A Whole New Chapter

Chapter 3: New Developments

Ashley was supposed to meet Ben at the Starlight Café at noon for lunch. It was eleven thirty and Ashley was still at St. Mungo's, working frivolously on a patient who suffered from near fatal creature bites. Cases like these had been popping up everywhere, leaving little time for rest and leisure. Ashley had to wake up earlier and earlier to meet the needs of patients and had recently begun working in overtime. It was amazing how her schedule could change in just a week and a half.

In between running around and helping other patients, she was being tailed by Ginny, who had the day off from her job and was currently nagging Ashley on her appearance.

"You can't wear that!" Ginny exclaimed, earning harsh "Shh!"s from other Healers.

"To what?" Ashley asked, not really paying attention to what Ginny was saying. Ginny rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.

"For your date with Ben," she answered matter-of-factly. Ashley froze on the spot. She was such an idiot! She had been so busy that she hadn't remembered that she was supposed to meet Ben in less than half an hour.

"I can't just leave. I have people to look after," she said. Ginny placed her hands on her hips in a very Mrs. Weasley-like manner. Her brilliant red hair was loose and falling into her face; her forest green robes went well with her hair and complimented her tall figure. The Weasley genes had done her good, or so Ashley would hear from the guys she worked with when they saw Ginny.

"You do get breaks, don't you?" Ginny huffed. She didn't understand her cousin (she seemed more like a sister, though, a position Hermione had filled for Ginny, too) at all. One minute she was this confident, I-don't-give-a-care person and the next she was shriveling up in her little shell and insisting that she was not a social butterfly. She supposed that everyone had their moments; Ginny herself wasn't always cheerful and ready to face the world, and it must have been harder for Ashley, who never thought she was a great catch. But, Ginny thought, she has a lot to offer and anyone would be crazy not to go for her.

Plus, it gets Ron off her back about Harry.

Ron had called a meeting with her, two old schoolmates called Nonya and Crystal, and Fred and George. The last two surprised Ginny when she had learned what Ron's intentions were, but she figured that if anyone knew how to be sneaky and cunning, it would be the infamous Weasley Twins.

Totally ignoring the fact that he was planning a wedding with his fiancée, Ron decided to try and make two people close to him acknowledge the spark burning between them. Harry and Ashley, Ron had argued, would be great together. "They've done it before."

Fred and George might have agreed, but the girls were strongly against it. Especially Ginny. "They've done it before, yes, and it didn't work." Ron waved that comment off.

"They were young and stupid," he said.

"You have yet to grow out of that phase, dear brother," Ginny spat. Nonya turned away so that no one would see her smiling, while Crystal hid a smirk behind her glass of Butterbeer. Fred and George grinned as well, but they still agreed with Ron.

"How can you?" Crystal asked. "There was no basis behind their relationship other than physical attraction. From what I heard they never sat down and talked about things. How could that change now?" Indeed, everyone was thinking along the same lines. Both sides (Harry and Ashley) had admitted that, yes, snogging was enjoyable and it was thrilling to see each other secretly, but talking had never once occurred. Ashley had always gone to one of her friends for help, mainly Ginny and Hermione, while Harry always talked his problems over with Ron or Sirius. Ron drummed his fingers on the table, a sure sign of his impatience.

"Yes, I know all of that. It wasn't a good relationship and they ended it for a pretty good reason." Ron stood up and began to pace, his hand gestures emphasizing his points. "But those reasons don't stand anymore. He's looking for someone, she isn't with anyone, and they just fit. Everyone said that about me and Hermione and d'you know what? You all were right. Hermione and I are getting married soon, and I want Harry to find that happiness too. He's my best mate and I want him to be with someone who cares about him. It's sappy, I know, but I believe the only person who's up for the job is Ashley."

Eventually, Ron had won everyone over except Ginny. Sure, on the outside she nodded her head, smiled and said Ron was right. She threw in the usual comment about it being the only time he would be, and drew up a plan to get Harry and Ashley together. However, she purposely made sure the plan had faults, and from then on vowed to find her cousin a great guy whom she would hit it off with. Maybe she wouldn't marry him, but it would be a sign of her being to busy to bat an eyelash when it came to her ex.

