𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 ✓

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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟕: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐲𝐬

"Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again. 

"Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him.

 "Er — Yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

 "So you must know loads of magic already."

 The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the paleboy in Diagon Alley had talked about. 

"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"

 "Horrible — well, not all of them," Harry added as I raised an eyebrow at him. "My aunt and uncle and cousin are,though. Diane's not bad, but she is when she spits out facts about something. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers." 

"Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to.Bill and Charlie have already left — Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny.Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal,because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers.I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep."His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff — I mean, I got Scabbers instead." 

Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window.I didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. Harry told Ron that he didn't have any money at all until last month, all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. And I told him how Mum and Dad never really let me have any money because they thought I'd spend it all on books. This seemed to cheer Ron up.

"...and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort —" 

Ron gasped and I clapped my palm over my mouth.

 "What?" said Harry, looking at both of us. 

I looked down, thoroughly blushing. Did Harry have to let everything slip away just as I was about to make my first friend? 

"You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people —"

 "I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," said Harry, "Ijust never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn....I bet,"he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class." 

"You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough Like you," he added to me. 

"Diane learns really quickly," said Harry. 

"Probably an A student then," said Ron, looking at me again. 

"Probably," I agreed. 

 Now we were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. We were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past. Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"