Ron's horrible idea
The end of summer vacation came too quickly for Harry's liking. He was looking forward to getting back to Hogwarts, but his month at the Burrow had been one of the best he'd ever had. It was difficult not to grow envious of Ron when he thought of the Dursleys and the sort of welcome he could expect next time he turned up on Privet Drive.
On their last evening, Mrs Weasley conjured up a dinner that included all of Harry and Hermione's favourite things, ending with a treacle pudding and a large bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Fred and George rounded off the evening with a display of Filibuster fireworks; They filled the kitchen with red and blue stars that bounced from ceiling to wall for at least half an hour. Then it was time for a last mug of hot chocolate and bed.
It took a long while to get started the next morning. They were up at dawn, but somehow they still seemed to have a great deal to do. Mrs Weasley dashed about in a bad mood looking for spare socks and quills; People kept colliding on the stairs, half-dressed with bits of toast in their hands; Mr Weasley nearly broke his neck, tripping over a stray chicken as he crossed the yard carrying Ginny's trunk to the car. Harry had been searching for an hour, at the least, for Sly since had gotten out of her case as he had been filling it with food, and he'd had to take more time than anyone else to check his bags because of it.
Harry didn't understand how ten people, eight large trunks, two owls, a snake's holding case(Hydrus had been around his neck), a niffler, and a rat were going to fit into one small Ford Anglia. He had reckoned, of course, without the special features that Mr Weasley had added.
"Not a word to Molly," he whispered to Harry as he opened the trunk and showed him how it had been magically expanded so that the luggage fit easily.
When at last they were all in the car, Mrs Weasley glanced into the back seat, where Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Percy were all sitting comfortably side by side, and said, "Muggles do know more than we give them credit for, don't they?" She and Ginny got into the front seat, which had been stretched so that it resembled a park bench. "I mean, you'd never know it was this roomy from the outside, would you?"
Mr Weasley started up the engine and the trundled out of the yard, Harry turning back for a last look at the house. He barely had time to wonder when he'd see it again when they were back-- George had forgotten his box of Filibuster fireworks. Five minutes after that, they skidded to a halt in the yard so that Fred could run in for his broomstick. They had almost reached the highway when Ginny shrieked that she'd left her diary. By the time she had clambered back into the car, they were running very late, and tempers were running high.
Mr Weasley glanced at his watch and then at his wife.
"Molly, dear--"
"No, Arthur--"
"No one would see-- this little button here is an Invisibility Booster I installed-- that'd get us up in the air, and we fly above the clouds. We'd be there in ten minutes and no one would be any the wiser--"
"I said no, Arthur, not in broad daylight!"
Mr Weasley begrudgingly stopped speaking.
They reached King's Cross at a quarter to eleven. Mr Weasley dashed across the road to get trolleys for their trunks and they all hurried into the station.
Harry had caught the Hogwarts Express the previous year. The tricky part was getting onto platform nine and three-quarters, which wasn't visible to the Muggle eye. What you had to do was walk through the solid barrier dividing platforms nine and ten. It didn't hurt, but it had to be done carefully so that none of the Muggles noticed you vanishing. Mrs Weasley helped him out last year too, but the voices said he would've figured it out by himself anyhow.
"Percy first," said Mrs. Weasley, looking nervously at the clock overhead, which showed they had only five minutes to disappear casually through the barrier.
Percy strode briskly forward and vanished. Mr Weasley went next; Fred and George followed.
"I'll take Ginny and you three come right after us," Mrs Weasley told Harry, Ron, and Hermione, grabbing Ginny's hand and setting off. In the blink of an eye they were gone.
"Let's go together, we've only got a minute," Ron said to them both.
Harry made sure that Hedwig's cage and Sly's case were safely wedged on top of his trunk-- Hydrus's had been shoved inside-- and wheeled his trolley around to face the barrier. He felt perfectly confident; This wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as using Floo powder. The three of them bent low over the handles of their trolleys and walked purposefully toward the barrier, gathering speed. A few feet away from it, they broke into a run and--
CRASH.
The three trolleys hit the barrier and bounced backward; Harry was knocked off his feet, Ron's trunk fell off with a loud thump as he flipped over his trolley and onto Hermione, causing them both to fall to the ground, and Hedwig's cage bounced onto the shiny floor, and she rolled away, shrieking indignantly, Sly had only slightly tipped over, but her case's lock was still on tight; People all around them stared and a guard nearby yelled, "What in blazes d'you think you're doing?"
