Chapter 3: Hogwarts Express
Phoebe's POV
I awoke September first to Grams shaking me awake, telling me to get up or I'd be late and miss the train. I shot out of bed, frantically running around and getting my last minute preparations ready as Grams headed downstairs to make me some breakfast. I dressed, grabbed my bags and flew down the stairs heading into the kitchen after depositing my bags by the front door. I knew Grams would be in there with a breakfast for me, she wouldn't let me leave without eating something no matter what I would say or do. She just would not let me go anywhere without being properly nourished, although I loved her even more for it.
"Ready," I said entering the kitchen and plopping down in one of the chairs.
"Not without breakfast your not," Grams said and I smiled at her having heard her say something to that extent in my head on the way downstairs. She placed a plate of scrambled eggs and toast in front of me and I started inhaling the food. No sooner had I finished breakfast then Piper and Prue came bolting in the kitchen.
"Hey Phoebe, today's the day?" Piper said smiling and taking a seat next to me. Prue followed and sat down next to Piper, both accepting a breakfast placed in front of them by Grams.
"Yep," I answered smiling at Piper and Prue. Piper returned the smile, but Prue didn't. She still didn't like that fact that I was going off to Hogwarts, although she had refused to tell me why.
"So, you really are going to go through with this than?" Prue said looking at me.
"Yes I am Prue. You haven't given me any reason not to, so I am still going," I said calmly.
"Alright, time to get going," Grams interrupted.
We all three got up and I went over and engulfed Piper in a long hug.
"I'm really gonna miss ya," I said still hugging her.
"Not as much as I'll miss you," she replied and we broke apart.
I turned to Prue and gave her an even bigger hug. "And I'll miss you more than you'll realize I'm sure," I said laughing slightly.
"Me too Phoebe," Prue said hugging me back. We broke apart and I looked at Grams. She was smiling and then I looked back at Piper and Prue.
"I'll see you at Christmas," I said smiling.
"Take care Phoebe," Piper said smiling back.
"And be careful," Prue added smiling slightly, but with a hint of something in her voice that I couldn't quite place so I let it drop.
"Alright, let's go, grab your things and we'll load them into the car. You have your ticket and everything else you need, right?"
"Yes, everything I need."
Piper and Prue helped us load up the car and then went inside, giving each other one last goodbye. I hoped in the car with Grams hoping in the driver's seat and she drove off, Piper and Prue waving goodbye from the curb and me waving goodbye from the car. They had decided it best if they didn't go to the train station although I wasn't sure why. Grams had somehow talked them into it I believed. I sighed as Piper and Prue left my vision and turned around to face forward.
"Grams, why aren't Piper and Prue coming to the station with us?" I asked for the millionth time hoping she'd tell me now that they where not in earshot.
"Just thought it'd be best if they stayed at home's all," she answered not turning towards me but keeping her full attention on the road ahead.
I sighed knowing I'd never get it out of her. I pulled out my ticket and looked it over. Platform nine and three quarters what kind of a joke was that. I'd have to figure it out at the station, by myself non-the less. Grams thought I'd be able to figure it out on my own so she was just dropping me off. By the time we reached the station I was starting to question my acceptance of this plan, Grams just dropping me off that is. She wouldn't tell me how to get onto the platform, or at least she said she didn't know I wasn't exactly sure if I believed her or not.
We reached the station and Grams helped me load everything on a trolley, made sure I was in the building and left me there, after giving me a big hug and kissing me that is. She told me I'd better write all the time and I said I would. When I was inside the station I headed over to platforms nine and ten deciding that it was my best bet. When I got there I went and stood against the back wall, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone but keeping my eyes around platform nine and ten seeing if I could figure out how to get to the platform, or see someone else get to it. I was rewarded a few moments later when I heard the word muggles. I looked over and saw a boy and his grandmother approaching the two platforms I was keeping an eye on. I held back though, not alerting them to my presence. I was just going to watch and see how they got on, then follow suit.
The two of them approached the wall in-between platforms nine and ten and then started walking towards it. My eyes grew wide as I watched in horror as they neared the wall. I waited for a collision that I knew was coming, but it never came, they just reached the wall and disappeared. My jaw dropped slightly and I shook my head to clear it telling myself I could not have possibly just witnessed someone disappearing.
I grabbed a hold of my trolley and started walking to the place where they had disappeared. I approached the wall that they had disappeared into and stopped. I looked around quickly, making sure I wasn't drawing too much attention to myself. Luckily no one was paying me the least bit of attention since everyone was so intent on reaching his or her destination on time.
