The next month is, in fact, pretty boring. I read the textbooks, but there's only so many times you can read a book before you start to go into a coma. I play with Hadley and enjoy the sun outside, and on the wetter days I play video games - the alien ones of course - and fiddle with the Loric Chest. In the last week of August, Henri insists I pack my bags. He's decided I should take the Chest with me in case something happens to him while I'm gone. It's really not that difficult to pack everything up; a lot of it is still in the bags and boxes from when we arrived.
I can hardly sleep for excitement on the night of August 31st. I know Henri will have me up on time, but there's so many things running through my mind that could go wrong. We could miss the train, the Mogs could find us, I might meet another of the Garde and break the charm and be responsible for the deaths of the others- I try to stop the train of thoughts. Instead I pull out A History of Magic and read that for a couple of hours until my eyes drift closed and I have no energy to even think about worrying.
I'd predicted right. Henri had me up half an hour before sunrise, doing last minute preparations and a final training session. He's warned me three times so far this morning about staying on my guard and blending in, because this isn't like the other schools I've been to. I won't be leaving at the first sign of trouble because the place is incredibly well-defended and the Mogs would have a very hard time finding it. Even though we're not saying much, the car is full of nervous energy. I have butterflies in my stomach and my knee is bouncing. Hadley's in a cat carrier in between Henri and me, almost asleep.
"John, relax," Henri snorts in amusement. He reaches over and puts a heavy hand on my knee to stop the bouncing. I think my nervousness is affecting him. I send him an apologetic glance. Five minutes later, my leg is bouncing again and we're pulling up at King's Cross Station. It's 10:30, which gives us half an hour to find the mysterious Platform 9¾. Getting out of the truck, I try to shake off the nerves and ease the cramping in my stomach, relaxing my tense muscles.
Together Henri and I pack my bags onto a trolley and head into the railway station. Hadley's still dozing in the carrier despite the bumps and jostling of the trolley. He makes a great lazy Sunday companion.
"Uh, Henri? Where are we going, exactly? In case you weren't aware, most train stations don't have ¾ platforms…" I'm looking around apprehensively, trying to find the platform through the bustle of people, but it's nowhere to be seen. All I can see are the plastic markers for platforms 9 and 10.
"I'm sure we can find out. There must be someone here to ask. Don't worry, John." Don't worry. Yeah right. We have half an hour, and Henri doesn't even know where to start looking for the bloody platform. I sigh out a slightly shaky breath, still scanning the crowd for anything that could be what we're looking for.
A family catches my eye. Most of the kids are pushing trolleys laden similarly to mine, with the exception of the youngest girl.. I elbow Henri and wave my chin in their direction. The older of the two girls is also looking around, and I think she sees us. I have no idea who she is, I've never seen her before, but she waves at us. There's no one else around us she could be waving back. There's a camera hanging around her neck and a warm smile on her face. She gestures us over. I glance up at Henri and he shrugs in bafflement. I start pushing the trolley, following the family as they wind through the crowds.
"Hi! That's a cute cat you've got there," she says, bending down to peer into Hadley's cage. "What's his name?" She's still smiling, and I can tell I like her already. She has a kind and happy personality which makes me feel a bit more at ease.
"Hadley,"I say. "Are you going to Hogwarts?" I ask her as she snaps a photo of the cat. Hadley is suddenly awake and trying to move away from the camera. I frown. "That's not like him, he's usually really friendly." She shrugs it off and puts her camera away.
"Yeah, we're going to Hogwarts. I'm Sarah Hart, officially a first-year student."
"John Smith, also a first year. This is Henri, my dad. Do..do you know how to get onto the platform?" She smiles and nods.
"This is my fourth time. My brothers are both students too. Just follow us - it looks scary but there's nothing to it."
"Sarah honey, are you coming?" Her mother calls from up ahead.
"Yeah, just give me a sec," Sarah calls back. She smiles at both of us and indicates for us to follow. Henri smiles politely. The rest of her family is stopped in front of the barrier between the platforms. One of her brothers had disappeared. As we walk up, Sarah introduces us to her parents. Her father is distractedly keeping track of her younger sister Mia, coaxing her towards the barrier.
"Mum, this is John and Henri. John's a first-year too," Sarah beams.
