Chapter 102: Encounter in the Top Box
Hermione Granger, with Ginny Weasley holding her arm tightly, followed the looming Mr. Weasley.
They were walking through the desolate, misty swamp, and could see nothing but thick fog.
Ginny was as dewy and bewildered as she was.
"This doesn't look like the place for a Quidditch match..." She grumbled to Hermione as she stumbled and stumbled, tripping over a hidden rabbit hole.
"That's what I thought," said Hermione, her face livid, slipping on the dark, thick grass. She had just been disoriented by the whirring of the Portkey.
Hermione could never get used to the feeling of weightlessness at high altitude.
At one point when she fell from the sky, she almost screamed out the boy's name. Every time she was high up in the air, she would always murmur his name in her heart, as if this could give her a sense of security.
However, Ginny held her hand the whole time and fell with her; she tried her best to be patient and not lose control.
After only a few days at Ron's house, Hermione had become more familiar with Ginny.
On the one hand, they stayed in the same room at night and had many "private topics" to talk about between girls - from cattail fluff to love potions to Ginny's secret crush; on the other hand, as the only daughter of the Weasley family - facing six naughty brothers who made themselves smelly for no reason - Ginny had been praying to Merlin for many years, wanting the company of a sweet-smelling little sister.
This summer, Ginny's wish finally came true to some extent. She got rid of her second-hand dolls and stuffed animals overnight - gaining a brand new sister who could be "manipulated" by her. She even had no time to play pranks with George and Fred - which relieved Mrs. Weasley, who was upset about the "twin brothers' constant ways of getting into trouble".
"Oh, you're welcome, Hermione. I'm so glad you could come," Mrs. Weasley said warmly to Hermione as she peeled potatoes with her wand. "Ginny's been talking about you since the summer vacation started. We were worried that she might lack female friends..."
Hermione, as an only child in the family - she had never had any brothers or sisters - found this "sister relationship" novel.
After shedding her shyness, Hermione discovered that Ginny was a sincere and interesting girl. She was willing to share with Hermione all her knowledge about the magical world from a girl's unique perspective. Moreover, unlike many other students at Hogwarts, she did not think Hermione was a boring, rigid, serious nerd.
"Oh, Hermione, you are very smart and talented," said Ginny. "I suggest you don't bother with those vulgar people who only care about girls' appearance and are ashamed to admit that girls also have brains."
After a few interactions, the sisters hit it off and became inseparable.
After about twenty minutes of slogging through the mountains, Ginny shook her arm, pointed happily, and said, "Look, Hermione, the tent!"
Hermione looked up and was shocked to find that there were hundreds of strange tents in front of them. They were densely packed on a gentle slope, and on the other side of the slope was a dark forest.
"Let's walk faster!" Hermione said to Ginny excitedly, all the tiredness and sleepiness on her face gone.
They hurried forward until they caught up with the main group of Weasley boys. Mr. Weasley exchanged a few words with a Muggle caretaker named Roberts and then led them towards the woods at the end of the first field.
Passing through two long rows of tents, marveling at their incongruous appearance, they finally arrived at their destination - the Weasley family's assigned camp.
All they had to do was set up the tent, and they'd be setting up camp there. Hermione discovered that the Weasleys were surprisingly inexperienced with tents. Ultimately, she and Harry, the only wizards familiar with the Muggle world, became the instructors in setting up the tent.
What was even more ridiculous was that Mr. Weasley was always there to make things more complicated. He found those Muggle things novel and interesting, and excitedly held up those scattered parts or hammers, and kept asking Hermione and Harry questions, as if he was fascinated by these little gadgets.
"Don't pay attention to my dad, he's always like this. Once mom is not watching him, he feels like he's liberated and always wants to play." Ginny came over with a smile and lent a hand to Hermione.
"It's okay. My dad has a similar problem privately. He's always interested in inexplicable things." Hermione fixed the tent pole deftly and said with a smile, "The difference is that my mom doesn't care about him. Instead, she lets him have more fun."
"I really can't tell. I've seen them in Diagon Alley before, and they seemed quite serious," Ginny said curiously.