One day while visiting Hermione at the Ministry, a very good-looking guy had come in with a bunch of papers under his arms. Ginny's eyes followed him in and out of the room, analyzing his better sides and checking his potential. She had asked him questions when they were introduced and got the rest of her information from Hermione. Hermione, of course, wanted to know what Ginny was up to, and Ginny explained hurriedly, trying to catch up with the guy (Ben? She couldn't remember his name at the moment) as he made his way down the hall. She hinted that Hermione was holding party to celebrate her engagement and that she would simply love to introduce him to her cousin. Ben was hesitant, saying he was never one for blind dates, but after Ginny reassured him that it was for platonic purposes only, he agreed.

It took a while, but Hermione agreed to throw a party at her flat.

A few days later, she heard that Ashley was looking for a change of appearance and Ginny jumped at the chance. She remembered how pretty her cousin could be when she was simply herself (okay, Ginny reasoned, the frizzy hair and weight were better off gone), and strived to bring the basic look back. Looking at her now, Ginny smiled inside.

Ashley's hair had never really been brown or red. It was black and curly, and it could be understood why she changed it. She had been teased relentlessly about being the only Weasley not to have a trace of red in their hair, and as her mother used to blow dry her hair, she had no idea what to do with it when she tried to manage it on her own. Her hair had little streaks of red in it when in the light, and this made Ashley happy. She was so happy that as soon as she was twelve years old she went out and dyed her hair, alternating between red and brown, colors that she thought looked good on her. They did, of course. She went all out to change her appearance and unknowingly changed too much.

It was time to bring her back.

"Ginny, I just can't. Some other time, perhaps," Ashley lamented, walking away. Ginny grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Don't you dare try to let this guy go!" Ginny hissed. "He is genuinely interested and I know you are too. It's just lunch, not a wedding." Ashley sighed.

"Okay, I'm going," she relented. She made her way to the staff lounge as Ginny called out to her.

"Are you going dressed like that?" she asked. Ashley turned on her heel, grinning.

"No way. I've got flimsier stuff than this," she joked, waving. Ginny laughed. Things would be getting better, she knew. Things would fall into place soon enough.

