Chapter 4: Platform Nine and Three Quarters
I don't own Digimon or Harry Potter
Alexander opened the door to the family flat, looking down at Harry as the young boy walked inside followed by Daisuke, Veemon, Jun and Natsumi. "Here we are." He told the boy, chuckling when he saw Harry looking around with wide eyes.
"It's huge…" his simple statement made Daisuke and Veemon giggle. "You all live here?" he then asked, looking at the girl his age.
"Only occasionally, we jump back and forth between England and Japan often." Daisuke told him. "Since Jun and I are heading to school soon, we're staying here so we can make it to the train on time without having to worry about international travel." She explained further.
"Hm, I could get used to this." Salem purred, the cat rubbing against the sofa leaving fur all over it.
"Oi, don't scratch up the furniture!" Jun shouted, grabbing a magazine she rolled it up and began waving it menacingly at the Hex Cat. Salem simply smirked and waved his tails teasingly at her as he rubbed his back against the armchair, purring contently.
"Leave him be Jun, don't let him rile you up, Hex Cats are mischievous, remember." Daisuke told her cousin while Hedwig hooted in her cage that Harry held in his arms.
"Sorry girl, I don't think I can let you out here. The muggles will see you." Harry whispered, the owl ruffling her feathers and clacking her beak.
"You can let her out tonight, don't worry. She'll find her way back before we need to leave." Daisuke told him, he smiled shyly and nodded as Hedwig hooted happily.
"Daisuke, why don't you and Veemon show Harry around, he can sleep in the guest bedroom while I make a late lunch for everyone." Natsumi said with a kind smile, she looked to Harry with a motherly smile. "What would you like Harry?"
"Um…breadandwater." He mumbled quickly, so quickly in fact Natsumi could have sworn she misheard him.
"Bread and water?" she asked again, Harry tensed and nodded making her eyes narrow, but she said nothing else. "Alright."
Harry took a sigh of relief before quickly walking off with Daisuke and Veemon, the young girl looking back to give her mother a confused glance. Natsumi turned and flicked her hand, the shelves and fridge opening as food began making itself while she turned to Alexander.
"You saw it as well." It wasn't a question, but a statement to her husband who nodded. "The poor boy, I hope those relatives of his have not mistreated him."
"I hope so as well." Alexander muttered.
Meanwhile, Daisuke pushed open her bedroom door and smiled. "And this is my bedroom." She said, turning to Harry as he walked in followed by Veemon and Salem. "What do you think?"
Harry smiled and nodded, setting Hedwig's cage down on the desk before he followed the girl to the bed. "Come on sit with me, make yourself comfortable." She told him.
"Thanks." He muttered, climbing onto the bed, he sunk into the soft mattress and giggled.
"So why don't you tell me about yourself Harry." Daisuke said, smiling at her new friend. "What do you like to do for fun?"
Harry shrugged; he never had much time for fun. Not with all his chores he had to do, the only time he truly had time to himself was during dinner when his Uncle locked him in his small room. And even then, the only things he had to play with were old toy soldiers made of tin with chipped paint, or the occasional spider that found its way into his room that he talked to. "Um…reading."
"Oh, what do you read?" Daisuke asked with a friendly tone.
"Stuff." He muttered, avoiding her eyes.
"I like reading stuff too." She said before she got off the bed and walked to her desk and picked up her pile of school books. "Why don't we read our textbooks for a while, so we can have some idea of what we will be learning."
"Good idea." Veemon said, smiling at his partner while Salem purred and curled up on the windowsill, basking in the sunlight.
"Okay." Harry said softly. Daisuke walked over and sat next to the boy and opened the first book, The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1. Harry rested his head on Daisuke's shoulder, making her smile at the boy as both read the book together in silence. "What if I'm not good enough for Hogwarts?" he then asked nervously.
"Oh Harry, of course you will be good at Hogwarts. In fact, I think you'll be brilliant." Daisuke reassured him gently.
"She's right. It's your first year, I don't think they'll expect ya to do awesome feats of magic right away." Veemon added. "Give it time and you'll do great."
Harry smiled at the Digimon and nodded. "Thanks, um Veemon right?"
"That's right. The names Veemon, but my friends call me Veemon." The blue dragon said.
