The Adventure That Lies Ahead | PJO x HP

CHAPTER 70

The next morning, Ginny banged her way into Isa's room waking the girl up.

"Ugh, Ginny!" Isa groaned, turning away from the door. "It's too early."

Even the ginger was annoyed from how early it was. "Merlin help me, Isa. Get your bum out of bed."

"Give me ten minutes," Isa said, snuggling into her bed even more.

"The sooner we get on the train, the better," Ginny told her. "And Percy's pretty angry this morning because of Ron."

Isa forced herself to sit up and rub the sleep out of her eyes. "What did he do now?"

"He spilled a drop of tea on a picture of Penelope Clearwater."

"Who?" Isa asked as she pulled out some jeans, a crewneck sweater, and her white sneakers.

"His girlfriend," Ginny said. "The one who I caught him snogging last year."

"Ah," Isa said as she started changing.

Ginny turned around to give her friend some privacy. "Now she's hiding her face behind the frame because she's got a blotched nose."

It took Isa a while to register what Ginny said. Then she remembered that people in pictures move... at least in the wizarding world anyway.

They headed down to breakfast, where Mr. Weasley was reading the front page of the Daily Prophet with a furrowed brow. Mrs. Weasley was telling Hermione, Ginny, and Isa a story about how she made a low potion as a young girl when Harry and Ron came downstairs.

"What were you saying?" Isa heard Ron ask Harry as they sat down.

"Later," Harry muttered as Percy stormed in. Isa knew Harry was going to tell Ron and Hermione about Sirius Black, but he had no chance to speak to his friends in the chaos of leaving; they were too busy heaving all their trunks down the Leaky Cauldron's narrow staircase and piling them up near the door, with Hedwig and Hermes, Percy's screech owl, perched on top in their cages. A small wickerwork basket stood beside the heap of trunks, spitting loudly.

"It's all right, Crookshanks," Hermione cooed through the wickerwork. "I'll let you out on the train."

"You won't," Ron snapped. "What about poor Scabbers, eh?"

He pointed at his chest, where a large lump indicated that Scabbers was curled up in his pocket.

Mr. Weasley, who had been outside waiting for the Ministry cars, stuck his head inside.

"They're here," he said. "Harry, Isa, come on."

Mr. Weasley marched Harry and Isa across the short stretch of pavement toward the first of two old-fashioned dark green cars, each of which was driven by a furtive-looking wizard wearing a suit of emerald velvet.

"In you two get," Mr. Weasley said, glancing up and down the crowded street.

Harry and Isa got into the back of the car and were shortly joined by Hermione, Ron, and, to Ron's disgust, Percy.

The journey to King's Cross was very uneventful compared with Harry's trip on the Knight Bus. The Ministry of Magic's cars seemed almost ordinary, though Harry noticed that they could slide through gaps that Uncle Vernon's new company car certainly couldn't have managed. They reached King's Cross with twenty minutes to spare; the Ministry drivers found them trolleys, unloaded their trunks, touched their hats in salute to Mr. Weasley, and drove away, somehow managing to jump to the head of an unmoving line at the traffic lights. Isa wished she had a car like that to avoid all the traffic back in New York.