𝕬 𝕯𝖆𝖗𝖐 𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖎𝖘 𝕭𝖔𝖗𝖓 | 𝑇𝑜𝑚 𝑅𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒 |

Chapter 6- The Train from Nine and Three-Quarters

"Where are you going now?" Tom asked, as if he thought she was trying to ditch him on purpose.

"Just follow me, okay?" Frankie replied, sounding confident. He sighed and let her go on. Although, Tom was extremely hesitant and didn't like being kept in the dark, he still trusted her. Frankie looked around, until she spotted the girl again. She was stopped a few feet in front of the pillar between platform 9 and 10. The girl took a deep breath and started to run straight at the pillar, but instead of crashing, she went right through it. Frankie rubbed her eyes and ran over to the spot where the girl had vanished. She didn't understand. It was rock solid, yet the girl had entered it like any other doorway. Frankie went back to the place where she had started her run. This must have been how to get onto the platform. She knew she only had about thirty more minutes, until the train would leave. Running at a brick wall seemed mad, but it didn't look like she had any other options. The minutes were ticking away fast, and it was now or never. Frankie was about to start running, when Tom grabbed her arm, stopping her once again.

"Are you crazy? What are you trying to do?" Tom yelled at her, angrily. He had obviously not seen the mysterious girl just run headfirst into the wall. "Call me insane, but I seriously doubt going that way will get you anywhere except the hospital."

"Trust me, Tom," Frankie smiled back, although she wasn't that confident herself. Tom was the skeptical type, but he'd believe her once he'd seen it happen for himself, "I know what I'm doing."

Tom slowly released her and, the second he let go, she ran as fast as she could into that pillar. He was worried. He could just picture her crashing, slamming into her cart and getting horribly injured. However, he did trust her and a rather peculiar, yet miraculous, thing occurred. Frankie went right through the wall, like it wasn't even there. His eyes widened in amazement. She was gone. He ran to the wall to feel it. Solid brick.

Now, it was his turn.

He ran for it. His cart going at full speed. Tom closed his eyes at the embrace of the impending hit. Surely, he would be the one to hit the wall and have to be returned to the orphanage, injured and alone. However, he had gone through, just like Frankie had. When Tom opened his eyes, he was on a whole new platform and standing in a whole new crowd. Kids were carrying broomsticks, wheeling around carts with heavy trunks, and hugging their parents goodbye. He looked at the sign above the platform and surely enough it was 9 ¾. The scarlet red steam engine read: Hogwarts Express, on the front, and was whistling heartily. Finally, they had made it. All the doubt and skepticism forever gone. They were officially going off to magic school. He noticed Frankie waiting patiently to the side of the pillar, to see if he came out alright. She looked at him and gave him a triumphant smile.

"See? I told you so." she bragged a little, sticking out her tongue childishly.

"Don't act so smug. You clearly saw someone else do it first. Remind me to thank them later, will you?" Tom added, quickly, not meeting her gaze. They made their way onto the train and were lucky enough to find a completely empty compartment to sit in for their journey. However, they doubted they would spend the entire journey there anyway. The other kids were already zooming up and down the corridor with reckless abandon, looking for new and old friends. They even saw Prue Thompson wave by once or twice. But, after stowing away their luggage, a tense silence grew between them. They both might've wanted to leave and explore the train on their own, but assumed the other wanted them to stay put. They ended up sitting quietly in the window seats facing each other, watching the many parents saying their last goodbyes as the train sped away.

                                                ─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───