"Lost control of the trolleys!" Harry gasped, clutching his ribs as they all got up. Ron ran to pick up Hedwig, who was causing such a scene that there was a lot of muttering about cruelty to animals from the surrounding crowd.
"Why can't we get through? Are we too late?" Hermione asked Ron quietly.
"I dunno--"
Ron looked wildly around. A dozen curious people were still watching them.
"We're going to miss the train," he whispered. "I don't understand why the gateway's sealed itself--"
Harry looked up at the giant clock with a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. Ten seconds... nine seconds...
He wheeled his trolley forward cautiously until it was right against the barrier and pushed with all his might. The wall remained solid.
Three seconds... two seconds... one second...
"It's gone," said Ron, sounding stunned. "The train's left. What if Mum and Dad can't get back through to us? Have you got any Muggle money?"
Harry gave a hollow laugh. "The Dursleys haven't given me pocket money in my entire life."
"I don't have any money either," said Hermione, sticking her hands into her pockets to double-check. Ron pressed his ear to the cold barrier.
"Can't hear a thing," he said tensely. "What're we going to do? I don't know how long it'll take Mum and Dad to get back to us."
They looked around. People were still watching them, mainly because of Hedwig's continuing screeches.
"I think we'd better go and wait by the car," said Harry. "We're attracting too much attention--"
"Harry! Hermione!" said Ron, his eyes gleaming. "The car!"
"What about it?"
He then spoke in a more hushed tone, "We can fly the car to Hogwarts!"
"But I thought--"
"We're stuck, right? And we've got to get to school, haven't we? And even underage wizards are allowed to use magic if it's a real emergency, section nineteen or something of the Restriction of Thingy--"
"But your mum and dad..." whispered Harry, pushing against the barrier again in the vain hope that it would give way. "How will they get home?"
"They don't need the car!" whispered Ron impatiently. "They know how to Apparate! You know, just vanish and reappear at home! They only bother with Floo powder and the car because we're all underage and we're not allowed to Apparate yet!"
Harry's feeling of panic turned suddenly into worry.
"Can you fly it?" asked Hermione suspiciously. "Better yet, do you know how to drive?"
"No problem," said Ron, wheeling his trolley around to face the exit. "C'mon, let's go. If we hurry we'll be able to follow the Express--"
And they marched off through the crowd of curious Muggles, out of the station and back onto the side road where the old Ford Anglia was parked.
Ron unlocked the cavernous trunk with a series of taps from his wand. They heaved their luggage back in, put Hedwig and Sly on the back seat, and got into the front with Ron in front of the wheel, Harry on the other side and Hermione in between. Hydrus was still around Harry's neck.
"Check that no one's watching," said Ron, starting the ignition with another tap of his wand. Harry stuck his head out of the window; Traffic was rumbling along the main road ahead, but their street was empty.
"We're good," he said.
Ron pressed a tiny silver button on the dashboard. The car around them vanished-- and so did they. Harry could feel the seat vibrating beneath him, hear the engine, feel his hands on his knees and his glasses on his nose, but for all he could see, in the rear view mirror, he had become a pair of eyes, floating a few feet above the ground in a dingy street full of parked cars.
"Wicked," said Hermione, amazed. "... but should we really be--"
"Let's go!" Ron cut off Hermione, as the car flew up into the sky. The ground and the sky disappeared as the car rose, London eventually being a blur.
Then there was a popping noise and the car, Harry, Hermione, and Ron reappeared.
"Uh-oh," said Ron, jabbing at the Invisibility Booster. "It's faulty--"
"Well, hit it!" Hermione shrieked, and all three of them pummeled the closest thing to them. The car vanished. Then it flickered back again.
"Hold on!" Ron yelled, and he slammed his foot on the accelerator; They shot straight into the low, woolly clouds and everything turned dull and foggy.
"Now what..?" Harry asked silently, blinking at the solid mass of cloud pressing in on them from all sides.
"We need to see the train to know what direction to go in," said Ron.
"Dip back down-- as quickly as possible." Hermione advised. They dropped back beneath the clouds and twisted around in their seats, squinting at the ground.
"I can see it!" Harry said. "Right ahead-- there,"
The Hogwarts Express was streaking along below them like a scarlet snake.
