Chapter 9 - 10

On the final day of the school break, Mrs Weasley prepared an extravagant meal.

The whole family congregated at the dining table, relishing the sweet honey dessert, whilst admiring Fred and George's impressive fireworks exhibition, inspired by "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". The siblings had redesigned the fireworks into unique shapes, that were not included in the brochure, and scattered orange, red and blue stars throughout the kitchen, causing them to bounce off the walls and ceiling for more than thirty minutes.

At ten o'clock at night, Mrs Weasley sent everyone to bed after they had their last cup of hot chocolate.

Evan had a hard time sleeping as he shared the bed with Harry and felt him constantly shifting.

The following morning, Harry awoke early with a troubled expression on his face.

"Evan, I had a nightmare that I transformed into a massive snake last night, and it was terrible!" "Harry, you're just

anxious due to the upcoming start of school." Evan laughed.

"I hope so. Hopefully, everything will go well today," Harry said. Hopefully, everything will go well today," Harry said. Hopefully, everything will go well today," Harry said.

However, his wish had clearly failed. After breakfast, everyone was hurrying around, packing their things. Mrs Weasley was looking for extra socks and blankets as she collided with the twins on the stairs. Meanwhile, Mr Weasley nearly fell over a chicken in the courtyard while carrying Ginny's luggage to the car.

After everyone got in the car, Mr. Weasley turned on the engine and drove out of the yard. They went back and forth three times in under half an hour. When Ginny finally got in the car, it was late, and everyone was in a hurry.

They arrived at King's Cross Station with five minutes left before the drive started.

"Hurry children, we must move swiftly through the wall and avoid the muggles' notice. Let Percy go first," Mrs Weasley anxiously checked the wall clock and instructed.

After Percy, Mr Weasley followed with his luggage, then Fred and George.

"I'll go with Ginny, you

three stay near me," said Mrs Weasley, taking Ginny's hand and vanishing in an instant.

"Let's go through together, we only have a minute." Ron said.

"What should we do?" Evan hesitated as he had planned to go second after Percy, who was slowed down by his luggage trolley and was arranged by Mrs Weasley to join Harry and Ron.

If memory serves, the wall should have been sealed by Dobby by now.

"Evan, follow me and don't be nervous, as I've introduced before, the station is behind this wall." Harry said, "If you're afraid, you can run slowly."

Indeed, he and Ron did. They ran a little further from the wall, and then hit it with great confidence.Evan quickly shut his eyes, unable to watch the unfortunate incident unfold. At their pace, crashing into the wall certainly seemed painful.

Inevitably, the two cars collided with the partition wall and rebounded.

Ron's vehicle came crashing down, and Harry was knocked down. Hedwig's cage flew off the shiny floor and rolled to the side, causing the owl to scream furiously. A crowd gathered to observe them, and a guard close by yelled, "What on Earth are you doing?"

"The car stopped." Harry panted and guarded his ribs while standing up.

Evan hurried to grab Hedwig, who was still present and screeching, causing many witnesses to accuse them of mistreating the creature.

"Why can't we go ahead?" Harry questioned Ron quietly.

"I'm not sure!" Ron approached the wall and pushed it quietly, saying "This has never happened before, we're going to be late for the train!".

Harry looked up at the clock, puzzled, commenting "I don't

understand why the passage closed itself..." then he carefully positioned the car against the wall and pushed with all his strength, but the partition wall did not budge.

"This wall has been enchanted with a barrier spell, which is a bit like the heavy barrier, but more advanced. It's clear that someone did this on purpose." Evan checked it out and, with the three of them, they couldn't break through the current level of magic.

"Who could be so dull, as to make us miss the train?!"

"I suspect it's Malfoy!" Ron said sadly, "It's finished. The train is leaving. What if mum and dad can't pick us up? Do either of you have any non-magical money?"

"I haven't been given any pocket money in six years," Harry replied. 

"I haven't either. I changed all of my money into Galleons and spent it in Diagon Alley," he continued, with a smirk. Evan searched his pockets, wishing he had kept some money with him.

"I wonder how long it will take for our parents to return. What should we do now?" Ron looked around anxiously; a lot of people were staring at them because of Hedwig's non-stop shrieking.

"Why don't we use Hedwig to write a letter to the school, explaining why we're late?" Evan proposed.

"Evan's correct, but first we need to go back to the car." Harry attempted to soothe Hedwig to silence, as he whispered "This place is too conspicuous." Harry attempted to soothe Hedwig to silence, as he whispered "This place is too conspicuous." "Ron, that wouldn't be wise.

Harry attempted to soothe Hedwig to silence, as he whispered "This place is too conspicuous." Suddenly, Ron's eyes gleamed and he exclaimed, "The car! You remember my dad modified it? We could fly to Hogwarts in it!"

