Chapter 341 Winning is not important, placing a bet is important
Ludo Bagman looked quite burly, dressed in a yellow and black robe, his portly figure making him resemble a bumblebee.
After entering the tent, a strange glint flashed in his eyes, and the excited expression on his face also subsided a little.
There were thousands of tents in the field, all strange and varied, but very few were as fully functional as this one.
However, he didn't pay too much attention to it. After all, he was currently the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports in the Ministry of Magic. While not overly powerful, his position was unshakeable during the Quidditch World Cup.
"Arthur, old chap," Bagman said, his face wreathed in smiles, "your son Percy said you were here."
"He's currently working at the Ministry of Magic," Arthursaid with a hint of pride, then introduced Harry, Hermione, and his own children to him, as Ludo had helped them get their tickets.
As for Aaron and the others, he introduced them one by one, mentioning during the introduction that this tent was theirs, hinting to Bagman that it wasn't suitable for discussing serious matters.
"Everyone, fancy a bet on the match?"
Aaron shook his head. He didn't know much about the Quidditch World Cup. Bet... on luck?
"I still stick to my original view, but I'm not interested in gambling," Leon said.
Adrian didn't even acknowledge him, silently organizing the information she had gathered about the Quidditch World Cup.
"Uncle Gines, please prepare an owl for me. I need to send a letter home."
"Alright, I'll go prepare it now."
"Looks like no one's playing along!" Bagman said, a little disappointed.
Arthur hesitated for a moment. "I'll bet one Galleon on Ireland to win."
"One... that'll do."
Bagman's mouth twitched. Others betting with him usually placed at least double-digit Galleons, and the highest even staked half their net worth.
Compared to them, Arthur was practically just making up the numbers, but thinking of the Weasley family's situation, he couldn't say anything. They were truly poor!
"We're betting thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen sickles, and three knuts," Fred suddenly said, and George quickly pulled out their money.
"We're betting on Ireland to win, but Krum will catch the Golden Snitch."
"Hmm?" Leon looked at the Weasley brothers with some surprise, a hint of admiration in his eyes. "Good insight, I thought so too."
"Are you sure?" Arthur lowered his voice, advising, "I don't want you to gamble, and this is all your savings. Your mother..."
"Don't be a spoilsport, Arthur," Bagman quickly interjected. "They're grown up now and know what they want. Besides, I'll give them very good odds."
Bagman said, taking out a pen and paper, quickly writing down the twins' names and their bet. Then he handed them the small piece of parchment as a receipt.
"Almost forgot the main thing," Bagman patted his head. "Arthur, could you help me find Barty Crouch?
He might be a bit awkward, but he speaks over a hundred and fifty languages, and I need a translator right now."
"Barty Crouch?" Arthur paused. "Alright, I'll keep an eye out.
But I suggest you look for Percy; he works in Barty Crouch's department now."
Bagman nodded in satisfaction and left the tent with the twins' betting money.
"I can tell," Leon said, looking meaningfully at Fred and George, "you two seem to be very short on money!"
"It's not just him, we're all short on money," Ron said, embarrassed.
"No, you might be misunderstanding my meaning.
I mean they need a sum of money, and this money is very important to them."
"How do you know?" George and Fred asked in unison.
"You don't look that unreliable, but you'd bet all your saved money, which is a bit unusual."
"Are you in trouble?" Arthur looked at his two sons with worry, afraid they might nod.
"No, Dad, what are you thinking?" Fred said, speechless.
"We just need some startup capital," George added. "This is something we planned a long time ago, but Mom never seemed to approve of our idea."
"It wouldn't be a joke shop, would it?"
The two brothers nodded in unison.
Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. He could understand his two sons. Rather than saying they were neglecting their proper duties, it was more accurate to say they were exceptionally talented. In terms of pranks, they had never disappointed anyone.
But the problem was, even if Molly agreed, their family couldn't scrape together the money to open a shop.
Leon pulled a lollipop from Abey's pocket, eating it as he asked, "How much money do you need?"
"What do you mean?" Fred asked nervously, "Are you going to help us?"
"Something like that!"
"It's not a small sum, otherwise we wouldn't have gambled all our savings," George said.
"I'll give you two thousand Galleons," Leon said, holding up two fingers. "Pay it back within five years, and as for interest, I want ten percent of your net profit within five years."
The twin brothers exchanged glances, but then came the ecstasy.
It was like manna from heaven; this was much easier than a loan from Gringotts.
"Wait, wait," Arthur quickly said, "what if they can't pay it back? That's two thousand Galleons."