"Did you come up with that all by yourself?" Salem asked, opening one eye before looking at the Digimon who blinked in confusion. "Hm, thought as much."
"Did he just make fun of me?" Veemon asked Daisuke and Harry, the two humans sharing a look before going back to reading the book leaving Veemon to huff and cross his arms, glaring at the cat.
"Kids, the food is ready!" the voice of Natsumi echoed through the flat. Daisuke smiled and closed the spellbook before she and Harry left the bedroom with Veemon following.
"Salem do you want anything?" Daisuke called, looking back at her new pet who yawned softly.
"I'll be fine for now mistress but thank you for asking." He purred before going back to sleep, Daisuke smiled at the cat before catching up to Harry and Veemon, the young boy already being helped into a chair by Alexander as Natsumi set the table.
"Alright everyone, dig in." Alexander said, his family digging in right away while Harry was hesitant for a moment before his growling stomach made him begin eating as well.
Later that evening, as the sun began setting over the city, Harry was in the guest bedroom with Hedwig out of her cage, the white owl resting on his shoulder hooting gently and brushing her head against the young boy. "See you in a bit Hedwig." He whispered, opening the window for his new friend she hooted before taking flight into the evening sky to stretch her wings, Harry smiling as he watched her go, he then yawned, rubbing his eyes exhausted from the day's events. As he laid down on the bed, slowly falling asleep, he smiled softly when he realised that tomorrow, he would be going to Hogwarts.
The next morning Daisuke was awake early, she got out of her bed with a small cheer. "Today's the day!" she whispered, waking Veemon and Salem up quietly.
"Hm, five more minutes." Veemon mumbled as he rubbed his eyes and turned over in the bed only to be pulled out of bed by his partner.
"Sorry buddy, but we can't sleep in today. The train leaves at eleven o'clock in the morning sharp, no ifs ands or buts about it." She reminded him, picking up Salem in her arms and petting the cat who purred softly.
"Oh yeah…" Veemon groaned, rubbing his eyes again as he held back a long yawn. Daisuke walked out of her bedroom and heard someone in the kitchen already, she blinked and walked down the hall thinking it was her mother or father doing an early breakfast, so everyone had time to get ready and for her, Harry, and Jun to pack their trunks with plenty of time to make sure they didn't forget anything.
"Hm, Harry, what're you doing?" she asked, seeing the young boy trying to start the stove while standing on a stool to reach it.
"Oh um, cooking breakfast." He answered, shyly looking away from the girl. "I normally cook at my place." He added.
"By yourself?" Daisuke asked, Veemon and her sharing a look before turning to Harry whose cheeks had turned pink as he looked away. "That's kind of dangerous isn't it?"
"Yeah, you could get burnt or something. You're only a kid." Veemon added, walking over before he helped the boy off the stool and Daisuke opened the fridge and pulled out two cups of yogurt.
"How about we have some of this?" She suggested, handing one cup to Harry along with a spoon. The young boy looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Trust me, it's delicious. And you don't have to cook anything to eat it."
Harry shyly nodded and soon the two were eating the cups of yogurt as Alexander, Natsumi and Jun walked out of their bedrooms into the main area of the flat. "We've got a busy day ahead of us, Harry, Daisuke, once we've had breakfast, I'll help you pack your trunks. Jun already knows what she's doing and Natsumi will make sure everything else is ready too." Alexander explained, the two kids nodding and after a light breakfast Alexander was in Harry's room helping him pack his trunk.
"Is Hedwig comfy?" he asked the young boy who shyly nodded and pointed to the owl in her cage. "Good."
Harry watched as Alexander continued packing his trunk for him when a thought came to him. "Um Mr Alexander, I don't have any other clothes with me. They're all at my aunt and uncle's house." He spoke up.
"I figured as much, fortunately for you Natsumi has gone to the clothes store down the street, she'll be back in a jiffy." He answered with a smile making Harry look at him with wide eyes.
"Th…thank you." He whispered.
"Don't mention it, think of it as a birthday present. We can't have the son of Lily Evans without some proper clothes." Alexander said, patting his arm gently. Harry looked at him in shock, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open.
"You…you knew my mom?"
"I did. Long ago, she and I were close friends, almost inseparable." Alexander answered, a soft smile on his face.
