New Beginning- Ashleys Story

by JennTH

Voldemort is dead, and a new group of students are ready to take on Hogwarts. Sequel to New Beginning which takes place after the Battle of Hogwarts. This is continued through Ashley's point of view instead of four different ones. Eventually, I'll have the other characters stories up too. OC's so you might not like it.

14. Summer Before Sixth Year

Warning: Likely drinking and sexual content

summer before sixth year

"Could you stop your pacing?" Jaime said to me irritably one Saturday morning as I paced around the kitchen. "You're making me nervous."

"My results should be here any day," I told her as I sat down.

"Pacing isn't going to make them come any faster," she said.

"I know," I muttered. "I'm just nervous. I know I failed Arithmancy, but I think I passed my other classes."

"Believe me I understand," she said. "I felt the same way when I was waiting for my exams. Except I did fail them."

"School was never your thing, though," I said. "You're doing well with the restaurant, though."

"Better than I expected, even mum is happier now," she said.

"That's good. She hasn't been too happy with us the last couple of years," I said. "Maybe once she sees my OWL results she might lay off a bit on me."

"I think she just misses us," Jaime said. "I haven't been around as much, and you're gone all the time. She's been happy lately because Rachel's been bringing Hayden over quite a bit."

"He's definitely magical," I said as I thought about my Godson.

Rachel had been bringing him over almost every day for me to see him. He would be a year old in September. I witnessed him during our first meeting levitating a few blocks while he cried. When I asked my mum if I'd done that as a baby, she'd said no. So I wondered if it meant that he was going to be a powerful wizard since he was showing magical signs so early.

"Yeah I know," Jaime said. "At least Rachel knows you; it probably would have freaked her out otherwise."

"And she plans to tell him all about the magic as he grows up," I said. "So it won't be a surprise. You're not disappointed that she picked me, are you?"

Jaime shook her head. "You're the best one for him to be honest. Besides, I have a Goddaughter now. Hey look!"

She was pointing at the kitchen window were an owl was standing. I rushed over to let it in. I knew it had to be results. Anyone who would want to write to me would use the message parchment. It was an official looking envelope. I let the owl nibble on some of the bread we had on the table before it took off. I opened the envelope and pulled out the letter.

Ordinary Wizarding Level Results

Pass Grades: Outstanding (O) Fail Grades: Poor (P)

Exceeds Expectations (E) Dreadful (D)

Acceptable (A) Troll (T)

ASHLEY NICOLE DUNNING HAS ACHIEVED:

Ancient Runes: E

Arithmancy: P

Astronomy: A

Charms: O

Defense Against the Dark Arts: E

Divination: E

Herbology:E

History of Magic: A

Potions: E

Transfiguration: E

"You did really really well," Jaime said who was reading over my shoulder.

"But I failed Arithmancy," I said.

"Look, I don't know much about OWLs but it looks as if you passed the rest of the classes," she said. "Do they really grade people with Ts?"

"I suppose so," I said. "I bet Maisie got all Ts."

"Well you only failed one class out of ten," she said.

"I know, but I wanted it to at least get an A in Arithmancy. It feels like I wasted my time in the class now," I said.

"Can you retake classes?" She asked.

"I could, but I am not going to," I said and when I thought about it, it was actually a relief.

"I'm going to go up and tell my friends my results," I told her and I hurried to go up to my message parchment.

I wondered if they had already gotten their results. I unrolled my message parchment to find that Ben had already written to me. He'd gotten O's in most of his classes except Charms, History of Magic and Arithmancy. He'd gotten E's in all of them. I wrote back to him about my results.

Good for you, you did really well. Has Ellen told you her results yet? Don't worry about Arithmancy. It's better if you don't continue with it anyway. You should be proud that you did take it in the first place.

Ellen hasn't written to me. I'm actually relieved that I won't be taking it again, but I do feel as if I wasted my time with it. What about Michael? Did he get his results yet?

Michael did really well. He got an O in Defense Against the Dark Arts of course, and E's in the rest of the classes except for History of Magic and Arithmancy. He got A's in those classes. I honestly don't believe it was a waste of time. You put an effort in the class, and that's better then what a lot of people can say. I believe you could have done better if you hadn't been so nervous about it. You only just failed it. At least you didn't get a T like some people.

Why who got a T in it?

I'm not sure if anyone got a T in Arithmancy but Ellen did get T's in some of her classes. I'm surprised she hasn't told you yet. According to her, it's all my fault that she failed. She told me I should have looked out for her better.

Ellen got T's? How is it your fault? Any time you tried to get her to do any of her school work, she got angry with you.

It's almost first year all over again. I'm sure she'll get over it. She knows it's her own fault. I'm just surprised. I thought she would fail, but I wasn't expecting a T. She is a smart girl. I thought she'd at least get P's and A's. I thought maybe at least one D, but definitely not any T's. She got an O in Herbology though.

I can't believe she let herself fail. I know she hates to study, but she knew how important these exams were. So many OWLs did she get?

I'll let her tell you. Anyway, when are you coming over to visit? You said you'd come over more this year. I miss you already.

I could probably come over later. I'll check with mum, but I don't think she'll mind. She said I can go over to yours or Ellen's place any time I want this summer as long as it doesn't interfere with my baby-sitting.

Well let me know if you can come then. We'll be swimming in the pool.

Talk to you later.

I waited a moment before I wrote down Ellen's number.

Ellen, I was just talking to Ben. Did you really get T's on your OWLs?

Of course he told you about that. I was going to wait and tell you later. I was going to ask if I could come over.

I might be going to Ben's later.

Well then can I come over tomorrow? It shouldn't interfere with your baby sitting if I visit for a few days should it?

Of course not. You guys all know you're welcome here any time. Michael comes over when I am baby-sitting. He's staying at Ben's for now but he should be over here for a couple weeks soon enough.

I only got OWLs in Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Herbology. I got a P in Potions and Transfiguration and T's in the rest.

But you can retake certain classes.

No I don't want to go through that again. I'm just going to take Charms, Defense and Herbology. It will give me more free time for Quidditch. I'm just going to work as hard as I can for the next two years so I can go on a Quidditch team. My parents are so angry though. I knew I hadn't done well, but I hadn't expected to ever get a T in a class. It's not a big deal though. I told my parents I would do my best in the classes I can take, and I will try my best with Quidditch. They seem to have accepted that. I think they're going to be focusing as much as they can on Timmy. He'll be starting next year. Maybe now all the pressure will finally be on him. I'll see you tomorrow though. Let me know when you get back from Ben's. My parents already told me to do what I want. I thought for sure they'd ground me but I think they have given up.

I'll see you tomorrow.

I rolled up my message parchment and then grabbed my overnight bag to throw some clothes into it. It had been two weeks since the school year had ended. Everyday I'd waited anxiously for my results to come in, and now they were finally in. I couldn't wait for my mother to see that I had done well. I planned to keep all of the classes I could keep for OWLs. I knew that Professor Binns accepted anyone who got an A in his class, but I wasn't sure about Professor Sinistra. I was sure the rest of the teachers would take me with Exceeds Exceptions for the rest.

I was excited to see Ben. It had been two weeks since we'd last seen each other even though we wrote as much as we could. I wondered just how long Ellen would be angry with him this time. I was sure deep down she knew it wasn't his fault, but for some reason when things went wrong for her, she tended to take it out on him. I think Ben was used to this as well, which was why he didn't seem too concerned about her anger.

I headed downstairs to find that my parents had returned from grocery shopping. They were just putting the food away as I hurried into the kitchen.

"I got my OWL results," I told mum.

"Well let's see then," she said, and I handed her the letter.

"Excellent, although it would have been nice if you'd passed Arithmancy," she said. "Are you going to try it again?"

"No," I answered. "I'm not going through all that again. I don't need it. It was just stressful for me to take it. I gave it a shot, and that is all that matters. I am not going to need it anyway. I'm going to keep the rest of the classes though."

"Well if you weren't happy with it," she answered with a shrug. "You won't need it?"

I shook my head. "No I won't. Even if it doesn't work out for me to be a teacher I won't need it. Anyway, Ben wants me to go over tonight, and then Ellen wants to come over tomorrow for a few days. She is feeling depressed about her exam results."

"She didn't do too well?" She asked as she opened the fridge to put the groceries away.

"That's an understatement," I said. "She got some T's!"

"What are T's?" My step father asked while he put some canned soup away.

"It's the last failing grade," I said. "It means Troll."

He started to laugh and then picked up my exam results that my mother had set down on the cupboard.

"Troll? They mark kids as Trolls?" He laughed and shook his head. "You're going to an interesting school, that's for sure."

"What about Ben and Michael?" Mum asked.

"Oh you know Ben; he did well on all of his exams. So did Michael. He didn't fail anything," I answered.

"Good for him, so what time are you going to Bens?" She asked.

"In a few hours," I answered. "I'm going to try and spend more weekends there."

"Well tell him he's more than welcome to come here too," she replied. "Your friends know they can come here anytime that they want. If Ellen wants to stay here next week; she can and of course Michael."

I helped them put the rest of the groceries away before I went into the living room where Jaime was watching TV. I sat down next to her and tuned into the Simpsons. I thought about Ellen. I felt sorry for her. I didn't understand how it was possible for her to have done so badly on her exams. She was smart enough in school. She could usually avoid homework, but do well in tests. I figured she must have been more stressed than any of us when she did her exams. I also thought about how she'd blamed Ben again. I wondered if she still had feelings for him.

Jaime and I made small talk until I decided it was time to go. I said good-bye to my parents, and then I hurried upstairs to grab my overnight bag and to message Ben. There were no messages from anyone. I quickly wrote to Ben that I was leaving to go on the Knight Bus, and I would be there soon. Before he could respond, I shoved it into my bag and then hurried down the steps to say good-bye to everyone.

When I got outside, I could see Louie and Dwayne arguing in their front yard. Dwayne was now Louie's official baby-sitter. Louie was going through an attitude that summer, a worse one than he had been the year before. He felt that since he was nine years old, he was way too old for a baby-sitter. He didn't want to be baby-sat by his older brother. There were times when Dwayne would come over and ask for advice. As I walked by them, I waved. Dwayne waved back but Louie scowled and stared down at his feet.

As I headed to the school, I passed by some of my old school mates. They didn't say anything to me. Ever since Amy and Kelly had gotten told off at the New Years party, people had gone back to ignoring me again. Some of them were friendly enough to talk to me, but most just ignored me like they had back in elementary school. Whenever I saw them, it made me think about the "What if" potion. I had yet to take the others but I'd thought about that experience quite frequently. I wondered if the girls I'd been friends with that dream were real, or they were just made up in my mind. I wasn't exactly sure how the potion worked.

