Ginny woke up to the sound of her mother screaming, presumably at Fred and George. Ginny sighed. She may as well get up now; Mum would soon be climbing up the stairs, yelling at everyone to get up, big day, banging on doors, the usual September first. Ginny had been watching her brothers board the Hogwarts Express for as long as she could remember. She had also been missing her only sanity (though she would never admit it), her brothers, since then. Brothers were abundant in her household. Charlie had first left for Hogwarts when she was very small, and Bill just a few years after that. They had both graduated already. And Percy... well, he was always a bit of a prat. Fred and George were the life of the Weasley party, and could always be counted on to get on Mum's nerves. Ron was just a year older than her, but was constantly rubbing it in her face. Well, he was going to Hogwarts a year before her, and would obviously be gloating about it. And Ginny would be locked in the house with Mum the whole year! It would be like being an only child. How miserable. She looked up to all of her brothers. Mum will be revolting. Ginny could see it in her mind: makeovers, shopping, misery. Why must it just be girls? Honestly, Ginny liked the company of her brothers better than the girls her mother wanted her to play with.
Ginny headed downstairs into the vault of Mum's hustle and bustle. Usually, Ginny was sleepwalking through her mother's checklist of "did we?"s, but today she couldn't ignore the happy looks on all 5 of her Hogwarts-bound brother's faces. She knew they weren't gloating on purpouse, but she still resented them for coming home with tales of glorious Hogwarts: the banquets, the after hours parties, horror tales of Snape's dungeon classes. At least before Ron was Hogwarts age, they could have a laugh about how pompous Percy was after his perfect exam scores came. Now that Ron was gone, she just had more adventure stories coming her way.
Molly bustled around making sure everyone had everything they needed for the trip while Ginny, as usual, tried to stay out of their way while eating kippers and toast.
"Ginny, dear make yourself useful, please. For heaven's sake, don't just sit around!"
"Mum, no fair, I'm not even going on the trip! Why aren't you tearing Fred and George from whatever they're doing?" They were huddled in the corner, likely discussing their next practical joke. Her mother sighed.
"Darling, we lost them long ago. I know a hopeless case when I see one." Fred and George looked up indignantly from their planning.
"Oi, mum, what's that supposed to mean?" Molly chose to ignore this as she bustled everyone to the fireplace.
"All right, everyone, line up, line up! Percy, you first, then you Fred, then George, Ron, Ginny, and then I'll follow you. Everyone take a pinch!" Percy bustled into the fireplace with his pinch of Floo Powder and shouted,
"Diagon Alley!" And disappeared into the now green flames. Next was Fred, who did the same thing, then George, Ron, and Ginny. She stepped into the fire and flames enveloped around her. She started spinning around uncontrollably within the fireplace while seeing the fireplaces of others connected to the Floo Network whirring past.
Finally, Ginny stopped spinning. She had arrived at the WizarKinOding pub a block down from Kings Cross Station, The Unicorn's Horn. As her vision cleared, she stepped out of the fireplace and waited in the crowded transport pub for her mother.
Molly bustled out of the fireplace and immediately started shepherding her children out of the pub and across the street to the train station. Ginny followed her mother and brothers to the large brick building that housed the Hogwarts Express. The Weasleys filed inside one of the arcs and located platforms 9 and 10.
