6: Journey to Platform Nine and Three Quarters

Harry's last month before the start of term was fun. After spending an entire week in the Black Manor, Edward thought it would be best to remain at the Grimmauld Place until September first due to its proximity to the train station.

Harry kept to his room, with his new owl for company. He decided to call her Hedwig, a name he had found in A History of Magic. His schoolbooks were very fascinating. He lay on his bed reading late into the night, Hedwig swooping in and out of the open window as she pleased. It was lucky his uncle no longer tucked him to bed as often as before, because he didn't know what he'd say about his pet owl bringing back dead mice. Every night before he went to sleep, Harry ticked off another day on the calendar he had pinned to the wall, counting down to the day he'll be leaving for Hogwarts. Edward doesn't seem so fond of it because he always looked sad whenever he glances at that side of Harry's room.

September first came and Harry woke up at past nine o'clock. He nearly tripped the stairways and scolded his uncle for not waking him up. The man simply laughed at his face telling him it served him right for being too eager to leave the house so soon.

They reached King's Cross Station at half past ten. Edward loaded his nephew's trunk with Hedwig's cage onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him.

"Didn't forget anything from that list of yours, did you?" He asked.

Harry double checked his list before declaring, "nope. I got everything," he said confidently. And then, for the first time after going through his train ticket for Salazar knows how long, he noticed something was wrong with it. "Hold on, there must be a mistake. It says I'm boarding the train at Platform Nine and Three Quarters. There's no such thing, is there?" He looked up at his uncle who only returned his dilemma with a smirk.

"Come along now, you're going to be late," Edward maneuvered his trolley where the dividing barrier between Platforms Nine and Ten stood. Harry trotted next to him realizing they are not halting to stop. They just kept walking toward the solid barrier ignoring the fact that they're going to smash into the concrete wall soon.

Edward nudged him to walk faster which he obeyed in utter confusion. To Harry's shock, his uncle pulled into a dash after hollering a "run!" – the barrier coming nearer and nearer – they wouldn't be able to stop – the cart was getting out of control now – they were a foot away – Harry closed his eyes ready for the crash –

It didn't come… they kept on running… he opened his eyes, and a scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said, 'Hogwarts Express, eleven o' clock'. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it.

"Thought magic can't get enough of bringing you surprises, isn't it?" his uncle teased.

Harry could only return a smile from the older man's frolics.

Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.

The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Edward pushed Harry's cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat. They passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again."

"Oh, Neville," he heard the old woman sigh.

A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd.

"Give us a look, Lee, go on."

Said boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.

"Brats," Edward muttered to himself as he and Harry pressed through the crowd until they found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He placed Hedwig's cage inside first and then levitated the huge trunk toward the train door.

"There, that should do it," he beamed triumphantly over his handiwork. He turned to face his nephew for last minute reminders when a red-haired family close by took their attention. A plump woman who looked like their mother had just taken out her handkerchief.

"Ron, you've got something on your nose."

The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose.

"Mom – geroff" he wriggled free.

"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said an older red-headed boy who looked identical with the one next to him.

"Shut up," Ron glared.

"Where's Percy?" their mother asked.

"He's coming now."

The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P on it.

"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves –"

"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" asked one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."

"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once –"

"Or twice –"

"A minute –"

"All summer –"

"Oh, shut up," said Percy the prefect.

"How come Percy gets new robes anyway?" The other twin asked.

"Because he's a prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term – send me an owl when you get there."

She kissed Percy on the cheek, and he left. Then she turned to the twins, "now, you two – this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've – you've blown up a toilet or –"

"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."

"Great idea though, thanks, Mom."

"It's not funny. And look after Ron."

"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."

"Shut up," Ron spat again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it.

"Hey mom," the first twin called. "Do you think Harry Potter's going to join us in the train today?"

Edward blinked from where he and Harry stood. He must've realized he'd heard too much from this family's conversation that he stirred his nephew away so he can give Harry a proper send-off.

"Well, I guess I don't have to remind you of the rules on your stay there, young man?" He asked the boy teasingly.

Harry almost rolled his eyes, "yeah. I can have as much fun as I want as long as I don't forget to send letters at least once a week," he recited what his uncle had been blabbering over and over in the last few weeks.

