Chapter 5:

Ruby woke up the next morning by the sun shining through one of their windows. She was lying in bed thinking about the last 24 hours. She has never been so happy in her life. She was where she belonged. The other two girls were still sound asleep. Ruby and Angelina shared their dorm with the other girl that was sorted into Gryffindor – Alicia Spinnet. They haven't had the chance to talk properly but she seemed nice. She sat up and petted her cat. Her cat was already loving their dorm and she wouldn't be surprised if she soon would be walking around like she owned the place. She got up and looked out of her window. The sun just got up so she had a few hours before breakfast started. She was looking at the lake and decided to head down. But first, she had to get ready fort he day. She went tot he bathroom and got dressed. She left a note for Angelina so she knew where she could find her. She left the dorm and walked down tot he common room. Nobody was there. The common room was quite a comfy place with the armchairs and the fireplace. It just felt at home. She left the dorm and walked down the stairs. She tried her best to find the quickest way down. She found her way tot he grounds and walked a small path down tot he lake. The sun was shining and there was a light breeze. She took her shoes off and made herself comfortable on one of the rocks next to the lake. She let her feet in the water and admired the landscape. When something slippery touched her feet again she looked down. She could see a tentacular. Was it possible that there was a squid in the lake? And by the look of the tentacular, it must be massive. She leaned forward and stroked it. She was caught off guard when the squid decided to show itself. It was a fascinating creature.

'-Oh Hi there. Aren't you a beautiful one ?' Ruby said thrilled. The squid responded by placing one of its tentacles on her lap and the other ones were playing with the water. Ruby was laughing at its actions. She turned around when she heard someone approaching. It was Hagrid. He was introduced by Dumbeldore as the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. He looked worried. When he got nearer he visibly relaxed. He has never seen anything like that. The giant squid was normally shy and never showed itself like that. He was even more surprised when he saw the first year laughing and feeling at ease in the presence of the squid. When he approached the two of them he recognized her. He would recognize these grey eyes everywhere.

'- Made a new friend?' he asked amused.

'-Looks like it.' She answered laughing slightly at the scene in front of her.

'- You're the first one the giant squid showed itself to. Except form me.' He stated. Ruby looked surprised and then she had a proud look on her face when she replied.

'- I take that as a compliment. Are there more magical creatures in the lake ?'

'- There are a bunch of Grindylows, Selkies and the giant squid.' He replied. Ruby looked thoughtful at the answer.

'- I only found out a couple of weeks ago that I'm a witch. I'm sorry but I have no idea what Grindylows or Selkies are.' She said quietly.

'-Grindylows are vicious little water demons and Selkies are Scottish merpeople.' He replied with a smile on his face. She was eager to learn about magical creatures and he was happy to teach her.

Ruby looked shocked at his statement. She has heard about mermaids in Muggle novels but never thought they existed. In a matter of fact, she also didn't know that magic existed. So maybe it wasn't so astonishing that merpeople existed. When ruby was lost in her thoughts when Hagrid continued.

'- Don't you worry. You can take Care of Magical Creatures as one of your electives in your third year.'

'- What I have to wait two years ?' she exclaimed. He chuckled at her reaction. It was then when he made her a proposal.

'-I take care of some of the magical creatures. I can take you to some of them. You can help me take care of oft hem and I will tell you everything I know about them. How does this sound?' he asked.

Ruby jumped up and run over to him.

'-Can we go right now?' she asked with pleading eyes.

'-And me being the reason you missed your first class? No-no-no. I will owl you and then we can meet at my hug. You can call me Hagrid.' He proposed.

'- That would be perfect! Thanks, Hagrid.' She said.

'-I think ist time you head up for breakfast.' He said leading her away from the lake. She nodded and walked up to the small path with a skip in her step.

When she entered the Great Hall it was already pretty full. She made her way tot he Gryffindor table looking for her friends. She found Angelina and sat across from her. Lee and Alicia also joined them. She was just buttering some toasts when the twins sat next to her. They looked rather sleepy.

'-So where have you been this early?' Angelina asked.

'-I've been by the lake. I had an encounter with the giant squid. He is nice nothing happened.' She added immediately when she saw the reactions of her friends.

'- Hagrid also stepped by. He will take me with him to take care of some of the magical creatures.' She couldn't contain her excitement. She was jumping up and down her seat.

