Eva Black. Year 2.

Chapter 5

The end of the summer vacation came too quickly for Eva's liking. He was looking forward to returning to Hogwarts, but her month at the Burrow had been the happiest of her life. It was difficult not to feel jealous of Ron when she thought of the Dursleys and the welcome she could expect the next time they turned up on Privet Drive.

On their last evening, Mrs. Weasley conjured up a sumptuous dinner that included all of Eva's and Harry's favorite things, ending with a mouthwatering treacle pudding. Fred and George rounded off the evening with a display of Filibuster fireworks; they filled the kitchen with red and blue stars that bounced from ceiling to wall for at least half an hour. Then it was time for a last mug of hot chocolate and bed.

It took a long while to get started next morning. They were up at dawn, butsomehow they still seemed to have a great deal to do. Mrs. Weasley dashed aboutin a bad mood looking for spare socks and quills; people kept colliding on thestairs, half-dressed with bits of toast in their hands; and Mr. Weasley nearly brokehis neck, tripping over a stray chicken as he crossed the yard carrying Ginny'strunk to the car.

Eva couldn't see how nine people, seven large trunks, three owls, and a rat weregoing to fit into one small Ford Anglia. She had reckoned, of course, without thespecial features that Mr. Weasley had added.

Not a word to Molly," he whispered to Eva and Harry as he opened the. trunk andshowed them how it had been magically expanded so that the luggage fitted easily.

When at last they were all in the car, Mrs. Weasley glanced into the back seat,where Eva, Harry, Ron, Fred, George, and Percy were all sitting comfortably side byside, and said, „Muggles do know more than we give them credit for, don't they?"She and Ginny got into the front seat, which had been stretched so that itresembled a park bench. „I mean, you'd never know it was this roomy from theoutside, would you?" 

Mr. Weasley started up the engine and they trundled out of the yard, Eva turning back for a last look at the house. She barely had time to wonder when she'dsee it again when they were back George had forgotten his box of Filibusterfireworks. Five minutes after that, they skidded to a halt in the yard so that Fredcould run in for his broomstick. They had almost reached the highway whenGinny shrieked that she'd left her diary. By the time she had clambered back intothe car, they were running very late, and tempers were running high.

Mr. Weasley glanced at his watch and then at his wife.

„Molly, dear—" 

„No, Arthur—"

 „No one would see—this little button here is an Invisibility Booster I installed—that'd get us up in the air—then we fly above the clouds. We'd be there in tenminutes and no one would be any the wiser—"

„I said no, Arthur, not in broad daylight—"

They reached King's Cross at a quarter to eleven. Mr. Weasley dashed across theroad to get trolleys for their trunks and they all hurried into the station.

Harry had caught the Hogwarts Express the previous year. The tricky part wasgetting onto platform nine and three-quarters, which wasn't visible to the Muggleeye. What you had to do was walk through the solid barrier dividing platformsnine and ten. It didn't hurt, but it had to be done carefully so that none of theMuggles noticed you vanishing.

Percy first," said Mrs. Weasley, looking nervously at the clock overhead, whichshowed they had only five minutes to disappear casually through the barrier.

Percy strode briskly forward and vanished. Mr. Weasley went next; Fred andGeorge followed.

 „I'll take Ginny and you two come right after us," Mrs. Weasley told Harry andRon, grabbing Ginny's hand and setting off. In the blink of an eye they were gone.