"Can you…can you…t…tell me about…" Harry stuttered, holding back some tears.
"Of course." Alexander said, pulling the young boy into a hug. "I'll be sure to send some photos of her and your father while you're at Hogwarts. And I'll tell you some stories as well, but another time. Now we've got to finish packing, think you can help this old man out sport?"
Harry nodded with a smile and he helped finish packing. Soon at a quarter to eleven in the morning, the Ainsworth family and Harry were walking through King's Cross Station, weaving through the bustling crowds of people. "Alright there Harry?" Daisuke asked, pushing a trolley with her trunk, a cat carrier which Salem was sleeping in and Demi-Veemon who was sitting on the trunk acting like a stuffed animal.
"Yeah." He replied, Hedwig hooted loudly drawing attention from several non-magical people as they walked past.
"Keep close you two, don't want to be late." Jun called from ahead, confidently pushing her own trolly with her owl, Sigma calmly sitting in his cage that rested on top of her trunk.
"We wouldn't be rushing if she didn't spend so much time in the shower." Daisuke grumbled, her father chuckling as he helped Harry and her guide their trolleys to the platform they would be using to go to Hogwarts.
"Here we are." Natsumi said, coming to a stop with a smile. Harry and Daisuke looked around confused, they were standing in front of a wall which was between platforms nine and ten.
"We are? But I don't see any Platform Nine and Three Quarters anywhere." Daisuke said, narrowing her eyes.
"Just watch squirt." Her cousin said, smirking confidently before she walked towards the barrier between the two platforms and she phased right through the brick wall.
"Whoa…" Daisuke gasped.
"I love magic." Harry whispered with a bright smile.
"Come on then, we'll go together." Alexander said standing beside his daughter's trolley. "Just follow us Harry, Natsumi will go with you just in case." He explained before he and Daisuke ran towards the barrier, phasing through it with Harry and Natsumi following shortly after.
Once on the other side of the barrier, Harry's eyes widened in amazement. There on the platform was a scarlet red steam engine, steam billowing across the platform as the train's whistle sounded proudly. "The Hogwarts Express, what a magnificent sight." Alexander spoke fondly.
"Come on let's get moving. The train will be leaving soon, and I want to see if any of my friends are onboard already." Jun stated, pushing her trolley towards the train.
Harry and Daisuke pushed their trolleys down the platform towards the luggage carriage of the train, they saw dozens of students mingling about, some giving last tearful goodbyes to their families, others chatting with their friends, some older students helping younger ones onto the train. "Mom, I've lost Trevor again." A voice called out as they passed a young boy and his grandmother.
"Oh Neville, not again." The boy's grandmother groaned in disappointment.
"Come on Lee, show us the bugger already." Another boy called out to his friend as several others huddled around a boy with dreadlocks who opened a small box slowly. "Blimey!" the same boy shouted, jumping back a good ten feet in fright causing his friends to burst out in laughter.
Soon they had reached the luggage carriage of the train and Alexander helped the younger two put their trunks into the carriage, two stewards in the carriage taking them from there and placing them on one of the many racks inside. Turning back to the young kids, he smiled at them. "Best find you a spot on the train before it leaves without you." He told them.
Natsumi pulled Jun into a hug, holding her niece tightly until she let her go and began fretting over her. "Aunt Natsumi I'm fine." She whined with an embarrassed blush before she sighed and hugged her aunt again. "I'll be okay."
"Write to us all the time and be sure to look out for your cousin and Harry." Natsumi told her.
"And don't spend all your time with that boy I saw you with at the end of last year." Alexander told her with a joking grin.
"Ugh, Uncle Alex, you're the worst." She whined, punching his arm gently before she grinned and hugged him gently before she boarded the train.
Daisuke and Harry were both then pulled into a tight hug by Natsumi, the woman having tears in her eyes. "Oh Daisuke, be careful. Make lots of friends, have fun, don't get into trouble." She listed off and Daisuke giggled.
"I'll be fine mama." She promised.
"And Harry the same goes for you." Natsumi then said to Harry, pulling the young boy into another hug.
