Finally it's the big day. The day we'll be leaving for the magnificent school of Hogwarts. I literally can't wait from all the excitement building up inside me. All of us had rushed downstairs for breakfast still in our night suits (fresh bacon and eggs, I can totally smell it from a mile away) and after we were done the whole Burrow was a noisy mess. 

Mum was yelling after us to hurry up and was constantly reminding us of things we should pack in our trunks, "toothbrush! Don't forget the toothbrush. Not for any thing will I have kids leaving for school without their toothbrushes. And no, George, you can't go for a whole year without flossing your teeth. Gross. Ginny, dear, do you have your books in order? Ronald, where's your sweater? Goodness sake you'll catch a cold. And Fred I will not let you go with the school tie around your head. No chance. Formidable, indeed!" 

I changed into the uniform robes and pulled my hair in a side braid. All's set now that I'm completely dressed in the white school shirt and black skirt along with thigh length leather boots to go with the attire. The uniform's pretty cool actually. I love it.

In the meanwhile, everyone else was running round the house tossing things here and there frantically. I joined Harry in the backyard since we seemed to be the only ones who were perfectly in order. 

A short while later, Percy came out with both the twins stuck on either of his arms and he was constantly trying to tell them off. Gradually all the Weasleys were assembled. Dad got inside the Ford Anglia while all the rest of us piled in one after the other. It was a blessing the car had been extended internally through magic or else it would have been almost impossible for us to fit in along with our luggage. 

Mum hastily counted all the heads of the children present. At last Dad fired up the engine and we were off to King's Cross Station. When we reached, our trunks were put into trolleys and and grabbing our respective trolleys we rushed off.

***

"To Platform 9 3/4," the twins cheered and all of us followed their lead. 

Percy was a lot flustered at all the commotion as he kept threatening us to shut up and behave. We passed a board displaying Platform 9 but to my amazement there was no board for 9 3/4, instead the next board displayed Platform 10. 

I wonder where's our platform. 

We reached a brick wall and abruptly came to a halt. It was so sudden that I almost bumped into Percy and could have knocked him down face first on the floor. 

"Now all of you walk through the barrier one by one," Mum instructed, "Percy you go first then Kat. Fred and George you'll wait for your turn, I don't want you tagging along with Katerina again. And no mischief, you hear me?" 

The twins saluted, "absolutely Mum, we hear you." 

I stared at the wall then at Mum then back at the wall again, "how do we walk the barrier?" 

Percy remarked vaguely, "like this." 

He grabbed his trolley and ran towards the wall at full speed. Are you freaking kidding me? Is he crazy or what? He's going to crash without a shadow of doubt and get his pretty nose flattened. 

But surprise! He disappeared. 

I gaped at the wall where he had been just a second ago with my jaw dropped open in surprise, "where did he go?" 

Fred replied, "to the other side, of course." 

Other side? What other side? 

"Look, there he comes back again," George remarked and sure enough Percy was standing as if he had just stepped out of the wall. 

"Wait, how's that even possible?" I asked. 

A slight smirk became briefly visible on his usually blank face as if he was amused at my reaction, "oh, no big deal at all. I could have explained the mechanism but I don't think you'll be interested." 

I noticed everyone staring at us. Oh right, Percy's talking to me for the first time in front of our family and to top it off he has actually tried to crack a joke in a rather friendly way. 

"Now, honey, it's your turn," Mum spoke. 

I was still a bit uncertain of it all. I grabbed my trolley but I was still weighing out the consequences if I somehow crashed and got hospitalized and fractured, then I would miss Hogwarts and believe me it would be terrible. 

I had not finished thinking yet when I was snapped out of my reverie by seeing thin long hands placed on either ends of my trolley and turned around to see Percy behind me, "I came back because I knew you would have trouble doing it alone. Same thing happened to me when it was my first time. Bill helped me though." 

Fred and George were staring as if their eyeballs would roll out of their sockets and drop onto the floor. It was literally like they had witnessed a giant spider instead of our dear Head Boy brother offering to help me. Oh well they didn't know that I made friends with him a while ago. 

"Thanks," I whispered. 

He shook his head still silently smiling, "act of courtesy, you know." 

We ran at full speed towards the barrier. I closed my eyes waiting for the wall to strike me hard. But none came. When I finally opened them again, I was standing in an entirely different platform with scores of children in Hogwarts robes roaming about with their trunks and pet cages. 

"Welcome to Platform 9 3/4," Percy spoke. 

I could only stare around in astonishment. In front of us was a scarlet red beautiful steam engine with HOGWARTS EXPRESS written in bold on it. 

"So... How's it?" I was shaken out of my fantasies by his voice. 

"Wonderful," and that's all I can say at the moment. There can be no other word which could best describe the feeling I had. 

"The Hogwarts Express is a 4-6-0 Hall Class steam locomotive model number GWR5900. It is quite impressive. It was built probably before the 1830s," there goes Percy sharing precious bits of information. 

He knows such a lot about everything which sometimes makes me jealous that I don't even know how to distinguish between a sneakoscope and a remembrall. Talking to him is like talking to a walking breathing magical encyclopedia. 

"It's a steam engine, right?" I asked. 

"Originally steam fitted by the Muggles who built it, the Hogwarts Express now runs exclusively on magic," he elaborated. 

Oh... Fantastic. Everything about this world is super amazing. I just can't wait to see what awaits me at Hogwarts. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a marvelously mind blowing experience.

***