After watching Quidditch matches for several days in a row, Albert found that the Quidditch World Cup was not as interesting as he had imagined. Especially after the excitement of the first few days, the initial novelty began to fade, and Lianya's curiosity about the wizard camp also greatly decreased. She even stopped going out to hang out at night. Instead, she was very interested in the beauty potion researched by Isobel, Valeria and Catherine.
Women always care about their appearance, just like men always like beautiful women.
"It's almost time!" Albert glanced at his open pocket watch, put down the newspaper and prepared to look for Blake. Before leaving, he reminded the house-elf to keep an eye on Nia.
Sirius' tent was in the next camp, about ten minutes' walk away. This distance was actually not far. After all, the Quidditch World Cup stadium could accommodate 100,000 people, which meant that there would be at least 10,000 tents, and it was normal to be divided into several camping areas.
If it weren't for the wizards' magical tents, Albert doubted whether this land could accommodate so many wizards without being detected by Muggle satellites
Compared to the night, the campsite was deserted during the day, with many wizards catching up on their sleep, and some were packing up their tents to leave. There were many wizards who only wanted to watch a game, after all, Quidditch tickets were not cheap.
"Albert, this way, this way."
When Albert was walking through the camp, he found that his roommate Lee Jordan was waving at him desperately. Next to him stood a black wizard who looked very similar to him. He seemed to have heard his son's shouting, and stopped talking to the man next to him. Instead, he turned his head and looked in the direction Lee Jordan was looking.
"When did you arrive? By the way, this is my father." Lee Jordan enthusiastically introduced his father to Albert.
"Oh, dear Ludo, let me think about the bet for a while. I'll come back to you later, okay?" Mr. Li gave Bagman an apologetic look, then smiled and walked up to Albert and said hello, "You must be Albert, right? I often hear Jordan mention you, and I originally wanted to invite you to watch the game."
Bagman, who was left aside, couldn't help but frown, but he also looked at the young man in front of him with curiosity. He always felt that the other person looked a little familiar. After hearing the person next to him mention Albert's name, he remembered who the other person was.
"Albert Anderson, the most talented wizard of this century?" Bagman said in an exaggerated tone.
"Hello, Mr. Bagman," Albert said in a surprised tone, "I didn't expect to see you here."
"Do you know each other?" Mr. Li asked curiously.
"Mr. Bagman is the commentator for the Quidditch World Cup," Albert explained.
"Mr. Anderson is a famous person now. He won two international awards in one month. How about placing a bet on the competition? Ireland has a great chance of winning this year." Bagman said with a beaming face.
"Okay, Ludo, don't teach the kid a bad lesson. Let's talk about the bet later!" Mr. Li interrupted before Bagman could. "Albert, come in and sit for a while. By the way, try the latest tea I got."
"Okay, see you later." Bagman frowned and turned away.
"Dad said Bagman loves gambling and always likes to get people to bet." Lee Jordan enthusiastically invited Albert into the tent and poured him a cup of hot tea from a silver kettle.
Albert glanced at the fresh mint in the cup and took a sip. The tea in the pot was green tea, which tasted pretty good.
"Who doesn't like gambling if they can win money?" Albert put down his teacup and said meaningfully, "But I heard from others that Bagman lost a lot of money."
"How much money did you bet?" Lee Jordan asked straight to the point.
"No," said Albert, noticing that Lee Jordan's father was looking at him. "But Mr. Bagman is right. Ireland has a good chance of winning the Quidditch World Cup."
“That’s great.”
The three chatted about the game for a while, and then Albert said goodbye and left.
Lee Jordan's father looked at the bag of Galleons on the table and said to his son, "You have an extraordinary friend!"
"Of course he's extraordinary. He's a genius who won two international awards in one month. The prize money he won is more than what many people earn in a few years." Lee Jordan smiled and rubbed his hands and asked, "Dad, how much do you plan to bet? This is a sure win."
