A/N: Hey everyone. We've got a frenemy story this time around. I struggled writing this quite a bit but hopefully it's okay :)

Note: In this story, Rufus Fudge (Cornelius' nephew) has already been working at the Ministry for 2 years before the incident instead of a week as it says in canon.

Written for: QLFC 5 round 4: Cannons Beater 1 - Write about a member of the Fudge family - character wins a large sum of money - 'A little drama wins more friends than boring.' – Scott Westerfield

Word count: 2519

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Present Day

Everything was quiet in the Improper Use of Magic Office. The head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Minister had departed several minutes ago, but everyone was still talking in whispers.

The case the vanishing Muggle underground train had turned into an unprecedented scandal, with inquiries being launched into the very department whose job it was to punish violations of the Statute of Secrecy. The irony was almost laughable.

But Rufus Fudge was not laughing. He was sitting in his chair, staring vacantly at the wall as his possessions flew from his desk into his briefcase.

Suspended. He couldn't believe it. He had been suspended from his job.

Granted, the Aurors were correct to suspect him, but some small, cocky part of him believed he was immune from punishment as the nephew of the Minister.

So much for that theory. Cockiness had been the very thing that led him to do it in the first place.

When the last trinket had tucked itself neatly inside his case, Rufus took one last glance at the contents to make sure everything was accounted for. His eyes lingered on the black pouch of money that sat on the very top of the pile, and he sighed. He didn't know how he'd spend a knut of that money with a clear conscience after he'd practically gambled his job for it.

Rufus slammed the lid shut and stood up, looking at his empty desk with a heavy heart before making his way to the door. Nobody said goodbye to him on his way out. People glanced his way with mingled anger and disappointment before returning to their hushed conversations. Everyone, except Rodney Holton, who smirked nastily at him.

Holton…

Rufus glowered at him in return. None of this would have happened if he hadn't started working here. None of this would have happened if Rufus hadn't let him get to him.

He left the office with a frown on his face, the fifty galleons jangling in his briefcase with every step a reminder of his guilt and weakness.

He'd give anything to turn back time and not take that bet.

Last Week

It had started like any other Monday. Rufus woke with unkempt hair and heavy eyes, his fingers fumbling with the straps on his cloak as he dressed before he walked to the Steamy Bean café. He grunted his order at the grumpy-looking wizard behind the counter (not being capable of human speech before his morning coffee), and slumped into the nearest chair to wait.

The Steamy Bean certainly lived up to its name: Rufus was always greeted with a blanket of warm mist and the pungent smell of coffee and spices whenever he entered. It always gave him a cosy feeling, and was his favourite place to visit in the winter months.

His drink was ready in no time, and with his cup in hand, he wandered to the back room, which contained another cloud of steam, a fireplace, and a pot of Floo Powder. Rufus took some with his free hand, stepped into the fireplace, and said in a clear voice, "Ministry of Magic."

Seconds later, Rufus found himself in the Ministry Atrium, which was bustling with witches and wizards heading to their respective offices for the start of the work day. He pushed through the crowd to make his way towards the elevators, holding his arms tightly to his body as he went.

"Rufus?"

He whirled round at the sound of his name, standing on tiptoe and looking through the hubbub for the person who called him. It wasn't long before he saw a familiar blond-headed figure amongst the masses, making a beeline for him.

Rufus gulped. Surely it can't be...

"Rodney Holton," he said as the other man reached him.

"The one and only," Rodney said, flashing Rufus an obnoxious smile. "It's good to see you again, mate."

Dammit. And I'm not your mate.

"Yeah, it's been a while," Rufus said through his forced smile. Rodney held out a hand and Rufus shook it, both of them gripping tighter than was necessary.

"What are you doing here?" Rufus asked. He began walking again, hoping to lose Rodney in the crowd. But alas, he was too quick on the uptake, and remained by his side.

"As of today, I work here," Rodney said pompously. "Department of Magical Law Enforcement, no less."

Rufus could practically feel the blood drain from his face. "Which, er… which division will you be working in?" he asked after they got into the elevator. The twisted grin on Rodney's face said it all.

"Improper Use of Magic Office," he said, almost slyly. "Looks like we'll be working together, Fudge. It'll be just like when we were at school."

"Oh. Great!" Rufus let out a humourless laugh.

