Chương 9: Platform 9 ¾

"Right here, I think. Platform 9 ¾."

"You just go through the wall?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure if you can come. The pathway for Diagon Alley required a minimum amount of magic to open. This is probably the same enchantment—or close enough—to prevent people from accidentally leaning against the wall and falling through."

"So, this is goodbye then."

"Until next summer." We stood there awkwardly for several seconds. Social interaction was so much easier with a goal.

"I guess I'll go then." I began a slow walk towards the wall, not wanting to run just in case it turned out to be the wrong wall. And it was a wall, not a pillar. King's Cross station had a different layout in this world. There was a large sitting area between platforms 9 and 10. A wall with four bricked up arches—laid out side by side—was erected out of sight from the regular foot traffic. I was going towards the 3rd arch from platform 9, because ¾. If it wasn't the correct one, I was going to be pissed.

Ms Parish caught me by the shoulder and I tensed—only for her to pull me into a hug.

"Have fun, Lyra," she whispered.

"You too– I mean, uhh… Thank you." After a second, I hugged her back. We held it for a long moment, until she let go and stepped away. Close enough to watch, but far enough away that we were no longer together. I took in a lungful of air, exhaled slowly, and continued on. Touching other people was always easier when I initiated it. The barrier gave way as I pressed my luggage cart against it. I hurried through, not wanting to get caught with part of my stuff phasing through a wall.

I took one last glance back to where Ms Parish was waiting, and I was through. The Hogwarts Express, a gleaming scarlet steam engine, in front of me. There weren't many people loitering on the platform, just a few families greeting each other or talking to their kids. I had plenty of time, so I started to explore. Not that there was much to see. A large tunnel went underground. From the brief look I took, there were a few people already in robes coming from that direction. So, an alternative wizard access point.

Why hadn't the Weasleys used it? Was the access point too far away? After thinking about it for far too long, I landed on a hypothesis. Arthur Weasley had a car. A muggle car. He wanted to drive around like a muggle for the fun of it, and take a look at the normal trains. I took advantage of the restrooms to change into my robes early, deciding it would be less troublesome here than on a cramped moving train. I looked decent.

McGonagall either picked good robes or the shop owners were too afraid to sell her lower-quality stock. They were clearly still second-hand, and much too large on my tiny frame. My pointy hat was beautiful; I was very excited about being able to wear it openly. With that done, I sat out of the way and watched the people for a time. The muggle entrance was used far more than the fireplace. No one seemed to be Appariting. The only person I think I recognized was Draco Malfoy.

He arrived with his parents through the fireplace. I didn't approach—and tried not to pay any special attention to them—as they stood off to the side and said their goodbyes. I wondered why they didn't just use the Floo Network to reach Hogsmeade. Was it a requirement to ride the train to Hogwarts? I didn't think so. A matter of tradition? Convenience? Draco wanting to meet people on the train?

I wasn't likely to learn the answer—unless it turned out riding the train was an actual requirement—but it was interesting to speculate. Eventually, I rolled my luggage cart up to the engine and smiled. I was in a clearly magical area with no muggles. I pulled out my wand.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" …Nothing happened. A pit formed in my stomach. I paid extra special care with my wand movements and pronunciation, "Wingardium Leviosa." Still nothing.

"Wingardium Leviosa." I was supposed to be good at charms. Ollivander said my wand would excel in that field. I could feel my face heating up. Was I not actually able to cast magic? I wasn't originally Lyra after all. What if it was just my body that was magical and I had no real control? Did that make me a squib?

"Wingardium Leviosa." My breath was starting to come in short bursts. What was I going to do? If I wasn't even capable of the most simple spells… To be so close to magic and have it taken away—I couldn't stand it.

"Wingardium Leviosa." Still nothing.

