Chapter 11: Rumors

 

         Two months had crawled by since Ginny's disappearance. Ruby made a full recovery due to Hermione's medical expertise, and within days she was up and about, filling the small country house with cheer and good cooking. She often joined Sirius, Ron, Draco and Harry in the parlor, which they had converted into an office.

        The four men spent their days pouring over maps and books, trying to discover the whearabouts of Voldemort's secret palace, relying heavily upon tips from the many visitors and volunteers that came to help, other wizards whose families and friends had been kidnapped or murdered by Voldemort's DeathEaters. One of the volunteers had come all the way from southern France, a quiet, dark-haired man who had identified himself as Troy Langdon. Troy had been an Auror with the Ministry during Voldemort's rise to power, and he was also Leigh Dragonclaw's fiance.

          He told them the tale of how Leigh had been discovered by one of the DeathEaters and tortured in front of all the other DeathEaters at one of Voldemort's feasts as entertainment - and a warning.

          "I tried to get back in time to save her, " Troy told them, his voice thick with emotion, " but I was held back in Romania by several other DeathEaters. They used a Truth Serum on Leigh, and she told them who I really was. However, I was lucky enough to escape..." Troy never spoke of Leigh again, and they all knew enough by the pain in his eyes not ask more.

          Harry watched as Troy and Draco bent over a map of northern Britian, studying a patch of woods carefully. Draco pointed to spot on the map and muttered something.

          "It should be here, but there's nothing! Harry and I went there last night!" Draco said, exasperation in his voice. "I remember visiting the palace as a child, my father brought me there. If only he were alive..."

          "He wouldn't help you, Draco. You know that. Even if it was for a girl you love." Ruby said from the doorway. She smirked as Harry shoved past her and slammed out the front door. Ron glared up at Ruby with anger burning in his eyes.

          "Why'd you have to go and say that? You know how upset Harry is about...." Ron cast a glance at Draco, who glared back. Ruby grinned and slowly sauntered out of the room. Suddenly, Troy spoke.

          "That woman is not the be trusted." he said. Both Draco and Ron looked at him in surprise. It wasn't unusual for days to go by without him saying more than five words.

           "She's not who she pretends to be." Troy said quietly, and excused himself, just as Sirius entered the room.

            "Where's Harry?" he asked, settling himself in a chair before the table littered with parchment and maps. Ron sat back in his seat and looked at Draco. Draco got up and went into the kitchen, where they could hear him chatting with Ruby.

         "Sirius, I don't think Ruby likes Harry very much." Ron said, once he was sure Ruby was occupied and wasn't listening. Sirius looked mildly amused.

         "What makes you say that? Ruby is always very pleasant to Harry; she treats him like a son."

         "Only when you're around!" Ron protested. He leaned forward, catching Sirius' eye.

          "Other times, I catch her watching Harry in a strange way, and then sometimes she disappears for hours, and when I ask her where she's been, she doesn't answer."

           "Ron, what are you trying to say? That my wife is trying to kill Harry? Or has a crush on him?" Sirius forced a weak laugh, but Ron didn't smile back.

           "Just keep in mind that there are at least fifteen years where Ruby was left on her own. People do crazy things. Sometimes even when they're surrounded by people they love." he added bitterly. Sirius shook his head.

           "Ron, just because you're upset about Hermione leaving you, doesn't mean my wife is evil!" he said. Ron's frpwn grew bigger.

            "When we were in our fourth year at Hogwart's, you came from halfway around the world to make sure Harry was safe. We both know that now Harry isn't thinking about himself, and all that's on his mind is getting Ginny back. We need to watch out for him, Sirius. Even if it means we have to question what we always assumed to be good."

             Sirius nodded. "All right, then let's test Ruby." he said.

to be continued...