A/N: Wow...long time, no write! LOL! Anyway...I have kind of had writers block with this story and now that I am a college freshman it has been hard to finish. I am currently home on Christmas break and I am enjoying the break from my schooling! Happy Christmas!! ... Scorpio
Chapter 31: Christmas Break
After devouring the pizza, they slowly made their way to their rooms. Everyone gradually fell asleep all throughout the house but Andi slept restlessly through the night. The dreams plagued her; she almost felt that the dreams were foreshadowing something- making her feel queasy.
Ashley awoke with a start at about 1 am, breathing heavily and in a cold sweat. The premonition she just had scared the bejeebers out of her. Bellatrix was sneaking about and it made Ashley feel as if someone would jump out from under the bed. She breathed deeply, hoping that she would be able to fall back to sleep. Even though she was sixteen, she still clung to her stuffed moose tightly...hoping that maybe she might sleep.
Bella sat up in bed, mind in a buzz. There was sunlight beaming through the slits in the blinds and a smell of cologne in the air. She looked beside her to see Sawyer still asleep, sheets only around his middle. She smiled to herself and began to sit up as a sharp pain erupted in her head. It felt like a jackhammer was being used on her skull. Suddenly an aggravated voice screamed in her head.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! WHY ARE YOU NOT ON THE WAY TO HOGWARTS AND INSTEAD IN THE BED OF THIS MUGGLE?! WHAT IS GOING ON?! GET THE JOB DONE AND NO MORE DISTRACTIONS!!"
Bella flopped back against the pillows, panting from the scare she had just received from her master. Sawyer stirred and sighed as he stretched his arms. He rolled over and smiled at Bella. "So are you still cold?" Bella laughed. "No, I'm great now thanks." Her face did not match her statement though and it caused Sawyer to sit up.
"What's wrong darlin'? Something wrong?"
Bella nodded, paused, and then shook her head. "I hate to do this, but I have to go."
Sawyer hung his head and slowly climbed out of bed. "Well then I'm coming with you."
Bella chuckled. "I don't think you'll be able to follow me this time."
At that moment the door broke open to reveal McNair on the other side, panting as he strode into the room. He glared at Bella as she pulled the sheet around her. Sawyer quickly grabbed a pillow and McNair pointed his wand at Bella. "The Dark Lord wants you back NOW." He spat. Sawyer went to take a step forward but McNair stopped him. "One more step and she dies."
Sawyer was caught. He slowly backed up and Bella stepped towards the intruder. "McNair, stop it. You think you're hot stuff, but I'M still the Dark Lords fav-"
McNair cut her off. He pointed his wand at her clothes and shot them at her. "Put them on and let's go."
She had no other choice but to do as he said. She refused to leave the spot however. "What about Sawyer?"
McNair looked at the cornered cowboy and snapped his wand in his direction. "AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Sawyer fell limp to the floor as Bella screamed. "NO! WHY NOT A MEMORY CHARM? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO KILL HIM?!"
McNair glared at her as he grabbed her arm. "Memory charms are too much work and you never would have slept with him again anyway." He dug his fingers into her arm. "We're going."
With that, they both disappeared and left Sawyer for the housekeepers.
It was quiet in the Skyler household as Ashley woke up again, still clutching her moose. Ahhh...Much better. No more nasty dreams...I am so close to giving up on being a seerer. Grrrrr! She pulled on her barn clothes over her pjs and walked silently outside, slipping past Draco's door and down the stairs.
The barn was cold but it smelled so familiar to Ashley, a smell that Hogwarts lacked...something that made her feel at home. As she strode through the barn, speaking quietly with her horses, Ashley attempted to make something of the vision she had had. Was Bella truly going to come after Andi now? What did it mean? She began to open the grain bins, mixing feed for horses. Ashley began to feed them one by one as her barn cat came slinking down the stairs.
"Cornelius, what have you been up to?" The cat just purred back, wrapping itself around her legs.
Ashley smiled and trudged through the snow to the house. She left her boots and coat in the mud room, climbing the stairs two at a time to her room. Opening the door to her room, Ashley slipped into her pjs, again. She lay down quietly on her bed and listened to Gwen breathing in the next room. Sighing, she rolled over on her side and had an evil idea. Slowly, she crept across the hall and opened the door to Draco's room. Draco was asleep, wrapped up in the cotton sheets of the guest bed. Ashley giggled silently to herself. She sat down in the desk chair and began to leaf through his trunk of school books. In his Potions book, Ashley found a red and gold tie with a small scripted "A.S." on it. She smirked evilly, That is why he is always so happy in Potions.
Draco rolled over in his sleep, and Ashley got a devious idea. She crept to the bed and slowly knelt down on the mattress. He stirred slightly and Ashley dared a little further, placing her knees on either side of him. She breathed in slowly, took her hands and began to tickle him with out mercy!
"AHHHHHH!" Draco shrieked as he felt two small hands tickling his body. He gripped the wrists that were attached to the hands ravaging his body. He groggily flipped his assailant over onto her back. Draco straddled her body, pinning her hands back with one hand as he wiped the sleep dirt out of his eyes. "Aren't we in a compromising position this morning?"
Ashley smiled up at him from the bed where she lay, "Possibly?" He placed a tender kiss upon her lips but his hands had slid slowly down her body. "Stop!" Ashley breathed rapidly; noticing Draco's hands wavering at the hem of her tank top. Ashley listened to the scampering of feet in the hall. "Shoot..." she breathed slowly gaining her breath, "Now my parents will know."
Draco looked at her quizzically, "What do you mean? Your parents don't know bout 'us'."
He raised himself up on his elbows as she slid up towards the head board. "Uhhh...Gwen must have woken up and heard us. I don't know how long she has been listening."
