1994 Quidditch World Cup

> "*A hundred thousand witches and wizards were taking their places in the seats, which rose in levels around the long oval field. Everything was suffused with a mysterious golden light, which seemed to come from the stadium itself. The field looked smooth as velvet from their lofty position. At either end of the field stood three goal hoops, fifty feet high; right opposite them, almost at Harry's eye level, was a gigantic blackboard. Gold writing kept dashing across it as though an invisible giant's hand were scrawling upon the blackboard and then wiping it off again; watching it, Harry saw that it was flashing advertisements across the field.*"
> ― Description of the 1994 world cup[source]
>
>

The **1994 Quidditch World Cup** was an international Quidditch sporting event occurring in 1994 organised by the International Quidditch Association. It was the 422nd edition of the World Cup. Its official sponsors were Butterbeer, Pumpkin Juice, Gringotts Wizarding Bank and Nimbus 2001.

The stadium built for the 422nd World Cup took a Ministry of Magic task force a year to construct, and could hold one hundred thousand spectators.

In the final game, Ireland, having defeated Peru in the semi-finals, played against Bulgaria. In the end, Bulgarian Seeker Viktor Krum managed to catch the Snitch and salvage Bulgarian dignity, although Ireland won.

The events of the final match were overshadowed by the attack of Death Eaters on Muggles, leading to a riot afterwards. The Death Eaters fled after Bartemius Crouch Junior cast the Dark Mark into the sky, but not before they had tortured and levitated several Muggles.

## Stadium

The Ministry of Magic spent a year magically constructing a huge stadium on Dartmoor for the Quidditch World Cup final in August 1994. The other knockout matches for the 1994 tournament would have also used this stadium.

The stadium was approached through a wood, a twenty-minute walk along a lantern-lit trail. It had immense gold walls, suffused with a mysterious golden light which seems to come from the stadium itself, and with Muggle-Repelling Charms on every inch of it. The stadium was huge — Harry Potter thought that ten cathedrals would fit comfortably inside it — and it seated 100,000 people. A Ministry task force of 500 worked on it for a year.

Inside, a giant blackboard opposite Top Box was the scoreboard and also showed advertisements. The fans received velvet-covered, tasselled programmes when they showed their large parchment tickets. The Top Box provided the prime seats: about 20 purple and gilt chairs.

Travel to the stadium, which was located on Dartmoor, a "nice, deserted moor," was quite a logistical feat. The Ministry had to stagger the arrivals: people with cheap tickets had to arrive two weeks early. A few used Muggle transport to get there, but most used Portkeys or Apparated. To accommodate the throng, two hundred Portkeys were placed around Britain, timed to bring people in on a schedule. Portkeys were also distributed to other countries.

## Semi-finals

Ireland flattened Peru in the semi-finals to set up a meeting with Bulgaria. The Bulgarians had won the last twelve Eastern European Championship and had a "rock solid defence". Ireland were another defensively strong team, but they also managed to score as many points as nearly every team in the World Cup.

The British nations didn't fare well; England were beaten 390 to 10 by Transylvania, Scotland lost to Luxembourg, and Wales lost to Uganda.

## Finals

The 422nd Quidditch World Cup final was held on 18 August, 1994 in England, between Ireland and Bulgaria. Ludovic Bagman provided the match commentary. Ireland wore green robes with each player's name embroidered in silver on their back. They all flew Firebolt broomsticks and Leprechauns served as the team's mascots. Veela were Bulgaria's mascots and they played in robes of scarlet.

Irish Chaser, Troy scored the first goal of the match. After another two Irish goals, Ivanova registered Bulgaria's opening score. Then Ireland's Seeker Aidan Lynch was fooled by Viktor Krum's Wronski Feint, but managed to continue play after the aid of some mediwizards. Fifteen minutes later Ireland had stretched their lead to 130-10, when their Chaser Mullet was fouled by the Bulgarian Keeper, Zograf, and was awarded a penalty.

This penalty led to anarchy, with another penalty being awarded to Ireland and referee Hassan Mostafa being distracted by the Veela. Quigley sent a Bludger towards Krum which broke his nose. Lynch then spotted the Snitch, but was beaten in the race for it by Krum. Despite this, Ireland still ran out the victors. The final score was 170-160. The Irish team performed a lap of honour before being presented with the Quidditch World Cup in the stadium's Top Box (Lynch had to be supported by Moran and Connolly).

## 1994 World Cup Squads

 Gianni Fedele (Captain)

## Results

* Transylvania defeated England, 390-10
* Luxembourg defeated Scotland
* Uganda defeated Wales
* Semi-final: Ireland defeated Peru
* Final: Ireland defeated Bulgaria, 170-160

## Riot

*Main article: Reappearance of the Dark Mark*

**Draco**: "*Granger, they’re after* Muggles*. D’you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Because if you do, hang around…they’re moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh.*"
**Harry**: "*Hermione’s a witch.*"
**Draco**: "*Have it your own way, Potter. If you think they can’t spot a Mudblood, stay where you are.*"
— Draco Malfoy taunting the trio during the Death Eater riot[src]

Shortly after the final match at the World Cup, a riot broke out as Death Eaters began attacking the tents of wizards and witches as well as a Muggle family. They levitated, tormented, and humiliated Mr and Mrs Roberts. Various Ministry officials such as Arthur Weasley tried to help the Muggles.

In the chaos that erupted, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley ended up wandering in the woods, where they ran into Draco Malfoy. He taunted them over the fact that the Death Eaters would target a Muggle-born like Hermione if they found her. Also during this time, Bartemius Crouch Junior managed to break out of his father's Imperius Curse, steal Harry's wand, and cast *Morsmordre* in the sky, summoning the Dark Mark. When the Death Eaters spotted the Dark Mark in the sky, they fled, something Lord Voldemort scorned them for upon his return in the following year.