Black Ruby

The first day and already we were starting our new lessons. After breakfast the four of us had Divination with Professor Trelawney in the North Tower. Hermione motioned that she had never been there before and so it took us a while to get there. A portrait of some knight called Sir Cadogan tried to help us (after challenging us to a duel) and we managed to get there in time.

Professor Trelawney was a joke. She looked like an oversized beetle with her magnified eyes behind round glasses and numerous shawls and beads round her neck. She spoke in this weird tone as if to impress us with her knowledge of fortune telling. After her somewhat … enlightening welcome she set us about reading each others tealeaves. We switched cups after drinking the scolding hot tea and then spent ages just staring at them. After a few stupid predictions from Ron for Harry, Professor Trelawney came over to our table.

She took Harry's cup from Ron and examined it.

'The club … an attack. Dear, dear, this is not a happy cup …' muttered Professor Trelawney. 'The skull … danger in your path, my dear … the lock … a dark secret is kept from you …' I looked up when I heard her say that. Trelawney turned the cup round then gasped, thrusting the cup back on its plate.

Harry and Ron exchanged bemused glances.

'My dear,' said Professor Trelawney dramatically, 'you have the Grim.'

Mutters went round the class.

'The Grin? What's the Grin?'

'The Grim, you idiot. Not the Grin.'

Turns out the Grim is some giant spectral dog which is supposed to bring death to all who see it. I was pretty sceptical about this as we left her class for Transfiguration.

Ron and the rest of the class apart from Hermione and me were on edge about it. Professor McGonagall soon cleared it up by telling us that Trelawney predicts one of her student's deaths each year yet none have done so.

'You look in excellent health to me, Potter,' she said tartly, 'so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in.'

Hermione and I snickered at that, Harry grinned.

Ron and Hermione continued to argue about the Grim all the way to lunch that day. But Ron went below the belt when he said it was just because Hermione didn't like being bad at something for a change. Harry pulled me off and we disappeared before the row got too much and spent the rest of lunch break in the courtyard.

Care of Magical Creatures was a very eventful lesson. When we got there Hagrid told us we needed our books, these vicious Monster Book of Monster books which bite us anytime we try and open them. After Hagrid told us how to open them ('You stroke the spine, o' course.') he disappeared off to get whatever magical creature he'd got for us. Malfoy, while he was gone, just had to say something to enrage Harry.

'God, this place has gone to the dogs,' he said. 'Wait until my Father hears that Dumbledore's got this oaf teaching classes.' Crabbe, Goyle and some of his other Slytherin cronies laughed. Harry and the rest of us glared at them.

'Shut up, Malfoy,' Harry said, walking forwards.

The Slytherins looked at each other "Ooh"-ing at Harry. Malfoy cockily walked forward so he was level with Harry. I watched as his eyes looked behind Harry and he stumbled backwards.

'Dementor! Dementor!' he shouted. The whole class apart from me spun round to look. I was next to Harry, glaring at him. Malfoy's gang began laughing again, lifting their hoods up and going "Ooh" like ghosts. I grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him back before he did anything stupid. I had been informed, by Hermione, that Harry had quiet a temper, and when he lost it he tended to do....well...stupid things. I turned to Malfoy.

'One day, Malfoy,' I said slowly, 'you're going to get what's coming to you.'

'And you're just the one to do it, are you, Liar?' he asked me. I swallowed. He just grinned. Harry had heard him and turned back round. I just walked away. I'd noticed Hagrid had reappeared with five creatures on chains.

'Don't call Ruby a liar,' he growled at him.

'Why not?' asked Malfoy. 'It's what she is.' I ignored Malfoy as best I could. I watched him over my shoulder. 'Word to the not so wise. Watch what she does …' he pointed at me, 'she's not who you think she is.' Harry put his arm around my shoulders and directed me to Ron and Hermione.

