Platform 9 ¾

The next months after the Diagon Alley episode were terribly boring. Lina seemed simply too nervous to talk about anything, perhaps deeply disturbed. More than once she borrowed Helga to send letters to old friends. Elise stayed at Thomas's until the end of summer break. They had sent Helga to Hogwarts confirming that they would be there for the year by the beginning of the term.

Rachel herself seemed to be avoiding the kids and they spent most of their time in the park near their house, or in Thomas's bedroom, reading the books. Elise took extra care to the books about potions while Thomas was much more interested on History of Magic and Transfiguration. Once, in the park, Thomas asked Elise if she felt safe by going to an unknown school at an unknown part of the country and Elise, for the first time, gave it a thought. No. She didn't feel safe. But she felt as if she could no longer live without this in her life. She needed to be a witch. It was in her blood. She could not talk to her old schoolmates without feeling awkward, or out of place.

Lina decided it was time to go to London on the day before their departure. It was really hard for Rachel to say goodbye to Thomas, since she had never, in her life, been alone without her son for more than a day. Despite being always positive, Rachel cried a lot when Lina walked with Thomas and Elise through the door. This time, in the train, they talked all trip long, nonstop. Lina told them about all the secret passages she remembered, warned them about Filch the caretaker and her cat , about Peeves the poltergeist, and about following the rules. She even dared to tell them a little bit about her old friends in Hogwarts, but not once mentioned Sirius Black. Elise seriously suspected that her mother had been so terribly disturbed for the last month because of that man, because of something Severus Snape had told her.

Once more, Lina guided the children to the Leaky Caldron

When they arrived at King's Cross station, Lina handed two tickets to the children, which informed that they should be departing at 11:00 AM from platform 9 ¾.

"Wait, 9 ¾? That platform doesn't really exist… does it?" Asked Thomas. Lina answered by telling them to stay quiet, that she would show them how to get in the right platform.

They walked to the pillar that divided the space between platforms 9 and 10 and Lina made them wait until there were no muggles around. Then she bowed down to look at the kids in the eye and told them to run towards the pillar. She said it was really important not to be afraid and do it without being seen by the muggles.

"What?!" Thomas sounded pasmed. Elise looked at him, understanding that his insecurity came from the boy's deep trust issues. Perhaps it was due to the fact that his father left their family when he was really, really young.

"Alright. Elise, can you go first? You just have to run for it, will be really quick. Wait for us at the other side, alright?" Lina knew exactly how brave Elise was, and knew that her daughter wasn't scared.

Elise ran towards the pillar, keeping her mind elsewhere, determined to show her friend that he was safe and had nothing to fear, even when she doubted she would ever make it through the hard pillar. Then she reached it. And instead of having all her stuff breaking in the impact, she slipped through the pillar and appeared at the other side, at platform 9 ¾. She could tell where even before looking at the sign, because the crimson train in the platform was very old, and the people walking around, saying farewell to their children, were most definitely not muggles.

Her mother and Thomas made it through the pillar just moments after that and Lina immediately started looking around, as if looking for someone. Then she saw who she was looking for. A redheaded woman was yelling at two identical boys, while saying goodbye to an older boy, trying to clean a younger boy's nose, who complaint, and comforting a girl that couldn't be much younger than Elise herself. Thomas and Elise exchanged looks, finding the same insecurity in each other's eyes. Both had already put the pieces together, understanding that that woman was her mother's sister in law. "Molly!" Lina called, walking fast towards her. Elise and Thomas followed her.

"Merlin's beard, it can't be!" The one called Molly spread her arms to hug Lina.

"Where have you been, woman? Arthur and I were most certain that you were… Well, you never showed up again! He will be so happy that you are here with us once more!"

"Hiding… until the letter from Hogwarts arrived."

"With the muggles?" Molly seemed shocked. "With no magic at all? How did you manage, dear?"

"It's easy once you get that their technology is about the same as our magic."

The woman Lina had called Molly looked straight at Elise and widened her eyes.

