Shifted: Book Two

Chapter Seven - A Little Memory

"Quickly, quickly!", a hurrying yet soft voice spoke, as she waved her fragile hands about; dancing in the air between the platforms of the station; King's Cross Station.

"Fred and George, hurry now!", she repeated, waving at the two ginger twins and pointing them towards the dusty brick wall that separated platforms nine and ten.

"Relax, mother", Fred chuckled, sarcastically.

He playfully nudged George as the two pushed their carts into the wall, vanishing into thin air.

This reminded Hazel back to the very first moment she made her way to Platform 9¾; she remembered feeling amazed! Shortly after the twins sprinted into the wall, Ginny and Arthur followed, her fathers hand on her back as they ran through together. Hazel and Ron slowly approached the wall with Molly just ahead of them. Hazel's mind replayed the moment Molly helped her into the platform; it was the day she left Hogwarts with Ron:

"It's alright, dear", Molly reassured, as she looked at Hazel's slightly anxious yet intrigued expression, her eyes twinkling with joy; her smile upturned as though the corners of her mouth were pinned just below her tulip-tinted cheeks.

"I remember when it was Ron's first year, you was so nervous, wasn't you Ronnie?", she chuckled lightly, running her fingers through the amber strands on Ron's head.

He awkwardly pulled away and rolled his eyes, looking down at his feet, then back up at Hazel who laughed at his timidness. His face grew into an embarrassed smile as Ron gently shoved Hazel's shoulder, both laughing quietly.

"Now, all you've got to do is walk straight at the wall between platforms nine and ten, and best to have a bit of a run up", she informed, pointing to the wall, with Hazel's eyes following and her ears listening to Molly's advice.

Hazel slowly pushed her cart and lined it up with the wall ahead of her that was sandwiched between the two platforms. Her hands gripped firmly on the bars as she cleared her throat with nerves. She glanced back at Ron and Molly, who both shared encouraging grins, then she turned her attention back to the wall. Taking a deep breath, her nerves exhaled and her feet picked themselves off the ground as she darted into the wall. For a second, her surroundings turned to darkness as she hit the wall, but all saturation and life was brought back a second after when she reached the other end of the platform; Platform 9¾.

Hazel's face turned to shock, though not a horrifying kind of shock, she felt joy and wonder, she was in complete awe of what just happened. Enveloped around her were hundreds of witches and wizards surrounding the trains with big and small carts, some full to the brim, almost spilling out. She spotted Fred and George stood beside Ginny and Arthur. Hazel pushed her cart towards the ginger bunch, greeting them again with a big smile.

"Ah, Hazel! How did you find that?", Arthur asked, his rosy face bursting with happiness.

"It was strange, but incredible!", Hazel replied back with a jocund tone before her face grew to confusion; her eyes wandered to Ginny and the twins, who were all accompanied with no carts.

"Where are your carts?", Hazel asked just before Ron and Molly finally entered the platform.

Arthur chuckled has he took out his wand and gripped it gently.

"You didn't expect me to allow you to pull that cart all the way home, did you Hazel?", he asked with a chuckle.

"Capacious Extremis!", he demanded, pointing his wand at his faux leather briefcase, opening it up and pushing the cart inside, listening to it travel all the way down before creating a loud thud.

Ron's cart shortly followed. Hazel's eyes grew but before she could say another word, she was interrupted by Arthur.

"Let's go home!", he said, cheerfully, as the ginger family walked off and out the station, Hazel trailing behind with curiosity.

They made their way out of the station and to their car; it was small and it was painted a rusty, aqua blue with old-fashioned headlights and a ecru-cover for the roof. Making their way into the vehicle, Hazel stopped in her tracks. A familiar face greeted her with open arms and a bittersweet smile.

"Hermione!", Hazel cheered as she ran into a tight embrace with her friend.

Hermione giggled and wrapped her arms around Hazel's body, her smile growing.

"It's only been a few hours, surely you couldn't have missed me this much!", Hermione exclaimed as the two pulled away.

"I didn't know you would be coming with us!", Hazel said.

Hermione usually ended up staying with the Weasley's, they were like a family to her, to Hazel too. In fact, the Weasley family was a family to all, although they didn't have much, they shared everything they could, they made you feel the most warm and welcomed person in the world! Hazel had never felt so loved by a family before her parents died.

"Actually, I don't blame you for missing me if Ron was being a pain in the-", Hermione laughed as Ron interrupted.

"A pain? Me? Never!", he grinned before getting in the car.

"I hate to break up the party, but we're in a bit of a rush!", Arthur called out from the window.

Hazel and Hermione hurried into the car; though it was small, everyone could fit. Hazel doubted the car's ability, she laughed hysterically at Ron when he told her that Arthur enchanted the vehicle so everyone could fit. But, when Hazel was proved wrong, it was Ron who laughed back. The family drove away and back to the burrow, where Hazel would spend the rest of her summer.

She smiled as she reminisced on that memory, she kept it in her mind and treasured it before being snapped back into the reality of returning to Platform 9¾.