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A Matter of Time	By : AdaraB Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > Het - Male/Female Views: 7796 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns everything in the Harry Potter universe. I own nothing and I make no profit off of this story.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
Chapter 17 – The Yule Ball

After leaving the Headmaster’s office Ashleigh headed down to her room in the dungeons. She had told Draco, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny to meet her there in half an hour before she had left to meet Dumbledore. They all knew her password, as she had written it down for them using a new invisible ink that was only viewable to those who you wished to see it. They should be sitting comfortably by the fire right now, as she was a few minutes late.

As she stepped through the portrait hole to her rooms, all five of her friends were sitting around the fire chatting. No one had noticed her entrance and weren’t facing her when she walked up behind the chair where Draco was sitting, grabbed him around his shoulders and planted a kiss on his cheek. Draco was so surprised by her actions that he jumped about a foot out of the chair in fright.

“Merlin, you scared me!”

“Who did you think I was, Pansy? I thought you were over her?” She asked playfully.

“I was never with her, whatever she might have told you.” He said calmly.

“I know; I just like to tease you. It’s fun.” She said, walking around the chair. Nudging him to scoot over, she sat on the chair next to him. There was plenty of room on the oversized, overstuffed chairs.

“So what did Dumbledore want?” Harry asked. He had a feeling that it was about her exams but he wanted to make sure.

At his question, Ashleigh knew exactly what Harry wanted, her exam results. ‘Well you’ll just have to wait for that big brother’ she thought as she decided to tell him about the information she supplied Dumbledore.

“He wanted to know what I know about the Ruins and how they came to be and all that.”

Hermione sat up like a meer cat, intrigued at the topic of conversation.

“What do you know about it? I’ve been wondering for ages, I didn’t want to ask in case you thought I was being rude. I would love to hear all about it; that is if you don’t mind of course.”

“Not at all.” She replied and spent the next fifteen minutes relaying what she had told Dumbledore.

“There must have been some pretty dark magic at play if the Muggles could feel it.” Harry said, clearly bothered by what she had told him.

“That’s what Dumbledore said.”

“Really?” Harry looked as if he couldn’t believe that he, Harry Potter, and the great Albus Dumbledore had the same thoughts

“Yeah.”

The group was thoughtful for a few moments before Ashleigh got tired of the dreary atmosphere in the room.

“Oh and there was one other thing he wanted to talk to me about.” She said coyly as she pulled a yellowish envelope from her robe pocket. “My O.W.L. results are in.” She said with an excited smile.

“Why didn’t you say something before, I’ve been dying to know how you’ve done. Go on, open it up.” Harry demanded.

The group just laughed at his excitement.

“Honestly Harry, I think you’re more excited over her results than she is.”

Harry looked over at Ginny as she made that comment and gave her a shrug that said ‘I can’t help it, she’s family’.

“Well don’t keep us in suspense! How many O.W.L.s did you get?” Hermione asked, almost as excited as Harry.

“I don’t know I haven’t opened it yet.”

“What? How could you stand it?” They all asked simultaneously. Ashleigh looked at them as if they had all gone batty. They were just grades after all.

“I don’t get what the big deal is? They’re just grades.”

Hermione was about to blow. She could tell. Her face was as red as a freight train, and looking as if she was trying to keep something in. Finally, she couldn’t hold it in any longer and just about yelled her thoughts out.

“But your grades will decide your future. How can you be so cavalier about something so important?”

“What do you mean decide my future?” Starting to feel a little uneasy about her ‘grades’.

“The only classes you will be allowed to take will be the ones you get an O.W.L. in. There are certain classes you have to have for each profession. So, for example, say you wanted to be a curse breaker but didn’t pass Charms you’d have to pick a different profession that didn’t require Charms.” She said a bit more calmly, realizing Ashleigh didn’t know how important these results were.

“Oh! I didn’t realize. I’ve never had a single test rule my life before.” She said looking down at the envelope with a bit of dread. She really hoped that she had done well in Potions; she would be so disappointed in herself if she didn’t, not to mention what Professor Snape would think of her failure.

