Chapter 09: Heading to Hogwarts

"Fred! George! Where are you?"

Fred stuck his head out of the open car window, "Here, Mom, we're here!"

Mrs. Weasley walked over with a little boy and a little girl, "Have you seen Percy?"

"He went to find Charlie," Fred said.

"Following in the footsteps of Prefect Charlie," George added.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," Eda greeted the plump Mrs. Weasley.

"Dear, you're here too. If you need any help at school, you can go to my son Charlie, he's a prefect," Mrs. Weasley said, then turned to the twins and warned, "You two behave yourselves at school, and you'd better follow the rules. If I get an owl saying you're causing trouble at school, I'll have your father personally bring you back!"

"We won't."

"Absolutely not."

Eda didn't believe the twins' words. She believed that what they meant by "won't" was that they wouldn't get caught.

"I'll have Charlie and Percy keep an eye on you two," Mrs. Weasley obviously didn't believe them either.

"Charlie has a heavy workload, Mom."

"Percy is also very busy, with both studying and envying Charlie."

"And he's been envious for a long time…"

"Ever since Charlie got his first prefect badge…"

The twins spoke one after the other, seemingly enjoying this way of talking.

The clock was nearing eleven, and the steam locomotive began to whistle. Some children, still saying goodbye to their parents, hurriedly jumped onto the train. The parents retreated to the safe zone, waving goodbye to their children.

At exactly eleven o'clock, the train finally started to move slowly.

Eda saw Mrs. Weasley waving, the twins' little brother secretly wiping his tears behind their mom, and their little sister crying and laughing as she ran alongside the train. She kept waving until the train sped up and left her behind.

Eda felt a sincere envy. Having family members who love and care for you is such a wonderful thing.

"That's our little brother Ron. He'll come to school in a couple of years."

"Our little sister Ginny will be a year later than Ron."

"A very enviable big family," Eda said sincerely.

"If you really had three older brothers," Fred said, holding up three fingers.

"And one younger brother and one younger sister," George added, holding up two fingers.

"You probably wouldn't be envious," the twins said in unison.

The large Weasley family, nine members in total, full of loyalty and bravery!

Chatting with the twins was a lot of fun. They were very humorous and occasionally told little jokes. The three of them talked about many things in the wizarding world. Fred was the funny one, George played along, and Eda was in charge of listening and laughing.

"Tell us about yourself,"

"It's always been us talking."

"I'm an orphan, grew up in an orphanage," Eda said. The twins started to express their apologies, but Eda gestured for them not to worry. "It's okay. Look at me, haven't I grown up well? I'm alive, and I get to attend Hogwarts…"

A loud clattering noise in the corridor interrupted Eda. A smiling woman with dimples opened the compartment door and asked, "Dears, would you like to buy anything from the trolley?"

"No, thank you," Fred and George said, then opened a paper box containing several sandwiches.

Eda also had sandwiches, given to her by Mrs. Mary when she left, but she stood up and asked, "Do you have anything to drink?"

In the end, Eda bought three fruit-flavored milks and some chocolate to share with the twins. It was only fair to treat them to some fruit-flavored milk after they had helped her, and just eating sandwiches could be a bit dry.

The fields speeding past outside the window became increasingly desolate. The neat farmland had disappeared, replaced by forests, winding rivers, and dark green hills.

The scenery outside the window kept changing while the three inside quietly ate. The twins wanted to say something but didn't know how to start. For the first time, they felt a bit tongue-tied.

After they finished eating and cleaned the table, Eda noticed a stain on George's lapel, likely caused by the train's jolting.

"Scourgify," Eda drew out her wand and cast a cleaning spell on George, making the stain disappear. She had practiced this spell a lot during the holidays—a must-have for the lazy.

"Impressive!" George said in amazement.

"You just reminded me of Mom," Fred said, giving Eda a thumbs-up along with George.

Do I look that fat—I mean kind? Eda wondered.

"I practiced a bit while at the orphanage during the holidays. You know, I grew up in the Muggle world, so I try to get ahead a bit to not fall too far behind."

