He also had no idea Dumbledore had cast a quick compulsion charm on him to do just that; in case he had decided to stay until the students had arrived, out of a sense of obligation. Dumbledore wanted him gone, so he couldn't see something the old man didn't want to half-giant to see.
Hagrid was only a quarter of the way back to the castle when Dumbledore heard the train's whistle in the distance. It signified there was less than two minutes before the train pulled in.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
As they felt the train slow down the last few hundred feet before coming to a stop at Hogsmeade station, Ron was grinning at Lilith Moon and gushing with praise for the girl. He'd never been able to learn a spell - whether it be a charm, a transfiguration or a hex - so fast before.
"Thank you, so much!" he exclaimed. 'Just wait until Malfoy mouths off to me, again,' he thought. 'I'll laugh and say, "Toilets are that way, Malfoy".'
As he'd been thinking, the five in his compartment all moved out into the narrow hallway and into the sudden press of humanity all trying to get out the door at either end.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
As students started to alight and the first few hurried quickly out the gate and towards the carriages, Dumbledore was keeping careful watch as they passed by. He already knew he had the best position as, with the necessity of getting out through the gate, the students had to pass through in single file.
He watched as the prefects who'd been in the first rail car, their privilege, also moved to ensure none of the students got up to any mischief on the platform or as they moved out to and boarded the thestral-drawn carriages.
As they tended to occupy the first couple cars after the prefects', most of the first students out through the gate were Slytherins.
A lot were talking and he'd occasionally hear the name 'Potter', but the students were moving too quickly through for him to catch more than just snippets. All he managed to catch were what sounded like no one could find him on the train. But, that couldn't be right; 'young Harry' thought of Hogwarts as his home.
Still scanning the crowd with his eyes, waiting for his opportunity to grab the Potter boy and side-along apparate him away and back to his cottage, he missed paying attention when Longbottom and the other four Heirs of the Alliance all passed through the gate.
Thinking that more than half of the students had already passed through, he was beginning to get a little concerned when he finally remembered that the Potter boy often rode in one of the rear carriages. Therefore, he'd likely be in the last ten to twenty percent of students to pass through. And calmed again.
When the crowd of students started to slow down to a trickle, he saw the youngest Weasley boy walking with two other Gryffindor boys and two Hufflepuff girls in his same year. But, the Potter boy and the Granger girl were not with him.
Looking past them he couldn't see his quarry; so he quickly cast a Confundus charm on the group the Weasley boy was travelling with, dragged the boy off to the side and hit him with a disillusionment charm.
With his eyes still watching the last few students walk through, he realised he'd missed his quarry.
Still tightly holding the youngest Weasley boy he hit him with a more powerful Confundus and demanded, "Where's Harry Potter?"
Dazed, Ron slowly replied, "He.. wasn't.. on.. the train."
Angry, Dumbledore cancelled the Confundus, obliviated the boy of the last thirty seconds and shoved him towards the carriages.
Then he waited for a gap between the final students still exiting through the gate and strode onto the platform. He'd be searching the train.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Ron staggered a bit as he walked towards the carriages, blinked and looked around. 'Where'd everyone go?' he thought.
Realising there weren't many carriages left, he hurried forward and jumped on one about to leave.
'Why'd they leave me behind?' he wondered.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
When Dumbledore grabbed the youngest Weasley boy, Moody was about to abandon his concealed watching of the old man and charge forward with his wand blazing.
However, as he started to move, the old man suddenly half flung the boy towards the carriages and stepped through the gate and onto the platform.
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