Chapter Three: Platform 9 and 3/4
Lily fell asleep with her trunk packed on August thirty-first, excitement coursing through her entire body. She had ended up naming her white owl Arwin after an elf from her favorite Muggle trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. Rachel meanwhile was looking through her history books and had settled on Rowena.
Lily had read up on the four houses at Hogwarts. She hoped desperately that she would be in the same house as Rachel. Slytherin sounded terrible. She had read in a book about Dark Wizards that almost every Slytherin ended up turning towards Dark magic. They were supposed to be cunning and a bunch of other things Lily didn’t want to be. Hufflepuff sounded okay, but she wasn’t sure that she wanted to be in there either. Ravenclaw was for the brainy people, but she personally favored the idea of being a Gryffindor. Brave and loyal to the end. Rachel agreed with her one hundred percent.
She struggled to fall asleep and woke up at five o’ clock the next morning and couldn’t fall back asleep. She pulled on a pair of her favorite jeans and grabbed a black T-shirt. She assumed that they were supposed to change in their robes on the buses. It would attract too much attention at the train station if a bunch of kids came in weird robes. She checked her Hogwarts list and double checked it and then made sure Arwin was safely shut in her cage and then she found a Muggle novel and read for two hours until her father loaded her huge, heavy trunk into the back of his car. She saw Rachel’s mom coming over with Rachel’s trunk. They had decided to take one car. Rachel’s mom climbed into the back with the girls and they were off.
“What’s the Platform number again?” Mrs. Evans asked.
“”Platform 9 and ¾,” Rachel answered, trying to remember how they had said to get onto the platform. It was supposed to leave at eleven. “What did Professor McGonagall say about getting on the train?” she asked.
“She said we couldn’t come with you, but you’re supposed to walk through the dividing barrier between the two platforms,” Mr. Evans said. Lily and Rachel exchanged frightened looks.
“Are you sure?” Lily asked.
“Pretty sure,” Mr. Evans nodded.
“How?” Rachel asked, glancing around. Her eyes landed on a messy haired boy with his own owl. He just ran at the barrier as if it was nothing and disappeared.
“Like that, I guess,” Lily mumbled. “I’ll go first.”
She said goodbye to her family and then ran. Fear enveloped her as she ran. She was going to crash. She knew it. It wasn’t logical to walk through a solid wall, but then she didn’t crash. She kept running and opened here eyes. Rachel came up behind her and they took in the sight of the scarlet steam engine. The platform was packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express.
“We did it,” Lily mumbled. Smoke from the engine drifted over the head of the chattering crowd. Young witches and wizards everywhere said goodbye to their parents and climbed on to the train. The boy they had seen cross the Platform was standing near them, his hazel colored eyes taking in the sight of everything as his mother stood next to him.
“I know you, James. Don’t get into too much trouble,” She said, pointedly.
“Trouble? Me?” the boy asked, innocently with a devilish smile that belied his tone. “Bye, Mum. Dad.”
“Let’s get on, shall we?” Rachel asked, not having noticed the exchange between mother and son.
“All right,” Lily followed her on and they found an empty compartment and tried fruitlessly to lift their trunk above them when Remus Lupin effortlessly took it from her hands and stuffed it right above her.
“Thanks,” Lily smiled as Rachel waved just as Remus took her trunk also.
“You are the best,” Rachel smiled at him.
Remus smiled back at her. “Do you mind if I sit with you?” he asked.
“If you explain to me about Quidditch,” Rachel replied as he followed her inside. Lily remembered meeting him in Diagon Alley and remembered how intimidated he had been. He wasn’t intimidated any more. That was Rachel’s affect on everyone no matter how shy they were. She had always been good at making people open up to her almost effortlessly.
“I’ll try, but it’s kind of complicated,” And with that he began the somewhat complicated explanation. “There are seven players on each team…”
“Sounds very complicated…” Rachel hissed to Lily who laughed.
“Do you want me to explain?” Remus asked, trying not to laugh also.
“I’m waiting…” she said as if she wasn’t the one who had interrupted. Remus rolled his eyes and continued.