"Due north," said Ron, checking the compass on the dashboard. "Okay, we'll just have to check on it every half hour or so-- hold on--"
And they made to shot up through the clouds. A minute later, they burst out into a blaze of sunlight. It was a different world. The wheels of the car skimmed the sea of fluffy cloud, the sky a bright, endless blue under the blinding white sun. Hydrus hissed angrily as the sun seemed to get in his eyes.
"All we've got to worry about now are airplanes, if we're too high up," said Ron.
"Airplanes? You're sure that's all?" Harry asked, as Hermione chucked her head down.
"I hate motion sickness," She murmured, her face turning a shade of green.
"Here," Harry offered her a bit of medicine Mrs Weasley gave him incase she got sick on the train.
After she took it, they all took a long laugh. It was like they were in a new world-- not the Wizarding world, or the Muggle world, a whole new world that felt like a dream. They made regular checks on the train as they flew farther and farther north, each dip beneath the clouds showing them a different view. London was so far behind them, replaced by neat green fields that gave way in turn to wide, purplish moors, a great city alive with cars like multicolored ants, villages with tiny toy churches.
Several uneventful hours later, however, Harry had to admit that some of the fun was wearing off. The toffees they shared between eachother had made them extremely thirsty and they had nothing to drink. They all had pulled off their sweaters, but Harry's T-shirt was sticking to the back of his seat and his glasses kept sliding down to the end of his nose. He had stopped noticing the fantastic cloud shapes now and was thinking longingly of the train miles below, where he could be buying ice-cold fruit punch from a trolley pushed by a nice witch.... Why hadn't they been able to get onto platform nine and three-quarters? Even if everything that happened at Hogwarts was considered normal, that wouldn't be normal.
"Can't be much further, can it?" Ron asked nervously, hours later, as the sun started to sink into their floor of cloud, staining it a deep pink. "Ready for another check on the train?" He sounded as tired as he looked. And he was not the only one: Hermione had been snoring on Harry's shoulder, and Hydrus had been hissing nonsense around Harry's neck-- he supposed he was sleep-- er- hissing. The only reason Harry wasn't asleep yet was because the voices wouldn't let him take the chance.
The train was still right below them, winding its way past a snowcapped mountain. It was much darker beneath the canopy of clouds.
Ron put his foot on the accelerator and drove them upward again, but as he did so, the engine began to stutter. Harry and Ron exchanged nervous glances.
"It's probably just tired," said Ron. "It's never been this far before..."
"Can flying cars get tired? You know-- t- that didn't sound like a good sound..." Harry asked, stammering.
Ron pretended not to notice the whining growing louder and louder as the sky became steadily darker, but it gave Harry a nasty feeling in his chest. Stars were blossoming in the blackness. Harry pulled his Hogwarts robes on over his clothes, and woke Hermione awake to get her to do the same, trying to ignore the way the windshield wipers were now waving feebly, as though in protest of still going.
"Not far," said Ron, more to the car than to Harry or Hermione. "Not too much farther now..." he patted the dashboard nervously.
When they flew back beneath the clouds a little while later, they had to squint through the darkness for a landmark the new.
"There!" Hermione shouted, making Ron, Harry, and Hedwig jump. Sly's case had started rattling frantically in the backseat, and Hydrus had still be hissing nonsense tiredly. "Straight ahead!"
Silhouetted on the dark horizon, high on the cliff over the lake, stood the many turrets and towers of Hogwarts castle. But the car had begun to shudder and was losing speed steadily.
"Come on," Ron said cajolingly, giving the steering wheel a little shake, "nearly there, come on, it's just a bit further--"
The engine groaned. Narrow jets of steam were issuing from under the hood. Harry found himself gripping the edges of the seat, trying not to scream as they flew toward the lake.
The car gave a nasty wobble. Glancing out of his window, Harry saw the smooth, black, glassy surface of the water, just a mile below. Ron's knuckles were white on the steering wheel. The car wobbled again.
"Come on," Ron muttered.
They were over the lake, the castle was right ahead-- Ron put his foot down hard. There was a loud clunk, a splutter, and the engine died completely.
"Uh-oh," Ron said, breaking the silence.
