Ashley Potter

Summary: What would have happened if James Potter had a twin named Ashley? When James dies what would have happened if Ashley stayed alive? Harry would have a family and he would be loads nicer. This is set in the time of the marauders but I don't like Wormtail so he isn't included in it. I hope you like it!

8. Why?

Before Ashley could scream a hand slipped over her mouth and a soft voice told her to be quiet. Then Ashley calmed down because the eyes she was looking into were pools of blue-green seawater.

"Who are you?" She asked quietly.

"I, madam, am Percy Jackson," Percy introduced himself quietly.

"Wow! Really? That's so cool! But, why did you kiss me?" Ashley asked him.

"I didn't kiss you, that was the ghost of sleep he preferred you being awake when I visited," Percy explained.

"Oh, ok," Ashley quickly accepted the information.

"So, why are you here?" Ashley asked.

"I am helping a friend out of a little doozey," Percy replied.

"Really? What kind of doozey?" Ashley asked intrigued.

"Just the normal girl-friend problems doozey," Percy explained.

Ashley thought about this for a little while then said, "If I was still part of Sirius' life I would probably be called his girl-friend," Ashley's face drooped a little here, "But, I'm not. I'm now part of Thierry's life so I'm ok!" Ashley placed a smile on her face.

Percy saw the pained expressions and told her to calm down and that it would be ok. Ashley smiled—a real smile this time—and thanked him.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Ten Minutes Before…

Sirius and James had just finished reading The Lightning Thief and so they sat up and said that's a good book. Percy Jackson looked up at them and then stood up immediately getting a few cracks to happen in his back. Sirius and James winced at the sounds. Percy turned toward them and they looked directly up at him.

"Now that you have read that book, I'm gonna let you know something," Percy told them, "I'm here solely as a person who is supposed to show you that ex-girlfriends really do get on with life and you should follow."

"But—," James started to protest, but Percy held up a hand.

"Follow me," He said calmly.

Lily woke from her dream in the very late hours of the evening and thought about the dream she'd had earlier. "I'm dating James NOT Remus! We really were ONLY studying!" Her thoughts seemed to yell.

Lily looked around wondering if anyone was near her and realized that there were two people, a second year from Ravenclaw and a first year from… is that, Gryfindor? "Oh my gosh! It is! And black hair… Ashley!" Lily thought.

"Why am I in the Hospital Wing?" Lily thought to herself, "I'm not mentally incapable," She thought, "Am I?"

Dawn started to approach and Lily started to feel a lot more sleepy as the light crept in so she turned towards Ashley and quickly fell asleep.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Back In The Present Time…

Percy only needed that long to search Ashley's thoughts—coming out of a book really does give you special abilities—for the memory he knew he would need to show Sirius; that Ashley was happy with Thierry.

He found the most recent memory, one created by her mind of an event that had happened earlier. She was kissing Thierry and then the kiss got deeper.

Percy smiled, "This might make Sirius unhappy, but at least he can see that she has happily moved on."

Percy looked one more time at Ashley to see that she had fallen asleep as he had taken the memory.

Percy looked around before simply gliding through the floor with Ashley's memory locked in his brain.

­­­­­­­­­­­­Percy arrived in the corridor where Sirius and James were waiting for him, two minutes later from when he got the memory.

"I have proof that she is happy with Thierry, Sirius," Percy said then he tuned his mind only on that memory and then he shoved it into Sirius' and James' heads.

As the memory started Sirius watched intently.

Her jet black hair flowing on the pillow underneath her, and Thierry's blonde hair looking as messed up as ever; like he had learned the trait of running his fingers through his hair from James. Then, Thierry leaning forward as he held her gaze intently with his emerald eyes, her similar eyes not being able to look away. Then Thierry's lips on hers, a few seconds later his hands positioned themselves slowly, one moved to her stomach and started stroking softly while the other moved to her neck holding her still. She reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled herself entirely against him; every curve hitting him in just the right spots.

Sirius and James pulled out of the memory with Percy and then James hurried to Sirius telling him it was ok and that Ashley was happy.

"I know she's happy but… Why? Why, did this happen to me?" Sirius exclaimed.

"I don't know," James said as he ran his fingers through his hair.

Sirius and James looked up to find that Percy had disappeared. They looked around but couldn't find Percy anywhere. Instead the saw a teacher walking down the hall. Sirius and James started walking towards the teacher when out of nowhere the teacher stops right in front of them, not allowing them to pass and then raises one arm, "Bada-bing," Raises the other arm, "Bada-boom," Extends both arms straight out and nods, and "I am here!"

"Professor MontRogan?" James asks.

"Wha'd'ya kiddos want?" Professor MontRogan asked impatiently.

"Nothing," Sirius said.

"Then get out of my way!" The professor exclaimed.

Sirius and James quickly moved aside so that Professor MontRogan could pass.

After he had turned the corner at the end of the hallway James and Sirius made their way back up to the Gryfindor common room.

"Why, do you think, is Professor MontRogan so mean?" James asked Sirius once they were in their dormitory.

"I'm not worrying about him right now! I'm more worried about how Ashley looks so happy not to mention the way Percy Jackson just disappeared like that!" Sirius exclaimed.