The rest of the lesson went quite quickly. Hagrid pulled one of the creatures, a Hippogriff called Buckbeak forward and got someone to volunteer to stroke it. Harry did so, then went off for a fly around the castle. While he did this the rest of us sat down out in the paddock and waited, The rest of the lesson went quite quickly. Hagrid pulled one of the creatures, a Hippogriff called Buckbeak forward and got someone to volunteer to stroke it. Harry did so, then went off for a fly around the castle. While he did this the rest of us sat down out in the paddock and waited, taking off our robes because it was so hot. I was still thinking about Malfoy's threat; if he let Harry know who I was my friendship with him would be nonexistent.

taking off our robes because it was so hot. Eventually Harry came back and we were divided into groups with the other Hippogriffs. I was with Harry, Ron and Hermione. We had a black hippogriff named Monty. Nearby was Malfoy with Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy Parkinson, all gathered around Buckbeak. I could hear Malfoy talking loudly enough to Crabbe and Goyle. As thought, he hadn't listened to a word Hagrid had said about the Hippogriffs.

'This is very easy,' he drawled to the other three. I looked over at him. Buckbeak was getting agitated. I could see it in his eyes, even just his movement told me he didn't like it. 'I knew it must have been, if Potter could do it … I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you? Are you, you ugly great brute?'

It all happened so fast, but to me it was as if it was in slow motion. Just as Malfoy stopped speaking Buckbeak reared up on his hind legs and slashed down with his front talon, causing a huge gash across Malfoy's arm. People around him were screaming and trying to get away from the agitated beast. I could smell the blood from where I stood. I saw Blaise looking at me he motioned for me to hold my breath, I did as told and found that it was much easier to control myself.

'I'm dying!' yelled Malfoy beside me. The rest of the class was screaming around us. I just remained still, staring upwards at the trees. 'I'm dying, look at me! Its killed me!'

'Yer not dyin'!' said Hagrid above us. There was panic in his voice. 'Calm down! It's just a scratch!'

I saw Malfoy being lifted up by him and carried away back up to the castle, Hagrid's footsteps thumping on the ground. Hagrid dismissed the class before he ran Malfoy to the Hospital wing. We all grabbed our things and returned to the castle. Malfoy returned to classes a week later. He was sporting a sling and complaining about his 'pain' every chance he got.

A few days after that we were all sat in the Great Hall eating our Lunches.

'He's been sighted! He's been sighted!'

The four of us looked up to see Seamus run towards where we sat with the rest of the third year Gryffindors. He was holding up a copy of the Daily Prophet.

'Who?' asked Ron. Seamus threw the paper down in front of us.

'Sirius Black!' I looked to Harry I could hear his heart rate increase with what I could only assume to be fear, he however didn't let the emotion show....this surprised me immensely. For a boy who was meant to be being hunted by this deranged murderer.

'Dovetown?' read Hermione. She pulled the paper towards her. 'That's not far from here.'

'You don't think he'd come to Hogwarts, do you?' asked Neville.

'With Dementors at every entrance!' I said trying to make it sound reassuring, but I think it came out more like a question...'How would he get in?'

'Dementors?' said Seamus incredulously. 'He's already slipped past them once. Who is to say he won't do it again?' Seamus had a point.

'That's right,' said Dean. 'Black could be anywhere. It's like trying to catch smoke. Like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands.'

I looked back down at the paper. Harry's heart still racing. He turned his gaze to me, I could see it in his eyes he was seeking reassurance. I tried my best to do as he asked. It helped a little bit as his pulse rate slowed down slightly.

Defence Against the Dark Arts was after lunch and I was looking forward to it. Lupin's lessons were proving to be both fascinating and hard going. I knew today would be no different. When we arrived to the room, there was an old, what appeared to be, Wardrobe in the middle of the room. All for the desks were cleared off to the sides. Creating a rather large open area in the middle of the room. But that wasn't all, the wardrobe kept giving shudders. Like something or someone was inside.

'Intriguing, isn't' it?' Professor Lupin said, walking round to the front of the class. 'Would anyone like to guess what's inside?'

