The Return to Hogwarts

Chapter 463 Unrepentant Gambling Habit

2023-09-06

Ludo Bagman is a truly surprising wizard. He is the Director of the Department of Magical Sports, a position far higher than Mr. Weasley's in the Ministry of Magic, yet Harry sees none of the airs of a great man in him.

"Thanks--"

Sirius was also somewhat surprised by Ludo's assessment of him, and he shook hands with Ludo.

"In fact, quite a few people think I'm a complete idiot."

That's the truth. Ever since Sirius Black's story came to light, he has been a controversial figure in the wizarding world. Some people think he is very noble, while others think he is just a brainless, reckless fool.

Mr. Weasley knew Sirius wasn't keen on discussing the opinions he received about himself, so he smiled and introduced Ludo to other people.

"These are my three sons. The ones who look alike are Fred and George. This is my youngest son, Ron. And then, this is Harry Potter—"

Upon hearing Harry's name, Bagman showed a slight surprise. His eyes immediately swept over the scar on Harry's forehead. Harry was already used to it, so he wasn't offended. He was also somewhat curious about Ludo Bagman, not because of his status as a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic, but because Ludo had once been a world-renowned Quidditch player.

Harry's classmate at Hogwarts, Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor team who has already graduated, dreamed of becoming a Quidditch player, and he himself had thought about this issue. Becoming a Quidditch player was one of the few options he was not opposed to.

“Let me introduce you,” Mr. Weasley continued, “this is Ludo Bagman, you know who he is, we got these great tickets thanks to him—”

Bagman smiled broadly and waved his hand, as if it were nothing to him.

"Want to place a bet on the game, Arthur?"

Ludo asked eagerly, rattling the pockets of his yellow and black robe, which seemed to be filled with gold coins.

“I’ve convinced Roddy Ponte to bet with me that Bulgaria will score the first goal – I gave him very high odds because I considered that Ireland’s number three striker is the best I’ve seen in years – and Agatha Tims Jr. has staked half of her eel farm stock on the bet that the game will last a week.”

"Oh, okay then,"

Mr. Weasley clearly knew Ludo and didn't seem particularly surprised by his sudden invitation. After hesitating for a few seconds, he pulled a gold coin from his pocket.

"Let me think. How about I bet on a Galen Ireland win?"

“One Gallon?” Ludo Bagman seemed a little disappointed, but quickly regained his interest. He pulled a notebook from his pocket and hastily scribbled down the bet: “Very good. Very good, then--”

Ludo Bagman looked at Sirius with intense longing in his eyes.

"Would you like to share your thoughts on the match? Sirius, Bulgaria, or Ireland, who ultimately won?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow, his initial goodwill towards Ludo Bagman vanishing instantly. This guy must have deduced from the tent that he was probably a rich man.

Sirius was about to politely decline Bagman's invitation, but just before he could speak, someone tugged at his robe from behind.

It was Fred and George, who were looking at him with pleading eyes.

"You want to get involved?" Sirius asked, amused.

“No, Fred and George, your mother won’t want to see this, and besides, you’re planning to borrow money from Sirius?”

Mr. Weasley frowned and glared unhappily at his two sons.

"Mom burned all the inventions we used to earn pocket money; they were the result of months of hard work!"

Fred said, feeling wronged.

Mr. Weasley's heart softened immediately. After hesitating for a few seconds, he said tentatively,

"Okay, what do you want to bet on? I'll pay for it."

“Let me handle this, Arthur—” Sirius said with a smile. He looked at Harry and Ron, “The Quidditch World Cup is a rare opportunity. You can both participate. Twenty-five Galleons each, I’ll pay for it.”

Harry didn't seem to notice anything, but Fred and George immediately cheered. Ron, however, only cheered twice before looking hesitantly at Sirius.

"If I don't participate--"

“Ron!” Mr. Weasley called out sternly, and Ron immediately fell silent.

“The two of us have bet a total of fifty Galleons,”

After his initial excitement subsided, Fred said earnestly to Bagman,

"Bet on Ireland to win—but Victor Krum will catch the Golden Snitch!"

Bagman watched their conversation with a smile until the twins revealed their choice, at which point he showed surprise.

"You think Ireland will win, but Krum can catch the Golden Snitch? Impossible, kids, impossible. Nobody would think that. I can give you very high odds, how about 15 to 1? If you guess right, you can take 750 gold coins from me!"

Ron's breath caught in his throat. His face flushed, and he trembled as he grabbed Harry's wrist. "What should we do, Harry? Who should we bet on?"

Harry has been living quite comfortably these past few years thanks to the gold his deceased parents left him at Gringotts, but winning would bring him several hundred gold coins, which is no small sum for him either!

Harry looked at Sirius with a pleading expression, but Sirius just smiled and said...

“I know less about Quidditch than you do, Harry. Do it your way—”

"I must remind you that you won't win much money by simply betting on Ireland or Bulgaria to win. You need to make accurate and bold predictions to make a fortune!"

