Wild Child

1.6. A train to paradise

I spent my time waiting for Hogwarts trying on my uniform over and over again.  I had read every book I had gotten from Diagon Alley back to front almost a hundred times (even if I didn't know what some of them were going on about).

My brain was filled with so much information that it spilled out of me to anyone who would listen which was usually Socrates.

Aunt Petunia had decided that she didn't want any of my 'rubbish' in the house while I was at school (even though half of my stuff used to be her stuff).

When I had finished packing the night before September 1st it looked as if I'd never lived there. I guess I didn't have much.

Harry woke me up at five o'clock in the morning and if I wasn't half asleep I would've strangled him.

I made him wait outside as I pulled on an old Manchester City shirt I had found in a charity shop, a pair of jeans and my dirty too too-small trainers.

Harry and I sat chatting about all the amazing magic things we were going to learn.

Two hours later, our huge, heavy trunks had been loaded into the Dursleys' car, Aunt Petunia had to talk Dudley into sitting next to Harry, and we had set off.

We reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped mine and Harry's trunks onto carts, he wheeled Harry's into the station for him. I was left to hurry after them until Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face.

"Well, there you are. Platform nine -- platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?"

I glared at him. I hated when he was right (well... actually, I just hated him), he got all smug and uppity.

"Prick." I mumbled more to myself than anything.

There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.

"Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile that made me want to kick him. He left without another word. We turned and saw the Dursleys drive away. All three of them were laughing.

What on earth were we going to do? We were starting to get a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig.

Harry stopped a passing guard but didn't dare mention platform nine and three-quarters. The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when we couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed (my attitude wasn't helping), as though we were being stupid on purpose. Getting desperate, Harry asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock, but the guard said there wasn't one.

In the end, the guard strode away, muttering about time wasters. I was trying hard not to panic.

"It's fine, it's fine, it's fine, it's fin-"

"Pipsy, stop." Harry grabbed my arm to stop my panicked pacing but as if he was waiting for the perfect moment to cause me stress Socrates decided to leap out of my cart and go roaming through the crowds of people.

"No, Soc- comeback you little— Socrates!" I ran after him carefully trying not to run anyone over with my cart.

"Pipsy!" Harry called but I didn't turn back.

It took me ages but when I managed to navigate my way through the crowds I found my stupid cat sitting in front of the wall separating platforms nine and ten.

He just sat there staring at me.

"Only joking, I am Fred," said a very loud energetic voice behind me but I was too busy trying to scoop up Socrates who kept swatting at my hands. "Oi! Could you move?"