After Voldemort finally dismissed her, Ash could have cursed herself. How could she have let that freak get to her? How could she let her feelings slip and take control of her? Shaking her head violently, Ash let her arm pull backwards and let her hand rush into the nearest wall.
"Ouch!" she whined pulling her hand back. "Bloody..." she muttered shaking out her hand again. "Note to myself... Punching a wall equals pain."
"What are you doing there?" a familiar voice asked from somewhere to her left.
Quickly her head snapped towards the side. "Chase!" she gasped, "I-" she said, looking at the wall and her throbbing hand, "Well, I had a little misunderstanding with the wall, it stood in my way."
Chase raised an eyebrow at her before a grin appeared on his face. "If you say so. By the way, I wanted to inform you that the others and I are going to a party tonight. We wanted to ask if you'd care to join us."
Ash looked at her friend with a frown, "I don't think that would be such a good idea," she said, "the Dark Lord wants to keep my joining as a secret." Without glancing at her friend, she walked away from him, only wanting to be alone right now.
"Ash! Wait!" She heard Chase call after her. Inhaling deeply, Ash slowed down and looked over her shoulder, anticipating his next words. "I'm happy to see that you're alive and healthy!" he said, walking up to her and hugging her tightly. "I was really worried about you."
Stiffening at his touch, Ash nodded before hugging him back. "I know you did," she sighed, closing her eyes and enjoying the physical, innocent touch of another human being, something that she didn't really have for a couple of months now. "Do you really have to go to that party?" she asked softly, whispering into his ear.
Chase stayed silent for a few moments before shaking his head 'no'.
Smiling Ash nodded and took a hold of Chase's hand, leading him to her room.
"Sit down," she ordered and pointed him towards her couch, where she sat down herself.
"What do you want?" Chase asked as he got comfortable on the couch. He knew her well enough to know what she wanted and intended the whole time, but he wanted her to ask him.
"You know what I want," she sighed. "I want to know everything... What happened the night I disappeared? What happened while I wasn't there? What do you know of my family? Tell me!"
Chase swallowed hard, she never was the type to beat around the bush and now she had so many questions...
"Where should I start?"
"Start at that night."
"But I can only give you my perspective," he warned her. "I lost sight off Blaise and Tracy along the way, so when I don't mention them, I have no idea what they were doing," he said, stopping her interrupting the story before he even started it.
"Where to begin?" he muttered. "Well," he started, "I was sitting on one of the couches in the common room during the party, talking to Isabel, when Blaise walked up to me, looking as if he was searching for something…"
"Chase!" The dark skinned boy with the chocolate eyes called over the loud music that was buzzing through the room. Turning to look at the other boy, Chase smiled and greeted him. "What's up?" "Have you seen Ash?" Blaise asked, not looking at Chase, but still scanning the room for the strawberry blond girl. "No, sorry man, but wasn't she with you the whole time?" "No... well, most of the time, but she suddenly disappeared," Blaise said sounding worried. "Oh, don't worry. Ash is a big girl, she can take care of herself." "I know... but I just have this feeling that something is terribly wrong," Blaise sighed and looked around the room again, concern shining in his eyes. Frowning, Chase stared up at the boy and nodded, "I'll help you search," Chase said quietly, standing up and clamping one of his hands over the other boys shoulder. "Where did you last see her?" "At the fireplace." "And you checked everywhere for her?" "Yes... except for the dormitories, but why ever would she be there?" Chase shrugged his eyes venturing around the room, "Mal- Maybe she was tired..." "That's not what you wanted to say right now. What is it?" Blaise asked giving his friend the evil eye. Chase gulped and looked away, "I can't see Malfoy anywhere either..." he answered softly. "She's not with him, if that is what you wanted to incline," Blaise glared. "I know... but maybe we should check the dormitories just to make sure..." Blaise fumed at him and snarled, "No, if we go there we're just going in order to prove you wrong." Together the boys walked up to Tracy who had been searching for Ash as well and told her to check the girls dormitory, while the two of them looked into every room of the boys dormitories. After a couple of minutes, the three of them met up again and found their search unsuccessful. "See, I told you she wouldn't be there," Blaise sneered at his friend. "But we haven't found Malfoy either," Chase sneered back. That statement made Blaise flip. He roared at Chase and pushed the now trembling boy against the cold stone wall. "She is not with him!" he hissed at him. Suddenly he felt a hand touch his shoulder and as he checked to see who it was, he saw Tracy shaking her head. Grunting, Blaise gave Chase one last rough shove against the rough wall and then let him slide to the ground again. Chase didn't say anything, only got off the ground, afraid that Blaise would flip again. "Hey, I heard that you guys were looking for Weasley," a voice suddenly interrupted and three heads snapped at it simultaneously. "Did you see her?" Blaise asked, looking at the girl in front of him. "Well, I haven't seen her in a while, but I saw her run out of the common room, shortly after Malfoy slipped away." As the girl mentioned Malfoy, Chase looked at his friend quickly and nearly felt how Blaise fell into a black pit. "Thank you," Tracy growled swiftly and dismissed the girl, while her hand grabbed Blaise's arm. Facing Blaise, Tracy said, "Blaise, snap out of it. She's not with that git." "How do you know? I mean, what if we thought wrong and she isn't over him?" he said sinking into himself. "Tracy's right, she isn't with him, I'm sure of it. She kissed you, didn't she?" Blaise looked over at Chase with an hurt expression, "Weren't you the one who suggested it all the time?" "Yes, but I was joking," Chase sighed and shook his head...
