"20 pounds, ma'am."
Lily was shaken from her skulking. She had been sitting in this smelly cab for so long she felt that she had been there her whole life. She wished that she had a broom with her now; it would have gotten her to Kings Cross in half the time.
"Ma'am? We are holding up the traffic."
With a woe begotten look on their faces, Lily and the cab driver hauled her enormous trunk and dropped it on the ground with a huge thunk.
The driver looked just as depressed and unwanted as Lily felt. Lily thought to herself, this poor cab driver has probably only just started his day, which would consist of carting around annoying people all day, dealing with their moods, hard to reach destinations and troublesome pets. Lily looked down at her own pet her owl, Athena, who hadn't stopped cooing the whole trip. The driver never breathed a word of complaint. With a sudden burst of sympathy for the man whose life seemed so different from her own, she handed him the thirty pounds her mother had given her that morning.
"Keep the change!" she chirped as she shouldered her backpack, grabbed her owl, and dragged her trunk over to the direction of Platform nine and three quarters.
Lily breathed in the sights and sounds of the crowded train station. Everywhere she looked, she saw families returning from vacation, and children going off to school. She felt a pang in her chest when she saw one crying girl give her mother a hug goodbye, but she let the feeling pass. She wouldn't let herself be upset. After all, this place was the starting point of her new life. She would never let herself feel sad here.
With a sigh, she bent down to pick up her trunk. It didn't budge. She tried again. Uh oh. With a huge heave she tried to lift it, but the resistance of the trunk was too much for her. With a yell, she went flying backwards over Athena's cage. The owl gave a loud squawk as Lily smacked bottom down onto the ground.
"Hey, lil miss!"
She felt someone pulling her to her feet. It was the cab driver looking more than a little amused. She looked quite the sight with all her belonging strewn out around her.
"Sorry lil miss, I 'ope yer alright. I saw ye struggling with that there trunk and I decided to get out and gives ye a lil help."
Lily's embarrassment over falling flat on her face in front of all the people in the train station started to evaporate when she saw the sincerity in his face. She brushed herself off and picked up Athena and her bag.
"That would be great actually. This weighs a ton. Do you think you ca-" She barely finished her sentence when he had already boosted the trunk up into his arms, as if it were light as a feather. Then without even asking which platform she was going to he went straight towards the platform 9. She wondered how she was going to explain to him that he wouldn't be able to help her get it on the train when the most extraordinary thing happened. He started walking right towards the barrier. He was going to crash into it. Then suddenly, he was gone.
Lily felt like her legs were stuck to the floor. This did not make any sense. How could a Muggle cab driver go through the barrier? Was it an accident? With a great effort, she unfroze her leg and walked up to the barrier into Platform 9¾.
The cab driver was standing by the standstill waiting for her. He grinned when her goggle at him.
"Eh there lil miss? Are ye all right?"
Lily goggled at him some more "But how do you know about-?"
"About which train ye were taking? With that owl where else would ye be going?"
Lily continued to stare at him, enchanted by the fact that she was having a conversation with a Muggle cab driver on Platform 9¾.
"Ah I see. Ye didn't think tat none of us normal folks knows about ye? Crazy girl! Ye can't expect something as huge as all this," he exclaimed indicating the train and all the students behind him, "To be kept a secret now can ye?" "No, I suppose not." Lily said.
"Well alright then. Let's get going"
Still feeling as if she was only half awake, Lily followed the cabby to the train where he shoved her trunk into the luggage bin. As he wiped off the sweat on his forehead he looked around longingly at all the kids getting onto the train. Lily got the distinct feeling that he wished he were going with them.
The train whistle sounded, Lily looked up at this man who was really a stranger and had the sudden impulse to give him a hug. Instead she asked him what his name was. The cabby chuckled.
"Thought ye'd never ask me. Me given name is Augustus. Bloody stupid name if ye ask me. I'm normally known as Gus. Ye'd best be getting on yer train miss Lily."
Lily was about to turn to get into the car when she stopped suddenly. "How did you know my name?" she exclaimed. She heard the train whistle from the engine, but she ignored it. She was much more interested in this unpredictable man she had just met. He seemed to be full of surprises.
"Its on yer trunk in plain sight ya goose." Gus said, laughing some more. "I may be pretty smart, but I'm no mind reader. So long Miss Lily"
"Bye Gus!" she called as she hopped up onto the car.
Gus stood at the platform waving until she was out of sight. Lily couldn't help feeling that there was something about Gus that was strangely comforting. For the second time that morning, she felt the excitement of the day bubbling up. As the train left behind the familiar streets of London, Lily couldn't wait until she found her friends and told them all about her strange meeting with a Muggle cabby.
