Chapter 109 An Eventful Night

As the afternoon wore on, a sense of excitement spread over the campground like a palpable cloud.

Even the still summer air seemed to tremble with anticipation at dusk.

As night fell like a curtain over thousands of eagerly awaiting wizards, the last traces of pretense disappeared: the Ministry seemed to be succumbing to the inevitable, no longer fighting against people who were clearly using magic. Signs are popping up everywhere.

Every few steps, apparated vendors descended from the sky, carrying trays and pushing trolleys filled with strange and weird gadgets.

There were glowing rosettes—green for Ireland, red for Bulgaria—that screamed out the names of the players; there were green tall hats decorated with shamrocks dancing in the wind; there were Bulgarian ribbons, emblazoned with There are roaring lions; there are the national flags of the two countries, which will play their respective national anthems when waved; there are also small models of Firebolts that can really fly; there are statues of famous team members for collection, and those small statues can be walked around on the palm of your hand. Go and look triumphant.

Schelling didn't buy anything, but Gareth, who had already returned to the camp, bought everyone a pair of panoramic binoculars worth ten galleons, which could replay the game and quickly provide analysis of the game.

Ludovic Bagman visited the camp in order to collect bettors for his own gambling house, and Gareth bet ten galleons on the Irish victory.

Schelling also wanted to place a bet, but he was afraid of being smuggled away by Bagman like the Weasley twins in the original book. So he pointed out Bagman's untrustworthiness to Gareth deliberately and rudely. Although Bagman looked angry, he did not dare to show his temper to Schelling. Although Schelling is young, no one in the entire Ministry of Magic knows that there is someone behind him. Otherwise, how could the Wizengamot break the tradition and canonize him as the youngest Sir Merlin.

After some heated discussions, Bagman agreed to make an unbreakable vow with him.

Schelling bet Ireland to win with 700 Galleons, but Viktor Krum would catch the Golden Snitch. According to the pre-agreed odds of 4 times, if he won, he would receive 2800 Galleons. Seven hundred Galleons is a huge gamble. If the bet had been bigger, Bagman probably wouldn't be able to pay it back. According to Schelling's estimation, 2,800 Galleons is almost close to Bagman's four months' salary, and Not counting taxes and daily expenses...

(Note: The salary of a striker is 700 galleons. As an important force of the Ministry of Magic, this salary should be similar to that of the less important director-level figures in the ministry, such as the Sports Department)

At this time, a deep and deep sound of gongs came from somewhere far away in the woods. Thousands of red and green lanterns bloomed on the trees, illuminating the road to the arena, and the entrance to the arena began.

The process of the game is the same as described in the original work and will not be mentioned here.

After the game, Schelling saw that Bagman's face was livid, and he probably lost a lot. However, because of the unbreakable oath, Bagman did not dare to use Leprechaun gold coins to fool Schelling. After all, those who violated the unbreakable oath would be punished. Death, of course, even if he dared to do so, the leprechaun gold coins could not be hidden from Xuelin's magic eyes.

【2800 gold galleons obtained! 】

Back at the camp, Gareth was about to tell them to go back to their rooms and have a good rest before returning to the manor the next morning.

Xie Lin spoke: "Don't rush back to the room yet." He looked at a few people, took out a few bottles of magic recovery potions and uplifting potions from his luggage, and then said slowly: "Everyone, according to my information, there may not be any tonight. It will calm down - I suggest everyone stay in the hall. We can chat and pass the time. If anyone is really too sleepy, you might as well try the uplifting potion I concocted myself, it will definitely work. As men, we have a greater responsibility to protect the safety of women. I think we should prepare the magic wand and be vigilant at all times to stay awake, what do you think?”

As the leader of the clan and a person with raised eyebrows, Gareth immediately understood, "Xie Lin, you can't mean..."

"They are just some clowns who are unwilling to be lonely. They just come out to make their presence felt when they are free. Don't worry, as long as we are cautious enough, nothing will happen. I guess their target will not be us."

