Harry and Dudley arrived at King's Cross without incident, laden with their trunks, Hedwig's cage and Crookshanks' cat carrier.
"I can't see a platform nine and three-quarter's anywhere," said Dudley, as they walked through the station pushing their trolleys ahead of them. They were getting funny looks from the muggles around them, probably because of Hedwig's cage, which was perched on top of Harry's trunk.
"I can't either," said Harry, craning his neck to look over the crowd, scanning the heads for a glimpse of red Weasley hair. He'd made sure they arrived well in time so they wouldn't miss his first meeting with Ron's family. Harry was looking forward to seeing the Weasleys again. They'd been the family he'd never had, and after a summer with the Dursleys he was aching to see some friendly, freckly faces.
They made their way to the barrier between platform nine and ten, where Harry knew the concealed entrance was located, and looked around, Dudley getting agitated again.
"What if we can't find the platform and miss the train?" said Dudley anxiously. "What if it leaves without us? We'd be - oh no!"
Harry stopped his search of the crowd for the Weasleys to look at his cousin, who had gone as white as a sheet. He followed Dudley's gaze, trying to see what had upset the boy so much, and his heart almost stopped when he saw what Dudley had: Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, accompanied by what looked like two muggle police officers, striding through the station.
Harry tried to calm his hammering heart, while Dudley next to him started muttering "We're doomed, we're doomed, we're doomed" over and over. They should just make their way through the barrier now, it was the safest option. But what if it made them miss the Weasley family? They could hide in the crowd and wait for the Dursley's to pass, and hope to hell that those two police officers were the only ones in the station...
Unfortunately, Harry's dithering cost them precious seconds. Aunt Petunia had spotted them, and she started shouting at Uncle Vernon and the police officers, gesturing towards Harry and Dudley. "Let's go!" he yelled at Dudley, as the Dursleys moved towards them in a frantic rush, pushing their way through the crowd.
"There's nowhere to go to!" Dudley wailed, wringing his hands. Harry swore, and shoved the trolley holding his trunk and Hedwig's cage through the barrier leading towards platform nine and three-quarters. Grabbing Dudley's from his cousin's unresisting hands, he wheeled it towards the barrier and struggled to drag Dudley behind him with his free hand. Dudley was slow to move, not understanding where Harry wanted him to go, and Harry tugged at him impatiently, yelling: "Come on!", while looking over his shoulder at the search party, which was swiftly drawing nearer. Uncle Vernon's face was red as a beet as he half-ran half-waddled towards them, and he looked like he would like nothing more than to beat the snot out of Harry as soon as he got his hands on him. Aunt Petunia, on the other hand, looked absolutely terrified, and as she came in hearing distance Harry could hear her cry out for Dudley. In that instance she sounded so much like her sister Lily, pleading for her son like Harry's mother had done all those years ago, that Harry almost stopped moving altogether. You're stealing her only son away from her, Harry thought, feeling physically ill. But he wasn't trying to kill Dudley, he was trying to help him...
Dudley slammed into Harry as he finally started moving, and their combined momentum set them barreling through the magic barrier just as Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon reached them. Aunt Petunia had the time to wail: "Dudley!" before they were obscured from her sight.
Harry let go of Dudley's trolley and stood bent over with his hands on his knees, panting. Dudley was looking around in bewilderment. "We found it!" he said, pointing at the wrought-iron archway that stood where the barrier had been, the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters emblazoned on the sign above it. Harry watched as the Dursleys stood in front of the barrier, helplessly banging their hands against what was a wall on their end. It looked odd, like they were standing in front of an invisible window that blocked out all noise. The muggle police officers had caught up with them and were eyeing Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon with raised eyebrows. They'd obviously not seen exactly what had happened in all the excitement.
One of the police officers put his hand on Aunt Petunia's bony shoulder, and, after speaking a few words, managed to lead her away from the barrier. Aunt Petunia kept looking back helplessly, while Uncle Vernon erupted into an angry rant. Harry's attention was torn away from the view through the archway as he heard an owl shrieking loudly, and he hurried over to where Hedwig's cage laid on its side, flung from the trolley by being shoved through the barrier. He apologised to her profusely and set her back on his trunk, glad that the trolley hadn't rolled straight into someone. That had been a close call. Of course the Dursleys would do anything to find their precious Diddykins and bring him back home again, and he should have realised that Aunt Petunia knew that Lily had always taken the Hogwarts Express from King's Cross, even if she didn't know how to get to the right platform. He silently cursed himself for not thinking of the possibility. What else had he not thought of? What other angles was he missing?
