To Tickle A Dragon
By JK Fie'r
Disclaimer: I don't own The Bill or Harry Potter.
Warnings: Kiwi spelling
JK: Can you say 'filler chapter'? I wrote this one around the time I was writing chapter one, but it didn't quite fit with the story just then. So, here's a chapter devoted to filling in space while I work on my Latin. Sorry if it's a bit of a disappointment to anybody.
--
Chapter Three: olim…
Subtitled: once upon a time…
-
Gina stared around the railway station. It wasn't exactly Kings Cross, but it was almost the same.
She hadn't been to Kings Cross in years. That time around, she'd been a wet-behind-the-ears P.C., chasing after someone that CID had been after.
Funny. Now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember the guy's name.
She'd followed him to Kings Cross, where a D.S. from CID had got the bloke.
That hadn't been what had made the day so memorable though.
--
Years ago, Kings Cross station:
"Um, hello there, do you think you could help me? I'm afraid I'm a little bit lost at the moment."
Gina turned around to look at the girl who had just addressed her. She looked about eleven despite her rather short stature, with a mass of short hair in the colour commonly known as 'strawberry blonde', which somehow managed to stick out at odd angles, as though she had just come in out of the wind. She was dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt, but that wasn't really important.
What was important was the owl in a cage that was perched, quite innocently, atop a school trunk.
The girl looked down nervously at her feet for a second, before smiling up at Gina with forced cheeriness.
"Um, this might sound a bit of a silly question, but do you think you could show me the way to platform nine and three quarters?"
Gina blinked, then smiled faintly.
"First year at Hogwarts?"
The girl looked astonished as she nodded. Gina glanced around, then nodded in the direction of platform ten.
"Come on."
Gina mentally counted the archways as she heard the girl trail behind her.
One… Two… Three.
Gina glanced around again as she waited for the girl to catch up. Having made sure that no one was listening, she looked back at the girl.
"It's just beyond that wall there," she nodded to the end of the arch. "It's the sixth wall, if that helps you to remember. Don't be afraid that you'll just walk into stone, otherwise you won't be able to get through."
Gina looked down at the girl again.
"Don't be afraid. It may be best if you do it the first few times at a bit of a run, just until you get used to it, okay?"
The girl nodded.
"Thank you ever so much."
Gina waved a hand idly.
"Eh, I had problems the first time around as well. I had to guess how to get through, and I know how embarrassing it can be if you get it wrong."
Looking up briefly, Gina caught sight of the time.
"I suggest you go through now. We don't want you to miss the train, do we?"
The girl shook her head vehemently, then steeled herself. She took a few steps backwards, before she ran up to the barrier.
A moment later, and the girl had vanished.
--
JK: Short, isn't it? Ah, well. Feel free to review, and may the Force be with you!