Chapter 34: Business Genius Weasley
"Shall we raise the stakes a bit?" Malfoy said, smugly clapping his hands. Crabbe and Goyle, who were standing behind him, immediately understood and started rummaging through their pockets. After a while, they only managed to produce two Galleons and eight Sickles.
Seeing his two lackeys so poor, Malfoy's face fell a bit. He promptly pulled out four Galleons from his Robe and slapped them on the table.
"I only have three Galleons, fifteen Sickles, and twenty Knuts", Ivan said, quickly taking out all his money from his pocket when he saw Malfoy take the bait.
"It doesn't matter; this is enough. The bet is on!" Malfoy raised an eyebrow and smiled. He just wanted to empty Ivan's pockets.
If he lost, it was only a measly four Galleons. But if he won, the damned Ivan would probably be living in poverty for a long time.
Don't think that after paying the tuition at Hogwarts School, everything else is free. Buying living supplies, materials for extra potion-making, gifts, snacks, and other miscellaneous items all require money.
Malfoy was looking forward to seeing Ivan borrow money to get by.
"Alright, it's a deal!" Malfoy offered the money, and Ivan, of course, wouldn't refuse. An extra Galleon could buy a lot of materials.
As for whether he would lose?
Ivan thought the probability was pitifully low. If he couldn't even take this bet, how could he quickly earn Galleons? In his dreams, maybe.
Successfully tricking Malfoy, Ivan felt particularly pleased. After the match, he would have seven Galleons, which should satisfy most of his needs.
"Ivan, what did you say to Malfoy just now?"
With a good mood, Ivan returned to the Gryffindor table, and Harry and Ron immediately came over, curious.
"Nothing much, just that I bet Malfoy that Harry will catch the Golden Snitch in the match a few days from now, ensuring Gryffindor's victory", Ivan said.
"How could you do that? Gambling isn't a good thing. What if Professor Mcgonagall finds out?" Hermione frowned.
"Come on, who's going to tell Professor Mcgonagall if you don't?" Ron said nonchalantly.
Hearing Ivan's words, Ron was tempted to go and bet with Malfoy himself.
Harry, on the other hand, felt the pressure mounting.
After finishing dinner, Ivan was about to return to the dormitory when he was intercepted by the Weasley Brothers.
George pulled Ivan aside with a mysterious look, looked around to make sure no one was around, and then whispered,
"Ivan, we overheard your conversation with Malfoy just now."
"Are you interested in making some Galleons with us?" Fred chimed in.
"Cooperation? Developing Magic Trick Items?" Ivan glanced at the system bar, where his Magic Item Crafting proficiency had been stagnant for a long time, and suddenly became interested.
"How did you know we were planning to develop this?" George and Fred looked at each other, surprised.
"Wasn't it obvious?" Ivan shrugged, not wanting to reveal that he knew their future.
"Of course not, we still lack the funds needed for development! If we're ready, you're welcome to join us!" Since Ivan wasn't saying anything, George stopped pressing, and Fred spoke straightforwardly.
"We mean to set up a betting pool for the upcoming match, and we're sure to make a fortune!"
"But we lack the funds, and as team members, we can't be the ones to initiate it, which is why we thought of you."
After saying this, the two of them looked at Ivan with anxious expressions.
"You're not planning to throw the match and intentionally lose, are you?" Ivan considered a possibility.
"How could we do that? Are we that kind of people?" George shouted angrily, and Fred also spoke with a furious tone.
"Besides, we've lost for so many years in a row. Who would bet on us winning? Fixing the match won't even earn us Galleons!"
Ivan's apology was stuck in his throat. He felt that Wood would cry if he knew what these two were thinking.
However, George and Fred were getting more and more excited as they spoke.
"This time, with Harry as our ace, we're bound to pull off a huge upset. He's the best Seeker I've ever seen. We're definitely going to win!"
"Yeah, and we can adjust the odds to make Slytherin's look higher and Gryffindor's lower. Those Slytherins will be angry enough to hand over their money without a second thought!"
The more they talked, the more schemes they came up with. They even thought about bribing Lee Jordan, the match commentator, to stir up trouble for the other team, though he was already a passionate Gryffindor supporter and would likely favor Gryffindor even without the bribe.
Ivan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and suddenly felt that Joel was too talented to just run a joke items shop. With his business acumen, he should be managing official Quidditch betting pools.
Guaranteed to make a fortune.
"Alright, I agree. How many Galleons do you have left?" Ivan thought for a moment and felt that George and Fred's plan wasn't flawed. Given the prideful nature of those Slytherins, they might easily fall for it, and it would also give the twins a taste of the real world's challenges.
"Five Galleons. That's all we have." Joel and Fred gritted their teeth and handed over all the money they had.
"Add mine, and we should have enough capital." Ivan nodded and then discussed the details with the two of them.
Ivan pondered for a moment and added, "However, don't tell Jordan about the betting pool. If it gets exposed, he might face severe penalties as the commentator."
"Alright, that makes sense", George nodded cautiously after some thought.
Fred then said, "We'll cast a Secrecy Charm on everyone involved. If anyone breaks the agreement or leaks information, they'll face severe punishment."
"Then the deal is set?" Ivan nodded and extended his right wrist.
"Yep, the deal is set!" The Weasley brothers mirrored his action, and then Joel waved his wand, creating a mark on all three of their wrists.
Ivan checked the system panel and saw that a new status had indeed appeared. The effect was that if the agreement was broken, their tongues would swell to five times their size for an entire week.
While it wasn't a particularly severe consequence, it should be enough to deter the underage young wizards.
Considering the prideful nature of the Slytherin students, as long as the bet was won fairly, they would likely be too angry to report it even if they were upset.
With that thought, Ivan's lips curled into a slight smile. This way, the Galleons needed to buy the potion should be sufficient.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
