Chapter 12:

A few weeks passed and Ruby was currently back in Hogwarts. She got a letter this morning from Hagrid stating that she and Charlie should meet him at 2 o'clock at his hut. She couldn't wait to see his surprise. She practically dragged Charlie down the hut. They also had just won their Quidditch game against Hufflepuff. So the big finale would be between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Ruby stopped being Charlie's assistant but when she had spare time she would go down to the pitch and help him. She also found a solution which could develop the pictures she took during the holidays and here at Hogwarts. She never left without her camera.

'-Do you know what kind of creature he is going to show us today?' she asked excitedly.

'-Like I know Hagrid he will show you something special and probably highly dangerous.' Charlie said. He was a bit concerned for her safety. He knew Hagrid would never put her in danger purposely but he also had a thing for dangerous creatures.

'-I can't wait.' Ruby wasn't too bothered about her safety. Her curiosity got the better of her.

When they got near the hut, Fang began to bark. Hagrid left his hut and Fang greeted them. Ruby petted the dog and then looked at Hagrid. He was carrying a bunch of dead ferrets.

'-Any idea where we are going, Charlie?' Hagrid asked.

'-Seeing the ferrets I have a guess. Don't you think she is a little bit too young ?' Charlie asked. Before Ruby could protest Hagrid answered.

'-Nah, she got quite the hand for the animals. I'm not concerned at all.' He turned around and made his way towards the forest. Ruby stuck her tongue out towards Charlie and followed Hagrid. Charlie then followed them a bit behind. When they reached a paddock Hagrid told them to wait here.

They waited both in silence for a moment. They saw them. Trotting towards them were twelve bizarre creatures. She looked at Charlie and he said.

'-Hippogriffs.'

She looked at them again. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of what seemed to be giant eagles. They all had different colors, but what they all had in common were the steel-colored beaks and the large, orange eyes. All of them had a thick leather collar around their neck, which was attached to a long chain and the ends of all of them were held my Hagrid.

'-Now, the first thing you gotta know about hippogriffs is, they're proud. Easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't insult one, cause it might be the last thing you do. You always wait for the hippogriff to make the first move. It's polite, see? You walk towards him, and you bow, and you wait. If he bows back, you're allowed to touch him. If he doesn't bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt." Hagrid explained.

'-Charlie why don't you showcase how it's done ?' Hagrid continued. He grabbed the collar of a Hippogriff with a pinkish roan coat.

'-This is Stormswift.' Charlie stood in front of the beautiful hippogriff. When the creature bowed back he began to pet him.

'-Now it's your turn, Ruby. Just gently approach them and bow as low as you can. No hectic movements.' Hagrid explained.

Hagrid pointed at a Hippogriff. He had stormy grey feathers and orange eyes. Ruby gathered all her courage and made her way over to him. While walking she made sure to not lose eye contact. She was fascinated by the creature but she also knew of the dangers. These claws could easily rip you apart.

When she was in front oft he Hippogriff she bowed. The creature eyed her suspiciously. Ruby began to worry that he might not bow back. She wanted to back off when the Hippogriff bowed back. She was relieved.

'-Thank goodness he bowed back.' She said feeling more than happy with her accomplishment.

'-This is Buckbeak, Ruby. Go ahead and pet him.' Hagrid encouraging her.

She slowly made her way over. She had one head up. When she finally reached him he leaned in her touch.

'-Aren't you a pretty one.' Ruby said gushing.

'-She sounds like she talks to a kitten and not a creature, which could rip her apart.' Charlie said in disbelief.

Hagrid told them how he trained them and then he invited them over for dinner where the only topic was magical creatures.

xXx

Ruby came back this evening with the biggest grin on her face. She joined her friends on the armchair by the fire. The twins were currently in detention for pulling a prank on some of the Slytherins.

'-Someone is in a good mood.' Angelina stated when Ruby sat down next to her.

'-She just petted a Hippogriff like it was a cute little kitten.' Charlie said indicating Ruby to move over. She did and he squeezed in.

'-Why does this not surprise me ?' Alicia said with a raised eyebrow.