How very wrong she was.

~~~~~~~~~

Ron and Harry walked up three flights of stairs to Hermione's flat. They were going to surprise her with a sort of guy's night in, ignoring the obvious fact that Hermione was a girl. Ron quickly squashed the termination, saying it was best to call it "leisure time with friends". They knocked on her door, a little surprised to see Ginny open it. They were fine with this, after all the more the merrier.

Ginny, however, was shocked beyond words.

"W-What are you two doing hear?" she stuttered. Ron quirked an eyebrow, trying not to smirk.

"We thought we'd just drop by," he answered, gesturing to Harry, who stepped forward. Ginny shook her head.

"Well, Hermione and I have plans for tonight," she quipped. At the sound of her name, Hermione made her way to the door. She nearly gasped upon seeing Ron and Harry there.

"It's not as if we just appeared here after years of absence, you know," Ron commented, annoyed at their reactions. "Where are you two going, anyway? You're not dressed." True, the girls were in sweatpants and T-shirts. Whatever their plans were, it was obvious that they weren't going anywhere.

"Girls night, Ron," Ginny answered, her hip jutting out to the side. Ron wrinkled his nose.

"How many of those are you going to have?" he whined. Every time he tried to plan something special with Hermione, she would decline, saying that she had already planned a girls' night. Ron was getting frustrated with this. True, the two of them had planned a December wedding, which didn't leave enough "bachelor/bachelorette" time for either of them, but it was ridiculous to plan these kinds of outings all the time. Hermione, seeming to read his mind, averted her gaze to the floor.

"Ron, you two really have to go," Ginny urged. "It wouldn't be good for you to be here. Lots of female discussions." It was common knowledge that Ron wouldn't come within a one mile radius of females discussing problems like bloating or PMS. True, Ron himself had complained to the guys about the latter when it came to Hermione, but that was as far as he would go.

Ron was indignant. "Hermione, you know you can come to me with your problems." At this, Hermione glared at Ron.

"Well, the next time I'm menstruating I'll come running to you," she snapped. Who did he think he was? Of course, female problems in that area were not the issue, but Ron's perspective bothered her.

Ron immediately blanched. "As you were. Come on, Harry." Hermione shut the door as Harry and Ron departed. She sighed. Men. Hearing movement behind her, she turned and saw Ginny moving a few chairs around.

"Was that really necessary, Ginny?" Hermione asked. Ginny wiped her brow and glanced at Hermione before running into the kitchen.

"Are you aware of what my brother is planning, Hermione?" Ginny called from the kitchen. Hermione furrowed her brow, deep in thought before the pieces of the puzzle finally fit together. Her expression of curiosity quickly turned into one of exasperation. Ginny came back into the room, trying to balance three glasses and a plate of snacks on her arm. The look on Hermione's face showed her that she understood. "Exactly."

"It all makes sense," Hermione muttered. "He's been rather eager whenever there's something they both will attend. Did he write anything to you about it?" she asked, remembering that day at the Ministry where Ron had sent a few letters off after informing Hermione of his plan.

"Did he?" Ginny reiterated. "Of course he wrote to me, along with Fred, George, and two others! He's trying to create madness all over again."

Hermione sighed, slumping into the couch. "This is totally out of character for Ron. It's almost as though someone has been planting ideas in his head." Her head jerked up, curls flying wildly around her head. "Do you think it's possible that Harry asked him to do it?" Before Ginny could answer, Hermione kept on speaking. "No; Harry didn't know she was here until he bumped into her while trying to find me. I still don't know what he wanted to ask me about." Ginny opened her mouth to speak but had to close it as Hermione wasn't done yet. "Then again, maybe that's what he wanted to ask about. Maybe he wanted to know if I'd kept in contact with her. That's ridiculous because I always tell Harry and Ron what she tells me unless they don't have to know." By this time, Ginny's mouth had pressed into a thin line. "Maybe--"

"Hermione!" Ginny screeched. "Stop with your rambling!" Hermione, shocked at Ginny's outburst, shut her mouth, looking at Ginny with wide eyes. It wasn't long before the expressions on both of their faces caused both of them to break out into fits of giggles. The giggles erupted into laughter; the laughter was so loud that they didn't hear the door open and close. The sound of keys falling on the counter made them stop and turn their heads.

Ashley stood there, leaning on the door, a goofy grin and a dreamy expression on her face. Her eyes were focused upward, and she let out a small, contented sigh. She brushed her hair (straight today) out of her face, immediately snapping out of it when she saw the smirks on Ginny and Hermione's faces.

"What?" she asked innocently, her face turning pink. Ginny shook her head, still smirking. "Will you two stop looking at me like that?"

"Not until you tell us how this one went," Hermione said. Ashley looked at her feet, covering her face with her hands.

"Nothing special," they heard her mumble. But Hermione and Ginny would have none of that. They practically dragged her over to the bedroom, all three of them sitting down on the bed. They slowly coaxed Ashley into telling them how it went.

"Come on, you can't possibly tell us that the stars in your eyes are due to 'nothing special,'" Hermione reasoned. Out of nowhere, Ashley let out a very girly squeal and flung herself backwards onto the bed. Even from her position, Hermione could see a grin appear on her face.

"It was absolutely amazing," she began. "We had a great time at dinner. We ate at some place called The Waxing something-or-whatever, and we were just talking and laughing. Oh, it was so much fun. He's so easy to talk to things about. He is the funniest guy, too. He told me the weirdest stories and my drink actually spurted out of my nose a few times. People stared, and it was sort of embarrassing, but I don't care!" Hermione was about to comment when Ashley continued. Ginny shot her a look as if to say 'Well now you know it feels, thank you very much.' "We were walking in the park afterwards, and apparently there were some musicians playing special requests. So Ben goes up and he whispers something to them, and they start playing a song, and he asked me to dance. We were having a great time, and after it all he kissed me. It was great! I felt so warm and like I was still in school."

Ginny smiled at Ashley's description of the evening. It was short, but sweet. Ginny was startled out of her thoughts when she heard a noise from Ashley. "What's wrong?"

Ashley sat up, her nose wrinkled and her eyes showing worry. "It's just--well, I didn't particularly like the song he picked. It's okay if we don't always like the same things, is it?" Hermione nodded, a reassuring smile on her face.

"Of course," she said. "You're two different people with different tastes. Everyone likes something different." Ashley grinned, albeit a bit hesitantly.

"I just don't believe he thought a song by Britney Spears was romantic." Ginny and Hermione rounded on Ashley, surprise etched all over their features. Ashley nodded, and all three of them burst out laughing.

"W-what s-s-song was it?" Ginny gasped between bouts of laughter. Hermione was grabbing tissue to dab her eyes with. Ashley stood up, laughing, imitating Britney Spears' movements from her video.

"Hit me baby one more time!" she sang, and all three of them collapsed with laughter again.

~~~~~~~~~

On and on these dates progressed, each with a new and surprising revelation. So far, Ashley had learned that Ben was partial to foods that were considered delicacies (a mega gross factor for her. Squid? Disgusting!) and that he applied the five second rule to fallen food.

"Five second rule?" Ginny had inquired.

