Chapter 28 The very long day
Scorpius's flat was rather large for one person. There was a big kitchen with an island in the middle with a microwave and a few other gadgets. The dining room would comfortably seat ten and the living room had two large sofa's and a study area. It was when Scorpius led Ruby into the bathroom that she gasped.
"Wow, it's amazing!"
"I know, I was a bit unsure about the rest of it. It's a bit pretentious but I saw this and…well!" He spread his arms and Ruby smiled. The bathroom was massive and had a Jacuzzi like bath and a separate shower, and there was even a sauna attached. Ruby turned to Scorpius and bit her lip.
"Do you know my muscles are quite sore from running, a bath might help."
"You think so, well you're nearly a healer so I'll take your word for it. It should probably keep you under observation though, and a massage might help." Ruby nodded and Scorpius moved and kissed her on the cheek before pointing his wand at the bath and then pouring in some bubble bath.
"Can I see the bedroom?"
"Nope, your health and wellbeing is my priority. Do you need help undressing?" Ruby smiled and sat on the bench next to the bath.
"Well, I wouldn't want to strain myself." Scorpius moved in front of her and ran his hands down her neck and then kissed her softly before reaching around and pulling her hair free from its bobble. Ruby reached up and shook her hair out and then reached out for Scorpius' hand.
When they finally climbed into the bath Scorpius sat behind Ruby and she could feel him quivering on her lower back. He kissed her between the shoulder blades and she pushed herself against him.
"Time for a massage." He said, reaching out to grab a bottle of coconut body oil on the shelf.
"You smell of coconut." Ruby said, closing her eyes and breathing in the smell of him and the bubble bath.
"I know, do you like it?" He asked, reaching and rubbing her shoulders and neck.
"Yes I…" Ruby groaned as Scorpius found a knot of muscle just below where the knife had entered her and he concentrated on relieving the pressure. After five minutes he stopped rubbing and kissed the spot.
"Better?"
"Much, you're amazing."
"Anywhere else that needs my attention?" He asked, holding her close and running his hands over her stomach but avoiding her breasts.
"My calves are a bit tight, I probably should have stretched more…"
"Merlin, if you'd stretched any more I would have came right there in the foyer." Scorpius laughed and moved in front of Ruby. She moved back and sat on the seat that he had been sitting on. He worked on her calves for ten minutes and then leant up and kissed her.
"How about your hamstrings?"
"I think I'm all massaged out."
"No way, I said a massage and you are getting a whole body massage." He put some more oil on his hands and Ruby smiled.
"How does the oil stay on your hands?"
"Dunno, magic I guess. Now, tell me if I hurt your thigh."
"I will." The massage was incredible frustrating, Scorpius kept stopping short of her groin and as he finished her right thigh Ruby had reached breaking point.
"Scorpius, please." She moaned, moving forwards and running her hands down his chest but not touching his member.
"Please what?" He asked, his voice hitching slightly as Ruby almost reached his pubic hairs before running back up his chest.
"I think it's time for me to massage you." She replied, deciding to change tack. It paid off because after two minutes of Ruby massaging Scorpius shoulders he gave in and turned around and kissed her hard, forcing his tongue into her mouth.
Ruby moaned into his mouth and reached around to his bottom and pulled him towards her. His hardness glided across his centre and then they both repeated the motion until Ruby pulled her mouth back and reached down to stroke him.
Scorpius breathed out slowly and then ran his hand down Ruby's body and put his hand over hers, showing her how to pleasure him. Ruby picked up the technique fast and then Scorpius moved her hand away and towards her own centre.
"Show me, Rubes, show me." He whispered in her ear. Ruby showed him how to touch her and within minutes she was screaming out his name. Scorpius moved quickly and entered her before her orgasm had finished subsiding and Ruby was in heaven. It took longer than usual for Scorpius to finish so Ruby reached around to him bum and squeezed it lightly and ran her nails along his skin.
"Fuck! Rubes…yes...so amazing…yes!" He exploded into her and then she held him as his breathing returned to normal.
When the left the bathroom Scorpius showed Ruby into the bedroom and then left her in there and went to make some tea. When he returned Ruby was fast asleep on the bed, completely naked.
Ruby heard the alarm charm but was confused, it didn't sound like her own. She opened her eyes and saw that she was still at Scorpius' flat. He was waking up next to her and Ruby looked at her watch and saw to her relief that it was only seven.
"Morning, good sleep?" Scorpius asked, reaching out and stroking Ruby's face.
"Yeah, did I fall asleep here then? I can't remember anything after the bath." Ruby replied, blushing slightly as she thought back to the most amazing sex she had ever had.
"Knew that the bathroom made this flat worth it. Yes I brought you some tea but you were sparked out so I put you in a pair of my old pyjamas and tucked you in bed. I set the alarm early though so you can still meet your mom."
"Thanks, last night was amazing." Ruby rolled over and placed her hand on Scorpius' bare chest.
"That's an understatement, best night of my life. Do you want breakfast here?"
"No, I'll head off I've got to sort out Pox and get my stuff ready. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yep, good luck with the project, and I hope it goes alright with the muggle."
"Thanks, I love you." Ruby said, leaning down to kiss him, he deepened the kiss and it was twenty minutes later when Ruby arrived back at her flat. Alice was eating her breakfast.
"Good morning Ruby, you look well taken care of, good night?" She asked, smiling.
"It was…" Ruby sat down and looked at her best friend. "It was incredible Alice… I mean like… amazing… the best…"
"Well you better sort out those lovebites before your mom gets here, I know she's fairly cool about these things but you look way too…fucked, for any mother to handle." Ruby laughed but then pointed out a love bite of Alice's neck.
"Crap, I thought I'd got them all. I've never had so much sex in my life, I feel like a nympho!" Ruby laughed and walked into her bedroom. She had a quick shower and then removed all of her love bites, except a small one on her boob that no one except Scorpius was likely to see, and changed into a pair of black trousers and a pale green blouse. She then played with Pox and had her breakfast. Alice disappeared just before nine and gave Ruby a pile of letters that had been delivered during the night and morning.
Ruby glanced through them and saw that they were mostly from her family and friends. She was about to open one from Alistair when a knock on the door disturbed her. She stood up and walked over to open it.
"Mom, you didn't have to knock, you can apparate straight in!" Ruby said, kissing her mother on the cheek and then letting her in.
"That's only for emergencies Ruby, I don't want to invade your privacy. How are you? You look well." Her mother asked, with her eyes twinkling in a way that made Ruby blush.
"I'm great mom, I've been looking forward to this morning. Do I need to wear my healer robes?"
"Yes but I want to ask you something first, can we sit down?" Ruby nodded and they moved to the sofa.