"That's all an illusion. In reality, they've been overly lively in private." Hermione took two steps back and examined the first corner of the tent with satisfaction.
Over there, under Harry's guidance, the Weasley boys had already set up the first tent. They ran over to help Hermione and Ginny set up the second one. By the time Mr. Weasley had just figured out the purpose of the tent poles and screws, the second tent was also set up crookedly.
The two girls occupied a slightly smaller tent, which contained a two-bedroom apartment, a bathroom, and a kitchen.
"Is this space extension magic? How wonderful." After walking around the tent, Hermione couldn't help but sigh.
"You actually know this?" Ginny said in slight surprise, "I don't think you look like a Muggle-born child at all. You know more than some wizard-born children."
Hermione smiled. She had seen many similar things from Draco before, so it certainly didn't feel strange to her.
I wonder what he's doing now? Has he arrived yet? Where is their tent set up? Hermione couldn't help wondering.
She knew it wasn't good to keep thinking about him like this. She needed to think about something else to distract herself.
At this moment, Mr. Weasley was playing with the Muggle matches - the waste matches had piled up like a mountain beside him - and was happily assigning tasks to the boys and girls: Harry, Ron and Hermione were responsible for fetching water, and Ginny insisted on following Hermione.
This was an easy task for them. Harry and Ron, showing a bit of gentlemanly manners, each carried a large, dusty kettle in front, while Hermione and Ginny followed the two boys empty-handed, crossing the entire grounds to find a working tap on the other side.
On the way back, the grounds gradually became busier. Hermione encountered some familiar faces: Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, both adorned with shamrocks, who kept urging them to support the Irish team; Hufflepuffs Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Hannah Abbott, who waved and greeted them while studying Krum's poster; more Hufflepuff friends—Susan Bones and her serious-looking aunt passed by—who smiled and nodded at Hermione; and Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw Seeker, who greeted them, causing Harry to sprinkle water on her lapel.
"Why is he so flustered - about Cho Chang?" Ginny asked, frowning.
"Oh, he's been acting a bit embarrassed about her since he beat her last time," Hermione said. Seeing Harry blushing, she suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. She glanced at Ginny, who seemed lost in thought, and quickly and enthusiastically changed the subject, "Let's take a look at these tents!"
So they wandered leisurely among the crowd, admiring the unusual tents on the field: a large pyramid-shaped tent, a tent with a garden, a fountain, a sundial, and a birdbath, a tent shaped like a four-story building with turrets, a strange tent with a chimney, a bell rope, and even a weather vane, a tent decorated with the Bulgarian Seeker Krum, and a lush green tent of Irish fans covered with shamrocks...
Harry and Ron were already far away. They were carrying large kettles filled with water, but they were walking even faster than when they came. They wanted to put their things down quickly so that they could greet their classmates with empty hands.
Hermione and Ginny were far behind them and could not keep up with their pace. They simply gave up and chatted slowly, looking at the tents and talking about the interesting things they had just seen.
"...the old wizard who refused to change out of his floral-print dressing gown. He said he'd rather have a healthy breeze on his bottom," Ginny said vividly, making Hermione giggle.
"Oh, Ginny, you're so cute! I never knew you were such a humorous, lively and cheerful girl." When Hermione finally stopped laughing by holding her stomach, she took the opportunity to ask Ginny, "I bet Harry will really like you. If you want to, you can be funnier than Ron. But why are you so nervous that you can't speak when you meet Harry? You are obviously not like this in private..."
"You don't understand! I also want to act normal." Speaking of Harry, Ginny blushed immediately, "But I just can't help it. When I see him, my mind always goes blank..."
Hermione advised her: "That won't do. At least you should be able to talk properly!"
"I'll try my best!" Ginny sighed, suddenly becoming absent-minded.
It seemed that this conversation was too heavy for Ginny. Even the most conspicuous striped silk tent in the center of the venue did not arouse her interest. When passing it, Hermione turned her head to admire the extravagant and gorgeous tent - it was like a small palace - thinking to herself.
Although Ginny was shy, she was definitely not a pushover. She immediately changed the subject and brought the conversation to Hermione. "By the way, what's your relationship with your study partner, that Malfoy? Did you see him at the camp this time? Didn't you smell..."