The noise of the car dropped. They were falling, gathering speed, heading straight for the solid castle wall. Harry had been screaming, shrieking, anything-- he was horrified. He'd survived the Dursleys, only to die in a flying car. It sounded unreal. It was, really. Hermione had been trying her hardest to hold on to anything, and she was screaming too.
"No-no- no!" Ron yelled, swinging the steering wheel around; They missed the dark stone wall by inches as the car turned in a great arc, soaring over the dark greenhouses, then the vegetable patch, and then out over the black lawns, losing altitude all the time.
Ron let go of the steering wheel completely and pulled his wand out of his back pocket---
"STOP! STOP!" he yelled, whacking the dashboard and the windshield, but they were still plummeting, the ground flying up toward them--
"WATCH OUT FOR THE TREE!" Hermione screamed, lunging for the steering wheel, but it was already too late--
CRUNCH.
With the earsplitting sound of metal on wood, they hit the thick tree trunk and dropped to the ground with a heavy jolt. Steam was billowing from under the crumpled hood; Hedwig was shrieking in terror, Sly's cage still rattled, and Hydrus, now fully awake, had wrapped himself tighter around Harry's neck; An already-growing bump was throbbing on Harry's head where he had hit the windshield; Hermione had been the luckiest it seemed-- she'd turned herself around at the last second, but Harry was sure that she'd get a painful bruise on her back. Ron let out a low, despairing groan, sitting up from the dashboard with a bloody nose.
"My wand... my wand..." He sobbed, holding up his wand. It had nearly been snapped in half, a few bare splinters holding it together.
Harry opened his mouth to say he were sure they'd be able to mend it up at the school, but he never even got started. At that very moment, something hit the side of the car with the force of a charging bull, sending him and Hermione lurching sideways into Ron, just as an equally heavy blow hit the roof.
"We've hit the Whomping Willow, I'm sure of it," muttered Hermione weakly. Ron gasped, staring through the windshield, and Harry looked around just in time to see a branch as thick as a python smash into it. The tree they had hit was attacking them. Its trunk was bent almost double, and its gnarled boughs were pummelling every inch of the car it could reach.
Ron screamed as another twisted limb punched a large dent into his door; The windshield was now trembling under a hail of blows from knuckle-like twigs and a branch as thick as a battering ram was bounding furiously on the roof, which seemed to be caving in--
"Run for it!" Ron shouted, throwing his full weight against his door, but next second he had been knocked backward into Hermione and Harry by a vicious uppercut from another branch.
"We're done for!" Hermione cried as the ceiling sagged, but suddenly the floor of the car was vibrating-- the engine had restarted.
"Reverse, reverse!" Ron yelled, and the car shot backward; The tree was still trying to hit them; they could hear its roots cracking as it almost ripped itself up, lashing out at them as they sped out of reach.
"That," panted Ron, "was close. Well done, car--"
The car, however, had reached the end of its tether. With two sharp clunks, the doors flew open and Harry felt his side of the seat tip sideways-- next thing he knew he was sprawled on the damp ground with Hydrus hissing wildly and violently by his head; Hermione landed on his right, then Ron on his left. Loud thuds told him that the car was ejecting their luggage from the trunk; Hedwig's cage flew through the air and burst open, Sly's doing the same; Hedwig rose out of it with an angry screech and sped off toward the castle without a look back, while Harry barely managed to catch Sly in the air. Then, dented, scratched, and steaming, the car rumbled off into the darkness, its rear lights blazing angrily.
"Come back!" Ron yelled after it, brandishing his broken wand. "I'm sorry! Come on, dad 'll kill me!"
But the car disappeared from view with one last snort from its exhaust.
"Can you believe our luck?" He said miserably, bending down to pick up Scabbers. "Of all the trees we could've hit, we had to get one that hits back."
"Of all the things we could've done, I agreed to letting you fly us to Hogwarts," Hermione sobbed. "Flying! You're terrible, you know-- the gall, to- to fly to Hogwarts! We should've just waited! Or- o- or gotten-- a letter! We could've... we could've sent a letter, or..."
Harry sighed, as Sly squirmed in his hands. He glanced over his shoulder at the ancient tree, which was still flailing its branches threateningly. "Come on. We'd better get up to the school..."
It wasn't at all the triumphant arrival they had pictured. Stiff, cold, thirsty and bruised, they seized the ends of their trunks and begun dragging them up the grassy slope, toward the great oak front doors.
