Chapter Eight
HOGWARTS EXPRESS
The London train station was crowded, as usual. People were running up and down, carrying suitcases or trolleys, and saying goodbye to departing realtives. Some couples were hugging and kissing after a long time, or before it. A voice from the loudspeaker annonuced some changes in the timetable, or the arrival of a train.
Lily had piled her things on a single trolley, and it was so loaded that its wheels creaked at every movement, and she could barely see where she was going. The owl in its cage was cooing all the time. They hadn't found a name for the pet yet. The man who had sold it had forgotten to tell them, and it was not responding to any of the names they had tried.
"Where is the man from Hogwarts?" asked Lily after awhile they were wondering around.
"I don't really know. I don't think anyone else knows where this 9 3/4 platform is, either," said Peter, looking around.
They were standing near the stairs, and could see the whole entrance of the station. Lily looked down, and saw a really big man hanging over the crowd.
"Wow, Daddy! Look at that man! He's sooooo tall!" said Lily, giggling.
"Mhmm... it could be our man. Look at how he's dressed." The man was wearing a long dark coat that should have fit a man of the eighteen century.
But the thing that stroke the most was his beard. Saying it was neglected was far from enough. It was... wild. A single mass of hair that began from the neck, went behind the head, and ended under the chin.
Peter and Lily got near him with a kind of caution.
"Excuse me, sir. Ehm... are you the man from... ehm... Hogwarts?" Peter rather murmured the last name.
"Yea! Yea! 'T's me! Yeh 'ust be 'ookin for 'latfor 93/4, right?" after a moment of uncertainty caused by the way the man was talking, Peter nodded.
"Yeh go two 'latfor 9. 'here yeh fin' a wizar 'ho'll tell ya wha to do" said the big man with a smile hidden between the hair.
"Ehm... thank you" Peter smiled slightly embarassed, and he pulled his daughter away.
"Daddy, we're being late! It's already 10.45!" said Lily as they approached the platforms.
A little crowd was standing at the beginning of platform 9. Every child there had a trolley as full as Lily's, and several owls were cooing at the same time. People looked at that strange group and laughed or had disapproving looks, but Peter and Lily were glad to see that odd group of people.
As they got closer, an average man addressed them:
"Please, tell me you are the Smiths!" the man was dressed as a normal Muggle, but something in the way he moved and hold a little piece of paper revealed that he was not.
"No, sorry. We are the Evans" said Peter, perplexed.
"Lily Evans," precised the girl.
"Evans... Evans... yes, here you are!" said the man reading the paper "Well, I'll handle the Smiths when I find them. Please, everyone, come with me" he went straight in the opposite direction of the end of the platform, followed by the uncertain crowd.
"Ehm, excuse me, sir," said Peter as he was able to reach him, "where is platform 9¾?"
"You'll see in a moment; we're going right there. We have prepared a special entrance for crowd of Muggles, this year. You know, we can't be noticed. Here we are." They had reached the door of a departement store. It looked unused since long ago. The inside consisted of a single big empty room. At the center was a wastepaper basket.
"Are we all in? Well. Please, everybody come as near as you can. Good, now take the hand of person nearest you. Form a chain. Be sure to touch your trolley, too." Everyone shared perplexed looks as they did what they were asked. The man took the basket in one hand, and with the other he touched the last person of the chain.
Nothing was happening. Some kids laughed.
Then, all of a sudden, they felt a force picking them up to their navel, and a moment after, they were in another big room, a room similar, but different, than the first one.
People started looking around, astonished.
"You have just experianced a Passport. It simply took us straight to platform 9¾. Please, all the parents wait for me after the train leaves. I'll show you the usual entrance to the platform. Now, let's go to the train." He tossed the basket away and went to the door.
The crowd was stuck, people looking at each other, uncertain. And so were Lily and Peter.
"Please, you are nearly late" called the man.
Out of the door was the platform 9¾. It was similar to other platforms, but nearly everybody there was a wizard or witch, and everything looked a bit more... antique. The train itself was an old vapour-engine model. 'Hogwarts Express' was written on the top of the steam engine.
"The train to Hogwarts is leaving in five minutes from platform 9 3/4," annonuced a voice, but no loudspeakers were visible.
"Come on Lily" said Peter, pushing the trolley toward the train. He put the cases up a door in the train, then turned to say goodbye to his daughter.
"Oh, daddy!" cried Lily, hugging him tight.
"You'll be fine, Lily. Don't worry."
"And if I can't find any friend there? And if..." she was close to cry.
"You with no friends? I can't imagine that, really. Don't worry, darling, it'll be ok," said Peter, smiling. Lily returned the smile and hugged him one last time. Then, she got on the train.
"Write as soon as you can!" shouted Peter as the train started moving
"I WILL!!!" answered Lily leaning out of the window. She looked him getting smaller and smaller in the distance, till he was no more in sight. Then, she took her cases on and went looking for a compartment.
Her trip to Hogwarts had finally began.