Gareth cast a meaningful look at Schelling, "I really can't see through you more and more. In the bet with Ludo this morning, my intuition told me that you were sure of winning. Now you also seem to know some connections." Nothing I can confirm.”

"Uncle Gareth, I don't believe you don't have any rumors at all. You just failed to confirm it - besides, as a member of the Malfoy family, my father has been busy every day and made a lot of noise. How could I not notice anything unusual?"

Several people drank Xie Lin's stimulating potion and immediately became energetic. They sat on the sofa in the hall and started chatting enthusiastically about the highlights of the game just now.

Xie Lin changed into the Supreme Wizard robe, put on the Night Star cloak, put on Ravenclaw's crown, put on dueling gloves, checked the dagger and wand in the secret pocket, and stood at the entrance of the tent in high spirits, looking into the distance. People still cheering and singing.

Slowly, the sounds in the camp changed, the singing stopped, and Schelling heard screams and the sound of people running in panic. He turned around and said hello to several people in the tent. Because they were mentally prepared, they were all fully armed and followed Xie Lin out of the tent in a calm manner.

As for the two house-elves, they were ordered to stay in the camp to prevent others from looting, and also to let the mob recognize that this was the camp of a pure-blood family, because only ancient families could have house-elves, which was almost a symbol of status.

By the light of several bonfires that were still burning, Xie Lin saw people running towards the woods, as if they were running away from something moving towards them in the camp. That thing was flashing strangely and making sounds like gunshots. Loud sneers, wild laughter, and drunken shouts were also moving towards them.

Then, a strong green light flashed, illuminating everything around.

A group of wizards huddled together, each pointing their wands upwards, moving forward together, and slowly moving on the field.

Xie Lin squinted his eyes and looked carefully. These people had hoods on their heads and masks on their faces. Above their heads, four struggling figures floated in the air, twisted into various weird shapes, as if the masked wizards on the ground were puppeteers, and the people above them were marionettes, controlled by invisible ropes that emerged from the wands into the air. Two of the figures were very small, that is, the family of Mr. Roberts, the camp manager.

Several officials from the Ministry of Magic tried to rush up to stop them, but the scattered attacks could not effectively impact the already large group of masked wizards. Sherin even saw the red-haired Mr. Wesley and his three sons rushing over to help.

The colored lights that originally illuminated the way to the stadium were now extinguished. There were some dark figures stumbling in the woods, children were crying, and nervous and anxious shouts and voices echoed in the cold night air around them.

"Follow me, I know where it's safe!" Mr. Mogarton took the lead and led everyone to the woods, looking for a safe place to avoid these crazy villains.

Soon, someone in the middle of the woods shot a Dark Mark into the sky. The Ministry of Magic officials rushed there in a hurry, and the masked wizards dispersed when they saw the Dark Mark, as if nothing had happened.

Just when everyone thought that the matter had been settled and they could return to the camp safely, a Stunning Spell suddenly flashed and Mr. Gareth was knocked unconscious instantly. Six masked men in black came out of their hiding place and surrounded Schelling and his group aggressively, obviously with ill intentions. From their figures, it can be seen that the other party is five men and one woman, and the figures of one man and one woman gave Schelling a familiar feeling.

At this time, the Ministry of Magic officials had all gone to the woods, and some curious fans had gathered in the woods to inquire about the news, while others had already returned to the camp. There was no one else in this remote corner.

Schelling and others drew their wands to prepare for the battle, but because they had to take into account the safety of the three ladies behind them, Schelling was not too sure. Only Morgarton knew how to Apparate here. It was very dangerous to Apparate when surrounded by enemies. Besides, they couldn't leave the unconscious Gareth behind in the hands of these unidentified people.

