Upside Down

Okay...the Monopoly thing...I can't say anything now...it will be important later, though...

And I agree with everyone...the TV thing was great. I enjoyed shocking Roddy. And I think Lucius may ave something to say about Bella being a closet submissive. but I mean...if you think about it...it makes sense.

Tom...no comment....
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Hermione paid for the new robes. She had bought a new style of black that had just come out for women, cut shorter than traditional robes, with a bit of shimmer woven into the fabric. She had also gotten her a matching set of black earrings. This would be great with jeans for casual, or with a little black dress for formal. Multitaskable clothing was a girl’s best friend!

She carried the bag along with her, scanning the street for Ruby. The girl couldn’t have gone too far…Hermione hadn’t been shopping that long…. She peeked into a few stores that she thought might have gotten Ruby’s attention, but she didn’t see the little American anywhere. Hmm…could she have gone back to the flat without her? Or maybe to Grimmauld place? She wouldn’t put it past her…the girl could be very impatient sometimes.

With a sigh, she headed off to the public Apparition point, planning all the while to give Ruby a stern talking to when she found the girl.

~~

Ruby picked at her spaghetti, but her interest wasn’t really on her plate. She watched Thomas eat. Merlin…he even ate sexily. She had to admit…he was the cutest guy to ever talk to her.

She had only had one boyfriend in her entire life. The first year she had gone to Salem Academy for Witchcraft and Wizardry, she had met a boy that she really liked. They had started out as good friends, but because of the nudging of another friend, they became an ‘item’ later on in the year. They ‘dated’ for a few months, before it became awkward. So, she told him that she just wanted to be friends. He seemed a bit devastated at first, but she didn’t get to see how he recovered because school had ended just a few days later.

He moved away over the summer, and Ruby was sad, but it was his prerogative, and she let it be. She heard about him two years later, when she found out he was openly gay. OPENLY GAY….

Her entire year, and a few years above her had teased her mercilessly when word got around. And she hadn’t had a boyfriend since….*sigh*

She glanced back up to see Tom watching her, and her face went aflame.

“What were you thinking of?” he asked, smiling kindly at her.

“Oh…nothing important…” Ruby said, squirming slightly in her seat.

“Would you like dessert?” Thomas asked, picking up the menu.

“I shouldn’t…I should probably get back to Hermione…she’ll be worried…” Ruby said. Thomas looked at her silently for a few moments, before nodding.

“I suppose so. We wouldn’t want your keeper to be angry with you…” he said. Ruby frowned.

“Hermione’s not my keeper…she’s just…looking out for me until I reach the legal age to take care of myself. I can use magic already…but apparently I’m not old enough to take care of myself…” she said, looking slightly annoyed. One of Tom’s dark eyebrows rose.

“How old are you?” he asked.

“Sixteen. But I was really smart…so I got to skip ahead a year in school. I have a special license that allows me to use magic, even though I’m technically underage.” She said. His grin returned.

“Very impressive. I suppose the Americans aren’t as strict about it.”

“Oh…we can be strict about underage magic…it really depends on the offense, though, and the people who were sent to check it out. Most of them are buttercups if you give them the ol’ puppy-dog eyes.” She said, and then proceeded to look very innocent, the light catching her eyes to make them look almost cartoonish in their glow. Thomas laughed softly.

“How very Slytherin of you…” he chuckled.

“What house were you in?” Ruby asked. She knew about Hogwarts, as Hermione had let her read Hogwarts: A History. It was quite interesting, actually…

“I didn’t go to Hogwarts. I went to Durmstrang. Bit Dark for me, to be honest, but my mother wanted me to go…” he said. “Well…at least let me walk you back to your cousin. Even Diagon Alley can be dangerous at night…” he said. Ruby’s green eyes widened, and her head swing towards the door.

“Oh gods! How long were we gone…? Hermione’s gonna have bugbears!” she said, panicking. Thomas stood from his seat, and held out his hand.

“Come on…we’ll go together…” he said, taking her shaking hand. “Don’t panic…your cousin will understand…we just lost track of time…” he said, squeezing her hand gently. Ruby looked up at him, slightly calmed by his cool demeanor.

“You think so?” she asked.

“Trust me….”

~~

Hermione paced back and forth in front of the fireplace at Grimmauld Place, shaking from head to toe. Ruby hadn’t been at the flat, and she hadn’t been at Grimmauld Place, and she had been gone for hours!

Where was the girl…oh…if she had the authority she would thrash her good for doing this. But what if she was hurt? What if she had been kidnapped? Then it would be Hermione’s fault for sending her out of the shop to begin with. Just the thought of it made tears well up in her eyes.

“Calm down, Miss Granger…you’re going to run a groove in the floor.” Lucius said, watching the Muggleborn pace. It was quite annoying, actually.