She crawled out from under Draco and slipped out the door, "Meet me on the landing...I'll wake up the girls."
She winked slyly and walked to the foot of the attic stairs, "Hermione!!... Nicole!!...Andi!!..." There was no answer so she crept up the stairwell and came face to face with the three upstairs bedrooms. I guess I just knock... She took the middle door first, and it was a good choice. She stepped to the door and knocked loudly, "Come on! WAKE UP!!" She bellowed but stopped when she heard a squeak and movement from inside. The door opened to a crack and Ashley could just make out a shadowy figure standing behind Nicole. "Harry...quite cowering...get over it. You were caught!"
He stepped into the light. "I wouldn't go so far as to say that...Don't act all innocent either," Harry smirked at her. Ashley blushed knowing exactly what he was implying.
"When did you come up here??" inquired Ashley. Harry shrugged his shoulders, his muscles physically flexing. "I don't know..."
"Whatever...we are going down to breakfast...meet you down there?" she replied. Nicole smirked, "Soon..." was all she replied closing the door. Ashley rolled her eyes; she didn't want to know what was going on...
She passed Draco waiting for her on the landing...shirtless! "Draco...this is not your house...clothes on...now!" He laughed, giving her a peck on the cheek, "Fine...hun, I'll meet you downstairs."
Ashley slid down the banister to the first floor and then walked down to the basement. She opened the door and was greeted with a loud snoring noise. That was when she viewed the carnage before her... Hermione, Andi, Ron, and Blaise were all laying on the floor snoring loudly, gaming controllers scattered around, the TV clicking on and off, and several more empty boxes of pizza. This could be an interesting thing to play with...Ashley reached out with her mind and touched them individually but immediately recoiled when she got to Blaise...GROSS!!!! Last time I ever do that!!
She went back to the doorway and opened the door wide and pulled hard. The door slammed loudly and three of the four woke up. Hermione, Andi, and Blaise all jumped up "HE –SHE – THEY DID IT!!!!" They all said at once. Ashley just laughed that is when they all realized that Ron was still sound asleep on the floor.
"HE DID IT!!!" they all shouted together, pointing to Ron. Andi bent down to shake him awake...he was startled and a bit disoriented, "Mum?"
"No Ron...A-N-D-I!" she smiled and he slowly got up. They all laughed at the mistake of their red-headed friend. "Okay…lets all go to breakfast!"
Breakfast went as normal that is until Gwen joined the table followed by Alec. The two of them cohorting together was never a good thing. Ashley sat quietly next to Draco, attempting to eat her French toast but failing miserably for Draco was drawing delicate circles on her inner thigh. Her face contorted as she tried to hold her emotions back as she ate. He seemed unfazed by it and continued eating. However, Nicole picked up on the face that she was making, and kicked Draco under the table. He hissed, and Nicole smiled back, as Ashley let out a large sigh.
But it didn't last too long, because Draco went back to his same old tricks and her face contorted yet again. Leon looked at the rosy red cheeks of his younger sister and blushed himself. He new full well what was happening beneath the table cloth and was ashamed because he had once done the same thing to his own girlfriend. He cleared his throat and gave a meaningful look at Draco. In an instant, Ashley sobered up and there were no longer any more distorted faces.
Mr. and Mrs. Skyler joined the table and everyone began to chat eagerly about their different plans for the days ahead of them. Ashley and Nicole were planning on taking there friends on a tour of Muggle Vermont to show them how they grew up as magical kids in the Muggle world. Everyone else was planning to stay home and finish the decorating for the holidays. Gwen slid up to her older sister and began to tug on her sleeve, "Ashee did you feed the horseys yet?"
"Yes…sis, why do you ask?"
"I thinks I heard you get up and I wanted to help so I got dressed but you weren't in your room. But I thought I heard you in his room," said Gwen, pointing harshly at Draco, "why were you in his room this morning??"
By this time Draco was choking on his toast and Ashley was a rather brilliant shade of red. Draco managed to finish the piece in his mouth and splutter, "You didn't tell your family that I was your boyfriend??"
Ashley shook her head vigorously and got up from the table, running to her room. "Umm…" Draco sat at the table as the Skyler household looked at him. "Hun, it is alright we figured as much with the way she was acting. We suspect it is a new experience for her, let her warm up to the fact that her parents know that she is in a relationship," replied Mrs. Skyler. "Thank you…should I go check on her?" Mrs. Skyler nodded her head and Draco left from the table.
"Gwen was that really called for?" asked Leon. "Yep..." replied the pink haired wee tot, "Mummy and Daddy didn't know so I thought we should tell them."
"We…who is we?" questioned Leon.
"Uh…Alec, silly…who else."
"I totally didn't do anything except laugh that sis was actually loosening up for once." The entire household rang with laughter after Alec's response.
Draco raced up the steps two at a time reaching the landing upstairs. "Ashley…come on, open the door…Please baby…" he whined as he knocked on the door. Ashley opened the door to let him in and then she walked back to her bed, crawling under her blanket. "Hey…I didn't mean for it to come out like that at the table…I had thought that maybe you had told your parents…Why did you keep me a secret?" She shrugged her shoulders from beneath the sheets and rolled over in an attempt to go to sleep. However, Draco was one step a head of her and skillfully pinned her to the mattress and murmured into her ear, "Now…where did I leave off?"
By mid-afternoon, Ashley and Nicole lead their expedition to the village where they ogled at the elaborate displays for the Christmas season including the live nativity. They returned to the large home, laden with an assortment of packages, wrapped in all different colors that they dumped beneath the Christmas tree that filled the family room. They all settled in for the evening in the basement with hot chocolate and a movie in the den. The house soon became quiet as they all slowly trooped off to bed. One, however, would not be sleeping peacefully again tonight.