Hi! I just wanted to tell you - from now on, the story is going to be told pretty much from Ruby's point of view. I prefer keeping Barty's excursions with Voldy a secret. (I am truly strange.) And what's going on inside his head. Kind of a short chapter, I think. Oh, well. Please R/R!
!@#$%^&*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*&^%$#@!
Chapter Three
A crystal vase, tiger lilies inside, was being placed in the center of a table by long-fingered, pale, trembling hands. The cloth on the table rumpled, and while the left hand tried to straighten the rumble, the right hand lost controlof the vase. A slight *thud* was heard as the vase fell over onto the table. The hands wrung themselves.
"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear..." Ruby stumbled away from the table, grasping a paper towel with her shaking hands. "Oh, I can't even put some flowers on the table; what's *wrong* with me?! Just because I'm getting the Ministry letter today..." But this made her tremble even more.
It was December, and twelve-year-old Ruby was even more powerful in her sorcery than in June. She had actually been able to apply for a job at the Ministry of Magic, in the Office of Magical Communications and Societies, which dealt with things like the Owl Post, the use of Floo Powder, regulations for magical pubs, a lot of things like that. It had seemed quite exciting to Ruby, who was waiting in anticipation this morning for a letter of either acceptance or decline, the latter of which was almost unthinkable.
As Ruby began to mop up her mess, she thought about Barty. He had turned rather strange lately; exhaustion, sometimes creeping about in a habitual way (not even noticing that he was doing it), dark circles under his eyes, which looked almost dead, except for when they looked at her. No one yet suspected anything other than close friendship between the two, for who could; a nineteen-year-old and a twelve-year-old?! Insane! And that's how Ruby was beginning to feel, too. She couldn't figure out what was going on, and every time she asked Barty, he simply said "Nothing. Don't worry yourself," and kissed her, as if to take her mind off the subject. It didn't work.
Just as Ruby was replacing the tablecloth, Luna, her owl, shot through the window, and dropped an envelope of parchment into her waiting hands. Shaking all over, she slowly tore open the paper, and pulled out the letter. Half a minute into reading it, she let out a joyous whoop! She had gotten the job! She was to report for work the next Monday, everything ready for her new job!! This had to be a record of some sort!!
"Mom!! MOM!! I've got the job! I'm an official Ministry member! M-O-M!!!" Then she remembered that her mother was gone. Oh well, at least I can tell Barty, she thought happily. Unfortunately, as she skipped out of the room, she tread on the dirty tablecloth lying on the floor, and fell flat on her face. "Well, that puts a bit of a damper on things," she muttered through the tablecloth, somehow still managing to grin. She eventually found her way out of the maze of soiled linen, and burst out of the house, running for the cathedral fountain, which was now where she and Barty met. It was freezing cold, and there was snow everywhere, but Ruby didn't care at all. She was a Ministry witch!! She was virtually hopping with excitement when she reached the fountain, which was where Barty was supposed to be right now. But he wasn't.
For reasons unknown, Ruby got a horrid shudder when she saw that he wasn't at the fountain. She dismissed it quickly, however, when she began to make her way to Barty's house. The wimp probably got cold, she thought humorously to herself. It was an unusually dark day in Ottery St. Catchpole, and Ruby noticed that none of the lights were on in the Crouch household. It seemed dreary and foreboding, though she couldn't come up with an idea why (unless Barty's father had had a particularly bad day, which was saying something). Bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, half from excitement-triggered adrenaline and half to keep warm, Ruby rang the doorbell of the house. There was a bit of muffled muttering, and footsteps down the hall. She was blowing into her gloved hands and rubbed them together for friction, when Mrs. Crouch opened the door. Poor dear, she seems paler and more fragile than ever, Ruby thought. Mrs. Crouch seemed to have been crying, and when she saw Ruby at the front door, of course waiting for Barty, she burst into tears. This started Ruby a bit much.
"Mrs. Crouch! What's wrong; are you going to be okay? Is this a bad time? Mrs Crouch!" Her husbund, apparently having heard his wife, strode into the room. With the sternest look he could muster, he stepped up and put a hand on his wife's shoulder.
"Elena will be fine, Ruby. Er...please come in, we have a bit of news to tell you." Ruby got that horrid shudder again, with no clue as to why. She stepped inside, and slowly sat down on their stiff couch. Mr. Crouch seated his wife next to him, still heaving gigantic tears down her cheeks. Ruby's eyes widened. What had happened to Barty?