Once I got into the parking lot behind the school, it was to find Barry waiting for me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, and I rushed over to hug him.

"I guess you didn't get Ben's message," Barry replied as he hugged me back. "He didn't see the need in you to take the bus. So he told you that I'd meet you here."

"How's Tasha?" I asked.

She was due at any time. I knew Barry and Tasha had been staying at the Hoofers in case she went early while Barry was working. At the Hoofers, she would at least always have someone around who could take her to St. Mungos.

"Uncomfortable, but excited," Barry said. "Mum spends all day pampering her. Even Brenda had finally come around. She's been really miserable since she found out about Brianne and Nick, but ever since we came to stay for a few months, she's changed. Anyway, let's get going. Grab my arm."

"I can't wait until I can do this myself," I muttered as I put my hand on his arm.

I hated the feeling of apparition; I didn't think I would ever learn to like it. However, it would be a lot more convenient when I wanted to get to school or when I wanted to visit my friends. So I would have to put up with the uncomfortable feeling more often, but it would be worth it. We appeared right in Ben's room.

Ben was sitting at his desk, working on something but I couldn't imagine what. We didn't have homework that summer since we weren't sure which classes we were keeping for the sixth year. He beamed when he saw us, though.

"Hey hon," he said as he got up and he walked over to kiss my cheek, he looked at Barry. "Tasha thinks she might be in labour."

Barry turned on his heel and quickly left the room without a word. As soon as he was gone, Ben and I kissed for a few moments before he sat down at his desk chair and pulled me down on his lap.

"So what have you been up to?" He asked me.

"Same as usual," I answered. "I'm just baby-sitting. I kind of miss baby-sitting Louie and Dwayne though. The other kids are well behaved, but I've been baby-sitting those two for years. Louie has a bit of an attitude now, though, so I am glad I don't have to deal with that."

I glanced down at the piece of parchment he had been writing on to see that he had been working on Arithmancy. I shook my head and smiled at him.

"We don't even have any homework this year," I said.

"Professor Vector did hand out practice sheets for what we'd be working on in the sixth year," he said. "I'm just preparing myself."

I glanced over the 'homework', and I couldn't even understand all the equations he had written down. It made me feel overwhelmed but relieved at the same time.

"I am so glad I am not taking it next year," I said. "Don't tell me that this is what you've been working on all summer."

"Of course not," he answered with a grin. "I've just worked on it in my free time. I decided to look over it while I was waiting for you to come. I think it looks exciting."

"You would," I said. "Where's Michael?"

"Jared's for the night," Ben answered and kissed me again. "I wanted a night for just the two of us."

I was glad to hear that. Although I did miss him, I also just wanted a night alone with Ben. Michael would be staying at my place soon enough. Ben and I didn't often get too much time to ourselves.

"We really do need to get together more over the summer," I said. "There isn't a reason why we shouldn't. Our parents let us come and go when we want now."

"Yeah I know," Ben said. "Is your mum going to follow us around everywhere if I visit?"

I shook my head. "I don't know if she'll let us share a room, but she has eased up a lot since last summer. She's also thrilled that it's you I am dating. She has always liked Denver, but as I said she's like everyone else who says they always knew we'd end up together."

Mr. Hoofer showed up at Ben's door.

"Barry has taken Tasha to St. Mungo's, and we're on our way. You two are on your own for the day unless you want to wait with us," he informed us.

"There isn't much we can do there but sit in the waiting room," Ben said. "We'll just wait here. We'll visit when she has the baby."

"That's what I thought," he said. "Babies can take a while; she may be in labour for a while. I have my message parchment," he added as he tapped his pocket. "So I'll let you know what is going on."

Ben nodded and as his father left he grinned at me. "I'm actually looking forward to being an uncle. I know I won't see much of my niece or nephew for the next couple of years, but the baby won't remember much of me anyway. Once I'm out of school he or she will be older."

"That's what I keep saying about Hayden," I said as I thought about my Godson. "I feel guilty that I'll be at Hogwarts for the first few years of his life, but he won't remember much now anyway. Besides, I'll be able to baby-sit in the summers."

"Until we're done anyway," Ben said. "You only really have one summer left after this one. Then you'll be working."

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that," I said.

I knew Ben wanted to start Healing training as soon as he was done Hogwarts, but I'd thought about it a lot and I wanted to travel a bit before I started working on becoming a teacher, if I could be one anyway. I still had my meeting with Hermione and Kingsley Shacklebolt to discuss my plan. I really wanted him to go with me if we were still dating.

"I want to travel around a bit after we're done school, kind of like Breanne is doing. It doesn't have to be a year, but I would like to do a bit. I was thinking I would baby-sit for the summer again to earn some money and then leave in September and visit Canada. My mum has some relatives there. From there, I am not sure where I want to go but I'd like to go visit somewhere warm in the winter for a bit. I was kind of thinking about coming back in the spring and seeing what I can do to start my career," I continued.

I waited for Ben to tell me that there was no chance that he was going to delay his Healer training if he was accepted but he looked at me thoughtfully.

"That's not a bad idea at all," he said surprising me. He grinned at me and shook his head. "Did you think I wouldn't want to go along with it?"

I nodded. "I thought for sure you'd want to start your training as soon we were done. I know it takes years."

"It does take years; that's why we should. A lot of people travel after Hogwarts before they get into their careers. Healer training will always be there, but we might not always have the opportunity to travel for as long as we want to. I know we can always take trips when we have holidays, but it's not the same," he answered.

"Do you think Ellen and Michael would want to go to?" I asked him.

Ben shrugged. "They might want to, I'm not sure. We can ask them later, but I know for that is what I want to do. What do you say we go out to Diagon Alley for a date? We're not going to hear from dad for a while. We'll have to take the Knight Bus though. I can't wait until I can apparate."

"We'll be able to this time next year," I said as I got up.

"I know," Ben said with a smile.

He grabbed his message parchment from his desk while I went to my trunk to grab some money. Ben always insisted on paying for me when we went on dates, but he was starting to accept that I liked paying for my own meals. If he had to pay for me, then I wanted to pay the next time. We hadn't gone on too many dates other then Hogsmeade weekends but I'd let him know how I felt about it. I could see him frowning as I grabbed my handbag but he didn't say anything.

When we got to the Leaky Cauldron it was to find Don Zent and Xavier Opress as well as some of the people I'd seen at Christmas. I raised my eyebrows at Ben but we didn't say anything. Xavier and Don saw us and scowled but they didn't say anything. Ben grabbed my hand and pulled me through the room and out the back door. He pulled out his wand to tap the brick for the entrance to Diagon Alley to open up.

"Why do they meet in the Leaky Cauldron? If they're trying to work underground then why don't they go to someone else's house where it's private?"

"I doubt they discuss any plans if they have any in the Leaky Cauldron," Ben answered. "I honestly don't know what they're up to, but I'd really prefer it if you didn't go to Diagon Alley alone anymore. So far it's just rumors that they're up to something. Perhaps they just like meeting up there to get together, I just still think it was a bit odd that they wanted to help you get home. They've seen you with Harry Potter though."

"This world is supposed to be safe without you-know-who," I said as we headed to a small tea shop.

"Unfortunately, there is always going to be someone like him, though," Ben sighed as he opened the door for me. "Nobody ever seems to learn from the past. You-know-who isn't the first to try and take over the wizarding world, and he won't be the last. I honestly doubt that group will go far if they have plans but you're an underage witch."

We sat down at a table and a waitress came over to take our order. I ordered some chicken wraps with my tea while Ben ordered a small sandwich. It was a cozy place that wasn't too full. It had only opened a few years ago. It seemed that mostly older people visited it. Anne and Michael had discovered it and told everyone about. They'd said it was the perfect place for a date because not too many Hogwarts students entered it. We know we wouldn't be disturbed, although I wasn't sure if anyone would be in Diagon Alley anyway. Not too many students visited until August.

We discussed Ellen a little bit and we both wondered how she would treat the next two years. We were both sure that she would talk to Ben again soon. Ben checked his message parchment often, but there were no messages from his father. We both agreed it would be better if the baby came while we were in Diagon Alley instead of when we went back to his place. It wouldn't take long to get to the hospital from there.

After we left the tea shop, we headed down to Flourish and Botts. Although we didn't have book lists yet, Ben knew what we needed for the sixth year. We figured since we were there already we could buy our books and other school supplies.

"You're keeping Divination?" Ben asked as I looked over the books for Advanced Divination. "I really don't think you should. I know you think it's interesting, and I know you want to keep all the classes that you got OWLs in, but NEWT level is hard. I'm not keeping History of Magic or Astronomy. I want to focus all my time on the other classes, and I really think you should too. If you were doing something with Divination it would make sense, but why keep it now?"

"I just find it interesting," I answered. "But maybe you're right. I'm keeping History of Magic, though. You never know if I'll need it. I want to keep Astronomy as well."

I lingered at the Divination table a little longer. Ben was right, I didn't need to keep it even if I did find the class fascinating. I knew I needed to keep all my focus on the important classes, so I sighed and left the table. I'd learned enough in the class anyway. I followed Ben over to a table that was full of Arithmancy books. I watched as he picked up a very thick book called: Advanced Arithmancy. He grabbed a few other complicated books as well.

After we paid for our books, we headed to the Weasley Joke Shop. Although Diagon Alley wasn't too crowded, the joke shop was. I had never seen it empty. We didn't see anyone in our year there, but there were some younger students from Hogwarts there. There were also some smaller children there as well who weren't old enough for Hogwarts quite yet.

"Mummy I want that!" A girl about Timmy's age shouted as she pointed up at a reusable hangman.

I showed Ben where I had bought the "What if" potions I had bought back in the winter. "Have you ever tried the one I bought for you?" I asked.

"Not yet," he answered. "Have you?"

I nodded, and I explained to him what I'd seen when I'd taken it.

"I don't know how they work exactly," Ben said. "I think some of it might be accurate because the Weasley's are really good at this stuff, but I don't think those girls are real. I think you know that you'd have some friends. We also both know that unfortunately you probably wouldn't have had an easy time in school. I think that part was accurate, and you used to exaggerate things all the time you know. You also have lied about things."

