Chapter 236 - 236 Mark of the Black Devil

Chapter 236: Chapter 236 Mark of the Black Devil

Bagman, as the commentator for this Quidditch World Cup, was also inside the top box.

He had just packed up his script on the commentary box and hadn't even had a chance to butch up before he was surrounded by two redheads.

Fred and George had tumbled right over the backs of the rows of chairs, and almost as soon as the Wesleys and their entourage were slightly out of sight, they were in front of Ludo Bagman.

The two men grinned happily and held out their spread palms to Bagman.

"Uh ... this, how much am I supposed to pay you guys again?" His voice was a little hoarse from the passionate commentary he had just given.

"This amount." Fred held out three fingers.

"Oh, three hundred galleons ..." Bagman was slightly relieved, "okay, not too much, let's see ... "

"And don't forget about Professor Dracula's Galleons." George added from the side, "You were setting very high odds, I guess Professor Dracula's share of the win won't be too small, I'm afraid."

Bagman remembered the large sack of gold Galleons that Dracula had thrown at him, and his expression, which was still quite relaxed, stiffened completely, as if a powerful petrification spell had been cast on him.

"Come on, give us our share first." Fred urged.

"That ... I can't come up with that much cash at the moment, you guys need to give me some time." Bagman's face went a little white, and he said with a strong gesture.

"But I always think you have quite a bit of cash here as well." George glanced suspiciously at the pouch hanging from Bagman's waist, which he had jangled from time to time earlier in the camp.

"You're not thinking of reneging, are you?" Fred looked alert.

"How could I? I'm the head of the Ministry of Magic's Sports and Physical Education Division, how could I cheat you two little wizards?"

Bagman snorted awkwardly before pulling out the same amount of gold coins from his own pouch as the galleons Fred and George had wagered on, and returning the strange homemade wands the two of them had made as well.

"Here is your principal," he said with conviction, "and as for the galleons you have won, they will be delivered to you personally as soon as I have raised the funds."

With these words, Bagman hastily butted out of the box and fled the scene like a frightened rabbit.

Fred and George watched Bagman's fleeing back and spread their hands at each other, deciding to leave the matter of debt collection to professionals like Professor Dracula, and went back over a few more rows of chairs to where the Weasleys were seated.

The group stepped down from the box, and soon the crowd that had left the stadium to return to the camp surrounded them like a tidal wave.

As the crowd traveled, ragged chants came through the air, and the pint-sized demons that were the mascots of the Irish team kept weaving and flying above their heads, waving the streamers in their hands and rattling and laughing as a way of expressing their joy at the victory.

The game didn't really take very long, officially starting close to noon and ending before the afternoon was over. It was one of the faster finals in the history of the Quidditch World Cup.

Even though the tournament was over, there would be celebrations, player-fan talks, and interviews with newspaper reporters in the evening after the break.

As a result, most of the fans who had come to watch the Quidditch World Cup would not choose to leave now, but would wait for nightfall and take their chances to see if they could find a photo opportunity with their idols.

After squeezing through the crowd of people, the Weasleys, Harry, and Sirius finally arrived at the campsite tents, but no one felt tired, instead they were in high spirits.

The surrounding area was equally as noisy, with many fans talking about what had just happened in the match.

Some were arguing about fouls, others were discussing who the best player of the game was, and still others were arguing with red faces about whose idol was better.

In the distance on the other side of the camp, many rousing chants and loud banging cascaded through the restless air for a long time.

"Oh, it's a good thing it isn't my turn to be on duty ... to-day," muttered Mr. Weasley, heartily, as he listened to the boisterous voices outside the tent; "and it's a good thing it won't be necessary for me to tell the Irish to stop rejoicing in their triumphs, or it's truly unimaginable."

Harry ate the dinner Sirius had bought for him from a passing vendor, his mind unconsciously conjuring up some of Viktor Krum's best moves.

He fantasized about riding up to his Firebolt and attempting Krum's beautiful Lansky fake ... Oliver Wood, the previous captain of Gryffindor, had somehow never taught him how such a fake was supposed to be done, even though he had also devised a lot of messy schematics.

He then turned to Harry and a few other young wizards, "You little ones get into the woods and walk together, don't spread out! I'll catch up with you when this is settled!"

"Harry, keep an eye on your godfather and don't let him do anything impulsive!"

After delivering these instructions, Mr. Weasley hurriedly rejoined several other Ministry of Magic members who were not on duty, and together they rushed to where the Death Eaters were converging.

Harry nodded, tugged hard on Sirius' arm, and dug into the woods with Fred, George, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione, avoiding the path of the group of Death Eaters.

As the day wore on, the sun got lower and lower and the sky got darker and darker.

When the sun sank completely into the horizon and the sky turned completely black, a huge bright green light suddenly leapt up into the treetops and flew into the night sky.

"What's this-" Ron said nervously. He looked up, staring anxiously at the bright light that had just appeared.

Harry looked up similarly.

He thought at first that it was a graphic formed by Ireland's pair of mascot dwarf demons, but then he realized that it was a huge skeleton, made up of countless turquoise, star-like points of light, with a large boa constrictor emerging from the skeleton's mouth, like a tongue.

As they watched, the skeleton rose higher and higher, emitting a dazzling light in a cloud of greenish smoke, like a new constellation against the dark night sky.

Suddenly, gurgling screams of terror erupted from the woods around them.

Harry didn't understand the origin of the screams, only that the only possible cause was the sudden appearance of the skeleton. The skull had risen so high now that it illuminated the woods like a terrifying neon sign.

"Black magic marker."

Sirius said suddenly.

"What?" Harry asked, not quite hearing him, and opened his mouth.

"The Black Magic Mark, the signal Death Eaters use to contact their associates." Sirius said and suddenly gave a disdainful laugh, "These people in the forest didn't realize until now that the tightly wrapped wizards were Death Eaters, and they didn't feel scared until this moment."

"If you ask me, these people are all a bunch of cowards as well, the Death Eaters have been gone for over a decade and they still let it scare them, heh."

Sirius snorted and shook his head, then said to Harry, "Harry, you? Stay here, I'll go over there. That Death Eater who cast the Dark Mark shouldn't be too far from where we are."

"No!" Harry subconsciously pulled Sirius back, "Mr. Weasley said to keep an eye on you to keep you from doing something impulsive."

"That's not exactly an impulsive thing, is it?" Sirius smiled, "I'm just going to take a look around, I can't just let a Death Eater go, can I? Your parents wouldn't have backed out at this point either, Harry."

Hearing Sirius' words, Harry hesitated.

And Sirius took a few quick diagonal steps as Harry hesitated, and without waiting for Harry to express his agreement, he ran to the location that the Dark Marker corresponded to.

"Time waits for no one, I'll be quick." He shouted back as he was leaving.

After leaving Harry and a few of their young wizards, Sirius first cast an illusionary body spell on himself, and then compared it to the Dark Magic Marker in the sky, walking quickly through the woods.

Before long, he reached the forest below the Dark Magic Marker.

However, he didn't find any traces of Death Eaters here, and instead saw two unexpected people.

Dracula with his trademark silver hair, and the other was the director of the International Magic Exchange and Cooperation Division, Barty Crouch.

At this moment, Dracula and Barty Crouch were standing face to face in a clearing in the middle of a forest, staring at each other.

Dracula's mouth was covered with a few meaningful smiles, while Crouch's face carried a few moments of bewilderment.

"Mr. Crouch, explain yourself, why are you in this place." Dracula was the first to open his mouth to break the silence.

At the same time, he spared a glance in Sirius' direction and waved his hand slightly at him.