Hermione had come bounding up the stairs with breakfast in hand for Harry, knowing he didn't want to go into the Great Hall where people would be staring at him. As he munched on his toast, he agreed to go on a walk in the grounds with his aunt Fiona, Hermione and Rubi tagging along.
When it was nearing nine, Fiona bid them goodbye and told them to be careful and told Harry to stay safe. Hugging them all, with placing kisses on the heads of Harry and Rubi, Fiona Black headed towards the gates of the grounds, so she could apparate outside of the wards set in place.
After Fiona left, when Harry questioned Hermione as to where Ron was she revealed he was jealous that Harry had managed to enter the tournament, and once again stole all the spotlight. This made the young Potter mad, he would switch any day with the redhead. Rubi was also upset but a bit disappointed as well in Ron, as he was having issues trusting his best friend.
Hermione suggested writing to Sirius so the trio dashed back to the castle to quickly scribble a message and send it off with Rubi's owl, Nightwing.
The day went fairly normal but Harry was not that loved by the students anymore. The following day proved to show what people really thought of the young Potter.
The Hufflepuffs, who were usually on excellent terms with the Gryffindors, had turned remarkably cold toward the whole lot of them. One Herbology lesson was enough to demonstrate this. It was plain that the Hufflepuffs felt that Harry had stolen their champion's glory; a feeling exacerbated, perhaps, by the fact that Hufflepuff House very rarely got any glory, and that Cedric was one of the few who had ever given them any, having beaten Gryffindor once at Quidditch.
Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley, with whom Harry normally got on very well, did not talk to him even though they were repotting Bouncing Bulbs at the same tray- though they did laugh rather unpleasantly when one of the Bouncing Bulbs wriggled free from Harry's grip and smacked him hard in the face.
This earned a Bouncing Bulb being released on the pair of Hufflepuffs, who covered their faces as they got attacked rapidly on their faces. Rubi was looking very smug by the end of it. If anyone was going to mess with Harry, they were going to pay for it.
Ron wasn't talking to Harry unfortunately. Hermione sat between them, making very forced conversation, but though both answered her normally, they avoided making eye contact with each other. Rubi watched the interaction with a defeated expression, before a certain sense of frustration rose within her. The young Black had to resist the urge to slap some sense into Ron.
Even Professor Sprout seemed distant with Harry- but then again, she was Head of Hufflepuff House. Soon they were headed to Hagrid's class, which Rubi hoped would not involve the Blast-Ended Skrewts for just this one class. This was a class they shared with the Slytherins and the trio of friends already knew how the house of the snakes would be with Harry.
Predictably, Malfoy arrived at Hagrid's cabin with his familiar sneer firmly in place,
"Ah, look, boys, it's the champion," he said to Crabbe and Goyle the moment he got within earshot of the trio. "Got your autograph books? Better get a signature now, because I doubt he's going to be around much longer... Half the Triwizard champions have died... how long d'you reckon you're going to last, Potter? Ten minutes into the first task's my bet." Crabbe and Goyle guffawed sycophantically, but Malfoy had to stop there, because Hagrid emerged from the back of his cabin balancing a teetering tower of crates, each containing a very large Blast-Ended Skrewt.
To the class's horror, Hagrid proceeded to explain that the reason the skrewts had been killing one another was an excess of pent-up energy, and that the solution would be for each student to fix a leash on a skrewt and take it for a short walk. The only good thing about this plan was that it distracted Malfoy completely.
"Take this thing for a walk?" he repeated in disgust, staring into one of the boxes. "And where exactly are we supposed to fix the leash? Around the sting, the blasting end, or the sucker?"
"Roun' the middle," said Hagrid, demonstrating. "Er- yeh might want ter put on yer dragon-hide gloves, jus' as an extra precaution, like. Harry- you come here an' help me with this big one..." Hagrid's real intention, however, was to talk to Harry away from the rest of the class.
The next few days were not the best for Rubi's cousin.
People were still distanced away from Harry and Rubi noticed without Ron, Harry felt even worse about this whole ordeal. Meanwhile there was no reply from Rubi's father, and Professor Trelawney was predicting Harry's death with even more certainty than usual, and Harry did so badly at Summoning Charms in Professor Flitwick's class that he was given extra homework- the only person to get any, apart from Neville. Rubi couldn't help but pity Harry. He didn't deserve all this.
