The Marauders - Order of the Phoenix Part Three

CVII: Norberta, What Have You Done?

It didn't matter how old he got, Charlie Weasley always felt small when he walked into King's Cross Station. The Station was so large and spacious and the memories tied to it so poignant, it was hard not to feel eleven years old anytime he stepped inside. He could almost still hear Bill and Chauncey Strikes yelling to each other across the platform, could almost still feel the jittery excitement in his stomach of it being on the way back to Hogwarts.

Ginny held onto Charlie's hand fiercely. She'd been to the school before, of course, going into her third year, but she missed Charlie quite a lot, so that she clung to him any time he was home from Romania. He pulled her trolley behind them with his free hand and navigated through the train station with expertise, dodging muggles running this way and that with a practiced air, thinking to himself it was like dodging baby dragon fire in the nursery back at Fortescue's. The bitty things whose flint started working before they knew how to control it, darting about with all the energy of an excited puppy, sparking and fuming every which way without any discretion... Here, it was muggles with their trolleys and their worry of missing their trains, having confused their timetables.

When they'd gone through the barrier onto Platform 9 3/4, Charlie parked the trolley and Ginny pulled him down into a huge hug. "I miss you, you don't come and visit enough," she whined into his ear. Charlie stiffened slightly at the hug, but patted Ginny's back as she clung on about his neck. "You should come more often."

"I'll try to do better," Charlie said, "It's been really busy at the Academy... But I might be seeing you all sooner than you think," he added, grinning as she pulled back.

"Why?" Fred asked keenly, stepping 'round the trolley and bending over Ginny's trunk to look into Charlie's face.

"You'll see," said Charlie.

"What will we see?" asked George, leaning over Fred.

Charile shook his head. "Just don't tell Percy I mentioned it... it's classified information, until such time as the Ministry sees fit to release it, after all." This was something that Percy had mentioned at least seven or eight times since Ludo Bagman had teased the lot of the Weasleys back at the World Cup camping site. 

"I sort of wish I were back at Hogwarts this year," said Bill, hands in his pockets, looking almost wistfully at the train. 

"Why?" George asked, rolling off Fred and standing up to look at the eldest of the Weasley brothers.

Bill's eye were twinkling, amused by how curious the twins were. "You're going to have an interesting year. I might even get some time off to come and watch a bit of it."

"Watch a bit of what?" Ron piped up, interest perked.

Harry Potter glanced between the brothers and Ginny, who was looking up at Charlie with questioning eyes. "What --?" he started to ask a question, but he was cut off by the shrill shriek of the train whistle and Mrs. Weasley hurriedly bustled the lot of Hogwarts students toward the train door.

"Don't want to miss your train, dears!" she called out, herding them forward.

"Thanks for having us to stay, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said politely. 

"Yeah, thanks for everything, Mrs. Weasley," Harry hurriedly added, realizing he hadn't even thought to say the words, and feeling a bit guilty for having not said it first. It occurred to him, with a warmth in his heart, that it had felt so much like he belonged in the family that perhaps that was why the thought hadn't come. Not that it was an excuse, of course.

"Oh it was my pleasure, dears," Mrs. Weasley said, beaming and reaching to neaten Harry's hair a bit and giving Hermione's shoulder a squeeze.

Charlie smiled as the Weasley kids and Harry and Hermione climbed aboard the Express. "So are one of your dragons assigned to be one of the challenges?" Bill asked quietly.