"Hi, Henri Smith. Pleasure to meet you," Henri says, holding out a hand. Mrs Hart takes it.
"Annie Hart. You're French, yes? You've still got a strong accent. How long have you two been here?" She smiles back. Sarah and I leave them to their small talk, Sarah favouring showing me the way onto the platform.
"See, it's simple enough. You just have to run or walk into the wall. If you want I can go first," she explains. I place a hand on the barrier - at least, I try to. My hand sort of moves into the stone, with a bit of a tingling resistance.
"No, I think I'll be right. Let's do this," I say, taking a deep breath and backing up a few paces. Hadley meows almost anxiously from the trolley. Then I walk forwards, into the wall. Shuddering, I close my eyes as I hit it. When I open them again, I'm somewhere else, and it almost looks like a different time, if it weren't for the people all around in modern clothes. I look behind me to where a wrought-iron archway stands, showing Sarah about to emerge. I quickly move out of the way.
Once she's through, Sarah resumes conversation.
"So you're a muggleborn?"
"I don't know about my mum, but Henri's not magical. God, that feels so strange to say it. It's like saying he's not a unicorn in a serious conversation. It just feels wrong. But you, your family are all wizards?"
"Ha, yeah. We're a pureblood family. You'll find some purebloods are totally stuck up, unfortunately, and they ruin everyone's reputation. Like the James' and the Malfoys…" The last is said quietly but with heated emotion, looking over to where a few pompous-looking boys are, standing with an air of self-importance. One of them looks over and sees us watching them and his face distorts into an ugly scowl. Sarah looks away to find the rest of her family. I glance back through the arch to see if Henri's coming.
He looks like he'll be joining me in less than a minute. Annie Hart is making gestures towards the barrier-archway and they're slowly drifting closer. I take the chance to get a proper look around the station.
There's a magnificent scarlet steam train sitting in the tracks, pouring smoke into the sky. There are people all over the platform, many pushing trolleys. Owls are hooting in cages, some cats are wandering about, free from constraints and winding between people's legs. Lively chaos could sum it up. I scan the faces again to see if I can find the boy, Sam, from the owl shop. He seemed nice enough.
I'm hovering awkwardly on the fringes of the Hart family when Henri and Mrs Hart emerge from Kings Cross. Henri and I drift away from the group slightly. His eyes are scanning the area, analysing everything and everyone.
"Best friends already? How'd you manage that?" I'm confused, until I follow his gaze to the purebloods Sarah pointed out earlier. Not so subtly, the same boy who caught us watching him is glaring daggers at us. I shrug it off.
"Sarah says they're the stuck-up 'purebloods' that nobody likes. I haven't actually met them." I deliberately turn my back on the guy.
"John, you have to promise me you will let me know if anything, anything, happens. If you need me, you send a letter immediately and I will find a way to meet you. When you get in, find somewhere well-secured for the Chest. I don't want you to draw unnecessary attention to yourself, kiddo." I know he's saying it all because he cares about me, but it's getting kind of old the fourth time around.
"Wouldn't dream of it," I reply wryly.
"Don't show your intelligence. It'll make them resent you." I snort out a laugh.
"Off I go to rule the school," I say. Despite my cheeriness, I'm becoming painfully aware that I won't be seeing Henri for months. It makes me scared and I'm suddenly not so keen to go, anxiety bubbling up beneath my awe at this fantastic world.
"Be good," Henri says. He readily hugs me back when I embrace him, holding him tightly like that will force him to come with me. He gives a sad chuckle and releases his strong grip around my back. "You'll be fine John. And don't worry about me. We'll stay in touch. Just don't lose sight of why you're here. Now go on, you've got a train to catch."
With one last glance back at Henri, I grab my trunk and the cat carrier off the trolley and make a beeline for an empty compartment in the train. I can see Henri through the window but I try not to look at him. In the process of distinctly not looking at Henri, a large group of redheads suddenly emerges from the archway and blocks my non-existent view of my Cepan.
A/N: Mmmh yeah I'm bored so I'm putting this up. All Lorien Legacies major characters - including Eight and Marina - will be making an appearance, but later. I intend for this to get long. There was something else I'm supposed to say but I can't remember it right now. Reviews are always nice.