Mr. Crouch cleared his throat. "Barty...was caught in a bit of activity with other young people yesterday. He is being held by the Ministry, and his trial will commence tomorrow. You are invited to come, alone or with us." His wife wailed into her handkerchief. Ruby stiffened. This was most certainly not the whole truth.
"What kind of activity, Mr. Crouch?" He stiffened as well.
"It is not suitable for one of your tender years-"
"With all due respect, Mr. Crouch, I'm a Ministry member, I can handle it." She had been sure that she wouldn't have needed to play that card for a while. "Besides, I'm his best friend; I've got a right to know." Mr. Crouch nodded.
"All right, then. Barty was caught by Ministry wizards in the company of known followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named; the ones who had tortured the Longbottoms." Ruby thought her whole body had gone into seizure. She twitched and jerked for a few seconds before it sunk in. Her dear friend, her lover even, was most likely going to Azkaban for life. One of the worst parts was the she had been keeping up with the Ministry press cuttings; and knew every gory detail of that particular torture. But not for one second of the reeling of her mind did she believe that Barty had commited that horrible atrocity. Never, she swore to herself.
"Mr. Crouch....you don't believe, do you?" It was hard to get words out of her strangled tongue. Mr. Crouch shrugged, a cold shrug, if ever there was a thing.
"I don't think that I will ever know. The trial will be at eleven in the morning, tomorrow." Ruby's face was blank.
"I think I'll go to the trial by myself." She stood up, and headed for the door. On her way out, Mr. Crouch called out to her.
"By the way - congratulations on your approval."
"Yeah..." she muttered, completely numb from toe to mind. How could someone be so cold as to forget about this situation even to congratulate someone?!? She no longer minded the snow on the way home, because she couldn't feel anything except pain. Excruciating pain. Pain that she previously hadn't known existed. That night her head was empty, there was nothing to be thought about, and therefore nothing to dream about. There was no future, as far as she was concerned. Who cared now about some new job at the Ministry?
When Ruby got home, she laid out her nice skirt, vest, and shirt on the ironing board to fix tomorrow. She didn't even bother with undressing tonight. She simply flopped on her bed, clicked off the lamp, and silently cried herself to sleep.
!@#$%^&*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*&^%$#@!
Chapter Three
A crystal vase, tiger lilies inside, was being placed in the center of a table by long-fingered, pale, trembling hands. The cloth on the table rumpled, and while the left hand tried to straighten the rumble, the right hand lost controlof the vase. A slight *thud* was heard as the vase fell over onto the table. The hands wrung themselves.
"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear..." Ruby stumbled away from the table, grasping a paper towel with her shaking hands. "Oh, I can't even put some flowers on the table; what's *wrong* with me?! Just because I'm getting the Ministry letter today..." But this made her tremble even more.
It was December, and twelve-year-old Ruby was even more powerful in her sorcery than in June. She had actually been able to apply for a job at the Ministry of Magic, in the Office of Magical Communications and Societies, which dealt with things like the Owl Post, the use of Floo Powder, regulations for magical pubs, a lot of things like that. It had seemed quite exciting to Ruby, who was waiting in anticipation this morning for a letter of either acceptance or decline, the latter of which was almost unthinkable.
As Ruby began to mop up her mess, she thought about Barty. He had turned rather strange lately; exhaustion, sometimes creeping about in a habitual way (not even noticing that he was doing it), dark circles under his eyes, which looked almost dead, except for when they looked at her. No one yet suspected anything other than close friendship between the two, for who could; a nineteen-year-old and a twelve-year-old?! Insane! And that's how Ruby was beginning to feel, too. She couldn't figure out what was going on, and every time she asked Barty, he simply said "Nothing. Don't worry yourself," and kissed her, as if to take her mind off the subject. It didn't work.
Just as Ruby was replacing the tablecloth, Luna, her owl, shot through the window, and dropped an envelope of parchment into her waiting hands. Shaking all over, she slowly tore open the paper, and pulled out the letter. Half a minute into reading it, she let out a joyous whoop! She had gotten the job! She was to report for work the next Monday, everything ready for her new job!! This had to be a record of some sort!!
