Family and Future
James, Sirius, Remus, Ashley, Lily, Alaina, Fallon, and Erica were on the train going home for Christmas break.
"So what's new with you guys?" Lily asked Alaina and Remus.
"Oh, you won't get an answer out of Alaina. She's mad at me again," Remus said wearily.
"You just did it again!" Alaina snapped nastily.
"What on Earth did I do? Talk to Lily? Or tell someone you're mad? What is it I did? What?" Remus asked intolerantly.
"Like you give a damn!" Alaina said loudly.
"If I didn't care, why would I bother asking?" Remus asked mildly.
Alaina mumbled something, and they continued arguing. Finally, they went across the hall into an empty compartment to argue some more.
"What's up with Alaina? She's acting so odd," Fallon stated.
"She's just going through some stuff at home," Ashley mumbled, remembering a conversation she had with Alaina recently.
"Is she okay?" Erica asked.
"I hope so," Ashley said. She looked over to Alaina who was stalking out of the compartment and headed to the bathroom.
"Any wedding plans yet" Fallon asked excitedly, changing the subject.
"You, Erica, Alice, and my sisters should be the bridesmaids," Ashley said kindly.
"Wow really? Is it okay to have nine bridesmaids?" Erica asked.
"Eight. Sam's a flower girl. And hey - If I want eight, eight it'll be," Ashley said with a smile. The gang continued to talk until the train came to a stop, and they were at King's Cross. Ashley said good-bye to all of her friends, and grapsed Sirius' hand. After a couple moments of searching, Ashley saw Jessica, her eldest sister.
"Jessie!" Ashley cried, hugging her sister.
"Hey, Ash! We missed you so much! And you must be Sirius!" Jessica said after she let go of Ashley. She held out her hand and he shook it.
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
"You too," Jessica said politely.
"You cut your hair? It looks great. Ooh, and contacts! You look your age now," Ashley commented. Her sister's hair was blonde, layered, and shoulder length now. Her pale blue eyes, which were normally hidden behind black rimmed glasses, were now much more noticable. She looked like a brand new person.
"Yeah, this little make-over worked wonders. Around the time you went back to school I met a guy named Jared. He owns a Quidditch shop that does amazingly well. He'll be at dinner tonight," Jessica said happily.
"Congratulations, Jess," Ashley said. Just then, Dylan, Alyssa, and Nicole came toward them. They talked for a minute or two and finally, Christian, Brooke, and Lauren joined them.
"It'll be a tough squeeze," Lauren commented, looking at the van.
"Ah, that can be easily fixed, Laurie," Jessica said with a smile. She mumbled a spell and the car size quadrupled.
"That's more like it," said Alyssa. There were doorways, a small kitchen, and even a bathroom.
"Er - Let's go in the back," Ashley whispered to Sirius. He nodded and they walked into the fourth and last compartment. Ashley quickly locked the door. "What are we going to tell my parents?"
"Just be honest and tell them the truth over dinner," Sirius replied with a shrug.
"Merlin, I hope they'll be happy about this. I can never tell with them. I'm 99 sure my mum will be okay with it, but with my dad - more of 75 sure. I never know with him. Boy, it's a good thing he likes you."
"He does?" Sirius asked.
"Oh, yeah. Says your funny and pretty bright too," Ashley replied. "Oh, and just a couple of little quick facts before you see my family for the first time in over a year:Josh and his wife are months away from the birth of their child, Jessica supposedly got a makeover and now has some amazing boyfriend, Gabrielle started dance class in a muggle town so I'm really sorry if she bores you with dance lectures. She acts double her age, she's pretty smart. Samantha is pretty easy to get along with. She's sort of a tomb boy and brutally sarcastic. Brian is obsessed with all muggle and wizarding sports. And you pretty much know Lauren, Chris, Brooke, Nikki, Lyssa, and Dylan."
"Okay, thanks for the heads up," Sirius said with a nervous grin.
