As I walked down the stairs, everybody was already seated at the table and they all smiled at me. I quickly ran through all the names in my head so that I wouldn't forget them, later. Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Tonks, Fleur, Hermione, and of course, my brother Harry.
"Hi..." I said shyly, as I sat down between Harry and Ginny.
"Well, what do you know? The mute speaks!" Fred...or George, I couldn't really tell them apart, cried in mock incredulity. I looked down at my plate very quickly.
"Fred! Is that any way to treat a guest?" Mrs. Weasley said angrily. "You apologize to Ashleigh this minute, young man."
"Aww, mum. Ashleigh knows I was just joking, don't you?" he asked me. I lifted my head to look at him.
"Yes...I did." I replied.
"See, mum? Ashleigh's got a sense of humour." he said jauntily. Ginny piped up beside me.
"Not like Percy." She scowled. Mrs. Weasley's eyes misted over, Mr. Weasley went red and scratched the back of his neck, Fleur and Tonks looked uncomfortable, but everybody else nodded enthusiastically in agreement. I was totally out of the loop on this one.
"Um...who's Percy?" I asked tentatively. Beside me, Ginny let out an angry hiss, but said nothing, however George...or Fred (again, impossible to tell them apart) had no trouble expressing his thoughts.
"He's our good-for-nothing prat of a brother. The slimy git ran out on the family after being promoted and severed ties with all of us. Well, good riddance I say." he spat as a chunk of potato flew off his fork and landed in the gravy dish after being shaken too vigorously. I could not think of a reply to this, so I just nodded to say I knew who Percy was now, and returned to nibbling at my peas. Lunch was a little subdued after that, but eventually, conversation started to pick up again. It wasn't long before the talk turned around to the subject of Voldemort.
"Well, I'll just be glad when he's apprehended. All of these Death Eater incidents have forced me to work overtime. Last week, I worked 20 hours straight! Can you believe it? 20 hours!" Tonks said wearily, shaking her head.
"I know what you mean." Mr. Weasley sighed. "Dark devices have been popping up all over the place, and I've been the one sent in to clear them all out. I haven't had a good night's sleep in months." I listened on, interested in what they had to say. It seemed like Mr. Weasley did some sort of work involving getting rid of dangerous magical objects, and Tonks was sort of like the wizarding version of an RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) officer.
"Are you any closer to figuring out where he is, Tonks?" Harry asked through a mouthful of beef.
"I'm afraid not." she replied. "We have arrested a few suspected Death Eaters, but that's about it. Nobody's seen or heard of him since that run in at Hogwarts. Apart from all the mysterious deaths, of course." Harry looked slightly put out. I remembered Dumbledore saying he was the headmaster at some school called Hogwarts. I wondered if this was the same place.
"What happened at Hogwarts?" I asked politely. Harry slapped a hand over his forehead, covering the scar identical to mine.
"Sorry, Ashleigh, I keep forgetting how little you know about this stuff. At the end of the previous school year, Voldemort had a bunch of Death Eaters sneak into the castle with the help of a moron named Draco Malfoy. Watch out for him" he warned. "He brings nothing but trouble wherever he goes. Anyway, the Death Eaters got into the castle and wreaked havoc. Professor Snape, our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, seemed to have killed Dumbledore, but it was really just a way to get Voldemort to think that he was dead so he'd be more open about what he was doing..." and he gave me the entire story, from our parents being murdered to all the incidents and run ins he's had with Voldemort. By the time he had finished, everyone's plates were clean, and there was much yawning going around the table. Fleur was asleep, her head resting on Bill's shoulder while he gently stroked her hair. I was beginning to feel drowsy myself, when suddenly, Mrs. Weasley spoke. "Goodness, you lot look exhausted." she exclaimed. "Maybe you should all go to bed. We have to get up early anyway to go to Diagon Alley. We need to get all your school things. Tonks, will you be there to guard Ashleigh and Harry?" she inquired. Tonks snapped out of a half-doze.
"Wha...oh yes. I've got Shacklebolt to cover for me if I can't be there, so either way, they'll have maximum security." she replied, now looking more alert. It felt odd to be talked about like this. Like I wasn't there or something. Harry seemed to notice my anxiety. He leaned close to my ear and whispered
"You'll get used to it after a while. Trust me." I let out a grudging little smile as he drained the last of the pumpkin juice from his goblet.
"Well, that's that." Mrs. Weasley said. "You lot had better get changed into your pajamas and off to bed."
"But mum!" Ginny protested, "It's only five o'clock, and we just finished lunch!" Mrs. Weasley did not seem to be fazed by her daughter's resistance.
"Well, it was a late lunch, and all the excitement that's gone on today, what with Ashleigh arriving and all, has tired everyone out. Look, even Fleur is asleep." she pointed out, for Fleur was still slumbering against her husband's shoulder. Ginny gave a dramatic sigh and rose from her chair. She seemed to have given in to her mother. Everyone else followed suit, with Bill gently prodding Fleur awake and kissing her lightly on the forehead before helping her up. I guess the extra weight of carrying her baby was already starting to get to her. I walked up the stairs after Hermione and followed her into the room we'd be sharing with Ginny. After we had all changed into our nightclothes and clambered into bed, Hermione and Ginny started talking.
"I don't see why you two don't get back together." Hermione whispered.
"I've told you, Hermione. He won't. Every time I bring it up, he gives me the same speech about how he doesn't want me to get hurt, but I don't think he realizes how much this is hurting me on the inside." I thought I heard her voice tremble at her last words. Hermione and Ginny obviously were under the impression that I was asleep, otherwise they probably wouldn't be sitting here, talking about my brother's love life in front of me. I wish I could have just fallen asleep right then and there, but the sounds of the adults talking downstairs wouldn't allow it. I was stuck here, whether I liked it or not.
"You know he's only doing this because he loves you." Hermione said bracingly.
"I know, but I love him, too, and I want to be with him, whether he's The Chosen One or The Boy Who Lived or not. I don't know why he can't see that." Ginny whimpered.
"I think he does" Hermione replied "but he just won't risk your life for anything. All you need to remember is that he loves you, and everything will be okay in the end. You'll see."
"I hope you're right, Hermione." Ginny whispered. At that moment, I decided to let out a rather loud cough which startled Hermione and Ginny into silence. Soon, I could hear the slow, methodic breathing of the two of them. They were sleeping...finally. I heaved a sigh of relief and dozed off.