Upside Down

*Shiny eyes* You guys really spoiled me after this last chapter. I got fourteen reviews...I think that's the most reviews I've ever gotten on one chapter. I liked it, and would absolutely LURV if it happened again. That would make my goal review for this chapter 176. I would love to surpass the reviews for You Raise Me Up, which peaked at 275. You guys could help...

To respond to some reviews:

Kirsty W - *beams* I'm so glad you like the characters. I wanted to make them as believable as possible while still making them fit this story. Lord knows I'm a sucker for some drama. Thanks for the encouragement and I look forward to more reviews from you...

Gab - I'm glad you appreciate the way Ruby is staying strong. She is quite a strong character, and it would take a lot to break her. Let's just hope our heroes can get her out before Voldemort decides he wants her broken... Glad you like Bella....I love her too. Keep reading and I hope you'll tell me if you like this newest chappie...

serenity - *glomps* FIRST TIMER!!!! YAY!!!! I hope I haven't scared you off. I love it when story lurkers finally review. It makes me feel as though I've done my job. I hope you find the inspiration to review more...

distinctlyME - as always, your reviews add sunshine to my dreary day. You have certainly helped put some fuel on my fire, and it burned quite nicely when I finally got the time to sit down and write this story. I'm afraid as of late, the inspiration for the chappies isn't the problem, its finding the time to actually tap them out...ah well, here's a new one anyway. Hope to hear your feedback....

Aimee - Ah! I so want to say something about your review, but if I respong I'll give it all away....*squirms under the pressure of keeping a secret* Hope you like the new chappie!

char_marcus - Um....pheonix? An interesting idea, but I was really hinting along the lines of angel. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a religion pusher or anything, but I do find Ruby's Christian and magical heritage to be of interest. I thought it would be something original...I haven't read many Harry Potter stories with angels....I hope it doesn't turn you off!!

Anon - I'm glad you could enjoy such a large chunk of my story at once. I have done that before, but I'm afraid most of the time I have too much ADD to pay much attention to too many chapters at once. The lines start to run together, and my mind turns to mush....

Kris - I love being part of a favorites list. Yay...be sure to check out my others stories....

RyGirl824 - I know you would have hun, and I trust that you'll make up for lost time and give me an extra long review for this chapter, right? Right? Right? J/K, but I would love to hear what you have to say about the newest chapter.

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I love all of my readers, and I hope some of those that are lurking out there will decide to drop me in a few lines. I love reviews. They make me happy.

Those of you who don't like my story, and in general all of the people who have pissed me off from day to day, including but not limited to: idiots who don't know how to drive, people who won't call me back for a job interview, and stupid people across the globe....I cordially invite you to kiss my ass...

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Up there it is...

Now: ENJOY THE NEW CHAPPIE
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Hermione was an emotional wreck. Everything around Grimmauld Place seemed to remind her of Ruby, and each memory threw her into a fit of tears. She cried because she could do nothing else. If she tried to hold back, she feared that she might do something stupid, and she knew that if she went bounding off blindly, that she might ruin all chances of getting Ruby back. So she cried out of emotional agony and frustration.

Draco tried his best to comfort her, and reassure her that Ruby would come back to them safely, but she seemed intent on ignoring his efforts. She refused to be consoled.

It had been two weeks since Ruby had been abducted, and Hermione could recite the hours and minutes that had passed since she had been delivered the news.

Needless to say, Hermione wasn’t a very useful part of the rescue planning.

~~

“No fucking way.” Rodolphus said, frowning. “I’m not offering myself up as a sacrifice because the little American chit got herself kidnapped….” He said stubbornly, crossing his arms across his chest. Everyone glared at him. “Look…it’s not my fault that you all waited until last moment to fill me in on that little detail of the plan. It’s just tough kitties.” He added. Sirius rolled his eyes.

“Stop being a pussy, Rodolphus.” He said. Rodolphus narrowed his brown eyes at Sirius.