HOGWARTS EXPRESS
The London train station was crowded, as usual. People were running up and down, carrying suitcases or trolleys, and saying goodbye to departing realtives. Some couples were hugging and kissing after a long time, or before it. A voice from the loudspeaker annonuced some changes in the timetable, or the arrival of a train.
Lily had piled her things on a single trolley, and it was so loaded that its wheels creaked at every movement, and she could barely see where she was going. The owl in its cage was cooing all the time. They hadn't found a name for the pet yet. The man who had sold it had forgotten to tell them, and it was not responding to any of the names they had tried.
"Where is the man from Hogwarts?" asked Lily after awhile they were wondering around.
"I don't really know. I don't think anyone else knows where this 9 3/4 platform is, either," said Peter, looking around.
They were standing near the stairs, and could see the whole entrance of the station. Lily looked down, and saw a really big man hanging over the crowd.
"Wow, Daddy! Look at that man! He's sooooo tall!" said Lily, giggling.
"Mhmm... it could be our man. Look at how he's dressed." The man was wearing a long dark coat that should have fit a man of the eighteen century.
But the thing that stroke the most was his beard. Saying it was neglected was far from enough. It was... wild. A single mass of hair that began from the neck, went behind the head, and ended under the chin.
Peter and Lily got near him with a kind of caution.
"Excuse me, sir. Ehm... are you the man from... ehm... Hogwarts?" Peter rather murmured the last name.
"Yea! Yea! 'T's me! Yeh 'ust be 'ookin for 'latfor 93/4, right?" after a moment of uncertainty caused by the way the man was talking, Peter nodded.
"Yeh go two 'latfor 9. 'here yeh fin' a wizar 'ho'll tell ya wha to do" said the big man with a smile hidden between the hair.
"Ehm... thank you" Peter smiled slightly embarassed, and he pulled his daughter away.
"Daddy, we're being late! It's already 10.45!" said Lily as they approached the platforms.
A little crowd was standing at the beginning of platform 9. Every child there had a trolley as full as Lily's, and several owls were cooing at the same time. People looked at that strange group and laughed or had disapproving looks, but Peter and Lily were glad to see that odd group of people.
As they got closer, an average man addressed them:
"Please, tell me you are the Smiths!" the man was dressed as a normal Muggle, but something in the way he moved and hold a little piece of paper revealed that he was not.
"No, sorry. We are the Evans" said Peter, perplexed.
"Lily Evans," precised the girl.
"Evans... Evans... yes, here you are!" said the man reading the paper "Well, I'll handle the Smiths when I find them. Please, everyone, come with me" he went straight in the opposite direction of the end of the platform, followed by the uncertain crowd.
"Ehm, excuse me, sir," said Peter as he was able to reach him, "where is platform 9¾?"
"You'll see in a moment; we're going right there. We have prepared a special entrance for crowd of Muggles, this year. You know, we can't be noticed. Here we are." They had reached the door of a departement store. It looked unused since long ago. The inside consisted of a single big empty room. At the center was a wastepaper basket.
"Are we all in? Well. Please, everybody come as near as you can. Good, now take the hand of person nearest you. Form a chain. Be sure to touch your trolley, too." Everyone shared perplexed looks as they did what they were asked. The man took the basket in one hand, and with the other he touched the last person of the chain.
Nothing was happening. Some kids laughed.
Then, all of a sudden, they felt a force picking them up to their navel, and a moment after, they were in another big room, a room similar, but different, than the first one.
People started looking around, astonished.
"You have just experianced a Passport. It simply took us straight to platform 9¾. Please, all the parents wait for me after the train leaves. I'll show you the usual entrance to the platform. Now, let's go to the train." He tossed the basket away and went to the door.
The crowd was stuck, people looking at each other, uncertain. And so were Lily and Peter.
"Please, you are nearly late" called the man.
Out of the door was the platform 9¾. It was similar to other platforms, but nearly everybody there was a wizard or witch, and everything looked a bit more... antique. The train itself was an old vapour-engine model. 'Hogwarts Express' was written on the top of the steam engine.
"The train to Hogwarts is leaving in five minutes from platform 9 3/4," annonuced a voice, but no loudspeakers were visible.
"Come on Lily" said Peter, pushing the trolley toward the train. He put the cases up a door in the train, then turned to say goodbye to his daughter.
"Oh, daddy!" cried Lily, hugging him tight.
"You'll be fine, Lily. Don't worry."
"And if I can't find any friend there? And if..." she was close to cry.
"You with no friends? I can't imagine that, really. Don't worry, darling, it'll be ok," said Peter, smiling. Lily returned the smile and hugged him one last time. Then, she got on the train.
"Write as soon as you can!" shouted Peter as the train started moving
"I WILL!!!" answered Lily leaning out of the window. She looked him getting smaller and smaller in the distance, till he was no more in sight. Then, she took her cases on and went looking for a compartment.
Her trip to Hogwarts had finally began.