THE JOURNEY FROM PLATFORM NINE AND THREE-QUARTERS
He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand . It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end . “ Unicorn hair ’ s nearly poking out . Anyway —” He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again . The toadless boy was back , but this time he had a girl with him . She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes .
“ Has anyone seen a toad ? Neville ’ s lost one ,” she said . She had a bossy sort of voice , lots of bushy brown hair , and rather large front teeth .
“ We ’ ve already told him we haven ’ t seen it ,” said Ron , but the girl wasn ’ t listening , she was looking at the wand in his hand . “ Oh , are you doing magic ? Let ’ s see it , then .” She sat down . Ron looked taken aback . “ Er — all right .” He cleared his throat .
“ Sunshine , daisies , butter mellow , Turn this stupid , fat rat yellow .”
He waved his wand , but nothing happened . Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep .
“ Are you sure that ’ s a real spell ?” said the girl . “ Well , it ’ s not very good , is it ? I ’ ve tried a few simple spells just for practice and it ’ s all worked for me . Nobody in my family ’ s magic at all , it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter , but I was ever so pleased , of course , I mean , it ’ s the very best school of witchcraft there is , I ’ ve heard — I ’ ve learned all our course books by heart , of course , I just hope it
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