Shadow Behind the Scenes

"Sorry, Bagman, but I really have to leave today," Sirius said with feigned helplessness. "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. Britain 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 let Sirius leave just like that. The man in front of him had won a huge sum of Galleons from him and had not lost once.

Damn it!

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

Bagman followed Sirius's finger and spotted the distinctly Weasley red hair.

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

"I agree with you, and I believe Ireland will win, 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 smoothly with Bagman. Anyone unaware of the truth might have thought Sirius had once been an outstanding Quidditch player himself.

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