I'm back!
A few little words about the last chapter: do you think Ruby is a silly old bitch? Yes? Fine, that was my intention! But raise the Hufflepuff-spirit and give her a second chance, will you? Anywhere I've read: it has to get worse before it gets better. It's exactly the same with Ruby. She is really choleric at times (that's her grandfather's side in herself...) and regrets it afterwards though her pride forbids her to show it... I just found it too easy for Oliver to come with christmas presents and everything is ok again... But Ruby will find out some things about herself and stuff. I just hope she is still believable!
This chapter was a bit tricky to write. It's hard to imagine loads of snow while in reality I'm almost melting away in the summer heat.
Have you all also read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? It's soooooo great! Poor Sirius! And Tonks is simply cool! And Lupin! (*sigh*) And and and.... I love that book. It's the first time I read HP in English first before I read it in German (the German translation is to be released in November) but I understood it pretty good.
Thank you Joanne K. Rowling!
There's a new Ruby-pic on my site. It's a scene from this chapter. The address is www.sarikreativ.de.vu. The page is German but the instructions of the last chapter are still the same: click on "Galerie" on the left side, then on the right side "Zeichnungen" – "Ruby Goes To Hogwarts". And there's a nice fun-pic of Snape in my "Harry Potter" drawing section *g*.
Please review!
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The next day Ruby woke up by the sound of excited voices and laughter. She frowned and blinked at her alarm clock. It was 11am. For a short moment a wave of shock came over her then she remembered McGonagall telling her yesterday that detention work was over. All that was left were lines ("Five feet of parchment – and no 3-inch-letters, Ms Riders" as the Transfiguration professor had instructed her) and Hogsmeade prohibition until summer holidays. Ruby decided to do the lines today. It was Friday and some quiet hours in the library would do her good after the last days of hard work: her arms were still feeling somewhat numb. Ruby turned around. It soon would be time for lunch and actually she should get up but it was so warm in her bed – and so icy cold outside!
There was a hollow WHAM against the window which made Ruby jump and more laughter which made her curious. Sighing she wrapped her blanket around her slipped into her boots blinked against the bright white light (A/N: that sounds stupid...) in the dorm room and shuffled over to the window which obviously had had a meeting with a snowball. Hiding behind the heavy yellow curtain Ruby peered out through the pane and between the dabs of snow covering the glass she could see a group of five people having a jolly snowball fight infront of the stone steps leading to the large oaken front doors. She could make out two identical persons – the Weasley Twins obviously as there was flaming red hair covering their heads instead of hats. There were two other red-heads, too, one of them standing aside a bit, looking disapproving: Percy Weasley, no doubt. He had spent the holidays so far with not leaving her out of the eyes whenever they had been in the same room. Ruby could hardly restrain herself from cheering loudly when a snowball hit him rather hard against the arm followed by laughter from the others. However her smile faded when she realized who had thrown the ball: a tall boy with a toothy smile and short brown hair. Ruby's stomach made a jolt when she recognized Oliver Wood. Immediately she dived deeper into the velvet curtains. Hopefully Witty wasn't with them outside: being hit by a snowball could end badly for the tiny fairy.
"Bah, who cares!", frowning Ruby backed away from the window and turned towards her trunk. Could she dare dressing normal again? She decided that yes and chose a pair of dark blue pants and a dark blue knee-long robe, bound with a golden ribbon around the waist. Her blue boots with the twinkling golden stars matched perfectly and looking into the mirror ("Look at that Holiday Princess!"). Ruby smiled while arranging her curls around her nevertheless pale face.
The common-room was filled with all the other Hufflepuffs remaining in Hogwarts during the holidays. Silently Ruby sat down at the edge of the small crowd. They were gathered around Pat and History-Diggory (as Ruby called him in her mind) playing a spectacular game of wizard chess. Looked like Pat was going to loose – to a third-year!! Ruby couldn't help but grin while Pat's sandy hair stood on all ends from being ruffled so hard. Without really noticing Ruby got more and more involved into the exciting match and by the end (Pat was defeated narrowly) Ruby was standing amidst the crowd cheering for the third-year Cedric and fake-consoling Patrick. Ruby received some side-glances but nobody said anything for which she was pretty thankful.
Feeling like a full member of the crowd Ruby joined them on their way to the Great Hall. It felt like ages since she last time had eaten together with them. Unbelievable how tasty the food suddenly was again... There was cheerful noise in the Entrance Hall and a minute later a group of five wet persons with happy red faces came into the Great Hall, Percy following them, leaving snowy-wet footprints and a streamlet dripping from their black cloaks behind them. People's eyes followed them until they reached Gryffindor Table and settled down for a joyful lunch. Ruby pretended to ignore them but didn't let them out of her eyes. Then she saw it: a small violet blur flying around Oliver Wood, gleeful to get some bits of roast potatoes and sauce.
