Annabeth Chase the Triwizard Champion

Chapter Three

Then, because she was curious, Annabeth went to the menagerie.

It was a small store with dim lighting and cages stacked to the ceiling. Annabeth saw cats, toads, rats, owls, ravens, mice, and so many others.

That was all she could see, because the next second her vision was blocked by something gray and feathery that flew straight towards her head.

Instinctively, Annabeth ducked, but the owl wasn't aiming for her face. It curved in midair and landed on Annabeth's head, hooting.

"Saffi, no!"

The woman behind the counter rushed around and grabbed the owl around its wings, lifting it off Annabeth's head. The owl's talons curled around Annabeth's hair, bringing the curls with it.

"I am so sorry for this menace!" the woman yelled as Annabeth untangled her hair from the owl's claws. "Saffi never stays in her cage, always finds a way to unlock it, but she's never flown on a customer's head before, I assure you! But she does not stay in one place for more than a second, the little devil! We never even carry flammulated owls, we thought people would like them, but oh, she's a menace!"

Needless to say, Annabeth adopted the owl.

She bought a cage at the woman's insistence, but she doubted she'd ever use it. Saffi sat on her shoulder as Annabeth walked down the Alley. Annabeth also got some owl pellets, but Saffi could probably hunt at night.

Maybe it was a daughter of Athena thing, but Saffi seemed completely attached to Annabeth. She stayed on Annabeth's shoulder most of the time, and when she wasn't, she was flying right above Annabeth. Occasionally she would do a lap around the Alley, but she always came back.

Annabeth decided that was enough shopping for one day. She went back to the Leaky Cauldron and put her stuff away.

Over the next few days, Annabeth frequented Diagon Alley, getting the rest of her stuff. On her fifth day in the Leaky Cauldron, she got the rest of the stuff she needed, figured out how to fit it all in her trunk, and learned that King's Cross Station was walking distance from the Leaky Cauldron.

Annabeth woke up at nine the next day. She closed up her trunk (which conveniently had wheels), packed a set of robes, her sketchbook, quill, and ink bottles in her backpack, cleaned up the room, gave her key back to Tom, found a map of London, and set off.

***

King's Cross Station was huge, packed, and full of steam.

Annabeth set her trunk on all four wheels so she had a horizontal surface to rest Saffi's cage on. Saffi wasn't in said cage, but she was sitting on Annabeth's shoulder, and Annabeth  thought that was good enough.

Here was the problem: there was a platform nine. There was a platform ten. There was nothing in between except for a brick barrier.

Annabeth walked over to the platforms. In theory, there would be something in between,  maybe a gateway. Maybe she should take out her wand and start tapping the bricks. But she didn't think wizards would set up such a tedious entrance in a crowded train station.

Maybe there was a passage under platforms nine and ten.

Annabeth wheeled her trunk around and headed for the other side of platform nine, checking her watch. It was 10:40. She didn't have much time.

Platform nine was crowded, and Annabeth had to push through all the people to get to the edge. When she got there, she crouched down, trying to see under the platform on the other side. There was nothing but concrete. Maybe there was a lever down there, but Annabeth wasn't willing to risk jumping down to check.

With a sigh, she wheeled around her trunk again and headed for platform ten, ignoring the looks everyone gave her for Saffi.

She reached platform ten, which was virtually empty. Annabeth walked to the other side and crouched again. The other side of platform ten was concrete, too.

So, again, she wheeled around her trunk, this time heading for the barrier between the two platforms.

The barrier was just bricks, but so was the courtyard behind the Leaky Cauldron, so Annabeth didn't write it off as anything yet.

First she felt around the sides, looking for levers or latches. Then she remembered that there were wizards, with magic. Annabeth had to stop thinking mechanically and start thinking magically.

She considered tapping the bricks with her wand, but she figured that was stretching the secrecy thing a little tight, so she moved back to the front to feel around there.

Jackpot.

The second Annabeth pressed her hand to the bricks on the front of the barrier, she knew she had found it.

Her hand went straight through as if the bricks weren't even there.

With a last look around to make sure no mortals were looking, Annabeth leaned against the wall and stumbled through.

It was an entire other platform behind the barrier. A huge red steam engine sat on the tracks, spitting steam over everyone. Gold lettering on the side that was so big that Annabeth could read said Hogwarts Express.

People were all over, mostly in normal clothing, but some were in robes. Annabeth saw owls, cats, and toads, some in cages and carriers, some running around free of their owners and calling to each other in their hoots, meows, and deep ribbits.

Saffi hooted softly, rustling her wings.

"Go for it," Annabeth said, smiling.

Without further ado, Saffi made a happy little sound and took off.

Annabeth didn't know anyone, so she headed straight for the train. Well, she thought she didn't know anyone.

"Annabeth!"

Annabeth spun around. Mrs. Weasley stood there with two red headed men, looking like her sons.

"Hi, Mrs. Weasley," she said.

"This is the lovely girl who helped me in Diagon Alley! Annabeth, these are two of my sons, Bill and Charlie. My other kids and their friends are on the train already, I do hope you'll become friends."

"Me too," Annabeth said, though in truth she just wanted to get on the train and write a letter to Percy.

"Well, look at the time, you'd better be getting on the train. Have a good school year!"

She shooed Annabeth away before her kids could get a word in.

That was fine. Annabeth had had no time to prepare for social interaction, so she was glad to walk away.

Annabeth found an open door on the train and climbed inside. She was now in a narrow hallway with sliding doors running along the wall. Each door had a window, showing into compartments with benches on either wall, a table between the two benches, a large window overlooking the bricked wall of the platform, and luggage racks overhead. The windows also showed how full all of the compartments were.

Annabeth walked along the aisle, looking for an empty compartment.

She passed a crowded one where she thought she saw Harry Potter, the boy she was supposed to be protecting, but the crowd behind her pushed her on.

Finally, Annabeth found an empty compartment near the back of the carriage. She slid open the door, walked inside, and slid the door closed again.

After a minute or two, during which Saffi somehow opened the compartment door and swooped in, Annabeth got her heavy trunk onto the luggage rack.

Closing the door and sitting down next to the window, Annabeth slid off her backpack and took out a small roll of parchment. She dug around in her bag, pulled out a quill and an ink bottle, and set them all on the table between the two benches.

Hoping the ink wouldn't spill over when the train started moving, Annabeth unscrewed the bottle and dipped the tip of the quill in.

She unrolled the parchment, put her left arm on it to both hold it still and keep it from rolling closed again, thought about her words, and started to write.