Chapter 3
"The train is about to leave. Hurry up."
My knees began to feel wobbly as I looked around the train station.
No no no, this can't be happening. Have they found me—am I going to die?
I put one foot in front of the other, continuing to walk. The platform was right there, I was going to be fine. Getting there would save me, right?
Right?
The voice began to quiver in my mind, "Where... where are you?"
I was completely jerked out of the trance by Molly Weasley placing her hand gently on my arm, giving me a comforting smile. I smiled back and tried to calm myself down. If I were to be attacked, then I got some people that'll fight for me. Then I might run away, never to be seen again.
I searched for the platform. There was a platform 9. And a platform 10. But no 9¾ in sight. My brows furrowed.
"We are going to get a running start." Mrs. Weasley guided me a few steps backwards until we stood next to a fake plant.
A running start? To where? I thought. I observed the train station once again, to find clues.
My eyes shifted to a bunch of red heads running straight into a solid brick pilar.
Fred and George turned back to look at me. I rubbed my eyes, only to look at the pilar once again. The twins laughed and linked arms.
"George, shall we?" Fred glanced in my direction.
"We shall."
Before George could even finish his response, the two went straight through the bricks.
My jaw dropped.
"Okay, dear. Let's go in 3..." Mrs. Weasley began to speak.
Nononono.
"2..."
Maybe I should just live off the streets and figure out how this wand thing works. It looks cool.
"1..."
The both of us started to run, nearing the brick wall. Liam whateverlastname, dead at an age. RIP.
All of my senses cut out for a short moment. I was in utter nothingness. Almost as if it was death. Death turned out to be fairly peaceful. Nothing like I had imagined.
My senses came back to me as I felt a sharp tug on my arm. I came out of the blackness, only to see bright surroundings. A few seconds later, my face registered another face. And a pain shot into my forehead.
Clearly, I could not avoid getting hit in the head at least once per day. And this time, it was another person that I hit.
I breathed in through my teeth and grabbed the wound. I swore a few times in my head and managed to utter a full sentence, "Mm, hurts like hell."
I heard a cackle and felt someone hit my arm, "Georgie here has one of the hardest heads in all of Britain," Fred could hardly stop laughing, "It's going to leave a mark, trust me."
I heard a groan of pain come from George, "I think I may come in second place, loosing to him." George gestured towards me. He was doubled over in pain.
I couldn't help but chuckle, "You learn something new every day, I suppose." I attempted to move my neck towards Fred, but winced, "I'm Liam. Such a pleasant way to meet you."
Fred grinned, "Fred, and the one you just murdered is George."
George finally looked up at me, "With a head as hard as yours, it'd be perfect to test out our new-"
Fred smacked George, "Shhh."
Before I could inquire about this mysterious project, Mrs. Weasley ordered for hugs to be given. She went through every single person, including me. In the moment, I felt as if that was the last thing that needed to happen in order for me to officially be a part of the wizarding world.
After all the final hurried goodbyes, everyone rushed to get on the train—except Harry, who had been pulled away by Mr. Weasley—and I began to explore the station.
All sorts of families were gathered around the train, talking amongst themselves. The station had an enchanting feel to it, as if completely powered by magic. Everything seemed eerily familiar.
A great whistle came from the train and the last few young students ran to get on. And I assumed I was to do the same.
"LAST CALL FOR THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS!" A voice boomed throughout the platform.
I leaped into the train and caught my breath. My body was not made for that much running. I had nearly fell almost 3 times in just 10 seconds.
I slid down the wall onto the floor. The carpet was an ugly blueish green, and was extremely itchy.
I remembered the small bag Mrs. Weasley had given to me just as we entered King's Cross station. She had told me that she always packed extras, just in case one of her kids forgot something last minute.
I opened the bag and found a few ties, socks, and other clothing items. I even discovered a pretty nice jacket.
I figured that that investigating the bag would be something for me to do later, and shoved the clothes back into the container.
I rested my head on the wall for a few moments and the letter came back into my head.
I had done all the steps on it, and wondered what to do next. It's not like I knew this place, I didn't know where to go. I wondered if I was supposed to meet someone on the train. If I should go and look for someone. I didn't even know the name of the person I was supposed to find. All I knew about that was the name was maybe 5-6 letters long.
"Trolley! Anything from the trolley!" A voice said from further down the hallway. "Trolley!"
This person could help me with finding what I was supposed to do on this train. I could ask them.
The squeaky wheels of the trolley stopped right beside me and I looked up to see an old woman giving me a smile.