"Oh, don't worry, Sirius. As long as I'm okay with all of this, that's all that matters. Who cares about what my parents have to say?"
"Yeah - Okay." They went back up front with the rest of the family and talked the rest of the way there. Finally, the car came to a stop, and all of the kids jumped out. Mrs. Benedettis was at the door waiting to greet all of her children. She looked good for her age with long blonde hair and big blue eyes. She was quite tall and very pretty. She welcomed all of her kids into the house and then Ashley and Sirius, who were the last to enter.
"Ah, Sirius! So wonderful to see you, dear! How have you been?" Mrs. Benedettis asked cheerfully.
"Very well, thank you, Mrs. Benedettis, and you?" asked Sirius politely.
"Very good, thanks. Ah, no need to be so formal. You can call me Brenda," said Mrs. Benedettis with a smile.
"Mum? Do - Do you think it will be all right if we stay at my place? It's just awfully crowded in the house, and I don't want to add to the burden of having all the kids home," Ashley asked quietly.
"I suppose it's fine with me, dear. Drive over there and unpack, but be back by 6:30. That's when dinner will be served," Mrs. Benedettis said.
"Thanks mum!" Ashley said, hugging her mum. When she let go, her mum handed her the keys to the house and car. Ashley and Sirius dashed out of the house and he followed her to the garage where her car was parked.
"Nice car," Sirius said.
"Thanks. Er - How do you know anything about cars?" Ashley asked, getting into the silver mustang.
"Er - I used to talk to a lot of muggle girls in the neighborhood," Sirius replied sheepishly.
"Ah. Should have known," Ashley whispered jokingly.
They drove down a couple of blocks, and finally stopped at a decently large stone house.
"It's about a fourth of the size of my folk's place, but it's pretty nice. Really cozy," Ashley said, getting out of the car and walking to the front door. They stepped inside of the house, and flipped on the light. There was a front room and directly across was a wall, where there was a small drawer and mirror. To the left was the living room and to the right was the kitchen. Ashley and Sirius walked into the living room and in the back left corner was a doorway to the family room. On the right side was a half wall with two stools that was right next to the kitchen. The living room had a TV, a couch, a recliner, a rocking chair, a fireplace, an area rug, two lamps, two end tables, and a laptop computer on a desk. In the very back was the stiarcase. They went into the family room which was pretty bare, aside from an old TV, a desk, and a computer. They went upstairs and found four doors on the left and three on the right. The left had a half bathroom, bedroom, and a closet. The right had two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
"This is fantastic! One full bathroom for you, one for me, and then one for guests. Let's go see what they did with the master bedroom," Ashley said walking to the main bedroom. It had a red whine colored carpet, a king sized bed with red and white flannel covers, a TV, a vanity, a desk with a computer, a walk-in closet and a regular sized one.
"It's perfect," Sirius said with a smile. Then, there was a loud meowing. Ashley looked down at her feet. She saw her two cats, Dexdral and Linky.
"Hungry, guys?" she asked them. Dexdral was an all black cat at the age of 4, and Linky was white with brown spots, and two years old. "Do you mind getting our trunks and Squiggles and Sticks while I feed them?" Ashley asked.
"No problem," Sirius replied, and they all went downstairs. Ashley remembered her mom saying something about cat food, but where had she put it? She checked every cupboard, and finally found it.
She fed the cats, and when Sirius brought in her owls, Squiggles and Sticks, she quickly scribbled three quick notes. She attatched two to Squiggles and said "Take one to Lily and one to James." She attatched the third to Sticks and said "Take this to Remus."
"What are those for?" Sirius asked curiously.
"Oh, I'm letting them know the address so that they can floo over," Ashley responded. "What time is it?"
Sirius checked the clock. "4:27."
"Two hours until we have to go back to my parent's. Let's unpack. Ooh, I have a surprise for you!" Ashley said excitedly.
"Really?" Sirius asked with a grin.
