The stands were packed as Ash and Draco joined their friends in the Slytherin stands, only a couple minutes until the game would start.
"Where have you been?" Blaise asked in a bored voice as they pushed themselves in front of the younger kids, next to their friends.
"We've been exploring," Draco said with a smug grin on his face allowing Ash to roll her eyes at him.
"Oh, wipe that suggestive grin off your face, Draco," she told her boyfriend before turning to the others. "I woke up early again and we ran through the forest a bit," she explained.
The two of them laughed and suddenly they noticed the noise picking up around them as the teams walked onto the field.
Ash turned to look at the red clad team and started cheering as well.
Quickly she turned to look at Tracy. "Did you bring it?" she asked her friend, who just grimaced and nodded while handing the strawberry blond girl a poster.
"I can't believe you made me carry this around for you!" she exaggerated and hugged her blue scarf tighter around her.
"Oh, don't be such a baby! I know that you made Blaise carry that 'awful' thing for you," Ash told a now grinning Tracy.
Rolling her eyes she quickly unfolded the poster and held it up high above her head.
On the large red piece of paper Ash had painted a big yellow lion that she had magicked to slash out of the poster and roar when she shook it around. Next to the lion, words flashed on a unending loop. "Go Gryffindor" - "Go Weasley's". She had also magicked - and that part she was very proud off - that when she believed that Ginny or Ron or Harry needed a bit more motivation, she could change the words into: "Go Ginny", "Go Ron"or "Go Harry" with a simple tab on the poster with her wand.
"GO GRYFFINDOR! GO WEASLEY'S!" she screamed and waved the poster high above her head. Earning a couple of boos from her fellow Slytherins, as well as a couple of curses because she was blocking the sight of a couple of them.
Swiftly she turned to glare at them and they fell silent at under her gaze. Most moved away to sit somewhere else - nobody wanted to anger Ash Weasley, nor her friends.
Moving her concentration back to the field under her she saw that the teams had placed themselves in a circle around Madam Hooch. Quietly everyone watched as the players mounted their brooms and listened as Madam Hooch blew her whistle and let the balls loose.
"And the game begins," She heard the booming voice of Amelia shout through the stadium and everyone cheered when 15 mounted brooms launched into the air.
"Ginny Weasley caught the Quaffle and is rushing away towards the Hufflepuff goals - Cadwallander tries to stop her but Wealsey passed to her fellow chaser Demelza Robins - Robin throws - but Herbert Fleet, Hufflepuff's Keeper catches it and passes to - No Weasley intercepted again with her broom and SCORES!" Amelia screams and half of the stadium jumps up in cheers - including a lonely blond haired girl dressed in red in the Slytherin stands, while everyone else; dressed in blues; groans in disappointment.
"GO GINNY!" the lonesome Slytherin yelled and waved her sign that was now flashing "Go Ginny".
"The game resumes - Cadwallder has the Quaffle and shoots into the Gryffindor's section - pass Weasley - pass Bell - Jimmy Peakes caught Cadwallder with an Bludger and she looses the Quaffle - the Hufflepuff Chaser Zacharias Smith catches the falling Quaffle before Robins can and races towards the hoops again. He throws - SCORE! 10 points for Hufflepuff."
Around Ash the people cheered, not quite as enthusiastically as the people in the Hufflepuff stands, but loud enough to let everyone one know that - the majority of Slytherin - was hoping the Hufflepuff would win.
"Ron you need to catch the ball!" Ash screamed at the top of her lungs, screwing up her face at him.
"Tamsin Applebee caught the Quaffle behind the hoops and throws it past a confused Ron Weasley - Smith catches the Quaffle and SCORES AGAIN! Another 10 points for Hufflepuff, while the Gryffindor Keeper is still confused at what has just happened"
"OPEN YOUR EYES YOU DUMB WIT!" Ash yelled at her cousin - but he still couldn't hear her scoldings.
"Ginny Wealsey caught the ball and rushes past her brother and into Hufflepuff territory again - Applebee and Smith try to catch her - but to late. Weasley throws the Quaffle and SCORES!"
Again only Ash jumped off her seat to cheer for the Gryffindors.
"Your cousin is quite good," Draco said while watching Ginny stealing the Quaffle again and then score another goal.
"Yeah, isn't she?" Ash answered proudly after cheering for her baby cousin again. "I wish Ron would show a bit more of his talent as well."
"Ron doesn't have any talent."
"Sure he does!"
"Do you think that we called him our 'King' for respect?"
"Huh?"
"Oh, Ronnywonny didn't tell you? Last year he already let every Quaffle in. We composed a very nice song for him as well."
