Chapter Twenty-One, The Barred Barrier

Today is September 1st. The day they all went back to Hogwarts and it had all been such a rush. Despite getting up on time, Mrs Weasley made sure everyone's trunks were packed and by the door the night before. Why was it such a rush? Well, instead of Apparating to the Platform or using the Floo Network like they had at the end of their First Year: Mr Weasley decided they were going to take his Ford Angela that he'd expanded on the inside. And they had hit a lot of traffic on their journey to London from Devon. Bill and Charlie had gone back to work a few days ago so they unfortunately wouldn't be seeing them off on the Hogwarts Express but had promised they'd see them soon and wished them good luck with their new term.

Finally, after a rather tense and anxious car ride they had arrived in the car park outside Kings Cross Station; but it was 10:55. They only had five minutes to get on to Platform 9 3/4.
"Quickly now." Molly said tensely, looking over at her children - each pushing their own trolley. "You okay Izzy?" Izzy had been rather sluggish that morning and she feared the Hypocalcaemia was acting up.
"I'm okay Mrs Weasley." Izzy replied smiling to reassure her, when in fact she was nervous about going back to Hogwarts.

She'd always hated that everyone stared at her, and she had a feeling they'd do so more now.
"It's okay Izzy. Anyone causes you trouble I'll prank them with Georgie." Fred said seriously, giving her a quick side hug and a kiss to the cheek. .
"Thanks Freddie." Izzy said with a small giggle, her cheeks turning scarlet as they set off running towards platforms nine and ten.

"10:58. Come on, come on." Arthur said a worried tone to his voice, he wanted them all to be able to get on the train in time.
"The train will be leaving any moment." Molly said fretfully.
"Fred, George, Percy, you first." Arthur instructed firmly.
"I'll see you in a moment, Izzy." Fred said, before running through the barrier after his brothers.
"Now, Izzy, Ron I want you to come straight after us. Okay? We need to make sure Fred and George aren't up to too much mischief." Molly asked, getting two nods from her children. "Okay. Go on Ginny." She coaxed her youngest daughter.

Once Ginny, Molly, and Arthur had gone through the barrier it was Izzy's and Ron's turn.
"Let's go together." Ron said, running towards the barrier with Izzy. However, unlike the rest of their family and the times previous they did not pass through it instead they crashed into it. The solid bricks gave no leeway as they bounced off of the wall sending them crashing to the floor and Izzy landed awkwardly on her arm causing her to let out a small scream of pain.
"Izzy, are you okay?" Ron asked concerned, winching as he climbed to his feet rubbing his leg but he was more concerned for his sister whose knees were bleeding and she was holding her arm to her chest with tears in her eyes.
"No. My arm." Izzy said in pain, accepting Ron's hand to help her to her feet.

She didn't want to admit it but time with the Weasleys had shown her there were people who actually cared about her; even if it would take a while before she believed it fully.
"Oi! A voice shouted, attracting both of their attention. "What do you two think you're doing?" The conductor shouted.
"Sorry." Ron and Izzy apologised.
"We lost control of the trolley." Izzy added, the conductor just sighed and walked off not even bothering to ask if they were alright given that Izzy was bleeding or where their parents were. As soon as they were alone Izzy turned wide eyes on Ron.
"Why can't we get through?" Izzy whispered.
"I don't know." Ron said concerned, putting his hand on the wall in different places as he tried to see if it would go through but no luck. "The barrier sealed itself for some reason."

Suddenly the chiming of a clock drew their attention to the large white clock hanging off the wall. It was chiming as it was now 11 0'clock.
"We've missed the train." Izzy said fretfully, strands of her hair slowly starting to change colour due to her pain and worry. "It leaves dead at 11 0'clock."
"Izzy your hair." Ron whispered warningly. Realising what he meant Izzy's pain filled emerald eyes widened as she concentrated on turning her hair back to its natural colour. "Izzy, if we can't get through, what if Mum and Dad can't get back." Ron said worriedly.
"They can Apparate off the platform, but maybe we should go wait by the car. I'm sure they'll appear near there." Izzy muttered quietly, while looking around anxiously.