Magic use outside of school isn't permitted." Evan hastily shook his head, trying to convince Ron to abandon the idea.

"Oh, come on, Evan!" pleaded Ron. "Ron's eyes gleamed, "We're stuck, aren't we? We need to return to school, right? In an emergency, wizards with little experience can use magic too. It's in section 19 or something in the Restrictions…" 

"Can you operate it?" Upon hearing Ron's explanation, Harry switched from panic to excitement."No worries, I've witnessed Fred and George manoeuvring it countless times!" Ron mentioned, steering the trolley towards the exit. "Let's make haste, if we rush we can pursue the Hogwarts Express. We mustn't be tardy!" Evan, this year you must complete your House Dividing, it is essential for every new wizard.

"Indeed, Evan," Harry concurred, "It's unsettling to even ponder missing the Christening festival."

"Attending school in a flying vehicle would be extremely frightening." Evan felt powerless as he watched Harry and Ron's excited expressions and followed behind them.

After they had made up their decision, Evan had no other option but to cooperate. At that moment, he missed Hermione as her presence would have prevented the reckless behaviour of the two individuals.

Evan lacked the ability to see a flying car, despite his deep desire. However, the potential consequences made him unhappy.

It could be seen by non-magical people, Mr Weasley could lose his job, and as a new student, Evan was unsure of the impact of his unusual entry.

"I suggest that we..." 

Evan made a final attempt, but was interrupted with, "Come on, Evan!" Ron didn't wait for him to finish speaking. He started the car with a flick of his wand and said, "Harry, check if anyone is watching us."

"No, there's no one on the street," Harry replied. 

He pulled Evan into the car and, seconds later, Ron pressed a small silver button on the dashboard. The car vanished and so did the three of them.

Evan sensed the seat shaking, and he heard the engine. Suddenly, he discovered himself drifting along a grubby street packed with parked cars.

 "Let's go!" Ron yelled.

The earth and shabby edifices on each side descended and momentarily vanished. The automobile ascended steadily, revealing the entire smoggy and faintly shining city of London below them in just a few seconds.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

If Evan had to rate the journey in two words, it would be terrible.

As they were approaching Hogwarts, the car was visibly tired, and, after a noisy slide, it landed on a barrier beside the school's prohibited forest, worsening the already bad experience.

The branches were whipping uncontrollably, and Evan closed his eyes in terror when he saw that he was in danger of being hit by them. Ron and Harry screaming could be heard.

The car was damaged badly, and pieces of glass went all over the car, injuring the boys' faces. "We are finished!"

Evan attempted to get his wand out, but it didn't work. The car shook vigorously, causing him and Harry to collide heavily with each other. A thick branch, similar in size to a siege hammer, was wildly slamming against the top of the car, producing a dent.

"Let's run!" shouted Ron. He utilized all his energy to force open the car door, but moments later, the branch knocked him back.

 The car roof collapsed for the final time.

Just as the three men lost hope, the engine abruptly started, enabling them to flee from under the swaying willow trees.

Evan was thrown out of the car with great force. He landed beside Harry, Ron and the men's baggage. The car then drove away into the night without glancing back, its tail lights shining furiously.

"Can you believe this terrible luck? Out of all the trees in the world, we had to come across the one that harms people!" Out of all the trees in the world, we had to come across the one that harms people!" Ron made a bitter face and bent down to retrieve Spotty the mouse. His wand had broken into a few wooden threads when he fell. Evan needs to finish the sorting, and we're almost late."

He looked back at the old tree that was still threateningly shaking its branches.

Out of all the trees in the world, we had to come across the one that harms people!" "Let's go," Harry said tiredly, "We need to get into school.

The three lads didn't feel triumphant at all as they arrived. They were cold, sore, and had stiff limbs. They picked up the damaged box and started hauling it up the grassy slope towards the two oak doors.

"Take a look, the feast has started!" Ron told them as he pointed towards a brightly lit window in the Great Hall in the distance, "We better hurry, I saw Professor McGonagall showing the sorting caps, the sorting will happen quite soon!"

Harry and Evan followed Ron's finger and gazed through the window.

In the roomy and bright hall, several candles floated in the air. Below them were four lengthy tables with people around them, adorned with golden plates and goblets that shone like the stars on the ceiling.

According to "A History of Hogwarts," Evan learned that the ceiling was bewitched to reflect the sky outside.

Past a crowd of black peaked hats from Hogwarts, Evan noticed a lengthy line of new students, who were entering the auditorium with fear. Among them was Ginny, with a pale face glancing around as if lost.Professor McGonagall, who wore glasses and had her hair in a tight bun, put the famous Hogwarts hat on the stool in front of the new students.