Ruby got more and more gloomier and was the first of the Hufflepuffs to leave the table, mumbling about going to the library. She shot a last glance over at Gryffindor Table but as Wood looked up to her she quickly broke eye contact and hastily left the Hall carefully avoiding their wet traces. 'Filch will be glad to strangle them slowly for that.', she grimly thought. Arriving in her dorm she snatched ink, parchment, quill and – on a second thought – also the Smiley she had gotten from her friends but never used before. On her way to the library she met the rest of the remaining school in the Entrance Hall. For a split-second she tried to get a climpse of Oliver and Witty but admonishing herself she went strictly on up the marble staircase. The rest of the way to the library she reminded herself why she was angry about them both. But strangely she couldn't quite convince herself anymore. The mere thought of Oliver sent butterflies into her stomach and a prickling into her lips even she couldn't ignore. Angry about herself she stomped on.
Then she dived into the dusty silence of the library. Now, during holidays, it was rather empty. The only person Ruby could see was a stern-looking seventh-year whose house she didn't know. What made her curious was that he was standing in the Restricted Section. Only students with special permission from a professor were allowed in there. Ruby longed to have a look into one of those books about the Dark Arts. Halfly because she was really interested – halfly because it was forbidden. Once she had managed to sneak into that area of the library but before she could even touch one of these books she had been caught by Madam Pince, the librarian. She had gotten 4 weeks of library prohibition for that. If Franklin hadn't shared Why dragon dung can help you with her she would have failed the most important Potion test of the term.
Ruby tore her eyes away from the Section (not without a sigh) and searched for a table as far away from the doors as possible. When she passed a high window in one corner she saw that a heavy snowfall had set in. She decided to take refugee on the sill of that special window. From here she could see over the whole grounds (though there wasn't too much to see through the thick snow). She shifted a bit until she was comfortable then placed the parchment on her leg. In an uncareful moment the parchment unrolled onto the floor. It looked depressingly long. Ruby had taken her favourite ink: glittering orange. It was a shame to use it for detention but it was a small consolation in the dull work. Ruby began to write.
I will follow the school rules. I will follow the school rules. I will follow the school rules.
Ruby hated lines. Though for some people it may have seemed no real detention it was worst of all for Ruby. It was so boring and dull and tiring. Her back soon began to ache but Ruby didn't want to leave her place hidden behind the very last book shelf. When she was halfway through the task she made a little break and felt her icy cold fingers. Ruby decided it was time to test the Muggle thing her friends had sent her. She creased the little piece of metal and jumped when the fluid immediately began to get rigid. She could feel warmth spread out from the yellow disc and held her hands tight around it. Amazing how imaginative Muggles could be at times. Sighing Ruby looked out of the window while the consoling warmth crept through her body – and saw a black blur over the Quidditch field. Was she that exhausted already? She shut her eyes very tight then looked back concentrating hard to see through the specks of white everywhere.
No doubt, there was a black figure flying through the heavy snowfall. She had a sure idea who the figure was. 'Only one person here is so stupid to fly at that weather' she thought then shook her curly head and turned back to her parchment. But – though she didn't want it and denied it – she couldn't help being worried and caught herself several times gazing out of the window to see if everything was alright. Her stomach made a jolt and her heart gave a loud and certain dodom everytime she regocnized the figure still flying around. But of course she couldn't see anything precise at that distance. When she began to write I will follow Oliver Wood. she decided it was time to stop and finish the rest of the lines later. Furiously she crossed out the last three words and scribbled hastily the school rules instead. Then she gathered her stuff and left the now empty library. It was pretty dark on the corridors already. On the second floor Ruby met Percy Weasley who eyed her suspiciously but Ruby was too weary (and angry on herself) to start a quarrel over her what-abouts but quickly hurried on. When she reached the bottom of the marble staircase she heard crunching footsteps on the snowy stone stairs leading up to the front doors. She quickened her speed afraid of meeting whom she thought to be the person outside.
The Hufflepuff common room was cozy and quiet. Most of the few people in there were reading something or writing christmas-thank-you-letters to their relatives and friends. Ruby wanted to drop her things in the dorm then take a seat anywhere between them and read a bit in Liliana Long and the Muggle in her Garden, her favorite book in her childhood. But she never came to it...
