Year 1 - Chapter 7
The next morning Harry had his trunk packed and waiting in the cupboard. He’d awoken at 6am and had been a bundle of nerves ever since. The boy was terrified that Uncle Vernon would change his mind and force Harry to stay there. He was terrified that Professor Snape was pranking him and Harry would arrive at the station and there would be no train, no school and no such thing as magic. As the time ticked by, Harry’s anxiety grew and grew until his thoughts were interrupted by the banging on his door.
“Get out boy. Let’s leave.” Uncle Vernon booming voice reverberated through the hall. Harry took a deep breath and stepped out of his cupboard, dragging his trunk behind him. Uncle Vernon was storming around the house and Harry knew to stay out of his way. Instead, the frightened boy stood quietly and patiently by the front door. Uncle Vernon marched over to Harry, his eyes blazing. He slammed his arm against Harry’s throat and pinned the fragile child to the wall. He raised his meaty finger and pointed it threateningly in Harry’s face.
“You will remember my words. Do not come back here. Do not tell anyone about us. Do not embarrass us or yourself. Be prepared for everyone to see you as the freak you are. You are nothing. You are worthless. You are a freak.” With that final sentence, each word was punctuated with a punch to the gut. Harry knew that it would have been a punch to face if it had not been for Harry leaving – going somewhere where people would see the bruises left behind. Harry nodded silently and coughed. Uncle Vernon’s arm was pushing harder into Harry’s neck and he was beginning to feel lightheaded. He felt his knees become weak and Harry felt himself begin to slide down the wall as Uncle Vernon released his hold on him.
“Pathetic.” Uncle Vernon scoffed. His eyes showed disgust as he bore into Harry. When Harry was curled up in a ball on the floor, his uncle landed one last kick into Harry’s ribs before he pushed past the boy and left the house. Harry cried quietly once more but only let a few tears fall before he gathered himself, collected his trunk and followed his uncle from the house.
Silently, the pair drove to London. It wasn’t a hugely long drive but the tension was palpable. Harry kept silent and so did Uncle Vernon, save for his heavy breathing. His hands clenched the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were white. Still in silence, the car swung up outside of King’s Cross, the brakes screeching.
“Out.” Uncle Vernon barked. Harry nodded and got out of the car. He retrieved his trunk from the boot and the second the boot slammed shut, Uncle Vernon sped away. Harry sighed and walked into the station alone. The interior was enormous and Harry was overwhelmed by the amount of people bustling about. Harry flinched every time someone knocked into him. His grip on his trunk tightened and Harry could feel his palms growing sweaty. Harry kept his eyes forward though and began to walk hesitantly. He wasn’t sure where he was supposed to go. He’d never even heard of platform nine and three quarters. He walked until he found platform 9 and platform 10. Quizzically, he looked up at the signs, turning his head back and forth between them. No platform nine and three quarters. Harry was confused. The anxiety started to creep back in again. Snape was lying. This was all just a big joke – a game designed to embarrass Harry even further. Uncle Vernon was gone. There was nowhere to go back to. Harry was alone.
Harry stood motionless on the platform. He couldn’t move. His legs wouldn’t work. He was scanning the platform anxiously, desperate for any sign of the place he was looking for. The child spotted a man dressed in a train officer’s uniform standing near him, talking to a woman. Slowly, Harry began to walk over to the man, glad this legs felt like they were working again. He was thinking in his head of what he was going to say. It was simple. All he had to say was ‘excuse me Sir, can you tell me where platform nine and three quarter’s is please?’ Harry knew that talking should be easy but every time he tried, the words got stuck in his throat. Harry stood hesitantly near the man, preparing himself to ask his question.
“Hello lad. Are you lost? Can I help you?” The older man asked gently. He had kind eyes and was looking down at Harry expectantly. Harry prepared himself to speak but, as predicted, the words were nowhere to be found. Instead, Harry pulled his ticket from his pocket and showed it to the man, pointing to the platform number. The man before him screwed his face up in confusion and looked at Harry.
“Sorry kid. That platform doesn’t exist. Are you sure you’re in the right place?” Harry nodded sadly.
“Ah well sorry lad. Looks like maybe you’ve been punked.” The guard laughed and walked away, leaving Harry alone on the busy platform.
“This way! This way to platform nine and three quarters!” A woman’s voice cut through the noise of the platform. Harry’s eyes snapped up. Wiping the tears from his face, he looked around, trying to locate the voice.
“Always the same. Every year. Packed with muggles!” The voice called again. Harry wasn’t sure what ‘muggles’ were but he knew that he had to follow the lady if he wanted to find the platform. He looked around frantically until his eyes settled on a short, plump woman with fiery hair. She had five children following closely behind, each with the same flame coloured hair. They were pushing trolleys piled high with trunks and one of the trunks had a cage containing a brown owl perched precariously on top. Harry hurried after the family, dragging his trunk behind him. Watching with wide eyes, Harry saw each of the children run at the wall one by one, disappearing each time. He rubbed his eyes, not quite believing what he saw. Finally, just the mother and the youngest girl and boy were left behind. Harry walked up to the lady and stood their quietly until she noticed him.
“Oh hello dear. Can I help?” The woman had a kind face and smiled warmly at Harry. Harry shuffled uncomfortably on his feet and jerked his head towards the wall. The woman’s eyes flicked to the trunk gripped tightly in Harry’s hands. She was confused at the non-verbal question asked by the boy, even more so when her eyes fell on his forehead and she saw the faint scar on it. Harry heard the sharp intake of breath and flinched.
