I'M BAAAAAAAAAAACK! I know it's been over a month, but I'm back in school, so I'm always so busy. As a matter of fact, I need to finish reading Dracula…
Chapter Four: Back at Hogwarts
September 1st dawned bright and early. That included rushing around the house, trying to find the scattered belongings. Well, I was already packed, as were Ginny and Percy. So, Harry, Ron, Fred, and George were rushing around the Burrow all morning.
We finally all packed into the Ford Anglia, with all of our stuff packed, including George's fireworks, Fred's broomstick, and Ginny's (*coughcough* Tom's *coughcough*) diary. We made great time driving to King's Cross Station.
Mr. Weasley and I got carts for everyone (I had insisted), and we all loaded our stuff onto them. We walked into the station with twenty minutes to spare. "Ginny, Dani, you go first," Mrs. Weasley said. Uh-oh. I hoped Dobby wasn't here.
Ginny walked quickly to the smooth wall dividing platforms nine and ten. She ran right through the wall. I walked quickly to the barrier. This was my first time to go through. Professor McGonagall had Apparated me onto the platform last year. I started running to the barrier, and I failed, epically. I crashed into the now solid wall and sent my cart flying.
The Weasley came up to me and helped me up. Harry put my stuff back on my cart.
"What happened?" Ron asked.
"Oy, what's going on?" a guard asked.
"Sorry," I said, "lost control of the cart."
"Are you okay, Dani?" Mrs. Weasley asked. I nodded.
Harry started slapping the wall, trying to get through. "Why can't we get through?"
"I dunno," Fred said. He put his hand on the wall, and it went through. "Huh?"
I put my hand on the wall. It stayed put. "Hmm, I'm going to send a letter, to let them know what's happened." I reached into my suitcase and pulled out some notebook paper and a pen. "I'll go out to the car and send it."
I picked up Nightwing's cage and walked outside to the car. I wrote a quick letter to Professor McGonagall.
'Dear Professor McGonagall,
Somehow, the barrier at King's Cross Station sealed itself. Harry and I can't get through, but the Weasleys can. What should we do?
Love,
Dani.'
I gave the letter to Nightwing, who took it in his beak.
"Fly swiftly, okay?" I said to my owl. "Make sure this gets to the Professor quickly."
Nightwing took off and quickly flew out of my eyesight. I walked back into the station where Harry and Ron stood.
"Did everyone else go through?" I asked.
"Yeah," Ron answered.
"I knew that you would get upset if they missed the train, so we told them to go through," Harry said.
"Nightwing isn't going to get to Professor McGonagall until later today. We might possibly be here for several hours."
"Maybe we should wait by the car."
Ron got a look of sudden realization on his face.
"No, no, no," I said. "I know what you're thinking, Ron, and no! No, no… no, no, no. No…"
"Are you finished?" Ron asked.
"Not yet. No… no, no… No, no, no, no, and no!"
"Why not?"
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked.
Ron wants to fly the car to Hogwarts, I thought.
Why is it a bad idea?
I grabbed the boys' wrists and pulled them into a secluded corner.
"We could get seen by Muggles, the car could crash, we would get into so much trouble, and the list goes on!" I said. "There are more negatives than positives."
"Who cares?" Ron asked.
"You are impossible!" I whisper-shouted.
"Maybe Ron's right," Harry said. "Maybe we should take the car."
"Not you, too? I already sent a letter to Professor McGonagall. She's going to respond… eventually."
"That's why we should take the car," Ron said. "We can get to Hogwarts quicker."
"Can you fly it?" Harry asked. I could feel his excitement growing.
"Neither of you are going in that car!" I shouted, earning some stares from everyone else in the station. "You're not going in there to fly," I corrected. "We need to get out of here."
We walked out of the station, pulling our things behind us. We hurried across the parking lot to the Ford Anglia. Sitting on the roof of the blue car was Nightwing. "That was fast," Ron commented.
My owl flapped to my suitcase and held out his leg. I untied the letter and opened it. It read:
'Dear Danielle,
Just sit tight, and help will be there at 11:30. As for the barrier, that certainly is strange.
Professor McGonagall'
After I finished reading it, I told Harry and Ron what it said.
"11:30," Harry said. "It's 10:55 now."
"We have some time to kill," I said as I pulled out The Two Towers, a book I had gotten for my birthday. I was so determined to get through this series.
Five minutes later, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley walked up to the car. Harry got out and told them what was going on. Mrs. Weasley was thankful that the three of us were getting some way to get to Hogwarts.
11:30 finally arrived. A tabby cat trotted across the parking lot, carrying a newspaper in its mouth. It stopped in front of me and set the paper down. It had weird markings around its eyes, almost like glasses.
I bent down and pet the cat. "Hello, Professor McGonagall." The Animagus dipped her head and tilted it to the paper. "Is this a portkey?" The professor nodded.
"That's Professor McGonagall?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Mr. Weasley said. "She's an Animagus, a wizard who can turn into an animal."
"Cool," Ron said.
"Give me your things so that I can shrink them," Mrs. Weasley said.
I told Nightwing to fly to Hogwarts, and then Mrs. Weasley shrank all of my things. She then did the same to Harry and Ron's. We put our stuff in our pockets and gathered around the newspaper. Professor McGonagall put a paw on the paper.
"Harry," Mr. Weasley said, "what you need to do is touch the paper, and it will do the rest."
"Okay…?"
"Just a little warning," I said, "it's a little uncomfortable."
"Wha-?"
The paper turned blue, and then it felt like there was a hook behind my bellybutton. The world felt like it was spinning, and then my feet slammed into the ground. I fell onto my knees. I stood up slowly and looked around. Silver things spun around and twittered on spindly-legged tables. People in portraits were snoozing. Yep, we were definitely in Professor Dumbledore's office.
