As the birds began to sing their sweet tune outside the window and the sun was making its way slowly over the horizon, Bella pulled herself from the warmth of her bed onto the cold floors of her bedroom, her brother's snores assaulting her ears. She pulled the door to their bedroom opened and the hinges groaned in the silence. Due to her small frame, the stairs held her weight with ease, no loud creaking.

The Weasley kitchen, usually bustling, was eerily quiet in the early morning hours. Bella poured herself some cereal and sat at her usual seat round the large kitchen table. She would be starting her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in a few short hours and she had to say she was nervous. With Bill being Head Boy, Charlie being Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and Percy being a Prefect, she knew she had a lot to live up to. Fred and George were an exception as they spent their Hogwarts days pranking, but they still managed to achieve good grades. Bella was drawn from her thoughts as she felt another presence in the empty kitchen. She turned her head towards the doorway where Ginny stood, tears streaming down her rosy cheeks, handkerchief grasped in her hand.

"Why are you crying, Gin?" Bella asked as she patted the seat on her left and Ginny took it.

"You and Ron are leaving for Hogwarts today. I'm going to be all alone now." She replied as Bella wrapped her arm around her shoulders, pulling her in for a hug.

"Hey. Don't be silly you're not alone at all. You've got Mum and Dad. And your friend Luna only lives over the hill." Bella replied, wiping away the tears on Ginny's cheeks with her sleeve.

"It's not the same though. I'm going to miss you." Ginny sniffed.

"I'm going to miss you too Gin. Why don't we make a pact to write as often as we can huh?" Bella asked, pulling back to look at her as she began to smile.

"I'd like that." Ginny sighed.

"There's that smile I know and love." Bella teased as Ginny began to giggle.

The girls turned towards the doorway as the stairs in the hallway creaked, announcing the arrival of another family member, most likely the Weasley Matriarch. The soft mutterings of Molly Weasley could be heard in the small kitchen as the two sisters giggled. Too caught up in what she was doing, Molly didn't notice her daughters as she stepped into the kitchen, an overflowing basket of washing in her arms.

"Do you want a hand, mum?" Bella asked.

"Oh! Heavens dear, I didn't see you there." Molly turned towards them, clutching her chest in fright.

"Sorry mum." Bella chuckled. "Do you need a hand?"

"Oh no, I'm fine dear." Molly smiled at her eldest daughter. "Are you all packed?"

"Yes. I packed last night. I packed Ron's trunk too." Bella smiled.

"Thank you sweetie." She said, kissing the top of her head. "Are you hungry?"

"I am!" Ginny said loudly.

"I'm okay thanks, mum." Bella smiled.

Bella creeped quietly up the stairs, heading towards her bedroom, intent on waking Ron as sneakily as she could. She listened at the door as his soft snores met her ears. She pushed the squeaking door open quickly and held her breath. His snores resumed and she let out a sigh of relief. She swept over to his bed and stood, towering over him in his vulnerable state. She readied herself and jumped, landing all of her weight on top of him. She lay on top of him on her back as he groaned audibly. She sat up on the edge of the bed and Ron flipped the covers off his face.

"You're a fat lump." He moaned.

"I might be fat but you're fat and ugly. Get up." Bella retorted, standing and pulling the covers from him, exposing him to the cold temperature in their room.

"Aw Bella, why?!" He groaned.

"We're going to Hogwarts today and you'll not be going anywhere if you don't get up, you lazy sod." Bella replied, dropping his covers on the floor.

While Ron lay in bed, grumbling and groaning about how much of a horrible sister she was, Bella gathered up her stuff and headed to the bathroom, pulling the creaky door shut on Ron's complaining.

After a quick shower, Bella was dressed and ready to start the day and Ron was now banging on the door of the bathroom.

"Open up! I need to pee!" He was yelling through the door.

"Just come in then!" She yelled back.

Ron pushed the bathroom door open quickly and closed it just as quickly behind him. He rushed to the toilet bowl just as Bella was doing her hair and she turned her back on him to finish what she was doing. She left soon after, leaving Ron to get ready for the day. Bella checked she had everything she needed safely stored in her trunk and pushed the heavy object down the many stairs in the Burrow. Once on the ground floor, she pushed it along the ground with her foot until she reached the garage where her father was loading their many trunks into the boot of their car.

"Morning, Princess." He smiled at her as he appeared in the doorway, lifting her trunk from the ground with ease.

"Are you sure we're all going to fit in there?" Bella asked skeptically as she peered around him to glance at the car.

"Let's just say, your mother has her ways and I have mine." Arthur smiled at her and tapped his wand slowly off the boot of the car. Bella's eyes lit up as she realised just what her father was trying to tell her.

"Our secret." She smiled, tapping the side of her nose with her finger.

"That's my girl." Arthur smiled back as she beamed widely at him.