Team: Holyhead Harpies
Position: Keeper
Prompt: Write a magical creature you've never written before (Goblin)
Character Appreciation: (Word) Last
Showtime: The Death of Gavroche - (emotion) Fear
Sophie's Shelf: Stefano - Write about someone who isn't safe.
Emy's Emporium: Temur Khan - write about someone losing everything they have
Insane House Challenge: (Location) The Leaky Cauldron
Resolutions: Write a fic based around a character we don't get to see in the movies
Word Count: 1212
Fool's Gold
The Leaky Cauldron. Best known to the majority of the wizarding world as one of the finest wizarding drinking establishments in London, and one of the ways to access Diagon Alley. However, to a select few, it was known for being one of the few gambling dens in the wizarding community—a place where wizards, goblins, veela, fairies and other such creatures alike could frequent without prejudice or fear of being caught in the illicit and recently forbidden act.
Tom, the proprietor of the Leaky Cauldron, had opened the gambling den a matter of days after the Ministry had declared that gambling would no longer be permitted, citing that it was a Muggle frivolity which the magical world should rise above. The penalty for being caught partaking in such activities would be a sentence in Azkaban.
In the weeks following, mutterings about the opening of the gambling den had reached Ludo. He had been working the deposit section at Gringotts when one of the wizards in the queue had mentioned it. His pointed ears had pricked up at the mention of this safe haven—the establishment even catered for placing bets on the Romanian Dragon Races. His fingers had been itching to place a wager on his favourite sport since gambling had been forbidden.
As soon as he had finished work that day, Ludo had hurried down to the Leaky Cauldron as fast as his short legs would carry him, and he hadn't been disappointed. It was a glorious place and it wasn't long before Ludo was in there every waking hour he wasn't working. When the Dragon Races had finished for the day, Ludo would find himself at the roulette table, placing wagers on the upcoming Quidditch matches, and playing poker.
For Ludo, the best feeling in the world was the moment of anticipation between placing a bet and discovering if he had won. The worst feeling was when lady luck wasn't on his side and he lost—which he loathed to admit was more often than he won.
He slowly trudged down the stairs to the cellar and made his way towards the door at the back which concealed the entrance to the gambling den he had been frequenting for the last three months.
Ludo gave a curt nod to the wizard who had been entrusted to act as a guard.
"Password?" he said in a bored voice.
"Pixie Dust," Ludo responded.
The wizard tapped on the door twice and muttered a spell, and the door sprang open. Ludo smiled at the guard and stepped inside.
The whole room was a flurry with noise and chatter. Every creature known to the wizarding world were gathered at various tables and placing their bets. Cries of euphoria and groans of disappointment were audible from each table he passed as he made his way towards the betting station for the Dragon Races.
"Thirty galleons on Poliath," Ludo said to the brunette behind the table as he took out a brown bag containing every last galleon he had left.
"Odds are 3/1, Mr Bagman," the brunette replied, taking his galleons and handing him his betting slip. "The best of luck."
"I don't need it," Ludo scoffed. "I have a good feeling about this one."
Ludo turned on his heel and made his way towards the projection on the wall to find a prime position for the next race.
~o~o~o~
A little over three hours later and nearly a thousand galleons lighter, Ludo shuffled towards the exit. Every bet he had placed that day had lost and he had been completely wiped out. Lady Luck had not been kind to him.
He exited the Leaky Cauldron with his shoulders slumped and his eyes cast to the ground. He kicked a pebble on the floor as he walked up the winding road.
Why was life being so unkind to him?
Suddenly, Ludo saw a flash of red and he was falling to the ground.
~o~o~o~
Ludo's head throbbed. His eyes fluttered open as he tried to recall what had happened. The last memory he had was of leaving the Leaky Cauldron, walking down Diagon Alley, and then nothing.
"Ahh, the con artist finally wakes."
Ludo froze when he heard that voice and finally started to take in his surroundings. He was in what appeared to be a dimly lit basement, and his small body was bound to a chair. Instinctively, he struggled in an attempt to break free, all to no avail. He squeezed his eyes closed and tried to channel his magic to break the bonds. When it failed, he struggled more against his bonds.
"There's no use struggling, Mr Bagman, or trying to use your magic," Lucius drawled. "Devil's Snare is one of the few known things goblin magic has no effect on."
Ludo immediately ceased his struggles and the vines slowly loosened their grasp on him, whilst still keeping him bound to the chair.
"You owe me a lot of money, Mr Bagman," Lucius whispered. "Where is it?"
"I don't have it just yet, but I'm good for the money. I promise." Ludo looked pleadingly at the man pacing in front of him. "I paid you back last time. I can do it again."
"Last time, you took me for a fool and paid me in leprechaun gold," Lucius spat. "So why should I keep you alive?"
"You can't kill me," Ludo rushed out, fighting the instinct to thrash against the Devil's Snare.
"Why not?" Lucius laughed. "Who would miss a grubby little goblin like you?"
"My employers at Gringotts," Ludo replied quickly. "I'm a high ranking official there, I'll have you know."
"You're fooling nobody, scum," Lucius hissed, kicking his leg. "You were nothing more than a bank teller until you were fired last week."
"I have a family," Ludo whispered. "If I don't return home my wife will know there's something wrong. It won't be long before she alerts the authorities."
"You mean the wife who left you a month ago," Lucius mused, raising an eyebrow at him as Ludo realised the odds of him seeing the next day were rapidly decreasing. "I doubt she will miss the moron who gambled away every last knut she had, stole and sold every valuable possession and plunged her into crippling debt."
Ludo's eyes dropped to the floor. It shouldn't have surprised him that the wizard had done his research. Every word he spoke was a painful truth that Ludo was unwilling to admit to himself. He kept telling himself his wife would return one day. That she would realise her love for him eclipsed the gambling problem she accused him of having. But every day the chances of that happening seemed to be a little further away.
"Please! Please!" Ludo begged, struggling against his bindings. "I'll do anything. Just don't kill me. I'll find you the money I owe you."
"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me," he whispered. "Crabbe, Goyle, take care of this scum, and then incinerate his body."
"No, no, please, Mr Malfoy!" Ludo cried after the retreating wizard, and two others came out of the shadows.
"You brought this on yourself, you disgusting creature," Lucius said before mounting the stairs and leaving Ludo to face his imminent death.