Countess

5. All Aboard The Train Ride of Horror!

𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘍𝘪𝘷𝘦: 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘙𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳!

« 𝙼𝚊𝚐𝚗𝚞𝚜 »

First off, I am so sorry you had to deal with two chapters worth of my sister's horrible grammar skills. Well, you've got me back now, and I promise I know the difference between a comma and a semicolon.

The morning we left for the train station was hectic, but that wasn't surprising considering the large group we were traveling in. Mrs. Weasley had insisted Tilly, Kip, and I tag along with their lot. "It's just silly not to go together," she had insisted, "seeing as how we're all going to the same place." We took cars from the Ministry and arrived at King's Cross Station with twenty minutes to spare, which wasn't so bad, but with so many people the ride over was cramped and noisy. By the time we got to the post between platforms nine and ten, I was more than a little irritated.

Imagine being a lone Slytherin in a car full of Gryffindors. I mean, they're not the worst, but the Weasley Twins kept poking fun at their older brother Percy, which was starting to give me a headache. Plus, Ron and Hermione Granger kept arguing over their stupid pets (Granger had gotten the same cat that had attacked his rat, and he was still soar about it). Then, there was Ginny and Tilly who insisted on singing at the top of their lungs, "Gotta get back to Hogwarts! Gotta get back to scho-o-o-l, where everything is magic-o-o-l!"

Mrs. Weasley had to yell at everyone to shut it every two seconds, but all that did was create more noise and agitate the drivers. Loud, obnoxious, little ─

Sorry. Look, I'm not trying to complain. I don't mind the lot too bad, it was just that they were very exhausting en masse, especially when I had already woken up in a sour mood that day. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something felt off. But I couldn't think whether or not I was forgetting anything because, you know, all the noise.

"Mum, I think the ticket is broken," Kip said, looking down at his train ticket which read 'Platform Nine-and-three-quarters.'

"How can a ticket be broken?" Tammi frowned, taking the ticket from him.

"It's not broken," Fred (or maybe it was George, I can't really tell the two of them apart) said. "It's through the wall there." He pointed at the wall we were all standing in front of, grinning like a mad man.

Kip seemed to think that meant he wasn't trustworthy, because he stared at him, unblinking. Tammi looked more than a bit concerned as well. She looked from whichever Weasley Twin it was to the platform about three times. "The... wall...?"

"I don't believe you," Kip said.

"He's not lying," I sighed. "You just run into the wall and 'poof' you're there." Why did this kid have to be so stubborn all the time? Couldn't he just make anything easy?

"Run into the ── are you mad?" Kip shouted at me. The Weasley Twins laughed at this, because they thought everything was hilarious. I might have agreed with them on this one if not for my ever growing disdain for everything that morning.

"Yes. Now, move it." I shoved him into the wall; he yelped in surprise before disappearing on the other side. It wasn't the most subtle entrance to the magical world, but, like Stan had said, muggles don't really pay much attention to what's going on around them, do they?

The Weasley Twins sniggered and followed after him, leaving his mother with her mouth hanging open in surprise. "They really should have a brochure or something for these things..."

"Oh!" Matilda set her bag down, rummaging through it for a moment before coming up with a bent piece of paper. "Here, I forgot to give this to you. I made it last night."