Mr. Weasley led the way, and everyone, clutching their purchases, hurried into the woods along the lantern-lit path.

They could hear hundreds of people moving about, shouting, laughing, and sporadic singing.

This frenzied excitement was contagious. Lamia looked around curiously, and her anticipation for the upcoming game grew.

They walked through the woods for twenty minutes, talking and laughing loudly, until they finally emerged from the other side and found themselves in the shadow of a huge gymnasium.

"It can accommodate 100,000 spectators," Mr. Weasley said, looking at the magnificent building in front of him. "Five hundred Ministry of Magic staff have been busy for a whole year on this. Every inch of this place is cast with a Muggle-repelling spell. During this year, whenever Muggles approach here, they suddenly remember their most urgent business and rush away... God bless them."

He smiled fondly and led the group towards the nearest entrance, which was already surrounded by many shouting wizards.

"First class," said the Ministry witch at the entrance, looking at their tickets. "Top box! Go straight up, Arthur, to the very top."

The stairs leading to the gymnasium were covered with purple-red carpet. They climbed the stairs with the crowd, and slowly the crowd went into the stands on the left and right.

The group led by Mr. Weasley continued to walk upwards until they reached the top of the stairs and found themselves in a small box at the highest point of the gymnasium, facing the golden goalposts.

There were about twenty purple and gilded chairs, divided into two rows. Lamia followed the Weasley family into the front row and looked down. The scene was beyond his imagination.

One hundred thousand wizards were taking their seats one after another. The seats were arranged in a stepped manner around the oval stadium. Everything here was shrouded in a mysterious golden light, which seemed to come from the stadium itself.

From their commanding position, the playing field appeared smooth as velvet, with three shooting hoops fifty feet high on either side. To the right of them, almost at Lamia's eye level, was a huge blackboard with golden words flashing across it, as if an invisible giant hand were writing and then erasing them.

Lamia took a closer look and realized that they were advertisements specifically set up for the audience.

The box was quite large. After Lamia and the others sat down, there were still many empty seats. Perhaps because it was still early, there were not many people inside.

Lamia closed her eyes, planning to take a nap while waiting for the game to start and see who else would be sitting in the box with them.

But there seemed to be something making a sound at the back, a rustling sound that stood out particularly in this unusual box.

Lamia opened her eyes and looked back. There was a surprisingly small guy sitting in the second to last seat in the row behind them.

The little fellow's legs were so short that they could only stretch out on the chair in front of him. He was wrapped in a tea towel used to wipe the tea set, like a loose robe, and his face was buried in his hands. However, his pair of long, bat-like ears looked so familiar...

"Dobby?" Lamia asked doubtfully, but the little thing seemed to be frightened and its voice suddenly disappeared.

The little creature looked up and released its fingers, revealing huge brown eyes and a nose the shape and size of a large tomato.

It wasn't Dobby—but it was undoubtedly a house-elf, just as Dobby had been before.

"Miss Lamia, don't mention this name!" The elf covered his mouth and whispered. Its voice was very sharp, even sharper than Dobby's voice before. It was a slightly trembling and harsh voice.

"Why?" Lamia asked in confusion. The conversation between the two attracted Mr. Weasley, who was still excitedly staring at the competition venue below. Even Harry and Ron looked over here.

"I'm sorry," the elf said, "Miss Lamia, Dobby is not a good elf, and he's having a hard time right now." She covered her face with her hands, as if she was blinded by the light, although the light in the top box was not strong.

"Why do you know my name? And who are you?" Lamia said.

"My name is Winky, Miss Lamia," her eyes fell on Lamia's silver hair and dark red eyes, "Dobby has been talking about you and the other Mr. Harry Potter all day."

She said, lowering her hands a little, a look of awe on her face.

"Is there something wrong with Dobby?" Harry turned his head when he heard the voice.

"Dobby's got his mind full of freedom, sir," said Winky sadly. "It's all just wild ideas, sir. He can't get a job, sir."

"why?"

Harry said that even Lamia felt strange now, Dobby was a very hardworking elf, it was not the case that he couldn't even find a job.

Winky lowered his voice half an octave and whispered, "He wants to be paid, sir."

"Reward?" Harry looked up. "Why—shouldn't he be paid?"

Lamia also looked at Twinkle.

Twinkle seemed frightened by the idea and brought her fingers together so that her face was half hidden again.

"House-elves don't work for free, sir!" she squeaked from behind her fingers. "No, this won't do, no."

"I said to Dobby, I said, find yourself a proper family and settle down, Dobby. All he does is have fun, sir, and that's not befitting a house-elf. I said, you keep frolicking around like this, and the next thing I know I'll hear you've been caught by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures like some lowly goblin."

"But he should also have some fun," Lamia said.

"House-elves aren't supposed to have fun, miss," Winky said seriously, her hands covering her face. "House-elves do exactly what their masters tell them to do. I'm afraid of heights, Lamia—" she glanced over the edge of the box and gasped, "—but my master sent me to the top box, and here I am, miss."

"Why did he send you here when he knew you were afraid of heights?" Harry asked, frowning in dissatisfaction.

Lamia also didn't understand the master that Shanshan was talking about. It was completely unnecessary.

"Master—Master asked me to save a seat for him, sir. He's too busy." Winky tilted her head and looked at the empty seat next to her. "Winky obeyed the order. Winky is a very good house-elf."

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