"Oooo, are you a first-year!" a girl suddenly called out from behind me. I flinched and whirled, reflexively hiding my wand behind my back. She was average height, a little older than me, and had a mess of curly brown hair. Her buck-toothed smile faltered as she caught sight of my face. This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Hermione Granger. Of course, this would be the time to meet one of the main cast.

"Oh, it's alright, it's alright. You're just starting too big." Too big? I looked at the trunk.

"You should start small. Try it out with a feather first until you're more used to the spell; and casting spells in general. Also, Professor Flitwick will teach Lumos first. That's where you should start." That– that did make sense. But the pit in my stomach remained, and so did the heat in my face.

"Right. Thank you."

"I'm Hermione Granger by the way." She shuffled in place.

"Also, as an underage witch, you aren't allowed to cast magic outside of Hogwarts."

"The platform is Hogwarts' property," I replied swiftly.

"So I'm not technically breaking any rules."

"Are you an American!" she cut in excitedly.

"What made you decide to come to Hogwarts instead of one of the schools over there? How are you liking England?"

"I'm not American, I just have an accent."

"Oh. Regardless, let me help you with that." She pulled out her own wand, "Wingardium Leviosa!" The trunk lifted, and—with an effortless grace—slid onto the train. What happened to magic being against the rules outside of Hogwarts?

"Well, I hope you're in Gryffindor, it's the best house. Also, if you see a bunch of redheads—maybe with one black-haired boy in their group—tell them I'm holding onto a compartment near the front of the train." She put her wand away and walked off. Scanning the crowd with anticipation. That had been bad. I knew that I never handled failure particularly well, but it had been a long time since I cared enough to get invested. Even longer for something I didn't already have a solid base of skill to rely on.

Educational pursuits tended to build on one another. Only, magic was entirely new to me. I was starting at the bottom, even with my knowledge of the series. Hermione had given me an out for now, but I should consider alternative routes to power should I truly turn out to be a squib. I'd been so hyper focused over the last couple of months that I stopped thinking about much else. She'd also brought up a good point. Harry and Ron.

They were going to get trapped behind the platform barrier because of Dobby trying to prevent Harry from attending Hogwarts. The two would then steal Arthur Weasley's car and fly it to the castle. Could I stop that? Should I stop that? I hadn't intended to do anything until wearing the Sorting Hat. Theft like what they were going to do was a purely stupid move. They could've just waited outside by the car for Arthur and Molly, who then could've just taken them to Hogsmeade station through Floo Powder.

It's not like the parents were just going to leave their car sitting at Kings Cross after driving all the way here. Or as McGonagall had suggested, send Hedwig ahead describing their problem. There was no way they were the first set of students to miss a train. I wasn't responsible for them being idiots. Taking on the role of preventing every stupid decision other people made would be exhausting, not to mention build resentment and hamper the growth of their own critical thinking skills.

If I did interfere, Arthur Weasley wouldn't get in trouble with the ministry over enchanting the car. The bigger issue though, was that the car wouldn't be at Hogwarts. Later this year, Harry and Ron would go into the forest and nearly get eaten by acromantula—giant intelligent spiders—and they would be saved by the car. If Fate Magic was a thing, Harry would probably escape alive, but Cedric had died while standing right next to Harry. Fate Magic didn't save him, and probably wouldn't protect Ron.

Ron's greatest fear was giant spiders. Increasing the chance he would die to them seemed excessively cruel. Moreover, I had little doubt that Arthur Weasley would rather his career be risked than the life of his son. It wasn't the most complex issue; no one was at risk of death if the boys broke the law. Ron was if I chose to act. So, do nothing. Bit of a shame that the only magical spiders I knew of were predatory to humans. I rather liked spiders.

They stayed to themselves, routinely ate the worst of the bugs, almost none of them were actually harmful, and they were kind of cute. Maybe I could ask Hagrid for information on other species? I climbed aboard and dragged my trunk around until I found the compartment where the other first-years were starting to congregate. After checking the options I had for seating, I chose to stay in a cabin already containing one boy and one girl.