"And then it happened..." Chase said softly, his eyes travelling to the blond girls.
"What happened?" her melodic voice inquired.
Chase looked at her a bit longer, not saying a word, before sighing and continuing.
A loud noise, a noise loud enough to overshadow the music that was blasting, interrupted the party. It was one of the strangest noises that the Slytherins had ever heard, like a screech of some sort. They turned out the music and suddenly a voice bombarded through the common room and spoke to them, it was McGonagall's voice. Suddenly they heard the crashing of things against the walls and the clashing of metal against stone, voices... a maniac laugh... Then Blaise jumped into action and raced towards the door. "What are you doing?" Tracy called after her friend in despair. "Ash is out there," the dark skin boy called back and Tracy sprang into action as well, following the other boy.
Chase stopped talking.
"And then?" the girl inquired, afraid for her friends.
"... I don't know..."
Ash frowned at him in confusion.
"I... I wanted too, really... but... didn't follow them..."
"Oh," was all she answered and looked away.
"But they weren't harmed in any way," he swiftly added, feeling a bit guilty for his lack of action. "They came back after about an hour or so, with a defeated look, but otherwise unharmed. They told us that the Death Eaters had attacked the castle. They told us that Dumbledore had been murdered, that Malfoy had provided them with a route in and that they escaped, taking you with them..."
Ash sat there in silence as she tried to digest the new information.
"Ash..." Chase said quietly, trying to get a hold of her hand, but she pulled her hand away.
"Please, I need to be alone for a bit," she said softly and stood up from where she had been sitting and walked to the window back turned to him. She didn't even look back once she heard the door open and close again.
She knew that she would have to talk to Chase later on again, to get more information, but right now she couldn't stand any company, except for maybe Blaise's... but what were the chances of ever having him near her again?
Standing at the window, Ash stared out into the darkness of the night, a tear running over her cheek as she let her hand reach out and lightly touch the cold window.
A couple hours later, Ash was still standing in front of her window, marvelling at the gardens that surrounded the Manor, beautiful even at night.
She had seen Nott and Greengrass sneaking out of the house at one point and watched as they ran through the garden until they disappeared in a small labyrinth.
She had watched the fireflies quiver into life and dance around the gardens. Smiling softly at the sight, Ash remembered the night she had been surrounded by thousands of fireflies. The night she had come to the Clearing of Sibyl.
Turning her back towards the window, Ash looked around the room she stood in. It was a nice room, comfortable of sorts, but she couldn't help shake the feeling that it was her jail cell. That she was trapped and would never be able to run free again.
Of course, she could walk around the world freely, there were no chains binding her - with a sigh she glanced at the vibrant red sign on her forearm and caressed it lightly - but this was worse then chains and imprisonment.
Swallowing hard, Ash suddenly felt the dire need to run, run as fast as she could, faster than her legs allowed.
Swiftly she raced to the door of her room, threw it open and ran down the corridors and stairs until she pushed through the doors that led towards the garden.
