Hogwarts: Even Voldemort Can't Stop Me From Studying

Chapter 631: Chapter 22: The Black Family’s Tent

A group of students wearing blue and magenta robes walked right past Vid, laughing and chatting about a recent match.

”Ten to three hundred and ninety... hahahaha... I’ve never seen such a big gap in a game before...”

The smile on Lupin’s face vanished suddenly. He touched his nose, looking a bit angry and somewhat embarrassed.

”What’s wrong?”

Vid glanced at the gold buttons on the students’ clothes and asked, puzzled.

”They are talking about the England Team’s match against the Transylvania Team,” Lupin said softly, ”The England Team only scored ten points.”

”Oh.” Vid somewhat understood, but he thought it was alright.

How to say it? In the Muggle World Cup, he had seen even more embarrassing matches. He had stopped getting upset over them a long time ago.

Vid then asked, ”Transylvania? I remember it’s in Romania.”

”That’s how it is in the Muggle world, but in the magic world, Transylvania is a special place, not to be confused with Romania,”

Lupin said seriously, ”There are a lot of Dark Magic creatures there, and some powerful Dark Wizards are in hiding.”

As they spoke, the group of students had already walked past them, and Vid then saw Sirius and Harry.

Harry was crouched in front of the tent, trying to build a shaky frame with some firewood, struggling to light a campfire.

Sirius stood on the open ground at the doorway with his hands in his pockets, smiling a mysterious smile, talking to a wizard.

The wizard wore a yellow and black Quidditch robe, looking like a chubby bumblebee, with a cheerful and lively smile on his face, his round blue eyes making him look like a big boy who hadn’t graduated yet.

”Oh, Ludo Bagman,” Lupin frowned and said.

”Dear Sirius, interested in placing a bet on the match?”

Bagman said enthusiastically, ”Ireland versus Peru, the odds are three to one! Bulgaria is up against Wales, with Krum playing, it’s a sure win!”

”You can also bet on which team will score first, who will catch the Golden Snitch! Which two teams will make it to the finals... how about it, interested?”

”Come take a chance! Miss this, and you’ll have to wait four years!”

Sirius showed a playful smile, holding a few Golden Galleons in his hand, raising an eyebrow as he asked, ”If it’s a sure win, then wouldn’t you lose for sure? I heard you nearly lost your magic wand in the last England match!”

A look of embarrassment flashed across Bagman’s face, but he laughed twice, reaching out to pat Sirius on the shoulder:

”Win some, lose some, isn’t that the charm of the game? Bet ten Galleons and win thirty back! Opportunities like this don’t come every day!”

Sirius was about to speak when Lupin interrupted, ”Good morning, Sirius, Bagman.”

Seeing Lupin and Vid, Sirius’s smile became genuine, but sweat started to form on Bagman’s forehead.

”Haha, who do we have here, it’s Remus. Of course, of course, you guys would come to watch the game.”

Bagman laughed awkwardly, retreating a bit, ”Speaking of which, Ponte just wanted to make a bet with me! I’ll go chat with him! See you later, my friends!”

Having said that, without waiting for a response, he hurriedly left.

”So strange, it’s my first time seeing someone who’s afraid of you but not afraid of me.” Sirius joked to Lupin, ”What, did you visit him under the clear moonlight?”

”What? No! Of course not!” Lupin looked around, then said, ”I saw him borrowing money from Machioni before—Bagman is on the brink of ruin, hoping to make a comeback with this game!”

”Through gambling?” Sirius laughed mockingly, ”He’s gone mad! Hasn’t he thought about what would happen if he loses?”

”If he could think long-term, he wouldn’t become a gambler,” Lupin said.

While the two adults were talking, Harry greeted Vid, and the two of them went into the tent together.

Sirius’s tent looked grand from the outside and was like a palace inside, even with two levels, a bathroom, and a kitchen, fully equipped, with four bedrooms providing plenty of space for each person.

Vid’s bedroom was also prepared in advance, with brand-new sheets and quilts exuding a faint, sun-dried smell.

Kreacher stood by the door, bowed when he saw Vid, and said, ”Kreacher is preparing lunch. What would Master Vid like to eat for lunch?”

”Steak will do, thank you, Kreacher.”

Vid said casually, watching Kreacher carry a spatula and rush to the kitchen. He then looked at Harry and asked, ”Did you bring Kreacher along?”

”That wasn’t our idea, it was Kreacher insisting on coming,” Harry said, ”He feels that without him, Sirius could at most keep us from starving.”

”But I see you still tried to light the fire?” Vid asked.

”Just for fun,” Harry shrugged, ”Sirius thinks it adds to the camping atmosphere.”

He found it quite entertaining himself.

The Dursley family’s camping trips never included Harry, so this was actually the first time he participated in such an activity. All those things he’d only seen on TV before, he now wanted to try himself.

It was nearly a week that Harry had been at the campsite before Vid arrived, or else Vid would have seen an excited Savior running around.

Vid toured the tent, and the two returned to the open ground in front.

By this time, the campfire was already lit, and Kreacher had prepared some skewers of meat and vegetables, along with two fish, for them to grill over the fire.

Vid and Harry sat on stools, rotating the thin sticks in their hands, watching the meat sizzle on the fire, while discussing holiday homework and recent life events.

”...I’ve read through my Magic Potion Class book, just so Snape won’t find an excuse to bug me,” Harry said, ”But I haven’t written my Divination Class paper yet, although I suspect Professor Trelawney won’t look at it seriously either.”

”You finished it at the Dursley family?” Vid asked.

”Yeah, with Sirius living nearby, Uncle Vernon couldn’t take away all my magic books...” Harry muttered.

When Harry didn’t show his scar, the two students having their own barbecue were quite inconspicuous at the camping grounds, but Sirius seemed to attract people like a spotlight.

While Vid sat beside him, he saw wave after wave of people come to talk to Sirius, including officials from the Ministry of Magic, some Pure-Blood Clan wizards, his former classmates, and even young witches drawn by his fame.

He looked at Harry, ”Shall we go find Michael after eating?”

”Sure!” Harry agreed enthusiastically, nodding, ”Let’s find a quieter place.”