Thierry made his way up to the Hospital Wing and then he paused at the door, "What am I doing?" He asked himself and then he pushed the door open.

Ashley was sitting up in bed reading a book that she hadn't been able to put down for the last two days in a row, "Ashley!" Thierry called out to her, "How are you doing?"

Ashley looked up at the sound of her name and smiled when she saw Thierry walking over to her, "I'm great now!" She exclaimed.

Thierry sat down on her bed and reached out to her. Ashley leaned into him and smiled.

Thierry turned her around and kissed her gently, this time getting a reaction out of her; a low moan and her moving her arms around his neck pulling closer until there were no gaps between them at all.

Thierry smiled slightly and then kissed her more deeply. Ashley responded with sliding her hands up and down his back. He started sliding his hands up and down her sides.

Ashley pulled away and looked at Thierry for a little while, and then she lay down. Thierry lay down on top of her and started kissing her more fiercely, until Ashley told him to stop.

"Why, Ashley?" Thierry asked her as she sat up making him sit up too.

"We are in a public place, anyone could come in at anytime," Ashley explained.

Thierry did understand why they were stopping; he just didn't want to stop.

Just then Andrea, Amber, and Cherry, followed by the guys burst into the Hospital Wing and crown around Ashley's bed. The girls were all crying and the guys—Sirius, Remus, and James—were each holding one up.

Thierry looked at Ashley shocked and she just put on that "all-knowing" look. Then Ashley looked up at Amber and asked what had happened.

Amber looked at Ashley and burst out into new tears. Ashley looked at Andrea and Cherry but they didn't say anything either. She glanced up at Remus and Sirius, who just shrugged. Finally, she turned to her brother who was silently crying, and then Ashley looked questioningly at him.

Like any good brother he tried to make the news go slow and soft, "Ashley, Mom and Dad," How could he put this, "They… they were murdered by… a guy named Voldemort."

Ashley was shocked and then she started crying, softly at first and then harder than she had ever cried before. She reached out to Thierry who comfortingly kissed her on the forehead and wrapped his arms around her; letting her cry on his shoulder.

Sirius saw this and realized she truly was happy. Then he also realized he was ok with the break-up. Sirius started crying; but not because he was sad. He was happy for Ashley and sad at the same time. She had just lost her parents but she had Thierry to comfort her.

Ashley was still crying when all of her friends stopped. They waited for her to stop crying, and then James walked forward and un-wrapped her from Thierry's grip and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Ashley, I know this is hard. It's hard for me too but now Professor Dumbledore would like us to go to our house and pack up our stuff to be sent to our Aunt's house just across the street. Right now they are just working on building two more rooms in that house," James explained to Ashley, "And Dumbledore told me to tell you that we can bring whoever we want to help us pack it all up."

Ashley's eyes brightened at this news and looked at Thierry who was watching her and nodded. "So, I would be able to take someone to help me?" Ashley asked James to get the facts straight.

"Yeah, but Dumbledore said only one person so, choose wisely," James said glancing around the group and stopping on Thierry.

"I've already chosen Remus to come with us," James told Ashley, "You can choose someone too, to help with packing."

Ashley glanced at Thierry again and then told James what she wanted. "I want Thierry to come with us."

"Ok," James said, "Thierry, Remus, we need to go to Dumbledore now," James said as he helped Ashley up from the bed since Madame Pomfrey had said she could go.

On the way to Dumbledore's office Ashley reached for Thierry's hand and held it tightly in her grip. James and Remus were ahead talking deeply about something.

Ashley, Thierry, James, and Remus made their way up the stairs to Dumbledore's office after giving the password "lemon drops" to the gargoyle outside of the office.

The four kid's stopped just outside of the door and then when James was about to knock on the door, it opened.

"Come in," Dumbledore's voice calmly invited. The group walked through the door and then up to Dumbledore's desk.

Dumbledore started talking, "You four will be going back to Ashley and James' old house to pack all of their belongings up and take it over to their Aunt and Uncle's house across the street."

Dumbledore then stood up and explained that he had arranged for a portkey to arrive at Ashley and James' parent's house at exactly 8:00 the next morning. He then walked over to a cabinet and picked up a white jacket; he explained that this was the portkey and that they should be back in his office at 7:30 the next morning.

Ashley and Thierry parted ways with James and Remus on the way to Gryfindor Tower.

Once James and Remus had walked around a corner Thierry pulled Ashley into a secret passageway that ended really close to the Gryfindor common room. Thierry pulled Ashley into the compartment and they started walking along the corridor inside it. Once they reached the opposite end that led to the common room Thierry turned Ashley around to face him and then he started to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around his neck; he wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her tightly against him.

"I never thought I could be so happy!" Ashley thought to herself and then smiled.

Ashley then pulled away from Thierry and pulled Thierry out of the passageway and into the area right in front of the Gryfindor common room. Thierry quickly pulled her into another kiss just as Sirius was rounding a corner. He stood right there as quiet as possible and watched Ashley and Thierry until he couldn't take it and ran back the way he had come.

Ashley immediately looked toward the corner but no one was there, "Strange," Ashley thought with a puzzled expression on her face. Then Ashley and Thierry headed into the common room.