Harry Potter 02 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

car.
    Harry couldn’t see how eight people, six large trunks, two owls and a rat were going to fit into one small Ford Anglia. He had reckoned, of course, without the special features which Mr Weasley had added.
    ‘Not a word to Molly,’ he whispered to Harry as he opened the boot and showed him how it had been magically expanded so that the trunks 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 by side, and said, ‘Muggles do know more than we give them credit for, don’t they?’ She and Ginny got into the front seat, which had been stretched so that it resembled a park bench. ‘I mean, you’d never know it was this roomy from the outside, would you?’
    Mr Weasley started up the engine and they trundled out of the yard, Harry turning back for a last look at the house. He barely had time to wonder when he’d see it again when they were back: George had forgotten his box of Filibuster fireworks. Five minutes after that, they skidded to a halt in the yard so that Fred could run in for his broomstick. They had almost reached the motorway when Ginny shrieked that she’d left her diary. By the time she had clambered back into the car, they were running very late, and tempers were running 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 I installed – that’d get us up in the air – then we fly above the clouds. We’d be there 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 the road to get trolleys for their trunks and they all hurried into the station.
    Harry had caught the Hogwarts Express the previous year. The tricky bit was getting onto platform nine and three-quarters, which wasn’t visible to the Muggle eye. What you had to do was walk through the solid barrier dividing platforms nine and ten. It didn’t hurt, but it had to be done carefully so that none 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 the barrier.
    Percy strode briskly forward and vanished. Mr Weasley went next, Fred and George followed.
    ‘I’ll take Ginny and you two come right after us,’ Mrs Weasley told Harry and Ron, grabbing Ginny’s hand and setting off. In the blink of an eye they were gone.
    ‘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 and wheeled his trolley about to face the barrier. He felt perfectly confident; this wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as using Floo powder. Both of them bent low over the handles of their trolleys and walked purposefully towards the barrier, gathering speed. A few feet away from it, they broke into a run and –
    CRASH.
    Both trolleys hit the barrier and bounced backwards. Ron’s trunk fell off with a loud thump, Harry was knocked off his feet, and Hedwig’s cage bounced onto the shiny floor and she rolled away, shrieking indignantly. People all around them stared 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 of muttering 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 the gateway’s sealed itself …’
    Harry looked up at the giant clock with a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. Ten seconds … nine seconds …
    He wheeled his trolley forward cautiously until it was right against the barrier, 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 Dad can’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 for