"Good boy," said Edward, ruffling his nephew's hair. "Now, off you go." He nudged him to clamber onto his compartment whilst ignoring the red-headed mother scolding her children about bothering Harry Potter in school.

Soon, the train began to move. Harry saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train while Edward was behind them giving him an encouraging nod. The train gathered too much speed until it rounded the corner – all of them now out of sight.

He was in the middle of marveling at the sight of houses flashing by the window when the door of the compartment slid open. The blonde-haired boy he met at the manor appeared, his head poking in from outside the hallway.

"Oh, it's you," he said listlessly. "I knew I'm going to get across you here soon. Me and my friends are looking for Harry Potter in the berths. There's a rumor going on about him boarding this train."

Harry's brows were raised. He heard the same rumor from the red-headed family back in the train station, although it wasn't his first-time hearing the story of the Boy-Who-Lived. "Wait, was he supposed to be just a myth?" He blurted out, looking a bit dumbfounded.

He could almost hear the boy gasp. He stepped into his compartment without waiting for an invitation and took the spot on the other side of the berth. "Who on earth told you Harry Potter was just a bloody myth?" he asked scandalized.

"My uncle," Harry shrugged. His uncle had told him stories of the boy who was left to live with his Muggle relatives after defeating this evil Dark Wizard who tried to kill him with a curse. He even exaggerated those stories by adding scenes that are obviously not a part of the plot: Harry Potter riding a dragon to rescue a troubled girl; Harry Potter defeating a rogue ogre – Harry Potter who's only a ten-year-old boy to boot. It didn't help that his Uncle Teddy encouraged these stories by purchasing Children's Books that had a complete volume of this series which Harry found quite amusing.

And he told the boy all these things his Uncle Teddy had been spinning about which he responded with an indignant huff.

"Just so you know, there are reliable books where you could read facts about Harry Potter," said the blonde boy matter-of-factly, shaking his head. "He was in the 'Modern Magical History' and 'Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts' as well as the 'Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century'. Honestly, you're worse than a Muggle."

"But why are you looking for him?" asked Harry curiously.

The boy's cheeks turned pink but then he straightened himself to look more confident at it. "Oh, just wanted to introduce myself," he shrugged. "I want to become the first boy he befriends at school. Mother told me a lot of things about him when I was a kid, and it became my dream since then to be his best friend!"

Harry almost shook his head in disbelief. This boy was obviously a fan and he seemed to be trying to deny it. It was funny.

"Well, good luck in your search, then," he said finally, avoiding teasing him of his fandom.

"Nah, I guess I'd hang out for a while," said the boy who has now taken ownership of the opposite berth like a couch. "Crabbe and Goyle are already rounding up the train and Parkinson's too nosy for her own good. That's why I hate girls for a reason. Say, I don't think we've been introduced. Name's Malfoy by the way, Draco Malfoy." He held out a hand to shake Harry's which the boy took politely.

"I'm Hadrian, Hadrian Black but you can call me Harry," he replied.

He must've imagined it, but Draco's eyes seemed to have widened in surprise. "Of course, that explains the ring," he exclaimed pointing at the emerald ring adorning Harry's finger. "Lord Hadrian, I should have known. No wonder you owned that nook at the Black Manor."

"It's a pleasure meeting you," said Harry, ignoring the other boy's astonishment.

"I still don't get it why on Circe's name would you ever think Harry Potter doesn't exist." Draco lamented. "I would almost think you were raised by Muggles if not for the insignia you're wearing."

Of course, there's a reason why his uncle insisted he wear wizarding clothing from now on. Harry yelled in his head. He did want him to look like a ponce! That git!

And so Harry began explaining to Draco how his Uncle raised him as a Muggle until he was eleven years old. His uncle wanting him to be educated from both worlds and his uncle telling him a lot of times that 'only an imbecile lord of the house would refuse to learn about the unknown and his enemies'.

To his surprise, Draco seems to agree with his uncle's opinion.

"I mean, if you come to think of it, and if I take over my father's lordship someday, I'd definitely want to learn everything I could even if it has something to do with people I don't like," he said thoughtfully. "Nevertheless, I still don't think they should let those children of muggles into the school. They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get their letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families, like ours."