"I think the feast's already started," said Ron, dropping his trunk at the foot of the front steps and crossing quietly to look through a brightly lit window. "Hey, Harry-- Hermione-- come and look-- it's the Sorting!"
They hurried over and, together, Harry, Ron, and Hermione peered in at the Great Hall.
Innumerable candles were hovering in midair over four long, crowded tables, making the golden plates and goblets sparkle. Overhead, the bewitched ceiling, which always mirrored the sky outside, sparkled with stars.
Through the forest of pointed black Hogwarts hats, Harry saw a long line of scared-looking first years filing into the Hall. Ginny was among them, easily visible because of her bright red Weasley hair. Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall, a bespectacled witch with her hair in a tight bun, was placing the famous Hogwarts Sorting Hat on a stool before the newcomers.
Every year, this aged old hat, patched, frayed, and dirty, sorted new students into the four Hogwarts houses (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin). Harry well remembered putting it on, exactly one year ago, and waiting, petrified, for its decision as it muttered aloud in his ear. He had ended up in Ravenclaw, along with Padma, Lisa, and Luna, and also Anthony, Terry, and Michael (Harry's roommates, whom he had gotten well acquainted with). Last term, Harry, Lisa, and Padma helped win the House Championship, beating Slytherin for the first time in seven years.
A very small, mousy-haired boy had been called forward to place the hat on his head. Harry's eyes wandered past him to where Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster, sat watching the Sorting from the staff table, his long silver beard and half-moon glasses shining brightly in the candlelight. Several seats along, Harry saw Gilderoy Lockhart, dressed in robes of aquamarine. And there at the end was Hagrid, huge and hairy, drinking deeply from his goblet.
"Hang on..." Hermione muttered to Harry and Ron, squinting. "There's an empty chair at the staff table-- where's Snape?"
Professor Severus Snape was Harry's least favorite teacher. Harry also happened to be Snape's least favorite student. Snape was cruel, sarcastic, and disliked by everybody except the students from his own House (Slytherin), and taught Potions.
"Maybe he's ill," said Hermione skeptically.
"Maybe he's left," said Harry. "He doesn't seem to like being here."
"He may have been sacked!" said Ron enthusiastically. "I mean, everyone hates him--"
"Or maybe," said a very cold voice right behind them, "he's waiting to hear why you three didn't arrive on the school train."
Harry spun around. There, his black robes rippling in a cold breeze, stood Severus Snape. He was a thin man with sallow skin, a hooked nose, and greasy, shoulder-length black hair, and at this moment, he was smiling in a way that told Harry he, Ron, and Hermione were in very deep trouble.
"Follow me," said Snape.
Not daring even to look at each other, Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed Snape up the steps into the vast, echoing entrance hall, which was lit with flaming torches. A delicious smell of food was wafting from the Great Hall, but Snape led them away from the warmth and light, down a narrow stone staircase that led into the dungeons.
"In!" he said, opening a door halfway down the cold passageway and pointing.
They entered Snape's office, shivering. The shadowy walls were lined with shelves of large glass jars, in which floated all manner of revolting things Harry didn't really want to know the name of at the moment. Or ever. The fireplace was dark and empty. Snape closed the door and turned to look at them. "So," he said softly, "the train isn't good enough for the famous Harry Potter and two of his faithful sidekicks, Weasley and Granger. Wanted to arrive with a 'bang', did we?"
"No, sir, it was the barrier at King's Cross, it--"
"Silence!" said Snape coldly. "What have you done with the car?"
Ron gulped. This wasn't the first time Snape had given Harry the impression of being able to read minds. But a moment later, he understood, as Snape unrolled today's issue of the Evening Prophet. "You were seen," he hissed, showing them the headline:
FLYING FORD ANGLIA MYSTIFIES MUGGLES.
He began to read aloud: "Two Muggles in London, convinced they saw an old car flying over the Post Office tower... at noon in Norfolk, Mrs Hetty Bayliss, while hanging out her washing... Mr Angus Fleet, of Peebles, reported to police.... Six or seven Muggles in all. I believe your father works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office?" he said, looking up at Ron and smiling still more nastily. "Dear, dear.... His own son..."
Harry felt as though he'd just been knocked in the stomach by one of the willow's branches. If anyone found out Mr. Weasley had bewitched the car... he hadn't thought of that in the rush (or in fear) of flying the car to Hogwarts.