"I know that Kyle said if you were finished after lunch then you don't need to go into work so I wanted to ask you a favour."
"Okay, what is it?" Ruby asked, her mother looked quite nervous.
"I don't think you'll be there till after lunch but I want you to come to Hogwarts with me, and Harry."
"Hogwarts? Why?"
"Audrey came by this morning and the Prophet have found out about Vernon dying and we want to tell the girls before they read it. I've just been to see Dudley and he asked if we'd tell Pansy as well, she doesn't know any of the details." Ruby felt suddenly very nervous.
"Of course I'll come, are you sure you want me to though?"
"Yes, I've realised that you're a grown up now and I need to treat you like one. I know that Harry told you about Crayton's son, I thought you were going to come to me about it but when you didn't I realised that I… I haven't really handled the past well with you girls and…"
"Mom, don't say that, you did what you thought was right. I don't blame you for anything, especially not Crayton. There's no… rules or guidelines about how to tell your kids about stuff like this. We all understand, we know that none of us know everything but we know that you've been trying to protect us."
"We have Ruby, we really have." Her mother said, her lip shaking slightly. Ruby pulled her mother into a hug and whispered to her.
"Of course I'll come with you. Are James and Al coming?"
"No, I don't want lots of people, just you and Harry. Dudley didn't want to come, he's still struggling with things."
"Did he go and see Vernon in prison?"
"Yes, but I don't think it went well, we still don't really talk about it. Especially not to Aunt Petunia, she gets so upset. Neville said that we can take Pansy home if she's upset after we tell her, the others too. They can stay home for a few days while things blow over."
"Good idea, I'd stay too but I'm going to James' tonight to tell his girlfriend about the magical world and then tomorrow night I'm having dinner with Mr and Mrs Malfoy. I can come on Friday though."
"Let's see how things go, now come on otherwise we'll be late. Are you ready? Where's Pox?"
"He's still in bed, he doesn't get up till eleven. If the twins come home I'll bring him for a few days to cheer them up. I'll just grab my robes and take my potion and then I'm ready." Ruby walked back into her room and took a steadying breath before she pulled on her robes.
So not only were the Prophet talking about her sex life, they were also going to be pulling through her mother's horrible past as well. At least Audrey had warned her mother so she could warn the twins, she couldn't imagine their reaction if they hadn't known anything. They thought he was in prison for tax fraud.
Ruby took her potion and grabbed her bag and then walked back to her mother and the apparated to the Ministry together.
When Ruby walked into her mother's office she was taken aback by the sheer volume of parchment covering the walls. It was impossible to see what the colour of the wall underneath was because there was what looked like years of notes and diagrams covering every inch of the wall.
"Oh my god, mom! And you call me messy?" Ruby said, waving her wand around her.
"What? Oh, I don't even notice it anymore. That's why I won't let them give me a better office. It's not messy to me."
"You could just move everything to the new office." Ruby suggested.
"No, I know where every bit of paper is and another office wouldn't feel right, there could be a breakthrough on one of those scraps of paper, look here is where I finally finished the formula for Remus' Remedy!" Her mother pointed out a large piece of parchment that was near the floor behind Ruby. Ruby leant down and recognised her mother's writing, it was only that messy when she was very rushed.
"How do you even read it?"
"That's what Minerva said when I showed it to her, at least I know no one can steal my ideas. Now, there's five people on the team. Me and Matilda obviously but she's more of my assistant and an organiser than a collaborator." Her mother lowered her voice probably so that Matilda, whose desk was outside the office, wouldn't be offended.
"Then there's Norton Basildon who's a bit dotty but essentially good-natured, and then Penny who's the main healer on the project because she hasn't published anything in a while and she needed some research credits so that she can get some grant approval for one of her potion developments, and then you."
"Okay, so what will my job be?" Ruby asked, nervously.
"You have two roles. One is to liaise between the Ministry and the hospital, because Penny can't spend too long here as she's needed at the hospital. You'll need to make sure that both sides are aware of what the other is doing. That's very important, Ruby."
"Got it, I can do that." This was going to seriously test Ruby's organisational skills.
"And the second is to monitor the patients and make sure that they are progressing and aren't uncomfortable. If it's going to cause them pain or….anything negative then we'll pull the project because it's not worth it."
"Okay, so I need to get a good relationship with the patients so they can tell me how they are?" Eliza shook her head.
"That's the issue here Ruby. You can't build a relationship with them at this stage, they aren't capable of that, not yet."
"So they're in a coma or something?" Ruby asked.
"No, they're brain damaged, sit down." Her mother sat down and conjured at chair for Ruby which she sat in. "The project is about how to minimize, and hopefully remove, long-term damage from torture, like the Cruciatus curse." Ruby gasped, her Aunt Minnie was right, her mother did think all problems could be solved.
"That's…that's brilliant mom, do you think you can do it?"
"I'm sure we can do it." Her mother replied, firmly.
"How? Is it potions or charms?"
"It's a combination of memory forcing and brain transfigurational charms. I'll give you a summary of the work so far but, and this is very important. The patients are Neville's parents but you can't talk about this with anyone Ruby, not even Alice or Scorpius, and especially not Neville."
"He doesn't know?"
"No, his grandmother signed a research form with the hospital years ago so we can use them without telling the family. I don't want to get Neville's hopes up but… I really think we can do this Ruby. You can talk to me, the team and Aunt Minnie, that's it. I've been working on it on and off since the Dementor project, that's why I haven't published any big research since. I really want to give Neville his parents back, he deserves them. There's got to be something Ruby, I was tortured for months and I'm still here, there has to be something in that." Ruby felt tears prickling at the edges of her eyes.
"I'm… I'm really proud of you mom, you're amazing. Thanks for letting me help, I won't let you down."
"I know you won't. He's a summary of the research, we haven't done much with Frank and Alice yet but we'll start next week. Read that carefully and then I'll introduce you to Norton and we'll go through the timetable for the project."
Ruby read the twenty page booklet twice and jotted down a few questions. The hope was that by showing the Longbottom's their memories and charming the part of their brains that was linked to emotions it would enable them to reduce the impact of the torture on their brains and hopefully return them to their former selves. It was ambitious but the theory was solid, even if some of the formulae went straight over Ruby's head.
The rest of the morning passed quickly and Ruby met many of her mother's co-workers and even her boss, who tried again to convince her mother to move into a bigger office. She refused again and he decided to offer her an extra seven hours of work-from-home a week. Her mother seemed pleased.
They ate lunch together and then went up to the Auror department and her mother knocked on Uncle Harry's office door.
"Can't you just use the bond?" Ruby asked,
"I did, he's got someone in there annoying him." Ruby smiled and then when she walked into the office she burst into laughter and had to stifle it quickly.
