Chapter 17- Confessions
Ruby was reluctant to leave Scorpius, knowing how upset he was but she knew she had to return to the Burrow, he left first planning to return to his parents house and they arranged to meet on New Years Eve for lunch in muggle London before going to the Three Broomsticks for the party. Ruby apparated back to the Burrow at quarter to six and walked to the outside table where her family were enjoying tea and coffee and examining their gifts.
"Ruby dear, you look exhausted! Come and sit down and I'll get you some dinner." Her Grandmother said, standing up and rushing into the kitchen. Ruby sat down in between her Uncle Charlie and her father and took the bottle of butterbeer that Uncle Harry offered her.
"Busy shift?" Aunt Hermione asked.
"It was bloody mental, family arguments and cursed presents all over the place, I didn't get chance to sit down till three!" Ruby exclaimed, taking a sip of her butterbeer.
"Well you put your feet up, eat this, and open your presents." Her Grandmother said, returning to the table and placing a large plate of Christmas dinner in front of Ruby. She attacked it with gusto and lost the thread of the family's conversation as she ate.
She had just finished the last bit of her dinner when the Floo alarm went off and Aunt Minnie walked in carrying a bag of presents in one hand and a curious shaped parcel in the other.
"Merry Christmas all!" She said, giving Ruby's mother a hug before moving round the rest of the family, she arrived at Ruby last.
"Ruby, you look shattered!"
"I got called into work, I've only just go back." Ruby said, blushing as she always did when she concealed things from her family, she could hardly say 'I worked till half three and then I shagged Scorpius Malfoy!'
"Are you off tomorrow?" Aunt Minnie asked, sitting down next to Eliza and pulling some of the presents out of the bag and distributing them amongst the Weasleys and Potters.
"Yep, four days off, and I'm off for New Year's Eve and Day as well, so happy!" She said, taking a cup of tea offered by her Granddad.
"Oh that's good, would you like to come up to the Manor on New Year's Eve, I was thinking of holding a lunch?" Her mother nodded enthusiastically but Ruby hesitated.
"Sorry Aunt Minnie I've got plans." She replied, blushing again.
"What are you doing?" Her father asked, looking surprised that she was turning down an invitation to McGonagall Manor.
"I'm going into muggle London with one of my healing friends, we're having lunch and then going shopping."
"Who?" Uncle Ron asked, looking at her carefully.
"My friend Amber, the American one. It's her first New Year's Eve in the UK and she wants to buy something nice for the Three Broomsticks." Ruby hated lying to her family, her mother looked at her and Ruby felt sure she knew that she was lying but thankfully she changed the subject and asked Minerva about her upcoming trip.
They discussed Prague for a few minutes and then Aunt Minnie stood up and walked over to her god-daughter.
"Which is why I wanted to come today to give you your Christmas present." Aunt Minnie said picking up the odd shaped parcel and passing it to Ruby.
"Thanks Aunt Minnie, can I open it later?" She asked, she hated an audience when she opened her presents.
"Just like Eliza." Ron muttered and her father and Uncle Harry laughed and nodded.
"No, you can't." Aunt Minnie said firmly. Ruby looked up at her, surprised. The rest of the Weasley grandchildren stood up and moved around Ruby, maximising the discomfort.
Ruby opened the parcel carefully and saw a large basket with a tiny Crup puppy inside. It was adorable. Ruby gasped and removed the rest of the wrapping.
"Wow, a Crup! Thanks Aunt Minnie!" She exclaimed, looking at the spotty puppy and smiling.
"Aww, it's so cute!" Lily said, looking at the basket. "Daddy, when can I have a Crup?" She asked, turning to her father he tutted before responding.
"When you've grown up and moved out." He replied.
"I thought it would be a good present, protection for you and Alice in the flat, and you can take him with you when you go for your runs." Aunt Minnie said and Ruby nodded and then looked over at her parents, they had definitely been conferring on this gift.
"Should my ears have been burning?" She asked and her father nodded.
"Two young girls living along in London, you need a crup." He said smiling.
"It almost sounds like you don't trust my wards, little brother." Uncle Bill said with a wry smile.
"Course I do, big brother. I just don't trust Ruby when she runs, she's got the spatial awareness of… well her mother."
"Hey!" Her mother said loudly, smacking her husband's knee.
"Actually you've got a point, I was in the office for ten minutes today before I realised that Scorpius was in the bed." Ruby replying, still looking at the puppy and not thinking about what she was saying. Her eyes widened when she realised what she had said and she wondered who would be the first to respond, it would be too much to ask for her family to let it go.
"What? I thought you said Malfoy doesn't work in the holidays, what was he doing in the office? Was he spying on you?" Uncle Ron said, looking annoyed.
"Of course he wasn't, he had an argument with his grandfather and he came into work to cool off and fell asleep on the bed. He wasn't spying."
"But you didn't notice him?" Uncle Bill asked, smiling at his brother's reaction.
"No, the bed is a complete mess and I was focussing on paperwork." Ruby replied.
"Was Scorpius alright?" Al asked.
"Yeah, I think things are a bit tense because of his grandmother."
