On the morning of September 1st, Mrs. Weasley appeared at King's Cross Station with a group of children. That's right—still no Mr. Weasley. Poor Mr. Weasley was once again working overtime on the weekend, just like the previous year.
As the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, Mr. Weasley only had a couple of subordinates—none of whom were particularly useful. So the department head had no choice but to work late frequently, handling all the trivial matters himself.
Eda felt that Mr. Weasley's rapidly receding hairline probably had a lot to do with his constant overtime.
Despite being a department head, Mr. Weasley handled everything personally, in stark contrast to the many idle and ineffective Ministry officials. Yet, even with his dedication, he hadn't been promoted.
He was still earning a cabbage-seller's wage while worrying like he was managing a flour empire.
Train stations were always crowded, and the platform was even more packed. Mrs. Weasley held Ginny's hand tightly while constantly having to keep an eye on the mischievous twins, her temper gradually flaring up.
"Fred, George, if you two run off one more time, I'll have your father drag you back home—and don't even think about saying the word Quidditch again!" bellowed Mrs. Weasley, furious with her troublemaking sons.
"Is Mum hitting menopause?" George muttered under his breath. "Her temper's been getting worse lately."
"Eda, you're a woman too—what do you think?" Fred asked. When it came to seeking death (by pushing Eda's buttons), Fred was always one step ahead of George.
Eda turned and shot the twins a glare, not in the mood to argue with them. She didn't know whether Mrs. Weasley was going through menopause, but if Fred and George dared bring it up to her again, she'd be more than happy to show them that puberty wasn't to be messed with either.
As for the reason behind Mrs. Weasley's bad temper lately, Eda had a guess, though she wasn't sure if it was right. She figured it was probably because someone was missing from the group heading off to school—Mrs. Weasley must be missing Charlie, who was far away in Romania.
A group of oddly dressed people with owls perched on their trolleys (at least in the eyes of Muggles) made their way toward Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. All they had to do was walk through the barrier, and the Hogwarts Express would be waiting on the other side.
"Esmeralda! Esmeralda!" someone was calling her name on the platform, though the way they said it sounded a bit off.
Usually, people who were close to Eda called her Eda—like the twins, Angelina, and others. Those who weren't as familiar with her would call her by her surname, Twist, and the polite ones would add "Miss" in front. But very few people ever called her Esmeralda, so much so that many students at school thought her name was just Eda Twist.
Eda turned to the source of the voice and saw a skinny boy in an oversized outfit waving at her—that boy was none other than the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter.
After whispering something to the twins, Eda stepped out of the group and walked toward Harry. She asked, "Hagrid didn't tell you where the platform is?"
"It's so good to see you here!" Harry said excitedly. "Hagrid gave me a ticket, but I couldn't figure out where the platform was. I even asked a guard…"
"They looked at you like you weren't quite normal, didn't they?" Eda said, imagining how the guards must've thought Harry was a bit daft. She continued, "Come with me. I'll introduce you to some people."
Eda led the newly found Harry back to the group. The twins eyed him curiously—they had no idea when Eda had gotten to know a boy like this.
"Mrs. Weasley, this is Harry—Harry Potter," Eda introduced him to everyone. Each person's reaction was different.
Mrs. Weasley looked a bit emotional, though it was clear she was trying hard to keep it in. Percy was also excited, though not nearly as much as when he got his prefect badge. The twins weren't too interested in Harry Potter himself—they were more curious about how Eda had met him.
The most amusing was Ginny. She usually talked non-stop about Harry this and Harry that, but now that she actually saw him, she immediately hid behind her mother, her face even redder than Ron's had been before.
She looked completely starstruck, like a Muggle girl unexpectedly bumping into her idol with no makeup on.
"This lady here is Mrs. Weasley. The one who doesn't smile much is Percy. The two who look exactly alike are Fred and George—you don't need to tell them apart, I can't most of the time either."
Eda introduced each of the Weasleys to Harry, then pointed at Ron and said, "That's Ron. He's starting school this year too, just like you. The one hiding behind Mrs. Weasley is Ginny. She's the youngest, and also your little fangirl."
"My little what?" Harry didn't quite understand what Eda meant.