"What's so funny?" Asked Uncle Ron, putting down his sandwich and looking annoyed at his niece.
"Just thought about something funny, hello Uncle Ron, how are you?"
"Fine, you seen the paper Ruby? Everyone knows now!"
"I know they do, we don't care." Ruby replied, her Uncle looked set to retort but her mother interrupted him.
"Honestly Ron, let it go. Ruby is as stubborn as I am when she wants to be, stop making things difficult. What are you doing here anyway? I thought you were in the Hogsmeade shop working on the new line?"
"He came here to try and get me to have a talk to Ruby." Uncle Harry said, standing up from his desk.
"Hey! You could have just said I came in for lunch."
"No point, Eliza knows when I'm lying. Anyway Ron we've got to go to Hogwarts and talk to the kids, do you want us to tell Hugo?" Ron stopped looking angry and looked thoughtful for a moment.
"I'll pop and ask Mione, it's probably wise. He's sensitive." Ron looked at Ruby who nodded and then disappeared out of the room.
"What's going on with Hugo, Rubes? I know you know." Uncle Harry asked her, pulling on his robes.
"I do but it's not my place to say. He caught me snogging Scorpius before Christmas and he didn't tell anyone, I owe him. He's alright though, don't worry."
"You're sure Ruby? He's not been himself for a while." Her mother asked.
"I know but he's getting there, trust me. Are you going to tell Louis?"
"Bill already told him at Christmas, Vic had let something slip when she was tipsy and he had a lot of questions." Harry replied, Ruby nodded. Vic must have felt terrible, perhaps it was when she was back from her hen party.
Uncle Ron returned and Aunt Hermione came with him, she greeted them all and gave Ruby a hug.
"Do you want us to tell him?" Her mother asked Hermione.
"Yes, I think it would be better coming from you two, I'm pleased that you'll be there Ruby. Are you feeling alright about it, Eliza?"
"Have to be, anyway it's about time they knew, they're pretty mature for their age anyway. If we'd had to tell James or Dom early I'd have worried but…"
"Not sure how Lily will react though." Interrupted Harry. "She's a bit of a drama queen."
"She can be serious though, Uncle Harry. Besides she'll probably be more interested in me and Scorpius, I got a letter from her this morning but I haven't opened it yet." Uncle Harry laughed and smiled.
"Come on then, let's get this over and done with." Ruby and her mother and Uncle left the Ministry and Flooed to Hogwarts. Ruby arrived last and brushed down her robes.
"…well thank you, Professor. It's nice to see you again." Her mother was saying to Professor Flitwick.
"It's marvellous to see you as well Eliza, ahh and Harry and Ruby too. You are quite the topic of conversation at the moment my dear."
"I bet I am." Ruby said, blushing.
"It is wonderful to see a bit of inter-house unity!" Said one of the other headmasters, some of the other portraits commented too but Ruby was watching the portrait of Snape.
"I trust that young Mr Malfoy is well?" He asked, when he saw Ruby looking.
"Yes sir, very well."
"And his parents?"
"Well, I think. I'm having dinner with them on Thursday."
"At the Manor?" He asked, Ruby felt her mother stiffen next to her.
"No, his parents have a townhouse in Bath, they only go to the Manor for special occasions. Scorpius doesn't really get on well with his grandfather."
"Then there is hope for the family yet, please give Draco and the family my wishes."
"I will sir." Professor Flitwick stood up and walked around the desk.
"Now I've pulled them all out of classes, Hugo as well although I wasn't sure…"
"Ron and Hermione want us to tell him." Harry said.
"Of course, well they're all in the hospital wing."
"Why there?" Asked Eliza, looked confused.
"I believe that Poppy thinks you are overdue for a medical and does not want you to sneak past her. She also wants to see Ruby and find out if she can make her retirement plans more concrete." Uncle Harry snorted and Ruby smiled at the indignant expression on her mother's face.
"I've told the relevant head of houses that they may be away for a few days, do you think they will want to?"
"I think the twins will, and Lily. Do you think Pansy will?" Asked Uncle Harry.
"Probably." Ruby answered and her mother nodded.
"I'm not sure about Hugo though…"
"Yes, I'm pleased to see that Hugo is back to his old self, we were all rather worried last term but he seems to be much happier after Christmas."
"He had an epiphany, he'll be fine." Said Ruby and Flitwick smiled at her.
"Well, I'll let you get on. Please send a house-elf if you need me for any reason. I hope it goes well."
"Thanks, Professor." Said Harry and they left the office.
As they walked through the empty corridors Eliza turned to her daughter.
"Do you think there's anything we can do to make it… easier, for them to hear?" She asked. Ruby thought for a moment, remembering the cold day when her mother had sat her down at McGonagall Manor.
"No, I don't think so. Just don't drag it out otherwise they'll panic, being blunt is probably best, even if it seems a bit harsh. How did you tell Teddy?"
"I did it, when I told James. Took them out for a burger and just came out with it, I don't think they were expecting it." Said Uncle Harry, looking thoughtful.
"You can't expect something like this, how did they take it? And Al?"
"Teddy got quite upset, James went quiet, Al went for a ride and came back and ate his body weight in chocolate." Ruby smiled, her reaction had been a mixture between all of them. Many of the portraits greeted the twins and Ruby as they passed and Nearly-Headless-Nick held them up for a while as well. When they reached the hospital wing they could hear Lily shouting.
"…to know what's happened! You promise that mom and the babies are okay?" Uncle Harry opened the door and the kids all turned to them.
"Dad!" Lily cried, running forwards and hugging him.
The others came forwards and hugged them as well and Madam Pomfrey greeted them warmly and then retreated into her office and left them with a tray of tea.
"Mom's really fine?" Lily pressed as they sat down.
"Fine, hormonal, hungry and massive- but don't tell her I told you that." Uncle Harry said, Ruby laughed and Lily finally looked convinced.
"What's going on then?" Asked Pansy, looking at them. "Is someone ill?"
"No one's ill Pansy. We need to talk to you all about something that happened a long time ago." Said Ruby's mother, looking nervous.
"Like during the war?" Asked Annabel, looking uncharacteristically serious.
"Before that even." Said Harry.
"Why are you telling us now? If it happened so long ago?" Asked Pansy, it was easy to see why she was in Ravenclaw, Ruby could practically see the cogs turning in her brain.
"Because something happened over Christmas and it's going to be in the paper tonight." Said Ruby when neither her Uncle nor mother replied. She had never really seen her Uncle look like this before.
"Is it about Dad's dad? I know he died over Christmas." Said Pansy.
"What has Dudley told you about him, Pansy?" Asked Uncle Harry, clearly trying to feel his way into the issue.
