a/n: Sorry for the wait... :( Wasn't sure I liked this chapter so I took forever posting and instead just wrote way ahead. So next updates will be faster! :) Anyways enjoy!
Disclaimer: nope not mine in anyway, all JK Rowling and I take so credit
September 1993
The next morning Ascella was awoken to the delightful sound of Turpin shrieking from the bathroom. Ascella started awake but when she realized what it was she smiled and lazily stretched, quite pleased with the reaction. Padma wasn't so forgiving, glaring at Ascella, sleep still in her eye as she realized the scream that had woken the whole dorm was somehow Ascella's fault. Ascella just shrugged unconcerned and made to get out of bed and get ready for the day.
She was interrupted though when Turpin came stomping back into their dorm, her face red with anger and clashing horribly with her puke green hair. Ascella managed to hold in a laugh, but only just.
"Turn it back, this instance!" Turpin demanded, marching up to Ascella, as Ascella gathered up her towel and shower potions.
"Whatever do you mean?" Ascella hedged, as she kept moving toward the showers. Turpin stamped her foot.
"You know what I mean!" she said as she pointed at her hair.
"Oh! And here I thought you'd done that on purpose!" Ascella laughed, acting relieved. Even Padma couldn't hid a grin now at the sight of Turpin's hair. "How fortunate it was an accident. Green really isn't your color."
Turpin let out a scream.
"I know it was you!" she shouted.
"Now, now, you can't prove that. Look if you are worried it was a prank then I'm sure it should wear off in a day or two," Ascella called as she entered the showers. "But I suppose it could be a week too! "Ascella smiled at the responding shriek of frustration.
She was in a decidedly less cheerful mood not an hour later down at breakfast. It became clear within seconds of entering the Great Hall that if anyone hadn't known who her father was before then they did now. The whole hall had hushed upon her entrance, before they all started whispering and pointing towards her. And it didn't take her long to guess who was responsible, a grinning Malfoy making it very clear indeed.
"Little git," Ascella muttered throwing herself down next to Harry at the Gryffindor table and glaring across the hall at Malfoy. It appeared he'd finally found her weakness and was going to exploit it for all it was worth in tormenting her.
Harry looked at him distastefully too. Malfoy was now pretending to faint for the amusement of the Slytherin's around him. Ascella felt her lip curl. To think she'd chosen to sit at the Gryffindor table to be further from the Slytherin table and the annoyance that was Draco Malfoy, only to still have to suffer from it.
"They can't honestly find that funny," she said, even as they clearly did, Crabbe, Goyle and one Pansy Parkinson laughing the loudest of them all. Ascella noticed Zabini didn't laugh but then again she couldn't recall having ever seeing him laugh, so maybe he was just a humorless bloke all 'round.
"He's been doing it all morning," Harry replied darkly.
"In between circulating nasty rumors about me and my father no doubt," Ascella added.
"Yup. By the way he tells it you're one loose screw from going loony too and ending up in Azkaban."
"Git," Ascella breathed.
They were soon after distracted by the arrival of their timetables. Ron was particularly distracted by this as he couldn't figure out how Hermione could have so many lessons a day, including ones that said they were posted for the same time slots. He accused her of having to be in two places at once and Hermione had scoffed and waved him off before asking for him to pass the marmalade. Too bad Ascella had heard the exchange and remembered Hermione being drawn away from them the previous night by McGonagall and put two and two together. She'd just wait to catch Hermione in her secret and ask about it later.
Soon her three Gryffindor friends headed off to find the Divination classroom. They left early and as Arithmacy wasn't nearly as far away Ascella went off to the Ravenclaw table to join Terry Boot who was also taking Arithmacy with her, the only one of her Ravenclaw friends in fact. They'd tried to convince Padma the previous year but she hadn't had any of it, telling them she'd be quite fine in Muggle Studies with Aaron and funnily enough Kevin, who had blindly signed up for the same courses as Aaron after he'd been revived the previous year, having missed the initial sign ups due to being petrified.
Ascella and Terry split off from their other friends on the third floor, though Ascella noted Goldstein and Corner were coming with them, and they headed to Professor Vector's classroom. Upon entering the classroom she was annoyed to see not only Turpin and Mandy (well in truth Mandy was fine) but also Malfoy and Zabini. Malfoy took the opportunity of course to throw a scathing comment her way but Turpin's now burnt orange hair, an attempt no doubt at reversing the color change Ascella had done, distracted her from Malfoy's attempt at being annoying.
"Should've just waited," Ascella all but sang to Turpin. "Improper reversals only extend the length of time it will affect you." Turpin glared and Ascella laughed. In truth Ascella didn't actually know if this was true or not but hey it was funny either way, the look on Turpin's face quite priceless. Ascella told Terry then to sit with his friends as Hermione would be along shortly. He furrowed his eyebrows.
