HP :Pokemon In Horgwart

"Alright, how about we make it three Galleons if Manticores lose the first round, but if they win, you just give us two," George or Fred—Magnus couldn't tell which—said enticingly.

"No deal," Lee answered flatly.

Magnus could have laughed at the absurdity of what he was hearing.

Are these guys even serious?

I mean, all of them were staking their bets on a doomed side, were they not?

Gyarados was a Water type, and Charizard was a Fire type.

Now, Pokémon battles in this case would adhere to a rock-paper-scissors format, and in this case, Water would beat Fire...

 I mean, there were other things to factor in, like skills and the ability to evolve, but even then, the serpent had an edge due to its ruthless nature.

Unless… unless magic had toppled that advantage.

Then again, he realized he could not rule out wizarding ignorance. Hadn't he already discovered they knew nothing about Poké Balls and instead contented themselves with the chaos that arose from having too many Pokémon everywhere at the same time?

 So what was to make type advantage one more thing they didn't know?

But if that were so, surely this could be a golden opportunity for him.

Already, he could feel his remaining three Galleons and nine Sickles burning in his pocket.

Thinking about the twins' proposal, he could already see an opening to get more money. And more money was something he could not say no to.

Even if it turned out that magic had brought a twist to type advantage, couldn't both sides do magic? I mean, it kind of canceled out each other, and then, whether they knew it or not, it would all come down to type advantage.

Magnus could not contain his excitement as he now turned around.

It wasn't just the fact that he was about to talk to a group of characters from frigging Harry Potter—the prospect of gold also held an even bigger charm.

The tables were tightly squeezed together such that, by just turning, he was already next to Lee, who had his back to him.

"I will take that deal," he said, making Lee jump from the sudden voice.

The twins, too, looked at him as if they had not heard him.

"Sorry, what?"

Magnus gave up trying to figure out which of the twins had addressed him.

"I will bet my two Galleons on Gyarados to win the first round, and if he wins, you will give me three. If Charizard wins, you can have my two."

The three friends stared at each other like they were having some kind of silent communication he was not privy to.

"He isn't serious," said George or Fred. "You ain't got no Galleons, mate."

Magnus fumbled through his pocket and extracted the three Galleons.

"Here," he said, placing two on the table. "Now show yours."

"Merlin's inner pants, mate... you are serious, aren't you?"

Magnus didn't answer them. He waited patiently for them to show theirs.

Now that they had mentioned it, he realized the twins might actually not have the Galleons—they might have just been joking.

And that was exactly how it turned out.

The twins looked quite crestfallen, and one of them was about to say something when his eyes fell on the book that Magnus had just finished skimming through.

"Oh, dang it. I never hated being poor more than I do now... This would have been easy money, George... he is a complete noob, ain't he?"

They all, except Magnus, turned to where Fred was pointing.

"So if it's easy money, why not make it five Galleons then? If I win, I will add one more if your Charizard wins instead." Magnus added his last Galleon to the two.

His statement appeared to throw the twins into even more disappointment.

"You are lucky we ain't got no Galleons, mate," Fred said, eyeing the three gold coins dreamily.

"Yeah, but if you still want to give away your money, mate, there's a betting booth down the arena... I think the odds are, what, guys? Four to two?"

Magnus's excitement, which had deflated upon hearing the twins had no money, skyrocketed once more.

"Four?" he blurted out in excitement. "But why?"

I mean, of course, most people tended to side with Charizard, but really, such a battle wasn't that unbalanced.

Gyarados was a vicious beast, and if anything, its chaotic style would give it an edge, seeing as it never minded the devastation of its attacks.

"Gyarados has no chance, mate. The dragon's fire has an edge here," said Fred.

"Yeah, I mean, all he can do is duck, bite, and slash, but soon he'll be toast," George mused.

"What?" Magnus exclaimed. "You mean like they can kill?"

The look that the trio gave him made him feel like the dumbest human in this world.

"Seriously... you've never seen a Pokémon battle?" Fred asked.

Magnus hesitated. He had seen Pokémon battles, all right—just not this version of them.

It was Lee who answered for him.

"Isn't it obvious? 'Course he hasn't... Anyway, there's no killing in the league. Nothing like that. But Charizard's fire will probably knock out Gyarados halfway through the first round."

Hearing Lee's opinion, Magnus decided it was either the trio had not seen Gyarados fight before, or its trainers were quite pathetic... because Gyarados, in the hands of a good team, was a nightmare to any Fire type for that matter.

Still, the confident way the three friends were talking made him start doubting his choice.

"Guys, there's almost an hour left, but we should probably get the tickets, or all the best spots will be taken."

"How much for the tickets?" Magnus asked as the three scrambled to leave.

"Seven Sickles," the trio chorused.

Perfect.

That meant his remaining three Galleons would still remain untouched as he still had the nine Sickles from his change.

His mind was made up. He was staking all three Galleons in favor of Gyarados.

He quietly followed them toward one corner where an older wizard had just tapped on the barrier to Diagon Alley.

The four of them were soon back, walking in the cobbled streets.

After several turns, which Magnus had not explored yet, they soon broke into a crowded area.

Magnus peeked ahead to see what was going on.

"Crap... looks like we are a little late," one of the twins swore in frustration.

And he was right.

The long queue that stretched ahead of them was enough to make anyone feel hopeless.

The throng of fans was lined up, heading toward the small booth whose top shone with dazzling enchanted text that seemed to pop out:

"Department of Magical Sports – Wizarding Pokémon Battle League Tickets."

Beneath that, there was a list of names that Magnus realized were the teams playing today.

Next to each was a list of varying prices for each fixture.

He soon realized that his fear of the long queue had been wrong.

It had been barely ten minutes, and George, who was the first in their group, was already being served.

"Manticores vs. Griffins," he yelled above the voice of the crowd.

"Ticket for three... Hey Lee, cough up..." he said as he collected Fred's Sickles before turning to him.

"Hey... uuh..."

"Magnus."

"Oh yeah... Magnus, coming to the same game?" George asked as the impatient-looking wizard waited for them to hand over their money.

"'Course he is... he is betting on the Griffins, isn't he?" said Fred.

"Not exactly... just the first round," he said, handing over his share.

"Oh... make it four tickets," George said, handing over a handful of Sickles.

There was a moment of delay as the man grimly counted the money.

"Here you go," he growled, handing over four tickets to George. "The next Portkey to Oakspire Arena leaves in five minutes."

"Thanks," they all mumbled, moving out of line.

"And kid... I wouldn't bet a dime on the Gyarados... it has no chance," the man yelled after them.

"There you have it, mate... still time to change your mind," Fred jeered, patting him on the shoulder.

"No thanks... my three Galleons are on Gyarados, first round," Magnus said in forced confidence.

He did not know why he was sticking with this despite so many warnings... maybe there was something these people knew that he didn't...

***Powerstones please ***