Of course, Professor McGonagall and the others couldn't possibly take their students' things for free, no matter how many times Kael and the rest insisted it was okay.
And probably wanting to support their own students, in the end, each of the three professors bought nearly twenty Galleons' worth of goods. If they could've carried more, they might have kept buying—their shopping was truly wild and uninhibited.
Whether they'd use it or not, they bought first and asked questions later.
After saying goodbye to the professors, the group kept moving and soon spotted a tent with a garden and turret; it looked just like a miniature palace.
"So extravagant…" Fred couldn't help but say.
"This must be the biggest tent in the camp,"
But there weren't any markings on the tent, so they had no idea whose it was.
As the afternoon passed, excitement began to drift through the campsite like a tangible cloud, spreading in the air above.
At dusk, more and more magical merchants started appearing—they'd Apparate into wherever the crowds were thickest, hawking their wares.
Fortunately, by this time Kael and his friends had packed up their cart and were heading towards the Weasley family's campsite.
Their stock was basically sold out—just a few fireworks and flags left, which they decided to use themselves.
The three pushed through the lively, crowded throng and returned to their tent.
Mr. Weasley had already put on all the things he bought earlier and was waving a flag; everyone else was decked out in different items, making it obvious at first glance which team they were supporting.
"Thank heavens, I was about to go looking for you!" Mr. Weasley said to Fred and George, "The match is about to start, don't wander off!"
As he spoke, a deep, resonant gong sounded from somewhere in the distant woods.
Tens of thousands of colorful lanterns lit up the trees, illuminating the path to the stadium.
"It's time to enter!" Mr. Weasley said excitedly, "Come on, let's go!"
He led the way at the front, and everyone quickly walked along the lantern-lit corridor into the woods. They could hear tens of thousands of people moving all around—shouting, laughing, even scattered singing… everyone was buzzing with excitement.
About twenty minutes later, they left the woods and arrived at a gigantic stadium.
The place was so big you couldn't even see the edges; Kael could only glimpse a portion of the magnificent golden wall encircling the pitch—it felt like you could fit ten Hogwarts Castles inside.
"It can hold a hundred thousand spectators," Mr. Weasley said, smiling as he led everyone toward the nearest entrance. "The Ministry of Magic had five hundred workers busy here for an entire year."
Lots of shouting wizards surrounded the entrance, and they waited in line for ten minutes before finally getting their turn.
"First-class tickets," said the witch from the Ministry of Magic at the entrance, checking their tickets. "VIP box at the top. Just keep going upstairs, Arthur—all the way to the top."
"Thank you, Ovi."
Mr. Weasley said, leading everyone up a staircase covered in deep red carpet. "Stick close, don't get separated—Bill, you take the rear."
"Okay, Dad," Bill replied.
They made their way upwards, feeling like they were climbing Weasel Mountain again, and finally reached the topmost level.
There were three boxes in total up here; Mr. Weasley looked around, then walked into the middle one.
Inside were about twenty purple-gold chairs, arranged in two rows, directly facing the golden goalposts.
They went to the railing at the front, and from here, they could overlook the entire stadium.
The most eye-catching feature was a massive scoreboard in the stands, flashing golden letters.
Chrysanthemum: Broomsticks for the entire family… Gladrags Wizardwear, London, Paris, Hogsmeade…
"Oh, one day, our Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes will have an ad up there too…" Fred couldn't help but say.
"To put an ad here probably costs thousands of Galleons," Kael said, "Or maybe even tens of thousands…"
"That expensive?" George gaped.
Mr. Weasley laughed. "Don't forget, this is the liveliest event in the Magic Realm—you'll never see so many wizards all in one place anywhere else."
George pursed his lips and said to Fred, "I think everyone's here for Quidditch—no one's actually paying attention to the ads, right?"
"Exactly." Fred nodded earnestly. "I reckon advertising in Hogsmeade is more than enough…"
The group turned their attention back.
Fred noticed Kael wasn't looking outside, but had been staring at a particular spot the whole time.
"What are you looking at?"
He followed Kael's gaze and noticed, finally, that in the second row, second seat from the end, sat a House-elf.
Fred first thought Conna must have brought Kreacher here via Apparition, but soon realized Kreacher was much older than the House-elf sitting here.
"Dobby?" Harry had spotted the House-elf too and called out instinctively.
"Sir just called me Dobby?" The House-elf looked up, asking curiously in a high-pitched, somewhat quivering, shrill voice.
"Sorry." Harry quickly realized he'd mistaken the elf. "I thought you were a House-elf I used to know."
"But I know Dobby too, sir!" the House-elf screeched.
At that moment, the box door opened again and two Aurors walked in.
"Oh, Kingsley, Boff…" Mr. Weasley hurried over. "You're here for the match too?"
"No, Arthur, we're not watching the match," one Auror shook his head. "We just came by to say hello. You're lucky—not only are you off duty, but you got such great seats."
"Thanks to Ludo." Mr. Weasley said with a grin.
Kael watched the two Aurors thoughtfully for a moment, then quietly approached the House-elf.
The House-elf was still telling Harry about Dobby. By the time she noticed, Kael was right beside her, apparently wanting to sit there.
"No! That's Winky's seat—reserved for her master…"
In a shrill scream, Kael sat down anyway.
The screams grew louder, like they'd drill through your eardrums.
The commotion immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Mr. Weasley turned and said, "Kael, you're in the wrong seat—ours are in the front row."
"Oh, sorry."
Kael stood up and, quite casually, walked past Winky the House-elf, but because the aisle was narrow, he accidentally kicked the leg of the chair on the other side as he passed.
The chair slid far away, wobbling, almost tipping over.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to," Kael said, grabbing the chair and setting it straight, giving it a friendly pat.
Winky glared at him, eyes wide like two saucers filled with chili.
But aside from her, no one seemed bothered by the minor accident. The two Aurors exchanged a few more words with Mr. Weasley before promptly leaving.
Conna asked Kael if his foot was okay.
"It's fine," Kael shook his head.
Then he gave Winky, the House-elf, another glance and walked over to sit in the front row.
...