After entering the house with Mrs. Weasley, they heard Ron say sympathetically:
"Allie, I can't believe how you survived today. I didn't even dare look him in the eye just now."
Hearing this, Mrs. Weasley grew angry. "Ron! I will not allow you to speak that way about your future teacher, especially when she brought you treats."
With that, she took cakes and drinks out of the box, having brought a bit of almost every flavor.
For some reason, Allie felt a bit angry too. Not wanting to deal with Ron right now, she pulled Ginny along to their bedroom.
This atmosphere lasted until Mr. Weasley came home that evening, and they all sat down to eat together.
After dinner, Allie took out the books she had brought for everyone from her trunk.
Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Ginny, and Percy were all delighted.
"Oh, Allie, darling, thank you for bringing us books we like." Mrs. Weasley glared fiercely at her three sons other than Percy. When she went out to catch them earlier, she had known it was just another prank by the twins to trick them into thinking Professor Snape was terrifying.
And Ron had spoken without thinking.
Upon learning of the matter, Mr. Weasley reasoned with the three boys and punished them by forbidding them from eating the sweets brought by the professor.
After everyone went upstairs, Ron still sat quietly in the corner, a hint of guilt flashing in his eyes. He lowered his head and fidgeted with his wand. "I'm sorry, Allie."
George and Fred sat down on either side of Allie.
"Sorry, Allie, but that wasn't a prank this time," George said.
Fred chimed in, "Professor Snape always finds various reasons to dock points from Gryffindor at school... that's why everyone calls him the Old Bat."
"Yeah, terrifying and blood-sucking..." George played the victim beside her.
Actually, Allie had already stopped being angry. Professor Snape did indeed like to scare children.
"I'm not mad anymore. I just think you shouldn't judge someone solely by their appearance." Allie looked at George. "If I become a professor like him one day, do you think I'll be terrifying?"
"Of course not!" Fred and George retorted instinctively.
"Neither do I," Ron quickly chimed in with his opinion.
Allie smiled. "I'm going upstairs to sleep first. Mrs. Weasley left some sweets for you guys." With that, she prepared to head upstairs.
Ron was already heading toward the dining area to eat his sweets.
"Allie," Fred called out to stop her.
"Thanks for the book," said George.
It was said by both of them.
Time flew by, and soon the day of departure for school arrived. Mrs. Weasley woke up bright and early out of fear that they would be late.
Fortunately, Allie and Ginny had made apple pies the night before for breakfast, packing them in small paper boxes so they wouldn't lose their shape, and they tasted good even when cold.
Ginny felt a deep sense of reluctance; once they left, she would be all alone in the house again.
Fred and George told Ginny that once they got to school, they would definitely mail her a toilet seat.
"Allie, I'm going to miss you so much. And the Galleon... are you bringing enough bugs?" Ginny was truly upset. She was the only girl in the house, and Allie was the first female friend she had ever made. "Also, if you see your brother, help me get his autograph!"
Galleon was the name of her pet toad. Because it was golden all over and quite small, the "five-person gang" had decided to name it Galleon.
Allie hugged Ginny. "Don't worry, I'll write to you. If I run into my brother, I'll introduce you to him."
Hagrid had sent a letter on the last day saying he was going to pick up her brother Harry. Allie had replied to Hagrid and also written a letter to Harry, telling him about the years they had spent apart and expressing how much she missed him.
"Hurry up, children, there are so many Muggles every year," Mrs. Weasley called to Percy and the others behind her. "Right in front is Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."
She and Ginny walked at the very front.
Mrs. Weasley stepped forward to tidy Allie's hair. "Allie, you go through first, don't be afraid."
"Okay, goodbye Mrs. Weasley, goodbye Ginny, I'll write to you." Allie dashed through the wall without hesitation, figuring it couldn't possibly be as jarring as a fireplace.
"Wait a minute..."
As Allie passed through, she thought she heard someone calling her.
But Allie didn't have time to overthink it; someone might barrel out of this platform and crash into her at any second.
She had no intention of waiting around for Percy and the rest of them. Platforms like this had plenty of people passing through and transmitting randomly from all directions.
She planned to get on the train first and look for her brother, wondering if she would even recognize him. Allie felt a little nervous...
Allie pushed open the door of a compartment. She had already checked several, finding neither her brother nor any empty seats.
"Hello! Do you mind if I come in? There are no seats left anywhere else." Allie asked politely first.
There were two people in this compartment: a pretty girl with long brown hair and a slightly chubby black-haired boy.
The boy's eyes were slightly red, as if he had been crying.
The girl replied, "Of course, hello! My name is Hermione Granger, and this is Neville Longbottom... Have you seen a toad?"
Looking a bit puzzled, Allie pulled a Galleon from her pocket. "I don't think the one you're talking about is Galleon... I'm Allie Evans, just call me Allie."
"No, mine is Trevor, a large golden-backed toad. You can call me Neville," Neville said, gesturing with his hand to indicate the size.
Hermione shrugged. "I'll go help you look for it, don't cry."
Allie stood up as well. "I'll go too!" Conveniently, she still wanted to keep searching for her brother.
Outside the compartment, Hermione said, "Neville, stay here and watch our luggage." Even though she had only known him for a brief moment, she figured that if Neville went out, he wouldn't be able to find his own compartment again.
"You can call me Hermione or Granger. Let's split up and search, it'll be faster."
The two of them separated, asking compartment by compartment.
Suddenly, Allie heard Ron's voice.
She slid open the compartment door, and what came into view was a seat piled high with snacks, but those weren't what she cared about.
The boy had a pair of eyes just like hers, wore thick glasses, had a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead, and wore ill-fitting clothes.
"Allie! We were just talking about that time you covered George in ink!" Ron stood up in surprise. "You know what? Harry was right behind us at the platform."
"Hi, I... received the letter you sent, the one Hagrid gave me... I finished reading it... Mr. Ollivander mentioned you to me as well." Harry was also somewhat emotional; this was the first time he was seeing his sister, his true flesh and blood.
When Hagrid gave him the letter, he had actually felt a bit envious of Allie, but then Hagrid mentioned that Allie used to fall ill frequently as a child and had almost not survived.
He felt a lingering fear and was profoundly grateful—thank goodness his sister hadn't gone to live at his aunt's house with him.
Ron pushed Allie, who was standing outside, into the compartment. "I should give you two some space. Talk away, I'm going to go walk around."
Allie sat down opposite her brother. "Did Aunt's family treat you badly?" She could see that his clothes weren't just oversized, they were also very old.
"Well, just so-so. Dudley is too savage... Dudley is their son, a bit older than us." Harry had also calmed down by now.