"Give him the same amount. I estimate that your friend will probably ask more than one of us to help him place the bet." Lee Jordan's father naturally knew that he couldn't just go after one person, so he prepared to look for other unlucky guys.
If Bagman is really bald, there will be no way to get the money back.
"Cherish your relationship. It's not easy to find good friends." After Albert left a bag of Galleons, Lee Jordan's father no longer doubted Albert's judgment.
Albert did find a few acquaintances who were willing to help place bets. As for doing it himself, that was too eye-catching. Adhering to the principle of making money together, many reliable acquaintances were willing to help. Interest relationships are sometimes particularly reliable.
After greeting many acquaintances along the way, Albert finally arrived outside Sirius's tent. Hermione and Lupin were setting up the grill, while Harry and Ron were helping them.
However, they often do more harm than good.
"Harry, you and Ron go get some water." Sirius handed the bucket to Harry and Ron.
"See you later."
After saying hello to Albert, Harry carried the bucket and left with Ron.
"Let's go inside and talk about the magazine." Sirius put his arm around Albert's shoulders enthusiastically and led him into the tent.
Hermione looked at the two people who entered the tent with confusion. She felt that they seemed to have some private matters to discuss, so she didn't want to disturb them.
Sirius's tent was luxurious, but it had an old feel to it, as if it had been there for a while.
As soon as Albert sat down, Sirius placed a bag of gold coins in front of him.
"You're right. Bagman is indeed unreliable. He only gave me half of the Galleons." Sirius crossed his arms and said to Albert, "I'll continue to bet the other half, but this time Bagman has learned his lesson and the odds he gives are not high."
Albert took the money bag and kindly reminded him, "You can go to other dealers to place bets. Don't just focus on Bagman. If he owes a lot of debts, he will definitely refuse to pay."
"You have a point, but I haven't found another dealer yet." Sirius was also worried that Bagman would suddenly default on his debts. If he really owed a lot of debts, he would definitely do this.
"Many wizards like to gamble." Albert said without hesitation, "You can always find one."
"By the way, are you interested in investing in a magazine? We plan to start a Defense Against the Dark Arts magazine as you suggested. Remus will be the editor-in-chief. You know, he used to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."
"You shouldn't be short of money, right?" Albert's expression was a little strange, and he didn't seem to understand why Sirius asked him to invest.
"To be honest, I started the magazine just to find a job for Remus. You should also know that it is difficult for him to find a decent job in the wizarding world as a werewolf." Sirius sighed and said, "Of course, we don't need you to pay a lot of Galleons. Just help and give some ideas occasionally. We don't need your help at other times. I can also give you three-tenths of the shares. If you really lose money in the end, I can buy back your shares with the original price of Galleons."
Albert felt that Blake made the decision on a whim, but the conditions he offered were very sincere!
"I don't think I have any reason to refuse." Albert thought for a moment and smiled, "As long as nothing goes wrong, the Defense Against the Dark Arts field will indeed be a big seller in the next few years. As long as we gain a foothold in the next few years, we won't have to worry about not making money."
Sirius couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he heard Albert agree. The conditions he offered were quite generous.
However, considering Albert's philosophy of making money together, and the fact that the other party helped him win such a large sum of Galleons, Sirius felt that he should be more generous.
Albert was not short of money at all, and he had no idea how much he won from this gambling.
Since Albert could find him, he could naturally find others to help place bets, and no one knew he was doing that. But the reason why Sirius was determined to get him to join was that Albert was a very suitable friend to make, which could be easily seen from his attitude towards friends.
Of course, Albert also helped him to solve the trouble, and Sirius saw the former robbers in Albert's foursome, but they were much better than the former robbers, and they did not bully the weak like he and James did in the past.
Ever since Sirius learned that Albert spent money to help his two friends open a shop and realize their wishes, he has been ashamed of his past self, and he wanted to help Remus find a decent job for not making his life so difficult.
If I had been like Albert in the past, perhaps all those bad things would not have happened.
