Chapter 6: Hogwarts Express

The burrow:

Ron: "Mom, have you seen my cauldron?"

Molly: "It's behind the couch. Fred George, leave Errol alone and get your stuff ready!"

Percy: "Yes, we can't be late, as the new prefect I must be punctual"

Weasley's brothers: "we know..." they said in unison in a monotone

Molly: "Ginny, go see if Red is up yet"

Red: "I'm here"

I had left my hair somewhat long, below the neck, and I could make a small ponytail on hot days. It wasn't completely smooth, as it had some messy parts that I couldn't control. Plus I feel like it has a bit of a life of its own because I've felt it move by itself a few times, I think it may be because my blood magic has grown because its color has also become more intense.

My features also became more marked, and despite being Ron's twin, we were nothing alike. The whole of my appearance made me seem somewhat handsome, but intimidating and gloomy, very at odds with the character and cheerful appearance of the rest of my family, but unlike some jokes, no one brought it up anymore.

I went downstairs to see this situation for another year, the family had a bad habit of finishing preparations for the start of school at the last minute. I was already ready, mainly thanks to my inventory that currently has two and a half cubic meters, the rest I carried in a small suitcase with an extension spell, or at least that's what I tried to pretend.

Today was the first of September, and we would have to take the train to go to Hogwarts. I was ready with my suitcase in one hand and a pocket watch in the other where I looked at the time. I was wearing a new tunic that no one commented on as they knew I bought it with my own money, and within the had my wallet in my trouser pockets with a few pounds that I had exchanged earlier to have them ready for today.

"Mom... I plan to go ahead, I'm taking Ginny with me"

"Okay, but be careful and take good care of your sister"

"Always, come on Ginny"

I walk over to the fireplace and pick up one of the two containers of Floo powder, the one that belongs to me and I use for my personal travels. I give some to Ginny, and I throw the powder into the chimney saying "Leaky Cauldron" and I consumed by the emerald flames.

I showed up in a rundown old bar, with some witches and wizards hanging out, but it still didn't seem like a very lively atmosphere. "It certainly needs a few upgrades," I said quietly. Behind me came Ginny, although less stable, I hold them before she falls off her and I go with her towards it exit.

I greet Tom, the current owner of this place, and walk out of the bar with my sister. Already in Muggle London, we cross the street, and we hail a taxi.

"Where?" asked the taxi driver

"King's Cross Station"

Ginny finds herself staring out the window throughout the trip, she always gets quite excited when she leaves the wizarding world. I've taken her and Luna around the Muggle world occasionally, so I can broaden their horizons, clearly unbeknownst to our parents. They're always quite curious about everything they see, I end up being a tour guide for most of the trip.

"Did they run away from home?" Asks the taxi driver in a comical way trying to get a topic of conversation

"Not yet, I'm just taking the train to my new school" I replied as Ginny kept looking out the window

"They shouldn't go with your parents"

"They left things for the last minute, and we went ahead"

"It's good to be serious about punctuality and stuff, but if you keep that serious face you will give people the feeling that you are always angry, and it will be difficult for you to make friends in your new school. You should smile a little"

"He never smiles...although it would be nice if he sometimes did." Ginny entered the conversation.

"You see, even the young lady thinks it would be better if you changed your face"

"It's not that I don't want to, I have a problem that prevents me from giving many expressions"

"Oh I'm sorry..."

"It's okay"

"But hey, medicine is advancing very fast, you will surely find a solution. Besides, the hero may always be in girls' minds, but they always secretly love the bad guy, you are good-looking and if you improve your phrases to flirting you're going to have a lot of women at your feet" He said while winking in the rearview mirror

"I'll think about it" I said.

The trip happened, and we ended up going down a little before our destination to buy an ice cream, with the ice creams in our hands we arrived at the station. Unlike other wizards in the muggle world, we didn't stand out very much, as we had clothes that were more understated than the weird combinations they used to wear.

