HARPER SPEND THE REMAINING DAYS OF summer holidays with the Weasleys and on September first, they went to King's Cross. This time Ginny would join them as well.

"Okay, Ginny, dear, we will go first," Molly said, wrapping an arm around the young girl's shoulders before the two of them disappeared ran through the wall between track nine and ten, followed closely by Arthur.

Next came Fred and George, shortly followed by Percy.

"Go for it, Harry," Harper said. "Ron and I will be right behind you."

Harry nodded and ran towards the wall, Harper and Ron followed him pursuit. However, instead of going through the wall as usual, Harry collided with it.

"Ah!" Harper exclaimed, not being able to stop. She was thrown over Harry's trunk and landed on the ground.

Ron, who had been able to avoid them, helped her up and Harper watched as Harry pushed against the wall, trying to get through.

"What's happening?" Harper groaned, rubbing her shoulder. "Why didn't we get through?"

"It's closed," Ron stated. All the colour had left his face.

"How can it be closed?" Harry questioned.

Harper shrugged as the clock landed on eleven.

"We missed it!" Ron exclaimed, pure horror appearing on his face. "The train always leaves at eleven!"

"But how do we get to Hogwarts?" Harry questioned, his voice edged with worry.

"Maybe we should wait by the car," Harper suggested, picking her trunk and Dale's cage off the floor. The owl had been hooting in distress after the collision, but when Harper steadied the cage and put it on her trunk, he seemed to relax.

"That's it!" Ron exclaimed. "The car!"

• ✧ •

"I'M NOT GOING TO LIE AND SAY THIS IS ONE of our best ideas," Harper said, as they put their trunks in the back of the car (thanks to Arthur's spell that was possible). She sat down in the back seat while Ron took the seat behind the wheel and Harry was his co-pilot.

"Do you want to get to Hogwarts or not?" Ron questioned, as he turned the engine on. Harper fastened her seatbelt. She didn't particulary feel comfortable with Ron driving but didn't dare to say so.

Ron pushed another button and the car started to levitate in the air. He urged the car into the sky and after a couple of moments, they were flying over London.

"Er—Ron," Harry spoke up, glancing down from the window to the crowd of Muggles that were staring at them, "shouldn't you make the car invisible?"

"Right," Ron replied, pushing on the button. "Okay, let's find the Hogwarts Express."

"There is the trail!" Harper squealed after a while, looking down from her window to the track below.

Ron turned the car and started flying just above the trail. "Okay," he began, "now we only have to find the train."

"I can hear him!" Harry said excitedly. "We must be close."

The train noise became louder and Harper moved closer to the front and narrowed her eyes, peering at the track in the distance.

"I don't see it," she stated. "Am I blind or is it not there?"

"I don't see it either," Harry said.

"But the noise is getting louder and louder," Ron remarked.

"Yeah," Harper said, "it's almost as if it's—" stopping abruptly, she dared to look behind her, only to see the Hogwarts Express approaching them rather fast, ready to ride over them.

"Ron! Harry!" Harper yelled, and the two boys looked over their shoulder. "It's behind us!"

"AAAAAHHHH!" they all yelled, before Ron yanked the wheel roughly, and the car flew off the road. Harper was roughly thrown to the side but thanks to her seatbelt, she stayed on her seat. Harry, however, did not wear his seatbelt and he fell onto his door. It opened with a crack and Harry dangled out of the car, hanging onto the handle of the car.

"Harry!" Harper yelled. In an instant, she had unfastened her seatbelt and climbed onto the front seat. She reached out to Harry. "Take my hand!"

Harry grabbed her hand, eying the train steaming far below them.

"Hold on!" she screamed, her eyes full of horror, as she tried to pull him back in, but he was pretty heavy.

"I'm trying!" he yelled back, "Your hands are sweaty!"

As Ron strained the car, Harper yanked Harry back inside the car and they quickly closed the door. She then climbed back onto the backseat and fastened her seatbelt once more.

"And that's why we wear seatbelts," Harper said airily.

• ✧ •

     HOGWARTS APPEARED BEFORE THEM JUST AS the sun vanished behind the horizon, leaving everything in darkness. The moonlight shone onto the castle, eliminating it. Harry was looking at it in awe. Ron smiled.

"Welcome home, Harry."

Harry smiled, but that quickly faded away when the Ford Anglia Anglia groaned.

"Just out of interest, Ron, have you ever landed a car before?" Harry questioned, gripping his seat tightly.

"Well . . . no," Ron replied hesitantly, "but until a few hours ago, I'd never taken off into one either."

Harper swallowed. "We can only hope for the best and prepare for the worst, can't we?"

The words had yet to leave her lips or the car lurched and the nose dropped.

"Uh, oh," Ron said.

The car pitched through the night as Ron took the gears, the car hurtled madly towards this castle wall.

"It's not working!" Ron yelled.

"Yeah, we see that!" Harper screamed back, gripping the front seat tightly.

"I'm glad your sarcasm is okay!" Ron shot back.

"Up! Up!" Harry tried.