Ash looked at Draco confused. "What was it?"
"The lyrics went something like:
'Weasley cannot save a thing,
He cannot block a single ring,
That's why Slytherins all sing:
Weasley is our King.
Weasley was born in a bin
He always lets the Quaffle in
That's why Slytherins all sing:
Weasley is our King.
Weasley is our King,
Weasley is our King,
Weasley will make sure we win
Weasley is our King.' "
Ash looked at Draco with an emotionless face. "Draco... I think you sometimes forget that you are talking with a Weasley," she stated and crooked her head to one side, still not betraying any emotions.
Draco paled - he really had forgotten about that simple fact for a second. "Um..."
Ash smiled at him sadly. "It's OK. If he continues to play like that, I guess I'll have to learn the lyrics myself," she joked and glared at her cousin.
Suddenly she jumped up from her seat and screamed as loud as she could. "Ron! You catch that forsaken Quaffle, or I will beat the crap out of your sorry ass at the end of the game!"
This time Ron had heard her and turned his head to look at her - thankfully she had waited until the Quaffle was in the hands of the Gryffindors. His face betrayed a bit of shock when he saw, a red dot in a blue, green and black ocean, glaring and screaming at him.
"Furthermore I know the song!" she added when she saw him look at her. Panic crossed his face. He knew her long enough to know that this last part was the greatest threat she could give him. If he wouldn't start to play better, she would torture him with that terrible song that the Slytherins had composed for him last year.
Even more determined now, Ron turned back to the game. His face showing that he would not let another Quaffle fly past him.
"What was that about?" Tracy asked her friend, when she had sat back down next to Draco.
"What was what about?"
"You know what I mean!"
Ash frowned at Tracy. "Just a bit of extra motivation. I don't want to hear that song ever again," she said glancing pointedly at Draco. "And I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to either. He'll play better from now on."
And Ash was correct. From the moment after Ash had threatened him with the song, he didn't let another Quaffle pass his hoops and soon Harry caught the snitch with a breathtaking move, in which he let himself race to the ground with his broom - until he nearly slammed into it with his broom - and pulled up again - about a meter above the ground - where the snitch had been waiting to be caught.
Cheers erupted from the crowed, excluding most of the Slytherins, as they watched Harry hold up the snitch with pride. His team mates and a lot of other Gryffindor's joined him and celebrated their victory.
Ash grinned like a maniac, but left the stadium with the rest of the Slytherins, not even trying to congratulate the Gryffindors she had cheered on for their win.
"Sure you don't wanna wait and congratulate them?"
"Nah, why should I? They know I'm happy for them and they saw me cheering for them," Ash shrugged. "Any way, they don't have time for me right now. I'll catch them in the Great Hall," she smiled.
In the Great Hall Ash watched Harry, her cousins and the rest of the team being carried into the dining room by the other Gryffindor's, while they chanted their house names.
Soon however the chanting stilled and was taken over by excited chatting and laughter.
Ash rose to stalk over to the Gryffindor's table, grinning. "Good game losers," she smirked when she reached the other table and placed her hands on Ron's shoulders.
"Did you see then correct game, Weasley? We're the winners," Katie Bell glared - not knowing that Ash was joking.
"I was joking, Bell," she rolled her eyes and then turned to Ginny with a grin. "Ginny you were awesome! It seems as if Gryffindor only need one Chaser with you on the team, Robin was also quite good," Ash smiled and then shot a glare pointedly at Bell, "the other one was a bit useless if you ask me."
Bell was fuming at her and tried to say something. However she stumbled over her words with fury and only unintelligible mumbles could be heard. Ash looked at her with an eyebrow raised and snickered "Cat got your tongue?", before turning back to her main objective.
Ash leaned down to hug an embarrassed Ron from behind. "Congratulations Ronald. You played pretty good at the end of the game. But don't ever make me have to threaten you again, OK?"
Ron's face was burning with embarrassment as he nodded again. "How did you hear of the song?"
"Oh, Draco forgot he was talking to a Weasley for a second there and announced it quite proudly," Ash said shaking her head. "But don't worry, you won't hear that stupid song in a long time if you continue playing like you did at the end of the game!" she grinned and hugged her cousin tightly again.
"You know... you really are a weird person."
"Weird is good, right?"
"I guess."
Ash kissed Ron's cheek and then turned to look at Harry. "By the way, nice catch Potter."
Harry grinned at her, "I know."
"But don't think that fancy move will work on our team. We'll still beat the crap out of you," Ash smirked.
Harry laughed. "Sure you will," he said with a smirk of his own.
