The next two weeks went by in detest for Snape, hatred for Rita Skeeter and her false articles, Ron and Harry still not on speaking terms, the twins and Lee and Rubi going around pranking, Fred and Rubi sneaking out at night to visit places like the kitchens or astronomy tower at night.
Soon the day of a Hogsmeade trip came, which would mean Harry would be speaking to Sirius that night. Rubi had been asked to come along as well by her father, given that Harry wanted her there.
Now, Rubi and Hermione were seated at a table in the Three Broomsticks, with Harry under his cloak, sipping their Butterbeers. Rubi had decided to tag along with them, given it would be awkward for Hermione to be talking and sitting by herself, when she in reality wasn't.
Rubi saw Fred, George and Lee along with Ron, at a table not too far away. Fred looked up as he sensed someone watching him and when his gaze connected with Rubi's, he softly smiled and waved a hand at her, making Rubi return the gesture, her heart doing a flip.
Hermione had taken out her notebook containing her S.P.E.W. Organization details. Rubi had signed up not too late after Ron and Harry were appointed roles, and she would say it was rather amusing to listen to Hermione and her antics.
"You know, maybe I should try and get some of the villagers involved in S.P.E.W.," Hermione said thoughtfully, looking around the pub.
"Yeah, right," said Harry. He took a swig of butterbeer under his cloak. "Hermione, when are you going to give up on this spew stuff?"
"When house-elves have decent wages and working conditions!" she hissed back. "You know, I'm starting to think it's time for more direct action. I wonder how you get into the school kitchens?"
"No idea, ask Fred and George," said Harry. Hermione lapsed into thoughtful silence, while Harry drank his butterbeer, watching the people in the pub.
Rubi cleared her throat, hinting at the fact she knew where the entrance to the kitchens was, and when Harry didn't respond, she huffed irritably.
"Well, dear cousin, Fred and George aren't the only ones who know where the kitchens are." Rubi stated smugly, twirling a piece of her hair as she awaited their reactions.
Hermione's face beamed at her, "Oh please do show me when we get back, Rubi!" The young Granger squealed.
Rubi smiled, "Of course, Mione." Hermione threw her arms around Rubi, and embraced her tightly in a gesture that meant thank you.
"Look, it's Hagrid!" said Hermione, after she pulled away from the black haired girl. The back of Hagrid's enormous shaggy head- he had mercifully abandoned his bunches- emerged over the crowd. He was with Mad-Eye Moody.
The two got up to leave. Moody, however, paused, his magical eye on the corner where the trio was. He tapped Hagrid in the small of the back (being unable to reach his shoulder), muttered something to him, and then the pair of them made their way back across the pub toward Harry, Rubi and Hermione's table.
"All right, Hermione, Rubi?" said Hagrid loudly.
"Hello," said Hermione, smiling back.
"Hiya, Hagrid! How have you been?" Rubi asked politely.
Hagrid let out a booming laugh. "Ah I've been doin' alrigh."
Moody limped around the table and bent down; as if he was reading the S.P.E.W. notebook, but then Rubi noticed his lips moving and assumed he was talking to Harry.
Hagrid was beaming down at Harry too. Moody must have told him, and Rubi assumed Moody's magical eye allowed him to spot Harry in the first place. Hagrid now bent down on the pretext of reading the S.P.E.W. notebook as well, in order to whisper to Harry.
Straightening up a while later, Hagrid said loudly, "Nice ter see yeh, Hermione an' Rubi." He winked, and departed. Moody followed him.
"Why does Hagrid want me to meet him at midnight?" Harry said, very surprised.
"Does he?" said Hermione, looking startled. "I wonder what he's up to? I don't know whether you should go, Harry..." She looked nervously around and hissed, "It might make you late for Sirius."
"But I don't think he would have asked you to visit him unless it was important." Rubi voiced out, "Maybe you should make a quick trip down there, and come back in time for dad."
And with that, the three found themselves in the common room later that evening. Rubi and Hermione were working on their homework while Harry had gone up, pretending to go to bed, at eleven-thirty.
Rubi's eyelids were becoming heavier and kept drooping. She yawned, rubbing at her eyes. Hermione had gone to the outside of the portrait hole to let Harry out as he would be under his invisibility cloak.
"So, I see you still doing homework?"
Rubi frowned at Fred, who grinned at her.
"Well, Weasley, I'd rather not be in detention and instead have some free time doing something I enjoy, henceforth this." Rubi gestured at the various parchments littered on her lap and some of the space beside her on each side.
Fred chuckled, "What would you rather do instead?"
Rubi brightened, "Oh, I want to finish my current book! I'm a sucker for romantic love stories."
Fred merely smiled, "Well," He snatched the quill from her hand, "why don't you do this later and go grab that book, so you can read it to me?" He asked, watching as Rubi's eyes twinkled.
"You... You want to read the book?" She asked softly in surprise.
