An Unbreakable Bond

3 - The Friend on the Train

Persephone and her father were stood at Kings Cross station, near a ticket office between platforms nine and ten. Muggles hurried by them, going about their days completely unaware of the fact that they were walking past a witch and a wizard - one of whom was about to catch a train to a wizarding school to study magic.

"Right, are you sure you've got everything?" Newt asked Persephone.

Persephone mentally went through all of her possessions. Cauldron - check. Parchment and quill - check. Illegal pet - check. With some help from her father, Perci had transformed the little workspace in her case to a portable bedroom. They had placed a bed in the corner of the room, which she planned to use to nap during the train journey, as she hadn't been able to sleep all night, having been so excited about going to Hogwarts. They had added a large cabinet, in which they had placed various cauldrons, scales and potion ingredients and her broomstick stood proudly by the door leading to Paz's garden. Her desk draws were now filled with parchment, with a pot of quills placed to one side of the desk. The new books they had purchased in Diagon Alley had been added to her wall of bookshelves. Newt had fashioned her a smart owl cage that stood near the ladder leading out of the case. She had named the tiny owl Farzy, a name she created off the top of her head, because she felt it suited her tiny friend. She had tried to introduce Farzy to Paz, but the owl was apparently very shy around new creatures and preferred to stay in her cage.

"Yeah I've got everything." Persephone replied.

She looked down the platform, at a large brick wall that separated the two platforms. "Is that the wall dad?" She asked, looking up at him with excitement.

Persephone hadn't grown up having the usual fairy tales read to her. Instead, her bedtime stories were full of tales about Hogwarts: moving staircases, the forbidden forest and, of course, the magical entrance to Platform 9 3/4.

"Yeah," Newt grinned, "that's the one!"

He offered his hand to Perci, who squeezed it tightly and they ran towards the wall. As they got closer, she closed her eyes - scared that maybe her father had been joking all this time. Luckily for her, he had been telling the truth and when she opened her eyes she found herself on the other side of the wall on Platform 9 3/4.

Waiting for her on the tracks was the Hogwarts Express. Around her, children her age were excitedly chatting to each other, already forming little friendships with one another.

"Seems like everyone's making friends already," Newt said to her. "Do you want to join them?"

Perci shook her head shyly. The thought of having to go and make friends with all the other children made her stomach turn. What if they didn't like her? She thought back to the boy who had commented on her accent in Diagon Alley. Before then, it hadn't occurred to her that, having grown up in America, she would sound different to everyone at Hogwarts. He hadn't been mean about her accent, but what if other children were? What if they mocked her for her accent? So she decided she'd keep quiet for now and just make friends later.

Newt squeezed her hand to comfort her. He understood how she felt. He had been just as shy when he had started at Hogwarts, but he had soon made some close friends.

"Do you want to get on the train then, and find a spot?" He asked her. "It fills up quickly so it's good to find a seat before they all go."

Perci nodded. Suddenly she was nervous about going to Hogwarts for the year. She'd never been away from home for more than a couple of weeks, and even then her parents were with her. She turned to her father.

"I'm going to miss you." She said quietly.

He crouched down slightly to talk to her.

"Here," he said, removing the scarf he was wearing, and handing it to Perci. "I've had this scarf since I went to Hogwarts. You can keep this with you and, if you miss me, you'll have this scarf and you'll remember that I'll always be here for you. Because I felt exactly the same way when I first went away," Newt explained, shuffling his feet awkwardly as he did so. "I was scared I would hate it and I would constantly miss home. But, believe me, you're going to have the best time of your life there. Give it a couple of weeks and you won't be homesick at all because Hogwarts will be your home. And don't you worry about making friends because you'll do so very quickly, and you can trust me when I say that a Hogwarts friendship is an unbreakable bond that will stay with you forever. Now, come here!"