Wish Upon A Star

Snape Victorious

Once they boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, Ron and Hermione went to the Prefects compartment, and Ginny went to find Dean, leaving Harry and Ashlyn to find themselves a compartment.

"Hey, Neville, Luna!" Ashlyn said brightly as she entered the compartment.

"Hi!" Neville grinned.

"Hello," Luna said dreamily.

"Quibbler still going strong, then?" asked Harry

"Oh yes, circulation's well up," said Luna happily.

People gawked shamelessly into their compartment, as they went by.

"They're even staring at us!" said Neville, indicating himself and Luna"Because we're with you!"

"They're staring at you because you were at the Ministry too," said Harry, as he hoisted his trunk into the luggage rack. "Our little adventure there was all over the Daily Prophet, you must've seen it."

"Yes, I thought Gran would be angry about all the publicity," said Neville, "but she was really pleased. Says I'm starting to live up to my dad at long last. She bought me a new wand, look!"

"Cherry and unicorn hair," Neville said proudly. "We think it was one of the last Ollivander ever sold, he vanished next day — oi, come back here, Trevor!"

And he dived under the seat to retrieve his toad as it made one of its frequent bids for freedom.

"Are we still doing D.A. meetings this year?" asked Luna, who was detaching a pair of psychedelic spectacles from the middle of The Quibbler.

"No point now we've got rid of Umbridge, is there?" said Harry, sitting down.

Neville bumped his head against the seat as he emerged from under it. He looked most disappointed.

"I liked the D.A.! I learned loads!" he said.

"I enjoyed the meetings too," said Luna serenely. "It was like having friends."

"You have friends!" Ashlyn cried. That adorable bean! "What are we then? Potatoes?"

Luna giggled.

There was a disturbance outside their compartment door; a group of fourth-year girls was whispering and giggling together on the other side of the glass.

"You ask him!"

"No, you!"

"I'll do it!"

And one of them, a bold-looking girl with large dark eyes, a prominent chin, and long black hair pushed her way through the door.

"Hi, Harry, I'm Romilda, Romilda Vane," she said loudly and confidently.

She looked at Ashlyn. "You must be Ashlyn Clarke,"

"Why don't you two join us in our compartment? You don't have to sit with them," she added in a stage whisper, indicating Neville's bottom, which was sticking out from under the seat again as he groped around for Trevor, and Luna, who was now wearing her free Spectrespecs, which gave her the look of a demented, multicoloured owl.

Ashlyn raised her eyebrow questioningly. Romilda caught her eyes and flushed slightly and dropped her gaze.

"They're our friends," said Harry coldly.

"Oh," said the girl, looking very surprised. "Oh. Okay."

And she withdrew, sliding the door closed behind her.