Bagman and Crouch
Arthur got himself off of David and got to his feet.
He found that they were all at some kind of deserted stretch of mist moor.
In front of them was the source of the voice, a pair of tired and grumpy looking wizards, one of them holding a large gold watch and the other held a thick roll of parchment and a quill. They were both dressed as Muggles, though not very well as the man with the watch wore a tweed suit with thigh length galoshes and his colleague wore a kilt and a poncho.
"Morning, Basil." Ben said, picking up the boot and handing it to the wizard in the kilt, who threw it into a large box of used Portkeys beside him. Among it was an old newspaper, an empty drink can and a punctured football.
"Hello there, Benjamin." Basil said wearily. "Not on duty, eh? It's alright for some… we've been here all night… you'd better get out of the way, we've got a big party coming in from the Black Forest at five fifteen. Hang on, I'll find your campsite…. Merlon… Merlon…." He consulted his list. "About a quarter of a mile's walk over there, first field you come to. Site manager's called Mr Roberts. Diggory… second field… ask for Mr Payne."
They all set off across the deserted moor, unable to make out much because of the mist being so thick. After what had to be twenty minutes, they saw a small stone cottage next to a gate coming into view. And beyond it, Arthur saw the ghostly shapes of hundreds upon hundreds of tents all rising up the gentle slope of a large field towards a dark wood on the horizon.
They eventually said goodbye to the Diggorys and approached the cottage door.
A man appeared in the doorway, looking out at the tents. It was clear to Arthur that he was the only real Muggle for several acres. When he heard their footsteps, he turned to them.
"Morning." Ben greeted him.
"Morning." The Muggle repeated.
"Are you Mr Roberts?"
"Aye, and who're you?"
"Merlon - two tents, books a couple days ago?"
"Aye." Mr Roberts said, consulting a list that was tacked to the door. "You've got a space up near the wood there. Just the one night?"
"Yes." Ben nodded.
"You'll be paying now, then?" Mr Roberts said.
"Sure." Ben said, pulling out some Muggle money and giving it to him.
"You know, I had two others try and pay me with great gold coins the size of hubcaps ten minutes ago." Mr Roberts said.
"Is that so?" Ben said, looking nervous as the Muggle rummaged around in a tin for some change.
"Never been this crowded." Mr Roberts said suddenly, looking out over the misty field again. "Hundreds of pre-bookings. People usually just turn up…."
"Really?" Ben questioned, his hand out for the change that Mr Roberts didn't give.
"Aye." He said thoughtfully. "People from all over. "Loads of foreigners. And not just foreigners. Weirdos, you know? There's a bloke walking round in a kilt and a poncho."
"And what's wrong with that?" Ben asked.
"It's like some sort of… I dunno… like some sort of rally." Mr Roberts said. "They all seem to know each other. Like a big party."
It was at that moment that a wizard in plus fours appeared from thin air next to the front door of the cottage.
"Obliviate!" He sharply said, pointing his wand at Mr Roberts, whose eyes instantly slid out of focus, brows unknitted and a look of dreamy unconcern fell over his face. Arthur recognised these symptoms and knew that his memories were modified.
"A map of the campsite for you." Mr Roberts said placidly to Ben. "And your change."
"Thank you very much."
The wizard in plus fours accompanied them towards the gate to the campsite.
Arthur noted that he looked exhausted with his chin being blue with stubble and deep purple shadows under his eyes. Once they were out of earshot of Mr Roberts, the wizard muttered to Ben.
"Been having a lot of trouble with him. Needs a Memory Charm ten times a day to keep him happy. And Ludo Bagman's not helping. Trotting around talking about Bludgers and Quaffles at the top of his voice, not a worry about anti-Muggle security. Blimey, I'll be glad when this is or. See you later, Ben."
He then Disapparated.
"Isn't Bagman meant to be the Head of Magical Games and Sports?" Mary questioned. "Shouldn't he know better than to speak of such stuff around Muggles?"
"Yes, he should." Ben said, leading everyone through the gates to the campsite. "Of course, he's for some reason lax about security. He's a very enthusiastic Head of the Sports Department, though. He actually played Quidditch for England, you know. He was the best Beater for the Wimbourne Wasps."
They all trudged up the misty field between long rows of tents. A lot of them looked normal, their owners trying to make them as Muggle-like as possible, though they'd have chimneys or bell pulls or weather vanes.
But here and there was a tent that was so magical that Arthur wasn't all that surprised that Mr Roberts would be very suspicious.
Halfway up the field was an extravagant confection of striped silk a lot like a miniature palace, with several live peacocks tethered at the entrance.