"I see little we finally have another girl in the family beside Ginny!"

The little girl on the cart moved her head quickly until she found Elise's curly red hair. She ran towards the older girl and hugged her with no previous warning. Elise wasn't expecting for that and blushed, feeling fulfilled. The simple presence of those people made her feel like part of something.

"That's Elise, my daughter. I heard that you have a boy the same age as her."

"Oh, yes. This is Ron. I trust that you will be a good friend to your cousin." The red headed boy who was still angry at his mother, and still got dirt on his nose, nodded. Then Molly turned her face to Elise. "Oh, I see you have your mother's eyes… and her curly hair. I don't really know where those came from."

"But you got our traditional hair colour." Said Lina. Elise smiled, still being hugged by the little girl. She looked down at her cousin.

"Hi. I'm Elise." She said.

"I'm Ginny!" The girl answered and smile, showing a little gap between her teeth that would certainly be fixed by the end of the year.

"Oh, great! So the family grew up in the last few seconds!" One of the twins grinned gently at Elise. "We will certainly have a great time together. I'm Fred, and this is my brother George. Don't try too hard to identify us." Elise smiled back.

"Don't you dare influence your cousin with your awful behaviour, Fred!" Shouted Molly.

"I'm George!"

"No, you are not!"

"Well, Molly, I think we all know that the one that played pranks in this family was me, to begin with." Giggled Lina.

"Anyway, if I get one more owl from Hogwarts telling me that you've blown up a toilet or..."

"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet!"

"Great idea, though. Thanks, mum."

"It's not funny! And look after Ron." She shouted.

"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."

"Shut up!" Shouted Ron. Lina giggled again.

Elise could tell that her mother had missed that witch. More than that, Elise realized that she, herself, had missed that family that she had never known. When she looked back, smiling at Thomas, she felt her heart sink when she saw his sad gaze. Thomas only had his mother. And there was no hidden family to save him from loneliness. She was the closest thing to a family he had in the wizarding world.

"Come, Thomas!" She said. Then turned to her family again "I would like to introduce my best friend Thomas. He is our neighbour, and will be coming with us to Hogwarts."

Thomas waved timidly, but was soon bombed by Fred and George, the twins, with thousands of questions about muggles. Thomas no longer looked sad or lonely.

"Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?" Asked one of the twins. Ron looked excited too.

"You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?" Started Fred.

"Who?"

"Harry Potter!"

Elise was shocked. She should have expected to see the famous Harry Potter on that year, since he was just a little bit younger than herself. Ginny got really, really excited at the idea of seeing the boy in the train. Elise looked back, and then looked up, meeting a young boy's bright green eyes. His face told her to not say a word.

"Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom, eh please..." Asked Ginny.

"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?"

"Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there - like lightning." Fred was really, really excited.

"Poor dear - no wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform."

"Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"

Their mother suddenly became very stern. Elise couldn't help but agree with her. Couldn't they see how much pain that boy must have been through?

"I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school."

"All right, keep your hair on."

A whistle sounded.

"Hurry up!" Said Molly. All of them climbed on the train. They leaned through the windows to say goodbye. Thomas waved goodbye and entered a compartment, leaving Elise to talk to her mother.

"You take care, alright? Follow the rules, do your work, pay attention to the classes and don't get into fights." Lina held Elise's hand.

"Alright, Mum. I'll do it."

"Learn as much as you can and have fun. Send me an owl once you are there.

"I will. I'll write to you every week." Promised the girl.

"I love you."

"I love you too." Shouted Elise when the train started moving. She saw Ginny trying to run along with the train, half crying half smiling. It didn't take more than two minutes for her mother to become invisible in the distance. Her heart tightened in insecurity, but she ignored it and walked through the train to find Thomas sitting in a compartment along with her cousin and a black-haired boy with bright green eyes who she had understood to be Harry Potter. The twins had just left the compartment, heading to the middle of the train.

"Are you really Harry Potter?"

The boy nodded.

"Oh - well, I thought it could be one of Fred and George's jokes. And do you really have..."

