Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 317 The competition ends, and the professors attend the celebration.
Besides who wins the Quidditch World Cup, there's another thing that everyone is equally interested in: how long the tournament will last.

This is usually a protracted battle. The losing side will try everything to prevent the opposing Seeker from catching the Golden Snitch, while also avoiding catching the Golden Snitch themselves.

They will continue until they bring the score within 150 points.

It's obviously impossible for a Seeker to catch the Golden Snitch at any time, but it's much simpler to just stop the opposing Seeker.

Therefore, the Quidditch World Cup has always been a protracted war, with the shortest lasting only three days and the longest reaching a terrifying three months. By then, most of the audience had grown tired of it and left.

But today, that record has been broken.

Viktor Krum caught the Golden Snitch in just half an hour, ending the match.

As that golden hue danced between his fingers, the scoreboard froze at the same time: Bulgaria: 160, Ireland: 170. Even the spectators, including the fans supporting the Irish team, didn't seem to realize what had happened.

Did they win?

Moreover, it was the Bulgarian Seeker who personally handed them the victory.
Honestly, happiness came so suddenly that it's hard to believe.

Until Ludo Bagman's voice came from the top-floor box.

"Ireland won! Krum caught the Golden Snitch... but Ireland won... Oh my god!"

The murmurs among the Irish supporters grew louder and louder, eventually turning into countless joyful shouts.

Professor McGonagall raised her hands high and threw the shamrock hat off the platform with all her might... all the Irish supporters did the same.

“He really should have waited a little longer before catching the thief,” Lupin sighed.

His friend James Porter was once the Seeker for the Gryffindor team, and under his influence, Lupin also watched many games.

But he had never seen a Seeker actively try to catch the Golden Snitch when their team was down by more than 150 points... not a single one.

“Maybe he just doesn’t want to keep embarrassing himself,” Xilun said.

He lost 160 points in half an hour, averaging one goal every two minutes. He's shameless. If he were Krum, he would have ended the game on his own initiative.

At least this way, Bulgaria can be considered to have suffered a narrow defeat rather than being crushed by a large margin.

The match was over, and Furong, who had been getting impatient, was the first to stand up. She pulled Gabrielle along and walked out of the high platform box with Ms. Maxim.

Xilun watched them leave, then subconsciously glanced at the two empty seats in the corner.

But whether Xilun was mistaken or not, he felt that the distance between the two chairs seemed to be closer than before.

Of course, it's also possible that Ms. Maxim accidentally bumped into it when she went out.

"What a fantastic match, absolutely amazing!"

Professor McGonagall's voice came from the side.

“I was thinking that if it went on for too long, we would have to give up watching the second half of the game, but now it’s just right.”

"Giving up watching the game?" Lupin blinked in confusion and asked, "Is there something important?"

He knew very well how much Professor McGonagall loved Quidditch. The only reason she would leave the World Cup midway through a match would be something extremely urgent, such as the Death Eaters suddenly launching an attack on Hogwarts.

“That is indeed a very important matter, Remus,” Professor McGonagall said, glancing at Siron beside her.

In fact, she needed to work with Dumbledore to finalize the specific details regarding the Triwizard Tournament.

However, this news had not yet been announced and was considered a huge surprise, so she didn't want to reveal it to Siron prematurely. "See you next time, Remus," Professor McGonagall said, then prepared to leave the high platform box with Professors Flitwick and Sprout.

“Wait a minute, Professor McGonagall,” Siron called out quickly, stopping her.

"Silen, is there anything else?"

“A celebration, Professor McGonagall,” said Hillen. “Ireland won, that’s something to celebrate, isn’t it?”

"I've heard that the winning teams of each Quidditch World Cup hold a grand celebration after the game, and it would be a shame not to participate."

"But..." Professor McGonagall was tempted, but her sense of responsibility kept urging her to leave quickly. After all, the Triwizard Tournament was intricate and complex, and couldn't be completed in a short time.

As for Dumbledore, he needed to find a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, so he couldn't help either.

“This is a celebration we’ve been waiting for for decades, Professor,” Celen continued. “And who knows how long we’ll have to wait to see Ireland win the World Cup again.”

Professor McGonagall's struggle became even more pronounced.

“Come on, Minerva, I also want to see what this once-every-four-years celebration is like.” At this point, Professor Flitwick chimed in, “We’ve set aside five hours, so an extra hour won’t hurt.”

"That's...ok."

Professor McGonagall was finally persuaded and nodded in agreement.

The game ended too quickly; even if we spent an extra hour attending the celebration afterwards, it would still be within the original plan.

In that case, let's stay a little longer. As Sir Silva said, this is Ireland's first title in over fifty years, and who knows when the next one will come? It would be a real shame to miss it.

“Let’s go together then,” Xilun invited.

“We are with Mr. Weasley and his family, who are also fans of the Irish team.”

“Of course, no problem.” Professor McGonagall readily agreed and walked out of the high-platform box with Siron and Lupin.

Coincidentally, they ran into Mr. Weasley and his entourage as they emerged from the top-floor box.

Upon seeing the three professors, the Weasleys, who were still in school, instinctively felt a sense of fear and took a small step back.

But soon, this fear was dispelled by immense joy. Together, they walked back along the path illuminated by lanterns.

Heavy singing echoed around them as Irish goblins flew overhead, waving their lanterns and scattering handfuls of gold coins.

"It's really lively," said Xilun.

He glanced back and spotted a familiar patch of platinum blonde hair in the crowd.

It was Lucius Malfoy, with Draco Malfoy beside him, and a witch that Siron didn't recognize.

She must be Narcissa, the Miss Sissi that the house-elf Kreacher mentioned.

Xilun peeked out again and saw them stop and talk mysteriously with another group of people.

Xiren didn't know what they were saying, because there were too many people, and he was soon taken to another place by the crowd.

……

(End of this chapter)