"Can't believe they decided to have a spring Ball, can you?" Ron remarked excitedly as he gazed at himself in the full-length mirror in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. He no longer had those terrible, lace-filled dress robes from the Yule Ball- Harry had been determined to buy Ron new dress robes this year and spare his friend the unnecessary humiliation. These new ones were similar to Harry's, except in color; these were the traditional black and white, with a black bow.
"No, I can't, even though you've said that a thousand times since they made the announcement." Harry smirked, straightening his emerald bow. Ron ignored the comment and smoothed his hair.
"And I'm going with Hermione! She's bound to look good, I mean, at the Yule Ball, she-" Harry tuned out as Ron continued on with his giddy speculations.
"Will he ever shut up?" Dean Thomas leaned over and whispered to Harry. He shook his head.
"Never." Satisfied with his bow, Harry went over to Ron. "Almost ready?" Ron grinned.
"Let's go."
"Evening, gentlemen." Draco nodded towards Harry and Ron coming down the staircase towards the Great Hall. He grinned when he saw Ron.
"New dress robes? Nice choice." He laughed to himself as he remembered Ron in his fourth year robes. "Nervous about seeing Ginny?" He turned towards Harry. Harry shrugged.
"You could say so." He nodded, smirking. The butterflies did simultaneous back flips in his stomach. "You nervous?" He tried to not focus on them.
"Of course. I actually didn't manage to see Ashley at the Yule Ball before." Draco answered.
"Yeah, she was sick that night, remember?" Harry said.
"Boys! Boys!" Luna Lovegood floated up towards them, festive winged pigs dangling merrily from her ears. "The girls are ready to meet you- but they requested they come out one at a time. They want to walk in with each of you." She announced.
"Where are they?" Ron craned his neck to search the crowd in front of the Great Hall doors.
"Around the corner- but only one of them will come out at a time. You all can stay here." Luna smiled dreamily and floated back down to the corner towards the hidden girls.
"I'll tell Ginny to come out first." Harry gulped. A fit of whispering and excited giggling came from around the corner, then a red-headed girl stepped out into the hallway.
Harry had to catch his breath- Ginny looked stunning in her sparkling emerald dress that matched Harry's dress robes. A pair of jeweled earrings brought out her bright eyes and the red hair let loose instead of its normal ponytail. Harry stuttered as he stepped forward to greet her.
"What's the matter, Harry? Snorkack got your tongue?" Ginny's musical voice did a fair imitation of Luna's favorite phrase. Harry laughed in spite of himself.
"No, I just- well, you look beautiful." He took her hand and stepped towards the edge of the hallway, looking towards the corner for the next girl.
"Now may I present the wonderful Hermione Granger." Ginny called out, and Ron's ears turned a bright red. Hermione shyly came into view from around the wall.
She smiled as she saw the shocked expression on Ron's face and looked down, blushing, at her pale blue dress. Her hair was pulled up into a delicate bun, save for a few loose curls that tumbled down onto her shoulders. She took Ron's arm and gently dragged him over next to Harry- the poor boy was still paralyzed with an expression of pleased amazement.
"And the final lovely lady, Ashley Baron." Hermione announced. Draco cleared his throat and tried to look confident as he stepped in the middle of the hallway.
Half a face peeked out from around the corner, giggled, then withdrew. Ginny laughed.
"Come on, Ashley. Your knight in shining armor is waiting for you." She encouraged her. Ashley laughed and peeked over the corner again.
"Okay." She looked down at her heels as she shuffled out into view. Draco gaped and leaned against the wall for support. Ashley smiled and twirled around in her bright red dress, her brown hair let down around her shoulders.
"Ashley- your hair is –"
"Down. For once. Yeah." Ashley finished. Draco shook his head as if waking up from a dream and pushed off from the wall, taking Ashley's hands in his.
"May I say, milady, that you look absolutely gorgeous this evening?" Draco complimented. Ashley nodded.