"Can't wait to see you skipping through the school naked," she said, smirk growing even wider.
"You mean to run through the school naked yourself," he corrected her, making Ash laugh.
"We'll see about that," she said with a smirk and let her eyes roam over her family again. Standing there awkwardly for a moment... When they didn't say anything however, she sighed and turned away.
She was furious when she left the Gryffindor table. "I can't believe that they forgot!" she mumbled to herself, but soon enough - even before she reached her house table - she had calmed herself down again. She couldn't really be angry at them. They had had a game today and they won! They needed the celebration time. Especially after the last couple of month stuffed to the maximum with homework and detentions. Hell, she thought, I nearly forgot myself.
Well to be 100 percent correct she had forgotten, but the letter from her Aunt Molly - that she had received and opened just before the Gryffindors had burst into the room - had reminded her.
Today was the 7th of December.
Today she had turned 17.
Today was her Birthday.
She knew that she wouldn't be getting any congratulations from her friends and the other Slytherins. Not because they didn't care, but because she had never mentioned it to them. But she had believed that at least her cousins would have congratulated her.
However, it seemed that they had forgotten about that useless event as well.
With a sad smile she sat down next to Draco and the others and resumed eating her lunch.
"What's up?" Draco asked concerned, when he saw her poking the food instead of putting it into her mouth.
Ash looked up at him. "Oh, its nothing... really," she added when he looked at her unconvinced.
Still not fully convinced, he turned back to his food and the conversation he was just having with Blaise, while Ash started to actually eat the food on her plate. With one hand she absent-mindedly played with a small necklace that had found a new place around her neck a few minutes ago.
Aunt Molly always knew what she liked and this amulet was definitely something she loved. In fact, she remembered how she had always adored it when they passed the antiques shop in the little muggle town that the Weasley family had lived in.
It was a very simple flat piece of metal with runes engraved into it and a ring that hung on the same chain, placed right in front of the amulet.
It didn't have any meaning, nor any special powers. Ash knew that - it came from a muggle shop. And yet something about it had called out to her. She had adored it since she had seen it for the first time. Every year when she visited her cousins in England she would go to the shop and stare at it.
Molly had seen that, as had her parents. But it was a very expensive trinket and therefore Ash never really thought that she would be able to own it.
And still... now it was hanging around her neck, as light as a feather.
Ash was smiling to herself while fingering the necklace. Letting her mind wander.
"You look happy," Tracy commented.
Startled Ash came back to reality. "Oh, yeah," she smiled, still holding onto the necklace.
"That new?"
"Yep, my Aunt gave it to me."
"Ah..." Tracy started. "Why?" she asked.
Ash was about to answer, when her face was gracefully pushed into the pie she was about to eat by a force that knocked into her from behind.
Shocked, Ash pulled her face out of the creamy pie and angrily wiped away the filling from her eyes. When her vision was cleared again, Ash saw Tracy's face was filled with horror.
Her skull was buzzing and she couldn't hear what Tracy tried telling her while pointing at her face. "What are-?" she tried asking, but she only heard unrecognisable mumbling before she felt the problem herself.
The Great Hall was filled with a screeching scream as Ash jumped up on her feet and held tightly onto her head. Plants were starting to push out of her ears and into the fresh air around her. Ripping her ear drums apart. Fighting to reach freedom out off her head first.
Looking around herself frantically, Ash noticed the friends still sitting at the table shocked and then Draco and Blaise jump up to try and help her, Tracy rushing towards the teachers table, where the teachers had already jumped up and ran up to her and a smirking Pansy before everything went black around her...
When she woke up again, the world was silent.
Nothing had changed. The infirmary was still the same annoying and colourless place that it always was and she still hated waking up in here.
And yet... everything was eerily quiet...
"Hello?" she called, or at least she thought she did. She couldn't hear herself. But it seemed Madam Pomfrey had heard her, because she came rushing out ohf her office at once.
She seemed to be saying something, fussing about her, Ash presumed. However she stopped moving her mouth when she noticed Ash looking at her confused, head tilted to one side.
Something seemed to dawn to her and quickly the nurse summoned a pen and a block of paper.
How are you feeling? she wrote down in nice smooth lines.
"Good," she answered.
Can you hear anything?
Ash shook her head no and saw a frown spread across Madam Pomfrey's face. "What?"
Madam Pomfrey looked up at her and shook her head. It's nothing serious, I believe. But the potion should have worked already.
"Nothing serious?" she screamed and jumped out of her bed, glaring at the nurse. It was weird not hearing herself when she knew she was screaming as loud as she could.
Madam Pomfrey waved her hands up and down, signing her to calm down.
