The Train Ride
The rest of the summer passed in a blur. Harry was packing his trunk, making sure he didn�t forget anything. He looked under Ron�s bed and found his copy of Advanced Potions. He shuddered at the thought of what Snape would say if he forgot his book.
�Harry, you coming?� Mr. Weasley called. �We don�t want to miss the train.
Harry closed his trunk and, with a little help from Ron, dragged it down the stairs. When they reached the living room, Percy was sitting on the couch, reading the Daily Prophet.
�I can�t believe I trusted him,� Percy whispered. Then, �Oh, Harry. Dad said you were staying here. I�m here to watch over Mum while Dad takes you to the train. Mum isn�t doing well. Not well at all. Well, off with you. Don�t miss the train.�
Percy dropped the newspaper on the table and climbed the stairs. Harry spotted the headline of the paper: Controversy Over New Headmaster. There was a picture of Fudge looking very uneasy. Then the picture noticed Harry and Fudge glared up at him. Harry looked away and dragged his trunk to the car.
At the station walked through the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. There was a sign above reading: Platform 9 3/4.
Wow, Harry thought, looking at the clock, I�m early for once.
He climbed into an empty compartment, dragging his trunk behind him. He was followed by Ron, Fred, and George. Ginny and Icicle got into a compartment near the front of the train.
Harry leaned out the window to say goodbye to Mr. Weasley.
�Bye,� Harry said, �Thanks for letting me stay with you.�
The train started moving. Harry waved at Mr. Weasley as the train pulled away from the station.
�George whispered something to Fred. �We�re going to find Lee. Hey Ron, show Harry your new dress robes.�
With that, they left. Ron opened his trunk and pulled out navy blue robes.
�Well, they�re better than last year�s,� Ron said. �I wonder where Hermione is.�
�I don�t know,� Harry said. �I�m in no big hurry to talk to her anyway.�
�Oh yeah, I forgot. Hey, what�s that?�
Harry turned around in time to see a pair of eyes in the doorway before the door was shut.
�Who was that?� Harry asked.
�Don�t ask me,� Ron said. �If I had to guess, I�d say it was Icicle. She�s obsessed with you. I swear she�s like Ginny with Hermione�s brain.�
But Harry barely heard what Ron said. He knew he�d seen those eyes somewhere before. He knew one thing. It wasn�t Icicle.
---------------------------------------------------
Hermione saw Ginny and waved. Ginny and Icicle climbed into the compartment.
�Hey Hermione,� Ginny said, �this is my cousin, Icicle.�
�Hi,� Hermione said, �I�ve heard a lot about you, Icicle. I bet you�ll be top of your class. I�ll have to work harder or you might pass me up. So Ginny is he here.�
�Yeah he�s with Ron in the back.�
�Do you think I should talk to him?�
�I don�t know.�
�Oh, I just can�t! I�m not brave enough.�
Then a girl with long red hair entered the room. She was followed by another girl who could only be her twin.
�Oh, hello,� said the first girl. �Do you know where Harry Potter is?�
�Um, yeah,� Ginny said, �he�s in the last compartment. Why? Are you two fans?�
�You could say that,� said the second girl, or was she the first? �Well, gotta run.�
�Who were they?� Hermione asked.
�I don�t know,� Ginny said. �I think they may be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher�s daughters. Dad said she had twin daughters. But they look nothing like their mother.�
�Hmm,� Hermione said. She�d never seen the girls before and, yet, they looked so familiar.
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