Wish Upon A Star

Nightmares

"Where are you going?" Ginny asked as Ashlyn shut her books, and rolled up her parchment pieces.

"Patrolling," Ashlyn said as she wiped her quill clean carefully.

Hermione and Ginny exchanged pointed looks. Ashlyn got up from the table in the common room and went to drop her bag into the girls' dormitory.

She was actually glad that she had a reason to get out of the room. There was only so much of lovey-dovey atmosphere she could handle, and she had more than enough for that day. Ron kissing Hermione on the cheek every time she helped him out with his homework. Harry and Ginny holding hands almost all the time. And Ashlyn sitting there like the awkwardest wheel ever trying to not lash out, and yell at them to get a room.

She sighed in relief as she climbed out of the portrait hole. Fresh air! Finally!

She'll just walk down the corridors once. Ashlyn felt slightly guilty for not taking her responsibility seriously. She should try to be a better HeadGirl.

She sighed again as she made her way down to the first floor. Wonder where the Marauders were hidden. It had been so oddly quiet, that she wouldn't be surprised if half the castle were to explode this moment. Did Snape's portrait come up in the headmaster's office yet? She hoped it did. Maybe she'll ask McGonagall later. 

The corridors were empty, the torches on the walls casting an eerie, yet calming glow in the night. Ashlyn didn't believe one bit that there were no students out of bed. And she couldn't find even a single one! For someone who would sneak out after hours almost every day of the year, it was bizarre how she had no idea how the other students would be slinking around. 

Ashlyn then made it her mission to catch as many students out of bed as she could. Just catch them, and maybe take one point each or something light. She wouldn't want them to get in some serious trouble. She couldn't really lecture them about staying in bed, could she? Not when she had many weird adventures much more interesting than finding the hidden passages. She didn't think anyone would have helped their gamekeeper hide a baby dragon. Wonder what adventures she, Harry, Ron and Hermione would go on now...Wonder what she'd do now. What would even happen after nineteen years? 

But nineteen years is a long time. A long, long time. She needn't worry about it now...But it would most certainly be devastating if everything she had built in the past years was going to down crashing one day, be it tomorrow or nineteen years later. What would she even be doing nineteen years later?...the cool Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts, who owns at least fifty cats, five nifflers, one dragon, and ten pygmy puffs. That sounds good.

Ashlyn smirked slightly as she took the stairs to the next floor.

Late. He was late. Draco hoped that Ashlyn was late too so that she wouldn't get to tell him off. Then again, she didn't need to know. He can always tell her that he was there all the time.

He closed his eyes, tired. Blaise and Pansy had kept up a relentless story, about how Ashlyn was going to end up dating a Hufflepuff, and then break up and get together with a Weasley, and get married. He had heard a variation of all the four Weasleys he knew. And by Merlin, he wanted to hex those two idiots into bits. 

"It would be better if you kept your eyes open and looked where you are going, Draco," a familiar soft, cold voice said. 

Draco almost jumped as his eyes snapped open.

"Snape," he breathed.

The old Potions master's portrait was hanging at the entrance to the dungeons.