Chapter Three: First Years…They're so Innocent
The end of the summer came rather fast. On their last night at the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley cooked a full-out feast to celebrate Ginny finally going off to Hogwarts. Then, the twins and Harish set of a case of Filibuster's Fireworks, which burned red and blue for nearly an hour. Then they had one last mug of hot chocolate before heading to bed.
The next morning there was as much as a scramble to leave as there was the year before. They were up at dawn, but it seemed that no one could move quite fast enough. Mrs. Weasley dashed about in a bad mood looking for spare socks and quills. Everyone kept colliding on the stairs and Ginny tripped and nearly broke her neck. The twins both came down the stairs with bits of toast stuffed in their mouths, and they hadn't gotten their shirts on yet.
Thanks to a charm that had been placed on the car, Harish, Fred, George, Ron, and Percy were all able to fit in the back seat comfortably. All of the trunks fit perfectly in the back of the car. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny sat in the front seat and Mr. Weasley got in the driver's seat.
Finally they left and Mrs. Weasley peered into the backseat as they drove down the drive way. "Muggles do know more than we give them credit for, don't they?" They drove two feet before George remembered that he forgot his box of fireworks, and they had almost reached the highway when Ginny shrieked that she had left her diary. By the time she climbed back into the car, they were running late and tempers were high.
Mr. Weasley glanced at his watch and then his wife.
"Molly, dear—"
"No, Arthur—"
"No one would see—this button here is an Invisibility Booster I've installed. We'd be there in ten minutes and no one would be any wiser—"
"I said no, Arthur, not in broad daylight—"
They reached King's Cross Station at a quarter to eleven. Mr. Weasley dashed across the road to get trolleys for their trunks and they all hurried into the station. They each went through the barrier separating platforms nine and ten and climbed on the train. They made it on with minutes to spare. The train pulled out just after Harish and the twins chose a compartment to sit in. As it was just the three of them in there, they spent the next few minutes reminiscing their summer.
"And when you crashed the car—"
"Right into the side of the house!" the twins exclaimed, laughing.
"I know!" they fell into a comfortable silence before Harish suddenly looked angry and slammed his hand into the seat.
"What?" the twins asked.
"We should have flown the car to school!" he almost shouted. "It would have been awesome!"
"Totally!" both twins agreed.
"Oh, well," Harish said after a second. He slumped back against his seat.
"We're already on—"
"Our way now."
The three fourth years let out one collective sigh. After a minute of silence, the compartment door opened and Draco, Hermione, and Daphne came in to sit with Harish.
"Can we sit here?" Daphne asked Harish. The faintest trace of pink streaked across her cheeks as Harish nodded. Harish didn't notice, but watched her sit down. The twins smirked at each other.
"Had a good summer?" Hermione asked.
Both of them nodded silently and Draco started talking about his summer. Then, the twins told them all about their adventures over the holiday. The compartment door opened again and this time Ginny stood there.
"Can I come in?" she asked, her face flushed a bright red and she glanced at Draco. Harish nodded.
They began talking again until the trolley came around with candies. After everyone in the compartment had had their fill of sweets and the windows had grown dark, they finally pulled to a stop in the Hogsmeade Station. When they exited the train, Ginny went off to follow Hagrid to the lake and Draco, Daphne, and Hermione gasped when they saw the carriages pulling themselves. The trio simply ignored it, as they were used to it.
The six of them climbed into one of the carriages and they rode on the bumpy road up to the castle, walked past the winged boars, and then went into the Great Hall where they sat in the centre of the Slytherin table. Once again there was room on the outside ends of the table. Harish made the twins save a seat for Ginny, just in case.
Each of the first years were sorted. This lot was looking even smaller than they had the year before. Surely Harish hadn't been that short his first year? Finally Ginny stumbled nervously up to the stool where the sorting hat was placed over her head. The whole hall sat still for a moment. Ron glared at the hat, as if he was daring it to sort her into Slytherin. The twins watched expectantly, wondering if she would follow them to the house of snakes. Finally, the hat's brimmed twitched and it bellowed, "SLYTHERIN!"
"No!" Ron shouted from the Gryffindor table. "Traitor!"
Neville pulled Ron down and forced him to sit back in his seat. Harish laughed and the twins beckoned Ginny over to sit with them.
"Welcome to my house," he said to Ginny once she joined them.
"Your house?" Ginny parroted. "How can this be your house?"
"First years," Harish chuckled. "They are so innocent, aren't they?"
Ginny blushed. Everyone around them laughed. Harish grimaced. All of his conversations were overheard by at least one curious person.
"Don't you all have friends to talk to?" he asked, annoyed. Everyone, except Harish's immediate friend group, averted their eyes to their plates. "Much better," he added to himself.
Ginny suddenly understood what he meant by 'his house'. The last person was sorted and food then appeared on the golden platters. Ginny gasped and everyone dug in. The twins in particular began shovelling food into their mouths.
"I wonder if something will happen this year that is just as interesting as last year," Harish muttered to the twins.
"Nah," George said, stuffing a chicken leg in his mouth.
"What were the odds of something like that happening in the first place?" Draco asked. He had apparently been eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Next to nothing," Hermione replied. She had been eavesdropping too, then.
Daphne and Ginny looked confused as they had no idea what happened with the Philosopher's Stone. Harish shook his head. Why did everyone have to eavesdrop on him? The food was some gone and replaced with desserts. When the desserts were gone, Dumbledore stood up and gave his usual start-of-term announcements. He announced Professor Lockhart as the new Defence professor, and then they left to go to bed.
They split up from Ginny once again and then the boys went into their separate dormitories. Harish laid down in his bed and watched as the light glimmered off of the ceiling. It was good to be back.