trembled as if he were resisting the urge to slap Fudge. "I don't have time for these trivial matters"

"Trivial matters?" Fudge took a deep breath, looking at him incredulously. He was about to say something when Crouch's lips moved silently, a few attempts to speak, although no sound came out. However, Fudge was standing too close, and he could clearly discern the shape of his lips. Crouch said, "Idiot."

"Barty Crouch!" Fudge's emotions mixed with anger and fear. He shouted loudly at Crouch, spittle flying, "So, you're finally dropping the pretense and trying to snatch my position!"

A silence fell over the box. No one had expected this turn of events, not even the Bulgarian Minister, who asked in proper English, "What's happening?"

As the host, Ludovic Bagman remained frozen, his round face sweating profusely. He took a few steps back involuntarily, exclaiming, "Oh, my!" Hermione shouted, it turned out he stepped on Hermione's foot.

"S-s-sorry, y-young lady," Ludovic Bagman stuttered.

Sirius Black sneered, "You see, neither of them is a good person. Crouch looked at me like this earlier today. I think he's finally lost it."

Sitting in the second row, Felix rubbed his chin. Were they going to witness a confrontation today? The Director of the International Magical Cooperation Department versus the current Minister for Magic?

It's a shame there are no reporters around.

Mr. Weasley stood up, attempting to ease the tense atmosphere. He hesitated, "Mr. Crouch..."

Barty Crouch seemed to regain his composure. He opened his mouth but said nothing. He hastily mumbled a few apologies before leaving abruptly. All that remained in the box was a breathless and red-eyed Fudge.

As Crouch left, Harry suddenly felt a sharp pain in his scar, like a branding iron against his skin.

He covered his forehead, suppressing any sound, while only Sirius and Ron, who were seated on either side of him, noticed. Sirius leaned in and whispered, "What's wrong, Harry? Is your scar hurting again?"

However, at that moment, the Quidditch World Cup final officially began, and the massive cheer drowned out his concern.

Ludovic Bagman enhanced his voice with a sonorous spell, and his words echoed like thunder throughout the stadium.

"Ladies and gentlemen... Welcome! Welcome to the 422nd Quidditch World Cup final!"

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