Chapter 4:
"Skylar, look." the girl opened one eye when they'd stopped running and she gasped surprised. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts' Express, eleven o'clock. Behind them was a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it.
"Wow!" Skylar beamed and she and Leon looked amazed as their parents moved forwards to where Nick was standing waiting.
"Come on, we need to find you a compartment. It's easy to store your things in the compartment for the entire train ride." Nathaniel explained
"Finding an empty one can be difficult though." Dominique admitted and they began to move forwards.
Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every colour wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.
Skylar skipped along excitedly, looking around. She kept an eye out for the red hair of the Weasley family as she admired the steam engine.
The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats.
Their parents moved along a few before they found and empty one and Nathaniel levitated the trunk inside before Nick added the empty cage.
"Nick, did you tell the twins to find you?" Skylar asked as she jumped and tried to look over everyone's heads. In response her father lifted her up onto his shoulder. Skylar looked around until she spotted the flaming hair of Charlie Weasley, she looked near him before she noticed the twins, followed by Molly Weasley, Ginny, Ron and a man, who's hair, what was left of it, was as orange as his children though his head was balding. He was thin and wore glasses like his middle son.
Skylar wove her hand furiously through the air and one of the twins spotted it before Ginny started jumping up and down waving in excitement herself.
"You came!" Ginny grinned as she bound up to Skylar and pulled her into a hug when her father had put her down.
"Well of course, I had to see the Hogwarts Express! And get onto the platform! I've never done it before!" Skylar admitted.
"I've done it five times." Ginny admitted
"Well lucky you." Skylar said, her hands on her hips annoyed and Ginny giggled.
"Found a compartment then, excellent." the twins had caught up and began to heave their trunks to the compartment Nicholas' now resided in.
"Hold up boys, let me help." Nathaniel smiled and with a flick of his wand the two trunks followed Nathaniel's onto the train.
"Oh thank you Nathaniel." Molly Weasley and her husband had reached them through the crowd.
"Any time Molly, Arthur, how are you? Busy?"
"Well, with the schools going back, it might die down a little but you never know." Arthur Weasley said before he turned to Dominique. "Thank you so much for the twins' wands."
"Oh, they suited them perfectly didn't they." Dominique smiled "How are you Arthur?"
"I've been well. Yes, yes, very well." he nodded before looking at the three Rosenwald children.
"Ah! You must be Nicholas, Skylar and Leon, am I right?" he asked and they three nodded. "Arthur Weasley." he introduced.
"Pleasure to meet you sir." they said shaking his hand and he was very impressed with their manners.
"Got to the station alright?" Molly asked
"We apparated, of course when we have three children, three trunks and a few cages we wont be able to do that. Going to have to organise a car, hasn't been a problem till now." Nathaniel admitted
"Yes, our Ford Angelina is very helpful the last few years, Portkeys help as well. We took one today." Arthur nodded.
"It'd be easy if we could use the floo network." Skylar sighed
"Too right you are young lady." Arthur nodded "Molly tells me you will be starting school the same year as Ron?"
"Yes, in two more years I get to get on the train too." Skylar said looking at it. "I can't wait to see the castle!"
"Nicholas going to Hogwarts has gotten her so excited she's been reading a few books I didn't expect her to pick up." Dominique chuckled "She's all about spells our little girl, not usually for history."
"Only on the school." Skylar shrugged in which several chuckled.
A whistle blew through the station and suddenly people began to scramble onto the train of all ages.
"Quick! On to the train!" Molly ushered. "Fred, George, you behave yourselves now." she warned
"Write to us," Skylar said as she hugged her older brother. "Tell me all about it."
"I'll write Skylar." he promised, smirking.
"No don't wait a week!" she scolded "I want to know which house you're in the instant you're sorted."
"Skylar, I doubt I'll be able to tell you till maybe the next day, at the earliest." he said and she frowned.
"Come on Nick." Dominique called and he moved to hug Leon, his father and then his mother who kissed his forehead before he went onto the train with the twins, who'd already said good bye to their family members and climbed into the compartment.
Ginny and Skylar waved with Leon wishing more than anything that they were on the train as well.
"Don't forget Nick!"
"Tell us everything!" Leon called as the parents waited behind them, waving with the rest of the parents.
"We'll send you things to remind you of home!" Skylar promised as the whistle blew again and the train slowly began to move. The three walked along the platform before the train caught too much speed and they didn't bother to keep up.
The three watched until the train went around the corner and they could no longer see their brothers. Skylar slumped.
"Two years." she reminded herself
"For you, we have to wait three." Ginny frowned
"At least we don't have to share a year with them." Leon smirked and Ginny giggled as Skylar scowled.
"Aren't you excited to go Ron?" Skylar asked as they approached him
"Not really, it's only something everyone else has done already. Bill was Head Boy, Charlie's Quidditch Captain, what is there for me to do?"
"That doesn't mean it wont be fun." Skylar assured rolling her eyes. "Besides, you're your own person Ron, there's something only you can do you know." Ron looked at her before he smiled ever so slightly.
"Alright, come, better head home." Dominique said
"What do we do when we get there?" Leon asked
"How about eat lunch?" Nathaniel offered
"Ohh! Can the Weasley's come for lunch?" Skylar asked, taking Ginny's hand in her's.
"Oh, can we? Can we mum?" Ginny agreed. Molly looked at her husband and then at the Rosenwald parents. They chuckled and turned to the two.
"You're all more than welcome if you'd like." Nathaniel assured.
