The Queen of Secrets~Year One (ON HOLD)

Chapter 1~Platform 9 3/4

I stared out the foggy window watching the world go by. My little brother kept kicking the back of my seat. I was tired of telling him to stop.

"Katherine, do you have everything?" My mother asked.

I sighed. "Yes Mum, for the hundredth time, yes!"

Mum turned the old car into the train station. "I just wanted to make sure."

I rolled my eyes as Mum put the car into park. My older brother, Philip, got out of the car and smiled. "This is it Kitty! King's Cross Station!"

"Don't call me Kitty," I mumbled.

 "Well, hurry up! We wouldn't want you two to miss the train to Warthog!" Mum said, getting our stuff out of the trunk.

"Hey, uh, Mum... it's Hogwarts," Philip said as he helped Mum haul the trunks out of the back.

"What is?"

"The school. It's called Hogwarts, not Warthog."

 "Oh," Mum started hurrying us to the entrance.

 Once inside, I couldn't help but be amazed the the sheer grandness of everything. Philip lead the way until he stopped at one of the pillars that held up the ceiling.

"Here we are! The entrance to Platform 9 3/4."

I stared at it "It's just a wall."

Philip laughed. "Oh, contrare sister dear. This may look like an ordinary wall, but watch." Philip leaned on the wall and suddenly vanished. Moments later, his head poked back trough. "C'mon! It's easy."

I bit my lip. "Oh, alright." I clenched the sweaty handle bars of my cart.

"Wait!" Mum gave me a quick hug. "I want to say goodbye before you leave."

 "Aren't you coming to the platform?" I asked.

Mum shook her head. "You know how I feel about magic."

I nodded and looked at my younger brother, Mike. "Goodbye booger."

Mike sneered. "Bye, won't miss ya!"

I stuck my tongue out and ran into the wall. I squeezed my eyes shut and hopped I wouldn't crash. Miraculously, I made it through without a scratch.

I found Philip waiting near the tracks. "What took you so long? Did you get lost?"

"No, I was saying goodbye to Mum." I could feel my face starting to turn red.

Before Philip could say anything, the whistle of a train pierced through the air. A gleaming black locomotive pulled into the station. In bright white letters, the words Hogwarts Express were written on the side. The doors opened and kids started pilling into the compartments.

Philip grabbed his cart and ran to the train. "Come on!" He yelled over the noise of the commotion.

I ran after him and climbed aboard the train. Philip called out a greeting to two boys who were already sitting in a compartment.

"I'm gonna leave you now, okay? Do you think you can find a seat on your own?" Without waiting for an answer, he opened the compartment door and sat down next to the boys.

I sighed and started looking for an empty compartment. The only one I could find that wasn't filled up with students wasn't quite empty either. A tall girl with dark brown hair was sitting on one of the seats. Another girl with blonde hair sat across from her. I pulled open the door and stuck my head inside.

"Um, excuse me, but could I sit here?" I asked.

The girl with the blonde hair smiled. "Of course!" She patted next to her. "You can sit next to me." As I went to sit down next to the girl, she extended her hand. "I'm Thea by the way." She pointed to the other girl. "That's Alexa."

I looked at Alexa. She looked familiar. She obviosly thought I looked familiar too. "Kat!" She ran to me and hugged me. "Remember me?"

My mind raced and then finally I placed her. I met her a few years ago in London and we found we had a lot in common. "Alex!" I said. "Of course I do!"

I turned to Thea and shook her hand. "I'm Katherine, but most people call me Kat or Kate."

I propped my head up on my elbows. As I stared at the rolling hills of the English countryside, I thought to myself, Maybe this won't be so bad after all. I looked out the window until the constant rumbling of the train lulled me to sleep.