"But - didn't she leave with Potter and Weasley for Divination?" he asked.
"Oh, she'll be here," Ascella said with confidence lounging in her chair as if she had not a care in the world. And sure enough a slightly frazzled and very much present Hermione arrived, not more than a moment later. Ascella watched her, a small grin on her face as her friend walked into the classroom, crossed it, and slid into the seat next to her, all while pointedly avoiding her gaze, instead first fiddling with a chain about her neck and then with her bag once she'd sat next to Ascella.
"So," Ascella began, tapping her fingers on the desk and surveying Hermione out of the corner of her eye, a small grin on her face. "How was Divination?"
"It was awful - I mean this is my first lesson," Hermione tried and failed to cover herself.
"Please," Ascella scoffed. "It's obvious you must have a Time Turner. First," she counted out on her fingers, "your hair was still damp when you left for Divination with Harry and Ron and now it's not only dry but it's about as bushy as it is at noon, which means you've probably already been to Muggle Studies too. Second, I'm not an idiot and I know how people can seemingly be in two places at once if they have a Time Turner."
Ascella didn't need to hear Hermione's response to know she was right, she could tell by the look on Hermione's face. Ascella couldn't believe it, not only had Minnie not told her friend to narrow her elective choices down to the usual three but she had gotten Hermione permission to have a Ministry Time Turner. And Ascella was dying to see it.
"Oh, I told Professor McGonagall you'd figure it out," Hermione groaned. "I just didn't think it would be so soon. How did you figure it out?"
"Well it might have taken a week or two if Ron hadn't made such a big deal at breakfast if that makes you feel better?"
"It doesn't. Stupid Ron," Hermione mumbled. "You promise you won't tell?" She met Ascella's eyes hope and worry in hers.
"Depends," Ascella said in a sing song voice, twirling a stand of her hair as if she might not keep the secret. Hermione narrowed her eyes.
"On what?"
"I want to see it."
"No," Hermione said firmly.
"Oh please 'Mione!" she begged. "Just a glance! I've only seen drawings of them in books."
"I - I can't. Professor McGonagall said no one can know. It's the conditions of my keeping it." Ascella fixed Hermione with a look.
"But I already know, and you don't want me to slip the news to Harry or even Ron-" she trailed off letting Hermione's imagination fill in the rest.
"Fine," she snapped. Ascella preened with delight. She wouldn't really have done that but Hermione didn't know that. "But not here. I'll show you later."
"I'll hold you to that," Ascella replied.
Hermione pursed her lips in a very Minnie sort of way before turning to face the front and catch up on the notes she'd missed.
Ascella herself turned her attention to the board almost too excited to pay attention but only almost, the topic of Arithmacy she'd decided this summer when she'd read ahead in the book, was going to be her new favorite subject; it was all logic based and Ascella excelled at logic.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Ascella hissed at Hermione as her friend began rushing away from her after the lesson. "We have Transfiguration together next."
"I have to catch up with Harry and Ron! Can't let them figure it out too!" was her reply and then she was gone.
"What was that all about?" Terry asked.
"Believe me, you don't want to know. So Transfig?" Terry nodded and they headed out together. They split off upon arrival, Terry going to join Padma who'd already arrived from Muggle Studies, looking happy indeed as she laughed at something Aaron was saying, and Ascella to sit in her usual seat and wait for Harry to join her.
Ascella took a moment to glance at Kevin but it didn't appear that he'd noticed her entrance. It was Aaron that had immediately spotted her and called her attention to the rest.
"Oi, 'Cella! You really missed out!" he said before rehashing whatever funny thing had happened in Muggle Studies, but Ascella found she wasn't listening very hard. She was too busy wondering why she felt disappointed that it was Aaron and not Kevin that had noticed her entrance and was the one to call her attention.
She managed to pay close enough attention to laugh though but luckily she was saved from responding by the arrival of the Gryffindor's all of whom it appeared had signed up for Divination and all of whom appeared to be rather disturbed and melancholic after their first lesson.
"What's with you?" Ascella asked Harry, distracted from her thoughts by his gloominess, which seemed even worse than all the rest, as he'd slumped down next to her.
"Nothing," he said rather shortly for Ascella's taste, just as the lesson began.
"Fine, bite my head off why don't you," she bristled just as McGonagall morphed into a cat. She was too annoyed to even be awed at discovering McGonagall was an animagus. The rest of the students were equally unimpressed, only a few of the Ravenclaws gasping in surprise.
McGonagall changed back, looking rather affronted that she hadn't gotten the reaction she'd been expecting and had always gotten in the past.
"Really, what is wrong with you lot?" she asked, her hands on her hips.
