The day had started badly for Ronald.
The twins had hidden his trunk, and by the time he found it, his mother had yelled at him for losing it. She didn't even want to listen when he tried to explain to her that it was a prank from Fred and George.
Then he had to listen to Percy ramble about Hogwarts as if his younger brother had never heard of it.
Finally, he had to face the tears of his little sister who wanted to go to school with him and did not want to stay home alone with their mother. He knew he would have felt the same thing had he been in her shoes. He loved his mother very much but it wasn't the same having no one to play with during the day.
They therefore left the Terrier late and arrived late at London station.
Like every year, his mother deliberately said a few key words out loud. When he was younger, he didn't understand why she did that. After all, how could she forget the platform number when she had been accompanying her children for several years and had taken the Hogwarts Express for seven years herself? It was Bill who ended up explaining to him that Muggle-borns were sometimes lost and didn't know how to get through the barrier to reach platform 9 3/4. When they hear her say the platform number or other key words, they either come to her for advice or watch as their family enter the barrier before doing the same.
After they waited a few minutes, they finally passed through the barrier.
The Hogwarts Express was nothing new for Ron, who had accompanied his big brothers for years, but knowing that he was finally going to get on it brought emotions to the surface of him that almost brought tears to his eyes.
He knew it wasn't going to be easy. He was the sixth Weasley to enter Hogwarts. His older brothers had already done everything to distinguish themselves. Bill had been prefect then head boy, Charlie had been prefect and captain of the Quidditch team, Percy had just been made prefect and stood out for his seriousness and Fred and George were the great jokers with a lot of detentions but loved by everyone. Even Ginny wouldn't have this problem, she stood out just for being the only girl in the family.
He loved his family deeply but sometimes he felt like nothing he could do would bring him out of their shadow. Nothing could impress his parents since they already had children who had done it before.
After long hugs, he finally got on the train, dragging his heavy trunk.
Percy had already left for the prefects' compartment and the twins had joined their friend Lee. They had offered for him to go with them but Lee had brought a tarantula and just the idea of being in the same compartment as a large spider gave Ron the chills. Even though Fred had apologized and felt very guilty for having transformed his favorite stuffed animal into an eight-legged monster, the damage had been done and the phobia had taken hold.
He passed several compartments already occupied by several students before coming across one that seemed empty. He entered, pulling his trunk. He was about to lift it to put it in the luggage rack when he jumped, dropping the trunk heavily.
In the luggage rack, lying on his back with one leg dangling and his arms crossed behind his head, was a boy. He seemed asleep, a magnificent white owl resting on his stomach. The animal looked at Ron imperiously, seeming to dare him to wake its human.
Ron wondered if he should go find another compartment but he was starting to get tired of looking for one where he could be quiet. It was always noisy at home so he hoped to have a quiet trip. Especially since he had understood from what his brothers had told him that the Gryffindor common room was always noisy, too. And all the Weasleys were sorted into Gryffindor, apparently.
He therefore decided to put his trunk on the floor between the seats before settling down on one. If he didn't make any noise, he wouldn't wake the boy and the bird would have no reason to attack him. He knew that some owls were extremely territorial and had heels sharp enough to really hurt.
Once installed, he wondered what he was going to do. He didn't really like it but it seemed like reading would be the only hobby he could indulge in at the moment. At least until the dark-haired boy wakes up.
He was surprised to hear the other occupant muttering in his sleep.
- Nah, Susie, we can't. Jeremy already told you that he… Mmhmmnnn Gabriel, stop singing… What Fritz, who?
The boy suddenly opened his eyes. He turned his head and immediately looked at Ron who swallowed loudly.
- Mmhmm…Hello?
- Uh, hi. Sorry if I woke you up.
- Mmmno, don't worry. It was Fritz who told me that I was no longer alone.
- Fritz? Is that your owl's name?
- Eh? No, she's Hedwig.
The owl hooted softly before flying off to land on the luggage rack above the redhead.
The brunette rolled off the luggage rack and fell heavily onto the seat beneath him. He slowly sat up in a semi-sitting position.
- 'ry, I didn't sleep well last night. So excited to go to Hogwarts.
- No problem, replied the redhead, holding out his hand. My name is Ron, Ron Weasley.
The other boy shook Ron's hand.
- I'm Harry. Say, did you know that if you hear an owl hooting at a full moon, it means a sick person is about to breathe their last?
The young Weasley slowly turned towards the owl, his gaze suspicious.
- No, no, I didn't know.
- Maybe it's a Muggle belief... My guardian doesn't really differentiate between Muggles and wizards. It's the same thing as far as he's concerned.
The two boys talked for a while about muggle and wizarding beliefs. Harry seemed particularly interested in thestrals. It seemed stupid to him that an animal was supposed to bring bad luck just because you can't see them until you see someone die. It is before seeing them that you have bad luck, not after. The grim made him laugh, to the great displeasure of the redhead who firmly believed that seeing one meant that you were going to die soon.