"It's really not that difficult, Harry," Hermione tried to reassure him as they left Flitwick's class- she had been making objects zoom across the room to her all lesson, as though she were some sort of weird magnet for board dusters, wastepaper baskets, and lunascopes. "You just weren't concentrating properly-"
"Wonder why that was," said Harry darkly as Cedric walked past, surrounded by a large group of simpering girls, all of whom looked at Harry as though he were a particularly large Blast-Ended Skrewt. Rubi flipped them off, making them scowl.
"Aw, cheer up, Harold!" Rubi said, ruffling Harry's black locks. "I'll be extra kind to you and do your homework for you."
"Rubi, that's cheating!"
"Hey, he's already having a hard enough time as it is, why not help him where we can?" Rubi retorted.
"The professor will find out and it will just cause further trouble."
Rubi huffed, a scowl on her face, "Fine. I'll help you do it then." She muttered to Harry.
The trio after lunch arrived at Snape's dungeon for double potions, and they found the Slytherins waiting outside, each one of them wearing a large badge on the front of his or her robes. Reminding Rubi eerily of Hermione's S.P.E.W. badges- but then she realized what they really were. Luminous red letters that burnt brightly in the dimly lit underground passage:
Support Cedric Diggory-
The REAL Hogwarts Champion!
"Like them, Potter?" said Malfoy loudly as they approached.. "And this isn't all they do- look!" He pressed his badge into his chest, and the message upon it vanished, to be replaced by another one, which glowed green:
POTTER STINKS
The Slytherins howled with laughter. Each of them pressed their badges too, until the message POTTER STINKS was shining brightly. Harry turned red.
"Oh very funny," Hermione said sarcastically to Pansy Parkinson and her gang of Slytherin girls, who were laughing harder than anyone, "really witty."
Ron was standing against the wall with Dean and Seamus. He wasn't laughing, but he wasn't sticking up for Harry either. Rubi threw him a look of disappointment which for a second, made Ron falter, his eyes flying to the ground.
"Want one, Granger?" said Malfoy, holding out a badge to Hermione. "I've got loads. But don't touch my hand, now. I've just washed it, you see; don't want a Mudblood sliming it up."
"SHUT UP!"
Rubi had whipped out her wand, pointed directly at Malfoy. She was breathing heavily and the crowd scrambled out of the way, watching as her hair transformed into a crimson red. Harry also had his wand out, boiling with anger.
"Rubi! Harry!" Hermione said warningly.
"Go on, Potter," Malfoy said quietly, drawing out his own wand. "Moody's not here to look after you now- do it, if you've got the guts- "
For a split second, they looked into each other's eyes, then, at exactly the same time, both acted. "Furnunculus!" Harry yelled.
"Densaugeo!" screamed Malfoy. Jets of light shot from both wands, hit each other in midair, and ricocheted off at angles- Harry's hit Goyle in the face, and Malfoy's hit Hermione. Goyle bellowed and put his hands to his nose, where great ugly boils were springing up- Hermione, whimpering in panic, was clutching her mouth.
"Impedimenta!" Rubi shouted, which hit Malfoy directly, making him slow down temporarily.
"Hermione!" Ron had hurried forward to see what was wrong with her; Harry and Rubi turned and saw Ron dragging Hermione's hand away from her face.
It wasn't a pretty sight. Hermione's front teeth- already larger than average- were now growing at an alarming rate; she was looking more and more like a beaver as her teeth elongated, past her bottom lip, toward her chin- panic-stricken, she felt them and let out a terrified cry.
"And what is all this noise about?" said a soft, deadly voice. Snape had arrived. The Slytherins clamored to give their explanations; Snape pointed a long yellow finger at Malfoy and said, "Explain."
"Potter and Black attacked me, sir-"
"We attacked each other at the same time!" Harry shouted.
"He provoked us!" Rubi added on.
"-and he hit Goyle- look-" Snape examined Goyle, whose face now resembled something that would have been at home in a book on poisonous fungi.
"Hospital wing, Goyle," Snape said calmly.
"Malfoy got Hermione!" Ron said. "Look!"
He forced Hermione to show Snape her teeth- she was doing her best to hide them with her hands, though this was difficult as they had now grown down past her collar. Pansy Parkinson and the other Slytherin girls were doubled up with silent giggles, pointing at Hermione from behind Snape's back.
Snape looked coldly at Hermione, then said, "I see no difference."
Hermione let out a whimper; her eyes filled with tears, she turned on her heel and ran, ran all the way up the corridor and out of sight. It was lucky, perhaps, that Harry, Ron and Rubi started shouting at Snape at the same time; lucky their voices echoed so much in the stone corridor, for in the confused din, it was impossible for him to hear exactly what they were calling him. He got the gist, however.
