On a cold, winter night in January of 1978, Beverly and Charles Wickham had a son. They named him Ashley after his father's middle name. He was delivered in Whitby, a small port town in northern Yorkshire. His father was a fisherman, one of many in the town, and his mother stayed at home to take care of her new bundle of joy. As a child, he was normal is as normal goes - for the most part. One time he was watching his father push his boat off the dock, and crying that he wanted to go with him. The next thing he knew, he was in the boat with him. His father scolded him for stowing aboard, but nothing else was made of it.
From the ages of four to ten, he was granted an education at East Whitby Community Primary School. He was far from the brightest in his grade, but with a hard work ethic and support from his parents, he was able to succeed quite well, and many times do better than those who were smarter but didn't try as hard. He was physical as a child as well, playing football during the summers. As kids in Whitby go, he was far from unique, and felt no desire to be. Whitby was all he knew, and as a child, all he needed.
Considering the quiet life of honest labor his father hailed from, and the kind, gentle and giving nature of his mother, it was no surprise that Ashley turned out to be much of the same. The values of hard work and fairness were not lost on him, and so when the other kids at school would pick on him for his 'fairy name', he would just take it in stride. After all, it was his father's middle name, and he looked up to his father with a great deal of respect.
Ashley was, however, about to get the shock of his life. A day that began like any other soon turned into the next chapter of his life. When a man showed up at their door in odd clothing, his father dismissed him as a door to door salesman and told him to leave. When the man knocked again, he agreed to atleast hear what the man had to say. The man said he was from a school, called the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He said that Ashley's name was put down when he was born, that he would be allowed to attend the school. That Ashley was, well, a wizard.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, his parents were quite put off and did not believe him. It took six hours, lots of tea and demonstration, but eventually they were convinced that magic was real. His father, who had hoped his son would become a fisherman like he did, was nevertheless quite happy that his son would be entering a world that he could only fathom was much more special. His son was gifted.
With help from the wizard, Ashley and his parents went to Diagon Alley for the first time. It would be a day of many firsts for him, but perhaps the one he remembers most is getting his wand. Unlike most young wizards, who need to try out several wands before finding theirs, he connected with the very first wand Ollivander had him try. A little unusual, but not uncommon, it was another step on the path of Ashley learning that he was indeed quite unique.
And so he attended Hogwarts, and in his first year was sorted into Hufflepuff House. Despite his entire lack of familiarity with the magical world, his good natured kindness and determination won him many friends, and his sorting into Hufflepuff was a blessing - his housemates got him caught up to speed (it would be only fair) about the wizarding world quick. He was fascinated with Quidditch most of all. He wasn't that good at it though, and didn't have much time for practice. So he became a fan, and followed the sport closely.
As the amazement of entering a whole new world wore off, Ashley discovered once again that he wasn't fairly special as wizards go. Blessed with a fair bit of talent, but nothing exceptional, Ashley once again had to rely on his hard work and determination to succeed. And despite going through puberty in a whole new world, he did this rather well.
His amiable personality and sense of fairness got him selected to be one of two new Hufflepuff Prefects in his fifth year. After putting his nose to the studying grindstone for five years, Ashley sat his OWLs at the end of that year: Astronomy (A), Charms (E), Defense Against the Dark Arts (O), Herbology (A), History of Magic (E), Potions (O), Transfiguration (E), Muggle Studies (O).
In his sixth year, he dropped some of his once required classes but picked up two new ones, Wizarding Law and Advanced Defensive Theory, but otherwise the year passed without incident. Now preparing for his seventh and final year at Hogwarts, Ashley is still a Prefect, passed over for Head Boy only because of his obvious work load. Who knows what the wizarding world will hold for him in the future?