"Please, professor," Hermione spoke up. "But we just had our first divination lesson," (here Ascella managed to hold in her "bullshit" comment)" and well - it was - thought provoking."
Ascella almost snorted. She highly doubted that Hermione actually thought that, she'd recognized her friend's dubious (less than impressed) tone. McGonagall only sighed, immediately understanding what was going on.
"So which one of you is it this year?"
"I'm sorry, Professor?" Hermione asked with furrowed brow.
"Which one of you has Professor Trelawney predicted will die this year?"
Harry looked up. "Me, Professor," he said. So that was why the boy looked so miserable.
"Well then you should know Potter," McGonagall said fixing her gaze on Harry, "that Sibyll Trelawney has been predicting the death of at least one student every year since she started at Hogwarts. And I can assure you that not one of them has perished. If it weren't that I dislike speaking ill of a colleague," she continued sounding as though she very much wanted to in this instance, "then - well never mind that. You look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in."
And while Parvati Patil and her crony Lavender Brown still were throwing suspicious looks Harry's way, Ascella could feel the mood brighten in the rest of the room, particularly in Harry and the rest of the lesson passed uneventfully. That is aside from Ascella incessantly pestering Harry for details of the Divination lesson that had so rattled the Gryffindors and most noticeably her friend. She found it all rather amusing much to Harry's annoyance and she only stopped her pestering when he'd snapped at her that she wouldn't find it so amusing if it was her that Trelawney had predicted the death of.
"Au contraire my dear friend, I would find it hilarious. Do you realize the opportunity you have here? The chance for pranks and messing with her?"
"But there isn't a chance it might come true for you is there? You don't have a madman out to kill you, do you?" Ascella drew in a sharp breath, and looked away from Harry, the blood draining from her face. She felt more than saw Harry stiffen, his mouth dropping open as he realized what he'd said. He was talking about her father.
"'Cella," he whispered. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean -"
"It's whatever," she said shrugging off his apology. "Nothing to forgive, not when it's true."
Harry still looked conflicted like he didn't believe her and wanted to talk more but he dropped it when McGonagall shot the pair of them a death glare for talking all through her lesson on Animagi.
In truth the tension was still high between the two friends up to and all through lunch. Ascella's mood wasn't helped by the skirting glances thrown her way and the whispers she heard as she walked by in the Great Hall.
After about five minutes of this, Ascella finally threw her fork down and rose.
"You know," she said. "I'm not actually hungry after all." And then she grabbed her bag and left. She spent the rest of her lunch break wandering about until she found her way to the North tower where she had her next lesson, the Ravenclaw's first Divination lesson.
Ascella was the first to arrive. She was mildly horrified at the gaudiness of the throw pillows, armchairs and drapes in the stiflingly warm room, but then she remembered what this subject entailed and she got over her horror with a shrug. In all honesty she should have expected nothing less. She settled back into one of the more plush cushions around one of the tables in the middle of the room and closed her eyes, fully intent on catching a few minutes sleep.
She was rudely interrupted from this venture though at the sound of the trapdoor being flung loudly opened. She opened one eye and was displeased to see the intruder was none other than Zabini.
She closed her eye.
"Don't even think of trying to sit at my table Zabini," she said. She'd quite had enough of the Slytherins and didn't want to have to deal with another one. Oh why couldn't these lessons be with the Hufflepuffs?
She couldn't see the sneer on his face but she could hear it, and could easily picture what it looked like having seen it on more than one occasion.
"As if," he said. She heard him rustle around and end up across the classroom from her. Good, she thought. That way when the rest of the Slytherin's showed up they wouldn't be anywhere near her.
But as it turned out, Zabini was the only Slytherin in the lesson, and she got her wish that the rest that weren't her and her Ravenclaw friends actually were the Huffflepuffs.
Padma and Aaron joined Ascella in short order at her table, sinking onto a couple of the throw pillows around her and the table. Neither commented on why she was already there for which Ascella was grateful. She was also grateful that Harry wasn't in her Divination section instead in Care of Magical Creatures, where Terry and his friends were. Harry might not have mentioned what was going on with her but that he would still be thinking about it would be all too apparent to Ascella and she just didn't want to deal with the furtive glances that he'd throw her way.
Kevin though, did not join their table as expected. Ascella felt her mouth drop as first a dark haired Hufflepuff girl called his name when he'd been about to sink down onto the pillow between Ascella and Aaron, and then insisted he join their table even going so far as to put her hand on his arm and draw him over to a table with two others already at it, one girl and one delicate regal looking boy that Ascella swore was prettier than her. She thought his name was Oliver Rivers or something or other. The most shocking part of all though was that Kevin let himself be dragged away from them, merely throwing a bemused look and a shrug as if 'what are you going to do' their way.
