THE TRUTH UNTOLD | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban [3]

𝘃𝗶 | 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀

Gwen was woken the next morning by Tom the barman with a cup of tea and some toast. She gratefully accepted it, juggling her toast with getting dressed and organising the things that she'd need on the train. She was finally getting Orion back into his cage when Ginny and Hermione came into her room, the latter of whom was cradling Crookshanks.

'I'm looking forward to getting back,' Ginny said. 'All I could hear last night was Ron and Percy arguing. They're at it again now.'

Gwen had noticed Percy's loud voice emerging from down the hall. He was moaning something about a picture, and Ron's disgruntled voice was also there every now and then.

The girls lugged their trunks downstairs and joined Mr and Mrs Weasley at the bar. They sat down, Gwen pouring them all a glass of orange juice, and Mrs Weasley began talking about the new school year and Hermione started talking about all her subjects. Gwen mentioned how she was dreading potions.

'Ooh,' Mrs Weasley said suddenly, 'did I ever tell you about the time I made a love potion?'

She launched into the story, talking about a lad she'd fancied back in her fourth year and how she'd brewed the love potion in the bathroom in her dorm with another girl she was friends with. The four of them found themselves giggling at the story, and Gwen secretly quite liked the idea of attempting it herself

As they left the Leaky Cauldron, chaos ensued. Harry kept trying to pull Gwen, Hermione and Ron aside, but every time they had a chance, they got interrupted. Gwen assumed it was about whatever it was that had been bothering him the night before. There was no chance at all for them to speak.

'They're here!' Mrs Weasley called, poking her head in the door of the Leaky Cauldron; she'd been on lookout for the cars. She marched over to Harry and piled him and his luggage in first, then Ron and Hermione followed with, to Ron's disgust, Percy. Gwen was then led into the second car with Ginny, Fred and George. She found herself squeezed between the window and George, which she didn't mind.

The journey didn't take long, the cars could easily slip through gaps due to their magical enchantments, and they arrived at King's Cross very quickly. Once they'd all clambered out of the two cars, with twenty minutes to spare, the Ministry drivers saluted their caps and drove away.

Gwen went and walked next to Harry, holding her trunk in one hand and Orion's cage in the other, but Mr Weasley quickly pulled him aside, announcing they would go through the barrier in pairs. Mr Weasley went first with Harry, walking straight toward the wall between platforms nine and ten, and disappeared into it. Percy and Ginny went next, then Ron and Hermione, then Fred and George and then finally, Gwen and Mrs Weasley. They all clambered onto the train, except for Mr and Mrs Weasley, and managed to get all their luggage on relatively quickly. As the train moved away, they leaned out the window in the carriage corridor, waving to Mr and Mrs Weasley until the train rounded a corner and blocked them from view.