“I don’t have to be a pussy to not want to risk getting myself caught by the Master. Are you people forgetting what he’s capable of? Need I remind you what happened to the people in that restaurant just for being there….can you imagine what he would do if he got hold of me? No…I won’t do it. Surely there’s another way.” He said.

“We don’t know where she is, Roddy. And even if we did, there’s no way to get to her. She would be in one of the Master’s strongholds, and you know as well as I that just waltzing into one of those uninvited is a death sentence.” Bellatrix said, trying to appeal to her husband.

“Yeah…but so is leading a rebellion against the Master. Bella…surely you haven’t exhausted all of your resources yet…” he said, his voice taking on an almost begging tone.

Severus Snape sat in on this meeting. He hadn’t said much the entire time, but he had been listening. He knew Rodolphus enough to know that the man wouldn’t risk his own arse to save Ruby. And it was a shame. Ruby was very easy to get along with. Most of the people in this room and in the Order in general grated on his nerves. But he found her easy-going and often liberal attitude to be refreshing, and often amusing.

He knew she was smart, very much like her cousin, but she wasn’t the type to flaunt it. She might add a tidbit of information to the conversation, but otherwise her exchanges were down-to-earth. To put it quite bluntly, he liked the little American. He really couldn’t think of anyone that had met her, aside from the Dark Lord, that didn’t like her.

And then an idea struck him like a ton of bricks. Long ago, the fathers of witches prone to attraction to wizards of the ‘wrong sort’ would brew a special type of potion that would pinpoint the location of the young girl immediately. When paired with a special stone, it could be used to bring the girl home without actually ‘bringing the girl home.’ It was a type of distant teleportation.

If they could find one of those stones, they could bring Ruby home without risking Rodolphus. But the potion itself took several weeks to brew, and the stone usually paired with the potion was extremely hard to come by….it took a very specific set of circumstances to be formed, and couldn’t be reproduced. Once the stone was used for the potion, it also became useless.


It certainly would be interesting to see how the Dark Lord reacted to having the girl snatched right out from under his flat nose.

“Might I suggest something?” he asked silkily. All heads turned to look at him, surprised he would even speak. Nobody really knew why he was at the meeting…

“Shoot, Snape.” Sirius said, leaning back against his chair. Severus narrowed his black eyes.

“Don’t tempt me.” He said, and Sirius rolled his eyes, the light catching them and making them glint in a flash of rainbow. “I suggest the Devexi Adusque Elixer.” He said. He sighed softly when he was met with blank looks. He made quick work of explaining the situation, and the ingredients needed.

“What sort of stone is needed, Sevvie?” Bellatrix asked. Snape growled softly at her choice of nickname. Sirius couldn’t help but admire her spunk. Anyone else would have gotten hexed for that, but it seemed Severus held a bit of reluctant respect for the fierce woman.

“The Comportatus Stone.” He said. “It’s usually a small, dark green stone.”

Bellatrix sat beside Rodolphus, absent-mindedly stroking his thigh as she thought. Suddenly her head popped up, and she slapped Rodolphus’ thigh. He jumped and gasped, a bit unnerved at how close to….very important bits she had come.

“I know where we can get one.” She said. Rodolphus decided to forgive her little misjudgment for the moment, especially if it meant getting his arse out of the frying pan. All eyes turned to her expectantly. “But….it’s illegal.” She added. The looks turned blank, as if not comprehending why she would be the least bit reluctant to break the law. She was a Death Eater, for Merlin’s sake…. “Um…it’s also immoral…” More blank looks….once again….Death Eater.

“Bella, dear….I don’t know if you realize, but being a Death Eater is immoral and illegal….” Rodolphus said softly. But Bellatrix ignored him. She looked over at Sirius, a somber look on her face.

