Fred and George and the Toilers of Trouble (Year 1) ✔

Chapter 4:2

While the boys set off down the foggy platform, admiring the bronze steam whistle, the glimmering crystal-glass windows, and rough iron wheels, Mrs. Weasley stood in the waiting bay, surprised by its emptiness.  Customarily, her family would arrive just as the train was boarding, with the platform full of quickly moving carts, owls flapping overhead, and parents sending their children off with loving embraces.  For now, it was deserted.  Within hours, platform nine and three-quarters would be teeming with wizards, and Mrs. Weasley was thankful that, for once, she had enough time to enjoy loading her children onto the train instead of racing to thrust them awkwardly onto the last departing carriage.

Their older brothers came through the enchanted wall next — Charlie, looking stronger and more confident than ever, and Percy, with a sneeze.  Following them was Ginny, Ron, and Mr. Weasley, who all traveled through the bricks together.  Dear Ginny was all smiles.  Ron, of course, was wearing a perfect little scowl.  He didn't want anyone to catch him holding his father's hand through the magical partition, and was quite relieved to find the station empty.

With little else to do but wait, the family decided to spend their time at a small bistro on the platform called Pell-Mells.  The restaurant was at the west end corner with windows that looked out on a lush, grassy hill. 

"Oooh, this is the place," said Mr. Weasley with excitement. "The one where we can see the train as it reaches the countryside.  Notice the windows back there, boys?  And the tracks along the hill?"

"Shouldn't we be seeing what's outside the station?" Ron asked, moving quicker toward the bistro.

"I reckon the windows are charmed so parents can watch their children chug along toward school.  Isn't magic wonderful?"

As the family ambled into the quaint restaurant, Arthur Weasley gasped in astonishment.  The front-facing windows also had a spell placed on them so that, once inside, the restaurant patrons could watch a scene play out on the glass instead of viewing the station.  The individual panes were constantly changing, revealing different times in history when Hogwarts students would board and depart from the silent platform.  In some, the Hogwarts Express was an older engine model, with open cabin windows and a wooden caboose.

Wide-eyed, Mr. Weasley gazed from pane to pane with a tickle in his cheek. "It's as if they've recorded each year and are playing history back for us. 

"There's Hagrid!" said Charlie in astonishment. "Still gigantic, even as a boy."

"My word...and that's Gilbert Longship," Arthur marveled, as a witch with vibrantly blonde hair drifted over with menus in hand.

"Sending off more students to Hogwarts?"

"Yes, four this time," Molly answered, attempting to corral both her husband and their children.

"You're early.  Sit wherever you'd like.  Will you be enjoying our specials today?" asked the young woman, as Ginny scurried between the tables toward a large corner booth, towing Ron behind her. "We have an assortment of cakes and pies that have been cooked on our iron griddle, which was transfigured from a train wheel."

"Be careful, Percy," Fred warned.

"Could make your stomach roll," George finished.

Disregarding their remarks as always, Percy sat at the booth with his parents. "Remember, Mum...when I told you about the Trundle Tart I had eaten on the Hogwarts Express my first year?  The student who shared my carriage told me it was from this restaurant." He glanced up at the waitress. "Do you still have Trundle Tarts?"

"Actually, that's our specialty of the day, every day.  A Hogwarts favorite."

"Do other trains leave from this station?" asked Ron.