Fred leaned forth, smirking, leaving only a few inches between the two, "No. I want to hear you read it to me." He whispered. Rubi felt the breath hitch in her chest, and she smiled so widely, she wrapped her arms around Fred, feeling over the moon.
She pulled away with a sheepish smile, "I'll be right back with it." Gathering her school things and putting them into her bag, Rubi dashed up the girl's stairs, only to come back rather quickly, practically bouncing with excitement.
She dropped into the space beside Fred, "OK, so I'll just fill you in on the stuff you missed before I begin reading from where I left off. So, basically the two main characters always hated one another before they sort of became friends, and now both fancy one another but are too oblivious to see it. I'm just dying for them to get together. This part is them at a Christmas party at a friend's house and yeah." Rubi had rambled on and Fred had been watching her fondly, but as Rubi looked at the redhead only to find him staring at her already, she blushed under his gaze.
"Anyways, can I start?" Rubi tentatively asked.
"Of course, love." Fred replied with a warm smile, and he kicked his legs onto the other side of the couch, placing his head on Rubi's lap. "I'm all comfortable, you may begin, my dearest Rubi." He said, winking at her, making Rubi's lips turn upward as she opened her book.
"Chapter twenty-two: A Christmas like no other..."
Rubi began reading the words on the page, her voice displaying a soft but powerful, emotion filled voice. She spoke each word carefully, her voice making it sound all the more sweeter to Fred, who gazed softly at her. He smiled even more when Rubi's hand absentmindedly would find itself in his hair, every once in a while.
Rubina Black was intoxicating, and Fred Weasley was addicted to her.
The two stayed in that same position for the next while as the common room slowly emptied out. Lee and George, along with Hermione and Ginny had spotted the pair on the couch, but decided not to interrupt the two's world. Although, they were going to tease them well afterwards.
The time kept passing by and soon the whole common room was empty apart from Rubi and Fred.
Rubi shut her book, letting out a dreamy sigh, "Aw, that was such a good book! They finally got together! What do you think, Fred?"
Rubi looked down excitedly only to giggle. Fred had fallen asleep, his chest rising and falling steadily. There was the tiniest bit of a smile pressed upon his lips.
Rubi tapped his nose lovingly, "Goodnight, Freddie."
She put the book off to the side and leaned her head back, gently pulling out her pocket watch to check the time, only to realize there was still another half an hour until her dad was supposed to be talking to her and Harry.
With that, she let out a yawn and let her eyes flutter shut, just so she could rest her eyes but soon she slipped into the sleep that was happily inviting her.
Although as soon as Rubi felt like she had fallen asleep she was prodded to wake up.
She waved a hand, smacking someone as Rubi muttered, "Go away, Mione, it's too early."
"Er... It's Harry actually."
"How... How did you get up in the girls' dormitory?" She quietly asked.
"Um, Rubi, you're still in the common room and Sirius wants to talk to you."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Rubi mumbled and was falling asleep again until the words hit her hard and her eyes shot open.
She groggily looked around, rubbing at her eyes. Harry was standing before her with a sheepish grin while to her surprise, her father's head sat in the burning fireplace of Gryffindor tower. The older Black had an odd expression on his face as he looked at his daughter.
Rubi looked down and found Fred was fast asleep.
"Harry," She hissed at her cousin, "Pass me that cushion." She ordered to which the young Potter obliged and Rubi carefully got up and put the cushion under Fred's head. Rubi gazed at him before shaking her head and turning towards the fireplace. She dropped onto the ground, sitting cross legged.
"Hi, dad." Rubi greeted sweetly, glad to see her father after a long time.
"Hello, my little Princess, how have you been?"
"Good. How about you, dad?"
"I've been doing fine." He replied. "Listen, I haven't got much time as I've broken into a Wizarding house and they could be back any moment." His face had turned serious. "Harry can fill you in on some parts but be aware of Karkaroff, stay away from anyone or anything suspicious and be very careful of keeping the ones you trust close." He paused, "There's something fishy going on, and I don't want you or Harry in more trouble or hurt."
Rubi nodded, mulling over the words. "Sure thing, dad."
Sirius paused before a different sort of expression flooded his face, "I also want you to stay away from boys, you are not allowed to be dating anyone."
Rubi's jaw dropped to the ground, as this was not what she was expecting. She shook her head as she recovered from the shock, as a mischievous grin played on Rubi's lips.
"Oh, well, I had my eyes set on this girl-"
"Girls or boys, no relationships, missy." Sirius said with authority in his voice.
"Dad," Rubi spoke bewildered, "where is this coming from?"
As if to answer her question, Sirius' eyes briefly flickered behind Rubi to where Fred was on the couch, still asleep, unaware of what was happening around him. Rubi followed Sirius' gaze and when she realized where he was looking, she shut her eyes in frustration and turned to face him again.
"Dad, Fred and I are just friends. It's completely normal for us to be this close to each other." Rubi explained.