"You may." She leaned closer and kissed him on the cheek. "And may I say that you, too, look dashing for the ball?" Draco turned a scarlet to rival Ron's ears.
"Well, thank you. Shall we go on in, then?" Draco led Ashley through the Great Hall doors and into the ball.
For the springtime theme of the ball, the Great Hall had been meticulously decorated by Professor Sprout with garlands of sweet-smelling flowers that bloomed before the guests' eyes around the Hall. Vases adorned every table, and a sort of soft grass covered the normally-wooden floors. Music had already started playing, and a few couples had started to dance- including Harry and Ginny.
"Um, Hermione- uh, would you like to dance with me?" Ron asked shakily, recovering from his shock in the hallway.
"Yes, please." Hermione took his unsteady arm and let him lead her onto the dance floor, leaving Draco and Ashley to the mercy of other extremely talkative party-goers for the majority of the ball.
The sun had set into a rosy dusk when the pair finally went to stand on the side of the floor, entertaining themselves with watching the other couples.
"Who is Luna dancing with?" Ashley watched Luna and her pig earrings spin around lightly. Draco craned his neck.
"That would be- Neville." He answered. Ashley's eyebrows rose.
"Really?" She said. Draco nodded towards another couple on the other side of the room.
"Who is Cho with?" He asked. Ashley laughed.
"Michael Corner- how appropriate. She's Harry's old girlfriend, and she's now with Ginny's old boyfriend." Ashley commented, grinning. Draco looked towards a table loaded with drinks.
"I'm going to get something to drink- do you want anything?" Ashley shook her head, and turned away as he disappeared through the crowd behind them. The song ended soon after, and Hermione came off the floor, face reddened.
"Ron's not much of a dancer, but he's no worse than Harry. They both have just gone to get something to eat." Hermione remarked giddily. "Where's Draco?" Ashley shrugged.
"Probably wandering aimlessly, pretending to search for the drink table." She said. Hermione smirked, then gazed at Ashley knowingly.
"So what are you going to do with him after graduation?" Hermione said. It was Ashley's turn to sigh.
"To tell the truth? I don't know. I was going to leave for Baltimore right before graduation, actually, and if I did that, then…" Ashley trailed off.
"You wouldn't- leave Draco, would you?" Hermione asked with a confused expression. Ashley looked at her sadly.
"The orphanage wants me back- Aunt May is getting old, and wants to retire. They want me to take over for a while before they find someone new. I can't leave them over there without someone to help them." Hermione grasped Ashley's shoulder in disbelief.
"Ashley, they've sent you a total of seven bloody letters in your seven years of being here. Would you go to them and leave Draco, who's thought about you every day since meeting you?" Before Ashley could reply, Ron and Draco appeared beside them.
"Well, Harry and Ginny are still dancing, aren't they?" Draco remarked. "Would you like to join them, Ash?" Ashley seemed to emerge from a reverie and turned to Draco.
"Sure." She gave him a half-smile and stepped out onto the floor. Ron looked anxiously at Hermione.
"Hermione- is anything wrong?" Ron noticed a sad, slightly exasperated look on Hermione's face. He shook her head.
"No, I just…" she stopped, then turned towards him. "I have to tell you something."
"You never told me you could dance." Draco said as they whirled in time to the music. Ashley managed a small shrug.
"Never really knew I could either." Draco grinned. Ashley fell unusually silent.
"I just realized- this is our first time dancing together." He tried to start up a conversation. Ashley merely let out a "really?" and glanced down at her feet. Draco frowned.
"Is there something I should know about?" Draco asked. Ashley's face turned pink.
"No." She responded quickly, and looked away as the song ended. Draco gently tilted her chin up.
"Are you sure?" He said. Ashley looked into his eyes; they were worried, they noticed something was wrong with her- but they also showed a love for her that couldn't possibly be ignored. How could she leave those eyes, the love they showed? How could she? Guilt welled up within her.