"I will Mrs Natsumi." Harry mumbled into her chest, the woman giving him another squeeze before letting go. Harry and Daisuke walked onto the train carrying Demi-Veemon, Hedwig and Salem with them and both walked down the train searching for a spot to sit.
Harry then stopped and tugged Daisuke's sleeve when he saw an empty compartment. "This one will do." He opened the door and they both walked in, Demi-Veemon jumping off Daisuke's head and landing on the seat on the right, Daisuke then opened Salem's cat carrier and he walked out and curled up in her lap once she sat down beside the window with Harry sitting across from her.
Both noticed Natsumi and Alexander on the platform waving at them, the train's whistle giving a loud shrill blast of noise at five minutes to eleven so that any students still on the platform had time to get onboard.
Daisuke and Harry waved at Natsumi and Alexander as the train began pulling out of the station and soon Daisuke's parents had drifted out of sight as the train began picking up speed, soon leaving London all together and it began its long journey to Hogwarts.
"Something wrong Harry?' Demi-Veemon asked, noticing the young boy's expression as he looked out the window at the passing landscapes.
"Just a lot to take in is all. It wasn't that long ago I thought I wasn't that special." He answered.
"That's understandable, you did just learn about everything recently. Anyone would be overwhelmed." Daisuke said, making him smile slightly.
"Thanks Daisy." Daisuke nodded with a grin before the door to the compartment slid open and a young red-haired poked his head in looking at the two.
"Do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full." He told them.
"Not at all." Daisuke said while Harry nodded. The boy smiled, entering the compartment before closing the door and sitting beside Daisuke who smiled at the boy.
"Introductions. Harry, this is a friend of mine Ron Weasley." She told Harry who nodded.
"Harry Potter." He said softly with a smile, Ron's eyes widened when he heard the name.
"Whoa…so it's true." He whispered. "Um do you have the…the…"
"What?" Harry asked.
"The scar." Ron whispered before yelping when Daisuke slapped his shoulder hard.
"Ron, that's rude to ask someone such a personal question. Especially when it is regarding a reminder of such a horrible night in his life." She scolded the boy.
He rubbed his shoulder gingerly before he looked at Harry who was looking away uncomfortably. "Right, sorry." He apologised sincerely.
"It's okay." Harry replied, shrugging his shoulders before looking out the window again.
"Ron's one of my best friends. When he doesn't open his mouth and say something stupid without thinking." Daisuke said looking at Ron with a raised eyebrow making the redhead chuckle sheepishly.
"So how did you two meet each other?" Harry then asked them.
"My father went to school with both of Ron's parents, just in a different year. But since all three were in Gryffindor, they saw each other often." Daisuke answered.
"Gryffindor, that's one of the houses, right?" Harry asked.
"Yep. My whole family has been in Gryffindor for as long as I can remember." Ron answered. "But Daisy and I really got to know each other more when Percy and Jun started school."
"Jun and Percy are in the same year as well as both being in Gryffindor. You won't believe how much they talk about each other while trying to act like they're not smitten." Daisuke continued with a giggle. "By the way, Jun is a Prefect." She told Ron who groaned.
"Just like Percy, I knew something was fishy when he was more excited than normal after he got his badge over the summer." Daisuke giggled and nodded.
"What's a Prefect?" Harry asked, looking back from the window at the two of them.
"They're students with special responsibilities. They patrol the train, and later patrol Hogwarts after curfew to make sure no students are out of beds. They can take points and give detention, but mostly they keep an eye on the other students." Daisuke explained and Ron looked at her impressed and she grinned. "Jun told me when she got her letter that came with her badge."
The two continued to explain to Harry about how Hogwarts worked from what their families had told them, after a while, the door to the compartment slid open to show a plump woman pushing a trolley along that was packed with snacks and other treats.
"Anything from the trolley dears?" She asked with a smile.
"No thanks." Ron said, holding up a small bag of sandwiches which he eyed with a frown. "I'm all set."
Harry looked to Daisuke before he reached over tugging her sleeve before he held up his pouch of wizarding money. Understanding what he meant, she took the pouch and walked over to the trolley. "We'll like to take a little of everything thanks." She took some of Harry's money out before giving some of her own to split the cost, the woman smiled as she took the money and Daisuke grabbed a little of everything off the trolley and sat back down beside Ron.