"What's wrong with Narcissa?" Aunt Minnie asked. Ruby's mother replied and they discussed Mrs Malfoy for a few moments before Uncle Harry brought the topic back onto Scorpius.
"Did Scorpius say what the fight was about?"
"No and I didn't ask, it's Christmas. Anyway thanks Aunt Minnie, I love it." She set the basket at her feet and then stood up to hug her godmother.
"You're welcome, you have to take a test at the Ministry within two weeks but I've already paid for it so you just need to book an appointment."
"Thanks, what do you think I should call him?" Ruby asked, sitting on the floor next to the basket and pulling the tiny dog out, he was about the size of her hand and had white fur with multi-coloured freckle like spots all over him. He licked Ruby's hand and made small barking sounds of contentment.
"He looks like he's got dragon pox." Hugo said, leaning in to stroke the puppy.
"Yeah, actually that's a good idea Hugo." Ruby said, setting the dog on the floor.
"What is?" Hugo asked.
"Pox, I'll call him Pox. I think it will be a while before he comes on runs with me though."
"They grow fast, he'll be running with you by the summer." Uncle Charlie said knowledgably.
The rest of Christmas Day passed quickly and Pox was definitely the best present Ruby had. She also got several healing books, some stationary and notepads, assorted Crup paraphernalia (from her parents), a Weasley jumper, lots of sweets, a box of joke products, a clothing voucher, a muggle iPod (for running from Uncle Dudley and Aunt Lydia), a new pair of trainers, a spa weekend voucher (for two from Alice with a note saying she wanted the other ticket), a dragon claw ornament (from Alistair) and a number of other small things from her cousins.
When Ruby returned to Bryn Y Felin with her parents and siblings she was absolutely shattered, she decided to Floo home to reduce the chances that she would splinch herself and also to carry Pox's basket along with the puppy, she bade goodnight to her family and climbed up the stairs.
She kept the Crup in his basket which was advised by one of the books that she had been given for the first few nights away from his mother, and climbed into bed.
She dreamed of Scorpius, that he had got into a duel with his grandfather and he turned up to the cottage injured. She dreamt that her father refused to let him in because he was a Malfoy and she pleaded with her father to let him in, to let her be with him.
She woke up with a start and covered in sweat. The clock on her wall told her it was only three o'clock in the morning. She calmed down her breathing and wiped the sweat from her face. Her father would never be that unreasonable, she was being ridiculous. It took her quite a while to get back to sleep but when she did her dreams of Scorpius were far more pleasant.
The next morning Ruby woke late, it was almost half ten when she walked into the kitchen. Her mother was reading a book that Hermione had got her for Christmas and her father was showing the twins some new products.
"Morning sleepyhead." Her father said, pointing his wand at the kettle to make her a cup of tea.
"Morning, sorry I had trouble sleeping." She replied, sitting down next to Immy.
"Are you alright?" Her mother asked, putting down the book and looking at her daughter.
"Yeah, had a nightmare but I'm fine. Can we go for a walk into the village later, just the two of us?" She asked, with a casual look at the twins and her father to make sure they weren't offended.
"Of course, your father is taking these two over to Harry's anyway, try out those new brooms." Her mother replied.
"Mom, they're not just brooms! They're…" Immy struggled with words for a moment before Eliza interrupted.
"They're brooms Immy, trust me I bought them. It said brooms on the receipt."
"Dad!" Immy said, looking at her father for back up.
"Immy's right, Eliza, they're not just brooms, they're Sky-beams! They're a feat of engineering and magic and…"
"Alright, I had the sales pitch from the man in the shop I don't need it again. Harry's expecting you at twelve but make sure you're back by five so you can shower and change before we go to Petunia's."
"Is Teddy coming to Aunt Petunia's?" Annabel asked, looking up from the product catalogue that Ruby noticed was on the page about romantic products.
"Yes but just to say hello, then we're off for his stag do!" Fred said, looking excited.
"I can't believe we didn't get to go to Vic's hen party, it's not fair." Annabel said, looking annoyed.
"I couldn't go either and I'm a bridesmaid." Ruby said, taking the tea that her father passed her. Victoire's hen party had been the previous week but she had been working and Kyle couldn't rearrange the shifts without her missing out on one of the weddings.
"Are you stopping at Shell Cottage tonight?" Immy asked.
"Yeah I think so, I'll have to get my stuff together before we go to Aunt Petunia's." Ruby said, flicking through the book on ancient healing that Aunt Hermione had bought her mother, it must be something to do with the new project.
"Eliza that reminds me, don't forget the Hear-me-not bug tomorrow." Her father said.
"I'll take a pair with me tonight just in case you forget." Ruby said, looking at her mother. The Hear-me-not bugs were a product that her father had developed years ago to block out unwanted sounds, they were the size of a ladybird and sat on the inside of the ear. Ever since Eliza's captivity in Azkaban the sound of waves brought back horrible memories and Shell Cottage was close enough to the sea to trigger flashbacks. As they wedding was planned for a large marquee outside the cottage her mother would need to eliminate the sounds of the Irish Sea crashing against the rocks.
"Have you heard any more about that court case, Dad?" Immy asked, looking up at her father.