Suddenly she ran, fleeing from the place she could never escape from, a place worse than Azkaban. Once she reached the labyrinth, Ash morphed into the shape of an wolf and near to flew through the passageways.
At one point she stormed past Theodore and Daphne - who were in a quite stingy position. But she ignored them as she ignored the way she had already come. All she wanted to do right now was run, run as fast as her wolven legs could take her, run as far as she could possibly go.
Everything around her grew silent. The moans of her former friends long gone, the wind's whistles stopping as she slowed to an halt.
She lay down in the middle of the labyrinth and let the nature surround and engulf her. Laying there, she gave a small yawn and drifted into a pleasant, dreamless sleep.
A smell entered her nostrils and made the wolf's head snap up, she knew that smell, but she couldn't quite grasp from where she knew it. A smell that was calling her to it. It beckoned her to follow it as it swooned her softly and silently. It smelled of wood and grass with a hint of magic in it. It was a smell that filled her with hope and happiness.
Hastily the wolf stood up from where she had been lying and let her legs carry her along.
When she neared the source of the smell, she slowed down and anxiously took step after step until she reached the clearing where the smell was coming from. A bright light was coming from the clearing and nearly blinded the eyes that were currently accustomed to the darkness of the night.
She knew this place, she was here before...
Step for step, she neared the clearing and soon she found herself entering the small patch of light in the dark.
What she saw made her hold her breath. In the middle of the clearing was a small pond, which sparkled and glowed. All around it stood creatures of magic, so pure that it made her knees buckle. A small herd of Unicorns with fur that twinkled like stars, a beautiful elf that was presenting them with water from the well and all around them millions and millions of little fairies fluttered around the whole clearing like fireflies lightening up the air.
Taking in the scene before her eyes she willed herself to transform back into her human form and stepped into the clearing. Nothing had changed since her last visit here in the Clearing of Sibyl.
As one the heads of the Unicorns turned, the elf stared and the fairies started to swarm around her. The fairies swooshed around the girl, poking her sides, tickling her with small hands.
Hello, she sighed softly, smiling at the winged creatures. They seemed curious of the creature that just stepped into their clearing, swirling around her like a small tornado. They touched her face and pulled at her clothes, stroked her hair and kissed her face.
Not uttering a word, the fairies pulled the newcomer towards the pond and let her sit down while they braided her hair and played with her clothes.
After a few minutes the elven women, with pure white hair that glistened in the fairies lights like a diamond, made her way over to the girl.
Welcome back, Ash Weasley. I didn't expect you here again so fast, the elf said curiously as she sat down next to her.
Isn't this clearing in the forbidden forest? Ash asked confused.
No, this place can be reached by many different places, the elf explained mysteriously. You have questions that need answering, I presume.
Thinking of Blaise and Tracy, Ash nodded her head slowly and moved to look into the water, that the elf was holding in her hands. But this time, instead of only showing her the happenings, she was sucked into the liquid, like she would have been into an pensive.
She was standing in front of the Hogwarts lake, facing the school. Hundreds of golden chairs had been set out in rows, with an aisle running down the centre of them. Looking just behind her, she saw a marble table standing at the front, all chairs facing it. An extraordinary assortment of people had settled into half of the chairs: shabby and smart, old and young. Most of them she did not recognize, but there in the front row, she saw a delegation of the Ministry of Magic and at the end of the row, beside the lake, she saw Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny sit down. A few rows behind her family, she saw Tracy and Blaise sit with solemn faces. People were whispering to each other and Fawkes could be heard singing aloud. At the edge of the forest, Ash even saw the Centaurs stand and watch the lake in silence. A bit confused at what was happening, Ash looked at both her family and friends longingly and took a couple of steps towards them, but suddenly strange music erupted around her, and as she turned to look where it came from, she saw the Merpeople performing on the lake. The tune of the music clenched at her heart and squeezed it tightly and at that moment she knew where she was standing. Promptly she turned to look down the aisle and nearly choked when she saw a crying Hagrid walk up the aisle between the chairs, crying and carrying Albus Dumbledore's body wrapped in purple velvet spangled with golden stars. Biting back tears, she watched the procession walk towards her solemnly. Soon Hagrid passed her and placed the body upon the table in front, where a little tufty-haired man in plain black robes appeared