Ash woke up the next day feeling numb, once again. As she had in the past few days, she just lay in bed for at least half an hour staring at the ceiling.
She was going to visit her parents grave today - the first time since their death. She hadn't been present during their funeral keeping the illusion that they weren't dead. But now if she went to the grave, she was sure that the fact would finally really hit her.
After a while she followed her daily routine by finally pulling the covers off her body and sliding off her bed. Standing up she starred at the floor for a few more moments and finally shook her head - forcing down the numbness and forcing a small smile to creep into her face - it didn't work yet.
Swallowing hard she got off the bed, took a deep breath and started walking to the closet/bathroom. Slowly she got out something to wear and walked into to shower.
While the warm water sizzled down on her she allowed her tears to run freely down her face and mix with the running water, washing away.
When she got out of the shower all her numbness, and today's overpowering feeling of loss had washed away with the sweat on her body and now she seemed to be happily smiling while putting on her clothes and racing to Blaise's room.
"Blaise! Wakey Wakey!" she called and jumped onto her friends friend. "Santa came and brought us presents!" she yelled into his ear and pulled her face back just in time to not be struck by Blaise again when his upper body rushed upwards in shock.
"Argh! Ash! It's morning."
"Yeah, time to wake up!"
"We've only come home at six - meaning..." he looked at the clock in his room, "five hours ago. Five hours are not enough sleep, Ash," he said with a sigh and let his body fall back on the bed.
Ash pouted and got of Blaise's bed and ran to the curtains pulling them open.
Blaise groaned and threw one of his pillows after his torturer, before taking the pillow he was using and covered his face with it.
"Blaise," Ash whined and jumped on the boys bed again.
"No," he grumbled.
Ash jumped again moving nearer to him, "Blaise."
"No."
"Blaise," she said moving nearer with every time.
"No."
"Blaise."
"No."
"Blaise."
"Merlin's pants, Ash!" Blaise snapped while he jumped out of the bed. "You won! Happy?" he fumed and angrily stomped to his closet/bathroom, while Ash smirked and made herself comfortable sitting on the bed and watching Blaise go into his closet, coming out with a pile of clothes and going back through the door into the shower.
When he came out again, he wasn't wearing only his boxer-shorts any more, but was dressed in jeans and a black button-up shirt.
"Alright" he said, now calm and awake, "Lets go and wake Mom... and Hector."
"Yes, sir!" she grinned and hoped off his bed and followed him out of the room and through the house to his mothers wing.
Barging into his mothers room, Blaise strode over to the windows to pull back the curtains, without looking at the bed. "Mom, wake up! We want to open our presents."
Ash was still standing at the door, with wide eyes and was trying to hold back giggles, as Blaise's mother stared at her son. "We are awake," she said making Blaise turn around and freeze.
Oriana was straddling Hector, naked. The blanket was lying on the floor.
"Sorry!" he quickly said and stormed to the door, "We'll be waiting in the living room," he said and quickly ushered Ash out of the door frame and closed the door behind them.
As soon as the door closed behind then Ash started laughing, while Blaise seemed to have paled a few nuances. "Wow... kindda embarrassing," she said when she could speak without gasping again. Blaise just stared at her as if she had a multiple number of heads and sat down on one of the couches in silence.
Still trying to hold down the laughter she sat down next to him and together they waited for the adults to come.
After about 15 minutes they walked into the room.
"Good morning you love birds!" Ash grinned as she saw them - her grin broadening when she was Hector blush, but Oriana kept her cool.
"Good morning, Ash. Did you sleep well?"
"Perfectly, and you?"
"I was very comfortable."
"Did you finish all your business?"
"Is that any of your business?"
"No, I'm just curious."
"You know that curiosity killed the cat?"
"But I'm sure what she saw was very interesting."
Oriana stared at Ash for a minute or two before smiling. "How about we get to the pleasant things that Santa brought us?"
The three others nodded and soon they where giving each other presents. Happily they gave each other the presents and excitedly opened them up.
"Hector and I bought you this," Oriana said with a smile, "we thought you might need it for tomorrows race."
Wide eyed Ash looked at the long, rectangular box that Oriana held in her hands. "No, you didn't!" she gasped and slowly opened the present - they had. In her hands she was holding the newest broom on the market, the broom every witch and wizard wanted. In her hands she was holding the Nimbus 2002.
"Merlin! What a beauty!" she sighed as she inspected every inch of the broom. Sliding her fingers over the smooth wood. "I- I- I can't accept this," she said ripping her eyes away from the beautiful broom in her hands and looking at Oriana, while holding the broom for her to take.
