Red Roses (A Harry Hook x Reader/OC)
A/N: Yall. This chapter is hella long. I hope you all enjoyed it!! If you see any mistakes at all please let me know so I can fix it pronto! This is such a fun story to write and I'm glad people are liking it! If you have any ideas or requests you would like me to add in future chapters, let me know! This is for you guys! <3 :)
Summary: Ruby Hearts, daughter of the infamous Queen of Hearts, was abandoned by her mother when she was young and forced to live with her father, the King of Hearts, in Auradon. Harry Hook himself may be the only one who finds her madness enchanting. Will Ruby find her self falling for the rugged pirate, or will the roses bleed red?
Prologue / Chapter 1 / Chapter 2: The Pool of Tears
It only made perfect, logical sense that Uma, Gil, and Harry managed to weasel their way into every single one of Ruby's classes. Suddenly she wasn't a person made of stone hidden in the back of the class anymore. She had friends. Friends that legitimately either didn't care that she was mildly insane or refused to believe she was crazy at all. Surprisingly, Ruby found herself enjoying her newfound gang of friends.
At first, Ruby thought her little mind palace she enjoyed in Art 101 would be ultimately ruined, but she enjoyed teaching Uma and Harry how to paint and keeping Gil from drinking another bottle of paint. (He claimed the white paint was milk, and continued to drink it all until he got sick.) The boys had even joined the Tourney team, and even though Harry dissed the game everyday, Ruby knew he liked having a way to expel his own frustrations.
Ruby and Uma became close friends after they shared their mutual hatred of Mal. The purple haired girl had given a particularly nasty glare at Uma when Ruby asked if she had disliked Uma.
"Dislike?" Uma had scoffed. "That girl hates me. And trust me when I say the feeling is mutual."
"What happened between you two? Does it...is that why you were crying that day?"
Uma had nodded and told the story of how she earned the nickname Shrimpy from the daughter of Maleficent. The normally calm and collected pirate even broke down into tears, and Ruby had held her in the comfort of Uma's dorm room, consoling the girl like she had wanted to years ago.
But that had been weeks ago. Uma had now made Ruby an official part of her pirate crew, not considering the fact the majority of her crew was still on the Isle, but that didn't seem to bother Uma. The two girls were sitting on the bleachers, waiting for the Tourney game between Auradon Prep and Hogwarts High to start.
"Goddd it's so hot," Uma complained, fanning herself with her hand.
"It's a good thing I told you to ditch all the leather. You'd be fried like a walrus in winter by now if you were still wearing it," Ruby replied, giggling at the thought of a walrus covered in snow.
Uma snorted, "Right. You'd think this place being full of magic, someone would come up with a way to fix the heat."
"Exactly," Ruby nodded in agreement. "This weather is not the best for tea time. Unless it's iced tea. But then it wouldn't really be tea at all would it?"
Uma made a confused yet amused face and jumped in surprise when Auradon's band began to play, trumpets and drums echoing across the field as the Tourney team ran out. The crowd began to cheer and clap, but of course Ruby and Uma were mainly cheering for Harry and Gil.
The game had gone by quickly, Auradon beating Hogwarts High to a pulp, winning 16-3. Of course it was only possible for Ben and Jay to score because Harry was basically mauling down every enemy in his way.
As Uma and Ruby stepped off the bleachers to go find Harry and Gil, they were stopped by Evie, ever present smile on her face.
"Hey!" She greeted cheerfully. "Sorry to bother you, but Ruby I was wondering if you were free Friday?"
"Next Friday?" Ruby cocked her head in question. What was Friday? It would be the 24th of the month then, the only thing she would be doing was-
The 24th.
Friday was Ruby's birthday.
She told only Evie of her dislike for her birthday last year. Why was she bringing it up? Did she tell anyone else?
"U-um, no I wasn't really planning anything I guess. Why?"
"Just checking! Toodaloo!" Evie skipped off, locking her elbow with Doug as the band walked back towards the school.
"What's Friday?" Uma asked Ruby, shaking the girl from her thoughts.
"Oh, nothing important." Ruby dismissed the question. It wasn't a lie.
Just then, Harry and Gil ran up, helmets off and sweating from the game. Ruby somewhat hated her mind for even thinking it, but she couldn't help but find Harry even more attractive after he finished a game. Something about how his muscles glistened, and his blue eyes seemed brighter with the rush of the game-
They were looking at her. Shoot. She had been ogling at Harry for what felt like ages that her mind blocked out any and all conversation around her.
"W-what?" Ruby asked, ignoring the way she felt her cheeks flush when Harry smirked slightly. It was as if the pirate could read her thoughts. How scary that would be.
