like a redheaded stepchild

Chapter 13: Give us a Kiss love

September 1st arrived, and with it, bedlam at the Burrow. Everyone was running about, packing things at the last minute, trying to finish breakfast, and get a shower before all the hot water got used. Even Harry managed to forget his toothbrush and had to scramble back up the stairs to get it and hustle back down to the car. Finally, with everyone and everything aboard, the car set off for the train station.

"Oh no!" Harry yelled when they were passing down the lane. "I forgot Hedwig!"

"We're not going back again," Mr. Weasley said firmly. "Hedwig can fly herself to the school. She is, after all, an owl."

With only 7 minutes to spare, the Weasley clan washed over Kings Cross like a ginger tide, causing several muggles to question their sanity as they vanished into thin air. Fortunately, as the sanity of muggles was always somewhat questionable, that didn't really affect anything.

Hugs and kisses were given, and for the first time Harry was slightly embarrassed to have his mum and dad hug and kiss him in front of all his schoolmates. Still, he didn't squirm nearly as much as Ron, and together they piled onto the train, stowing their luggage in Luna and Hermione's compartment.

"Excuse me, I've a meeting with the prefects to inform them of their duties," Percy said. He nodded to Hermione and Luna. "Good to see you again, ladies. Do try to keep these miscreants from causing too much damage."

"So, Harry, I noticed I couldn't find your house anymore," Luna said. "Did you move it?"

Hermione slapped her forehead. "Oh, sorry Luna! The Burrow is in Ottery St Catchpole in Devon, England."

"Oh. You know, until you said that Hermione, I had quite forgotten. Did you hide the Burrow? Or did Sirius Black steal it?"

"Hermione's our secret keeper," Ron explained. "She cast the Fidelius charm to keep it hidden from Sirius Black."

"Hmm, wouldn't just inviting in a couple of colonies of wrackspurts been easier? But then, you would probably have forgotten to come to school and I would have been very lonely without Tom."

That created a rather uncomfortable silence, in which everyone but Luna felt rather guilty. "Oh, would you just look at the time," Fred finally said, glancing at his bare wrist.

"We should go check on Angelina and Alicia," George declared, standing and hustling out of the compartment.

Ron reached up into his trunk and dug out his chess set. "Fancy a game, Hermione?"

"Why not," Hermione agreed. "I studied that books of chess tactics you lent me Ron, it was very informative."

Luna got out a couple of copies of the quibbler, lending Harry one. Together, they worked on the various puzzles and riddles inside, laughing and guessing at the various ridiculous questions.

As the train drew nearer to Hogwarts, Harry noticed that it was slowing down and stopping. "What's going on?" he asked, looking out the window.

Ron and Hermione looked up from their second game, frowning. "I don't know, was there an accident of some sort?" Hermione said.