Chapter 606: The Late-Arriving Weasley Family
Chapter 606: The Late-Arriving Weasley Family
The next day, King's Cross Station bustled as usual, but with an added twist. Among the crowd, a group of uniquely dressed individuals hurried between platforms, drawing attention with their unusual fashion choices. What stood out even more were the large birdcages on their luggage carts, each housing various species of owls.
New security guards eyed them curiously, but the veteran guards seemed unfazed, having grown accustomed to this annual spectacle. Perhaps it was an owl festival somewhere, they mused.
At Platform 9, a red steam train stood ready, surrounded by a bustling crowd of parents sending off their children.
"Thanks for bringing me here, Dobby," Kyle said to the house-elf beside him. He had intended to take the Knight Bus to school but was offered a ride by Dobby. This method allowed him to bypass the station and arrive directly at the platform, a highly convenient arrangement.
"Dobby is very happy to help Master Kyle," the elf replied cheerfully.
"Harry hasn't arrived yet. Do you want to wait for a few minutes?" Kyle asked, glancing at his watch.
Dobby hesitated, torn. But after a moment, he shook his head.
"No, Dobby has a lot of work today, and the Invisible Creature needs attention," the elf explained. "Can Master Kyle pass on my regards to Harry Potter?"
"Of course," Kyle assured him.
Delighted with the response, the elf bowed and vanished from sight.
"Kyle!"
Conna approached, carrying a suitcase. "When did you arrive? I didn't see you come in from the station entrance."
"A house-elf brought me here," Kyle explained. "Through Apparition."
"How convenient," Conna remarked.
Soon, Cedric and Autumn joined them.
The Weasley family was still nowhere to be seen, so they decided to board the train and secure seats.
With departure time approaching, they walked from the front to the rear of the train before finally finding an empty compartment.
"How was your summer break?" Autumn asked as she placed her luggage on the rack, her face clouded with frustration. "I stayed home for two months. My mom was supposed to take me to Sydney, but it fell through due to work issues."
"I went to Hampshire to visit my grandfather," Cedric shared. "My father insisted I stay there due to the recent unrest. He only picked me up yesterday afternoon."
"By the way, Kyle," he turned to Kyle, "I heard you received a warning letter from the Ministry of Magic. What happened?"
"You got a warning letter?" Conna asked, a hint of anxiety in her voice.
"How did you know?" Kyle inquired. "It shouldn't have been reported in the newspaper."
"My father told me," Cedric explained. "I got him drunk yesterday and learned a lot about the Ministry."
"..."
Well, Cedric was certainly living up to his father's reputation.
Kyle gave Cedric a speechless look and shook his head. "It's all resolved now. It was just a misunderstanding."
"I bet it's related to the Dark Lord," Conna said. "I read the Daily Prophet. They call Dumbledore crazy every day, and it's clear the Ministry doesn't want to acknowledge the Dark Lord's return. You must have been caught up in this because of that."
"That's true," Kyle agreed, "but thankfully, it's all sorted out now."
A loud whistle pierced the air.
"The train is leaving!" Cedric opened the window and leaned out. "That's odd. Where are Fred and George? Weren't you with them, Kyle?"
Kyle shook his head.
"No, I came alone."
He also found it a bit odd, considering Mrs. Weasley's personality; it was unlike her to be this late.
A few minutes later, the loud whistle sounded again, and the train began to move slowly.
"Looks like they're really late," Autumn frowned.
"No, they're here!"
Kyle instinctively looked outside, and just as the train was about to leave the station, Fred and George finally appeared.
They made it at the last moment, Apparating into the compartment.
"Phew... finally made it," Fred leaned against the compartment door, panting heavily.
"What happened?" Kyle handed him a bottle of pumpkin juice, "Where's Harry and the others? Why are you two here alone?"
"Moody was attacked," Fred said after taking a big gulp of pumpkin juice, "It happened this morning. Some Death Eaters broke into his home."
"How is Professor Moody?" Cedric asked.
"He's injured, but thankfully it's not serious," George said, "Sturgis happened to be visiting him and saw the Avada Kedavra Curse fly right over his head."
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"That was close," Fred said, "Moody almost got killed."
"It's not that easy," Autumn said, "Don't forget, Professor Moody is one of the most renowned Aurors. Death Eaters won't take him down so easily."
"Maybe," George said, "Then everyone thought that Death Eaters might still be lurking near King's Cross Station, ready to attack Harry, so we were extra cautious on the way."
"But we lost track of time..."
"By the time we got to King's Cross, we were already late."
"George and I ran as fast as we could," Fred explained, "But Harry and the others had too much luggage."
As he spoke, he leaned out to glance out the window.
But by this time, the train had already traveled quite a distance, and the platform was long out of sight.
"Darn, I wonder how Ginny will get to school now."
"Too bad we can't Apparate with others yet."
"Don't worry," Kyle said, "There are adults around, they'll find a way to get Ginny to Hogwarts."
"That's true," George sat down next to Cedric, "Mom won't let Ginny and Ron be late."
"I wonder what they'll do," Fred also sat down next to them, "Hey George, can Sirius' new car fly?"
Both of them paused.
"If that's the case..." George said dryly, "I won't be able to sleep tonight."
"Me neither."
"It's not that complicated, just ask when we get to school, right?" Cedric said, "But don't you find it strange that Death Eaters suddenly attacked Professor Moody?"
"Maybe they wanted to find out Harry's whereabouts from him," George sighed, "Everyone knows the Dark Lord has been after Harry."
"But we can't understand why it was Professor Moody," Fred said, "He's clearly a tough nut to crack."
"You think... could it be related to the curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts position?" Autumn asked hesitantly, "Isn't it odd? The last two professors had no issues, and this has never happened before."
Upon hearing Autumn's words, everyone realized that this might indeed be the case.
Indeed, over the past few decades, every Defense Against the Dark Arts professor could only teach for one year. Only Moody and Sirius successfully made it to the end of the year, leaving Hogwarts with everyone else during the holidays.
Initially, everyone thought it was because there were two professors sharing the curse, but then, just the day before school started, Moody was suddenly attacked.
If there was no connection between these events, it was a little too coincidental.
(End of Chapter)
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