Harry pulled back his bangs, showing a thin scar that looked like a lightning.

"Is that where you know who..." Asked Thomas.

"Yes. But I don't remember it."

"Nothing?" Insisted Ron.

"Well, I remember lots of green light, but that's it."

Green light. Elise had dreams with green light sometimes. But she didn't say anything. In fact, she was annoyed at the absence of sensitivity from the two boys.

"Are all of your families wizards?" Harry seemed to find Ron just as interesting as Ron found him.

"Er, yes I think so. My mother has a second cousin who is an accountant, but we don't talk about him."

"So you must know loads of magic already!" Said Harry, looking at Ron and Elise.

"Not really, my father was a muggle… And I was raised as a muggle all my life." Said Elise. Harry seemed to identify with her.

"And I'm muggleborn." Said Thomas.

"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"

"Horrible -well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."

"Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left - Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."

Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep.

Helga beaked her cage, interested on the rat. She could easily have eaten the rat if the cage wasn't closed. Ron told them about how useless the rat, Scabbers, was useless and how his brother, Percy had gotten an owl for becoming prefect.

"They couldn't aff–" Ron's ears got pink and he looked at Elise's owl and Thomas' cat. Elise thought there was nothing wrong with not being able to afford an owl. She really thought Helga had been a very expensive gift. Thomas and his mother struggled to be able to live where they lived. And when she looked at Harry, she could tell he wasn't about to mock Ron either.

Then the boy told them all about the Dursleys and how awful they were, not telling him about his own origins. He even had to wear his spoiled cousin's old clothes. Harry, indeed, looked even thinner in all those oversized clothes.

"And then Hagrid told me. I really didn't know anything about about being a wizard, or my parents or Voldemort."

Ron gasped. Harry had said his name. It was the first time she had heard the name.

"What?" Asked Harry.

"You said his name." Explained Elise. "I had never heard it. My mother never said it."

"Yes. I would have thought… you of all people..." Said Ron.

"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name. I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn... I bet… I bet I'm the worst in the class."

"You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough."

While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.

Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"

Elise and Thomas had traded their muggle money for galleons and hurried to buy a few sweets to share. Ron muttered that he had brought sandwiches. That made Elise and Thomas exchange looks and buy some extra sweets for Ron. That's when they realized that Harry was far richer than the two of them together, since he decided to simply buy some of everything. He placed all the treats onto an empty seat.

"Hungry, are you?" Commented Ron.

"Starving." Said Harry, as Elise offered Ron a pumpkin pasty.

Ron complained about his sandwiches, which were dry since Molly didn't have much time while caring for all of them. For a split second, Elise felt guilty about having her mother all to herself.

Harry offered them sweets to all of them and they ate while discussing about chocolate frogs, and the cards that came along with card about Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster, read

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS

Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.

The three of them also had to explain to Ron that, in muggle word, pictures didn't move. He was more surprised at that information than Elise, Thomas and Harry had been surprised by seeing that Albus Dumbledore's portrait had disappeared from the card.

As the countryside flew outside the window, lots of things happened. A round faced boy asked them if they had seen his toad and then left.

Ron was about to try a spell to turn Scabbers yellow. That's when a girl with lots of hair and already wearing Hogwarts' robes and asked again if they had seen the toad.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."

She sat down. Ron looked taken aback.

"Er - all right."

He cleared his throat.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard - I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you.

She said all this very fast.

Thomas and Elise looked at each other and by looking agreed that the fast-talking girl was really boring and decided to go put their robes on. By the time they went back, there was a mess in the cabin. Scabbers had been thrown on the floor and seemed to be asleep again. Hemione seemed to be very angry at them both, since they apparently had been fighting even before arriving at Hogwarts. Then she left them to put their robes on.

A voice sounded, warning the students that the train would arrive in five minutes. It instructed them to leave their luggage on the train and it would all be taken to Hogwarts separately.

A/N: So, let me know what you are thinking! Any critics? Is it well written?