Upside Down

It's been a little longer than I expected, but the second part of the chapter was getting on my ever loving nerves. I start back to Community College next week, and my mom is riding my dick (expression, I'm totally female...) about not having a job. SHe acts like I'm sitting in my room doing nothing. I have put in at LEAST 10 applications, and nobody will call me back! Effin A!!!

Anyway...I'm sort of looking forward to a new semester...I've changed my major, and I hope that everything goes smoothly. Although I'm still really REALLY lonely.... I've yet to have a boyfriend in my entire life, and my weekends are very empty. *sigh* such is the story of my life....

Anyway...you guys could always make me feel better by reviewing this chapter which I worked oh-so-hard on.

Q_Q Pwease.....?
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Ruby woke up rather early the next morning. She felt warm, and when she started to move, she felt the unmistakable feeling of an arm around her. For a heart-stopping moment, she thought she was back at the stronghold, but then she heard Molly Weasley singing some old ditty, and the sounds of pots and pans clinking not too far away. She opened her eyes, and looked up, a smile forming on her face when she saw Ron. He was familiar enough to keep her from being frightened.

He was handsome enough…he was rather pale, with a dusting of freckles on his face, but Ruby thought they were cute. When he was awake, he had the most amazing blue eyes….

Ron was cute…but if what her cousin had told her about him was true…he was quite a stubborn, and fiery-tempered person. But you know…so was she! Well…maybe not so much now…she felt so weak and useless… But she’d recover soon.

She carefully dislodged herself from Ron, and wandered to the kitchen, the smell of breakfast hitting her nose, and making her stomach growl loudly. Molly turned, and grinned at her, immediately rushing over to pull her into a hug.

“Good morning, Ruby. Did you sleep well?” she asked. Ruby blushed a bit, and Molly’s eyes twinkled.

“Yes ma’am.” Ruby said. She noticed Snape sitting at the end of the table, sipping black coffee and reading the paper. She went to the table, and sat down beside him, sitting silently until he decided to notice her.

“Yes?” he asked smoothly.

“Thank you.” She said softly. He put down his cup of coffee, and turned his black gaze on her.

“You are most welcome, Miss Grangeford.” He replied. Ruby suddenly wrapped her arms around his waist, and hugged him soundly. He was shocked to say the least… “That’s…er….quite enough of that…” he said, without an ounce of his usual venom. She released him, and looked up with an innocent smile, her eyes twinkling a bit mischievously. “On with you, imp.” He said, a mock-stern look on his face. Ruby stood from her seat, and went to the other side of the table, sitting down on the chair gingerly, as her bottom was still a bit uncomfortable.

The kitchen door swung open, and Ron walked into the kitchen, stretching and yawning. Ruby looked over, a blush spreading across her cheeks as she watched the muscles in Ron’s arms and chest jump, a small detail that didn’t escape the sharp eyes of one Severus Snape.

“So, Mum, what’s for breakfast?” he asked. Molly clicked her tongue at him.

“Ronald Weasley…I raised you better than that! You’ll get nothing to eat if you don’t go put on some pants!”

~~

After a rather leisurely petting session with Hermione, Draco decided he was hungry. Hermione decided to sleep in a bit longer, and as soon as Draco left the bed, she sprawled out in the middle, wrapping all of the covers around herself. Draco grinned, and shook his head as she snuggled with his pillow.

He slipped on some clothes, and left the room, closing the door behind him so no one would bother Hermione. He walked down the long hallway, pausing in front of Bella and Rodolphus’ room when he heard a yelp. He then heard a smack, and another yelp, and felt it in his best interest to keep walking….quickly.

He went down the stairs, moving aside as Ron bounded upwards, wearing nothing but boxers and socks. Draco shook his head.

“That boy is way too comfortable being undressed…” he murmured, and felt his stomach growl when the smell of breakfast struck his nose. He walked into the kitchen, a bit surprised to see Ruby sitting at the table. He would have thought after all she went through she would be in bed. But then again…that really wasn’t the way Ruby worked. He went over to her and leaned down, kissing the top of her head, and patting her head, ruffling the cropped hair. She looked up, and smiled at him.

