Gambling School Fanfiction

AU Prompt: High school AU, characters stuck working together on a project. Tags → #shipping prompt #au prompt #fanfiction prompt #fanfic prompt #cliche prompt. Ludo Bagman has managed to hide many things from his muggle wife, including magic, his gambling debt, and his intense fear of pumpkins. Life had improved tremendously for Ludo Bagman since he'd been on the run. An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works. The next thing I remember was Adam standing in front of our teacher holding his wet handkerchief against his bloody nose and stubbornly refusing to answer her questions. Finally she wrote a note for Pa explaining that Adam had disturbed the peace at school. We both know how our father feels about fights, expecially starting one.

Wanna bet?

Chapter 1

In spite of being a very cute little boy, one Uzumaki Naruto was destined to be a powerhouse, and Sarutobi Hiruzen had big plans for him. Plans that became much more complicated when Naruto was six years old.

.

The Third was taking a rest from paperwork to look out over the beautiful hidden village he ruled when the blond boy he thought of as a grandson came barging into his office, 'Jiji!' the little boy said, 'I don wanna be a ninja no more.'

A bit flummoxed Hiruzen replied, 'Really? Any particular reason why?'

The six year old grinned, 'Weasle-kun taught me how to play poker and I didn't lose a single round. I figure if I'm tha good, I shouldn't be a shinobi.'

Sarutobi hmmed in thought, 'So you're going to give up being a ninja to become a professional gambler are you? You know it's very possible that Weasle-kun let you win because he felt bad about the idea of almost literally taking candy from a baby.'

Naruto scowled in indignation, 'No way old man! I'd be a great gambler! I bet dere's no bet I could lose!'

The Sandaime nodded, 'Perhaps, but did you ever consider that maybe you'd be equally good as a shinobi?'

The little boy snorted, 'Yeah right! I bet I'd graduate dead last from d'academy.'

Hiruzen smiled, 'Done.'

The six year old blinked in surprise then frowned, 'Cheater.'

A/N So this is my new story. I'll probably use it as a stress reliever from all the serious stuff I write for school. It's a quasai-drabble story and in no way should be taken seriously. Because I am in school, I'll probably only be updating 'Wanna Bet?' once or twice a week. I hope y'all enjoy it. :) TAS

P.S. Thank you to everyone who reviewed Team Psych, I Spy and my other stories. You have no idea how much y'alls encouragement still helps me want to write. Especially when one of my papers gets shredded by a professor.

A/N: This is a silly little Fic that I wrote about one of my favorite side characters, Ludo Bagman. I like to think he has some interesting stories from his time on the run.

Written for practice round two of the International Wizarding School Championship's third season.

House: Hogwarts- 'The Horn of Plenty'

Story Title: Tenax Tristis

Prompts:

[Object] Pumpkin

[Plot Point] Getting into an argument

WC: 2,137

Tenax Tristis

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Ludo Bagman has managed to hide many things from his muggle wife, including magic, his gambling debt, and his intense fear of pumpkins.

Life had improved tremendously for Ludo Bagman since he'd been on the run.

On a crisp autumn afternoon, he found himself sitting by his kitchen window, sipping a stout, and thinking about his past life in the Wizarding World. Who knows what brought it up- it had been years since he had even paid one thought to it. Perhaps it was the season- the changing leaves, the fall harvest, and sudden change in temperature and scenery- that reminded him of how quickly he had turned his life around.

Technically, he was still in debt and in hiding. He didn't like thinking about the debt he owed the Goblins- the thought of owing so much money made him shudder. He had already bet and lost everything before, and had nothing more to give them. He assumed that the Goblins had understood this, and given up looking for him long ago. Even Fred and George Weasley had eventually stopped pestering him for real money, when the Leprechaun gold he paid them disappeared. Now that he had successfully outrun his debts, it was finally time for him to prosper. And prospering he was.

No one at the ministry had contacted him. They had likely filled his position at the Department of Magical Sports and Games, and he was no longer needed. This was fine by him- the job had been too stressful anyway. He had found a new job as a handyman for muggles. He quite enjoyed it, actually. He could use very simple magic to fix things that muggles would otherwise spend a great deal of time on, and he was well compensated for his work. It also meant that he received his payment in muggle money, allowing him to avoid any Goblin encounters at Gringotts Bank.