We found the wall where he headed for platform 9 3/4 and at a quick pace we went through it. It was still early and there weren't many families, we sat on a bench and started to finish our ice cream.

"How is the ice cream?" I asked thoughtfully.

"Yummy" my sister said happily.

"Remember that you shouldn't despise non-magical Ginny. Each race has its strengths and weaknesses, you are neither better nor worse than them, you can only make better or worse decisions, I just want you to keep that in mind" something serious sighed.

"Yes brother" Ginny said, somewhat contemplative but without stopping eating

I only hoped that thanks to my words she would not have a closed mind. In the future the technological development will bring a great advance for the lifestyle, and if the wizarding world didn't change then I would go live in the muggle world and take those I care about with me.

More people were beginning to arrive at the station. I caught the attention of those who were looking at me, but due to my appearance and aura no one got too close even though they kept casting glances from afar. Ginny was a bit nervous about the attention, but we didn't have to wait long.

We could see our family in the distance, I wonder if Potter entered with them like in the original. Our mother relaxed a little at the sight of us, I left Ginny with her and directly gave both of them a hug and left with my suitcase. I wanted to avoid a long goodbye and try to find an empty compartment as soon as possible, which I would have done sooner if I didn't have to wait for my family.

"Good luck Red" My mother said without worrying about my attitude, for her, it's something normal now.

Ron wanted to get on the train too, but our mom stopped him "Ron you have something on your nose" before holding him down, and she will start rubbing the tip of his nose.

I was getting on the train when I heard my brothers making fun of Percy being the new prefect. When it was just fiction, this scene may have been funny, but now that it became my reality, I can say that my brother had a big problem. He managed to mention that he was a prefect up to three times within the same sentence, and having him like that during our entire vacation was an ordeal. Honestly, it occurred to me to use my magic to knock him out a few times.

I also heard how Ginny, upon hearing that Harry Potter was on the train, asked our mother if she could go up to see him. I just shake my head and start looking for a seat, hoping to find an empty compartment.

As I feared, I could not find empty stalls and resigned myself to looking for one with few people to sit down. I found one where there only seemed to be one person reading and decided to try my luck.

"Hello, can I sit here?"

"ehh... ah, yes of course" said a girl with brown hair and quite long front teeth.

I sat in front of the girl, the train was starting and through the window I saw how my sister was running.

"Bye Red, we'll see you for Christmas" Ginny yelled.

I stuck my hand out the window and waved to her as I gave her one of my rare smiles. After that I sat down again, and I could see how the girl was giving me 'sneaky' glances over her book, I'm not surprised, since I know that my appearance usually attracts attention.

She, noticing that I noticed her gaze, quickly raised her book, covering her face. I decided to ignore her and took my own book out of my suitcase. It was one of the books inherited from my brothers, it was quite worn and battered, this earned some disgusted looks from the girl in front of me.

"You should take better care of your books" she said somewhat annoyed with a bossy and haughty voice

"It's not that I don't take care of them, they weren't mine in the beginning, otherwise they would be better preserved. I have a lot of siblings and my family is poor, so a lot of my things are inherited and the things that aren't are bought with money I earn from workin"

"Oh sorry, I didn't know…" she apologized, knowing that she had intruded too much.

"Okay, I'm not embarrassed. Besides, it's the first time we met, you wouldn't know, so there's no reason to be angry."

"Well… I actually saw you once at the bookstore when I went to Diagon Alley to buy my 1st year books."

"Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't remember you, this year before I went to Hogwarts I was very anxious, and I put a lot of effort in my learning" I apologized out of politeness, since I didn't really remember her.

"Okay, I saw you from afar, and I was also very anxious when I found out that I was a witch, no one in my family is a wizard, it was quite a surprise when I received my letter, but I was also very happy, of course, since I was going to go to Hogwarts and this is the best wizarding school as far as I know. I've already learned all the books by heart of course I hope that's enough, but I'm not sure and when I saw you so focused on the bookstore I knew I had to try harder..." she said very quickly and almost vibrating with emotion.