"I'm not sure I like your tone." Rodney smirked. "Anyone would think you don't want me here."

He winked and stepped out of the elevator on floor two, leaving a dumbstruck Rufus to trail behind.

Rufus didn't get much work done that day; his mind had been too busy wondering what on earth Rodney was doing working in his division. He had never once shown any kind of interest in law enforcement during their time at school.

What is he playing at?

Rufus couldn't help but feel a little paranoid. After all, he had been suspended (almost expelled) from Hogwarts because of Rodney, however indirectly it was. They shared a strange kind of relationship during their school days. They were each other's biggest competition in every class, and whilst they acted like friends, they loathed one another.

Their rivalry had quickly extended beyond the classroom. Neither Rufus nor Rodney knew who started it, but they had quickly found themselves in competition with each other. If one of them changed the tea in the Divination cups to wine, the next day, the other would turn the professor's teapot into a tortoise. It was like they were two gorillas vying to be the alpha male of the group.

As the school years drew on, their egos grew bigger and the stakes grew higher: they had reputations to protect, and girls to impress. Eventually Rodney pushed Rufus too far, and a teacher was nearly mauled by a hippogriff, upset that its coat had been charmed bright pink by Rufus. He had known it was too far, but Rodney had a tendency to taunt and goad him if he ever expressed reluctance to retaliate to his latest prank, and Rufus didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

Rufus had maintained a low profile at the office for the two years he worked there, not wanting to get involved in any mischief and risk his job like he risked his place at school, but he wasn't confident his resolve would last much longer now that Rodney was here...

Rufus arrived at the office early the next morning in the hopes of catching up on yesterday's work. He set his double espresso down on his desk - he needed the extra caffeine this morning, having been up all night thinking about Rodney - and pulled some documents out of a drawer.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he sat down and took a swig of coffee before getting to work. He was alone in the office for forty-five minutes before he heard the door swing open, and the sound of someone humming.

Rufus sighed, and looked up from his desk to see Rodney emerge through the door, his short blond curls bouncing as he walked to his own station to put down his things. Despite Rufus staring back down at his paperwork in the hopes of evading conversation, Rodney strode over to his desk.

"Morning, Fudge," he drawled.

"Holton," Rufus replied, not looking up. "Enjoy your first day yesterday?"

"It was okay, I suppose," said Rodney. "Quite boring, though. Everyone's so serious here."

"Really?" Rufus said in mock disbelief, finally looking up. "Serious people working in law enforcement? Perish the thought!" He rolled his eyes and took another sip of coffee.

"Well, it wouldn't kill you all to have a bit of fun," Rodney scoffed.

"Fun? This isn't school!"

"It should be fun! At least a bit, anyway." Rodney paused, gazing off into the distance as if contemplating something. Rufus didn't like the smile that stretched across his face or the glint in his eye, and he definitely didn't like Rodney's bony hand on his shoulder.

"What do you say we spice things up around here? For old time's sake."

"Are you serious?" Rufus had to laugh at the sheer absurdity of the idea. "Please tell me you're joking."

"Not at all," Rodney said. "A little drama would make you more friends than being boring all the time. What do you say?"

"I say you're out of your mind! And I have all the friends I need, thank you very much."

"Not in this office, though," Rodney said. "I didn't see you talk to anyone about anything other than work all day yesterday. I'm sure it'd be good for you to have a friend here, too."

"I'm not doing it!"

"What's the matter? Scared of getting into trouble with Uncle Cornelius?"

Rufus bristled, clenching his fists and inadvertently crushing his favourite quill in the process. All those feelings from his school days were rushing back to him. He wanted nothing more than to prove Rodney wrong and wipe that smug grin off his face. But he'd come too far. He couldn't let him bring him down again.

"I'm not scared," he hissed.

"Then prove it," Rodney challenged.

"I know what you're doing, Holton." Rufus glared at him. "It won't work."

"You don't sound too sure," Rodney said, raising an eyebrow. "But I can't force you. It's probably for the best, really. After all, I am the better wizard; wouldn't want you to be embarrassed."

"Excuse me?" Rufus said, exasperated.

"I don't seem to recall being suspended at Hogwarts, for one thing," Rodney drawled, thrusting his hands in his pockets. "But it's okay. You probably don't have what it takes, anyway."

