Chapter 5: A wall, two train journeys and a walk across water

He'd been staring at it for a long time now and had finally reached a conclusion: the wall was undoubtedly solid. Tom pressed his finger against the rough brick surface. Nothing happened. It was in fact just a wall.

"What do you think he's doing?"

"Dunno. Kid's been standin' there for about half an' hour just prodding the wall."

"Do you suppose he's right in the head?"

The speakers stopped talking abruptly as Tom swung to face them. He glared at them briefly, back at the wall and then strode off in the opposite direction, their whispers about his possible insanity trailing behind him.

Why hadn't it opened?

Dragging his trolley behind him Tom went to sit on one of the cast iron benches his owl, Banquo squawking loudly drawing more attention. Pointedly ignoring the stares Tom pulled a crumpled piece of card from his pocket and stared at it expectantly as if it would suddenly reveal another clue to the location of the platform but the ticket remained stubbornly unchanging. He sighed and turned it over so that Dumbledore's loopy writing faced upwards. Platform 9 and ¾ is located through the wall separating platforms 9 and 10. It will open if you believe it will open.

Several boys, who looked about fifteen, were leaning against it waiting for their train, emerald school blazers flapping in the currents created by the moving engines. Surely if there was a hidden gateway behind them they'd just fall through it but soon someone yelled at them to move and they ran to catch their departing train leaving Tom still completely flummoxed.

He glanced back at the large clock above the platform. It was half past ten; he still had half an hour to figure out this stupid wall thing before the train left. Mind you he'd been here since nine o'clock and was still stuck on this side...

Brilliant.

After an exciting two hour bus trip here where he'd been forced to sit next to an ageing housewife who had produced photos of her numerous offspring and forced them into his protesting fingers, reeling out anecdote after tedious anecdote they had finally made it to Kings Cross Station. Sister Agnes had stayed long enough to wave a tearful goodbye as he boarded on the 9:14 train to Glasgow, where his new school apparently awaited him. She had seen him grin nervously, wave back and move down the cars towards an empty seat before leaving the station ready to return to the orphanage. What she had not seen was Tom walk the length of two carriages, ignoring the many available seats and eventually returning to the platform out of sight of Sister Agnes. Hidden behind the racks of extortionately expensive chocolate bars he watched her disappear, eventually emerging from behind the large displays and after dumping his trunk and irate owl onto a nearby trolley manoeuvred it inexpertly towards platforms nine and ten.

One and a half hours later and he was still there.

It will open if you believe it will open.

He sat there a moment longer, studying the wall and eventually pushed himself back to his feet. No inanimate object was going to defeat Tom Marvolo Riddle. Not today. Not ever. He walked resolutely up to it again. Fortunately the people who had jibbed at him before had boarded their train and were no longer watching. One hand stretched out to be once again met with solid brick. He struck out with one bony fist and yelped a word he'd once heard Eric get a week of solitary confinement for using as a trickle of sticky crimson welled from his knuckles. He ignored it and focused on the task at hand. Closing his eyes his fingers crept forward once more. He had been magically transported from Kingston to London, had seen a man disappear in mid air and a giant turn into a platypus. So if Albus Dumbledore said the wall wasn't there, well, Tom supposed he believed him. His arm was now completely extended. Not daring to draw another breath he took a tentative step forward, his feet met nothing. Two more steps carried him through the barrier and Tom prised open one eyelid. Shut it again. Opened both eyes. The steam engine was still there, gleaming brilliantly in the morning sun, his trunk however, was still on the other side. Grinning slightly Tom strode easily back through the wall, collected his trolley, checked no one was watching him walk through previously solid brick and pushed it back onto the secret platform.

There were very few people around and Tom, who had expected hordes of oddly dressed wizards like in Diagon Alley was momentarily surprised.

"Oh thank Merlin." The boy looked up and found a smartly dressed porter shaking his hand briskly. "I was wondering if everybody had forgotten."

"What?"

"Just over here sonny." Tom allowed himself to propelled over towards a very similar looking bench to the one he'd just vacated and sat down. "The rest'll be here shortly I shouldn't warrant." Tom regarded him in confusion but sure enough after less than a minute had elapsed a smartly dressed man stepped through the barrier, looked around briefly before vanishing and then reappearing, accompanied this time by an equally smartly dressed woman and a small girl with a long auburn plait running down her back. They moved away from the wall quickly and a pair of older, dark haired boys ran into the space they had previously occupied. Two girls fell onto the platform, followed by an old crotchety man and a women who looked suspiciously like the one sitting next to him on the bus, leading a line of blonde children. Slowly, in twos and threes the platform began to fill, watched by an inquisitive eleven-year-old boy with dark hair that stuck out from his head, clutching an owl in a cage. The same porter who had earlier greeted Tom spotted someone he knew and rushed over to him. "Where were you?"

"Some kid was standing by the wall, staring at it. None of our lot wanted to ask if he was a muggle in case he was so we waited for him to leave."