She then handed some over to Harry who smiled and grabbed a blood red lollipop and took off the wrapping and placed it into his mouth, his eyes widening with delight as he sucked on the treat. "Blood Pops." Ron said with a smile before Daisuke handed him a Cauldron Cake.
"Go on eat up, I know your mom forgets you don't like corned beef on your sandwiches." She said before he could refuse. He shrugged and took the snack and began eating it while Daisuke ate a Pumpkin Pasty, Demi-Veemon had snagged a Liquorice Wand and was chewing on it while Salem was napping.
Harry finished his Blood Pop and went to grab another one when he noticed a brightly coloured box. "Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans?"
"They mean every flavour." Ron answered. "There's chocolate and peppermint, but also spinach, liver and tripe." Harry's nose scrunched up and Daisuke giggled.
"They're risky to eat, it's why I mostly avoid them after I ate a vomit flavoured one." Harry ate one of the beans and found it tasted like black pepper.
"Told ya." Daisuke said, seeing his expression as he put down the box of candy and went back to eating something else when a large rat crawled out of Ron's pocket and began rummaging around the candy.
"This is Scabbers, pathetic, isn't he?" Ron asked when he saw Harry looking at the rat.
"Maybe a little." Harry mumbled, sucking on another Blood Pop while Scabbers got his head stuck in a wrapper.
"By the way, Daisy, your cat won't eat Scabbers will he?" Ron asked, eyeing Salem cautiously.
"Firstly Ron, his name is Salem and secondly." Daisuke said before Salem opened his eyes and looked at Ron.
"I would not sully my appetite by eating that rodent." He spoke.
"Gah!" Ron yelped, jumping in his seat while Harry and Daisuke laughed.
"Oh yeah, Salem is a special breed of cat who can talk." She told him and he nodded.
"Oh right, I remember now. Fred taught me a spell to turn him yellow, you wanna see?" Ron asked the other two.
"You know he was probably pranking you yeah?" Daisuke asked him, Ron shrugged and pulled out his wand that had seen better days.
He cleared his throat and went to wave his wand when the door to the compartment opened again showing a girl around their age with bushy brown hair, brown eyes, and noticeable front teeth. She also was already in her school robes.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville here has lost his." She said while a boy who hid behind her poked his head out shyly.
"No, we haven't." Daisuke answered. "But ask a Prefect, I'm sure they'll help you search for him." She said kindly, handing the boy one of the last Cauldron Cakes making him smile and he took it politely.
The girl then noticed Ron's wand. "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see then." She requested, Ron looked at her then at Daisuke and Harry who nodded.
He began waving his wand around Scabbers. "Sunshine, Daisies, Butter, Mellow, Turn this stupid big fat rat yellow." He said, the only thing that happened was a whoosh of wind which blew the empty candy wrappers around the compartment while Scabbers remained unchanged.
"I told ya he lied to you." Daisuke said softly.
"Should've known." Ron grumbled, shaking his head.
"Are you sure that's a real spell?" asked the bushy haired girl. "If so, it's not very good. I've only started simple charms myself." She sat down beside Harry in the empty seat before pulling out her wand and aiming it at Harry's glasses. "For example. "Oculus Reparo." In a puff of smoke, Harry's glasses straightened, and the lenses repaired themselves and he pulled them off to stare at them in wonder. "Holy Cricket, you're Harry Potter!" She gasped quietly upon seeing his scar.
"Say it again louder, I don't think the whole train heard ya." Ron grumbled.
The girl ignored his complaint and smiled at Harry. "I'm Hermione Granger." She introduced herself before looking over at Daisuke and Ron. "And you are?"
"Ron Weasley." Ron answered.
"Daisuke Ainsworth, but please call me Daisy." Daisuke said. "And this here is my Digimon partner Demi-Veemon, and Salem." She held Demi-Veemon in her arms and the Digimon waved at the girl.
"Hi." He chirped, making Hermione's eyes widen.
"Wow, so you're a Digimon. You look absolutely marvellous."
"Thank you." Demi-Veemon chirped. "Hear that Dai? I'm marvellous."
"You certainly are." Daisuke said, kissing his forehead as Hermione scratched Salem's chin.
"And Salem is most handsome." The bushy haired girl said.
