Chapter 17

Listening to their stories, Albert concluded that it was boring for children in the magical world. The Weasley family home was called 'The Burrow' and was located on the southern outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole. Green, vibrant trees and a few hills surrounded their house. Muggles have not discovered their home yet due to the 'Muggle Repelling Ward' surrounding their property. They'll probably never find it without another wizard's help.

There are only three other permanent residents: Diggory; Lovegood and Fawcett families. The Diggory family were the closest to the Weasley family and their son, Cedric, would often come over and play with the twins. The Lovegood family had a daughter named Luna who was best friends with their sister, Ginevra or Ginny, as she liked to be called. The Weasley family did not get on well with the Fawcett family, for reasons the twins did not know.

Due to being close proximity to other wizarding families, their parents believed that it was practically useless to make friends with the muggles in the village or in general. However, their brother, Percy, had a really cute muggle born friend called Penelope Clearwater, who came and stayed with them for a few days during the summer.

"We don't get on well with the muggles from the village. They think that we are odd and the village elders tell them to stay away from us." George said.

"And, also, our house is far away from the village, so it takes a long time to get to the village." Fred added.

"You guys are lucky. I live on an estate with my family and there is no-one else around. I only get to see other during balls and pure-blood gatherings," Lee complained.

Albert has to say that he had a better childhood than them. He has a loving family, with an annoying younger sibling and a public library nearby. He sometimes goes to the park to play football with the other boys in the neighbourhood but usually leaves early. After all, he plays with kids. It gets very loud, very quickly. Although he didn't have many friends, he had a lot of acquaintances and did really well in school.

Albert also noticed that they had very little formal education before attending Hogwarts. Not all families are like this. The Weasley twins did not have early education due to financial implications, and they were very reluctant to send them to muggle primary schools. It's really hard to imagine a pure-blood sending their child to a school full of muggles. Imagine Lucius Malfoy sending his precious Draco to a muggle school because I can't. The Weasley twins did receive some education and etiquette lessons from their mother.

"Do you know any pure-bloods with the family name of Smith?" Albert asked. It was his grandfather's family name before he was disowned.

"No."

"Sorry mate."

"Nothing comes to mind. Do you need it for any reason?"

"No. I heard that name being mentioned in Diagon Alley. I was just curious." Albert responded, trying not to look too disappointed.

Albert then looked out of the window, trying to filter out Lee Jorden. Who knew how much he could talk? Looks like they won't be bored before he gets to Hogwarts. He then saw the scenery starting to form, signifying that the train was slowly down. The speaker light on the door was on.

[The Hogwarts Express will be reaching Hogsmeade Village in the next five minutes. We remind students to put on uniform before disembarking the Hogwarts Express. We also remind students to leave their luggage here, as the house-elves will move them to your dorm after you leave. Thank you for using the Hogwarts Express.]

"Merlin's beard. We're finally here." Fred said as he got up and started to stretch. His bum was aching from sitting for too long.

Alberts got everybody's luggage down and placed them on the table. George helped throw all the rubbish away with Albert and Lee put their stuff back in their bag. The train finally stopped, and the four left their carriage for the closest available exit. The aisles were crowded, and they were lucky that we did not catch the stampede of students. They eventually disembarked from the Hogwarts Express.

"Did I ever tell you guys that I hate the rain?" Albert said as he felt a shiver run down this spine. He then got his wand out can cast the Water Repellent Charm on himself, saving himself from getting wet.

"First year! First year! Over here." A loud voice boomed from the platform. The giant lift his oil lamp above the crowd to gain the attention of the first years.

"What are you doing? Keep up." George said as get grabbed Alberts' hand and follows his brother.

"Coming." Albert said as George interrupted him from casting a Warming Charm.

"Come on, Albert. Before we lose them in the dark." Lee said from the front leading the four of them.

"Don' worry. | Lumos |." Albert said as he waved his wand. He then took the lead and took them to the giant. He was really, really tall and had a humongous but an unkept beard.

"Is this all the first years?" The giant said as he started counted.

"Err. I think that's all of you. Follow me and mind your step." The giant said as he asked all the children to follow him through his muddy path.

Albert pulled the hood over his robe. The Water Repelling Charm proved to be ineffective, but he was still drier than most of the surrounding him. Wait a minute. "Why didn't I transfigure myself a brolly?" he thought. He was a little annoyed at his own stupidity. He decided that in his free time, he was going to find a similar spell to help him out of a pickle.

"Are you okay?" Albert said as he caught a girl who was about to fall into the mud in front of him.

"Yes, thank you. It's really pouring today, isn't it?" The girl responded.

"Let's go. We don't want to fall behind." Albert said, as he led the girl forward.

This is probably one of the worst years for the sorting. The rain covered a lot of children in water. He also heard Lee Jorden, who was forced into following the crowd, hurling insults to the surrounding people.

"Be careful, first year. We're going downhill. We'll be approaching the lake soon." The giant said.

Albert said behind and waited for everyone to go fist. He felt that it was an excellent decision. Facts prove that he was correct. A lot of people slipped and as a result go more people got muddy. They eventually reach the lake. It was really dark and nobody could see more than a meter away from them.

"Mind your step. No more than four on a boat." The giant shouted, making sure we heard him.

"Albert! Over here." He heard as he looked over to see a muddy Lee Jorden waving at him. He made his way to them.

"How did you get so messy?" Albert asked as he boarded the boat.

"I slipped once," Lee said.

"Hurry up first years. Get on the boat." The giant yelled. "Is everybody on a boat?"

The giant looked around so see if anybody was still standing on the pier. Once he was satisfied, he held his oil lamp in the air. As if by magic, the boat started moving.

"Mind your heads." The giant screamed as Hogwarts came into view. What a magical sight to behold.