After McGonagall conjured a large plate of sandwiches, told us to eat here then go straight up to our dormitory, and turned briskly to return to the feast, Ron let out a long, low whistle.
"I thought we'd had it," he said while grabbing a sandwich.
"So did I..." Harry replied as he seemed to unfreeze from the shock of the experience.
Ginny looked at the ground, her face flushing red as a sigh of relief was made audible. I smiled at her comfortingly, then turned to shake my head at myself.
"I can't believe that just happened..." I said quietly, mostly to myself as I ran a hand down my face and sighed heavily.
"Can you believe our luck, though?" Ron said, completely ignoring what I'd just stated and speaking through a mouthful of food. "Fred and George must've flown that car five or six times and no Muggle ever saw them." He narrowed his eyes slightly and took another huge bite out of a sandwich. "But why couldn't we get through the barrier..."
Harry shrugged. "We'll have to watch our steps from now on, though..." he said in a thoughtful tone that was mixed with a bit of humor, mostly as he turned to me with his eyebrows raised. "And what's with getting caught twice, Aelynn?"
Laughing slightly while pressing my hand to my forehead, I just shook my head. "I don't know... I guess I should just never open my mouth again or else there'll be a professor always standing there waiting to jump in with perfect timing."
Ron looked at me and quickly shook his head with a grin on his face. "No! Don't stop talking... someone's got to put Snape in his place!" he said with a smirk, but then his expression shifted as he turned to face the door. We all looked over with him.. to find nothing there. "Sorry..." he said while tilting his head. "I was just making sure Snape wasn't about to walk in... with perfect timing... to catch me saying that."
Harry and Ron quickly burst into laughter, but I hesitated. Ginny was still looking at the floor, biting her lip at the same time. She looked up when she noticed me staring at her, and I quickly gave her an apologetic look. Her face shifted into something between a smile and a grimace.
"Hey... are you okay?" I asked her quietly, not wanting to draw Harry and Ron's attention to her because she didn't seem to ever like or want that.
She nodded, pulling at a lock of her bright red hair. Not knowing what else to say when she didn't verbally respond to me, I just nodded while biting my lip.
Did I do something wrong?
Harry and Ron continued to talk aimlessly, devouring the sandwiches that the plate kept refilling for them. Once they stopped and rose from their seats, they looked back towards Ginny and I.
"Ready to go to Gryffindor Tower?" Harry asked us with a slight grin. I nodded and rose to follow him, and Ginny copied me, her face flushing a lighter tone of red.
Trailing behind the boys, Ginny and I walked through the quiet castle, our eyes growing wider and wider the further we walked through the huge hallways. There were portraits muttering as we passed, their eyes following us until we were out of sight. Suits of armor shifted and creaked, and a cat, hiding behind a rather tall pillar, stared at us with bright yellow eyes.
...Not creepy at all.
Finally, we reached a passage where I assumed Gryffindor Tower was located. In front of us stood a huge portrait of a fat lady in a pink silk dress.
"Password?" she said as we approached.
"Er..." said Harry, scratching the back of his head.
"What password?" I asked while raising my eyebrows. "Why do we need a password?"
But no one answered my question, nor seemed to even acknowledge me, because right at the moment we all saw Hermione dashing towards us with a frantic expression on her face. "There you are! Where have you been? There are the most ridiculous rumors... someone said you'd been expelled for crashing a flying car..."
"Well, we haven't been expelled," Harry assured her, but her eyes widened the moment those words left his mouth.
"You're not telling me you did fly here?" said Hermione in a tone similar to Professor McGonagall's. "Let me guess... you dragged those two along with you..." she continued while guestering to Ginny and I.
I opened my mouth to speak, but Ron interrupted me. "Skip the lecture," he said rather impatiently, "Just tell us the new password."
"It's 'wattlebird,'" said Hermione in an annoyed tone, "but that's not the point-"
Her words were cut short, however, as the painting of the fat lady swung open and a sudden clapping storm sounded upon our ears.
There were many people crowded in the room beyond, all standing on lopsided tables and squashy armchairs, looking as though they'd been waiting for us to arrive. Harry and Ron were quickly rushed inside, leaving Ginny, Hermione, and I to scramble in after them.
"Brilliant!" someone yelled, patting Harry on the back. "Inspired! What an entrance! Flying in a car... crashing into the Whomping Willow... people'll be talking about this one for years!"
"Good for you," someone else said, but was quickly shoved aside by both Fred and George.
"Why couldn't we've come in the car, eh?" Fred asked, his voice laced with dramatic disappointment. George nodded, looking just as distraught. "You let Ginny and Aelynn follow you... we could've come too!"
Ron was red in the face while grinning widely, and Harry looked extremely embarrassed. I looked at Ginny and she just shrugged, clearly just as confused as I was.
"Ginny, Aelynn, follow me." Hermione said quietly, tilting her head in the direction we'd be going.
Ok... I mean I do want to get out of here...
We followed her up a spiral staircase, passing several doors before coming to a stop in front of one.
"This is your dorm room," Hermione said, pointing at the door. "Mine's just one door over... they're separated by year." She looked at both of us with genuine concern on her face. "So... can I ask why you came to school with those two... did you miss the train?"
"Well... yeah, but not exactly. The barrier closed or something... it didn't let us through." I told her, fidgeting with my hands. "I don't know why."
Hermione narrowed her eyes slightly, her face shifting to an expression of confusion... which I could tell she didn't like. "I'll look into it..." she said slowly, giving us both a smile. "I'll tell you if I find out about anything."
"We can-" I started to tell her, but she was already gone, sprinting down the stairs... either to find Harry and Ron or look into it.
"Help..." I finished lamely.
Inhaling sharply while rolling my eyes, I looked up at the ceiling for a second, taking in a breath before turning to look at Ginny.
Okay... I get I'm a first-year, have never done anything to do with magic, and probably seem really stupid... but I'm just getting ignored or babied no matter what I do...
...I'm not helpless...