She didn't know how long she sat there crying before someone sat down next to her with a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see a pair of green eyes that sparkled with concern and understanding.
"Are you okay, Ashley?" Harry asked. "Do you need me to take you to the Hospital Wing?"
"No, I'm fine, just stress from the move and everything. Can you show me how to get to Gryffindor Tower?"
"Sure, let's go. I was just talking to Professor Lupin. He was a friend of my parents," Harry explained as they walked through the castle.
"I really like him. He helped me when I was lost this morning and my uncle left me to find the Great Hall on my own. He seems to generally like us students. Unlike my uncle," she stated. "I think he is angry that I'm not I n his house."
"Well, we're happy to have you," he said as they arrived in front of a portrait of a fat lady. "Butterbeer!"
The portrait swung open and they entered the Gryffindor common room. Ashley looked around at the soft-looking couches and chairs decorated in red and gold. She felt immediately at home in this atmosphere. It was warm and inviting, soothing to ruffled nerves.
She saw Ron and Hermione on a couch, waiting for Harry. He took her over and they sat down with his friends. They all started to talk about their summer and what they did for their holidays.
"What did you do for you holidays, Ash?" Hermione asked, her Prefect badge glinting in the firelight.
"I…ah…I waited for the authorities to find my uncle after my parents' death," she answered, on the verge of tears. "They didn't keep in touch with each other."
"It's time for bed. I'll take you to our dorm, Ashley. See you two in the morning!" Hermione called as she dragged Ashley out before she burst into tears.
The next morning, Ashley woke up before the other girls. She dressed quietly and grabbed her books and went downstairs. She wanted to write to her best friend in America, to see if she still wanted to be associated with a werewolf.
When she got to the common room, she saw two identical redheads bent over a piece of parchment. They didn't see her as she made her way silently to a chair in an out-of-the-way corner. She curled up in the chair and started her letter. She was still writing when Hermione came down thirty minutes later to find her.
"Hey, Ash, you're up early!" Hermione spoke up brightly.
The two redheads looked up in surprise as they finally notice that they weren't alone. They looked at each other than gave Ashley a dirty look and left the tower. Ashley saw this and knew that her association with Professor Snape would cause others to hate her. She burst into the tears that she was holding back since last night.
At this time, Harry and Ron came downstairs. "What's wrong with Ashley, 'Mione?" Ron asked.
"Don't call me that and your brothers just treated her rudely. She was sitting here minding her own business and they left after glaring at her with extreme hate." Hermione tried to calm Ashley down.
"Why, those prats! Why would they do that?" Ron was angry.
"Well, there is a Slytherin in our presence, Ron. What do you think?" Lee Jordan spoke up from behind them. "Who knows if she is a spy? You-Know-Who is back and she is a Snape."
"Would a spy be sitting here, crying her eyes out of her uncle despises her," Harry pointed out as Ashley jumped up and ran out of the room.