"Listen to me!" George shouted over Percy's furious protests, his magically amplified voice rolling across the platform. "Right now, we are not at Hogwarts at all. Hogwarts rules don't apply to us out here, and they certainly can't chain us to a station platform."
Percy nearly choked on indignation. He pushed closer to the bench, his prefect badge flashing as if it were personally offended by every word coming out of his brothers' mouths. "George, get down this instant!"
George was stopped for half a second by Percy's attempt to grab his sleeve, but Fred stepped smoothly into the gap. He lifted both arms as though addressing a packed Quidditch stadium, looking utterly delighted by the growing unrest. "Everyone, think about it. The moment we enter that castle, we'll be buried under rules again."
"No going here, no touching that, no wandering after curfew, no hexing your brother in the corridor even when he deserves it," George added, ducking out of Percy's reach with practiced ease. His grin widened as laughter rippled through the crowd. "But today, for one rare and glorious afternoon, we're free."
Fred seized the rhythm at once. "We are not inside Hogwarts Castle. We are not in a classroom, not in the Great Hall, and not standing in front of Professor McGonagall's terrifying stare. We can do what we want without worrying that some school rule is going to drop on our heads."
"Fred, shut up!" Percy roared, his ears going scarlet. He looked as though he might either climb onto the bench after them or explode where he stood. "You are encouraging mass rule-breaking!"
The twins ignored him completely. They had spent their entire lives learning how to function through Percy's lectures, Molly Weasley's scoldings, and the general chaos of The Burrow. One angry prefect, even one with their surname and a voice full of righteous fury, was not enough to scare them.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Fred cried, placing one hand dramatically over his heart, "we are witches and wizards. We were born with magic in our blood and adventure in our bones. Should we really spend a perfect afternoon standing around like damp laundry?"
"We should not," George answered solemnly, as though Fred had asked the most important question in modern magical history. "For the sake of freedom, for the sake of fun, and for the sake of not wasting a miracle, everyone—charge!"
"For freedom!" several voices shouted at once from within the crowd.
The cry did not come by accident. Fred and George had already spoken to a number of their friends while the students were still stumbling off the train, planting the idea and waiting for the right moment to make it explode. They might not have been top of the class in Potions or History of Magic, but when it came to people, timing, and mischief, the Weasley twins had a gift that no textbook could teach.
Their popularity at Hogwarts was no small thing. Gryffindors adored them, Hufflepuffs trusted them, and plenty of Ravenclaws found them entertaining enough to forgive the occasional joke product. Even among students who pretended not to approve, there were always a few who secretly wanted to see what the twins would do next.
"Come on!" Lee Jordan shouted, pushing forward with a laugh. As one of Fred and George's closest friends, he threw himself into the moment without hesitation. "Hogsmeade is right there. Are we really going to stand here until a teacher arrives and tells us we missed our chance?"
"Move!" another student yelled, swept along by the excitement. "Let's go before someone sensible ruins it!"
That was all it took. Once a few students surged toward the road, the rest of the crowd began to break apart. The idea had gone from outrageous to irresistible in the space of a minute, and the platform filled with the noisy scrape of shoes, trunks being dragged aside, and students calling for their friends.
Tyler stood near the edge of the crowd and watched the chaos unfold with open approval. The twins had done exactly what he wanted, and they had done it with style. He raised one hand and gave them a clear thumbs-up.
Fred spotted the gesture and winked. "How was that?"
"Perfect," Tyler said.
George grinned, already hopping down from the bench. "Then we'll see you later. Try not to have all the fun without us."
"Everyone, to Hogsmeade!" Fred shouted, taking the lead with a flourish. George fell into step beside him, and together they marched down the road as if they were leading a rebellion instead of a school outing that would almost certainly end in detention.
Lee Jordan and several other students followed at once, laughing and whooping as they went. More joined them by the second, drawn by the pull of the village and the thrill of doing something forbidden before term had even properly begun. The road to Hogsmeade had never looked so inviting.
For the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh years, Hogsmeade was not new. They had been there before, had tasted butterbeer, browsed the sweets at Honeydukes, and wasted money on ridiculous things at Zonko's Joke Shop. Even so, the chance to go now, outside the normal schedule and without permission slips or supervision, made the village feel exciting all over again.
The third years were even worse. They had spent two full years listening to older students brag about Hogsmeade weekends, and now they were finally old enough to go. The idea of reaching the village before the first feast of the year felt like a reward they had somehow stolen from fate.