Ascella recovered then, feeling a bout of annoyance flare within her. She let her lip curl just a bit and said, "Ooh lookey here, Entwhistle thinks he's too good for us, mates." Aaron followed Ascella's gaze across the room and caught on with a grin.
"What? Are we not pretty enough for you? Thinking about outsourcing?" he called. Kevin, cheeks a bit red, sent a rude hand gesture their way in response.
"Ooh. Touchy that one," Ascella said to Aaron, but so her voice was still carrying across the room.
"You know I reckon we are better off without him," Aaron said, also facing Ascella but keeping his voice loud enough for Kevin to hear. "We don't need to sit with traitors!"
"You know I can't help but agree with you. Would you mind if I joined you? It seems my friends want to hang about with your friend more than me." Ascella looked up and met eyes with a tall, familiar looking Hufflepuff boy.
"Sure you can join us," Ascella said easily, after one look at the smiling brunette; if Kevin could ditch them so easily then she could show him she didn't need him.
The boy sat down and greeted himself.
"I'm Gabriel Fawley by the way," he said holding his hands out to them and shaking their hands. So polite, Ascella couldn't help but think. She also couldn't help but think she wouldn't be acting so nice if the rest of her friends had ditched her and she was in his shoes.
"Oh yeah! I remember you. You came to my birthday party last year, didn't you?" she asked finally remembering why she'd thought he looked familiar. She also recalled that he was the younger brother of Andreanna Fawley, George Weasley's girlfriend. His friendly good looks suddenly making all the more sense, for with his slightly floppy chestnut brown hair, easy smile and warm eyes he had the handsome boy next door vibe down pat and greatly resembled his pretty older sister.
"Oh yeah, the one put on by Potter 'round this time last year, right? You're Ascella Black then. Having another one this year?"
"I don't know. Do you think I should?"
"Well, last year's was right fun, so if you're asking me I don't see why not," Gabriel said with a genuine smile. It seemed at least one person outside her circle of friends wasn't put off by who her dad was.
"Hmm, I'll have to think about it," Ascella said seriously considering it. "It would have to be this weekend..." She trailed off. Maybe a party was just the thing she needed.
Turned out Fawley was alright in Ascella's book, he was certainly more open and friendly than any of Ascella's other friends, more like the other Hufflepuffs that Ascella had met and been annoyed with, but it worked well on Fawley and besides that he was still a laugh.
The lesson itself was actually a bit interesting, if not as exciting as Ascella felt Harry's must have been; no one was predicted to be dropping dead at any point in the course of the year, though Ernie MacMillan was adamant he saw a sign of death in his tea leaves. Trelawney spent most of her time trying to dissuade the boy which left the rest of them free to do whatever, which at Ascella's table basically involved distracting their partners so they could all change the shape the tea leaves had left, Ascella telling Fawley in a bold and dramatic voice that he would most assuredly forget to wear any knickers for the rest of the week. At first he'd thought she was serious, "No, surely it doesn't show that!" until he caught on and joined the fun, telling Ascella he was sure she would be trampled to death the next week by a rampaging centaur. Ascella was impressed and delighted, glad she'd told Aaron to partner Padma instead when he'd made to be her partner, knowing as she did about how Padma was with meeting new people.
"You know," Fawley mused at the end of the lesson as they packed up their stuff. "That was rather fun. Now I know why everyone wants to hang about you lot. You really aren't like some of the other Ravenclaws."
Ascella bristled up a bit but Padma caught on to her sudden mood change.
"Relax," she told her. "He means we aren't stuck-up-nose-in-books-studious-snobs like the rest of the school thinks of Ravenclaws as being.
"Oh," Ascella made a face. "As if." She turned to Fawley then. "And you're not as much of a stuffed-boring-goody-two-shoes as most of the Hufflepuffs."
Fawley let out a snort of laughter.
"Ha! You clearly don't know the Hufflepuffs that well then do you? Sure we prefer being nice and accepting but doesn't mean we don't have fun or think we are superior to others in any way."
"See it's precisely that, the fact that you don't feel superior in any way to others that makes me suspicious of you lot. No one is that nice."
Fawley just laughed.
"I see you and I are going to have an interesting friendship then, spent mostly with me trying to convince you otherwise."
"Good luck with that!" Ascella exclaimed though she found herself almost looking forward to it; there was almost nothing she enjoyed more than a good debate. "Besides what makes you think we're friends, Fawley," Ascella teased, emphasizing his last name.
Not missing a beat came Fawley's response as they exited the classroom, him moving off to join his friends. "Oh just wait, Black, you'll see," he called back to her, hitching his bag higher as he fell in with his mates.
"I'll be waiting a long time then!" she called back, grinning as Kevin joined her, Padma and Aaron.
"How do you do it?" Padma marveled as they separated from the Hufflepuffs and headed for Charms with the other Ravenclaws.