"Bet I do." The words were out of Rufus' mouth before he could stop them. Rodney knew he was close to making him crack; it was written all over his face.

"Oh yeah?" he said, leaning against the wall. "How much?"

"I didn't mean that literally!" Rufus shook his head. It was a shame he didn't believe his own lie.

"Ten galleons."

"What?"

"I'd bet ten galleons that you won't have what it takes to bring some mischief to this office." Rodney grinned at the sight of Rufus' mask faltering. He knew money was a weakness of his.

"What do you say?" he asked again.

Rufus looked at his extended hand, and gulped. He hated himself for what he was about to do; he'd vowed to never let Rodney Holton compromise his integrity again… but one more time couldn't hurt, right?

"I'm in."

Almost as soon as Rufus had taken the bet, Rodney changed the snake on their boss' brooch into a Pygmy Puff that bounced up and down and squeaked whenever he tried to talk. He demanded his ten galleons at lunch the next day, having failed to notice that his hair was slowly morphing into tentacles and sprouting tiny suckers. It certainly wasn't Rodney's primary goal, but Rufus couldn't deny that his plan had lightened the atmosphere in the office.

"Targeting me was uncalled for," Rodney said irritably when Rufus finally reversed the spell at the end of the day. Everyone else had already left, leaving them alone in the office.

"You deserved it," said Rufus. "Now hand over the money."

Rodney handed over ten gold coins with a heavy sigh.

Rufus grinned smugly as he dropped the galleons into his pocket. "Thank you very much."

Rodney's face began to form a scowl, but as he watched Rufus pocket his money, he spotted an opportunity to get it back, and even better, show him once and for all that he wasn't as good of a wizard as he thought he was. As much as this pleased him, he tried to hold back his smile.

"You know, given our history, it's very satisfying taking your money." Rufus smirked. "If you ever want to bet me on anything else I'd happily relieve you of some more of it."

"You're certain you'd win again, are you? Overconfidence can be dangerous."

"Well, you'd know," said Rufus, still smirking.

"Alright, Fudge," Rodney said, stepping closer and closing the gap between them. "You think you're a better wizard than me? Prove it."

"Haven't I already done that?" asked Rufus cooly.

"Please," said Rodney. "That was child's play."

"Am I correct in thinking you have a new proposition in mind?"

Rodney nodded. "Do you remember what you said to Mafalda this morning when you were working on the Gwendoline Prescott case? You said you could make that underground train disappear without the Muggle police even noticing."

Rufus frowned. What on earth did a case of performing magic in front of Muggles have to do with– "Oh."

"You see where I'm going with this, Fudge." Rodney grinned. "I bet you can't live up to those words." A wave of satisfaction overcame him as he saw Rufus' cocky exterior falter.

"How is that fair?" Rufus exclaimed. "You haven't done anything like that!"

"On the contrary," Rodney said calmly. "Do you recall the case of the levitating Muggle café in June? That was me, but there wasn't enough evidence to press charges."

"You're bluffing," said Rufus.

"Am I?"

"Yes."

"Are you willing to take that chance?" Rodney asked. "We both know you couldn't stand the thought of letting me win."

"Since when has this been about winning?" asked Rufus.

"It always has and you know it," said Rodney. "So, will you take the bet for, say, fifty galleons, and put your money where your mouth is? Or were you just full of hot air?"

Rufus gulped. Fifty galleons! He didn't have that kind of money just lying around, and he couldn't afford to jeopardise his job. He was an employee at the Improper Use of Magic Office for Merlin's sake! Rodney was clearly bluffing to set him up…

But then he imagined Rodney handing a bag of fifty galleons over to him, and how good that would feel, how much he could brag. He'd just had a taste of that satisfaction and he wanted more. He was so empowered after winning the recent bet, and he couldn't stand the thought of backing out after putting on such a confident front.

At this point, he knew the sensible answer, but his pride and confidence made that answer sound ridiculous.

It was only when Rodney spoke again that Rufus realised he'd been silent for a long time.

"What's the matter, Fudge? Don't think you're up to it?"

That was it. Rufus was going to show him.

"Oh, I'm up to it, Holton. Just you wait and see."

And with that, he left the office, unaware of the wicked smile that had spread across Rodney's face.

A/N: Thank you Sarah for betaing :)