"No, we have nothing to do with each other! I was a little silly at that time, but now I have figured it out! Draco - he is just an ordinary friend from the next door college!" Hermione blushed slightly, turned around and denied it to Ginny.
She no longer had the heart to look at the tent, but pulled Ginny back in a hurry, "Let's go, hurry back... I guess Mr. Weasley and the others must be waiting anxiously..."
As luck would have it, the sound of their conversation drifted into Draco's ears - he happened to come out of the striped silk tent, about to feed the live peacocks tied at the door, and saw the girl hurriedly running past him.
This made him frown slightly.
An ordinary friend from the next college?
Her definition of him was indeed—cold and indifferent. This heartless girl!
He felt a little annoyed, his light grey eyes fixed on the receding figure, and he couldn't help but be drawn to her again. Look at her, wearing a pair of Muggle jeans and a light-colored denim jacket, she looked youthful and full of energy.
She really knows how to make friends, and is completely different from the girl who claimed last summer that "she couldn't make any friends in Bath."
Only a few days? She was already affectionately holding someone else's arm, acting like she was destined to be with that red-haired kid forever, yet she shamelessly claimed that she and he were just ordinary friends.
He sighed irritably and put the peacock's food bowl on the ground, a question circling in his mind - did she want to develop all red-haired people into "friends"?
Does she really like red hair?
George and Fred didn't give Draco much time to think or fret. The red-haired twins suddenly jumped out from behind him, startling Draco. He whipped out his wand and pointed it at them, causing the bag of peacock feed to fall to the ground.
"Oh—calm down, calm down, it's us!" Fred raised his hands in surprise. "Are you overreacting a little?"
"Can't you just walk up to me like normal people?" Draco put away his wand and complained, "Why do you always play pranks like this?
"We couldn't help it." They stood on each side, tilting their heads to look at him with a smile, the same cunning look on their similar faces.
"That's not funny!" he said with a frown, bending over to pick up the bag of feed from the ground.
"Okay, enough small talk. We need you. Come with us." George looked around and whispered, "There are too many people here."
They walked through the bustling crowd, chatting about the problem of "the access roads to the venue were too crowded" and "where the Weasleys were setting up camp" all the way, until they reached the deserted hidden woods and got down to business.
"The anti-curse hat has been a success!" Fred said impatiently. "We found a consultant who is an expert in Defense Against the Dark Arts!"
"Yeah, you'll be surprised to see him!" George smiled at Draco.
"I'm really looking forward to it..." Draco leaned against an oak tree with a lazy expression, still worried about Hermione calling him an "ordinary friend".
The twin brothers opposite him looked at each other with intriguing expressions.
"He hasn't started yet. We've arranged to meet at the Hogsmeade Open Day after school starts to discuss the details. The personnel changes require your confirmation, so you have to come." George said mysteriously.
"Okay." Draco gave him a questioning look.
Who on earth was this consultant that made the two brothers so excited?
"Here you go..." Fred took out the Marauder's Map from his leather jacket pocket. "We don't need it anymore."
"Have you thoroughly studied the magic of the Trace Thread?" Draco asked in shock as he took the Marauder's Map.
"No, we've found a better option. Our consultant is no worse than the Marauder's Map," Fred said with a grin. "He's very knowledgeable about Tracing Thread magic. We're hoping to learn from him and see what innovations we can make with this knowledge."
Draco questioned this.
Couldn't they see how ingeniously crafted this Marauder's Map was? Few could surpass its maker.
However, judging from their tone, it seemed that the man had some knowledge.
"I look forward to your new achievements soon." With a faint curiosity, he put the Marauder's Map into his pocket and slowly said goodbye to the Weasley twins.
Hermione Granger didn't know she had crossed paths with Draco. She had been busy all day trying to keep herself in a state of great novelty and curiosity, trying not to think about the boy who always made her miss him inexplicably.
