Aunt Rose

44.

As all things in the universe would have it, Rose and the Weasleys were running late for the Hogwarts Express.

And they were running. Rose had a hand on Harry's back as she half-jogged through the train station, keeping Harry with her as he pushed his trolley.

Molly and Arthur were trying to keep up with their own children as they passed by a large clock, the time reading 10:56 when the train was set to leave at eleven.

Rose ignored the dirty looks they received from prudish muggles and focused on getting to the wall in the station.

As soon as they reached the sign for platform 9, Molly ushered her first boys through it.

"Oh, Rose dear, would you go through with Ginny and find her a seat? We've got to make sure Fred and George don't try and ride stop the train again," Molly asked quickly, sending a dirty look toward her twins.

Rose looked at Harry and he nodded to let her know it was okay. With his confirmation, Rose took Ginny by the shoulders and together, they ran at the wall.

That familiar feeling, like she was completely weightless, filled Rose as she walked through the barrier.

As soon as she stepped through, she heard the train whistle blow twice, signalling its imminent departure.

"Come on, let's find you a seat," Rose offered, jogging with Ginny toward the door of the train, handing off the contents of the trolley to the nice man waiting by the door.

Both girls walked onto the train and Rose scouted a few compartments until she found one with only a young blonde-haired girl inside. Rose encourages Ginny to go inside before she hurries off the train, satisfied she left Ginny with someone who wouldn't make fun of her based on her family.

Just as Rose steps off of the last little lip of the train, the door shuts behind her and the horn blows one long, final time to signal that it's about to go.

She manages to find Arthur and Molly standing together as they wave at Ginny from the platform, smiling proudly at their final child as she heads off to Hogwarts.

"Harry and Ron are on board?" Rose asks after a moment, talking with the parents as the other guardians head for the exit now that their children are gone.

"Oh, I believe so. Why wouldn't they be? They were right behind us as we forced Fred and George on board," Molly assures as Arthur rubs her shoulder.

"Say, why don't you come over for a cup of tea? This'll be the first time the house has been empty in over two decades, I'm not sure what I'll do with the silence!" Molly added, the fact that all of her children were growing up hitting her.

"Sure, why not?" Rose offered, agreeing simply because she felt bad for the woman. She knows how it felt to have Harry leave and be alone for the first time in a decade.

"Perfect! We'll just pop back to the car and head off. I never knew how spacious your muggle vehicles were," Molly was saying as they ran back through the barrier and into the muggle world.

Rose knew Arthur had illegally placed a charm on the car to make it bigger, she had known from the moment she saw Harry taken from his room. But she decided not to say anything, what Molly didn't know wouldn't hurt her.