"He doesn't really talk about him. He just said that he was a horrible man and that Granny is much happier with Granddad." Pansy replied.
"That's true… The thing is Vernon Dursley was in prison and he died at Christmas." Uncle Harry stopped and looked at his sister.
"Can you just tell us, mom?" Immy asked, shuffling her chair slightly closer to Ruby. Ruby reached for her mother's hand and gave it a quick squeeze, she planned to retract it but her mother gripped it.
"Okay, Vernon Dursley was in prison for tax fraud and for… for abusing me when I was little, before Hogwarts." The silence that followed these words was a shocked one and Ruby shared a worried look with her Uncle. Immy broke the silence.
"What?" She asked, in a strangled voice.
"He… he like hurt you and… touched you and stuff?" Asked Annabel who had gone very pale.
"Yes, but it's important to remember that it was a long time ago, right Harry?"
"Right, and he went to prison, and now he's dead." Her Uncle said, firmly.
"Did he hurt you as well, Dad?" Asked Lily, she looked younger somehow.
"No… well not in the same way as he…"
"Harry, you've got to let it go." Her mother said her brother didn't reply but clearly something was said through the bond because her mother opened her mouth again.
"You really think it's easy to… go for a walk, Harry." Uncle Harry hesitated for a moment and then walked out of the room.
"Is he okay, Auntie Eliza?" Asked Lily, looking tearful.
"He'll be fine. He still blames himself, even though it's not his fault."
"Did he know what was happening?" Asked Pansy.
"Not at the time, it stopped when I came to Hogwarts and no one had any idea until I was sixteen."
"Did you tell someone?" Asked Hugo.
"Not exactly, Fred figured it out, him and Aunt Minnie. I'm still not quite sure how they did it but… anyway the issue is that it's going to be in the papers again. That's why we had to tell you early, we usually tell you when you reach seventeen but we needed to act sooner. Pansy your Dad wants you to go home for this week, he wants to talk to you about this. Professor Flitwick says its fine."
"Thanks… what about Granny? She didn't know…?" Pansy looked deeply upset and her Aunt interrupted her to calm her fears.
"No Pansy, she didn't know. She found out during the war and then she divorced him and she even went to court and testified so that I wouldn't have to. Then she helped Aunt Minnie get the evidence for his tax crimes so that he would never be free. She did everything she could, okay?"
"Okay. Is that why she was upset on her birthday?"
"Yes, she wants to see you too." Pansy nodded and then Eliza turned to the twins.
"Do you want to come home for the… oh Annabel, don't get upset!" Her mother stood up and pulled her daughter into a hug, Ruby reached out and put her arm around Immy who looked like she was a few seconds away from crying herself.
The hospital wing doors opened and Uncle Harry came back in, Lily ran to meet him and they hugged and then sat down next to each other.
"You can all come home for a few days, till things blow over. Do you all want to?" Everyone nodded except Hugo who looked unsure and uncomfortable.
"Hugo?" Eliza asked from over Annabel's shoulder.
"I don't know…it's not the same for me but I don't want people asking me questions if I'm the only one left. I know Louis' here but he's… cooler than me."
"It's fine, we understand. You can come to ours until Ron finishes at the shop. You're looking happier than Christmas, Hugo." Her mother said, smiling at him weakly.
"Yes, I am. I figured some stuff out."
"Tell them, Hugo, you said Ruby already knows." Said Immy quietly, Ruby tried to give an encouraging smile and Hugo nodded.
"I'm… I'm gay." He said, keeping his eyes down and turning bright red. Ruby looked at the adults' faces and both looked surprised.
"Oh… well I'm really pleased that you've figured everything out Hugo, no one's going to mind and everyone's been quite worried about you." Said Eliza, Hugo looked up and smiled slightly.
"I've noticed how much happier Ron's been since Christmas as well, he was really worried about you. A worried Ron is a grumpy Ron, right Eliza?"
"Always, if he stops eating them we call your Grandma." Hugo laughed slightly. "Come on, let's get you all home." They all stood up except Ruby who looked up at her mother.
"Mom, don't be difficult." She said, quietly.
"What? Oh yeah, your medical, we'll wait outside, Eliza." Uncle Harry led the others out of the room and her mother sat down grumpily as Ruby went to fetch the matron. She knocked on the door and Madam Pomfrey opened it.
"Finished? How did it go?" She asked, walking over to Eliza.
"I think it went okay, mom tried to sneak off though. Good idea having it here, Madam Pomfrey." Ruby said, Pomfrey pointed her mother to a bed and indicated that Ruby should follow her.
"You want me to stay?"
"If you're going to take over in June you need to know what you're doing."
"Oh, okay. Do you mind, mom?" Ruby asked.
"I don't suppose I have a choice." She mumbled.
"No, you don't. Now the most important thing to check with your mother is her back and her potion tolerance. Luckily for us she is quite a bad liar when asked a direct question. Observe."
"How is your back?" Her mother looked like she wanted nothing more than to storm out of the room but instead she took a deep breath and answered.
"It's fine." She said, dropping her gaze at the last moment.
"You see the dropped gaze, that is one of her tells. Another is redness, or paleness and speaking too fast. How bad has it been?"
"This is ridiculous!" Her mother protested.
"Now, that anger tells me that it has been bothering her for quite some time and she has been wondering whether to do something about it but pushed it to the back of her mind because that is what she does. Have you been taking potions?"
"Fine, okay, you win. It's been bothering me for a few months, I've taken a couple of doses of pain potion a day but only a low potion."
"Which one, mom?" Asked Ruby.
"Only Noggerty's, nothing hard-core!"
"Noggerty's is F3.5 on the healing scale. Has it been helping?"
"It did at the start but the past few weeks it's been harder. It just keeps needing stretching, I've been hanging over the side of the bed."
"Sit up." Her mother sat up and Ruby watched the nurse perform the diagnostic charms, she then showed Ruby which ones she had use and Ruby copied her.
"So, what do you think?" Madam Pomfrey asked, pushing Eliza back to a lying position.
"It looks like Arthritis with…"
"Oh, it's nothing then! Just old age!"
"You are forty-two, you are not old! Carry on, dear."
"Okay, Arthritis with some sort of nerve damage. Should she maybe see a surgeon?" Her mother paled and Ruby bit her lip nervously.
"My thoughts exactly, Eliza you need to see a surgeon. I know an excellent one at St Mungo's, he's world renowned."
"But… I… it can't be that bad." Her mother stammered.
"Not yet, but it won't get any better, I'll come with you and talk for you if you want." Her mother nodded and Ruby felt both relieved and nervous.