"Mom!! MOM!! I've got the job! I'm an official Ministry member! M-O-M!!!" Then she remembered that her mother was gone. Oh well, at least I can tell Barty, she thought happily. Unfortunately, as she skipped out of the room, she tread on the dirty tablecloth lying on the floor, and fell flat on her face. "Well, that puts a bit of a damper on things," she muttered through the tablecloth, somehow still managing to grin. She eventually found her way out of the maze of soiled linen, and burst out of the house, running for the cathedral fountain, which was now where she and Barty met. It was freezing cold, and there was snow everywhere, but Ruby didn't care at all. She was a Ministry witch!! She was virtually hopping with excitement when she reached the fountain, which was where Barty was supposed to be right now. But he wasn't.
For reasons unknown, Ruby got a horrid shudder when she saw that he wasn't at the fountain. She dismissed it quickly, however, when she began to make her way to Barty's house. The wimp probably got cold, she thought humorously to herself. It was an unusually dark day in Ottery St. Catchpole, and Ruby noticed that none of the lights were on in the Crouch household. It seemed dreary and foreboding, though she couldn't come up with an idea why (unless Barty's father had had a particularly bad day, which was saying something). Bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, half from excitement-triggered adrenaline and half to keep warm, Ruby rang the doorbell of the house. There was a bit of muffled muttering, and footsteps down the hall. She was blowing into her gloved hands and rubbed them together for friction, when Mrs. Crouch opened the door. Poor dear, she seems paler and more fragile than ever, Ruby thought. Mrs. Crouch seemed to have been crying, and when she saw Ruby at the front door, of course waiting for Barty, she burst into tears. This started Ruby a bit much.
"Mrs. Crouch! What's wrong; are you going to be okay? Is this a bad time? Mrs Crouch!" Her husbund, apparently having heard his wife, strode into the room. With the sternest look he could muster, he stepped up and put a hand on his wife's shoulder.
"Elena will be fine, Ruby. Er...please come in, we have a bit of news to tell you." Ruby got that horrid shudder again, with no clue as to why. She stepped inside, and slowly sat down on their stiff couch. Mr. Crouch seated his wife next to him, still heaving gigantic tears down her cheeks. Ruby's eyes widened. What had happened to Barty?
Mr. Crouch cleared his throat. "Barty...was caught in a bit of activity with other young people yesterday. He is being held by the Ministry, and his trial will commence tomorrow. You are invited to come, alone or with us." His wife wailed into her handkerchief. Ruby stiffened. This was most certainly not the whole truth.
"What kind of activity, Mr. Crouch?" He stiffened as well.
"It is not suitable for one of your tender years-"
"With all due respect, Mr. Crouch, I'm a Ministry member, I can handle it." She had been sure that she wouldn't have needed to play that card for a while. "Besides, I'm his best friend; I've got a right to know." Mr. Crouch nodded.
"All right, then. Barty was caught by Ministry wizards in the company of known followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named; the ones who had tortured the Longbottoms." Ruby thought her whole body had gone into seizure. She twitched and jerked for a few seconds before it sunk in. Her dear friend, her lover even, was most likely going to Azkaban for life. One of the worst parts was the she had been keeping up with the Ministry press cuttings; and knew every gory detail of that particular torture. But not for one second of the reeling of her mind did she believe that Barty had commited that horrible atrocity. Never, she swore to herself.
"Mr. Crouch....you don't believe, do you?" It was hard to get words out of her strangled tongue. Mr. Crouch shrugged, a cold shrug, if ever there was a thing.
"I don't think that I will ever know. The trial will be at eleven in the morning, tomorrow." Ruby's face was blank.
"I think I'll go to the trial by myself." She stood up, and headed for the door. On her way out, Mr. Crouch called out to her.
"By the way - congratulations on your approval."
"Yeah..." she muttered, completely numb from toe to mind. How could someone be so cold as to forget about this situation even to congratulate someone?!? She no longer minded the snow on the way home, because she couldn't feel anything except pain. Excruciating pain. Pain that she previously hadn't known existed. That night her head was empty, there was nothing to be thought about, and therefore nothing to dream about. There was no future, as far as she was concerned. Who cared now about some new job at the Ministry?
When Ruby got home, she laid out her nice skirt, vest, and shirt on the ironing board to fix tomorrow. She didn't even bother with undressing tonight. She simply flopped on her bed, clicked off the lamp, and silently cried herself to sleep.