His nose was flat, but his round blue eyes, short golden hair, and rosy cheeks made him look like an oversized schoolboy.
From the first moment Harry saw Mr. Bagman, he even thought the title of "Old Bumblebee" by Dumbledore might be in jeopardy.
"Ludo! Ludo!"
The voice of Weasley came from afar, and everyone followed the direction of the sound, just in time to see Mr. Weasley rush over from the distance like a gust of wind.
"Ah-ha!" Bagman raised his hands high, waving them happily.
He walked with a bounce as if he had springs under his feet, and the hopping and waving of his hands looked completely like he'd welcome a bowl of general's seaweed egg soup.
"Arthur, old buddy," he said, panting as he arrived beside Mr. Weasley, "Isn't the weather great? The weather is amazing! Such weather is hard to find! No clouds tonight… The preparation work is organized… I have nothing to do!"
Just as he finished speaking, a group of weary-looking Ministry of Magic officials rushed past them.
Signs from afar suggested someone was playing with Demon Fire, purple sparks rising over twenty feet high.
"Hello, Mr. Bagman, hello."
Percy approached, extending his hand to shake Ludo Bagman's - even though he didn't quite admire Mr. Bagman's looseness, it didn't mean he didn't want to make a good impression.
After all, he was the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports.
"Ah - right," Mr. Weasley laughed, "This is my son Percy… just started work at the Ministry of Magic - this is Fred - no, it's George, sorry - that's Fred - Bill, Charlie, Ron - my daughter Ginny - this is Ron's friend, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter… and Harry's girl… um, friend - girlfriend, Cassandra Malfoy and Miss Vilatia Grindelwald."
Upon hearing Harry's name, Bagman seemed slightly surprised, his eyes immediately scanning Harry's forehead scar, which Harry had grown accustomed to.
And upon hearing the surnames Malfoy and Grindelwald, Mr. Bagman was even more surprised, especially with the surname Grindelwald...
But being a seasoned officer of the Ministry of Magic, he of course knew what not to ask.
"Let me introduce you all," Mr. Weasley continued, "This is Ludo Bagman, you know who he is, thanks to him we got such a nice box—"
Bagman beamed, waving his hand as if saying it's nothing.
"Want to place a bet on the match, Arthur?" he asked eagerly, jingling the pockets of his yellow-black robe, evidently filled with gold coins, "I've convinced Roddy Pontene to bet with me; he says Bulgaria will score first—I've given him high odds, because I consider Ireland's third striker to be the best I've seen in years—Little Agatha Timms has put half the shares of her eel farm on the line, betting the match will last a week."
"Oh… alright then," Mr. Weasley said, "Let me think… I'll put one Galleons on Ireland winning, okay?"
"One Galleons?" Ludo Bagman looked somewhat disappointed but soon regained his interest, "Very good, very good… Anyone else want to bet?"
"They are too young to gamble." Mr. Weasley said, "Molly wouldn't want—"
"We'll put up thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickle, and three Nat," Fred said, as he and George quickly took out their money, "betting Ireland wins—but Victor Krum will catch the Golden Snitch—oh, and we'll add a fake magic wand."
"Do you mean to show those junk to Mr. Bagman—" Percy said, lowering his voice.
But Mr. Bagman didn't seem to think fake magic wands were rubbish at all; he took the wand from Fred, and it squawked loudly before turning into a rubber chicken, making Mr. Bagman laugh heartily, his childlike face full of excitement.
"Fantastic! I haven't seen something so realistic in years! I'll give five Galleons to buy it!"
"Haha! I knew someone would recognize the quality!" The Weasley Twins said excitedly, "We've brought lots of these toy magic wands, about a hundred—hoping we can sell them for a good price here…"
"And what about you?" Mr. Ludo Bagman glanced at Harry and then at Vivi.
Vivi's eyes flashed with a violet light.
"Um—" Vivi pondered for a moment, casting a glance at the expecting Weasley Twins, and took out one hundred Golden Galleons from her wallet.
"I'll put up one hundred Golden Galleons." She said with a sweet smile: "The same bet as the pair of replicas, Ireland wins—but Victor Krum will catch the Golden Snitch."
Little Sirius on the side seemed eager but held back, maintaining his godfather identity, thinking perhaps not to involve himself… Hmm, best set a good example for Harry!
Upon hearing Vivi's wager, Mr. Bagman appeared momentarily breathless.
He quickly recovered, laughing: "Alright—Miss Grindelwald's bet is unusual—perhaps I should follow your footsteps, betting on Ireland's win but Victor Krum catching the Golden Snitch?"
Upon hearing Mr. Bagman's words, Vivi flashed a meaningful smile.
"This is also my godfather's advice, Mr. Bagman—"
"Godfather?" Mr. Bagman looked up.
"Yes, Little Sirius Black." Vivi glanced at Little Sirius standing beside Mr. Weasley, "He's Harry's godfather, and also mine…"
"I see."
Mr. Bagman suddenly realized, taking out a notebook and feather pen, scribbling down the names of the Weasley replicas and Vivi.
Of course, he didn't forget about himself.
Ludo Bagman wasn't a fool; he had indeed heard of the significant name of Grindelwald, even if not specifically Vivi's name.
But the prophetic abilities of Gellert Grindelwald, he was aware of.
So...
In his view, as a descendant of Gellert, Vivi surely inherited that ability too.
Even if there's only a one-in-a-thousand chance, Mr. Bagman would still bet on it, not to mention that genetic probability is significantly higher than one in a thousand.
As for Black...
Mr. Bagman thought, perhaps after the World Cup, he should get closer to this Mr. Black.
"Listen to me, you two." Mr. Weasley frowned at the twins: "I still don't really hope you gamble, because—um, if your mother finds out, she'll give you a hard time."
"We're already grown up." The twins said in unison.
"I also think that a World Cup without a few wagers is simply incomplete." Vivi sided with them.
Mr. Weasley took a deep breath.
It's fine, it's fine, the kids are grown up…
"Don't come crying to us when you lose it all." Mr. Weasley said fiercely to the twins.
"Don't worry, Dad, we know what we're doing." The twins said in unison.
Seeing the twins determined as a turtle swallowing a weight, Mr. Weasley stopped advising and instead asked Mr. Bagman: "By the way Ludo—still no news about Bertha Jorkins?"
Upon hearing Mr. Weasley's words, Little Sirius looked up at Mr. Bagman.
He had also heard about Bertha Jorkins' disappearance, which happened last month.
Vivi also extended her hand and discreetly pinched Harry from behind, hinting for him to listen carefully regarding Bertha Jorkins' disappearance.