"Is there an estimate of how many people this stadium can hold?"
Sherlock turned his head and asked Bill, who was walking alongside him.
Bill was also astonished by the magnificent structure before them. He shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either.
Mr Weasley, who was leading the way, answered his question.
"One hundred thousand people. The Ministry of Magic had five hundred employees working for an entire year just to build this stadium. During that year, the vicinity was covered in Muggle-Repelling Charms. If any Muggle approached, they would suddenly remember something extremely urgent and immediately leave."
Sherlock was also astonished by this.
A stadium of this scale was truly rare, and building it while keeping it hidden from Muggles undoubtedly made it even more troublesome.
Holding their tickets, they passed through the turnstiles and then walked up the stairs.
The two tickets Kingsley had given Sherlock, along with the ones the Weasley family had received, were all for the luxury box on the top floor. The people watching the match from here were mostly high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Magic.
After they entered the box and took their seats, a giant scoreboard in the massive stadium opposite them displayed advertisements.(TN: Did it do so in the books? Though I wouldn't be shocked if sponsors existed.)
Clearly, this World Cup also had sponsors, which was very much in line with the characteristics of modern society, yet the mainstream lifestyle habits of Wizards mostly remained stuck a hundred or even two hundred years in the past.
This created a highly conflicting atmosphere throughout the Wizarding World.
At a time like this, Sherlock certainly wouldn't be so insensitive as to ponder social humanities; the entire stadium was buzzing with excitement.
Even though the game hadn't started yet, the fans' enthusiasm was so fervent that it seemed ready to illuminate the entire night sky.
The green and red waves were clearly delineated, representing the Irish Team and the Bulgarian team, respectively.
"Ireland wins!!!"
A wave of cheers erupted like a tsunami, and the green tide surged. Even Harry and the others in the box couldn't help but get caught up in it, standing up and shouting the victory cheer.
The red tide on the other side was not to be outdone. Even though this was Britain, the home ground of the Irish Team, as a global event extremely rare in the Wizarding World, nearly one-fifth of the Wizards from around the world had flocked here, making the British Wizards in the stadium a minority.
"Bulgaria must win!!!"
After the cheers from both sides subsided, small conflicts quickly broke out among the fans at the intersection of the green and red crowds. However, the Aurors, who were always tense and ready, paid the most attention to moments like these.
Before the conflict could escalate into them shooting wands at each other, the Aurors swiftly stunned and removed several instigators.
Sherlock, who saw this scene through his Omnioculars, also spotted Kingsley among the Aurors.
The normally good-tempered Kingsley was actually yelling, but this was understandable. If they hadn't stopped the recent conflict immediately, the World Cup final would have been cancelled once the tension escalated.
When Sherlock brought his attention back, Harry and the others had already sat down. At some point, Harry noticed a House-elf sitting in the row behind them. He mistakenly thought she was Dobby, but upon asking, he learned that her name was Winky.
Winky was somewhat afraid of heights, but she obediently reserved an empty seat for her master. While Harry was talking to her, she also revealed some updates about Dobby.
It wasn't until the Minister for Magic, Fudge, entered the box, accompanied by the Minister for Magic of Bulgaria and Lucius, that Harry and the others learned from their conversation that Winky was the Crouch family's House-elf.
Upon entering the box and seeing Hermione, Lucius clearly frowned, a look of disdain crossing his face. When he encountered Mr Weasley, he remained arrogant, scoffing and sneering, putting on the full airs of a Pure-blood Family.
Hilke, sitting beside Sherlock, gently furrowed her beautiful brow, leaned her head close to Sherlock's ear, and whispered.
"That person is rather annoying."
Sherlock neither confirmed nor denied this.
"He used to be a Death Eater. After Lord Voldemort fell, he spent a large amount of money to clear his name."
Hearing Sherlock say this, Hilke's frown deepened.
No matter how she looked at it, she only felt revulsion towards groups like the Death Eaters.
Sherlock noticed the change in Hilke's mood and habitually stroked her head.
"Don't worry about people like him. He's just a pathetic, wavering fence-sitter. The ones truly deserving of death are those currently locked up in Azkaban."
His voice was calm, as if stating a fact that would soon come to pass.
Hilke obediently murmured, "Mm," before unhappily pulling her head away from Sherlock's hand.
Sherlock shrugged, unconcerned.
Just as they were talking quietly, the mascots from the two competing nations began their performance before the final started.
To everyone's surprise, Bulgaria sent out a team of Veela. Their natural beauty, combined with their innate allure magic, caused a collective gasp from the hundred thousand people in the stadium the moment they appeared.
The vast majority of the Wizards were completely captivated by these natural sirens, leaning forward blankly, their infatuation evident on their faces.
The occupants of Sherlock's box were mostly mature and steady Wizards, and few were controlled by the Veela's allure magic. Only Ron and Lucius's son, Draco, showed the most obvious signs of being affected.
As for Harry, having previously seen Fleur, he already possessed some immunity. Although he still stared blankly at the Veela, he was at least not completely obsessed.
Sherlock, meanwhile, was completely unaffected. He glanced at the Veela in the centre of the field, then turned and smiled warmly at Hilke.
"None of them are as beautiful as our Amy."
Hilke paused slightly, then a faint blush involuntarily appeared on her face, and the corners of her mouth instinctively curled up.
It was clear she was very happy, but even so, she didn't forget to compose her face again and corrected him earnestly.
"It's Vera. We agreed on that before."
"Yes, yes, we agreed, Vera. Look, your hat has fallen to the floor. I'll help you pick it up."
The Dancing Clover Hat had somehow fallen beneath the chair.
It was inconvenient to bend down and reach for it, so Sherlock simply used Control Magic.
But just as he expanded the domain of Control Magic, Sherlock suddenly froze, then abruptly turned his head to look at the House-elf named Winky and the seat next to her that she claimed to be reserving for her master!