Whether You Can Win Doesn't Matter; Whether You Bet Does

Ludo Bagman was a large man, dressed in a yellow and black robe, and his overweight figure made him look almost like a wasp.

Upon entering the tent, a strange glint flashed in his eyes, and the excited expression on his face subsided somewhat.

There are thousands of tents on site, all kinds of shapes and sizes, but very few are as fully functional as these.

However, he didn't care too much. After all, he was now the Director of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, which wasn't particularly powerful. However, his position was unshakeable during the Quidditch World Cup.

"Arthur, old friend," Ludo Bagman said with a broad smile, "Your son Percy said you're here."

"He currently works at the Ministry of Magic," Arthur said with some pride, then introduced Harry, Hermione, and his children to him, since Ludo had helped them get their tickets.

He introduced Aaron and the others one by one, mentioning in the introduction that the tent belonged to them, implying that Ludo Bagman was not in a position to discuss matters of state.

"Gentlemen, would you like to place a bet on the match?"

Aaron shook his head. He didn't know much about the Quidditch World Cup. Betting... was it a gamble?

"I still stand by my original opinion: I have no interest in gambling," Lyon said.

Adrian ignored him completely and silently organized the information he had obtained about the Quidditch World Cup.

"Uncle Jeans, could you please get me an owl? I need to send a letter home."

"Okay, I'll go prepare it right away."

"Looks like nobody's interested!" Ludo Bagman, somewhat disappointed.

Arthur hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'll bet one Galleon on Ireland to win."

"One... is fine too."

Ludo Bagman's lips twitched. When others placed bets with him, the minimum was double digits of Galleon, and the maximum was half of their entire fortune.

Compared to Arthur, who was just there to make up the numbers, considering the Weasley ' family situation, there was nothing he could say; they were genuinely poor!

"We'll bet thirty-seven Galleon, fifteen Sickle, and three Knut," Fred suddenly said, and George quickly pulled out their money.

"We bet Ireland will win, and Krum will catch the Golden Snitch."

"Hmm?" Lyon looked at the Weasley twins with some surprise, a hint of admiration in his eyes. "You have good taste. That's what I was thinking too."

"Are you sure?" Arthur lowered his voice, urging, "I don't want you to gamble, and this is all your savings, your the Mother..."

"Don't be a spoilsport, Arthur," Ludo Bagman quickly interjected. "They're all grown up now, they know what they want, and I'll give them high odds."

Ludo Bagman took out a pen and paper and quickly wrote down the twins' names and their notes. He then handed them the small piece of parchment as a written agreement.

"I almost forgot about Zhengxi." Ludo Bagman slapped his forehead. "Arthur, can you help me find Barty Crouch?"

Although it's a little embarrassing, I know over 150 languages, and I need a translator now.

"Barty Crouch?" Arthur paused for a moment. "Okay, I'll keep an eye on it."

However, I suggest you go find Percy; he's working in Barty Crouch's department now.

Ludo Bagman nodded in satisfaction and walked out of the tent with the twins' betting money.

"I can tell," Lyon said, looking at Fred and George with a meaningful expression. "You two seem to be short of money!"

"It's not just him, we're all short of money," Ron said embarrassedly.

No, you may have misunderstood me.

I mean they need money, money that's very important to them.

"How did you know?" George and Fred asked in unison.

"You guys don't seem that unreliable, yet you're willing to gamble away all the money you've saved. That's a bit unusual."

"Have you committed a crime?" Arthur looked at his two sons with a worried expression, afraid that they would nod in agreement.

"No, Dad, what are you thinking?" Fred said speechlessly.

"We just need some initial funding," George added. "This is something we've been planning for a long time, but Mom doesn't seem to approve of our idea."

"Could it be Toy shop?"

The two brothers nodded in unison.

Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. He could understand his two sons. Rather than saying they were idle, it was more accurate to say they were exceptionally talented. They had never disappointed when it came to pranks.

The problem is that even if Molly agreed, her family couldn't afford to open a shop.

Lyon pulled a lollipop from Abei's pocket, ate it, and asked, "How much does it cost?"

"What do you mean?" Fred asked nervously. "Are you going to help us?"

"More or less!"

"This is no small sum of money, but we wouldn't risk all our savings gambling it away," George said.

"I'll give you two thousand Gold Galleons." Lyon held up two fingers. "Pay it back within five years. As for interest, I want you to make a hundred percent of that interest within five years."

The twin brothers looked at each other in disbelief, followed by overwhelming joy.

This is like a windfall! It's much easier than getting a loan from Gringotts.

"Wait, wait," Arthur said hastily. "What if they can't pay it back? That's two thousand Galleon."