"Do what?" Ascella asked tucking a loose strand of hair that had fallen out of her mid-height ponytail behind her ear. Kevin had joined them and she was pointedly ignoring him even as she was half listening to him and Aaron's conversation about why the Puffs had wanted him to sit with them. Apparently he didn't know. Aaron just waggled his eyebrows at him.
"Get people to like you and want to be your friend so fast?" Padma ground out. Ascella's brows came together, her pace slowing at the question.
"What do you mean?"
"One, hour-long lesson and you have someone who wants to be your friend already!" Padma explained gesturing the way Fawley had left.
"Oh that," Ascella waved her hand. "He was at my birthday party last year. And he's just a friendly person. I'm pretty sure he's about as popular as they come with like a zillion friends. Everyone likes Fawley."
"Okay one, I didn't know who he was until today. Two, I didn't ask if everyone likes him I asked why they like you so fast."
"Er one, how did you not? You know his older sister at least right, Andreanna Fawley, she's dating George Weasley? No? Well I thought everyone knew that. And two, I don't think people do like me all that much very fast. You and I didn't become friends 'til well into first year."
"That's cause you were never around."
"And you were always with Terry."
"Fair enough."
"Look maybe the reason people like me so fast is because I talk to them. Were you even considering talking to Fawley if I hadn't?" Padma fidgeted her shoulders uncomfortable.
"Well no," she admitted.
"See, maybe I just set myself up better for them to have a chance to like me."
"Maybe," Padma mused. She looked like the matter was put to rest for now but that was when the boys jumped in, Aaron squeezing in between them, throwing one arm around Ascella, the other around Padma. Kevin came up quieter on Ascella's other side but fell in nonetheless.
"What are we talking about?" Aaron chirped looking between the two of them, blue eyes staying on Ascella. Padma had ducked her head, a pleased smile on her face that turned sour when he dropped his arm from her shoulder but the other remained around Ascella.
"Why I seem to make people like me so fast," Ascella replied before Padma could tell her not to. "Pads here seems to think it's strange and doesn't understand."
"Oh, is that all?" Aaron snorted. "Even I can answer that."
"What?" Ascella asked, curious despite herself, amazed that Padma wasn't the only one who'd noticed something Ascella had never thought about before.
Aaron shared a look with Kevin and rolled his eyes.
"You don't give a fuck," he explained. "About what people think of you, how you look, which is really quite stunning, I might add," he teased with a playful smirk that only made Padma's scowl deepen, Kevin laugh and make Ascella roll her eyes so hard she could swear she felt the tendons at the back of her eyes strain with the effort, though she thought she wouldn't have minded so much had Kevin been the one to say it.
"Get to the point, Morag." Aaron's grin only widened though he did continue.
"Anyway, it's just you are so confident, you know, in who you are and are so unapologetic about it. People want to be like that too so they think if they hang around you long enough maybe some of that no-care attitude about what others think will rub off on them too."
Ascella thought about that for a second. Then she looked at Kevin.
"What's wrong with him? Since when does he offer up sage, in depth, thought out diatribes on the psychology of his friends?"
Kevin laughed.
"He's right though 'Cella," Kevin said through his grin.
"Well whatever. Can we talk about something else? This is making me uncomfortable."
"Gladly," Padma huffed. The other three turned to look at her, then look back at each other with matching faces of what's with her, before they all shrugged.
At the door to the Charms classroom Ascella pulled her aside.
"What's with you?" she asked. Padma sighed.
"I don't know," the girl grumbled, her eyes trained on the back of Aaron's head as he headed to his usual seat at the desk behind Ascella's and Terry's.
"O-kay," Ascella said slowly.
"How about we just forget it okay?" Padma said her brown eyes meeting Ascella's finally.
"Yeah sure," Ascella agreed though she had no idea just what she was supposed to be forgetting, not thinking there was anything wrong with the conversation they'd just had.
Padma moved off then to join Sue Li, Ascella thought her name was, that shared their dormitory but that Ascella hadn't ever really paid much attention to, she was rather quiet and boring, and Ascella moved to sit at her usual spot and wait for Terry to arrive.
He and his other friends had signed up for Care of Magical Creatures. They arrived nearly late, just as the bell was ringing to start the lesson, looking flushed, windblown and chattering away wildly.
"What's going on?" Ascella asked him as he sank down into the seat next to her.
"You should ask Potter," he whispered back as Flitwick welcomed them to a new year and started the lesson, Terry pulling parchment and his quill out of his bag.
Now Ascella was dying to know what had happened in the first ever Care of Magical Creatures lesson, it had been taught by Hagrid after all.
"Not even a hint?" she asked Terry, throwing him her best puppy dog eyes to try and weasel it out of him.