"Uma just told us about the special Friday," Gil told her, still exuberant even after an exhausting game.
Ruby flashed Uma a glare. Clearly her dismissal of the day didn't work on the girl.
"Tell us, Heart," Ruby felt an involuntary shiver at Harry's given nickname for her. "Wha's so special about that particular Friday, hmm?"
"Honestly, you guys, it's nothing. 'A tea party with iced tea instead of tea tea' nothing," Ruby covered her nose in mock disgust. "Now you two need a serious shower. You smell worse than the freezing walrus."
Jay ran up to the group, having been talking to the coach, and gave a pat on the back to Gil. "Nice work, man! When you dodged that guy in the second half, dude that was epic!" he exclaimed.
"Dude, no way! When you spun off of Ben to make that shot, that was so incredible!" Gil jumped with excitement.
"We totally deserve a celebratory drink for that win. Whaddya say, man? You down?"
"Definitely, dude! I'll catch up with you guys later," Gil said before running off with Jay.
Harry scoffed, and ran a hand through his hair. "Hones'ly. 'S like I didn't just batter down half the enemy's team to win. I LIKE DRINKING TOO!" He yelled towards the boys, though they were already out of earshot.
Ruby giggled while Uma rolled her eyes at her first mate. "You can drink in the shower for all I care, you really smell like dog."
"Ughhh fineeee," Harry complained head thrown back in defeat as they walked back to the dormitories.
It was ritual by now for the gang to meet up in one of their dorm rooms at least once a week for no particular reason other than to be stupid in the confines of their own rooms. Ruby's curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she actually brought four iced teas for the group. Not a one of them enjoyed, especially Gil, who's knack of liking everything had its limits. Uma had the marvelous idea of sneaking into the kitchen, it was late after all and no one would be there. Needless to say, the school food storage needed to be replenished, and soon.
Thursday classes had come and gone, and Ruby's illusion of her vase of roses singing a sweet tune was broken by knocks at her door. She had expected Harry, of all people, but was quite surprised by Ben's form in her doorway. It had been a while since she and been had talked; ever since Uma and the boys showed up and Ben having to take on more kingly activities, there hadn't been much time for the two friends to hang out. Ruby instantly felt guilt at not having at least tried to find time to hang out with her first friend.
"Ben! Hey, what, uh, what can I do for ya?" Ruby asked, pushing down her guilt and putting a smile on her face. Her hair probably looked a mess, and her clothes were most definitely wrinkled, but she knew Ben really didn't care.
"Hey, Ruby. It's been a short while, hasn't it?" He greeted her back. He seemed kind of nervous, his hands wringing together in front of him.
Ruby's guilt instantly resurfaced. "Ben, I'm so sorry-"
"There's nothing to be sorry about, Ruby. I actually came to ask you something," He said, smiling at the shorter girl.
Ruby raised an eyebrow in question.
"I was wondering if you could paint something for me?" Ben asked her, hope in is voice.
"Oh, OH. Yeah, of course, sure!" Ruby paced back into her room excitedly, images already running through her head of what she could paint for Auradon's king. "What were you thinking? Because I've been having this idea of like a half beast thing that-"
"No actually, Ruby uh," Ben's eyes flicked towards Ruby hesitantly, as if he was scared of her. That's odd, Ruby thought.
"I was hoping you could paint Mal for me," Ben finished.
Ruby stopped her mind's ideas and stood frozen on her rug. She looked at Ben somewhat accusingly. "What."
"I know, I know," Ben said, arms out and moving to stand in front of Ruby. "I know you two don't really get along but I want to do something nice for her and she mentioned to me about how all the royalty here have their portraits hanging everywhere and I thought it would be nice if I could do that for her and well you're the best painter there is Ruby and I just-"
"Ben, oh my aces, calm down!" Ruby told him, effectively stopping Ben's rambling. She put a hand to her head. She did have a hatred for Mal, but Ben had tried hard to be Ruby's friend since she was first brought to Auradon. She couldn't just tell him no.
She sighed, "Okay. Okay, I'll do it. But I'm going to need a picture or something. I don't find myself gazing misty eyed at your girlfriend all that much, Mr Benjamin."
Ben had already turned to walk back out of Ruby's dorm. "No, it's okay I get it- wait, you'll do it?" Ruby nodded. "Oh, this is great! Here-" he pulled out his wallet and handed her a picture of said girlfriend. "Thank you so much Ruby. You really are the best."
Ben pulled her in for a hug as she answered with a smile. "No problem."
