Debut

"I can't believe so many people support the Ireland team!"

Ron angrily counted the classmates he had encountered on the way, "Ernie, Dean, Seamus, Seamus's mother, and Cho Chang who was with Cedric... They have absolutely no idea about Krum's strength!"

Ron muttered indignantly, "They only care that Krum looks a bit gloomy, they have no idea he's a genius, and only eighteen years old, who will be the brightest star player in the next few decades... They'll find out tonight..."

Harry and Ginny both remained silent.

They were walking through the Bulgaria fans' camp, where Krum posters were everywhere, making it look like there were countless Krum winking and frowning at them.

Harry felt he would have nightmares if he stayed here for too long.

Harry paused for a moment, then decided to change the subject. "It's really unexpected that Captain Wood has signed a contract to become a substitute player for Puddlemere United. I thought he had been recruited by Professor McGonagall."

Because of Percy, Ginny knew a little about the school's business. She thought for a moment, "Perhaps Professor McGonagall's business hasn't expanded into the Quidditch industry yet. Maybe she'll start a club when she retires."

Ron's thoughts drifted off course, and he muttered, "Puddlemere United is indeed good, but I think he should go to Chudley Cannons..."

"Being a professional player feels good too, maybe we'll..."

The three of them started chatting casually.

Loren and Hermione weren't particularly interested in the Quidditch League; they found the bizarre behavior of the many wizards in the camp far more intriguing.

The camp was filled with all sorts of people, among whom some strikingly dressed wizards stood out. For example, on the right, three Africa male wizards sat there, talking seriously, all wearing long white robes, roasting something that looked like a wild rabbit over a blazing purple fire. Another group of middle-aged United States Witch sat there chatting and laughing, a Winky banner hanging high between their tents: Salem Academy of Witches.

In addition, Loren also saw "Beauxbatons," "Ilvermorny," and "Castelobruxo"...

Some people flew across the grass on broomsticks, attracting the attention of Ministry of Magic employees who chased after them; some people stared at matches and questioned their existence; and some people used their wands to start flames that didn't need fuel.

A short distance ahead, a Ministry of Magic employee held up a pair of pinstriped trousers and angrily shouted at an old wizard, "Please, Archie, put these on! You can't walk around like this; that Muggle at the gate is already getting suspicious—"

"I bought these pants at a Muggle store!" The old wizard opposite me seemed greatly insulted, pointing glaringly at his floral nightgown. "Muggle wear these too!"

The Ministry of Magic employee looked miserable. "Muggle women wear this, Archie. Men don't wear it. Men wear this."

"I'm not wearing it. I'd rather let the healthy breeze blow on my butt. Thank you." The old wizard turned his head, picked up his nightgown, and ran away, his hairy, withered legs barely visible.

Loren and Hermione subtly averted their gazes and fell into a long silence.

If your eyes are dirty, you need to look at some normal scenery to cleanse them.

Loren suddenly turned his eyes and looked behind him very abruptly, gazing thoughtfully at the strange tents.

Hermione followed his gaze but saw nothing. She asked in confusion, "What are you looking at?"

Loren said uncertainly, "I think I felt a very familiar Magic Power fluctuation just now."

"A classmate from Hogwarts?"

"It can't be found after that."

"That's not surprising, we've met a lot of familiar people along the way."

Loren nodded thoughtfully, his attention quickly drawn to a child.

In front of a pale yellow tent, a little boy of about two or three years old squatted on the ground, gripping a magic wand almost as long as himself as a spear. His eyes were fixed on a slug slowly wriggling on the grass. After a few seconds of thought, he reached out and poked the slug with his wand.

The slug's body began to swell rapidly, soon becoming the size of a sausage, and it was wriggling happily on the grass.

At that moment, the boy's mother screamed as she ran out of the tent, "How many times have I told you, Kevin? You're not allowed to touch your father's wand!"

