Another update because the last one was too short
Chapter 11: Baggman
After lunch, which Kat nearly inhaled, they had all gone outside because Arthur wanted to start a fire the muggle way. After they had set up some wood logs into what looked like a tent for tree sprites, Boston had shown Arthur how to use matches to light the fire. Unfortunately, the man was far more fascinated with the matches themselves and kept burning them out before even remembering he was also trying to light the tiny wood tent.
Kat looked at her friend that was smiling at the older balding man and wondered if she really was enough for her, or if somewhere, deep down, Boston wanted more family than just Kat. In some horrible dark part of Kat's heart, she did want to be the only one for Boston, the one person Boston loved. She'd never really been that, not with her parents, not with her family, not with Fred and George. Just Boston.
It had always been her and Boston, until all the magic left the world.
Harry and Hermione also seemed to be entertained by the amount of joy Arthur was getting, being so fascinated with the matches. Kat still thought it would have been smarter to just use magic. The small sticks that produce a little bit of fire for a moment don't seem all that efficient.
Eventually, Hermione took pity on the man and showed him how to properly start a fire with the matches, and soon the wood caught. Unfortunately, it took nearly an hour for the fire to get hot enough for the kettle to start boiling for any drinkable tea.
They were all sitting around the fire, having small conversations of their own. Fred and George had huddled together slightly, coming up with different things to add to their prank products, though they still had the issue of Molly not letting them actually make, sell, or keep their products.
Arthur had taken to telling Harry and Hermione about all the people from the Ministry that he knew. It was just a simple fact that no one else was all that interested in the people of the Ministry for various reasons. Bill, Charlie, and Kat had got talking about their work. Bill, who worked as a curse breaker for Gringotts, had some fantastic stories and had different tips about breaking some simple curses. Charlie, who worked with Dragons in Romania, really only wanted to talk about the different dragons he trained and their personalities. It seemed to Kat that Charlie was a proud parent of nearly a dozen dragons. Boston was fine enough sitting, listening in on the different conversations, finding the twins conversation the most interesting. Percy was sulking, poking at the fire, mainly because no one really wanted to talk to him.
They had gotten halfway through their first cuppa when Arthur jumped up, waving and grinning at a man that was walking towards them.
"Aha!" he said. "The man of the moment! Ludo!"
Kat had never actually met the man in person, but Ludo Bagman was recognizable from anywhere in the world. He was in old Quidditch robes in black and yellow with a massive wasp on the front, splashed garishly across his chest. It was also curiously around two sizes too small around the middle.
Kat suspected that Ludo might have looked very much like Fred and George in his youth, still having the shape of a beeter. Ludo still had a boyish face, but the way he smiled made Kat think that he was one of the boys she usually avoided.
"Ahoy there!" Ludo called back happily. He bounced every step he took and looked remarkably like that tiger thing in the muggle moving picture about the yellow bear in the woods, too excited for his own good.
"Arthur, old man," he puffed as he reached the campfire, "what a day, eh? What a day! Could we have asked for more perfect weather? A cloudless night coming . . . and hardly a hiccough in the arrangements . . . Not much for me to do!"
Boston rolled her eyes as they all saw some very weary Ministry wizards run past, pointing towards some distant purple sparks rushing 7 meters in the air. Apparently, everyone was supposed to be keeping their magic contained so muggles wouldn't catch that anything was strange. The Ministry was really asking a lot there.
Percy, always the kiss arse, rushed forward with his hand outstretched. Always wanting to make a good impression on people he perceived to have authority that he one day wanted for himself.
"Ah, yes," said Arthur, grinning, "this is my son Percy. He's just started at the Ministry. And this is Fred, no, George, sorry, that's Fred, Bill, Charlie, Ron, my daughter, Ginny, and their friends, Kat Warner, Boston, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter."
It escaped no one's notice the slight double-take that Ludo took when he heard Harry's name, and like everyone else, his eyes flicked towards the scar on Harry's forehead.