"I'm sure." She murmured and turned away from him. Draco sighed.
"All right then." Ashley took that as a sign to leave and quickly slipped away into the crowd. Draco went over and tapped Hermione on the shoulder.
"Hey, is there something wrong with Ashley? I saw you were talking to her earlier." He said. Hermione looked down at her drink.
"Well, Draco…she…I can't explain it. You'll have to ask her yourself." Hermione shook her head. "You shouldn't have to hear it from me." Draco nodded.
"Thanks for telling me. She refused to say anything while we were dancing." He set off through the crowd, scanning the Hall for any sign of her. She had disappeared. Draco circled around the Hall and nearby hallways, then went up to Professor McGonagall.
"Have you seen Ashley anywhere?" He asked tiredly. McGonagall looked surprised.
"Well, she did walk outside thirty minutes ago. Is something wrong, Mr. Malfoy?" She frowned; she would not expect Ashley, of all people, to leave her date in the middle of a ball for no reason.
"Yes- I mean, no. I don't know. But thank you for telling me, Professor." Draco headed towards the door that led outside.
"Ashley! Ashley!" Draco called out for her as he almost jogged down the outside path. It was a surprisingly cold night- he could not see any couples out walking around tonight.
A shadow moved behind a large willow tree away from the path, next to the bank. Draco followed it and slowed down to peer around the tree. Ashley was seated in between a pair of protruding roots, gazing out at the lake half-hidden from the branches. Silver moonlight lit up a few tears on her face.
"Hey." Draco came over around the tree and sat down next to Ashley. "What's wrong? Come on, tell me." He draped one arm over her shoulders, but she didn't lean in towards him.
"It's about graduation." She sniffed after a pause. Draco gave her an encouraging smile.
"Yeah? What, are you going to stay here another year or something? You like it that much?" He joked, then sobered. "Ok, I'll stop. What's on your mind?" Ashley shifted uncomfortably.
"I have to leave for America early. Before graduation." She stared mournfully at the muddy bank.
"Ok…well, that's fine, I guess. You're coming back for the end of the year, though, right?" Draco asked. No answer. "Right?" Ashley hugged her knees and shook her head.
"They want me to stay there and take over the orphanage. And…" she sighed, knowing what Draco's response would be. "They don't have any room for anyone else there."
"B-but you're not going, are you? I mean, you can't just leave here forever. This is your home, not there. They've barely kept in touch with you! And I…" he stopped, then threw up his hands in exasperation. "I can't believe you would leave me for them!" He got up and stalked back towards the path. Ashley scrambled to her feet.
"Draco, it's not…" she tried to protest, but he had already gone out of sight.
Harry and Ron grinned as Draco appeared out of the outside doorway.
"We've been looking all over for you! Hermione wants to know if…" Harry's face fell as he saw Draco's sullen face.
"What has she done? Malfoy, what did she say?" Hermione joined Harry and gazed concernedly at his face. "Come on, let's sit down, and then you tell us everything." Draco let Hermione steer him out towards a staircase and push him down on a step.
"Ok, what happened?" Harry asked. Draco put his head in his hands.
"She's leaving." He mumbled.
"What?" Harry leaned forward. "She's leaving? For America? Why? Why would she leave you? Is she leaving forever? Hermione, what is going on?" Harry stammered. Hermione shook her head.
"Ashley got orders from the orphanage to come home early and lead the place. She can't take Draco with her, and she wouldn't be able to come back for the end of the year." Hermione explained shortly.
"But when is she leaving?" Ron asked. Hermione looked down and pulled out a letter addressed to Ashley. Draco looked up.
"Someone gave this to me to give to Ashley. It's from Baltimore." Hermione sighed. "Aunt May, the owner of the orphanage, has died. They need Ashley back soon."
How soon?" Draco asked fearfully.
"Tomorrow."