Twice Rescued | Esmerelda Potter

6. The Flying Car

I wake to Mrs. Weasley pounding on the door. I wake up with a start, and so does Ginny. 

"It's September first!" she shouts and jumps out of bed. 

Our trunks are packed and Captiosus, my barn owl, is ready to go as well. I help Ginny take her trunk downstairs and then pile mine on top of hers. Only us and Percy are ready. 

Us three eat breakfast quickly and take our trunks out to the car. When we get back inside, Harry and Ron are groggily eating breakfast without talking. Fred and George are nowhere to be found and Mrs. Weasley sends Ginny to check on them. Minutes later, they bring their belongings down, grumbling about being up so early. 

We all finish quickly and hop in the enchanted Ford Anglia to drive to King's Cross. The ride is dead silent and no one says a word, not even Fred and George. 

==========

Because of the clouds overhead, we got lost once or twice. Therefore, we are late. We sprint through the train station, trying not to knock our carts into passengers. Muggles give us strange looks while passing. 

"Percy, go first!" Mrs. Weasley shouts. Percy sprints at the wall and disappears. The twins follow close behind. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley run with Ginny through the wall next. 

I start running at the wall, with Harry and Ron right behind me. Just in front of the wall, I hold my breath and wait to go through. But suddenly, my cart crashes and falls over. Harry runs his cart into me and I fall over while Ron falls right on top of his cart. Captiosus and Hedwig screech in horror as both their cages roll on the ground nearby.

I shake my head and get Captiosus while one of the conductors comes over.

"What in God's name is going on?" he asks in an annoyed tone.

"L-Lost control of the trolley," Harry stammers. Ron and I nod in agreement. The conductor shakes his head in disgust and walks away. 

The bell tolls. It's eleven o'clock, which means we missed the train. I grip my cart, worried. Ron gasps audibly. 

"The gateway sealed itself!" Harry shouts, putting his hand on the now solid wall. "And now we've missed the train!"

"What should we do?" Ron asks, his voice shaking. "Maybe Mum and Dad can't get out now!"

"Let's just wait by the car. They'll know what to do," I say quickly. 

Ron lights up. "The car! Of course, why didn't I think of that before!"

Ron rushes outside with his cart, us right behind him.

"Ron, what's going on?" Harry asks.

"We can just take the flying car to Hogwarts! It's simple. If we leave quickly we can just follow the train all the way there," Ron speaks faster with each sentence.

"What about your parents? How will they get home?" I wonder. "This already seems like a bad idea. I think we should wait."

"If we wait, then there's no way we can find the train. If we get there at the same time as everyone else, we just park the car somewhere. No one will see us since we have the invisibility booster on anyway. Mum and Dad will understand," Ron concludes.

"I can't believe I'm letting you talk me into this," I say in disbelief as I put my bags in the trunk. Harry and Ron follow my lead. Ron drives while Harry jumps into the passenger seat. I don't mind stretching out in the back anyway with the two owls and Scabbers, Ron's rat. 

Ron pulls the car into drive and we rise from the parking spot. We fly higher and higher until all the people below look like dots.  

"Ron, turn on the invisibility booster," Harry says.