In the bustling campsite, Harry carried a heavy water bucket toward their tent. On the way, Harry encountered two familiar faces from Hogwarts.
They were Oliver Wood, who had already graduated, and Cho Chang, deep in animated conversation.
Harry waved enthusiastically to the two who were talking, then accidentally spilled the entire water bucket in his excitement.
Looking at the now completely empty bucket, Harry shrugged with resignation and approached them anyway.
"Hey, Wood, Cho Chang," Harry greeted the pair warmly.
"Harry, long time no see," they replied in perfect unison.
"Did you manage to join a professional team?" Harry asked, looking at the official jersey Wood was wearing with obvious envy.
"I'm now a reserve keeper for Puddlemere United," Wood said proudly, pulling at the gleaming badge on his chest.
"Oh, that's really incredible. I also hope to join Puddlemere in the future as a Seeker. I heard Professor Dumbledore is quite fond of this team," Cho Chang said with genuine admiration.
Meanwhile, the twins approached Aiden with mischievous intent, preparing to drag him along to place bets with the head of the Department of Magical Sports.
"My beautiful little brother," George said dramatically, linking arms with Aiden.
"Want to come do something fun with your big brothers?" Fred added, approaching from the other side with matching grins.
"You two, let me give you some brotherly advice first. Gambling addicts don't meet good ends," Aiden warned. As a Manipulator, he already knew their thoughts before they even spoke them aloud.
"It's fine, small gambling brings joy, and we two are very confident in our prediction. Come on," George insisted.
With that declaration, George and Fred physically carried the protesting Aiden over to where Ludo Bagman was conducting business.
"Well, well, if it isn't Arthur's children. What can I do for you today?" Ludo Bagman greeted them with practiced charm.
He was a quintessential politician, always maintaining an amiable appearance no matter who he faced, while keeping his words perfectly measured and diplomatic.
Ludo Bagman looked at the striking young man before him, those heterochromatic eyes seeming to penetrate straight into the human soul.
He swallowed nervously and still forced himself to speak professionally. "Are you here to place bets? But you're still quite young, so I'll have to set a reasonable betting limit for you."
"Sixty Galleons, our entire life fortune," George announced boldly.
"We want to bet on Ireland winning while Krum catches the Golden Snitch," Fred added with matching confidence.
"Hmm, let me consider this. That outcome is highly unlikely. The odds would be one to six. Are you absolutely certain you want to bet on this?" Ludo Bagman looked at them with genuine surprise, secretly delighted at their apparent foolishness.
"Completely certain," the twins declared in unison.
"Then..." Ludo Bagman was about to finalize the agreement when Aiden smoothly interrupted.
"But if we win, you'd have to pay out three hundred sixty Galleons in actual cash. How can we confirm your ability to pay such a sum? Don't tell me this gambling operation is officially run by the Ministry of Magic, because if it is, Fudge wouldn't spit out meat that's already in his mouth."
Aiden tapped the table rhythmically, calmly exposing Ludo Bagman's potential deception.
"I... well, this..." The guilty Ludo Bagman stammered somewhat incoherently.
"How about this. Following ancient wizarding tradition, let's make an Unbreakable Vow," Aiden suggested, rolling up his sleeves like a hungry wolf tempting an innocent lamb.
"Oh, that's really an excellent idea. Let's do it then," Ludo Bagman agreed readily, desperate to pocket those sixty Galleons without considering the consequences.
After this arrangement, Ludo Bagman made the binding Unbreakable Vow with the twins. Aiden deliberately emphasized the word "Galleons" during the oath, causing the overly excited Ludo Bagman to completely miss the legal implications.
With the betting completed, the highly anticipated match was also approaching its grand opening.
Aiden followed the Weasley family as they entered the massive stadium with thousands of other excited spectators.
As the group climbed the stairs upward, at a crowded intersection, they encountered Lucius Malfoy and his entourage.
"Look who we have here. I suppose if it started raining, you'd be the first to know," Lucius couldn't help but start his trademark mocking when he spotted the distinctive red hair.