The rest of the medical passed quickly and apart from her back her mother was given a clean bill of health and Madam Pomfrey told Ruby she felt confident enough to enrol in a six-month relaxation and yoga retreat in India, as soon as Ruby had graduated.
They said goodbye to Madam Pomfrey and met up with the others in the entrance hall and then left quickly, before the other students were in the corridors. They split up and Uncle Harry took Lily and Pansy, and Ruby and her mother took the twins and Hugo.
Arriving at the cottage Ruby made them all a drink and they sat at the kitchen table, her mother was looking very worried and Ruby didn't know how to help.
"Is there anything else you haven't told us?" Annabel asked, in a careful voice.
"It wasn't that we wanted to lie to you, it's just that… I haven't had a normal life and I didn't want it to impact yours. You girls and Teddy mean everything to me, I never thought I would live through the war, I never thought your Dad would either. I wanted the war to have as little impact on your lives as if could."
"You did well, mom." Said Ruby, touching her mother lightly on the shoulder.
"But is there anything else?" Annabel asked again.
"There's nothing big that I'm waiting to tell you now. You know about the tournament, you know about Azkaban and you know about Uncle Vernon. There's other stuff that might crop up occasionally but there's nothing big, I promise." Annabel nodded cautiously.
"Auntie Eliza, I think you're amazing." Said Hugo quietly, looking at his aunt.
"What do you mean?"
"Everything you've been through and you're… you're happy, aren't you?"
"Very happy."
"And successful and it's like you got your happily ever after." Ruby smiled at her cousin, Aunt Hermione was right about Hugo being sensitive.
"I did get my happily ever after, Hugo. Obviously I didn't get everything I wanted but I got some things I didn't expect." Immy looked up quickly and her mother turned to her.
"Mom, while we're talking about things like this. What was Uncle George like? I don't like to ask Dad."
"Why not? He wouldn't mind talking to you about him."
"I know he wouldn't but… I don't like to make him sad." Immy said, Ruby understood completely.
"George was… he was brilliant. He was very different to Fred, although not everyone noticed."
"Could you always tell them apart?" Annabel asked, with slightly more colour in her cheeks.
"Yes, always. George was a bit louder, Fred always looked up to him, as in actually up although they were the same height. I'm not sure why. George came up with more ideas but Fred could plan them through."
"How did he die?" Hugo asked.
"He was crushed under a collapsing wall, I didn't see it of course. I was dead at that point."
"So dad thought you were both dead?"
"Yes, I can't imagine what he was going through. I'd thought he was dead in Azkaban but I knew Harry was still alive. Losing a twin is… is something that the at least one of us with face at some point, girls." Her mother said, looking at the twins.
"What were you thinking about, when you jumped?" Ruby asked, it was so rare that they talked about the war.
"I was thinking about how it wouldn't hurt anymore. I was thinking about seeing Fred, because I thought he was dead, and my parents. I was happy then, happy to die."
"You did speak to your parents though, didn't you?" Asked Hugo.
"Yes, I did. They had to convince me to come back, I was pretty messed up by the time I jumped, I didn't want to come back but… they convinced me that I would have an amazing life, and I did."
"What was it like, after the war?"
"I was in a coma for three months, then I struggled to recover. I had nightmares and flashbacks all the time. Minerva let me return to Hogwarts but stay here with your father, I wasn't able to spend nights without him and I'm not sure he would have coped without me. After the first year things got easier. The trial of Vernon happened fourteen months after the battle, it lasted a while and that was very difficult. Never try and supress things for too long, when they come back it is harder."
"What did Vernon die of, mom?" Immy asked, with a strange expression on her face. "Was it painful?" Ruby looked at her mother and then back at her sister.
"He had cancer Immy, I think they would have given him pain relief." Her mother said, softly.
"Pity." Immy said, standing up and then walking out of the room and upstairs.
"I'll go and talk to her." Said Annabel, standing up. Although the twins had different outwards personalities they had similar core reactions and Ruby knew that Annabel would be the only one that Immy would talk to now.
"Can I go into the living room and read, Aunt Eliza?" Hugo asked, her mother didn't answer so Ruby did.
"Course, Hugo." He stood up and left the room quickly. Ruby cast a quick silencing charm and then put her hand on her mother's shoulder.
"Mom?"
"I'm fine, I should go and see them."
"No, let them talk, they need to process this. Do you mind if I pop out for half an hour? I'll get Pox and I want to warn Scorpius, do you mind?"
"Of course not, tell him I said hello. He should come round for dinner on Friday and meet the twins, we could get a takeaway."
"I'll ask him, I won't be long." Ruby left the cottage quickly and apparated straight to the hospital, if she was lucky she would catch Scorpius just as he was finishing a lecture. She waited outside the classroom and after a few minutes he walked out with a tall, blonde girl who was stroking Scorpius lightly on the arm and laughing.
"…so funny, Scorp! We need to have a night out soon, I miss you Scorpi." Ruby walked over to them trying to keep her temper under control.
"I'm busy and I've got better things to do with…hey, Rubes!" Scorpius' face split into a wide grin and he pulled his arm out of the girl' grasp.
"Hi, sorry I know you've got another class soon I just needed to talk to you about something."
"It's fine, I've got half an hour. Ruby this is Lauren Baxter, Lauren this is Ruby Weasley, my girlfriend."
"Hi." Said Ruby, smiling brightly and trying not to look too triumphant.
"Hello." Lauren said, coolly.
"I'll see you in class, Lauren."
"Bye Scorpi, I'll save you a seat." Lauren walked away and Ruby raised her eyebrows at Scorpius.
"Scorpi? Please tell me that's not your preferred name."
"Merlin no! Come on lets go to Starbucks." They apparated and then Scorpius brought them both a hot chocolate and they sat down in the corner.
"So, how was the project meeting?"
"It was amazing but I'm not here about that, I need to tell you something important."
"Okay, what is it? Are you alright?" Asked Scorpius, looking worried.
"Yeah I'm fine, there's going to be something in the paper tonight about my Mom's Uncle Vernon, he died over Christmas, the one who was in muggle prison."
"For tax stuff right?" Scorpius said, looking confused.
"Well, partly. That's the thing, it wasn't just tax stuff and the paper is probably going to report the real reason and I didn't want you to find out from the paper. I went to Hogwarts with mom this afternoon to tell the twins, they didn't even know the real reason. I found out when I was seventeen and mom was planning on waiting but the paper's forced her hand."
"What's the real reason?" Scorpius reached out and stroked Ruby's hand.
"He was abusing mom, before she went to Hogwarts, like sexual stuff. It stopped when she started Hogwarts but my Dad and Aunt Minnie found out when she was sixteen and then Aunt Petunia found out and took it all to court." Scorpius looked shocked, Ruby took a sip of hot chocolate as he recovered.