"I noticed, in my search of the grounds, that considerable damage seems to have been done to a very valuable Whomping Willow," Snape went on.
"That tree did more damage to us than we did to it," Ron blurted out.
"Silence!" snapped Snape again. "Most unfortunately, you are not in my House and the decision to expel you does not rest with me. I shall go and fetch the people who do have that happy power. You will wait here."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared at each other, afraid. Harry didn't feel hungry anymore. He now felt extremely sick. He tried not to look at a large, slimy something suspended in green liquid on a shelf behind Snape's desk. If Snape had gone to fetch Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor House, and Professor Flitwick, his own head of house, they were hardly any better off. Either one of them might be fairer than Snape, but Professor McGonagall was extremely strict and she was Deputy Headmistress. Professor Flitwick, though tiny in height, had managed to surprise Harry more than once with how harsh he could be.
Ten minutes later, Snape returned, and sure enough, it was Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick who accompanied him. Harry had seen Professor McGonagall angry on several occasions, but either he had forgotten just how thin her mouth could go, or he had never seen her this angry before. Flitwick looked just as furious, but his height made him much less threatening. Professor McGonagall raised her wand the moment she entered; Harry, Ron, and Hermione all flinched, but she merely pointed it at the empty fireplace, where flames suddenly erupted.
"Sit," she said, and they all backed into chairs by the fire. "Explain," she said, her glasses glinting ominously.
Ron launched into the story, starting with the barrier at the station refusing to let them through.
"-- so we figured we had no choice, Professor, we couldn't get on the train."
"Why didn't you send us a letter by owl? Infact, I believe you have an owl?" Professor McGonagall said coldly to Harry.
Harry stared at her.
"She's not really-- well, I- it's hard to explain, but-- I- I wasn't thinking, and--" He stammered.
"That," said Professor McGonagall, and he froze. "is obvious."
There was a knock on the office door and Snape, now looking happier than ever, opened it. There stood the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore. Harry's whole body went numb. Dumbledore was looking unusually grave. He stared down his very crooked nose at them, and Harry suddenly found himself wishing he was still being beaten up by the Whomping Willow. They were absolutely going to be expelled.
There was a long silence. Then Dumbledore said, "Please explain why you did this."
Harry couldn't speak, for some reason. He was unable to find his voice, or look Dumbledore in the eyes, and looked to his knees, feeling like crying. He would have to be sent back to the Dursleys, wouldn't he? He felt pathetic for feeling like crying. Hermione then told Dumbledore everything except that Mr Weasley owned the bewitched car, almost making it sound as though they just so happened to find a flying car parked outside the station. She clearly knew Dumbledore would see through this at once, but he asked no questions about it. When Hermione had finished, Dumbledore merely continued to peer at them through his spectacles.
"We'll go and get our stuff," said Ron in a hopeless voice.
"What are you talking about, Weasley?" barked Professor McGonagall.
"Well, you're expelling us, aren't you?" said Ron.
Harry looked up at Dumbledore.
"Not today," said Dumbledore. "But I must impress upon all of you the seriousness of what you have done. I will be writing to all of your families tonight. I must also warn you that if you do anything like this again, I will have no choice but to expel you."
Snape looked as though Christmas had been canceled. He cleared his throat and said, "Professor Dumbledore, these children have flouted the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry, caused serious damage to an old and valuable tree-- surely acts of this nature--"
"And still, children. They have made a serious mistake, but children are ought to do so when they think all hope is astray-- it is nothing we can hold against them in a way they'll understand. And even so, it will be for Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick to decide on these children's punishment, Severus," said Dumbledore calmly. "Not you. They are not in your House and therefore, not your responsibility." He then turned to Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick. "I must go back to the feast, Minerva, Filius, I've got to give out a few notices. Now, come along, Severus, there's a delicious-looking custard tart I want to sample--"
Snape shot a look of pure venom at Harry, Ron, and Hermione as he allowed himself to be swept out of his office, leaving them alone with their heads of House, who were still eyeing them.
"You all'd better get to the hospital wing. You're bleeding."
"I'm bleeding? Where?" Harry asked.
"That head of yours is quite prone to being hit, Potter. You should hope that doesn't scar."
Harry felt at the bump-- he now felt the large cut spanning across it, and he was suddenly aware of the fact it was bleeding down the side of his face.