"Anything from the trolley, dear?" She asked, but then went straight back to her cart. "Ah, of course, a chocolate frog. Here." She extended her hand with a small package in it.
I looked at it, and took it. She stared at me, expecting something. I stayed silent for a few moments, and then it hit me. Money. I honestly had no idea if I had money on me.
I searched through my pockets and didn't feel anything other than the note, "I'm sorry." I said after I was sure I didn't have any. "I can't pay you."
The lady glanced from the chocolate frog in my hands, to my face, and to the chocolate frog once again. She eventually smiled and went on, without saying a word.
"Trolley! Anything from the trolley!" her voice carried across the train as she went up the hallway.
I stared at where the lady had been only moments before. The whole experience was strange. I looked down at the package in my hands.
Sure enough, it was a chocolate frog. Whatever that was.
I picked at the sides of the box, trying my hardest for it to open. After a while, I found one of the flaps, and I opened it. The other flap on the same side came undone and a frog leaped onto the wall.
The frog stuck to the wall for a few seconds, only to fall to the floor and smash in a million pieces. The fragments of chocolate hit all around me, creating strange noises against the walls.
I peered into the package once again, this time a card fell out of it. When I had turned it over to look at the other side, I jumped when a random old guy started to stare at me and move.
I shoved the card deep into my coat pocket with a sigh. I pushed myself up, and began to go down the train's hallway.
I looked around and saw a few paintings hung on the wall as I ventured down. The paintings were also moving like the card, although it didn't startle me much. The people in the painting stared at me while conversing among themselves. I could pick up a few words like, foreign, or out of place. Which was awfully rude, but I carried on.
A room to the side of me opened. I stopped and heard a few voices groan. A few seconds later, a blond boy and two other kids walked out of the compartment.
The blond boy looked in my direction and gave me a glare. He shoved past me and scoffed saying things about 'Potter.' So I could only assume who was inside of that compartment.
I smiled slightly. I slowly went up to the trio's door and knocked.
I could hear Hermione tell somebody—and we can all guess it was Ron—to be quiet, and she opened the door.
"Hello," she waved, "come on in. I'll need all the help I can get with these idiots."
I smiled and went through the door. Hermione sat down and pointed to a spot in the middle of her and an older man.
I reached out to a suitcase that read, Professor R. J. Lupin. The name had quite a nice ring to it. I grabbed the suitcase and placed it on the floor. So that I would have more room on the seat.
I sat down and got comfortable. Only a few seconds later, I saw Ron's expression. He was furious.
I cleared my throat, "Who were those kids a few seconds ago?"
Ron turned to me and narrowed his eyes, "Malfoy and his gang. I'm not going to let them mess with us any longer—you hear me Hermione! I'm going to—going to —" Ron made a violent gesture in the air.
"Ron! Shush! The professor is right there!" Hermione shouted.
I looked over to Professor Lupin. He had a brown coat draped over him like a blanket, obstructing his face. Everyone could assume that he was asleep.
"Seems pretty knocked out to me." I shrugged.
Harry nodded.
The train seemed to be getting slower and slower over the course of that conversation. And then it came to a compete stop.
"Huh," Harry said.
I looked up at the lightbulb lighting the room. It flickered, until it shut completely off. Leaving us in darkness. It was almost night.
I could feel a movement come from Professor Lupin beside me. But nobody else seemed to notice.
All 4 of us kept on asking what had happened. And eventually Hermione opened the door to go find out.
The door opened slowly and Hermione stepped outside. A few seconds later, I heard multiple yelps of pain.
The temperature of the room had gone down by a few degrees. Until I was shivering.
I focused on keeping myself warm as two new people joined our compartment. One being Ginny, and another I didn't know.
We all fumbled around in the darkness, trying not to step on each other's shoes. Which was virtually impossible to achieve.
It kept on getting colder and colder. The situation became more and more familiar as the moments went on. As if I had already lived this.
The door began to rattle and everyone yelled. I jumped backwards and bumped into the professor.
"Quiet!" Professor Lupin spoke.
I moved away and saw him as he raised his wand at the door.
The door opened suddenly. The cold was almost unbearable. It was filled with bad memories I could not access. Which just made me feel the most anxiety I had felt in the past 2 days.
A dark shadow like entity slowly glided into the compartment. I held my breath.
The creature lurched towards Harry. A wispy like substance was leaving Harry's mouth. Almost as if the creature was sucking away his life. His soul.
A pain jolted into my heart. I couldn't place where it had come from. As the shadow stayed, the pain got worse.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
The words went in one ear and out the other as I passed out onto the seat. The pain feeling as if my heart had exploded.