Even though he stopped gambling when he skipped town, he still won a different kind of jackpot- his wife, Eleanor. She was a lot of things- beautiful, spontaneous, intelligent, sarcastic, raunchy, and most importantly, gullible. Thankfully she believed Ludo's many wild stories that explained why he was so quirky and mysterious.

He had met her at this very house, when she requested his handiwork services, and they hit it off immediately. The pair began to date shortly after their first meeting. Ludo found that she succumbed to his charm quite easily. They intrigued each other- She was impressed by how quickly and efficiently he could perform housework, and he rather enjoyed someone praising his many talents. It was something that had been lacking for him during his last few months working at the Ministry. Of course, she didn't know he was a wizard, and he was not planning on telling her.

Spending time with Eleanor taught him everything he needed to know about blending in with muggles. He married her just a few months after their first date. It was spontaneous and impulsive, just like them. He had never pictured himself married to a muggle, but that didn't matter. Life had a way of just happening to Ludo Bagman. Accurately predicting the future wasn't his strength and he had the debts to show for it- something else that Eleanor would never know about.

The sound of the door cranking open awoke Ludo from his thoughts.

'Hey Ludo I'm home,' echoed Eleanor's voice from the doorway.

'In the kitchen!' Ludo did a quick scan of the kitchen- hoping he hadn't left any magical charms running in the background. He was in the clear.

Eleanor entered with a woven grocery bag hanging from her forearm. 'I stopped at the store on my way home, that's why I'm home later than normal.'

Ludo hadn't even noticed. 'What did you get? Something good for supper?'

'Even better, dessert.' Eleanor lowered the bag to the kitchen counter and pulled out a very large and ripe pumpkin. 'I figured we could make pumpkin pie for desse-' She paused at the look on Ludo's face. He was staring intently at the pumpkin, wide-eyed and fearful, as if it could explode at any moment.

'Put that down!' He shouted, gesturing at the pumpkin, and backing away as if it was a hand-grenade.

Eleanor flinched at his outburst, then narrowed her eyes in confusion as she lowered the pumpkin onto the kitchen counter, and took a step away. 'What? Why?' She looked up at him, her expression willing him to explain.

But Ludo couldn't explain. At least not in a way that would protect his secrets. Instead, he experienced a flood of unwelcome memories, triggered by the unexpected encounter with a pumpkin- something that he had been avoiding as intentionally as Goblins.

Ludo didn't want anything to do with pumpkins. He wouldn't touch them, eat them, or carve them. He didn't even want to look at them. As far as Ludo was concerned, pumpkins were an omen of bad luck.

It had been years since he had last eaten a pumpkin, and he remembered the experience vividly. It was so memorable simply because it marked the last time Ludo had been truly happy- at least until he found Ellie, of course. Regardless, if he had never eaten that pumpkin, his life would be very, very, different...

Many years ago, on an autumn stroll through the woods, he came across a lonely wild pumpkin. He picked it and prepared it into a pie, just as Ellie was about to do now.

Ludo had always loved pumpkin pie and recalled his excitement for that first luxurious bite. But when he bit into it, he was overwhelmed by an unpleasant and unfamiliar sensation. It felt like loneliness. Emptiness. It was almost as if that one bite of pumpkin pie had made him suddenly aware of a void he needed to fill.

At first, he tried to fill the void with the rest of the pie, but he found it had lost all taste, and did nothing to satisfy him. The sudden emptiness he felt was unbearable, and he would try anything to make it stop. Ludo, formerly an honest and wholesome man, moved on to other worldly pleasures to fill the void. He experimented with drugs. Alcohol. Sex. But nothing made it go away.

That's when he started to gamble. The recklessness that he'd adopted in his hunt for fulfillment caused him to bet his entire vault's worth on the outcome of a local Quidditch match just to feel something.

Miraculously, he won. And even more miraculously, the feeling that came from winning that large sum of money was exactly what he had been searching for. How could he have been so lucky? He wanted to experience it again.

So Ludo kept gambling. Unfortunately, that first bet was the last time he would ever win, but he didn't know that. He managed to temporarily quell the emptiness he felt with the hope and excitement that came from each reckless wager. However, it seemed that the luck that had struck him on his first bet struck again every time, but only for his opponents.

Take Fred and George Weasley- at the Quidditch World Cup they had bet that Victor Krum would catch the snitch, but Bulgaria would still lose. That was a stupid bet. Objectively unlikely. He should have won, but they did. How could they have gotten so lucky?