When she entered the dorm she saw Witty sitting on her bed clutching one corner of the pillow and crying miserably. Ruby followed her intuition dropped her stuff on the nearest bed and ran to her. "Witty, sweet, what's wrong? What has he done to you?"
Witty stopped dead then looked at her with big wet eyes. Sobbing she said "He did nothing. You ... you are ... are the one doing..." then she buried her little head in the pillow again and wailed harder than before.
Ruby sat there for a short moment, dumbfounded, then stroked gently with a finger over the shaking back of her fairy who jumped. To hide her own upwelling emotions she turned to get her things from the bed of ... Ruby stopped short. WHO was sleeping in that bed, actually? She looked around at the other beds. This one at the window was Tracey's – or was it Bebe's? It hit her like an astray broom: she had lived together with them for a whole term and didn't know for sure which bed belonged to whom of her dorm mates! Had she been that ignorant? Ruby felt her nose tickle – a sure sign for tears fighting up their way.
"Witty" she whispered with shaking voice, then louder but still shaking "WITTY!". Tears were rolling down her pale cheeks when she felt the familiar consoling little weight on her left shoulder. Then a wet little face pressed against her cheek while a diminutive hand stroked her ear: an invitation to speak about her distress.
"I..." she swallowed hard on the lump in her throat "I don't know who is sleeping in which bed..." she trailed off while more tears found their way down her cheeks "I was so stupid ... Oh, my dear, dear Witty, can you forgive me? I'm...I'm so sorry..." her voice broke, she was overwhelmed by the emotions swirling through her whole body, especially when Witty found her voice again: "I...I do. I had hoped for what you've said!" The next minutes the room was filled by the sound of two persons crying silently, feeling relieved and happy of being together again.
+++
Ruby was lying on her bed smiling up at the yellow canopy above her, Witty was satisfied curled up to a ball clutching Ruby's left ear with a little hand. Ruby didn't dare going back to the common room. On the one hand her eyes were red and swollen on the other hand she felt like she never could look into their eyes again: she had acted like such a snobby little brat, spoiled and too smart for them. She remembered Julie Martinson and her behavior in first class. Ruby was the first to talk to her again after Julie had changed her opinion about being at a wizarding school. Would her housemates give her a second chance, too, as she had once done? They were in the same house after all, so perhaps they would do so... Though she had been given a lot of second chances by them, as she had to admit.
An official apology, that was what she needed. She rolled onto the side so that her ear was pulled out of Witty's light grasp causing the little fairy to grunt indignantly. But Ruby just mumled something incomprehensible and bent over the rim of her bed to pull out her bag from under the four-poster. She searched for a new roll of parchment, the baby blue ink and another quill. For a short moment she pondered then wrote.
Dear Hogwarts (including students, teachers, staff, pictures and ghosts of course),
I, Ruby Riders fifth-year Hufflepuff, came to this school last September with the will to leave it again – as soon as possible that is to say. I did my best on that issue and more than some people had to suffer from my childish and unseemly behavior though nobody has done anything to deserve my anger.
It took me four months to realize what I have done and now I'm at a point to see my presence here as the honor it is.
I want to apologize to you for my shameful behavior: my rude answers, the haircolor-changing-potion in the Butterbeer bottles I left all over the place, the instigated armor, the mice at the breakfast tables, the extra-loud fireworks in the library and all the other things I did which are too many to be listed here.
But especially I want to apologize to all my house mates. You did your best to endure and integrate me but all I did was opposing all your attempts and rejecting the many second chances I got. If you are willing to give me one last chance I will be glad to accept it at last.
I promise to do my best to integrate in the school and its rules.
With a deep bow,
Ruby Riders
Having written that text Ruby felt much lighter in her heart. She was sure it would be easier for her to be a normal student than a regular prankster. Tomorrow she would leave the bed early and pin the parchment at the great noticeboard in the Entrance Hall.
But now she had another issue flying around in her mind. And she had to get an answer though she didn't know why it was so important to her.
"Witty?" a sleepy sound which might have been an "Eh?" was the only reply "Well, what ... I have a question. What did you mean when you said you've told Oliver everything?"
Witty opened her eyes and watched Ruby carefully before she spoke "I told him about Christopher Carlisle and that you were a little distressed because you haven't heard from him for so long."
"Nothing else?"
"Nothing else."
"Good."
"Why did you sound relieved?"
"I don't know."
