At the train station
Over the next weeks Minerva and Tom wrote each other a lot of letters. Though the Riddle family and their staff had been quite shocked when the McGonagall's eagle owl first tapped on the big window of the dining room, they had quickly gotten used to it. The children agreed to meet each other in front of kings cross and so, after a month had flown by, the entire Riddle Family squeezed into two Mercedes limousines and drove off towards London again. It was horribly early and still dark outside, but Tom was not tired at all. He was filled with a buzzing sense of excitement. He almost felt as if he didn’t need the cars at all and could instead just run all the way to London.
Frank, the friendly gardener, drove the second car, that was occupied by Tom, his parents and little Jane, as well as the big basket that Miss Noodles slumbered in, while the grandparents, Mrs. Robin, Tom’s favorite maid, and Mrs. Bryce, Patrick’s wife and chief of staff at Riddle Manor all sat in the first vehicle. Tom excitedly chatted about his and Minerva’s plans at Hogwarts and asked his parents whether they thought riding a unicorn would be possible. (Mrs. McGonagall says it’s not possible, because they only like girls, but horses do like me, so maybe I could do it!)
Tom had already read all of his books and was quite convinced, that defense against the dark arts and Herbology would be his favorite subjects. He had even practiced a bit and had managed to create a weak shield charm, that could block pillows being thrown at him and several hexes, though he was much prouder of his shield. Minerva had written to him about her own accomplishments: She had managed to turn a match into a needle and to levitate a few of Pepper’s hairs.
“I’m sure you two will do great!”, mommy Cecilia exclaimed smitten, as Tom told his parents about his and Minerva’s plans to be top of their class. “And we will be proud of you, even if you don’t”, dad quickly added. “You’ll have to write me about those magic plants, Tom. Maybe we can plant a few in the garden”, Frank added from the front. Tom nodded excitedly. “That would be great!”, he squealed.
The car ride to London was long and when they arrived at half past ten, the lack of sleep had finally caught up to Tom. He yawned, as he climbed out of the car, and stretched. “Don't forget your flat cap, Junior! You always forget your cap”, mommy Cecilia piped and placed the hat onto Tom’s dark hair. “Oh, you are such a handsome boy! They will love you! How could they not love you, my wonderful little boy”, she suddenly sobbed and hugged him tight.
“It’s alright mom.”, Tom muttered, suddenly quite embarrassed, as he had spotted Minerva waving at him from the entry of the station. “Yes, Cecilia, you can say good bye later, when we are at the platform. Let’s get going, before all the good seats are taken.”, grandpa Thomas growled with his hand on his sword. He obviously was ready to defend his family from all dark wizards, who might have lurked in kings cross. The Riddles and their staff, carrying all of Tom’s heavy baggage, made their way to Minerva and her family. This time Minerva’s younger brothers where there too and they were quite excited to peek into Tom’s basket and look at his fat, sleeping snake.
Mr. McGonagall began to talk to dad, while they walked through the big station. Hundreds of people swarmed the platforms, like busy bees. Some stared at the two families with their large trunks, as they walked by, but nobody bothered them. Then, finally, they reached the platforms nine and ten. Mrs. McGonagall cleared her throat. “All right, do you see that barrier, over there? You just have to go through it. If you are nervous, you can run. I always ran. Don’t stop, the wall can feel your fear!”, she explained.
“The wall... can feel our fear?”, Frank asked with raised eyebrows. “Yes. How about Robert and I go first, and then Tom and Minerva? You can come after them.”, Mrs. McGonagall suggested. They all nodded as Mr. and Mrs. McGonagall started to jog towards the wall and... just disappeared. “Wow.”, Tom muttered. “Brilliant, now us!”, Minerva exclaimed, grabbed Tom’s arm and started running, just pulling the young wizard along.
The wall came closer and Tom squeezed his eyes together in fear. The wall probably laughed at him right now. And then they slowed down again. Tom carefully opened his eyes again. They were standing on a different platform with a gigantic red train. Some other students and their families were already there. A sign on the wall announced that this was in fact platform 9 ¾. Tom’s family and Minerva’s brothers came through a gate behind them, where the wall should have been.
“Very good, you all made it through. Now let’s choose a compartment and then we can say good bye.”, Mrs. McGonagall said, nervously looking around, “When I went to Hogwarts for the first time, I did not get a compartment for myself and had to sit with some horrible blood purists, who just talked about how horrible they thought muggles were.” Grandma Mary nodded determinedly. “Then let’s go. We wouldn’t want any dark witches to sit with Tom and Minerva”, dad decided too.
They walked along the platform, looking into the train windows as they went. “Did you hear, Pomona raised a devil snare in her garden?”, one student, walking by, asked her friend. “Yeah. My dad works for the ministry. She got in sooo much trouble for it.”, the boy answered. “Henry Potter, get back here immediately!”, a black-haired boy’s mother yelled and chased after him with an absolutely hideous hat clutched in her hands.
Several older students had gathered around a tall red-head, who showed of a small, mole-like creature. “Wow, Septimus, is that real? You got a real Niffler for our last year? I’m so jealous!”, a girl squealed. Tom, Minerva and their families entered the train and the chatter of the other students died down. It didn’t take long for them to find an empty compartment. Patrick and Frank put Tom’s and Minerva’s luggage onto the rack and then the two young students of course had to say good bye to everybody.
Even though got to hug everybody at least twice, it didn’t feel like nearly enough time, until the train whistled and The Riddles and McGonagalls had to leave. As the train began to move forward, they could still see their families waving outside the window. The Riddles and their staff became smaller and smaller, until they finally disappeared behind a corner. Tom felt his heart becoming heavy. He missed them already.