It almost worked but Flitwick glanced up at them then. Instead Terry wrote on the top of her parchment. 'Ask Potter. It involved Malfoy.'
Ascella glared. Of course it did. And whatever it was she bet it wasn't good.
Harry wasn't down at dinner after Charms and the rumors she'd started to hear were making her nervous. Something bad had happened, the rumors all about someone getting hurt in Care of Magical Creatures, in the Hospital Wing now. The absence of Malfoy's sneering face only further confirmed Ascella's worries.
Harry had better not have gotten himself expelled was Ascella's only thought as she wolfed down a dinner and practically ran up to Gryffindor Tower. She breathed a sigh of relief at finding her friend in an armchair by the fire with Ron and Hermione even if he wore a miserable expression on his face.
Joining them Ascella was promptly informed of what had happened in their lesson. Ascella had at first been jealous of not signing up for Care of Magical Creatures at hearing that they'd gotten to see Hippogriffs but that jealousy had turned to anger when she'd heard what happened to Malfoy.
"That little git!" she exclaimed. "His stupidity is going to get Hagrid sacked."
"Hopefully not," Harry said, miserably. "But it doesn't look good. You know how much influence his dad has. We just got back from Hagrid's and he told us Dumbledore doesn't want to sack him but that Buckbeak might not be so lucky."
Ascella slumped back into the chair she was sitting in.
"This is bollocks," she said. The others nodded in agreement.
Over the next few days it became clear that Malfoy was going to be even more revolting than usual. He'd returned to lessons and meals, his arm in a splint and he was taking far too much joy in his "injury" for Ascella's liking as well as still lording knowledge about Black over both Ascella and Harry.
In their first Herbology lesson he'd tried to make Ascella trim his miniature biting fir plant (Ascella had already been bitten no less than six times by her own, a fact she found more than a little disconcerting; the plant was less than a foot tall! And looked like a Christmas tree!) but she'd threatened to trim something else for him instead, her eyes flicking down briefly towards his nether region. Zabini had cut in then telling Malfoy to just make Crabbe do it, as even he was better at Herbology than Ascella. Ascella wasn't sure whether to be more offended, she was better at the very least than Crabbe at Herbology or grateful at this statement because it had gotten Malfoy to leave her alone for a bit though he didn't stop telling anyone who would listen how painful his injury was and about how angry his father was.
Ascella was tempted to carry out her threat if only to get him to shut up for a bit. Or better yet get sent away; even if she got detention it would still be better than listening to him and she'd get out of Herbology to boot.
The next day Ascella was running late to her first Ancient Runes lesson, already annoyed, Malfoy had been dropping vague hints about her father to her and Harry, loudly saying things like "If it was me, I'd want revenge. I'd hunt him down myself. And I certainly wouldn't befriend his daughter. What if she ended up doing the same to me?" whatever that meant.
Her annoyance didn't ebb in Ancient Runes either, though she found the material fascinating and was glad she wasn't headed to a lesson with Malfoy like Harry. She discovered that she was taking the course not only without Hermione, who had it in a different section but without any of her other Ravenclaw friends who had signed up for it. Terry had it with Hermione, though his friends Corner and Goldstein were in this section. But so were Lisa Turpin and Mandy. In fact the only good thing appeared to be that Fawley was in her section and while he waved at her with a smile he was with his friends already and the only remaining seat left open next to Blaise Zabini, which was completely less than desired.
"Boy I am seeing far more of you than I ever wanted to," she said darkly dropping her bag on the floor next to the desk and flopping down into her seat.
"The feeling is mutual," he sneered back. Oh the fun the two of them had. They spent the majority of the rest of the lesson in silence. Only when Turpin raised her hand to ask a question did Zabini, utter disgust written all over his face, ask, "What is wrong with her hair?"
Ascella couldn't help the small chuckle she let out, a bubble of delight growing within. "I hexed it puke green first night and she tried to fix it, but couldn't, so now it's orange." Zabini side eyed Ascella for a moment as he took that in. Then he looked away towards the front of the room, but Ascella could swear the corner of his mouth twitched up in amusement.
After that Ascella had her first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson with Harry, which she gladly bounded to, finding her friends in the corridor outside and linking arms with him, just glad to see a friendly face.
"You seem cheerful," he said, not looking like he shared the sentiment.
"Well I was annoyed but being away from Malfoy for an hour really does a soul wonders."
"Lucky you," Ron grumbled. "I just spent the past hour cutting up Malfoy's Potion ingredients."
Ascella made a face.
"What a prat," she said in sympathy then she had a thought. "Say was Zabini in that lesson?" she asked. It was Hermione that replied though, no doubt thinking along the same line of thought as Ascella was.
"No, he has Potions with the other section of Slytherins."
