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Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize from the HP books, J.K Rowling does.

"It's not here," I said, my voice flat with disbelief.

Aunt Ellie shifted James to her other hip and shot a worried look at the ticket clenched in her fist.

"But it clearly says "Platform Nine and Three-Quarters"."

I ignored this observation due to the fact that it was a tad obvious, preferring to gape at the perfectly normal brick wall that separated Platform Nine from Platform Ten. It was a perfectly clean and acceptable brick wall except for the fact that Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was incredibly conspicuous in its absence.

I felt like a balloon that had been blown up almost to its bursting point, and then suddenly deflated. True, I hadn't been to keen on being examined and tested like a lab rat by Professor Dumbledore (whoever he was), but still, I had been looking forward to going to Hogwarts. I had hoped to have finally found a place where I could fit in and blend with the other students. The idea of learning magic was pretty intriguing too.

Disappointment swelled up inside me, and behind it, rising up like a red tide, I could feel the anger. My ears began to buzz. The noise started off fairly quietly, but quickly grew into a roar. Sweat trickled down my back and made my dark green shirt stick to my skin. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to keep the anger down.

Not here. Never here. Please, not with my family so close.

My heart thudded against my ribs and my breathing became harsh and irregular. I knew that if I let the anger explode out of me there, in the crowded station, I would kill someone. I was certain of it. In the past, people who had been near me when I got uncontrollably angry had been lucky to get away with only burns and broken bones. Those occasions had been the reasons that I could never stay in one school for more than two months without being expelled.

I could hear Merlin give an anxious hoot from inside is cage. Being a magically tainted animal, he could sense trouble coming. My aunt's hand patted my arm and I could faintly hear her ask a worried question. Her voice sounded to me as if she was very far away.

Don't touch me. Please just GO AWAY. I don't want to...

Let go.

No, I can't.

Let go.

NO!

I opened my eyes and rocked back on my heels as hundreds of colored dots swam across my eyeballs. Relief washed over me. I had dealt with my anger and kept it in.

Jenny chewed on a clump of her curly blond hair and shifted from foot to foot nervously.

"Are you 'kay, Rosie?" she asked, clutching Aunt Ellie's skirt with one fat fist "You look ill."

"Yeah Jen-Jen, I'm fine." I told her, elation filling my mind with a golden mist of happiness "I'm absolutely fine."

Aunt Ellie and Uncle John swapped expressive looks, and both of them beamed at me. I smiled back, proud that I hadn't disappointed (or blown up) either of them. Perhaps the anger was getting better.

"You went all pale for a bit," put in Ralph "And you started to sweat and-"

"Shut up," I hissed, giving him a good two-handed shove.

"Rosie..." began Aunt Ellie, warningly.

"He's not hurt, or anything," I protested "Look, he's laughing."

He was indeed laughing, and before Uncle John or Aunt Ellie could stop him he darted forwards and pushed me, perhaps a good deal harder than was safe. I was caught off balance, and stumbled backwards betwards the barrier.

I shut my eyes and waited for the crack of my skull hitting the brickwork. And it didn't come. I kept on falling a lot longer than I'd expected to.

Thump.

"Damn it."

Those were the two sounds that accompanied my abrupt collision with the ground. I was so jarred by the impact and the surprise that I just sat there, staring numbly at what I realized must be the back of the brick wall. At least, what had seemed like a brick wall. In my experience (I don't know about you), when you lean into a brick wall, it stays leaned on. It definitely shouldn't allow you to slide through it as if it were made of mist.

"Oy, move out of the way!"

"Yeah kid, move!"

I scrambled to my feet and gaped at my surroundings. Dozens of people were clustered on a platform which was marked by the sign: "Platform Nine and Three-Quarters". Many of them were kids, ranging from about eleven to seventeen. Most of the kids were carrying trunks and quite a few of them had owls. They all seemed to be moving in one direction, betwards a scarlet train that was evidently preparing to depart. It was marked: "The Hogwarts Express".

I turned back to face the magical barrier just in time to see my aunt and uncle step through the apparently solid wall, followed by my wide eyed cousins.

"Wow."

"Wicked."

"So, this was how Kathy did it," said Aunt Ellie "I always wondered..."

"Yeah, it's 'mazing, isn't it?" I said.

Behind me a shrill whistle blew.

"You'll miss it if you don't hurry," said Uncle John, passing me Merlin's cage and giving me a quick hug "I'll miss you, Rosie."

I gave my cousins a wink and stuck out my tongue.

"'Bye, my uglies."

Aunt Ellie gave my arm a brief squeeze and whispered "Good luck, darling. Be safe."

"I'll be careful. I'll write you every week!"

"Hurry!" she urged, smiling a little sadly.

The doors of the train began to close. I ran.

I hope you liked it, next chapter Rosie will meet some of the other characters from HP.