It was earlier than usual that the sun peeked out over the horizon on the morning of September first. Light crept into the room of a small girl whose heart beat slow and whose hands folded underneath her head in slumber. The ginger eyelids of Rose Weasley fluttered open, instantly focusing on a heavy trunk shut tightly in the corner of her bedroom. Today was the day.
Her tired legs forced themselves out of bed and began to pace the room in circles. She scanned each surface in the room, making sure that everything was packed safely for the year. The only thing left unpacked was a long, wooden wand made of elm and stained a dark, cherry red.
Although her room lacked a clock, Rose was certain that it was too early for anyone else to be awake, so it was with caution that she tiptoed down the polished stairs and into the kitchen to have herself a snack before breakfast.
A new pair of footsteps echoed through the house as the person stepped further down the stairs slowly and lazily.
"Rose, is that you?" yawned Ron, a kind of scratchy tone in his voice.
"Yeah Dad, I was just getting something to eat."
"This early? It must be six in the morning."
"The Hogwarts Express leaves at eleven o'clock, though! Minutes are galleons!"
"We've got plenty of galleons, Rosie, alright? You should go back to sleep, you don't want to fall asleep on the train," he spoke as he poured himself a glass of water.
"So should you!" whispered Rose, careful not to wake Mom or Hugo, "What, are you planning on doing something else on the most important day of my life?"
"Of course not, I just needed to, uh... fix the car early," said Ron quieter than before, trying to avoid eye contact with his daughter, who inherited her attitude from Hermione.
"Hiding something from Mum again?"
"Go back to bed, Rose."
Rose sighed and tossed her red hair back as she turned around, trudging up the stairs louder than before. Instead of going to bed, however, Rose slipped out of her Chudley Cannon pajamas and into a uniform sweater, robe and a tie bearing the Hogwarts crest. Soon enough, Hermione would stumble out of bed and fix an appetizing breakfast: the last home-cooked meal Rose would eat until winter, or maybe even summertime.
Gazing at her reflection in the mirror, she considered whether or not to wear any jewelry or accessories. Rose had planned to wear a bright red bow, striped with yellow in her hair, but decided against it in case she ended up wearing a tie of green, yellow, or blue later tonight. The question of what House she would be sorted into lingered on her mind all night last night.
Teddy, who was not actually family, but who acted the part anyways, told Rose many times that the Sorting Hat was no big deal. It was on and off in seconds, usually. Usually. That was the word that scared her. Usually, an eleven year old doesn't have heroic, famous parents or an uncle who practically saved the world. No one could say everything in Rose's life was usual.
The sun rose higher and higher into the sky as eight o'clock rolled around. Rose sat upon her bed, wand in hand, entertaining herself with the shower of sparks that flew out of it when it was waved without an incantation. Suddenly, her bedroom door burst open, and in barged Hugo, awake and looking urgent.
"Rose! Rose, have you seen my chocolate frog, it jumped away and then-" he cut off, and his face suddenly turned grim. Rose had tried to conceal her wand before Hugo realized she was doing with it. Apparently, it was done too late. "Mum says you're not allowed to use your wand until you get to school!" he said, inconveniently loud.
"I wasn't using it! I was... just putting it away!" but Rose knew it was no use, once you've set off a nine year old, there's no reversing it.
"Mum! Rose was using her wand without permission!" shouted Hugo with a surprisingly Hermione-like tone. Usually, Hugo acted more like his father.
He burst out of the room, apparently no longer caring for his chocolate frog, and Rose heard him sprinting to the other side of the hall to wake his mother. It didn't seem reasonable that she would be very happy with Hugo, with Rose, and Dad sure seemed suspicious earlier, too.
Hermione thumped out of bed, her hair looking bushy and untamed, as usual. She calmed Hugo in an instant, and even pointed out a chocolate frog bouncing around her bedroom. Hugo caught it with ease and swept from the room and into his own, undoubtedly feasting on it at this very moment.