“I’m sure you did well. Although there is only one way to find out.” Draco softly whispered in her ear.

Ashleigh turned to him and saw his reassuring smile and with a resolved sigh, turned back to her envelope and tore above the wax seal bearing the Ministry of Magic logo.

She pulled out the parchment, read it, and stared at it for a moment before handing it to Draco for him to read to everyone else.

“Well let’s see here.” He said, taking a look at the parchment. He cocked an eyebrow in surprise.

“Well read them out.” Ron insisted, finally getting antsy himself.

Draco cleared his throat and began.

“Defense Against the Dark Arts – O” At this Harry grinned from ear to ear.

“Potions – O” Ashleigh breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that she had read it correctly.

“History of Magic – A, Care of Magical Creatures – E, Ancient Ruins – E, Arithmancy – O, Divination – A, Transfiguration – E, Charms – O, Astronomy – O, Herbology – O, Muggle Studies – O”

“Twelve O.W.L.s. Well done!” Harry exclaimed, pulling Ashleigh up from her seated position to give her a big hug.

“Thanks, I was so nervous after Hermione scared me half to death about it deciding the fate of my life.” She said jokingly, giving Hermione a smile and a hug. “Thanks for helping me study.”

“I’m glad I could help. Sorry for freaking you out, I didn’t mean to.”

Ashleigh assured her it wasn’t any big deal. Once she had been congratulated by her friends she turned to her boyfriend and raised an eyebrow.

Slowly, Draco stood, walked over to her and pulled her into a tight embrace.

“Well done.” He whispered in her ear.

“Thanks.” She could tell her cheeks were pink from his praise.

Draco pulled back to ask her a question.

“There is just one thing that I want to know. Why on earth did you take the Muggle Studies exam when you were brought up by Muggles and lived as one for most of your life? I know you didn’t take the class.”

“Oh well, I decided it couldn’t hurt to take it. I mean, there’s no rule that says a Muggleborn can’t take that class because they were brought up in the Muggle world. I just figured that I would take the test anyway to see how I did. Most of the things on the exam, I learned in history classes in high school. It was kind of like a refresher course.”

“I never thought of doing that! I could have had twelve O.W.L.s as well.” Hermione pouted clearly upset that she hadn’t figured that out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

20 December

Ashleigh woke up and stretched in a cat-like manner and then made her way to the bathroom to shower. When she emerged from the steamy room wrapped in only her towel, she looked at herself in the mirror above her dresser. Her appearance had definitely improved since her exams were over. She no longer had dark circles under her eyes and she was not the definition of pallor anymore. Smiling, happy that she was looking like herself again she turned and started to ready herself for the day. She chose to wear her favorite pair of dark wash jeans and a black v-neck cable sweater. It was rare for her to be able to wear ‘Muggle’ clothing as she was still in classes almost every day. Yes, she had taken her O.W.L.s but she still had the sixth level to complete and half of the seventh before she could join classes in January.

As she left her rooms to head for the Great Hall, she heard her name being called out. She turned to see Draco walking up to her. Any other boy, she thought, would have run to catch up with their girlfriend but not Draco. He insisted that decorum would not stand for it.

“Good morning.” He said, leaning down to give her a long kiss. Ashleigh placed her arms around his neck and leaned in to him. She could really get used to this kind of greeting, as long as it came from Draco of course.

Pulling away from him, she told him so.

“Well then, I’ll make sure to do it every morning I see you.” Grabbing her hand, he led the way to the Great Hall.

“So what are your plans for today before the ball?”

“Well, I thought I’d go for a run. I’ve wanted to start back up for a while now but I’ve been so busy with studying that I haven’t had time. I used to be on my school’s track team in high school. I was pretty good to, our team won a few championships. The girls and I are getting ready down in my rooms at four.”

“Four? But the ball doesn’t start until eight. What do you need four hours for?”

