Chapter 174: The Quidditch World Cup

Harry sat in his study, lost in thought. It was only the day after Deng Buliduo had finished discussing the Horcruxes with him that he saw this news. Naturally, Harry couldn't help but wonder if it might be related to the Horcruxes.

If he were Voldemort and wanted to hide a Horcrux properly so that no one could ever find it, mounting it on a space probe and sending it into deep space would certainly be a clever and creative method. Wizards were unlikely to pay attention to Muggle news, and even if someone learned of this secret, they would have no way to fly into space to search for a probe that had already traveled hundreds of thousands of kilometers.

If Voldemort intended to mount a Horcrux on the probe, it was undoubtedly a very thorny piece of bad news for him. The good news, however, was that the probe had not yet been launched.

Harry couldn't help but think a bit further. After all, during their time travel last term, Zhang Qiu had told him that the Chinese had discovered that George's grandfather was connected to the Soviet Union. It seemed easy to understand, then, that there might be Yanayev's agents within Dunton. Looking at Yuri, his childhood tutor, perhaps Yanayev hadn't intended to hide it at all; it could be considered an open scheme laid out before Harry.

Harry was more accustomed to reading the *Daily Mail* after finishing the *Daily Prophet*. Today, the housekeeper had placed this *Morning Star* newspaper beneath the *Daily Prophet*; clearly, it was intentional. What, then, did Yanayev want to say through this newspaper?

If Yanayev were prepared to help Voldemort launch a Horcrux, Harry wouldn't find it entirely incomprehensible. Once Voldemort had this idea, he would always find a way to get the Horcrux into the sky. Rather than letting Voldemort cooperate with NASA, perhaps Yanayev would prefer to keep the initiative in his own hands.

On this basis, Yanayev's intention was quite clear: he was telling Harry that it would be best to finish off Voldemort before 1997, otherwise, once he launched the Horcrux into deep space, it would be too late. Furthermore, naming the probe "Cadmus" was also very interesting, suggesting that the Horcrux Voldemort intended to launch was likely the Resurrection Stone. However, the Resurrection Stone had already been dug up and destroyed by Deng Buliduo.

This not only meant that Voldemort was unaware that the secret of the Horcruxes had been leaked, but also indicated that he had no sense of the Horcruxes that had already been separated. If he didn't even know the Resurrection Stone had been destroyed, then Harry's slight prying into him should also be something Voldemort could not detect.

Harry knew clearly that he had held two conversations with Deng Buliduo. The conversation in the parlor should have been strictly confidential, but during the conversation in the tea room, they hadn't deliberately avoided the Muggle servants of Dunton. Harry didn't intend to investigate whether one or two of them were Yanayev's informants, because deep down, he still believed that Yanayev would favor him. Otherwise, why would he go to such great lengths to provide him with red ideological enlightenment?

Harry took a deep breath, and he understood another layer of meaning behind the newspaper. If Yanayev believed that Harry was no longer leaning toward the socialist camp, he might also, like the White House, coldly hedge his bets on the war in the Wizarding World, rather than vaguely helping Harry's side. This wasn't necessarily a threat, but it was definitely a warning.

"Harry, are you doing your homework?" Luo En's voice came from outside the door. "Why would you do homework on such a beautiful morning?"

"Alright." Harry quickly adjusted his mindset. "Then what shall we play?"

"Tang Tang Nade taught us a board game that requires at least six people to play," Luo En shouted. "Come quickly."

Harry sat down at the long table in the dining room. Luo En took out a deck of cards and shuffled them, while Ivy meticulously explained the board game called "Avalon" to everyone.

In the context of Avalon, six people took turns speaking, and everyone might be lying. This feeling made Harry dream back to his second year; no wonder Jin Ni and Ivy looked like they were enjoying it so much. He even had reason to suspect that this game was adapted by Tang Tang Nade based on their second-year experiences.

Tang Tang Nade had only stayed here for a day or two, leaving a board game for Luo En before he left, and then he had taken Hermione away. From the end of the birthday banquet to the Quidditch World Cup, the children played this game almost every day. Aside from listening in on Voldemort's routine meetings every day and watching him stroke two wands while saying things like "Deng Buliduo's doomsday has arrived," Harry hadn't really done anything serious.

Finally, the Quidditch World Cup, which the children had been looking forward to so much, was about to arrive. Early Monday morning, almost before the sky was light, the sound of their respective alarm clocks rang out in everyone's bedroom.