Lily was shaken from her skulking. She had been sitting in this smelly cab for so long she felt that she had been there her whole life. She wished that she had a broom with her now; it would have gotten her to Kings Cross in half the time.
"Ma'am? We are holding up the traffic."
With a woe begotten look on their faces, Lily and the cab driver hauled her enormous trunk and dropped it on the ground with a huge thunk.
The driver looked just as depressed and unwanted as Lily felt. Lily thought to herself, this poor cab driver has probably only just started his day, which would consist of carting around annoying people all day, dealing with their moods, hard to reach destinations and troublesome pets. Lily looked down at her own pet her owl, Athena, who hadn't stopped cooing the whole trip. The driver never breathed a word of complaint. With a sudden burst of sympathy for the man whose life seemed so different from her own, she handed him the thirty pounds her mother had given her that morning.
"Keep the change!" she chirped as she shouldered her backpack, grabbed her owl, and dragged her trunk over to the direction of Platform nine and three quarters.
Lily breathed in the sights and sounds of the crowded train station. Everywhere she looked, she saw families returning from vacation, and children going off to school. She felt a pang in her chest when she saw one crying girl give her mother a hug goodbye, but she let the feeling pass. She wouldn't let herself be upset. After all, this place was the starting point of her new life. She would never let herself feel sad here.
With a sigh, she bent down to pick up her trunk. It didn't budge. She tried again. Uh oh. With a huge heave she tried to lift it, but the resistance of the trunk was too much for her. With a yell, she went flying backwards over Athena's cage. The owl gave a loud squawk as Lily smacked bottom down onto the ground.
"Hey, lil miss!"
She felt someone pulling her to her feet. It was the cab driver looking more than a little amused. She looked quite the sight with all her belonging strewn out around her.
"Sorry lil miss, I 'ope yer alright. I saw ye struggling with that there trunk and I decided to get out and gives ye a lil help."
Lily's embarrassment over falling flat on her face in front of all the people in the train station started to evaporate when she saw the sincerity in his face. She brushed herself off and picked up Athena and her bag.
"That would be great actually. This weighs a ton. Do you think you ca-" She barely finished her sentence when he had already boosted the trunk up into his arms, as if it were light as a feather. Then without even asking which platform she was going to he went straight towards the platform 9. She wondered how she was going to explain to him that he wouldn't be able to help her get it on the train when the most extraordinary thing happened. He started walking right towards the barrier. He was going to crash into it. Then suddenly, he was gone.
Lily felt like her legs were stuck to the floor. This did not make any sense. How could a Muggle cab driver go through the barrier? Was it an accident? With a great effort, she unfroze her leg and walked up to the barrier into Platform 9¾.
The cab driver was standing by the standstill waiting for her. He grinned when her goggle at him.
"Eh there lil miss? Are ye all right?"
Lily goggled at him some more "But how do you know about-?"
"About which train ye were taking? With that owl where else would ye be going?"
Lily continued to stare at him, enchanted by the fact that she was having a conversation with a Muggle cab driver on Platform 9¾.
"Ah I see. Ye didn't think tat none of us normal folks knows about ye? Crazy girl! Ye can't expect something as huge as all this," he exclaimed indicating the train and all the students behind him, "To be kept a secret now can ye?" "No, I suppose not." Lily said.
"Well alright then. Let's get going"
Still feeling as if she was only half awake, Lily followed the cabby to the train where he shoved her trunk into the luggage bin. As he wiped off the sweat on his forehead he looked around longingly at all the kids getting onto the train. Lily got the distinct feeling that he wished he were going with them.
The train whistle sounded, Lily looked up at this man who was really a stranger and had the sudden impulse to give him a hug. Instead she asked him what his name was. The cabby chuckled.
"Thought ye'd never ask me. Me given name is Augustus. Bloody stupid name if ye ask me. I'm normally known as Gus. Ye'd best be getting on yer train miss Lily."
Lily was about to turn to get into the car when she stopped suddenly. "How did you know my name?" she exclaimed. She heard the train whistle from the engine, but she ignored it. She was much more interested in this unpredictable man she had just met. He seemed to be full of surprises.
"Its on yer trunk in plain sight ya goose." Gus said, laughing some more. "I may be pretty smart, but I'm no mind reader. So long Miss Lily"
"Bye Gus!" she called as she hopped up onto the car.
Gus stood at the platform waving until she was out of sight. Lily couldn't help feeling that there was something about Gus that was strangely comforting. For the second time that morning, she felt the excitement of the day bubbling up. As the train left behind the familiar streets of London, Lily couldn't wait until she found her friends and told them all about her strange meeting with a Muggle cabby.