'-What's got her so excited?' Charlie asked as he walked by.

'-She's helping Hagrid with some of his magical creatures' Fred answered rolling his eyes.

'-Guess I will see you around then. I got a thing for magical creatures too and I'm helping Hagrid as well.' He said.

'-I didn't know that. That's amazing.' She said with a grin on her face. He walked by and Professor McGonagall joined them.

'-I have your timetables. If you have any questions regarding it don't hesitate to ask. As your Head of House, I am responsible for you. Finish your breakfast and make your way down to the dungeons. I believe you start your year with potions. I don't want to hear that any of my lions appear late to his first lesson.' She said sternly and as soon as she handed them their timetables she made her way further down the table.

'- Double potions.' Lee groaned.

'-With Slytherins' Angelina added groaning as well.

'-What a great start.' The twins said annoyed.

Ruby studied her timetable. They were starting with double potions. When the group reluctantly made their way to the dungeons she couldn't help but feel excited. It was her first lesson at Hogwarts. When they climbed down the stairwell it got colder and colder. They stopped in front of the classroom. They could smell different things but she couldn't identify what caused that smell. When the professor opened the door they all took a step back. The professor had sallow skin, a large, hooked nose, and yellow, uneven teeth. He was dressed in flowing black-robed which Ruby thought made him look like an overgrown bat. He also had shoulder-length, greasy black hair which framed his face in curtains and he has dark penetrating eyes which made the students feel uneasy. He had an authoritative presence and even the twins were rather calm. He took a step back and let them in. Ruby sat next to Angelina at a desk with Alicia next to her and the boys behind them. They didn't dare to speak. She pulled out her parchment and her quill and looked up. He introduced himself as Professor Snape.

'-"As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through the human veins, bewitching the minds, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.' He spoke in a soft contained voice. He eyed them all skeptically. He stopped when he saw Ruby. She didn't look away as most of the students have done. She packed his interests. He made a note to keep an eye on her.

The students had to write down the different potions they learned this year and an overview of the different topics they were about to cover. When she was finished she looked around the classroom. The classroom was squared-sized with very large tables and windows. In the corner was a stone basin where students could wash their hands and ladles. There were also different jars with ingredients, which some oft hem Ruby wasn't so keen on using. Snape continued by letting them copy the brewing instructions fort he Cure for boils.

'-What's the crucial factor for this potion.' Snape asked with a smirk on his face. Most of them haven't even opened the potions book yet. Nevertheless, he loved asking these cruel questions. He eyed them and every one of them quickly looked away hoping they wouldn't be picked. He knew exactly who to ask.

'-Miss Fineau what's the crucial factor for this potion ?' he asked. She looked up.

'- I'm sorry Professor but I don't know.' She answered.

Snape sneered when he added.

'- I would have expected more from a Hatstall after causing a stir yesterday.' He continued about the cure for boils and its advantages. What did Snape mean? What did she do yesterday? A Hatstall? She was more than confused. She looked over at Angelina and she quietly whispered

'-Later.'

The lesson was over. They all got up. Some of the students were pretty relieved to leave the potions classroom. Ruby decided to stay. She wanted to talk to Snape but the look on his face told her otherwise. So she left with her group.

'-What did he mean by all that?' she asked as soon as they left the classroom.

'-Don't you remember what happened yesterday ?' Lee asked.

'-What do you mean? I was sorted like everybody else.' She said looking perplexed.

'-Ru it took you almost 8 minutes to get sorted.' Fred answered. He was the only one using the nickname for now.

'-WHAT?! 8 minutes? That's impossible. It only felt like seconds under the hat.' She exclaimed.

'-No Ruby it took you this long. The last time the hat took so long was when he decided where to put Professor McGonagall. Dumbeldore was a hat stall as well. They are pretty rare and special.' George explained. Ruby looked between her friends. They all looked serious.

'-It is nothing bad! Ruby don't be worried. Everything is fine!' Angelina said while pulling Ruby into a hug.

'- But I'm not special. I'm rather ordinary.' She said quietly.

They all shook their heads and decided it was time to cheer her up.

The day passed uneventfully. The twins made her laugh again after they put some dung bombs in Percy's dorm. She laughed so hard at the story of Percy's reaction that she had to hold her stomach. It was good to have these two as friends. They then played around exploding snap when she decided that she wanted to go to the library.