After heaving their belongings back on to their trolleys - Izzy apologising to Hedwig over and over again - the two preteens left Kings Cross station and were now standing beside the car after putting their trunks into the boot and Hedwig in the back seat.
"Izzy, what if we fly the car to Hogwarts?" Ron suggested in a whisper.
"Ron, we can't, we're surrounded by Muggles." Izzy denied gently.
"Izzy, we need to get to Hogwarts and you need help. I'm worried about your Hypocalcaemia, it looks like you've broken your arm and Mum and Dad haven't arrived yet. We need to fly to Hogwarts." Ron whispered. "Besides, Dad adjusted it so it can turn invisible."
"Ron, what if we send McGonagall a letter with Hedwig?" Izzy suggested.

"We can do that but it'll also take hours for Hedwig to arrive there. And you told us these Po- Policemen-" Ron beamed when he got it right. "Are like Aurors and will take us with them if we continue to hang around the car. There's one already looking at us suspiciously. So, we still have to take the car. It'll be fine I promise." Ron said, squeezing her left hand as she'd hurt her right arm.
"Okay." Izzy agreed, Ron was right they really didn't have much of a choice. "You'll have to write the letter because of my arm."
"Okay." Ron agreed, heading to the boot and grabbing some parchment, quill and ink out of his trunk they wrote a letter to Headmistress McGonagall.

Dear Headmistress Professor McGonagall,

We are truly sorry for what we are about to do but our options are very limited. Izzy and I couldn't get through the barrier, we don't know why as the rest of our family managed to successfully, but we crashed into it and Izzy has a broken arm I think and is bleeding. I've just hurt my leg but it's not broken. After attracting attention in Kings Cross we decided to wait for my Mum and Dad outside by their car but we're still attracting attention from the Muggle Policemen (Izzy's says they're like Aurors) for hanging around by the car. Mum and Dad still haven't come out and we're getting worried.

Izzy needs help and if we stand here any longer we're going to be taken away by the Policemen. So, you see we have no choice but to take my Dad's Ford Angela and fly to Hogwarts, but thought we'd send a letter ahead just in case.

We're sorry.

Ron Weasley and Izzy Potter

"Can you take this to Headmistress Professor McGonagall, please Hedwig?" Izzy asked, strapping the now dry letter to Hedwig's leg. Hedwig gave a soft screech and a gentle, affectionate hip to Izzy's finger before taking off for Hogwarts.
"Okay, we need to go." Ron said, getting into the driver's seat while Izzy got into the front passenger seat after everything had been put away back in the car. Starting the car, Ron shifted the gearstick into the flying mode Arthur had created causing them to slowly float in the air before gathering speed.
"Ron we should put the Invisibility Booster on so the Muggles don't see us anymore than they already have." Izzy said, realising their mistake.
"Crap. You're right." Ron said, quickly pressing the button. 

"Are you okay?" Ron asked.
"Are you okay? Yeah I'll be okay. I'm just regretting wearing shorts now." Izzy muttered, looking at the blood running down her legs from her knees. Despite it being September it was still rather warm so Izzy had dressed in dark pink shorts with white stripes on them, a white top, white shoes, a dark pink cardigan, her rings and charm bracelet adorning her right arm and fingers, and her hair was in two French braids. She was just thankful that both her bracelet and her rings had Charms on them so they wouldn't break or get damaged.
"I'm fine, don't worry, and Madam Pomfrey will fix you right up. Besides, it's not your fault. Mum told us to wear something light but to take a thin jumper as it was warm." Ron said, shrugging one shoulder and pulling a funny face to get a laugh from Izzy. A large smile appeared on his face when he succeeded.

***

They had been flying for a while when they car suddenly re-materialised as they were flying over yeh countryside. Just below them was the bridge with train tracks, a very familiar sight to them. Least they knew they were heading in the right direction.
"Oh, no. The Invisibility Booster must be faulty." Ron moaned.
"Let's go lower and see if we can find the train." Izzy suggested, looking out the window but they were too high up for her to see anything properly.
"Okay." Ron agreed, shifting the gear stick and turning the wheel to take them lower. They decided to float a little above the train tracks so they could easily make their way to Hogwarts without getting lost in the vast countryside.

"Now, all we need to do is catch up with the train." Izzy said, taking off her seatbelt so she could take her cardigan off. She was too hot. Wincing a little as the cardigan had gotten stuck to the dried blood on her arm.
"We can't be far behind. Ten, twenty minutes at most." Ron added, just as they heard the train's whistle.
"Do you hear that?" Izzy asked excitedly, finally managing to get her cardigan off.
"We must be getting close. I knew we weren't that far behind." Ron said happily.
"Hang on." Izzy said, fear starting to grip her as it sounded like the train was getting closer but they couldn't see it anywhere in front of them. Turning around to dump her cardigan in the back, Ron turning with her they saw a horrifying sight; the train was right behind them and coming closer.