A bit further, they all passed a tent that actually had three floors and several turrets, a short way beyond it was a tent that had a front garden attached, even with a birdbath, sundial and a fountain.
"We wizards just can't resist showing off when we're all together." Ben said. "Here we are."
They reached near the edge of the wood at the top of the field, where an empty space was located that had a small sign hammered into the ground that read Merlon.
"Pretty good spot, if you ask me." Ben said with a smile. "The pitch is on the other side of the wood, so we're as close as we could be." He then hoisted his backpack off of his shoulders. "Okay, thankfully, I know how to set up tents without any magic, so let's get it all set up."
Arthur and Chrys helped Ben out with the poles and pegs, having been on camping trips themselves before going to Hogwarts. By the end, there stood a pair of two man tents.
No one would have guessed that they belonged to wizards, though Arthur realised that there's no way everyone could fit in them, especially when Rob, Kenny and Sam arrive. He made a quizzical look to Ben, who entered the first tent.
"It'll be a bit cramped, but we can all fit in fine. Come in and take a look."
Arthur entered in after him and his jaw dropped. He entered into what looked like an old fashioned, three roomed flat, even having a proper bathroom and kitchen. It was even furnished in the same style of a neighbour of the Dentleys that Arthur had met occasionally. A woman named Mrs Figg, who has a large number of cats. There were crocheted covers on mismatched chairs, and there was even a strong smell of cats in the tent.
"It's not for long, of course." Ben said as he ruffled his silver hair, resulting in some fringes to fall over his forehead, and peered at the four bunk beds that stood in the bedroom. "I borrowed this from a colleague from the Auror Office."
He picked up a dusty kettle and peered within it. "We're gonna need water."
"I remember seeing a tap marked on the map Mr Roberts gave us." David, who had followed in after Arthur, said, looking around as though the inside of the tent was normal. "It's on the other side of the field."
"In that case, you, Arthur and Mike can go and get us some water. The rest of us can cook up a meal." Ben said as he handed over the kettle and a couple of saucepans.
After a tour of the girls' tent, which was slightly smaller than the boys', and without the smell of cats, Arthur, David and Mike exited and set off through the campsite with the kettle and saucepans.
Of course, seeing that it was now sunrise, Arthur did his Animagus incantation with his wand tip over his heart. After that, he looked and saw that the mist had lifted and the three boys all saw the city of tents that stretched in just about every direction.
They slowly made their way through the rows, staring eagerly around. It just now dawned on Arthur just how expansive the wizarding world is as there are many witches and wizards from around the world.
All of the fellow campers started waking up. The first stir were families with small children, who Arthur had never seen before in his time in the community. There was a tiny boy no older than two that crouched outside a large pyramid shaped tent that held a wand and poked a slug in the grass with it, causing it to slowly swell to the size of a salami. Then when they drew level with him, the boy's mother hurried out of the tent.
"How many times, Kevin? You don't… touch… daddy's… wand. Yeuch!" She trod over the large slug, which had burst. Her scolding carried on, mingling with the little boy's yells as the trio carried on.
"That was disgusting." Mike muttered.
A little further on, there were two little witches, barely older than little Kevin, who rode toy broomsticks that rose high enough for their toes to skim the dewy grass. A Ministry wizard had spotted them and ran past Arthur, David and Mike, muttering "In broad daylight! Parents are having a lie in, I suppose -"
Here and there, various adult witches and wizards emerged from their tents and started to cook breakfast. Some of them, with furtive looks, conjured fires with their wands, others struck matches with dubious looks on their faces, like they thought it could never work.
There were three African wizards sitting in a serious conversation, all of them wearing long white robes roasting what Arthur suspected to be a rabbit on a purple fire, whilst a group of middle aged American witches sat happily gossiping beneath a spangled banner that stretched between their tents reading: The Salem Witches' Institute.
Arthur also found himself catching snippets of conversation in strange languages from the inside of different tents they passed, and despite not knowing what is being said, the tone overall is one of excitement.
"I don't know about you guys, but everything has gone green." David said.
"No, you're not the only one to notice." Arthur said as they walked into a patch of tents that were all covered with a thick growth of shamrocks, making it look as though small, oddly shaped hillocks sprouted from the earth. They must be among Ireland supporters.
"Arthur! David! Mike!"
They turned and saw Seamus Finnigan, a fellow Gryffindor fourth year. He sat in front of his own shamrock covered tent with his best friend, Dean Thomas, another Gryffindor.
"Like the decorations?" Seamus grinned when the three boys said hello to them. "The Ministry's not too happy."
