Silent Surprises -- Year One

Chapter Four: Platform What?

4 Privet Drive

31 August 1991

It was late and Harry lay on his bed staring at his owl, who for some reason was asleep in her cage and not out flying around in the dark. He had named her Hedwig after a name found in the

History of Magic textbook. He felt Dudley’s door slam as he went to bed in the next room. He was still getting over the shock of the Dursley’s offering this room to him. Dudley had had a fit, whining and complaining about what he was supposed to do with all of his excess junk that he didn’t want, but was too snobbish to give to Harry or donate.

In his lap was The Standard Book of Spells. Harry had been going through it for several weeks now, and had even tried a few, but with interesting results. The first one, the Light Charm, normally lit up the tip of your wand, or so the book said. However, when Harry tried it, the light didn’t stay on the tip, it jumped off and lit the bed on fire. He had quickly beat it out, but not before there was a good hole in his sheets.

Another didn’t do anything and one shot out red sparks, not the water it was supposed to. When he asked Aunt Claire about it, she had gotten mad and told him off, explaining to him about the Ministry of Magic and underage magic laws. He didn’t try any more after that. Getting your wand snapped in half before you got to Hogwarts was not a very appealing thought.

Tomorrow he was leaving to go to Hogwarts and he was very excited about it. He had read as many of his new books as he could, but he still felt very unprepared. Aunt Claire had tried to prepare him as much as possible, but he still wasn’t sure he knew enough yet.

The morning of September first dawned and Harry got up and quickly got ready for the day. Aunt Claire had told him not to wear his robes through Kings Cross, but to put them on once he got onto the train and nearing Hogwarts.

His trunk was all packed and ready to go, with Hedwig sitting in her cage on top of it, looking at him like he was stupid for locking her up in the cage. Harry had thought of letting her fly by herself to Hogwarts, but he didn’t know if she knew how to get there.

After cooking breakfast for the Dursley’s, he quickly ate and brought his trunk downstairs just in time. Aunt Claire pulled up with her car and he loaded it up. He put Hedwig’s cage in the backseat and jumped up front. He waved good-bye to Aunt Petunia, who half-heartedly returned it, not really sorry to see him go.

They drove into London and headed towards Kings Cross. Harry’s ticket for the Hogwart’s Express said it left at 11:00 and it was now ten minutes till. Aunt Claire parked the car and they grabbed a trolley for Harry’s trunk and walked into the station.

The platform the train left from had been confusing Harry since he got it. He had never ridden a train before but he was pretty sure that there wasn’t a Platform 9 3/4. When he asked Aunt Claire about it, she said not to worry and she would explain it when they got there.

Well, they were here now and as he had expected, there was Platform 9 and Platform 10, but no 9 3/4. Aunt Claire led him to the barrier between the two platforms and stopped before it. There was a bunch of redheads nearby, but he didn’t pay any attention to them.

“Harry, to get onto the platform, you have to go through this barrier behind me. Don’t think about it being brick, but just walk through it. If you want to, you can do it at a run. Watch me, then follow.” She walked towards the barrier and right as she reached it, she disappeared. A second later, her head appeared, and a hand came out, beckoning him through.

Harry pushed his cart ahead of him straight at the barrier. He vaguely noticed that the redheads had disappeared. The barrier loomed at him and he closed his eyes, fully expecting to run right into it. He kept walking, but he didn’t hit it. He felt a cool rippling sensation and opened his eyes to find a scarlet steam engine puffing away in front of him. Students were running around all around him, with parents saying goodbye, many tearfully. It made Harry wish that he had parents to see him off. Aunt Claire was there, but it just wasn’t the same.

They walked over to a car and she helped him load his trunk under the seat in the compartment and he jumped back down to say goodbye.

“I’ll see you sooner than you expect, Harry. Your lessons aren’t over yet, and there is still much to teach you about the magical world that you won’t get without being able to hear it.” She gave him a hug and waved goodbye. Harry sat down in the compartment and waited for the train to start moving, which didn’t take long.

Harry looked out the window as the scenery slowly changed from city to suburban, then to rural. They were about half an hour out when he saw the door slide open through the window and he turned around to see who it was. Standing in the door was a girl, who appeared to be about his age. She had bushy chestnut brown hair and held a large book in her arms protectively.

“Can I sit in here? Everywhere else is full up.”

Harry nodded and watched as the girl quickly sat down in the seat opposite him and began to read her book, never looking at him again.

He returned to looking out the window. The next few hours passed, and Harry nodded off a few times, waking up every time they went through a tunnel or hit a rough section of track.

It was starting to get dark outside and Harry had just dozed off again when the girl nudged his shoulder. He started, looking at her.

“It sure does take a lot to get your attention. I was going to tell you that we’re almost there and you need to get your robes on. I’ll be back in a minute.” She walked out, obviously to let him change. He opened his trunk and pulled out his robes, leaving the trunk on the seat. He got his robes on and put his wand in the pocket. He had just put his glasses back on when the girl came back in. She sat down across from him again and looked out the window.

Harry looked closer at her. She had large front teeth and a few freckles across her nose. She was worrying her upper lip.

Harry glanced out the window and caught her reflection in the glass, which was looking at him. She turned and looked straight at him.

“I know I haven’t said anything. I’m Hermione Granger. Your trunk says that you’re Harry Potter. Am I right in guessing that you are the Harry Potter?” She was saying all this in a rush. He just nodded. “I read a bunch of books that have you mentioned in them. Is all of it true? You have a scar shaped like a lightning bolt?” Harry was a little hesitant about showing her, but he did. She stared at it for a moment before going on. “That was where the curse hit you?” Nod. “And you can’t hear anything I’m saying right now can you? Because you’re deaf.”

Harry froze at that. What was she going to do now? He slowly shook his head no, waiting to see her reaction. It was totally unexpected.

“My Aunt is deaf and she taught me how to sign. She can’t read lips like you can, though.”

Harry was shocked. It took him a moment to realize what she had just did.

“All that is in books? About me?”

“Yes.”

Harry was absolutely amazed that there was someone his age who didn’t treat him differently because he was deaf, yet alone knew sign language. Over the rest of the train ride they signed about their families and themselves. Hermione told him of how her Aunt had taught her to sign when she lost her hearing- Hermione was five. She had grown up as a Muggle, like Harry, knowing nothing of the magical world until the two Professors had shown up on her doorstep in June. They were told all about the magical world and it was readily accepted by them because her parents knew she was special. Hermione told him of some of the times she had shown magic, like when she wanted a pony for her birthday and didn’t get one, she made one appear, quite to the astonishment of her parents.

Harry told Hermione of his life with the Dursleys, leaving out most of the bad parts where they mistreated him. He told her of his Aunt Claire and growing up learning to sign and lip read. He had some outbursts of magic as well, including the time he managed to get on top of the school roof when Dudley and his gang were chasing him.

One question of Hermione’s made him start wondering what “other things” Professor Dumbledore still had to discuss with him. Hermione asked how he was going to cast spells without being able to hear what they sounded like. She had read that you had to practice saying the spell before you tried to preform it, but obviously Harry had no way of hearing it. Hopefully, she had said, Professor Dumbledore would find a way for him to work the spells.

This conversation lasted until the train began to slow down and stopped at a small station. A sign on the platform proclaimed that this was ‘Hogsmeade Station’, which meant nothing to Harry, but Hermione obviously knew something about it, probably from her reading. Harry already knew that her favorite thing to do was read, as she had quoted numerous books during their discussions.

Hermione stood, and so did Harry. She told him to leave his trunk and together they walked out onto the platform and into the mill of students.