Wish Upon A Star

Mr.Crouch

In the last week of May, Professor McGonagall held Harry back after class and Ashlyn knew why. She told Hermione and Ron that she would catch up with them and rushed off to the owlery. 

The owlery was quiet, apart from the occasional ruffling of feathers or sleepy hoots.

"Dawn," Ashlyn called as she pulled out a spare bit of parchment.

She wrote down two words.

'Crouch. Tonight,'

Dawn swooped down on her shoulder and hooted in a reprimanding way.

"Hello there. I'll get you a treat after you deliver this letter, kay? I know. I haven't visited you in a long time," she said at Dawn's grudging hoot.

"Yes, yes. Being busy is not a good enough excuse," Ashlyn nodded as she tied the note to Dawn's leg. 

"How 'bout extra treats, hmm?" 

Dawn hooted disdainfully as if telling her, 'Are you bribing me?'

"Oh, come on, Dawn. Now listen carefully. Deliver this letter to Dumbledore, no one else, okay,"

Dawn hooted reproachfully and then took off.

"Bye, bye. Dawn," Ashlyn called, looking out of the owlery window.

Dawn would be back soon. After all, he only had to go around a few turrets. 

Ashlyn summoned the bag of owl treats from her dormitory, and put some on the tray for Pigwidegeon and Hedwig and gave some to the awake school owls too. Of course, she didn't get each one of them, but a few.

Her trials to make a portkey was going terribly. It was the first time this had happened. Usually, she would get the grasp of the spell in a few days, sometimes it took weeks, but that's it. It had been months, and she all she could manage was to make the thing to glow a bright blue, and the moment she thought it had worked, it would smoke and the light would die down. She had stopped practising on the bracelet Cedric had given her. She had a strong urge to throw the object she was practising on when she got tired.

Ashlyn sighed.

"Damn portkey. It better work before the third task," she muttered. She hardly had one month left now. 

With a hoot, Dawn was back.

"Good job, Dawn," Ashlyn said as she dropped a few owl treats into Dawn's tray.

"Thanks. See you later," she said as she went down to her next class. She'd have to run if she didn't want to be late.

She skipped dinner that evening and sneaked off to the Forbidden Forest.

There was a high chance that Moody would see her. Hell, maybe he would already have spotted her. But she couldn't turn back.

Ashlyn could see the light from the Great Hall as she lay on the ground.

She yawned as her tail swished slowly through the air. Her eyes blinked slowly as she kept vigil in her animagus form.

At nine o'clock, she saw the champions and Bagman go towards the Quidditch pitch. It was almost time. Ashlyn stood up straight and arched her back before sprinting towards the group. Harry and Krum should be taking a walk quite soon after Bagman finished his explanation of the task. Maybe she should look for Crouch? No, she just had to follow Harry and Krum, they would lead her to Crouch. She had to save Bartimius Crouch.

Maybe she could shift into her human form again, so she could use her wand. Ashlyn went deeper into the trees. 

She suddenly brushed against something.