With a quick motion of her wand, the side of the bed that Ron had left unmade became neat and tidy, and the clothes he threw on the floor were tucked safely back in their drawers. Hermione was always the best at spells. She stepped into a pair of Gryffindor-scarlet slippers, walked out into the hallway, and politely knocked on her daughter's bedroom door.
"You can come in," Rose answered softly, since she knew she was guilty.
"Rosie, I know how excited you are," she said in a very tired voice, "but I don't want you causing any trouble with that wand before you even start school."
"I wasn't doing anything, I swear! I was just making sparks, because I think they look pretty."
"You don't know what might happen on accident, Rose. Remember when you set Uncle Percy's shoe on fire because he said you shouldn't have any more dessert?"
Rose laughed, she was about five years old at the time, and Uncle Percy was never her favorite. He was never anyone's favorite, or so it seemed. "Okay Mum," she said, "I'm sorry."
Hermione smiled at her daughter. "I'll start breakfast. Have you seen your father?"
"Yeah, he said something about fixing the car."
"Fixing the-" and then her eyebrows raised, and she walked out of Rose's bedroom looking extremely offended.
Rose peeked out of her door and down the stairs to see her mother walking out the front door. Her yelling could be heard from upstairs. Rose tucked her wand into her back pocket and went downstairs to wait for breakfast. Time ticked away, and soon, it was nine in the morning, and Rose was eating. Then it was ten, and she was practically dragging her parents and brother out the front door and into the car.
It seemed unreal. Her father was driving into London, into King's Cross, and in less than an hour, she, Rose Weasley, would be aboard the Hogwarts Express, searching for a compartment and preparing to meet Hogwarts castle for the first time. She would sit in front of all her classmates, place a hat on her head, and join whatever house she was destined for. Would it be Gryffindor, the house of her parents, and of all of the Weasley family for generations? Or maybe it would be Ravenclaw, the wise house of the twins Lorcan and Lysander, who are practically family since their mother, Luna, is so close to Mom, Dad, and Uncle Harry. Hopefully it was not Hufflepuff, the house to which none of her family or friends belonged. Even Hufflepuff, however, she would choose over Slytherin, the house of Lord Voldemort, who died at the hands of Uncle Harry with the help of Rose's proud parents. I might not be the house itself Rose feared, but the people who belonged to it that cursed it with the horrible reputation. Perhaps now that the days of Lord Voldemort have ceased, Slytherin house isn't such a bad place in which to be.
But she still didn't want to be a Slytherin.
Ron drove to King's Cross in a timely matter, and together, Rose and Hermione lifted her trunk out of the car, and Rose wheeled it through the crowds of non-magical people, called Muggles, past platforms five, six, seven, eight, and...
"Ready, Rosie?" her mother asked in a soft voice.
"I've been ready all day," she said with a smile, and without warning, without holding anyone's hand, and without looking back, Rose wheeled her trunk right through the barrier between nine and ten, just as her many older cousins had told her to. James, Uncle Harry's son, said it was one of the strangest feelings and that it was as though your entire body was going to explode, but now, Rose thought James might have some kind of problem. To Rose, walking through the barrier was like walking through mist on a foggy day, and as quickly as it came, it had gone, and Rose was now looking up at the magnificent scarlet steam engine for the first time.
It was a beautiful sight. White smoke was pouring from the train like lava from a volcano. The engine was roaring slightly, readying itself for departure. Owls were screeching, parents were crying, and kids were cheering. Soon, Rose felt a hand on her shoulder and a kiss on her head from her mother, who was now searching through the misty platform frantically.
She could hear a familiar voice somewhere nearby asking, "Where are they?", but it was difficult to unmask any faces with the white vapor clouding the room. Hermione locked eyes with Ginny, and the family of five Potters hurried to meet the Weasleys.
"Hi," Albus smiled, looking pleased to see Rose, who was just as pleased to see him. They were both going into their first years at Hogwarts.
"Parked all right, then? I did," said Ron proudly to Uncle Harry, "Hermione couldn't believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you? She thought I'd have to Confund the examiner."