Smiling at his innocence or maybe it was naiveity, she wasn’t sure but wasn’t about to accuse him of either so she replied, “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So how was your run?” Ginny asked after she had been informed that Ashleigh had once belonged to a track team and ran long distance.

“It was great. I forgot how good it feels to run. I managed to make it around the Quidditch pitch once without stopping which is pretty good for not having run in almost four years except on a treadmill now and then.”

“Alright, we’d better start getting ready since we told the boys we needed four hours to do so. I don’t think they’d appreciate the fact that we just wanted some girl time and only actually need two hours to get ready. You’d think they would have figured it out by now that we are all pretty low maintenance.” Hermione said as she realized the clock on the mantel told her that it was now quarter of six.

“Well I don’t know about Harry and Ron but Draco accepted it without much questioning at all. He was just glad I was taking so much time so that he wouldn’t have to make up some excuse to get rid of me earlier in the day. That man is as high maintenance as they come!” Ashleigh said with a laugh.

“Okay, let’s start with the make-up charms and then do the hair.” Ginny said being the only one in the room that was really acquainted with beauty charms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Where are the girls? They’re going to be late!” Draco stated for the fifth time in as many minutes.

“They still have five minutes Draco, give it a rest.” Ron said, he was just the slightest bit annoyed. Sure he wanted to see what his girlfriend looked like too but he wasn’t about to go barmy over it.

After a moment, Draco calmed down enough to see Hermione walking toward them, unaccompanied across the hall. He thought she looked very pretty but she wasn’t the one he wanted to see. He nudged Ron who was turned away talking to a fellow Gryffindor.

As Ron turned, his mouth fell open which caused him to look like a fish. He took in her appearance from head to toe. Her hair was curly but much smoother than usual with the top half pulled back gently from her face and secured with burgundy crystal combs. Her make-up was naturally done so that she looked exactly like herself except with a bit more of a flush, berry colored lips and a sparkly beige eye shadow. She wore an off the shoulder satin burgundy A-line gown with a sweetheart neckline that held a cluster of burgundy and clear crystals in its center. On her feet, she wore a simple pair of black satin heels.

Ron was at a loss for words but quickly pulled Hermione away from the others to have a word with her. Draco and Harry thought he must have said something good because she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Next came Ginny. Harry didn’t need anyone to tell him she had arrived because he scarcely took his eyes away from the hall that led down to the dungeons. As soon she appeared Harry was walking over to her with a smile on his face. Ginny’s hair was parted on the side and slicked back into an elegant chignon. Her make-up was completely natural with just a hint of color on her cheeks and lips. The gold satin strapless gown she wore had a dropped waist so that it flared out just at the hip. A long gold chiffon sache was gathered around her waist and hip. It dipped down on the front left of her dress where it was secured with a clear crystal cluster and the excess material fluttered down to her feet that were covered in two inch golden strappy heels.

Once again, Draco thought she looked very pretty and wished that Ashleigh would hurry it up. He was now positive that she was doing this on purpose, making him wait while Ron and Harry got to see their dates. It was such a Slytherin thing to do. He silently cursed his house for the first time ever. When he looked up, no longer surrounded by his dire thoughts, Ashleigh was there standing just two feet away from him. Once again, he cursed his house for her sneakiness.

She stood there with a half smile on her face, her head tilted to the side waiting for him to speak. She watched him as he took in her appearance.

Like Ron and Harry had done, he took her in from head to toe. Her dark locks were curled loosely and pulled back in the same manner, resting at the nape of her neck in an elegant, curly knot. He decided he liked her hair very much (not that he didn’t like her hair how it normally was), but this was perfect for such an occasion. He noticed that the light rebounded off of the curls in such a way that it was like the texture of the ocean’s waves.

Her make-up was not natural yet not heavy either. Her eyes held a dark grey eye shadow with bits of mica in it and black eye liner and mascara, giving them a smoky effect. Her cheeks had a slight touch of color and her lips were done in a smooth, light pink gloss. He thought the look was rather sexy. He made a mental note to tell her later.