"Kids," Arthur continued, "this is Ludo Bagman, you know who he is, it's thanks to him we have such good tickets."
Ludo grinned brightly and waved a hand as if to say that it had been nothing. Kat and Boston exchanged a look. False modesty, they thought.
"Fancy a flutter on the match, Arthur?" he asked eagerly, jingling what sounded like a large amount of gold in the pocket of his robes. "I've already Roddy Pontner betting me Bulgaria will score first. I offered him some nice odds, considering Ireland's front three are the strongest I've seen in years. And, uh, little Agatha Timms has put up half shares in her eel farm on a week-long match."
"Oh, go on then," said Arthur. "Let's see . . . a Galleon on Ireland to win?"
"A Galleon?" Ludo looked slightly disappointed, but recovered himself. "Very well, very well. Any other takers?"
"They're a bit young to be gambling," said Arthur, running his hand through the thinning hair at the top of his head. "Molly wouldn't like-"
"We'll bet thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles, three Knuts," Fred called as he and George started to pool all their money, "that Ireland wins, but Viktor Krum gets the Snitch. Oh, and we'll throw in a fake wand."
As Percy hissed, "You don't want to be showing Mr. Bagman rubbish like that-" Boston was digging in her pocket and handing Kat muggle money. Kat had no idea how much that actually was but pocketed it and started getting out her own money.
Ludo looked at the fake wand in amazement. His boyish face lit with excitement as he took it from Fred, and when he gave a loud squawk and turned into a rubber chicken, Ludo roared with laughter.
"Excellent! I haven't seen one this convincing in years! I'd pay five Galleons for that!"
Percy froze in an attitude of stunned disapproval.
"Boys," said Mr. Weasley under his breath, "I don't want you betting. That's all your savings . . . Your mother-"
"Don't be a spoilsport, Arthur!" boomed Ludo, rattling his pocket excitedly. Boston scrunched her nose at this. "They're old enough to know what they want! You reckon Ireland will win but Krum'll get the Snitch? Not a chance boys, not a chance. I'll give you excellent odds on that one, and we'll add five Galleons for the funny wand then shall we."
Mr. Weasley looked on helplessly as Ludo whipped out a notebook and quill and began jotting down the twins' names.
"Cheers," said George, taking the slip of parchment Ludo handed him and tucking it away in the front pocket of his muggle jeans.
"Boston and I will match that bet, minus the wand 0f course. We have never been blessed with such a gift," Kat said, coming forward, eyeing George. He scoffed at her and silently promised to get her one as soon as possible.
"Excellent, excellent! And you'll be betting the same as them then, young lady?" Kat nodded, handing the money to Ludo as he started to jot down in his notepad again. "And your names again?"
"Katherine Warner and Boston."
"Boston what?" Ludo asked.
"Just Boston."
Ludo's smile slipped a little. "Unfortunately, young lady, we will need a last name for the bet."
Kat stared him down, as did the striking Boston behind her. "I don't believe you do Ludo, as you already have our bet as well the word of House Warner."
Boston had not heard Kat use that tone of voice often, and she doubted any of the Weasleys had at all. Kat once explained it as the international tone of the proud and arrogant. Something you're born with and have to struggle against. It's the voice of the heir to the House of Warner.
Ludo looked at Kat again, and his throat bobbed in what seemed like a painful way. "Of course, Ms. Warner, you're right of course. I am very sorry, Ms. Warner."
"It wasn't me that you had the issue with." Her tone was sharp and cutting.
Ludo faced Boston, who seemed to be sucking on the inside of her cheek, her arms crossed over her chest. Kat looked back at her and thought that perhaps Boston looked like some sort of warrior Goddess, like Athena or Eris.
Ludo swallowed. "Of course, Ms. Boston, I am very sorry for the misunderstanding."
Boston just nodded at the man and turned towards the fire to sit down, her ponytail swinging back and forth like a pendulum.