"Well at least you're here now." The boy got hurriedly to his feet and moved away into the crowds. Most of the other children were boarding the train now and after three unsuccessful attempts Tom managed to haul his trunk onto the raised steps and dragged it down the corridors until he found an empty compartment. For a while he peered through the scratched window pains watching the partings of affectionate families but eventually the train's whistle sounded, the last goodbyes were said and the engine drew away from the station, gradually gaining speed until they were off into the open countryside. He watched the fields pass for about an hour before growing bored and fishing in his trunk for one of the old battered books he had borrowed from the orphanage. A torn piece of paper marked his place and he opened Jude the Obscure and tried to read, ignoring the bumpy journey and his guilty conscience. It wasn't like anyone would actually miss the books. Infact he seriously doubted if Eric or some of the others could read but still…

The journey was an uneventful one, interrupted only by a sulky looking witch pushing a trolley full of sweets. Tom lied and said he had no money and she moved on after taking a quick glance at his orphanage issued clothes to confirm the fact. Another seven hours and three hundred odd pages later the train drew to a juddering halt. Tom looked up and back out of the window. It was dark, he realised in surprise. When had that happened? Children began pouring from the carriages, all in billowing black robes. He looked down at his scruffy jeans and slowly, horrifyingly it dawned on him that that was not what he should be seeing. Quickly he knelt on the floor, flung the trunk open and Jude back inside and tugged out his robes. There was definitely no time to change into his uniform but perhaps no one would notice that if he wore his robes over the top of his muggle clothes. Maybe not but still it was worth a shot. He pulled them on swiftly, closed his trunk and started pulling it out into the corridor. A tall girl with curly hair pushed past him and had almost reached the doors before she turned and informed him that he was supposed to leave his trunk on the train and hadn't he realised he was supposed to wear a tie? Tom blushed and abandoned his luggage.

"First years over here."

Tom drew his eyes reluctantly away from the horse drawn carriages that were departing from the other side of the platform and joined the small group congregating around the owner of the voice now revealed as a young woman with dark hair and glasses, beaming at the students gaggling around her. "Welcome to Hogwarts. My name is Professor Murphy, I teach potions and I look forward to seeing you all in my class later on in the week but for now I'm sure some of you are wondering why we're not boarding those carriages," there were murmurs of agreement. "The simple answer is that we wanted to give you a taste of something magically phenomenal on your arrival. Find me a wizard who claims he can resist showing off and I'll show you a liar." She grinned again, the smile fitting easily onto her face. "We've got something special prepared for you guys. Follow me."

They trailed after her obediently towards the edge of the lake where the stopped. Tom at the back of the group stood on the tips of his toes trying to see what might be behind her. Lights dazzled on the water's surface but otherwise it was empty. "There's nothing here," someone grumbled.

Professor Murphy merely grinned broadly again and stepped backwards onto the water.

They gasped.

Out in the middle of the lake, seemingly hovering in mid air the potion's teacher laughed at their faces. She took another couple of steps out into the lake. "Well come on," she urged. "The feast'll be over before you even get to the castle at this rate." Nobody moved. The woman on the water sighed melodramatically "it's easy people" and looked over the crowd. "You can walk on water," her eyes met Tom's "if you believe you can." The boy found himself smiling and moving towards the front of the group. Hesitantly he took a step and found to his astonishment that there was a bridge stretching across the water, he just couldn't see it. He walked over to where the potion's master stood on the invisible brickwork. "Thank you Tom," she whispered as more of his classmates moved tentatively onto the water. "We could've been standing here for a long time."

"How do you-" he began but soon they were surrounded by excited children and Professor Murphy moved off across the bridge only she could see. "Don't stray past the lights kiddies," she called cheerfully striding along a meter above the surface of the water as if this kind of behaviour were completely normal. "They mark the edges of the platform and I'm not in the mood to fish any of you out tonight."

They had been walking for about ten minutes before she stopped them again. "You're about to get your first view of Hogwarts." Excited chatter started up again. They'd all heard about the castle of course but what would it look like. The march started up again.

"Wow," the boy next to him breathed and Tom, finding he didn't have any words of his own that fitted the moment more completely merely nodded and agreed silently as the walked across the air towards the castle that would be their world for the next seven years.

"Stand back, children." The great doors of the castle loomed before them and Professor Murphy removed her wand and tapped the doors with it three times before muttering something that was obviously a password but that none of the others could hear. They creaked and she jumped back. "Out of the way of the doors!" The swung outwards knocking over one boy who had not moved fast enough in response to her warning. "You'd think with some of the most powerful wizards in the country living here they'd be able to change the direction these open," Professor Murphy muttered as she picked him back off the floor and fixed his bleeding nose. "I'm sorry Denise," she mimicked. "This castle is ancient, the doors were installed by the Founders. They're staying." She dropped the voice. "Doesn't matter that at least one kid gets knocked out every year."

"Professor Murphy?" Tom ventured.

She looked slightly embarrassed and dropped the rant. "Anyway lets go in."

They passed their trunks in the corridors before stopping in front of some more doors. Professor Murphy turned around and addressed them again. "Behind these doors the rest of the school is waiting for you. The sorting ceremony will begin soon." She looked around at the nervous faces and her face relaxed into a smile that had been absent since their encounter with the castle doors. "Don't worry about it, all you have to do is be yourself. Once you're sorted into one of the houses, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin, it will become almost like your family." She told them about the house system in more detail for a while before disappearing through the doors [which also opened outwards but she didn't seem to mind this time.]

After about ten minutes she reappeared, winked and opened the doors further to allow them into the Great Hall. "Good Luck. It's time."

*

Author's Note: After a long period of nothing here it is!!! Chapter frigging five! Yes I admit the title was a bit uninspired but I succumbed to the Diagon Alley scenario again and named it The Sorting before realising, it was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long and that I was going to cut it off here… before the sorting. *cue swearing* It is also worth noting the amount I swore when I realise that Hagrid trained the bl00dy thestrals so they wouldn't be pulling any carriages any time soon. Also if you go back to chapter four, the veela hair is gone. *blushes* sorry about that, forgot completely. I am suitably ashamed I promise.

Interesting game, or not but what the hell, is playing "spot the difference" between Tom's arrival and Harry's. It's all very carefully thought through actually so I'd appreciate it if you appreciated it.

Fianl thanks go to: Liv, Princess Pepperlily, AlianneofTortall, MyLittleSera, lizzie, Delie, Starryfantasy, me [good name], Skysong, Erana van Lingden, Diabla666, starliz1, Hwesta and Lily Peters.