Friday morning Ruby rolled out of bed sluggishly, gasping when she saw the time. She dressed quickly in a simple red top with black jeans, and threw her long hair up in a pony tail before practically running to her first class. As her classes rolled on, she tried not to think about what shenanigans Evie was up to.
Ever since Ruby had moved to Auradon, her father saw her birthday as a spectacular event. He tried throwing her birthday parties, but of course no one would come. He tried taking her out for ice cream, but it was unbearably hot and the ice cream melted. Birthday's just weren't meant for Ruby. In her time on the Isle, birthdays were treated as every other day, nothing special in it whatsoever. She used to wake up hoping her mother would have something special for her, but Ruby was greeted with the same fear as always. Ruby was used to this, and never saw any importance in her birthday anyway. After all, it was just like every other unbirthday, wasn't it? In her first year at Auradon Prep, Evie had questioned her, claiming it odd a whole year had gone and she never celebrated on any single day. Of course, Evie found out the truth, but Ruby eventually convinced her to not make a big deal out of it, and made the blue haired girl promise to not tell a soul. "No one would want to come to a party for me anyway," Ruby had claimed. "They'll be too scared I'll go off with their tiny hatless heads."
Evidently, this year, Evie had different plans. And Ruby was slightly scared.
Ruby had barely been in her room for five minutes after classes were finished before Evie materialized at her door.
"You, my wonderful friend, are coming with me," the overly excited girl said.
Ruby blindly threw her bag on her bed as Evie grabbed her arm and tugged her along to Evie's dorm. Ruby marveled at the clothes along one of the walls; Evie's room was always filled with outfits she had designed, and they were always incredible.
"Any particular reason you dragged me to your fashion show of a room, E?" Ruby asked, feeling the silk of white skirt with black patterns.
"Yes, actually," Evie answered, grabbing Ruby by the shoulders and spinning her around.
The sight of the dress in front of Ruby made every coherent thought leave her brain.
She must have gasped, or made some sort of awestruck face because Evie smiled and wrapped an arm around Ruby's shoulders. "Do you like it?" the blue haired girl asked.
"Evie," Ruby started, taking slow steps toward the wonder of a ball gown and cautiously ran a hand over the intricate rose design on the front. "I honestly don't have the words. I think the Hare must have put some sort of drug in my tea today. I can't- Evie this is beautiful."
"Good. I'm glad you love it!" Evie clapped her hands excitedly. She walked to the back of the dress and unzipped it from the mannequin. "Now let's get it on you."
"Yes, let's- wait, what?" Ruby shook from her daze.
"Come on, no time to lose. Undress, Ruby!" Evie exclaimed.
Despite Ruby's confusion, she really wanted to wear the gorgeous dress. Maybe this was what Evie was planning. To make a gown for Ruby. Any thoughts about her birthday disappeared once Ruby saw herself in the dress.
Evie danced around her, making last minute adjustments while Ruby gaped at herself in the mirror. Evie stepped away, looking proud. "Give us a spin," she said.
Ruby lifted the sides of the dress slightly and twirled. The gown was light and it swirled around her legs as she came to a stop. Ruby couldn't help the huge smile on her face. "This is so amazing, Evie," she turned to her friend, "but what exactly is this for?"
Evie's eyes sparkled mischievously. "You'll see. Now come, sit."
Ruby did as told, and watched as Evie deftly pinned a braid to the crown of Ruby's hair and brushed the tangles out of the rest. It was when Evie placed a small crown inlaid with a heart-shaped ruby that Ruby became nervous. "Evie, really, what's going on?" she hated how her voice shook with the question.
"Put on these shoes, and let's go find out," Evie answered, handing Ruby a pair of dark red heels.
Ruby quickly slipped on the heels and tried not to trip as Evie rushed her out of the door. She led the girl to what was unmistakably the school's ball room. Ben was waiting outside the doors, dressed immaculately in a deep blue suit. Evie gave him a nod before disappearing, not before smiling widely at Ruby.
"Ben, maybe you'll give me some answers?" Ruby looked up at her friend, and saw the same glint she had seen in Evie's eyes. Ruby was hopeful, clearly Ben wouldn't keep her in the dark, would he? But her hope simmered as Ben kept his mouth loyally shut.
Suddenly, Fairy Godmother opened the doors. "It's time!"
Ben gave a bow to Ruby, gesturing towards the open doors with a hand, "Shall we?"
Ruby hooked her hand onto Ben's outstretched elbow, and he led her through the doors. Ruby put a hand to her mouth to stifle another gasp as they walked out to the top of the ballroom steps.