“Three of them are called Chasers.”
“Chasers?” Rachel said, softly. “What do they chase?”
“The Quaffle. It’s a red ball about the size of a soccer ball,” Remus knew about some of the Muggle traditions, because his mother was a Muggle born witch and he had played with cousins who loved soccer.
“Quaffle?” Lily said, deciding she might as well join Rachel’s question.
“What is with all the strange names?” Rachel wondered, grinning at Lily deviously.
“Who comes up with them?”
“Shut it, you,” Remus pointed at both of them, patiently. “The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try to get it through one of the hoops. There are three poles with hoops on the end about fifty feet high.”
“Wow! That’s high,” Lily remarked.
“So, it’s kind of like basketball?” Rachel asked. “…on broomsticks with six hoops instead of two?”
“And the hoops are rather high in the air,” Lily added.
“In that regard, yes, but there’s more,” Remus said, sounding more like a professor than an eleven-year-old boy in Lily’s opinion. He was one of the few wizards who would even understand what basketball was.
“So, there’s three Chasers who chase the Quaffle and try to get it in the little hoop thingies?” Rachel said.
“Yes,” Remus smirked at the way she referred to the hoops as little hoop thingies.
“Then there’s a Keeper who guards the hoops,” Remus said.
“Kind of like a goalie in soccer,” Both of the girls said at once causing Remus to laugh.
“Yeah. They fly around the hoops and try to stop the other team’s chasers from scoring.”
“So… There are three chasers…” Lily said.
“Who chase the Quaffle…” Rachel interrupted.
“And then there’s the Keeper…” Lily added.
“Who guards the hoops…” Rachel said.
“And this is difficult to understand, how?” Lily asked.
Remus rolled his eyes. “There are three other balls and three other players,” he sighed.
“Oh,” Rachel said.
“That explains it.”
“How long have you two known each other?” Remus wondered. “You sound like twins.”
“We’ve lived next door to each other for practically ever,” Rachel answered. “Now, don’t change the subject. Quidditch.”
“There is also the Bludger which is black and a bit smaller than the Quaffle. It hurts awful when you get hit. The Bludger’s purpose is to try and knock the players off their brooms.”
“Ouch,” Rachel muttered.
“This doesn’t sound like a very safe game,” Lily added.
“Has the Bludger ever killed anyone?” Rachel said in a completely offhand manner. Lily wanted to laugh. Only Rachel would sound as if the answer didn’t really matter.
“Not at Hogwarts,” Remus shrugged. “There are two Beaters who try and protect their side and knock the Bludgers towards the other team.”
“Okay,” Lily said.
“So there are seven players. Three Chasers, one Keeper, two Beaters, and…”
“The Seeker. The most important player on the team,” Remus explained. “The Seeker’s job is to catch the Snitch which is a tiny, gold ball about the size of a walnut. It’s practically impossible to catch. The Seeker has to weave through the other players and catch the Snitch before the other team’s Seeker. The Seeker who gets the Snitch wins his team one hundred and fifty points, which is why that team almost always wins. A game of Quidditch doesn’t end until the Snitch is caught.”
“I don’t think that was all that difficult to explain, Remus,” Rachel said. “I think you just didn’t want to explain it.”
“Although, it sounds dangerous,” Lily couldn’t help but put in.
“I want to play on the team,” Rachel decided, ignoring the fact that it sounded kind of dangerous.
“Good luck,” Remus snickered. “First years never make the house teams. Their not even allowed brooms.”
“That stinks,” Rachel frowned, and then broke into a grin. “Then I’ll make it next year.”
“Shouldn’t you see if you’re any good first?” Remus suggested.
“I can figure it out,” Rachel said, confidently. “So, what does a wizard do once there out of school?”
“Well, you can work for the Ministry. There are a lot of areas in the Ministry to work in. Or you can work for Gringotts. Or you can be a Healer…”
“A Healer?” Lily asked.
“Kind of like a doctor, I think that’s what Muggles call them,” Remus explained.
“It is,” Rachel answered.
