The Stand

A Ford Anglia and Luna Lovegood

"You can't go to Hogwarts" a squeaky cried out yet again "It's not safe."

Harry sighed "What do you mean?"

"A great threat is at Hogwarts" the house-elf squeaked "It will hurt Mr. Potter!"

Harry nodded "Thanks for your concern..."

"Dobby" the house-elf "My name is Dobby."

"Thank you Dobby. You can go now" Harry replied "I will not attend Hogwarts."

Dobby celebrated "Thank you Mr. Potter! Thank you!"

The house-elf then quickly left as Harry shook his hand "I wonder if wizards know of crossing your fingers while talking?"

Harry smirked "King's Cross. Never gets old."

"I always wondered about the name" Rishi added stroking a non-existent beard "A King's cross would be of some religious importance. Maybe a king fancied himself a god. Or maybe during a war, a king was captured and..."

"We get it" Harry put his hand up "Don't make me try Silencio."

As they laughed at Rishi's mock-sadness, the family locked hands and apparated to the platform. Seeing the scarlet beauty before them, Harry and Rishi bid the Gopals goodbye and ran inside but not before receiving some hugs. The pair of the boys began that annual search for an empty compartment, eventually finding one. 2 Wingardium Leviosas brought their trunks up to the shelves.

A knock on the door brought Draco and Neville into the compartment as well as Hermione. Soon after them, the Patil twins entered. They were all excitedly talking on classes when another knock was heard. Harry opened the door and saw Daphne and someone who he assumed was her sister.

"Hello all" Daphne said "This is my sister Astoria. Can she sit with us?"

Parvati laughed "Of course. Come on in!"

As Harry and friends waited for the train to start, a different scene was unfolding in King's Cross. The Weasleys, who as usual woke up, rushed to try to make the train. Molly brought Ginny through the barrier first. Percy then went through followed by the twins. That left Ron. Eager to return to Hogwarts and eat, he started to run to the barrier. Then he hit a wall.

Confused, he backed up and tried again. He didn't go through. Panicking, he thought of his dad's Ford Anglia. He raced outside, and got into the car. Soon, Ron was flying in the clouds, heading to Hogwarts.

Harry's trip to Hogwarts was nowhere near as interesting as Ron's trip. His trip was much more docile, filled with laughter and talk between friends. Neville was eagerly talking about a greenhouse his grandma told him of when Hermione cried "What is that?"

The group turned to the window and saw a Ford Anglia. Then, they saw the red-haired boy who was piloting it. The group silently gaped at Ron until Draco broke it "Weasley must really want Harry to notice him."

Harry snorted "He's succeeding in a way. Now, I'll remember as a complete idiot."

Daphne shook her head "He's breaking the Statue of Secrecy. Even Dumbledore can't save him now. He's at the mercy of the DMLE."

"Where he'd even get the car" Neville asked "No way he could've found that on the street."

"He got it from his dad" Rishi replied "The twins told us about it. Apparently, their dad is obsessed with Muggle products and wanted to fix it up."

After that point, the subject of Ron left the conversation and was forgotten. The kids spent the rest of their time discussing classes and Quidditch (which appeared to be the two most popular topics) until Hermione advised them to get their robes. Soon, the train ceased its movement and the group filed out to the carriages while Astoria went to the boats. Harry, Rishi, Daphne and Neville are headed onto on carriage while Draco, Parvati, Padma and Hermione went on the other. When they got on, Harry's eyes widened.