I have to say that most of the time, this strategy is quite successful:
The fascinating tent decorations were dizzying, and she was surprised and delighted to meet her Hogwarts classmates occasionally; in the afternoon, Apparating vendors dropped from the sky with carts, selling all kinds of strange souvenirs - badges, ribbons, top hats, national flags, models, small statues - she and Ginny could not help but linger in front of the stalls, unable to move their legs at all, until Mr. Weasley, amid the cheers of the people around them, loudly urged them to hurry to the stadium.
"Isn't it spectacular? It can accommodate 100,000 spectators from all over the world. Five hundred staff members of the Ministry of Magic have been busy for a whole year on this. Every inch of here is cast with a Muggle-repelling spell..." Mr. Weasley introduced it to them loudly as he led them into the huge stadium.
They passed some shouting wizards and, guided by a witch, walked up the purple carpet. Hermione followed Mr. Weasley and the others up the stairs to the top box. There were about twenty purple and gilded chairs arranged in two rows. One by one, they looked around curiously and sat down at the edge of the front row.
At this moment, thousands of wizards were gradually taking their seats. The top box had a great view, being the highest point in the stadium, facing the golden goalposts.
Hermione looked down from the stands and saw the stadium shrouded in a mysterious golden light. The playing field was as smooth as velvet. Opposite them, at eye level, was a huge blackboard with some words flashing on it - an advertisement for the spectators.
Over the next half hour, the previously empty box gradually became lively. Mr. Weasley was shaking hands with some of the most important-looking wizards. Hermione recognized Cornelius Fudge, the portly Minister of Magic who had appeared in the pumpkin patch in front of Hagrid's hut at Hogwarts a few months earlier. He was now speaking kindly to Harry.
Mr. Weasley was dedicated to introducing the Ministry of Magic officials to Harry and Hermione - his children were already familiar with his colleagues. However, as Hermione learned more about the positions and work of the Ministry officials, she gradually lost interest in the boring small talk between the officials.
When her mind was empty, the thought that had been suppressed for a long time began to rise involuntarily in her mind: Draco - where is he?
For the thousand and first time, she cast her anxious gaze towards the dark staircase below, and suddenly hoped that he would come soon.
At that moment, the boy she had been longing for answered her call. That boy with the pointed chin and the aloof look! His neatly combed platinum hair suddenly lit up the dark path downstairs.
Her lips parted slightly, and she blinked in disbelief, only to find that the gray eyes suddenly glanced towards the box above, and immediately shot towards her like a sharp arrow, meeting her gaze.
A gentle smile suddenly appeared in his sharp eyes. Hermione looked at him and couldn't help but smile back. He seemed taller than the last time she saw him, with a youthful, energetic and upright figure.
Hermione looked at him and suddenly found it difficult to avert her gaze from him. Even stranger, the noisy conversation around her seemed to have suddenly been paused, completely silencing her ears.
Draco, he had cruelly and easily taken away all her attention. She murmured his name in her heart and watched him slowly walk up the stairs.
Like a slow motion scene from an old movie she had seen, some details were inexplicably magnified and presented to her slowly and delicately.
For example, he was wearing a spotless, crisp black suit with a black lining, which made him look somewhat mysterious; for another example, his tie held his collar tightly together, giving him a restrained and elegant look.
Even stranger was the fact that she could hear the slow tapping of the soles of his leather shoes against the wooden stairs, a sound that seemed to reach deep into her heart.
Hermione had to admit that he looked quite eye-catching in a suit.
Everything about him was eye-catching. Catching her eye.
"Hermione Granger, stop thinking about this!" she told herself, realizing her body was frozen as if under a petrifying spell.
She struggled to look away, to not appear so infatuated, but failed, and finally, filled with regret, she could only stare at him motionlessly, her mouth agape, temporarily unable to speak.
At this moment, she suddenly understood Ginny's feelings when she faced Harry.
What qualifications does she have to educate Ginny?
She also couldn't control herself. Whenever she saw him, her mind would go blank.
At this moment, Draco approached her, approached her, glanced at her lightly, raised his eyebrows at her slightly, as if to greet her secretly. However, Hermione was not sure whether this was her imagination, after all, he did not stop, and continued to walk steadily behind her.
The only good thing was that his somewhat oppressive gaze left her alone, and she could finally move her gaze. Hermione lowered her head and watched his black trousers pass by the aisle beside her, and then, hesitantly, slid over the armrest of her seat and went behind her.
