Luminescent

Chapter 14

The rest of the days passed flying. The expected day arrived, my departure to Hogwarts. We arrived at the London penthouse yesterday. We travelled in the private jet, thankfully not that nauseous teleportation. Flying is so much better.

Mother and Father stayed at the penthouse. They couldn't take me to the train. My parents are famous and if a billionaire suddenly appeared at the King Cross station. It would receive unwanted attention from the news the very same day. As Starks, we live in the spotlight, with every move we make watched closely by the public. One wrong step and you appear on the cover of a scandal magazine.

So I am going by myself. Well, if you do not count the bodyguards. One of the downsides of being heir to a multibillionaire empire is that you cannot go anywhere by yourself unless you wear a good disguise and manage to escape extremely well-trained bodyguards. This is something that I am quickly becoming a master. After lots of failed attempts, I was able to master this technique at MIT.

Unfortunately, during the summer I learned that magical bodyguards found it harder to escape from muggle bodyguards. With a wave of a wand, they can quickly find my location but only if I am close enough. However, I did not manage to get out of the range fast enough just yet. It is like a new challenge for me.

Anyway, I know that I have no chance of escape. Mother personally instructed me to not let me out of their sight as we were going to a crowded station. The car stopped when we arrived. Bodyguard one opens the door for me while bodyguard two takes my truck out of the car. The bodyguard three never left my side in case of an emergency. Seriously, they are way too serious. They never a single word if not about work or if do not ask first. Of course, only answering me is strictly professional. They never answered any questions when I tried to bug them about their personal lives. Hell, I swear I never saw them laugh or smile. They always kept straight faces but I was determined to break their composure someday.

"Where is the platform? The ticket says 9 ¾ is this a prank. This platform does not exist." I said to the bodyguards annoyed.

"It does exist, young master. It is just hidden." replied bodyguard one as they directed me into a wall between platform 9 and 10.

I looked at him suspiciously not believing this nonsense if there was a whole platform it would be discovered a long time ago. However, when he pushed his hand through the wall that made widen my eyes. I tried to test by passing my hand through it but it did not go through the wall like his did.

"You need to think clearly that you want to go to platform 9 ¾," Bodyguard two answered "This is why it was not discovered by ordinary muggles until now. Plus a notice-me-not charm for them not to pay attention to people disappearing in walls."

I want to go to Platform 9 ¾. Platform 9 ¾. Platform 9 ¾. My hand passed through the wall. I almost stumbled through it in shock but bodyguard three caught me. I patted myself up pretending this never happened and walked through the wall. Although I was freaking out inside. How the hell wizards managed to hide something so big in the station.

On the other side, there was a huge platform full of little wizards giving goodbye to their families and a big red train. A steam locomotive model kept a pristine state. It was indeed a quite sticking image. I passed through the families as it was almost time of departure. The bodyguard two put my truck inside the luggage wagon. Then, I boarded the train.

I turned my head back. The bodyguards were no longer there. I headed back as soon as I embarked on the train safely and their mission was completed. The setting that I was looking at was just parents saying goodbye to their family. Saying that they will miss them. A show of love that I knew was something only ordinary families could have. I remembered when little and wished for this love. Wished that my parents would take me to school and tell me a bedtime story like all the other parents did to their kids. However, I am much more mature than kids who need to be dependent on their parents so I never needed any of those things for babies.

People my age are way too stupid and childish. This is the reason why I have no friends my age. James, my best friend, is sixteen. Now I need to go to a school full of stupid kids, where I will be by myself all over again. God this is remembering me my first year at MIT. I had no friends at all. There were two different types of people: people who either treated me like a child not an equal or isolated me because they had an ego blow because a child is much smarter than them.

As I walked past the compartments, I noticed that each one was full. People were laughing and chatting with their friends. I remembered how my mother had gently urged me to make friends my own age, while my father had sternly ordered me to do so because they were "valuable connections." I didn't care much for my father's reasoning, but maybe I should try to make real friends for once. After all, I only had James, and in the magical world, I have no one.

This was what I had in mind when I opened the next compartment door. Inside, there was a single boy with messy black hair and green eyes, hidden behind a pair of round glasses. He wore old, oversized clothes that seemed to hang off him awkwardly as if they belonged to someone much larger.

"Can I sit here?" I asked.

The boy nodded, so I took the seat across from him. The silence felt awkward, so I turned to the window, where I saw a big family of redheads rushing through the platform, clearly late. Deciding to break the silence, I introduced myself. It was strange for me. Usually, everyone already knows who I am when I enter a room.

"Hi, I'm Tony. What's your name?" I asked, extending my hand. I hoped I did it right. James had said this was how people make friends, but now I wasn't so sure. Was the handshake too much?

The boy took my hand, and I mentally sighed in relief. I didn't want to show I was nervous; I couldn't ruin my image, even if no one here knew me yet.

"Hi, I'm Harry," he said. I smiled, hoping to calm him down. He seemed anxious, unlike me.

I glanced around the compartment, trying to find something to talk about. "So, are you heading to Hogwarts too?"

Harry nodded, his eyes flickering with a mix of curiosity and apprehension as he calmed down. "Yeah, I am. First year."

"Me too," I said

"So, where are you from?" I asked as I moved to his side and threw my arm around his shoulder, trying to keep the conversation going. It seemed like Harry needed a bit more to ease into talking.

"I'm from Little Whinging," Harry replied, his voice softening as he spoke. He looked down, his tone carrying a hint of shyness. "It's a small town in Surrey. Not very exciting."

"Little Whinging, huh? I'm from the United States," I said, smiling, hoping to lighten the mood. "I was born and raised in New York, and I also lived in Boston for a while because of school. Even though I've travelled abroad, this is my first time actually living in another country. It feels strange knowing I'll be surrounded by Brits."

"New York and Boston sound fascinating," Harry said, his eyes lighting up a bit. "What's it like there?"

"Manhattan is always bustling with people," I said. "There's so much to do and see. Boston's a bit quieter but has its own charm. I didn't get to go out much, though—my parents are kind of 'overprotective,' so crowded places were off-limits. Do you have any favourite spots there?"

Overprotective is one way to put it. In reality, I wasn't allowed to go out much, and when I did, it was always surrounded by bodyguards. There were too many risks—kidnapping or even assassination attempts.

Harry thought for a moment before responding. "There's a park I like to go to. It's quiet and nice for reading or just thinking."

"That sounds nice," I said, nodding. "Sometimes a quiet place is exactly what you need."

The train jolted slightly as it picked up speed, the rhythmic sound of the wheels on the tracks filling the compartment. I noticed Harry looking out the window, seeming to get a bit more comfortable.