The filled room collectively yelled "Happy birthday!" upon seeing Ruby enter. She couldn't believe it. There were actual people here, for her.
"Ben, what-"
"Welcome, dear Ruby, to your birthday party," Ben bowed once more. Ruby caught sight of Uma, Gil and Harry at the bottom of the stairs, but her eyes found themselves stuck on Harry.
He was dressed like a gentleman but still looked ruggedly handsome with his black tousled hair and smudged eyeliner, his hook hanging from his belt loop. He winked at Ruby, shamelessly devouring how gorgeous she looked in her ball gown.
Ruby would have been stuck at the top of the stairs all day had Evie not once again materialized next to her, dressed in a beautiful blue gown. She grabbed Ruby's hand. "Come on, it's much more fun at the bottom of these stairs," she whispered to her. They made it to Uma and the boys on the ballroom floor, Evie leaving Ruby with a hug and a "Happy birthday, Ruby" before disappearing to find Doug. Ruby turned towards her gang of friends accusingly.
"Did you guys know?" She asked.
"Since las' week, Heart," Harry answered, ever present smirk on his face.
"Yeah, Evie told us the whole deal and had us outfits made. I honestly didn't think I'd look this good in a dress," Uma said. She was right. Her sea green dress was really alluring.
"This place is so amazing, there's tables full of food!" Gil exclaimed, charming in his suit.
"Guys, I-"
"It's okay, Ruby," Uma assured her, giving her a hug. "It's your first birthday party. Let's have some fun," she smiled and winked at her friend. Ruby hesitantly smiled back.
Suddenly trumpets blared as Ben appeared on the overhead balcony, Mal at his side.
"Thank you everyone for coming! As you all know, today is our very own Ruby Hearts' birthday! I think it's about time we get this party started!" He announced, earning cheers from the crowd.
Ruby just stared, silent and still shocked at the whole ordeal. Were these people really here for her?
"'S alright, Heart," Harry's unmistakable voice whispered behind her. His breath was hot on her ear as he spoke, "You deserve this, lass."
She turned around and saw a genuine smile playing at Harry's lips that somehow eased her own fear. She smiled broadly at the pirate. "Thank you, Harry," she whispered back.
"Whoooo!" Gil's cheer broke the moment, the boy jumped in and began dancing wildly to the music. Laughing, Ruby and Harry joined in, Uma reluctantly joining the sway.
The night flew by, song after song, the gang stayed dancing together the entire time. Ruby could tell it was late in the night, but no one at the party seemed to care. She felt a poke at her shoulder and turned to see Carlos, Jay, and Evie. She gave each of them a hug as they wished her happy birthday.
"Evie, you know I'm so thankful for this," Ruby started, as she waved to Carlos and Jay who were whisked away by the crowd. "But a whole ball?"
"You know I would only have the best for you," She answered, giving Ruby a smile. "Besides, it wasn't just my idea."
Ruby's curiosity was instantly piqued. "What do you mean?"
"Well, Ben and I might have let it slip to Uma and Harry about your birthday coming up and how we really wanted to do something for you and Harry came up with this marvelous idea to have a ball since you're technically a princess so Uma and her gang helped us set all this up and we invited literally the entire school and-"
"Whoa, whoa wait," Ruby interrupted her. "This was Harry's idea?"
Evie nodded right as a slow song started. She was pulled away by Doug but winked at Ruby when she noticed Harry showed up at the girl's side.
"Ruby," Harry greeted, dipping into a bow, amused look on his face. "Will ye do me the 'onor of dancin' with me?" He held out his hand for her to take.
Ruby knew her face was flushed. She was still processing how this was Harry's idea, and what did Evie say about him saying she was a princess? She didn't know if her brain would function enough to be so close to Harry Hook, gazing into his eyes as she danced with him to the slow tune-
Ruby blinked out of her daze. She could do this. Her hand met Harry's outstretched one and his smirk grew to a smile as he pulled her closer. Her breath hitched when his other hand came to her waist, and he immediately pulled her into the dance steps.
"Don't tell me Harry Hook's been taking dancing lessons, now?" Ruby questioned amusingly, fighting down her blush.
Harry spun Ruby with the waltz, pulling her closer so that she could feel his breath when he spoke. "'S almost like sword fighting, really."
A blur of blue captured Ruby's eye, and she craned her neck to peer behind Harry. Uma stood, watching the two dance and Ruby almost missed the wink she gave her. At the food table behind Uma, Ruby caught sight of Gil chugging down the entire punch bowl and Jay seemingly egging him on. She snorted and turned her gaze back to Harry, feeling bold.
