In His Shadow (A Harry Potter Fan Fiction)

Chapter 12- The Hogwarts Express

Chapter 12

My godfather's face appeared as he held up the camera,

"James, Lily, smile for the camera!"

I watched my parents having fun. I glanced down at my little brother. He looked so peaceful. So calm. I didn't want to disturb him.

"Ava! Wake up! We have to get to the Hogwarts Express in time!"

I opened my eyes and looked at a worried Hermione Granger. She shook her head in disbelief,

"You sleep like a log."

I sat up groggily,

"Sorry. I have a lot of dreams."

It took me about half an hour to get ready, but I finally looked presentable. I stumbled down the stairs into the kitchen. Fred rolled his eyes,

"Took you long enough to get ready."

I glared at Hermione,

"Well, I was having quite a nice dream."

Fred gave me a knowing look before putting some breakfast on my plate. I ate it quickly and went back up to my bedroom. Snowstorm was in her cage, looking happy. I fed her, before dragging her cage and my trunk back down the stairs. The twins smiled,

"Are you ready? We have to get to King's Cross Station as quickly as we can. We might be late."

It took us twenty minutes to get to the station. I cleared my throat,

"Fred? Where are we supposed to get to platform nine and three quarters?"

He grinned,

"Follow me."

We got to platforms nine and ten, but I couldn't see anything else. Fred nodded,

"George? Would you like to show an example?"

I gasped as George ran straight into the brick wall between the two platforms. Instead of the crash I was expecting, he went straight through it. I frowned,

"Where'd he go?"

"To platform nine and three quarters. Now it's our turn."

In one hand I was holding the trolley with my trunk and Snowstorm. Fred took hold of my other hand and squeezed it tightly,

"Run with me."

I took a deep breath, and nodded. Together, we ran towards the wall. I shut my eyes as we approached the bricks. After a couple of seconds, I opened them.

I was no longer surrounded by boring muggles on their way to work in suits, but instead, lots of families with children wearing robes. There were owls, broomsticks, trunks all over the platform.

Finally, right in front of me, was the Hogwarts Express. It looked like an old steam train.

Fred nudged me,

"See! It's not so bad! You looked a bit freaked out."

I laughed,

"Come on Freddo, let's look for the others."

After a couple of minutes of searching, I spotted Harry and Ron with a big black dog beside them. I bent down and wrapped my arms around the dog's fur,

"Bye Sirius. I'll miss you."

He barked quietly. I giggled,

"I'll write to you. Outside of Hogwarts, you're sort of the only family I have."