"If a piece of your meal or whatever you're eating falls onto a clean surface," Hermione explained, putting emphasis on clean, "within five seconds you can pick it up and eat it." Ginny grimaced.

Even so, after every date, Ashley would return giddy as a school girl. Hermione was happy that her friend was finally enjoying her life, and Ginny was just glad that her plan to keep Ron from matchmaking worked.

Of course, that was before Hermione revealed that she hadn't told Ron that Ashley was involved. Ginny was surprised that Hermione would do such a thing. Hermione herself didn't understand it; since Ron had never dropped any hints that he was even going through with his plan, Hermione decided there was no need to inform him of the new developments.

"He's brainwashed you, Hermy," she announced, earning a glare from Hermione, along with a promise to inform Ron of the news.

Now, as Hermione was sitting in Ron and Harry's kitchen, pouring over plans for their wedding, Hermione was suddenly reminded of her duty. She sat there for a minute, thinking of the best way to go about revealing it all.

Ron walked into the kitchen, a large amount of papers in his hands. Some were official, some were just pictures. Ron looked through all of them with a frown on his face.

"No offense, love, but I have enough work to do without you pushing me to pick a tussedo or robes," he said. Hermione tried to hold back a smile. Ron was never great with Muggle terminology.

"Tuxedo," she pronounced. An idea struck her then. She stood up, slipping her arms around Ron's waist. She felt Ron tense up, and she smiled against his shoulder (him being so tall). She always frowned upon those who used sex appeal to get their way, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Well, these aren't exactly desperate times, she thought. Either way, as she felt Ron relax against her, she knew that this was the quickest (and least painful) way.

"Ron," she whispered against his neck. She heard him groan. "I want you to do something." She could hear the smile behind his words as she spoke.

"Why should I do something just because you tell me to?" he challenged, turning his head to make eye contact with her. She flashed him what she hoped was a sexy smile and whispered her reply. Her hot breath against his ear made Ron shiver.

"It comes with benefits," she offered. Hesitantly, Ron nodded, turning around and wrapping his own arms around his fiancé. He grinned down at her.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked huskily. She leaned closer, rubbing his shoulders as she did so.

"Ron..."

"Yes?"

"I want you to stop trying to set Ashley up with Harry." As if burned, Ron pushed himself away from Hermione.

"What?"

"Stop trying to fix them up. It's over between them. Besides," she added, "she's involved with someone else." At this Ron's eyebrows shot up.

"Who?"

"Remember that guy that you believe is always hitting on me?" she asked sourly, remembering how Ron had embarrassed her in front of her coworkers.

"Hermione, I think everyone is hitting on you. That's not a real clue," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. Indeed, Ron was very self-conscious and believed that there was someone smarter than him and richer than him (like, he hated to admit, Viktor bloody Krum) that could take care of Hermione. Even though he knew this, he tried to make sure she never would. He became suspicious of all males around Hermione, thinking they were trying to steal his Hermione from him (not that he owned her, of course). It stopped when Hermione assured him that no matter what other men had, he, Ron Weasley, was the one she loved, and that would only change if he kept acting like a complete git.

That succeeded in squashing the Green-eyed Monster.

"Ben Hudson?" she asked. Ron's eyes practically disappeared into his hairline.

"Him?" he asked in disbelief. Hermione nodded. Ron thought about this piece of information for a moment.

"Hermione, it's just not right to me," he announced. Hermione rolled her eyes to the heavens.

"Ron, it doesn't matter," she admonished. "It's okay to her." Ron shook his head.

"Okay? Then she doesn't think it's right either," he said stubbornly.

"Why are you so against this, Ron?" Hermione snapped, pushing herself away from him.

"Because there is something better than that wanker," he replied. "My cousin is adamantly denying something, and I know what it is." Hermione sighed.

"Ron, please, let her be. Just drop the whole matchmaking plan and let her find whoever the right person is herself." Ron stood there, quiet for a moment, before softening.

"All right; if she's happy," he relented. Hermione smiled and hugged him tight. He returned the hug with no question. "Course," he added, "I still think she'd be better with Harry." Hermione slapped his arm playfully.

"Ron," she admonished, grinning. Inside, though, Hermione agreed with him. Hearing about Ashley's dates with Ben led her to believe that something was not quite right with him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Harry and Ron were set to meet Hermione and Ashley at the train station. Ron grumbled about this, saying it would be easier to get there if they took the Knight Bus. Hermione begged and pleaded, saying it would be a good experience for him to travel the Muggle way, as they would have to do with her parents. Not wanting to upset Hermione, Ron agreed, but on the condition that Harry accompany them. It didn't matter to Hermione, as she had asked Ashley to come along.

