A vampire at Hogwarts

Arriving at Hogwarts

Ashley bounces excitedly on her heels, waving frantically as she pushes her trolley forward. "Bye~ love you," I call out, blowing my father a kiss as I follow behind Ashley with my trolley.

I expect you both to write," my father says. Waving us off as he watched the two of us turn and head our way towards the barrier. He was gone by the time we reached the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

This was platform nine and ¾. Well, at least it would be.

As we approached, I glanced to my left, spotting a familiar head of messy black hair and green eyes accompanied by a pair of damaged glasses. He looked very lost, but before I could offer him assistance, Ashley was pulling on my sleeve, trying to grab my attention.

"Rachel, what are you waiting for? Come on. The train is leaving soon. We have to get our seats." "Yeah, okay, I'm coming," I grumble, begrudgingly turning to follow her.

I'm sure the boy would make it through the barrier on his own. All wizard families knew how to do it . . . Although, I never did spot his parents. I'm sure they'd find him soon. Hopefully, before the train left.

Starting my light jog, I phase through the barrier with ease, appearing on the other side next to my awestruck sister. We've had never actually been to platforms nine and ¾ before, but we'd heard of the Hogwarts express. Alicia had been a student there once. She'd told us stories of it before. Mother and father also attended Hogwarts in their day, but we never got to hear of Mum's adventures before she died, and dad . . . well, he never talked about it much.

It was just as impressive as I'd read it to be and just as Alicia described it. The train whistled, warning of its departure. I quickly snapped out of my trance, ushering Ashley onto the train while the attendants grabbed our luggage and brought it aboard.

Something tells me that this is going to be an exciting year. I could feel it.

(Harry's POV)

Hagrid and I arrive at Kings Cross Station. I've only been here once when I was younger, and the Dursleys wanted to visit some relatives, so the scene in front of me was refreshing. There were so many people at Kings Cross Station.

I stick as close to Hagrid as I can, pushing my trolley along. Hedwig's cage rattles as we move about the platforms, not that it appears to bother her. As we walk about, I notice multiple people staring at Hagrid and I.

"What are you looking at?" He says, directing his words toward the people blatantly staring at him. Most people instantly avert their eyes, not wanting to provoke him.

Hagrid glances down at his watch, eyes wide in shock. He says, "Blimey, is that the time?! Sorry, Harry, I'm gonna have to leave you. Dumbledore'll be wanting his—well, he'll be wanting to see me. Now, uh, your train leaves in 10 minutes. Here's your ticket. Stick to it, Harry. That's very important. Stick to your ticket."

Looking down at the golden ticket, I note that it reads platform nine '9 and ¾,' but that can't be right. "Platform nine and ¾? But Hagrid, there must be a mistake. This says platform nine and ¾. There's no such thing . . . is there?" But when I looked up, Hagrid's gone. I look around, attempting to spot him, but there's no sign of him. It's as if he vanished.

Realizing I only have 10 minutes until the train leaves, I decide to hurry along. Pushing my trolley along the platform, I come across platform nine, and just as I spot platform ten, a man rushes past me, accidentally bumping me. He mutters a quick "Sorry" and continues on his way while I eye the area between platforms nine and ten.

'It should be right here, but it's not.'

Looking around, I spot the trainmaster helping a young woman and her daughter with directions. Surely he must know where to find Platforms nine and ¾.