His eyes moved down to her dress which he decided was beautiful even without the addition of Ashleigh wearing it. She wore an emerald green silk sheath dress that had a slight flare to it. It had a sache of the same material that was pleated and gathered at the bust that came up on the left side to create a double strap that continued around her back and separated to connect with the back of the dress in different spots, then fluttered down to different lengths. This he noticed when she did a little spin for him. He then noticed the bottom of the gown which was also pleated, accordion style. He thought it made her look taller and much more elegant than any woman he had ever seen, and that was saying something. On her feet were black satin strappy stilettos. He really liked those shoes, oh yes he did.

“Wow. Just…Wow.”

“Well, you’re pretty ‘wow’ yourself.” She said taking in his black tux and stepping forward to drape her arms around his neck.

In return, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him.

“You look really beautiful you know.” He said before he dipped his head down and kissed her, letting her know just how she affected him.

Pulling back from each other, they headed over to where Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione stood waiting for them. She walked over to Harry and gave him a hug and told him how dashing he looked tonight and did the same to Ron whose ears promptly turned red.

“You look gorgeous Ashleigh.” Harry told her as he gave her a hug.

“Thanks.”

“Well let’s go in and grab a table.” Ron said, taking Hermione’s arm. The other two couples followed suit.

They found a table next to the dance floor and they all took a seat chatting about the decorations that hadn’t changed since their fourth year but were still impressive. Ashleigh couldn’t get over the snow that actually fell down on them but disappeared as it hit them. It was a very light flurry but it was romantic none the less. They had just finished eating when a boy with blonde hair and a camera came over to their table.

“Hi Harry, can I get a picture?” He asked excitedly.

“Sure Collin, as long as my friends are in it as well.”

“Okay.”

The three couples positioned themselves so that it was Harry on the left, then Ginny, Ron and Hermione. While they stood Draco sat with Ashleigh on his lap in front of them, her green gown spilling elegantly over his knees. After the group picture they all asked Collin if he would be willing to take individual couple shots. Collin of course agreed at the thought of being their personal photographer.

When it was Ashleigh and Draco’s turn for their picture, Draco pulled Ashleigh in front of him and held her around the waist. He moved slightly to her right so he could also be seen in the picture. Ashleigh placed her hands over his and rested her head back in the crook of his neck as he leaned forward a bit. They both smiled as the flash went off, then looking at each other kissed as sweet, chaste kiss.

Pulling away from each other, Ashleigh felt her hand being pulled and turned to see Harry.

“Come on, it’s my turn. I want a picture with my favorite cousin.”

“I thought we went over this already.” She said with false indignation. She walked with him until they were in a spot clear of people so they would have a background of nothing but the gently falling snow. Turning to face the camera, Harry put his arm around her shoulders and she put her arms around his waist. They smiled a happy smile as the flash went off then turned to each other and laughed. Ashleigh laid her head on his shoulder a moment while doing so.

After the picture Ashleigh and Harry went back to their respective dates. Ginny immediately pulled Harry out on the dance floor. Draco however, asked her to dance with a formal bow. She of course accepted and they began to dance the night away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ashleigh and Draco had made their way outside to a hidden alcove in the Entrance Hall a couple of hours later where they were currently snogging passionately, their bodies not leaving an inch between them. They were going hot and heavy for quite a few minutes when Ashleigh suddenly broke their connection.

“I’ll be back. Little witches room. Don’t go anywhere.” She said breathlessly, giving him a final kiss before she walked away.

He watched her as she left, admiring the way her hips swung and leaned back against the cold stone wall when she looked back over her shoulder giving him a saucy smile.

When Ashleigh came out of the bathroom everything appeared just as normal as when she went in. She didn’t notice the figure behind her or the red curse he sent at her back, causing her to fall unconscious. And she definitely didn’t feel it when someone caught her in their arms just before she hit the floor.
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A Matter of Time