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Aurora Areli
WE WERE RUNNING LATE.
It was ten fifty-four am on the morning of September first, and my parents, brother and I were rushing toward platform nine and three-quarters, all because Atticus had decided to wait until that morning to pack his trunk.
We weren't the only ones. To my surprise, the Weasleys and Harry were also about to head through the barrier.
"Rory!" Ron shouted, waving to me.
I waved back with a smile as we approached them.
"I'll take Ginny and you two come right after us," Mrs Weasley said to Harry and Ron.
"You coming, Rory?" Att asked. "We don't have much time."
"Yeah, I'll go after you, Mum and Dad," I answered.
He nodded and was gone in an instant.
"Let's go together, we've only got a minute," Ron said to me and Harry.
I double-checked that all my things were secure on the trolley before following the boys. They broke into a run a few feet away from the barrier and then —
CRASH!
I let out a yelp in surprise and slowed myself down so I didn't hit the barrier after them. Ron's trunk fell off with a loud thunk, Harry was knocked off his feet, and Hedwig's cage bounced onto the shiny floor and she rolled away, shrieking indignantly.
People all around us stared at the scene in confusion and a nearby guard yelled, "What in blazes d'you think you're doing?"
"Lost control of the trolley," Harry gasped, and I moved over to help him up. Ron had ran to pick up Hedwig, who was making so much noise that there was a lot of muttering about animal cruelty from the crowd.
"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry said. "Why can't we get through?"
"I don't know," I said. "I've never heard of the gateway not letting anybody through before."
Ron looked around wildly at the dozen people still watching us.
"We're fine," I said. "You lot can move along now. Have a good day and all that."
"We're going to miss the train," Ron whispered frantically.
I looked up at the giant clock, a sickening feeling building up in my stomach. There were only a few seconds left. Harry wheeled his trolley around and pushed it right against the barrier with all his might. The metal remained solid.
"It's gone," Ron said, sounding stunned. "The train's left. What if Mum and Dad can't get back through to us? Have either of you got any Muggle money?"
I shook my head as Harry gave a hollow laugh. "The Dursleys haven't given me pocket money for about six years."
Ron pressed his ear to the barrier.
"Can't hear a thing," he said tensely. "What're we going to do? I don't know how long it'll take Mum and Dad to get back to us."
People were still watching us in confusion, mainly because of Hedwig's continuous screeching. I was glad I let Att take Jupiter this time.
"I think we'd better go and wait by the car," Harry said. "We're attracting too much attenー"
"That's it!" Ron exclaimed. "The car!"
"What about it?" Harry asked.
"We can fly the car to Hogwarts!"
"But I thought —"
"We're stuck, right?" Ron started to explain. "And we've got to get to school, haven't we? And even underage wizards are allowed to use magic if it's a real emergency, section nineteen or something of the Restriction of Thingy . . ."
Harry looked at Ron excitedly and was about to say something when I cut in.
"Are you two thinking this through at all?" I asked. "Someone could see us, and besides, all we need to do is send an owl to Professor McGonagall or something and wait for our parents."
"Come on, Rory," Ron said. "Mum and Dad might not be able to get through the barrier, and they don't really need the car since they know how to Apparate. Plus, there's an Invisibility Booster on it, so we won't be seen."
I shook my head and crossed my arms over my chest.
"Well, we need to hurry if we want to be able to follow the Hogwarts Express," said Ron. "Harry?"
"It'll be fine, Rory," Harry said, trying to convince me. "Let's go before we lose the train."
I really didn't like their idea. The thought of being caught with an illegal car using illegal magic underage was not a pleasant one. But the boys were looking at me so imploringly, and even though I didn't think they would, I didn't want them to leave me behind. It would be much worse to be stranded in Muggle London alone.
"Okay . . ." I said uncertainly. "If we get in trouble for this, don't say I didn't warn you."
He grinned at me, taking my hand and pulling me to catch up to Ron. Eventually, we found our way into a side road where Mr Weasley's Ford Anglia was parked.
Ron unlocked the boot of the car with a series of taps from his wand. The three of us heaved our trunks in, put Hedwig in the back and got into the front.
"Check no one's watching," Ron said, starting the ignition with another tap of his wand. Harry stuck his head out of the window.
"Okay," he nodded, and Ron pressed a tiny silver button on the dashboard.
The car around us vanished, and we did too. I could feel the seat vibrating beneath me, hear the engine, and the fabric of my skirt on my lap, but I couldn't see anything besides the street around us.
"Let's go," Ron said from my right.
This was a bad idea.