"Yeah, Hermione said they don't have a leg to stand on so she's getting the Wizenagomot to sign a document to say that I don't have to pay any compensation. Cheeky beggars- not my bloody fault they eliminated the sounds of their baby crying!" He exclaimed, a young couple had recently tried to sue WWW after they used the bugs to stop them hearing their baby so they could have a proper night sleep, the baby had been ill with a virus and when they went into the nursery the next morning hives have spread all over the baby's body.
After the twins and their father left to test their new brooms Ruby and her mother pulled on their winter coats and made their way out of the cottage. The village was a small muggle one with only a butchers, a bakers, a newsagent and a pub and the walk into it passed through a small wood and along the banks of a stream, it was always a lovely walk.
"So, what's going on Ruby?" Her mother asked as soon as they had reached the boundary of the cottage.
"What makes you think there's something going on?" Ruby replied, pulling on her mittens.
"Many reasons; one if you wanted to get out of the house you could have gone on a run and left me at home."
"I didn't feel like a run."
"Two; you had a nightmare which only happened when something's on your mind."
"True."
"And three; you keep lying to the family." Ruby didn't reply and kept her eyes on the path ahead, her mother waited for her to respond and Ruby knew if she didn't reply then her mother would be more than happy to walk the entire way in silence.
"I don't want to lie to them." She said as they reached the banks of the stream.
"Then don't." Her mother replied. "Hermione knows you're lying, Harry knows it from me, Ginny suspects and Teddy knows what it's about."
"Does Dad know I'm lying?" Ruby asked,
"He knows something's going on, he might suspect you're not being entirely truthful but he'd prefer to think that you wouldn't lie to him."
"I'm sorry, Mom." She said, stopping and turning to look at her mother who also stopped.
"Come on Rubes, we've always had a very honest relationship. The twins lie to me all the time but not you, and not Teddy."
"The twins don't lie to Dad though."
"That's because whatever they lie to me about was probably his idea." Eliza said, smiling. Ruby put her hands on her face and sighed before she spoke again.
"I'm in love with Scorpius Malfoy." She said, looking into her mother's brown eyes.
"I know you are." Her mother replied, she then pulled Ruby into a hug and rubbed her back for a few moments before pulling away.
"How do you know? I only just figured it out myself."
"Really? When?"
"This morning when I woke up."
"I've known since the Ball." Eliza said. They started walking again and Ruby looked at her mother.
"Really? How?"
"The way you looked at each other, and then the way you reacted after the article came out about the two of you."
"We weren't doing anything then…"
"I know, when did it start?"
"Christmas Eve."
"No wonder you were so late." Ruby blushed but her mother just chuckled slightly.
"I don't know how this happened. I can't believe this has happened." Ruby said, putting her hands in her pockets. "Dad's going to kill me!"
"No he's not, he's happy if you're happy. You are happy aren't you?"
"I am, it's just complicated."
"What's Scorpius like? Does he feel the same?"
"I don't know, I think so. He's… he's really amazing Mom. I just… I don't know how to deal with this."
"You can discuss it when you meet up on New Year's Eve."
"It's his birthday… wait how do you know we're meeting up on New Year's Eve."
"I've met Amber. It's highly unlikely she doesn't have an outfit for New Year. Are you going out in muggle London?"
"Yes, we're meeting for lunch and then maybe doing a bit of window shopping."
"Does anyone else know? Apart from Teddy?"
"Teddy figured it out for himself, I didn't tell him."
"Of course he did, he's his father's son."
"Hugo knows."
"Really? I'm surprised about that, how did he find out?"
"He caught us kissing on Uncle Charlie's birthday, he said he won't tell anyone though. Albus suspects too."
"That doesn't surprise me, he's nosey. Anyone else?"
"Aunt Ginny knows I'm seeing someone."
"How?"
"I had… love bites on my neck on Christmas Eve." Her mother laughed loudly.
"Oh Ruby! Listen to me, everything will turn out okay in the end, if it's not alright it's not the end."
"That's what Teddy said." Ruby said and her mother nodded.
"He's right. Yes it's not going to be easy when it first comes out, if I were you I'd make sure that it's definitely love before you do anything, and then I'd wait until someone else in the family screws up and then I'd tell everyone."
"Wait for someone else to screw up? What if they don't?"
"Pah! It's a big family Rubes, someone is bound to screw up soon. Charlie dodged a bullet with getting Katie pregnant, if they weren't getting married Molly would have killed him!"
Ruby laughed and nodded, a walk with her mother was definitely a good idea.
A/N A bit of mother-daughter time, what do you think?
Next chapter; Teddy and Vic's wedding day arrives!
Thanks to mozie for beta-ing! I'm still looking for a new beta!
xXMizz Alec VolturiXx- Thanks! Also I'll update The Other Weasley on November 1st so not too much longer to wait.
witchprincess33- Thanks, lots more from Teddy in the next chapter. I'm aiming for tears with his speech!
scorubes4life- Thanks, we will meet Astoria but not too soon. I read a really good Draco/Astoria, Ron/Hermione fic a while ago, I think it's called Crossing Paths.
Luna- Thanks, are you at college already?