He chalked every lost bet up to sheer luck. Everyone else was getting lucky, and the chance was strong that he would be next. Stopping now, just one bet away from a big win, would be foolish of him. So he continued to gamble, and his debt grew, until he eventually became numb to the excitement. As it turns out, playing to get out of debt wasn't quite as fun as playing to get instantly rich. When he realized that gambling was no longer filling the void, he fled. It made sense- he needed a fresh form of excitement, and he would never be able to pay back his debts anyway.

Excitement came in the form of this new life as a wizard secretly living among muggles. Maintaining his job, his marriage, and his identity came with the risk of exposing the entire wizarding world if he wasn't careful. It kept him on his toes, and he liked that. He doubted he'd ever become numb to this new adventure.

Ludo emerged from his memories to find himself standing in the kitchen, staring at his wife, and trying to explain why a grown man would fear a pumpkin.

'Ludo,' repeated Eleanor more firmly. 'What's wrong with the pumpkin?'

He didn't answer at first. He still didn't know how to.

'Ludo. Answer me. You're scaring me.'

As calmly as he could, he responded. 'Eleanor, Pumpkins are very bad luck.' He held her gaze without blinking to show his seriousness. He expected her to believe and humor him, as she did with all of his unique beliefs but this time she didn't.

Eleanor broke his stare and let out a hearty laugh. 'You are too much sometimes, Ludo.' She reached again for the pumpkin and Ludo, controlled by his fear, shoved his hand into his back pocket to grab his wand.

He was quick enough. His years of Quidditch had given him fast reflexes. When Eleanor turned away, he quickly flicked his wand toward the pumpkin, and sent a nonverbal command its way.

Eleanor shrieked as the pumpkin exploded from her hand, sending its slimy orange insides all over the kitchen. 'What just happened? What did you do?' She threw the remainder of the pumpkin onto the ground. 'Weird shit like this is always happening around you, Ludo! WHY?'

She turned around to glare at him. Her face was red, and she looked angry. Ludo loved this about her. She could be smiling and laughing one moment, and furious in the next. This excited him. As far as Ludo was aware, her anger was always unprovoked.

At least that's what he thought.

'I told you, pumpkins are bad luck,' he said simply with a shrug. It was something he firmly believed to be true. She would just have to accept that they would not be enjoying any pumpkin desserts anytime soon.

But what did he know?

Unfortunately for Ludo, his pumpkin phobia was misdirected. The truth was, his bad luck had little to do with pumpkins in general, and everything to do with that one particular pumpkin, many years ago. What Ludo didn't know was that the water that fed that particular patch of earth where he found the wild pumpkin years ago, had been contaminated with Tenax Tristis, a bad luck potion. No one had reported the contamination, as the potion was strictly illegal, and a long sentence in Azkaban awaited anyone who tried to brew it.

As a result of the contamination, anything that grew in that particular patch of grass was infected with the potion. Every day the contamination remained, the potion's effects grew stronger and longer-lasting. And who knows how long it had been contaminated.

Ludo didn't know any of this. In fact, had no idea he had been, and still was living under the effects of Tenax Tristis. He thought his life had improved tremendously. After all, he had escaped his debts and won the marriage lottery, and all that had remained from his previous life was a manageable pumpkin phobia.

But in reality, Ludo's luck hadn't changed at all. The jackpot of his perfect life was just another illusion that would soon escape his grip before he knew it. He would eventually become numb to the excitement of hiding his past and his true self. He would soon succumb to the stress of it all, which would cause him to break the statute of secrecy. The Ministry would then find him, as would the Goblins, and he would have to repay his debts.

Ludo thought he was finally prospering and rebuilding what he had lost, but he wasn't. Thanks to Tenax Tristis, he was about to lose it all again. He just didn't know that yet.

Eleanor glared at her husband before turning sharply and exiting the room. Ludo, who was still terrified of pumpkins, called out to her. 'Hon, aren't you going to clean this up?'

'You are unbelievable,' he heard her grumble as she stormed out the front door. Ludo assumed she was going back to the store to pick up something else for dessert, because pumpkin pie simply wouldn't do.

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Her anger was pretty convincing, but Ludo was sure she was just joking. He returned to his perch beside the window, excitedly waiting for his wife to return with more dessert.

He didn't know that her anger was very real, and she wasn't planning to come back anytime soon.

He took another sip of his stout, enjoying his blissful oblivion.

Life really had improved since he'd been on the run.