"George, this is my room too. Let me in", Fred said, banging on the door. He heard the lock click and walked in. "George, talk to me".
"I have nothing to say. You all have your opinions on what I did. I even hate myself for doing it. I don't even know why I did it. It was heat of the moment, she kissed me and my reaction was to kiss her back".
"Mum's gonna go mental on you. She loves Ashleigh", Fred told him.
"I know. I want to make things right, but I don't know how. I don't even know where she lives", George said.
"Well then, you'll have to wait until term starts I guess", Fred said. He nodded. There was a knock on the door and Ron poked his head in.
"Mum said dinner's ready".
"I'm not hungry", George mumbled and laid down on his bed. Fred got up and left.
"He's not doing so well. I dunno what I'm supposed to do to help him. He wants to make things right betweenthem, but doesn't know how", Fred explained to his mum. "He said it was a heat of the moment thing, she kissed him and his reaction was to kiss her back. I dunno what the hell he was thinking", Fred shook his head.
"Oh Ashleigh, I'm so sorry", Tracie said when Ashleigh told her what happened.
"I should've seen it coming. Nothing good ever lasts for me", she sighed, walking into the house. Her cousin jumped into her arms. "Hey, I missed you", she said hugging him. Ashleigh and her little cousin Ethan had gotten very close during the month she stayed with them before going to Hogwarts. She was able to pick him up because he was quite short for the average 11 year old.
"I missed you too. Guess what", he smiled.
"What?" Ashleigh smiled back.
"I start at Hogwarts in the fall", he said excitedly. "I got my letter yesterday", he said, showing her the letter.
"That's right; you're 11 now, aren't you?" She smiled.
"Yes! How could you forget?" He said.
"I didn't. I'm just playing with you", she smiled and put him back on the floor. Ashleigh took her trunk up to her room that Tracie gave her the previous summer. It used to be Ethan's play room, but he didn't mind giving it to Ashleigh. She laid down on her king sized bed and started crying again. She held it in all day and was strong out in public. But she still hurt; she could feel her heart breaking in two. She skipped dinner and her Aunt was worried about her. She knew all about Ashleigh's history with her depression.
"Ethan, why don't you go see if Ashleigh is okay. I think she could use one of your big hugs", Tracie told him after dinner. He nodded and ran up the stairs. He knocked on the door and opened it to see his cousin crying on her bed.
"Why are you crying?" He asked, coming over and hopping up onto the bed.
"Big girl problems", she sniffed. He leaned over and wrapped his small arms around her as best as he could.
"Don't cry. It's sad seeing you cry", he said. She hugged him back.
"I know buddy. Thank you for the hug. That makes me feel a lot better", she smiled, wiping the tears away.
"You're welcome. Wanna watch a movie?" He asked. She nodded. Ethan, like Ashleigh, was brought up in the muggle world, as his dad was also a muggle. But his dad had passed away before he was born and Tracie felt like she owed it to her fiancé to bring him up in the muggle universe.
"Sure. Whatcha got?" Ashleigh asked.
"We can watch Toy Story", he giggled. She remembered her Aunt told her that he loved that movie when it first came out so she bought it for him once it was on VHS.
"Alright. Let's watch it", Ashleigh smiled. She was happy having Ethan there to distract her for a little while, until she received a letter via owl from someone. She opened it and read it.
Hey Ashleigh,
It's Ginny. George is a terrible wreck. He refused to eat dinner tonight and he's been in his room all night long, hasn't come out once. He said it was a heat of the moment thing, when she kissed him it was his reaction to kiss her back. He says it didn't mean anything. And before you misinterpret what I'm saying, I'm not sticking up for him, I'm still quite angry with him, but people do make mistakes. I hope you're doing alright at home by yourself so far. Please write back and tell me how you are.
Ginny
Ashleigh got parchment and a quill and wrote her back.
Hey Ginny,
I'm doing okay so far. I'm not completely alone. I have my little cousin, Ethan, who's been cheering me up. He's 11 and will be starting at Hogwarts in September. I'll be okay. And George will be too. I just can't get the image out of my head.
Ashleigh
She sent the letter off and then crawled into bed. Again, she cried herself to sleep.
A week passed and she decided to get up for breakfast and Tracie was happy to see her.
"I'm glad you've come out today".
"I am too. I need a shower", she laughed.
"I've never heard you laugh. I am so glad you're getting better", Tracie told her, giving her a hug.
"I'm alright for today. I have ups and downs, but I'm working on it", she told her Aunt as she sat down with a bowl of cereal.
"So what do you want for your birthday?" Tracie asked.
"I dunno. Mom and dad usually got me new clothes and stuff", Ashleigh told her. "You really don't have to get me anything".
"Don't be silly. We've only ever sent you a card before. But this year, I want to get you something".
"Alright then. But there's really nothing I want anymore", she said.
"I'm sure I'll find something", she smiled. Ashleigh nodded and then went out back for a bit. She thought about it for the rest of the day and knew exactly what she could do for her niece. She wrote a letter and told her owl to take it to Ginny Weasley.