{Platform 9 3/4, King's Cross station}
{29th June 1991}
{Rigel's POV}
"Hey kiddo~ doing okay?" Sirius almost sang, a wide grin splitting across his face as he looked at me, his eyes almost glimmering.
"I'm okay, what about you, old man? You crying there or something?" I jabbed back. Shaking his head, he dabbed his eyes a little bit.
"I'm just happy to have met the newest generation of Marauders," He said as he pointed toward Fred and George, who both grinned with pride at his words, "...unless you and Harry managed to ruffle some feathers, tell me, did you guys prank Minny or Snape?"
His grin widened as Mrs. Weasley shrieked his name and then started a lecture about teaching us wrong things. I shared a nod with Fred, and then my eyes finally turned to the last Weasley.
Ginny Wasley stood tall at 5 feet 8, still looking small, as she was hiding behind her father and sneaking peeks at Harry. I was only able to get a partial glimpse of her frame, but she was wearing a simple white t-shirt and blue denim shorts. Her face held a tiny amount of freckles, and a decent amount of blush adorned her cheeks.
'Though I'm guessing that isn't makeup.' I looked at Harry, who was grinning with Fred and George as they looked on at Sirius being scolded, completely oblivious to the young girl's stare. My attention was likely noticed as her brown eyes stared into mine for a brief moment before she ducked behind Arthur. Her movement led to me gaining the attention of the big man, who appraised me for a moment before he moved forward toward me.
"Hello, young man, I have heard good things about you from my sons," He said as he extended his right hand, "Arthur Weasley." He grinned, and there was no hesitation or hidden intentions behind his gesture, as his mana was in a perfectly calm and happy state.
"Surely not, Ron..." I paused, gathering some attention, "...saying good things about a snake?" I questioned as I shook his hand. That got a guffaw of laughter out of him as he shrugged, "Rigel Black, friend of two most innocent kids."
"See, Father, I told you Rigel was smart..." Fred began. "He's the only one who seems to understand us..." George finished that statement as he hugged his heart.
"Not even our own Mother gives us the benefi- Ow woman, that hurts!" Fred's theoretical response was broken as Molly grabbed onto his ear and shook his head a little bit. The rest of the group began giggling at his antics, and even George simply snuck away from the scene.
"Well then, shall we go? We did see Mr and Mrs. Granger on the other side. I think they are waiting for you, Hermione." Arthur spoke, getting an excited look from Hermione, who immediately began dragging her trunk toward the exit.
"How are we going home?" I threw that question toward Sirius as Harry and Ron slipped away behind Hermione, likely to say their goodbyes.
"Through the floo," he said and pointed to one particular corner of the station where green fire was blazing. There was a queue waiting for their chance, so we still had some time. After nodding at him in acknowledgement, I turned back to the group, only to notice the intense gaze of one Mrs. Weasley locked onto me.
"Hello, Mrs. Weasley?" I greeted. 'What was this about now?' I thought.
"Hello, dear..." She greeted back and then hesitated, her eyes turned to Fred and George for a moment before she took a deep breath and began speaking, "According to the Daily Prophet, you were the one responsible for capturing Pettigrew..." Her tone fluctuated to disgust for a brief moment as she said his name, "...to think that someone like him has been hiding in our house under our noses this entire time..." She paused slightly as her tone broke once again, her mana vibrating in anger and sadness.
"Anyway, I just wanted to thank you on behalf of the Weasley family. You helped remove that abomination of a man." With that, I was engulfed by her into a bone-crushing hug. I stood there awkwardly for a brief moment before patting her back awkwardly, my eyes screaming for help directed toward Sirius, who easily turned sideways, ignoring my plight.
Arthur enjoyed my predicament for a brief moment before he came to my rescue, "There, there, Molly, no need to kill the little man while showing gratitude." He chuckled at his own joke, but it did get a grin out of the Weasleys.
Molly finally let me go and then air-swatted at her husband, "Oh, hush you." She then turned back to me and continued, "Harry and you should come over for dinner today. We can have a big dinner, and you guys could tell us how your first year went."
I nodded in acknowledgement. I wasn't really a big fan of the Weasleys originally, but reading a lot of fanfiction would do that to you. However, the energy and vibe that they had going right now was indeed infectious. Also, it was better than getting pranked by Sirius every day.
"Sure, Mrs. Weasely, we would love to." I nodded in acknowledgement of her invitation, and she nodded happily.
"Oh, here come the boys, should we head on back, oh, I have so much to prepare for tonight." As she went back to worrying about her dinner, I looked at Ron and Harry, who slid back into the group, and they were gossiping about something, and from their manner, I could detect a hint of concern and worry. I had gotten the hang of these empath-like properties of my mana sense over the past year, and most of the time, I kept it a bit muted. Only the people in my immediate surroundings would have their emotional state revealed to me.
"Shall we go?" I asked Sirius, who nodded, and after another round of goodbye, we parted ways. I stole a glance at Ginny once again before I walked into the green fire, a bit excited for the long break and my subsequent exploration of the Wizarding World.
"12 Grimmauld Place!"
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