Ruby Dellamark ⍎ The Snake Prince (Sequel)

6~ Vicariously Dangerous

The next morning, Ruby woke with creaky bones and sore limbs. For a moment, she concluded that she was getting older. She sat up, still wearing her lacy gold dressed with the burnt sleeve. She really ought to get that fixed. 

She looked under the small bunk, finding the pair jeans, hoodie, and trainers she had left for occasions such as these. This wasn't the first time Ruby had run away; she'd learned to always be prepared for the most vicariously dangerous of situations. Once she was changed, she went out into Finley's small living room, finding him -- with no surprise -- to be playing another video game.

"Do you just sit there all day?" she asked as she took a seat on the opposite arm chair.

"I take loo breaks," he said. Her eyes landed on the second bedroom door.

"Has Luna come out yet?" she asked.

"Nah. That girl sleeps like a log," he replied.

"Tell me about it," she sighed.

"What's going on with you, then?" Finley asked. Ruby looked at him with surprise.

"You know what's going on with me," she said, "I'm in hiding,"

"I bloody know that," he snapped back, "I mean just in general. How's the group girls doing these days?" 

"Absolutelt atrocious," she groaned, "Just as well, I had to wipe their memories," 

Finley looked at her with surprise, "You've never done the obliviation spell," he said.

"I had to learn for these specific circumstances," she replied. Finley nodded back.

"And Luna, where'd you find her?" he asked.

"Hogwarts, of course," 

"She a Hufflepuff?"

"Ravenclaw," 

"You sure?"

"Positive; unless she's been wearing the wrong uniform and sleeping in the wrong common room for some peculiar reason," she said.

"She seems more like a Hufflepuff," he said.

"Like you?" she asked.

"I wanted Gryffindor," he replied.

"Everybody wants Gryffindor," 

"Except the Slytherins," there it was again, and her mind instantly darted back to Draco. She seriously had to wonder if he even got her letter, or consider the fact that Biscuit may not have made the journey.

"Yep," she sighed.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Nothing,"

"I've known you for years, Ruby. I can always tell when something's upsetting you," he said. Ruby shrugged back.

"I'm under a lot of pressure," she replied.

"It's not just that," he said, "Boy troubles?"

"You could say that," 

"You want to talk about it?"

"Not really," she said, "Could we get some breakfast?"

"There's a McDonald's down the block," he said, "You need some cash?"

Ruby gawked at him, "No. I want you to come with me," she said. Finley looked back at her with wide eyes.

"I'm on level sixteen though," he said. Ruby looked at the screen, where a small avatar with golden blonde hair and dressed like Robin Hood made his way through some lava pit, smiting one-eyed spiders and ogres with a sword much larger then he was.