Wish Upon A Star

Peck of OWLs

Ashlyn was lying awake on her bed as the clock struck three, in the morning...She was reading the purple pamphlet the Ministry had sent with every Daily Prophet. She had sent Dawn to the office and gotten a subscription to the newspaper. The latest edition of the Quibbler was lying beside her, as she twirled a strand of hair absentmindedly. Ron's letter arrived a few days ago, telling that she'll have to visit the Burrow for a bit before they all shift to No 12 Grimmauld Place. 

She had put off thinking about this year for as long as possible. This year was going to be horrible. She had to save Dumbledore, but there was the catch. If Dumbledore doesn't die, Snape will get killed. If Snape doesn't kill Dumbledore, Malfoy and his family might get killed. And if everything goes well with Snape and Malfoy, Dumbledore dies.

Goddamnit!

Yawning, she turned on her side and closed her eyes. She might as well try to go to sleep.

"Places to be! We've got places to be! Up!" she heard her mother calling from downstairs. 

"What is it?" Ashlyn said sleepily as she went downstairs.

"Get ready. Chop chop," her mother said. "We're going out today,"

"What?" Ashlyn said as she pulled her hair into a messy ponytail.

"Family Picnic! Even your father is taking a quick break from his office," Mrs Clarke said excitedly.

"Kay. But why?" Ashlyn mumbled.

"To spend time together, sweety,"

Ashlyn spent the rest of the week with her parents. One day they were outside, under the sun having a nice little picnic, the next day they were shopping to their heart's content, the next they went to for lunch at a restaurant, the next they spent inside cooking and baking. 

Ashlyn, her mum, and her dad were sitting with their legs in tubs of warm water, cucumbers on their eyes chatting.

Ashlyn was giving them a gist of her adventures at Hogwarts.

"A stone? Why does he need a stone?" Mr Clarke scoffed.

"Don't be stupid," Mrs Clarke chided her husband. "Because it is magical,"

"Yeah," Ashlyn said. "But it's destroyed now,"

"What did this stone do?" Mr Clarke asked.

"Well, it could turn any metal into gold and the drinker can attain immortality," Ashlyn said

"And that stone is destroyed?" her father sighed. "The world's gone to the dumps I tell you," he muttered shaking his head slightly, taking a cucumber slice from the plate at his side.

"Someone was after that stone. Of course, they had to destroy it," her mum said.

The next day they styled their hair. Ashlyn wanted to trim her hair. Mrs Clarke was trying to get her husband to dye his hair blue.

"I'm not making it blue!"

"Can I try it?"

"Of course! Let's all do it!"

"No! No one in this house is painting their hair blue!"

"But I think it'll look cool,"

"There she said it!"

"You two have lost it,"

"Come on,"

"I know a person, she changes her hair all the time, though her iconic one if a bubble-gum pink. It looks really cute,"