Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 312 The Swindler, the Reward

When asked about the 100 Galleons bet on the match by Westren, Fred and George's first question was surprisingly about Ludo Bagman's location.

"Great!" Fred immediately came over and said excitedly, "We just heard from Dad that Ludo Bagman is looking for people to place bets on the game."

“It’s a pity we weren’t at the camp at that time,” George said.

“We’d like to place a bet too.” Fred pulled a heavy bag from his pocket. “This is all our money, seventy-five Galleons and thirteen Sicos.”

"But when we came back, he had already left."

"Where did you meet Ludo Bagman?" Fred and George asked simultaneously, looking at Siron.

Judging from their expressions, it seems they want to chase after the other party right now and give them the money.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t ask this question.” Xiren shrugged. “You’ve gone through a lot of trouble to save this money, so just forget about it.”

“Don’t worry, Celen.” Fred thought Celen was worried about them losing money, so he patted his chest and said, “We’ve carefully studied all of Ireland’s and Bulgaria’s recent matches, and we’re absolutely confident in our choice.”

"Ireland has a very good chance of winning." George looked around and said in a low voice, "They are really great, every position is the best, impeccable."

“Except for the Seeker,” Fred said. “It’s not that Lynch is bad, it’s just that Viktor Krum is just too good.”

"So he will definitely be able to catch the Golden Snitch."

"But that couldn't stop Ireland from winning the championship."

Fred and George looked confident; they believed their judgment was correct.

More importantly, they were about to graduate, but these seventy-odd Galleons were simply not enough for them to open a real Weasley Wizarding World.

Ludo Bagman showed them an opportunity, the only chance to quickly obtain the funds to open a store in a short period of time.

So they were willing to take the gamble.

“No, you’ve misunderstood.” Xiren shook his head. “What I mean is that this betting operation itself was a complete scam.”

"What did you just say?" The two of them paused for a moment, then simultaneously poked their ears.

“I’m telling you, this is a scam,” Celen repeated. “Let me put it this way: even if you guess the outcome of the match correctly, he doesn’t have the money to pay your bets.”

“No, impossible.” Fred shook his head. “He’s Ludo Bagman, England’s most famous Quidditch player. How could he not have money?”

“That was so many years ago,” Xiren waved his hand. “If you studied Ludo Bagman the same way you studied the Irish team, you would find that he had squandered all his money long ago.”

“Wait a minute…” George rubbed his forehead hard. “But he also said that Agatha Tims Jr. had staked half of her eel farm stock on a bet that the contest would last a week.”

“She’s doomed,” George said. “With Ireland’s strength, the game will be over in two days.”

"He'll have a lot of money then, enough to pay us, right?"

“Yes, but what if that’s fake too?” Celen said. “The eel farm doesn’t belong to Agatha Tims Jr., but to her mother. How could she possibly put half the stock on it?”

"What did you say?" The two of them jumped to their feet, staring at Xilun in disbelief. "Is this true?"

Silen shrugged and didn't say anything. He'd made it up; he didn't know anything about Agatha Tims, let alone any eel farm in England.

But that's not important. What's important is that Ludo Bagman really won't pay.

“Wait a minute, Siron.” At this moment, Fred seemed to remember something and frowned as he asked, “Since you know everything, why did you bet 100 Galleons?”

George nodded vigorously, which was also something he couldn't understand.

“Because I never intended to get his money, but for something else,” Celen said. “Strictly speaking, the 100 gallons was a payment I made to him in advance.”

"What could possibly cost a hundred gallons?" Fred still didn't understand.

"Why don't you tell us, and we'll only take half?"

“You can’t do it, only Ludo Bagman can…” Siren said, and then stopped revealing any further information.

The two then pressed him for more questions, but Helen always brushed them off with excuses, until Mr. Weasley sent Ginny to call them for lunch.

By this time, Fred and George had basically believed Hillen's words, and Mr. Weasley confirmed it for them again during dinner.

“You mean Ludo?” Mr. Weasley handed Fred a bowl full of stew and said, “Yes, he doesn’t have much money left, as many in the ministry know, because he often borrows money from everyone.”

Fred's hand trembled, and he almost dropped the bowl, but Bill, who was standing nearby, reached out and lifted it up, so the stew bowl landed steadily on the table.

“Bill, you can cast spells without a staff!” Ron exclaimed.

“It’s limited to simple magic,” Bill said. “Be careful next time.”

"Thank you," Fred said with a dry laugh.

Normally, he would definitely compare Bill and Percy to make a good mockery of that pretentious guy.

But right now his mind is a mess, and he's not in the mood for it at all.

“But Dad, since you know that, why did you still bet a Gallon?” George asked. “Aren’t you worried that he won’t pay you back if you win?”

“Oh… I hadn’t thought about that.” Mr. Weasley served Ginny another bowl of stew and said calmly, “It’s alright even if you don’t give it to us. After all, we were able to get so many good seats thanks to Ludo. It’s only one Gallon, what’s the big deal?”

Fred and George understood; their father, like Siron, had no intention of going to Ludo Bagman after the game.

This decision also indirectly proves that Mr. Weasley also believed that Ludo Bagman could not afford the bet.

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of relief in each other's eyes.

They had previously been annoyed at missing their meeting with Ludo Bagman, but now they only felt lucky... thankfully they weren't in the camp at the time, which saved their meager savings.

But this made them even more curious about what Xilun was doing.

What could possibly be so worthy of paying Ludo Bagman 100 gallons in advance?
That's 100 Galleons! That's more than their combined savings over all these years.

……

(End of this chapter)