Chapter 22: Happy Birthday Ash!

The next morning, Ash woke up, but she wasn't looking forward to anything, usually her parents would wake her up, and she would be presented with breakfast in bed and her presents in bed after she had brushed her teeth, but this time it was different, she woke up to no one saying happy birthday to her and no one wishing her. Ash stood up and then looked around at the beds, everyone had left her again! She turned around and looked and then in front of her bed, she saw a pile of presents and cards waiting for her to open them! There were big ones, small ones and there were also different sizes of cards as well, she got more presents than her cousins and her friends and her family would give her before! Her parents must of sent something, so she ran up to the pile and started looking for the present from her parents, but while looking for it, a small, purple wrapped present caught her eye, it was the smallest present there, but the way it was wrapped was so cute, she didn't know who it was from, but there was a note stuck on it, with the same writing as the person who gave her the bracelet and the person who wrote her name in the snow. She wanted to save it for the last present, but she just couldn't because it was the cutest present she had seen and she really wanted to read the note, this was because it was the only note which wasn't written in a card, and written on purple paper. She gave up finding the present her parents got her, so she grabbed the purple, small present and then looked at it, she slowly examined it and then opened the note, the note was neatly written. The note said:

'Dear Ash,
Yes, I am back, you may still not know who I am but I know who you are, like I said previously I know very well who you are. I know it is your birthday today as well, and that it is your special day, I might have missed it years before, but today, I didn't want to miss it for the world. I've chosen something special, yes it was hard, yes it took me years to find this special object, but I hope you keep it forever… And when you know who I am… When I am unmasked, I want you to give me the object back… So I can prove something to you, something VERY special…
From...'

And the note ended there, there was no name at the end, all there was were some dots. Ash quickly put the note away in her diary (where everything is safe) and then slowly started unwrapping the present that was neatly wrapped in purple. Ash unwrapped all the paper and there was a little glow coming from the present, but she didn't know why it was doing that… There was a neat box… and then Ash slowly opened it to reveal a beautiful silver and purple necklace which had small jewels on, the necklace was quite big and it was something Ash really wanted. Ash was very fond of necklaces and this person knew what she liked and everything. She thought it was a normal necklace but then when she picked it up, the necklace opened to her touch and it revealed some kind of liquid inside of the necklace, she didn't know what the liquid was until she shook it and some liquid came out and floated around Ash, they were like little fireflies, flying around Ash until all of a sudden the fireflies started spinning, it was like she was going back in time, so she quickly shut the necklace and then everything was back to normal. She opened it again and then she held it to her ear and she could hear small whispers, she didn't know what they were saying, so she got closer to the necklace and then some pixie dust came out and then all of a sudden Ash turned invisible… She then quickly closed the locket and she went back to normal. This was mysterious, this necklace had amazing powers and had more to discover about it. She opened the locket again and then blew into it and then the world around her shaped and turned into a memory, a very precious memory which she hadn't thought about for a long time. The memory took place in front of her exactly as it did when she was in that moment, this was strange and as soon as she closed the necklace everything went back to normal and was back in reality again. She loved the necklace but then she noticed, on the front there was an 'A' and she smiled and she put it on, but she really wished the person who gave it to her could put it on her, it would make more sense to her… And maybe, just maybe it would maker her happier. With the necklace now on, Ash cleared the paper and then looked at the next present in line. The next present was also purple, similar to the purple on the present before, but it was much lighter. She looked at the tag which was stuck on the present and it said:

To My Best Friend Ash,
Today's you day! I didn't mean to ignore you yesterday you know… As much as I wanted to talk to you I couldn't, now here's something from me to you, something which I got especially for you! I hope you like it!
Love, Rhea 3

Ash had a big smile on her face by the time she read the note fully, and yes Ash saved all these little tags and notes because she thought they were precious memories and objects and she kept them in a small diary, something which Rose got for her Christmas Present in Year 3, it was magical and it kept everything in there safely, only Ash could read and touch the diary. She quickly unwrapped the present to reveal a box which was blue, and it had water marks, but the weird thing was you could also hear water. Ash slowly opened the box and there was a frame. Ash took it out and examined it for a while, when after 5 minutes she finally saw that Rhea had written another little tag, which was underneath the tissue paper in the box. The note said:

I see you have opened this box, and you are wondering what this strange object is. This object is a 'Mind Frame' This frame can show you whatever memory you want, as long as you say the words. The frame can also show you what someone is thinking, whether it's a friend or an enemy, as long as you say the words. The words you say, to reveal your memories are 'Memory Open' and to close the memory you say 'Memory Close' And the words you say to see what someone is thinking are 'Reveal, reveal what this brain holds' and then to stop seeing what the person is thinking say 'I saw what your brain holds'

Ash then took the tag off and then put it in her diary and wanted to try out something, she wanted to look back any memory, so she quietly said 'Memory Open' and the frame which had nothing in, suddenly had a pool of water inside and started going through memories, Ash wanted a random memory and as the frame could see what you were thinking, the frame stopped on a random memory and that memory started playing… The bad thing was… It was the memory which Ash hated the most… The memory was the memory when she had a small duel with Chloe A, she hated the memory, and to her, it seemed like she was there, in that moment, even though she wasn't, she really didn't want to experience the same again, so closing her eyes, she quickly said 'MEMORY CLOSE' And then the frame went back to normal, looking like a normal frame. She put the frame to the side and then saw a very long present, it was wrapped in red, glittering paper and there was also a glittering note on it. Ash took the note off it and she read it, and it said:

To Our Daughter Ash,
Happy Birthday! This is your first birthday without us, and of course you're first birthday without you… Your brother misses you of course! And so do us! We really hope you like your present we got you, we went especially to London to get it for you, and I know you will need it soon enough, with this present we give you luck in school and for the future. Happy Birthday and also Merry Christmas, and I hope you liked the dress and jewellery we sent you for the Yule Ball!
From Mum, Dad and Tom xx

This was the biggest present on the pile which was from her family, but she didn't know what in the world it was, what was coming up and what was going to happen? She didn't know what it was, but she had a feeling that her family were right, just like they usually are! She slowly opened the big present to reveal something wooden, but purple and black painted wood. She unwrapped the rest and then she saw it was a new broomstick, it was an all new Firetail, it only had just been released and her mum and dad got it in her favourite colours as well! She absolutely loved her new broomstick and then she quickly put it away in her case and then went back to opening her other present, there was this other small one, it looked like the smallest present there and she didn't know who it was from, she saw there was a note so she picked it up and then started reading it, it said:

Dear Ashley,
This is a little formal but I wanted to get something for you for your birthday, even though you unfortunately said no to me. I hope you like the present and everything.
From Aleksandar.

Ash's face went blank, why did he get her a present, they hardly know each other and they only talked once because everyone seemed to ignore her, but she got a little angry and this was because he called her Ashley, and she really doesn't like being called Ashley, but after a while she put the note in her diary and then started opening the small present. She finally opened them and she saw the present was some kind of dragon, she had never seen something like this in her life, why would someone get her an ornament, like a dragon, but the good thing about it was that it had purple jewels on and it looked really nice, but the problem was, she didn't know where to put the ornament, if she left it in the common room, someone would steal it, if she left it at home, she would miss it or Tom would somehow break it, but then she took the dragon out and then put it on her hand to look at it and then all of a sudden it moved about and turned into some kind of dragon ring, and it perfectly fit her, unlike other rings she had worn… Some being too tight, some being too big for her and some she got for her fingers were actually for your toes… She left the ring on her finger and then continued unwrapping everything else, she got a lot of presents that day! After Ash had finally opened all her presents, her magical quill she got from Albus, Lily and James started writing all the different presents that she got that day:
1. Necklace
2. Memory Frame
3. Dragon Ring
4. Magic Quill
5. New Broomstick, The Firetail
6. Invisible Sweets
7. Puking Pastilles
8. Wand Case
9. Broomstick protector case
10. All of her favourite muggle singers new CD's
11. New Clothes
12. A Rememberall
13. A vial of life
14. Books

There were also some presents waiting for Ash at home from her old friends but at this moment she didn't really care about them because right there with her, she had the best friends in the whole world because she knew they didn't mean to ignore her, they just wanted this day to be special for Ash. She got ready as soon as she could then and then put all her cards and her presents away in a safe place and then she cleared all the wrapping paper, and then ran down… She then saw the doors for the common room were locked and she could hear noise behind the doors, she could hear Claire, James, Rose, Hugo, Fi, Rhea, Zee, Lia, Rachel and everyone else and they were doing something. Ash was confused so she knocked on the door and everyone went quite.

