The Wager (Thanks to Wandu Tinglan for the support-thank you!)
"This is amazing! I've never seen anything this fun in all my years! I'd pay five Galleon for it!"
Percy was both surprised and annoyed, and stood there for a moment.
"Children," Mr. Weasley said in a low voice, "I really don't want you to gamble... because that's all your savings... and your mother..."
"Don't spoil the fun, Arthur!" Ludo Bagman protested, rattling excitedly at the money in his pocket. "They're all grown up now, they know what they're doing! You think Ireland will win, but Krum will catch the Golden Snitch, right? I'm telling you, absolutely not! Kids, you have no chance of winning. So, to encourage you, I'll make an exception and raise the odds for you. How about it? I'll give you five Galleon for that ridiculous wand, okay? I'm being really generous. So, shall we..."
Mr. Weasley watched with disappointment as Ludo Bagman took out his notebook and quill and quickly wrote down Fred and George's names.
"Okay! Then wish us good luck!" George took the small piece of parchment Bagman handed him, tucked it into the front of his robe, and carefully preserved it.
"Mr. Bagman. Ludo Bagman, may I also take a gamble?" Su Yu said casually from the side.
"Oh? Young Master Sue Fuli also wants to join? Of course! May I ask which side you'd like to join?" Ludo Bagman was even more excited. This was a big client! If things went well, he could make a fortune.
"I'm like the Weasley twins. Here's what we'll do, Isolde, go and get a Gringotts Goblin to be the notary. Let's bet 100,000 Galleon. It's just for fun, anyway. But you'd better think this through, Mr. Director. That's 100,000 Galleon. At 10 to 1, that'll be a million."
Ludo Bagman hesitated for a moment, then thought, how could he possibly lose such an obscure bet? Besides, he was heavily in debt to the Goblin and desperately needed money through gambling to fill the hole. Su Yu saw his hesitation, his greed, and his gritted teeth. Given Bagman's greedy, opportunistic, and gambler-like nature, Su Yu was certain he would take the risk and continue, especially since it was worth 100,000 Galleon.
"Accept! How could we not accept? You agree, right, Mr. Sue Fuli? I, Ludo Bagman, accept this bet! Let's sign it right now!"
Ludo Bagman quickly wrote down everything on the parchment and handed it to Su Yu Su Yu, who didn't even look at it before passing it directly to Isolde.
The Weasley twins looked at Su Yu with envy, dreaming of when they could have that day too. Meanwhile, Mr. Weasley watched Su Yu with concern, repeatedly urging him to calm down and not spend money so recklessly. He said Su Yu should discuss it with his family; 100,000 Galleon was no small sum...
"Then I'll join in!" Just as Mr. Weasley was still earnestly trying to persuade Su Yu, another blond boy emerged from a nearby tent. It was none other than Young Master Malfoy. He stepped forward, greeted Su Yu respectfully, and then gave the Weasley family a mocking look. "Chief Su Yu bet 100,000 Galleon, right? Well, my Malfoy family will bet 10,000 Galleon too! It's just two months' allowance, a piece of cake! Just like the Chief, whatever he bets, I'll bet!"
Ludo Bagman was beaming with joy; he now had 110,000 Galleon in his pocket. If that were his salary, it would take forever. He quickly wrote another note to Marfor, then realized he hadn't gotten down to business yet. He turned to look at Mr. Weasley.
"Oh, right, there's something else. I came out looking for Barty Crouch. There's someone in Bulgaria who's in charge of the same department as me, and he's deliberately making things difficult for us... But I can't understand a word he's saying, and I still don't know if they're cursing at us. So I need Barty's help, because he's the only one here who speaks Bulgaria, and he speaks about 150 languages."
"Mr. Crouch?" Percy jumped for joy at the mention of Old Barty's name. "Not just that! He speaks two hundred languages! Mermaid, lizard, and Troll ..."
"Is speaking the language of Troll really that difficult?" Fred said dismissively, then stretched out his hands and began to imitate them, making grunting noises.
"See? It's that simple!" George chimed in from the side.
Percy glared at Fred and George.
Bagman looked around. Su Yu hadn't prepared a stool for him, so he found a patch of grass and sat down.
"It's been so long, is there any news about Bertha Jorkins, Ludo?" Mr. Weasley asked quietly.
"Nothing at all, not even a little bit," Bagman said, but there was no worry on his face. "Don't worry, she'll definitely show up. It's just that poor old Bertha ... She probably has dementia, not even as good as my goldfish. My goldfish at least has a seven-second memory! Plus, she can't tell east from west, she's probably, probably, probably lost... Yes! Lost! Don't worry, even if she's lost, she can find her way home, can't she?"
"Don't you think we should send some men to laugh at her right now?" Mr. Weasley tentatively suggested.
"You're just like Barty Crouch," Bagman said, his eyes widening with an air of nonchalance. "But we're really short-handed right now, you don't know the reality, Arthur. I'm in a tough spot too... sigh... but... hey! Talk about perfect timing, Barty! Over here! Come on over!"
(The following is a note. I estimate that many people will not understand this suddenly appearing character, Bertha Jorkins. She has not even appeared in the movie. However, she is the fuse of the Goblet of Fire. It can be said that without her, there would be no Goblet of Fire.)
In the original work:
Bertha Jorkins, a common wizard in the Department of Magical Games and Sports at the Ministry of Magic, is under Bagman's command. She is two years ahead of Sirius and his Sirius, and was born around 1958.
Personality: Extremely gossipy, very curious, talkative, not very bright, has a bad memory, and is constantly being transferred within the Ministry of Magic because nobody wants her.
Her first misfortune came when she discovered that Barty Crouch Jr. was still alive! She went to Old Barty Crouch family to deliver some documents and stumbled upon the House-elf Winky talking to the Invisibility Cloak. She then realized that the person under the Invisibility Cloak was Barty Crouch Jr.— Voldemort's loyal servant, whom everyone thought had died in Azkaban.
She confronted old Crouch directly, Crouch fearing the secret would be revealed, he cast a powerful Obliviate on her, erasing the memory, but damaging her brain and making her even more forgetful and confused.
Her second misfortune occurred in the summer of 1994. While vacationing in Albania (where Voldemort was hiding in the forest), she encountered Peter Pettigrew at an inn. He tricked her into going to the forest, where she was brought before Voldemort. Voldemort used torture to break Crouch's Obliviate, extracting two crucial pieces of information from her: 1. The Triwizard Tournament was to be held at Hogwarts. 2. Barty Crouch Jr. was still alive, hidden at home by his father.
These two pieces of intelligence directly led Voldemort to devise a plan: to have Barty. impersonate Mad-Eye Moody to enter Hogwarts, get Harry into the Triwizard Tournament, and finally resurrect him using Harry's blood.
Here comes the important part: after using her, Voldemort killed her with Avada Kedavra and used her death to turn the giant snake Nagini into Horcrux (Voldemort's seventh Horcrux).
This is the life of Bertha Jorkins, the life of a tragic little woman.