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Aurora Areli
WE WERE RUNNING LATE.
It was ten fifty-four am on the morning of September first, and my parents, brother and I were rushing toward platform nine and three-quarters, all because Atticus had decided to wait until that morning to pack his trunk.
We weren't the only ones. To my surprise, the Weasleys and Harry were also about to head through the barrier.
"Rory!" Ron shouted, waving to me.
I waved back with a smile as we approached them.
"I'll take Ginny and you two come right after us," Mrs Weasley said to Harry and Ron.
"You coming, Rory?" Att asked. "We don't have much time."
"Yeah, I'll go after you, Mum and Dad," I answered.
He nodded and was gone in an instant.
"Let's go together, we've only got a minute," Ron said to me and Harry.
I double-checked that all my things were secure on the trolley before following the boys. They broke into a run a few feet away from the barrier and then —
CRASH!
I let out a yelp in surprise and slowed myself down so I didn't hit the barrier after them. Ron's trunk fell off with a loud thunk, Harry was knocked off his feet, and Hedwig's cage bounced onto the shiny floor and she rolled away, shrieking indignantly.
People all around us stared at the scene in confusion and a nearby guard yelled, "What in blazes d'you think you're doing?"
"Lost control of the trolley," Harry gasped, and I moved over to help him up. Ron had ran to pick up Hedwig, who was making so much noise that there was a lot of muttering about animal cruelty from the crowd.
"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry said. "Why can't we get through?"
"I don't know," I said. "I've never heard of the gateway not letting anybody through before."
Ron looked around wildly at the dozen people still watching us.
"We're fine," I said. "You lot can move along now. Have a good day and all that."
"We're going to miss the train," Ron whispered frantically.
I looked up at the giant clock, a sickening feeling building up in my stomach. There were only a few seconds left. Harry wheeled his trolley around and pushed it right against the barrier with all his might. The metal remained solid.
"It's gone," Ron said, sounding stunned. "The train's left. What if Mum and Dad can't get back through to us? Have either of you got any Muggle money?"
I shook my head as Harry gave a hollow laugh. "The Dursleys haven't given me pocket money for about six years."