Once they were all at their meeting spot (Denim World), they set off for the station, Ron blowing hot breath into his scarf to warm his face.

It was unusually cold for October; rather, it felt like December. Many people were walking around London with their winter coats, hats, and scarves. The wind blew harshly upon their faces, bringing about a rosy glow to their cheeks. Hermione was rather warm, wearing her favorite coat (the one Ron had given her for Christmas last year), gloves and scarf. She had a wool cap over her head, and while some would say she looked ridiculous, Ron said she looked adorable. She returned the favor after glancing at his blue earmuffs, to which he blushed furiously. It might have been the frosty air, but one would never know.

Harry, who refused to wear gloves as he didn't believe it was that cold, was seriously regretting his decision as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. He felt very uncomfortable, and for more reasons than one. His glasses felt like they were frozen to his face, which bothered him greatly. Besides the cold, another thing that bothered him was Ashley's proximity to him. As the four of them were walking through a crowded street, they unconsciously squeezed together so as not to lose each other. With Ron and Hermione in the front, Ashley had been pressed into his side, albeit unknowingly.

He didn't know why this bothered him, although one part of him said he was just wasn't familiar with the closeness. Another part of him, however, wasn't so sure.

They silently boarded the train, which, much to their dismay, was just as crowded. Only one or two people had gotten off and about twenty had boarded, which would be a terrible situation for those suffering from claustrophobia. As a matter, just before the doors closed, one man practically flew out onto the platform, gasping for air.

"Nutter," Harry heard Ron mumble under his breath. He grinned despite himself.

The ride it self was smooth, albeit a bit uncomfortable. Harry was afraid he was going to run out of oxygen, and almost believed it fully when, as soon as the doors opened again, more people got on but only one person got off. Talk about people traveling in the same direction.

Hermione was absentmindedly chatting somewhere behind him, but Harry was only partly listening.

"So far, everything is set. Like I said before, Ron, all you have to do is fine something to wear. If you don't choose something today or within the next week, I don't know what I'm going to do with you. Maybe Ginny's Bat-Bogey Hex will get you moving," she threatened. Harry vaguely heard someone snicker quietly.

"You boys will have to go on by yourselves, and please, please don't wander of to Quality Quidditch Supplies. This is important and you said so yourself that you wanted to get it out of the way." Ron smiled, pulling Hermione close.

"Yes, love," he said simply, planting a kiss on her forehead. She tried to frown up at him but ended up smiling, her face turning crimson.

"Thank you," she said.

Other than that, Harry was rather bored with his surroundings. What was so great about trains anyway, he thought. They're for people who don't want to get a car, that's all. Harry realized how bitter this seemed to sound, and immediately pushed those thoughts away. He had been on a bit of an edge lately. His love life was greatly suffering and he didn't know why. So far, every woman he had gone out on a date with said the connection wasn't there. That really bothered Harry as he had been genuinely interested in some of them and they seemed to return the favor. But by the end of the night, the girl would scrunch up her face and apologize, saying it "just wouldn't work out in the long run." Well, yeah but that didn't mean they couldn't have fun in the mean time.

10 minutes later they were still on the train, waiting for their stop to come. At last, people had begun to step off, though they weren't very polite about it. Busy, frustrated, cranky men and women shoved passed them, only a few muttering short apologies. Hermione took this opportunity to find a seat near by, as her feet were killing her, but the rest of them remained standing. One man, rather rotund, had pushed his way passed everyone, yelling about people who couldn't give those different from them a chance to go about daily life. He was eating a donut, and crumbs flew out of his mouth onto people's faces as he stumbled by with his ramblings. They just wiped it away, glaring at the plump man as he made his way off the train.

Ashley looked down, feeling something tug at her jeans. She smiled when she saw a rather adorable little girl, her blonde hair in pigtails high upon her head and her little coat buttoned to the top. Her small skirt peeked out just a bit from under it, and she was stepping on her own Mary Janes. She appeared a bit nervous, but was smiling, showing that she had recently lost a tooth.

"Hi there," Ashley greeted. The little girl smiled, waving at Ashley with a tiny hand.

"Hello," the girl replied shyly. She clung to what must have been one of her parent's legs. Ashley squatted down so she was at eye level to the girl. "Where are you going?" the girl asked.

"I'm going to go to the stores to help my friend," she pointed at Hermione, "buy a dress." The little girl's blue eyes lit up.

