Life and Love After Voldemort

The press conference was a starchy affair during which each speaker delivered his lines flawlessly. After Harry had said his goodbyes to the league commissioner and exchanged sneers with Rita, Harry tracked down Ludo before he reached where his stretch-carriage was waiting.

Ludo kept walking towards his carriage, barely turning to acknowledge Harry's approach. "Oh, Harry, m'boy! Terrible business, this."

Harry walked further with him and made sure they were alone. "It truly is, Ludo, but I think I have information no one else has uncovered yet that might jumpstart the investigations and audits to come."

Ludo looked over both shoulders quickly. "You don't say..."

"That's right, sir. You see, when the Minister informed me last night about the Daily Prophet's discovery, I was furious and tried to come up with a way on the spot to bring these blackguards to justice. I'm not going to have them besmirch the integrity of our sport, not when I've got a chance to make history thanks to the team you put together!"

"Quite right, m'boy! Tell me, did the Minister provide you with this information?"

"No. Minister Shacklebolt doesn't want to bother DOMLEE with this, so I took it upon myself to use my status as Ministry spokesman to access the public records department and haul away relevant paperwork."

Ludo's lips completely receded from his teeth, unveiling the largest Skrewt-eating grin Harry had ever seen. "That's... marvelous, m'boy; what initiative! You haven't told anyone about this, have you? We mustn't alert those responsible that we might have picked up their scent."

Harry used all of his training to hide his disgust from his face. This is from the guy who's been leaking his every movement to the press... "No, I just felt it was my duty to start digging and see what I might find," Harry confided. His voice then fell to a whisper. "Ludo, I think I've spotted something askew, and I want you to have a look at it. I've got all the records over at my house at Grimmauld Place, so name the time and I'll meet you there to show you what I've found."

Ludo drummed his fingers against his titanic jaw. "Hmmm... what say about 5:30 this evening? If we continue to act quickly, we'll really be on our way to resolving this disgraceful business, m'boy!"

We'll see who's on their way where after tonight, 'm'boy,' thought Harry.

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

At 5:25 p.m., Kreacher escorted Bagman through the dimly-lit hallway to the dining room. "Please wait here for the master of the house," said Kreacher, then Disapparated. The dining room table was covered with books, papers and binders with Ministry of Magic emblems on them. Ludo took a seat and scanned the table, his eyes settling on a meticulous breakdown of the gambling activities of two specific entities.

"Birthright, Limited; I'm guessing they're not a diaper-cleaning company, are they, Ludo..." said Harry as he entered from the kitchen.

"Fascinating list, Harry; simply fascinating. What you've done is quite remarkable."

"You've done quite a bit yourself, which is why we're going to dispense with the pretense that you're not setting me up for a fall."

"A fall? How do you figure that, Potter, when I've got you on the verge of winning the League Cup?"

Harry leaned in towards Ludo angrily. "I know who's been leaking the stories that have been setting me up from even before I signed with the Cannons. There are only two players in the league who have a ready-made list of motives being developed that will point to them as the culprits, and that's Ron and me."

"Three players, actually," Ludo answered with a confident snarl. "Your energetic little squeeze can be tied to your portion of the scandal quite nicely as a willing accomplice, and she can also serve as an engaging bit of blackmail, which is going to start right now. I called in a well-paid associate after our conversation this morning who is now in the vicinity of your beloved's flat. He will take her into custody upon my command, though I think you'll be smart enough to shut your mouth and take your medicine. It's not like I'm plotting to have any of you killed, though I can't help that some people might want you dead in the aftermath. If you're good and do what you're told, I'll give you some tips on how to charm your way out of it when the wolves gather at your door, since nobody's better at talking their way out of mortal peril than yours truly!"

Harry appeared frozen by the threats made against Ginny. He tried to steer the conversation away from her and keep it on himself. "But why did you target Ron and me? We never crossed you, and I'd think you'd have a better chance framing people who aren't viewed as heroes by a sizable portion of the wizarding world."

Ludo looked like he'd been waiting to gloat over his scheme for ages. "Let's just say you were made to order. And I mean you alone. Weasley was a pawn, though a useful one because I figured if money or fame didn't get you, the lure of helping out your school chum might. In case you hadn't noticed, you two do just about everything together. I read "King" Weasley like a book and bet that you'd be dragged into helping him sooner or later, at the latest when the scandal broke - you better believe I still would've found a way to include you in the fun if you hadn't signed -- and at the earliest when you joined the team to save the poor Keeper from ruin. That's why I threw him into the lineup immediately and tooted his majesty's horn to the hilt, betting he'd break and come running to you for help. Even if he didn't, I knew I could appeal to you directly after the humiliation of the Hogwarts/Cannons match to help us make Ron's dream come true."

Harry shook his head. "Of course, that match and the playoff format change were your handiwork as well, all in the name of charity."

"All to make sure you had every reason possible to join our noble work!" laughed Ludo. "I magnanimously offered to hold the annual league meeting at one of the many hotel resorts controlled by Nessie in the name of cost efficiency. That made it easy to set conditions that allowed us to strategically Imperius and memory charm our agenda into reality. I probably could've gotten by without the magical touches and still convinced them. After all, I used the force of my personality to pull the wool over the ravenous eyes of the Wizengamot at its most bloodthirsty, and convinced everyone that I didn't knowingly give Rookwood information on the Ministry in exchange for some favors. However, my backers didn't want to take any chances, so I followed their instructions. That's also why we staked Ron in the penthouse suite; we couldn't have you stumbling onto the truth too soon like you've done before in the Voldemort days, so we made sure your attention stayed on Quidditch."

Harry rolled his eyes. "In other words, you've tracked everything we've said."

"Precisely, Potter. We've been listening into the suite from the moment you arrived. That meddling Granger brat almost let the cat out of the bag when she figured out that Skeeter had overhead some of my dealings and struck a bargain to lead the kill through front page bylines in the Prophet courtesy of my news leaks to her, but you never caught on more than that. Not that I had anything to worry about; you were so trusting of the way I'd presented myself that you wouldn't hear it when Granger told you exactly what was going on!" Ludo laughed again, thoroughly enjoying his game of cat and mouse.