Chapter 9
'You seem to be making a habit of falling asleep with him' Ginny commented when she saw that Ashley's eyes had opened
'I had a nightmare, when I woke up he was gone, so I figured I should check on him' Ashley said, looking towards the asleep George sitting next to her
'Sounds like a good excuse' Ginny smiled, before giving Ashley a look then turning and walking up the stairs, Ashley shook her head at the young girls behaviour, then preceded to try and stand up, but was trapped by George's arm wrapped around her waist, she sighed and leant back against the sofa again
'Trying to escape?' George asked lazily, opening one eye
'Trying to get up more like' Ashley smiled, to which George lifted his arm up. There was a loud crash from the kitchen, causing both George and Ashley to jump, no less than a few moments later Mrs Weasley's voice was heard
'RONALD WEASLEY! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO CLUMSY?!', Ron then emerged from the kitchen looking sheepish
'What did Ronniekins do this time?' George asked
'I dropped a glass' Ron said,
'Idiot' Ashley said
'Get lost' Ron said, then walked into the other room. After a few minutes Ashley stood up, then preceded to walk up the stairs, George slowly following afterwards
'Are you stalking me?' Ashley smiled, turning to face him once she reached the top of the stairs
'If I remember correctly, I believe my bedroom is upstairs' George replied, although he was two steps below Ashley, his eyes were level with her nose
'Yes, but it sounds far more interesting if you're stalking me'
'Why would I need to stalk you?' George smiled, moving up to stand next to her
'Why not? Am I not worth stalking?! What a lovely friend you are, George' Ashley said, then feigned hurt and walked off, leaving George smiling at the top of the stairs.
-oOo-
After Ashley had showered, then fixed her hair with her wand, she walked back downstairs to where Mrs Weasley was preparing dinner,
'Ashley, dear' she began 'I should probably tell you that the Diggorys are coming over for dinner, Arthur, Hermione and Ginny are helping me with dinner, Bill and Charlie are outside preparing the table, Ron, Harry and Teddy are somewhere around the house, George is supposedly helping Bill and Charlie but I think he's just wandering aimlessly outside'
'Oh, alright, thanks Mrs Weasley' Ashley said, then turned and walked outside, where she was greeted by George's oldest brother, Bill.
'Hey, Ashley' Bill said 'How've you been?'
'I'm alright, considering' she began 'You?'
'I've been better' he said, 'Listen, Ash, would you go find Charlie for me? He was supposed to go and get a table from inside, but something tells me he's forgot'
'I was just inside and he wasn't there' Ashley shrugged 'Maybe he's with George?'
'I thought George would be with you' Bill said
'Oh, then they've both disappeared'
'So it seems, but since you're here, feel like getting a table?' Bill smiled,
'Sure' Ashley said, then turned and walked back inside, finding Mrs Weasley yet again 'Mrs Weasley, what table do you want outside?'
'Erm, that one dear' She said, pointing to a table, Ashley got her wand and used "Wingardium Leviosa" to get it outside,
'Thanks, Ashley' Bill said 'George and Charlie still haven't shown up'
'I wouldn't be surprised if they've gotten lost' Ashley smiled 'George seems to have a talent for that'
'Ah yes, I heard...you alright now?'
'Oh yeah, I'm fine'
'Well, let's hope he doesn't come back' Bill said, then turned his head slightly 'Oh look who decided to show up' he added, then nodded his head towards the Orchard, from which George and Charlie were emerging, on seeing Ashley, George seemed to quicken his pace.
'Where the bloody hell have you two been?!' Bill yelled
'We were talking!' Charlie yelled
'Yes! Talking! It's what many people do! Apparently Dragon Trainers don't get to talk to people often!' George agreed
'Idiots' Ashley muttered, before walking back inside to Mrs Weasley 'They finally set up the tables'
'Good timing and all' she began 'I think they've arrived', she then turned to walk into the other room, with Ashley following behind. Once she had entered the room she saw Arthur Weasley talking to Amos Diggory, with his son Cedric standing behind him, looking rather bored. Almost at once Cedric spotted Ashley and walked over to her,
'Hi, Ash' he said
'Hey'
'So, how're things?' Cedric asked
'Erm, better than before, but still pretty bad'
'Understandable' he said, a few seconds later Mrs Weasley appeared and told them that they were going outside to sit down. Ashley and Cedric were talking as they walked to sit down, she could have sworn she saw George looking at her, but chose to ignore it and carry on speaking to Cedric. Once they had finished eating, Ashley helped George take plates inside
'George dear, could you clean them as well?' Mrs Weasley asked
'Sure, mum' George said as Mrs Weasley left to go back out. Ashley and George remained silent
'What's wrong, George?' Ashley asked
'Nothing' he said quickly
'I'm not stupid' Ashley began 'You've been quiet since we went outside'
'Well there's nothing wrong, Ashley'
'And now I definitely know there's something wrong because you just used my actual name instead of Ash. So tell me what's wrong' she said, then looked at George, who was staring down at the sink
'For fuck sake, Ashley, there is nothing wrong with me! Stop acting like I have all these problems and that I'm so pathetic and useless! For once do you think you'd be able to listen instead of just assuming you're right? Cause usually you're not! And on the previous point, I'm kind of fed up of you never listening to a word I have to say! Just stop acting so much like you all the time and maybe think about someone other than yourself!' George practically yelled, before looking up at Ashley, who suddenly slammed a plate down and walked back outside, leaving George in the kitchen.
