This Changes Everything
Summary: After it had happened, everything changed completely. Things were never going to return to how they were, how they should have been. Where were they going to go from here?
Warnings: I don't really know what rating this story is going to go up to, so I have rated it high to be sure. At the moment, only slight swearing, but could change. This story is AU, with OC characters, major and minor. Multiple pairings. R & R will be greatly appreciated!
Disclaimer: Nothing from the world of Harry Potter belongs to me, obviously. I am just a fan of the books and films. Only original characters are mine, everything else belongs to J.K Rowling.
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Chapter 2: The Twins
Gordon Knight dragged the huge oak trunk down the stairs.
"Good lord Ruby, what on earth have you managed to fit in this time?" he exclaimed. Ruby laughed as she stood at the door, carrying several bags and Artmesis' cage in her hands. Ruby's mother, Elanor, flitted out of the kitchen, a worried look on her face.
"Now you're sure that Amos is happy for you to be staying?"
"Muum! For the fifteenth time, YES! I would hardly go if he wasn't! You need to stop worrying so much." Ruby rolled her eyes playfully.
"Well, I baked these for you three to share. Say thank you to Amos and for goodness sake, don't embarrass yourself!" Elanor handed her daughter a brown bag. Ruby peered inside and groaned.
"Gingerbread! That's for kids! How embarrassing…" Gordon let out a gasp, having finally managed to get the trunk out of the house.
"All set?" Ruby put down her luggage and threw her arms around her mum.
"Bye mum!" she called, picking up her bags and walking towards the open door.
"Have a lovely time! Be safe and don't talk to strangers on the train!"
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Ruby plonked herself into the window seat of the train carriage. She had half an hour to kill until she reached her destination. Erin and her family lived in a part of London that was occupied by witches and wizards. Muggles didn't know of its existence and hopefully never would. Ruby had chosen not to wear her robes. She only ever wore them at school or for special occasions. So if a Muggle had walked in right now, he wouldn't have found her conspicuous at all. She looked pretty ordinary, brown hairs, blue eyes, tan skin and normal body of that of a sixteen year old. This was both good and bad for her. Good because it meant that she could fit in anywhere, but being ordinary looking isn't enough to attract the guys .I am only a girl after all, she thought.
The shuddering of the train woke Ruby from her nap. Startled, she peered out the window and dashed to the door of the train.
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"RUBY!" A tallish, brunette teenager came hurtling towards her at full speed. Ruby squeaked as she was enfolded by two arms, forcing the air out of her lungs, "You're late! I thought you weren't coming!"
"Erin, it's 12:01. I'm hardly late." She pulled a stupid face at her friend and the two of them made their way out of the station, "Tell me EVERYTHING about your holiday! I need to know that at least somebody had a good time!"
"It surely wasn't that bad!" Erin gasped in mock horror.
"IT WAS!" The two witches cackled with laughter as they strolled along.
"Button it you two. Sounds like a pair of hags coming out of the station!" An even taller boy with dirty blond hair and piercing grey eyes mocked them. He hugged Ruby hello, before Erin punched him playfully on the arm.
"Give it a rest Ced, you sound like granddad! Are you sure we're twins?" Her brother grinned devilishly.
"Unluckily for me, yes." This earned him another whack on the arm. Ruby stood by, watching the two siblings bicker good- heartedly.
"If you weren't related to me, I would've turned you into a cave troll by now!" She heard Cedric cry.
"Hey, isn't that a bit advanced for you?" Ruby piped up, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips. Cedric spluttered in shock.
"Two against one! I'm not going to win now…" he stomped ahead, pretending to sulk. This set the two girls laughing. They slowed their pace and Ruby turned to Erin.
"So, what's happening between you and Dominic then?" Dominic King was a dark, brooding boy in their year, who was friendly with Cedric. Erin had started dating him a couple of weeks before the end of school.
"I dunno really, he's starting to bug me now. Every time Ced gets a letter from him, it's always "tell Erin this" or "tell Erin that". I suppose that's the downside of dating your brother's friend." She grimaced, "Don't you ever go out with Cedric! That would be WAY too weird!"
"But I find it so sexy the way he snores in the night!" she joked, "I really wouldn't want to. I know too much about him, but I'm sure someone would be willing to take my place." It was a known fact that practically every girl in Hogwarts had lusted after Cedric at some point in their school lives. Erin couldn't really blame them. He wasn't exactly ugly to look at, but she assumed things were different when he wasn't your best friend's twin. To her he was more like a brother than potential boyfriend material, "Besides, you know who I've got my eye on." Erin gazed at her friend.