"We're so going to be in trouble for this," said Dudley anxiously, as he watched his parents retreat back into the muggle part of King's Cross.
"Well, it looks like they can't get to us for the moment. I'm sure they'll cool off after a while," replied Harry, not feeling sure about that at all.
Harry let Dudley lead him down the platform, smoke from the scarlet Hogwarts Express steam engine drifting over the heads of the chattering crowd. Dudley was saying something to him, but Harry couldn't hear his cousin over the babble of the crowd and the scraping of heavy trunks, lost as he was in his own thoughts. This was really bad. Even if those police officers dismissed the thought that Harry and Dudley had somehow gone through the barrier and simply assumed they'd managed to get lost in the crowd, they'd still make a huge fuss in the muggle side of King's Cross, probably closing the exits and mounting a search of the station. It was precisely the sort of high alert situation that the wizarding families bringing their children to platform nine and three-quarters on their first day of school could do without. Harry hoped guiltily that the ruckus wouldn't prevent anyone from actually making it onto the platform.
They almost passed a round-faced boy and older witch without a second glance, until Harry heard the witch say: "Now, Neville, are you sure you have all your things this time?"
"I think so, Gran," said Neville Longbottom miserably, and Harry had to do a doubletake to recognise his friend. Had Neville really been that small, pudgy and terrified when he first met him? He bore very little resemblance to the determined young man clearing away bodies on the battlefield, grimly accepting his task to kill Voldemort's snake when Harry had asked him to. Harry couldn't stop himself from stopping and staring, and only looked up when Dudley nudged him, looking at him oddly.
Pulling himself together, Harry walked over to Neville and his grandmother, Dudley trailing after him. It had been quite some time before Neville and he had become friends. Harry intended to befriend his fellow Gryffindor a lot sooner this time around.
"Are you first year too?" he said, smiling at Neville. The Longbottoms turned towards him, Madam Longbottom looking down on him imperiously, while Neville nodded shyly.
"So are we. I'm Harry Potter, and this is my cousin Dudley Dursley." He held out his hand.
"Are you really?" gasped Neville, and jumped when his grandmother prodded him in the back with her umbrella. "I mean, sorry, Neville Longbottom, pleased to make your acquaintance," the boy corrected himself hurriedly, falling back on formalities that had been drilled into him since childhood and shaking Harry's hand profusely. After another prod of the umbrella, he added: "And this is my gran - grandmother, Augusta Longbottom."
"Pleased to meet you, madam," said Harry, shaking hands with Mrs. Longbottom as well, as Neville and Dudley exchanged awkward greetings.
"And you, Mr. Potter," replied Mrs. Longbottom. "Do forgive my grandson his manners, it's not the only thing he forgets sometimes."
Neville shrunk visibly, and Harry recalled how the boy's confidence had suffered under his domineering grandmother.
"I think your parents and mine used to be friends," said Harry in an attempt to cheer the boy up. Neville looked up at him, then to his gran, who nodded.
"My son and his wife indeed knew your parents. They were aurors back in the war, you know. Highly gifted, the pair of them." She gave Neville a disappointed sort of look, clearly wanting to say unlike my grandson, and Neville, who had stood up a bit straighter when Harry told him their parents had been friends, shrunk back down again.
"Well, I hope we can be friends too," said Harry, smiling at Neville, which pleased the boy so much he coloured bright red. "See you at Hogwarts!"
They set off again, Dudley complaining that Neville had looked like a wimp, and why would Harry want to be friends with him? Harry started to reply something about not going on appearances, when he heard a women say: "... even more packed with muggles. You'd better go and contact the Ministry, Arthur, or we'll have at least a dozen breaches of the Statute of Secrecy before the day is over. I can't believe those awful people... trying to stop children from going to school!"
Harry wheeled around until he spotted the Weasley family hurrying past them, and broke into a run to keep up with them.
"Excuse me!" he called out. "Ex-Excuse me!"
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley halted and turned around to face him, as the rest of the family wandered onwards, unaware that their parents weren't following anymore. "Yes dear?" said Mrs. Weasley. Harry was hit by a surge of happiness on seeing the woman, who had been a surrogate mother to him for many years, smile down on him again.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help but overhearing... that's my aunt and uncle out there," said Harry. Dudley had finally caught up with him, huffing and wheezing as he brought his trolley to a stop next to Harry's.
