Chapter 464: Celebration
Fred and George's hope for a five-day match wasn't to be. About an hour into the game, Lynch from the Irish team spotted the Golden Snitch—and so did Krum. The tiny, golden-winged ball hovered just five feet above the ground.
Both Seekers accelerated, diving at breakneck speed.
"They're going to crash!" Hermione cried.
"No chance!" Ron said confidently. "Krum's the best Seeker out there!"
"But Lynch might beat him to it!" shouted Harry, Cedric, and Charlie almost in unison.
They were right. Lynch hit the ground hard for the second time, crashing spectacularly. The Veelas shrieked with excitement, and several rushed toward the Leprechauns, laughing wildly.
Krum, however, managed to pull up at the last second, skimming the ground before rising smoothly into the air. He raised his fist triumphantly, the Snitch's golden glow visible between his fingers.
"Krum's got the Snitch! The game's over!" Harry shouted.
The scoreboard updated with a flash: 170–160.
"Ireland wins!" Bagman announced, though his voice held a note of confusion, as if the sudden end had caught him off guard. "Krum caught the Snitch, and Ireland won... I don't think anyone expected that!"
He wasn't alone in his bewilderment. Many Bulgarian supporters seemed equally puzzled. In their eyes, Krum should have stalled, allowing his teammates a chance to narrow the score gap. After all, in previous tournaments, losing teams often stretched games for days to prevent the other team's Seeker from ending the match.