"Lucius, I think you Malfoys still have energy to mock others when you haven't even escaped from that old political whirlpool yet," Sirius retorted sharply, unable to tolerate watching Lucius mock Arthur so publicly.
"Sirius..." Lucius paused, noticing both Sirius and Aiden behind him. "Narcissa misses you very much and hopes you'll have time to visit family."
Seeing the two powerful figures, Lucius also softened his tone considerably.
"Let's go, Draco," Lucius said curtly, turning to leave with his son.
"So will you actually go visit?" Harry couldn't help asking with curiosity.
"I won't go," Sirius replied, giving him a knowing smile.
As all the spectators finally entered the enormous arena, Minister Fudge stood on the high platform and loudly delivered the traditional opening address to thunderous applause.
Then teams from various countries began their spectacular entrances.
First to enter was the Bulgarian national team. Several players performed incredibly difficult aerial maneuvers on their racing brooms high in the sky.
Then came their official mascot, which was actually a group of Veela. These supernatural creatures with natural charm abilities immediately attracted the mesmerized attention of every male present upon entering.
"What are you all staring at me for?" Aiden asked his brothers with genuine confusion.
Finally, it was the straightforward Ron who asked the question everyone was thinking. "You really don't have any Veela blood, do you?"
"Didn't I give you all Newt's comprehensive book? Veela descendants can't give birth to male children," Aiden said, holding his forehead in exasperation.
Having gotten their definitive answer, the males turned back to gaze at the enchanting Veela. George and Fred were the most frenzied, almost flipping over the safety railing in their excitement.
Fortunately, Bill and Charlie were quick-eyed and pulled them back to safety.
Mrs. Granger also placed her hand firmly on Mr. Granger's waist for a sharp one-hundred-eighty-degree corrective turn.
Harry took out three pairs of expensive Omnioculars and handed them to Ron and Hermione with generous friendship.
"My Merlin, Harry, these Omnioculars cost ten Galleons each!" Ron exclaimed with shock.
"It's perfectly fine; consider them my early Christmas gifts to you both," wealthy Harry said, waving his small hand dismissively.
"Well, alright then," Ron said, embarrassedly accepting the valuable Omnioculars.
Next to enter was the Irish national team. Their official mascot was a group of leprechauns. These mischievous little sprites conjured glittering gold coins and scattered them generously across the spectator stands.
The twins and Ron immediately scrambled frantically to collect the falling treasure.
"Aren't you going to grab some, Aiden?" Harry looked at him with puzzlement.
"Those are temporary magical coins. Keeping them in your pocket is just for momentary fun. They'll all disappear completely after tonight," Aiden explained, rolling his eyes while watching his brothers foolishly enjoying themselves.
Meanwhile, in the exclusive Minister's box, Ludo Bagman looked increasingly regretful.
He was thinking that he definitely should have avoided making that binding Unbreakable Vow. Children from great wizarding families really couldn't be underestimated.
However, what provided some comfort was that their bet had extremely low odds of success, which gave his fragile heart some much-needed solace.
The match began with explosive energy, and the players' intense competition immediately ignited the audience's passionate emotions.
The wizards' excited feelings stirred up huge waves in the collective unconscious sea that surrounded reality.
Turmoil and chaos, following the psychic scent, found exactly where the wizards were creating the greatest disturbance.
At this moment, Aiden, whose enhanced gaze could penetrate the boundary between reality and illusion, looked at the turbulent collective unconscious sea and thought grimly, These wizards really aren't suited for large gatherings.
So actually, part of Gellert Grindelwald's political path was correct, the system observed, surfacing in his consciousness.
He wrapped part of his ideology in controlled chaos, then mobilized the wizards' intense emotions to eliminate the greater chaos produced when wizards gathered together in large numbers? Aiden sighed with new understanding.
The birth of a new order inherently contains elements of chaos. This is also where the concept of "no destruction, no construction" originates. Study well, kid. You're still far behind true understanding, the system lectured, then immediately went into lurking mode.
"Hey, come out, come out for me, don't play dead," Aiden cursed silently in his consciousness but received no response.