"A pretty one?" she asked excitedly. Ashley laughed, which caught Harry's attention.

"Yes."

"And are you going to look for wizards? My mummy said they don't come around here, but I think they do." Ashley grinned at how close the little girl was to the truth.

"Of course," she answered. Harry watched, listening closely. "Why, I think I may know a few wizards. Yes; as a matter of fact I think we're supposed to meet today and talk about what spells we're going to use to turn rocks into animals."

The young child laughed. "Are you a wizard too?" The hope was evident in her eyes, and Ashley laughed again.

"Well, I'm learning," she answered. She put her hand behind the girl's ear and willed it to be. Like magic, which it really was, she pulled out a lily from the girl's hair. She showed it to her and the girl clapped her hands in joy. "Here, keep it to remember me by. Don't forget that magic is where you least expect it to be." The girl thanked her, showing her parents the gift the nice wizard lady had given her. They exited the train soon after that, the parents turning around and mouthing a "thank you" to Ashley as their daughter went on with delight, spilling what had just happened on the train in great detail.

"That was cute," Ashley heard Harry say. She turned to him, smiling as she stood up. She must have been squatting for a while, as it took a while for her legs to regain feeling.

"Well, she was just so cute and...ah, you know how kids are," she explained. Harry laughed. "I just hope the MoM doesn't send me a warning for using magic in front of Muggles," she whispered. Harry agreed with her.

A bill fell out of Ashley's pocket and she bent down to pick it up. She did not notice the fat, bumbling man making his way towards her. Harry, his instincts kicking in, quickly pulled her up and to the side, pressing her to him as the man walked by, now yelling about women who didn't know how to act. Harry quickly threw a rather biting insult at the man, and before the man could respond the doors shut, almost taking the tip off his nose.

Ashley giggled softly. She turned around to face Harry. "Thanks for that. I would have been totally plowed." Harry smiled, saying it was no problem. It was then that the two of them noticed how close they were. Harry felt warm all of a sudden. He knew he was still holding her, but his hands would not listen to his brain and still held her.

She felt her heart start to beat faster. It wasn't uncomfortable being around Harry, especially now since he just saved her from a place in the International House of Pancakes, but she was so close she could smell him. He smelled like spices, grass, and something else she couldn't place.

"Oi! We're getting off now!" Harry and Ashley quickly pulled apart, their cheeks glowing. It went by unnoticed by Ron and Hermione, who brushed it off as an effect from the biting wind. They made their way to the Leaky Cauldron, trading greetings with Tom, the toothless bartender, before exiting out the back and tapping the bricks to enter Diagon Alley. They quickly parted, Harry and Ron going down one street while Hermione and Ashley traveled down another. Ashley bit back a laugh as she heard Ron yell.

"Bloody Muggle traveling!"

~~~~~~~~~

"What was that all about?" Ashley looked up from the floor and frowned. Hermione was talking to her, holding a light blue dress up for Ashley to judge. Ashley realized she must not have been listening fully to what Hermione had been saying.

"What?" she asked dumbly. Hermione let out a sigh.

"I was going to let it go and forget about it, but I bet you've been thinking about it all this time." Ashley began to worry. Did Hermione see what had happened on the train? Well, nothing happened, Ashley reasoned, but it might appear that something had.

"Hermione--"

"Don't. Just tell me what's going on between you two. You haven't mentioned him a lot lately, so something must be wrong between you two." Ashley was confused for a moment before she realized that Hermione was talking about her and Ben. Indeed, Ashley's mind had been thinking about that development, but every so often she would drift over to Harry.

"Hermione, this is all about you. We're getting things ready for your wedding which is coming up in December of this year, and all you want to talk about is my love life. Focus on yourself for a change." But Hermione would have none of that.

"Just tell me what's wrong, we'll discuss that for a bit, and focus on me for the rest of the day." She furrowed her brow. "That sounded a bit pretentious." Ashley smiled.

"Yes, it did. Anyway, I'm not exactly sure what the problem is. There, we're done. Now, let's go see--"

"Ashley."

"Okay. Well, it seems like he's got a lot on his mind. I think there's something he wants to tell me, but he just won't say it. Can you give me a quick bit of advice, because I really want to tell you what's wrong with that dress?"

"Just ask him right out. Tell him you're there to listen and hopefully he'll open up to you. What's wrong with the dress?"

"Thanks, Hermione, I'll do that. It's teal, Hermione, the color of gangrene."*

*Taken from the movie The Wedding Planner starring Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey.