𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗢𝗳 𝗖𝗲𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗼𝗿𝘆

Aboard The Hogwarts Express •~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•¥•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

The end of the summer holidays came swiftly, I sighed disappointedly when I got out of bed. After the incident in the clearing about the Dark Mark, my father has been more busy at the Ministry than usual. Thankfully, he didn't suspect anything about me overhearing the whole thing.

I trudged down the stairs, already dressed, when I see my father talking to Mr Weasley in the fireplace. I searched the cupboards for cereal while he went on with his conversation.

"...Muggle neighbours heard bangs and shouting, so they went and called those what-d'you-call-'ems - please-men. Arthur, you've got to get over there -"

My father was interrupted on the other end by Mrs Weasley shouting.

"Here!" she yelled, breathlessly.

"- it's a real stroke of luck I heard about it," my father continued, "I had to come into the office early to send a couple of owls, and I found the Improper Use of Magic lot all setting off - if Rita Skeeter gets hold of this one, Arthur -"

"What does Mad-Eye say happened?" Mr Weasley's head asked.

Mad-Eye, the Auror who went insane. He was famous for defeating evil wizards in his day. He has a very weird looking eye, so the nickname Mad-Eye suits him perfectly. I poured the cereal into my bowl, then walked over the fridge to get the cereal, all while listening intently to my father's conversation.

"Says he heard an intruder in his yard. Says they were creeping towards the house, but they were ambushed by dustbins." my father replied.

"What did the dustbins do?"

"Made one hell of a noise and fired rubbish everywhere, as far as I can tell," my father said. "Apparently one of them was still rocketing around when the please-men turned up -"

I heard a groan from Mr Weasley. " And what about the intruder?"

I sat down at the table with my cereal and spoon in hand, acting as if I wasn't paying any attention.

"Arthur, you know Mad-Eye," my father said. "Someone creeping into his yard at the dead of night?" More likely there's a very shellshocked cat wandering around somewhere, covered in potato peelings. But if the Improper Use of Magic lot get their hands on Mad-Eye, he's had it - think of his record - we've got to get him off on a minor charge, something in your department - what are exploding dustbins worth?"

"Might be a caution," said Mr Weasley. "Mad-Eye didn't use his wand? He didn't actually attack anyone?"

"I'll bet he leapt out of bed and started jinxing everything he could reach through the window," my father said, but wasn't joking, "but they'll have a job proving it, there aren't any casualties."

"All right then, I'm off." Mr Weasley said.

"Sorry about this, Molly," my father said, "bothering you so early and everything ... but Arthur's the only one who can get Mad-Eye off, and Mad-Eye's supposed to be starting his new job today. Why he had to choose last night ... "

"Never mind, Amos," Mrs Weasley replied. "Sure you won't have a bit of toast or anything before you go?"

"Oh, go on, then," said my father.

Mrs Weasley put piece of buttered toast into his mouth.

"Fanks." He said, his voice muffled by the bread. Then he popped his head out of the fire, and turned around to face me.

"Ah, Ced! Good morning! I didn't even know you were there!" He said, after taking the slice of bread out his mouth.

"Good morning, dad." I smiled.

"You excited to go back to Hogwarts?" He asked, a bit too cheerful.

"No, how about you? Excited to get rid of me?" I asked jokingly.

He bellowed with laughter. "No. No, of course I'll miss you."

I smile got wider, I was glad to see my father back to normal again. I didn't like the man I saw in that clearing.

"Word in the Ministry is that they've something special planned this year for Hogwarts," my father says, "they haven't had one in a century."

"Haven't had what?" I ask.

My dad chuckled and shook his head. "I'm not allowed to tell you, but Dumbledore will announce it in the Great Hall to all the students tonight, I'm sure."

My gloomy self from earlier disappeared, I suddenly became very impatient to get to Hogwarts.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•¥•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

My father, my mother and I walk up to the barrier in King's Cross. Muggles surround us everywhere, men and women in their business attire running around hurriedly to catch their train and families with little children chatting excitedly about a zoo. Their all Muggles, and as usual, they are oblivious to the very secret nine and three quarters.

With my trolley in front, I walk through the barrier, and I'm greeted with the magnificent Hogwarts Express. Even after being so familiar with it, it still amazes me. The old-fashioned steampunk train, with its red and black colour scheme and the gold lettering Hogwarts Express embossed on the surface, it has carried the most famous wizards and witches. Albus Dumbledore, You-Know-Who, and of course, Harry Potter himself.

"Cedric. You have everything with you, don't you," my mother asks. "Books, clothes, quills, ink, your robes -"

"Yes, mum." I reply, exasperated. It had been the fourth time she asked it.

"Alright, you be good, now ..." she said, it was clear she was trying to hold back tears. Even after letting me go to Hogwarts for five times already, she still found it a bit upsetting.

I hugged her tight, letting her sob into my chest. I rested my head on her shoulder and gently rubbed her back. Saying goodbye to her was always the hardest part. She slowly, but reluctantly let go of me. I looked down at my shirt and saw that it was stained with her tears, so I zipped up my jacket to cover it up.

"Goodbye, Ced." My father said. He pulled me in for a shoulder hug, and patted me on the back, I returned the gesture. He then whispered in my ear. "Just remember, make sure you get picked."

'Picked for what?' I thought.

I gave him a quizzical look, before saying goodbye to him and my mother, and I boarded the train.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•¥•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Hi guys!👋🏻

Who's excited to go to Hogwarts? 😃

Well too BAD! You're a Muggle!!!! 💔

Go get ambushed by dustbins! The please-men won't save you! You worthless Muggle!

Bye! 👋🏻

Too harsh? 😕