She stepped on the fat slug, and with a bang, the worm's internal organs mixed with a bluish-white, sticky liquid splattered everywhere, covering the child.

Hermione was startled by what she saw and quickly pulled Loren along to quicken their pace.

In the center of the camp, on the Fourth Floor of the luxurious palace tent, a tall woman with a thick jaw and very thin lips suddenly emerged from the window. Her dark eyes were fixed on the boy with the lightning bolt scar on his forehead, her gaze wandering among the tents.

"..."

Bellatrix gave a cruel smile, "Master, I can offer Harry Potter to you right now, just give the word."

A cold, hoarse voice came from inside the tent. "Fool, the moment you make a move, you'll be drowned in countless curses."

Bellatrix's sinister smile vanished, "We can take advantage of the chaos tonight."

"Don't do anything unnecessary. You just need to create chaos and buy time for the Werewolf guarding Azkaban..."

The cold, shrill voice was filled with pleasure. "Many of our former close friends are here. I can feel them... It's so nostalgic..."

Hearing Lucius scolding the House-elf downstairs, Bellatrix couldn't wait to stir up trouble, a sly smile spreading across her face.

"If Lucius knew that you, Master, were hiding in his tent, I wonder if he would once again show an expression of honor on his face?"

"Be patient... it will be soon..."

When they returned to camp with water, Molly was busy inside and outside the tent with the Twins, Arthur had already lit a fire and was sitting around it, chatting with a strange male wizard in his forties or fifties, pulling Percy aside.

"Isn't the weather great? It's fantastic! Where else can you find weather like this! There definitely won't be any clouds tonight... The whole preparation is going very smoothly... I have nothing to do!" the strange male wizard said proudly.

Loren looked around but didn't see Charlie and Bill; they had probably gone somewhere else.

Arthur waved to them excitedly. "Hey, you're back! Come on over, let me introduce you to some of the most important people right now! Ludo Bagman!"

Loren and the others looked at the middle-aged wizard Bagman. He wore Quidditch robe with wide yellow and black stripes, and a huge wasp was splattered across his chest. The veins on his exposed arms were clearly visible, with the main veins bulging, but the muscle lines were no longer obvious, and the skin was somewhat loose.

Loren guessed that he must have been physically strong when he was young, with neat short blond hair, slightly protruding blue eyes, a flat nose as if it had been broken, and many marks on his body that showed that he had once been a big man.

They put down the kettle and stew pot filled with water and went around the fire.

"Look, Ludo, you should know all my kids. Ginny, my daughter, Ron, he'll be in fourth grade next year..." Arthur proudly introduced, "This is Loren, this is Hermione, and this is Harry, Harry Potter!"

"Hello, Mr. Bagman."

Bagman glanced instinctively at the scar on Harry's head. Surprisingly, however, he didn't press Harry for answers. Instead, he seemed more interested in the well-dressed Loren and Hermione, scrutinizing the obviously expensive material of their clothes. His eyes lit up slightly as he restrained himself and greeted them, "Hello!"

Arthur continued, "This is Ludo Bagman. You know who he is? He's the Director of Sports and Physical Education at the Ministry of Magic. We got these great tickets thanks to him!"

Bagman, all smiles, waved his hand to indicate that it was nothing, and looked around with interest. "How about we continue our previous topic? Want to place a bet on the match?"

Bagman rattled the pockets of his yellow and black robe, which seemed to be full of gold coins. "I've convinced Roddy Pontner to bet with me that Bulgaria will score the first goal. I've given him very high odds because I consider that Ireland's number three striker is the best I've seen in years."

Just then, Molly finished her work and came over with a kettle, placing it on the fire. From the moment she approached until she left, she didn't give Bagman a single pleasant look.

George sat down next to Harry, turned his head away and muttered, "We were planning to make a fortune, but I'm worried Mom will break our hands."

Fred nodded repeatedly, looking full of regret.