"Yeah, but let's unpack first." And so they unpacked quietly. When they were done, they headed back downstairs. "Okay, I left it in the car, I'll be back in two seconds."
"Okay," Sirius replied excitedly.
A moment later she returned with two wrapped boxes. The one on the bottom was sort of large and the one on top was rather small. "Open the top one first," Ashley told him. With a small nod, he picked up the box that fit in the palm of his hand and tore the paper. There was a small box and he lifted the lid. He picked up a silver chain with a pawprint on it. On the front it said Padfoot and on the back it said Always & Forever.
"Th - This is great, Ashley. I love it," Sirius stated with a broad grin. "Can you put it on for me?" he asked. Ashley nodded with a smile and put the necklace on.
"I'm glad you like it. Now open this one," Ashley said, handing him the big one. Sirius opened it and saw an album.
"What is it?" Sirius asked, looking at the cover.
"It's a scrap book. Look through it!" Ashley said with excitement.
Sirius turned to the first page. The pictures started in first year and went all the way to a month ago. "Wow, Ashley. This is amazing. I absolutely love it," Sirius said, looking at the last pages.
"I'm glad you do. I need to talk to you. I've finally decided what I want to do with my life," Ashley stated with a smile, looking at Sirius.
"Really? Tell me the plan," Sirius said, closing the scrapbook.
"I want to open my own line of clothing for witches and wizards. I want to run my own office and publish a fashion magazine. I could get other designers to work with me to sell a magazine promoting our work."
"That sounds great. I'm sure your parents could help you with loans and all," Sirius suggested.
"Yeah, I know. I'm going to need a few start up loans, and any worker who's interested. I talked to my sisters about it, and a couple of them and their friends are interested. I - I've already picked out a name," Ashley grinned.
"Really? What?"
"Magestic Designs," Ashley replied after a moment of thought.
"Sounds really great. I'm sure it'll happen, sweetie. I've seen the sketches of the designs you've done, and you've got talent."
"Thanks, Sirius. But what about you? What do you want to become?"
"Maybe an auror," Sirius replied after a moment or so.
"Really? That'd be a wonderful job," Ashley agreed with a nod of approval. "Sirius?"
"Yes?"
"Do you believe that we can change the future?" Ashley asked slowly.
"Absolutely," Sirius replied simply.
An hour later, they headed out to Ashley's family's house. Carletta, the maid, welcomed them into the house. She took their coats, and offered them drinks in the sitting room. "Carla? Where's dad?"
"Ooh, he's in his study," Carletta replied with a nod toward the study door. Ashley motioned for Sirius to follow here, and she knocked on the door.
"Come in."
"DADDY!" Ashley yelled happily.
"Hey, munchkin. How've you been?" Mr. Benedettis replied, hugging his daughter.
"Great, dad. How about you?" Ashley asked, sitting on the study couch.
"Fine, fine. Ah, Sirius! Excellent to see you m'boy! Please, have a seat!" Mr. Benedettis said, gesturing toward the couch.
"Thank you, sir," Sirius said, pleased that Mr. Benedettis seemed to like him.
"What a polite young man, you are," Mr. Benedettis commented, shaking his hand.
"Okay, Ashley. Your mother and I have been talking about your future. We know that you want to create that clothing line, and we've decided to hand over a start-up loan of 6,000 galleons, without question. If you end up needing more, we'll organize meetings to talk about that. We'll give that to you the day after you're finished at school. I'm assuming that you two are serious about one another?"
Ashley touched the engagement ring she had stashed in her pocket. "Yes, daddy. Very serious."
"Good. Maybe you guys can settle down like Josh did with his Hogwarts girlfriend. Look at them, happily married with a baby on the way, and both are successful at work.
"Thanks so much, dad!" Ashley cried, hugging her father.
"No problem, angel. Ah, and darling? This one's a keeper, stay with him," Mr. Benedettis said, nodding toward Sirius.
"Oh, I will dad. Don't worry about that," Ashley said, looking at Sirius.