and stood in front of Dumbledore's body, giving a speech that no one really paid attention too. Once the man finished speaking, bright, white flames erupted around Dumbledore's body and the table upon which it lay: higher and higher they rose, obscuring the body. White smoke spiralled into the air and made strange shapes. When the fire vanished, in its place was a white marble tomb, encasing Dumbledore's body and the table on which he had rested. There were a few more cries of shock as the centaurs sent a shower of arrows through the air as a sign of respect, but they fell far short of the crowd. With one final glance at her family and friends, Ash felt the scene vanish and be replaced by another. Harry was standing at the Astronomy Tower together with Hermione and Ron. "Do you think he would have done it?" Hermione asked softly, standing next to Harry. "Who?" "Draco." "No, he had already lowered his wand," Harry explained without emotion, "It was all Snape. All the time... it was Snape... I should have done something!" Looking at the locket in his hands, Harry gave it to Hermione, "Its a fake. Open it." Ash neared the pair and looked over Hermione's shoulder reading the note she had found inside. "Who's R.A.B.?" "No idea, but whoever it is has the real Horcrux..." Silence filled the air again. "You know.. Ron say that he's alright with you and Ginny." Harry smiled, "I don't think we should start anything yet, Ginny and me... Not until this is over. I have to finish what Dumbledore started. I don't know where the road will lead me, but I will write you whenever I can." Hermione looked at Harry in disbelieve. "You know I always admired your bravery, but sometimes you really are thick. You can't really think that you can do this without us, do you? Find all the Horcruxes and destroy them by yourself? " Shaking her head Hermione added, "You need us Harry." Harry looked at Hermione and Ron and laughed, "I guess you're right." Again the scene changed and she found herself with Blaise and Tracy in Blaise's room. "What should we do now?" he asked pacing his room, while Tracy was sitting on his bed. Tracy watched the boy, staying quiet. She had no idea what they should do. "The Dark Lord will try to recruit us soon, I know it... What if we-?" "Don't even think about it, Blaise. Ash would kill us if we even thought about joining the Death Eaters, even if its just in order to free her from their clutches," Tracy cursed glaring at Blaise. "But what if they torture her? Or make her join them by force!" Blaise asked, despair in his voice. "No chance that she would ever join them, you have to be willing to accept the mark, Chase told us that, didn't he?" Tracy said, and Ash inhaled sharply, clutching her left forearm tightly to her chest in guilt. "Yes... I guess you're right...But what should we do?" "We should probably join forces with Potter," Tracy suggested slowly, standing up and pacing the room as well, "We wouldn't have to make it official. Say that we are neutral ground and sneak them information. Such as in which Manor Ash is held captive and when would be a good time to free her..." she planned. "And how are we supposed to get this information without being Death Eaters ourselves?" Blaise asked annoyed. "Chase. He always had a soft spot for me, you know that," Tracy said with a straight face... The scene changed again, this time only flickering in and out, her friends and her family together in a room of the Leaky Cauldron, shaking hands.
I know that I'll be dead long before you read this, but I want you to know that it was I who discovered you secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you have found your match you will be mortal once more.
R.A.B.
Ash was ripped out of the memories by a sharp pain that rushed from her left arm and through her whole body.
Panting she jumped away from the waters edge and stared at her left forearm, where the Dark Mark was burning black.
Thank you for letting me see this, Ash said in her mind softly, before rushing out of the clearing and apparating to her master's call.
"You summoned me, master?" she said, rushing into his study, sweat on her brows and kneeling before him.
"Where were you?"
"I was taking a walk in the labyrinth," she said, making sure that her mental guards were up and running.
Glaring, the Dark Lord made a slashing movement with his wand and a sharp pain cursed through her right side as her skin slashed open, blood running down her arm freely. "Don't leave the house ever again, not without asking my permission first," he growled and dismissed her.
"Yes, my lord," she said submissively and walked out off the room, cradling her bleeding, ripped arm.
Once she healed it, she went to her room and sat on her bed, staring at the Dark Mark on her arm, which was still pitch black, sucking in all light around it. Theoretically, she could walk around the world freely, there were no chains binding her, but this was worse than chains and imprisonment.
Through this sign, He could reach her whenever he wanted. He could summon and control her whenever he wanted. Through this sign, He became her master and she became his subject. She knew that now. She knew that she could never escape his clutches, but - she promised herself - she would fight him until the very end.
