Back In Black (Fred Weasley)

Chapter 2

Carina's last week in the orphanage was the best she'd ever had, she poured over the books she had bought, learning everything she could so she'd be ready. Truly she was terrified that she'd be behind, she'd been away from the wizarding world for so long what if she no longer belonged there. She just wanted to find her place. The other children avoided her just as they always had but it hurt a little less now she had a future. Every night before she went to bed, Carina ticked off another day from her calendar, counting down to September first.

On the last day of August Carina decided to approached Miss April about her leaving tomorrow, so she went down to the matron's office where she was doing some kind of paperwork. She knocked politely on the door before being bid entry.

"Excuse me, Miss April?"

"What is it girl, be quick."

"I will be starting my new boarding school tomorrow; I need to be at King's Cross before 11."

"What's that got to do with me?"

"I was hoping you could drop me off."

The grouchy older woman looked up for a moment and examined the small girl in front of her. Before nodding once and gesturing for her to leave. Carina figured this was the best she'd get and so politely nodded before swiftly leaving the office.

Carina woke at five o'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep. She got up and put on the outfit she'd spent an hour putting together the night before; a cute old denim pinafore with a slightly too small grey top and a chunky knit cardigan and of course her dad's locket. She knew she'd put on her brand-new robes when she was on the train, the first new clothes she'd ever known. She double checked her list making sure she had everything required as well as the dozen extra books and what few clothes she owns. She spent the next few hours looking over her potion's textbook, it was the one she found the most fascinating, while waiting for Miss April to be ready. Four and a half hours later her trunk was in the back of the orphanage minivan, and she was on her way.

She reached King's Cross at quarter past ten and was unceremoniously dumped from the van along with her trunk before Miss April left without so much as a nod goodbye. Carina placed her trunk on a trolley and pushed it inside the station. McGonagall had talked her through exactly what she needed to do to access the platform, but she had to admit she was quite nervous about the idea of running at a brick wall. She wheeled her trunk to point directly at the pillar that had a big plastic number nine on one side and a big plastic number ten on the other.

Taking a few deep breathes Carina started to walk towards the wall. People jostled her on their way to platforms nine and ten. Carina picked up speed, she was sure she was going to get hurt when she smacked into the wall. She kept her trust in McGonagall and kept going the barrier coming closer and closer, she prepared herself for the hit. It never came, she opened her eyes, not having realised she'd closed them. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform that had a few people milling about, the train wasn't due to leave for another 40 minutes. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven O'clock. Carina examined where she had just come from and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it. She couldn't believe she was finally here.

Smoke from the engine drifted over the platform as she made her way towards the carriages, finding the first empty she starts struggling to get her trunk in. As she is doing this the Weasley family had just arrived.

"I can't believe it, we're early. That's never happened before." Molly Weasley said as they ran through the magical barrier.

"Don't expect it to happen again." Arthur said to her.