A sense of excitement rose like a palpable cloud over the campsite as the afternoon wore on. By dusk, the still summer air itself seemed to be quivering with anticipation, and as darkness spread like a curtain over the thousands of waiting wizards, the last vestiges of pretence disappeared: the Ministry seemed to have bowed to the inevitable and stopped fighting the signs of blatant magic now breaking out everywhere.
Salesmen were Apparating every few feet, carrying trays and pushing carts full of extraordinary merchandise. There were luminous rosettes - green for Ireland, red for Bulgaria - which were squealing the names of the players, pointed green hats bedecked with dancing shamrocks, Bulgarian scarves adorned with lions that really roared, flags from both countries that played their national anthems as they were waved; there were tiny models of Firebolts that really flew, and collectible figures of famous players, which strolled across the palm of your hand, preening themselves.
"Been saving my pocket money all summer for this," Ron told Dudley as the group strolled through the salesmen, buying souvenirs. Though Ron purchased a dancing shamrock hat and a large green rosette, he also bought a small figure of Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker. The miniature Krum walked backward and forward over Ron's hand, scowling up at the green rosette above him.
"Wow, look at these!" said Dudley, hurrying over to a cart piled high with what looked like brass binoculars, except that they were covered with all sorts of weird knobs and dials.
"Omnioculars," said the saleswizard eagerly. "You can replay action...slow everything down...and they flash up a play-by-play breakdown if you need it. Bargain - ten Galleons each."
"Wish I hadn't bought this now," said Ron, gesturing at his dancing shamrock hat and gazing longingly at the Omnioculars.
"I'll take a pair," said Dudley. He glanced at Ron. "You want one? It'll be an early Christmas present. Dean? Hermione?"
"I've got some money to get a pair, you can get me something else for Christmas," Dean said with a grin.
"You usually just get me a book for Christmas, this'll be a nice change," Hermione said.
"I thought you loved books?"
"I do, but I won't complain about something different."
Dudley grinned. "Three pairs then," he said.
"And one for me," Dean said.
"Fair enough," said Ron, grinning.
"Oooh, thanks, Dudley," said Hermione. "And I'll get us some programs, look -"
Their money bags considerably lighter, they went back to the tents. Bill, Charlie, and Ginny were all sporting green rosettes too, and Mr. Weasley was carrying an Irish flag and had bought a pair of Omnioculars of his own.. Fred and George had no souvenirs as they had given Bagman all their gold. Luna had bought an Irish flag and a Shamrock hat.
And then a deep, booming gong sounded somewhere beyond the woods, and at once, green and red lanterns blazed into life in the trees, lighting a path to the field.
"It's time!" said Mr. Weasley, looking as excited as any of them. "Come on, let's go!"
Clutching their purchases, Mr. Weasley in the lead, they all hurried into the wood, following the lantern-lit trail. They could hear the sounds of thousands of people moving around them, shouts and laughter, snatches of singing. The atmosphere of feverish excitement was highly infectious; Dudley couldn't stop grinning. They walked through the wood for twenty minutes, talking and joking loudly, until at last they emerged on the other side and found themselves in the shadow of a gigantic stadium. Though Dudley could see only a fraction of the immense gold walls surrounding the field, he could tell that ten cathedrals would fit comfortably inside it.
"Seats a hundred thousand," said Mr. Weasley, spotting the awestruck look on Dudley's face. "Ministry task force of five hundred have been working on it all year. Muggle Repelling Charms on every inch of it. Every time Muggles have got anywhere near here all year, they've suddenly remembered urgent appointments and had to dash away again...bless them," he added fondly, leading the way toward the nearest entrance, which was already surrounded by a swarm of shouting witches and wizards.
"Prime seats!" said the Ministry witch at the entrance when she checked their tickets. "Top Box! Straight upstairs, Arthur, and as high as you can go."
The stairs into the stadium were carpeted in rich purple. They clambered upward with the rest of the crowd, which slowly filtered away through doors into the stands to their left and right. Mr. Weasley's party kept climbing, and at last they reached the top of the staircase and found themselves in a small box, set at the highest point of the stadium and situated exactly halfway between the golden goal posts. About twenty purple-and-gilt chairs stood in two rows here, and Dudley, filing into the front seats with the Weasleys, looked down upon a scene the likes of which he could never have imagined.
A hundred thousand witches and wizards were taking their places in the seats, which rose in levels around the long oval field. Everything was suffused with a mysterious golden light, which seemed to come from the stadium itself. The field looked smooth as velvet from their lofty position. At either end of the field stood three goal hoops, fifty feet high; right opposite them, almost at Dudley's eye level, was a gigantic blackboard. Gold writing kept dashing across it as though an invisible giant's hand were scrawling upon the blackboard and then wiping it off again; watching it, Dudley saw that it was flashing advertisements across the field.
The Bluebottle: A Broom for All the Family - safe, reliable, and with Built-in Anti-Burgler Buzzer...Mrs. Shower's All Purpose Magical Mess Remover: No Pain, No Stain!...Gladrags Wizardwear - London, Paris, Hogsmeade...
"Bit bigger than Wembley," Dudley said to Dean, referring to the stadium of the England football team which they had both gone to in the Summer.
"Almost twice as big," Dean said. "Mum would love this. I wish I could take her."
Dudley glanced around and saw a hunched figure in the corner. Its bat-like ears looked very familiar. He gave Ron a nudge in the ribs. "What's a house elf doing here?"
Ron glanced over at it. "I dunno—saving a seat for someone maybe? Or maybe it works here—I expect they have House Elves to do the cleaning and stuff."