"You can't go!" Percy shouted, planting himself in front of a cluster of Gryffindors who were already edging away. "This is against Hogwarts rules. I am a prefect, and you are supposed to listen to me!"
The Gryffindors did not look impressed. Gryffindor House had never been famous for cautious obedience, and Percy's authority was not nearly strong enough to hold back a crowd that had already tasted freedom. A few students ducked around him, a few mumbled excuses, and one simply patted him on the shoulder before hurrying after the others.
"Sorry, Percy," someone called over their shoulder. "Can't hear you from outside Hogwarts!"
Slytherin House had kept to itself at first, watching the commotion with cool expressions and sharp eyes. They had no interest in following Gryffindor's lead in public, but they were not fools. A free trip to Hogsmeade was still a free trip to Hogsmeade, and once the path was open, small groups of Slytherins began moving toward the village with deliberate dignity, as if the whole thing had been their idea from the start.
The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw prefects exchanged helpless looks. They both tried a few half-hearted reminders about rules, safety, and waiting for instructions, but their own students were already drifting after the crowd. After a moment, one of them sighed and gave up.
"Forget it," a Ravenclaw prefect muttered. "We can't stop them."
"And it is Hogsmeade," a Hufflepuff admitted, glancing down the road with visible temptation. "There are worse places to be stuck for an afternoon."
The Slytherin prefect passed Percy with a small, cutting sneer. He did not bother arguing, which somehow made it worse. He simply turned away and walked after his housemates, leaving Percy standing on the platform with outrage burning in his face.
Soon, more than half the students were gone. A few first years who knew older students had already attached themselves to those groups, scampering after them with nervous excitement. The platform, once crowded and confused, now looked strangely empty.
Tyler turned back to Hermione, who had stayed stubbornly in place beside the floating, unconscious Neville. Her arms were folded, her chin was lifted, and every line of her face said she was furious with them for being foolish enough to enjoy themselves. "Hermione, are you really not coming?"
"I'm not going," she said, turning her face away. "And I still think all of you are being reckless."
Jamie gave her a look that was more amused than patient. "Then take care of Neville. Harry, Ron, let's go."
Harry and Ron answered almost at the same time. "Okay."
They were trying not to look too thrilled in front of Hermione, but it was a losing battle. Ron was practically bouncing on his heels, and Harry kept glancing toward the road as if afraid Hogsmeade might disappear if he waited too long. Neither of them wanted to get into trouble, exactly, but neither of them wanted to be left behind either.
Tyler looked over the remaining students. Most of them were first years, uncertain and wide-eyed, with no older siblings or friends to drag them into the adventure. They stood with their luggage nearby, watching the others vanish toward the village and clearly wondering whether they were brave enough to follow.
"Anyone else want to come with us?" Tyler asked. His tone was relaxed, but it carried easily in the thinning crowd. "Hogsmeade is a brilliant place, and normally only third years and above are allowed to visit. Since we've got a chance to go early, don't you want to see it for yourselves?"
That was all the encouragement several of them needed. A few first years hurried over at once, introducing themselves in a rush and saying they wanted to come along if that was all right. They looked relieved when Tyler smiled instead of brushing them off.
"Of course," Tyler said. "We're first years too."
"Then we should get moving," Jamie said, glancing toward the road. "If we're quick, we can catch up with the older students and let them lead the way."
The little group set off at once. Nearly a dozen young witches and wizards hurried after the trail left by the older students, their nervousness quickly turning into excitement. A few others hesitated only a moment longer before gritting their teeth, grabbing their courage, and rushing to join them.
Only a handful of students remained on the platform. Hermione was one of them, standing rigidly beside Neville as he floated in place under the Levitation Charm. She watched Tyler's group disappear down the road, clenched her teeth, and glanced at Neville's pale, unconscious face before forcing herself not to follow.
Percy had not left either. He stood near the station entrance, trembling with rage and humiliation as he watched the last clusters of students vanish toward Hogsmeade. "Damn Fred and George," he snapped, turning sharply toward the road that led to Hogwarts. "They're causing trouble again, and this time I'm absolutely writing to Mum."
He hurried away toward the castle, clearly determined to report the disaster to the professors before the whole school emptied into the village. Hermione stayed where she was, trapped between anger, worry, and the unconscious boy floating beside her. She looked at the road, then at the platform, and finally whispered through gritted teeth, "They're all gone!"
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