“And then there’s Aurors…”
“Aurors?” They both said at once. Lily glanced at Rachel who looked like she was suppressing a laugh. What was with these strange names anyway?
“Dark wizard catchers.”
“Dark wizards? Like Grindewald…” Lily asked. “I read that Professor Dumbledore stopped Grindewald.”
“He did,” Remus answered.
“So, are all your family wizards?” Rachel asked.
“On my dad’s side, yes. But my mum was the first witch in her family. She’s a Muggle born.”
The conversation moved on constantly as the train moved closer and closer to the place that would change their lives forever.
~*~*~
At the same time that Rachel and Lily had run into Remus Lupin, James Potter found himself leaving his parents and climbing onto the train. He pushed his things up into the top corner and then took a seat next to two boys. One was a slightly overweight boy with watery blue eyes and a face that resembled a rat. The other boy was a boy whose black hair fell elegantly into his eyes (which to James annoyance his own hair would never do) and with dark steel gray eyes that had a mischievous twinkle in them.
“Mind if I sit here?” he asked.
“Go right ahead,” The black haired boy said. “This is Peter Pettigrew and I’m Sirius Black.” Black…James recognized the last name immediately. His family hated the Blacks. The majority of them were dark wizards.
“James Potter,” He said, deciding it would be rude to just leave. Judging by the look on Sirius’ face, he recognized James’ surname as well. “Any idea what house you want to be in?” he asked. He knew what he wanted to be in. Gryffindor. Just like his mum and dad. Gryffindor was the house of the brave.
“Anything but Slytherin,” Sirius Black said with a dark look in his eyes. The mischievous glint in his eye disappeared momentarily and then returned as he continued. “I think Gryffindor would annoy my mum and dad the most,” He said.
James grinned, suddenly glad that he had decided to stay put. “I want to be in Gryffindor too.”
“Same here,” Peter said, quietly. James had the impression that he had just agreed with James and Sirius, but shrugged inwardly.
“So?” Sirius bent over, his mischievous glint even more obvious. “Do you like trouble?” he asked. “Or are you a goody-two-shoes boy?”
James’ face broke into a grin. “Depends. What type of trouble?” Peter watched, noticing how the same mischievous glint had appeared in James’ eyes.
“Nothing serious, of course. At least not too serious. Pranks and the like,” Sirius answered, and they spent the better part of the train ride coming up with different pranks. And then it happened.
~*~*~
Lily had pulled out her Lord of the Rings book while Rachel questioned Remus even more about Quidditch. She couldn’t help but smile every time Rachel managed to stump him. She was entertained for quite awhile just listening until she heard a loud bang.
“What do you suppose that was?” she asked standing up. Remus and Rachel followed her outside and they glanced into the hallway. Lily gasped. A greasy haired boy with a hooked nose and sallow skin sat on the ground laughing hysterically while grimacing. Two black haired boys stood over him, their wands pointing at him while a fat boy stood directly behind them. Lily knew that the boy on the ground wasn’t laughing because he wanted to be. He had been hit with a laughing hex.
Lily sighed as she turned to see if she could find someone who could take that hex off of him. She definitely didn’t know how. She saw a boy with a prefect badge on his chest. She waved him over and pointed wordlessly at Snape.
“Finite Incantatum,” the prefect said, but to her annoyance, he didn’t yell at the two boys. He just walked away.
The boy on the ground stopped laughing and glanced up at her as if about to thank her for getting the prefect and then froze as his eyes landed on the book in her hand. The Muggle book.
“I don’t need your help, Mudblood.”
“How dare you?” one of the black haired boys said. Lily glanced up, having no idea what was going on. Her eyes landed on the one with messy black hair and hazel eyes hidden behind glasses. He held his wand up and muttered another curse that sent the boy on the ground sailing into the air.
“Stop!” Lily yelled, glaring at him. “What did he do to you?”
The other boy spoke up. “He called you a…Mudblood.” His hair fell into his eyes elegantly unlike his friend’s own hair.