Ron and Izzy let out terrifying screams as Ron suddenly swung the car to the right to get out of the path of the fast speeding train, causing the car to spin under and over the bridge, not giving Izzy time to put her seatbelt back on.  As the car tilted to the left Izzy was flung into the door handle pressing on it, causing it to open and Izzy to fall out. She only just managed to catch on to the door with one hand before she fell to her death.
"IZZY!" Ron screamed terrified. He lunged forward trying to reach for his sister, her hair was no longer the dark brown/black colour but was now stark white due to her fear.

On the Hogwarts Express below: Fred, George, Neville, Hermione, Luna, Ginny and Lee Jordan were worried for Izzy and Ron. They couldn't find them anywhere on the train. What had increased Fred's worry was before they boarded the train he felt a sharp pain in his right arm like it had been broken and knew something was wrong with Izzy. Especially when his parents couldn't find them, they'd told them not to worry that Izzy and Ron were all right and they'd find them but Fred and George had seen the fear, worry and guilt on their parents' faces.
"Percy!" Fred shouted, attracting his brother's attention who was doing his Prefect rounds.
"What's the matter?" Percy asked, concerned, seeing a vast number of worried faces before him.

"Izzy and Ron aren't on the train!" George exclaimed.
"What? What do you mean they aren't on the train!" Percy exclaimed worriedly.
"You'd already said goodbye to Mum and Dad as we all thought we would miss the train due to the clock in Kings Cross; but we weren't. And Izzy and Ron didn't come through the barrier. Then Fred felt like his right arm was broken and Mum and Dad said they'll find them but - Fred what's the matter?" Ginny asked, concerned, when her brother gasped.
"I just felt a high dose of fear from Izzy!" Fred said fretfully, running his hands through his hair.
"Okay, calm down Fred. Everything is going to be fine." Lee coached. "Take deep breaths."
"I think you're about to eat your words Lee." Hermione muttered, staring out the window just as they heard a scream. A scream they all recognised.

They span towards the windows, looking in the direction that Hermione, Neville and Luna were looking; the three of them clasping onto each other in fear. Their breaths were immediately taken away when they saw their Dad's car spinning out of control in the air until someone dressed in pink and white was flung out of the car dangling precariously by the door handle. It seems they found the source of the scream.
"Izzy!" Fred muttered fearfully, his brown eyes wide with horror. He wanted to look away but also stay staring at the same time. It was like his eyes were glued to the horrifying sight.

Up in the air, Ron reached over as far as he could while also trying to keep the car steady.
"Izzy! Hold on!" Ron shouted fearfully, when he saw her slip and have to grip the door with her broken up causing Izzy to scream. "Take my hand!" Gritting her teeth Izzy reached up with her broken arm and held Ron's hand; only to lose her grip. "Hold on!" Ron shouted, panicked.
"I'm trying!" Izzy said tearfully, she tried two more times before she got a grip on Ron's hand and he pulled her into the car. Izzy quickly shut the door and put her seatbelt back on as Ron levelled out the car. "Thanks Ron. Someone messed with the barrier if we beat the train. And do you think Luna's with Neville and others? We promised she could sit with us." Izzy asked.

"I wasn't going to let my sister fall now was I?" Ron asked rhetorically. "I was thinking that too. And you are too kind for your own good. You nearly fall to your death and your first thought afterwards is if someone else is alright?" Ron said, shaking his head. The rest of the journey was pretty much uneventful as night descended around them. Soon they saw the wonderful sight of Hogwarts with the yellow lights looking like fireflies, much like it did the previous year when they took the boats.
"We've finally made it." Ron sighed with relief. But he spoke too soon. The car was starting to sputter; the engine slowly jolted Ron and Izzy around inside. Before it took a deep nose dive.
"Pull up! Ron, pull up!" Izzy shouted in a panic.

"It's not working!" Ron shouted, pressing all of the peddle, the gearstick and even the steering wheel but nothing seemed to work. Both Izzy and Ron reached for the gearstick pulling it together which succeeded in pulling the car out of the deep nose dive but now they were heading for the Whomping Willow.
"Ron, we can't hit that tree! It's the Whomping Willow!" Izzy shouted, as Ron tried everything to get the car to cooperate. As he went to take his wand out of the wand holster Izzy stopped him.
"NO! You'll break your new wand!" Izzy exclaimed, eyes wide Ron put his wand back in his holster as they crashed into the Whomping Willow.

