29

1 0 0
                                    

He looked around, saw Harry and jumped.

'Good Lord, is it Harry Potter? Very pleased to meet you, Ron's told us so much about –'

'Your sons flew that car to Harry's house and back last night!' shouted Mrs Weasley, 'What have you got to say about that, eh?' 'Did you really?' said Mr Weasley eagerly. 'Did it go all right? I-I mean,' he faltered, as sparks flew from Mrs Weasley's eyes, 'that- that was very wrong, boys – very wrong indeed ...'

'Let's leave them to it,' Ron muttered to Harry, as Mrs Weasley swelled like a bullfrog. 'Come on, I'll show you my bedroom.'

'I'm coming too. Her yelling makes me jump,' whispered Amelia.

They slipped out of the kitchen and down a narrow passageway to an uneven staircase, which zigzagged its way up through the house. On the third landing, a door stood ajar. Harry just caught sight of a pair of bright brown eyes staring at him before it closed with a snap.

'Ginny,' said Ron. 'You don't know how weird it is for her to be this shy, she never shuts up normally –'

Amelia pointed to Ginny's door. 'That's where I'm staying.'

They climbed two more flights until they reached a door with peeling paint and a small plaque on it, saying 'Ronald's Room'. Harry stepped in, his head almost touching the sloping ceiling, and blinked. It was like walking into a furnace: nearly everything in Ron's room seemed to be a violent shade of orange: the bed- spread, the walls, even the ceiling. Then Harry realised that Ron had covered nearly every inch of the shabby wallpaper with posters of the same seven witches and wizards, all wearing bright orange robes, carrying broomsticks and waving energetically.

'Your Quidditch team?' said Harry.
'The Chudley Cannons,' said Ron, pointing at the orange bedspread, which was emblazoned with two giant black Cs and a speeding cannonball. 'Ninth in the league.'

Ron's school spellbooks were stacked untidily in a corner, next to a pile of comics which all seemed to feature The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle. Ron's magic wand was lying on top of a fish tank full of frogspawn on the windowsill, next to his fat grey rat, Scabbers, who was snoozing in a patch of sun.

'They have books about muggles? How strange, I will have to buy a few in town,' chuckled Amelia.

Harry stepped over a pack of Self-Shuffling playing cards on the floor and looked out of the tiny window. In the field far below he could see a gang of gnomes sneaking, one by one, back through the Weasleys' hedge. Then he turned to look at Ron, who was watching him almost nervously, as though waiting for his opinion.

'It's a bit small,' said Ron quickly. 'Not like that room you had with the Muggles. And I'm right underneath the ghoul in the attic, he's always banging on the pipes and groaning ...'

But Harry, grinning widely, said, 'This is the best house I've ever been in.'

Ron's ears went pink.

'Your room is amazing. It looks modern country rustic kind of like back home. I like it,' Amelia smiled. 

Amelia Potter and the Chamber of Secrets PART 1Where stories live. Discover now