"I'm not as bad as I used to be, but it did show that my room was messy. When I was younger, I was a slob. That part was accurate, and my mum was also kind of bitter," I went on. "I was going to use another one to see what would have happened if we hadn't got together."

"Ashley, I think we would have ended up together either way," Ben said as took two of the potions and put it in his basket. "Even if we hadn't last year, I think we would have in time. We've always been very close."

"Except maybe our first year, we didn't get along then," I said as I thought about when he'd had a crush on my sister.

Ben shrugged. "I was a prat in our first year, though."

"I didn't help matters," I smiled as I thought about all the whining I had constantly did. "I can't believe you all put up with it. Remember when you finally told me off for it?"

Ben laughed. "And you didn't speak to me for days. You only talked to me again when I said that I didn't want you angry with me on my birthday."

"And then New Years," I added.

"And Valentines Day. I guess your romance with Denver wouldn't have started if I had just taken you," Ben laughed.

"Maybe, maybe not," I said. "I can't believe how long ago it seems. I've always wondered, though, how did it change for you?"

"What do you mean?" Ben asked as we moved on to look around some more.

"Well think about how complicated our friendship was in our first year. You told me in the second year that you felt closer to me then you did Ellen and Michael. So how did it change?" I asked.

"I told you about how I talked to Breanne and Barry over our Easter holidays that year right?" Ben asked and I nodded. "Well it was then that I realized just how rude I'd been to you. I think I've told you that before, so I wanted to do everything I could to make it up to you. So I did my best but it wasn't just that. It was Michael and Ellen as well. Remember how moody they'd been? You and I seemed to share a mutual bond then because of it, and I guess all that brought us closer. It was around then when I started feeling closer to you and it hasn't changed. I honestly think there has always been something between us, but we were so young then that we didn't realize it. It's why we did have a complicated friendship at first."

"There was a time in our third and fourth year when I was sure you'd end up with Ellen," I admitted as I remembered. "I saw the way you two were with Quidditch."

"It wouldn't have lasted," Ben said automatically. "Even if we had ended up together, it just could not have worked between us," he glanced at me and then added guiltily. "You know I did consider trying the potion to see what would have happened, but I felt like it was betraying you somehow."

"I considered trying the potion to see if Denver and I would have lasted if I hadn't fallen for you," I admitted. "But I felt the same way."

Ben smiled. "It wouldn't have lasted."

"Well I'm glad it didn't, but I feel guilty sometimes you know. I'm hoping he meets a girl this year," I said.

When our baskets were filled we went to the counter to pay for the stuff. I thought it showed how comfortable we both were in our relationships that we could discuss everything that we were without a hint of jealousy. I wouldn't feel jealous at all if Ben had used the potion to see how it would have worked out with Ellen. In fact, I was kind of curious about what he would see. I wondered if that made me weird. I didn't feel worried at all about what he would see because I could tell that no matter what, it was me he wanted to be with. I could tell he felt that way about me as well. He was never jealous when I hung out with Denver or I talked to Jared. They were both important pieces of my past, but he was secure enough with me to know that it was only him that I wanted.

As we left the shop I shared my thoughts with him. Ben shrugged. "It just shows it's a good relationship. You should be able to trust the person you're with. That's how I knew that Ellen and Stan would never last. Those two were so jealous, especially Stan. He never admitted it, but you could tell he hated it when she hung out with Michael and me, especially Michael."

"Michael and Anne got jealous a lot, but I thought they were a good couple," I said. "Where to next?"

"I guess we might as well head back to my place," Ben said. "We'll just have to wait to hear news there. Anne and Michael wouldn't have lasted, and I know he wants her back, but it just won't work."

"How did you get so knowledgeable about relationships?" I asked. "You kind of remind me of the Andrew twins."

"It's because of the twins that I know so much," he answered. "I don't know how those two know so much, but they're rarely wrong."

It was starting to get darker now. There were a couple other bars besides The Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley. One of them was called The Dragons Breath. It was one that the younger crowd frequented the most. There was already a line of people not too much older laughing and talking together. I thought I recognized a few of them. I was surprised at some of the dresses the girls were wearing. I wasn't sure if I'd ever dare wear dresses that were that tight and short. I could see Jess, Anne and Erica dressing like that.

"Barry said it's always so crowded in there that you can barely move," Ben told me as he noticed where I was looking.

"I wouldn't mind checking it out when I'm seventeen," I said.

"We will. Next summer we can take Ellen there for her birthday," he said. "I'm sure she'd like that."

"Maybe we can get some of the other Hufflepuff's to come as well," I said.

"I'm sure we could," Ben said, but he seemed distracted.

Don Zent and Xavier Opress were headed towards us. I wondered if they were planning on doing something to us. However, all Don did was bump hard into Ben as they passed. I grabbed Ben's arm as he reached for his wand. I shook my head.

"You're still sixteen," I said. "It's not worth it."

Ben pulled his arm from my grip and turned to go after him, but I grabbed him in a tighter grip. I managed to get his wand from him.

"Ben come on, let's just go back to your place," I said through clenched teeth as our shopping bags fell to the ground.

The two boys smirked at us and continued on. We watched as they headed to the entrance to Knockturn Alley. As soon as they were gone, I released Ben. He didn't say a word, he just stooped down to grab his bags and I grabbed mine. What had been a good evening was ruined by the two boys. We didn't speak as we made our way through The Leaky Cauldron and then out the side entrance. Without saying a word, Ben took his wand back from me and held it up to signal the Knight bus.

"You should have let me hex him," he said as we waited.

"Ben you told me we need to lay low. That's not laying low. Don knew exactly what he was doing by hitting you. He was probably hoping for a fight," I said. "And you know I am right, so there is no sense in getting angry with me about it."

Ben didn't answer. He just stood fuming. I was sure he wasn't actually angry with me at all. I put a hand on his arm, and when he didn't pull away I took it as a good sign. I figured when we got back to his place I would do what I could to cheer him up. I had one thing in mind that I knew for sure would cheer him up.

It wasn't until later that night that we finally got a message from Ben's father. We were sitting his living room with the wireless going. Ben wanted to listen to updates about a Quidditch game. I sat beside him with my head on his shoulder while I read a fiction book I'd picked out in Diagon Alley. While he was listening, Ben was looking through one of the Arithmancy books he'd bought while he checked the practice sheets he'd been working on earlier.

"Tasha had the baby!" Ben suddenly said taking me out of the fantasy world I was in.

"What did she have?" I asked excitedly as I lifted my head.

"A little girl," he answered. "I have a niece. They named her Minnie Allison Hoofer. They named her for Professor McGonagall and a friend of theirs that died in the battle."

"I think it's a beautiful name," I said.

Ben had a big grin on his face. "We can't go now because it's too late, but we can go meet her tomorrow."

"How does it feel to be an uncle?" I asked him.

"Wonderful," he said. "I'm going to spoil that little girl rotten."

"I'm sure you will," I said. "Tomorrow before we go, we should go back to Diagon Alley and buy her something."

"For sure," Ben said kissing me. "I can think of something we can do in the meantime though. I didn't get enough of it earlier."

"Sounds like a plan," I answered kissing him back. "I love you Ben."

"I love you too," he murmured. "I'm sorry I got so angry with you earlier. I'm glad you stopped me."

I'd never seen a newborn baby before. All of the babies I had met in my life had all been at least a few months old. I had two little cousins Bob and Frank (both named for my aunts brother and father) and I'd barely seen them. Bob was four years old and Frank was about the same age as Hayden. I hadn't even known about Frank until after he was born. By the time I'd met him briefly once over the summer, he was almost a year. So seeing Minnie was quite a shock. She was so tiny and I was terrified to hold her even though Barry insisted.

"We all know she's your future niece," he said to me.

"I just don't want to break her," I said as I gazed down into her little face.

How did parents take care of such tiny babies without fear? How did my mum do it when she had two babies at once? My sister and I were only eighteen months apart.

"She's so beautiful," I finally said as Mr. Hoofer took her from me. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Barry said with a grin. "You know someday we will probably be visiting the two of you in here."

"Let's not talk about that yet," Mrs. Hoofer said. "They need to finish school first and start their careers."

I glanced at Ben out of the corner of my eye to see that he looked as uncomfortable as I felt. We hadn't even been together a year and his family was already talking about our future baby. Why was everyone so sure things would work out for us? We weren't even seventeen yet. I know both Ben and I wanted it to be that way, but I had wanted it to be that way with Denver too.

"We should get going," Ben said and he reached for my hand. "Ashley needs to get home soon, but I'll be back later."

"How long do you have to stay here?" I asked Tasha.

"Just until tomorrow, and then I'll be staying at the house for a while," she answered.

I knew Mrs. Hoofer planned to help her out with the baby for a while, but I had to wonder where Tasha's parents were. Why were the Hoofers only at the hospital visiting her? It was a question I would have to ask Ben later. We said our good-byes and headed out the door. Ben remained quiet and I wondered if it was because of all the future talk.

"Are you going to come by my house later in the week?" I asked him as we boarded the Knight Bus.

I already had my overnight bag. Ben was going with me to drop me off behind the school by my place, and then he was going back home. He was going to help set up Barry's room for Tasha, Barry and the baby.

"Likely. I'll let Ellen visit with you for a bit and then I'll come by. I want to help out here with the baby," he said.

"Is everything okay?" I asked him.

I could tell something was bothering him. After a year of dating and five years of friendship, I could always tell when he was hiding something from me. He always knew when something was bothering me as well. I hoped his parents hadn't scared him. He was after all sixteen years old. The last thing a boy his age wanted to think about was future babies.

"I'm fine," he answered and when I raised an eyebrow he smile. "Really, I am fine. It's just so much has happened in the last twenty-four hours. Yesterday Minnie wasn't her and now she is. I've just realized something, that's all."

"Realized what?" I asked.

"Just certain things," he answered. "It's nothing for you to worry about, don't worry. You just enjoy your girl time with Ellen, and I'll see you soon."

He leaned over to kiss me, but as he did the Bus suddenly let out a loud bang and we were thrown backwards.

"Just a couple more months until we're seventeen," he muttered as we got back up.

"But even then we won't be able to apparate," I said.

"I know, but it's still a step closer," he replied.

The bus stopped behind the school next and Ben leaned over to kiss me again.

"I'll see you soon," he told me. "I love you. I'll write to you later tonight."

"I love you too," I said.

I got off the bus quickly. With a loud bang it disappeared. I still felt worried about what Ben was realizing. I hoped he was worried about our relationship. He'd looked so uncomfortable when Barry kept mentioning our future kid. Deep in thought, I headed down the road to my place.

