Chapter 342: Lantern Exhibition and Surprises

Chapter 342: Lantern Exhibition and Surprises

They followed the lantern-lit pathway back to the campsite, where everyone took out various magical lanterns from the large tent and stacked them into a small hill.

"Except for those two 'big guys,' everyone else is here," said Hermione.

Lupin smiled and said, "Felix, your plan still surprises me. I've been looking forward to today." He looked at Felix with anticipation.

Felix shrugged, using his wand to tap his forehead, causing faint silvery light to appear.

"Hiss~"

Felix clenched his teeth and couldn't help muttering, "The model is too intricate. It was a bit of a hassle to take out. That feeling, it's like scooping something out of my mind..."

Hermione gave him a disdainful look; the professor's description was quite peculiar.

Felix extracted a long strand of silvery memory from his mind, coiled it into a ball, and held it in his palm. Then he extended his hand, intertwining threads of gold and silver in the air. An open-air hexagonal snowflake-like corridor slowly took shape in his hand. At the center of this snowflake corridor was a swirling vortex about the size of a palm, into which Felix waved his wand. One by one, the magical lanterns poured into the vortex and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Under the gaze of the two, the snowflake-shaped structure, about six to seven feet in size, gently floated up and flew into the air, gradually expanding until it occupied a significant portion of the campsite. Then, Felix pointed his wand downward, and the snowflake structure descended rapidly. Hermione let out a cry of surprise, and the next moment, she found herself standing in an exquisite corridor.

Within the corridor, various differently shaped magical lanterns flickered in and out of view.

Next, Felix cast a levitation charm on himself, lifting himself about thirty to forty feet high. In the darkness of the night, he looked like a gigantic kite, swaying in the wind.

Looking down from above, he pointed his wand, and a corner of the snowflake corridor extended outward, connecting to the pathway leading back from the stadium.

Descending from mid-air, Felix said, "Alright, that's about it. Let's take a bit more time to adjust"

"Professor Harp, what kind of magic is this?" Hermione asked from behind a railing across the corridor.New novel chapters are published at novelhall.com

"Well, let's call it 'Room of Requests and Reflections'... or perhaps 'Chamber of Desires and Dreams'," Felix pondered the name, which sounded a bit odd, but as her hand passed through the railing of the corridor, she found some sense in it.

...

The Weasley family, Harry, Sirius, and Hermione were carried forward by the surging crowd, gradually relaxing as they moved away from the stadium. They walked and discussed the results of the match.

Little fairies flew overhead, holding golden or green lanterns, cackling happily in the air.

"The Irish Chasers were fantastic. Actually, everyone was fantastic; their teamwork was flawless. Bulgaria only had one star player, Krum, but their coordination had issues, quite significant ones," Charlie commented.

"Their sportsmanship isn't great either. Look at the number of fouls they committed," Ron added.

"Ron," Charlie said, "well-timed fouls can disrupt the opponent's rhythm, especially when they're on a roll."

Mr. Weasley disagreed, "Charlie, I believe... matches should be clean. Elbowing, fouling, none of that should be allowed. Referees blow their whistles for a reason."

"Dad, you said it yourself. It's just a whistle, not a red card. To win matches, I remember people using curses, I've seen it plenty during my time at school."

Mr. Weasley and Charlie debated fiercely. Finally, Charlie gave in, "I want matches to be clean too, but these things are hard to eliminate."

Hermione yawned widely, catching Mr. Weasley's attention. He gently said, "Back to the campsite, we can have some cocoa milk; it'll help with sleep... trust me, it's going to be noisy tonight."

Ginny, eyes barely open from exhaustion, pulled on Hermione's sleeve and said, "Are they planning to have a bonfire party?"

"Haha! Not entirely impossible," Mr. Weasley said. "This match ended too early, and most people are prepared to endure three to five days... just wait, the night won't be quiet."

The noise ahead suddenly disappeared, replaced by a chorus of astonishment. "Look over there!" Hermione exclaimed.

On the path leading to the campsite, an open-air corridor had appeared from nowhere, adorned with various illuminated decorations, casting intricate patterns and designs.

"What is this?" Ginny's drowsiness vanished as she tried to get a better look by standing on her tiptoes.

"No idea..." Mr. Weasley looked puzzled. "Could it be a program arranged by the Ministry?"

As they approached, they realized the corridor was actually an illusion. A mischievous child was darting back and forth between the railings, giggling non-stop. Another older boy hid within the ornate columns of the corridor, thinking his family wouldn't find him.

His parents stared at him helplessly, playing along by searching around him, "Where are you hiding, Leo?"

The boy covered his mouth, his eyes crescent-shaped with a grin.

"Clearly related to Professor Harp," the Weasley twins, pointing at the magical lanterns hanging in the corridor, said. "These are products of the 'Future World' company, we've brought some to show you"

As one of the twins reached out, his fingertip passed through a palm-sized lion-shaped magical lantern. "Huh? Is this an illusion too?" But soon, they realized it was a game. Gold letters appeared in the air, forming a riddle.

'Which letter represents an animal?'

"Oh, this is too easy," Fred muttered. "It's the letter B, representing a bee." As his words fell, the lion-shaped lantern made a clicking sound, like a ripe fruit dropping from a vine, falling into his hand.