"Thank you, Ms Granger, that is most kind." The cat replied with a purr. Hermione and Neville soon left to find a Prefect to ask for help in finding Neville's toad.
"These aren't real Chocolate Frogs, are they?" Harry asked, holding one of the last uneaten snacks in his hands.
"It's just a spell, besides it's the cards you really want. Each one has a famous witch or wizard, I've about 500 myself." Ron told him.
"The frogs are good as well; they only have one real jump in them. So, it's easy to catch them." Daisuke added, Harry nodded and opened the packet and the chocolate frog jumped into his hand and went still making the boy giggle before seeing the card.
"I got Dumbledore!" he gasped, showing the card to his friends.
"I've got about six of him." Ron said.
Harry looked down at the card again only to see it was blank. "Wait, he's gone."
"You can't expect him to hang around all day, can you?" Ron told him as Daisuke picked up the rubbish from all the eaten snacks and candy and carried it out of the compartment to find a bin, at the end of the carriage she found one by the door and put the rubbish in before she walked back to the compartment.
Just as she sat down, the door slid open again revealing three boys, one she recognised as the boy from the robe shop in Diagon Alley, the other two boys behind him stood there looking mean and intimidating. "So, it's true, word on the train is Harry Potter is in this compartment." He said, looking at Harry. "Reckon you should have told me back in Diagon Alley, that was very impolite of you." He said with a sneer.
"What do you want Draco?" Daisuke asked, trying to be polite but she was not about to let him belittle her friend.
Draco looked at her. "I'm only here to talk."
"And the two rockheads behind you?" Ron asked.
"Oh, Crabbe and Goyle, don't mind them. They're just associates." Draco answered. "Their fathers are friends of my father. And who said you could talk?" he then asked, glaring at Ron. "Red hair, hand-me down clothes, you're a Weasley. Father told me about you lot, how you have to save up for everything Knut by Knut, I bet that dump you call a house is close to falling down with how many of you live there."
Ron's ears turned bright red but before he could stand up Daisuke held his shoulder before she stood up and walked up to Draco. "I think it's best you leave, we're close to arriving at Hogwarts and we have not got our robes on, as you can see. So please, leave." She requested; Draco looked her dead in the eyes before glancing at Harry. "And you leave Harry alone, he can make his own friends and his own choices."
"Hn." Draco grunted before he walked off, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.
"Thanks…" Harry said softly, smiling up at Daisuke.
"Anytime. No one bullies or tries to scare my friends." She replied, hugging the boy before grabbing her school robes. "I'll go and change in the bathroom, you two change here."
"Right." The boys said, Daisuke left the compartment and shut the door allowing Ron to close the curtains to give him and Harry privacy to change. Daisuke walked down the carriage and found an empty girl's bathroom stall to change, it didn't take long to put the robes on over her regular clothing, then she let her hair out of the ponytail she had kept it in all day, her hair draped down to her shoulders, and she walked back to the compartment.
Along the way, she spotted Hermione walking towards her. "Hello Hermione." She greeted with a smile.
"Daisy, we did what you asked. We found a Prefect and they performed the summoning charm to bring Neville's toad to us." Hermione said happily. "I've never seen such expert use of magic."
"Well, I'm glad I could help in some way." Daisuke replied, the two girls walking along the train to Harry and Ron's compartment.
"By the way, the Prefect who helped was named Jun, she said she was your cousin." Hermione said.
"Yep. She is." Daisuke replied. "Her parents died when she was very young. My parents took her in, and she's lived with us ever since."
Hermione nodded as they reached Harry and Ron's compartment. "See you later at the school, I hope we're both in the same house." Hermione said.
"I hope the same thing." Daisuke replied before she opened the compartment door and smiled seeing Harry and Ron in their robes also. She picked Salem up in her arms and Demi-Veemon jumped onto her head before she carried Salem to the luggage carriage to place Salem in his carrier. "See you later Salem." She said with a smile and the cat nodded and got comfortable.
Soon the train was pulling into the station reaching the end of its journey, night had fallen some time ago. "We're here." Demi-Veemon chirped.
"We sure are. Come on let's go." Daisuke said to Harry and Ron and the three began to leave the train along with the rest of the student body.
The end of the chapter
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