"I really thought you'd have forgotten that bloody Alex guy!" she laughed, "You only ever spoke to him once, in Herbology. It's hardly the foundations for a stable relationship!" Both girls suddenly stopped talking as Cedric sidled up to them, appearing to have got bored of being sulky. He was staring curiously at them.
"What was that?" He questioned. Erin went to open her mouth, but Ruby shot her a look.
"Oh, nothing…" said Ruby nonchalantly.
"Well, I'll just have to assume that you were proclaiming your undying love for me to my sister." He smirked. Ruby elbowed him.
"I'll let you keep on believing that. I know that your ego must be deflated after your… escapades in Spain." Cedric glared at Erin.
"You…you…" He threw his hands in the air, "Is there anything you haven't told her about me!"
"Only how you used to run around naked in the garden when you was a baby…" Erin looked delighted as Cedric turned a bright shade of crimson.
"You horrible little rat!" He muttered, reaching out to push her. Erin jumped out of the way and began running up the road. Cedric zoomed after her, leaving Ruby leisurely pushing her luggage after the twins.
Erin screamed as Cedric caught up with her and hoisted her over his shoulder.
"Let me go!"
"No."
"CEDRIC!"
"Yes?"
"PUT ME DOWN!"
"No."
"Please!" Cedric stopped walking and waited until Ruby had reached his side.
"What do you think Ruby?" His eyes glittered with laughter.
"Nah."
"TRAITOR!" Erin crowed.
"You lot are making such a racket! I could hear you from the end of the street!" Amos Diggory, Erin and Cedric's dad, was standing at the doorway of the house. He roared with laughter when he saw Erin slung on her brother's shoulder, "Surely she didn't make you carry her!" Cedric put Erin back on her feet and groaned audibly.
"You're heavier than you used to be 'Rin!" he complained, earning himself a sharp kick in the shins.
"No, you're just weaker." She retorted.
The two men helped Ruby to take her things off of the trolley and into the hallway. A warm, pleasant scent was working its way through the house. Ruby gazed around her surroundings. The Diggory house was quite large and comfortable. To her it was like a second home. It held many memories as she had spent a large portion of her life growing up here.
Amos Diggory and her father had been working together in the Ministry of Magic for around 20 years. As a consequence, the men and their two families became very good friends and would often meet up at special occasions.
Erin and Cedric's mother was a Muggle and had disapproved of magic. She taught her two children how to live "normally", but their starting at Hogwarts had proved to be the final straw. Shortly after their first year had begun, their mother upped and left without warning. There was no address to write to, no phone number to call. The only way that they could keep in touch with her was through their grandparents. They were also oblivious to the fact that their grandchildren had magical talents.
After a couple of years, Amos Diggory had remarried. Leyla Touchston also worked in the Ministry and had moved into the family home. As their father had expected, Erin and Cedric had both been incredibly difficult at first, but eventually they all settled into a routine. However, the two had always called their stepmum by her first name. Nobody at school knew about Erin's real mother. It would have caused a lot of problems for her and her brother. Erin wasn't ashamed, but it seemed too much hassle for everyone to know, so she had never really mentioned her mother at school. Ruby often wondered what Erin really felt about her whole situation.
"How have you been this summer Ruby?" Amos inquired.
"Fine thank you, Mr Diggory. And thank you for inviting me to stay here. My mother asked me to ask you again." Amos chuckled.
"When you get in touch with her, tell her that it's an absolute pleasure. Leyla and I won't be here for most of the time, I am sorry to say. But Margaret will be around, so you should be perfectly safe. Dear me, is that the time? I really must be going! LEYLA, are you coming!" He shouted up the stairs.
"I'll be down in a minute! Go start the car!" a bodiless voice replied. Amos kissed his daughter and hugged Cedric. With a final wave to the three of them, he walked out the door. Leyla came stumbling down the stairs, pulling on a jacket whilst trying to tie her hair back.
"See you kids!" she waved and followed after her husband. The trio stood by the door until the adults had gone from their view, then turned and ran into the kitchen.
"I'm starving!" Cedric proclaimed, rubbing his stomach.
"You always are!" Ruby suddenly remembered the bad that her mother had given her and reluctantly went to fetch it. As much as she didn't want the others to see, she would have felt terrible if she didn't give them.
"What's that?" Erin pointed at the bag.
"Look for yourself." She grimaced as they peered into the bag. Cedric snorted with laughter as Erin giggled; pulling one out of the bag and making it hop around the table in the kitchen. Ruby cringed.
"How old are you?" Erin remarked.
"Shut up! Just eat them!"