Chapter 478: The game begins

"The Veelas' performance was very good, and the Bulgarian national team really brought great mascots!!!" roared Ludo Bagman's voice, "But now, please put your wands in the air and welcome the Irish national team mascots!"

What appeared to be a large green and gold comet arrived at the stadium.

It made a loop around the stadium, then split into two smaller kites, each hurtling toward the goal posts.

A rainbow suddenly arced across the field, connecting the two balls of light.

The crowd shuddered and rose to their feet, as if they were watching fireworks.

At that moment, the rainbow vanished and the balls of light gathered and merged to form a huge, glowing clover, which rose into the sky and began to soar over the stands.

Something like a golden shower seemed to be falling from it.....

"Awesome!" shouted Ron, bending down and picking it up as if he were crazy.

The clover rose above them, and from it rained heavy gold coins that bounced off their heads and seats.

Ivan didn't look at the gold coins. He knew they were all fake.

Even if they were real, he didn't care.

To Ivan, who mastered advanced Alchemy, gold was the most useless thing.

He looked up and carefully watched the shamrock in the sky, realizing that it was actually composed of thousands of little bearded men in red vests, each holding a tiny gold or green lamp.

"Irish leprechauns!" Sirius whispered.

They were very representative native creatures of Ireland, appearing in many fairy tales.

The story of the leprechauns goes back a long time, when this magical animal lived in the ancient ruins scattered in the countryside.

In general, there are shamrocks around them that represent luck.

Some say that this is because the magic of the elf works. They make simple clothes out of clover leaves.

Among all the magical creatures known to date, leprechauns are the ones who most enjoy attracting the attention of Muggles to them.

Therefore, they are very much integrated into Muggle children's stories.

They are very intelligent and speak human language. More intelligent than elves and less mischievous than goblins, the pixie or goblin is nevertheless mischievous.

Goblins produce a realistic gold-like substance that disappears after a few hours, just because they are so amused when they look at the surprising expressions of wizards or muggles.

In the stadium, there was tumultuous applause from the crowd, many of whom were still struggling and rummaging under their chairs to retrieve the gold.

Unbelievable that so many greedy fools naively believed the gold coins were real.

"There you go!" Ron shouted happily, shoving a handful of gold coins into Harry's hands, "For the omnioculars! Now you have to buy me a Christmas present, haha!"

A few minutes later, the great shamrock dissolved, the elves descended onto the pitch on the opposite side of the Veelas, and settled cross-legged to watch the match.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Bulgarian national Quidditch team! I will introduce to you, first of all, Dimitrov!" Ludo said loudly.

A broom-clad figure shot onto the field from an entrance far below. He moved so fast that he blurred, earning enthusiastic applause from the Bulgarian fans.

When every Quidditch player enters the stadium, there is applause from the Bulgarian fans.

But when Ludo announced Viktor Krum, the whole place was thunderous.

Whether he was a Bulgarian national team player or not, most people were fans of Krum.

This reminded Ivan of Lockhart. In his opinion, both were too flashy and only by their false fame and rhetoric could they fool the girls.

"Look, it's him, it's him!" shouted Ron, following Krum with his omnioculars.

Hearing his shouts, the others quickly focused their Omnioculars on him.

Long before the Veelas came in, Ivan was secretly using magic. He didn't need to use Omnioculars, and now he could see clearly.

Viktor Krum was thin, dark, and yellow-skinned, with a large curved nose and thick, black eyebrows. He looked like a giant bird of prey. It was hard to believe he was only 18 years old.

He gave the impression of being very strong, as if he often exercised outdoors and experienced the wind and sun.

Compared to Ivan, who was a thin, parchment-like guy, the two people did not have the same style at all.

"And now, please say hello to the Irish national Quidditch team!" shouted Ludo Bagman.

"Presenting... Connolly! Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! Andddd... Lynch!"

Seven green blurs swept across the field. They all mounted "Arrows of Fire."

On their backs, their names were embroidered in silver.

"And here, from Egypt, our referee, the acclaimed president of the International Quidditch Association, Hassan Mostafa!"

A skinny little wizard, in robes of pure gold to match the stadium, stepped onto the field. He was completely bald, but with a mustache that rivaled Uncle Vernon's.

A silver whistle protruded from under his mustache, and he carried a large wooden crate under one arm, and his broomstick under the other. He mounted his broomstick and kicked the crate open. Four balls suddenly burst into the air: the scarlet Quaffle, the two black Bludgers, and the tiny, winged Golden Snitch.

With a loud blast on his whistle, Mostafa shot into the air after the balls, and the match officially began.

This was a world-class competition. The Quidditch players on both sides were of a high level and had great courage.

They used enough difficult moves to make Ivan, a layman, enjoy the game.

For the first time now, he knew Quidditch could be played like this.

Not to mention Harry, Ron and other Quidditch enthusiasts, who were completely immersed in the game.

The level of the Irish team was obviously higher than the Bulgarian team. They did a "Hawkshead Attacking Formation" and passed the Bulgarian national opponents with dazzling feints and quickly scored a goal.

The leprechauns watching the game from the sidelines rose into the air again, forming a huge, glittering shamrock.

On the other side of the stadium, the Veelas watched them with gloomy eyes.