Stuck in the Past (Ruby)

[Wynd Lehane]

Once upon a time there was a quiet village. In this village muggles and wizards and witches lived peacefully together. Or so they thought. In fact, the muggles were little backstabbers and only pretended to like the wizards and witches because they were selfish. "Help us with magic!" they would always cry. The magical folk would of course help because they were generous with their powers and didn't think that muggles would ever turn against them. They were simpletons and needed help doing the simplest of tasks such as curing warts. Little did the magical community suspect that muggles were becoming increasingly jealous of the wizards and witches. Why should they have power and muggles have none? The word 'share' was soon eliminated from their vocabulary. In the dead of night they attacked the innocent wizards and witches. Never thinking that 'helpful magic' could also be deadly. Many wizards and witches lost their lives but it was a slaughter for the muggle community. News quickly spread that wizards and witches killed muggles. History conveniently forgot that muggles were the aggressors.

The sweet taste of pumpkin juice could not wash the memory of the story from Wynd's mind. Why after all these years was this story all of a sudden in his mind? It was his mother that last had told the twins that story. He slowly spread strawberry jam on a biscuit as the thought turned over and over in his mind. Only after adding a third layer did he look up at his sister sitting across the Slytherin table from him. They ate in silence usually not wanting to be overheard. One could never be sure who was listening. Blue eyes glanced left and right up and down the Slytherin table. There were few who felt the way they did about muggles at the table. It sometimes singled them out from the rest of their house but they had proved their worth many times over. Wynd had practically stolen the game from Ravenclaw in the last match making Jo's catch that much sweeter.

Placing his biscuit down on his plate he looked hard at his sister. There was a question that was on his mind and he had been dying to ask. "Do ever think about her?" he broke the silence. "Sometimes I can picture her so vividly and other times I have to focus to remember the colour of her hair." He paused as he thought of what to say next. His mind's eye searched for the right words. Their mother was a delicate topic between the two. Neither one wanted to think of her in Azkaban but he often thought of her. If it hadn't been for her, the twins would not have had a future. In some ways, her memory was a driving force. Her sacrifice could not be in vain. In other ways, it was a damper. A wave of sadness would sometimes wash over Wynd and he wished things could be different. "Do you think she would be proud of us?"

[Ruby Lehane]

Another day, another meal. Ruby Lehane was fast becoming bored with the routine they’d been in for the last seven years. She wanted to return back to the dorm, grab the book, and find a place to finish unlocking the pages. Since they’d gotten access to Pyro Blackfire’s infamous book they’d unlocked more than half the book. It was coming along sweetly and she was learning more and more about the Dark Arts. This was what she had been counting on when she’d gone to Pyro in the beginning. Sure the book had been a rumor, one that she’d never known if it was real or not, but now…now she knew. The chance she’d taken on him had been a good one and now Wynd and herself had possession of a very powerful book. It would help them in their quest for vengeance. All Ruby had to do was make sure no one else knew about it…that they seemed like the unlikely Slytherin students…two kids unconcerned with purity of blood. It was a stretch and it was harder than hell to maintain, but they had done a fairly good job for the last seven years. There had only been a few slips here and there, but nothing that would incriminate them. No, they were doing what they had been planning for years. They were going to succeed, of that Ruby was sure.

So as she sat there, picking at her fruit salad her mind continued to wander through the last few pages of the book. Each spell had been more horrifying than the last and with each new page she could almost feel more power brimming inside her, though she knew it was only her imagination seeing as how you couldn’t gain power like that. Spearing a piece of pear she placed it to her lips and pulled it off the fork, chewing softly as she continued to think. The Great Hall wasn’t nearly as full as it normally was, making Ruby wonder a bit what had grabbed some attention from some of the other students, not that it mattered. Wynd was sitting across from her, as he always was. They could never truly part for long. Wynd had followed her into Slytherin and as children they were always together. It was how their relationship was; it was why Ruby put so much stock in her brother. His opinion meant more to her than anyone else’s ever could.

So when he spoke she was quickly drawn out of her own mind wanderings, her eyes focusing fully on her twin brothers. Her heart squeezed in her chest as he spoke. She didn’t really want to discuss this, but it was very rare for them to ever bring up the topic of their mother. When it happened, Ruby let it go…she knew her brother thought about her just as often as she did and as always her free hand moved to her mother’s ring around her neck. The chain was still there as it always was. She never took it off and had charmed it with an anti break charm so that the chain would never break on it’s own. It meant more to her than a lot of things did. It was her lifeline to her mother and she always felt her mother was right there with her when she ran her finger across the diamonds. Nodding her head slowly…she got a far away look in her eyes. “A mix of blonde and brown, much like yours. You always had her hair colour. Mine was always so much blonder. She smelled like lavender and she had the voice of an angel, always singing us to sleep at night,” Ruby said softly as her eyes slowly slid down to the fruit in front of her. “I sure hope so…what would be the point in what we’re doing if she wasn’t proud of us?” It was something that Ruby had struggled with before. She didn’t know if her mother would want them to exact revenge, to destroy the lives of the people that destroyed theirs, but she knew she had to.