"Ah, makes sense." Ascella was just glad not more than one person had a Time Turner this year. She didn't know if she would have been able to stand the injustice of it. Especially if the other one was Zabini.
It was then that they arrived, Harry and Ascella choosing to sit next to each other this year and pulling out their books and parchment.
"Put that away, and wands out!" Lupin called, upon entering. "We are having a practical," he added. "Pack up and follow me." Ascella and Harry exchanged wide eyed looks of excitement - they hadn't ever had a real practical before - before they did as he instructed. They didn't have to be told twice.
The class then followed Lupin to the staff room where they were met with Peeves at the door. He had been putting gum into the lock but began to make fun of Lupin upon seeing him. "Looney Lupin," he sang out until Lupin sighing as he did so, dislodged the gum with a wave of his wand and sent it up Peeves' left nostril.
"Brilliant sir," said Dean Thomas, echoing the awe and sentiment of all those around.
"Thank you, Dean," Lupin replied before ushering them into the staff room. The only teacher there was Snape. He made some nasty comment about Longbottom that set Ascella's hackles up, while Longbottom whimpered, before he stalked out. Ascella was glad though that Lupin had defended the boy, telling Snape that Longbottom was actually going to be aiding him in his demonstration.
"What was that all about?" Ascella whispered to Harry as Lupin began to explain what they would be doing, Hermione earning numerous points for Gryffindor, even as Lupin tried to ask others. Harry leaned in and explained what had happened in Potions, how Snape had threatened Longbottom with feeding his potion to Trevor the boys' toad, and how Hermione had whispered him the instructions for how to fix his potion so it didn't poison the toad.
"What a bastard," Ascella breathed, her eyes filled with sympathy as she looked at the poor Neville Longbottom. She never usually paid much attention to the boy but any victim of Snape's was a friend of hers.
They all laughed uproariously at the image of the boggart Snape wearing Neville Longbottom's Grandmother's clothes. Ascella had to hand it to Lupin, he was pretty much the coolest teacher they'd ever had and by far the best defense teacher and it was only the first day.
Lupin informed them it was now their turn to give it a go, instructing them to think of what they feared the most and then make it funny. Ascella held back for a while unable to think of what scared her the most. At first she thought of the noise that man had made in her memory from when she'd passed out but she'd quickly dismissed that as an image of her father's face from the Prophet article over the summer came to mind. She didn't so much fear that memory or even feeling like that man, no her greatest fear was becoming her father. And she thought she had just the way to make that funny. She stepped forward, wand at the ready.
The boggart came in front of her next. It spun, morphed, changing shape until it changed into her father, long unkempt black hair hanging in strings around his sallow colored face, the skin stretched taunt across his high cheekbones. The entire class gasped and took a step back, but Ascella stared into the man's eyes, the gray eyes exactly like her own. She hoped she was the only one that noticed how the boggart began to change, slowly, and everywhere but the eyes, the hair growing even longer, the black turning blond, the face and body becoming more feminine to show her what she'd look like if she had spent 12 years in Azkaban. It was then, when the hair was almost all blond that Ascella raised her wand, her hand shaking and cried "Ridikulus!"
A black dog bounded in then, the same big one that she'd played with over the summer with Kevin. The dog jumped, its front paws meeting the chest of the slowly morphing into Ascella boggart, knocking him/her to the ground, before pulling the man's robes over his head and lifting a leg to pee on his head.
Ascella was the only one who didn't laugh at the playful boggart dog. Her and a white faced Lupin, but Ascella didn't notice because he recovered sooner to step in front of Harry to take the last crack at the boggart.
The lesson ended then, with everyone but Ascella and Harry chattering about what an amazing lesson it had been. Ascella didn't know what was going through her friends head but she was glad for the quiet. Going to bed that night, in Gryffindor, she wanted to avoid the questions her Ravenclaw friends were sure to ask, she couldn't help but feel that this was going to be a long year if in the course of one day, she could so fluctuate moods, from annoyance to happiness. To fear.
Her dreams that night were filled with the image of the boggart turning into her, of seeing her face morph fully into that of the one it tried to show her. She was glad she didn't move in her sleep though, not during nightmares anyway, else she doubted she wouldn't have kicked Harry awake. As it was, he knew anyway, taking one look at the bags under her eyes the next morning.
"Hey," he said. "Didn't sleep well?"
It was pointless to argue, he already knew, so Ascella shook her head.
"Nope. Just kept seeing Black's face morph into my own," she said.
"You won't become him," Harry said fiercely, pulling her aside on their way down to breakfast, eyes boring intensely into hers, Ron and Hermione throwing them one look back before Hermione tugged Ron along ahead.
Ascella tried to shrug him off but his grip was too tight.
"You don't know that," she mumbled.
