"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce... the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!"
The right-hand side of the stands, which was a solid block of scarlet, roared its approval.
Intrigued, (Y/n) uncovered her face and leaned forward, peering down at the fields.
"I wonder what they've brought," said Arthur, leaning forward in his seat. "Aaah!" He suddenly whipped off his glasses and polished them hurriedly on his robes. "Veela!"
"What are veel—?"
But a hundred veela were now gliding out onto the field, and Harry's question was answered for him. Veela were women... extraordinarily beautiful women, so much so (Y/n) doubted they were human. Their skin shone moon-bright and their white-gold hair fanned out behind them without wind.
"Cover your ears," Bill advised the second music started.
"Me? Why? I thought veela only attract men," (Y/n) said. Percy and Charlie did not need to be told twice.
"As long as you're attracted to women, they'll woo you," said Bill rather loudly due to his ears being covered.
(Y/n) stared at Bill in confusion. How'd he know she was attracted to women? Nonetheless, (Y/n) slowly rose her hands to her ears, muffling the music. Even without the music, (Y/n) was absolutely awestruck by the veela as they danced.
"Harry, what are you doing?" Hermione asked.
The music stopped. Bill, Charlie, Percy, and (Y/n) uncovered their ears. Harry was standing up and one of his legs was resting on the wall of the box. Next to him, Ron was frozen in an attitude that looked as though he were about to dive from a springboard.
Angry yells were filling the stadium. The crowd didn't want the veela to go. Harry looked down at himself, looking as though he was wondering why he was supporting Ireland over Bulgaria. Ron, meanwhile, was absentmindedly shredding the shamrocks on his hat. Arthur, smiling slightly, leaned over to Ron and tugged the hat out of his hands.
"You'll be wanting that," he said, "once Ireland have had their say."
"Huh?" said Ron, staring openmouthed at the veela, who had now lined up along one side of the field.
Hermione made a loud tutting noise. She reached up and pulled Harry back into his seat. "Honestly!" she said.
"And now," roared Ludo Bagman's voice, "kindly put your wands in the air... for the Irish National Team Mascots!"
Next moment, what seemed to be a great green-and-gold comet came zooming into the stadium. It did one circuit of the stadium, then split into two smaller comets, each hurtling toward the goalposts. A rainbow arched suddenly across the field, connecting the two balls of light. The crowd oooohed and aaaaahed, as though at a fireworks display. Now the rainbow faded and the balls of light reunited and merged; they had formed a great shimmering shamrock, which rose up into the sky and began to soar over the stands. Something like golden rain seemed to be falling from it—
"Excellent!" yelled Ron as the shamrock soared over them, and heavy gold coins rained from it, bouncing off their heads and seats. (Y/n) raised her Omnioculars and peered at the clouds. There were thousands of tiny little bearded men with red vests, each carrying a minute lamp of gold or green.
"Leprechauns!" said Arthur over the tumultuous applause of the crowd, many of whom were still fighting and rummaging around under their chairs to retrieve the gold.
"There, even!" Fred said, reaching across Bill and holding out a small handful of gold.
"Keep it," (Y/n) said dismissively, using her Omnioculars as a microscope and peering at the gold. "I wonder how they could afford this... I thought it was chocolate coins for a moment if I'm honest..."
"Chocolate coins?" Charlie asked.
"How don't you know what chocolate coins are?" (Y/n) mumbled. "It's little circular chocolates— really bad chocolate if I'm honest, but it's good once in a while... especially on my period— and they're covered in 'gold' foil that makes it look like a gold coin. Real cheap, too. I'm sure you'll know what I'm talking about if I pointed it out at the store."
The great shamrock dissolved, the leprechauns drifted down onto the field on the opposite side from the veela, and settled themselves cross-legged to watch the match.