As I headed home, I saw Amy and Kelly. Kelly was pushing a Tram. I'd forgotten that the girl had gotten pregnant. As I stared at the two girls, I remembered them taunting me in my potion dream. Kelly hadn't had a baby in the dream so perhaps it was just something in my imagination. I'd forgotten about her kid when I'd taken the potion and surely if it was accurate, it would have included the baby. I doubted that me going to Hogwarts had changed anything, she'd slept around in my dream as well.

They walked over to me and I tensed up. I really didn't want to deal with their taunting at the moment. I wanted to get home and get ready for Ellen. I wanted to enjoy my day and not have anything ruin it. I was already worried about Ben, I didn't need this.

"How are you?" Kelly asked me taking me by surprise.

"Fine," I answered after hesitating.

"Jaime told us you'd been at your boyfriends. Are you just getting back?" Amy asked. "How did you get there?"

"A bus," I answered hoping they wouldn't ask more questions.

"Why don't you just get your license?" Kelly asked. "You could drive everywhere if you wanted to."

"No use for that when I am in a boarding school most of the time; maybe when I'm done school. It's cheaper this way anyway," I replied.

I didn't understand why they were being so nice to me. Ever since they'd gotten told off for making fun of me, they'd avoided me but they always glared. Now they were being perfectly friendly to me.

"How would you feel taking on another kid?" Kelly asked me. "I know you're trying to save money for school every summer."

"You want me to baby-sit for you?" I asked her.

I glanced down at the baby in the tram. I hadn't known the gender of her baby until that moment, but as I looked I could see she was a little girl. She was wearing a pretty red dress and her short blond hair had a red bow in it. She was a very cute little girl. She smiled at me before looking away.

"You don't have to of course," Kelly said. "It's just my regular baby-sitter quit and I have to work and my parents do too. I just need someone until I can find another sitter, or maybe afford day care."

"I don't mind baby-sitting for you," I told her. "I'm just surprised you're asking me. I always have the last week or so of August off though. Usually Jaime fills in for me but she works at that restaurant."

"That's fine," Kelly said. "I'm hoping I'll find a regular by then. Look, I want to apologize for everything. Ever since I had Katrina I've been thinking about the last few years. You never deserved what we put you through. One of my biggest fears is that Kat will go through what you did. I don't ever want her bullied. Having a kid really puts things into perspective. Part of it was jealousy anyway."

"Jealousy?" I asked. "You made fun of me for being shy and quiet. You called me a freak."

"I was jealous because of your school. I don't know what kind of boarding school you go to, but it seems to have really worked out for you. We-" and she glanced at Amy, "never really gave you a chance in Primary school. You went away to boarding school and you came back as this confident happy girl. You've changed so much. You have all these friends now. You seem popular now."

"I'm definitely not popular," I answered. "I get along with most of the people in my year but it's definitely not because I'm popular. It's just all the people in my house and year are close. We've always gotten along really well. There are girls who hate me though. They call me a fast girl even though I've only slept with three boys. They think I'm a slag."

"I think any girl who has had sex is called a slag," Amy said with a smile. "It's a horrible double standard. Boys can sleep with a lot of girls and everyone thinks they are studs. I would be a slag if I'd slept with half the boys people claim I have."

"Apparently I don't know the father of Katrina," Kelly agreed. "I haven't slept around as much as the girls claim in our school either. I've only been with two boys, and I know who the father. Some girls just get jealous sometimes."

"And you dating Denver and Ben would cause jealousy," Amy added. "I know I was jealous, and I didn't even know Denver that well. I've always had a thing for Ben though I've only met him a few times. I've seen how handsome he's gotten though."

"Definitely," Kelly agreed. "You should have seen Renee when she found out that you and Ben were together."

"Really?" I asked but I was amused. Even muggles wanted the boy. It made me wonder again how it had me out of all these beautiful girls who had won his heart. Amy was so beautiful that she even made Ellen look plain.

"So who else have you dated then?" Kelly asked. "I thought it had only been Ben and Denver. Of course since you've been at school we wouldn't know, I hate to admit it now but we've asked your sister a lot of questions about you."

"I didn't date him," I said.

Amy and Kelly looked at me with shock before looking at each other.

"Well that's a new one, I never thought you of all people would do that," Amy said and she smiled. "I'm not judging, I'm just shocked. Do we know him?"

"It was Jared," I said.

Part of me wondered why I was telling the two girls this so casually. Even though they appeared to be friendly, they could be just trying to find out information to use against me later.

"He's handsome too. That's why those girls are bugging you. You're getting all the good ones that they want," Kelly said. "Don't pay any attention to them anymore. Trust me; jealousy causes you to do spiteful things. I've wanted to apologize to you and I felt that this way might help a little. I know how much you want to earn money for school, and I know you like baby-sitting. I can fully trust you with Kat. I just hope you can forgive us."

"I'm standing here talking to you aren't I?" I asked. "If I didn't want to forgive you I wouldn't have told you what I just did. Although I do kind of wonder if you're being sincere. You're not going to use this against me?"

"Ashley, I am sixteen years old and I have a baby," Kelly said. "What can I possibly use against you? Two of those boys you slept with were your boyfriends and the other wasn't. Maybe you're having sex a bit early and as much as I love Kat, I wish I had waited. Just make sure you're careful. You don't want to be a teen mum."

"And I've slept with more than you have," Amy added. "We are being sincere. I can understand why you think we might not be, but we are. I'm done with making fun of people, especially you. Your friends were right; we don't see you anymore, so there is no reason to still keep up a silly primary school grudge."

"Well I'll baby-sit for you," I said. "I can't August 4th. We took important tests in my school last year and I made an appointment to talk about my career."

"What do you want to do?" Kelly asked.

"I want to be a preschool teacher," I answered. Neither Amy or Kelly looked surprised by that.

"Maybe you'll get to teach Kat then," She said.

"I'm going to travel for a year after Hogwarts and then I plan to move to London," I said. "I don't want to stay here."

"Makes sense, I'd get out of this town if I could," Kelly said with a smile. "I'll see you on Monday. I have to get going now. Thanks so much for taking care of her, and if you ever want to hang out sometime let me know."

"My friends will probably visit a lot this summer," I told her. "So maybe you two can hang out if you can. I have a nice swimming pool for us to hang out in."

"For sure," Amy said. "Talk to you later."

The two girls turned and walked off. I stared after them. I really hoped they were sincere, but I couldn't see why they wouldn't be.

Ellen came over shortly after I got home. I told her about my encounter with Amy and Kelly as we went outside to go in the pool. She didn't say a word as I talked and when I was done, she gave a small shrug. I climbed into the pool, and followed me. Once we were both in and leaning against the wall she looked at me without emotion.

"You're usually right about your instincts with people," she said. "I'm sure they were sincere. It's about time that they finally stopped."

She didn't seem to care too much though, and I wondered just how down she was about her exam results. It was her own fault; I couldn't feel sorry for her when she'd brought it on herself. I was willing to listen to her but if she blamed Ben for her failing, I couldn't agree with her.

"So what's going on, you can't be that upset about your results," I said.

"I don't care about classes," she said. "I'll have more time to do what I want this year. I plan to practice Quidditch even on my own. I can also read up everything I can about it, and find out about the other teams out there. I can also learn magic on my own. I want to do the spells, not the essays. If I need to learn Transfiguration I can look up and try. I don't need a teacher supervising everything I do."

"So what's bothering you then?" I asked. "It's obvious something is."

"I don't think I can tell you," she said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"It's about Ben," she said. "I'm just not okay with you two dating."

"Ellen-" I began.

"I'm not saying I want you to break up," she interrupted. "I can see how happy you are together, and I know he'd never forgive me if he knew this. He loves you so much. It's just so hard for me. It's why I had such a hard time this year. I know I have to get over it. I know I have to move on, but it's just so hard."

Ellen rarely cried but I could see the tears in her eyes and I felt horrible, but I couldn't dump him either. I didn't know what to do. If I chose Ellen over Ben, he wouldn't forgive either of us. But then again, I remembered how he'd acted after we left the hospital. He'd seemed so uncomfortable.

"This is something I really want to work out," I told her.

"I know," she said. "We should have expected this would happen though. In fact, people told us it would happen but we didn't listen. I remember even the Andrew twins saying there would be a love triangle between us. I really just need to meet a boy and move on."

"You know I wouldn't stay with him if I didn't love him so much don't you?" I asked her.

"I know," she said. "I'm telling you the truth that's all. I don't want you to end your relationship though. You asked what was bothering me, and I told you. We always said we'd tell each other things. I feel guilty for wanting my best friends boyfriend though."

"You wanted him first," I said.

"I don't know about that," Ellen said. "I think you and Ben wanted each other even in first year. You just didn't realize it. You had a spark with Denver back then. However, I just remember the way you two were like in first year, and I noticed other things as well. You two were always so close. Ben always wanted you too. He was always much more affectionate with you. He very rarely hugged me, but he was always hugging you or touching you."

"That's one of the awful things about being friends with boys, I mean remember Michael?" I asked.

"I think he secretly still likes me. He still loves Anne, but sometimes I think he wants me too," Ellen replied. "Anyway, let's not talk about this anymore. I just needed to tell you, but I wanted you to know I don't want you to end it either. Next year I am just going to date as much as I can. There must be a boy out there for me. I don't want Michael and I need to move on from Ben forever."

The conversation still made me uncomfortable though. I wondered why we both had to fall for the same boy. Why did he have to fall for one of us? Everybody wanted him though, even the girls from my hometown wanted him.

Even though Ellen had brought bad news, her visit ended up being a lot of fun. We spent the night working on our scrapbooks and then we did each other nails. Once we were done we decided to look through the scrapbooks. It was something I did often, but it was more fun with someone else. I could see so much change in me from the age of twelve to almost seventeen.

"Those eyebrows though," I laughed as we looked at pictures of our first year selves.

It was a photo of Ben, Ellen, Michael and me with our arms around each other and grinning at the camera. It had been taken sometime during late September or early October of our first year. Ellen was looking at the picture of all the Hufflepuff's standing together. It was funny to see us looking so young looking. Ellen had been so tiny back then. She was still one of the shortest in the year, but in the first year she'd looked only eight years old instead of eleven.

"It's so amazing to see the differences," she said as she looked at a picture taken in our third year. "Even with two years we look so different."

