Hogwarts: I Became the Third Dark Lord.

Dumbledore, however, smiled as he looked at Wentworth, seemingly lost in thought for a moment before finally snapping out of it.

"Wentworth, do you know about the Quidditch World Cup?"

Wentworth: ? ? ?

Chapter 54 Quidditch World Cup

Dumbledore's sudden question really caught Wentworth off guard. Although he knew how Quidditch was played, he had never played it before! His knowledge was limited to the games he had seen in movies in his previous life, so Wentworth was taken aback.

But Wentworth quickly realized what was happening and said:

"Of course, Headmaster Dumbledore, that's the Quidditch World Cup! It's held every four years! But what does that have to do with me?"

Dumbledore looked into Wentworth's eyes and said slowly:

"Wentworth, you're still a child. Young people should do more things that young people do. Don't let the future hold you back. Otherwise, you'll regret it later and miss out on a lot of things!"

"Your punishment today is to come with me to the Quidditch World Cup final! What do you say?"

Upon hearing Dumbledore's words, Wentworth's first reaction was not surprise, but rather confusion! Although Wentworth wasn't particularly interested in Quidditch, he knew that having Dumbledore personally take him to the Quidditch World Cup was like a pie suddenly falling from the sky and landing on his head!

But for Wentworth, a man with the soul of an adult, the first reaction to such a windfall was: Is this windfall poisoned? He and Headmaster Dumbledore weren't related, so there was no need for Dumbledore to be so kind to an ordinary student!

Could it be that Dumbledore discovered his secret as a time traveler? That doesn't make sense!

Thinking of this, Wentworth tentatively asked:

"Headmaster Dumbledore, I certainly love going to the Quidditch World Cup, but this doesn't seem like a punishment, does it? Is it a bit inappropriate?"

Dumbledore, however, seemed completely unconcerned and said:

"How can this not be a punishment? You know, I'm over a hundred years old! Traveling long distances is very tiring, and you're responsible for taking care of me on the road—that's punishment enough!"

Dumbledore spoke with righteous indignation, but Wentworth inwardly chuckled.

God the hell, you're over a hundred years old! You're probably still the ceiling of combat power in the magical world!

But since Dumbledore had said so, Wentworth really had no other reason to refuse, so he could only say with a look of "surprise":

“Yes, Headmaster Dumbledore, it is my pleasure! Let’s get going!”

Just as Wentworth was about to turn around and open the door for Dumbledore, Dumbledore stopped him again!

"Wentworth, you're going the wrong way! This way!"

Following the direction Dumbledore was pointing, Wentworth froze. There, in the corner of the Headmaster's office, stood a large, fiery red bird! Wentworth was certain there hadn't been anything there when he entered!

Without a doubt, this is Dumbledore's pet, the phoenix Fawkes!

Wentworth gazed intently at the legendary beast before him, marveling at its beauty. Just as Wentworth reached out to touch it, Dumbledore suddenly grasped his hand.

"We should go, Wentworth, the game is about to start!"

With that, Dumbledore placed his other hand on Fawkes the phoenix, and with a cry from the phoenix, the two figures disappeared from the Hogwarts office.

When Wentworth felt grounded again, he and Dumbledore were already at the edge of a grassy field.

Right before their eyes, beautiful fireworks were blooming in the sky, and below the fireworks, countless tents were pitched on the lush green lawn.

"The Quidditch World Cup finals are usually held in August, before your school starts, so many Hogwarts students come to watch. But unfortunately, this year's competition has to be moved to September due to the weather. I think many people at Hogwarts will be having trouble sleeping tonight!"

As Dumbledore spoke, he led Wentworth toward the crowd.

Wentworth followed closely behind Dumbledore, asking with some curiosity:

"Headmaster Dumbledore, why don't I just Apparate and go straight in? Why do I have to stay at the edge of the field and then walk in?"

Dumbledore turned around, a mischievous smile on his face, and said:

"Because I don't have a ticket, Wentworth!"

Wentworth stumbled, his face full of surprise, and said:

"Headmaster Dumbledore, you don't have a ticket? How are we supposed to get in here?"

But Dumbledore, completely unconcerned, said:

"It's alright. Although Dumbledore doesn't have a vote, the president of the International Confederation of Wizards does! Coincidentally, I am the president of the International Confederation of Wizards!"

Upon hearing Dumbledore's explanation, Wentworth suddenly understood.

"I understand, others use vote-rigging, we use face-rigging!"

Just as Dumbledore was leading Wentworth step by step toward the center of the field, a dark mass of people appeared in front of them. Upon closer inspection, everyone was dressed properly, and many of them were carrying walking sticks, looking every bit the gentleman.

The leader, a short, chubby man, trotted towards Dumbledore with a broad smile on his face, a smile that was almost obsequious.

"Oh, Dumbledore, it's wonderful that you're here! It will make tonight's match even more exciting! Please say a few words before the match begins tonight!"

Dumbledore, with a smile on his face, said:

"Hello Connelly, actually, I just brought my students to watch the game tonight. Minister Fudge, you can do the speech and stuff!"

Fudge did not seem to regret Dumbledore's words. Instead, his smile widened and he turned to look at Wentworth, his face still beaming with a warm smile.

"Judging from his appearance, this young wizard isn't very old. Is he one of this year's new students? Seeing him reminds me of my days at Hogwarts. It brings back so many memories!"

Wentworth only then realized that the man in front of him was Cornelius Fudge, who had just been elected Minister for Magic of the United Kingdom this year. Looking at his fawning expression towards Dumbledore now, who would have thought that he would dare to turn against Dumbledore in the future?

Before Fudge could say anything, many people behind him couldn't contain themselves and came forward one by one. Some greeted Dumbledore very familiarly, while others wanted to introduce themselves first.