"Let's see," he said, in his silkiest voice. "Seventy points from Gryffindor and a detention each for Potter, Weasley and Black. Now get inside, or-"
"You slimy git! How can you be so mean? How can you turn a blind eye when both sides have given their story?" Rubi was furious. "YOU'RE PATHETIC! YOU ARE TAKING REVENGE FOR THE STUFF YOU WENT THROUGH AT SCHOOL! OH HOW I WANT TO-"
"QUIET YOURSELF, BLACK!" Snape shouted. He was enraged. His face appeared as if it was radiating steam, it was twisted up in such anger, it looked as if he may explode any second. No one dared to breathe as they saw Snape was beyond angry, beyond reason.
"Three weeks detention, Black." He breathed out dangerously. Rubi turned her nose up at him, and for a second, Snape felt the breath leave his lungs.
Rubi shook her head and turned, bounding up the stairs after Hermione. Snape was staring after her with wide eyes. His heart twisted. He was reminded of the woman who once was his best friend.
Oh, how he had messed up. He lost his only two, true friends. Lily Evans and Fiona Potter.
Rubi had just reminded him of Fiona. A look similar to she had given when he had failed her and Lily.
Snape shook his head, his face turning stony as he barked at the class to get inside.
Rubi dashed along the corridors, headed towards the Hospital Wing. Once there, she pushed open the doors, making an almost dramatic entrance as her eyes wandered around hastily, until they landed on her best friend, who was seated at bed at the far end.
"Miss. Black!"
Madam Pomfrey was looking at the Gryffindor girl with a stern expression, her hands placed on her hips, as she had turned away from Hermione to look for who had intruded into her Hospital Wing so loudly.
"This is a Hospital Wing! Please be quiet! And why are you not in class? Have you been excused?"
Rubi grinned lazily, "I don't need any permission from some stupid chemistry git."
"Please talk about your Professors with respect-"
"I would if it weren't for the fact he is a prejudiced jerk."
The Matron's lips thinned and she turned back to work on fixing Hermione's teeth. Rubi gently took a seat at one of the beds, her leg swinging back and forth as she hummed a tune under her breath.
Madam Pomfrey huffed, straightening as she turned to face Rubi again.
"Miss. Black, if you are waiting for Miss. Granger, this will most likely take a long time. I suggest you get going." She suggested.
Rubi kindly smiled at the lady, "That's alright, Madam Pomfrey. I'll leave when I feel like it, and I want to know Mione will be alright."
The woman gently smiled at Rubi, being oddly reminded of a certain group of friends who all had cared for each other deeply. As Madam Pomfrey resumed her task, Rubi watched her before her eyes scraped across the landscape, her gaze pausing on Goyle, who was occupying another bed. A devilish grin slithered into her mind, as her lips turned upwards.
She pulled out her wand and muttered, "Impedimenta." Goyle's face flooded with surprise but now he was behaving as if in a slow motion scene from a movie. Then Rubi pointed her wand at the water pitcher sitting upon the small bedside table and whispered, "Wingardium Leviosa." The pearly-white pitcher was gently floating in the air, obeying the order from Rubi, and the girl slowly moved it over to Goyle, and with a satisfied smile, suddenly released it from her magical hold. The timing was perfect as Goyle had at the same second returned to his normal speed. The water poured on the Slytherin with the pitcher landing with a thud on Goyle, who shrieked.
"AAAHHHH!"
Madam Pomfrey swiftly whipped towards the commotion, "What are you doing, Mr. Goyle?" She demanded, as she rushed forth fussing over him.
"I- I didn't do it- It- It must have been her!" He shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the young Black who feigned surprise.
"Me? Why I've been doing nothing but just sitting here, Madam Pomfrey." She answered sweetly. Goyle scowled at her while Madam Pomfrey's lips thinned once again.
"Miss. Black, whether Mr. Goyle is speaking the truth or not, may I request you to leave my Hospital Wing for the peacefulness of my patients?
Rubi made a face and opened her mouth to retort but the matron cut her off, "Rest assured, Miss. Black, Miss. Granger is going to be alright. You may leave." She said, pointing a hand in the direction of the exit.
Rubi sighed but nodded with a gentle smile, and hopped off her bed, skipping out of the Hospital Wing. In order to bid her time, Rubi proceeded to the Hogwarts kitchens, in order to get a bite to eat and have a chat with the House-Elves.
Hello!
How is everyone doing? So there was the next chapter and I know it's not much, but I really love the next chapter I have so stay tuned for that! I'm just debating on whether I should post it today or later on, but I think you all will like it!
Love you all! <33
-Serina