"That's not possible, Mr. Weasley, you should have some faith in them.
To stake all their net worth on a chance, that kind of courage isn't something everyone has," Leon said admiringly, then took out a key. "Gringotts, Vault 31.
After you withdraw the money, just give the key to Aaron, and he'll return it to me."
"Thank you very much," Fred said with genuine gratitude.
"You're practically our second parents," George said.
Arthur's face immediately darkened. Although he knew his two sons had gotten a great deal, their actual parents were right there. Didn't he have any pride?
"George, Fred," Arthur called them, then looked seriously at Harry and the others. "Remember, this absolutely, absolutely, absolutely cannot be known by Molly. You don't want to see her angry, do you!"
Everyone shivered. Mrs. Weasley was quite terrifying when she got angry.
"Also, Charlie, Bill, and Percy mustn't know either," Arthuradded. "At least not until you've achieved something."
"This is our secret," Fred said.
"Then can we get some facilitation fee (bounty/tip) or something?" Ron rubbed his hands excitedly. "Just opening a shop shouldn't cost two thousand Galleons, right!"
"We'll give you and Harry a ten percent discount later," George said.
"What?"
"Look on the bright side, Ron," Fred patted his brother's shoulder. "After all, we need to make money too."
"What about us?" Ginny said, holding Hermione's hand.
"Girls are different. We'll also stock some cosmetics," Fredchuckled. "On important holidays, you'll receive special gifts, absolutely genuine."
"That's more like it."
After appeasing their younger siblings, the brothers looked at Leon. "We guarantee your investment will yield handsome returns."
"He doesn't care about returns!" Aaron rolled his eyes. "Don't let him fool you; two thousand Galleons is his monthly pocket money."
Everyone looked in unison at the young man on the sofa, sucking on a lollipop. They once again felt an indescribable psychological disparity; this rich man was not what they imagined!
"Instead of staring at me, you should hurry and get your betting money back," Leon said with a knowing smile. "I don't think Ludo Bagman is the type of person who plays by the rules."
"It can't be, can it?" Ginny said uncertainly. "Mr. Bagman is the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports; he's a person of some standing!"
"Hahaha," Leon laughed uncharitably. "Sister, you're so cute, though there's a certain gap compared to my sister.
Why don't you think about it in reverse: when do people of standing come to other people's tents to find people to bet?
One Galleon is not too little, thirty Galleons is not too much, and the odds are raised at will... whether you win or lose isn't important, but whether you bet is very important.
Tsk, tsk, tsk! If I'm not mistaken... Mr. Bagman isn't as glamorous as he appears."
The Weasley brothers couldn't hold back when they heard this. Although they had secured a large investment, those thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen sickles, and three knuts were their entire savings, painstakingly accumulated one coin at a time.
If they lost, so be it; if they dared to bet, they could afford to lose. But they didn't want to stake their money on someone without credibility.
Losing would be heartbreaking, but winning... that would be even more heartbreaking.
Just as the two were about to go find Ludo Bagman, Mr. Arthur Weasley called out to them.
"Wait, don't be so hasty."
"Dad, I know he helped us get our tickets, but that's a separate matter," George said anxiously. "That's all our savings."
"Why didn't you listen when I told you not to bet earlier!" Arthur said, exasperated. "I also bet one Galleon! Do you know how hard it is to get any money from Molly?
But since we've placed the bet, we can only wait for the result. This is the Quidditch World Cup; if we make a big fuss, it'll be hard to resolve."
George and Fred also calmed down, but their faces turned somewhat gloomy, even feeling an urge to cry.
"There's no need to be so upset!" Ron tried to comfort them. "This is just Leon's guess."
"You can always trust my judgment," Leon said confidently.
"Um... we have some things to do, so we'll be leaving first.
See you after the match starts!" Arthur said, then left the tent with his children, Harry, and Hermione.
Although Fred and George had unexpectedly secured an investment, they were too embarrassed to stay any longer.
"It seems I'll have to be more careful when betting with people in the future," Aaron lamented. "Even winning doesn't necessarily mean a good outcome!"
"Oh, come on!
I can see it, our sister can see it, can't you see it?"
"I can naturally see it, but I won't say it.
You're still the same as before, never missing out on interesting things, and I haven't changed either; less trouble is better than more trouble."
"Don't disturb me," Adrian said indifferently, and Aaron and Leon immediately fell silent.
The tent instantly became quiet. She sat at the desk, writing and drawing in a notebook with a quill, sketching the shape of a trophy.