"We can ride some brooms, and play exploding snap, and—" Skylar began
"And chess!" Ron grinned
"Chess?" Skylar asked surprised
"You can play chess?" Leon asked looking excited "Can you teach me?" he asked and Ron looked surprised and then pleased. He turned to his parents as well.
"Can we go?"
"Well, oh alright," Mrs Weasley allowed and the four children cheered.
"I'll bewitch a Portkey for us all shall I?" Nathaniel smiled and he pulled from his pocket a simple book.
He tapped it with his wand, muttered and then held it out. The four children placed a finger on the book immediately before the parents did the same.
There was a second of nothing before suddenly there was a pull behind everyone's navel and they were yanked off their feet and into the air, their fingers seemingly glued to the book.
Suddenly their feet slammed into the ground and the four children were all knocked over and fell to the brick drive that was the Rosenwald household driveway. The parents stood chuckling at their children before Skylar and Leon got to the feet and brushed down their clothes.
Ginny and Ron however were staring up at the large manor before them shocked.
"This is your house?" Ron asked
"Yeah, it's a bit big," Skylar mumbled "But on the bright side we've got plenty of rooms for when people come to stay. Come on, I'll show you my room!" and she helped Ginny to her feet as Ron stood up and the two moved inside followed by the two boys.
"Skylar, why don't we give them a tour first?" Leon offered and Skylar grinned before she nodded.
"Let's start down here." and she dragged Ginny off towards the office. The two Weasleys stared at all the portraits on the walls, pointing out a few they recognised, surprised by some of the portraits the family had.
Leon and Skylar pointed out the studies, the sitting rooms, the ballroom and the library, which the Weasley siblings just had to see. They moved to the sitting room, dining room, kitchen and pointed out where doors went before returning to the foyer to go up the stairs and show the next floor. The Weasley siblings were more than surprised when they met the children's very great Aunt's ghost.
"When she passed they apparently tried to get her to move on but she just wouldn't budge. No one's bothered to move her from the house because she's so stubborn." Skylar admitted as Ron looked a little pale before he swallowed.
"We have a ghoul in our attic."
"Not much different really." Leon said and the children snickered.
They entered Leon's room. It was large, with a desk, cupboard, chest of draws, a book case that seemed to house children's books, comics and a few small quidditch objects like a set of the balls, a toy broomstick and a few figurines. The walls were decorated with different pictures and posters, a few of the Chudley Cannons quidditch team which Ron instantly got talking about to him. Apparently Ron was a big fan as well.
"His rooms so large." Ginny mumbled
"It's a large house, come on, mines next door."
Skylar's room was bigger again, and like her elder brother she had a double bed and her own desk. A shelf sat against the wall, full of her favourite books. She had a walk in wardrobe which her mother had filled with clothes, she was constantly fixing the sizes when Skylar grew out of the fabrics. She had more clothes than the boys did and also had a chest of draws. There was a dresser for her hair accessories and Ginny stared at it all surprised.
"It's so big."
"Being the only girl has its perks." Ginny giggled, nodding.
"Yeah, I'm similar. Mum always wanted a daughter, took her six tries." both of them were laughing. "Do you have to share a bathroom with them too?"
"Oh no, thankfully I get my own." Skylar admitted. "There's one next to Nick's room which the boys get and mines next to my room. There are enough for the boys to have their own, but the next one on our side of the house is too far for Leon to be bothered using."
"Lucky, we always share." Skylar put her hand on Ginny's shoulder.
"Feel free to run away to here if you ever get sick of it." Ginny laughed.
"Bloody hell." Ron and Leon were standing in the doorway.
"I know, I'm so jealous." Ginny sighed. Skylar giggled before she left the room and they showed them the last of the house.
"This place is huge, I'm surprised you don't get lost." Ron admitted
"It was so much larger when we were small, was sort of scary." Leon mumbled "But as we grow it's not so bad."
"What about the ghost, how'd you react to that when you were children?" Ron mumbled
"Well, mum and dad made sure to introduce us very early so we weren't scared. She also insisted that we learn about the Rosenwald family as soon as we could so…" Skylar admitted.
There was a crack and the two Weasleys jumped as Midori appeared.
"Lunch is ready for the Mister, Mistress and your guests." she announced
"Ginny, Ron, this is Midori, our house elf. Midori, this is Ron and Ginny." Leon introduced
"A pleasure to meet the Master and Mistresses friends." Midori bowed before she left with another crack.
"You have a house elf." Ron mumbled surprised
"Well, with mum and dad working and looking after us, they needed the help. House elves have always been in this house." Skylar admitted "They're always included in the family portraits even if the person doing the painting is unsure about it."
"That's lovely." Ginny smiled "Mum always said she'd love a house elf but…" she sighed
"Isn't that what she has six sons for?" Skylar asked and Ginny giggled
"Very funny." Ron mumbled annoyed
"Come on, let's see what Midori made today! She makes all our food unless mum's in the mood to do it herself." Leon grinned and he lead the way down the stairs to the dinning room.
"We only eat lunch in here when we have guests." Skylar admitted "But always breakfast and dinner."
"We're similar." Ron nodded "But we'll likely eat lunch together depending on what mum's making." Skylar nodded in understanding.
The four parents were already at the table waiting for their children
"Mum, this place is huge!" Ginny grinned "Skylar has her own bathroom."
"And they have a house elf! And a ghost!" Mr and Mrs Weasley were slightly surprised.
"She's an ancestor, she refused to leave." Nathaniel admitted.
When the four children were seated, they began to eat, and the two family's conversed happily until they were finished. The parents had some tea while the children ran upstairs to play some games.