Nobody's hand was in the air, except for Hermione.

'It's a Boggart...' Hermione answered a small smirk pulling at the edges of her mouth.

'When did she get here?' Ron asked us. Harry and I shook our heads.

'Very Good Hermione.....Now can anybody tell me what a Boggart looks like?' The professor praised before asking another question.

'No one knows.....' I stated in a quiet voice, I knew what Boggart's did. I knew what was going to happen I could almost feel it.

'Boggart's are shape-shifters,' Hermione continued. 'They take the shape of whatever particular person fears the most. That's what makes them so-'

'So terrifying, yes, yes. Couldn't put it better myself. So the Boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form,' said Professor Lupin, indicating the wardrobe. 'He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us fears.

'This mean that we have a huge advantage over the Boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?' I glanced over at him.

'Er – because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should be?' guessed Harry.

Professor Lupin beamed. I couldn't be happier for him, his first lesson was going great. He got Neville to do the first demonstration after teaching us the charm. The Boggart took Snape's form. Bloody funny! Professor Lupin then put on a record on this old Muggle gramophone he had and one by one each of us face the Boggart, making it change into a mummy, a banshee, a spider and who knows what else.

Soon Harry, Hermione and I were the only ones left and Harry was first out of the three of us in the line. I watched as he drew out his wand and stepped forward after Parvati. He had a smile on his face watching the Jack-in-the-box but slowly it changed to a vacant look. I was watching him and so was Professor Lupin. I had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. The Boggart changed and a large Dementor reared up before us.

I reacted on instinct, I pulled Harry behind me facing the creature myself.

It turned what should be it's head as if in thought. It slowly turned around It became me....but there were subtle differences. Like my eyes they were a vibrant red, that only happened if I was feeding from a Human.... My skin was paler than ever, I looked transparent....My lips were a deeper crimson, the colour of blood. I was a deadly beauty. The demonic me advanced towards were I was stood. Harry pulled me back trying to stop it's advances. After he whole class were truly terrified and bemused Professor Lupin stepped in. He yelled the counter jinx making the Boggart disappear.

'Excellent!' said Professor Lupin, turning back to the class. 'Excellent! Well done, everyone. Let me see … five points to Gryffindor for every person to tackle the Boggart – and five each to Rhuben, Hermione and Harry.'

'But I didn't do anything,' said Harry.

'You, Rhuben and Hermione answered my questions correctly at the start of the class, Harry,' said Professor Lupin lightly. 'Very well, everyone, an excellent lesson. Homework, kindly read the chapter on Boggarts and summarise it for me … to be handed in on Monday. That will be all.'

We all left the class. People were still beaming about it.

'Did you see me take that banshee?' shouted Seamus.

'And the hand!' said Dean.

'And Snape in a hat!'

'And my mummy!'

'I wonder why Ruby is afraid of herself?' I heard Lavender muse To Parvati and Padma as they walked past. At this point Harry stared at me eyebrow quirked up in question.

'You spend too much time with Ruby....your starting to imitate things she does....' Hermione stated trying to get the heat from me.

That girl is a God send!! I thought, that was until Harry had stated some cheeky comment back and then returned his eyes to me.

'Later....' I muttered so only he could hear. Harry sighed dramatically before smirking and nodding.

'Professor Lupin seems a very good teacher,' said Hermione approvingly. 'But I wish I could have had a turn with the Boggart –'

'What would it have been for you?' asked Ron, sniggering. 'A piece of homework that only got nine out of ten?' I raised my eyebrows at Harry.

'Will he ever learn? If he wants Hermione to notice him he should be the nice and not take the piss....' I left the statement open for Harry to add his own insight. Harry turned his head to me, I widened my eyes as if trying to convey a message, he seemed to understand after a few seconds. He made and 'O' shape with his mouth.

'Yeah well, it's part of Ron's.....charm?' he said grinning as we heard the aforementioned pair call out their disagreement. We laughed as we walked up to the common room.