Harry seemed rather amused but contemplated whether to agree with his statement or not. His teacher once taught him that just because you don't agree with someone else's opinion means you have to tell it to his face – that is if you wanted to get more allies on your side instead of getting the opposite.

Good thing his crucial decision was saved by a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door twittered, "anything off the trolley, dears?"

Harry, who seemed to have felt breakfast was ages ago, leapt to his feet, but Draco simply waved a hand saying he had enough sweets in his trunk to last the whole term. Harry went out into the corridor.

His uncle never allowed him to have this much money before. Although he was never denied anything as long as he asks for them. But now, he had a bag rattling with gold and silver, and he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry – but the woman didn't have Mars Bars just like the ones he buy in their neighborhood. What she did have were Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry might or might have never seen in his life. He must have seen something similar on several trips to Germany and France, but he couldn't be sure. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver sickles and seven bronze Knuts.

Draco stared open-mouthed as Harry brought them all back into the compartment and tipped them onto an empty seat.

"Hungry, are you?"

"Not really, just curious," said Harry, taking a small bite of the pumpkin pasty.

Draco watched in amusement as the boy in front of him inspected his purchases one by one. It was at this time when the compartment door slipped open again and a pair of boys showed up. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing side by side, they looked more like bodyguards instead of students.

"Malfoy, we can't find him," said one of them.

"Have you tried searching the front berths?"

"We looked everywhere!" said the other.

Harry who was pretending not to listen to them bickering, raised a pasty, "want some?"

Both boys didn't hesitate and took them, murmuring their thanks.

"This is Crabbe, and this is Goyle," Draco introduced on their behalf who had taken their seats on both his side.

"I'm Hadrian Black, but please call me Harry," Harry said politely.

They had the same reaction as Draco did after he found out who he is but had immediately gotten over it sooner than he did.

He had gone back to inspecting the boxes until curiosity finally got the better off him. "What are these?" he asked them, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not really frogs, are they?"

"No," said Draco. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."

"What?"

"Apologies, of course you wouldn't know – Chocolate Frogs have cards inside them, you know, to collect – famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa yet or Ptolemy."

Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face wearing half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.

"So this is Dumbledore," he exclaimed.

"Salazar, don't tell me you'd never heard of that old coot?!" Draco asked, open-mouthed.

Harry looked a bit sheepish. "Well, I heard enough about him, but I've never seen his picture before." He turned the card and read:

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS

Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.

He turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared.

"He's gone!"

"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day, can you?" said Draco, grabbing a Chocolate Frog from the pile of sweets and huffed as soon as he saw the picture of the witch in the card. "I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her… do you want it? You can start collecting." He tossed the card for Harry to catch.

All four boys had a good time enjoying Harry's sweets. Draco was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the famous witches and wizards in the cards, but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them. Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelcus, and Merlin. He finally tore his eyes away from the druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose when a knock on the door of their compartment took their attention. The round-faced boy Harry had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful.

"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me."

"He'll turn up," said Harry helpfully.

"Yeah," the boy sniffed miserably. "Well, if you see him…"

He left immediately.

"Don't know why he's so bothered," Draco drawled. "If I'd brought a toad, I'd lose it as quick as I could. I'd rather bring a snake if given the chance. Honestly, one more intruder sliding that door and I'd hex them with the spell mother taught me at six!"

Sure enough, someone did try to get into their compartment but failed to do so after Goyle locked the door with a metal pick. It was the same toadless boy they met earlier but this time, he had a girl with him. She had bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes. When her glaring tactics didn't work, the boys returned her continuous knocks with a sneer. She must've thought it was a lost cause and so she decided to leave and headed for the next compartment instead.

"Girls," Draco muttered, rolling his eyes at her retreating back.

The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills. Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky.

"I guess we should change to our school robes now," said Draco standing up, his bodyguards tailing behind him. "It looks like we're about to arrive soon."

Harry nodded. The three boys left to return to their own berths while he rummaged around in his trunk to pull out his long black robes.

A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

His stomach lurched with nerves. Harry had the urge to cram his pockets with the last of the sweets but decided against it. He went ahead and joined the crowd thronging the corridor instead.

This is it. He mumbled to himself. At some point, Harry felt a great leap of excitement within. He didn't know what he was going to – but it couldn't be worse than what he was leaving behind…

… or could it?