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...
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The fire roared in the hearth of the Gryffindor common room, clearing representing the House of the Lion. Ruth had always loved the Gryffindor fireplace, with it's ancient design and the fact that the fire never seemed to go out.
Ruth was seated on the scarlet sofa, her legs tucked up under her body as she leaned into Fred, as he was holding the Herbology textbook. They were both dressed in casual clothes, as it was a Friday evening.
"Ok so, Venomus Tentacula," Fred said, half closing the book. "Do you know the distinctions?"
Ruth bit down on her bottom lip, her eyebrows furrowed together as she tried to remember the piece of information. After a few seconds, she sighed deeply. "I don't know."
"That's ok," Fred smiled and reopened the book. His eyes scanned the page before he found the answer and pointed it out. "Just try to remember 'Violent Trolls Juggle Jungle Beans'."
Ruth raised her eyebrows at the grinning boy. "What- in the name of Merlin- does that mean?"
"It's a mnemonic," Fred said simply.
"That's a very big word for you," Ruth commented teasingly. Fred glared at her, but by his smile, Ruth knew he was being playful.
"Violent Trolls Juggle Jungle Beans," he repeated. "V, T, J, J, B. Vines, Teeth, Jaw, Juice and Bite."
"Is that what you spend your time doing?" Ruth giggled. "Making up mnemonics that make zero sense?"
"Obviously," Fred shrugged dramatically, which made Ruth laugh, hard. Fred joined in, smiling wider when Ruth hit his chest playfully.
Fred checked his watch, his eyes widening. "Blimey we've been here for two hours. You wanna take a 15 minute break?"
Honestly, Ruth didn't mind not taking a break, for she was having too much fun with Fred. But she agreed nonetheless and moved towards the staircase up to the girls dorm.
Katrina was at the bottom of the staircase when Ruth reached the steps. Her sister sent Ruth a knowing look before pulling her up the stairs.
"What's going on with you and Fred?" Katrina asked as soon as they entered their dorm.
"Uh- nothing?" Ruth responded, confused.
Katrina clicked her tongue. "You two have been cuddled up on the couch all evening."
"We've been studying."
Katrina ignored this. "Do you like him?"
"What?!" Ruth exclaimed.
"Do. You. Like. Fred?" Katrina repeated, slowly.
Ruth didn't answer because the truth was, she had no idea. She liked being around Fred, since he always made her laugh. She enjoyed his company, without a doubt, and would find herself getting excited to see him again. But she's never had an actual boyfriend, or felt that way about anyone, so she had no idea what feelings she was supposed to feel.
"I don't know," she eventually admitted to her sister, who seemed surprised.
"Well that isn't a 'no' anyway," Katrina shrugged. "He's been talking about you a lot recently, whenever you're not around."
Ruth gave a quiet 'oh' in response. The clock in the dorm told her that 15 minutes had already passed, so she excused herself and returned to the common room, where Fred was waiting.
"Can you remember the last thing I taught you?" he smirked.
"Violent Trolls Juggle Jungle Beans," Ruth said proudly.
"Atta girl!" Fred exclaimed, giving her a dramatic squeeze on the shoulder. They sat down again and continued their study.
"I'm hungry," Fred announced after another hour. As soon as those words left his mouth, Ruth's stomach rumbled.
"It seems you are too," Fred chuckled. "Let's go down to the kitchens."
Ruth pulled Fred's wrist towards her to check the time on his watch. "It's 10 minutes to curfew."
"We won't be 8 minutes," he assured her. "Come on."
The Herbology textbook lay abandoned on the coffee table as Fred and Ruth left the common room. Although curfew wasn't for another few minutes, the hallways were abandoned. Ruth felt a sense of Deja Vu.
"Tickle, tickle," Fred sang as he tickled the painting of the pear and turned to golden doorknob. The painting opened to show the kitchens, which Fred and Ruth raced in, shoving each other out of the way. They were served their desserts of choice by the very welcoming House Elves.
"I actually don't really want this apple pie anymore," Ruth sighed, eyeing Fred, who was eating his own dessert. "I'd love some chocolate cake though."
"Bugger off," he said, holding his plate behind his back. "Don't even think about it."
Ruth didn't think, but made an impulse decision to lunge towards Fred's slice of cake. Fred used his height to his advantage, holding the plate above Ruth's stretched arms. Ruth discovered a loophole to his plan as she tugged on his elbow, forcing the joint to bend and the chocolate cake to land on Fred's head.
Ruth howled with laughter, almost collapsing to the floor as Fred tried his best to wipe the cake from his hair, but only made the frosting stick even more.
"You'll pay for that," Fred growled, throwing himself at Ruth, who was too distracted to get away in time.
Fred's arms wrapped around her small body, trapping her against him, and his head buried itself in her neck. Ruth squealed as chocolate cake smeared all over her neck and shoulder.
She managed to push Fred away, who was laughing just as hard as she was. After a few more attempted lunges at each other, they decided on a truce and left the kitchen, after cleaning themselves up with magic.
"My jumper still smells of chocolate frosting," Ruth commented, sniffing her shoulder.
"It's your own fault," Fred explained. "You shouldn't have brutally attacked me."
"I didn't brutally attack-"
"Hem-Hem."
Ruth could've sworn her heart stopped when she heard that sound. That little cough, seemingly innocent but belonging to the most unfair lady Ruth knew.
Dolores Umbridge.
"Hello students," the newest addition to the Hogwarts staff smiled. It was the kind of smile that made Ruth feel sick and move closer to Fred. "Do you realise what time it is?"
Neither Fred nor Ruth answered, not knowing the answer and not even wanting to check.
"You do realise this school has a curfew, right?" Umbridge pouted. "A curfew that ended two minutes ago, if I'm not mistaken."
Again, the professor only received silence as a response, which seemed to satisfy her as he smiled a sickly sweet smile. "Detention in my office. Wednesday. Don't be late," she said cheerfully, before walking off.
Ruth looked over at Fred once the short professor had disappeared. He was already looking at her, as if scared of her reaction.
"I've never had detention before," she mumbled.
"It'll be fine," Fred reassures her. "Remember what Harry said? She'll only get us to do lines."
Ruth nodded slowly and the two returned to the common room, speaking little to no words.
