The rest of the month flew by in a flash. Tracey Davis came by to visit a few more times, and soon she too had mastered the stances necessary for their little tour de force. It's not as if she could directly invoke the magic of the stars, but as long as she contributed her magic and executed the stadha correctly, then she would be included in the spell, as well as reduce the burden on Oleandra.
In the morning, a chauffeur from the Ministry of Magic took the family to King's Cross station, arriving with a comfortable hour to spare before the Hogwarts Express's scheduled departure time. There, the twins loaded their luggage on to the train and bid farewell to their parents, winking at Astoria. Maxwell and Iris didn't know their daughters were up to. It had always been easier to ask for forgiveness rather than for permission.
Now that they didn't have to worry about their suitcases, which would automatically be brought to their rooms upon the train's arrival at Hogsmeade, the girls met up with Tracey and exited from platform nine and three quarter's barrier. After hanging around for a while, Oleandra checked the station's giant wall clock. They still had time to go back and watch the train leave.
A great crashing noise and the screech of an owl made her turn around with a start. Which idiot had lost control of their trolley and attracted the muggle's attention to the secret passage? Oleandra didn't have to wait long for an answer, since she recognized the two idiots in question; Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley!
"What's going on, cousin Ron?" Oleandra came up and asked him curiously.
Potter and Weasley looked relieved; at least they weren't the only students stranded!
"It's this blasted barrier, it won't let us through!" Weasley said. He frowned. "You three didn't have anything to do with this, did you?"
Daphne shook her head. They didn't know the Weasleys had made it a habit to arrive by the skin of their teeth! They couldn't have planned this.
Weasley soon got his answer when the station's clock hit eleven. After all, who would willingly strand themselves outside of Hogwarts and miss school just to get others stuck with them?
He turned and discussed something with Potter. Oleandra thought she heard them say the word 'car' a few times. Surely, they weren't planning on driving to school? Did any roads even lead to Hogsmeade in the first place?
"Well, ladies, since there's nothing more we can do, we'll be heading back first," said Weasley, turning back to the three girls.
Potter seemed like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just opened and closed his mouth a few times before giving up. And just like that, the two groups parted ways at the station.
Oleandra narrowed her eyes. Ronald Weasley didn't have the best poker face, and she could definitely tell he didn't intend on waiting for the next train.
"This is great," whispered Tracey. "Now we have plausible deniability when they ask us why we didn't take the Hogwarts Express!"
The trio then spent the rest of the day in London, taking in the sights of the muggle metropolis. Daphne had exchanged some of her gold galleons with muggle money, so they wouldn't starve to death. Oleandra would have done it herself, but she didn't like Gringotts much. It wasn't because of the goblins, but rather because Oleandra didn't like going too deeply underground after her misadventure at the Ministry of Magic.
"Well, it's getting dark outside," pointed out Daphne.
"How perceptive of you," snorted Oleandra.
"I meant we should get ready to tree-port to school to make our grand entrance," Daphne said, annoyed.
They didn't know at what time the sorting ceremony would start. There was a clock tower at Hogwarts that would chime at every hour, but the three girls hadn't paid any attention to it when they had undergone the ceremony the preceding year.
The three got up from their seats at the café where they had been whiling away the time.
"Here, this spot looks good," said Tracey, pointing at an isolated cluster of trees. They'd get in trouble if they let muggles see them using magic.
"All right, everyone in position?" asked Oleandra. "Then here goes nothing!"
"Berkana, Raidhu, Eihwaz, Dagaz! Let the ancient chestnut tree become a gateway. Carry us through time and space to where I once stood!"
The instant the three girls had finished the last stance, the sound of gate creaking open sounded, and with a flash of light, they were gone.
Ginny Weasley was feeling incredibly nervous, as well as stupid. From all the stories she had heard from her older brothers, the sorting ceremony seemed like an incredibly arduous task. Fred and George had told her they had to fight a troll! She had also read a letter the school had sent home, detailing how her older brother had fought and killed a troll, so she thought it was true! However, it turned out that she only had to put on a singing and talking hat. It was still nerve-wracking, though.
"Weasley, Ginevra!"
Ginny gulped. "Well, here goes nothing. Please let me be in Gryffindor with Harry Potter, please, please, please!" she thought to herself as she walked up to the stage and prepared to sit on the wooden stool.
But at that instant, the stool started shining, and something emerged from under Ginny, knocking her on her back, where she banged her head against the floor! In her place sat Daphne, looking rather confused. Why was she not at the Slytherin table? Where were the others? Professor McGonagall was so surprised she dropped the Sorting Hat on Daphne's head.
"Slytherin!"
Upon hearing those words, Ginny Weasley fainted and had to be brought to the hospital wing while the Slytherins roared with laughter.
Meanwhile, Tracey had landed in the transfiguration courtyard.
"Hello? This isn't funny, you two! Where are you? Oleandraaa! Daaaphne!" she shouted at the moonlit sky.