Chapter 8: Platform 9 and 3/4

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King's Cross Station – Dawn

Harry and Hagrid, laden with a heavy trunk and snowy owl, sand outside the station in the shimmering dawn light. Hagrid checks his watch, looks suddenly urgent. "Blimey, look at the time. 'Fraid I 'ave ter be leaving yeh now, Harry. Dumbledore will be wantin'..." Hagrid pats his left pocket. Catches himself. "He'll be wantin' ter see me." Hagrid hands Harry his ticket "That there's yer train. Leaves in about ten minutes time. Jus' make sure yeh stick ter yeh ticket. That's very important, Harry. Stick ter yeh ticket..."

"There must be something wrong, Hagrid. This says Platform Nine and Three Quarters. There's no such thing..." Harry looks up, but Hagrid is gone. "...Is there?"

"Hagrid just left him there." Lily sighed.

Ollivander and Zoe are seen walking through King's Cross.

"Why couldn't we just apparate to the train?" Zoe whines to her father.

"Because its a tradition for first years to run towards the barrier."

"I'm not running." Zoe shakes her head.

"It's fun!" Ollivander whines.

"I refuse."

James looked at his daughter. "Did you really not run through the barrier?"

"No. I walked through the barrier like a sane person."

"Running is fun!"

"Running through the barrier makes you look insane and the muggles notice it. Not exactly secret, is it?"

Lower Level – King's Cross – Moments Later

Harry dashed through a bustling King's Cross, sledding to a halt in front of a pair of platform signs. One reads nine. One reads ten. Harry turns to a passing station officer. "Excuse me. Can you tell me where I might find Platform Nine and Three-Quarters." He asks the man.

"Nine and Three-Quarters? Think you're funny, do you?" Harry looks about, despairingly, then hears: "...packed with Muggles, of course."

"Molly." Arthur called. "That's sounds like you."

Harry turns, sees a plump woman {Mrs Weasley} hurrying along four red-headed boys and their little, red-headed sister {Ginny}. The boys all tow trunks identical to Harry's. "All right, Percy. You first." Harry watches the tallest boy walk straight toward a dividing barrier and... vanish. Harrys squints in confusion. Next, Mrs Weasley turns to a pair of cheek twins {Fred and George}. "Fred. You next."

"I'm not Fred. I'm George. Honestly, woman, you call yourself out mother?" Fred says jokingly.

"Sorry, George."

"Only joking. I am Fred." Molly groans as Fred dashes off, trailed by George. They too vanish.

Everyone laughs at the twins joke but Molly just shook her head.

"I gave birth to my brothers." She groans to herself.

Harry walks towards the woman. "Excuse me. Could you tell me..."

"How to get onto the platform?" Molly finishes. "Not to worry, dear. It's Ron's first time to Hogwarts as well."

"How did you know what he was going to ask?" Albus Severus asked.

"Not sure. Maybe people have asked me beforehand so I knew. It is in the future dear so I wouldn't really know myself at present time." Molly explained. Zoe didn't like that answer. It was something else.

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