Over the next half hour, the box where Gianna was seated gradually filled up with people.
One person after another came up to shake hands with Gianna.
Tonks stood beside her with a smile, accompanying her without showing the slightest hint of impatience.
"I heard there's going to be a performance by the teams' mascots before the match, right?" Aiwu suddenly looked at Ludo and asked loudly.
"Of course. You'll love it." Although he had never seen a talking little dragon before, Aiwu was, after all, being held in Gianna's arms. Faced with her question, Ludo remained enthusiastic. "Each national team has brought some cute animals from their home country, just like you. They'll put on a series of performances before the match."
Ludo glanced at his cue cards, his eyes wandering slightly.
"You'll definitely like them. I certainly do."
Immediately afterward, the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports suddenly stood up and looked around.
Aiwu obediently closed her mouth and watched Ludo curiously.
Although he was dressed rather strangely, Aiwu thought he was quite interesting.
"Is everyone ready?"
Ludo said this with his round face shining brightly, like a gigantic spherical cheese.
Hearing his words, everyone who had been chatting inside the box took their seats, and the entire box fell silent.
He then turned his gaze toward Gianna Proudmoore, who held the highest position among those present.
Gianna nodded at him and gave him an encouraging smile.
Ludo drew his wand and pointed it at his throat.
"Sonorus!"
His voice then rang out like thunder, echoing throughout the completely packed stadium.
His voice reverberated above the heads of the spectators, carrying loudly to every corner of the stands.
"Ladies and gentlemen... welcome! Welcome to the 422nd Quidditch World Cup!"
The spectators erupted into cheers and applause.
A green wave swept across the stands.
They were the supporters of Ireland.
They wore hats woven in the shape of green shamrocks.
Ron, Seamus, Terry, and the other young wizards supporting Ireland had also bought some of those bright green hats and happily put them on.
Poor Ron.
Without realizing it, he had already revealed his fate.
Even larger than the green wave was a sea of red and white roses.
Many young witches had joined the ranks supporting England simply because whether they were red roses or white roses, they looked far better than green hats.
This day was practically a grand carnival for Hogwarts.
The young wizards had dressed up for the occasion, and compared with the summer sunlight, their excitement burned even hotter.
Cho Chang wore a striking red cheongsam decorated with golden peony patterns. The slit revealed her long, slender legs, which swayed gently with every step.
Her black hair was coiled into an elegant bun, with a gorgeous red peony tucked into it, matching the color of her dress.
Hermione wore an elegant white, knee-length dress with delicate cutout patterns. Her soft, fluffy curls fell smoothly down her back, with a beautiful pink-and-white rose tucked behind her ear, adding a touch of feminine charm.
Penelope had dressed herself up beautifully as well. She wore a purple strapless short dress, while her long golden curls had been carefully styled into a low ponytail. A violet flower adorned her hair, making her look like a noble princess.
Cho leaned against the railing and looked confidently at Hermione beneath the sunlight, like a gardener admiring a beautiful flower in her garden.
Hermione seemed to sense her gaze. She looked up and happened to catch Cho before she could withdraw her eyes.
Cho smiled gently.
"You look even more beautiful and captivating than usual today."
Hermione turned to look into Cho's eyes, trying to probe the deeper meaning behind her words.
Doubt surged through her heart like a tide.
Why had Cho seemed so confident in front of her over the past two months?
At that moment, Luna drifted over like a breeze, and laughter broke out wherever she went.
Her wide skirt wrapped tightly around her, while the low neckline of her corset accentuated her figure.
The other young witches had only pinned a single rose to their outfits, but Luna wore far more.
Rather than putting them on her head, she had arranged them around her collar. Roses of different sizes were piled together like a mountain, forming a tall ruff collar.
She looked like a fairy who had gathered up an entire sea of roses.
Such a unique Luna was especially eye-catching amid the crowd.
She paid no attention whatsoever to the laughter and comments of those around her.
She put on a pair of colorful Spectrespecs and gently slapped the air with both hands, as though she were driving away invisible nuisances.
Hermione stared at Luna in astonishment, completely forgetting to answer Cho.
Cho's attention was also drawn to Luna, and the two girls exchanged a silent look.
"Now," Ludo Bagman's booming voice rang out like a great bell, "please raise your wands and welcome the mascots of the national teams!"