"Merlin, that's terrible."
"I know, I can't stop long but I wanted you to find out from me."
"Thanks, I appreciate it. I don't know what to say."
"I know, I've got to head back, the twins have freaked out a bit and I'm taking Pox to stay there for a few days to cheer them up. Mom's invited you to dinner on Friday, so you can meet them. Are you free?"
"Yeah, is she sure though? I can imagine it's going to be a tough week for her."
"Exactly, she likes to focus on something else."
"Sure, I'll see you tomorrow then." They both stood up and before Ruby could stop herself the jealousy opened her mouth for her.
"About Lauren…"
"Don't be like that, Rubes! We've just got our exam results back and she failed, that's why she was talking to me, she wants my help, nothing more."
"How did you do? On the exams?"
"Passed everything of course." He said, smugly.
"Arrogance doesn't suit you."
"I find that hard to believe."
"Congratulations Scorpius, I'm really pleased you for." Ruby leant forwards and kissed him, he deepened the kiss and her knees nearly buckled.
"Thank you."
"Are you going to help her?" She asked, as they left the café.
"No, she's just going to try and get me to date her again, she saw the paper last night. I'll tell her to back off." Ruby tried to hide her smile but she failed and Scorpius laughed.
"I like that you get jealous, Weasley. I'll see you in the morning. I love you, you and no one else." Ruby grinned and he put his arms around her.
"I love you too Scorpius, have a good night."
"It won't be a patch on last night." He whispered in her ear and then kissed her neck.
Ruby arrived back in Wales twenty minutes later with Pox under her arm and all his possessions shrunk in her pocket. She could hear shouting from inside and that worried her. She opened the door and set Pox down, he immediately ran into the living room and Ruby followed to find Hugo.
"What's going on?" Ruby asked, enlarging Pox's things. Hugo sat on the floor and Pox began licking his face.
"Annabel's freaked out a bit and your mom's trying to talk to her. Immy went for a broom ride at the Burrow." Ruby walked up the stairs and found her mother sat outside the bathroom door with tears running down her face.
"…sorry that I didn't tell you earlier but some things are better left till you're older to find out." She said calmly. Ruby moved towards her and sat next to her.
"I just… don't know what to believe anymore! I feel like everyone's been lying to me!" Annabel's voice came through the door and Ruby could tell that her sister was crying. Ruby was struck with a sudden idea.
"Mom, I'll talk to her, Pox is downstairs with Hugo." Her mother sniffed and then nodded and Ruby stood up to help pull her to her feet.
When she had left Ruby sat back down against the door.
"Annabel, it's me."
"I know I'm probably being selfish or something you don't have to tell me."
"That wasn't what I was going to say. How far have you got with a guy?"
"What? What on earth has that got to do with anything?"
"Just tell me." Ruby hoped against hope that her sister wouldn't tell her but she was trying to prove a point.
"No, it's private!"
"Then how do you think mom feels? That bastard was abusing her, he was the reason she stopped talking, she was terrified of him, Bells."
"What's your point?"
"Just because mom didn't tell you it didn't mean she was lying to you. It was private, for Merlin's sake Annabel, Uncle Harry didn't even know till they were sixteen. She was protecting us, we both know she had a crap childhood even without this but… imagine if you'd known about this earlier. Would you still love Aunt Petunia and Dudley?" Her sister didn't reply for a while and then the door opened and her sister emerged, still sat on the floor.
"They didn't know though?" She asked, with tears down her face.
"No, but it would have coloured your judgement of them and that's not fair. Mom gave us the chance to have the childhood that she never got. Don't be mad with her, it's not fair."
When Ruby and Annabel emerged downstairs ten minutes later their mother was sat on the armchair with Pox curled up on her lap. She looked up at her daughters as they entered.
"I'm really sorry…"
"Don't apologise mom, I shouldn't have reacted like that. It wasn't fair, I'm sorry." Ruby walked into the kitchen to give her sister and mother a chance to talk and found Hugo reading a Charms textbook.
"Is Annabel okay now?" He asked.
"Yeah, just a shock. How are you, Hugo? You seem better." She asked, sitting down opposite him.
"Yeah loads, things just seem to have fallen into place all of a sudden. I've told a few more people in the family and Amy, my best friend remember?"
"Yes."
"She said she's known for ages. I'm telling everyone else at Easter."
"You should have been there on Sunday, then I wouldn't have had to go last when telling them about Scorpius."
"Uncle Charlie said it was quite a dinner."
They talked all afternoon, at some point Annabel and her mother came in and started baking cupcakes. At five Ruby's father arrived home with Uncle Ron.
"Hey, how's it been?" Asked Fred, sitting next to his wife and putting his arm around her. Annabel and Hugo were playing Exploding Snap in the living room, Pox was enjoying the chaos immensely.
"I think we're okay now." Her mother said, looking at Ruby for confirmation.
"I think they'll be alright. Have you got the paper yet?"
"No, should be here by six. How are you, Poppet?"
"Good thanks, I can't stop much longer I'm going to James to tell his girlfriend about the magical world. I'll wait till the paper comes and then shoot off."
"How's work been?"
"Ridiculously mundane, I might as well just sit in the office and read!"
"I'd much prefer you did." He replied. "How's Scorpius?"
"He's good, he passed all his exams."
"Did you ask him about Friday?" Her mother asked, making to stand up. Fred beat her to it and started making tea.
"Yes he said he'd love too if you weren't too stressed about the paper."
"Did you explain it to him?" Asked Fred.
"Yeah, I didn't want him to find out from the paper, especially with us being public now." Uncle Ron entered the kitchen with Hugo.
"We're going to shoot off. Thanks for telling him, Eliza."
"No worries, see you soon, Hugo."
"Thanks for having me Auntie Eliza. Uncle Fred, I'm gay." Her father dropped the teaspoon he was holding in surprise and looked up at his nephew.
"Oh… well, thanks for the update Hugo, as long as you're happy."
"I am, see you on Sunday." He left the room and Uncle Ron grinned at his brother.
"Gotta love that kid, see you tomorrow." He left the house and Ruby laughed slightly.
Uncle Ron and Hugo left and were immediately replaced by Teddy and Vic.
"Hey, how did it go?" Teddy asked, kissing his Aunt on the cheek. They all exchanged greetings and then the newly-weds sat down and Teddy looked across at Eliza, clearly waiting for an answer.
"Oh, I think it was okay. Annabel got upset but Ruby talked her around, Immy's flying at the Burrow, she said she's be back for dinner."
"Cool, you feeling better, Rubes? Hamish said you passed out…"
"What?" Her father said, spinning around and looking at Ruby carefully.