The ground and the dirty buildings on either side fell away, dropping out of sight as the car rose. In seconds, the whole of London lay smoky and glittering below us.
There was a popping noise and the car, Harry, Ron and I reappeared.
"Uh oh," said Ron, jabbing at the Invisibility Booster. "It's faulty —"
The boys both pummelled it, but it was no use. The car only flickered in and out of sight before becoming completely solid again.
"Hold on!" Ron yelled, and he slammed his foot on the accelerator, causing us to shoot straight into the low woolly clouds. Everything around us became dull and foggy.
"Now what?" I asked.
"We need to see the train to know what direction to go in," Ron said.
"Dip back down again," Harry said, "quickly —"
We dropped beneath the clouds and twisted around in our seats to look for the train.
"I can see it!" Harry shouted. "Right ahead — there!"
The Hogwarts Express was streaking along below us like some kind of scarlet snake.
"Due north," Ron said, checking the compass on the dashboard. "Okay, we'll just have to check on it every half an hour or so. Hold on . . ."
We shot back up through the clouds and burst out into a blaze of sunlight. I looked around in awe at the view around us; it was like a different world. The wheels of the car skimmed the sea of fluffy cloud, and the sky was a bright, endless blue under the blinding white sun.
"All we've got to worry about now are airplanes," Ron said.
The boys looked at each other and began laughing hysterically, not stopping for a long time.
"You two are so strange," I muttered.
. . . . .
For a while, the journey to Hogwarts in Mr Weasley's car was almost fun, despite me not liking what we were doing. We made regular checks on the train as we flew further north, with each dip beneath the clouds showing us a different view.
London was soon far behind us, replaced by neat green fields, then wide, purplish moors, villages with little toy-looking churches and Muggle cities full of little multi-colored ants.
After several uneventful hours, the novelty had definitely worn off. It was hot and the boys smelled bad and my clothes were sticking to the back of the seat, even after I took off my jumper. All I wanted was to be on the train with Hermione where it wasn't so humid and you could buy cold drinks.
"You two reek," I complained, trying to distance myself from the boys. It didn't work very well, since I was in the middle.
"Thanks, Rory," Harry said sarcastically.
"Can't be much further, can it?" Ron croaked a while later. The sun had began to set below the clouds, making the whole scene around us turn a deep pink. "Ready for another check on the train?"
It was still below us, winding its way past a snow-capped mountain. I shivered. It was much darker and colder now, especially beneath the clouds.
Ron put his foot on the accelerator and drove us upwards again, but as he did, the engine began to whine.
"What was that?" I asked nervously, glancing between Harry and Ron.
"It's probably just tired," Ron assured half-heartedly. "It's never been this far before . . ."
Well, that was comforting.
Nevertheless, I nodded and pretended not to notice the whining growing louder and louder as the sky became darker. I could see stars blossoming in the blackness, and I pulled my cardigan tighter around me. I tried to ignore the way the windshield wipers were waving feebly, as though in protest.
"Not far," Ron said, trying to assure the car more than us, "not far now." He patted the dashboard nervously.
When we flew back beneath the clouds a little while later, we had to squint through the darkness to try and make out a landmark we knew.
"There!" Harry shouted suddenly, making Ron, Hedwig, and I jump in surprise. "Straight ahead!"
Through the darkness, I could see the many turrets and towers of Hogwarts castle on a high cliff. Just then, the car started to shudder and lose speed.
"Come on," Ron urged, giving the steering wheel a little shake, "nearly there, come on —"
The engine groaned, and I noticed narrow jets of steam were issuing from under the hood of the car. I grabbed Harry's arm instinctively as we flew towards the lake.
The car have a nasty wobble. I could see the smooth, black, glassy surface of the lake out of the window a mile below us. Ron's knuckles were white on the steering wheel, and the car wobbled again.
"Come on," Ron muttered.
Luckily, the car held out long enough to get us over the lake. But only just long enough. Moments afterward, there was a loud clunk, a splutter, and the engine died completely.
"Uh oh," Ron said.
The nose of the car dropped, and we were falling, gathering speed, heading straight for the solid castle wall.
This was a very bad idea.
"Noooooo!" Ron yelled, swinging the steering wheel around.
We missed the wall by inches as the car turned in a great arc, soaring over the greenhouses, then the vegetable patch and then out over the black lawns, losing altitude all the time.
Ron let go of the steering wheel completely to take his wand out of his back pocket.
"STOP! STOP!" he yelled, whacking the dashboard and the windshield, but that didn't do anything. We were still plummeting, the ground growing nearer and nearer . . .
