The Untold Story Of Isabel Drew

Annoyed, Pointing Arrows

Isa spent the rest of her summer immersing herself in her schoolbooks. It was hard not to when there was a real, whole other world out there that Isa knew nothing about. Sadly, the summer passed quickly exactly when she wanted more time to reread Hogwarts: A History.

Before Isa knew it, the morning of September 1st came. The house was bustling with activity as Isa's father tried to fit her trunk into the car, Isa's mother tried to make sure nothing was missing from the trunk at the same time Isa's father was trying to fit the trunk into the car and Isa was nervously waiting for her parents to stop arguing before they were late.

"Well, I don't understand why you couldn't have checked everything earlier."
"I did. I'm rechecking, John."
"God, Mary, why do you need to check again. Nothing moved in the last five minutes."
"You don't know that. It won't be too hard. Just pull the trunk back out, I'll check and you can put it back in. Easy peasy."
"Do you know how long it took me to get this trunk in? The better half of the morning, that's how long. You can live with 999,999 checks instead of your usual 1 million."
"Mom! Dad!" Isa finally screamed after 30 minutes of them arguing. "We have to leave now before we're late."

Upon her parent's glares, Isa continued. "Mom, you've already had enough checks, nothing will be missing. Dad, please just lift the lid a bit to give her the slightest peace of mind."
Isa's parents scowled like kindergarteners, but agreed with the compromise Isa had proposed and, finally, got in the car.

Isa arrived at King's Cross Station and was out of the car, tugging on her trunk trying to get it out, before her father had even turned the car off. Her father lugged the trunk out of the car and placed it on a trolley.

Isa checked the ticket she had received one more time, hoping it made more sense everytime she looked at it. It read: Platform 9 and 3/4. Everything about this world was so strange. Isa was pretty sure there was never such a thing as Platform 9 and 3/4 but assumed someone had to be helpful here.

Isa father stopped a guard and asked him, "Excuse me, where could we find Platform 9 and 3/4?"
The guard gave him a tired look, "Those kids got you convinced too? No, there's never been and never will be a Platform 9 and 3/4. Now if you hear any more children running around and confusing people, be sure to set them straight. It's always chaotic with nonsense like Platform 9 and 3/4 on September 1st."

With that, the guard turned and walked away, leaving the Drew family a great deal more confused than when they had started the conversation.

Isa checked her ticket once more hoping she misread it. There couldn't be a Platform 9 and 3/4. The guard just said there never was and never will be. However, much to Isa's amazement, when she looked at the ticket, Isa didn't see the words "Platform 9 and 3/4" at all. Instead, a big arrow was in its place. It moved lazily and pointed to Isa's right.

"Look." Isa told her parents, not taking her eyes off the arrow. "This way."

Isa followed the arrow, noticing that when she turned the direction the arrow was pointing, it straightened out and pointed ahead. Isa slowly took one step closer and the arrow continued to point. Less lazy now, more annoyed that Isa wasn't moving sooner. Isa took two more steps. More confident where she was going, she set off determined, without taking her eyes off the ticket. Her parents scrambled to keep up with her as they had to weave through people that had stepped out of Isa's way as she wasn't paying attention to anyone around her.

Isa kept walking, some people yelping and jumping out of her path, others yelling at her and telling her to watch where she's going. Looking up for the first time, Isa gasped and stopped suddenly. She was about one step away from crashing into a barrier. She looked at the ticket to see it now excitingly pointing directly at the barrier. Thinking it was pointing to  something behing the barrier, Isa walked around it only to find the ticket rotating itself to still point at the barrier. Isa looked up to find herself at a barrier in between Platforms 9 and 10.

"Platform 9 and 3/4..." Isa murmured to herself. "Platform 9 and 3/4... Platform 9 and 3/4... Platform 9..." Isa turned to her right, "Platform 10..." Isa swung around to her left. "Platform 9 and 3/4?" Isa faced the barrier.
Then it dawned on Isa. Shoving the ticket back into her pocket, Isa walked to her parents and grabbed the trolley from her father, wheeling it in front of her and interrupting her parents conversation about who to ask for help.

Isa took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Platform 9 and 3/4," she assured herself. Isa sprinted towards the barrier, ignoring her parent's shouts and hoping that she was right. Her mother's screams and father's yells disappeared as Isa slowed to a stop and opened her eyes.

A scarlet stream engine sat next to a packed platform with a signed that read: Hogwarts Express. Isa turned around as her mother and father slowly walked through the barrier. Above where the barrier used to be, was a sign that said: Platform 9 and 3/4.