A crash reverberated from the floor below.

Ruby jolted upright in her bed, staring into the pressing darkness. A tense silence resounded around her as her eyes sought to adjust to the persistent black.

Pulling back her coverlet, Ruby slid from her soft, warm bed, her bare toes making contact with the cool hardwood floors.

Tip-toeing across the blank space towards the window where she sought to pull back the curtains, only to find them previously fastened. She pressed her palms against the cool glass, staring into the blackness into her garden below, yet seeing nothing.

"Must have been dreaming," she thought to herself, straightening up and instead turning her gaze towards the sky in search of the moon she figured must be hiding behind some impenetrable cloud.

Footsteps pound on the floor below, thundering through the first floor and bounding up the stairs. Yells sounded from the rooms beyond. Ruby spun on the spot, pressing herself against the wall as her bedroom door burst open, banging against the adjoining wall.

A dark figure engulfed the door frame, obscuring the light from the hallway beyond.

Ruby froze as the stranger surveyed her, motionless, as continuous footsteps echoed through the humble cottage, blasting obstacles out of their way with tremulous crashes.

"Ruby!" came a strangled yell, a woman's voice cried out, "Ruby run! They're here, Ruby! Run!"

Sounds of a scuffle could be heard from beyond the figure blocking her in. A fight ensued in the hallway. Ruby heard the breaking of glass and splintering of wood as rogue sparks from curses aimed at either side tumbled into her line of sight.

"Crucio!" a cruel voice screamed, and the house was filled with the most terrible sounds of anguish.

"Mom!" Ruby shouted, charging for the door, "Dad!"

The masked intruder grabbed her up as though she were nothing more than a rag doll and hurled her towards her mattress, where she collided hard with the bed springs. He advanced and was on her in moment, flipping her on her back, pinning her wrists above her head with one massive hand while the other groped for his wand.

"Listen Pretty," he snarled, his body posed over her, his wand pressed against her collarbone where she became motionless, "The Dark Lord sent me to keep you outta the way, which means you're on my time, and we do what I say on my time, you got that?"

Ruby kneed him in the side as best as she could, the rest of her body trapped beneath his weight.

He exhaled hard, but didn't let up. Ruby kicked out again, her knee colliding with the hard muscle build about his ribs.

"Mom!" Ruby shrieked, hoping to be heard over the chaos continuing beyond her room, "Dad! Help!"

"Hush Pretty," he cooed, his eyes dancing behind his mask, stowing his wand in his robes, "It'll all be over soon."

Ruby continued to struggle and kick, screaming out in the hopes someone would hear her and come to her rescue. He man continued to press himself against her, his mouth now inches from her neck. She could feel his hot breath against her flesh as his hands tore at the slippery material of her night dress.

"No!" she continued to cry out, tears beginning to spill down her face as she struggled to free her hands, free her body from his grip, "No, don't! Please! Don't!"

His large, calloused hand made contact with her bare thigh, sliding it up towards her hip where he seized the waist-strap of her cotton panties, roughly tugging them to her knees with one harsh thrust.

"No!" Ruby whispered to him as she felt him advance, his hips retracting from her ever so gently, in preparation for what was to come, "No, please, please, don't!"

She struggled away from him, making no more headway than she had before, as he continued to separate her thighs with his rough, yet agile, hip movements.

She inhaled deeply, biting down hard on her lip, as he steadied himself.

"No, no Pretty, I wanna hear you scream," he hissed, his voice drunk with lust.

He thrust forward, then BANG!

A stunning spell hit him, hard, throwing him fifteen feet across the room where he collided with the opposing wall.

Ruby rolled from the bed, grabbing her wand from where it lay on the night stand, thrusting it out before her with both hands, her knees trembling, her torn cotton panties cutting into the flesh of her thighs.

The man in the doorway lifted his hands in peace, his expression somber behind his half-moon spectacles. His high heeled, buckled boots made soft clicking noises against the hardwood as he approached Ruby with caution, his pale blue eyes never leaving her face.

Ruby heard rushed footsteps from beyond in the hall, though the people rushing by weren't in the same dark cloaks and masks as her attacker was, but Auror uniforms.

"Whole west side of the house is gone," she heard a voice say over the crunching of glass.

"It's a wonder she even survived," another chimed in, "They must have disapparated as we arrived."

"Rubella," a soft voice called her back to the elderly gentleman slowly approaching her, his long white hair and beard, both long enough to tuck into his belt, his deep purple robes swaying with cautionary step.

"Rubella," he whispered, "My name is Albus Dumbledore. I'm a member of the Order of the Phoenix. You're safe now."