"That's not possible, Mr. Weasley. You should have some faith in them."

"Being willing to stake everything on a single opportunity takes guts that not everyone has," said Leon. He then produced a key. "Gringotts, Vault 31."

After withdrawing the money, just give the key to Aaron, and he will return it to me.

"Thank you very much." Fred said with heartfelt gratitude.

"It's just like a father's son's," George said.

Arthur's face immediately darkened. Although he knew that the two of them had gotten a great deal, his own father was still there. Didn't he have any pride?

"George, Fred," Arthur called to them, then looked at Harry and the others with a serious expression, "Remember this, Molly absolutely, positively, absolutely must not find out about this. You don't want to see her angry, do you?"

The group shivered in unison; Mrs. Weasley was still quite frightening when she got angry.

"Also, we can't let Charlie, Bill, Percy know about it," Arthur added, "At least not until we achieve something."

"This is a secret between us," Fred said.

"Could you give me some kind of commission fee?" Ron rubbed his hands excitedly. "It shouldn't cost more than two thousand Galleon to open a shop, right?"

"I'll give you and Harry a 10% discount from now on," George said.

What?

"Take it easy, Ron," Fred patted his younger brother on the shoulder. "After all, we need to make money too."

"What about us?" Ginny asked, pulling Hermione's hand.

"It's different for girls. We'll also stock some cosmetics for them," Fred said with a smile. "You'll receive special gifts on some important holidays, and they'll be absolutely genuine."

"That's more like it."

After reassuring their younger siblings, the two brothers turned to Leon and said, "We guarantee that your investment will yield a generous return."

"He doesn't care whether there's a reward or not!" Aaron rolled his eyes. "Don't be fooled by him, two thousand Galleon is just his monthly allowance."

Everyone turned to look at Qing, who was sitting on the sofa with a lollipop in her mouth. They once again felt an indescribable sense of disappointment. This rich man was not what they had imagined!

"Instead of wasting time looking at me, you should hurry up and get your bets back." Leon smiled meaningfully. "I don't think Ludo Bagman is the kind of person who follows the rules."

"It can't be that bad, can it?" Ginny said uncertainly. "Ludo Bagman is the director of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, he's a person of some standing!"

"Hahaha." Leon laughed heartily. "Little sister, you're so cute, although you're not quite as cute as my little sister."

Why don't you think about it the other way around? When have all the respectable people ever come to someone else's tent to place bets?

One Galleon is never too little, thirty Galleon is never too much, and the odds can be raised at will... Whether you can win or not is not important, but whether you place a bet is very important.

Tsk tsk tsk! If I'm not mistaken... Ludo Bagman's life isn't as glamorous as it seems on the surface.

Upon hearing this, the Weasley twins immediately lost their composure. Although they had secured a large investment, the thirty-seven Galleon, fifteen Sickle, and three Knut represented their entire fortune, painstakingly accumulated penny by penny.

If they lose, that's fine; they're willing to gamble and afford to lose. But they don't want to put their money in the hands of someone with no credibility.

Losing is heartbreaking, but winning... well, that's even more damn heartbreaking.

Just as the two were about to go find Ludo Bagman, Arthur Weasley called them back.

"Wait, don't rush."

"Dad, I know he helped us get the tickets, but one thing is one thing," George said anxiously. "That's all our savings."

"Why didn't you listen when I told you not to bet!" Arthur said dejectedly. "I bet a Galleon myself! Do you know how difficult it is to squeeze money out of Molly?"

But since we've placed our bets, we can only wait and see. This is the Quidditch World Cup, after all; if things escalate, there'll be no end to it.

George and Fred calmed down, but their faces turned somewhat gloomy, and they even felt an urge to cry.

"There's no need to feel so wronged!" Ron tried to comfort her. "This is just a Leon."

"You can always trust my judgment," Leon said confidently.

"Um... we have some things to take care of, so we'll be leaving now."

"See you after the match begins!" Arthur said, then left the tent with his children, Harry, and Hermione.

Although Fred and George unexpectedly secured investment, they were unwilling to stay any longer.

"Looks like I'll have to be more careful when making bets in the future," Aaron sighed. "Even if I win, I might not get anything in return!"

Forget it!

"I can tell, my sister can tell, can't you tell?"

"Of course I can tell, but I won't say it."

You're still the same as before, never missing an interesting thing. And I haven't changed either; I'd rather avoid trouble.

"Don't bother me," Adrian said calmly, and Aaron and Leon immediately shut up.

The tent fell silent instantly. She sat at the desk and used a quill pen to write and draw in her notebook, sketching out the shape of a trophy.