She started calling out names, and a very thin, grey-haired boy came forward and placed the hat on his head.

"Let's go, it's only a five-minute walk through the corridors to the Great Hall. Hopefully, we won't run into any obstacles."

"Wait!" Harry whispered, "Snape's seat in the teachers' gallery is empty. Where did he go?"

Ron said, "Maybe he's sick." 

 Harry said, "Maybe he's gone because he didn't get to be the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher again!"

Ron excitedly followed, "Maybe he got sacked! You'd think that everyone would hate him!"

"Maybe he's waiting outside the gates to hear us explain why he didn't come on the school train," Evan sighed. 

He saw a slim man with dark hair, yellowish-grey skin, a sharp nose and oily hair tumbling down to his shoulders, standing on the steps outside the castle gates and observing them coldly.

The grin on Snape's face revealed to Evan that they were in deep trouble.

"Hey, it's Harry Potter and his two friends," Evan whispered as Professor Snape approached with a disgusted expression. "Hey, it's Harry Potter and his two friends," Evan whispered as Professor Snape approached with a disgusted expression. "Hey, it's Harry Potter and his two friends," Evan whispered as Professor Snape approached with a disgusted expression. "Are you not tired of the school train and looking for excitement?"

"No, sir," Harry replied, "We need help with the barrier at King's Cross."

"Silence!" Snape ordered coldly. "Come with me."

They followed him up the stairs and into the silent, torch-lit foyer. The scent of food drifted from the Great Hall, but Snape directed them away from the comfort and brightness and towards the underground classroom through a cramped stone staircase.

"Excuse me, sir, we need to reach the auditorium; Evan hasn't finished sorting yet," Harry stated, mustering his bravery. "Excuse me, sir, we need to reach the auditorium; Evan hasn't finished sorting yet," Harry stated, mustering his bravery. "Silence!"

 Snape cut off Harry once more, gesturing to a room in the dismal hallway, "In here!"

As Snape witnessed, the three boys shook and entered his room.

The walls were dim, with wide glass containers filled with sickening liquids placed along the walls. The chimney was blank and obscure.

Snape shut the door and looked back at them.

Like a serpent observing its prey, he questioned intensely after a while, "What have you done to the car?"

"What?!" Ron was shocked as he wondered how Snape found out about the car. Could he read minds?

Snape sneered, "Weasley, despite your empty brain, I never had any illusions." He then took out a copy of the day's issue of Prophet Japan and said, "It seems that you were seen!"

He read out the headline that said, FORD ANGLIA CAR FLIES, MUGUINS ARE ASTOUNDED while looking smug.Snape sneered as he read out loud: "Two non-magical people in London claim to have seen an old car fly over the Post Office building... At noon in Norfolk, while Mrs Hertibellis was drying her washing... Mr Angus Fleet of Peebles informed the police... There were a total of 67 non-magical people present."

"If I remember correctly, your father worked for the Department for the Prevention of the Misuse of Non-Magical Objects, didn't he?" 

 Snape looked up at Ron and grinned maliciously, "Oh dear, his own son..." Evan saw Harry's and Ron's faces drop as if they had just realized that if someone found out Mr. Weasley had charmed the car, it would be disastrous.

"What now?" Snape interrupted, "I was examining the garden and saw that an important Beater Willow had suffered severe damage." Snape interrupted, "I was examining the garden and saw that an important Beater Willow had suffered severe damage."

"That tree did more harm to us!" Ron retorted.

"Silence, Weasley!" Snape turned to Evan and spoke sharply, "Mr. Mason, it seems you've learned that following the Saviours wasn't wise. You may be the first student ever expelled from Hogwarts on the first day of the school year."

Harry protested, "You can't expel Evan!"

Snape responded coldly, "I have that right." "Snape looked at Harry and Ron before saying, 'It's unfortunate that you're not from my house and I cannot expel you. I will search for someone who can carry out this task while you wait.'

Harry gazed at Snape's back with a pale expression, hoping to comfort Evan. However, he did not know what to say. If Professor McGonagall were present, their situation would not improve."

She might be kinder than Snape, but she was equally strict.

If Snape expelled Evan, he and Ron would definitely get the same punishment from Professor McGonagall. Evan wasn't sure where to go after leaving Hogwarts. The Dursleys wouldn't welcome him, so maybe he could become a school gamekeeper like Hagrid.

While Harry was lost in thought, Professor McGonagall followed Snape.

She entered with a tight-lipped expression and raised her wand. This caused all three boys to flinch, but she simply lit the unoccupied fireplace, and it immediately burst into flames.