Grindelwald and the Witch Pure Party had left, Vid stood in the empty camp, looking around, waiting for quite a while, without seeing Dumbledore appear.
— Could it be that Dumbledore is not nearby?
Just as Vid had this thought, he immediately crushed the unlikely impulse of hope.
With such a commotion at the camp's edge, those immersed in the game inside the stadium probably hadn't noticed, especially with many Quietening Charms, Masking Spells, Expel Curse, and the like cast around the stadium.
But for Dumbledore to be unaware... this is impossible.
Unless he's not in the camp at all.
But when Sirius relayed the Death Eaters' action plan to Dumbledore, the headmaster couldn't possibly leave everything to others. He must have come.
Vid was hesitating when suddenly he heard a burst of noise — the game was over, and a flood of people poured out of the stadium!
The dim lanterns in the camp illuminated one by one, the rough singing echoed in the night sky, and the crowd seemed like mushrooms sprouting from the earth after rain, covering the ground in the blink of an eye.
Some Irish Leprechauns in red vests with little moustaches flew with golden or green lanterns above people's heads, laughing joyously.
Vid struggled to move against the tide towards the tents, when suddenly a hand reached out to grab his arm, and Harry's smiling face appeared right in front of him.
"Hey, Vid, here you are!" Harry laughed loudly, "Come on, we're going to the tent to continue the celebration!"
"It's a shame you didn't come!" Michael shouted towards Vid, plugging his ears with his fingers, "I guarantee there won't be a more exciting match in fifty years!"
"Children! Children! You should be going to sleep!" Mr. Weasley was pushed to the other side of the road by the crowd, he tried lifting on his toes to call out, attempting to get his kids back to the family tent.
"Alright, Dad! I'll make sure they go to bed early, you go back and rest first!"
A muscular, brown-skinned wizard grabbed Ron, Fred, and others, turning back to shout to Mr. Weasley.
"I'm most worried about you, Charlie!" Mr. Weasley immediately said.
Another tall red-haired man with a long ponytail pulled Mr. Weasley aside, smiling while saying a few words.
"That's Bill, Ron's older brother."
Seeing Vid looking back, Harry introduced him, then pointed at the brown-skinned red-haired wizard, "This is Charlie, the Weasley Family's second son."
Reaching the tent, Vid turned back and saw that Bill Weasley not only sent his dad back but also brought Percy along, who originally didn't want to come.
This oldest son of the Weasley Family was tall, wearing Muggle-style studded leather, quite trendy, and had an earring on one ear. When he walked over in strides, his red hair appeared like leaping flames.
Entering the tent, Vid found Hermione, Theo, and others had already arrived, moving food and drink from the kitchen while Kreacher was roasting meat, wishing he had eight hands due to so many guests.
"Tonight this place is yours, kids." Sirius said, throwing on his coat as he headed out, "Do what you want, celebrate as you please, just let Kreacher know if you need anything."
"Can we celebrate all night? I don't want to sleep!" Harry shouted.
Sirius raised an eyebrow, "Of course you can!"
"Whoa—"
The tent erupted in cheers, even Hermione, who wasn't a huge fan of Quidditch, smiled cheerfully.
Sirius chuckled and left directly.
With no parents around, the young people in the room felt freer than ever. Bill and Charlie, though unfamiliar to most, quickly blended into the group with their open and convivial personalities.
Even their little sister, Ginny, didn't want to return to the Weasley Family's tent, knowing she'd be under her father's watch, preferring not to go to bed early alone amid the camp's celebratory sounds.
"Krum caught the Golden Snitch, but the Ireland Team won! Bagman also said—no one expected such an outcome!"
Michael chirped excitedly, sitting down and opening a bottle of beer.
"We guessed it, even before the game started!"
Fred and George happily linked arms and danced in circles, pulling Ron, who was eating, away from the table to join the jostling.
"No! No! You're stepping on my foot!"
Long-legged Ron cried loudly, though his brothers ignored him.
"What's gotten them so excited?" Padma wondered while picking fruit, "Which team are they supporting exactly?"
"Fred and George don't support anyone, they support their own wallets." Ginny explained quietly, "They placed bets with Ludo Bagman before the match, winning quite a few Galleons."
"Oh..." Padma suddenly understood.
Ginny offered a friendly smile to the pretty girl beside her, then picked up a cup of hot chocolate, drinking it in small sips.
The tent's occupants were older than her, most of them excelled in various areas, particularly Harry Potter who sat not far away, making the red-haired girl quite nervous.
Whenever she felt this way, she'd glance at Ron, and her courage and confidence slowly grew.
Leian sat next to Vid and said, "I thought you'd definitely watch the match! You didn't show up all evening, was there trouble?"
Vid knew Leian, though not keen to show off, had sharp observational skills, and with the forest outside the camp looking the way it did, by morning everyone would surely find out, concealing was unnecessary.
So Vid lowered his voice and said, "Actually, during the match, something happened outside the camp."
Leian didn't speak, but looked at Vid with a curious eyes.
Vid asked, "Do you know about the nineteenth century, when the Killing Forest attacked the Quidditch Championship field?"
"Of course." Leian nodded.
He grew up hearing all sorts of extraordinary tales from the Magic World, countless gossip hidden in his heart.
"Tonight, some Dark Wizards tried to do just that." Vid paused, seeing Leian's eyes widen, he smiled and said, "But Grindelwald and the Witch Pure Party also came... they destroyed the magic-infused part of the forest."
Leian suddenly showed a look of understanding, saying, "You didn't watch the match, were you following Professor Dumbledore, guarding outside the stadium to prevent the Killing Forest from invading?"
Vid: "..."