Disclaimer: Ashlina is mine. The rest is J K Rowling's.

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Ashlina got dressed, as soon as she got up and decided to write a letter to Draco's parents, asking them whether or not she was allowed to stay there in the holidays. Pondering what to write in the letter, she then decided on it.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy,

I just wanted to write this letter to ask if I was going to stay in the Malfoy Manor over the holidays. Draco was rather rapt this morning, and I didn't realise why. But I guess it must be from the holidays approaching, right?

Sorry for the short letter,

Best wishes,

Ashlina Blake

After she had written the last word, Ashlina rolled the piece of parchment and decided to head to the Owlery.

Whilst she was heading there, she saw Peeves zooming around, trying to cause as much chaos as possible by painting the suits of armour a yellowy colour, which gave them the impression of having been struck by Bubotuber pus. Narrowly avoiding being splattered by yellow paint, she savoured the fresh air as she exited the building.

As soon as Ashlina had reached the Owlery, she looked around for her pet owl, Paxo. Locating it, she whistled for it to come over. When the owl landed on her arm, she whispered, "Take this to the Malfoy Manor, 'kay?" When she saw him blink, she released him out of the window and into the grounds, savouring the smell of freedom.

She heard the door open and immediately, her red head whipped round to catch sight of who had entered.

It was Cedric Diggory.

Ashlina had nothing to do with Cedric, but a lot of females kept talking about how 'good-looking' and 'gorgeous' he was, and by looking at him now, she could tell why. Dressed in a simple white tracksuit hoodie with matching bottoms, his good looks somehow still shone through. With a dashing smile, he addressed her.

"Hey."

Ashlina blushed lightly and inwardly cursed herself for showing a bit of emotion. Damnit, Ash! You're a Slytherin, remember? You're not supposed to be showing any emotion!

"Uhm, hi."

Cedric looked out the window into the far plains beyond. "This is a good day to set the owls out, right?"

Ashlina nodded. "Yeah, it's good for playing Quidditch as well". Looking towards the door, she inwardly hoped that no-one else would come here. Sure, she had nothing against Cedric, but she didn't want anyone to see a Slytherin get all sappy because of a Hufflepuff. Most of the Slytherins she knew never displayed any affection for anyone else.

Cedric turned his head towards her and smiled his trademark smile. The owl he set free hooted as it flew to its destination. "Want me to walk you to the Great Hall? The speech should be starting soon".

Ashlina couldn't think of anything to say, and before she knew it, blurted out, "Sure, okay". Smiling at the behaviour of Cedric, who had opened the Owlery door and allowed her to exit first, Ash walked beside Cedric as they set off for the Great Hall.

After an awkward walk, which was mostly engrossed in silence, save for one or two snippets of speech, the two had reached the Great Hall. The majestic doors opened of their own accord, and both Ashlina and Cedric stepped into the Hall, which was packed with students seated around their House tables.

Most of the students began to look towards the doors, to check who had entered the Hall, and some of the shorter ones had even began to stand up. It wasn't until Ashlina met the stony stare of Draco Malfoy, that she felt nervous.

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A farewell speech later, and Ash was in her dorm, doing a last minute check-up that she had all the essentials locked up in her trunk, and her owl was safe in its cage. She had received a reply from the Malfoys, which told her that she could stay there for the holidays. Feeling content about the trip, Ash decided to leave for the Slytherin common room.

However, as soon as she descended from the steps, Ash could already tell that someone was waiting there. Sure enough, her theory was correct when she saw Draco waiting there, with his arms folded and his face still bearing the stony stare that he wore in the Great Hall. Before Ashlina had time to even utter a word, Draco cut in.

"You're coming to my house. Did you know that?" He asked, and didn't show any expression.

Ashlina hesitated slightly. "Yes … I did know that". She felt like saying something, preferably to ask him why he felt that way, when he cut in once again.

"You were with a Hufflepuff", he said, with his back to Ashlina. "That's not good for our status".

Ashlina felt anger prickle inside, and unexpectedly blurted out. "Yeah, that's all you care about, isn't it? Your status", she said, using quotation marks. "You don't want me to chat to him, just because he's a Hufflepuff, is that right?"

Without waiting for an answer from Draco, Ash carried on. "Listen, Draco. If that's what it takes to make a creditable Slytherin, then maybe I'm not one", she said, feeling uncomfortable inside. If the other Slytherins knew about what she had just said, than she would have a grudge with most of them, for sure.

Draco did nothing but glare at her, and finally muttered, "You disgust me", and stalked off. This left Ash with a guilty conscience of aggravating Draco, and her eyes began to swim with tears. Her holidays were not going to be as fun as she thought, if her and Draco didn't talk.

But, her holidays were going to differ, in a way that Ash would wish that she was back at Hogwarts.

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Author's Note: Hey, I'm sorry I never updated, but I've had a lot going on. If anyone's reading this, can you review? Constructive criticism accepted! XD

Until then, read & review amigos!

Ash XX