A long series of pops issued from the front lawn of a towering mansion surrounded by acres and acres of bright green hills.
"Is this the place?" Harry asked in amazement as he walked forward slowly to loosen himself up from the Apparition.
"It's…huge." Ron stared at the house, awestruck. The front door opened and Draco waved to them.
"Come in, some people are already here!" He called out. Mr. Weasley started for the house quickly, grinning.
"Oh, he just must have some interesting Muggle artifacts in there."
If the outside of the house stunned Ron, the inside nearly killed him. The foyer itself was huge, with two curving staircases meeting at the second floor balcony in the middle of the room. An immense crystal chandelier hung from the three-story ceiling painted like the sky with enchanted, moving clouds. The stairs were painted gold and complemented the marble floors. A hallway to the right of the stairs led to what looked like a den. The left hallway opened into kitchen- pots and pans could be heard banging loudly from behind the door.
"This is a…beautiful house, Draco." Mrs. Weasley turned around slowly to take in the entire room.
"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley. It's a bit overdone for me, but that's the way my parents liked it. Come on in to the den- Hermione, your parents are already here." Draco disappeared into the den.
"Overdone? Overdone!" Ron repeated to himself.
"Well, it's about time you all got here." Fred waved his mug filled with butterbeer at them.
"Good job, Ron- you didn't lose an arm Apparating after all! Have to call St. Mungo's back then…" George grinned. Ron scowled before being dragged towards Hermione's parents.
"Harry! Glad to see you again!" A man with a long ponytail and scars on his face walked up to Harry.
"Hi, Bill. Hello, Fleur." Fleur, dangling from Bill's arm, leaned forward to give Harry a kiss on the cheek.
"The whole vamily is zo pleased wiv you, 'Arry." Fleur cooed and stroked Bill's arm.
"Haven't you heard, Harry? Fleur is going to have a baby this December." Bill grinned.
Harry forced a smile; he could picture now a tiny part-Veela, long-haired boy bouncing around the Burrow.
"Er- congratulations. And, if you'll excuse me for a moment…" Harry headed quickly towards Ron and Hermione. "Hi, Mrs. Granger. Hi, Mr. Granger."
"Why hello, Harry. You've grown since we last saw you." Mrs. Granger smiled politely. Harry nodded. Hermione gave him a quizzical look as to his sudden appearance. Harry jerked his head over to Bill and Fleur, now cornering Ashley with their good news. Hermione glanced over and nodded, understanding. Suddenly, a house-elf dressed in an oversized polo shirt and jeans cut to its size came in, a tray of sandwiches wobbling on its hands.
"Sorry, Hermione. I told all the elves to leave, and they wouldn't. I even gave them half my wardrobe and they wouldn't go." Draco apologized as the creature tottered past. Hermione sighed.
"Well, you did give them clothes. I guess I can't be too mad at you." She smiled and took a sandwich. "And these do look good." She turned to Ron.
"Ron, I-" She stopped. Ron had disappeared. She turned to her other side- Harry had gone as well.
"Excuse me!" A voice quieted everyone in the room down. It was Harry, standing on a table opposite another where Ron stood.
"Er, me n' Harry would like to make an announcement." Ron stammered.
"Ginny-"
"Hermione-"
"We've decided-"
"That after all these years of being with you-"
"We'd like to ask you both a question of sorts."
They both took a breath and glanced at each other before speaking.
"Will you marry us?"
Ron and Harry were on one knee, holding out tiny black velvet boxes- each holding two of the brightest rings the girls had ever seen.
"Did…you know this was gonna happen?" Ashley whispered to Draco. Draco shook his head and held a finger to his lips. Ashley turned to Hermione- she was still staring at Ron in an amazed stupor.
"Hermione." Ashley whispered; the other seemed to wake up out of a trance.
"Oh, um- what?" She looked at Ashley.
"Well?" Ashley smiled and jerked her head towards Ron. Hermione turned back to him.
"Oh." She paused. "Oh, what am I doing? Yes, yes of course!" She let out breathlessly and ran towards the table. Ron jumped down to greet her.
"Ginny? You next." Hermione joked tearfully as Ron slipped the dazzling ring on her finger. Ginny smiled.
"Well, since Hermione said yes…I think I'll second her, Harry." Ginny smiled. Harry sighed with relief and jumped down as well.
"Oh, today is the best day of my life!" Mrs. Weasley sobbed onto Mr. Weasley's shoulder. Mr. Weasley nodded and pulled another tissue out of the air for them both.
