Everyone now put his or her binoculars to his or her eyes and they all managed to catch the start of the match.
As Ireland took control of the quaffle, Troy, Mullet, and Moran formed an arrowhead pattern and flew together towards the goalposts.
"Hawkhead Attacking Formation!" recognized Fred.
"What an intimidating way to open a game, " observed George.
Troy, who was leading the formation, got within a few feet of the north hoops and fired the quaffle hard at the right hoop as she had noticed that:
"Zograf is too far left," called out Ginny.
"TROY SCORES!" called out Amber Athlete, the new Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, who was doing the play by play for the match.
"Great shot, " smiled Harry.
In celebration of the first goal being scored, Harry went around to Fred, George, Colin, Dennis, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Susan, Lily, Tracey, Daphne, and Astoria and one by one lifted up each of their shirts and rubbed their belly buttons with his right hand, causing them each to giggle as he did so.
The Irish employed the Hawkhead Attacking Formation twice more with Mullet and Moran each getting a goal out of it.
With Ireland leading 30-0. Mullet flew higher and higher and Zograf was sure she was going to shoot the Quaffle.
But, at the last nanosecond, Mullet passed the Quaffle down to an open Moran, who shot quickly and easily put the Quaffle past Zograf.
"The Porskoff Ploy!" recognized Fred.
"Executed to perfection!" smiled George.
Harry now went around to Fred, George, Colin, Dennis, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Susan, Lily, Tracey, Daphne, and Astoria and licked each of their left arms, causing them to go to into fits of giggles.
Molly wasn't too happy about this behavior but held her tongue. At Quidditch, kids would be kids.
As play resumed, Moran was carrying the Quaffle. She waited until Mullet was right behind her and threw her an over the shoulder pass that led to an instant shot and goal.
"Reverse Pass!" cried Ginny eagerly.
"Ireland leads 50-0" called out Madam Athlete.
Once Ireland hit 50, Harry rotated between Fred, George, Colin, Dennis, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Susan, Lily, Tracey, Daphne, and Astoria and messed up each of their hair, causing smiles and laughter at his continued mischief.
What happened next was a little shocking for those not fully versed in Quidditch.
Krum suddenly darted downward towards the ground.
"Krum's seen the snitch!" exclaimed Harry.
Lynch followed Krum downward and it looked like both might hit the ground.
But, at the last nanosecond, Krum pulled out of his dive while Lynch crashed hard into the ground.
"Did the snitch disappear from Krum?" asked a confused Lily.
"He never saw it at all, " explained Daphne patiently, "He was just making Lynch copy him so Lynch would crash. This is a tactic known as the Wronski Feint and is used with goal of disorienting the opposing Seeker, so he'll be "out of it" and less likely to find the Golden Snitch, thus allowing himself or herself a better chance of catching the Golden Snitch."
"That's inhumane, " said Lily disapprovingly.
"Well, most sports can get rough at times, " pointed out Astoria.
"I'd rather the Seekers search for the Golden Snitch honestly, " said Lily stubbornly.
A now more determined than ever Troy, Mullet, and Moran went on to score five goals in five minutes through pure speed and coordination.
"That's a seamless team of Chasers, " said Harry knowingly as the Irish took a 100-0 lead.
"The way Troy, Mullet, and Moran work together as a unit is absolutely beautiful."
They went back to watching the match and the Irish used a three more Hawkhead Attaching Formations and three more Porskoff Ploys to take a 160-0 lead.
A tiny golden spec suddenly came into sight near the center and Krum flew towards faster than the speed of light.
Next thing they knew, Krum was holding up the Golden Snitch.
"How stupid can you be?" said Hermione loftily, "Krum was really too retarded to realize that catching the Golden Snitch would actually lose them the game?"
"He knew they were never going to catch up, " explained Harry calmly, "The Irish Chasers were too good. He just wanted to end it on his terms and at least be the one to catch the snitch."
"You are observant and thoughtful, Harry Potter, " cooed Lily.
"IRELAND WINS BUT VIKTOR KRUM GETS THE SNITCH!" declared Madam Athlete excitedly, sounding as much like a fan as a Ministry Head or even play by play lady.
Calming herself down a bit, Madam Athlete said, "Please welcome our new Minister of Magic, Arthur Weasley, and our new Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Gerald Globe to present the Quidditch World Cup to the World Champion Irish National Team."
As Arthur and Globe carried the Quidditch World Cup together towards the Irish team, Fred, George, and Ginny felt their insides warm and Molly had tears stream down her cheeks as it sank in on them all that Arthur really and truly was the new Minister of Magic.
As Arthur and Globe approached the Irish National Team, Troy, Mullet, Moran, Ryan, Connolly, and Quigley all took a step back and allowed Lynch to be at the front of the line. Arthur and Globe passed the Quidditch World Cup happily above his head in joy and triumph.
"That's messed up, " whined Daphne, "Lynch didn't do his job. Why should he get to touch the damn thing first."?
"You win as a team and you lose as team," said Harry fiercely in defense of Lynch, "We haven't been following the whole tournament. It's almost certain that the Irish advanced from previous rounds BECAUSE of Lynch catching the Golden Snitch in some of those matches."
Troy, Mullet, Moran, Ryan, Connolly, and Quigley all smiled at hearing this.
"This is true," confirmed Troy, who was happy to support her teammate.
"Lynch got Ireland here in the first place and today it was his teammates' turn to pick him up!" said Lily firmly, "You win as a team, and you lose as a team."
"Lily Moon is exactly right!" called out Luna.
"What a great team," smiled Ginny.
"It was a real treat to watch the Irish National Team do their thing," said a very satisfied sounding Harry.
Harry took a moment to soak it all in,
You didn't see elite teams like this every day.
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