Kat held out her hand for the betting slip, and she noticed Ludo's hands shook ever so slightly as he placed it in her palm. She followed Boston to the fire and sat down next to her, bumping her shoulder against her friend's.
Ludo turned back to Arthur with a strange cheerfulness that did not meet his eyes. "Couldn't do me a brew I suppose? I'm keeping an eye out for Barty Crouch. My Bulgarian opposite number's making difficulties, and I can't understand a word he's saying. Barty'll be able to sort it out. He speaks about a hundred and fifty languages."
"Mr. Crouch?" exclaimed Percy, suddenly abandoning his look of poker-stiff disapproval and positively writhing with excitement. "He speaks over two hundred! Mermish and Gobbledegook and Troll . . ."
"Anyone can speak Troll," said Fred dismissively. "All you have to do is point and grunt."
Percy threw Fred an extremely nasty look and stoked the fire vigorously to bring the kettle back to the boil.
Fred and George plonked themselves as bookends, with Boston and Kat in the middle. "What was that?" George whispered at Kat.
She smiled and opened her mouth to answer when Arthur asked, "Any news of Bertha Jorkins yet, Ludo?" Ludo settled himself on the grass next to them, far enough from Kat that maybe she wouldn't notice him. Kat caught Charlie and Bill's shared look and then their smile back at Kat and Boston.
"Not a dicky bird," said Ludo comfortably. "But she'll turn up. Poor old Bertha, memory like a leaky cauldron and no sense of direction. Lost, you take my word for it. She'll wander back into the office sometime in October, thinking it's still July."
"You don't think it might be time to send someone to look for her?" Arthur suggested hesitantly as Percy handed Ludo his tea.
"Barty Crouch keeps saying that," said Ludo, his round eyes widening innocently, "but we really can't spare anyone at the moment. Oh, talk of the devil! Barty!"
Barry Crouch had just apparated by their fireside, looking worlds different from Ludo, who was sprawled in the grass in his old quidditch robes.
Barty was a stiff, upright, elderly man, dressed in an impeccably crisp suit and tie. The parting of his short gray hair was almost unnaturally straight, and his narrow toothbrush mustache looked as though he trimmed it with a slide ruler. Kat looked at his black shoes, which were so shiny, she could see her reflection in them. Of course Percy idolized him. Percy was a great believer in rigidly following rules, and Barty Crouch had complied with the rule about muggle dressing so thoroughly that he could have passed for a bank manager or a lawyer.
"Pull up a bit of grass, Barty," said Ludo brightly, patting the ground beside him.
"No thank you Ludo," said Barty, and there was a bite of impatience in his voice. "I've been looking for you everywhere. The Bulgarians are insisting we add another twelve seats to the Top Box."
"Oh is that what they're after?" asked Ludo. "I thought the chap was asking to borrow a pair of tweezers. Bit of a strong accent."
"Mr. Crouch!" said Percy breathlessly, sunk into a kind of half-bow that made him look like a hunchback. "Would you like a cup of tea?"
"Oh," said Barty, looking at Percy in mild surprise. "Yes, thank you, Weatherby."
Fred and George choked into their cups, and Kat had a challenging time not bursting with laughter. Percy, very pink around the ears, busied himself with the kettle.
"Oh and I've been wanting a word with you too, Arthur," Barty said, his sharp eyes swinging to the oldest Weasley. "Ali Bashir's on the warpath. He wants a word with you about your embargo on flying carpets."
Arthur sighed deeply. "I sent him an owl about that just last week. If I've told him once I've told him a hundred times: Carpets are defined as a muggle artifact by the Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects, but will he listen?"
Boston looked to Kat as if to ask about flying carpets. Kat thought back to that muggle movie about a genie and a magic flying carpet and just nodded her head in confirmation. They were pretty much the same.
"I doubt it," said Barty, accepting a cup from Percy. "He's desperate to export here."