'-She always got a thing for danger.'

'-Well she is friends with my brothers.' Charlie said shrugging.

'-And you are all friends with me. What does this say about you ?' She said teasingly.

'-That you have enough blackmail material that we can't unfriend you.' Lee said. They were all laughing at this statement and Lee just got hit with a cushion in his face.

'-You're an ass.' Ruby started folding her arms. She acted offended but deep down she knew this was a really good comeback by Lee.

'-So what are you all up to tonight?' Charlie asked. He heard a lot of stories about the group of friends and wanted to experience it firsthand.

'-It's Friday night so we might do something special.' Angelina said looking hopefully around. When everybody nodded she continued.

'-I was thinking. What about truth ord are ?'

'-Really? Truth or dare ?' Charlie asked.

'-What is the ickle prefect afraid?' Ruby asked challenging him.

'-You know what? You just made a big mistake! I'm in.' Charlie said and everybody cheered.

'-We might have to wait for the twins. It's not the same without them.' Lee said and they agreed.

'-We could all change into our pajamas and I will organize some Hot Chocolate.' Ruby proposed. They quickly made their way up and changed. While changing into their pajamas Ruby called for Ella. Ella once proposed that they could just call her so they didn't have their way down to the kitchen every time. The group happily accepted but they made sure that she was rewarded for her efforts. Ruby especially seemed to appreciate everything the little elf does for them.

The girls were a lot faster than the boys and they made themselves comfortable in the armchairs by the fire. They told Ella what they were up to and as soon as they got comfortable more pillows and blankets appeared. They grinned at each other and waited for the boys.

'-Girls we have to make sure that the boys have to do some embarrassing things.' Angelina said all excited.

'-I think they will manage this on their own.' Alicia said and Ruby nodded. At this moment the twins entered and looked oddly at the girls.

'-What are you three doing ?' Fred asked.

'-We are playing truth or dare. Charlies in too. Come on hurry! We won't start until you two join us.' Ruby said. The twins didn't need to hear another word. They ran up the stairs and came back minutes later. They didn't finish dressing up because they were just about to put their shirt on. They were followed by Charlie and Lee. They placed themselves on the cushions and looked at the girls expectantly. Just at this moment, a mug of Hot Chocolate appeared in front of them.

'-How?' Charlie asked.

'-Well that my brother is a secret.' George said and they toasted.

'-Who wants to go first ?' Alicia asked.

'- I will go first. George truth or dare?' Lee asked.

'-Dare.'

'- I dare you to serenade every time you see Professor Snape.' He said with a devilish grin. George paled visibly.

'-For how long?' he asked.

'-A whole week.' Lee said.

'-Deal.'

They were all laughing at the aspect of George serenading to Professor Snape.

'-This is going to cost you a lot of house points.' Angelina said.

'-It's going to be worth it. My turn. Angelina truth or dare?' George asked.

I'm taking truth.'

'-When you are on a deserted island. Which of all of us do you want to have with you and who not?' he asked. Angelina looked thoughtful and then answered.

'-I want to have Ruby with me. She would be clever enough to get us out of this situation. The worst one would be Lee.' She said.

'-Hey why me?' Lee asked.

'-Simple. You would always be complaining that you're hungry.' She replied.

'-She got a point mate.' Fred said.

'-So Alicia truth or dare?' she asked.

'-Dare. I know I'm going to regret it.' She answered.

'-I dare you to flirt with the next person coming into the common room.' Angelina said. Alicia blushed furiously.

'-Ohhh! You're going to regret this.'

'-Look the door opens.' Ruby pointed at the entrance. They all looked expectantly and when they saw Percy entering the door they couldn't help themselves. They were all laughing so hard that their stomach hurt. Alicia got up and went over to Percy. Alicia did a really good job in flirting with Percy, which was just confused at the situation. After a while, he excused himself and Alicia got back.

'-I might be your sister-in-law one day?' she winked at the Weasleys and they were lost for words.

'-So Fred. Truth or dare?'

'-Dare.'

'-Mhm I might ask Ruby for advice.' She said and leaned over. Ruby whispered something in her ear and Alicia began to laugh.

