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.Then it was time for a last mug ofhot chocolate and bed.It took a long while to get started next morning.They were up at dawn, butsomehow they still seemed to have a great deal to do.Mrs.Weasley dashed about in a bad mood looking for spare socks and quills;people kept colliding on the stairs, half-dressed with bits of toast in theirhands; and Mr.Weasley nearly broke his neck, tripping over a stray chicken ashe crossed the yard carrying Ginny's trunk to the car.Harry couldn't see how eight people, six large trunks, two owls, and a rat weregoing to fit into one small Ford Anglia.He had reckoned, of course, withoutthe special features that Mr.Weasley had added."Not a word to Molly," he whispered to Harry as he opened the.Trunk and showedhim how it had been magically expanded so that the luggage fitted easily.When at last they were all in the car, Mrs.Weasley glanced into the back seat,where Harry, Ron, Fred, George, and Percy were all sitting comfortably side byside, and said, "Muggles do know more than we give them credit for, don'tthey?" She and Ginny got into the front seat, which had been stretched so thatit resembled a park bench."I mean, you'd never know it was this roomy from theoutside, would you?"Mr.Weasley started up the engine and they trundled out of the yard, Harryturning back for a last look at the house.He barely had time to wonder whenhe'd see it again when they were back George had forgotten his box ofFilibuster fireworks.Five minutes after that, they skidded to a halt in theyard so that Fred could run in for his broomstick.They had almost reached thehighway when Ginny shrieked that she'd left her diary.By the time she hadclambered back into the car, they were running very late, and tempers wererunning high.Mr.Weasley glanced at his watch and then at his wife."Molly, dear -""No, Arthur -""No one would see - this little button here is an Invisibility Booster Iinstalled - that'd get us up in the air - then we fly above the clouds.We'd bethere in ten minutes and no one would be any the wiser -""I said no, Arthur, not in broad daylight -"They reached King's Cross at a quarter to eleven.Mr.Weasley dashed across theroad to get trolleys for their trunks and they all hurried into the station.Harry had caught the Hogwarts Express the previous year.The tricky part wasgetting onto platform nine and three-quarters, which wasn't visible to theMuggle eye.What you had to do was walk through the solid barrier dividingplatforms nine and ten.It didn't hurt, but it had to be done carefully so thatnone of the Muggles noticed you vanishing."Percy first," said Mrs.Weasley, looking nervously at the clock overhead,which showed they had only five minutes to disappear casually through thebarrier.Percy strode briskly forward and vanished.Mr.Weasley went next; Fred andGeorge followed."I'll take Ginny and you two come right after us," Mrs.Weasley told Harry andRon, grabbing Ginny's hand and setting off.In the blink of an eye they weregone."Let's go together, we've only got a minute," Ron said to Harry.Harry made sure that Hedwig's cage was safely wedged on top of his trunk andwheeled his trolley around to face the barrier.He felt perfectly confident;this wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as using Floo powder.Both of them bent lowover the handles of their trolleys and walked purposefully toward the barrier,gathering speed.A few feet away from it, they broke into a run andCRASH.Both trolleys hit the barrier and bounced backward; Ron's trunk fell off with aloud thump, Harry was knocked off his feet, and Hedwig's cage bounced onto theshiny floor, and she rolled away, shrieking indignantly; people all around themstared and a guard nearby yelled, "What in blazes d'you think you're doing?""Lost control of the trolley," Harry gasped, clutching his ribs as he got up.Ron ran to pick up Hedwig, who was causing such a scene that there was a lot ofmuttering about cruelty to animals from the surrounding crowd."Why can't we get through?" Harry hissed to Ron."I dunno -"Ron looked wildly around.A dozen curious people were still watching them."We're going to miss the train," Ron whispered."I don't understand why thegateway's sealed itself -"Harry looked up at the giant clock with a sickening feeling in the pit of hisstomach.Ten seconds.nine seconds.He wheeled his trolley forward cautiously until it was right against thebarrier and pushed with all his might.The metal remained solid.Three seconds.two seconds.one second."It's gone," said Ron, sounding stunned."The train's left.What if Mum and Dadcan't get back through to us? Have you got any Muggle money?"Harry gave a hollow laugh.“The Dursleys haven’t given me pocket money forabout six years.”Ron pressed his ear to the cold barrier.“Can’t hear a thing,” he said tensely.“What’re we going to do? I don’t knowhow long it’ll take Mom and dad to get back to us.”They looked around.People were still watching them, mainly because of Hedwig’scontinuing screeches.“I think we’d better go and wait by the car.” said Harry.“We’re attracting toomuch atten - ““Harry!” said Ron, his eyes gleaming
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