I don't own Harry Potter. Darn.
When Meghan stepped into King's Cross Station, she thought the day to be like the many other days she had spent in London on her family's vacation. She would fight with her sister over where to eat lunch, maybe buy a few new clothes that all her back home friends would be jealous of, and she thought that maybe, today she might meet up with her English friend, Martha. But the one thing she did not expect was to see a group of people, lavishly dressed for a simple train station, run full speed into the wall between platforms nine and ten. Meghan gasped as they hit the barrier, cringing herself as they braced for impact. But the crash she had been expecting from behind her closed eyes never came. When she looked up, the group was gone; vanished, as if into thin air.
"What in the-" Meghan muttered to herself. She ran to catch up with the family that had gotten ahead of her in her preoccupation.
"Beth! Beth!" Meghan called tugging her sister's arm, as she lolled behind her parents, looking up at the ceiling in wonder.
"What Meghan?" Beth was more than a little annoyed.
"Did you SEE that?!" Meghan asked, incredulous that anyone could have missed that display of what could have only been magic.
"See you being annoying? Oh yeah. I caught the early show. And the matinee. And the late show!" Beth was always coming up with witty retorts, but this time Meg was not amused.
"No, those people! They just, walked through the wall!" Meghan tugged on Beth's arm. "We have to go check it out!"
"Obstacle one. You see those parental looking people over yonder? They aren't going to let us go anywhere alone in the middle of a train station in a foreign country. Obstacle two. Even if we managed to get away from them, you would run into that wall, and do exactly that. Run into the wall. People can't go through walls! Unless… the people you saw were some kind of magical Jedi who used the Force to penetrate the evil in the wall and…" Beth was now mocking Meghan, and she didn't appreciate it.
"Come on, I have a plan." Meghan said, cutting off her sister. She walked over to her parents and said, "Mom, I have to pee before we get on our train." This was a perfect solution considering Meghan went to the bathroom before going anywhere.
"Sure thing sweetie," her mom said, glancing at her husband. He was staring up at the train schedules. "I'll take you."
"Actually… Beth was going to take me. She has to go too." Meghan said sheepishly, sliding her hand out of her mother's grasp.
"Oh. Okay. I guess. Well, stick together. We will be here when you get back!"
"That was too easy," Meghan bragged as she walked past her sister who was some what astonished.
"Well, okay. You have cleared the first hurtle. But it's 10:45. Our train leaves at 11:10. Any research and development of further plans has to happen in the next five minutes. Trust me. The bathroom excuse only works that long." Beth fell into step with Meghan as they rounded the corner to the bathroom, knowing their Mom would be watching. Once they reached the bathroom door, Meghan directed Beth to the barrier where the anomaly had occurred.
When they reached it, Meghan asked Beth to hold her bag. "It's now or never. You want to go first?"
Beth shook her head. "Nope, making a fool of myself in a crowded train station? It's all you."
Meghan took a deep breath and ran fast and hard at the wall, cringing even though she was sure she would go through. And she was right. She never hit a wall. As Beth watched, her sister was there, one minute charging an obviously sturdy brick wall, and then, she just… wasn't.
When Meghan opened her eyes she was at another train platform. This one was the same as the others, but some how changed. She stood in awe for a moment before Beth came crashing into her.
"You're into making a fool of yourself today too?" Meghan said, laughing at the look on Beth's face, though it no doubt had just been on her own.
"Well," Beth tried to reason with herself and her sister. "I couldn't just let you go alone! Who knows where you would end up? Who knows where we are?!" The pair looked around for a moment before they spotted a friendly looking woman and decided to find out where exactly they were.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" Beth began, tapping the frizzy red haired woman on the shoulder.
"Oh hello dear! Is today you're first time on the Hogwarts Express?"
"The what? Where are we exactly?" Beth asked, trying to be as polite as possible.
"You don't know… Wait. You're- you're a Muggle! A MUGGLE! THERE'S A MUGGLE OVER HERE!! QUICK, SOMEONE! A MUGGLE!"
Beth and Meghan stepped back and began retreating, but where caught by two burly looking men who pointed sticks in there faces when they turned.
They both mumbled something, and suddenly, Meghan and Beth were standing on the other side of the barrier.
"Beth?" Meghan asked, scratching her head.
"Meg? What just happened? The last thing I remember we were going to the bathroom? Where are we?" Beth looked around, more confused than Meghan was.
"Er- I er- don't really know. Maybe we should find Mom and Dad."
The pair found their parents and the family never gave that "bathroom" trip another second thought. Except for Meghan. Every time she saw someone dressed like the people running at the barrier she always found the urge to ask them if it was their first time on the Hogwarts Express.