Albus and Rose didn't stick around for the rest of the conversation, they began exchanging excited glances to each other, and then to their siblings, and then to the train, who might as well have been pulling them aboard by a rope. Rose could sense herself gravitating towards the entrance to the train. Hermione then told Ron that she had complete faith in him, but Rose had a feeling her dad had to charm the car in order to drive it as well as he did. Or, maybe he was just fixing it.
Ron and Harry hoisted Albus's trunk and owl onto the train, and Hermione helped with Rose's. Lily and Hugo, who both had two years left to go until they boarded the train, were talking about the Sorting Hat and what houses they wanted to be in.
"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you... but no pressure," said Rose's father, and the words instantly frightened her.
Lily and Hugo seemed to think the joke was funny.
Hermione and Rose's aunt, Ginny, tried to reassure Albus and Rose that Ron was kidding, but the words were intimidating regardless.
Harry and Ron looked into the distance at a family Rose knew as the Malfoys. Draco Malfoy, who Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew in their Hogwarts days, nodded politely and turned away. It didn't seem as though they were friends, but she knew better than to ask. She avoided the topic of the Battle of Hogwarts at all costs. The first time she tried mentioning it, Hermione burst into tears.
"So that's little Scorpius," Ron said to himself, and then he turned to his daughter, "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."
"Ron, for heaven's sake," Hermione said with a nervous smile, "Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"
Rose couldn't help wishing that Albus, Lily, and Hugo weren't listening. She knew she'd be teased for this later. At least James wasn't here.
"You're right, sorry," Ron said with a little shame, but then was cheerful again, "Don't get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood."
That was probably the most embarrassing thing he could say. Rose only hoped he would stop now that she noticed James coming back.
"Hey!" he shouted, "Teddy's back there. Just seen him! And guess what he's doing?" James seemed to be out of breath as though he'd just run a mile, "Snogging Victoire!"
Nobody seemed to care much, and Rose was just anxious to get on the train with Albus. She looked over at him, and he looked up and smiled widely. He felt the same way: excited.
"Our Teddy!Teddy Lupin!" James talked as though no one knew who Teddy was, "Snogging our Victoire! Our cousin! And I asked Teddy what he was doing-"
Rose laughed to herself, but Ginny spoke for her. What did he think Teddy was doing?
"You interrupted them? You are so like Ron-"
Rose wondered to herself if Ron ever interrupted Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry snogging.
"-and he said he'd come to see her off! And then he told me to go away. He's snogging her!"
Rose thought it sounded like James had never heard of two people snogging before. She heard her little cousin, Lily, whispering something about Teddy and Victoire getting married. Uncle Harry apparently heard, because he was now talking about how often Teddy comes over for dinner.
"Why don't we just invite him to live with us and have done with it?"
"Yeah!" shouted James, obviously overexcited, "I don't mind sharing with Al - Teddy could have my room!"
Albus didn't seem happy with that arrangement.
"No," Harry said seriously, "you and Al will share a room only when I want the house demolished."
Rose looked up at the clock, and she was practically jumping up and down from excitement and anxiety. It was almost time.
"It's nearly eleven, you better get on board," said Harry conveniently.
Hermione was now hugging Rose, and Rose was hugging Hermione. Her mother and father seemed just as excited as she was. Of course, Rose is their first child, and their first to Hogwarts. Apparently, it was emotional for them.
With a last wave goodbye, Rose stepped onto the Hogwarts Express and into the narrow corridor. She found an empty compartment and hung out the window while inviting Albus inside and finding her parents in the crowd. James followed his brother, and a few of James's friends joined the compartment until it was full. Rose looked down at her parents, who were teary-eyed.
Albus, who was also looking out the open window, turned to Rose and asked worriedly, "Why are they all staring?"
He was referring to the other students on board who were all anxious to get a glimpse of the famous Harry Potter.
"Don't let it worry you," Rose's father said proudly, "It's me. I'm extremely famous."
Rose laughed, along with Albus, Lily, and Hugo. Then she sat down, still facing out the window. Soon enough, the engine began to roar louder, and then the train kicked, and she watched as her parents grew smaller and smaller. The Hogwarts Express picked up speed, and soon enough, they were around the corner and off to Hogwarts.