"Ah, why shouldn't we show our colours?" Mrs Finnigan said. "You should see what the Bulgarians have got dangling all over their tents. You'll be supporting Ireland, of course?" She added, eyeing Arthur, David and Mike beadily.
They all assured her that they will support Ireland before setting off once more.
"Of course, we truly are." David muttered as it's the closest to supporting England that they'll get with the match.
"I'm actually curious what the Bulgarians have dangling over their tents." Mike said.
"Well, let's go take a look." Arthur said as he pointed to a large patch of tents upfield that had the Bulgarian flag, in its red, green and white glory, fluttering in the breeze.
The tents weren't bedecked with plant life, but instead all of them had the same poster attached. A poster of a very surly face with heavy black eyebrows. The picture moved, blinking and scowling.
"That's him, Viktor Krum." David said.
"And to think that he hasn't even graduated from the wizarding school he goes to and is possibly the best Quidditch player in the world." Mike said.
Arthur had to agree with him. There was a reason he singled out Krum yesterday to the twins. And it is very impressive since he's supposed to be eighteen years old and is still in school. He's just buzzing with excitement to see in person just how brilliant he is.
They eventually made it to the tap in the corner of the field, seeing that there's a small queue. The three boys joined it, right behind a pair of men who were in the middle of a heated argument. One was a very old wizard who wore a long and flowery nightgown. The other is a Ministry wizard, who held out a pair of pinstriped trousers, nearly crying with exasperation.
"Just put them on, Archie, there's a good chap, you can't walk around like that, the Muggle on the gate's already getting suspicious -"
"I bought this in a Muggle shop." The old wizard replied stubbornly. "Muggles wear them."
"Muggle women wear them, Archie, not the men, they wear these." The Ministry wizard corrected him, brandishing the pinstriped trousers.
"I'm not putting them on." Archie said, indignantly. "I like a healthy breeze round my privates, thanks."
The three boys tried their hardest to not laugh until Archie collected his water and moved away.
Now walking more slowly, due to the weight of the water, they made their way back through the campsite.
Here and there, they'd run into other Hogwarts students and their families.
One of whom was Oliver Wood, the old Gryffindor Quidditch team captain before he graduated from Hogwarts back in June. He dragged Arthur to his parents' tent and introduced him to them. He then revealed very excitedly that he's now signed to the Puddlemere United reserve team.
The next they met was Ernie Macmillan, a Hufflepuff fourth year and a little bit further was Cho Chang, a Chinese girl who plays as Seeker in the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. She waved and smiled at Arthur, who waved back.
"Hey, you alright?" David asked, making Arthur look and saw that Mike seemed upset.
"I'm fine." He quickly shook off, leaving Arthur and David confused.
They continued on until they noticed a large group of teenagers that they've never seen before.
"They must be from another wizarding school. There's several others around the world." David said, answering Arthur's questioning look. "Rob is actually pen pals with someone who was a student at Ilvermorny, the American wizarding school. They met face to face in Egypt as they're both Curse Breakers and he's one of Rob's best friends. We met him when we went to Egypt. He's so cool."
Considering that there's many different nationalities here at the campsite, it made sense for there to be various wizarding schools around the world.
"You three have been gone for ages." Kevin said when they've made it back to the Merlons' tents.
"That's because we've met a few people." David said as he, Arthur and Mike set the water down.
The fire was lit and it was hot enough to start cooking.
As they cooked, they watched and saw that their tent was pitched alongside a thoroughfare to the pitch, with Ministry members hurrying up and down it, greeting Ben cordially as they passed.
Ben told both Arthur and Chrys who's who and when he mentioned that two people named Bode and Croaker were Unspeakables, that piqued their interests.
"What are they?" Arthur asked.
"They work in the Department of Mysteries. Top secret stuff, so no one else knows what they're up to, not even Fudge."
Everyone was currently eating eggs and sausages when Rob, Kenny and Sam strolled out of the woods towards them.
"We've just Apparated. Ooh, lunch." Sam said upon reaching them.
Everyone continued eating when suddenly Ben jumped to his feet and waved at someone who strode towards them.
"Hello, Ludo, I was wondering when you'd show yourself!" Ben greeted him.
Ludo was easily the most noticeable person Arthur's seen to date here at the campsite, even more so than Archie in his flowered nightdress.
Ludo Bagman wore long Quidditch robes in thick horizontal strips of bright yellow and black with an enormous picture of a wasp splashed across his chest. He physically looked like a powerfully built man who had gone slightly to see as his robes stretched tightly across a large belly that he surely didn't have when he was a Quidditch player.
