Gone Awry

She was running through the castle, her eyes frantically moving around, left and right, up and down, in the search from her beloved cousin.

Every now and again she stopped to ask some of her peers if they had seen the red haired boy, but most of them hadn't seen him, or couldn't remember when they saw him last. Cursing, Ash continued her search for him. Looking in the Great Hall and the Library and whatever other location she could think off.

Lastly she found herself stuck outside of the Gryffindor common room, arguing with the Fat Lady.

"Let me in there! I need to see Ron!" she screamed at the painting for the hundredth time already, but the Lady stayed stubborn.

"You can only enter with the password, tell me the password and I'll let you enter!" she told the blond girl for the zillionth time.

"Can you at least ask one of the other paintings to check if my cousin is in there?" Ash begged, slowly getting sick and tired of the repeated argument.

"No can do, sorry dear."

Ash screamed in frustration and stomped up and down in front of the portrait in anger. Cursing the painting, cursing the houses, cursing Hogwarts, cursing herself and Ron, Ash continued her rant with the painting and her way back and forth in front of the painting.

All of a sudden, a small voice sounded behind her. "Excuse me... I need to go through" the voice of some first year sounded and made her jump.

"Oh, yes, of course. Sorry," she said and moved to the side, allowing the kid to pass her. She didn't hear the password the first year muttered, but when she saw the portray swinging to the side, she quickly grabbed a hold of its edge and said, "Kid... could you get Ron Weasley to come out here? Say that Ash wants to see him," she yelled out the last part because the Fat Lady was forcing the entrance close again, to stop her from entering.

"Now all there is to do is hope that kid does what I asked him to do and wait," she muttered and sat down on one of the stars that lead to the common room.

Time went by and it seemed like hours passed before she saw the portrait swing to the side again and reveal a flustered Ronald.

"Ron!" Ash cheered happily and hugged the boy tightly.

"Ash!" he said surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Ron... Help me, please," she whispered into his ear and hugged him even tighter to her body.

"Ash? What happened?" he asked, concern lacing each word.

"Can we go somewhere else?" the Slytherin asked, eyeing the portrait warily.

"Oh, sure..." he said and turned to face the Fat Lady. "Maple Syrup," he said and the Lady swung open. Next he pulled Ash through the hole into the Gryffindor common room. The small passage brought them to a large comfortable room with a fireplace and couches spread along the interior. "Sit down," he said gesturing to one of the large red couches where she saw Harry and Hermione sitting and looking up at her.

She also heard a couple of gasps at the fact that she - a Slytherin - was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, as she sat herself on the opposite end of the couch, waiting for Ron to start questioning her.

"What happened?"

"How do you know something happened?"

"First you beat up Applebee and now you've scared half of the Gryiffindor students by the fact that you were hammering on the Fat Lady and glared at her for the last hour or so."

"If you knew that, why did you only come now?"

"I didn't, the kid you send for me told me."

"Oh OK."

"So, tell me. What happened?"

Ash sighed and looked at her hands. "I'm a mess," she said softly after a few minutes of silence.

"Tell me something new," he joked, but motioned for Harry and Hermione to leave them alone for a second, before crouching in front of his cousin and talking a tight hold of her hands. "Is it because of Malfoy?"

Ash's jaw hardened as she nodded her head yes.

"What exactly did he do?"

Ash frowned a bit before shrugging her shoulders. "He cheated on me."

Now it was Ron's time to frown. "But that was a month ago! Why are you coming to me with that now?"

"I'm a mess," she repeated in a sad tone of voice.

"You said that already"

"I can't think strait. I'm not rational any more... I let my emotions get the best of me... I'm a simple and complete mess."

"No, your just a girl!" he said with a chuckle, making Ash glare at him.

"Not funny."

"Yes funny."

Ash looked away from her cousin.

"But really, why did you come to me?"

"I'm a mess."

"Had that already," he sighed. "But why do you think I can help?"

Ash stayed quiet for a few moments before repeating, "I'm a mess."

"OK, now this is getting stupid" he grunted and waited for the next words the girl had to say.

"I'm a mess."

With a frustrated sigh, Ron took hold of Ash's shoulders and asked her to tell her the whole story. About how she had seen him in the Bedroom with Pansy. How she had a fight with him in front of the Zabini Manor. How she tried to get revenge on Draco but couldn't and everything else that she could think of that had to do with the fact that Draco cheated on her.

When she finished her story Ron shrugged. "Told ya to stay away from him," he said with a sigh and shrugged again. "But I still don't see the problem. Why can't you just let him be, ignore him, push him out of our life."

"Because..."

"Because?"

"Because I still..."

"Because you still?"

"Love him"

Rons grimaced for a second, "do you really?"

Ash looked at her cousin confused, "what do you mean?"

"Do you really love him? Did you ever truly love him?"

Ash was confused at his words. "I don't - ?" she said the voice filled with questions.

"Do you, Ashlin Weasley, really love him, Draco Malfoy?"

"I still don't..." she said starring at Ron.

"You don't love him, Ash. You just don't want to let go of the past. You were always like that. Keeping grudges for the longest of times, never forgiving, never getting over things that went against your believes. Its about time you let go of the past and life for the future!" Ron told her, while his tight rip on her arms bruised her skin. "Its time to let go, to forget about that git" he said softly, his warm blue eyes once again gazing deep into her heart.

"Let... go..." she muttered as she let his words run through her mind and as she tasted every aspect of the thought carefully. "Let go and forget..." a smile crept onto her face just by the thought of the simple idea.