"MIND THAT TREE!" Harry bellowed, lunging over me for the steering wheel. It was too late.
CRUNCH.
With an ear-splitting bang of metal on wood, we hit the thick tree trunk and dropped to the ground with a heavy jolt. Steam was billowing from under the crumpled hood. Hedwig was shrieking in terror, and I winced as I lifted a shaky hand to my mouth, tasting metal. When I removed it, it was sticky and covered in red.
I looked over to see that Harry had a lump on his forehead, probably having hit the windshield. To my right, Ron let out a low, despairing groan.
"Are you two okay?" I asked worriedly.
"My wand," Ron said in a shaky voice. "Look at my wand."
It had snapped, almost in half; the tip was dangling limply, only held on by a few splinters.
I opened my mouth to say something, but never got a chance to speak. Something hit the left side of the car with the force of a charging bull, sending Harry lurching sideways into me as I tumbled into Ron. An equally heavy blow hit the roof.
"What's happenー" I started, but instead let out a yelp as a branch as thick as a python smashed through the front window.
The tree was attacking us. I could see that its trunk was almost bent double, and its gnarled branches were pummeling every inch of the car it could reach.
"Aaargh!" Ron shouted, as another twisted limb punched a large dent in his door. The tree was attacking us from every direction. I let out a scream as a branch as thick as a battering ram was pounding furiously on the roof, which seemed to be caving in.
"Run for it!" Ron yelled, throwing his whole weight against the door, but the next second he had been knocked backwards into my lap by a vicious uppercut from another branch.
"We're done for!" he moaned as the ceiling sagged. Suddenly, the car was vibrating — the engine had miraculously restarted.
"Reverse!" Harry shouted, and the car shot backwards. The tree was still trying to hit us; I could hear its roots creaking as it almost ripped itself up, lashing out at us as we sped out of reach.
"That," Ron panted, "was close. Well done, car."
But the car had reached the end of its tether. With two sharp clunks, the doors flew open and the next thing I knew, I was sprawled out on the damp grass with a heavy weight on top of me. Loud thuds told me that the car was ejecting our luggage from the trunk. Hedwig's cage flew through the air and burst open. With an angry screech, she rose out of it and off towards the owlery without a backwards look.
The car then, in its scratched and dented glory, rumbled off into the darkness, rear lights blazing angrily.
"Come back!" Ron yelled after it, brandishing his broken wand. "Dad'll kill me."
But the car disappeared with one last snort from its exhaust.
I looked up and saw a pair of green eyes staring down at me. That explained the heavy weight.
"Er, Harry?" I said awkwardly. "Could you maybe —"
"Oh!" he exclaimed, and scrambled to his feet. "Sorry."
He extended a hand to help me up, which I accepted.
"Can you believe our luck?" Ron said miserably, bending down to retrieve Scabbers. "Of all the trees we could've hit, we had to get the one that hits back."
He glanced over his shoulder at the ancient tree, which was still flailing its branches threateningly.
"Come on," Harry said wearily, "we'd better get up to the school . . ."
Stiff, cold and bruised, we seized the ends of our trunks and began dragging them up the grassy slope towards the great oak front doors.
"I think the feast's already started," Ron observed, dropping his trunk at the foot of the front steps and crossing quietly to look through a brightly lit window. "Hey, Harry, Rory, come and look — it's the Sorting!"
Harry and I hurried over to peer in at the Great Hall with Ron. It looked just as magnificent as I remembered, and I could see a long line of scared-looking first-years filing into the Hall. I immediately spotted Ginny, who was easily recognizable because of her vivid Weasley hair. Professor McGonagall was placing the famous Hogwarts Sorting Hat on a stool in front of them.
A small, mousy-haired boy looked to have been called forward to place the hat on his head. He looked thrilled, and sat there for a few moments before running off to join the Gryffindor table.
"Hang on . . ." Harry muttered. "There's an empty chair at the staff table . . . Where's Snape?"
I frowned, looking over towards the staff table. Sure enough, everybody's least favorite Potions teacher was nowhere to be seen.
"Maybe he's ill!" Ron said hopefully.
"Maybe he's left," Harry suggested, "because he missed out on the Defence Against the Dark Arts job again!"
"Or he might have been sacked!" Ron said enthusiastically, making me roll my eyes. "I mean, everyone hates him —"
"Or maybe," a cold voice said from behind us, "he's waiting to hear why you three didn't arrive on the school train."
Harry, Ron and I jumped in surprise and spun around. There stood Professor Snape, smiling evilly down at us.
We were in so much trouble.
"Follow me," Snape instructed.
