Christiane awoke at dawn on September 1. She wasn't leaving for King's Cross Station for another three hours, so she repacked her trunk, braided her hair, shoved her witch's robes into a bag, and finished a drawing of an owl she had been working on.
Finally, Mrs. Charmont knocked on Christiane's door. "Christiane? We should leave soon!
Christiane opened the door and pulled her trunk through, pushing past her mother. "Let's go!"
Mrs. Charmont looked puzzled. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Huh?"
Elisabeth handed her daughter the wand she had confiscated after Christiane had tried to hypnotize their neighbor's cat.
"Oh, right!" Christiane tucked the wand in her bag. "Mum, we'll be late! Come on!"
Christiane could hear her mother chuckling to herself as the trunk thumped down the staircase. But she only shrugged and heaved her things to the door.
"Your father has a Muggle car from the Ministry waiting," Mrs. Charmont called.
"Where is Dad, anyway?" Christiane asked as she opened the front door and dragged her trunk through the garden.
"He...he had some paperwork to take care of...at the Ministry," Christiane's mother said quickly.
Christiane raised an eyebrow, but just then a scarlet car pulled up in front of the Charmonts' house. A man in bright blue robes hopped out, bowed to Mrs. Charmont, and lifted Christiane's things into the back of the car.
"Get in," Mrs. Charmont urged, practically pushing Christiane into the car. Christiane sat down and waited for her mother to climb in. However, when she did, she refused to say another word about Mr. Charmont.
King's Cross Station was full of children starting their term at different schools. While the driver was pulling out Christiane's trunk, she saw the dark-haired girl from Ollivander's standing alone. She smiled at Christiane.
"Christiane, I have to be at the Ministry in an hour," Mrs. Charmont was explaining, checking her watch. She wrapped her daughter in a tight hug. "Behave, alright? I'll see you at Christmas..."
"Christiane!" Hayley was waving at her from the other side of the room.
"Bye, Mum!" Christiane called. Did Mrs. Charmont look a little disappointed as she walked to the car?
Christiane shrugged. She reached for the cart that the driver had loaded her things onto and dragged it over to her friend.
"Michael already went on the train," Hayley told Christiane. "D'you want to..."
"Excuse me!"
It was the dark-haired girl Christiane had seen earlier. She was hurrying over to them, pushing a cart laden with bags, suitcases, and a wire cage enclosing a tiny barn owl.
"Sorry," she apologized. Her voice was cool and even. "I'm Madeline Marbling. It's my first time here, and, well...I was wondering where the platform for Hogwarts was."
"Platform Nine and Three-Quarters?" Hayley asked. Madeline nodded, still looking confused. "Oh, see that barrier over there? You have to go through it. On the other side is the Hogwarts train. My brother told me all about it."
Madeline sighed. "Thank you! My father dropped me off here alone, and..." she trailed off, looking nervous.
"Let's go together," Christiane suggested. They lined up in single file, facing the barrier between platforms nine and ten. "Ready? Go!"
The three girls ran as fast as they could, pushing their carts in front of them. Instead of hitting the barrier, Christiane's cart went through it; in a moment, she followed.
Hayley and Madeline were close behind her. They had stumbled onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, where scores of children with great trunks and cages of exotic pets were running back and forth. Students hung out of the Hogwarts Express, a scarlet steam engine; mothers issued last-minute warnings and instructions; and fathers tossed candy up at their children.
Christiane, Madeline, and Hayley grinned at each other before running towards the Hogwarts Express. A tall man who was lecturing his son helped them lift their carts up and onto the train.
The Express was filled with students, talking, laughing, bragging about their pets, casting spells on each other. Christiane had never seen so many wizarding children in her whole life. However, Hayley was unfazed. She found an empty car where they could all sit down.
"This is great!" Madeline exclaimed, leaning back in her seat. "I've never been on a train before."
Suddenly, the door to their compartment burst open. A short, blond-haired girl burst in.
"Sorry, sorry," she said quickly, tripping over Hayley's feet. She was lugging a suitcase behind her. "Can I sit here?" She stumbled and fell into a seat next to Madeline.
"Guess so," Christiane smiled. "I mean, you already have."
"My name's Anna," the girl said, pushing her hair out of her face, kicking her suitcase aside, and extending her hand, all at once. "Isn't the wizarding world fascinating? My mum and dad are both...what do you call them...Muggles? Anyway, we were getting ready to apply to this boarding school in Wales, but just then, this huge owl flapped at our window! Mum and Dad were pleased, if anything, but then..."
"I'm Hayley," Hayley interrupted.
"And I'm Christiane...this is Madeline," Christiane added.
"Oh, hello," Anna said lightly, as if she had just met them. "Anyway, I can't wait until we reach Hogwarts. I haven't heard much about it, other than it's the best wizarding school in the world.
"Are your parents wizards?"
Madeline, Christiane, and Hayley all nodded. Just then, the train lurched into motion. Christiane looked out the window; only a few parents were left, waving at their children from the platform.
A cloud of purple smoke covered the window. When it cleared, King's Cross Station was gone.
"Well, here we go," Christiane said out loud, looking out at the rolling green hills of the English countryside. Even Anna was quiet.
Suddenly, Madeline spoke up. "Do you mind if I let Amadeus out?" She gestured to the miniscule Scops owl that was hooting in its cage. "He's been shut up for days."
"Sure," said Hayley. They watched the tiny bird flap happily around the compartment.
Christiane sighed and rummaged around in her bag. She pulled out a pad of paper and started sketching a racing broom.
"Do you draw?" Anna asked.
"Sometimes," Christiane shrugged, shading the broom with her pencil. Maybe if she cast an Animatus Spell, she could make it move...
"Hey, look!" Hayley squealed, clambering up onto her seat so she could look out the window. "Is that a hippogriff?!"
Everyone jumped up and pressed their noses to the window.
"See, back there?" Hayley was saying.
Christiane squinted. A huge bird-like creature was flying through the air, inches above a thick forest.
"Wow!" Anna cried. "That's...that's...it's flying, it's..."
The Hogwarts Express turned a corner, and the hippogriff disappeared from sight.
"Wow..." Anna repeated.
Madeline coughed. "I've seen loads of hippogriffs before, and pegasuses too..."
Christiane raised her eyebrows, but Anna gasped.
"Really? You're so lucky! I'd never heard of any of this stuff..." She waved one arm to indicate Amadeus, the Hogwarts Express, and even Christiane. "And it's all so...weird!"
Madeline told Anna all about Floo Powder, broomsticks, and messages by owl...things Christiane had grown up with. However, Anna listened with her mouth hanging open. She was even more astonished with the candies that a plump witch, passing by their compartment, was selling from a cart.
Christiane munched on some Chocolate Frogs and looked out the window. Now they were passing through an open field, the sun peeking out of the clouds. She sat down and opened her sketchpad again.
Author's Note: Hope you guys are
enjoying this! Oh, and 'Madeline' is pronounced "Mad-uh-linn."
Don't forget to review!