"...Little Agatha Timms has staked half of her eel farm stock on a bet that the contest will last a week," Bagman rambled on.

Arthur opened his mouth, then slowly said, "Oh, alright then, let me think... I'll bet one Galleon on Ireland to win, is that okay?"

"One Galleon? Okay... I can give you a higher odds..." Ludo Bagman's expression was a little stiff. He quickly wrote it down in his notebook, then tore off a small strip of parchment and handed it to Arthur. He then turned to the others by the fire with an expectant look. "Anyone else want to try? It only comes around once every four years."

"They're too young to gamble..." Arthur felt the receipt burning in his hand at the thought of Molly in the tent, and forced himself to say, "Besides, neither their mother nor I want them to—"

"Don't be a spoilsport, Arthur!" Ludo Bagman said in a gruff voice, excitedly jingling the money in his pockets as he looked expectantly at Loren and Hermione. "They're all grown up now, they know what they want, and we can't keep treating them like little kids."

"Mr. Bagman ..." Loren looked at him with interest, "I just heard you freely decide the betting content and adjust the odds. Is this a betting platform you run privately?"

Bagman, probably being asked this question by a young wizard for the first time, was somewhat taken aback. "Oh, well, I guess so."

"Can you make money doing this? I mean, without controlling the odds and not setting up betting strategies, what if there are large-scale losses?" Loren asked.

George and Fred, who had been eyeing him for a while, finally realized what was going on and looked at Mr. Bagman with thoughtful expressions.

"This..." Bagman's expression froze for a moment, then he put on a hearty smile again. "I don't intend to make money from this. It's just a hobby in my spare time, to relax!"

Loren laughed and said, "I see. Then we won't participate."

Hermione nodded in agreement; she had a very bad impression of this Mr. Bagman.

"Oh, okay... okay..." Ludo Bagman seemed a little disappointed. Noticing the change in the expressions of the people around him, he quickly changed the subject with a forced smile. "Could you do me a favor? Tell him to come to me as soon as he sees Barty Crouch. I just came from the camp entrance, and someone saw him with Bertha Jokins. Ah, just as I was talking about him, here he comes, Barty!"

Two wizards suddenly appeared in Apparition beside their campfire, a man and a woman. The male wizard was a man in his fifties, with short, neatly styled black hair, the part in the middle of which was unnaturally straight, and a fine, long mustache, each strand perfectly aligned. He stood ramrod straight, his movements stiff, wearing a spotless, crisp suit, a tie, and gleaming leather shoes.

No one would doubt that he was a Muggle bank manager.

The Witch, on the other hand, was much younger and dressed rather casually. She had long golden hair draped over her shoulders, and the Fairy on her hair clip would occasionally flap her wings. She wore a crooked Muggle coat and looked very unnatural.

"Mr. Crouch, Ms. Jokins," Percy greeted politely.

"Sit down and rest for a bit, Barty, Bertha," Bagman said with a smile, patting the grass beside him.

Before Crouch could speak, Bertha Jokins had already skipped over, sat down without any hesitation, casually placed her wand on the grass, and began chattering, "Oh, thank you, Ludo... My feet are hurting, you have no idea how long I've walked this morning, from..."

Bertha Jokins looked thoughtful and puzzled, but couldn't recall where she had come from or where she had gone, and stood there for a moment in a daze.

Crouch frowned, slowly walked over to Bagman, but did not sit down. "I've been looking for you everywhere, Ludo. The Bulgarians insist that we add twelve more seats to the top-floor box."

"Oh, so that's what they wanted. I thought..."

"There's something I've been wanting to tell you, Arthur. Ali Bashir wants to talk to you about the regulations regarding the embargo on flying Flying Carpet."

"Oh, I've told him a hundred times already, carpets are classified as Muggle handicrafts in the magical item register..."

As they began to chat, Loren considered leaving, but seeing Hermione listening intently, even looking like she wanted to take out her notebook to write things down, he had no choice but to stay.