Chapter 4
The next day, Hermione and I didn't dare venture downstairs. Instead we snuck into Ron's room and us four 'minors' tried to figure out the best way to approach the situation downstairs. In the end there was no need as the situation came to us. Mum appeared at lunch with some steaming bowls of stew, and a sharp reminder to pack our school trunks for the start of term . Mum kept her head bowed to hide her red eyes from us but we were all to aware of her emotion. After we had dutifully consumed the delicious stew, the silent atmosphere thawed out and we chattered nervously whilst packing, sometimes veering onto small talk, but the sight of Mum pulling through kept us strong. As I looked through my school list and checked off what I had packed. The hectic activity took my mind, as flighty as it was, far away from the dark cloud of misery that shrouded the house.
Abruptly I raised my eyes from the Daily Prophet and cereal the next day. A lot of shouting and displaying of emotion was going on upstairs. This startled me after yesterday's subdued acclimatization to the event that had divided the family deeper than the betrayed and misguided loyalty of Percy, who had placed his belief in the Ministry of Magic, Fudge and Umbridge, instead of the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore. I smiled slightly at this. It broke the nervous tension that had settled on the house. Mum hurried in, flustered, a few moments later.
"Ginerva Weasley" she was shouting as she fixed her hair in the cracked and flecked mirror beside the stove. "Will you please stop dawdling and move your posterior."
I sighed. Today was going to be a long day.
Mum was, as always, smothering Ron, Harry, Hermione and I with an almost unbearable amount of love and bone-crushing hugs. We slipped away almost immediately but I still think I sustained serious rib and ear drum damage from Mum. We clamoured aboard, nice and early for once, even finding an unoccupied carriage where we lounged about to our hearts' content. Fred and George entered a few minutes later with cheery smiles, and an amazing amount of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Even with the enticement of a brother for Arnold, my pygmy puff, couldn't stir me. The beginning of term was always a tiring event, as we would trek across Britain to reach Kings Cross at a very indecent hour (8 am is indecent in my book ok?). George looked up from his wares, shocked by the loud whistle that was emitting from a station wizard just outside our window. George's face drained itself of colour. Even his freckles were frighteningly pale.
"What IS the matter?" asked Hermione. George didn't answer and no one probed any further. We were all now engrossed in chatter again, waiting for George to get over his lame joke. George stood still as ever though, staring. 'This was unnatural', I thought. I crept over to stand next to him and saw a shimmer of long red hair, coming out of a once well-groomed ponytail. Scores of wizards flurried past him, almost ghosts. The man's face was ravaged beyond sorrow. He just stood staring.
"It can't be Gin, can it?", George whispered, breaking the spell.
I blinked once and he was gone. 'The ghost of Bill?', I thought. "Don't be daft. He's not even there anymore. It was all those late night chocolate frogs we've been having lately. We're hallucinating.", I said firmly. "You and Fred should be going now, the train's ready to go."
Fred and George were gone just in time. As soon as the station master closed the door behind them, Platform 9¾ was a blur. I settled back into my seat, which faced my delicious boyfriend, Harry Potter. He smiled devilishly and began tickling me. I screeched with laughter. Ron broke off snogging with Hermione furiously.
"Do you two have no dignity?", he ranted.
The fat git. I waited for him to finish his lecture and settle down for another physical appointment with Miss Granger, feeling smug, his brotherly duty done. Harry sighed and slipped off his seat. I joined him on a search for the dinner trolley. By the time we returned Hogwarts was in sight. Even when we slipped by Draco Malfoy he hadn't offered a snide remark or two. I felt content. The perfect journey to school. But it took one look at Harry's face to send that crashing down around my ears
