Wish Upon A Star

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It was the chirping of the birds that woke her up that morning. Ashlyn lay in bed, with her eyes closed. She was aware of her surroundings but was scared to open her eyes. What if she wakes up, and finds herself in her little, old room? Maybe all of it was nothing but a dream. Or maybe she'd find herself dead. Sounds plausible...

But what wrenched her out of the whirlwind of situations in her head was a loud noise.

Crack!

"Ashlyn! How long are you going to sleep? "

"Stop smiling with your eyes closed. It's creepy,"

Hermione and Ginny's voices brought a smile on her face.

"Do you think she's still sleeping?" Hermione was saying.

"Maybe she's having a nice dream," Ginny was telling.

"Did you guys apparate in here?" Ashlyn said with her eyes still closed.

"Open your eyes, damn it!" Ginny shrieked. 

Ashlyn sat up. She still didn't want to open her eyes. Maybe the moment she did it, everything would just vanish. But there's still 'Nineteen years later'...

"Everyone's downstairs, aren't you coming?" Hermione said sitting down beside her.

"Must have been really tired," Ashlyn muttered. "How long was I asleep for?"

"A bit more than twenty-four hours,"  Ginny said as she plopped down on the bed too.

"Cool," Ashlyn said."Wonder what the world record for sleeping the longest it...I'm still feeling sleepy,"

They had spent most of the last two days rebuilding or rather making the castle a bit more stable. As they entered the Great Hall, Ashlyn noticed the Slytherin hourglass was filled again. The huge crack on the enchanted ceiling was repaired, there were no more protruding chunks of the stone floor, few paintings were taken off to get mended. Although a few bannisters and tapestries were torn and mangled and were still under repair. The Anti-disapparation charm on the school was lifted, as parents and relatives, and the Order members continuously popped in and out, helping in the rebuilding of Hogwarts, and to bring news.

"Good morning, Mrs Weasley," Ashlyn said as she sat down beside them.

"Morning dear," Mrs Weasley said. "I've just come to take you all home,"

"We're all going back to the Burrow?" Ginny asked as she buttered her toast.

"Well, not all of us," Mrs Weasley said. "I'm sure Ashlyn and Hermione have their own parents to go to. They must be so worried,"

Ashlyn and Hermione glanced at each other, but the arrival of the boys distracted Mrs Weasley.

"You two look terrible," Ashlyn said as Harry, and Ron plopped down onto the seat beside them, followed by an equally terrible looking Neville.

"What did you do last night?" Mrs Weasley said. All three of them had dark circles under their eyes and looked like they'd faint any moment.

"Got...carried away," Harry yawned. 

"Harry, dear, you are coming back to the Burrow with us," Mrs Weasley said. Harry nodded.

Ashlyn was looking at Ron and Hermione. They were sitting beside each other, alright, but both of them looked uncomfortably stiff and flustered, fidgeting. Hermione would give a small squeak when Ron's elbow touched hers as he reached for the sugar bowl, and when he realised this, Ron would retract his arm so quickly that he almost ended up smacking Neville across the face.