THE JOURNEY FROM PLATFORM
NINE AND THREE-QUARTERS
He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number
nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one
next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.
“Have a good term,” said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier
smile. He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the
Dursleys drive away. All three of them were laughing. Harry’s
mouth went rather dry. What on earth was he going to do? He was
starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig. He’d
have to ask someone.
He stopped a passing guard, but didn’t dare mention platform
nine and three-quarters. The guard had never heard of Hogwarts
and when Harry couldn’t even tell him what part of the country it
was in, he started to get annoyed, as though Harry was being stu-
pid on purpose. Getting desperate, Harry asked for the train that
left at eleven o’clock, but the guard said there wasn’t one. In the end
the guard strode away, muttering about time wasters. Harry was
now trying hard not to panic. According to the large clock over the
arrivals board, he had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hog-
warts and he had no idea how to do it; he was stranded in the mid-
dle of a station with a trunk he could hardly lift, a pocket full of
wizard money, and a large owl.
Hagrid must have forgotten to tell him something you had to
do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley.
He wondered if he should get out his wand and start tapping the
ticket inspector’s stand between platforms nine and ten.
At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and
he caught a few words of what they were saying.
“— packed with Muggles, of course —”
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