Hearth II James Potter

Chapter 2- Platform 9 ¾

Y/N would be lying if she said that she was ready to go to this magic school. Standing on the platform with her small bag of clothes and trunk with books she felt out of place. Surrounding her were a bunch of businessmen hurrying to get on the train and families getting off, probably coming home from holiday. A twinge of jealousy tugged at Y/N's heart but she ignored it and she walked towards platform nine. She had to leave her brother at her Aunt's home for the summer for her to attend, and she felt quite selfish with the decision. When Professor McGonagall told her that her brother could not join her she felt as if she was making the wrong decision. Luckily, Professor McGonagall was able to convince her horrible Aunt to send her brother to a boarding school, even though she was not very happy spending excess money on her 'ungrateful' nephew. Y/N even arranged Leo a bed at Niyan's shabby little apartment if their Aunt ever crossed a line.

When she went to Diagon Alley the previous week she finally believed every detail that McGonagall told her about. She had run around next to slanted buildings and bulging structures. McGonagall did not allow Y/N to stray from their path too much, claiming that they had too many things to finish. They first went to a little shop called Olivander's, where a kooky old man kept shoving wands into her hand, trying to figure out which one would be the best fit for her. He kept saying things like 'give it a little wave' or 'don't be shy, try it'. Y/N had gone through at least four wands before she settled on an 11 ½ inch Maplewood wand containing a unicorn hair, with what he claimed as 'brittle flexibility'. Merlin knows what that means.

Then McGonagall dragged her to a second-hand book shop and loaded heavy books into her hands without even sparing her a second glance. She was carrying eight extremely heavy books most of the afternoon. Half of the titles made Y/N laugh at their bluntness. The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander weren't very discrete titles. Although while she was forced to live in her horrible Aunt's home she did some catching up on reading and found all her books piquing her interest. The books didn't keep her in the house at all times, her running away with Leo a few times to Niyan's house over the summer, but they were the reason why she always returned.

McGonagall made Y/N get some second-hand items for classes such as cauldrons for potions and telescopes. Eventually, when Y/N decided that she could not carry all of her books and school items, McGonagall felt merciful. She took Y/N to a little nice ice cream parlor: Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. It wasn't a very fulfilling meal but the sweetness of the dessert made Y/N forget about the ache in her muscles.

Their last stop had been Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, for which McGonagall paid for from her own savings. Y/N was glad that she wouldn't have to use hand-me-downs from earlier years. Y/N's Aunt was definitely not willing to give her any money for her schooling, especially since she was the worst of the two siblings. The skirts were not very comfortable for Y/N, fitting weirdly on her waist and reaching a little longer than what others in the shop were getting. She did not correct the seamstress though, feeling unsure of her own self. She was sure that she would grow into the skirt in due time.

Y/N ignored the thoughts of doubt that were running through her head. She had a fear that this would turn out to be some elaborate prank by the universe and it would turn out that she would actually wake up back in that dingy cell. Stopping at the platform Y/N took out her ticket and read it over. It said to enter a platform 9 ¾ . Looking around, Y/N attempted to find this platform. She spent some time at King's Cross with her brother when they were on the run that summer and she knew for a fact that there was no platform 9 ¾ . It would have been very strange for them to build a whole other platform but Y/N did not put it against the construction companies; all greedy.

Y/N walked up to the nearest director, " 'cuse me sir, where is platform 9 ¾ ?"

He looked at her and burst out into a loud laugh, making Y/N flush in embarrassment, "There's no such thing kiddo, move along. Thanks for the joke though, been a drag of a morning."