His cufflinks seemed to brush against a lock of hair that fell on her shoulder, causing her scalp to tingle where it lay. She was puzzled again by this, perhaps it was just another fantasy.
The only thing that was certain was that a strange yet pleasant scent of cedar suddenly slipped into her nose, slid along her trachea into her internal organs, and cunningly stirred her heartstrings.
"Hermione, why is your face so red?" Ginny, who was eager to cause trouble, tugged at her sleeve and whispered in her ear: "Why, are you fascinated by Draco Malfoy?"
"Yeah..." She said drowsily, with the faint scent of cedar still lingering in her nostrils. After about three or five seconds, with her heart beating rapidly, she suddenly realized what a fool she had done. She quickly whispered to Ginny, "Oh, no! Of course not!"
However, Ginny gave her a look of profound understanding. This look made Hermione's cheeks flush. She heard Ginny say in a tone of seeing through everything, "An ordinary friend from the next door college? Now, I finally feel at peace."
"Just ordinary friends, really," she whispered, smiling guiltily at Ginny, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.
Was she being so obvious? She sat up straight, determined not to look back at him, lest she reveal any flaws in her expression.
Draco Malfoy immediately spotted Hermione sitting there. She looked a little dazed, her mind lost in thought, her lips slightly parted, her eyes staring blankly in her direction. Next to her sat the red-haired brat, and next to them were Harry, Ron, and more red-haired Weasleys.
If his parents weren't there, he might have said hello, but since his father, Lucius, who was walking in front of him, and Mr. Weasley had always been at odds, he didn't want to risk any bad luck on such a day.
He could only take a few more glances at her as he climbed the stairs. Her eyes were bright, and she kept looking at him, giving him a kind of smile.
Is it possible for her to smile at him so cutely in the "ordinary friendship from the neighboring college" that she defined?
He originally wanted to show off his arrogance to this irresponsible girl, but in the end he couldn't help it and raised his eyebrows at her. She didn't know what she was panicking about, and suddenly lowered her head.
He wanted to touch her hair, but felt that it was not appropriate to do so in public, so he could only reluctantly brush her hair with his sleeve and restrain his hand.
Without a word, he passed her.
Draco was a little annoyed by this. He knew he couldn't show any annoyance at this moment. His every move was under the scrutiny of Lucius and Narcissa, and he didn't think it was a good idea to draw their attention to Hermione at this moment.
So he controlled his temper, followed his parents, exchanged pleasantries with Fudge, and finally sat down in the second row. He crossed his long legs and sat coldly in the seat near the aisle, right in front of Hermione.
He felt a strange pleasure in the seating arrangement. He could lean forward and reach out to grip her thick hair. Maybe she would look back at him.
However, the red-haired kid next to her kept talking into her ear, which was very annoying.
Had she and Ron's sister reached the point of whispering? What were they talking about, leaving her no time to even look back at him? Draco couldn't help but hear these noises in his mind.
She never turned around, and sat there with a serious expression, as if there was a stone she didn't recognize sitting behind her, not him.
Hermione Granger, the heartless girl!
He is so heartless.
Draco's mouth dropped in disappointment, and he remained silent as a statue, glancing at the other people in the box. They were much the same as in his previous life; they were mostly high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Magic. He even spotted the Bulgarian Minister for Magic.
In the corner, a house-elf who looked vaguely like Dobby sat in the second-to-last seat in the back row, its face buried in its hands.
Whose house-elf was this? Was it holding a seat for its master? Draco didn't seem to have much of an impression of it.
At this time in his previous life, most of his attention was focused on the "fight with Harry and his trio."
Draco was distracted and wanted to take another look at the elf, but Ludo Bagman, wearing a Wimbourne Wasps jersey, interrupted Draco's thoughts on house-elves.
He rushed into the box like a bumblebee, exchanged a few words with several wizards in a loud manner, and then laughed and quickly got to the point.
He placed his wand against his throat and used the "Voice Booster" charm to announce to the entire stadium: "The 422nd Quidditch World Cup has officially begun!"
The stadium suddenly erupted in cheers.