"So, Mr. Hook," Ruby danced her fingers up Harry's arm. His jaw tensed ever so slightly. "What's this I hear about you planning this whole thing?"
Harry's ears immediately turned pink. "Well, er," he cleared his throat. "Uma an' Gil came up with the plan too, ye know."
Harry let go of Ruby's hand to come rest at her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck. The waltz was over by now, but neither seemed to notice or care. "How kind," she looked up at the pirate. "You know, this party is kind of for you too," she said.
"How so, Heart?"
"Well, it's my birthday, but that means it's also you're unbirthday! And really that's just as worthy as celebrating in my opinion." Ruby's tone was joking, but Harry's eyes were piercing as they held each other. He moved his head so that his mouth was next to Ruby's ear. Her arms tightened around him, fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.
"Ye've no idea how beautiful ye are, Ruby," Harry whispered, husky voice making a shiver course through Ruby's body. "All these other goons are jealous of my own little princess,"
Her breathing hitched, and she pulled her head back to peer at Harry's face. His eyes seemed filled with that same sensation Ruby felt but couldn't quite name. His striking blue eyes darted to her lips as his left hand cupped her face. Ruby was quite aware of the almost nonexistent space between them, of the erratic beating of both of their hearts. She whispered his name, not believing her eyes as the moment played out.
"UGH! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" a girl's voice yelled, causing Ruby and Harry to jump apart. They shared a look and made their way to were the commotion was.
There was a circle around Uma and Mal, the former's dress covered in punch.
"You ran into me!" Mal yelled at Uma. "Maybe you should watch where you're going!"
"Look, I know time in Boradon has made you insane, but I would think you know how to walk," Uma snapped back, giving up at wiping off punch from her dress.
Mal scoffed. "If you're so uncomfortable here then you should have stayed in that sandbox where you belong!"
In the blink of an eye Uma pounced on Mal, snarling with her arms outstretched. A full on girl fight broke out, hair being pulled and dresses being torn. It lasted all of two seconds before Ben and Gil rushed in pulling the two girls apart. They continued to yell insults at each other, but all Ruby could see was the floor covered in ice. She watched as every step and stomp of feet caused it to move to the brink of shattering. Ruby had had enough.
"STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!" She yelled, effectively surprising and silencing everyone in the room. "It's PUNCH! You're not dying and if you don't stop this petty little fight then the frozen floor with collapse and we'll all be eaten by the Jabborwock!"
"Just as insane as ever! You should have stayed with your crazy mother," Mal scoffed before marching out, Ben casting an apologetic look before running after her. Uma tried to apologize to Ruby, but she couldn't hear a thing over the cracking ice.
"Just-..no," was all Ruby could say before she too left the ballroom. She couldn't make it to her room before the tears came.
She fell down onto her bed, letting the water flow. She knew a party was a horrible idea. No one wanted to be there for her, they were there because it was just a party. Maybe Mal was right. Maybe she should have stayed on the Isle with her mother. Maybe she would have learned how to scare everyone away and build a wall around her heart, so maybe then she wouldn't be hurt as easily.
After what felt like ages, Ruby heard a knock at her door. She sniffled as whoever it was walked in and sat next to her on the bed.
"Tears don't belong on that pretty face, lass," Harry said, pulling Ruby up and wiping said tears from her face. She sniffled as he did so.
"I just don't understand, Harry."
"I know, Heart," he said, sad to see her so upset. "Some things are jus' too hard to understand."
Ruby nodded, her mind just registering her sore feet and legs.
"Oh! I, erm, I've got something for ye, Heart," Harry said, changing the mood of the conversation with just a singe sentence. He had something for her?
"What is it?" Ruby asked, rubbing an eye.
"Well, I've been wanting to give it back to ye for a while, but it jus' never seemed like the right moment," Harry told her, ears turning pink as he pulled out something from behind his back.
It was a little stuffed rabbit.
Ruby gasped, new tears forming at her eyes as she recognized her old toy, the one she had lost that fated day.
"Look at ye, getting all happy over a wee toy," Harry joked, happy to see the light in Ruby's eyes again.
"Harry Hook, you thief!" Ruby exclaimed, tackling the boy in a hug. He fell back on the bed, arms wrapping around Ruby's form.
They laid on the bed holding each other for a while, Harry's hand making mindless patterns on Ruby's scarred arm. Ruby had never been more happy than she was in his arms. What is happening? She thought.
"D'ye think they're mad?" Harry asked.
Ruby wasn't sure who exactly he was talking about. "They can't help it," she answered anyway. "We're all a bit mad here."