DISCLAIMER- I don't own the creations of JK Rowling

-Hedwig is a name, she is a white phoenix in some stories. An arctic species in Britain is bound to be noticed at some point.

- this chapter was getting too long, so I split it.

Chapter 12- Journey I

Harry had less than a month to live with his relatives before his new life began. It was like his earlier one, help with chores but he read his new school books, which had some moving pictures. The books and the extra one from Lupin taught him from different angles and depth. He remembered Lupin's warning that his magical core is now unlocked, he must avoid feeling strong emotions. He named his owl; she seemed to understand his speech very well and went out at night to hunt mice. But small changes were visible, apart from Dudley avoiding him altogether and him meeting the Dursleys only at mealtimes.

He was de-registered from Stonewall High; he had a few general friends but none specific, so he did not miss them that much. The plaster from his forehead fell off a few days later, leaving behind a much fainter scar. He decided to change his messy hairstyle and comb it properly. He had square glasses, not the round ones that were shown in the comics- he tried to look different.

Vernon proved himself to be a man of his word. He took the whole family, Harry included, for a trip to the zoo. Harry had promised that he would not try to talk to snakes at the reptile house in public, so it was a normal trip. When returning, they stopped at a small restaurant named Belgian Bites and Harry enjoyed the food there, even though he was given a third of what Dudley got.

Soon, another thing happened in the house that Harry found himself liking- the Dursleys stopped speaking to each other. Vernon was returning home early one afternoon and he had spotted Dudley and his gang smoking in a copse outside Little Whinging. Later, it was really amusing to see Vernon charge like an angry bull at his son and yelling at Petunia that she knows more useless things about her neighbours than her own son. Dudley was confined to the house and when he threw his computer out of the window, Vernon firmly told that he would not buy Dudley another. To the horror of Dudley, Petunia also screeched at him to stop tantrums or else rumors would spread through the street.

Finally, the last day of August arrived. Harry decided to approach his uncle in the evening to talk about the journey to King's Cross. When he went downstairs, he found Vernon watching television and Petunia knitting, both silent. Dudley was nowhere to be seen, he was probably in his own room.

Harry called out to Vernon; his uncle muted the television and turned silently at him. Petunia also stopped knitting and looked at him, but did not say anything. He then said what he wanted to.

"Uncle Vernon, I need to board the train from Kings Cross tomorrow to go to Hogwarts tomorrow. The train departs at 11 o' clock. Can you drop me at the station tomorrow?"

Vernon raised his eyebrows in surprise "That's an odd way to go to a wizard's school- a train. Mildred Hubble used to fly on her own broomstick to school, just like all the other students."

He caught Petunia staring sharply at him and mumbled "I mean, Marge used to read those books, not me." Then he turned at Harry "Where exactly in Scotland is this school situated?"

"I don't know. I just know that I have to catch the train from Platform Nine and three quarters."

Vernon almost yelled "What! There is no such platform at Kings Cross, I am sure of it, boy."

Harry felt lost at Vernon's reply. Petunia was, however, frowning, as if she was trying to remember something. She broke the awkward silence and said "Well, there could be a hidden platform there."

Seeing the surprised faces of her husband and nephew, she continued firmly "Yes, I am right. We used to live in the midlands when I was small. I remember now, she used to catch that train from a hidden platform at Stoke-on-Trent Central. An entrance through what seems a solid wall to normal people."

Harry had seen the ticket- the train starts its journey from King's Cross in London, stops at Stoke-on-Trent Central and Waverly, before finally coming to halt at a station named Hogsmeade. He did not know what to say, he could not ask Petunia to go to the midlands and show him the platform there. Then Vernon spoke again, giving a solution to Harry.

"All right, there is a freak platform at Kings Cross station- none of our business. Boy, I will drop you at the station; you will surely find someone to help you from your own type. That's your concern."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Next morning, Harry woke up and felt a jolt of excitement. Though he still felt badly about the "headmaster", he was going to a place that he belonged to- his parents had studied there too. He went to the bathroom, gave a last check of his packed trunk and the cage, then dressed up quickly in plain clothes- the uniform would seem too formal, people would notice the pointed hat. He looked at himself in the mirror, the scar was now even fainter, and anybody has to look rather sharply to notice it.