"Calm down? How the hell do you suppose I calm down, when I can't hear a thing and the potion that was supposed to cure me is not working?!" she tried to say, but it must have come out a bit wrong because Madam Pomfrey looked at her confused and worried.
Tears came to her eyes and soon she found herself running out off the door from the infirmary and down the nearest corridor, not looking where she went.
After a few minutes she came to an abrupt stop in front of the Slytherin common room. Quietly she mumbled the password, but the wall did not bulge. Through the tears and confusion the word had been jumbled together in her mouth and the wall hadn't understood her.
Sent into another fit of hysterical tears Ash sank to her knees and screamed the password over and over again.
That's how one of the 4th years had found her when he came back from detention at shortly after 11 o'clock that night.
Scared he warily walked up to her and placed a soft hand on her shaking form.
Her head shot up and he finally recognized the crying girl. Inhaling sharply he said the common room password and picked her trembling form off the ground. Supporting her, he walked her into the common room and swiftly a few others had gathered around her.
"Get Malfoy, Zabini and Davis," he told some of them and gently placed the shocked girl on one off the couches. She gave him a tired smile.
"Dr- Drac- Draco?" she asked and looked at him pleadingly.
"He's coming," the brown haired boy tried to tell her, but saw that she just glared at his lips, as if she didn't hear what he had said and blamed his lips for that.
Tears started running down her face again when Ash saw the boy shift his eyes from her towards something behind her and she turned to see Draco, Blaise and Tracy run up to them.
'Ash,' she could read Draco say as he rushed next to her and pulled her into an embrace. She clung to his form as if her life depended on it. She could feel Draco's mouth moving, she could feel the vibrations of his voice in his chest, but she couldn't hear what he was saying.
She felt Tracy stroking her back and saw that the boy that found he was talking to Blaise, probably telling him what happened. Concerned Blaise looked over at her every now and then.
Gently Ash pushed Draco away and wiped her eyes dry from tears. She took a deep breath and formed the word 'fea-ther' with her mouth, hoping that this time she was speaking clear. Draco looked at her a bit confused but quickly stood up and got her what she had asked for, together with a piece of parchment and ink.
I can't hear anything, she wrote down and showed it to her friends. Then she placed the paper onto her lap again and wrote And I can't seem to form the words correctly without hearing them, again she showed it to her shocked friends.
Draco started saying something but was interrupted by Tracy who was pointing at the feather and parchment.
What do you mean? he wrote but scratched it out when he saw Ash's annoyed face. Sorry. I meant, can't Madam Pomfrey help you with that?
Anger flashed in Ash's face as she pulled the paper out of Draco's grasp and wrote That stupid, incompetent cow said that the potion seems to not be working!
This also angered Draco, as he read her words. But he knew that she didn't need anger right now, but someone to hold onto. Hence instead of following his first instinct to run to the nurse and hit her, he pulled his girlfriend into a loving hug and gently kissed her temple. Soothing and calming her.
"What an awful Birthday," Ash mumbled to herself.
"What did you say?" Draco inquired.
"I said -" Ash's head jerked up and she stared at Draco. "Say that again."
Draco frowned at her "I said: What did you say?" he repeated and both their eyes widened.
"I can hear!" she gasped and again tear ran down her face, but this time it were tears of joy. Her voice never had sounded so wonderful to her.
Draco tightened his hold of her kissed her passionately. "Don't ever shock me like that again!" he said when they rested their foreheads against each others. Ash agreed enthusiastically, nodding her head wildly.
"So, love. What did you just mumble? I think I've heard something quite interesting," he inquired.
"What an awful Birthday," Ash repeated looking at Draco.
"Who's birthday?"
"My Birthday"
"When?"
Ash turned to look at Blaise "What time is it?"
Blaise looked at his watch, "11:50."
Ash smiled at him and nodded, then turned back to look at Draco. "Today," she smiled.
"Today?"
"Today."
"Today is your birthday?"
"Today is my birthday."
Draco started at her speechless.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Tracy screamed, hitting her friend across the head.
"You didn't ask," Ash shrugged.
Tracy gaped at her, before shaking her head and smiling at her strange blond friend. "Happy Birthday," she sighed and pulled Ash away from Draco to hug her.
"Thank you."
"Happy Birthday," Blaise whispered into her ear when he hugged her tightly as well. "You really should have told us."
"We could have prepared presents and a party!" Tracy agreed and shook her head in disappointment that they couldn't really celebrate the ending of her friends birthday.
Finally Draco pulled her back into his own arms and embraced her tightly. "Happy Birthday," he mumbled into her ear and kissed her lips lovingly.