"I didn't pass out, Hamish should have kept…"
"He said you went for a run and then came out and passed out for a few hours." Teddy pressed, looking concerned.
"Ruby, you shouldn't be running, surely?" Her mother asked, sighing slightly.
"I went with Scorpius because Alice made me, and then I came back and had a nap, I'm fine!" She insisted.
"Scorpius let you run." Her father asked.
"He didn't want to but short of stunning me he couldn't have stopped me. I just ran a bit too fast to prove a point and then I had a sleep."
"Just like you Eliza, too bloody stubborn." Her father said, putting his hand on his wife's shoulder.
"Yeah yeah, that reminds me. I had my medical with Poppy today and she wants me to see a back surgeon, will you come with me?" She asked, looking up at Fred.
"As if I wouldn't. I'll give you another massage tonight as well."
"Eww, can you keep those details private?" Said Teddy, pulling a face.
"It's just a massage Teddy, not our fault you have a dirty mind." Her father said, Ruby tried to prevent the blush from rising on her cheeks as she thought of the previous night's massage.
An owl arrived with the prophet and Teddy laid it out on the table so they could all read it together.
"Front page, honestly!" Her mother muttered before leaning in to read the article.
MAN WHO SILENCED THE-GIRL-WHO-JUMPED DIES IN PRISON!
The Daily Prophet has learnt that the Uncle of the Potter twins died in a muggle prison over Christmas. Vernon Dursley, 58, was serving a life sentence for tax fraud and sexual abuse, inflicted on Eliza Weasley before she attended Hogwarts. He was convicted in 2000 after a long court hearing during which his ex-wife Petunia Evans, 56, testified on behalf of her niece. The evidence was collected by Mrs Evans, now remarried to muggle David Parsons, and Minerva McGonagall, 90 and close confidant of Eliza Weasley, in the months following the war.
Head of Muggle Relations, Arthur Weasley, confirmed that Mr Dursley died of cancer over the Christmas period but refuses to give any comment on how the incident has impacted his daughter-in-law. The Potter twins are known to be incredible private so it is not expected that any official statement will be given on this issue.
Ruby looked up from the article and watched her mother's face as she finished reading. Her father stood straight again and nodded.
"Not too bad, just the facts Eliza. Dad said he wasn't going to give them anything but the bare details." Eliza nodded and reached out for his hand.
The Floo alarm interrupted the scene and Aunt Minnie walked in.
"Sorry I couldn't come earlier, Robert popped in for a cup of tea and stayed for four hours. Is that the paper?"
"It's okay, yeah, here you go," Her mother passed the paper over and then added, "It's not as bad as I was imagining."
"You always imagine the worst." Ruby heard her god-mother mutter quietly as she read the article.
"Hi Aunt Minnie." Said Annabel, walking into the room carrying Pox under her arm, the crup started making desperate moves towards Aunt Minnie and after she had read the paper she took the crup and allowed him to lick her face.
"Yes, you are getting bigger aren't you?" She said before looking at Annabel. "Hello dear, how are you?"
"Alright thanks, is that the paper?" Annabel took the paper off the table and read it quickly. The whole family were silent as they waited for her reaction. She put the paper back on the table and then sat next to her mother and snuggled into her.
"I'm glad you came and told us, mom." She said quietly, Eliza kissed her on the forehead and then started to stroke her hair.
Ruby glanced up at the clock and saw that it was already half six.
"I've got to go, wish me luck!" She said, standing up.
"Why?" Asked Vic.
"I'm going to tell James' muggle girlfriend about the magical world."
"Just take it slowly and you'll be fine." Said her mother. Ruby nodded and wishes them all goodbye and then apparated to James' small townhouse in Bristol. She knocked on the door and moments later James opened it, looking slightly green.
"Thanks for coming Rubes, I don't know where to start." He said as she stepped inside.
"You look dreadful, is she here?"
"Living room, I'm making lasagne, shall I make some tea first though?"
"Probably a good idea, introduce me first though." Ruby had never seen her cousin this nervous. They walked into the living room and Poppy stood up and smiled at Ruby.
"Poppy, this is my cousin, Ruby. Ruby, Poppy." He said, indicating between the two girls. Ruby smiled at Poppy and shook her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Poppy. I've heard quite a bit about you from James."
"Have you? He's been surprisingly tight-lipped about his family, I know it's a big one though." She said as they sat down.
"Very big and getting bigger, has James told you about his Mom expecting twins?" James had disappeared into the kitchen and Ruby could hear him making the tea.
"Yes, it's lovely news. I was quite surprised though, twins in your forties is quite unusual!"
"James said you were a doctor, what's your speciality?"
"Accident and Emergency, what do you do?"
"I'm in medicine too, emergency as well. I'm still training though."
"Oh, are you training to be a nurse or a doctor?" James returned with the tea and nodded at Ruby.
"A healer actually." Ruby said, taking a sip of tea.
"Healer? As in crystal or aromatherapy stuff?" Poppy asked, her smile slipping. Ruby could tell she didn't value anything that wasn't conventional medicine.
"No, it's rather complicated. Perhaps you could explain, James." James nodded and took a deep breath.
"Poppy, the thing is I'm in love with you." Poppy blushed.
"Umm, I love you too James, it doesn't really explain anything though."
"It will, because I'm in love with you I want you to know everything about me."
"That would probably be nice."
"The thing is… I'm a wizard, Ruby is a witch and there is a magical world." Poppy's eyes widened but then she smiled.
"Good one, James. You're quite accomplished at telling jokes with a serious expression on your face." James looked at Ruby helplessly.
"It's not a joke Poppy, look." Ruby withdrew her wand and started doing spells around the room. She lit the candles from a distance, she reordered James bookshelf so the books were in height order, she summoned a bottle of wine and three glasses from the kitchen, and the she pointed her wand at James and fired a tickling hex at him.
"Ahh…Rubes! Stop it!" He yelled, slipping to the floor. Ruby removed the spell and they both turned to look at Poppy who had gone very pale.
"I know it's a lot to take in. The magical world is hidden from non-magical people, we call them muggles, for your own protection. The fact that James has told you shows you how much he cares for you."
"But… I…" Poppy stammered, James stood up from the floor and walked over to her. Ruby was relieved when she didn't move away from him.
"I want you to meet my family Poppy, I want you to become part of my life, part of my world." Ruby walked into the kitchen and checked on the lasagne to give them some time alone.
She took a large swig of wine and thought about the risk that James was taking. Poppy seemed like a nice girl but if they split up he would have to oblivate her, wipe his entire existence from her memory.