Not daring to even look at each other, Harry, Ron and I followed Snape up the steps and into the Entrance Hall, which was lit with flaming torches. He led us past the delicious smelling Great Hall, and down to the dungeons.
"In!" he said, opening a door halfway down a cold passageway and pointing.
Shivering, we entered Snape's office. The shadowy walls were lined with shelves of large glass jars that held various things I didn't want to think about too much, and the fireplace was dark and empty. Snape closed the door and turned to look at us.
"So," he said softly, "the train isn't good enough for the famous Harry Potter and his faithful sidekicks, Weasley and Areli. Wanted to arrive with a bang, did we?"
"No, sir, the barrier at King's Cross wouldn't let us —" I tried to explain, but Snape wouldn't allow it.
"Silence, Miss Areli!" Snape said. "What have you done with the car?"
My eyes widened, and I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Had he used Legilimency on us? A few moments later, I understood how he knew, because Snape unrolled that day's issue of the Evening Prophet.
"You were seen," he hissed, showing us the headline: FLYING FORD ANGLIA MYSTIFIES MUGGLES. He began to read aloud. "'Two Muggles in London, convinced they saw an old car flying over the Post Office tower . . . at noon in Norfolk, Mrs Hetty Bayliss, while hanging out her washing . . . Mr Angus Fleet, of Peebles, reported to police' . . . six or seven Muggles in all. I believe your father works in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office?" he said, looking to Ron and smiling nastily. "Dear, dear . . . his own son . . ."
I winced, and felt like I was going to be sick. Why hadn't I thought of that? If anyone knew that Mr Weasley owned the car, he could be arrested.
"I noticed, in my search of the park, that considerable damage seems to have been done to a very valuable Whomping Willow," Snape went on.
"That tree did more damage to us than we —" Ron blurted out, and I stepped on his foot, making him hiss.
"Silence!" Snape snapped again. "Most unfortunately, you are not in my house and the decision to expel you does not rest with me. I shall go and fetch the people who do have that happy power. You will wait here."
Harry, Ron and I stared at each other, white-faced. I knew that Snape had gone to fetch Professor McGonagall, meaning we weren't much better off. She was fairer, yes, but still extremely strict. I tried as hard as I could to will myself not to cry.
Sure enough, Snape returned ten minutes later with Professor McGonagall; I had never seen her that angry before. Harry, Ron and I flinched when she raised her wand, but she merely pointed it at the empty fireplace, where flames suddenly erupted.
"Sit," she commanded. We did as told, backing into chairs by the fire. "Explain."
Ron launched into the story, telling her all about the barrier at the station and how it wouldn't let us through.
". . . so we had no choice, Professor, we couldn't get on the train."
"Why didn't you send us a letter by owl? I believe you two have owls?" Professor McGonagall said coldly to Harry and I.
I really needed to be more convincing.
"Well, Rory did suggest —" Ron started.
"But we — we didn't think —" Harry stammered.
"That," Professor McGonagall said, "is obvious. You two should have listened to Miss Areli."
There was a knock and the office door and Snape, who looked happier than ever, opened it. There stood Professor Dumbledore, looking unusually grave.
After a long silence, Dumbledore said, "Please explain why you did this."
I wished he would have yelled. The disappointment in his voice reminded me of my Dad when he was angry, and it only made it harder not to cry.
Harry spoke up, not meeting the Headmaster's eyes, and told him about everything. I noticed that he didn't mention that Mr Weasley owned the car, and thankfully, Dumbledore didn't ask. When Harry finished, Dumbledore only continued to survey us through his half-moon spectacles.
"We'll go and get our stuff then," Ron said in a hopeless voice.
"What are you talking about, Weasley?" barked Professor McGonagall.
"Well, you're expelling us, aren't you?" Ron said uncertainly.
"Not today, Mr Weasley," Dumbledore said. "But I must impress upon the three of you the seriousness of what you have done. I will be writing to all three of your families tonight. I must also warn you that if you do anything like this again, I will have no choice but to expel you."
I stared at him in disbelief. We weren't getting expelled? I had never felt so relieved.
Snape, however, looked as though Christmas had been cancelled. He cleared his throat and said, "Professor Dumbledore, these boys have flouted the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry, caused serious damage to an old and valuable tree . . . surely acts of this nature . . ."
Boys? I'm not a boy.
"It will be for Professor McGonagall to decide on these children's' punishments, Severus," Dumbledore said calmly. "They are in her house and are therefore her responsibility." He turned to Professor McGonagall. "I must go back to the feast, Minerva, I've got to give out a few notices. Come, Severus, there's a delicious-looking custard tart I want to sample."
