Life and Love After Voldemort

Harry returned to the suite and gave everyone the details on the story the Prophet would rush into print the following morning. Ron and Ginny seethed with rage as the rumored scandal sunk in, both promising all forms of painful retribution on whoever would dare sully the reputation of their league by betting on matches, which constituted in their eyes unforgivable betrayal in a sport founded on tough but fair play.

Hermione's reaction surprised Harry, as it didn't consist of shock as much as a confirmation of previously-held suspicions. "This has to explain the questionable patterns that I've been gleaning from my research."

"You mean, you knew that someone in the league was up to something already?" asked an astonished Ron.

"Not exactly; I just kept coming across definite irregularities that seemed to appear with remarkable consistency for two enterprises - sports and gambling - whose results are supposed to be completely subject to chance. I've been too busy finishing up at Hogwarts and starting at 'Magical Creatures' to complete my reviews and cross-checks. I don't have this month's updated figures, but I should be able to come up with a rough work-up that will give us a decent overview of what I have in a couple of hours."

Harry, who had been staring out of the penthouse windows at the lights of downtown Chudley, suddenly turned and tore across the suite towards the vestibule. "That's great, Hermione, really terrific work," said Harry as he rushed passed his slightly startled friend. "While you do that, why don't I run back to the Ministry and sign out those updates for you..." Harry hastily slipped on an orange and black outer robe that had been hanging near the front door.

"Oi! What's wrong with your own robe, Harry?" Ron shouted.

"Oh, right... Sorry, mate, must be in too much of a hurry!" said Harry as he switched garments and bolted out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

True to her word, Hermione had compiled by the time Harry returned two hours later a list of numbers, names, and dates unfathomable to the rest but plain as day to her. "As I combed over the last fiscal year of wagers - which I'm sure you know are all registered by law for tax purposes so Uncle Merlin gets his slice of the winnings, I noticed a concern called Birthright, Limited popping up on a regular basis. The group had wagered on events of every conceivable variety and containing wildly different odds. The group lost some wagers, but almost all of those losses failed to exceed 50 Galleons. The group's winnings are what's irregular, as they completely defy the law of averages. The payouts on these wagers never vary, and always total between 4800 and 4900 Galleons. I didn't put it together until tonight, but that figure is right below the requirement for banking concerns in the wizarding world to report cash transactions in excess of 5000 Galleons to DOMLEE in order to prevent money laundering."

The picture was coming into focus for Harry. "That means each winning sum is essentially a ready-made bundle that can get funneled one by one to who knows where without setting off any alarms."

"Precisely, Harry. And what's also disquieting is that that the Birthright, Ltd. name disappeared from sight right around our Christmas break, while a new group called Fair Share Partners emerged as of the first of the year as another 'irregular.' I'll have a better picture once I've had a chance to cross-reference this year's tallies with the updated figures you gave me, but this new group appears to be racking up winnings at a similarly unrealistic ratio."

"Well," Ginny weighed in, "it's obvious that no one is going to win payouts in such a narrow range unless there's someone working with them from the inside. The casino could've uncovered someone in their employ who was arranging the payouts at the designated amounts for one or both of those groups, and now they're trying to find out who's placing the bets and receiving the payouts."

"My question is how no one picked up on all this on the casino's side of things long before now," Ron interjected. "No one bats an eye when a major newspaper has their reporters and 'sources' blasting my finances and getting most of it wrong, but it takes the casino a year to spot a ton of shady goings-on, and my girl digs it out in her spare time before she's even officially started work!"

"There's absolutely no way that the casino hierarchy would miss something like this for as long as the irregularities have been occurring, not with the way they triple-check everything to make sure no one's skimming and to keep their license from getting pulled. It's a cinch that the casino is part of the problem, and I'd venture to say that problem starts from the top," said Hermione. "Doesn't it, Harry?" Hermione was now standing with her hands on her hips, awaiting Harry's answer.

"Hermione, you have to know I had my reasons for pretending to dismiss your suppositions about Ludo months ago when Rita let it slip that he was up to something. I'm still not at liberty to elaborate further on many of the particulars, and you're smart enough to know why."

"I know, Harry. I know."

"KNOW WHAT?!?" cried Ron and Ginny simultaneously.

"Let me put it this way," Harry explained. "From now on, we're going to operate under the assumption that Bagman is masterminding the conspiracy from the casino's end. He may be dealing with either one of the groups in question or both of them, but enough of the potential variables fit Bagman to a tee given his current capacities as co-owner of the Cannons and the Chudleighton casino empire."

"And let's not forget his stellar past," said Ron ruefully. "But I still don't see what Ludo has to gain. Like you said before, he's trying to win a title and has all the money he'd ever need now."

"It could be the old story of a rich man wanting more," Harry replied, "which a man with Ludo's gambling weaknesses could fall prey to, especially when he cost himself a steady job at the Ministry over his gambling debts and then went to detestable lengths to wriggle out of them. But it would take someone with absolutely no self-control to kill the golden gooses he has in the team and the casino, and Ludo's shown this time around that he's in control of both those things and of the entire Quidditch league, going by the way he rammed through major format and financial changes with virtually no opposition."