Bagland's tone was like a devil's seduction, making Ron's mouth dry.

"There's no doubt Ireland will win, and Charlie agrees. Their squad is the best they've had in recent years—"

Ron muttered under his breath.

"But Lynch is definitely no match for Krum. He's the best Seeker in the world, he's only eighteen, a genius, so--"

Ron glanced sideways at Fred and George, thinking that his twin brother's seemingly ridiculous prediction might actually come true.

Harry had been stuck at the Dursleys' house for half the summer and knew nothing about the previous matches. Moreover, he didn't know as much about the players as Ron did, so he simply left the choice to Ron.

"If that's the case, the match can't last long."

Ron paced back and forth by the pool, muttering to himself. For him, this was a rare opportunity to change his fate, and he couldn't afford to be careless. The others didn't disturb him, quietly waiting for Ron to make his choice.

Finally, a few minutes later, Ron returned to Bagman and took a deep breath.

"Well, little guy, have you got an idea yet?" Ludo Bagman said kindly. "Come on, tell me your thoughts. It doesn't matter if you lose, right?"

"I share Fred and George's opinion; I think Ireland will win, but Victor Krum must catch the Golden Snitch first!"

"You have a good eye."

"It's rare to see you with a clear head."

Fred and George nodded approvingly at Ron, but Ron's prediction wasn't over yet; he continued,

"Moreover, I bet the point difference between Bulgaria and Ireland won't exceed twenty points!"

Ron said with a determined look.

"Oh, that's fantastic! Odds of one to twenty!" Ludo Bagman exclaimed excitedly, as if the fifty Galleons that belonged to Ron and Harry were already his. He eagerly wrote down the names of several people, the amounts bet, and the results of the match in his notebook. Finally, he stuffed the notebook into his pocket and stared intently at Sirius Black.

Sirius Black pulled a handful of gold coins from his purse, stuffing Ludo's pockets bulging. As if afraid the children would change their minds, Ludo handed over the betting money, gave the receipts to the little ones, and hurriedly left.

Mr. Weasley shook his head helplessly as he watched Ron take out the Merlin commemorative coin that Professor Blaine had given him to pray.

Chapter 464 Hermione and Kreacher

2023-09-07

"Don't take it so seriously, Arthur. It's just to let the kids relax—" Sirius said nonchalantly. "Come on, let's go inside and get something to eat. You've been up so early and walked so far; I bet you're all starving."

Sirius Black led Mr. Weasley and Harry and the others into the villa. They passed through the ornately decorated front hall and turned several corners in the maze-like corridors before finally arriving at the dining room. Then, they were surprised to find that the villa truly lived up to its name; in addition to the swimming pool in the front, there was also a small, lush green garden in the back.

Remus moved the dining table to the garden, where Hermione and Ginny were enjoying a hearty breakfast.

This place is quite far from the front yard, no wonder they didn't hear the noise from the front.

Harry hadn't felt it before, but when he saw the mountain of toast, sausages, sandwiches, pumpkin pies, and other food piled on the table, he suddenly felt so hungry that his stomach was sticking to his back. Without Sirius having to call him, the little ones pounced on the food, found their seats, and began to feast.

Why did you take so long?

Hermione glanced sideways at Ron, who was holding a pie in one hand and chewing a sausage vigorously, and asked.

"I bet Hermione, if you knew what you missed, you'd regret it to death!"

Ron grinned as he swallowed his food, looking incredibly happy.

Hearing this, Hermione cast a suspicious look at Harry, but Harry didn't say anything, just kept his head down and munched on a baked potato.

“It’s not that exaggerated, Ron--”

Noticing that Remus was also looking at him with curiosity, Sirius pursed his lips, smiled, and told Remus and the two girls the gist of the matter.

Just as Harry had expected, Hermione immediately frowned, her expression of displeasure mirroring that of Professor McGonagall when she was caught messing around in Transfiguration class. Ginny, on the other hand, looked at her three brothers with envy, but having missed her chance, she was too embarrassed to ask Sirius.

"Ludo Bagman—"

Upon hearing this, Remus's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"I've heard about his reputation—"

"Hehe, Ludo has a lot of minor flaws, and there are quite a few people in the ministry who have opinions about him. There are even people who have asked the minister to dismiss him. But no matter what, you would hardly find a more passionate Director of Sports and Physical Education in the Ministry of Magic than him, would you?"

Mr. Weasley said with a chuckle.

Remus had a lot of gossip going on, and what he really wanted to say was that Ludo Bagman's reputation wasn't very good, and Harry and the others' bets were very likely to go down the drain, but he didn't say anything more out of consideration for Arthur's feelings.

"By the way—" Sirius asked while breaking off a piece of apple pie, "Have you seen Kreacher?"

"No, all the food was already on the table when I arrived at the restaurant."

Remus shook his head, a look of helplessness in his eyes.