Ruth is the youngest of the Ash triplets. Born only three minutes after her sisters, Ruth has always been the odd one out.
She's been invisible all her life.
She's been stuck in the shadows of her sisters throughout her five years at Hogwarts. She...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The first task of the Triwizard Tournament took place on a bright day in late November. The entire three schools, minus the four champions, gathered in a large area specificity built for the task.
"Did you read Rita Skeeter's article in the Daily Prophet?" Casper asked Ruth. "The one about Harry Potter?"
Ruth nodded, her eyes scanning the crowd. "Yes. That woman has nothing better to do than write crap about students."
Casper snorted. "But it is pretty entertaining."
Ruth rolled her eyes. She looked over the arena, which was a circular enclosure filled with a variety of rock sizes. A bundle of eggs rested against the wall, one glittering gold.
"I wonder what they'll have to do," Ruth said.
"No idea," Casper shrugged. "But I think it's starting soon. Dumbledore's gone into the tent."
Ruth followed her friend's gaze, watching the bearded headmaster enter the huge tent that stood beside the arena. Ruth watched the tent ripple slightly in the breeze, wondering what was going on inside.
"Why is there a bloody dragon here?" Casper said beside her, dragging Ruth's attention away from the tent. Her eyes widened as she saw 6 men dragging a dragon into the enclosure.
The dragon instantly went over to the eggs, it's motherly instinct kicking in. It suddenly clicked in Ruth's mind as to what the champions had to do.
"They must have to get the golden egg," she shouted in Casper's ear; the noises from the dragons and the crowds too loud. "Merlin, this is going to be difficult for-"
Ruth's sentence was cut off by a loud voice announcing the task, letting Ruth know that she was correct. Cedric Diggory's name was called out, the Hogwarts students screaming their encouragement. He was up against a slivery blue dragon, who was as eyeing the Hufflepuff closely.
Ruth smiled as Cedric transfigured a rock into a dog, which distracted the dragon. She cheered along with the rest of the school as he dived for the egg. She flinched as the dragon turned and burned the side of his face, but he retrieved the egg nonetheless and passed the task.
The Beauxbatons champion was announced next and Fleur Delacour entered the arena, looking quiet nervous.
The audience's reactions followed the actions of the girl. They applauded when she put the dragon under some sort of spell, gasped when it failed and her skirt caught fire and they cheered loudly when she managed to get to the egg.
Once Viktor Krum was announced, the crowd went wild. The Quidditch legend and champion didn't seem fazed by the screams, focusing on the Chinese Fireball dragon he'd be up against.
He shot a spell at the dragon's eyes, blinding the scarlet beast. This went well, as Krum scooped up the egg easily, but the dragon crushed half of the real eggs and cost himself some deducted points.
"That's a Hungarian Horntail," Casper shouted, as Harry Potter's dragon was wrestled into the arena. "The poor bloke."
Casper's words stuck in Ruth's mind as Harry came out of the tent, looking as young as ever and terrified.
Harry spent the first half of his task dodging the dragon's attacks. Ruth was sure the boy failed the task, until he held up his wand and yelled something that Ruth couldn't hear.
Nothing happened for a long 10 seconds. All of a sudden, a broomstick was flying through the air and into the arms of Harry Potter.
Ruth followed the cheers as Harry jumped onto his broom, the place he seemed most comfortable. He flew around the animals head, driving the dragon mad. The chain that held the Hungarian Horntail to the earth suddenly broke and the animal charged towards the boy. Harry has no choice but to fly into the air and out of sight, the dragon close on his tail.
Silence settled as the crowd looked around at each other, unsure as what to do.
"Sorry," a tall red-headed man said as he pushed passed her. Ruth's eyes followed the back of his head as he reached the judges panel.
"So we just stay here until he returns?" Ruth said aloud to anyone that would listen to her.
"I guess," Casper responded. "Maybe this was planned. To add to the suspense."
"I doubt it," Ruth said. "They all look pretty worried." She pointed at the judges and the dragon tamers.
There was a huge WHOOSH sound that stopped Casper from replying. Harry had returned, dragonless. He dived down and tucked the golden egg under his arm.
Claps and cheers erupted from the crowd, each and every member wondering how he'd gotten rid of a fire-breathing dragon.
It was announced that Krum and Harry has drawn first place, which created a lot of noise as both were legends in people's eyes. Cedric's second place still earned him a huge applause from his own house, and Fleur was still encouraged by her classmates, even after taking third place.
"Party in the Gryffindor common room!" A voice behind Ruth screeched.
"And in the Hufflepuff common room!" Another voice echoed.
Casper mimed putting a gun to his head, which made Ruth laugh happily.