His nose was also squashed (from a stray Bludger or two, Arthur theorised), yet his round blue eyes, short blonde hair and rosy complexion made him seem like a really overgrown schoolboy.
"Ahoy there!" Bagman happily called. He walked like he had springs attached to the balls of his feet and was in a state of wild excitement.
"Ben, old man." He puffed upon reaching 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!"
Behind him was a group of haggard looking Ministry wizards that rushed past, pointing at the distant evidence that a magical fire sent violet sparks twenty feet in the air.
Sam came forward and stretched his hand out.
"Ah, yes." Ben said, grinning. "This here is my son, Sam. He's just started working in the Ministry. This is Jack, here's Kevin, his twin. Then there's Rob, Kenny, David, my only daughter, Mary. Then here's David's friends, Michael McGonagall, Chrysanthemum Ranger and Arthur Pendergast."
Bagman did the smallest double take when he heard Arthur's name and his eyes performed the familiar flick upwards to his scar on his forehead.
"Everyone, this is Ludo Bagman, who you all know. It's because of him we got the particular tickets we've got."
Bagman, of course, beamed and waved his hand as though he was saying it was for nothing.
"Fancy a flutter on the match, Ben?" He said eagerly, jingling what had to be a large amount of gold in the pockets of his robes. "I've already got Roddy Pontner betting me Bulgaria will score first, I offered him nice odds, considering Ireland's front three are the strongest I've seen in years, and little Agatha Timms has put up half shares in her eel farm on a week long match."
"Alright…" Ben said, caving in. "Ten Galleons that Ireland will win."
"Alright." Bagman said, liking that amount. "Any other takers?"
"I don't know…." Ben said hesitantly.
"We'll bet." Jack said for himself and Kevin as they pooled all their money. "We'll bet thirty seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles and three Knuts that Ireland will win, yet Viktor Krum will catch the Snitch. We'll even throw in a fake wand." Jack threw a quick look over at Arthur with a wink.
Bagman took a look at the wand they handed him and his face shone with excitement as the wand made a loud squawk and turned into a rubber chicken, making his boyish face roar with laughter.
"Excellent! I haven't seen one that convincing in years! I'd pay five Galleons for that!"
Sam looked amused as he shook his head in amusement.
"Boys… I don't know about this…." Ben said, not exactly thrilled about this.
"Don't be a spoilsport, Ben!" Bagman boomed out, rattling his pockets excitedly. "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… we'll add five Galleons for the funny wand, then, shall we…."
Ben watched as Bagman whipped out a notebook and quill, jotting down the twins' names.
"Cheers." Kevin said, taking the slip of parchment that Bagman handed over, tucking it away carefully. Bagman then turned over to Ben, cheerfully.
"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."
"He actually speaks over two hundred." Sam corrected him, sounding not too thrilled about knowing that fact. "Even including Mermish, Gobbledegook and Troll…."
"Honestly, how anyone can speak Troll and not look stupid is very impressive." Mike muttered to Arthur, who snorted.
"By the way, any news about Bertha Jorkins, yet, Ludo?" Ben asked as Bagman settled down on the grass beside everyone.
"Not a dicky bird." Bagman said 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 some time in October, thinking it's still July."
"But she's been missing for over a month now. It's about time to send someone to find her." Ben insisted as Sam handed Bagman his tea. Arthur decided to not tell them that she was killed by Voldemort.
"Barty Crouch keeps saying that…" Bagman said, his round eyes widening innocently. "...but we really can't spare anyone at the moment. Oh, talk of the devil! Barty!"
A wizard had just Apparated at their fireside, and was such a contrast with Bagman, sprawled out on the grass in his old Wasp robes.
Barty Crouch was nothing but stiff, upright and elderly, dressed impeccably in a crisp suit and tie. There was also a parting in his short grey hair that was nearly unnaturally straight and his narrow toothbrush moustache looked like he trimmed it with a slide rule. His shoes were also highly polished.
Arthur could see why Sam isn't all that thrilled with him. Sam was more loose when it comes to the rules, whereas Crouch looked like he was nothing but rules. Even down to the whole Muggle dressing, as he could pass for a bank manager.
"Pull up a bit of grass, Barty." Bagman said brightly, patting the ground beside him.
"No, thank you, Ludo." Crouch said with 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?" Bagman questioned. "I thought the chap was asking to borrow a pair of tweezers. Bit of a strong accent."
"Mr Crouch!" Sam said breathlessly, sinking into a half bow. "Would you like a cup of tea?"
"Oh." Mr Crouch said, looking over at him in mild surprise. "Yes, thank you, Merlon."