In no small part because the unkempt blond-haired girl—who was wearing a pendant with an entire green apple attached to it like a jewel—was reading a magazine with "Quibbler" written in large red letters. When faced with new situations, it's human nature to look for something familiar to cling to. The Lovegoods live near the Weasleys, and Luna was a girl the same age as Ginny. When the Weasleys arrived, it was a decent bet that Ginny would gravitate to her.

A perfect chance to meet organically and establish a friendship. Plus Luna herself wasn't a bad target for friendship either. I always liked the more eccentric personalities, and the lonely were much easier to manipulate.

"Hey." the boy said with an overly lazy wave. He was large enough that I wasn't entirely sure if he was a first-year. He wasn't quite fat, nor fit, but he was certainly on the larger side for someone near my age.

"Hi. Are you two waiting for anyone?"

"No," said who had to be Luna.

"Me neither, come on in." He stuck out his hand.

"Mathis, Mathis Ward" I shook it.

"Thanks, I'm Lyra." I glanced over at Luna.

"And this is Luna, Luna Lovegood." That broke her out of her reading. She looked over at me, confused.

"We've met before?"

"Nope! Never seen you in my life. You just look like a Luna to me."

"Oh, well that's very nice of you, I am Luna." She sounded genuine, but turned back to her magazine. Being weird wasn't enough to grab her attention then. Oh well, time and effort were more reliable methods of building a relationship. Pushing too hard too fast would only 'push' her away. I obviously knew some information about Luna, but it was inference from stuff that would occur more than three years from now. Furthermore, it was tainted by Harry's perception as the focus character in the books.

She was a side character at best in his life. I moved to put my luggage in the overhead storage, and when it became apparent I wasn't able to lift the trunk, the boy stood up and helped me.

"Thanks. Are you just starting at Hogwarts as well?"

"I am, and don't mention it," he replied casually. Then with a half-assed arm flex he continued, "Gotta be good for something" So, just large then, or hitting puberty a bit earlier than usual. I settled into the window seat next to Luna and eyed the boy out the corner of my eye. He had sweaty palms, was forcing jokes, and generally over-acting in trying to project a relaxed appearance. He was nervous but trying to hide it. Understandable, given the nature of a boarding school for kids.

If anything, Luna and I being calm was the stranger behavior. A whistle blew. The conductor announced in an abnormally loud voice—magical enhancement since there was no intercom—that the train would be leaving in fifteen minutes.

"Are you from a wizarding family?" the boy—Mathis—asked me.

"Not really, you?"

"I'm a half-blood. Never knew my dad, but my mum would tell me stories. I was never really sure if she was just trying to mess with me, but I know a lot about magic!" There was something off about how he was acting. More than I'd expect nerves from leaving home to cover, at least when he was the one initiating conversation and trying to be humorous. I wouldn't normally care, but I was still a bit on edge myself. Was he lying? Or… Right… He was a boy talking to a girl. Occam's Razor.

I decided to be polite and reciprocate some information. No reason to burn bridges, even if I didn't really want to talk.

"I grew up without a dad as well." True for both lives, mostly. At the very least I wouldn't consider that man much of a father figure.

"My mum for me," Luna suddenly said, very airily.

"I watched her die, just two years ago on Christmas." Wow Luna, I used to be bad at social stuff but that's taking the conversation and throwing it into a wood-chipper.

"Oh…" Mathis said, looking horrified.

"... Sorry." Luna looked up from the Quibbler.

"Why?" The boy opened his mouth, shut it again, then just shrank in on himself while turning to stare at a wall. A silence fell over our group. Mathis looked up a few times, obviously wanting to continue the conversation, but had no idea how to move on from that earlier bomb. I considered throwing him a bone, but I was more intent on watching for the Weasleys. Besides, small talk had always been grating. The platform was more packed than it had been before, adults crowding in to watch the train leave.

Students began to climb onboard in earnest, still no sign of the redheads.