Platform 9 3/4 seemed to be more hectic than it had ever been. Or maybe that was just because Lucy actually had to get on the train this time around. She had been to the station to see off relatives (first her cousins, then more recently her elder sister) in years past, but the experience was entirely different from this point of view. Lucy wondered if any of her other family members had felt this overwhelmed their first time boarding the train.
The summer had been a blur of nervous anticipation. Her birthday was near the end of summer, so her letter had taken a very long time to arrive. There was even a point where she "gave up all hope on attending the prestigious school of her ancestors" in her exact words, her mother told her to stop being so over dramatic all the time but she noticed how her mother only truly relaxed when Lucy's letter arrived on her birthday morning.
People around her were starting to separate from their families and board the train. Her own sister, Molly, was currently trying to extract herself from their mothers smothering embrace and complaining loudly all the while. Lucy was dragged out of observing all these things when she felt her father tighten his grip on her shoulder. She turned to face her father.
Lucy started thinking about the kind of man her father was. Percy Weasley wasn't an unloving man by far, he simply tended to set his standards to high. Both of his children had felt an immense pressure for success living under his roof.
"Merlin's pants! He's been talking to me this entire time, hasn't he?" thought Lucy.
She looked up and saw her father had indeed been saying something while she had been daydreaming. He looked like he was waiting for an answer so she said, "Yes, Papa."
Percy looked at his youngest daughter with a hint of concern in his eye but the smile she flashed at him seemed to reassure him enough to let go of her shoulder. Molly had finally managed to squirm out of their mothers grasp and was straightening out her luggage. Lucy's mother then turned her affection toward her other daughter.
"Oh, Lucy. I'm going to miss you so much sweetheart", her mother whispered in her ear. Lucy said nothing, knowing that if she tried she would inevitably end up crying her eyes out and that was no way to start her first year at Hogwarts! Instead, she stood still and took in her mother's perfume until her breathing calmed down.
Mother and daughter were startled out of their reverie by Molly groaning, "Come on Mum! We'll be late!"
Lucy's mother let go of the small girl reluctantly and nudged her toward Molly. Lucy grabbed her trunk handle and started moving hesitantly toward the train. Apparently her pace wasn't fast enough for Molly because her arm was nearly yanked out of it's socket as she was pulled along. The last thing Lucy heard before entering the train was her mother shouting out "Don't be afraid to write! I love you both!"
As soon as they reached the corridor, Lucy stuck her head out a window and craned her neck to catch a last glimpse of her parents. She spotted them and started waving right when the train started to pull away from the station. Lucy didn't stop waving until the platform was totally out of view. Molly pulled her back into the corridor with a sigh and asked "Are you ready?"
Lucy closed her eyes for a couple moments and thought about that question. Of course she was scared of having to start in a new place, but this was the school she had been waiting her entire life to attend. These were going to be the best years of her life.
She looked up into her older sisters eyes and softly said, "Yes."
Molly gave her a kind yet begrudging smile and said, "Then let's go."