The Harry standing before them looked so pitiful that Mrs. Weasley didn't want her children to stare at him like some zoo animal. So, she chose to downplay everything and treat Harry like any normal child.
"Looking for the platform, were you dear? Just like Eda two years ago," Mrs. Weasley said.
The twins also remembered that moment from two years back—how the two of them had found a "lost" Eda at the station. At the time, they had no idea that the girl they brought back so casually would end up meaning so much in their lives.
"Percy, you go first," Mrs. Weasley said to Percy, who was already fully prepared. He pushed his trolley toward the barrier and vanished the moment he touched it.
"Fred… George… Fred, you follow next," Mrs. Weasley said, clearly unsure which twin she was addressing. She had been fooled more than once by their little identity-swapping tricks.
"Hahaha, Ma'am, you got it right this time. I am Fred," Fred said as he headed forward. George followed behind him. Their trolleys were piled high—not just with their own things but also with Eda's. It had been like this since the year before.
Empty-handed, Eda walked up to Harry and said, "See you at school, Harry Potter."
Harry watched the Weasley kids and Eda disappear before his eyes, once again feeling the wonder of magic. It made him even more excited about Hogwarts—the place both Hagrid and Eda had spoken of.
"Don't worry," Mrs. Weasley reassured him. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms Nine and Ten. Don't stop and don't be scared—just walk right into it. It's very important. If you're nervous, a bit of a run works too. Go on, you go first—Ron will be right behind you."
Eda stepped through the barrier and once again saw the deep red steam engine, along with the buzzing voices of the crowd and the clatter of luggage being dragged around. Fred and George were waiting for her. Fred asked, "When did you meet Harry Potter?"
"That autograph you brought back last time was already kind of suspicious," George added as he unloaded the luggage from the trolley.
"Back in May, when I was at the orphanage—it wasn't far from where Harry lives. We met by chance," Eda said, drawing her wand. "Though, 'met' might be an overstatement—we just learned each other's names, that's all."
"Really? I don't believe it!" the twins said in unison, shaking their heads. They didn't think it could've been that simple.
Eda waved her wand, levitating all three of their trunks onto the train, completely ignoring the strange looks people were giving her. Why use brute force when you can use magic? Isn't that tiring? If you've learned magic, then you should use it to improve your life!
A boy with impressively long dreadlocks walked over and opened the box he was carrying to show Eda. Inside was a furry creature with long legs. He asked, "What do you think, Eda? Isn't it cute?"
"Lee Jordan, do you want to be just as 'cute' as that thing?" Eda shot back. "No girl is ever going to like something like that. Including me."
Unlike Eda, the twins were quite interested in Lee Jordan's tarantula. They had just gotten back from helping Harry Potter with his luggage and were now crowding around Lee.
The twins and Lee huddled together, whispering things like "girls are so weird" and "how can they not like something so cute?" Eda wanted nothing more than to hit each of them with a good jinx.
Eda wasn't afraid of spiders—she just didn't like them, especially the way they moved.
Lee Jordan, still holding his box, went off to find Angelina and Alicia. Hopefully, he wouldn't get pinned to the ground and beaten up by Angelina. Meanwhile, Eda and the twins returned to Mrs. Weasley to say their goodbyes.
The twins were once again teasing Percy about being a prefect. Percy had been talking all summer about his new badge, and the twins had mocked him all summer in return. Ever since Percy got his new robes, they had been particularly "resentful" about it.
Mrs. Weasley gave each of the children some final instructions—especially the twins. Unfortunately, she accidentally gave them a new idea. Filch was probably in for some misery. May Merlin bless the toilets of Hogwarts and protect them from the twins' wicked hands!
The train let out a loud whistle, and the children boarded the train, leaving only the parents behind on the platform.
As the train slowly began to move, Eda talked with Ron, who hadn't found a seat yet. She said, "Ron, want to come to our compartment? I can introduce you to a pretty older girl."
"And a tarantula! You're going to love it!" Fred added. "Wanna come see?"
The moment Ron heard the word "spider," he shook his head like a rattle. He didn't want to see any spiders—not even ones the size of a fingernail. He figured he'd have better luck checking out some other compartments.
"Fred, George, and I are in one of the middle compartments. If anything comes up, come find us," Eda said.
"Safe travels, little Ronnikins!"
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