Rose Dursley: The Girl Who Lived

35. Time to Leave Hogwarts.

The next week it was the end of term. And so that meant it was time for everyone to pack up their things and go back home for the summer.

This was the time that Rob was not looking forward to. He had left home during the Christmas break in rather difficult circumstances. Since then, he had not talked to his parents. He had thought about it a few times, and tried to write a letter that he could send by owl. But every time the quill touched the parchment, he changed his mind.

They were the ones that were in the wrong, so they were the ones that needed to apologise first, Rob decided. Though that did make him feel awkward about going home.

There was now the other fact that his body had been changed. His parents had been angry when he had just cut his hair short. So Rob was dreading how they were going to react to that.

When they were on the Hogwarts Express, Ron and Hermione chatted excitedly. Meanwhile, Rob sat quietly staring out the window.

"Hey, are you okay, mate?" Ron asked.

Rob looked round distractedly. "Yeah, just thinking about my parents," he said.

"Oh yeah, I remember your mum when we picked you up before Christmas," said Ron. "She looked really angry."

"She was," said Rob. "I've never seen her like that before."

"Maybe she'll have calmed down a bit by the time we get back," said Ron.

"Yeah, hopefully," said Rob.

A few hours later, the train arrived back at platform 9 3/4. When everyone got off the train, Rob could see his parents standing with the Weasleys. Rob took a deep breath and walked towards them.

Mrs Dursley spotted Rob as he got closer to her. She looked confused at first. It was a boy who looked strangely familiar, but at the same time she didn't know who it was. Rob came to a stop in front of her.

"Hi Mum, this might come as a bit of a surprise, but I've got some news to tell you," said Rob.

Mrs Dursley shrieked and her face turned white. "No! My poor little Rose, what have they done to you?"

Mr Dursley looked with his eyes wide open and his face red with anger. "What is this evil witchcraft," he shouted. "What have you done with my little girl?"

All around them, the platform turned quiet as everyone turned around to look at the commotion.

Rob wasn't sure how to respond, but Mrs Weasley stepped forward instead. "How can you talk to your own child like that?" she said loudly. "You should love them unconditionally, however they choose to live their life."

"That horrible magic, look what they've done to her. How can we be seen in public with her looking like that?" Mrs Dursley said, wailing. "What will the neighbours say?"

"You awful muggles!" Mrs Weasley screamed. "There is nothing wrong with him!"

"Nothing wrong? Look at her," shouted Mr Dursley. "It's disgusting."

"The only disgusting thing around here is your attitude!" shouted Mrs Weasley.

"Stop!" shouted Rob. "Please. I don't want to see you all fighting."

Mrs Dursley stood with her mouth pursed shut and silently fumed for a moment. "You are back from your silly witch school now. You need to change back to normal so we can go home," she said.

"I can't change back, mum. This is who I am," said Rob.

"You are not coming into my house looking like some kind of freak," said Mr Dursley. "You just change back like your mother told you."

"This is who I am," said Rob, firmly. "You need to accept it."

Mr Dursley took hold of his wife's hand and turned to walk back towards the car park. "We are going to wait in the car," he said. "When you are ready to stop this nonsense, we will be waiting in the carpark for you."

And with that, Mr and Mrs Dursley stormed out of the train station.

Rob felt his legs go weak. The adrenaline rush of the argument had passed, and it was now replaced by shock. He had expected them to react badly at first, but he had not expected them to be quite so angry. He had never seen his mother so upset before. And his dad calling him disgusting really hurt Rob.

"Blimey," said Ron. "That didn't go well."

Rob giggled and then shook his head. The calm understatement from Ron had distracted him and interrupted his train of thought.

"Yeah, but what am I going to do now?" Rob asked. "I don't want to have to deal with that all summer."

"You can come and stay with us," said Ron, excitedly. "I mean, if that's okay, mum?"

Mrs Weasley humphed and folded her arms. "Well I couldn't stand by and watch anyone being treated that badly," she said. "Of course you can stay with us dear. You are welcome as long as you need to."

"Cool," said Ron. "This summer is going to be great."

"Yes, it was great having you stay last time," said Ginny.

"I enjoyed it too," said Rob. "But I guess I had just hoped my parents would have accepted me."

Mrs Weasley walked over and put her arm around Rob's shoulder. "As you get older, the thing you learn is that not everyone will accept who you are," she said. "The important thing is to learn to accept yourself. When you love and accept yourself for who you are, then you will be happy."

"Yeah, thanks," said Rob. "I think I understand what you mean. Happiness comes from inside yourself."

"That's it dear," said Mrs Weasley.

"Mum's right," said Ginny. "What you have been through this year was really tough. You should be proud of yourself."

"Well, I don't know about that," said Rob. "But I am trying."

Rob followed the Weasley family out of the train station and towards the car park. He couldn't see his parents' car anywhere, so they must have left already. Rob was a little upset by that, but also relieved that he wouldn't have to talk to them again.

Mr Weasley opened the car's boot, and all the children loaded their trunks into it. Then they all piled in the car. Once everyone had their seatbelts on, Mr Weasley had a quick look around and pulled the lever to make the car invisible. Then the car took off and started flying away from the station.

As the car flew higher, Rob looked out the window. The city was slowly growing smaller beneath them and moving further away. To Rob it felt like he was leaving his old life behind him. The muggle world, where people judged him, was being left behind. He was leaving for somewhere new. A place where he would be accepted for who he was. A place where he could be himself. A place where he could be happy.

~~~~~ The End ~~~~~