Chapter Text
1st September 1991
The Weasley family was gazing up at the scarlet steam engine waiting next to platform nine and three-quarters. Ron was going to Hogwarts for the first time in his life. Fred, George and Percy were going back. But Ginny was staying behind at the Burrow for one more year with her parents. She’d begged her mother to let her go too, insisted that she just wanted to see the castle even if she couldn’t learn magic yet, but all her pleas had been met with refusals.
Ginny watched enviously as her twin brothers helped a boy lift his luggage up onto the train but mere minutes later, they suddenly scurried back to Ginny, Ron and their mum. “Hey, Mum, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?” piped up Fred excitedly.
Ginny snapped her head around to look at the compartment window but there was no one there.
“You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?” continued George just as energetically.
“Who?” said their mum.
“Harry Potter!”
A scream of shocked thrill escaped Ginny’s mouth. She spun around violently as though she might spot the Boy Who Lived staring at her at any moment. “Oh, Mum, can I go on the train and see him, Mum, oh please…”
“You’ve already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn’t something you goggle at in a zoo.”
Ginny’s spirits sank. Harry Potter was but a few feet from her and she was forbidden from seeing him, from so much as saying hi to him. It was so unfair… Ginny slumped onto a bench.
Soon after, she was approached by a girl with bushy brown hair. She looked determined, though a little lost for direction. “Excuse me. Can you tell me if this is platform nine and three-quarters?” The girl sounded funny, and Ginny reckoned it must’ve been because of the size of her front teeth which were rather large.
“It is. Is it your first time going to Hogwarts?”
“It will be. Are you coming as well? Goodness, I can’t wait to learn all about magic. I know a bit already from our schoolbooks — but to learn from real witches and wizards… Aren’t you excited?”
Ginny had to pause for a second to take it all in because the girl was quite the fast talker, though she seemed friendly. “I’m very excited but I won’t be going until next year. I’m ten, you see.”
“I’m eleven,” said the girl. “Haven’t you ever been aboard the train? I read that the compartments are magically expanded from the inside but another book said that expansion charms don’t work on moving objects, so I don’t know what to believe but I can’t wait to learn it all.”
She was clearly a Muggle-born, deduced Ginny, but how she knew so much about magic already was beyond her. Probably because of this, she found herself quite fascinated by the older girl.
“I’ve never been aboard. Is it really so fancy? I’ve always wanted to sit on the seats so badly.”
The brown-haired girl thought for a second. “Do you want to help me with my trunk? I don’t know how I even managed to carry it this far.” She let out a tired, nervous laugh. She was cute.
Ginny beamed at the idea and hopped off the bench. First, she looked around for her mum; she was still busy scolding Fred and George for their idea of sending Ginny toilet seats from Hogwarts. She wouldn’t notice if Ginny snuck onto the Hogwarts Express with her new friend, just for a few minutes.