"Also," added Hermione, "you don't focus unwanted attention on the casino and the shady machinations therein by holding a press conference about possible gambling fraud. You certainly don't call for an investigation that will also prompt government agencies to conduct corresponding inquiries, such as the routine examination of publicly available information I've done that's uncovered so many irregularities."

"Uh, guys, you're kind of making my point," said a befuddled Ron. "Why would Ludo put the spotlight on the casino's shenanigans if he had been covering them up for so long?"

"Pay attention, Ronald..." Hermione muttered with a hint of exasperation, then caught herself. "Sorry, dear; I know it's a lot to digest."

"No worries, sweetheart," said Ron with a touch of bitterness in his voice. "I'm sure you'll tell me where all this is going when it suits you."

Hermione's face scrunched as she fought to bite her tongue amidst her simmering frustration, prompting Harry to speak up. "Ron, you're going to have to trust our instincts that we've unearthed a setup, and no one fits the man behind the setup better than Ludo. Someone as shrewd as Bagman isn't going to allow this kind of attention on his dirty casino unless he wants it for some reason. The question is where the attention is ultimately going to be focused."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry knew it was time to broach the most troubling of his suppositions. "There's another assumption we must make at this point, one that might be hard to accept at first: Ron and I are the Quidditch players who are the subject of the impending investigation. Moreover, it is likely that Ludo and his partners and/or backers will see to it that the case presented against us is ironclad, giving us limited time to find a way to clear our names and figure out why they're doing this."

"WHAT? What have we ever done to him that he'd try to pin this money shuffling on us?" Ron shouted.

Ginny had visibly tensed. "You can't be serious, Harry."

"I'm not saying it's definite, darling, but we need to act like it is because we must be prepared for the worst. And the more we use that perspective on the matter, the sooner we'll see how things could fit together if it is true."

Hermione nodded, pacing as she talked the matter through. "Now that Bagman's motives are suspect, we need to examine his actions that concern Ron and Harry from the time he came back into the public eye. If he wanted to hang something on either of them, one way would be to put them in a position where he could manipulate their circumstances. Getting them involved in one of the enterprises he was heading up would allow him the access and control he needed. Using the under-the-table deal I've assumed for months he's had with Skeeter," Hermione continued as she shot an 'I told you so' smirk at Harry, "he could start to build a case in the minds of the public that motives existed for Ron to find a way to bolster his bank account. Bagman had already hoodwinked Ron on the amount of money Ron would have at his disposal, and the article on his finances underscored why Ron might eventually try to bet his way into some quick cash, with Harry going along for the ride either for greed or to help a friend..."

"...Or to get the fair share that Ludo had promised me with his supposed slip to Rita that I was going to be the highest-paid person in the wizarding world if I signed with him. Of course, he knew full well at the time that he couldn't deliver that since he was already engineering the salary cap into existence." What an operator, Harry thought.

"Aren't you glad you modified that Howler you sent me on my financial status, hon?" Ron said with a superior air.

"Yeah, the old Hermione would've modified you, not the Howler, and asked questions later," observed Ginny. "I really miss that old girl... Why did Healer Harry have to stick his nose in and ruin my fun?"

"Oh ha, ha, ha, Ginny!" Hermione retorted. "I'll never apologize for personal maturity and growth, which Ron has returned in so many..."

Ginny suddenly sat up and snapped her fingers, straining to say what was on the tip of her tongue. "Quick, what were the names of those groups you dug up, Hermione?"

"There was... Oh for Pete's sake, Harry," Hermione said as if it had dawned on her four moves too late that Ron was about to trounce her in Wizard chess again. "He couldn't have been THAT bold."

"Who in blue blazes is Pete?" asked Ron with a confused frown.

Harry quickly explained it was just a Muggle expression, but still was as lost as Ron. "What are you two on about?"

"You just said it, Harry," replied Ginny. "It was that bit about the 'fair share' you were promised."

"Fair Share Partners! Of course! I can just see Rita suggesting the name and then using it in print to twist the knives in our backs," Harry visualized. "And with the casino and league basically under his thumb, Ludo could further manipulate the upcoming audits and investigation the way he wants and 'prove' a plot and conspiracy by Ron and me."

Ginny scowled. "I'm still not getting why he'd pick two of the biggest heroes in the wizarding world as the fall guys -- especially you, Harry. No offense, dear brother," she hastened to add.

"I've got some guesses," said Harry, "but I'm through with speculation for the rest of the night. We need to proceed as if we're publicly oblivious to what's happening, but we must take as many precautions as we can. Let's confine our discussions and speculation to this room. Hermione, I suggest you and Ginny head to your place, get some rest, and then tackle the updated figures bright and early tomorrow. We're not going to be able to stop tomorrow's paper or press conference, but we may be able to prevent Ludo and his backers from getting any further with their plans." It's going to come down to what I can find out from Ludo firsthand. Time to arrange a meeting...