Wentworth listened to their conversation with great interest and also learned about many characters who appeared in the original work.

For example, the man in front of us has long, light blond hair, gray-blue eyes, and a somewhat pale complexion—Lucius Malfoy.

Just as Wentworth was looking at Lucius with amusement, Lucius suddenly turned his gaze to Wentworth.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, I rarely see you bring Hogwarts students to public places. May I ask who this young wizard is?"

Upon hearing Lucius's question, everyone around turned their attention back to Wentworth.

Chapter Fifty-Five: The Lucky Wizard

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Wentworth stiffened for a moment, but fortunately, having been trained by Rozier before the start of the semester, Wentworth quickly put on an impeccable smile and bowed to everyone.

Dumbledore then spoke up to explain:

"The man next to me is Wentworth, a new student at Hogwarts this year, and also the child of an old friend of mine!"

Upon hearing Dumbledore's explanation, Wentworth's smile widened, but inwardly he chuckled and thought to himself:

Dumbledore truly lives up to his reputation as someone who defeated two Dark Lords; he can lie so easily. And this "friend of an old friend"? If my parents hadn't died young, I almost would have believed him!

But everyone else believed Dumbledore's words and their smiles toward Wentworth became even more amiable.

Lucius Malfoy was particularly eager, even inviting Wentworth to visit Malfoy Estate after tonight's game, but Wentworth declined, citing that school had already started!

Wentworth was thinking: "Give me a break! Your son is no pushover, and neither are you! We'd better never see each other again, at least not for the next few years!"

As they chatted, they walked toward the field. Soon, Wentworth followed Dumbledore and walked onto the VIP stands of the Quidditch stadium.

Standing in the stands, watching the cheering and waving crowd around him, Wentworth, who had initially shown little interest in Quidditch, couldn't help but be infected by the excitement and develop a slight interest in this sport exclusively for wizards.

Just then, with a loud bang, countless ribbons rained down from the sky. A host walked quickly to the center of the competition field, followed by two people carrying a box and placing it at the host's feet.

The host faced the audience of tens of thousands of people and opened his mouth as if to say something, but the noise in the venue was so loud that it was impossible to hear what he was saying.

Then, the host deliberately made an angry and helpless expression, which made the audience burst into laughter. After the audience had finished laughing, the host took out his magic wand and cast a spell on himself - making his voice loud and clear!

Then, the host turned to the audience and said loudly:

"Welcome everyone to the final match of the 421st Quidditch World Cup tonight! The two teams competing in the final tonight are—Canada! And our—Scotland!"

As the announcer spoke, the players from the Canadian and Scottish teams entered the competition area one by one, greeting their respective supporters.

After circling the field, the players from both teams returned to their locker rooms, while the announcer remained standing in the center of the field, excitedly announcing:

"To ensure fairness in today's competition and to add some entertainment, we've added a new segment! Please follow along!"

As the host spoke, he reached out and opened the box at his feet. The instant the box opened, countless glittering golden objects poured out and flew into the sky. These glittering golden objects were all winged metal balls—the Golden Snitch.

Seeing this novel scene, the audience erupted in cheers. After the cheers subsided somewhat, the host continued:

"Dear wizard friends here! I will then randomly select one lucky wizard from all the wizards present. He will ride a newly released, yet-to-be-released concept fire crossbow and fly into the sky. From among the hundred golden thieves in the air, he will randomly select one as the golden thief for tonight's competition!"

"Of course, we won't let this lucky wizard work for nothing. This conceptual fire crossbow in my hand is our reward to this lucky wizard!"

As the host spoke, he took out a perfectly sleek flying broom from the box.

The audience, who were already excited by the host's words, erupted in cheers when they saw the host's latest conceptual fire crossbow. Countless people raised their hands, hoping to become the lucky wizard the host had mentioned.

Seeing that the atmosphere was ready, the host raised his magic wand, closed his eyes, and then spun around in place. After spinning several times, a bright white light suddenly shot out from the host's wand.

Amid cheers from everyone present, the white light shot into the sky, then slowly descended, finally landing on Dumbledore.

All eyes followed the bright white light, eventually focusing on Dumbledore.

Some wizards who had long since realized they had no hope of becoming the Lucky Wizard were venting their frustrations, but when people saw that the bright white light finally fell on Dumbledore, everyone was stunned at first, and then burst into enthusiastic applause and cheers.

Meanwhile, Fudge whispered to Lucius:

"Where did you find this presenter? He did a fantastic job! He managed to spot Dumbledore so accurately among so many people! I almost got dizzy watching him spin around!"

Lucius, however, revealed a confident smile and began to explain:

"Minister, it's actually a very simple spell. That white light will automatically seek out the wizard with the most abundant magic power on site!"

Upon hearing Lucius's explanation, Fudge finally showed a look of sudden realization.

But unlike the cheers of others, Wentworth watched as the white light fell on Dumbledore. Aside from his disdain for the event organizers, he sighed inwardly, already anticipating Dumbledore's next move.

Sure enough, Dumbledore stood up gently, walked slowly to the front of the stage, and pressed his hands down slightly. The originally noisy scene immediately quieted down.

Then, as Dumbledore spoke in a light tone:

"Everyone, I always thought that I was able to live so long because I took good care of my health. I never imagined it was because I was lucky!"

Dumbledore's words caused the wizards present to burst into laughter, and after the laughter subsided, Dumbledore continued:

“But, as I just said, I am, after all, an old wizard over a hundred years old, and I haven’t ridden this flying broomstick in decades! Now, when I go out, the school arranges for a student to accompany me, for fear that I will get lost! You actually want me to catch the Golden Snitch? You are making things difficult for me!”