"No, you're already amazing!"

George stood up, opened his suitcase, and pulled out a deck of cards, shaking them in front of Fred and Eda. "Let's play cards!"

"It's like you read my mind." Fred and George high-fived, then continued, "Let's do it!"

George took out a deck of cards, which Eda hadn't expected.

Were these two always carrying a deck around, ready to play with anyone they met?

Eda had never played cards with the other kids at the orphanage and wasn't familiar with how British children played, let alone how wizards did.

She knew how to play Monopoly, UNO, and a bit of bridge.

"I don't know how," Eda said bluntly, without the slightest hint of embarrassment.

"We'll teach you."

The twins began explaining the rules, which were a bit complicated, leaving Eda utterly confused. She learned that the game was called Exploding Snap, and the cards actually exploded.

Is the wizarding world really this dangerous?

Playing cards can get you blown up?

After explaining the rules for a while, the twins decided to play a few rounds with Eda to help her learn by doing.

Fred started shuffling the cards, and once he was done, George dealt them. Daring to play cards with the twins, Eda was certainly bold. After the cards were dealt, Eda picked hers up and glanced at them—her hand wasn't great.

[Ding! Exploding Snap proficiency unlocked, please check it promptly], this time Eda was genuinely surprised. This system seemed a bit too playful!

Fred and George didn't realize that the future gambling master of Diagon Alley was taking her first steps down this path thanks to them.

"How about it? Shall we begin for serious?" Fred asked excitedly, suggesting he had a good hand.

Eda smiled slightly, "Let's begin!"

What Eda didn't notice was that when she smiled, the twins blushed a little.

If she had noticed, she probably would have flicked each of them on the forehead, thinking, Why are you blushing like teapots? Your style is off!

Happy times always seem short.

Amid laughter, the twins admitted defeat.

Despite facing a novice like Eda, and even with the twins' combined effort, they lost more often than they won.

Their few victories came in the early rounds; later, winning even once became difficult.

After Eda won another round, the twins could no longer hide their shock.

"Eda, you really didn't know how to play before?" Fred asked in disbelief.

"Today's my first time, really," Eda said earnestly, even raising her hand as if to swear.

George quickly pulled her hand down and said, "You learn way too fast!"

"My learning ability has always been strong," Eda said with a smile, silently adding to herself: Especially since my ventilator vent off... I mean since I got this cheat system!! 

George promptly put the Exploding Snap cards away, not wanting to be beaten by a newbie any longer.

While the three were chatting, there was a knock on the compartment door.

A girl wearing school robes opened the door. She had a shiny 'P' badge on her chest and said to them, "We're almost at school. Change into your robes." Then she left.

"That 'P' badge means she's a prefect," said George, who was sitting on the outside. "Bill and Charlie both had one."

"When they got their badges, Mom had become crazy for a long time and even bought them expensive gifts," Fred said.

"So that prefect was right, we should change into our uniforms!" Eda said, stealing the twins' line.

The twins let Eda change first, stepping outside to guard the door. Once Eda had changed, they swapped places with her.

Sure enough, shortly after the three of them had changed into their robes, an announcement echoed through the train: "The train will arrive at Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately."

Five minutes later, the train slowed down and came to a gentle stop.

The passengers jostled and pushed their way toward the doors.

Unbeknownst to those around them, the twins protected Eda as they made their way to the door, one in front and one behind.

Eventually, they stepped onto a small, dark platform.

The night air was chilly, and Eda took out the chocolate she had bought on the train, sharing it with Fred and George.

A bright lamp appeared above the students' heads. The person holding it was tall, very tall and broad. The light swung with his movements as he called out, "First years! First years over here!"

Hearing this loud, booming voice, the confused first-year students seemed to find their anchor and crowded toward the source of the sound.

"I'm Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. First years, follow me. Anyone missing?"

Hagrid waited a moment before continuing, "First years, follow me and watch your step!"

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P.S.: The author speculates that Charlie might be a prefect, based on Mrs. Weasley's comment in the fifth book about each family member being a prefect.