Alice Weasley (Discontinued)

Chapter 6

   Alice
   Today's the day. The day I go to Hogwarts. I lug my trunk downstairs, it gives a loud clunk on every step. I scarf down breakfast and head outside. Dad stands at the car and is shoving trunks into it. "Undetectable extension charm," he says gesturing to the vast number of things crammed into the trunk. "Don't tell your mom." He adds in an undertone. I nod, laughing.

I hand him my trunk and skip to the side of the car and pull on the handle. I glides evenly open and I slide into the leather seats. They are a little worn but it doesn't really matter. The rest of my family piles in. My older brother Bill is in his second years out of Hogwarts and he got a job at Gringotts. So he's in Egypt. My brother Charlie's going into his last year of Hogwarts and my brother Percy is going into his third year.

The engine rumbles as we make our way down the London streets. The car pulls into the parking lot. I push open the door and step into the black pavement. I walk around to the back of the car and open up the trunk. I pull out my trunk and start to lug it inside King's Cross Station. First years aren't allowed brooms so I had to leave mine at home.

I grab a cart from the outside of the building and put my trunk on top of it. I hear some thunks as my family loads there trunks onto carts. Ginny hops onto the edge of my cart and starts swinging her legs back and forth. I wheel my cart into the building looking for the proper platform to board the train.

I stop in between platforms nine and ten. My family follows after me. I look around and the area is deserted. I take a big run and head straight for the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Instead of running into the barrier, I go right through it. On the other side I come out to see a enormous scarlet steam engine. It bellows snake every couple of minutes.

I keep running so that when my family comes through I don't get run over. Ginny is always fascinated by it. "Woah," she says. Her eyes are glowing with delight. "Now, do you have everything?" Mum asks, appearing right behind me. The whistle on the train gives a loud blow. "Hurry, hurry, on the train," mum rushes. I grab my trunk and rush through one of the open doors as the train starts moving.

Fred, George, Percy, and Charlie are already on. "Come on, Alice," Charlie says. George reaches out and grabs my hand, pulling me on. I walk to a window and spot my family. "Goodbye," I shout over the loud whistle. Mum, dad, Ron, and Ginny all wave at me, Ginny still sitting on my cart.

As my family gets farther and farther away, I set my trunk on the ground. Finally they are just black dots in the distance. I turn around and start to walk down the aisles. Charlie heads off to the prefects carriage, since he's head boy. Percy slides open the door to an empty compartment and pulls out a book. "Ooh, here's an empty one," I exclaim running down the hall. I slide open the door and hurry in.

Fred and George follow in suit. I set my trunk on the racks over our heads and plop down on the seat. The door slides open. A boy stands there with frizzy hair. "Mind if I sit here?" He asks. It was that boy, Lee Jordan, that we met in Diagon Alley. "Go 'head," I say. He sits down putting his own luggage up in the racks.

    After everyone is settled in, I attempt to start a conversation. "So which house do you want to be in?" I ask.

    "Gryffindor," Fred, George, and Lee all say at the same time. Then they turn to each other, high-fiving. I think about it for a little bit. "Gryffindor, probably," I say. "But Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff wouldn't be to bad either." Fred and George looked at me like I had three heads. "What?" I ask.

   "Not Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. Gryffindor." Fred says.

     I shrug. I'm good with any house, preferably not Slytherin though.

     For a while the conversation turns to Quidditch. "Bulgaria's the best," Lee says. "No way," I argue back. "Ireland all the way." We continue to argue about our favorite Quidditch teams including the women's teams. Like the Holyhead Harpies, they are my favorite. Soon the lamps on the train start to get brighter as the light outside starts to dim. "Oh, we should get dressed in our robes!" I exclaim, looking at the watch on my hand. I flip open my trunk and grab my robes out. I slide open the door and take off running down the halls.

I slip into the girls bathroom and step into an open stall. I change from my muggle clothes that I had to wear to the platform so the Muggles didn't get suspicious, to my Hogwarts robes that's are black. The house elves will change them to the house robes once I get sorted. I walk back to my compartment just as we start to slow down.

I shove my muggle clothes into my trunk and clasp the lock. The train gives a lurch as it stops and I fall into the floor. "Need help?" Lee says extending a hand. I gladly take it and he pulls me back up. Everyone files into the corridor and pushes each other in attempt to get off the train. I finally find an exit and stumble down the steps to the sidewalk. The air is moist, like it just rained but some precipitation is still left.

"Firs' years o're here," a booming voice calls. I walk towards the voice to see a man larger than any I've ever seen. At least nine feet tall and about half as wide. "Hi," i say cheerfully. "You must be Hagrid. Mum and dad told me all about you." The man smiles. "I'm Alice Weasley."

"I knew yet mum and dad when they came to Hogwarts," he says. Then continues to call to other first years.

He leads us down a path to a large lake. The water looks murky as the moonlight dances off of it. We load into boats, four people in one. Fred, George, Lee, and I get in one of them. Once everyone else is loaded up, Hagrid gives a command and the boats move forward. I reach my hand down and splash water at George. "Oh you'll pay for that," he says mischievously. He cups water in his hand then throws it at me. He keeps getting more water until I'm completely drenched.