"How about we up the stakes?" Malfoy said with his typical bravado, clapping his hands. Crabbe and Goyle immediately understood and began fumbling in their pockets, but after much digging, they produced only two Galleons and eight Sickles.
Malfoy's face struggled to maintain composure at the sight of his henchmen's meager offering and promptly pulled four Galleons from his robe and slapped them onto the table.
"I only have three Galleons, fifteen Sickles, and twenty Knuts," Evan said, swiftly withdrawing all his money from his pocket, seeing that Malfoy had taken the bait.
"It doesn't matter... that'll do. Then the bet is on!" Malfoy raised an eyebrow, a smirk crossing his face. He was intent on cleaning out Evan's pockets.
If by some fluke he lost, it was only four Galleons, but if he won, that detestable Evan would be pinching pennies for a considerable time.
Despite Hogwarts covering room, board, and tuition, life's necessities like personal supplies, potion ingredients, gifts, and snacks all required money.
Malfoy relished the thought of Evan having to borrow money to get by.
"Alright then, it's a deal!" Malfoy was practically handing over money, and Evan certainly wasn't going to refuse. An extra Galleon could buy quite a few more ingredients.
As for losing?
Evan thought the odds were pitifully low. If he couldn't take a gamble like this, how could he expect to earn a significant amount of Galleons quickly? In dreams, perhaps.
Having successfully hoodwinked Malfoy, Evan felt particularly smug. After the match, he'd have seven Galleons, likely enough to meet most of his needs.
"Evan, what were you just talking to Malfoy about?"
Returning to the Gryffindor table in high spirits, Harry and Ron immediately leaned in, curious about the exchange. Evan's conversation with Malfoy hadn't been particularly loud, so they'd caught only bits and pieces, though they did notice the Galleons being placed and then picked up from the table.
"Oh, nothing much. I just bet Malfoy that Harry will catch the Golden Snitch and secure a win for Gryffindor in the upcoming game," Evan shared.
"How could you do that? Gambling is not a good thing. What if Professor McGonagall finds out?" Hermione frowned.
"Come on, who's going to tell McGonagall if you don't?" Ron interjected nonchalantly.
Hearing Evan's explanation, even Ron felt the urge to place a bet with Malfoy.
Harry, however, felt the weight on his shoulders increasing...
After finishing their meal and heading back to the dormitory, the Weasley twins intercepted Evan with a sudden surprise.
George, with a conspiratorial air, pulled Evan aside, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then whispered.
"Evan, we overheard your conversation with Malfoy by chance."
"Just wondering if you'd be interested in making some Galleons with us?" Fred joined George in harmony.
"Collaborate? To develop magical prank products?" Evan glanced at the stagnant proficiency in his magical item crafting system tab and his interest was piqued.
"How did you know we were planning to develop that?" George and Fred exchanged surprised glances.
"Am I wrong?" Evan shrugged noncommittally; he couldn't very well admit that he knew their future.
"Of course not, but we're short on the funds needed for development! You're welcome to join us once we're ready!" Since Evan wasn't forthcoming, George didn't press further, and Fred was equally direct.
"What we mean is to organize a betting pool for the upcoming match. We're sure to make a fortune!"
"But we lack the capital, and as players, we can't be seen participating, which is why we thought of you."
After their proposal, the twins looked at Evan with hopeful tension.
"You're not planning to throw the match on purpose, are you?" Evan considered a possibility.
"How could you think that? Are we those kind of people?" George exclaimed indignantly, and Fred was equally affronted.
"Besides, Gryffindor has lost several years in a row. Who would bet on us winning? Throwing the match wouldn't earn us any Galleons!"
Evan's apologies were lodged in his throat; he imagined Wood would be in tears if he knew what the twins were contemplating.
But George and Fred grew more excited as they spoke.
"We've got Harry as our ace now; we're sure to cause an upset. He's the best Seeker I've seen. We're going to win this!"
"Yeah, we can set high odds for Slytherin and lower odds for Gryffindor. Those Slytherins will be so mad they'll cough up the money willingly!"
The twins' nefarious ideas multiplied, and they even considered bribing Lee Jordan, the match commentator, to cause a stir with his commentary—though he was an avid Gryffindor supporter and likely to favor them during the match, paid or not.
Evan wiped the sweat from his brow, suddenly thinking that George was selling himself short with just a joke shop in the future—his business acumen could be better used running official Quidditch betting rings.
Guaranteed to make a fortune...
"Alright... I'm in. How much do you have?" Evan pondered for a moment and decided there was no issue with the twins' plan. With the proud nature of those Slytherins, they might very well fall for it and get an early taste of life's hardships.
"Five Galleons, that's all the money we have," George and Fred said, gritting their teeth as they pulled out their entire fortune.
"Adding what I have, the capital should be sufficient," Evan nodded, then began to discuss the finer details with them.
After a moment of contemplation, Evan added, "However, let's not tell Jordan about the betting pool. If this gets out, as the commentator, he might face harsher punishment."
"Alright, that's fine," George agreed thoughtfully after considering.
Fred then said, "We'll set up a secrecy spell. Everyone involved will be under it, and if anyone dares to break the agreement or snitch, they'll face severe punishment."
"So the contract is agreed?" Evan nodded and extended his wrist.
"Yes, it's agreed!" The Weasley brothers mirrored his action, and with a flick of George's wand, a mark appeared on all three of their wrists.
Evan glanced at his system panel and noticed a new status indicating that breaking the contract would cause one's tongue to swell five times its normal size for a full week.
While it wasn't a particularly severe consequence, it was enough to deter the underage wizards.
In reality, with the pride of the Slytherin students, as long as they won the bet fair and square, they would likely choose not to snitch, no matter how furious they were.
With a sly smile creeping across his face, Evan thought to himself that with this, he should have enough Galleons for his potion ingredients.
Tips:
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