Chapter 532: A Brutal Wake-Up Call
Chapter 532: A Brutal Wake-Up Call
After Harry and Ron's disappearance, Percy was the most troubled of all.
Although it wasn't his fault, as the oldest Weasley child in school, Percy had the responsibility of looking after his mischievous younger siblings.
This duty would have originally fallen to Charlie, but since he had already graduated, it now rested on Percy's shoulders.
He hadn't forgotten to send an owl to his family, informing them of Harry and Ron's disappearance.
However, Percy was unaware that the Weasley family, who had just returned to their car from the platform, were stunned to find that their old Ford had been stolen.
The Weasley couple never imagined that someone would steal their Ford.
The Ford was enchanted so that ordinary Muggles wouldn't even notice it, let alone attempt to steal it.
As for the idea that the Ford could have flown away by itself, the Weasleys would never believe it, if that were true, it would have caused a huge commotion by now.
After searching fruitlessly for the car in the surrounding area, Mr. Weasley's face was filled with unmistakable disappointment. Just as they were about to apparate home, they received Percy's owl with the news that Harry and Ron were not on the train, and they could guess who had secretly driven off with the Ford! "How dare they do that!"
Mrs. Weasley gripped Percy's note tightly, grinding her teeth as she turned to her husband and complained, "It's all your fault. I told you not to spoil them, and now look what they've done. They stole the car and are driving themselves to Hogwarts. I've never seen anything like this..."
"That's enough, Molly," Mr. Weasley took a deep breath, calming himself. With a somber expression, he looked at the empty parking space and comforted his wife, "Let's go home and wait for news."
There was nothing else Mr. Weasley could do at this point. Once the car took to the skies, there was no way they could find Harry and Ron.
As for whether the two boys would arrive safely at Hogwarts, Mr. Weasley wasn't too worried. As long as they followed the train, they wouldn't get lost.
However, Mr. Weasley felt that he might need to go back and make some preparations, just in case.
"Anyway, this time we'll have to teach Ron a lesson."
At this moment, Ron was fantasizing about himself riding in the car as it descended from the sky, landing on the large grass field in front of Hogwarts Castle, and receiving the admiration and envy of all the students. He had no idea what fate awaited him.
They were still following the Hogwarts train through the clouds, and below them, Fred and George had been startled by their bold speculation. They were now trying to stick their heads out of the window to look for Harry and Ron following in the Ford.
"Don't bother looking," Albert said to Fred and George, who were trying to peer out the window, "Even if Harry and Ron are really going to school in the Ford, you won't be able to see them. They're probably either flying high in the sky or have made the car invisible."
"Oh yeah, Dad's Ford can turn invisible," George muttered.
From the looks on Fred and George's faces, it seemed like they were feeling a bit down that they weren't the ones riding in the Ford on their way to Hogwarts.
Albert just shook his head at them.
After lunch, the group played a few rounds of Wizarding Chess, and in the following hours, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan took turns asking Albert about his overseas travels.
Albert, getting tired of their questions, started to pretend to be sleepy, giving vague answers to their inquiries.
As they neared the school, there was a knock on the compartment door again. Hermione entered with a copy of the Daily Prophet.
"Flying Anglia shocks Muggles," Fred read the headline of the Prophet quietly, "Two Muggles in London are convinced they saw an old car flying past the post office building."
"I remember your father works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, right?" Albert asked suddenly.
"Was it really Harry and Ron?" Hermione's face was grim. She hadn't expected that instead of missing the train, they would come up with such an idea.
"Most likely."
"How dare they..."
"Maybe they just wanted to show off!"
"Speaking of which, your brothers are real troublemakers." Albert took the newspaper from her, read the headline carefully, and shook his head, "I bet they're still feeling proud of themselves."
Hermione's face darkened even further.
"They'll definitely be fined, won't they?" said Lee Jordan.
"Probably fifty to a hundred galleons," Albert folded the newspaper and handed it back to Hermione, estimating, "If they're not specifically targeted, they probably won't lose their jobs."
"Of course, Harry and Ron probably won't be expelled either," Albert said to Hermione, whose face was getting grimmer by the second, "After all, Dumbledore values the savior of the wizarding world. If it were anyone else, they'd be in deep trouble. But they'll definitely get detention and lose house points."
The envy and admiration on Fred and George's faces were now replaced with astonishment.
"Now, are you still envious of them?" Albert turned to Fred and George and asked with a smile.
The two shook their heads together. Based on Albert's analysis, they now knew that Harry and Ron, who were trying to show off by riding in the Ford, were about to get into big trouble.
"It's really unbelievable," Hermione muttered as she walked away. She found it hard to believe that Harry and Ron would do something so foolish.
They didn't talk much for the rest of the trip.
Finally, the train slowly pulled into Hogsmeade Station. As Albert and his friends disembarked with the crowd, they heard many students whispering about someone coming to school in a car.
There was no doubt that many students thought it was incredibly cool, and they wished they were the ones riding in the car.
The expressions on Fred and George's faces became more and more complex. If it weren't for Albert, they might have thought the same way! "First-years, over here!"
A familiar voice called out from a distance. The burly gamekeeper, Hagrid, was waving to the panicked first-years, ready to take them through the traditional lake-crossing ceremony.
The remaining students rode the carriages pulled by Thestrals toward Hogwarts Castle under the night sky.
Behind the winding carriage, a Ford Anglia flew over the lake, past the dark greenhouses and fields, and over the grass in front of Hogwarts, crashing straight into the trunk of the Whomping Willow.
There were no cheers of admiration from the students, only the angry Whomping Willow. Harry and Ron, who had not yet been beaten down by the cruel reality, were now being thrashed by the violent branches of the tree.
Having just escaped death, the two boys were no longer excited about their car ride. They felt dazed and scared, unsure of what else awaited them.
(End of Chapter)
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