+++
It had been an early night and Ruby woke up pretty early in the next morning, feeling refreshed and as if she had turned over a new leaf. She dressed and looked into the mirror to tend her hair. Her eyes fell upon the lily brooch she had gotten from Christopher and which always was pinned to what she was wearing. She unpinned it and held it close to her eyes. The smell was as fragrant as ever. For a split second Ruby thought about throwing it into her trunk but then quickly re-pinned it. Lilies still were her favorite flowers so why not wearing it still? She snatched the announcement she had written yesterday then waited for Witty who floated in mid-air in front of the mirror fussing over her wings. Ruby assured her over and over again that they didn't look too pale and finally the fairy settled down on her shoulder now and then turning around to check her wings again. "Oh really, look! They are almost colorless! No wonder I glowed less and less the last time. Do you still have that order form of Accessories For Your Little Friend in Merlin Avenue? I urgently need the Coloring Potion No. 5!"
"Witty, do you think I have a niffler? The owl they'd be sending the order with would be more expensive than the Potion itself. And by the way it probably would have the same effect if I give you pumpkin juice to drink." – Witty pouted – "Believe me, my friend, Coloring Potion No. 5 doesn't work! And your wings aren't colorless at all. The cold just make them look a bit paler than in summer, that's the different light!"
Ruby smiled. They had had a conversation like this at least once a month... When Witty was fussing over the color of her wings it meant that she was contently happy!
They passed the portrait of the witch in the garden. But the plants stood alone. Yesterday Ruby had heard whispers about a pyjama-party planned in the big picture of the ballroom on the second floor. She thought of mad Sir Cadogan in a pyjama with teddy-bears on it and snickered. Well, he probably hadn't been invited at all... Quickly she hurried on before pity could catch her off guard.
After she had attached the paper to the message board she entered the Great Hall to have a decent breakfast she hadn't had for what felt like ages. The moment she sat down she heard curious voices in the Entrance Hall. She recognized some of them: Pat, Alice, Gertie… Ruby decided to ignore them. When did the food appear at last. She wanted something to do instead of sitting around stupidly when they would enter the Hall. Determinedly she focused the space on the table infront of her. Then she heard the voices nearing and abruptly stopping when they came into the almost spooky silence of the Great Hall. There still was no food! Damn House Elves. Ruby played with the hem of the forest green robes she was wearing today while she avoided looking at them. Then, without warning, somebody clapped her on her back with a strength which almost knocked her against the table top.
"Geez, Pat, save your strength for your Beating in Quidditch." Ruby heard Alice's voice then she, too, clapped her on her back, but more gentle, then sat down next to Ruby who smiled feeling very relieved.
"So, what made you change your mind so profoundedly?" Alice asked while the others took seats around them. The food appeared.
"Well, many things actually. I came to a point where I couldn't deny them any longer and had to think about all that had hap-"
"Eurk, what is that?" Pat's voice interrupted her speech. Ruby frowned but her forehead quickly straightened when her nostrils caught the smell coming out of the bowl Patrick held under his wrinkled nose.
"Riders Breakfast!" she exclaimed gladly accompanied by Witty's delighted scream and snatched the bowl out of Pat's hands. The House Elves must have taken her bowl out of the trash and analyzed the ingredients. Ignoring Pat's remarks of "Looks sickening" Ruby (and Witty) heartily tugged in not caring about the huge stomach ache which was inevitably following when someone eats such amounts of Riders Breakfast.
The meal turned out to be very lively indeed. Ruby enjoyed thefeeling of really belonging to the group of housemates around her.
When they stood up to leave the hall Ruby felt not only full but also the beginnings of a huge stomach ache and decided to have a stop-in at the infirmary later. Witty also seemed to feel bad as she wasn't flying but sitting on Ruby's shoulder letting her do all the work of transport. In the door they waited for a group of Ravenclaws and Gryffindors to pass into the Hall. They all seemed to have read they looked out for Ruby, some of them pointing at her. But no harsh word fell and everybody smiled.
Suddenly Oliver Wood glided into Ruby's field of vision. He seemed to smile the widest and to have the most shiny face of all. Ruby's heart skipped several beats when their eyes met. Later she would blame it on the angry stomach of hers. Oliver winked then went on. Dreamily she stared after him barely noticing Percy Weasley eyeing her suspiciously. Pat's elbow in her ribs made her remember the real world and what she had been up to: heading back to Hufflepuff Gardens and finish the hated lines which was bound to become diffcult with a bickering stomach and the disturbing feeling that Christopher Carlisle by far wasn't as interesting a person as Oliver Wood.
~*~
So, what do you think? I think there will be more Oliver Wood from now on.
Chocolate Chip Cookies for every review!