Love at First Sight (Harry Potter)

The Portkey

|ALEXANDRIA WEASLEY'S P.O.V|

There was a sudden, great jolt to the upper half of my body. I awoke immediately, my eyes opening in a panic as I moved myself up into a sitting position on the bed. My pillow slipped out from behind me and over the edge, where it landed silently on the floor.

"You have to wake up," said Hermione in a whisper as she straightened on her feet. It was very difficult to see her, and so I squinted to better make out the shadows that tampered her features. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was still adorn in her pyjamas. "It's about time to go."

The bedroom was still dark. Outside of the window above Ginny's sleeping figure was a pure, untainted black. I blinked harshly a few times, trying to let my vision adjust, as Hermione quietly walked back over to her bed. At the end of it, laid open and packed neatly, was her Hogwarts trunk. She began to sift through it; the profile of her face was covered by her hair but, when I had my eyes almost closed, I could just make out the downturn of her nose.

I leant over the side of my bed, grabbing hold of the wooden frame to support myself as I retrieved my pillow. I discarded it on the bed and stood up.

My trunk, like Hermione's, was already packed for the school term. My mother had made sure that all of her children, my troublesome brothers included, were ready to leave for the Hogwarts Express at any time due to none of us knowing exactly how long the World Cup would last. It could have gone on for hours, days, perhaps even a week.

As I moved some uniform blouses around in my trunk, in search of a certain Muggle sweater, Ginny sat upright with a low groan. Hermione and I watched as she rubbed at her eyes with closed fists, yawning. She said, voice incredibly quiet, " 'S' time already?"

I gave her a nod, but it was unclear as to whether or not Ginny had seen it in the darkness. Whatever the case might have been, she left her bed toward the bathroom with her feet half-dragging behind her.

Once Hermione, Ginny, and I had all dressed and finished up in the lavatory, we headed down the creaking staircase — each with a rucksack filled with extra clothing, our toothbrushes, and other essentials. The house was silent, despite everyone having needed to be awake.

I had worn a pair of blue-jean trousers and an emerald green sweater. I remember because the trousers had started just beneath my navel and were much too long for my legs; they covered my trainers, which had caused for me to trip over them the entire day. My mother had purchased them at a second-hand shop and had forgotten to tailor them for me.

When the three of us entered the kitchen, we were greeted by more quiet. My mother was at the stove, stirring the contents of a large pot almost silently. My father was sat at the dining table, his chair untucked and facing towards us. His expression became alighted at the sight of us; he spread his arms out and moved his chest from side to side, so that we could get the full visual of the outfit that he had chosen.

He wore a pair of trousers similar to mine. His did not quite fit him as well, but in a different way: his needed to be held up by a thick, leather strap around his midsection, rather than cuffed at the ankles like mine. What he wore on his top half I never could place a name for — a jumper? Perhaps, but this was much fancier.

I felt my nose scrunch in thought and my head tilt as I took in the whole of him.

"What d'you think?" he asked anxiously. "We're supposed to go incognito — do I look like a Muggle, Harry?"

At the mention of Harry's name, I whipped around on the spot where I stood very quickly. He, Fred, George, and Ron were in the doorway just behind the girls and I. Harry stood with his hand on the door, keeping it held open for the rest of them behind him. Heat rushed to my face as I moved further into the kitchen a couple of steps, hoping to give them all some more space. Hermione followed after me, but Ginny stayed where she was as though her feet had been strapped to the floorboards.