"Maybe it's sneaked in to see the match," Ginny suggested with a grin.
"I heard the head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is secretly a House Elf," Luna said. This was such a ludicrous statement that they all laughed.
Hearing the sound, the elf looked around at them.
"No, we just recognised you were an elf, that's all," Dean said.
"One works for me," Dudley said. "Dobby."
The elf's widened. "You is Dobby's owner?"
"I am," Dudley said.
"You pay Dobby?"
"Yep, a galleon a week."
"House Elves shouldn't be paid, sir—it is an honor to work."
"Yeah, but isn't it better if you get paid for working."
The elf looked horrified at the thought.
"Why are you here?" Ginny asked, kindly. "Here to watch the game?"
"No," the elf shook her head.
"Master - master wants me to save him a seat, He is very busy," said Winky, tilting her head toward the empty space beside her. "Winky is wishing she is back in master's tent, but Winky does what she is told. Winky is a good house-elf."
Winky fell silent as someone else entered the top box. It was Lockhart. "Good to see you, all ready for the big match?" he asked, rubbing his hands together.
"Just a tip, boys—watch out for the Bulgarian seeker, Alexei Levski. I have 20 Galleons on him getting the first goal with Bagman. Plays for the Moscow Manticores—fantastic player. It's a guaranteed win. Easy money, Dudley, easy money." He winked and returned to his seat.
"What do you reckon?" Dudley said to Dean, shall we take the bet with Bagman when he arrives.
"Go on then," Dean said, and they pooled their money. Dudley had left most of his money at the Burrow, but he still had eight Galleons left. Dean had four.
"Won't make us much," Dudley said. "But if it's as sure a thing as Lockhart says ..."
Beside him, Ron was testing out his Omnioculars and Hermione was skimming through the program.
"'A display from the team mascots will precede the match,"' she read aloud.
"Oh that's always worth watching," said Mr. Weasley. "National teams bring creatures from their native land, you know, to put on a bit of a show."
"Cool," Dudley said. He enjoyed magical creatures.
"Daddy says Ireland will bring leprechauns," Luna said.
"Do they exist?" he asked Ron. You could never be sure with Luna what was actually real and what wasn't.
Ron, still using his omniculars nodded. "Yeah, Great Uncle Bilius took a trip to Ireland to try and catch one," he said without looking around.
"That'd be cool," he said, wondering if Leprechauns would look like he expected—little men dressed in green with white beards.
The box filled gradually around them over the next half hour. Mr. Weasley kept shaking hands with people who were obviously very important wizards. Percy jumped to his feet so often that he looked as though he were trying to sit on a hedgehog. When Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic himself, arrived, Percy bowed so low that his glasses fell off and shattered. Highly embarrassed, he repaired them with his wand and thereafter remained in his seat.
Fudge greeted Dudley and Hermione warmly, which surprised him. He had expected Fudge to be angry. Dudley had been less than flattering about the decision to station Dementors at Hogwarts last year which had put even more pressure on Fudge.
"I think he's trying to get on your good side," Luna said, wisely. She had somehow managed to squeeze in next to him and Hermione. "He knows you are friends with Lockhart."
Hermione agreed with Luna. "It's pretty obvious he's feeling the pressure," she said, in a very low voice. "Lockhart's pretty much idolised by the wizarding community, and we captured Black. He'll probably want our support if his leadership gets challenged."
Dudley nodded. He had suspected that was why Fudge had made Lockhart the celebrity guest of honor, but hadn't considered that Fudge would try and worm his way in with him too. He knew he was quite well-known because of his exploits, but hadn't expected Fudge to consider him to that influential. But then, he supposed, he and Hermione had captured Black. A word of support might do wonders.
"Lockhart reckons he hasn't long left," Dudley said, glancing at Fudge to make sure he wans't listening in. Fudge, however, was chatting to some Bulgarian officials.
"He says it's likely Madam Bones ..."
"Daddy says she's a goblin sympathiser," Luna said.
"... some bloke called Scrimgeour ..."
"Vampire," said Luna.
"Or someone called Umbridge might get the job."
"Daddy doesn't like her," Luna said. "He said if she isn't a Death Eater, then she's at least a closet supporter."
Dudley blinked in surprise. This was Luna, so she could be talking nonsense, it was likely that Umbridge was a very nice, kindly lady with no similarities to Death Eaters whatsoever.
"Hello, everyone," Bagman greeted.
Prompted by Dean, Dudley went over to him.
"How about a quick wager, Mr. Bagman?" Dudley said. Lockhart who was nearby, gave an encouraging wink.
"12 Galleons on Levski to score first,"
Bagman beamed at him. "I'll give you very good odds on that," he said, pocketing the gold. "Let's see, three-to-one, since Ireland's front three are possibly the best ever."
Dudley returned to his seat.
"Easy money," he said to Dean.
"If Lockhart is right,"
"Daddy says Lockhart is never right," Luna chimed in. "He says all of his books are just fictional stories which he claims at real!"
Dudley snorted at this. He had seen Lockhart's skills first hand when he had obliviated Slytherin's basilisk.
"Everyone ready?" Bagman said, his round face gleaming like a great, excited Edam. "Minister - ready to go?"
"Ready when you are, Ludo," said Fudge comfortably.
Ludo whipped out his wand, directed it at his own throat, and said "Sonorus!" and then spoke over the roar of sound that was now filling the packed stadium; his voice echoed over them, booming into every corner of the stands.
"Ladies and gentlemen...welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"