How often had she been to King’s Cross before, and never known about this? At the junction of Euston Road and York Way King’s Cross was bustling with commuters, travelers, vacationers, station agents… and [i]wizards[/i]. 

Caelum scanned the familiar scene for this unfamiliar attribute, though, she didn’t see any pointed hats. As she rounded a corner she thought she might have seen a large crow, but as a cloud of people passed between them it seemed to have vanished.

She was walking behind three adults: Her father, who was scowling and glaring at her acceptance letter; then Petra and Gwen, the neighbors from downstairs. The women walked on either side of her father, but unlike him they wore happy wistful expressions. They chattered excitedly to one another as they walked saying things like ‘Do you remember--’ ‘Yes, isn’t that where Donovan--’ ‘Oh my! And look, isn’t that the old--’ they basked in nostalgia. The two neighbors claimed to be Witches, and said that they had attended Hogwarts themselves (and had not been to King’s Cross since, Wizards and Witches had other means of travel...).

Caelum walked behind them carrying two of her five bags. She had a Prada luggage set bought by mother as a congratulatory gift. The luggage was subtle white and grey paisley print with a pink trim. Her mother had an important photo shoot and could not be there to see her off at the station, the luggage was a reminder that her mother wished her well anyhow. Her father dragged along the largest case, Gwen and Phedra carried her purse and tote respectively.

Gwen and Petra had taken her shopping in Diagon Alley, relieving her busy/weirded-out father from the duty. They offered to bring her to the station, but her father insisted on bringing her himself. This would be his first step into the Wizard World, the worried witches convinced him that they should came along as well.

Finally her flustered father crumpled the letter up and threw his arms out. “Never have I ever, seen nor heard of platform nine-and-three-quart-ers!” He was a very tall and handsome man, even anger did little to mar his smooth square features.

“Yet, here we are!” Exclaimed Gwen as she waved her hand toward a brick column between platform 9 and 10. “Now Little Cae… Step right this way with your things, and head straight-for-it!”

“Madness!” Her father jumped between Caelum and the wall. “That is a solid wall, mum, she’ll dash straight up against it!” He still hadn’t quite shaken the feeling that someone was pulling his leg, and at any moment the cameras would appear and it would turn out that his ex-wife had set him up on some terrible reality show.

“Doctor Liquin,” Petra was half as tall as her father, and touched his elbow gingerly. “Look there now, no need to fret.” She pointed to a young girl with dark curls being smothered by her mother, then the girl turned toward the wall… and [i]ran[/i] for it.

Her father startled but Gwen touched his chest to still him. He and Caelum gasped as the girl disappeared through the brickwork.

Caelum smiled. “It’s magic father, real [i]magic[/i]. Before he could stop her Caelum strode toward the brick wall and disappeared through it. 

Stepping onto platform 9 ¾ with wide eyes. She beheld what appeared to be a steam-engine train, and what she could only assume to be an endless amount of wizards, witches, and of course fellow classmates.

In a moment her father, Petra and Gwen appeared also. Her father looking a bit dazed, the women had likely pulled him through. 

“This way now dear.” Petra took her hand and lead her down the platform. Caelum said nothing, her mouth shut and her eyes wide, she saw gorgeous owls, broomsticks, smiling faces everywhere, [i]magic[/i] faces.

They took her luggage form her. “We’ll manage this, Little Cae, time for you to step on.” Gwen leaned down to hug the young girl and kiss both her cheeks, Petra did the same. 

Her father stopped blinking at the strange world around him, and set his eyes upon his only daughter. “Dearest…” He enfolded her in his arms, a rare display of affection. “Good luck… do well… write often.” 

Caelum nodded into his chest. Then took her purse from Gwen and stepped onto the train. 

Inside the train was loud. The students were excited and rambunctious. Many seemed to already know one another, or else made fast friends.

She tried to look calm and passive, like her mother did when walking the cat-walk or through a party. It would be ineffective and rude to interrupt an existing clique, but some of the solo students wouldn’t necessarily be welcoming right away. She hoped to find someone alone and ‘open’, if she could find even one companion the train ride would be much more pleasant, and her transition into this strange magical world a bit smoother.

She stopped as she passed a compartment, recognizing a certain mass of black curls. [i]’That is the girl we saw pass through the wall.’[/i] She could not see the girls face, she was looking out the window, perhaps she preferred to be alone or was waiting for her friends. Still, Caelum wanted to try...

Caelum knocked on the compartment door frame and put one foot inside. “Hello, are these seats taken?” She smiled cordially. “Even if they are… I just wanted to let you know, I think that your shoes are super-cute!”