"Oh, and I've been wanting a word with you, too, Benjamin." Crouch said, his sharp eyes now on him. "Ali Bashir's on the warpath. He wants a word with you and Gideon Weasley about your embargo on flying carpets."
Ben made a huge sigh. "We sent him an owl about this last week. He just can't understand that carpets are defined as a Muggle Artefact by the Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects, he doesn't listen!"
"He is desperate to export them here." Crouch said as he accepted a cup from Sam.
"Well, they'll never replace brooms in Britain, will they?" Bagman said.
"Ali thinks there's a niche in the market for a family vehicle." Crouch then said. "I remember my grandfather had an Axminster that could seat twelve, but that was before carpets were banned, of course." He spoke like he wanted to ensure there was no doubt that his ancestors abided strictly by the law.
"So, been keeping busy, Barty?" Bagman asked breezily.
"Fairly." Crouch replied drily. "Organising Portkeys across five continents is no mean feat, Ludo."
"Then I'm guessing you'll both be glad when this is all over?" Ben questioned.
His question, though, left Bagman 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 organise, eh?"
This made Crouch raise an eyebrow at him. Arthur suspected that he was hinting towards what Sam was talking about yesterday.
"We agreed not to make the announcement until all the details -"
"Oh, details!" Bagman said, like he was trying to wave the word away. "They've signed, haven't they? They've 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." Crouch interrupted him sharply. "Thank you for the tea, Merlon."
He pushed his untouched tea back to Sam and waited for Ludo to rise, who struggled to his feet again, swigging down the last of his tea, the gold in his pockets chinking merrily.
"See you all later!" He said. "You'll be up in the Top Box with me, I'm commentating!" He then waved, Crouch nodding curtly and then they Disapparated.
"Okay, what is going on at Hogwarts, dad?" Jack asked at once.
"I'm not spoiling the surprise, but you'll like it, that's all I'm saying." Ben said with a mischievous smile.
"Yeah, it'll be the biggest thing to happen at Hogwarts for centuries." Sam also gave a cryptic hint that made everyone look at each other excitedly about what it could be.
A real wave and sense of excitement rose over the campsite as the afternoon continued. By dusk, with Arthur doing his Animagus incantation when the sun set, the still summer air quivered with anticipation, the most Arthur felt in his whole life.
As darkness spread over the thousands of waiting wizards like a blanket being draped over them, the last ounce of pretence had finally disappeared: the Ministry had finally bowed to the inevitable and stopped fighting any and all signs of blatant magic that broke out everywhere.
Salesmen had Apparated every few feet, carrying various trays and pushing carts that were full of extraordinary merchandise. There were green and red luminous rosettes for the opposing Quidditch teams that squealed the names of the various players on each team. Green and pointed hats had dancing shamrocks and Bulgarian scarves that were adorned with lions that really roared. And there were flags of both countries that played their national anthems when waved. There were small models of Firebolts that actually flew and even collectable figures of famous players, which would stroll across the palm of one's hand, preening themselves.
"I have enough pocket money to get three things in particular." David said as he, Arthur and Chrys strolled through the various salesmen, buying souvenirs. David purchases a large green rosette and a small figure of Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker. It walked backwards and forwards over his hand, scowling up at the green rosette above him.
"Hey, look at these!" Arthur said, hurrying over to a cart that was piled high with brass binoculars that had all these weird knobs and dials covering them.
"Omnioculars." The saleswizard eagerly. "You can replay action… slow everything down… and they flash up a play by play breakdown if you need it. Bargain, ten Galleons each."
"Thank goodness I have fifteen left." David said as he purchased his own before Arthur and Chrys got their own. Arthur decided to get one for Mike.
"I'll get us some programmes." Chrys said.
By the time they made it back to the tents, their money bags were much lighter than before.
Rob, Kenny and Mary had green rosettes as well, Ben carried the Irish flag and the twins didn't have anything as their gold was given to Bagman.
"Hey, Mike, I got you a pair of Omnioculars." Arthur said as he handed one to the purple eyed boy.
"Thanks." Mike said, his cheeks turning into a deep pink with a smile.
And then there was a deep and booming gong that came from beyond the woods and then all at once, green and red lanterns blazed to life in the trees and lit a path to the pitch.
"Alright, everyone, it's time." Ben said, sounding like he was trying to sound in control despite being very excited. "Let's go!"
I'm so pumped for the next chapter, it's one of the most exciting sequences in the entire book series. It really is a shame the film adaptation omitted the match. Hopefully the new TV show will actually adapt it.