Harry had just pulled out his wand after Ron asked him to see it to compare it to his own when the compartment door opened. A young girl with bushy hair entered without ado.
-Have any of you seen a toad? Neville lost his… Oh, you're going to do magic? I tested a few spells during the holidays and I managed to do a few of them.
- No, we weren't going to do magic. And you're not allowed to do magic outside of school until you're of age.
- Actually, Ron, until we arrive at Hogwart, we have the right. The Trace is put to our wands when we enter the wards of the castle. Besides, you can do as much wandless magic as you want, whenever and wherever you want.
Ron and the girl looked at Harry in astonishment.
- Can you do magic without a wand? I haven't read anything about it, why isn't it written anywhere?
- You've never done accidental magic?
- Yes, of course I did, like all children, I imagine.
-And you had a wand?
- Obviously not.
- So you've done wandless magic before. You just have to learn to channel accidental magic to do what you want with it. Then again, since we can do magic before arriving at Hogwarts, do you want me to show you a spell that my guardian taught me? This is to show the life expectancy of a living being. Plant, animal or human, it works for everything. That doesn't mean it shows when someone is going to die, it's just how long the living being has if no accident or illness kills them first. By the way, what's your name?
The girl's eyes were bulging. She had often been criticized for talking in one go without breathing, but Harry was beating her record.
- Um… I'm Hermione Granger. Is there really a spell to show someone's life expectancy?
- Yes but as I…
Harry was interrupted by the opening of the compartment door. A tall red-haired boy with glasses entered.
-Miss Granger, did you find Mr. Longbottom's toad? Oh, Ron, there you are. And who are you, young man?
Ron blushed intensely. Why did his big brother formally adressed Hermione and Harry? What a stuck up!
- Hello Ron's big brother! I'm Harry! I was going to show Hermione a spell, do you want to see?
- Uh, ah. I'm Percival Weasley. How did you know I was Ronald's big brother?
- Well, you have the same hair as him and you look a lot alike. And since you're bigger... Okay, you want to see my spell?
Ron quickly explained the spell Harry wanted to show while Harry jumped up and down on his seat. Percy didn't know it and was curious.
- It's not dark magic, at least?
- I don't know. My guardian told me that there is no dark or light magic, just the intention that counts. You can do a lot of harm with light magic if you use it incorrectly. In any case, my spell is unlikely to do any harm. It doesn't predict the future, it just says how long a living being CAN live.
- Alright. But what are you going to use it on? It would be a little weird on us.
- I already did it on Hedwig, it told me that she could still live eighteen years if all goes well.
Ron took out of his pocket a fat gray rat that had been sleeping until then.
- It's Scabbers, it was Percy's rat before me. I think he no longer has a long life expectancy since he is already old but you never know.
He placed the rat, which had fallen asleep again, on the bench. Percy and Hermione sat down next to Harry to get a better look.
Harry stood in front of the rat and waved his wand at it. A white vapor appeared above the rodent. Little by little, it took the form of numbers. A four and an eight.
- Um, Harry, what does that mean?
- It shows the number of years remaining. There must be a problem but I'm sure I did it correctly.
- How could a rat have a life expectancy of over fifty years? He's already extremely old for a rat!
Percy quickly reacted by petrifying the rat, much to Ron's shock. He stormed out of the compartment, leaving the three first-year students speechless. He returned a few minutes after a young blonde girl who was already wearing her school robes and sporting a yellow and black tie.
- Hello youngsters, I'm Penny Haywood, seventh year in Hufflepuff. Percy told me you encountered an anomaly?
-Hello Penny! I'm Harry! I did a spell that shows the life expectancy on Ron's rat and it showed that he had a remaining life expectancy of forty-eight years. This is not normal for a rat, even if you take care of it really well. Percy did something that made Scabbers freeze.
The girl leaned over the rat before nodding.
- I'm going to keep it with me, to make sure it doesn't come out of its petrification. I'll take it to Professor McGonagall who teaches Transfiguration, maybe she can find out what's wrong with this rat. You should put on your robes soon, we'll arrive in about an hour. By the way, wouldn't you know if anyone lost a toad? I have one that came into my compartment a few hours ago.
- Oh, it must be Neville's toad, I'll go get it! Goodbye Ron, goodbye Harry!
The two girls exited the compartment, followed by Percy who decided he had had enough excitement for the trip.
Ron and Harry resumed their conversation after a few minutes of silence. They discussed Hogwarts houses and Ron expressed his unease about being sorted with his brothers. Harry reassured him that he would be fine wherever he was sorted and that, if he really didn't want to be with his big brothers, he could always try going to another house.
In the end, Ron's day was turning out stranger than he had expected. He felt like he had made a true friend in Harry but he wasn't sure what to think about Scabbers. He hoped the professor could explain the oddity of what had been revealed.
When the train slowed down, the two boys had changed into their black robes. In a few moments, they would finally arrive at Hogwarts and be sorted. Ron hoped with all his heart that he could stay with his new friend.