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. Also the name of this chapter isn't mine!
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Chapter 3:Diagon Alley
They had sent the four days since Ruby's arrival doing nothing in particular. She, Erin and Cedric had taken advantage of the hot weather and spent most of their time outside. That day, the weather was again bright and sunny.
Ruby woke up tangled in her bedsheets, and shielded her eyes from the sunlight pouring through the large window next to Erin's bed. Erin herself was still asleep, mumbling quietly to some unknown person. When Ruby listened carefully, she could make out the sound of Cedric's snores coming from the next room. Giggling, she made her bed and pulled on one of Erin's spare dressing gowns.
Padding along the thick carpet of landing, she made her way down the stairs and into the warm, inviting kitchen, where Margaret was making their breakfast. Yawning, she moved over to her bird's cage and watched Artemis sleeping in it. Beside her were Erin and Cedric's owls; Angel, Erin's gorgeous barn owl and Twitch, who was Cedric's 2 year old tawny owl.
Artemis had been a present from the Diggory family for her sixteenth birthday. Her other owl had died earlier that year and getting Artemis was one of her favourite gifts. She constantly spoilt her and let her go hunting.
"Are those two lazy kids up yet?" Margaret asked, just as Cedric let out a particularly loud snore, "Never mind. Could you go and wake them up for me? Or I'll burn their bacon." Ruby nodded and made her way back upstairs.
She decided to rouse Erin first, as she felt awkward going into Cedric's room without his sister. She hadn't been in there for a while. God knows how disgusting it had gotten; she shuddered at the thought of mouldy cups and dirty underwear strewn across the floor.
"Erin! Get up!" She shook the brunette forcefully.
"Go away!" she pulled the sheets back around herself and muttered into the pillow.
"Margaret is cooking breakfast; I'll just tell her you weren't hungry…" It worked. Erin was out of bed in a shot.
"We need to get your brother up as well."
"I have a plan. Follow me!" They crept out of the bedroom and slowly opened the door to Cedric's. Ruby was surprised; it actually wasn't as bad as she had expected it to be.
"On three, we jump. Ready? One, two…THREE!" They both launched themselves onto his sleeping form.
"Oof!" A muffled cry of pain escaped Cedric's lips as he was rudely awoken, "Whaddayawant?"
"Breakfast!" Erin replied in a sing-song voice. His reaction was much the same as his sister's.
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After breakfast, the three of them got washed and dressed, then pulled out their list of supplies that had been sent, notifying them of all new equipment that was needed for the new year at Hogwarts. Books, quills, ink, parchment, spell ingredients and new robes, as Cedric had outgrown his by over an inch over the summer.
"Diagon Alley?" They all nodded.
The train ride to Diagon Alley was fleeting and soon they had arrived outside The Leaky Cauldron.
"I bet we see bloody Dominic here!" Erin exclaimed fearfully.
"If you're lucky…" Ruby snickered, whilst they walked through to Diagon Alley. No sooner had their feet on the cobbled streets, than they heard a voice cry out;
"Erin. Over here!" She groaned audibly, and turned to see Dominic making his way over to them. She painted a fixed smile on her face whilst twisting around to utter pleadingly;
"Save me…."
"I'm so happy to see you. Come with me, we've got so much to catch up on!" They could hear him rambling as he dragged Erin into Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.
"We'll meet you at Malkins!" Ruby called out to her friend's back, "Just me and you. C'mon, I need to go to the bank."
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Once their stomach churning ride down to the Knight's vault- number 1091- had ended and Ruby had collected some money, she and her companion wandered out of the bank, struck by the bright light.
They made their way through the long, winding streets, occasionally shouting hellos and waving frantically at their friends. Often, they would peek over their shoulders to see a large group of third years trailing behind them, giggling and swooning. Cedric look embarrassed and motioned for Ruby to speed up. Unfortunately, so did the girls.
"They must have mistaken you for someone else," she teased, "Why would they be following you otherwise?" She noticed somebody walking past them, "Look Ced; it's your saviour. He's bound to grab their attention!" Cedric followed her gaze and nearly gasped in relief as he saw Harry Potter walking past them. The girls burst into a fresh round of giggles and in the blink of an eye, were hovering around the infamous wizard. He looked around helplessly.
"Quick, let's go!" Cedric nudged Ruby into Madam Malkin's Robe For All Occasions and closed the door with a bang. The customers inside looked in their direction. To Ruby's dismay, she saw Draco Malfoy, the young, sneering, pale kid from the third year, having his robes adjusted. Unsurprisingly, his two friends, Crabbe and Goyle, were standing either side of him. Ruby hadn't failed to notice that Malfoy's "brave" streak only surfaced when those two boulders were poised beside him. Despite this, she couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive around him. He may have been young, but still managed frequently to humiliate seventh years on a daily basis.
The Slytherin turned to face the former fifth years with a disgusted look on his face.
"If it isn't Hufflepuff and his girlfriend shopping together." He drawled, "How… endearing." Cedric's cheeks flared with anger.
"Malfoy. I thought you would have conjured up a better insult than that by now. You have had three years. Perhaps your father knows some good ones; he's had his fair share of them. Maybe losing that Quidditch match numbed your brain. I'll go easier on you next time." He winked and smirked as Draco paid for the robes and angrily stomped out of the door.
"Thank god he's gone. That little brat takes after his father. Makes my job so hard. Not like you Master Diggory, although you go through robes quicker than any student I know! Another new set?" The shopkeeper, Madam Malkin, had made her way out of the storeroom and over to Cedric. He blushed at her comment and nodded, "Here put these on and I'll make some adjustments." He pulled the robes over his head and Madam Malkin began measuring, pinning, cutting and stitching the hems of the robes to size, "How are things in Hufflepuff, my dear? I remember my days there. Have they won anything yet?
"Not yet. But we're hoping to win the Quidditch Cup this year." Cedric informed her. Madam Malkin got up from her knees and patted him on the shoulder.
"I'm sure you will. I've heard you have your dad's talent for Seeking. All done!" Cedric handed the bundle of fabric to her and they headed over to the till, "That's 20 Galleons." Erin suddenly came barging in, red-faced and panting.
"That boy never gives up!" Struggling to regain her breath, she unexpectedly yelped in horror and dived behind a pile of robes as the aforementioned boy entered.
"Alright Ced! Have you seen Erin?" Erin began to signal desperately to Cedric.
"Um….no… I thought she was with you?"
"She was. I guess I'll have to keep looking." His mumbling slowly filtered away as he departed to continue his search. Erin sprang from her hiding place.
"FINALLY, PEACE! Let's go!"