“I can’t…what if she’s hurt?” Hermione said. Draco stood from the sofa, and went over to Hermione, wrapping his arms around her.

“She can take care of herself…she sat in on a few of Aunt Bella’s classes with the Order trainees…she knows a few tricks…” Draco said, trying to soothe Hermione’s frazzled nerves.

“Please, Miss Granger….you’re making me dizzy with all that prancing! The girl is sixteen, not six!” Lucius snapped, still annoyed by the frazzled witch. Hermione turned on him, her eyes flashing.

“Ruby is my responsibility. I know she’s not my daughter, and I know she’s not a baby…but until the day she turns seventeen, I am her guardian.

Narcissa, who had been sitting at Lucius’ side silently, decided to put in her two knuts. “Hermione…Ruby is a sixteen-year-old American witch. You still have several more months of this, and if you react this violently every time she breaks the rules, you’re going to drive yourself mad. Sometimes…you just have to accept that you can’t keep them under your thumb.” Narcissa said. She patted the space next to her, indicating that Hermione should join her. Hermione went shakily over to the couch, and sat next to the older witch. Narcissa folded Hermione up into her arms.

“Just take a few calming breaths, my dear.” Narcissa said softly. Hermione took a deep, shaky breath, and let it out slowly.

~~

Ruby stood at the door to the flat, looking at the knocker nervously. She wasn’t dumb enough to let down the wards herself in the presence of an untried stranger, so she was just going to knock.

“Okay, Tom. Thanks for walking me home.” She said, looking up at the red-eyed youth.

“Most welcome. Good luck with your cousin, Ruby.” He said. “Good night.” He added, and turned to go.

“Night.” Ruby called as he walked away. She watched as he went to the end of the hall, and disappeared with a pop.

She then let down the wards to the flat, and walked in. “Mione?” she called. There was no answer. Ruby got a bad feeling.

She re-warded the door, and looked through the flat. There was a small note attached to Ruby’s door.

Ruby
If you get this note, then I’m at Grimmauld Place. We need to talk.

Ruby sighed, and walked towards the fireplace. She stoked the fire with her wand, and grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it on the flame. When the fire turned green, and stepped into its midst.

“Number twelve, Grimmauld Place.” She spoke clearly.

~~

Hermione cried silently against Narcissa. As much as she hated to admit it, she had become very attached to her cousin, and was extremely upset at the thought that something might have happened to her. The girl had grown on her.

Not to mention her Gryffindor nature had her bawling at the thought of someone under her protection being hurt…
Just as she was about to go into another speech of emotional agony, the fireplace flared up green, and a sheepish-looking Ruby stepped through. Hermione jumped up from the sofa, and wrapped her arms around Ruby, sobbing as she held her.

“Ruby! You foolish girl! You had me worried sick….” She said, crying. Then her face turned furious. “Where the bloody hell were you?!” she snapped. Draco interfered at that moment, pulling Hermione away from the terrified Ruby,.

“It’s all right, Draco….she has every right to be upset…” Ruby said softly. “If I had done this back home, even as much as my dad loved me, he would have beat me black and blue…” Ruby said, her eyes on the floor.

“What happened?” Hermione said, regaining her composure.

“I lost track of time…” Ruby said.

“That’s obvious.” Lucius said, a little nastily. If Draco had pulled a stunt like this, he wouldn’t have been able to sit for a month.

“How do you lose three hours, Ruby? What did you do?” Hermione asked.

“I met a boy…” she said.

“Good lord…what did you do? Rent a room in Knockturn Alley and let him have a party?” Lucius said. Ruby turned a horrible shade of red.

“No!” she snapped. “We talked over dinner…” she said.

“And dessert?”

Hermione frowned at Ruby. “You were three hours late because of a boy? Why didn’t you just tell me before you went off? I wouldn’t have minded…” she said.

“I didn’t think we were going to be gone that long.” She replied.

“If you ask me, she should be thrashed until she can’t sit or stand…” Lucius drawled. Hermione rounded on him, snarling.

“Well then it’s a good thing nobody asked you then, isn’t it?” she snapped. Lucius narrowed his icy blue eyes at Hermione.

"Watch it, Miss Granger."

“Look…don’t fight because of me…I’ll go back to the flat….I’ll ground myself….just don’t fight…” Ruby said softly. Hermione sighed.

“I’ll come back to the flat in a few minutes, Ruby…you go on ahead. We can talk when I cool off a bit…kay?” Hermione said. Ruby nodded, and then used some floo powder to go back through the fireplace. Hermione sighed.

“She’s only been here a few weeks and already she’s getting in trouble over boys…”
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Eeep! Oh the sparks!!!

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