Ron shifted desperately and the car lurched back up, barely avoiding the wall. The three of them exchanged a relieved look, when the car groaned again, lurching downward.

"Mind that tree!" Harry yelled.

Ron tried spinning the wheel but nothing worked.

"Turn! Turn!" Harper squealed.

Harry reached over and together they tried to spin the wheel, but it was useless. The car was heading straight for the tree that Harper recognized as the Whomping Willow.

Oh no, out of all trees . . .

Ron whipped out his wand and tapped the dashboard.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" he ordered, but it was in vain as she car collided with the three. Once more, they were thrown forward, but this time, everyone had their seatbelts on.

The car balanced on the highest branch as Harper groaned and rubbed her chest.

"My wand!" Ron exclaimed, panic clear in his voice. "Look at my wand!"

Harper glanced up and saw that his wand had snapped in two due to the collision.

"Be thankful it's not your neck," Harry stated.

Suddenly something heavy hit Harry's door, sending a shudder though the car.

"What's happening?" Ron asked, his face was still as pale as a ghost.

"Nothing good," Harper replied, glancing out of the window into the darkness of the night.

As the three of them looked up, they saw one of the branches pull back, curl into itself, and come lashing forward like a massive fist.

"AAAAHHH!!"

The Anglia tilted crazily, slided backwards and free-fell through the air and landed on lower grid of branches.

"What kind of tree is this?" Ron squealed, tightening his grip on the wheel.

Before Harper could reply, the Whomping Willow began to pummel the car from all sides. The window shattered, making small cuts in her skin.

Just when she thought it would be over, the car fell again, slamming heavily to the ground. Instantly, the tree's lower branches shot through the front and began to shake the car back and forth.

"Aaaaaahhh!!"

The tree pitched the car into the air. As the Anglia slammed down again, bobbing on its squealing shocks, the engine burbled back to life.

Harper looked outside, seeing one branch rear back, ready for one last punishing blow.

"Reverse! Reverse!" she cried out.

Ron shifted; the car shot backwards and the willow pummeled the tread-marked ground they just vacated.

Safely clear, the doors flew open, the seats tipped sideways, making them all fall out of the car. Their trunks were thrown from the back of the car, and Harper caught Dale's cage just in time before the battered car speeded off, into the Forbidden Forest.

"Dad's gonna kill me," Ron groaned.

"I'm never allowed to come over again," Harper added.

• ✧ •

     FILTY, BRUISED AND FULL OF SMALL CUTS, the three of them dragged their trunks inside to where the other trunks were already waiting to reappear into their respective dorms.

"A house elf showed up in our bedrooms, we can't get through the barrier to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, we almost get killed by a tree . . . clearly someone doesn't want us here this year," Harry said, as they climbed the stairs up to the Entrance Hall. However, the three of them stopped abruptly when they saw Filch waiting for them at the top of the stairs.

"Well," he began, petting Mrs Norris who was currently in his arms, "take a good look, lads, this night might well be the last you spend in this castle."

• ✧ •

     HARPER WAS NOT SCARED QUICKLY, BUT seeing Professor Snape raging on about what they did was kind of frightening. He wasn't just angry. He was furious.

"You were seen by no less than seven Muggles!" he went on. "Do you have any idea how serious this is?"

Harry, Ron and Harper remained silent.

"You have risked the exposure of our world. Not to mention the damage you inflicted on a Whomping Willow that has been on these grounds for hundreds of years!"

Harper had to suppress the urge to huff. It had been on these grounds for twenty-one years. The day Remus started his first years. He exaggerated a bit.

"Honestly, Professor Snape," Ron spoke up, "I think it did more damage to us."

"Silence!" Snape snapped. "I assure you, were you in Slytherin and your fate rested with me, the three of you would be on the train home tonight. As it is—"

"They are not," a voice interrupted him and Harper glanced over her shoulder to see Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, the latter seemed rather disappointed.

"Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall—" Harry began.

"Headmaster," Snape began, ignoring Harry. He pointed at the three of them, "these three have flouted the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry. As such—"

"I'm well aware of our bylaws, Severus," Dumbledore interrupted him, "having written more than a few myself. However, as Head of Gryffindor House, it is for Professor McGonagall to determine the appropriate action."

Harper started to sweat, scared that McGonagall was going to expell them. Heck, Hermione had been right. Expulsion would be worse than death.

"We'll go and get our stuff," Ron murmured loud enough for everyone to hear.

"What are you talking about, Mr Weasley?" McGonagall asked.

"Well," Ron replied, "you are going to expell us, aren't you?"

"Not today, Mr Weasley," Professor McGonagall said, and Harper could not hold a sigh of relief back, "but I must impress upon the three of you the seriousness of what you have done. I will be sending owls to both of your families tonight. And you will each get a detention."

That wasn't so bad, Harper thought.

Professor Snape casted a look of pure venom at Harry, Ron and Harper.

"Splendid," Professor Dumbledore said, rather happily. "Now, I suggest we return to the feast. There's a delicious-looking custard tart I want to sample."

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May 30th 2022
I hope you enjoy it & tell me what you think of it! :)
Guys, wear a seatbelt!! Hahaha :))