"Well, they'll never replace brooms in Britain, will they?" said Ludo.
"Ali thinks there's a niche in the market for a family vehicle," said Barty. "I remember my grandfather had an Axminster that could seat twelve, but that was before they were banned, of course."
Kat rolled her eyes. Barty talked as if to say that all the Crouchs were law-abiding wizards, even though the thought was laughable. Everyone knew his own son died in Azkaban after being convicted of supporting He-Who-Much-Not-Be-Named in the first war.
"So, been keeping busy, Barty?" Ludo asked breezily.
"Fairly," said Barty dryly. "Organizing portkeys across five continents is no mean feat, Ludo."
"I expect you'll both be glad when this is over?" Arthur asked.
Ludo Bagman looked shocked. "Glad! Don't know when I've had more fun. Still, it's not as though we haven't got anything to look forward to, eh, Barty? Eh? Plenty left to organize, eh?"
Barty raised one of his graying eyebrows at Ludo. "We agreed not to make the announcement until all the details-"
"Oh details!" scoffed Ludo, waving the word away like a cloud of midges. "They've signed haven't they? All agreed, haven't they? I bet you anything these kids'll know soon enough anyway. I mean, it's happening at Hogwarts-"
"Ludo, we need to meet the Bulgarians, you know," said Barty sharply, cutting Ludo off. "Thank you for the tea, Weatherby."
He pushed his undrunk tea back at Percy and waited for Ludo to rise. Ludo, himself, seemed to be in far less of a rush, struggling to his feet, swigging down the last of his tea, the gold in his pockets chinking merrily.
"See you later!" he said. "I'll be in the Top Box commentating!" He waved, Barty nodded curtly, and both of them Disapparated.
"What's happening at Hogwarts, Dad?" asked Fred at once.
"What are they talking about?" asked George.
"You'll find out soon enough," said Arthur, smiling.
"It's classified information, until such time as the Ministry decides to release it," said Percy snobbishly. "Mr. Crouch was quite right not to disclose it."
"Oh shut up, Weatherby," said Fred.
"Do you know what it is, darling?" George asked, leaning into Kat.
"Nope. Bart doesn't work on this kind of Ministry stuff, and he wouldn't tell me if he knew anyway."
"Shame," Fred said. "Imagine the look on Percy's face if you were to just spit it out right here."
"He'd probably turn purple," commented George.
All three of them shared a laugh and Boston smiled, speculating amongst themselves about what might be waiting for them at school. The options ranged from the winners of the World Cup, coming to teach quidditch (George), to a full-blown Bacchanalia during Christmas (Fred).
Boston had snorted at Fred's idea and the twins looked at her oddly, never hearing any sound come from the girl's throat other than breathing.
A sense of excitement filled the air as the afternoon turned slowly to dusk. By the time the sun was starting to set, the summer air seemed to be buzzing with anticipation, and as darkness covered the thousands of wizards, the last ounce of patients evaporated. Everyone seemed to be using blatant magic and the Ministry was doing little to stop it at this point.
Salesmen were Apparating every few feet, carrying trays and pushing carts filled with fun and fantastic merchandise. There were luminous rosettes, green for Ireland and red for Bulgaria, which were squealing the names of the players. Pointed green hats bedecked with dancing shamrocks, Bulgarian scarves adorned with actual roaring lions, seemed to be on every cart. There were even flags from both countries singing their national anthems as they waved. Boston seemed taken by the tiny models of firebolts that actually flew and the collectible figures of the players that walked across your hand, preening.
"Wicked," said Fred as he came across some Omnioculars. Boston took hold of a pair and looked at them curiously.
"Omnioculars," the salesman said eagerly. "You can replay action, slow everything down, and they flash up a play-by-play breakdown if you need it. Bargain. Only ten Galleons each."
Boston put them back onto the cart.