"We didn't hang out as much in the third year," I said. "Not really the fourth either."

"You kind of stopped hanging out with us as much at the end of second year," she said. "We were all still friendly of course, but when we got back from the Easter Break you seemed to start making friends with other people"

"I was the only single one though," I said. "It was hard hanging out with couples all the time, so I wanted more single friends."

"I understand that, believe me," she said sadly.

"I never thought you'd be single for long though, you used to have boys after you all the time," I said.

"They haven't wanted me ever since that day in Hogsmeade," Ellen said. "They all think I am too hung up on Ben, and they don't want that. That's why I have to change this year. I am moving on to the point that I will see him as my brother. This year I plan to get a serious long lasting relationship like I'd had with Stan. No matter what it takes, I will not be single by Christmas and I will be over Ben."

Despite Ellen's confession, we ended up having a good time during her visit. We decided to put our discussion behind us, and just enjoy our summer. She told me how she and Timmy had already gone to Diagon Alley together to buy their school supplies.

"He really wanted it to be to me take him, and mum seems so much more easy going," Ellen told me. "She just told me to make sure he got everything he needed and not to get silly things. I did of course let him get things from stuff for the joke shop though. I have a feeling he is going to be quite the little prankster. The teachers are going to have their hands full with him. I told him I'd give him most of this stuff when we got to school. Mum checked over everything he got. She doesn't care what I buy anymore. I did get one of those trunks you bought. I can't believe how useful it is."

"That thing is a life saver," I responded. "I can pack so much more now. My old trunk was a mess and it wasn't because it was second hand but because of everything I needed to pack for a school year. It seemed impossible at times. I still can't believe he's old enough to be going to Hogwarts now. I still remember that six year old boy who followed us around everywhere."

"He still follows me everywhere," she said. "I told him not to do that at Hogwarts. I am hoping that he is in Gryffindor. I have a feeling if he ends up in Hufflepuff he'll be around us all the time. I doubt he'd be Ravenclaw or Slytherin."

Ellen ended up being a big help with the kids I was watching as well. Kelly was true to her word. She dropped off Kat early Monday morning. It was easier with someone to help out now that I had a small baby to care for. Half the kids wanted to play in the pool, and I couldn't join them because of Kat. I didn't feel comfortable with putting her in the pool quite yet. Rachel ended up bringing over her baby pool for Hayden. While Ellen watched the kids in the pool, Rachel and I sat the two babies in the pool and talked.

By the time Ellen was ready to go home, I wasn't ready for her to leave. I loved having my friends visit, and missed them so much over the summers. One good thing was that we had a lot more freedom than we'd had when we were kids. My mum didn't mind if I wanted to go to someone elses house when I wanted as long as I spent time at home as well. I'm sure it was the same with my friends as well.

Amy and Kelly started to talk to me more, and there was a few times when Kelly would stay and hang out when she came to pick up Kat. I never would have thought we'd end up being on friendly terms. She confided in me about how much she actually missed school, and she wanted to go back.

"Whatever you do, be careful with Ben," she told me one evening. "I love Kat, I really do. I just regret having her so early. I wish I would have waited to have sex."

On the morning of August 4th, I was nervous. I got up extra early and took time getting ready. I was very worried meeting the Minister of Magic. I'd spent some of my evenings making notes about why I wanted to open up a school for Muggleborns and even half and pure bloods eventually. I spent many nights writing to Ben for reassurance.

Good luck today. I have full faith in you. I love you and you'll do well. Don't be so nervous honey.

Ben wrote that morning. I had messages from Ellen, Michael, Denver, Morgan, Claire, and even a few other Hufflepuff's who knew. All of their well wishes made me feel better. It was nice knowing I had so many people who were behind me. Even my mother and step father left me notes before they went to work that morning.

At twenty to nine there was a knock on the door. I hurried to open the door to find Hermione smiling at me.

"Good morning, how are you?" She asked.

"I'm fine thanks," I answered.

"Nervous? Don't be. Kingsley Shacklebolt is very friendly. Now I want to apparate you there. I was wondering if it was possible to do it in here, or if there was somewhere we can go?" Hermione asked.

"We can do it in here," I said. "There is a spot I use behind my old school. It's surrounded by the woods but it takes about five minutes to walk there."

I let her in and shut the door and locked it.

"You've apparated before?" She asked.

"Yes, I'm not a fan of it but it's more convenient," I answered wondering if she'd forgotten the time that Harry had taken me home.

"Take my arm then," she said. "I'm taking you to the visitors entrance outside of the Ministry."

"Okay," I said nervously and took her arm.

She turned on the spot and the next thing I knew, we were going through that suffocating tightness of apparition. I wished that someone could think of a way to make it more comfortable. Soon I would have to do it on my own and it seemed very scary. I knew in sixth year we would be taking lessons. Just like with a driving, you had to have a license to apparate. I could understand why though. I'd heard stories of people losing body parts. It was a lot more dangerous than driving.

As soon as it started, it ended. We were standing in front of an old telephone booth. The telephone inside was broken. I looked at Hermione questioningly. She just beckoned for me to follow her. I watched as she dialed a number and then a voice came out of the broken receiver.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business." A female voice said.

"Hermione Granger escorting Ashley Dunning for a meeting with the Minister of Magic," Hermione answered.

"Thank you," the voice answered. "Visitor, please take the badge and attach it to the front of your robes."

There was a rattle, and then Hermione pulled something from the slot where coins would normally appear. It was a small badge that read: Ashley Dunning, Meeting with Minister.

"Visitor to the Ministry, you are required to submit a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium."

"What if anyone tried to use this?" I asked Hermione just as the floor shuddered.

"There's a lot of security," she answered.

We started to sink down into the ground. I wondered if there was muggle repelling charms on it. Of course Muggles wouldn't try to use a phone that didn't work, but still. Anyone could come upon this and see us using it. The Ministry obviously had thought of that though. Perhaps it was why they had put the phonebooth in such a sketchy area. Everything went black for a moment, and then there was a golden light that blinded me.

"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day," the voice said again.

Hermione left the phone booth and I followed her into a large beautiful room. I gawked around at everything as I followed her. In the middle of the Atrium there was a fountain. There was a plaque that dedicated to all those who had died in the war. It showed smiling witches and wizards as well as many magical creatures as well. It seemed to show them uniting together.

After I had my wand weighed, Hermione made small talk with me as we entered a small lift. A bunch of paper airplanes with the words Ministry of Magic on the wings.

"Those are office memos," Hermione explained when she saw me looking. "I guess they used to use owls but they made too much of a mess."

"Why don't they use message parchments?" I asked.

"I'm sure eventually they will," she said. "They're still so new, but many people do use them. I agree, they're convenient but they still have some bugs. It's hard to get every message. George and Ron are working on a new version of them."

The same voice that welcomed us announced each floor as went up. Different witches and wizards entered or got off. Each greeted Hermione, and few looked at me curiously. We stayed in the lift until we reached level one. As nervous as I was, I couldn't stop staring at everything. Hermione explained different things to me as we headed down a corridor past some offices. The floor was thickly carpeted. Each door had a small plaque on each door. We stopped by a door that was closed. The plaque read: Minister for Magic: Kingsley Shacklebolt. Hermione knocked on the door.

"Come in," a deep voice called out.

We entered a huge office with thick gold carpeting. A dark man sat beside a huge wooden desk. Something about him calmed me right away, he looked so friendly. In front of his desk were three comfortable looking white arm chairs. Percy Weasley sat in one of them. Hermione beckoned for me to sit in the middle one. After I sat down, she sat beside me. I was holding a portfolio that had my notes and my grades in them in case he needed them. I squeezed it tightly in my lap.

"Good morning," Kingsley said to me. "Allow me to introduce myself, my name Kingsley Shaklebolt. I am the Ministry for Magic."

"I'm Ashley Dunning," I answered shyly. "I'm about to start my sixth year at Hogwarts. I have my OWLs in case you need them."

"As it happens, I have them here," he replied and he lifted a sheet of parchment that contained my grades. "But it's nice to see you come prepared. I can see you are also a very good student judging by these grades. Hermione and Percy have both talked to me about your plans to open a school for children before Hogwarts. I would like to hear more about it from you."

My voice shook as I began explaining what I wanted to do, but after a moment of talking I felt myself growing confident. I told him how it had felt growing up and feeling alone because of the magic I didn't know about. I explained how nerve-wracking it was to go live at a school where I didn't know anyone.

"I just wish there was a different way," I explained. "It would be nice for all magical kids, but I've been thinking about muggleborns the most. It's so hard for them to adapt at first. We're thrown into this magical world when we're eleven. It would be nice to always know about Hogwarts. I think the school could teach us what we would normally learn from school, but also teach kids more about the wizarding world and Hogwarts. There have been many times when my friends bring up something, and I don't know what they're talking about, even now."

"I can understand that as well," Hermione said. "I read a lot as a kid but I remember people at Hogwarts, including Harry who would find out things for the first time. Harry always had to ask Ron and me for information about the wizarding world. He was clueless, and so were many others."

"It is a very good idea," Kingsley answered. "I believe there have been attempts in the past, but none were successful."

"But that was mainly because of location and getting the children there," Percy argued. "The last time any attempt was made was in the fifties. We have better ways now. I also know of place that isn't far from here at all. Parents could drop their children off on their way to work. We could arrange for cars and buses for the others. It doesn't have to be as far as Hogwarts so that the children can go home afterwards."

"Hermione has told me that you would like to be a teacher at this school but not run it," Kingsley said to me.

"I would love to be a teacher. I know that we'd need a lot of people involved. I think it would have to be run similar to Hogwarts or a primary school. Kids would have to pass and move up a level. I'd like it to start as early as four or five until they go to Hogwarts, so that's at least seven teachers, but I'm sure there would have to be more."

"Which level would you like to teach?" Kingsley asked me.

"The younger levels," I answered. "I wouldn't mind any of them, but I do like working with the little ones. I've been babysitting every summer since I started at Hogwarts. The youngest kid I've sat for is about a year old and the oldest was almost twelve. So I'm experienced with different age groups."

"Professor Sprout also told me that ever since your third year, you have been introducing yourself to first years and you always help out the younger years," Kingsley told me.

"You've talked to Professor Sprout?" I asked surprised.

"When Hermione and Percy came to me about your idea, I wanted to know more about you," Kingsley explained. "They told me they believed you're serious about this idea. Hermione here-" and he smiled at her "-told me that she fully supported your idea. If we are able to start a school, we will need to know everything about each teacher. We do the same when teachers are hired at Hogwarts. People will want to know that their children are in good hands. I asked Professor Sprout for information about you to make sure you're qualified."

