Echo | Harry Potter - George Weasley

Chapter 2: The Hogwarts Express

If there was one thing that arriving at King's Cross Station the following morning did to Shaye, it filled her with even more nerves and combined excitement than she had felt the entire evening before. All night Shaye had been tossing and turning in bed, thinking about the good and worrying about the bad. Now that she was getting ready to step through the slightly intimidating brick wall in front of herself to get to platform nine and three quarters—which she had done a few times before when dropping her sister off—her emotions were so intense that the only thing she could focus on was her shaking hands. 

"Just like you've done before." Elise placed a comforting hand on her daughter's back as the three stood in front of the wall between platforms nine and ten. 

With her parents on either side of her for support, Shaye broke into a light jog and without slowing down for a second, disappeared through the wall and came out the other side in front of the maroon train that she had been waiting years to see again. 

With thick clouds of steam rising from its engine and bold lettering on the side that read Hogwarts Express, the locomotive was exactly how she had remembered it. The only difference was that this time, it was here for her. 

Just like that, all nerves had exited Shaye's body to make room for the overwhelming feeling of anticipation and excitement. Kids of all ages were bustling along the platform, loading their things onto the train, saying goodbye to their parents, and meeting up with friends. It was at that moment Shaye wished she had someone to board the train with.

When the train whistle blew loud and startlingly for all to hear, signalling that it would be leaving soon—at precisely eleven o'clock, just like it always did—Dorian looked down at Shaye and smiled. "Well, we better get your things on board," he said. "You ready?"

Taking her travel case with her change of clothes off the top of the trolley that her father had been pushing, Shaye nodded. She was sure that lots of kids had a hard time saying goodbye to their parents for the first time, but she wasn't exactly going to go voicing that for all of her peers to hear. She was sure that with the reputation that came with being Lorelei Frazier's sister, she would have enough trouble making friends as it was.

Returning a few minutes later with an empty trolley after having loaded Shaye's things and her pet owl onto the train, Dorian pulled his daughter in for a quick hug, which Elise happily joined in on. "You're going to have a great time," he assured the girl whose smile said she was fine but worried green eyes gave away her true feelings. "Once you get there you'll forget all about being away from home."

"Some of my best years were the ones I spent at Hogwarts," Elise said, hoping to encourage her daughter. "Have fun. We'll miss you."

"Goodbye," Elise and Dorian said in unison, waving as Shaye approached the train that was now packed full of kids.

Shaye waved goodbye to her parents before climbing aboard. With one final look out the window, she turned down the narrow aisle and started to look for a place to sit. At first, it seemed that all of the compartments were already full or occupied by much older kids who didn't so much as give her a sideways glance. 

In one of the compartments, Shaye swore she saw a pair of red-headed twins getting ready to set off what looked like fireworks and quickly moved along before something bad happened. By the time she neared the back of the train, she was beginning to think she might have to stand in the aisle for the entire journey. Then she spotted a boy about her age sitting alone in a compartment. 

Deciding this was probably her best shot, Shaye slid the door open and gave a faint knock on the window. "Hi there," she greeted and the boy turned to look at her. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"