Disclaimer: I don't own the "Harry Potter" book series. The story of "Harry Potter" is the property of J. K. Rowling, it is not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.
Chapter 1: A Strenuous Return
King's Cross railway station was as busy as always on this late Monday morning.
It was noisy and packed as business men in overpriced suits, teenagers skipping their first day of school and backpacking tourists alike were making their way to and from the different platforms. Unintelligible announcements about delayed and cancelled trains were drowned out by an inextinguishable babel of voices and sounds. Strutting towards the station's exit, a group of dressed up suburban moms were on their way to their weekly shopping spree, chatting loudly and pushing overly expensive strollers while at the same time skilfully ignoring their crying offspring. They passed by a group of foreign travellers who were trying to decipher an obsolete folding map. On the other side of the hall, a rather sloppy-looking worker was grumpily cleaning up what seemed to be a spilled strawberry-banana milkshake from the small coffee shop nearby.
In short, no one was paying enough attention to their surroundings to notice a young, petite woman rushing her way through the giant crowd.
Her long brown locks were sticking out in every possible direction as she was quickly moving through the large entrance hall, a small beaded bag in one hand and an old wicker cat carrier in the other. Unfortunately, her furry passenger didn't seem too happy about the bumpy ride and tried to take out his frustration by snatching at any unsuspecting stranger passing by.
Her elegant brown leather boots clacking loudly, she was running across the hard stone floor. Her loose cherry red dress, which she had combined with a light blue jeans jacket, was swirling around her pale legs as the girl was stumbling down a broad flight of stairs towards the platforms nine and ten. She bumped into several people, who complained indignantly, but didn't have the time to stop and apologise. She continued to fight her way through the cluster of stressed passengers, sprinting exactly towards the barrier separating the two platforms. Clenching her two pieces of luggage, she took a deep breath before running right against it.
But instead of making the expected painful contact, she went right through the sturdy wall. On the other side, a hidden platform filled with a massive crowd composed of rather oddly dressed people came into sight. The young woman stopped dead in her tracks and took a moment to admire the old train to her left, whose beautiful scarlet engine was already surrounded by thick, opaque white steam. Oh, how she had missed this sight!
Biting her chapped lips nervously, her look darted to the big round clock overlooking the track: 10.59. The female tensed up for a split second just to then abruptly start running again. She yet again battled her way through the crowd, storming towards the vintage train.
She had just jumped on the train when the clock chimed and the door shut behind her, almost losing her footing as the infamous Hogwarts Express pulled out of its secret station.
Her face was flaming red and her chest was aching relentlessly. Breathing heavily, she made her way through the narrow aisle. Her feline friend's carrier, which still had two big ginger-haired paws protruding from its inside, felt painfully heavy in her right hand. She was well aware of the strange looks that were given to her by the other passengers on the train, but she pretended not to notice. She had learnt long ago not to let these kinds of things get to her and therefore chose to elegantly ignore the clearly audible chatter and the countless eyes following her every move as she marched on.
Leisurely, she walked by the see-through partition walls, checking every compartment in the process. Having almost reached the back of the train, she finally found the little booth she was looking for.
Sliding the glass door open, she earned herself startled looks from the adolescents inside. To her right was the famous lanky boy with the pitch-black hair, the round wire glasses and the clearly noticeable scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead. His arm was wrapped around the shoulders of a girl with long red hair and some faint freckles on her nose. Next to the pair sat a boy with the same vibrant ginger hair, his mouth stuffed with chocolate and his seat covered in candy wrappers. On the other side of the compartment, only two of the three velvet seats were taken. One was occupied by a somewhat chubby boy with a brown head of hair struggling to hold onto a squirming soggy toad and the other by a pale blonde with big silvery-grey eyes wearing an interesting assortment of mismatched clothes.
It was that girl with the characteristic dreamy look on her face who exclaimed in a husky voice, "There you are, Hermione! We've been waiting for you."
Hermione Jean Granger smiled brightly at her friends. It felt so good to finally come back home again.