"Ashley, you can't possibly go through with this." Hermione folded her arms as she watched Ashley slam her suitcase shut.
"I have to. I already told them I would." She grabbed her barn owl's cage and set it roughly beside the suitcase.
"You have to?" Hermione repeated.
"Uh, yeah." Ashley searched around her bed for anything still there.
"But do you want to?" Hermione said. Ashley froze, then continued to search.
"No." she muttered. Hermione threw up her hands.
"Then why are you doing it?" she shouted. Ashley lifted the suitcase and cage and started towards the common room, ignoring her.
Ginny was waiting in the common room with Harry and Ron.
"You're making a stupid decision, Ashley." Ginny reprimanded. Harry nodded.
"You know you're breaking his heart, don't you?"
"Think of the years you've been with him! Are you going to leave all that behind?"
"Ashley, are you listening?"
They followed her noisily out to the train station, where the red Hogwarts train belched out smoke in preparation for the journey. A pair of unfamiliar people waited beside the train with Hagrid in between them, uncomfortable smiles on their faces.
"Time to go, Ashley." One, a tall blond man, took her luggage. The other, a short-haired woman, plastered a fake grin on her face and hugged her.
"We're so happy to see you." She cooed, voice dripping with false sweetness.
"Hi, aunt Lea." Ashley muttered. She noticed the others standing sullenly at Ashley from the steps leading down to the station.
"Are those your friends?" Lea asked. Ashley nodded.
"Yeah. They're-" The woman cut her off.
"Well, that's very nice. Let's, er, go now." Lea started steering her towards the train.
"Uncle Matt, will you show her into the train?" The blond man nodded.
"Ashley, that boy over there has been here ever since we came. Do you know who he is?" Uncle Matt whispered and motioned towards the hedge lining the stairs. Draco was leaning back on the hedge, arms folded, a stony expression on his face.
"Yeah. Yeah I do." Ashley hesitated, then gave a small wave to Draco before being ushered into the train by Aunt Lea. Draco's stony look melted, and he pushed off from the wall, looking about to go after Ashley. The train whistle blew a warning, and Ashley slipped out of sight.
"Is that boy your friend?" Aunt Lea asked, sounding disgusted. Ashley glared at her.
"No,actually, he's my-" She started angrily.
"Well, it's a good thing we got you away from him." Aunt Lea answered quickly. "And from this whole place. Did you see the state of it, Matthew?"
"Yeah, looks like it's about to crumble around your little friends' heads."
"By the way, why were those wretched people angry with you?"
Ashley whirled around.
"'Those wretched people' were mad at me because I made a wrong decision." She seethed. "And I have."
The train wheels started chugging down the track with a final striking peal of the whistle.
"Well, that's it, then." Harry said as the train started moving faster. "Let's go back."
The troupe was starting back up the stairs in silence when a muffled thump came from the station, followed by an irked squawk.
"What in the-?" Ginny started back down the steps.
"Well, of all the stupid decisions I've made…" Ashley brushed the dust off her school uniform and straightened the suitcase she had thrown out of the train in front of her. She barely had a chance to pick up her owl cage before someone enveloped her completely in a tight hug.
"Draco-" Ashley hugged him back as tight as she could. "Draco, I'm so sorry, I can't believe I almost left you, it was so stupid, I…" Draco leaned back and covered her mouth with his hand.
"You don't have to apologize. I knew you were going to come back." He reassured her. Ashley frowned and moved his hand.
"You did? Seriously?" She asked. Draco grinned and nodded. "You couldn't leave without regretting it for the rest of your life. And you're not one to stand regrets."
"You know me too well. I wouldn't be able to hold my own for long under the eyes of those two." She joked with a laugh. "But I guess missing you would have hurt me too."