When he went downstairs after hearing his uncle's voice, he was stunned to see a full English breakfast waiting for him- complete with pancakes, eggs, black and white pudding. He wondered if it was a gift from his uncle and aunt for getting rid of him for ten months, that too for free but did not say anything and ate it all- all was good and he did not know when he would eat next time.

They started for London, Harry felt rather odd when Petunia told him to be careful at the last moment. Vernon reached Kings Cross with less than twenty minutes to spare. He asked Harry whether the boy needed help with loading the trunk on a trolley, but Harry declined- the weightless charm was working properly. However, Vernon accompanied him inside the station and pointed at the platforms.

"There is number nine, there is ten. So that platform would be somewhere in between, right? Look out for someone your type, surely he or she will help you. Have a good term, good luck." He gave Harry a pat on the shoulder, then walked away without looking back. The boy suddenly felt a jolt of panic, being alone in such a large platform crawling with people, all seeming normal at first glance.

The clock now showed that the train would leave in fifteen minutes. He looked around, there were no oddly dressed people around, nor could he see anything unusual in between the two platforms. He could not ask the guard, he knew that it would sound plain ridiculous- most muggles are ignorant of the wizard world. He also did not dare ask about any train to Scotland, there could not be just a single one. His panic increased- Lupin must have forgotten something to tell him, about getting to the hidden platform. Where was the hidden entrance?

At that moment, a small crowd of people passed him and he heard a woman's voice talking rather loudly "…crawling with muggles, the entire platform..". He turned around and saw a middle-aged plump woman along with four tall boys pushing trunks and a small girl- all ginger heads. One of them was carrying a caged owl too- that left little doubt about who they were.

"Now, what is the platform number?" asked the woman, hardly a yard or two from Harry. For some reason, that felt very odd to Harry, though he could not identify the exact cause. He stayed quiet.

"Nine and three quarters" said the small girl, "Mum, can I go.."

"You are staying with me, Ginny. Percy, you go first." At that word, what seemed the eldest boy carrying the caged owl began to run towards the barrier. At that moment, a crowd of commuters obscured the boy from view and when the crowd cleared, he was nowhere to be seen. That's interesting!

A severe voice now said to what happened to be twins "You two, go now, one after another. Do not try to act smart here in front of your sister or else I will.."

She was speaking to twin boys, but one of them interrupted "Don't worry mom, you never understood we had brains. Finally, we are going back to the place where.."

The other twin took on "..people always appreciate our talent. Drag 'ickle Ronniekins along, mom. Ginny, we are just on the other side and waiting, so…"

"..don't begin crying for us right now." finished the first.

The twins smirked and then began to run towards the barrier one after the other. Suddenly, both vanished somehow. The woman then said "Ron, you will go now." She then turned towards the place where Harry was standing, only to find it empty. She turned just in time to see the boy pushing his trolley and vanishing through the barrier, not asking for any direction.

Harry did not feel that he needed any help. He was always independent; life with the Dursleys made him that. When he recalled Petunia telling about the invisible entrance that may exist and noticing the twins vanishing, it was enough for him. Not only that, his instinct was telling him that something was wrong with the woman, though he could not tell the exact reasons yet.

He passed through what seemed like solid wall and found himself in a platform, with a single train with a scarlet steam engine labeled "Hogwarts Express" standing- he had made it. He looked at the platform, which had a large clock- a little more than ten minutes left. He ignored the twins staring back at the barrier and wheeled his trolley further into the platform, looking at the scene.

There was a large crowd, many wizards and witches were there to bid goodbye to their children. there were people standing in groups, some were talking to their children, the first few compartments were already full. There were owls in cages, cats of all colors prowling about but something else caught Harry's attention. It was a simple thing- a paper and magazine stall, on which the Daily Prophet- the wizard newspaper was displayed, along with a few other publications.