"I could always get more references from the parents of the kids I sit for as well if you needed it," I told him. "I have some here already."

Ben had told me it would be a good idea to ask some parents for references in case Kingsley needed them. So I'd asked for a few including Pat and Rachel. Kelly had provided one as well when I'd told her about it. She told me it was a way to make up for everything. She was definitely going out of her way to make it up to me. I'd felt she went a little overboard about how wonderful of a sitter I was to Kat, but I was thankful for it. I'd thanked her many times for it. Rachel had explained that I was Godmother to her son, and she knew he was magical so I was the best person to teach him about the wizarding world.

"Well I am glad to see you are fully prepared. It would have been nice to see you in a leadership role, and Professor Sprout had explained the circumstances behind why she didn't make you prefect. However, I believe that you've shown leadership on your own says more. Could I see the references?"

"Sure," I answered feeling shaky again.

I opened my portfolio and pulled out the letters. I leaned forward to show them to him. Kingsley read each letter quietly. I glanced at Percy out of the corner of my eye. I was actually very surprised to see he was there with Hermione. He looked extremely serious as he stared at Kingsley. Hermione looked a lot more laid back and happy. It was hard to believe Percy was related to someone who could make a successful joke shop. I thought about my sister though. Siblings certainly could be different.

"Tell me about Rachel," Kingsley said as he set the letters down on his desk. "She's a muggle, but she seems to know about our world and she also believes she has a magical son."

I explained how she'd been my baby-sitter my entire life, and how close our families were. I really hoped that I wouldn't be in trouble because a muggle knew about us. It was supposed to be a secret from them. Professor McGonagall had told us that only immediate family could know about me, but my mother had confided into Rachel's mother about me.

"There is a record for each and every magical child born," Kingsley said. "We'll look into young Hayden. Now, from what I've seen so far and heard I do believe you could make an excellent teacher. Now my question to you is: What if this isn't successful? What would you like to do otherwise? Would you still like to be a teacher?"

"I would," I answered. "If not though, I am very good in Charms class. When I first started at Hogwarts I struggled with it. Now however I can do the spells almost on the first try."

"I talked to Professor Flitwick about you as well after I saw you mark," Kingsley answered. "Would you want to teach at Hogwarts if it were possible?"

"I've considered it, and it would be nice but I am not sure about teaching all seven years," I said. "I like the idea with primary teachers that they teach one grade at a time. Although I wouldn't mind being a day care teacher either since I basically do that already. Are you saying it might not be possible to open this school?"

"I think it could be entirely possible," Kingsley answered. "I just want to see what your other options are just in case. It always better to have a backup plan. Students don't always get their first choice of careers after Hogwarts. Some even change their minds. So that's why I asked. Now I want you to know that you likely cannot start as soon as you finish a school. Opening up a school, and getting the teaching staff, a curriculum and the parents on board won't happen overnight. Now Percy knows of a location, so we'll have to make sure it's safe and appropriate. We'll also have to provide transportation. So while we'd like to keep in contact with you about this, I'd advise you to have something you can do when you finish."

"Well my boyfriend and I want to travel for a year when we're done," I told him. "He wants to be a Healer, but he'd like to take a break too. I was thinking if we went, I could see about primary schools in other countries. I know Canada has a primary school."

"Yes they do," Kingsley said. "Traveling does sound like a good idea. In fact I often advise students who don't know what they want to do when they finish school to do so. I also believe it's a good time as any. I think everyone in their lifetime should. I did when I finished school. Since you are starting your sixth year, and you plan to travel after Hogwarts. We are talking about three years from now when you'd be ready. I believe that could be enough time for us but I would also still like to hear what you think you could do if we're not ready by then."

"I could do what I am doing now except year round," I told him. "When I finish seventh year I am going to baby-sit for the summer before Ben and I travel. We both want to have a bit of money."

"I could also recommend Experimental Charms," Kingsley told me. "Even if in the future you have a career change. I've talked to Professor Flitwick about your work. He believes you'd do well there. When you get back from your travels I could set up an interview for you to work there even temporary."

"Really?" I asked.

"As I said, it's best to keep your options open. Now that being said, I am going to go ahead and look more into this primary school for wizarding children. I am going to talk to parents, the school of governors, the department of magical transportation, and a few more offices. There are going to be a lot of people involved in this. Hermione has promised to keep in regular contact with you for me. She will send you updates. I really do like this idea. I think it makes sense but as it hasn't worked in the past I would like for you to keep your options open," he told me. "I am going to keep your references. I've asked Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick to continue to send me regular updates. I hope to see that you are as successful on your NEWTs as you were on your OWLs."

I nodded. "I plan to do my best with them. I've wanted to keep all my classes that I got an OWL in. Do you recommend that?"

"I do recommend that you work to your full potential, so even if you don't need most of these classes I think if you want to keep them all then you should. As I've told you, it's best to keep your options open. You may not want to do the same thing at thirty as you do at sixteen. Many people in the Ministry of Magic have changed careers, including me. I started off as an Auror, and I am now the Minister of Magic. Given your success with Charms, I believe you should keep up with it even after Hogwarts. Many people continue to learn new spells even when they're done. Would you be interested in me setting up an interview for you in Experimental Charms later on?"

"Sure," I said. "When would you set that up?"

"You tell me. It isn't necessary to set it up now, but you can contact me when you're finished school or when you get back from your travels."

I nodded. "Sounds good. Thank you for seeing me today."

"You're very welcome. It was a pleasure to meet you Ashley. I would like for you to think about which level of students you'd like to teach, and I would also like for you to remember every available option."

"I will," I said and I stood up to shake his hand.

Hermione dropped me off inside my house. I didn't expect my sister to be home, or in the kitchen. Luckily she was home alone. She didn't live at home anymore even though she visited a lot. She and a few friends shared a flat together and they all worked together in a restaurant. Funnily enough she actually spent more time at home now that she lived on her own than she did when she lived there. I believed it was because she had fewer rules to live by that way.

Jaime was of course startled by our sudden appearance. I made a note to myself later that night to always apparate directly into my room instead of in the kitchen. After introducing Hermione and apologizing for our sudden appearance, Hermione left. She told me she'd keep in regular contact with me. I thanked her many times for taking me.

"I hope you're not going to be doing that all the time," Jaime said to me. "What if I'd had friends over."

"Well why aren't you at work anyway?" I asked "Why are you here? Mum and Terry won't be home for a while and you knew I wouldn't be here."

"I'm still allowed to come here when I want," she said.

"Look I wasn't expecting you," I said. "I need to go write to Ben about how it went."

"Guess I'm not important enough for you to tell," she called after me as I hurried out of the kitchen. "It's always about Ben lately!"

I hurried upstairs and up into my room. There were different messages from my friends asking how it went. I wrote to Ben first to tell him everything about it. When he didn't respond I message Ellen and then Michael.

That's good to know. I'm guessing you didn't tell Hermione to say hi to Harry Potter for me? Kidding of course! I was such an idiot in second year. Anyway, I was kind of thinking I'd come over soon. We haven't seen each other yet this summer and it would be nice to have a room to myself again. Around here it's all baby talk. Minnie is a nice baby but a bloke can only handle so much. I guess that means I'm not ready for a baby yet. Let me know. Michael wrote.

You know you're welcome here anytime. I'm sure my mum would love to see you again. It would be nice for all four of us to get together; although Ben said we probably all won't stay for a week this year because of Minnie. That's fine though considering we can all see each other when we want. He did say we'd still have the pool party. Maybe some weekend soon everyone can come here.

We'll have to talk about that. I am not sure how long Barry and Tasha are going to stay here for. I think just for the summer. I know Barry does want to get a different home. They had a flat but Barry wants a house. I often wonder why Brenda hasn't moved out yet. It's not for the lack of money, that's for sure. Brianne is done travelling now and she and Nick just moved into a flat together. I wonder if it's because Brenda doesn't want to live by herself. Anyway, do you think I could come tonight?

Sure. What is Ben up to? I'm surprised he hasn't responded to my messages yet.

He's with Minnie. That boy has spent a lot of time with his niece this summer. I'll tell him you wrote to him though. I'll see you in a bit.

Okay, the doors will be unlocked, just come on it. I am going to spend some time with my sister. She said something to me as I came upstairs to write to you guys. She said I was putting Ben before her, and she's right. I'm going to see if she wants to hang out in the pool so we can talk. So we'll be in the pool when you come. Tell Ben he's welcome to come as well if he wants. Ellen can't come this week, but maybe during the weekend she can and so can Ben.

See you in a bit then.

I changed into my bathing suit and hurried downstairs. Jaime was still there. She was working on a crossword puzzle and listening to the radio.

"You're right, I'll tell you all about it," I told her. "Let's go in the pool."

"You know that's the reason I came over you know," she said. "I understand you're close with your friends and you love Ben but at times you do put them first."

"Now you know how I feel," I told her. "You used to do it to me all the time. You still do that with mum."

"I know," she answered. "Well go out in the pool then. I still have my bathing suit here, I'll be out in a moment."

I went outside. I would see Dwayne and Louie arguing. Louie's attitude was even worse than the summer before.

"I said to go inside," Dwayne told him.

"No!" Louie responded.

He turned and ran off into the field behind our houses with Dwayne right after him. Dwayne had a bit of an attitude when he was Louie's age, but it was nothing compared to this. I was very thankful that I wasn't sitting him anymore. He gave lip to anyone who tried to tell him what to do. I could see Pat at her wits end about him. She'd asked us many times that if he was like this now; how would he be as a teenager?

Knowing that Dwayne would hate it if I tried to interfere, I climbed into the pool. As much I loved baby-sitting, I was happy to have another day off. I was looking forward to the last week of August when I would have no responsibities for a week. I wanted to do as well as possible when we got back to school, and that meant working as hard as Ben. Part of me hoped that if I brought up my marks even more, and showed more leadership that I would be made Head Girl. I knew that would be impossible though. Ben would be made Head Boy and Tara would be Head Girl. There was no point in even hoping for it to happen.

The rest of the summer went by quickly. Michael still had his job at the Leaky Cauldron so he was always gone during the day but back at night. Ellen and Ben both came and visited me often, both separately of course. Ellen didn't want to be around Ben because of her feelings; she was determined to get over him. She'd told me that she'd been flirting with a lot of muggle boys that summer. Ben didn't want to be around her because he was still angry that she blamed him. He told me there was more to it than just that, and I wondered if it was because he knew she still wanted him.