"We should be leaving." Arthur Wei Silai, who had taken leave early, was wearing a decent suit at this time. "For you children who cannot Apparate, I must take you to the departure point."

Harry, of course, knew what Apparition was; both Deng Buliduo and Sir Johnny had demonstrated it before his eyes.

"We are going to the nearest departure point, just outside London..."

"Wait, Dad." Luo En interrupted him. "We'd better go to the departure point near our house."

"Why?" Arthur asked, puzzled.

"Did Zhang Qiu send you a letter too?" Harry looked helplessly at Luo En as he took out a letter. Ever since he bought his own owl (which he named Pig), the frequency of Luo En's correspondence had increased visibly.

"But I think that's completely unnecessary; it's closer if we go directly from Dunton..." Arthur muttered while flipping through the letter Zhang Qiu had sent to Luo En.

Harry knew what was written on it; it was nothing more than saying that divination indicated they would depart from the assembly point near the Wei Silai house, and that they must have a few words with Cedric. It was just that Hermione, who should have appeared in the divination, was not in the departure team, so Harry didn't feel it was necessary at all.

"I don't want to argue with you at someone else's house!" Mo Li pulled George's ear (or perhaps Fred's) angrily. The three of them walked toward here with unhappy expressions. Harry knew that Mrs. Wei Silai was very annoyed by the two children's terrible grades, but he hadn't expected them to be arguing on such a good day.

Amidst a noisy rush, Arthur finally decided to follow the advice of "Master Xuanjun," first using Floo Powder to return to the Wei Silai house, and then departing from the Weasel Mountain nearby.

Braving the morning dew, they arrived at the designated assembly point just as the sky was revealing a faint gray-green tint and dawn had not yet fully arrived. Sure enough, Amos Diggory and his son Cedric Diggory were already waiting there.

The reason Harry knew Cedric's father was named Amos was because Arthur had chatted with him for quite a while. He worked in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and told many interesting stories about the Centaur Office. Cedric, meanwhile, talked to Harry about Quidditch; they could be considered old rivals on the pitch. Harry actually had to admit that although he had suppressed and defeated Cedric several times in head-to-head matchups, in reality, this senior's overall strength was slightly stronger than his own.

"Krum is indeed very strong, but it's still a bit difficult for him to beat the Irish team," Cedric analyzed. "Their Chasers are really too poor..."

"Ireland is a strong operational team; their team coordination has always been very good," Harry echoed. "Now it depends on whether Krum can catch the Snitch within the first ten minutes. Otherwise, once Ireland gets more than 150 points..."

"And Ireland doesn't have to worry about the total score; they only need to get at least 70 points. They earned too many points when they played Estonia before." Cedric seemed to recall the duel between him and Harry at the end of their second year. "I feel Bulgaria has almost no chance."

"But Bulgaria has been able to make it this far, so they must have something." Luo En interjected. "I think Krum is really too strong; maybe he can create a miracle?"

"That depends on the Beaters." Harry said calmly. "How long can a pair of professional Beaters suppress a Seeker when the opponent is playing a four-protect-one strategy? It won't take long. It might only take ten minutes for the Seeker to get 70 points. These ten minutes directly determine the outcome of the game."

"Then I think Ireland will win, but Krum will catch the Snitch." George said confidently. "He must catch it, so at least Krum won't have lost."

"Yes, we will bet all our pocket money on this item," Fred nodded. "That way, we'll have the startup capital for our Wizarding Wheezes shop."

"Since you two Beaters have made a decision." Harry mused. "Then perhaps I should bet a little too."

"But don't bet too much." George said with a grin. "Betting too much will make them lower the odds."

"Then I'll buy Krum catching the Snitch, and Bulgaria winning." Harry said. "That way, one of us will always win."

"Why do you believe so much that Krum can catch the Snitch?" Ivy stuck out her tongue. "That guy looks just like a gorilla, looking all clumsy."

"If they don't play four-protect-one, maybe there's a chance, but regardless of winning or losing, they will be questioned by fans; if they play four-protect-one, they will likely lose, but even if they lose, they can save face." Harry shook his head. "Team competition is not a gamble; it requires off-field operations and fan economics."

Jin Ni looked unhappy. She was whispering something to Luo En; perhaps she was also a fan of Krum. However, Krum was still young and had plenty of time, and Bulgaria would not easily give up such a star player who brought huge topics. It could be said that for a long time to come, he would be the "world's youngest genius Seeker," or even the "world's number one Seeker," even though he might not be able to win the World Cup for a long time. ===== CHAPTER 175 =====