"Ok then, let's go to dinner," Mr. Benedettis said, ushering them out of the room. They entered the large dining room. Everyone was seated except for Ashley, Sirius, and Mr. Benedettis. They all sat down, and Jessica was rambling about work.
"...So then Camdyn walked in and quit so Nadine let me replace her! Just right there on the spot! I'm getting three extra galleons an hour now! And I actually get to hire an assistant, do you believe that? I'm holding interviews for the job a week from Monday!"
"That's excellent, dear. And what about you, Jared? How's work been?" Mrs. Benedettis asked.
"Very good, thanks. We got an early stock in the new Comet supply. They're what everyone's after these days, so young Quidditch players have been bombarding the store for a week now! It's the busiest week we've had in months!" Jared replied proudly.
"Really? Do any famous Quidditch players come to the shop?" Brian asked with interest.
"On ocassion. On Tuesday the captain of the Tutshill Tornados came in looking for the latest brooms for his team. And just last month the keeper of the Kenmare Kestrels came in searching for some new protective equiptment. Took a nasty bludger to the head in his last game, poor bloke. But that's Quidditch," Jared replied with a grin.
"Glad you're shop is doing so well, Jared. Good man for my daughter," said Mr. Benedettis with deep approval in his voice.
"What about you, Joshy? How are things at work?" Mrs. Benedettis asked.
"Same as usual. A muggle saw a part of the Quidditch game last Saturday, so we had to call in the obliviators a.s.a.p. I swear, sometimes they just come out of nowhere," Josh said, with a shake of his head.
"And how about you, Anna?" Mrs. Benedettis asked Annabelle, Josh's pregnant wife.
"Well, I've just started maternity leave, so I'm not quite sure how things are going at the office," Annabelle replied with a shrug.
"Mum - Dad. Er - I've got something I want to say," Ashley stated uneasily. She felt ready to puke. Maybe her parent's wouldn't be okay with this. Maybe they'd disown her and take away the loan to get her started on her dream job. Maybe -
"Yes, pumpkin?" Mr. Benedettis said, looking at her intently. Everyone was looking at her, except Sirius, who was looking at her father.
"Well - uh - The thing is - Mum...Dad...Sirius and I are getting married after graduation," Ashley blurted out quickly.
The table was silent for a moment or so. Everyone was now staring from Mr. Benedettis to Ashley, back and forth. Mrs. Benedettis looked like she was trying to speak, but was afraid her husband would blow up. She looked at Ashley with pity, as if her daughter were about to die a slow, painful death. Mr. Benedettis stared at Ashley. He looked at her as though he had never seen her before. I'm dead, she though mournfully.
"Well...Er - Congratulations!" Mr. Benedettis said after what seemed like an eternity.
"Really? Oh merlin, thanks dad!" Ashley said, sounding incredibly relieved. She took the ring out of her pocket and slipped it back onto her finger.
"So...Do you guys have a plan?" Josh asked.
"Yes, we do. After school's over were going to move back into my house. I'm going to try to find a place that I can buy to be my office building. After everything is semi-functional, we'll have the wedding, that way I can have some money in my pocket for when we buy more furniture and really personalize the house. I'm thinking possibly six months from June until we have the wedding. I've always wanted a winter wedding. And while I'm getting my business up and running, we can work on wedding plans. That way I can wait until after school is over to worry about wedding plans, seeing as this is the final year, and I've got to focus on my studies at the moment," Ashley replied in a business-like tone. Sirius thought she was handling this all amazingly well, but only he could tell she just made the "plan" up off the top of his head.
"Excellent, darling. You two are going to go far in life if you plan ahead like this. I'm glad you two have got brains in your head," Mr. Benedettis said satisfiedly.
"Thanks, dad," Ashley said with a tone of relief.
"Can I see the ring, Ashley?" Jessica asked.
"Sure," Ashley said, holding out her left hand.
"It's beautiful, Sirius. Good choice," Jessica said, looking at the ring.
"Thanks, Jessica."