The Hoofers didn't want too many visitors but the pool party was still on. That would be the first time that Ellen and Ben would see each other since we left school. It made me worry that there would be another fight like the one in second year. Everyone seemed tense. I didn't want to admit it, but Ellen's confession really bothered me a lot. I had a feeling she had resentment for me. The only difference this time was that Michael was neutral to everyone. For once he was getting along with all of us.

"Believe me I can sense it too," Michael said when I told him my worries one evening as we sat in the backyard. "I've been worried about that as well. You should have seen him when he got the response from Ellen. There was more to it than just the grades, but I am not sure exactly what. He wouldn't tell me. Barry had to calm him down though. I tried to listen in with an extendible but Brenda stopped me. He didn't even want to invite her to the pool party."

"He just told me about the grades," I said and I was annoyed. "I'm his girlfriend."

"Ashley I could be wrong but I think Ellen told him that she still loves him. I was able to hear some things, and I think she told him he should dump you for her. I might have heard wrong though because Ben really lost it. Of course Brenda got on her high horse and told me not to listen since I was guest there."

"Ellen told me she was still in love with him," I said. "She said she was going to try and get over it though. She said she wasn't okay with us being together. She was really depressed when she came over."

"I'm sure she confessed that to Ben and he probably told her he'd never dump her," Michael said.

"Ben should be telling me this," I said. "He shouldn't keep it from me."

"He probably knew you'd be angry," Michael answered.

"Of course I am angry, but why defend her? If what you say is true then I don't really want to talk to her either then," I said furiously. "I can understand that she still has feelings for him, but we've been together for almost a year now. She's had time to move on. She told me she would. She had no right to tell him to dump me for him."

"Look, don't get to angry with Ben just yet," Michael said. "Talk to him about it. Invite him here, and you two can go out and talk somewhere. You ask him about it. No sense in you two fighting. You know how he feels about you and if you get angry with him, he will take it out on her. Talk to him and get angry with her if it's true. We don't need a group fight again."

"How do you know I still want to talk to her? How do you know I still want him to talk to her?" I retorted.

"Because you're angry right now," Michael said. "I also know that you would never tell Ben to stop talking to her or any girl. You need to cool down right now. Let's go for a walk or something okay? I want you to cool down before you write to him, and I know that's exactly what you want to do."

"You're right," I said. "There's no point in getting angry with Ben. I know he didn't tell me because he wanted to spare my feelings, and I know he didn't want to ruin my relationship with Ellen."

"Exactly," Michael answered. "So come on, let's just go for a walk. I'm hungry anyway, let's get something to eat."

I stood up and looked at Michael. He had changed a lot. It was hard to believe he was the same boy as before.

"Don't tell me you're falling in love with me," he said as he noticed that I was staring at him. He stood up. "I'm sure Ben would kill me."

"I'm just shocked at how much you've changed," I said. "You've never been much of a peacemaker. In fact, you're normally the one everyone is angry with him."

Michael laughed. "I know it's nice not to be the cause of it all for a change. Although I'm sure Ellen and Ben are going to be angry with me for telling you."

"Someone should have told me. Ben's my boyfriend," I said. "Ellen confessed of course, but she didn't tell me that part."

Later that night, I wrote to Ben. Michael had calmed me down while we to eat a burger and have some drinks. Teens that knew us came over to greet us while we ate. Michael had actually made some friends when he stayed with us and he ended up staying out with some of the boys while Amy walked me home. She chattered on about one of the boys she had a crush on but she wasn't sure if he'd like her. I was surprised to hear that she was insecure. She was a beautiful young woman.

I want you to be honest with me. When Ellen wrote you, did she tell that she was still in love with you? Did she tell you to break up with me for her?

I figured I should get to the point right away. I didn't see the point in small talk. I was angry with Ben though. Not as angry as I had been earlier, Michael had talked me down but I was still annoyed. He should have told me either way.

Who told you about that? Ellen or Michael?

Does it matter? It was Michael, but it shouldn't matter because it should have been you who told me.

Just how angry with me are you?

Not as angry I've calmed down. I'm sure you kept it from me to protect me or something like that. I'm angrier with Ellen.

Then I am coming over. I'm going to see if Barry will apparate me there. Can you wait for me outside or meet me halfway?

Sure. What were you worried I was going to hurt you or something?

Well you can't hex me but I do rather like my nose.

I would never hit you.

Barry is going to bring me over. I'll see you in a few minutes.

Okay, I am going downstairs.

I hurried down the steps. I could hear the television from the living room. My mother no longer asked me where I went anymore. I no longer had a curfew. She also knew that when I was seventeen I would be of age in the wizarding world. She respected that and so she said I could be treated as an adult now. It was nice having that freedom and trust.

Once outside I broke into a run. As angry as I was with Ben, I was also excited to see him. I missed not seeing him every single day. I could see him in the distance.

"I hope you're not running to hit me," he called as I got closer.

When I reached him, I hugged him.

"I don't think I'd ever hit you even if I were angry enough," I said and smiled up at him. "I just don't understand why you didn't tell me."

"At first Ellen told me she'd tell you. She asked me not to say anything until she did, so I didn't. I wanted to so many times that night you came over, but I have to admit I had my own selfish reasons for not saying anything, it was the first time we'd seen each other in two weeks. I didn't want us to be in a bad mood while we finally had time to ourselves. Also Tasha went into labour with Minnie and it just didn't feel right. It wasn't something I could tell you on our message parchments," he explained.

"Understandable," I said. "Michael said you were flipping out about it though."

I took his hand and we started to walk back to my place again.

"I don't even know how he knew, I didn't tell him," Ben muttered.

"Extendible ears," I said. "Brenda stopped him. He told me he got the gist of it though."

"So why did he tell you?" Ben asked. "It should have been me or Ellen."

I explained to him about how we'd both noticed there was tension in our group again.

"I think he blurted again, kind of like that time when he told Stan that Ellen asked you out," I said. "So why didn't you tell me when it seemed she hadn't? You should have known that she hadn't yet."

"I don't know," Ben sighed. "You're right that I should have. It's just she kept telling me she was eventually going to tell you. I can't really explain Ash. I guess I was scared after a while as well. I knew you were going to be angry with me for keeping it from you as time passed. I was a coward, and I kept hoping she'd say something because she told me she would. I knew this could potentially ruin your friendship with her. I know how much she means to you. She means a lot to me as well, but not enough that if it wrecked our relationship I could keep talking to her."

"I just can't believe she would do that," I said angrily now. "What exactly did she say to you? You told me she got upset about her grades."

"She told me that she would have passed her OWLs if I would have just accepted that she and I were meant to be together. She said I shouldn't have been with you and that I should have focused all my time on her and helping her instead of you. She said that she's been waiting for me to see it, but I just haven't yet. She told me that I should just do you a favour and break up with you before I hurt you too bad when I realized how I felt about her. She said we could both be single for a while before we got together. She said you'd understand just as she'd understood but she was running out of patience," he told me.

I shook my head. "I can't understand it. I just can't. Perhaps if in the future it didn't work out because we didn't get along and you two fell for each other, then maybe yes. This is something I don't understand though. I don't understand how she can go behind my back and tell you to dump me. Just how many times since Diagon Alley has she said something to you?"

"Too many," Ben said. "She knows now though. I told her if she said something to me again then she and I were done. I felt bad when she first confessed to me about she felt, and it was you I wanted. I even felt bad when I realized that you felt the same way. When we first got together I did worry about her quite a bit. I was pissed about Diagon Alley though. You and I were on our first date and she tried to ruin it. I felt bad when she went through her depression but I'm done now. I've run out of sympathy for her. You and I will be together a year in September. She's had a year to get over it. She's had more than that since it was in fourth year when she confessed how she felt. I can't deal with it for much longer."

"She's going to hear it from me," I said. "I'm inviting her over, and I am telling her exactly how I feel. She lied to me. She told me she still had feelings for you, and she told me she wasn't okay with you and me being together but she was going to get over."

"I'm sure she felt that was her way of telling you," Ben said. "I think that her way of moving on from me because she knows I won't tolerate it anymore. I told her as much."

"She still needs to hear it from me," I said. "That explains why the two of you haven't wanted to be around each other lately. I felt bad when she confessed to me that she wasn't okay with us and I felt like a bad friend but what she did was worse, ten times worse. It's just as when she confessed to you how she felt. She was willing to break up with Stan for you just as she thought you should break up with me for her."

"Not going to happen," Ben said. "Ever since Minnie was born- well I've always loved you. You know that, but when Barry made those comments about you and me being there someday I could actually see it. It kind of scared me because we're still so young, you know? That's why I got so quiet. I could tell you were worried. I didn't want you to be freaked out, I know I was feeling freaked out."

"I felt the same way," I sighed. "I was scared that Barry's comment made you uncomfortable."

"It did, just in a different way," Ben said. "I'm with you for as long as you want me to be."

"I guess we're stuck with each other then," I responded.

We were closer to my house now. I stopped and wrapped my arms around him again. We began to kiss. Someone let out a loud cat call and we broke apart. Michael was grinning at us. He was standing in the middle of the front yard by the fence.

"I can see you two made up," he said. "Are you staying a while?"

Ben shrugged. "I don't see why not. I do wish you could have warned me though mate."

"Sorry mate," Michael said. "She did have the right to know though. I'm sorry I told her, but at the same time I'm not. I had to calm her down. She was pissed."

"I still am, but I am with Ellen," I said. "I'm going to tell her that though. Let's go inside."

Ellen and I weren't speaking. She didn't bother to come over. The two of us had it out with the message parchment. I asked her what she thought she was doing by asking Ben to dump me. She'd responded back angrily that I'd betrayed her by going out with him in the first place. I'd told her that she had been the one who'd told us to get together in the first place. It wasn't nice and I wasn't sure if our friendship could be fixed after that. We both said some very mean things to each other. It was the worst fight we'd ever had.

"You know of course she still wanted to come over for the pool party?" Ben asked me.

"Even though she's angry with you as well?" I asked.

"She messaged me right after the fight and told me I betrayed her by telling you. I told her it wasn't me, but Michael. So of course now she's upset with him," Ben said.

"I know," I responded. "She told him off as well. It looks like she won't be talking to us when we go back to school."

