Chapter 2-5 The Whomping Willow

• Holiday is over and Harry and the Weasley's will go by car, their Ford Anglia, to Platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross to get on the Hogwarts Express. The car has been magically enhanced to be bigger from the inside then it looks on the outside.
• After having to go back for George's Filibuster fireworks, Fred's broom and Ginny's diary, they finally start on their way. Running late, Mr. Weasley suggest to use the Invisibility Booster which he installed, but Mrs. Weasley refuses to let him.
• After Percy, Mr. Weasley, Fred, George, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny enter, it is only Harry and Ron who need to pass through the wall to get to Platform nine and three-quarters. Instead of passing through, they crash into the wall. With the gateway sealed, Ron suggests to take Mr. Weasley's car. Since his parents know how to Apparate, vanish and reappear at home, they don't need the car.
• They start the car, make it invisible and start following the Hogwart Express. They have problems getting the Invisibility Booster to start properly so they decide to fly over the clowds.
• After a few hours, the engine starts to whine. As they finally see Hogwarts the car starts losing speed and in the end the engine dies completely. They crash into a big tree. Ron's wand has snappd. The tree starts hitting them back, and they escape by driving the car in reverse a small distance.
• Looking through the windows, they see that the Sorting has already started.
• They get caught by Professor Snape who takes them to his office. Apparently they were seen by Muggles flying a car, and the story was printed in the newspaper, the Evening Prophet in an article with interviews with Mrs. Hetty Bayliss from Norfolk, Mr. Angus Fleet of Peeples and five more people saying that they saw the flying car. Snape also tells them he saw that considerable damage has been done to the tree, the Whomping Willow.
• They get a big lecture from Professor McGonagall and from Dumbledore but they don't get expelled. Professor Snape had jeered to them about the fact that Ron's father, who works at the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, will not like to hear that his own son got caught with a flying car. He's very disappointed to hear that they did not get expelled, even though they violated the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry.
• After eating some sandwiches and drinking two silver goblets full of iced pumpkins juice which Professor McGonagall had provided for them, they go back to Gryffindor Tower where they meet with Hermione. She tells them the new password "wattlebird", and they enter the common room, where they are welcomed as heroes.