The events that happened after the double engagement could only described using the word "pandemonium." The entire Weasley family piled upon Ron, then Ginny in a matter of seconds, seeming to fill the den more than before . As Fred and George turned up the music to an almost unbearable volume and asked the house elves if they had any more butterbeer on tap, Draco tapped Ashley on the shoulder.
"We better get out of here before it gets too chaotic." He shouted over the now-blasting music.
"You'd the leave the house to them!" Ashley asked incredulously. Draco nodded and took her hand.
"It'll be fine. Believe me. This house can take it." He laughed and led her out of the den and up three flights of stairs into what looked like a massive attic.
"Where are we?" Ashley looked around.
"The attic. My parents never used it- I came up here every day." Draco let go of her hand and started to walk along the paneled wall.
"Why? There's nothing here." Ashley squinted to see through the floating dust. Draco put a hand on one of the wooden panels.
"Not here." His touch caused the panel to vanish, opening into a shallow slope of the roof. "Here." He stepped out onto the roof and climbed up out of sight.
"Draco? Where are you going?" Ashley leaned out of the panel and looked up. He was sitting on the peak of the roof, looking down at her.
"Come on. It's a good night to be up here. Unusually warm." He grinned as Ashley lowered herself slowly down next to him.
"This is where I used to write letters to you in the summer when both my parents were home. I made that door myself-"he pointed to the now-sealed wall panel – "when I got home the summer after first year. My parents had no idea it existed." He laughed. Ashley yawned and rested her head on his shoulder.
"I'm tired." She mumbled. Draco put a protective arm around her.
"Yes, I can see that." He lightly kissed the top of her head. "What was your favorite moment at Hogwarts?" Ashley groaned.
"That's a hard question, Mr. Malfoy. I can't think that hard when I'm half-asleep." She muttered and let out a deep breath. "Definitely…the Shrieking Shack." Draco scoffed.
"The Shrieking Shack? Your favorite part of Hogwarts was seeing the Shrieking Shack! That's not even a part of Hogwarts, Ashley! I should push you down the side of this roof right now!" Ashley laughed.
"You know I'm kidding." She said, and sighed again. "I guess it would be…when you came back again." She closed her eyes.
"Yeah, I particularly liked that part myself- though I still don't get why you were out there in the snow in the first place." He commented. Ashley shivered.
"I thought you said it was warm up here." She scooted closer to Draco and looked up at him, half-smiling. Draco couldn't help but smile back and lean forward, gently drawing her face closer to his. Ashley closed her eyes. This was the moment she had been waiting for…
"DRACO! Now where has that chap gone to?" Fred's voice suddenly floated up to the roof, and a shadow could now be seen prowling the backyard, the silhouette of a broom in hand. Another almost identical shadow appeared beside it.
"Off with Ashley, I suppose. We can't find her either." George laughed.
Up on the roof, Draco sighed wearily, just inches away from Ashley's face.
"Ashley? Why are they looking for me?" He moaned. Ashley smirked and looked down towards the yard. "I think they want to play Quidditch. See, Ron has his Quaffle out." Ron had indeed joined his brothers with Hermione and was bouncing a large reddish ball in his palm.
"Well, they want to play Quidditch, don't they?" Draco slid down to the wall and slipped inside. Ashley crept down to the edge of the roof to watch the others three floors down.
"Well, wherever they are, we shouldn't bother them." Hermione said to Ron. Ron nodded and threw the Quaffle to Fred.
"I'm sure he won't mind if we play for a little while. Where's Harry? He's supposed to be on my team." Harry's voice came up from the patio.
"I'll be right there, Ron. I'm trying to find the twins' clubs." Ashley laughed- Harry, being as talented at finding things as a stunned troll, would never find those clubs, even if they were whacking his own feet.
"Ash." Draco whispered. Ashley turned around just in time to catch a long broomstick, made especially for broom- jumping. Draco lifted his own broom.
"Let's show them how to play Quidditch, shall we?" He grinned maniacally and revealed a golden Snitch, easy to see even in the dark. Ashley quickly set the broom for broom-jumping and stood on it, ready to take off from the roof.
"Throw it out. I'll go get it." She said mock casually, and turned to face the yard.
"One…two…three." Draco threw the Snitch as hard as he could at an angle heading down towards the field. Ashley gave a laugh and blasted off the roof in a downwards spiral, Draco following after.
Fred and George both gave a shout as they noticed a golden ball racing downward towards them in pursuit by a figure standing on a broom. Just a few feet before hitting the ground between Ron and George, the snitch swerved to the left and back up, the figure- no, figures, switching position smoothly to follow.
