[Discontinued] When Shadows Collide, The Game Begins

Chapter Thirteen

The month leading up to his the first day of Hogwarts was spent reading and memorising all of the books Harry had bought. Using what he had learnt about wandlore, Harry had taken his pocket knife and carefully engraved the wooden surface with protective wards so that people couldn't steal it, he couldn't lose it, and he couldn't be disarmed. He also made sure that it wouldn't be broken, but to work properly, the runes would need a specific spell to be cast, and Harry knew it was illegal for underage witches and wizards to use magic outside of school.

Every day he sent a letter to Draco. Even though they had only met once, they soon became good friends. Draco was the first proper friend had ever had, and Harry was the only friend Draco had that hadn't been chosen by his parents. Both of them were unbelievably excited to meet up and start school at the end of the month.

On the morning of the 21st of September, he woke at the crack of dawn to the sound of his owl's soft hoot. He had decided to name her Hedwig. Trying his best not to disturb his sleeping parents, Harry packed and repacked his trunk three times.

When John walked in to check on him, Harry was deciding whether or not to take his revolver. He finally settled on leaving it behind. If he was going to be attacked, something he hoped wouldn't happen, he would just use his wand.

* * *

"Are you ready to go, Harry?" asked John after his son had finished his cup of coffee. Harry nodded, feeling nervous.

"Let's be off then," said Sherlock, grabbing one end of Harry's trunk. John rushes to grab the other end and the two of them carried it awkwardly down the stairs, Harry following with a fresh cup of coffee and Hedwig's cage under his arm. He finished it before he reached the bottom of the stairs and left it on a side table just outside Mrs Hudson's door.
The trunk was loaded into the boot of a waiting taxi and the family clambers into the back.

"Where to?" asked the cabbie in a strong northern accent.

"Kings Cross, please," replied John. The cabbie nodded and they drove off towards the station.

* * *

It was quarter to ten when the taxi pulled up outside the station. Harry burst out of the door the second they stopped and grabbed his trunk, loading it onto a trolley, before grabbing Hedwig's cage from the car and putting it on top of the trunk. She wasn't overly happy with the rough handling and hooted in annoyance. Harry apologised and gave her an owl treat, then started pushing the trolley into the train station, practically sprinting in his excitement.

"Wait up, Harry!" called John from behind him. Harry slowed slightly, allowing his fathers to catch up with him.

"Right, have you got your ticket?" asked Sherlock. Harry nodded and pulled out the piece of paper.

"Platform nine and three quarters, located in the barrier between platforms nine and ten," said Harry, thinking they probably should've written that on the ticket.

"Well then, let's go," said Sherlock. The three of them continued walking through the bustling crowd, making their way towards platforms nine and ten. Hedwig received a lot of odd looks.

When they reached the platforms, Harry took a deep breath before walking quickly toward the barrier. He wanted to speed up, but knew that he could risk losing control.

The front of his trolley collided with the barrier and Harry expected to crash. Instead, the trolley passed through the wall as if it wasn't there. The rest of him followed. Harry squeezed his eyes shut when the brick was inches from his face, but forced himself to open them when there was no collision. The sight that greeted him was incredible.
Platform Nine and Three Quarters was filled with students in regular clothing and adults wearing multicoloured robes that swept along the brick floor. There were tears in eyes, some of sadness, some of joy. Students were hugging their parents goodbye and greeting their friends. The most amazing thing of all was the scarlet steam engine with Hogwarts Express emblazoned on the side.
"Woah," said John as he came onto the platform.