"Are you okay?" Ron and Izzy asked fearfully at the same time, when suddenly the car was hit from Izzy's side with such force it would have sent her straight into Ron's lap if she wasn't wearing a seatbelt. After that first hit the Whomping Willow groaned and started to beat the car; smashing the windows, caving in the roof and denting the hood and boot. All the while Izzy and Ron screamed in fear inside the car dodging branches that came through the window. After one fierce hit it sent the car crashing to the ground; the engine coming back to life. Izzy and Ron undid their seatbelts to turn and look if they were safe. They weren't. The Willow was leaning back preparing to hit them once again.
"GO!" Izzy shouted. Ron tried the key; the engine roared back to life, and they were able to escape the latest hit from the Whomping Willow that would've likely killed them; but only just.

Once they were several feet away from the Whomping Willow Ron stopped the car turning to look at Izzy with relief, only for their doors to fly open and the next thing they knew they were being expelled from the car. Both landed with a thump on the ground; adding more scapes to the ones they'd already received from that morning and from the glass raining down on them due to the Whomping Willow's attack. They heard two more thumps as their trunks were expelled from the boot. As soon as everything was out of the car the doors slammed shut and the engine started once more as the car drove itself off, heading in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. Izzy and Ron ran after it only to sigh as they saw it drove into the Forest. They were not having a good day; and Izzy got the feeling someone didn't want her at Hogwarts this year, as they headed back to their trunks and Hedwig's empty owl cage.

However, when they arrived there they were met with the stern but concerned face of Professor McGonagall, Professor Tonks, their new Head of Gryffindor and Transfiguration Professor (Sirius had informed them), and Madam Pomfrey.
"Professor McGonagall, Professor Tonks we're sorry -" Ron and Izzy started, but stopped when Professor McGonagall raised her hand.
"I received your letter explaining these... unfortunate circumstances. Hedwig is currently resting in the Owlery. I have forwarded your letter on to Madam Bones and she is investigating why the barrier would not allow you two to enter. That said, although I applaud you for your quick thinking and sending a letter, you shall still receive detention tomorrow night due to being seen by seven Muggles. I do not wish the other students to get any ideas." Professor McGonagall said firmly.

Izzy and Ron had expected this and nodded their heads, they did break the law even if it was in extreme circumstances.
"I shall have your new Head of House Professor Tonks determine your punishment tomorrow. As for tonight, you two shall spend it in the Hospital Wing where Madam Pomfrey can look after you and heal you of your numerous injuries, especially you Miss Potter as I can see your arm is broken. Then you shall have some dinner and get some sleep. Come along now." Professor McGonagall said in a more gentler tone.
"Don't worry." Professor Tonks said, waving her wand over the trunks and empty cage. "All you'll need is a dose of Skele-Gro and your arm will be right as rain, come tomorrow." She assured, seeing their worried looks.

"Depending how her Hypocalcaemia is Izzy may need a sling. Professor Tonks could you please send a letter to Mr and Mrs Weasley telling them Ron and Izzy have arrived in a relatively okay condition along with their friends and family. Izzy's soulmate, Fred Weasley is beside himself with worry. I wouldn't be surprised if he snuck into the Hospital Wing tonight." Madam Pomfrey said, as she waved her wand over Ron and Izzy removing the shards of glass from their person.
"Of course." Professor Tonks replied, heading through a different entrance into the castle to not only do as she was asked, but to deposit the trunks and cage with the others so the House-Elves can take them to the proper dormitories.

***

Madam Pomfrey's prediction came true. Later that night; when everyone was in bed and curfew had been set, Fred Weasley snuck into the Hospital Wing and let out a sigh of relief when he saw that both Ron and Izzy were alive. They were okay and were sleeping soundly. Sneaking over to them so he didn't wake them or Madam Pomfrey, Fred pulled three thick blankets out of the cupboard covering both Ron and Izzy. With the Soulbond humming in his veins Fred sat himself in the chair in between their beds, covering himself with the third, thick blanket and went to sleep. Finally, he felt at peace for the first time since woke up this morning. He had a smile upon his lips instead of the worried frown that had marred his features the whole day; Izzy was safe and within reaching distance and Fred was finally at ease.