"Your aunt and - they're looking for you?" said Mr. Weasley, frowning. "Are you the boys that ran away from home?"
"They wouldn't let us come to Hogwarts," said Harry, Dudley nodding vigorously next to him. Mrs. Weasley made a worried noise and looked up at her husband, pity plain on her face.
"You really shouldn't have run away, dears," she said, bending down slightly so her face was more level with Harry and Dudley's. "Didn't Professor McGonagall come by to speak with your parents? She usually does for muggleborns, to prevent just this thing from happening. You should've sent your owl to Hogwarts to let the teachers know there were any problems."
"We were so worried about not being allowed to go, we didn't know what else to do," said Harry, looking down at his shoes.
"They locked us up!" said Dudley, who had decided to join the conversation when it didn't seem apparent that they were in trouble. "They wouldn't let us out of the house at all. They wanted me to go to Smeltings, and Harry to Stonewall High."
"Harry -" Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's eyes simultaneously flew to Harry's forehead, but his scar was obscured by his thick black hair, which was laying down smoothly thanks to several helpings of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion. "Surely not... Harry Potter?"
Harry nodded, and the Weasleys exchanged looks.
"You poor dears," said Mrs. Weasley. "Don't you worry now, just get on the train with the other children. I'm sure that Professor Dumbledore will talk some sense into your aunt and uncle when you're both safe and sound at Hogwarts."
"What about the police? I saw them, they're looking for us," fretted Dudley.
"Arthur will get in touch with the Ministry and get everything sorted out," said Mrs. Weasley, proudly beaming at her husband. "Won't you, Arthur?"
Mr. Weasley looked less than impressed at being saddled with the responsibility to get everything sorted out, but nodded seriously. Mr and Mrs. Weasley escorted them to the compartments near the end of the train, where their children were busy lugging their trunks aboard.
"Fred, George, help these two boys with their trunks, would you?" called Mrs. Weasley, and Harry's heart lurched as the twins turned around to look at him curiously. Fred Weasley grinning at him, alive. Harry swallowed, and his eye was caught by another, smaller red-headed child.
A ten-year-old Ginny, only vaguely resembling the young witch he'd left behind in the other timeline.
Harry was saved from the whirlwind of emotion that threatened to overtake him by the twins, who came over to help him and Dudley with their trunks, laughing and joking as they tucked the trunks away in the luggage rack.
"Thanks!" said Harry, and nudged Dudley in the ribs until he thanked the twins as well.
"No problem!"
"Glad to help!"
"Say, you look a bit like..."
"Fred? George? Where are you?" called Mrs. Weasley from outside the train.
"Coming, Mum."
The twins hopped off the train, and Harry and Dudley sat down next to the window. It had felt immeasurably good to hear Fred and George finish each other's sentences again, and Harry thought that for the moment, all was right with the world.
"I hope Mum and Dad are alright," said Dudley, as Harry peered out of the window at the red-haired Weasley family, who were gathering all the children around for their goodbyes. "I hope that professor tells them to let us go to Hogwarts, like those people on the platform said."
"I'm sure they'll be fine," replied Harry, grinning as he watched Ron loudly complaining at getting fussed over by his mother, while the twins looked on and chuckled.
"Yeah. This train is amazing though! I thought we'd, I dunno, fly broomsticks to school or something. But this is cool too," said Dudley happily, clearly over his momentary lapse into thoughtfulness. He leaned back in the comfortable leather seat, grinning broadly.
On the platform, Percy arrived to join the family, dressed in his Hogwarts uniform with his shiny new Prefect badge pinned on the front. The twins teased him for a bit, and Percy set off to the car that was reserved for Prefects in a huff. Harry wondered if Percy had always felt like the family outcast. The boy's pride and ambition had caused a rift in his family which had upset the Weasleys greatly. He'd have to see if he could do anything about that, but Harry thought he didn't have much hope for toning down Percy's infatuation with the Ministry.
Talk on the platform turned to Harry, and he sat back from the window as Fred, George and Ginny started talking over each other excitedly, Ginny jumping up and down to try and look through the windows. They received the same stern talking-to from Mrs. Weasley as before, and Fred, George and Ron climbed aboard as the whistle signalling departure sounded.
The train began to move, and Harry and Dudley watched the platform disappear, Dudley excited at the novelty of it all, Harry nervous at the crucial hours and days that lay ahead.