"What do you think?"
"I... Yeah, I mean, that's...close enough."
Ashley fought against the urge to cringe outwardly, not wanting to hurt her companion's feelings. Instead, she forced on a smile and met Cora's gaze head-on, determined not to take another glance at the Ravenclaw's drawing. See, they were in the study hall, practicing their sketching. Cora had recently recruited Ashley to tutor her in a sense so she could gift her mother a portrait on her mother's birthday. It was going well, Ashley supposed. It was just that Cora tended to make certain features a bit misshaped which led to the whole drawing looking...bizarre. Other than that, she was doing great.
"Really?" Cora dubiously pulled a face.
"Really." Ashley nodded reassuringly.
"You don't have to lie to make me feel better. It looks weird, doesn't it?" Cora sighed, crumpling her parchment into a ball.
"Weird isn't the term I would use." Ashley chewed on her lower lip.
"Disturbing, then? Is it the eyes? Too round, too big?"
"Kind of, yeah. And the mouth... It maybe looks like...a lemur."
"Merlin's sake... I'm never gonna get this."
"Oh, don't give up now. We'll do it step by step. It's how I learned. Here, like this..."
Ashley grabbed an empty piece of parchment and levitated Esther Hampton's picture that Cora provided for the sixth time that afternoon. Grabbing her pencil, Ashley patiently guided Cora as they drew an outline together. Halfway through, Cora stopped drawing in favor of watching Ashley shade her sketch. Moko, curled around Ashley's neck, was doing the same thing too. He'd once offhandedly mentioned that watching her hobby was almost as hypnotic as hearing her sing.
"You're really good at this." Cora complimented.
"I just practice a lot, but thank you." Ashley chuckled, flushing.
A little more than an hour passed and Esther's portrait was finally finished. It was far from flawless but the two girls still deemed it perfect. Grateful, Cora repeatedly thanked Ashley and rushed off to the owlery. Ashley smiled to herself and began packing her things, waving her wand to get rid of the balls of parchment around her. Just as she stood to leave, a trio of her Slytherin friends came barreling towards her, all wide-eyed with barely concealed panic.
"Pansy, Draco, Blaise? What's wrong?" Ashley asked, alarmed.
"We...have...a problem..." Draco panted, "Dear Merlin... Did we have to run all the way?"
"Sit down, you'll be fine." Pansy rolled her eyes, "Ashley, we've got bad news."
"Well, what is it?" Ashley pressed.
"We can't talk about it here." Blaise insisted.
Ashley nodded understandingly and led them to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. It was the nearest place they could talk freely, where no one would be able to eavesdrop on them as long as the right wards were in place. Not that anyone outside the Marauders would ever want to visit the haunted bathroom on their own accord. If it wasn't obvious enough, he other students typically avoided Myrtle so her bathroom was a safe assembly spot. Additionally, Draco, who was still catching his breath, would have thrown a fit if they even attempted to go to the Room of Requirement.
"So?" Ashley prompted once the door was shut.
"Malfoy Manor's going to be raided." Draco blurted out.
"What?!" Ashley yelped.
"Father sent me a letter." Draco clarified.
"Pansy and I received similar letters from our parents." Blaise added, "Our manors will be raided too."
YOU ARE READING
Fate Untold (Harry Potter Fanfiction)
FanfictionFate's done her part with handpicking the individual meant to be the Wizarding World's salvation. She's proud of how far her Chosen One has already come with only just being present for less than a year. It seems that, for once, the future is bright...