'Who's there?' Said Claire

'It's your mum (!) Who else would be in the Girls Dormitory?' Said Ash very sarcastically

'Ash, you cant come in right now! So don't come in please…' Said James

'I can come in if I want… JAMES! You can't tell me what to do' Said Ash

'Oh yes he can, right now he can! Just wait there for a little while… We need to do something!' Said Rhea

Ash sighed and then waited until she heard someone unlock the door… She then slowly opened the door and then the whole room was dark, someone had put the blinds down or maybe even used a darkening spell, the common room was pitch black. Ash heard the door close behind her and she was stuck in extreme darkness. She couldn't see anything which meant she couldn't grab her wand, luckily someone let a candle somewhere, and she could see where the candle was, holding on to objects which were near her, she made her way to the candle, to see another candle come on… And another, eventually the whole room was finally lit up by candles and it looked amazing, but the problem was Ash couldn't see anyone in the room… Even with the candles! Were they there? Were they all hiding from Ash or something? She was unsure, but because it was bright enough the grabbed her wand and then quickly said 'Lumos' And the whole room was lit up and then everyone jumped up and shouted 'SURPRISE' Then all of a sudden the candles were blown out and the lights were back on! All of her friends jumped up and they were all smiling and Ash was so happy to see them all!

'HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASH!' Everyone shouted altogether

Ash started smiling and then she went around hugging everyone, and everyone said happy birthday to her as she went around. For the first time, her parents didn't make any plans, it was all her friends that did it all, and then when she reached James…

'Happy Birthday Ash…' Said James putting his hand on Ash's shoulder

'Thank you… Thank You as well for everything…' Said Ash

'Well… It wasn't only me… You should-' James stopped as he felt someone hug him…

Ash was hugging James, probably for the first time, James closed his eyes and then put his hands on Ash's back, this hug was probably the best hug he had ever been given.

Ash looked at him and then carried on where she got led to a birthday cake, YES A CAKE! All her friends had made Ash a cake and on the top it said 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASH!' And the best thing about it was, that it had a big picture of Ash and all her friends on it, as well as having pictures of her and her friends on the side. Everyone was singing happy birthday for Ash and as Ash was blowing out her candles, James noticed that she was wearing the necklace, and before he knew it, Ash was looking straight at him, she saw he was looking at her necklace and there was something fishy about it. James saw Ash was looking and then looked away as he had never looked before… After that, they put a protective charm on the cake, and then went downstairs for Ash's Birthday Dinner, yes they had asked McGonagall if they all could sit on the same table and eat all of Ash's favourite food and of course they got her favourite muggle drink and dessert and then finally they all ended the day by all eating cake in the Common Room and listening to all Ash's favourite tunes and then finally went to sleep in the Common Room… In front of the fire. As Ash was going to sleep, she noticed James was awake… She got up and then went up to James… Her hair was wavy and it was just like James liked… Her make up Rhea did for her was still on as well, the mascara and the cat eyes were still showing…

'Hey James, why aren't you asleep?' Whispered Ash

'I just don't want this day to end… This was the best day ever… And it was all yours!' Whispered Back James

'I know… I don't want the day to end either… But I guess everything has to end… Even if we don't want it to end…'

'Yeah… And Ash… Your looking really pretty…'

'Thank you…' Said Ash moving her hair out of her face

James held Ash's hand and Ash looked up and smiled at him but then… Their faces got closer, their eyes closed and when they were about to be proper close… Fi sneezed and coughed and it ruined the whole moment…

'Night James…' Whispered Ash smiling.

'Night Ash…' Said James as he lied down.

Eventually everyone went to sleep and it was the end of a wonderful day… But the next BIG thing that was going to happen was in a week, and little time to prepare… Only a few days till the Yule Ball!