"Who is that?" Ron watched in amazement as the first figure launched into a backwards flip to avoid the Bludger he had let out moments earlier and landed safely back on the broom.
"Nice one, Ash!" The second figure blew by the first and dived down after the snitch.
"Watch out for the Bludger!" Ashley warned, then zoomed on after him.
"Ashley and Draco!" Fred and George exclaimed. Draco drew closer and closer to the snitch, and reached out his hand to catch it.
"Bludger!" Ashley flew up to his right and swerved to the left, catching Draco off balance. Both rolled out of the way of the Bludger previously rushing head-long towards Draco.
"Thanks." Draco stopped and watched as Ashley regained her balance and leapt up to catch the snitch swooshing above her. Her free hand caught the broom handle and swung her around it a few times before jumped back to her feet on it. Cheering erupted from the yard below.
"Ashley, is that you? And Draco? What were you two thinking?" Hermione was gaping up at them in shock. The two flyers quickly swooped back to the ground.
"We just thought we'd show them how to play Quidditch before they start their own little tournament in my backyard." Draco said casually and leaned on his upright broom. Ashley immobilized the Bludger hurtling at her with a flick of her wand and pointed to it.
"And I suggest, Ronald, that you make this little beast visible before it goes and knocks someone's head off." Ashley summoned the ball and tossed it back to Ron, whose ears had once again gone pink.
"So what were you two doing up there anyway?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
"Eavesdropping on all of you." Ashley answered quickly. Hermione nodded, but didn't seem convinced. Fred and George glanced at each other, then Draco, who ignored their gaze.
"Well, um, I was just about to get to bed. Is anyone else staying the night?" Ashley asked. Everyone nodded their heads.
"Oh. Um, ok then. Goodnight all." She pecked Draco on the cheek and headed towards the patio doors.
"Good night." Draco called after her. Hermione sighed.
"I think I'll go to bed too. Good night, Ron." Ron leaned in for a kiss.
"Good night." He kissed her and watched as she followed after Ashley.
"If I know anything about her, she's not going to bed until she gets some answers out of Ashley." Ron chuckled. Fred nodded.
"He's right. And speaking of answers, Malfoy…" The twins sidled up on either side of Draco. "What were you really doing up there?" Draco paused, then sighed, knowing there was no way to stand up to Weasley stubbornness.
"Fine, I'll tell you."
"Hermione, where are you sleeping?" Ashley yawned as she headed up the stairs.
"In one of the twenty rooms I have to choose from." Hermione answered and opened a random door.
"Lumos." Hermione tapped her wand on a light switch. "Oh, Ashley, look at this room! It's beautiful!" Ashley peeked through the doorway and saw the room was indeed pretty- velvet curtains hung over full-length windows on a deep scarlet wall. A dark four-post bed and matching night table occupied one side of the room, while an empty dresser and mirror took the opposite wall. The carpet was a matching red, thick and soft.
"Why do you choose the good rooms?" Ashley groaned and tried the door next to it. The room turned out to be similar to Hermione's, though a royal blue in color in overall color scheme and having a canopy bed.
"So. About you and Draco. What really did go on up there? I know you weren't eavesdropping on us the whole time." Hermione came in and leaned against the doorway. Ashley looked up, then sighed and plopped down on the edge of the bed.
"The truth?" She said wearily. Hermione came and sat next to her.
"No, a lie. Yes, the truth. Of course." She bounced up and down a bit. "Tell me." Ashley fell back onto the blue silk-soft covers on the bed.
"We almost kissed until Fred started yelling his brains out." She muttered. Hermione bit her lip to fight back laughter.
"Is- is that all?" She asked.
"Yes, that's all, Hermione." Ashley said, sounding annoyed. Hermione burst out with laughter.
"Is that really what happened? I would've killed Fred- oh, I really would've. I'm so sorry, but- it's just so funny. I'm sorry." Hermione doubled over with laughter. Ashley reached back to grab a pillow.
"Some friend you are." She aimed the pillow at Hermione's head.
"Hey! I'm sorry. I just thought it was amusing, that's all." Hermione sighed out her last laugh.
"You mean you haven't kissed him before?" She asked.
"NO, Hermione!" Ashley exclaimed, exasperated. She reached for another pillow and covered her face with it. Hermione gaped.
"I don't believe it! You never have? Really?" Hermione interrogated.
"Really really. Now go away, I'm going to bed." Hermione crossed her arms and slid off the bed.
"Goodnight then." She headed for the door.
"Goodnight."