-oOo-
Ashley had stormed outside and straight past the Weasley's, who had frowned at her in concern before continuing with their conversations. Ashley continued to walk towards the Orchard, hoping no one would notice her disappearance from the table and would think she had simply gone back inside if they did notice. Once she reached the Orchard she slumped down against a tree
'Fred, if you're here, I wish for you to know that your brother is a complete twat'
'Of course he is' Fred said, appearing next to her
'You don't even know what he's done'
'Well, I don't really need to know what he's done to know that he's a twat' Fred smiled 'So, anyway, what did he do?'
'Had a go at me for asking what was wrong with him'
'What did he say?'
'That I should stop acting like he has all these problems and that I need to stop assuming I'm right all the time because I'm usually not, also that I need to, and I quote, "stop acting so much like you all the time and maybe think about someone other than yourself" end quote'
'Well, he's wrong there, you're right a lot of the time to be honest and you definitely care about other people.' Fred said
'Your brother seems to disagree'
'Like you said before, my brother is a twat'
'It just doesn't make sense...he was acting normal up until dinner, then he was really quiet and didn't speak to anyone at all'
'What happened at dinner?' Fred asked
'Nothing' Ashley began 'The only difference is that Cedric and Amos are at the house as well, they came for dinner'
'That could be it' Fred asked
'What do you mean?'
'Georgie has never really been fond of Cedric' he stated
'Why not?'
'No idea' Fred said, looking around
'You're lying' Ashley said, causing Fred to look at her
'How do you know?'
'Because whenever you lie you look around, and you're looking around now'
'Well I'm not entirely sure why he hates Cedric, think it must have been something he said at the Quidditch World Cup'
'But they barely spoke' Ashley said 'I was with Cedric for the first few hours, then you two for the rest of the trip'
'Well maybe it was something that happened at school' Fred said 'Anyway, lets not talk about my brother and Hufflepuff boy'
'Cedric' Ashley corrected
'Yeah, yeah, whatever' Fred said 'Have you told George yet?'
'Told him what?'
'That you're secretly a centaur.' Fred said sarcastically 'What do you think I mean, you muppet'
'About the whole dying thing?'
'Never' he replied, rolling his eyes and smirking slightly
'Well I don't necessarily see the point in telling him'
'He needs to know. Dying is something you kinda have to share with your best friends, Ash.'
'I'll tell him when he's apologised'
'Well then you'll be telling him soon' Fred said, before disappearing. Ashley looked up to see George slowly walking towards her with his hands in his pockets and a slight apologetic smile on his face. Ashley said nothing, but stood up and walked straight past him
'Ash.' he began, then turned around to face her and grabbed her arm to stop her from walking off 'I'm sorry'
'I'm sure you are' Ashley said, before wrenching her arm from his grip and then continuing to walk on, George grabbed her around the waist and turned her to face him
'Listen to me' he said 'I'm sorry. I was being a prick before, you're always right and you really aren't self centred, you proved that by helping me...I'm so so sorry.'
'I just don't get it' she said, stepping out of his grasp
'What do you mean?'
'You were fine until dinner, then you went all weird and pissed off at everyone'
'Well I'm not necessarily fond of Diggory up there' George said, tilting his head towards the Burrows direction slightly
'It shouldn't matter if you hate Cedric! That is not a valid reason to bitch at me!'
'I was just annoyed, and you were the only person around'
'So, what, if we ever see Cedric again I'm going to have to listen to you say all the things you hate about me and point out insecurities I already have? How bloody fun' Ashley said sarcastically, then turned and walked back to the house. This time George made no move to stop her.
So, I've probably messed up somewhere in this chapter, because I haven't really checked it over again (i'm rather lazy) but I hope you all like this chapter anyway, hopefully you will :D
Review please!