'-That's a good one.' She said.

'-Oh no. Don't listen to her.' Fred said fearing what he might have to do.

'-I dare you to ask Professor Dumbledore out on a date.' She said.

'-Your loss girls. You are all going to be left heartbroken.' He said.

'-So Ruby. Truth or dare?' he asked with a mischievous grin.

'-Dare.' Ruby said challenging him. She was not going to back down.

'-I dare you to perform a song. Now !' he said.

'-You had so many possibilities and you chose this ?' Ruby asked. When he nodded she continued.

'-Well your choice.' She goes up and centered her in front of the group. It was then when she realized that most of the common room was watching them. She turned the music on and began. She performed I want it that way by the Backstreet Boys. Slowly but surely she made her way around the common room and soon everybody joined in.

'- Am I your fire? Your one desire?' she sang to a confused looking Oliver Wood who just entered the common room.

'-Its too late. But I want it that way.' She continued and walked away. She made her way on top of the armchair and animated the crowd to wave their hands.

The girls stood up as well and joined in. The whole common room was singing and dancing as well. When the song finished they began to cheer. Ruby bowed and looked around. Oliver was looking pretty dumbfounded. She just winked at him and sat down.

'-That was amazing.' Charlie said smiling gently at her.

'-Well thank you, Charlie. So? truth or dare?' she asked him.

'I will take dare.' Charlie said,

'-I dare you to spent the next Quidditch practice in your fairy costume.'

'-Oh you little devil.' He said.

'-You could have it much worse. Imagine wearing it during a match.' She said smirking.

'-THAT WOULD BE BRILLIANT.' Fred said.

'-I know. But I am not that mean.' She said looking at Charlie. He knew she was right.

'-Ok. Deal. I will do it.'

'-Lee believe your left.' He said. Lee nodded.

'-Dare.'

'-I dare you to kiss every girl in the room.' Charlie challenged him.

Lee got up and made his way to the girls. He kissed each of them on the cheeks. He made his way around. Some were not that easy and others found it rather adorable.

The night continued in the same manner. After a while, they were playing music and the whole common room was dancing and singing along. In the middle of it Ruby and her friends. Ella sneakily organized some snacks and drinks for everybody and they had a spontaneous party.

Ruby, Angelina, and Alicia imitated the Spice Girls when Wannabe was playing. Fred and George were standing with Charlie in a corner. They looked at the girls and grabbed some drinks.

'-Well that's a fun night.' Charlie said. The twins nodded and Fred couldn't keep his eyes off a certain person.

'-You know I think you're not the only one ogling her.' Charlie said to Fred.

'-What do you mean?' he asked.

'-Oh please you're really obvious. But look around. You're not the only one looking at her like that. The only good part is that she obviously has no idea what kind of impact she has.' He said and walked away.

Fred looked at George and he nodded and walked away leaving Fred alone. He looked around and saw some boys who couldn't keep their eyes of her. He felt a bit of jealousy. But Charlie was right. Ruby was just having fun. She didn't see all the boys. He might find some new victims for his pranks.

xXx

In the next morning, Ruby woke up by some people snoring. When she looked around she found herself in the common room with her friends. When it got late they decided it would be much more fun when they slept in the common room. She was facing Angelina. She shifted to the other side. Lying there was Fred. His hair was all over his face. She smiled gently at this sight and she gently removed his hair out of his face. He woke up by her touch.

'-Good morning, Love.' He said.

'-Good morning.' She said quietly.

'-I could get used to this sight.' He said gently. He stretched his hand and softly touched her face. She smiled gently at his touch.

The moment was destroyed by a particularly loud snore from Lee. They both laughed.

'-We could wake them up.' She said.

'-What are you thinking?'

'-Pillowfight?' she asked. Instead of answering he got up and started hitting Lee with a pillow who was sleeping next to Alicia. Ruby joined in and soon a massive pillow fight broke out.

'-When do you finally understand that some people don't like being woken up by a pillow in their face.' Angelina asked Ruby when they were walking down for breakfast.

'-When I am the one being woken up this way.' She said.