Ruby sighed as she looked around them, making sure no one was inadvertently listening in on their conversation. “Look…I don’t know if she’s proud of us…in a way I’m sure she is, but we won’t know for sure, not until we get her out of there. I think she’d want us to do what we felt was important. She’d want justice and that’s what we’re going to give her. She didn’t deserve to go to Azkaban and I’ll be damned if I allow her to stay there. She saved our lives. I know she’d want us to make something of ourselves…to make her proud. The stories she told us as kids, they were always about the righteous Dark Lord and his plans to make the world a better place. Since he died no one else has stepped forward to do that…Mum used to idolize him…always talking with pride over his works. Imagine how she’ll talk when she finds us taking his place…it will be with pride and joy. She’ll finally be free and able to live the life she should have lived these last 13 years,” Ruby said with a since of hidden urgency and power. She knew it was the right thing to do. Justice had to be done.

[Wynd Lehane]

Silence fell between them as Wynd allowed her words to wash over him. He looked into her blue eyes searching for the answers that he so desperately needed. Everything that his twin had just said, he knew to be true. Their mother was a firm believer in the Dark Lord and his attitude. It was muggles fault that she was now in Azkaban. It was the fault of their corrupt government that she was thrown in prison. Although Millicent Bagnold was no longer the Minister of Magic, Bagnold had left a legacy that the current Minister seemed to respect and follow like a sheep. Wynd and Ruby had pelted the new Minister with owls pleading him to overturn the decision to put Patricia Lehane in Azkaban. The most response they ever received was a courtesy owl telling them that it was great to hear from such young people and a signed photo. The flames from the photographs kept them warm that night.

Wynd silently pulled out his wand at pointed it at the table. With a swish a small cloudy snow leopard appeared and began prancing through their meal. It was his patronus. Ruby was so gifted at Charms that she had been finding many new uses for the patronus. Wynd watched the projection of himself smell his pumpkin juice. "I think you're right," he told his sister without looking at her. "I've always thought that but it's nice to know your opinion as well. I have to believe that she would be proud of us no matter what decisions we make in life." A sudden burst of laughter made him turn to look at the Hufflepuff table where mudbloods and purebloods were enjoying each other's company. His snow leopard growled. A smile came to his face. "Well, almost anything."

He looked down again on his snow leopard. "Now now, we have to put on a pretty face. We mustn't let them know our true intentions. We've worked too hard to get this far." He brought his smile up to his sister. "I almost lost it when Snape made me work with Flynn. Sometimes I think Snape is on to us and wants to push us to our limits. He wants to see us crack or he wants to test us. Either way, we must be weary of him."

[Ruby Lehane]

Ruby had met her brother’s eyes for those brief moments as the silence grew between them. She had been harsh with him…sometimes her hatred for the ministry and muggles became too much to hide. Her brother’s question had been enough to start that slowly burning fire. She wanted nothing more than to rip out the heart of the wizarding world and fill it with the righteous…the pure. However, that wasn’t going to happen…not quite yet. They were still too young…unknowledgeable…or so she was making them seem. Once they left Hogwarts this year and took up their place in the ministry things would start looking up. That’s all that mattered to Ruby in those moments. Their plans were slowly evolving, become more than just desires. As long as she kept her head…if they both kept their heads, they would have their mother out of Azkaban in less than two years. The warmth of the thought washed over Ruby and she sighed in content as she watched her brother’s patronus dance through the food.

The soft smile curled her lips as she pulled out her own wand and flicked it, her own small cloudy patronus slipping out. Though they were twins, their patronus’ were not the same, however they both were large cats. The tiger slowly formed in the cloudy mist and quickly pounced on the snow leopard. Ruby glanced up at her brother as the two cats began rolling around, pouncing on one another in gleeful child bliss. Her brother was intent on staring at the patronus as he spoke. “I know I’m right dear brother. We must not let our emotions cloud our judgment. We are doing the righteous thing…cleansing the world. Our mother would be proud that we are standing up for the purebloods, that we are making the world a better place.”

Ruby glanced down at her tiger as it swatted at the snow leopard. You could almost see the amusement on its face as it tried to tackle the leopard. The fearless tiger…it was the man-eater and a dangerous animal, but it was also the most stunning creature Ruby had ever seen. That’s why it was her animal to call…her patronus. “Snape isn’t to be trusted. For a Slytherin he is more mudblood loving than the lot of the professors,” Ruby said, her voice dropping as low as she could make it. “I’m afraid what we do…we do alone. I think we need to bring back the Chosen. Pyro said the group had died, but I think we need to return it to its original glory. There are a few students that would make the cut, but we’ll have to be cautious. Not all of those students would appreciate it being led by us. Think we could use one of our dear Slytherin brethren to run it for us?” Ruby was talking softly as she glanced up at her brother, waiting for his reaction to her thought. The Chosen had been a group of elite pureblood Slytherins that supported the Dark Lord. The group had disbanded when a fight had broken out amongst its few members. It was time to bring it back…it would be good to use, a way to keep their influence in Hogwarts long after they left.

[Wynd Lehane]

The Chosen. He had heard of the group from Pyro and remembered the name being whispered through the corridors in his earlier years. Eyes glanced left and right to see if anyone was listening. His snow leopard matched his sister's tiger in strength and move for move. "I concur. We must be cautious of who we speak to in this matter. One wrong move and our entire operation would be for naught. We have done well to sway some first, second, and third years to our train of thought but it would be nice to have some of the older students. The more learned ones. The names that immediately spring to mind are, O'Reilly, Bowman, and Donahue, all sixth years. But how can we know that they are trustworthy without revealing too much?"