Operation D.E
As expected, training continued the very next day. Since the ball, Ashley became somewhat more civil and decent, especially in dressing. She was decked in just a simple pink shirt and blue sailor jeans. In that ensemble, the gang treated her nicer.
"So Argon, spill the beans on last night" Helena and Brian cornered Harry on a tree
"Did she try a move on you?" Brian wiggled his eyebrows
"No, we're friends now" Harry muttered
"No way" Helena said
"Yes way. She told me she was sad when Harry Potter left home. She told me she really did care for him even though she kept quiet" Harry mumbled
"So that's it? You forgive her? Argon permit me to say this but I think you're going soft" Brian said, his eyes full of concern
"What! I haven't gone soft" Harry pushed Brian's shoulder
"Yeah, you used to be so cold and hated her with all your guts, over a night people cant change" Helena said
"When we were young over night we changed from being beat up kids to being powerful people with a new identity" Harry pointed out
"True, but this is different" Brian said
"How is this different? I forgave her overnight just like I escaped home overnight." Harry said and he stomped off from the scene angrily
He walked over to the training grounds grumpily and bumped into none other that Ashley
"Hey, what's wrong?" Ashley asked
"Nothing" He didn't want to discuss this right now
"Come on, tell me" Ashley tugged on his arm
"Look just because you and I bridged some gaps doesn't mean we're the best of friends!" Harry shouted at her.
"Its because of your friends isn't it?" Ashley sadly asked
"None of your business, get out of my way" Harry pushed her away and stalked off
"You know, for a moment there, I actually thought we could have been the best of friends" Ashley tearfully said
"Well guess what? You thought wrong" Harry spat down and jogged off, leaving Ashley to cry all by herself
Harry's conscience caught up with him 10 seconds later while jogging around the lake. He felt bad for treating his sister badly. None of it was her fault and she was just trying to be polite. He stopped and looked at his reflection at the water
"I'm not going soft, just because I've made a new friend doesn't mean I'm going soft. I'm still the old, rough going Argon."
"She didn't deserve to be treated that way. She's your sister, she cares about you"
"No, she cares about Argon. She asked how Argon was doing"
"Why are Helena and Brian dong this?"
"You've got to go and apologize"
"Then they'll say I'm going soft again"
"Who Cares?"
Harry's mind and his conscience were in a fierce battle. He considered all options and decided to say sorry to Ashley. Who cares what they all thought? They didn't know how he felt
Just then, he heard the voice of Dumbledore rallying them up. Harry ran over to him
"Sit down, we have important news to tell you" Dumbledore announced. Everyone sat down. Harry tried to catch Ashley's eyes but she kept her eyes fixed on the grass. Harry angrily faced Dumbledore
"Now, the order has found out about a secret death eater base camp 20 miles northwest of Hogsmeade." Dumbledore started
"It is very much necessary to infiltrate it so as foreplay to the final battle, I have decided to let you all go on and destroy the base" Dumbledore beamed
"Meaning the six of us, right?" Lachine asked
"No, I mean to include your three new comrades" Dumbledore said
"Don't you think it's quite risky to let Ashley go along?" Green asked
"No, I can do it" Ashley coldly said
"No way, we can't take that risk" Harry angrily said
"Yes, if she gets caught then it's all over" Hermione said
"I won't get caught" Ashley fought back
"You haven't been as much um…active in training…you can't go!" Neil furiously said
"I will go. It's my fault they have a base near Hogwarts. I will go" Ashley said. Everyone knew it was a done deal.
"That's the spirit" Dumbledore jovially said
--
"You can't really be letting her go!" Harry argued with Count Lodes when they were safely back in their rooms
"Actually my first idea was just the six of you. You know Dumbledore; he wants glory for the school. He said it was his order who found out so I couldn't do anything" The count said
"Sir, you know how Ashley is, I couldn't be surprised if her foot can get caught in a mud puddle" Neil said
"Sir the whole point of this is preserving her for the final battle, this goes against everything we've been preparing for" Lachine cried
"I can't do anything now" The count said
"You have got to find a way. She'll jeopardize the whole mission" Green said
"We can get this over with in a flash. She'll slow us down" Brian said
"I'm sorry. You just have to make do with what you have" The count stated, signifying the conversation to be over
"But…"
"You will be briefed on the mission tomorrow at Dumbledore's office. Good day" The count said as he walked out of the room
"He can't really be serious?" Brian asked Luciana
"I'm afraid he is. As it turns out, Dumbledore wanted his order to go to the base. The count said you were up for the job and Dumbledore agreed on the condition that you take her with you" Luciana sighed
"This is plain stupidity" Green cried
"I don't know what's gotten on Dumbledore, doesn't he see the risk?" Harry asked
"No, I'm afraid there's more matters on his head right now, like the coming battle" Luciana said and she followed the count outside
--
"So you're really going to bash some death eaters?" Lavender asked
"Yeah" Ashley sighed
"That's so cool, so why don't you look happy?" Parvati inquired
"I just had a bad day" Ashley frowned. She didn't want her friends to know all about her big fuss with Argon
"Well, get all the badness away! You're going to be fighting some baddies! Cheer up" Lavender urged
"A battle where blood is spilled has nothing to be cheery about" Muttered Ashley
"When it's death eater blood, you can spill all you want" Parvati joked and Ashley stared at her really long
"What is the matter with you Ashley? Two days ago you would have jumped all over the castle for a chance like this" Lavender stopped her walking
"Nothing" Ashley mumbled
"It's never anything"Parvati said"Its Argon right?"