Kat came up behind her. "Hey, I owe you, yeah?" Then she dropped twenty Galleons into the salesman's waiting hand and took two Omnioculars off the cart. She handed one to George and one to Boston. "We can share if we want," said Kat shrugging.
"No more buying us stuff Kitty Kat," Fred mumbled.
Kat just smiled up at him. "Before or after I give you all what I already bought?"
"Damn it, Kat!" George sounded a little irritated, but his smile gave him away. Boston just rolled her eyes.
Kat handed out her small gifts to each of them. An Ireland scarf for George, with a dancing shamrock on the end, A green and white striped top hat for Fred, who swiftly pulled it over his orange hair, and a model of the firebolt Boston was admiring earlier.
Boston nodded her head towards Kat with a questioning look in her emerald eyes.
"Oh! For me? I got this green and white paint that you can put on your skin and it glows. I also got black and red if you're interested." Kat nudged Boston with her shoulder.
"Wait!" called Fred.
"You're supporting Bulgaria?" George looked shocked.
Boston shook her head and Kat laughed. "No, no. She supports Victor Krum, not Bulgaria."
They made their way back to the tent. Bill, Charlie, and Ginny were all sporting green rosettes, and Arthur was carrying an Irish flag. Kat pulled another green top hat out of her bag and tossed it to Ginny with a wink.
Hermione, Ron, and Harry all burst through the tent, with Omnioculars of their own. They each also had a rosette, and Hermione had gotten a Bulgaria scarf, the lion roaring every now and again. Ron had a dancing shamrock hat as well as a small Victor Krum walking around his hand.
"Alright," Kat said, turning to her friend. "How do you put this on?" She handed the shining pant to Boston who took it gently, trying to hold her other survivors as well. Kat took the Omnioculars and the firebolt from her and waited.
Boston let out a small sigh and moved to the table, motioning for Kat and the boys to follow her.
All three did and stood patiently in front of their dark, brooding friend. Boston looked to Kat first, raising an eyebrow in question.
"You know those football players in the moving box?" she asked. Boston nodded a grin on her face. "Well, can I have those little stripe things on my cheeks like them?" Boston nodded again and took the small applicator from the paint and began drawing four lines on Kat's face in green and white. Boston nodded when she was done, and Kat smiled.
"Can I get a whole shamrock on my face?" Fred asked excitedly. Boston let out a sarcastic sigh and nodded. Fred grinned like a fool while Boston smeared green all over his cheeks and forehead, covering his chin and nose. A large green shamrock soon shone on his face, but Boston was not done. She filled in the remainder of his face with white, making him look as pale as Professor Binns. Boston smiled triumphantly at her work.
George smirked at his brother as he came to stand in front of Boston. "I'll just have what Kat got," he said. "Not trying to blind the players like Freddie." Boston raised an eyebrow and pulled her lips in a thin, knowing line. She painted identical stripes on George's face as she had on Kat's.
Once she was done, Kat had placed Boston's souvenirs on the table and grabbed the paint from her. "Your turn," she declared. Boston's eyes widened a bit, but Kat just took the paint and started in. On the right side of Boston's face was a black stripe across her cheek. On the left in red, was the number 7, Victor Krum's number. "Oh, it's beautiful." Kat beamed down at Boston who just smiled and stood, gathering her stuff from the table and taking it to her bunk. She handed the Omnioculars to Kat to put in her bag for the game.
Ron called across the room, "Hey, I want that too!"
He trotted to the table and placed himself in the chair Boston was just in. "Alright, what do you want?" Kat asked.
Ron thought for a moment. "I want what Boston has but a K instead of a 7 and red and black stripes."
"Can do." Kat quickly painted Ron's face. Ron smiled up at her the way all fourteen-year-old boys smile at their older brothers' female friends.
And then a deep, booming gong sounded somewhere beyond the woods, and at once, green and red lanterns blazed into life in the trees, lighting a path to the field.
"It's time!" said Arthur, looking as excited as any of them. "Come on, let's go!"