"Ah," a cheery voice said, "and what might you three be doing here so early?" It was Dumbledore, his silver beard shiningin the sunlight.
"You see, sir," Harry said, "the barrier at King's Cross Station blocked itself for some reason."
"I sent a letter to Professor McGonagall," I continued. "She just so happened to be in Diagon Alley when I sent Nightwing to her. She gave us a portkey, and… she's right here." Professor McGonagall changed back into her human form.
"Well, this was the best solution, Albus. At least they didn't try to fly here. That would have ended in a disaster."
I laughed nervously. Harry and Ron looked at me weirdly.
Well, this way was certainly anti-climatic, I thought.
What happened in the other timeline? Harry asked.
Well, I guess it's safe to say this. You and Ron flew the car to Hogwarts and ended up crashing into a tree that hits back. You both got into some big trouble.
I'm glad that you talked us out of it, then.
Me, too.
"Just leave your belongings here," Dumbledore said. I fished my suitcase and other bags out of my pocket and put them on Dumbledore's desk.
Several hours later found us sitting in the Great Hall, waiting for the other students. I sat with Harry and Ron at the Gryffindor table.
"Do you think Ginny will make Gryffindor?" Ron asked.
"She'll make Gryffindor," I said. "The rest of your family made it, so why not her?"
A few minutes later, students started walking in, so I wandered back to the Ravenclaw table. Eventually, Mandy, Lisa, and Abby walked in. When they saw me, they rushed over and sat down.
"Dani, where have you been?" Mandy demanded. "We searched the train all over. We even asked a Prefect who knows a Weasley. She said that Percy said that you, Harry, and Ron couldn't get past the barrier. What happened?"
Whoa. She was clearly worried. Whenever Mandy got worried, she would start bullet-talking. "Whoa, slow down. I've been here all afternoon. We don't know what happened."
"So, how did you get here?" Abby asked.
"I sent an owl Professor McGonagall, who happened to be in Diagon Alley. She gave us a paper that she had turned into a portkey."
Soon, the Hall filled up. I said greetings to the other Ravenclaws in my year. Alexander Moon had a really eventful summer evidently; he'd been to Spain.
The Hall quieted somewhat as the first years entered. I really hoped we would get a good batch of Ravenclaws.
The Sorting Hat, a very old, patched, and frayed hat, sang a song that wasn't unlike the one from last year. After it finished, the students clapped, and the first years visibly relaxed.
"When I call your name," Professor McGonagall said, "come up here and I'll out the hat on you. Adcock, Isabelle!"
Isabelle Adcock walked up to the stool slowly. She put the hat on, which shouted, "Hufflepuff!"
"Brewer, Matthew," made Slytherin, and "Collins, William," made Ravenclaw.
"Creevey, Colin." A small, mousey-haired boy walked forward. The hat fell over his nose. "Gryffindor!"
Next was David Emerson, who made Hufflepuff, Angel Forrest, who made Slytherin, Jason Hendricks who made Gryffindor, Benjamin Hollows who made Slytherin, and Sally Jackson who made Ravenclaw. After June Knupp (Gryffindor), Luna Lovegood's name was called. She skipped to the stool and sat down with a dreamy expression. When the hat slipped over her large, gray eyes, she didn't move a muscle. The hat laughed and then shouted, "Ravenclaw!"
Luna pulled the hat off and walked to the table. She sat down in the vacant spot right next to me.
"You're Danielle Potter," Luna said dreamily.
"I know I am," I said as Stephanie Matthews got sorted into Hufflepuff. "You can call me Dani. What's your name?"
"Luna Lovegood," Luna said as Christina Moon made Slytherin. "I hope there's pudding." That was random. I was so glad that I met Luna already!
"Weasley, Ginevra!" Ginny walked nervously to the stool and put the Sorting Hat on. It was barely on her head for two seconds when it shouted "Gryffindor!"
The Weasleys and Harry applauded loudly as they welcomed her. I clapped, too.
After Jennifer White got sorted into Ravenclaw, Dumbledore stood up, his silver beard shining in the candlelight.
"Welcome to our new students, and for our old students, welcome back! I have only four words to say before we start feasting, and here they are: Kumquat! Barnacle! Ostrich! Zucchini! Thank you!"
The food appeared on the golden plates, and the first years gasped. Well, Luna didn't.
All conversation ceased after that as everyone stuffed themselves. There were all sorts of chicken: chicken pot pie, chicken casserole, fried chicken, grilled chicken, and a chicken dish whose name I did not know. There were potatoes, salads, fries, and several different types of vegetables.
I put some food on my plate and dug in. Lisa piled food onto her plate and stuffed herself. The ghosts flew around overhead, talking to each other from across the Hall. The room filled with the indistinct chatter and the clatter of silverware.
After the last bit of chocolate cake disappeared, Dumbledore stood up again. "Now then, before you go to bed, you'll have to endure an old man's waffle for a few more minutes. Ahem…
"We have a change in staff this year. Let us welcome Gilderoy Lockhart as our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." There was scattered applause, but mostly from the girls of the school. I seethed. I noticed that Dumbledore's smile faltered slightly.
"Quidditch trials for Slytherin and Hufflepuff will be directed by the team captains. Speak with them if you wish to join.
"Mr. Filch asked me to remind the students about using magic in the corridors and that the Dark Forest is forbidden." His eyes moved to the Weasley twins at this. "Off to bed! We have classes in the morning! Pip pip!"
I stood up, and Mandy, Abby, and Lisa did the same. Luna walked over to Penelope Clearwater, who was calling the Ravenclaw first years to her.
I crawled into bed later on, thinking about that day's events and about the days to come.