Backstory (1/?)
Ashling has always had a different upbringing than most of her family. The majority of the MacMillans moved away from blood purist ideals in more recent generations, but there are still the few that remain. These days, that mostly consists of Ash’s parents and a few others. Sadly, Ash is quite a stranger to the majority of her family because of her parents. However, there were always the rare exceptions to even her parents ideals. Caterina’s brother Reginald Sapworthy married a muggleborn and later had two daughters. This was a huge blow to Caterina and James considering Reginald was extremely dear to the both of them. They chose to make one exception to their purist views, and it’s shaped Ashling’s views until she no longer knew why there needed to be exceptions at all. Selina, Miriam, Amos, they were all less than pureblooded and they were incredible people. How could they ever be considered less?
James and Caterina were both in Slytherin during their years at Hogwarts. They met in their earlier years at school and were friends for a time before things took a turn for the romantic the summer before their seventh year. They were engaged and married shortly after they graduated and had Ashling a few years later. Ash has never been entirely sure how in love her parents remained as she grew, but she likes to think the love they once held for each other is still there to this day. They’ve always been rather careful to keep their image up even when their daughter was around, but no one is perfect.
Over her years under their roof she’d heard their fighting, (to her dismay) their love making. She’d heard their whispered concerns about the future, their adamant disliking of the man she loved. She knew her parents feelings on most things and while nearly all no longer mattered to her, she still desperately hoped this war didn’t kill their love. She’d betrayed them, but in her eyes they’d never loved her unconditionally as parents should. Ashling will never know how hard it was for her parents to shut the door in her face forever. Reginald and his family had been an exception, but their daughter? She could never be. It was asking too much. She asked for the one thing they could never give her: unconditional acceptance.
They’d put too many years into her upbringing to compromise anymore than they already had. Where others could be forgiven, their daughter had made the ultimate betrayal. They would’ve rather said goodbye forever and lived in a fantasy of what she could’ve been than have a halfblood as a son-in-law and grandson. And so they did. Their daughter was committing social suicide, and they refused to be collateral damage.
They spend more time now in pureblood society than ever before. It’s much easier to forget their only child surrounded by the things she never wanted. Now, she is a ghost that walks their halls. Never forgotten, but surrounded by people and each other they can almost ignore the permanent cold she left in her wake. Their house has never felt quite right since she walked down the grand staircase and through the extravagant doors to freedom, but it was never truly a home. A home is far too lived in. A home has far fewer skeletons whispering from within.