Although Sirius hated Peter, he also realized that the tragedy of that year might have been caused by them.
How naive!
He had thought more than once that if he and James had not invited Peter to join the Order of the Phoenix, perhaps Peter would not have been forced to join the Death Eaters.
But there is no "before" and no "if".
James and Lily died, and he himself had been imprisoned for more than ten years. Peter once again turned to Voldemort and threatened Harry's safety.
The two sides have become enemies to the death.
"Sirius, the barbecue is ready." Hermione's voice came from outside. Sirius, who had been immersed in his thoughts, suddenly came back to his senses and gave Albert an apologetic smile.
"In a couple of days, Remus and I will study other magazines and publications together. Let's set a simple framework first and we'll talk about it then. By the way, the name of the magazine is temporarily called "Defense Guide". It would be great if you can think of a better name." Sirius invited Albert out for a barbecue.
"By the way, what is the slogan of the magazine?" Albert suddenly asked.
"The magazine's slogan?" Sirius was a little confused and obviously didn't understand what this meant.
"The slogan of Transfiguration Today is 'Changing Life'," Albert reminded. "To put it bluntly, that's the positioning of this magazine."
"What do you think is appropriate to use?" Sirius felt that it was the right thing to do to find Albert. He and Lupin did not have a clear idea about starting a magazine, which was why Lupin thought they would lose money.
"Stay away from danger and protect yourself." Albert said with a smile, "Teach everyone how to stay away from danger and how to use magic to protect themselves. You can start with spells, plants, and dark creatures, just like teaching students Defense Against the Dark Arts in class."
"Did you convince him?" Lupin listened to Albert's analysis and looked at Sirius in surprise.
"Are you really going to start a magazine?" Hermione was also surprised.
"Hermione can also help by publishing some papers in the magazine. You can even learn from other publications and solicit relevant papers from all Hogwarts students to give everyone a chance to become famous. I think many people would be willing to publish Defense Against the Dark Arts papers in the magazine."
"Really?" Hermione handed Albert a skewer of barbecue.
"As long as the quality is not too bad, it's fine. 'Transfiguration Today', 'Innovation in Magic Spells', and 'Practical Potion Master' are all like this." Albert has written many papers, so he is actually very clear about these.
"It's not as simple as you say." Harry swallowed the food in his mouth and muttered softly.
"Have you ever seen The Quibbler?" Albert asked suddenly.
"What is that?" Everyone looked at each other, obviously they didn't know such a thing existed.
"A wizarding newspaper published by Xenophilius Lovegood." Albert looked at Ron and said, "Perhaps you know who Lovegood is."
"Lovegood is near my home." Ron nodded and said, "But we don't have much interaction with them."
"How about that publication?" Hermione asked curiously.
"It's hard to explain in a few words." Albert said with a strange expression: "You can get a copy and take a look, and you will find that wizard publications are not as difficult as you think. As long as they contain useful content for wizards, people will be willing to buy them. The entire British wizarding world, the field of Defense against the Dark Arts is a mess. Even foreign students know that Hogwarts' Defense against the Dark Arts is notoriously bad. This is all thanks to the damn curse of Hogwarts. By the way, does anyone know who the Defense against the Dark Arts professor will be next semester?"
"Alastor Moody, a retired Auror, is an old friend of Dumbledore." Lupin noticed that everyone was looking at him, and quickly explained: "I got the news from Dumbledore, and I also wrote a letter to Moody, telling him about the situation in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class."
"Dumbledore's old friend?" Albert's tone was a little strange.
"Is there something wrong?"
"That curse is no joke." Albert's face looked even weirder. "Professor Dumbledore really has the heart to let his old friend take risks. Professor Lupin, maybe you should write a letter to Professor Moody and tell him about the curse and early resignation. Maybe you can help him escape."
"Does the curse really exist?"
"It has lasted for fifty years. Do you think it is a coincidence?" Albert really couldn't understand these people's thinking.
Are they unwilling to believe it, or are they really stupid