Sherin was the first to break the silence and said, "Do you have any misunderstandings? Each of us here is a pure-blood wizard, and we have no grudges against you. Are you trying to declare war on the Malfoy family and the Greengrass family at the same time?" Sherin wisely raised the banners of the two families, intending to scare the enemy away.

"Don't get me wrong, we are not in the same group with those Death Eaters who are bored." A man in black spoke first, "The purpose of our coming here is just to ask Miss Shafik to go with us. If you can help us, we will owe a favor to the Malfoy family and the Greengrass family."

In Sherin's magic eyes, the magic of the six people in front of him was full of violent black aura, very similar to Peter Pettigrew at the beginning. He frowned, and roughly guessed the identity of this group of people in his heart.

He said slowly: "Are you the Shadow of the Dragon?"

"You must be the famous Master Malfoy?" the man in black said, "Hey, I didn't expect you to know our organization. Then you should be aware of the strength of our organization? If you want to go against us, even the Malfoy family should think twice!"

It seems that the target that Peter Pettigrew wanted to help them kidnap was Meredith. (Author: Did anyone guess?)

But why her? Shafik is just an old and declining family. It's just a nice way of saying it's a pure-blood family. In fact, she is the only one left in the whole family, and many of the Shafik family's industries have long been divided up by other families. The only valuable thing in the whole family is the dilapidated ancestral house and a house elf.

Although Xie Lin did not think he was a good person, his original intention of pursuing power was to protect the people around him. No matter what, he could not let Meredith get hurt!

But Sherin was unwilling to drag the entire Greengrass family into this, not to mention that it might endanger the safety of the other two girls. After a little thought, he made up his mind. "You can take her away, but there is one condition, I must follow."

"Impossible! Boy, if you want to be a hero, you must first measure your own strength. Most kids like you will die young." The man in black said coldly.

"Chief, don't waste time talking to them, be careful not to attract other people!" Another tall man in black said in a deep voice.

The black-clad man who spoke first was obviously the person in charge of this operation. Both his figure and voice gave Sherin a sense of déjà vu, as if he had dealt with this person before.

The other side wanted to make a quick decision - the leader made a gesture, and the six people were about to start!

Unfortunately, they seriously underestimated Sherin's strength.

As soon as they appeared, they first sneaked up to knock Gareth unconscious, and now they were mainly on guard against Mr. Mogaton. They had heard of Sherin's name, but a junior student was at least two levels lower than their adult wizards, so they didn't take it too seriously.

A strong light burst out from Sherin's body, like a human-shaped flash bomb - it was the flash spell. In this dark environment, the effect of the flash spell was particularly powerful. Except for the three girls who had already had a tacit understanding, the rest of the people were temporarily blinded and couldn't open their eyes, including Mogaton.

"Damn it!" The leader shouted quickly. "Deal with that kid first, he knows how to cast spells without a wand and silently!"

Although the opponent was blinded, he did not wait for the beheading, but relied on his intuition to attack the direction of Xie Ling and others in his memory. For a moment, colorful spells flew everywhere, but there was no accuracy.

Xie Ling concentrated his mind and summoned Aquila with his mind. Aquila let out a scream and transformed into six clones, grabbing the masks of the six people with his claws.

At the same time as the mind summoned, Xie Ling used three things at once. The wand in his left hand cast a wind whirlwind spell. A tornado rose from the ground and rolled up the two masked men into the sky. They screamed and shot spells all the way, but it was useless; Xie Ling's right hand gently moved, and the wand of the third masked man suddenly fell into Xie Ling's hand and was broken in two.

The situation was reversed.

In just a moment, three of the six masked men lost their combat ability.

Please do not use Bagman's salary as an excuse. Schelling in the article only used the salary of the striker as a reference for a rough estimate, and did not say that he was definitely right.

Why did the Shadow of the Dragon target Meredith? The key clue lies in the word "dragon". When Meredith first appeared, the author gave a description of the Shafik family, and there were two clues that can be associated with the dragon.