The little lion opened its eyes, arched its back, unfurled a pair of tiny wings from its back, and fluttered around Fred in circles, emitting a cute "Rawr~" as it playfully sprayed a white light ball.

The light ball projected an illusion of a castle, along with small text, 'Future Worldheadquartered in Diagon Alley, England.' The projection shimmered for a few seconds before disappearing, leaving only a milky-white light ball emitting a bright glow.

With complex feelings, Felix continued walking forward and finally reached the end of the corridor. There was a hexagonal open space, and he realized that the place he had come from was just one of the angles. There were five similar corridors extending outwards.

People from different corridors converged in the open space, chatting and laughing, holding various magical lanterns in their hands.

"Uriah, can we meet Mr. Harp?" a lively voice said. She was a young witch with bright golden hair.

The young wizard known as 'Uriah' smiled and said, "I'm not sure, but he'll definitely be at Hogwarts this year. Bernice, where's your brother?"

The young witch sighed, "Bertie's on the riddle stage. He insists on getting a second magical lantern, but he doesn't realize that there are a hundred thousand people here. It's impossible for everyone to get one, so how could he easily get a second?"

Uriah smiled and said, "I hope he succeeds. Then I can exchange one of his Thunderbird-shaped magical lanterns."

Bernice pointed to the open space, and suddenly, a massive Hungarian Horntail appeared. It was a black one, with menacing brass scales and a raised black spine.

A young witch stood beneath the Horntail, excitedly waving her wand to make the Hungarian Horntail move. It was radiating light all over, which was the reason why people didn't immediately run away. They recognized that it was fake, most likely a massive magical lantern.

The Horntail flapped its wings and took off from the ground, soaring in the low sky. People from various locations in the campsite looked up. The Horntail resembled a giant light bulb, emitting milky white light all over its body.

"Welcome to the Magical Lantern Exhibition hosted by Future World," Clementine said excitedly.

The Hungarian Horntail spewed out a fan-shaped burst of light into the sky, resembling a dazzling firework. The crowd erupted into applause.

"This is an adult Horntail?" Harry asked outside the tent. He was stunned. He had seen dragons before. When he was in first year, he had encountered Norbert, Hagrid's dragon, and along with Ron and Hermione, they took it to the Astronomy Tower and had Charlie's friends take it away.

"Yes," Sirius said. "If you encounter one, make sure to stay far away."

"How dangerous are they? I know Ron's brother Charlie is working with dragons in Romania," Harry asked.

"Dangerous?" Sirius repeated, then said seriously, "They can stomp you to death without a second thought, or burn you to death with their fire. Remember, their flames are magical. Without enough knowledge and specialized training, don't attempt to challenge them."

"Are spells ineffective against them?" Harry widened his eyes.

"Well, let's put it this way. If your spell hits their scales, it probably won't do much. Even if it's their skin, you need to hit the right spot, and casting spells continuously at one place might work. Of course, you can also use tricks... like deception, or attacking their weak points. The most convenient is the Conjunctivitis Curse, but it requires a bit of luck."

After that, they watched the dragon performance. Soon, the second dragon entered the scene. It was slightly smaller, a Peruvian Vipertooth with brass scales and a raised black spine.

The two dragons fought, biting each other, coiling, and soaring into the air. Then, various magical creatures appeared one by one: phoenixes, Kelpies, unicorns, Flower Fairies, Erumpents, Hippogriffs, and Horned Serpents. However, the audience didn't realize that these creatures were actually constructed illusions.

Inside the tent of the 'Future World' company.

Felix stayed inside, continuously controlling the unique performance. Loo Pin sat aside and asked curiously, "Why aren't you on-site? Why did you leave it to Vera?"

Felix rolled his eyes. "I signed a confidentiality agreement. I can't reveal anything about the championship event. I can't let people associate me with the dragons, and I need to manage the on-site situation."

He flicked his fingers, and five or six Mooncalves quietly appeared in the sand table.

Loo Pin was momentarily stunned by his answer. "But the dragon-shaped magical lanterns have sold quite a few. Are you pretending that you're not related to them?"

Felix explained seriously, "I only agreed to a magical lantern design that you guys came up with."

The performance lasted for two hours, longer than the Quidditch World Cup final. Finally, Felix felt a bit tired. He informed Vera, and after she announced the end of the performance, the myriad of magical creatures and the snowflake-shaped corridor occupying half of the campsite gradually disappeared.

Clementine and Alec ran back, unable to contain their excitement.

"Professor, Alec's flyers are all handed out. We prepared five thousand of them, but it's not enough. Many people could only remember the company's name."

"Well, it looks like the company won't be short of orders for a year or two," Felix said. "Remember to include a small booklet with the company's product when you ship. You can also include some products that are still under development. It's a form of advertising."

Clementine sighed, "I can imagine how busy we'll be then."

"Have you decided to stay, Vera?"

"Of course." Clementine smiled. "I'm actually looking forward to what the company will be like in five or ten years."

...

As the lantern exhibition concluded, the campsite quieted down. Sporadic celebrators sang songs boisterously, occasionally leading to minor conflicts, but for a campsite with a hundred thousand people, it wasn't a big deal. The Ministry staff quickly handled it.

Around three or four in the morning, a slight commotion arose.

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