I put my hand on her mouth preventing her from spouting any more words and used some of my blood magic to calm her down.

"Stop please, Inhale and exhale... don't go so fast, I couldn't even process everything you said so far, you should relax a bit I think you could hurt yourself if you continue at that speed. If you talk like that with everyone else it will be It's hard for them to understand you, I don't even know your name and I think I already know more about you than my own sister knows"

She blushed at what I said and realized that she might have gotten too excited.

"I'm sorry… I'm Hermione Granger" she said, a little embarrassed.

Something clicked in my head. 'Shit' how I couldn't tell, her personality, her way of speaking, her hair and her teeth are as described in the books. I had hardly read them, but I had to have noticed, I don't know how I didn't notice it before.

She looks different from the actor in the movie, now that I think about it, they all look somewhat different, some minor or major change, but different; maybe because I grew up with my family and spent a lot of time with Luna since we were children as well as having my memories blurred caused me to not give importance to these differences. I should pay more attention from now on and try to see those details to know who I'm meeting, I don't want to end up in a deadly dispute just by running into the wrong people. But now let's focus on what we have in front of us, the famous Hermione Granger, I hope I can give her a good first impression.

"It's a pleasure, I'm Red... Red Weasley"

"Red?" she asks, somewhat confused.

"Long story, but I changed to that name because I liked it better than the one my parents gave me. I wanted to be the kind of person that you introduce your friend as 'Red' and when he asks you what he looked like to identify him, you respond with 'when you see, you'll know'" I said with my expressionless face.

She looked at me even more confused than before.

"That last one was a joke" I clarified

"I'm sorry, you were very serious and... well..."

"Okay I have a problem that prevents me from expressing myself, only in particular cases or with a lot of effort, that's why I always have this serious face. If it wasn't for the help of a friend for several years, we couldn't even have this conversation and just I could stare at you in silence, and trust me, that would be awkward."

"Sorry, I didn't know..."

"Okay, stop apologizing for everything, until now you're not to blame for anything... except maybe not laughing at my joke, but let's change the subject"

"... Is it a wizarding disease? I mean, I've done my research and I know that the wizarding world has its own diseases different from the non-magical world like dragon pox or black cat flu..."

She had started talking again at high speed spouting words and knowledge nonstop, even she said things, that despite everything he spent reading, I wasn't sure I knew. That's how geniuses are... don't fight them, just resign yourself.

"You're quite stubborn right, I said let's change the subject, but we're still on the same thing, but it doesn't matter. I'm not sure what it really is, neither the mediwizards nor the experts I visited they found the reason for there to be something that prevents the exit of my feelings to the outside world, but it has a good side and that is that it gives me natural mental barriers"

"The doctors of the magical world must be great, even though they couldn't help you, I would like to see how they work. My father is a dentist, and I would like to know how wizard differ from non-wizard in medicine. Of course, it's not that I don't want to have to see them personally for it" She said something excited by all the new world that had just opened for her.

Seeing how excited she was to talk to someone who knew the magical world that she even struck up a conversation with me, someone who always has a face of not wanting to talk to anyone. I decided that we could have a good chat. Also, that she is the famous Gryffindor Know-It-All, and it would not hurt to be her friend, rather I longed to have her as a friend considering that she would be the first person with whom I have any continuous social interaction besides my family and Lovegood friends .

"How about if we play a game? You are curious about the wizarding world, and I am curious about the Muggle world. Why we don't ask each other a question, and we get to know each other's world better?"

"Sounds good to me" she agreed.

"Well I'll start, I know that before this age you go to a school, unlike us that the first school we set foot in is Hogwarts, how is it?" I asked, even though I knew what it was like, it had been a long time, and I was hoping to hear it from a child's perspective.