"Yes. I do. I know you. In truth you are a bit crazy," (here Ascella attempted to hit her friend in the stomach but he grabbed her hand instead, blocking her) "But you aren't evil Ascella."
"How do you know?" she argued. "You don't know my thoughts. Maybe I just keep it under wraps? I can be downright nasty you know."
"Ascella!" Harry groaned his head falling back. "Would you honestly ever murder 12 innocent people in one go around?"
"Well no. That's just stupid. And if I did, I wouldn't be batty enough to get caught." Harry blinked at her.
"You know I take it back. You are definitely like him. You'll clearly turn out just like him," he said before walking off.
Ascella rolled her eyes and caught up to him.
"You really are a help Harry," she said sarcastically.
"Whatever, you know you feel better," he replied. And she found that she actually did. She may still have her doubts but Harry having so blatantly in those terms said out loud what her thoughts were made it sound all rather silly.
She was cheered even more when Kevin found her at breakfast to tell her that the Ravenclaw Quidditch trials were that Saturday. She'd told him over the summer she was thinking of trying out for the team. She didn't think she'd make it but it would be good experience to give it a go. She made him promise he had to come with her to watch, to which he readily agreed, his warm smile making Ascella's cheeks grow a bit pink. Harry had given her a strange look as they moved on to the Gryffindor table.
"What?" she asked.
"How come you didn't ask me to come?" he inquired, unable to hide his grin.
"Because you have to set up for my birthday party," she replied as if this was obvious. She'd told Harry about the idea Fawley had given her and he had agreed it would be fun. Harry didn't buy it as her excuse for his question though.
"Uh-huh," he said unbelieving, piling on some bacon to his plate. Ascella swiped a slice to be annoying.
Saturday found her outside in the sun on the Quidditch pitch very confused as to why she was still there. She knew she was an alright flyer but she wasn't excelling per say at any of the positions, and she was definitely worse than that Hartmann bloke that had just been sent off. She was shocked even more when Roger Davies announced her number as having made the team.
"Wha-?" she asked as Kevin and Aaron cheered from the stands, the latter of whom had tagged along.
"You'll be reserve Black," Davies said with a wink and a smirk. Ascella was too stunned to reply. "As for the rest of you," Davies dropped his clipboard to look at the rest of those left. "Better luck next year!"
The rest of the Ravenclaws around Ascella proceeded to walk away more than one of them grumbling and shooting dark looks Ascella's way.
She didn't know why, other than that they must be jealous, and so she preened back at them, an arrogant smile on her lips.
Kevin found her shortly after, congratulating her with a big grin and a hug that made Ascella blush.
"Congrats!" he said.
"Seriously! This is great!" Aaron said, replacing Kevin in giving Ascella a hug. His hug was too long to Ascella while Kevin's hadn't lasted nearly long enough. Ascella had at first been a little disappointed when Aaron had showed up to go with Kevin and her down to the tryouts but she'd gotten over it when she realized that Kevin probably would have been bored without his friend to keep him entertained, even if a selfish part of her thought that just watching her should be more than enough entertainment.
Davies came over then to congratulate her as well.
"Great flying," he started with. Ascella might have felt thankful but the way he said it and where his eyes were trained (anywhere but her eyes) made her think he wasn't talking about her flying.
"Er - thanks," she managed to say. Kevin and Aaron eyed the older boy with suspicion in their eyes.
After looking at Ascella for a bit more, far more than was surely an appropriate amount of time, he finally acknowledged the others.
"Well I was going to offer to walk you back up to the castle but looks like you are covered," he nodded at her friends.
"Baby Morag, doing alright?" he greeted Aaron, who flushed deeply. Davies was good friends with Aaron's older brother and Aaron hated being called baby Morag. Ascella found the comment odd, especially as most of Aaron's friends liked Aaron overall and usually only used it in a friendly way.
"Anyway," Davies said, letting his hand brush down her arm, "Be seeing you Black."
The three of them watched the older boy walk away before turning to each other and busting up laughing.
"'Be seeing you'," Ascella mocked, touching Aaron's arm like Davies had to her, while Aaron pretended to swoon. "That boy must think he's god's gift to the female gender or something, sheesh. Anyway, back to the castle? I need a shower and I've got a Potter I need to gloat to not to mention a party to plan." And so they headed back to the castle laughing and in good spirits for once, more than ready to enjoy the rest of what promised to be an excellent day.
a/n so I debated heavily having Ascella try out for Quidditch (as it's really not something she is any good at - or cares all that much about) but I decided it opened up some really good opportunities for later... so she made the team... well sort of :)
So bit long and bit of a filler/stage setter for later events but hopefully it was still a good read! Next Chapter coming soon. Any predictions? ;) and thanks to all the reviewers and people reading! You brighten my day.