"What do you mean? It's your Christmas present!"
"But its too expensive!"
"Do I look like I care? I'm swimming in money. Do you think that little broom would give me an itch? No. It's your present, you can't give it back," she said strictly.
Ash looked at her pouting then looked back into the broom in her hands. It really was a beauty. It was made out of Walnut wood and its surface was near to perfect, no impurities soiled the wood and the pointed branches that went together in a sharp point for Aerodynamics.
Slowly a smile spread across her face and she looked back at Oriana. "Thank you," she said quietly before standing up and warmly hug her.
"I'm glad you like it," she said, smiling as well and handing her another present. "These two present came in a few hours ago, this one carried with an old and weird looking owl, I think its from your family, and the other one was the Davis owl."
Smiling Ash took Tracy's present first and pulled out a statue that made all of the room inmates crook their heads and wonder... "Isn't that a fertility statue?" Oriana asked after a few minutes of silence.
"I believe so," Ash answered and crooked her eyebrows. "Tracy, probably doesn't know that... does she?"
"I don't think so..." Blaise said, "No, let me correct. I hope she doesn't..."
"Yeah..." swiftly Ash wrapped it up again and looked at the present Errol seems to have brought.
Quickly she ripped the neatly packed present and stared at the pullover that Molly had made her - once again. Cracking a smile, she giggled and quickly threw it on. It was silver and green with an "A" in the front.
Oriana, Blaise and Hector looked at it confused. "Looks home made," Hector commented, making Ash turn to him.
"It is! Aunt Molly always sends us home made pull overs. It's my first green one though," she grinned and opened the card that came with it.
Dear Ash,
we hope you are enjoying the time at the Zabini household and that everything is going good for you. If you have any time during the holidays, we would love for you and the Zabini's to come to the Burrow and keep us company for an evening!
Also we want you to know that you can come to us at any given time.
We wish you a Merry Christmas!
love,
Molly and Arthur
Ash smiled at their words and remembered that she still had the presents from Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione in her trunk. Swiftly she accio'd them to her.
Ron had gotten her some prank items from Zonko's, Ginny had gotten her CD's from Blink 182, the Backstreet Boys and Foo Fighters - she still didn't understand that Backstreet Boys didn't quiet fit the mix... but its the thought that counts, right? (It's not like Ash didn't listen to them). Harry had gotten her a collection of books on Quidditch, while Hermione got her some books on Potions.
Ash smiled as she looked at the presents of her family and friends. She loved them to bits and hoped that her own presents to them had arrived safely and that they liked them.
After opening her families presents she quickly gave Oriana and Hector a little present that she had gotten, while she and Blaise had been shopping. The presents weren't expensive - like the rest of the presents the family had given each other, but Ash hoped they still liked them. She got Oriana a Channel Nr. 5 perfume (but the small flask) and Hector a polo shirt. Politely smiling they thanked her.
Lastly she gave Blaise his present, while getting one from him. She hadn't had any idea what she could give the boy that already had everything. However, she had remembered his favourite band and had found out that they were playing in London during the winter holidays on the 5th of January - she was able to get two tickets to the concert.
Anticipating what he would think of the present she didn't open hers yet, but watched him as he opened his. Watched as his eyes widened a bit and smiled at him when he told her that he loved his present.
"Open yours!" he said quietly and ushered her to open her present up.
It was quiet small and when she opened it her mouth fell straight down on the floor. "You're nuts," she muttered as she stared at the necklace that he had bought her.
In the box in front of her was a ring that she had seen in an shop window while they were in town and had fallen in love with it at first sight. It was a very simple ring, thin and with a Moonstone set in the middle of the ring. In the shop they said that it had special powers to show the hidden and lead them through the hard times in life - or give her the ability to escape.
Normally she would have bought it herself, but it was extremely expensive. "Blaise," she stated in monotone.
"Yeah."
"You know that you shouldn't have, right?"
"Yeah."
"But you did anyway."
"Yeah."
Ash cracked a smile and flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Thank you!" she whispered into his ear and kissed his cheek.
"I knew you'd like it!"
She smirked at the family around her and quickly placed the ring on her ring finger in awe and stared at it.
"Thank you" she said again and glowed at Blaise.
After they had finished unwrapping their presents, Ash walked out onto the balcony and stared out into the sky - looking out for a owl to come by.
About an hour later Blaise joined her. "Want to go to your parents now?" he asked softly and Ash nodded while turning her head away from the horizon for the first time since she came out, smiling a sad smile at Blaise.
"Alright, lets go then."
Ash glanced out at the sky one last time before following Blaise to their rooms, where they changed into outside clothes and put on their shoes.