“Mornin’, Draco.” She said.

“Good morning, Ruby. How are you feeling?” he asked, sitting down beside her.

“A lot better. It’s hard to believe that this time yesterday I….was…” but she froze, the color draining from her face. Snape intervened immediately.

“Don’t think on it. It’s in the past, and you’re safe with friends and family now.” He said. Ruby nodded, but sat quietly at her seat, her eyes lowered to the table. Draco reached over and rubbed her back. Ruby sat at the table, her head down, for several moments before she finally pushed back, and stood.

“I’m not hungry anymore…” she said softly, and walked out of the room. She went upstairs, and back to her bed. She climbed up on the bed, and snuggled herself down into the covers, intent on going back to sleep.

Her dreams were filled with the faces of the Death Eater guards that had taken her innocence from her, and the face of Voldemort, his cold laughter and glowing red eyes chilling her to the bone.

For the first part of her dream she relived most of her tortures, the rapes flashing in and out, and she watched as if she had been standing by, observing the perverse hip thrusts of the guards, and catching glimpses of the way her face contorted in agony.

But the second part of her dream was a bit odd. She was in a large room, watching a battle between Voldemort and Harry. The room seemed rather plain, and was lined on one side with Death Eaters, and on the other with Order Members. She saw the Malfoys standing with the Order, dressed in brilliant white robes line with gold, and emblazoned with a gold and red phoenix over the left side of the robes, right over their hearts. She also saw Bellatrix and Rodolphus, the latter’s arms wrapped tightly around his wife. She then saw herself, donned proudly in the white Order robes, with the Phoenix on the left side, its wings proudly outstretched beneath the American flag.

It seemed that Harry was losing the duel with Voldemort. He was being thrown around like a rag doll, his own white Order robes streaked with blood. But then Harry stood, and raised his wand straight up, and cast a spell. Although Ruby hadn’t been able to hear anything else in the dream, she heard Harry’s voice speak the words of the incantation clearly.

“Magnus Conglaciari!”

For a few moments after the words were spoken, it didn’t seem that anything was happening. Then, a strange white/blue coating began to form on the walls and ceiling, covering the entire room and spreading beneath the feet of the Order and the Death Eaters, and then beneath the feet of Voldemort and Harry. When the coating had covered everything, Ruby saw the breaths of everyone coming in white puffs. Ice! It was ice on the walls!

The two began to duel again, but it was different. Voldemort seemed to move more slowly, and Harry was quickly getting the upper hand. Voldemort became the one thrown about. Ruby could see the mixture of hatred and fear in his glowing red eyes, and it awakened something inside her. She liked the look of fear in his eyes.

But things quickly went to hell when a few of the Death Eaters tried to interfere with the duel. The Order quickly descended on the Death Eaters, and they began to battle around Voldemort and Harry, colored curses flying everywhere.

“Ruby!”

She heard her name, and glanced around, but no one seemed to be looking at her. Everyone was dueling.

“Ruby!”

There it was again! This time, though, she saw the scene began to fade.

And then she woke up with someone shaking her, and calling her name. She looked up, to see most of the inhabitants of Grimmauld Place gathered around her bedside, their breaths puffing out before them. Wait….

“What’s going on?” Ruby asked sleepily. It was Ron that had been shaking her, and he pulled back, wrapping his robes around him, his teeth chattering.

“We heard you screaming, and came to check on you. When you quieted down, you started mumbling a spell…and the entire room got covered with ice. We’ve been trying to wake you up for ten minutes.” He said. She looked around curiously, and indeed the entire room was coated in a thick layer of ice, cementing the furniture down and covering all of the trinkets and such.

Suddenly Ruby started with a gasp. She looked up at Ron, her eyes wide.

“Where’s Harry?” she asked. Harry pushed his way through the people, coming to the side of the bed.

“Here I am, Ruby. What’s the matter?” he asked. Ruby suddenly grinned.

“I know something that will help you when you finally face Voldemort!”
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Hmmm......interesting......

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