'-Where are you going?' Alicia asked. She grew rather fond of this girl. She was nice and fitted perfectly into the group.

'-I'm heading to the library.' She said as though that was a pretty normal thing to do on a Monday evening.

'- Women are you mad ?' George asked.

'- I believe I am but I'm not giving Snape a second chance to humiliate me in front of the whole class.' She said. She made her way to the portrait. She was walking a couple of steps when she heard someone calling her name.

'- Ru wait! I'm coming with you.' Fred shouted. She waited for him to catch up.

'- Who are you and what have you done to Fred Weasley?' She said acting shocked.

'- Haha really funny. How did you know I was Fred?' he said looking surprised she could tell them apart.

'- Besides you being the only one that calls me Ru? She said while looking at him. He nodded so she continued.

'- You have a tiny scar at your chin which George has not. It's tiny but its the reason I can tell you apart.'

His smile grew wider when he realized she made an effort to tell them apart. Not even their mother could tell them apart.

'-Don't tell everybody my secret will you? she asked with pleading eyes.

'- I would dream of it. It means a lot to me, to us, that you are trying to tell us apart. Most of the people wouldn't make the effort. It's just easier to see us as twins than individuals.' He said with a sincere voice.

She placed her hand on his arm and they began walking.

'-So why are you heading to the library?' she asked curiously.

'-We thought that you may get lost and we wanted to escort you safely.' He answered seriously.

'-Hey just because I got lost once today doesn't mean I can handle it my own.' She said with a frown on her face.

'- I know that but I don't mind walking you tot the library. But don't worry I won't voluntary set a foot in there.' She had to laugh at his statement. They fell into an easy conversation when they reached the library.

'-Don't forget. You've got an hour before curfew steps in. I don't want you to break curfew before me.' He winked before walking away. She shook her head and made her way inside. The library was the dream of every bookworm. She was walking around the aisle looking at different books. She was eager to read all of them. Some had more extraordinary titles than others.

'- Hi there looking for something in particular?' a boy asked her. Standing in front of her was rather a tallboy. He was what people would call handsome. He had dark hair and bright grey eyes. Ruby was looking confused until she realized who he was.

'- Why should a first-year be able to find a book. I think we arrived at the same time at Hogwarts. Or am I mistaken ?' she asked with a teasing tone.

'-I suppose you're right. I just hoped that maybe we were able to help each other find a book in this library. It's almost like a needle in the haystack.' He said smiling back at her.

'-You're Cedric Diggory if I remember correctly.' She said while looking at his Hufflepuff uniform.

'- and you are Ruby Fineau. I know I'm not mistaken. You caused quite the sensation yesterday.' It was his time to tease her.

'- so I've heard.' She said quietly.

'-So any book, in particular, you're looking for?' he asked. Trying to make her feel at ease.

'-I'm looking for a potion book for some additional reading. We had potions today and I was caught off guard when Snape asked me a question. It was quite humiliating and I'm trying to prevent it from happening again.' She explained feeling slightly embarrassed.

'-Don't worry. I've heard that Snape doesn't like anyone in particular. Ist normal for him to pick on students. We have him tomorrow and I think it won't be much different.' He said shrugging his shoulders.

'-And were you looking for something in particular?' she asked curiously.

'-Besides bumping into someone hoping I wouldn't be the only one being lost in the library?' he asked. When she nodded he continued.

'- I was looking for a book about transfiguration. We had McGonagall today and she already gave us tons of homework about the transformation formula.' He explained.

'-That doesn't surprise me at all.' Ruby said laughing.

'- You just wait. I believe you will have just as much homework as I do.' he laughed as well.

'-So shall we?' Ruby asked. When he nodded they made their way around the library looking for the two books. They had a whispered conversation so that Madam Pince wouldn't get suspicious and kick them out. When they both found their book it was time fort hem to head out back to their dorms.

'-It was much more fun looking for books together.' He said.

'- Yeah it was. Do we have by chance any classes together ?' she asked hoping he knew the answer.

'- Yes I believe we have Charms and Herbology together.' He answered already looking forward to these classes.

'- Oh that's great. So I will see you around I guess?' she asked.

'- Yes I hope so.' He answered. They said their goodbyes when each of them had to walk in a different direction. Both oft hem trying not to get lost.