The sky was grey when a group of four appeared in a small hill near a graveyard.
"It looks like it will rain soon," one of them commented, looking up at the sky.
"Yeah, maybe it would be wiser for you guys to go somewhere else, you don't have to come."
"No, this is important - not only to you," the older women of the group told the younger one, with a reassuring smile.
The teenager smiled back. "Thank you."
"Any time."
Together the group of four walked down the hill, towards the graveyards entrance. Silently they crossed it and began their journey around the gravestones of long forgotten and recently buried people.
"It should be..." the teenage girl said and stopped when she saw other people standing at the grave they were walking towards. It was husband and wife, holding hands, not talking. She saw one of then - the wife - lean forward and place a flower on the grave.
Briskly the teenage girl ran over to them. Startling them when they felt her hugging them from behind.
"Hey," the husband whispered to her and gave her a gentle hug, pulling her in front of him and kissing the top of the head. "It's good to see you."
"It's nice to see you too. How long have you been here already?"
The husband looked at wife, "a while".
The wife looked at them, smiling sadly, before taking the girls hand in hers. Together the three of them stared at the two stones in front of them, while the other three - the ones the girl came with - stayed a few paces behind them, letting them grieve in unity.
Tears started sliding down the cheeks of the girl as she stared at the two names carved into the stone.
Katharina Weasley
geb. 9.10.1950
† 22.03.1998
David Weasley
geb. 25.12.1946
† 22.03.1998
Ihr sein für das Wichtigste gestorben.
Together with the tears came a drizzle of rain.
The husband looked up at the sky and frowned. "We should be heading somewhere dry soon," he said quietly. His wife nodded in agreement.
"You go ahead. I want to stay here a bit longer," the girl answered in return.
"We'll go to the restaurant, come there when you're ready."
"Sure," she said and smiled at her uncle.
The two of them turned their backs on the grave and walked up to the other three. "We're going to go eat at a local restaurant here. Would you like to join us?"
The group of three looked at each other and silently nodded at them. "We'd love too," the women answered.
"Is she staying here?" the boy asked as the others started walking.
"Yeah, she wants to be with them a few minutes longer," her uncle answered and the boy nodded - not following the others when they left but staying behind, waiting for the girl.
They stayed where they were in silence, until the boy finally joined her at the grave.
The tears were still falling silently out of her eyes, but she didn't care - she just let them reign free. All of a sudden she let herself fall onto her knees and began talking to the stones.
"Hey Mama, Hey Papa... Wie geht es euch? Ich weiß das es wahrscheinlich sinnlos ist mit euren Grabsteinen zu reden, aber... naja, was solls?" she laughed bitterly, "mir gehts in der Regel gar nicht mal so schlecht. Ich bin jetzt in Hogwarts - muss aber leider gestehen das ich nicht in Gryffindor gelandet bin, sondern in Slytherin! Kaum vorstellbar, oder? Ein Weasley in Slytherin...
"Ich hab auch einen neuen Freund - nein, nicht er! Das ist Blaise. Einer meiner besten Freunde die ich in Hogwarts habe. Draco - mein Freund - konnte heute leider nicht kommen... Aber ich stell ihn euch irgendwann mal vor!"
She looked up at the sky before she continued speaking - and when she did it were only three words before she broke down crying.
"Ich vermisse euch."
Blaise quickly sat down next to her and hugged her close - letting her cry into his already soaked shirt.
"Sie sind wirklich tot..." she muttered, and then repeated it in English when she remembered that Blaise didn't understand German. "They're really dead..."
"Yeah," Ash snorted and looked back at the grave, unwinding from Blaise's embrace. "What does it say?" he asked her quietly.
"It says that they died for the most important."
Blaise smiled at that. "It's true," he whispered into her ear, "you are the most important."
Ash looked at her friend for a minute before getting of the ground. "Lets go warm up," she said quietly and took his hand in hers, leading them away from her parents grave and out of the graveyard where she apparated them to their families.
Translation:
"Hey mom, hey dad... How are you? I know its probably pointless to talk with you gravestones, but... Whatever!" she laughed bitterly, "I'm doing quite well. I'm in Hogwarts now - however I must admit I wasn't placed in Gryffindor but in Slytherin! Difficult to image, right? A Weasley in Slytherin...
"I also have a new boyfriend - no, not him! That is Blaise. He's one of my best friends at Hogwarts. Draco - my boyfriend - couldn't make it today... but I'll introduce him to you at one point."
She looked up at the sky before she continued speaking - and when she did it were only three words before she broke down crying.
"I miss you"