“I don’t need your help,” She said deciding that Mudblood must not be a very good word. That was an understatement, judging by everyone’s reaction. She turned and saw Rachel hiding a laugh with her hand raised to her mouth. Lily glared at her, but knew what Rachel was laughing at. Lily’s fiery temper often got out of control. They followed Remus into the compartment and the two boys followed them.
“I’m James Potter,” The messy haired boy said as if she hadn’t just insulted him. “What are your names?”
“Remus Lupin.”
“Rachel Mooney.”
Lily pretended she didn’t hear him and held up her book to her face.
Rachel rolled her eyes and said. “And this is Lily.”
“Hey, that’s a flower,” James’ friend said.
“Oh, really? I hadn’t realized that,” Lily turned and said with perfect sarcasm.
“It’s all right, Lily Flower. Not everyone can be exceptionally bright,” He said. “I’m Sirius Black by the way.”
“Lily Flower?” Rachel asked, trying not to laugh.
“Don’t ever call me that got it?” Lily said, glaring at him.
“Sure, Lily Flower,” And the two boys turned and left.
“Oh, their insufferable,” Lily muttered, looking at Remus who had a strange expression on his face. “You all right?”
“Yeah. Just never thought I’d see a Black and a Potter hanging out,” Remus said.
“Why not?” Rachel asked.
“The Blacks and the Potters are prominent families in the wizarding world,” Remus explained. “The Potters are basically what the Black’s call ‘Muggle Lovers’. The Blacks are, well, practically evil. Never thought I’d see a Black getting upset over someone calling a Muggle born a Mudblood, either.”
“What is a Mudblood?” Lily asked.
“It’s a foul name for someone who was Muggle born. The Wizarding world can be very prejudiced. There are some who believe that Muggle borns aren’t equal to those who are what you called ‘Pure-Blood’.”
“That’s stupid,” The two girls said, not noticing that they had both reached up and pulled on their Best Friends necklaces at the exact same moment. Remus noticed the motion and forced himself not to laugh. He had never seen two girls act the way they did. As if they were sisters.
~*~*~
James and Sirius sat back down in their compartment, both looking exceptionally happy at having caused trouble on their first day. Severus Snape had caused it in their opinions, so they didn’t really care what the pretty redhead had thought. Well, James cared. He had noticed her immediately when she had stepped into the hall, her dark red hair falling onto her shoulders, her face turning just as red from anger, and her brilliant green eyes. But he didn’t like her. Or at least that’s what he told himself. She was a girl and he wasn’t ready to pay attention to the opposite sex.
“We’re almost there. We should be getting into out robes.” James glanced out the windows and with that the three boys changed as the bus slowed down and finally stopped. People pushed their way towards the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. James shivered in the cold night air as he looked around for the pretty redhead. She was standing a few feet ahead of them with her red hair flying in the wind. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and they heard a voice yell.
“Firs’ yeas! Firs’ years over here! C’mon follow me- any more firs’ years? Mind yer step, now! Firs’ years follow me!” The voice belonged to a giant of a man whose face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair, and a wild tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all his hair.
Slipping and stumbling, they followed the giant down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them, that James decided there must be trees around them. No one spoke much.
“Yeh’ll get yer fir’ sight o’ Hogwarts in a sec,” the giant yelled over his shoulder. “Jus’ round this bend here.” James wondered briefly if he should be scared of the giant. And then there was a loud “Oooh!” The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. The huge castle that was Hogwarts was perched on top of a high mountain.
“No more’n four to a boat!” the giant called as he pointed to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water. James, Sirius, and Peter climbed into one with a girl with black hair and blue eyes. They introduced themselves and heard her say quietly that her name was Emma Nagoya. James glanced around and saw Lily climb into a boat with the two students she had been with on the train. James couldn’t remember their names at all.
“Everyone in?” shouted the giant, who had his own boat due to his size. “Right then”Forward!” And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the smooth lake. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It was a bit daunting, to be honest. It was so huge. And they were getting closer and closer and closer.
They finally crowded around the huge, oak door.
“Everyone here?” the giant raised a gigantic fist and knocked once on the castle door.