"We're not bleeding that much," said Ron, hastily wiping a cut over his eye with his sleeve. Apparently he didn't know his nose was bleeding too. "Professor, I wanted to watch my sister being sorted--"
"The Sorting Ceremony is over," said Professor McGonagall. "Your sister is also in Gryffindor."
"Oh, good," said Ron. "I'm glad she's with Fred and G--"
"And speaking of Gryffindor, I will not take any points from Gryffindor," McGonagall said, and Ron went quiet. "But you will all get a detention."
"No points will be taken from Ravenclaw either." Professor Flitwick said, making Harry feel considerably better. "I hope you understand the extreme seriousness of what you've done, Potter. You're lucky now, but you can only get into trouble so many times. Let alone monumental trouble."
It was better than Harry had expected. As for Dumbledore's writing to the Dursleys, that was nothing. Harry knew perfectly well they'd just be disappointed that the Whomping Willow hadn't squashed him flat. And if he was lucky, they wouldn't even receive it, for Dudley wouldn't be there, and Petunia and Vernon would probably be in Majorca. Or maybe they would receive it, and then they'd.... Maybe it was better to not think about. He still felt bruises, sometimes, and that was enough for him.
Professor McGonagall raised her wand again and pointed it at Snape's desk. A large plate of sandwiches, three silver goblets, and a jug of iced pumpkin juice appeared with a pop. "You will eat in here and then go straight up to your dormitory," she said. "We must also return to the feast."
When the door had closed behind her and Professor Flitwick, Ron let out a long, low whistle.
"I honestly thought we'd be in much more trouble than detention," Hermione said, grabbing a sandwich.
"So did I," said Harry, taking one, too.
"Can you believe our luck, though?" said Ron thickly through a mouthful of chicken and ham-- Hermione grimaced. "Fred and George must've flown that car five or six times and no Muggle ever saw them." He swallowed and took another huge bite. "Why couldn't we get through the barrier?"
Harry shrugged. "We'll have to watch our step from now on, though," he said, taking a swig of pumpkin juice. He cringed at the taste. He didn't think he'd ever get used to it. He liked the apple juice much more.
"Wish we could've gone up to the feast... I was looking forward to having mashed potatoes." Hermione said, sounding disappointed, before grabbing another sandwich.
"She didn't want us showing off," said Ron sagely. "Doesn't want people to think it's clever, arriving by flying car."
"Well, it's not. We almost died," Harry said, and Hermione agreed. Ron, though embarrassed, nodded his head.
When they had eaten as many sandwiches as they could (the plate kept refilling itself, something Harry supposed Professor Flitwick must've cast), they rose and left the office, treading up the stairs. The castle was quiet; It seemed that the feast was over. They walked past muttering portraits and creaking suits of armor, and climbed narrow flights of stone stairs, until they reached the point in which they had to break for the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor common rooms.
"Goodnight, Harry..." Ron said, yawning.
"Goodnight," He responded, waving as he waited for the moving staircase.
Harry got into the Ravenclaw common room just fine, as normal, just barely able to guess the riddle, for his head had started to sting, and fell right down on a couch.
"Harry!" Lisa shouted, running up the stairs of the female dormitory.
"He's here?" Padma followed. Luna trailed behind her, looking half-asleep.
"Harry, don't tell me you actually went flying in a car?" Lisa asked.
"I didn't want to, but the barrier to the Platform closed early." He answered.
"Why could the car fly?" Luna asked.
"It was charmed."
"That's wicked," Padma said, followed by a yawn. "I mean, not that I'd fly in- okay, what is a car? Nevermind- the view had to have been amazing. It must be like a broomstick, or something, if it could fly, right?"
"You are so under-educated," Lisa glanced sideways at her. They would be arguing very soon into the year, Harry figured, but they really didn't ever stop.
"I'll be heading to bed. This day has been long enough for me," He said, bidding the three of them a goodnight, and a promise for an actual explanation come morning.
Down the stairs, he noticed, the dorm had a sign that said "SECOND YEARS", though the dorm was still exactly the same, with his trunk beside his bed from last year, and Sly and Hedwig's cages nearby. He felt lucky that he still had Sly under control. Hydrus would find his way back no matter what, and Hedwig was probably in the Owlery. Harry found, to the surprise of himself, he was grinning as he went to sleep.
Atleast he wasn't back at Privet Drive.