Dumbledore and Harry's Adventures

Paris Bound

Harry yawned widely as he walked next to Albus through King's Cross Station.

"Albus, it is six in the morning. Why are we here so early? Also, why are we at King's Cross? I thought you were just going to..." Harry paused as he looked around the distinctly non-magical station and lowered his voice into a whisper. "...going to use a faster travel method."

Albus smiled pleasantly. "We are here to take the European international train on Platform 8 2/3, and we are here early because we need to time to ensure your travel papers are in order. And we are not taking the faster travel method you are alluding to, because I would rather not make use of the less than legal international travel methods unless it is needed. Finally, Harry, as a tip for acting in an unsuspicious manner, it is best not to pause mid-sentence and then look around for possible eavesdroppers. It merely draws attention to you."

Harry winced slightly. "I'll keep that in mind. I just didn't know that there were magi... special trains in addition to the one to school."

Albus chuckled. "Of course, there are more trains. The cost of maintaining and updating the wards on the station would be prohibitive if they were only used a handful of times a year. They are only for international destinations, as the Knight Bus is a far more cost-effective means of transport domestically."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow! What wards? And should we be talking about this with so many people around?"

Albus gestured for Harry to stand near a metal barrier so they could talk without being in the way.

"It's fine to talk openly, just try not to speak too loudly. Before I answer your question, let's see if you can figure it out on your own. When getting onto Platform 9 ¾, how do you avoid detection by the non-magical travelers in the station."

Harry shrugged. "I guess that we're supposed to just be subtle about it. I mean, in my first year I saw that Percy and the twins just walked through casually."

"And did you walk through casually?"

"No... I was told to run through if I was feeling nervous. So, I ran through."

Albus nodded knowingly. "That is a common approach for first time students coming from the non-magical world. And how do students exit from the magical side to the non-magical side?"

"They just... I don't know, they just walk through... casually?"

"Very true Harry, that is how most students do it. Despite their questionable casualness, do you see a problem there?"

Harry had started to suspect the problem when he first thought about running through the barrier, so his answer came immediately. "We're not really being subtle, are we? We're just disappearing and reappearing in plain sight. But, wouldn't people just dismiss that as a trick of the eyes?"

Albus smiled with a pleased chuckle. "That is an excellent question, and I want you to keep that in mind. Yes, most people will ignore it. But...?"

Harry frowned in concentration and spoke slowly as he formulated his answer. "But... 'most' is not 'all', so that means... some people will not ignore it. Since students board the train over a period of hours, a muggle could easily see over a dozen people and carts disappearing. I know that would be enough to pique my interest. Oh! And we do it the same day every year, so they could even bring more witnesses. Living with Dursleys really taught me how much people like to gossip, so that could easily get out of hand. Just someone with a video camera would be enough to reveal the secret of our world to the muggle world!"

Albus patted the shoulder of a visibly upset Harry.

"Calm down, Harry. You have figured out the primary concern, so why should you not be worried?"