Harry Potter and the Hidden Treasure (Volume 3)

Chapter 463 An Impossible Bet

"Arthur, my old friend!" He approached the bonfire. "What a day, huh? What a day! Could we have asked for more perfect weather? A cloudless night approaching... and hardly a hitch in the arrangements... There's not much for me to do!"

Behind him, a group of Ministry wizards looking disheveled rushed, pointing to the distant evidence of some kind of magical fire sending violet sparks twenty feet into the air.

To their prediction, everyone expressed doubts that it would rain if it wasn't nice tonight.

Behind Mr. Weasley, Percy hurried over with his hand extended.

"Here is my son Percy. He has just started at the Ministry!" Mr. Weasley said with a smile. "Sitting over there are Sirius Black, then Fred, George, Bill, Charlie, Ron, and my daughter Ginny. You've seen them before, and here are Evan Mason, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter."

He introduced everyone to Bagman, and upon seeing Sirius, Bagman was evidently surprised.

The expression on his face was complex and seemed rather fearful.

Sirius mentioned that Bagman had been tried for providing confidential information to the Death Eater, Rookwood. They had a brief encounter at the time of the trial.

It seemed like he recalled his past experience and was terrified of Sirius.

Upon hearing Harry's name, Bagman seemed slightly taken aback.

"Alright, alright, care to bet on the match?" Bagman said enthusiastically, jingling what seemed to be a substantial amount of gold in the pockets of his yellow and black robes.

It appeared that this was the main purpose of his visit here.

"I already have Roddy Pontner betting that Bulgaria will score first... I offered him good odds, considering that Ireland's offensive trio is the strongest I've seen in years... and little Agatha Timms has bet half the shares of her eel farm on a one-week match."

"I'll wager a Galleon in favor of Ireland winning, alright?" Mr. Weasley said hesitantly.

"A Galleon?!" Bagman was somewhat disappointed but recovered. "Very well, anyone else care to bet?"

He glanced towards Sirius, but Sirius completely ignored him.

Bagman awkwardly touched his nose and didn't dare to say more. His eyes shifted to the others.

"They're a bit young to be betting," Mr. Weasley quickly said.

"We'll bet forty-six Galleons, thirty-two sickles, eight knuts," Fred said as he and George quickly gathered all their money, "on Ireland winning... but Viktor Krum catching the Snitch."

All the money Evan had given them and the sales of products in the shop were confiscated by Mrs. Weasley, nearly 200 Gold Galleons.

Mrs. Weasley said she would return it to them and that Evan was not authorized to give money to Fred and George.

But they didn't care. When their business was at its peak, they had asked Lee Jordan to help them sell many joke products.

Most of the Hogwarts owl orders were done this way.

The two only went out to collect their money. When they returned, they secretly informed Evan about it.

Fred and George now intended to use the money as a restart fund for a fresh start. They didn't expect to bet it all here and engage in an impossible-to-win bet.

Evan didn't think Fred and George were wrong, but he doubted Ludo Bagman's character.

"Boys," Mr. Weasley said in a low voice, "I don't want you to bet. Your mother..."

"Don't be a killjoy, Arthur!" exclaimed Ludo Bagman, excitedly shaking his pockets. "They're old enough to know what they want! You think Ireland will win, but Krum will catch the Golden Snitch? No chance, boys, no chance. I'll give you excellent odds on that bet."

Ludo Bagman quickly pulled out a notebook and pen and began writing down the twins' names.

Mr. Weasley looked helplessly, unable to stop what was happening.

"George, calm down, you can't win!" Evan gently pulled on George's robe.

"Don't worry, we have our own ways!" George said nonchalantly.

"We have seriously analyzed all of Viktor Krum's previous games," Fred added.

"Even if you win, this guy might not pay you!" Evan raised his voice rudely.

Clearly, Bagman also heard what he said, and his face briefly showed embarrassment.

"Boys, boys, you can come out and inquire about my credibility. Old Bagman has always been ready to bet and lose!" shouted Bagman loudly, "I can use my position as Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports as collateral. But I must say, the chances of both winning are very slim!"

After this had been said, Evan said no more.

Let Fred and George learn a lesson. They will realize how terrible it would be to gamble when they don't have enough money.

He hoped they would remember this later and never gamble again.

After handing the piece of parchment to Fred, Bagman turned to Mr. Weasley. "Arthur, could you do me a favor? I've been looking for Barty Crouch. My Bulgarian counterpart is being obstructive, and I don't understand a word he's saying. Barty can sort it out. He speaks around a hundred and fifty languages."

"Mr. Crouch can speak two hundred languages!" exclaimed Percy excitedly, "including Mermish, Gobbledegook, and Troll."

Obviously, everyone thought Percy was showing off.

George mimicked and snored like a Troll, causing laughter all around.

Percy was the only one who looked disapproving but didn't respond to George.

As Bagman sat down by the fire and prepared to have a cup of tea, the conversation shifted to Bertha Jorkins.

This witch had been missing for a few months, but no one cared.

Especially given the current conditions in the Albanian forest, it was likely she had come to harm.

As Dumbledore brought up Evan and Sirius, what happened in the ruins of the Centaurs had also become known.

At Dumbledore's initiative, the International Confederation of Wizards would establish a special team to investigate the matter in Albania, but the effectiveness of this team was questionable, to say the least.

The place was originally an unbranched area, with various forces at play, and the wizards killed by vampires were all Dark wizards.

All the corpses were turned into flesh and blood, absorbed by the evil spirit and indescribable creatures, and now they had all disappeared.

The final number of victims was difficult to determine, and no one had witnessed it. No one would admit that Voldemort and the evil spirits had appeared there.