The front page of the paper showed his picture, or what was shown in the comics in his name. It showed him with round glasses, hazel eyes and the prominent red scar in the centre of his forehead, while it was actually above his right eyebrow. There was a rather large headline "Will The Boy Who Lived appear on Hogwarts today?" He wanted to buy the newspaper but decided against it, it would be useless. He once thought that he could have requested Petunia to use her make-up box to cover the scar, but it was rather faint to be easily noticed now.

He had actually looked at the headline for a few seconds. He then glanced at the entrance to the platform to see if the odd woman had made it through with the remaining two children. What he now saw actually made his doubts stronger; in fact it hit him like a sledgehammer.

The woman was staring at him with an expression on her face that clearly meant disappointment. He knew that look- when Prince had taught him to avoid Dudley's gang years ago, his cousin would come home with that expression on his face. He tried to mingle into the crowds, but the woman now was talking to her youngest son by bringing her lips close to his ear, the boy was nodding- what was so secret? Three of her other children were standing with her too, looking blank.

Harry dragged his trunk towards the last compartment, which was totally empty. He sat down in one of the cubicles, closed his eyes and then the facts arranged in his brain. Why was the woman telling about the platform number, apart from being standing too close near Harry- was it co-incidence? Her three elder sons were at Hogwarts, she should have been in the platform just two months ago, besides many times before. Or does the platform move about? Even then, why was she asking that from the little girl? Then that look of disappointment, as if she had expected Harry to ask her for directions? It didn't seem right at all to him.

He looked out of the window, his eyes seeking the red heads. The woman was now talking to all of her sons, the girl holding on to her side. The eldest spectacled boy strode into view, he had already changed into his uniform. She tried to rub the youngest son's nose clear of dirt, then looked very stern as she began to talk to the twins, then normally to her other two sons. The scene went on for some time, when suddenly a loud whistle was heard. The woman again brought her mouth near the youngest son's ear and again said something, before ushering the boys all into the train. The girl began to cry, but she smiled too and began to wave at the train as it began to move out. A normal family scene, but I am somehow the abnormal one here, thought Harry.

He was quite sure that the youngest redhead would come and try to talk to him. He first decided to shut the compartment door in the face the moment the boy would turn up, but remembered something else. He mentally thanked Prince, even though the man had met him five years ago. Else, it would have been something that he would not have noticed. Who was this woman?

As he fondly recalled the meetings with Prince, kindled by the expression on the woman's face, one of the man's sayings was suddenly vivid in Harry's mind. Prince had as usual given him some sweets and while sitting in the park, said "Today I am telling you something that will come useful later in life though it may sound difficult now, Harry. If you feel that someone is your enemy, you should never let him know that you know. Act as if you are a fool, pretend you know nothing, behave nicely with that person and smile at him. You should learn to lie, hide what you know or can do and try to stab an enemy in the back when alone rather than in the chest, in front of everybody. Maybe you will understand what I mean later, but not now. But believe me, one day you have to understand."

Though the words did not make much sense then, Harry had listened with rapt attention. After all, Prince was the first person to show him any kindness, though he never knew where that man lived or why he seemed to care for Harry. Today, some of the words were making sense in this situation. He smiled to himself, put his trunk under the seat and his owl cage on the rack, then stared out of the window. He now noted that the journey was a rather long one, so what would he do for the time? He looked out of the window; London with its many buildings and vehicles was now flitting past.

Invisible alley, then door to pub, then buses, now a whole invisible train. Magic is amazing.

Soon, his guess proved right. The door of the compartment opened a short time later and the very person that Harry was expecting to see was standing in the doorway alone, with a friendly smile pasted on the lips. Let it begin then, let's see how it ends.

The boy was tall and gangly, with flaming red hair, long nose and a lot of freckles. On closer inspection, it was clearly visible that he was wearing worn-out clothes and shoes, besides dragging a rather battered trunk behind him. He must be from a poor family- thought Harry at first look.

"Hello, can I sit there?" asked the boy, pointing at the seat opposite Harry, "everywhere else is full."

For one second, Harry felt like kicking the boy out of the compartment, yelling "Get lost." The next moment, he felt that the better option was to let him sit and then strangle him by the throat "Now, tell me everything. Who is that woman, your mother? What did she tell you?"

What would he do now?

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