"Normally, we go for several years while we learn to read, write, basic arithmetic, history and geography among others. They separated by age to the same room, and they grade us according to exams. We have free time between school hours, where we can rest, get together with your friends or go to the library"

"So you have a lot of friends, I guess you must miss them now that you'll be away from them" I said, knowing it wasn't true.

"Yeah...not that there were many... I focused mainly on my studies, so I didn't make any friends at my previous school" she said somewhat embarrassed on the subject.

"It must be because of a bossy attitude that makes it difficult for you to have friends," I commented, knowing that I stepped on a mine.

"I don't have a bossy attitude" she said, frowning with a bossy attitude.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not insulting you or anything like that" I tried to calm her down before continuing, "I told you that due to my condition I have this serious or indifferent expression and that before I couldn't talk much with other people. I had problems with my older brothers because of it, my face and attitude made me look like I looked down on others and that started a lot of fights what I mean is that it is not something we control or something intentional. You may have developed this haughty attitude unconsciously, and you don't realize this. I could improve, and if you want, you can also do it, it will make it easier for you to have friends and not alienate the ones you have, if that is what you want. But it is your decision and if you have true friends they will not care how you are, so that you do what you want with what I just said"

There was some silence in the cabin, maybe she was a little angry, but more reflective. She knew in part that she was right, and it was part of that attitude that she couldn't make friends, ironic considering that not having friends generated that attitude in the first place.

She stopped to look at me a bit and seeing my perpetually serious face seemed to see that I was telling the truth and that we were no different in social relationships.

"You may have a point…" she said almost imperceptibly.

"I've lived my life so far with this attitude that tends to push others away, so I can say I know what I'm talking about"

"But it's not only my fault, the others also decide to stay away from me. They make fun of my hair or my teeth, I wouldn't make friends with them anyway" she said with some resentment in her voice.

"ha ha ha ha ha" I let out a laugh, although it didn't seem entirely genuine thanks to my paralyzed face

"What's so funny?" she asked somewhat annoyed

"It's just that the worries of a girl this age are kind of funny. When I was little I was worried that because of my way of being my parents would end up abandoning me or something similar, and despite being intelligent and more mature than other children my age I still thought It would have been hard for me to live on my own. It's funny how simple the worries of a normal child can be."

"...okay, you win with this one" she said, noticing the difference.

"If you want we can continue to see who has the worst childhood, but from what I see they could give me my award. Besides, it's stupid, everything that they made fun of you is practically what makes you beautiful"

"Don't make fun of me, I know I have big teeth and I can't fix my hair even if I try, it's not my fault" she complained resentfully as she grabbed her hair.

"I'm not lying, it may not be attractive in a way, but it gives it a childish beauty that I like. I like you as bossy and with big teeth, pure Hermione, that simple"

She looked a little confused and embarrassed, but a little happy too. I seemed really nice to me, and I didn't lie in anything I said to her. I hoped that we could actually be friends, since I knew that she was someone who could be trusted, and her current appearance did make her look a bit cute to me.

"How was your education? You said they don't have schools before Hogwarts" she continued with our game, not knowing how to respond to the previous compliment.

"Wizards learn in their own homes mostly, rich families usually pay private tutors, but in other families like mine we are educated by their parents. My brothers and I were mostly taught by our mother"

"You said you had several siblings. How many are they?"

"With me, we are 8"

"8?!"

"Yes, if there is someone I admire in my house it is my mother, she knows how to persevere. Personally I would have given up after the third, but well, they wanted a girl. You won't have to worry, this is the particular case of my family, no you will have to give birth to so many children just for being a witch"

She sighed in relief with the last thing I said. I think if I hadn't clarified it she might have been a little afraid of being a witch if she thought she had to have so many children, I don't blame her, I would be afraid too.

After that we continued asking each other questions one by one getting to know our worlds and us in the process, she seemed to get used to my expression and began to loosen up a bit and relax, I could also feel comfortable being able to talk to another person, and it made this trip six hours didn't seem so long.