The Shadow Behind the Scenes

"Sorry, Bagman, but I really have something to do and need to leave today," Sirius said with feigned helplessness. "Help me settle the remaining Galleons first."

"You're really not staying to watch the Quidditch World Cup final?" Bagman looked as though he had heard something unbelievable, his expression exaggerated. "This is the World Cup final, and you're just leaving? Harry will be terribly disappointed. England hasn't won the trophy in thirty years. This is a very rare opportunity."

"No, I have to go." Sirius glanced at Lupin, who was packing up, and shook his head. "Harry will stay to watch the final, though. The Weasley Family is coming to watch the Quidditch World Cup final today, and I've asked Arthur to look after the children."

Bagman was still unwilling to simply let Sirius leave. The fellow before him had won a huge sum of Galleons from him without losing a single bet.

Damn it!

"Look, Arthur's already here." Sirius raised a hand and pointed somewhere.

Bagman followed Sirius's finger and saw the distinctive Weasley red hair.

"All right, then do you want to keep betting? Ireland has a very high chance of winning this year." Seeing that changing the subject had not worked, Bagman tried another approach. "Agatha Timms thinks the final will last a week, and she's even wagered half the shares in Eel Farm."

"I quite agree with you, and I believe Ireland will win too, but I don't think the match will last that long. Bulgaria's Krum is an excellent Seeker. It's hard to imagine him failing to catch the Golden Snitch for an entire week." Sirius chatted away with Bagman as if he had once been an outstanding Quidditch player himself.

"To be honest, I think Krum is better than Lynch and more likely to catch