I turned back to the wall and slowly started extending my hand outwards. I swallowed slightly as I was almost touching it.
"Hey, girl, what do you think you're doing?" someone said and I jumped in the air, turning around in the process.
"Excuse me?" I said looking up into the eyes of an employee with a confused expression on my face.
"What are you doing? Are you lost?"
"Um, no, I'm fine, really," I said plastering a smile on my face.
He looked at me as if deciding whether I was worth his time or not. Deciding I wasn't he nodded and headed off. I sighed and turned back to the platform taking no time at all to stick my hand out and touch the wall. However when I went to lay my hand on the wall there was nothing there for me to lay it on. I retracted my arm and inhaled a deep breath. I looked around making sure no one had seen. When I was confident no one had I grabbed a hold of my trolley and walked right at the wall, or should I say right into the wall.
I emerged on the other side of the wall and my jaw dropped. There was a sign that read Platform nine and three quarters and right in front of me was a huge red train with Hogwarts Express painted on. I smiled when I was over the initial shock and looked around at my surroundings. There was a ton of children and parents and other relatives, all bustling around getting set on the train and everything else they needed to do.
I loaded my bags on the train and then boarded it, walking down the train looking for either an empty compartment or one that had fellow students that looked friendly. I found an empty one before one that I felt like sharing and grabbed it. I sighed as I sat down near the door; not really wanting a window seat, I didn't really like them all that much.
"Hey," someone said from the doorway and I looked over to see Harry smiling down at me.
"Hey Harry," I said smiling back.
"Don't supposed you'd mind if I sit here would you?"
"Course not," I said signaling for him to sit down. He grabbed a seat on my side next to the window and turned back towards me.
"So, what do you think so far?" he asked.
I shrugged slightly. "I really don't know, it's all so…weird I guess. I mean I never would have guessed there was magic in this world in a million years, yet here I am going off to a school to learn it. How bout you?"
"Thanking god for getting me away from my aunt and uncle," Harry said.
I slanted my head to the side and gave him a confused look. "Your aunt and uncle?" I said confused.
"Yea, I live with my aunt and uncle."
"Well than why would you want to get away from them?" I said still as confused as I had been with his first comment on the subject.
"They're not exactly the nicest people in the world," was all he supplied.
"Oh," I said and looked away for a second. I looked back at him and saw he had a blank expression on his face. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you live with them?"
"My parents where killed when I was a baby," he said quietly.
I felt horrible for bringing the subject up now. I know I hate talking about my parents since I had never known them.
"I'm really sorry," I said equally as quietly. "I lost my father took off when I was a baby, and my mother died when I was two. My grandmother raises me and my two big sisters." I had turned my head away and was looking at the floor tears starting to form in my eyes. I shoved them away and smiled looking up.
Harry was shocked by my smile and couldn't help smiling back. "Why are you smiling?"
"It's better than being sad," I said shrugging. "I feel horrible all the time about it, but it feels good just to laugh and smile sometimes. Hey, it definitely beats crying and feeling down."
Harry looked at me and smiled back. I could tell he was surprised by my words. "I never really thought of it that way," he said, "but it makes sense, only problem is I don't have much to be happy about."
"Well than we'll just have to change that won't we," I said nodding once.
Harry smiled met the smile I had on my face and we laughed slightly. I was definitely not going to regret coming here.
"Mind if I sit here, everywhere else is full," someone said in the doorway after our laughter had died down.
We both looked over to see a boy with flaming red hair and some dirt on his nose.
"Not at all," Harry said smiling.
"You're more than welcome," I supplied smiling.
"Thanks," he said sitting down across from Harry and smiling back at us. "I'm Ron by the way Ron Weasley."
"Phoebe Halliwell, pleased to meet ya," I said shaking his hand.
"And I'm Harry, Harry Potter."
"Do you really have the…scar?" he asked.
"Yea," Harry said pushing his bangs back exposing his lightning bolt scar. I had been reading many of the books I had gotten in Diagon Alley and had there for discovered the reason behind the swarm at the Leaky Cauldron. Harry was famous, the boy who lived.
They talked for a bit, and I sat where I was listening in but staying pretty silent, giving my input every now and then. Not too long after a trolley came by that was selling tons of sweets I had never heard of before and Harry ended up buying a ton and we all shared it, splitting it up between ourselves. It was tons of fun talking with them and sharing the candy, which I insisted on buying some of with my coins. We ate for a while until a gray blob came out of Ron's pocket and stuck its head in a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans
After a while Ron pulled something out of his pocket, it looked like a big gray blob.
