Wish Upon A Star

Exams

Ashlyn trudged into the Gryffindor common room, drenched, slopping water with every step. She went first into the bathroom, dried her self, put on her pajamas, and went to stand in front of the large mirror. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine the feeling of being an animal. When she opened her eyes, a black jaguar with bright, glowing amber eyes looked back at her. 

"Gosh, it looks so black. So damn sleek! I bet my fur is soft!" she said, though all that came out was a growl.

"Merlin's frick frackin'--!!! The tail!!!!!"

"Ummmm, super sharp canines!!"

"Holy shit!! Those claws look super sharp. Killer Razors!!!!!!!!!!"

Suddenly she heard footsteps coming her way. Quickly she changed back and made sure she had her clothes on. Hermione came in.

"What are you doing?" the brunette asked.

"Nothing. What would I be doing in a bathroom" Ashlyn said, trying her best not to sound shady.

"Okay"

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I heard growls coming from here, so I came to check," Hermione said rubbing her eyes.

"Why would you hear growls in a girls' bathroom?" Ashlyn asked, trying to laugh it off. 

Hermione looked at her suspiciously as Ashlyn's pitch was unmistakably a bit high.

"Whatever. Go to sleep." Hermione said as she went back to bed. Sighing in relief, Ashlyn followed.

Exam week began and an unnatural hush fell over the castle. The third years emerged from Transfiguration at lunchtime on Monday, limp, and ashen-faced, comparing results and bemoaning the difficulty of the tasks they had been set, which had included turning a teapot into a tortoise. Hermione irritated the rest by fussing about how her tortoise had looked more like a turtle, which was the least of everyone else's worries. Ashlyn was worried that her tortoise's shell looked a bit lighter than it was supposed to be.

"Mine still had a spout for a tail, what a nightmare. . . ."

"Were the tortoises supposed to breathe steam?"

"It still had a willow-patterned shell, d'you think that'll count against me?"

Then, after a hasty lunch, it was straight back upstairs for the Charms exam. They were tested on cheering charms. Ashlyn had partnered up with Hermione and both of them did their charms perfectly. They walked out beaming. Harry slightly overdid his out of nerves and Ron, who was partnering him, ended up in fits of hysterical laughter and had to be led away to a quiet room for an hour before he was ready to perform the charm himself.

 After dinner, the students hurried back to their common rooms, not to relax, but to start studying for Care of Magical Creatures, Potions, and Astronomy. 

Hagrid presided over the Care of Magical Creatures exam the following morning with a very preoccupied air indeed; his heart didn't seem to be in it at all. He had provided a large tub of fresh flobberworms for the class and told them that to pass the test, their flobberworm had to still be alive at the end of one hour. As flobberworms flourished best if left to their own devices, it was the easiest exam any of them had ever taken, and also gave Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ashlyn plenty of opportunity to speak to Hagrid.

"Beaky's gettin' a bit depressed," Hagrid told them, bending low on the pretence of checking that Harry's flobberworm was still alive. "Bin cooped up too long. But still . . . we'll know the day after tomorrow — one way or the other —"