Chapter 165: The World Cup

 

The stadium held enough people to sound like weather.

Edward followed the Malfoys up a carpeted stair to the top box. The pitch lay far below, bright under enchanted lights. Green and red banners moved through the stands in waves.

Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys occupied seats farther along the same row. Draco noticed them and opened his mouth.

Narcissa touched his shoulder. "You may support Bulgaria without beginning an international incident with Gryffindor."

Draco settled for an elaborate display of Bulgarian ribbon.

Edward greeted Harry and Hermione while Lucius exchanged a stiff nod with Arthur Weasley. Ron was too absorbed in Viktor Krum's appearance to care where anyone sat.

The opening display began with Bulgarian Veela. Their dance pulled cheers into a strange, breathless silence. Several spectators climbed onto seats. A wizard below declared his love to the entire stadium.

Edward felt the attraction as a warm pressure encouraging him to look closer. He named the sensation and turned toward the exit sign instead. The effect weakened.

Hermione noticed. "Grounding exercise?"

"Useful outside training."

Irish leprechauns followed, forming shapes of green and gold above the pitch. They showered the stands with coins that vanished after a short time. Draco caught one, tested it with his wand, and put it down before it disappeared.

 

"Cheap spectacle," he said.

"You tried to keep it," Edward replied.

The teams entered. Ireland wore green. Bulgaria wore red. Krum flew with a stillness that made the movement around him appear wasteful.

Once the Quaffle rose, the match became too fast for conversation. Ireland's Chasers passed in patterns that opened and closed before Edward could name them. Bulgaria answered with direct attacks and hard turns. The lead changed, then widened.

Krum ignored most of it. His attention moved through empty air, following the Snitch.

Ron shouted explanations no one had requested. Draco contradicted each one. Harry leaned forward whenever Krum dived.

A Bludger broke Krum's nose. Blood marked his face, but he stayed on his broom. Ireland continued scoring. The difference became too large for Bulgaria to recover through ordinary goals.

Edward understood Krum's decision seconds before the Seeker moved.

Krum dropped into a steep dive. Ireland's Seeker followed. The Snitch flashed near the ground.

"He'll crash," Draco said.

Krum pulled out at the last instant and closed his fist.

The stadium erupted.

For a confused moment, Bulgarian supporters celebrated while the Irish end roared even louder. The final score appeared above the pitch. Krum had caught the Snitch, ending the match, but Ireland had accumulated enough points to win.

Draco stared at the score. "He chose to end a losing game."

"He chose the loss he could control," Edward said.

Ron arrived from farther down the row solely to declare Krum brilliant. Hermione pointed out that Ireland had still won. Harry seemed delighted by both facts.

The teams completed their lap. Edward let himself cheer.

As the crowd began leaving, Lucius did not rush. He waited until the first pressure cleared from the stairs, then moved the family toward the eastern route. Sirius's black-dog shape appeared briefly below and disappeared into the flow.

Back at the campsite, celebrations spread between the tents. Irish songs competed with Bulgarian drums. Children chased fading leprechaun lights. The Ministry security wizard at the lane looked bored.

Narcissa suggested they return home before the roads became worse. Lucius wanted to speak with two officials in the hospitality tent. They agreed on half an hour.

Edward, Draco, and Narcissa returned to the family tent. Edward checked the Portkey tabs. Draco set his model Firebolt circling a lamp and began reenacting Krum's final dive.

A shout rose outside.

It did not sound like celebration.

Lucius entered at once, no longer smiling. "Cloaks on. We are leaving."

"What happened?" Draco asked.

"Masked wizards in the western rows. Ministry security is responding."

The family Portkey failed when Lucius tried it. Its brass rim glowed, then went dark.

"Interference," he said.

Edward opened his own case. Both tabs remained intact, but the activation mark flickered.

They moved to the eastern exit as planned. Narcissa kept one hand on Draco. Lucius walked ahead with his wand drawn but low. Edward stayed between them and the tents.

People ran in both directions. Some laughed as though the disturbance were another performance. Others carried children or dragged trunks. A tent burned near the western slope.

Above it, masked figures levitated a Muggle family through the air.

Draco stopped.

Lucius pulled him forward. "Do not look."

Edward looked long enough to identify the victims and the direction of the attackers. He sent a red emergency spark toward the nearest Ministry post. Then he left with the people beside him.

A black dog met them at the lane. Sirius transformed behind an overturned cart, out of sight of the crowd.

"The eastern path is blocked farther down," he said. "Go south."

Lucius did not question how he knew. They changed direction.

A masked wizard stepped from between two tents and cast at the group. Lucius deflected the curse. Narcissa drove the attacker backward with a precise Stunning Spell.

Edward did not pursue. He pulled Draco behind a stone fire pit and checked the southern path.

Sirius bound the fallen attacker. "Move."

They reached the open field beyond the tents. Edward's Portkey steadied once they crossed the interference boundary. Lucius's recovered at the same moment.

A green flare rose over the campsite before either activated.

The shape formed slowly: an enormous skull with a serpent emerging from its mouth.

The Dark Mark silenced the nearest crowd.

Edward saw a thin figure lower a wand near the trees beneath it. The person wore no mask. Firelight caught only a pale hand and dark hair before the figure vanished among the running campers.

He did not follow.

"Unknown caster, tree line east of the Mark," he told Sirius.

Sirius sent the description to an approaching Auror, then placed his hand on Edward's Portkey case.

The Malfoys used their family device. Narcissa took Draco. Lucius paused long enough to order Edward to come with them.

"Our destination is already secured," Sirius said.

Lucius accepted the separation. "Send confirmation."

Edward pulled both tabs.

The campsite disappeared in a wrench of motion. He and Sirius landed inside the warded drawing room at Grimmauld Place.

Kreacher was waiting with the emergency ledger open.

"Everyone with you?" he asked.

"Everyone left by Portkey," Edward said. "The Malfoys used their own."

Kreacher recorded the departure time, destination, and last confirmed sighting. Sirius sent the same facts to Arthur and the Malfoys so no family would begin a duplicate search. Only after both acknowledgements arrived did Kreacher close the emergency page.

Sirius sent the confirmation before doing anything else.

Only then did they turn to the green reflection fading from the windows. The riot had not been a rumour or a distant warning. Death Eaters had used a public celebration to terrorize a Muggle family, and someone had raised Voldemort's sign above them.

Edward had followed the exit plan.

The fact that leaving had been the right choice did not make it feel easy.

They preserved the failed Portkey times and the route change before memory blurred. Escape had succeeded, but the interference still required investigation.