“Aunt Walburga had one of those stones set in a ring, cousin. Do you remember?” she asked. He lowered his eyes for a moment, mentally sifting through the jewelry his mother wore. She had quite a bit of it…

“Yes. I remember. It was a green stone set in pure silver. Problem, though….oh….” he faltered as soon as he started, looking up at Bellatrix when he realized her dilemma. But then, much to her utter surprise, he burst out laughing! Bloody hell, he was madder than she was!

Rodolphus frowned. “Are you all right, Black? What’s the matter with you?” he asked.

Sirius chuckled. “Mother was buried with that ring on…” he said, laughing away a tear of mirth.

Snape’s eyes widened slightly. “Surely that doesn’t mean…” he started. Bellatrix nodded.

“If we want that stone, we have to dig up Aunt Walburga.” She said. Sirius was still chuckling, his frame shaking.

“Gods I love this family!”

~~

Ruby lay in bed, staring blankly at the wall. She had just been ‘treated’ to another round with a Death Eater guard. Her insides were throbbing, and she couldn’t lay on either her stomach or her back. Her breasts were red and bruised from a Death Eater who liked to watch them bounce after he slapped them, and her bottom was criss-crossed with broken stripes from a cane.

She hated to give in to the bastards, but she felt herself losing bits of her sanity each time one of those filthy Death Eaters raped her, and each time one touched her breasts or bottom. She wasn’t made as a toy for them. And it hurt her that sometimes Voldemort would come in and watch, commenting on what a slut she was, or telling her how worthless she was. And it helped none that she had heard nothing about any sort of rescue plan for her. He was starting to wear down her own self worth, and once he did that he would have won.

But at night, after the last guard had done his business, and she had cleaned herself up and gone to bed, she felt as if she weren’t alone. Like the first morning she was there, she sometimes felt a hand run over her face, or felt the covers around her shift, as though she were being tucked in. But the oddest thing was the sound of feathers. She never heard the sound outright. She always heard the sound as she was on the brink of sleep, her mind clouded and her body relaxed. But when she tried to listen for the sound, she never heard it.

Ruby was almost positive she was being guarded by an angel. Sometimes if the pain was becoming too much, she would close her eyes and call out for mercy, and the pain would diminish a little. This only happened when she was truly at the edge, about to lose her mind from the intense agony. But she was so very glad that she wasn’t alone. But just having company wasn’t doing her any good.

“I wanna go home…” she said, her voice hoarse and squeaky from screaming.

Soon, child of magic…very soon.

She jumped when she heard the voice. It was the same as the first morning. Once she had calmed down, the voice began to sing to her, lulling her into a sleep. But fearing sleep, Ruby jerked herself awake, trembling softly. The voice stopped singing, and something warm encased her hand, and she felt as though someone were holding it. She was calmed immediately, drifting back off into the safe arms of unconsciousness as the voice resumed its song.

In the dark of the midnight,
Have I oft hid my face;
While the storm howls above me,
And there's no hiding place;
'Mid the crash of the thunder,
Precious Lord, hear my cry;
"Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by."

'Til the storm passes over,
'Til the thunder sounds no more;
'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky,
Hold me fast, let me stand,
In the hollow of Thy hand;
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.

Many times Satan whispers,
"There is no need to try;
For there's no end of sorrow,
There's no hope by and by";
But I know Thou art with me,
And tomorrow I'll rise;
Where the storms never darken the skies.

'Til the storm passes over,
'Til the thunder sounds no more;
'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky,
Hold me fast, let me stand,
In the hollow of Thy hand;
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.

When the long night has ended,
And the storms come no more,
Let me stand in Thy presence
On that bright, peaceful shore.
In that land where the tempest
Never comes, Lord may I
Dwell with Thee when the storm passes by.

'Til the storm passes over,
'Til the thunder sounds no more;
'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky,
Hold me fast, let me stand,
In the hollow of Thy hand;
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.

Hold me fast, Let me stand,
In the hollow of Thy hand;
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.
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*Hums along* It is one of my favorite church songs....

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