"What's that?" I asked raising an eyebrow.
"Scabbers, pet rat, got him from my brother Percy, pretty useless. My brother gave me a spell to turn him yellow, want to see?"
"Sure," Harry and I said in unison.
Ron pulled out his wand and got ready to say the spell when the boy I had seen enter the platform and a girl came in to the doorway.
"Have either of you seen a toad? Neville here's lost one," the girl said.
We exchanged looks and then replied no. Neville sighed and headed off, while the girl who had spotted Ron's pointed wand stayed where she was.
"Are you doing magic, let's see than," she said sitting down in a vacant seat.
"Alright," Ron said and cleared his throat. He said the spell but all that happened was that the box of Every Flavor Beans blew off Scabbers head.
"Are you sure that's a real spell? I've only tried a few simple ones myself, but they've all worked for me. For example," she said pointing her wand at Harry. His eyes grew wide and he leaned back a bit. "Arculus Reapairo," she said and Harry's glasses where fixed.
"Whoa," Ron said.
Harry took off his glasses and examined them. "Thanks," he said smiling at the girl.
"I'm Hermione Granger by the way."
"Ron Weasley."
"Phoebe Halliwell."
"Harry Potter."
"Are you really?" Hermione said surprised. "I've read all about you."
"Um, gee, thanks, I think," Harry said looking uncomfortable and embarrassed.
Hermione stood up and headed for the hallway. "You three better change into your school robes, I suspect we'll be arriving soon." Just as quickly as she had appeared she was gone.
"That was strange," I said.
"Yea," Harry agreed.
We took turns changing and then spent the rest of the train ride talking about various other things, pretty much whatever we felt like talking about at the time, changing mid topic or mid sentence every once in a while. When I felt the train coming to a stop I stood up and smiled.
"Well let's go," I said smiling from ear to ear. "I can't wait."
"Agreed," Ron said, "Oh and no matter what house we're all in, friends."
"Friends," Harry and I chimed in together.
We headed out of the compartment and off the train, following the rest of the students as they left.
Gram's POVI returned home to find Piper and Prue seated in front of the television. They both looked over as I entered and plopped down in a chair. Piper turned back to the television while Prue continued to look at me.
"Yes Prue?" I asked knowing she had something on her mind that she wanted to talk with me about.
"I just don't see why you let her go," Prue said, getting up and starting to leave.
"Prue sit," I said firmly. She hesitated just a second but then plopped back down on the couch. Piper had looked over and was contemplating whether she should stay or leave as fast as she could.
"Um, should I leave?" Piper asked quietly making it apparent that she had no idea what was going on and wasn't sure whether she wanted to or not.
"You can go if you'd like Piper," I said sighing slightly. Without another word Piper got up and bolted out of the room. "We need to get some things straight Prue."
Prue turned her head toward me, sighing as she did so. "I want to know why you let her go Grams, I don't get it."
"I couldn't have stopped her if I wanted to. She wants to go and I didn't want to tell her she couldn't do something she wants to do."
"But why this? Why Hogwarts? Why does she want to go so badly? Why couldn't you just tell her what happened?" she asked tears starting to glisten in her eyes.
"Tell her what Prue, that the father who left had a brother who was killed because of this witchcraft and wizardry nonsense. Tell her that someone who is now dead caused the death," I said sighing. "That wouldn't have done much except maybe make her want to go more."
"How would that make her want to go more Grams?" Prue said quietly.
"She has no memories of either her mother or her father Prue, it might have seemed like going there might make her closer to her father."
Prue looked away as a tear fell from her eyes. I sighed heavily and made to get up but was stopped Prue turned back and looked me straight in the face.
"I don't want to loose my baby sister," she said quietly, her face streaked with tears.
"She's strong Prue, she'll be fine," I said as much to comfort Prue as to comfort my own fear. "She's stronger than you'll ever realize probably," I added under my breath.
I got up and left, leaving Prue to her own thoughts and allowing my mind to trail to anything except the conversation I had just had. I wandered into the kitchen and started baking. A few moments later Piper entered and offered to help and we baked anything and everything we felt like making well into the day.
A/N: Thank you to all my reviewers' andy20, Frisky-Feline, craziwierdo, Vanessa85, melly, jak, and Allen Pitt so far and thank you to any who have yet to review.