"What's that?" Penelope looked at the field in surprise.
"A shining ball!"
"A spherical firework!"
The crowd erupted in cries of amazement as everyone tried to guess what kind of creature it was.
A gigantic, dazzling shamrock rose high into the air and began circling above the stands.
Something crackled and fell from it like golden raindrops.
As the crowd cheered, people scrambled frantically for the falling objects, with some even crawling beneath their seats to pick up the gold coins.
They were actually gold coins!
Hermione narrowed her eyes and carefully examined the shamrock.
She discovered that it was actually composed of countless tiny creatures wearing red waistcoats and sporting little mustaches.
"They're Irish Leprechauns!" Hermione exclaimed amid the cheers.
The enormous shamrock disappeared, and the Leprechauns slowly descended onto the seats prepared for them on the pitch. They sat down cross-legged.
"I don't know what could possibly be better than gold!" Ron said happily, holding a large handful of coins.
"Of course, nothing could be better than Ireland's mascots!" Seamus stuffed the coins into his pockets with satisfaction.
"All right, enough small talk. Please allow me to introduce the mascots of the England national team!"
The sea of red and white roses immediately erupted into thunderous cheers.
"I wonder what they brought," Seamus said, leaning forward from his seat.
"Ah!"
His eyes suddenly widened.
"What is that?"
Three enormous creatures flapped their wings as they entered the stadium.
They were three dragons.
One red and two white.
The two white dragons carried Bludgers in their mouths, while the red dragon carried the Quaffle.
Just like the emblem on the England team's badge.
"They actually brought dragons into the stadium!"
Terry stared at the field without blinking.
"Aren't they afraid the dragons will cause trouble and hurt someone? Dragons are the most uncontrollable magical creatures there are!"
Seamus complained loudly.
Ron nodded repeatedly in agreement.
He was already prepared to run at any moment.
Yet the dragons on the field looked exceptionally obedient at that moment, showing none of their usual ferocity.
They spread their wings in the air and then began changing formation.
"Are they drawing something?" Terry asked suspiciously.
"What are they writing?" Ron stared at their performance without blinking, desperately trying to make sense of their flight paths.
"The English flag!" Seamus snorted, touching the four-leaf clover on his head.
To be fair, the fact that dragons were willing to perform at all was already impressive.
These were dragons, after all.
As long as they did not cause trouble, that alone was worth thanking the heavens for. If they were willing to cooperate and change formations a little, that was practically a divine blessing.
Wasn't it?
"Is that all?" Seamus muttered doubtfully.
But many more spectators erupted into cheers.
How many years had it been?
Ever since the England team had foolishly chosen dragons as their mascots, they had never once managed to enter the field normally.
Every time, twenty or thirty dragon handlers had to surround them, ready to prevent accidents.
And every time, something still went wrong.
No matter how obediently the dragons were trained under normal circumstances, they became completely different creatures on a noisy Quidditch field.
The various sounds constantly echoing across the stadium could easily stimulate them.
As a result, during every World Cup, the England team spent more money on dragon handlers and compensation for accidents than they did on their players.
After carefully examining the scene, Hermione's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Miss Katrana Prestor!"
Penelope looked at Hermione in confusion.
What did Miss Prestor have to do with this?
Hermione clearly noticed her confusion and explained, "Miss Prestor used to live in South America. She only came to England after helping Lewis and the others complete their dragon-slaying mission. She's an expert on dragons."
"Sure enough, I can see Miss Prestor." Penelope looked around and soon spotted Onyxia's figure. "She's right on the red dragon's back."
"Right? I've always heard Lewis say that she has a special way of dealing with dragons. I never thought she could train them this well." Hermione sighed in admiration.
As the host, Ludo Bagman also loudly praised Onyxia—Katrana Prestor, or Miss Prestor, as she was known publicly—for her assistance in helping the England team control their mascots.
She had now been promoted to Director of the Wild Office of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
Soon, the three dragons obediently landed in the rest area.
It was the first time the England team had successfully completed a mascot performance.
In the past, some superstitious fans believed that although the England team was so strong, the reason they had remained without a championship for so many years was precisely because they had chosen the wrong mascot.
Now, seeing the scene before them, many fans felt that this was a very good omen.
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