Kael was already quite accustomed to traveling using Portkeys, and he landed steadily on the ground directly afterward.
Harry and Ron collided upon landing, nearly bumping their heads into the bush beside them.
"Five oh seven, from Weasel Mountain," a voice said.
In front of them stood two weary, grim-faced wizards, presumably the ones responsible for registration.
"Good morning, Basil," Mr. Weasley said as he picked up the worn-out boot and handed it over. The man tossed it into a large chest beside him, filled with used Portkeys. Besides the boot, there were old newspapers, empty cans, and broken light bulbs...
"Hello, Arthur," Basil said tiredly, with dark circles under his eyes. "Not on duty, lucky you… but you'd better move aside, a large group is coming from the Dark Forest at five fifteen."
"Weasley's campsite... oh, found it, it's a quarter of a mile ahead, the first site is managed by Mr. Roberts..."
"Sorry," Kael suddenly said, "Could you please tell me if Conna Prince has arrived?"
Basil glanced at the thick parchment in his hand, "She arrived ten minutes earlier than you, also at the first site."
"Thank you."
Mr. Weasley also noticed that he didn't seem to want to speak much, so he urged everyone to leave.
"I think the two of them must have been here all night, and there's at least another ten hours to go. It's not an easy job."
"Just the two of them?" Harry asked.
"I think so," Mr. Weasley said, "The Ministry of Magic is short-staffed..."
They passed through the desolate marshland, walked for about twenty minutes, and gradually a door appeared, followed by a small stone house, with hundreds of oddly shaped tents vaguely visible behind it.
They arrived in front of the stone house, where stood a man, talking to another wizard, face still carrying a lingering perplexity.
The other person was wearing knee-high rubber boots and a South American poncho, asking if he wanted Galleon or Sickle.
Mr. Roberts repeatedly explained that he wanted British Pounds.
Evidently, this was a real Muggle, probably the only one in this area.
Finally, the man simply impatiently stuffed a handful of Galleon, telling him to exchange it at Gringotts himself.
Mr. Roberts, holding a handful of gold coins, was dumbfounded.
Just then, a wizard wearing bloomers suddenly descended next to him.
"Obliviate!"
Instantly, Mr. Roberts's eyes became unfocused, and a dazed look appeared on his face.
The gold coins in his hand were taken, replaced with some British Pounds.
"Here's a campsite map for you," Mr. Roberts calmly handed a map to the wizard in front of him.
"Forgetfulness Spell..." Harry frowned, "Why can't they let a wizard manage the campsite?"
"I don't know, but..." Mr. Weasley suddenly lowered his voice, "Maybe someone wants to use this to show they get along well with Muggles… you know, many foreign wizards are coming this time."
Saying so, Mr. Weasley also grimaced, seeming quite displeased with this... but as it was the minister's request, he couldn't change it.
After that wizard left, it was Mr. Weasley's turn.
At the back of the line, Fred winked at Kael and quickly left the group.
"Dad, we're going to check out the campsite, see you later!" Fred said, then ran towards the campsite with George.
Kael, Cedric, and Cho immediately followed.
"Remember not to wander off or cause trouble!" Mr. Weasley shouted loudly from behind, "Or I'll tell your mother when we get back!"
The few of them waved their hands to indicate they heard.
They walked into the campsite until they stopped.
Fred and George turned around, eagerly saying, "How about here, there are already quite a few people here."
Kael surveyed the surroundings.
Indeed, beside them were two dense rows of tents, with many wizards outside, greeting people they knew.
"No problem," Kael nodded.
Cedric tapped a nearby rock with his wand, turning it into a cart with a compartment.
Kael took out several boxes that had been charmed with the Undetectable Extension Charm, opened the lids, and neatly arranged them on the cart.
Then he picked up a firework and tossed it into the sky.
"Boom!"
The firework exploded, forming a giant shamrock pattern in mid-air.
The commotion quickly caught the attention of quite a few people.
"Oh… this is amazing!" A young man, clearly an Ireland supporter, ran over, pointed at the fireworks in the sky, and asked, "How much is this?"
"Two Sickles each, or if you buy ten sticks, it'll only cost you a Galleon."
"Give me ten sticks," the man took out a gold coin, "Oh, this hat is nice too, it can dance, give me one of them, I want the Ireland team one… and a flag… and I want the poster that features players doing signature moves, preferably Ivanova…"
Finally, the man left five Galleons, carrying a pile of things and leaving happily.
Encountering such a generous customer just after opening, Fred and George couldn't stop smiling.
"These things look pretty good..." Another middle-aged wizard walked over.
"But I'm supporting Bulgaria; do you have any for them?"
"Of course." Fred threw another firework, which exploded into a red lion.
"I'll take ten sticks too, one Galleon, right…" the man said, "Also, I want the hat and badge, same, for Bulgaria."
"No problem..."
With quite a few people gathering out of curiosity, plus the fact that the pricing wasn't too high, most people were willing to spend a little money on interesting little things.
Besides, these things were bound to be bought anyway; watching the match empty-handed would directly decrease the experience by half.
And for wizards who could afford the tickets, most wouldn't mind spending this small amount, including those younger ones who would use the pocket money they'd saved throughout summer to pick out a couple of their favorites.
"Hello, I want a badge." Someone else came over.
The voice was quite familiar, and Kael instinctively raised his head.
"Conna!"
Cho exclaimed in surprise, "How did you know we were here?"
"Because I saw this," Conna raised her hand and pointed at the two patterns in the sky, "I guessed it's you guys."
"No wonder you've been letting off those fireworks non-stop!" Fred looked at Kael, suspiciously, "Did you intend all along to use this way to tell Conna we were here?"
"So that's it..." George said, "I couldn't understand before, why there were so many customers, yet you insisted on setting off fireworks."
"It worked, didn't it?" Kael shrugged.
"Indeed it did," Fred said, "The campsite is so big that finding someone isn't easy."
"Master Kael..." a sharp voice came.
Only then did everyone notice that there was also a rather old and ugly house-elf accompanying Conna.
"Kreacher?" Kael asked, "Why are you here?"
"Mr. Snape sent Kreacher to protect Miss Conna… he thinks it's unsafe here."
Not sure if it was an illusion, Kael felt that Kreacher had more to say.
…