"How'd you know?" Ashley took her friends for complete simpletons but how did they know?
"I'm a real reader! I know how to tell a girl's face when it's a guy problem" Parvati proudly said
"I wouldn't call it a real boy problem" Ashley muttered
"What happened? Last night you were all gushy about his and your friendship and now…what has happened?" Lavender stomped her foot
"We had a fight. I asked him what's wrong and he told me to back off" Ashley screamed, tears spilling all over her face
"Oh" Was all they said
"I thought we were okay. But now I know he just pitied me. It's so wrong!" Ashley continued her rant
"Now that I'm approaching an exciting moment in my life he had to just piss me off" Ashley cried
"I know what you could do" Parvati whispered
"What?" Ashley softly said
"Make peace" Lavender said
"What?"
"You and he settle some things! You'll never finish this mission successfully if you have a wall between you" Parvati said
"Your right, but I don't do the making peace, I never do! I'm Ashley Potter and I say he's the one who has to apologize"
--
The next day…
"Okay, what's this mission you told us about?" Harry rudely asked Dumbledore
"My order has found a death eater base not that far from Hogsmeade." Dumbledore said
"Yes, yes, and you want us to infiltrate it…. Give us details!" Brian said
"Fine, the entrance is a giant oak tree. Three of you have to stand guard outside while the rest of you go in. There are about 4 death eaters residing in the hideout so you have to be ready" Dumbledore said
He flicked his wand and out came a map of the forest. There was the oak tree and behind it, the hideout. He gave his wand another flick and then names formed in the map. That was their positions. The mission was fairly easy
"The most important thing is that no one gets left behind" Dumbledore gravely said
"We'll do our best not to" Lachine loudly hissed, looking pointedly straight at Ashley, who slightly squirmed in discomfort
--
"This reeks! The first mission in days and we have to be accompanied by a bozo" Helena grumpily said
"Lighten up, at least we get some hands on experience" Neil playfully slapped her shoulder
"It'll be hands-off when she comes along" Harry joked while putting away some of his things in a shelf
"Look, we just have to look at the bright side. She can be used as distraction" Brian gleefully said
"Some kind of distraction! Distractions are supposed to be agile, flexible people who can run!" Lachine huffed
"Running for her is walking briskly in heels" Green rolled her eyes
"Which means we're done and so doomed even before the mission has started" Harry loudly said, which made everyone look his way and nod
"Oh my god, it will be like the first time in 5 years I will be likely to lose a mission" Helena said in a panicked manner
"Tell me about it" Neil muttered
"We best get some sleep, who knows what time the mission will go start?" Luciana called to them all
--
"Okay, these are the things we put in your sports bag for the mission" Lavender pushed a piece of parchment close to Ashley's nose
"Sun block, insect repellant, extra socks, lip gloss, fan, a pocketknife, wallet, camera, active drink, extra shirt, extra pants, blush on, foundation, mirror, hair shine, health comb, head band and a magazine in case you get bored" Ashley read off the things in the parchment
"So, what do you think?" Parvati asked
"I think I'm ready. I just need to throw in my perfume and I am all set" Ashley smiled
"The question now is what to wear?" Lavender asked. Ashley looked horrified. She had been so busy she actually forgot to pick what to wear!
"They said black or some other camouflage color" Ashley said calmly
"Then we shall look"
The next few minutes they spent looking through Ashley's wardrobe. They tried things on and took it off, never satisfied. At last, they came upon a great outfit. It was a black cashmere sweater paired with pink and brown camouflage cargo pants. The shoes were green pump shoes
"You look darling" Lavender gushed
"Yeah, totally chic" Parvati agreed
"Sassy yet dangerous" Ashley put on a pair of black sunglasses and observed herself in the mirror. She held out her hand and Parvati handed her a pink sports bag
"You're totally ready" Lavender nodded
"I know, now I just need some beauty sleep" She put on her baby blue glittery eye mask and blew off the candlelight
"Yeah, rule number one in beauty says that you need to look your best every time because you don't know what or who may come along" Parvati said and winked
"Yeah…wait! Isn't that the number one rule in life?" Ashley lifted off her eye mask in a shocked way
"Oh yeah! I totally forgot" Lavender put her palm to her mouth
"Lets get some shut-eye" Ashley said and she closed her bedpost curtains
"Night"
--
"My Lord, what are we going to do, we have to preserve that base" A snake hissed as it put its head on a man's lap
"I already told everyone to set up defenses. There may be a fuss but we'll surely win it" The man confidently said
"You can't be too sure" The snake said
"This time, I can" The man grinned evilly
--
A/N
I know. This isn't my best chapter! I know! It's kind of poorly written! Bash all you want! But keep it decent! I've been really busy so I'm sorry if this is all I can give. Do you think I should stop updating?
Anyway, in case you like my story, next update is on JANUARY 31 2008. Sorry for the long wait but so many projects are piled up.
Please Review!