"Hurry along, Ron." called Mum. "You don't want to miss the train on your first day of school." She bustled past me, carrying several packages.
"Yeah, Ron." agreed Fred. "The train is the only way in. If you miss it, you'll have to wait until next year." he grinned.
I frowned. "If I miss the train, you'll miss it too."
George popped up beside Fred. "The train isn't the only way in, Fred. We can Floo to Hogsmeade tomorrow if we miss the train. But you won't be able to go Ron, because you'll have missed the sorting ceremony, so you will have to wait until next year." He and Fred high fived.
I stuck out my tongue at them. "Shut up."
"Ooh!" replied Fred sarcastically. "You'd better not sass the teachers like that. Anyway, George and I are going now. Good luck with your trunk." He and George each picked up one end of George's trunk and made their way out of the room.
I looked at my own trunk in dismay. How was I going to get it outside? Dad had carried it down from my room, but he was busy. I knew I couldn't lift it. I took a deep breath and shoved it with all my might. It moved about an inch. I tried again. Another inch. Eventually I managed to get it into the kitchen, but the floor in there was too uneven for me to move it any farther. Just then I heard Mum come through the kitchen door. She rounded the corner and shrieked. "Ronald! You've scratched the floor all to pieces!" I looked behind me. Uh oh. The living room floor had deep track marks leading directly to me. "What do you have to say for yourself? Nevermind, we haven't got time." She levitated my trunk across the kitchen and through the front door. I hurried along behind her, but tripped over the front step and sprawled in the dirt. Luckily Fred and George were busy teasing the gnomes and didn't see.
Ginny helped me up. "Thanks, Gin." I said.
"Are you excited Ron?" she asked. Before I had thought of an answer she continued. "I want to go too." she said, for the twelve-thousandth time this summer.
"You can't go Ginny. Next year." I replied.
"You'll write, won't you?"
"No, probably not." I replied, honestly. "But I promise I'll tell you all about it when I get home."
"Kids, into the car." called Dad.
"Let's go, Ginny." I said, starting towards the car. "This is the last time you have to do this before it's your turn."
She smiled at that. "Ok Ron. I'm excited for you."
"Thanks, Gin." I said again.
On the way to King's Cross, I was smushed into the back seat of Dad's Ford Anglia and forced to listen to Fred and George's ravings. I mostly stared out the window, but I tuned in when Ginny asked them what happened on their first day at Hogwarts. Mum and Dad had refused to tell me what to expect, saying that they didn't want to spoil anything for me. But now Fred was giving a full account! Perfect.
"Well, the train ride was pretty boring. Once you've done it a few times you get used to it."
George interrupted "But when we got off the train, we were swarmed by giant spiders who picked up our luggage and carried it to the castle."
My eyes widened. I hate spiders. Surely, they were joking, weren't they? Fred took over again. This was the twins' usual way of speaking. "And then they picked us up too, and carried us to the castle as well."
Ginny made a face. "Stop it. You're lying. There are no giant spiders at Hogwarts."
"Are too, little sis." said George "You'll see."
"Anyway," continued Fred "Then we had the sorting ceremony. You have to do all sorts of tasks so they can see how you act in different situations. None of it is too bad though. The worst was probably wrestling the troll."
"We have to wrestle a troll?" I asked suspiciously.
"You don't have to." replied George. "But if you don't, they'll put you in Hufflepuff. Gryffindors are supposed to be brave."
"It doesn't matter which house you get put in, Ron." said Ginny as I turned back to the window, having had enough of the twins' dumb stories.
"You're just saying that so that you won't feel bad if you get put in a different house next year." retorted Fred.
Everyone always said it didn't matter, but it mattered a lot. I needed to be in Gryffindor so I could prove that I was a part of this family. Because it didn't feel like I was most of the time.
We finally made it to the train station and loaded our luggage onto trolleys. I didn't see how the Muggles didn't notice that there were wizards running all over the place. Some people were blatantly obvious. I mean, it was a safe bet that anyone with an owl cage was a wizard. And I saw several people wearing wizarding robes. I guess the Muggles were just clueless. I made up a game of deciding who was a wizard and who was a Muggle, and this distracted me until we got to the barrier, when I realized Mum was pointing at me.
She was talking to a boy about my age with messy black hair and glasses. I wish Mum would let me wear my hair like that, but she had attacked it with a wet comb that morning, saying I had to look nice for my first day. I tried to focus on the conversation. Mum was telling the boy how to get on the platform.
"Go on, go now before Ron." she said.
I watched as he ran towards the wall. He looked even more nervous than I felt. I guess if he had never been on through the barrier before, it made sense that he would be nervous. He must not have any older siblings, I thought. Lucky.
"Your turn Ron." said Mum.
I took a deep breath and followed the boy through the wall. It wasn't until I saw the train that I started to feel excited for the first time. Even when I was getting my wand it had still felt so surreal. But now it was actually happening. I was going to Hogwarts.
Dad took my trunk and carried it onto the train. Mum put her hands on my shoulders.
"Oh, Ron. I'm going to miss you so much." she said, beaming at me. "The baby! Going off to Hogwarts. To think." Mum shook her head in disbelief.
"Ginny's the baby, not me." I replied, glad Fred and George weren't witnessing this. I managed to get Mum to let go of me just as they returned, but it was short-lived.
"Ron, you've got something on your nose." she announced, advancing towards me with her handkerchief outstretched.
"Mum, geroff!" I exclaimed as she began trying to rub my nose off. "Shut up." I said to Fred and George, who were laughing.
Eventually they stopped mocking me and started telling a story about how the boy from before was Harry Potter. I rolled my eyes, but Mum seemed to believe it.
Once we finally got onto the train I waved at Mum and Dad and started looking for a seat, preferably somewhere far away from Fred and George, but everywhere was full. I would let Ginny sit with me next year, I decided.
Surprisingly, the only half empty compartment was the one with the boy. Well, I thought, at least he's new too. So, I went in.
"Anyone sitting there?" I asked. He shook his head, but before I could say anything else the twins returned and announced they were going to look at their friend Lee's tarantula. Enough with the giant spiders! Thankfully, they left after that.
I didn't want to fall into a trap, but I had to know. "Are you really Harry Potter?" I asked.
He nodded and even showed me his scar. Wow. He must have serious powers, I thought to myself. I'll probably be bottom in everything.
The rest of the train ride was pretty boring, like the twins had said. Harry and I talked about our families. He didn't like his family either! Mum had packed me the wrong sandwiches, but Harry bought a load of candy and shared it with me. I told him what I knew about Hogwarts and introduced him to Scabbers. We also met this annoying girl with a name that was impossible to pronounce and got in a fight with a pale boy called Draco. But the most exciting thing that happened was that by the time the train ride was over, I knew I had made my first friend.