Sirius merely narrowed his eyes, "Yes, well, I've been through that phase at Hogwarts, and I clearly have seen way more than you. So, this is definitely not a just friends situation."
"Dad!" Rubi said loudly, "Whether you like it or not, that's the truth. Fred and I are just friends. Besides, if I were to ever date him or anyone for that matter, I am completely allowed to as mum has no objection to it!" She huffed out. Sirius' lips thinned but he paled slightly at the mention of his wife.
"Sure, whatever." He muttered, rolling his eyes. "Help Harry with preparing for the first task, he has to deal with dragons-"
"Hold up, dragons?!" Rubi breathed out in shock before looking at her cousin over her shoulder, "Well, you're dead meat, Harold."
Harry frowned, "Thanks for the encouragement."
Rubi winked at him and looked back to find Sirius fighting a smile.
He cleared his throat, "And like I said no funny business, look out for yourself and-"
Rubi held up a hand to silence him as she and Harry both froze. There were footsteps echoing at the staircase, someone was headed down.
"Go!" Rubi hissed, "Someone's coming!" Rubi waved her hands before she stood up, trying to cover the fireplace along with Harry. A tiny pop sounded and when Rubi quickly glanced back, her father was gone.
The footsteps got louder and suddenly they stopped as the owner appeared.
It was Ron.
Dressed in his maroon paisley pajamas, Ron stopped dead facing Harry and Rubi across the room, and looked around.
"Who were you talking to?" he said.
"What's that got to do with you?" Harry snarled.
"What are you doing down here at this time of night?"
"Ahem, he was talking with me obviously, Ronald." Rubi chimed in with a matter-of-fact tone.
"It didn't sound like you Rubi though. I just wondered where Harry-" Ron broke off, shrugging. "Nothing. I'm going back to bed."
"Just thought you'd come nosing around, did you?" Harry shouted.
"What's goin' on?"
Fred had been awakened by the sudden loud voices. He sat up, stretching before his eyes grazed across the room and its occupants, an expression of confusion dawning on his face. Although, soon realization hit him as he sensed the tension in the atmosphere, and most importantly, Harry and Ron glaring daggers at one another. He looked at Rubi who shrugged.
These boys are hopeless. She thought as her attention turned onto Harry and Ron.
"Sorry about that," said Ron, his face reddening with anger. "Should've realized you didn't want to be disturbed. I'll let you get on with practicing for your next interview in peace." Harry seized one of the POTTER REALLY STINKS badges off the table and chucked it, as hard as he could, across the room. It hit Ron on the forehead and bounced off.
"There you go," Harry said. "Something for you to wear on Tuesday. You might even have a scar now, if you're lucky... That's what you want, isn't it?" He strode across the room toward the stairs and went up, while Ron just stood there.
"You know, Ronald, Harry didn't want this. He didn't ask for his parents to be killed and for him to become famous for defeating Voldemort-"
Both Ron and Fred flinched.
"-Someone else put his name in the goblet but the question is who?"
Ron scoffed, "Yeah, right."
Rubi shut her eyes, releasing air through her nose as her patience level was reaching its limit, "Ronald Weasley, you do not want to make me angry. Us, Blacks, are erupting volcanoes if we lose our temper, I hope you are aware of that. If my dad hasn't set that example already or me for that matter, you should see Mrs. Fiona Black née Potter," Rubi paused, smirking, "You do not mess with her. It's a shame that it didn't scare Dumbledore the other day, or otherwise Harry would have been withdrawn from the tournament on November one itself."
Ron stared at her blankly before he went up the stairs too.
"Erupting volcano, huh?" Rubi felt a smile cast itself onto her lips and she turned to find Fred smirking at her. He leaned down, placing his face mere inches from hers. "I think I'd like to see that fiery heat."
Rubi clucked her tongue, running a finger along Fred's jaw, "Well, Weasley, fire burns you if you touch it, don't go messing with it."
Fred merely smirked more, "I can handle the heat, bring it on, love."
Rubi gazed into his chocolate brown eyes, while he looked into her stormy, grey ones. Rubi could feel his warm breath on her face, and she leaned forward. It was now or never. Fred leaned in too, and Rubi slowly closed her eyes, and...
Meow!
The two jumped apart, faces red. Rubi mentally cursed at the orange fur ball by the name of Crookshanks, that had wandered between the two at that very moment. Crookshanks pierced Rubi with his gaze, and Rubi almost wondered if being friends with Padfoot had meant her father had told Crookshanks to keep an eye on Rubi for any funny business.
Rubi glanced at Fred, who looked at her, both their faces still red.
"Goodnight, Weasley."
"Sweet dreams, Black."
And the two ascended up their respective stairways, but as Rubi laid in bed that night, her mind pondered over what could have happened if Crookshanks hadn't interrupted...
Hey!
So that was the latest update and let me know what you think! Also, keep an eye out for the next few chapters, because I think you all will like them! ;)
Take care and hope to see you in the next one!
Love,
Serina