“Oh.. Um.. Yes. Hogwarts student are you? First year? Not to worry, not to worry. It’s Ron’s first time too,” The boy stood next to her smiled kindly and nodded. “Just run straight at the wall and you will come through the other side on the platform. Off you go.” The woman instructed. Harry nodded and turned to face the wall. He glanced around hesitantly again but the woman was stood staring at him, smiling widely, a motherly sparkle in her eye. Harry breathed deeply and ran towards the wall. Harry felt foolish but did not stop. He braced himself for the impact as he ran head first towards the solid brick wall. But none came. Instead Harry felt himself glide smoothly through it and felt a rush of hot air hit his face as he came out the other side. Blinking, Harry opened his eyes and inhaled sharply at the sight before him.
On the track, sat a large, scarlet steam train, billowing white clouds from its smokestack. Behind the front end was a series of about 25 carriages, all bustling with students stepping on or off. There were crowds of students, some dressed in regular clothes, others in long black robes. The students were hugging their family on the platform and then picking up their trunks and running off to join their friends. Harry shifted nervously again and looked around, not sure what to do next. All of a sudden Harry heard a cough behind him and swung round to see who it was.
“Um hi. I’m Ron. We met before the barrier. I’m a first year too and wondered if you wanted to get a carriage together?” The red haired boy asked him hurriedly. Harry thought for a moment and then nodded. Ron clapped his hand on Harry’s shoulder and began to steer him towards the train. Harry flinched and shrugged Ron’s hand off of his shoulder. Ron looked confused and hurt at Harry’s brush off but he just turned around to face his mum, embracing her and whispering a good bye into her ear. Harry waited uncomfortably beside the mother and son as they said their goodbye’s. Ron turned back around to face Harry, trying to wipe away the tears that had fallen.
“Right! Let’s go mate.” Ron strode off towards the train and Harry obediently followed.
Before long, the train was pulling away from the station with a small hiss as the brakes disengaged. Ron was already lounged across one of the seats and Harry sat across from him, straight-backed and tense. Harry’s eyes darted back and forth, taking in the carriage but not making eye contact with the boy before him. Ron, on the other hand, had his eyes trained fixedly on Harry. He noticed the boys small, jerky movements, the way his eyes tracked everything. He also was aware of the fact that Harry had not said a word since they met. The only way he knew that he was Harry Potter was by the lightning bolt scar peeking out slightly from behind his long, black fringe.
“That was my mum by the way. She’s great but a little overbearing!” Ron laughed. Harry smiled too and Ron smiled back, glad to see some emotion from the boy. “I’ve got 6 siblings as well – one sister, five brothers. Bit crazy in our house. Ginny is going to Hogwarts next year, Fred, George and Percy are already there but Bill and Charlie have already graduated. What about you? Who do you live with now?” Ron asked. Harry noted that he spoke very fast, almost like he was nervous. Harry smiled at Ron telling him about his siblings but the smile disappeared when he was asked about his family. Instead, he just shrugged and looked out the window.
“Oh well I hope I’m in Gryffindor. All my family have been and I’d hate to know how they’d react if I got placed anywhere else – especially slytherin! What about you? Do you want to be in Gryffindor too?” Harry nodded, uncertain of anything that Ron was talking about. He figured the safest bet would be to just agree. Ron fell quiet and allowed the train journey to continue to silence.
As the light faded outside the train, the boys to not speak. Ron wanted to but anytime he tried to engage Harry in a conversation, the smaller boy would just shrug or answer non verbally. Ron was confused. The famous Harry Potter and he had not said a word. Ron was sure that he’d be talking all about the family he went to live with. He was sure Harry would know all about Hogwarts and his parents but this child, as far as Ron could establish, knew nothing. Ron narrowed his eyes as he examined the boy before him. He was small and thin, his bones showing in his hands. His clothes drowned him and his hair was long and choppy. His bright green eyes shone behind his round glasses but were wide and frantic, switching from flying around frantically, looking at everything, to focusing on one thing and zoning out. Ron’s concentration was broken by the carriage door banging open. In the entrance stood a tall girl with brown, bushy hair tied neatly into a ponytail. She looked exasperated and out of breath.
“Hello. Anyone seen a toad. Neville has lost one.” The girl panted, dragging another boy into view. The second boy, Neville, was tall and plump and looking nervously at the girl beside him
“I’m sorry. My gran will kill me if I lose him!” Neville said frantically, wringing his hands. Harry shook his head and looked away again.
“No sorry mate. No toad in here. You’re welcome to join us though. It’s a bit quiet in here.” Ron answered, nodding towards Harry who was still staring out the window. Harry might not talk but he wasn’t deaf. He could hear the mocking tone in Ron’s voice. He knew he’d need to talk eventually. He wanted to but he felt like he didn’t even know how to anymore. Harry refused to look at any of them now. He just wanted to get to Hogwarts now. He was fed up with this carriage.
“Oh um. Yes ok.” The girl replied to Ron, taking a seat next to Harry. Neville followed and sat beside Ron.
“I’m Hermione.” She said sweetly.
“I’m Ron. This, as far as I can gather, is Harry. He doesn’t talk.” Ron said, bitterly. Ron gestured to his own forehead, miming a scar symbol. Harry’s stomach clenched and his face flushed with embarrassment. He turned to glare at Ron and then turned and smiled at Hermione and Neville, holding his hand out for them to shake.
“Hello Harry. Nice to meet you. I’m Hermione.” Hermione took Harry’s hand and returned the smile. Hermione also glared at Ron.
“Ron. It doesn’t matter if Harry doesn’t speak. Maybe he’s nervous. But he’s not deaf so don’t be unkind.” Hermione said bitterly. She turned away from Ron who’s mouth gaped open. Harry blushed uncomfortably. He wasn’t used to people standing up for him. He liked Ron at first but now he wasn’t so sure now. All he knew was that Hogwarts was going to be challenging enough – more so if Harry couldn’t get over his problem with speaking.