The oven alarm went off and Ruby took the bubbling dish out of the oven, it looked so delicious that Ruby felt sure James had had help. She peered back into the living room and saw that James had conjured a baboon, Merlin-knows-why, that was running around the room while Poppy looked on in complete bewilderment. Sighing to herself she walked into the room and promptly vanished the animal before turning to her cousin.
"A baboon James, really? Why not a cat?"
"I panicked!" He replied, they both turned to Poppy who was looking rather pale.
"Poppy, the dinner is ready, shall we sit at the table, we won't use magic again until you ask us to." Ruby said carefully, the muggle looked up and nodded before standing up.
"Yes… Dinner would be nice. It's not m… magical, is it?"
"No, it's lasagne." Ruby replied, James took Poppy by the hand and led her to the table.
It was a fairly awkward, although delicious, meal and Poppy bombarded the cousins with questions about the magical world. By the time they started desert, waffles of course, they had covered education, government, transport and muggle concealment.
"What about medicine? Could you like… cure cancer or something?" Poppy asked, looking tearful.
"No, not at all. We can cure colds and headaches and stuff like that fairly easily but we also have diseases that Muggles can't get so we're fairly equal."
"Oh… for a moment I thought…" She cast a look at James who squeezed her hand.
"Poppy's dad died of pancreatic cancer last year." He explained.
"I'm sorry, magic wouldn't have helped though, I promise."
"So… you work in a hospital though?" Poppy pressed, it was clear she wanted to get on more familiar ground.
"I do, I deal with the same things as you, falls and injuries and heart attacks, but also spells that have gone wrong and potion accidents."
"Wow… it's all so overwhelming. What do you really do then James? You said Law Enforcement?"
"That's true, I'm an Auror. It's like a police officer, there are bad, or we say dark, wizards and witches just as they are bad people. I investigate crimes and help put those people in prison. I work with my Dad, and my cousin, Ruby's brother." Ruby nodded and then an alarm rang out and Poppy jumped in her seat.
"Don't worry, it's the Floo alarm. Rubes can you explain while I go and see who it is?" Ruby nodded and then gave a brief explanation of the Floo network to the, clearly shaken, girl.
James returned looking pleased.
"Who was it?" Ruby asked, taking a small sip of tea.
"Hugo, he had an announcement, apparently he's Floo-ing the whole family tonight, he looks drunk to be honest!" Ruby snorted with laughter and James sat back down. "He's our cousin, he's apparently realised he's gay and needed to tell everyone tonight. How long have you known, Ruby?"
"Uncle Charlie's birthday, he's been really worried about it. I was there when he told Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione. He's probably just sick of not everyone knowing."
"How old is he?" Asked Poppy.
"Only sixteen, he's always been quite shy." Ruby replied.
"He's not shy, only in comparison to the rest of us. It's a large family Poppy, you need to be loud to get heard sometimes."
"Does everyone know everyone in your world?" Poppy asked, Ruby was relieved to see that she was getting more comfortable with asking questions.
"The community in Britain is fairly small but not small enough for that, everyone knows our family though."
"Because you're so big?"
"Partly but we've also made a big contribution to the Wizarding World. My Dad is the Head of the Auror office, My Mom was a famous sports star, Ruby's mom is a genius and has cured a serious disease and made other discoveries, she's like a scientist. Ruby's dad is the owner of a global joke shop chain…"
"Aunt Hermione is the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, Granddad is the Head of Muggle Relations, Uncle Percy is Head of International Magical Cooperation…"
"Our cousin Molly is an upcoming Q… sports star, Uncle Bill is big in banking…"
"Wow, I see what you mean." Poppy said, smiling.
"I've got a book for you, it explains the world in a way that muggles can understand, there's a lot about my family in there and not all of it is pleasant but it's important that you know. The pictures move like TV's though, just to warn you." James passed the book to Poppy and she looked at it with eager eyes.
Ruby glanced up at the clock and saw that it was past eleven.
"I've got to get off, I'm on at eight. Poppy it was lovely to meet you, if you have any questions then James can reach me, perhaps we could meet for lunch next week?"
"Yes, thank you Ruby. I think if it had just been James I would have thought he'd drugged me." They all laughed and Ruby gave Poppy and small hug and then her cousin a bigger hug and Floo-ed back to the flat.
In spite of the late hour she found Alice on the sofa with her head back looking at the ceiling. That didn't worry Ruby, Alice was always a big odd. The lack of smile however, did worry her, that and the fact that she didn't notice Ruby's arrival.
"Alice?" Ruby asked, pulling off her shoes and sitting next to Alice, at this close distance it was clear to see tears running down Alice's face.
"Oh… hey Rubes." She said, looking at Ruby.
"Alice, what's the matter?" Ruby asked, now very worried.
"Sorry, I just read the paper and… Merlin Ruby!" Ruby now felt terrible for not warning Alice, she warned Scorpius but how could she have forgotten to warn Alice. Her mother was her god-mother after all!
"I'm so sorry Alice, I should have warned you. It all got a bit hectic, I had to go to Hogwarts with mom to tell the others then the twins freaked out and I had to sort that out and then I had to have dinner with James to tell his girlfriend about the magical world. I'm really sorry." Ruby did not want Alice to know she had warned Scorpius.
"I understand I just… Auntie Eliza is amazing, how did she get through all that crap and still be so nice and normal?" Ruby sighed.
"It left it's mark Alice. She still gets foggy and stuff. To be honest I don't think Vernon Dursley has much of an impact on her anymore, not as much as Azkaban. He was the reason she stopped talking though so maybe he had more of an impact than any of it?" Ruby pondered.
"How were the twins?"
"Immy was alright but then she went for a fly, Annabel locked herself in the bathroom but I talked her around. They're staying home this week."
"Do you know if my Dad knew?"
"He must have done because he let them all stay home, don't be mad at him for not telling you though, it's not exactly a nice topic."
"I guess, just a warning would have been nice."
"I'm sorry…"
"Not you, I understand. She's your mom and I always knew there was stuff I didn't know but I just wish Dad would have warned me."
"Talk to him about it then, let him explain."
"I think I will, I was just leaving work and I found a copy of the Prophet in the waiting room and… I just burst into tears! Kyle took me for a cup of tea, you're right he's really nice."
"I know he is, talk to your dad." Alice nodded and then the girls went to bed.
Ruby put her head down and was quite glad that Scorpius hadn't come over, it had been a long day and she was exhausted. She still missed him though.
A/N So Ruby had a very long day, what did you think?
Next chapter; Ruby loses her temper, confides in Aunt Minnie, and then has dinner with the Malfoy's.
xXMizz Alec VolturiXx- Thanks.
witchprincess33- Thanks.
LUG-14- You were kind of close with Lockhart, they're on the same ward!