Snape shot us a look of pure venom as Dumbledore ushered him out of his office, leaving us alone with Professor McGonagall.
"You'd better get along to the hospital wing, Weasley," she said, "you're bleeding. You too, Areli."
"Not much," Ron said, hastily wiping the cut over his eye with his sleeve, and I nodded in agreement before doing the same to my lip. "Professor, I wanted to watch my sister being Sorted —"
"The Sorting Ceremony is over," said Professor McGonagall. "Your sister is also in Gryffindor."
"Oh, good," Ron sighed.
"And speaking of Gryffindor —" Professor McGonagall said, but Harry cut in.
"Professor, when we took the car, term hadn't started, so —" he said, glancing over to me.
"Right," I continued. "So Gryffindor shouldn't really have points taken from it, should it?" I watched her anxiously as I finished.
I could have sworn she almost smiled. "I will not take any points from Gryffindor," Professor McGonagall said, and I bit my lip to keep from smiling, (bad idea, that hurt). "But you will each get a detention."
That was better than I expected, though I was still dreading Professor Dumbledore writing to my parents. They hadn't been too thrilled with the events of the previous year, and I could only imagine how they would feel if they knew how I had started this one.
Professor McGonagall raised her wand again and pointed it at Snape's desk. A large plate of sandwiches, three silver goblets, and a jug of iced pumpkin juice appeared with a pop.
"You will eat in here and then go straight up to your dormitories," she said. "I must also return to the feast."
When the door had closed behind her, Ron let out a long, low whistle.
"I thought we'd had it," he said, grabbing a sandwich.
"So did I," Harry agreed, taking one too.
"You two should have just listened to me," I said, pouring myself some pumpkin juice.
"Yeah, but can you believe our luck?" Ron said through a mouthful of chicken and ham. "Fred and George must've flown that car five or six times and no Muggle ever saw them."
"Why couldn't we get through the barrier?" I asked, grimacing at Ron. He was just as bad as Atticus.
Harry shrugged. "We'll have to watch our step from now on though," he said, taking a swig of pumpkin juice. "Wish we could've gone up to the feast . . ."
"She didn't want us showing off," Ron guessed. "Doesn't want people to think it's clever, arriving by flying car."
After the boys had eaten as many sandwiches as they could (the plate kept refilling itself) we rose and left the office, following the familiar path to Gryffindor Tower. It seemed like the feast was over, since the castle was so quiet I could hear our footsteps echoing through the corridors. We eventually reached the passage where the secret entrance to Gryffindor Tower was hidden, behind an oil painting of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.
"Password?" she said as we approached.
"Er —" Harry said, glancing at Ron and I for help.
We didn't know the new year's password since we hadn't met a Gryffindor Prefect yet. Help came almost immediately, though, in the form of hurried footsteps and bushy hair. We turned to see Hermione dashing towards us.
"There you are!" she exclaimed once she reached us. "Where have you been? The most ridiculous rumors — someone said you'd been expelled for crashing a flying car."
"Well, we haven't been expelled," Harry assured her.
"You're not telling me you did fly here?" Hermione said, giving us accusing looks.
"Skip the lecture," Ron said impatiently, "and tell us the new password."
"It's 'wattlebird'," Hermione said, sounding equally impatient, "but that's not the point —"
Her words were cut short as the portrait of the fat lady swung open and there was a sudden thundering sound of clapping. It looked as though the whole of Gryffindor house was awake, packed into the circular common room waiting for us. Arms reached through the portrait hole to pull Harry, Ron and I inside, leaving Hermione to scramble in after us.
"Brilliant!" Lee Jordan yelled. "Inspired! What an entrance! Flying a car right into the Whomping Willow, people'll be talking about that one for years!"
"Good on you," a fifth-year I was sure none of us had ever spoken to said, and someone was patting me on the back as though I had just won the Quidditch Cup.
Fred and George pushed their way to the front of the crowd and said together, "Why couldn't you've called us back, eh?"
I laughed awkwardly and noticed that Ron had gone scarlet, grinning embarrassedly. Harry nudged me in the ribs and nodded in Percy's direction, who looked like he was trying to get to us to tell us off. Ron seemed to have seen too, and I nodded, bidding the boys goodnight.
I headed back to my dormitory and changed into my pajamas quickly, not wanting Hermione to come in and lecture me. I knew she was waiting for an opportunity.
She eventually did come in, but I pretended to be asleep. Snape, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Dumbledore had already expressed their disappointment enough for one night. I really wasn't looking forward to the letter, or even howler, my parents would send.
But that could wait until morning.