Chapter 2:Awkward Questions
They stumbled out onto Kings Cross station, squeezing through the masses of briefcases and the people attached to them, they hurtled on until they reached the space between platforms nine and ten. Anna paused briefly, turned to her Uncle and opened her mouth who, apparently seemed quite startled to have Anna actually talk to him; she smirked and said "I suppose the platform is 'hidden' so that muggles can't find it," he was about to speak when Anna cut across him "Fascinating as I'm sure what you are about to say undoubtedly is, the time is five to eleven so we only have five minutes." Her uncle look slightly dumbstruck and then smiled; obviously he hadn't detected a hint of sarcasm although her cousin who scowled at her (looking scarily like his mother as he did so) had.
Before she could ask about where and how you entered platform nine and three quarters, "You want to know how to get onto the platform?" her cousin asked, he seemed to be thoroughly pleased with himself probably because he knew something she didn't. "It would help." She said huffily. He just laughed and in tones of mirth he said
"Well, it's over there." He pointed unhelpfully at the barrier between platform 9 and platform 10, she raised an elegant eyebrow, muggles gazed at them and their trunks (with owls in cages perched precariously on top) they clearly thought them quite mad.
"Just walk straight at the barrier between the two platforms, make sure you don't stop or think that you'll walk straight into it, just keep walking, and Henry wipe that smile off your face and stop teasing your cousin its very rude, your mother would have a fit if she saw that face that you just pulled at me." her uncle instructed quietly and tiredly. Anna was momentarily speechless she had never heard her uncle tell Henry off before, but it seemed as if he was a different man when not within a five mile radius of her aunt; she collected herself and sneered at Henry as her uncle walked over to collect a trolley.
"What are you sneering at?" he asked a little sulkily. She rolled her eyes,
"You of course, I thought even someone as thick as you would have worked that out by now." She said exasperatedly, he turned and looked her over as if weighing up in his mind whether she was worth the effort of talking to, "Why are you here? Why couldn't you stay at Durmstrang? Mum never said that I had a cousin, I can't be related to someone like you." He blurted it out as if it had been bugging him ever since she came; the last bit was said spitefully. She looked up into his face contorted with suspicion, he surprised her by saying "Actually I don't want to know it's your business." His eyes betrayed him; they shone with curiosity; he added, "When we get to school I don't know you. ". Anna was just about to reply unpleasantly when she heard him mutter under his breath (with a look of apparent disgust on his face) "she's destined for slytherin."
Before Anna had time to ponder on this her uncle came grabbed them both and frogmarched them to the metal barrier, with their trunks bumping along behind them and promptly told them to stop bickering and focus. They stopped; Henry leaned against the barrier casually, waved and was gone. Her Uncle signalled for her to run, Anna nodded; he gave her a searching glance, she ignored him and walked off briskly. She was almost there, getting closer and closer to it with every step; giant butterflies flapped about in her stomach, and she was almost knocked flying several times by muggles walking into her. She had reached the barrier now and, swallowing she closed her eyes and sprinted into it but as she opened her eyes she realised she was mistaken she had gone through it.
As she looked around she saw a big red steam engine with several carriages attached, innumerable parents were seeing off their children, cats of every sort mewed weaving themselves between the crowd, unseen toads croaked and irritated owls hooted. She stood and watched the babbling crowd dazedly as it begin to dwindle as students left for the train and steam began to billow from the train's chimney. Anna stirred as her uncle Benedict tapped her shoulder "You'll have to go now you can't stay here." He smiled; Anna looked up at him "I know that! But its just..." her voice trailed off, he squeezed her shoulder and guided her onto the train. She quickly dumped her trunk behind her and as her uncle shut the door and turned to leave, she shouted "Wait!" he hesitated "Do I have to go? Why can't I just go back?" she hated the note of desperation in her voice, the train began to move "You can't go back, its too late." He shouted back, the train rounded a corner taking the view of her uncle away. She sighed and dragging her trunk behind her went to look for a seat.