"Well I didn't want her to ruin today," Ben said. "I'm sure you already know that we plan to celebrate your birthday as well. You're going to be seventeen. You're the first one of us come of age."

"It's hard to believe," I said with a smile. "Soon I'll be able to do magic outside of school. As angry with her as I am, it is awful she won't be here to celebrate it with us. I always thought we'd all celebrate our seventeenth birthdays together."

"Maybe you'll make up before your birthday," he said. "Don't dwell on that today though, let's just have fun. I doubt either one of you is ready to throw away a five year friendship."

"What about you?" I asked. "The two of you have been friends for just as long."

"I'm fine as long as she accepts that nothing will ever happen between us. You know she threw that in my face too? I forgot to tell you. She told me that she and I had been friends first and so it wasn't fair that I cared more about you. She had I had been friends for one day longer," he said.

"It shouldn't matter how long the friendship is anyway," I said. "You wouldn't be saying that if Denver and I were still together."

"I think Ellen is just reaching. In the end she is just very hurt, and you know it. As angry as both are about it, that's all it is. She just likes me as much as we like each other," Ben answered. "I wish things wouldn't be this way and I'd hoped by now she'd move on. She needs to meet someone else. Maybe it's better if we take a break from her for a while. It will give her time to move on."

"Ben the last time that happened she got depressed and stayed in bed for a long time," I said.

"I know," he said. "But I don't know what else to do."

We didn't have much longer to think about it. People slowly started to show up to Ben's. There was a lot more people there it seemed than the year before. Some of the Slytherin girls we'd gotten to know where there as well as some older people and younger people. Melanie and Sarah were also there. Alana, Rory and Derick showed up as well as some of their third year friends.

"Gosh seventeen," Alana said. "I can't wait until I'm seventeen. I'm just thirteen."

"But you're a teenager now, and a third year," I said. "They don't bother you as much when you're in the third year. When you're in the first and second year you have people watching your every move. You also get to take new classes."

"We took the easy classes," she told me. "We took Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures. I saw how you struggled last year. I don't want my fifth year to be like that."

"It doesn't matter what classes you take," I said. "Fifth year is going to be like that."

"Geez aren't you a happy one," she said.

"I'm just telling you the truth. I wouldn't do fifth year again even if you paid me. It was stressful."

"How did you do on your OWLs?" Alana asked.

We headed over to sit by the pool and I told her about my grades and the meeting that I'd had with Kingsley Shaklebolt. She told me about her summer and how she'd met a cute boy but Rory and Derick got overprotective of her. She was growing into a beautiful young girl. She had been a cute kid, but now that she was growing up she was getting prettier. I was sure it wouldn't be the first time that the boys would get protective. I wondered if she'd end up being with one of them. Would the three of them have a love triangle too?

"Where's Ellen?" Alana asked as she looked around.

"She and I aren't talking," I answered. "We had a disagreement about something over the summer. I'm sure we'll make up later."

"Was it about Ben again?" Alana asked.

"How did you know about that?" I asked.

"Everyone knows about you, Ellen and Ben. Some people even had bets on it. Things aren't really kept secret at Hogwarts. We all know it's why she and Stan broke up. Even if you and I didn't talk much last year, I still heard and saw things. Speaking of which, this is actually really nice. We really didn't really spend much time together last year," she said.

"Well my homework load won't be as bad, although I've heard it's more complicated. There's also Hogsmeade. You'll be going this year so we can meet up sometimes," I told her.

"I can't wait for Hogsmeade, I've been looking forward to going since I found out about it in first year. It seemed it would take forever for us to go but now it's finally here," she said.

"I know the feeling, soon enough you'll be seventeen. It seemed it would take forever to be seventeen for me and now it's a week away," I said.

"Which is why I have to interrupt your conversation."

I looked up to see Ben smiling down at us. By that point many people had arrived. There were several people swimming in the pool, others were sunbathing or sitting in groups. Funnily enough, Michael had started a poker game at the patio table. Derick and Rory were part of it.

"Attention everyone!" Ben called out as I stood up. Alana stood up moments later.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at us.

"Just like last year, not only is this just a pool party for the end of summer but it's also to celebrate my girlfriend Ashley's birthday. In a week she will come of age, so this is a big one!"

Everyone clapped and then sang happy birthday as Barry brought out a cake. There were candle sparklers on the cake in a shape of seventeen. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to blow them out, but I wished that things would work out for all of us, even Ellen. I wished she would find the love of her life instead of hoping to be with Ben. As I blew them out, the sparklers went out. After I did that, Nick set up some fireworks even though it was day time.

They all exploded by the pool in different shapes and colours. The final one let out a loud explosion and formed a seventeen in the air. Everyone cheered and clapped.

"You guys went all out," I said hugging Ben.

"You only turn seventeen once babe," he said and kissed me which caused people to whistle.

Everyone scrambled out of the pool to line up and get a piece of cake. Many people wished me a happy birthday.

"It's not that exciting," Jared said and threw an arm around me. "Now eighteen is exciting. I'm going to be of age in both the wizarding world and the muggle world. I can get into muggle bars now."

"And then you can pick up some muggle girls," Ben asked. "I've seen that you haven't had a girlfriend since what's her name dumped you."

"Jolene was too intense anyway," Jared said. "She was too jealous of my past. She hated when I talked to Ashley even though she knew we didn't like each other like that. She knew that Ashley and Ben were dating."

"She was jealous of us?" I asked him. "Out of all the girls you slept with it was me she hated you talking to. Doesn't she remember when we hated each other?"

"We hated each other in the first year and second year?" Jared laughed. "I hardly doubt that's relevant. Anyway it wasn't just you. It was Melanie too of all people. Melanie and I only just started talking."

"Okay explain that one," Ben said. "I never understood that one. How did you two even hook up?"

"She caught me out after curfew. I told her jokingly that I could make it worth her while if she rat me out to a prefect like she wanted. She actually took me up on my offer. I thought for sure that would make her angrier. It didn't, and she wanted more after that night," Jared answered with a shrug. "She was a rat at the time, but she's hot. How could I not?"

Ben shook his head and laughed. "Maybe you should take her out again. She seems a lot better than she used to be."

Jared glanced at Melanie who was laughing by the pool while she ate a slice of cake.

"If she wants it," he said. "You know me."

"Yes we do," Ben said and turned to me. "Come on we'd better get some cake before there isn't any left."

"You know, Sarah's birthday is on the sixth," I said. "She'll be seventeen too. I wish we'd thought of that."

"I forgot," Ben said and then called out to everyone: "I just remembered. Sarah's birthday is a day after Ashley's! Before to wish her a Happy Birthday as well everyone! She'll be seventeen as well."

Everyone started to sing to her as we grabbed some cake. Sarah was blushing furiously.

"I really wish you hadn't done that," she said but she was smiling.

"Ashley reminded me," Ben said and looked at me.

"It's only right," I said. "I don't think it's right for your birthday to be ignored when it's just a day after mine. If we're celebrating mine than we should be celebrating yours as well! We've never had a joint birthday party. We should have this year."

"Well this is the first time you're speaking to me in years," Melanie said. "But next year we should do that."

"I can't believe next year will be our last year," I said.

"Oh lets not think about that yet," Sarah said. "Let's just have fun today."

It indeed was a fun day, and even though I enjoyed myself I did miss Ellen. It seemed Anne, Jess and Erica already knew about our fight and they told me they understood why I was so angry with her.

"She told us that she'd probably be hanging out with us a lot when we got back to school," Jess told me. "I asked her why and she told me. I told her not to bother because we're on yours and Ben's side. I also told her that she can't always use us like that. I mean we all get along so well in Hufflepuff, but we all have our best friends. She can't just decide that we'll be her best friends just because she isn't speaking to you, Ben or Michael. She's not speaking to us now."

"Hopefully she comes around," I said. "This isn't like her."

"Are you kidding?" Ben asked. "She's always been like this. Anyone who takes our side she is going to get angry with. Who knows, maybe we'll see her talking to Tara in the new term."

"I can't see that," Melanie said. "I've talked to Tara, and she hates her. She hates all of you… well except Ben of course. Tara wouldn't talk to her even if she begged."

"I don't even know how you could hang out with her," I said.

"I've never liked her that much but she had her uses. I always like Lydia and Natalie. The only thing I didn't like about them was the fact that they followed Tara around everywhere. I was hated by everyone in Hufflepuff though, so I needed more friends besides Sarah somewhere. Anyway, she always bad mouthed you and Ellen so much."

"I'm guessing you did as well," Ben said. "Don't even deny it."

"I was an idiot," Melanie said. "I was a jealous idiot. I can't explain it. I guess last year I had a bit of a wakeup call that's all. All summer I've regretted the last few years. I'm glad everyone can forgive me. I always felt awful when I saw everyone together and having fun. I didn't even care that you guys were drinking, I just wanted to be part of it. Last year at the end of the party I decided to just take my chances. You guys brought me over though."

"It's just nice to see Hufflepuff united again," Anne said. "It's about time; I mean all this petty fighting is ridiculous when you think about it. Now Ellen isn't talking to us."

"Ellen will come around," Ben said. "She always does. She'll have her tantrum but she'll talk to us again."

"I wonder if she'll try talking to us," Sarah said to Melanie.

"Well I don't want her hanging out with us if she is just going to bad mouth Ben, Michael and Ashley," Melanie said. "I'm done with the fights. I want us all to be friends. I refuse to be part of any of it. I don't want to be rude to her, but I'm taking her side either."

"I'm sure she will try to talk to you," Erica said. "After everything that happened she probably thinks you'll be on her side."

"Nope," Melanie said. "I hate to take sides at all, but this is ridiculous. I might have been excluded from the Hufflepuff group, but I know that she told Ashley to go for Ben. I know everything that happened and afterwards. Everyone does. This is awful though. I just wanted the next two years for everyone to get along. We're not going to see much of each after Hogwarts. I've already wasted the last few years. I refuse to have anything ruin that."

"Don't worry about it Melanie," Ben said. "This is between Ashley, Me and Ellen. Perhaps even Michael. It doesn't need to involve anyone else."

"Well it kind of involves us now too," Anne said. "As much as we don't want it to, it does."

"Let's just worry about that when we go back to school," I said. "There's no need to ruin today over it."

I looked around and saw everyone laughing and talking and getting along. I could see Melanie's point. We only had two years left. I wanted us all to get along as we were at that moment. We would all be split up after Hogwarts. We wouldn't have these carefree days for much longer. Ben wrapped his arms around me and kissed my cheek.