Platform Nine And Three Quarters.

Kiku Honda couldn't find it anywhere. Nor could he find Arthur Kirkland. The Asian student heavily regretted not choosing to meet Arthur at his manor so they could arrive at King's Cross Station together. Kiku had been to London a handful of times before (to visit Arthur, of course), but he was still not used to the activity at the Station. Kiku had steered his trolley out of the inflow of human traffic, and remained between two columns searching the crowds for either one of two familiar faces: Arthur Kirkland, or Rubeus Hagrid.

Kiku wouldn't have gotten as far as he had without Rubeus Hagrid. It was he who had brought Kiku to Diagon Alley to do his school supplies shopping. However, seeing as yen was not an acceptable currency in the wizarding world –much less in Europe, to begin with–, the two of them had to make a stop at Gringotts Bank first. /However/, Kiku did not have a personal account set up with Gringotts, nor had he made any investments towards his own education otherwise. It had all happened so suddenly, his calling to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry–

A loud hiss made Kiku jump out of his daydream. It was his cat, Tama. The small Japanese cat was /not/ happy about being locked up in a little cage. He might have also been afraid being around so many people. Kiku understood how that felt. He wasn't too fond of crowds either. Tama's fur bristled and he scratched at the bars. So far as Kiku knew, this behavior was /not/ normal of Tama. He muttered small comforting words in his native tongue, though they were easily drowned out. Kiku kept an eye out. He was getting anxious. His train was supposed to be leaving soon. He peek up at the clock down a ways. Ten minutes. He had ten minutes to find Platform Nine And Three Quarters. But Platform Nine And Three Quarters was nowhere in sight. He was standing under the archway between platforms Nine and Ten. There was no Nine And Three Quarters. He couldn't just ask someone either. Oh humanity, the looks and spitfire answers he might receive had he gone up to the closest person asking for a Platform Nine And Three Quarters!

Kiku shifted on his feet. He looked up and down the platforms, searching desperately for either of the two faces that could help him. Five minutes. Kiku decided to take the chance. He left his cart and went to a woman in a fur-lined coat.

A sharp twitter caught his attention, and he turned his head. Kiku spotted a young boy with his parents. The boy had a trolley-cart, just like himself, and he too, had a caged pet. He spotted a barn owl rustling its wings inside. That barn owl meant more than anything else to Kiku. Salvation.

Kiku returned to his own trolley and watched the two parents guide their child. They turned left, passing under the same arch he was under, and to his surprise, they were all facing him, waiting.

"Excuse us," pardoned the father, a man with dark thinning hair under a tweed cap. Kiku was a little startled.

"Yes?" he flinched from being put on the spot so suddenly. He saw how the father snuck a curt glance to his wife. Cautiously he leaned forward, pressing his hands on his son's shoulders.

"Are you lost, boy?"

"How did you-"

"Your trunk, little lad," he pointed, "Fargon. I recognise the brand. You can only get a trunk like that from Schwopp's Shoppe. Marvelous piece of work you've got there."

Kiku was taken by surprise. This man was keenly observant. But it also struck him odd that he was scrutinizing his trunk. It didn't seem all that special. In fact, he had gotten it at a discount price while touring Diagon Alley with Hagrid. Perhaps this man had an eye for art as well.

"You're trying to get to Platform Nine And Three Quarters?"

"Yes, I am," Kiku nodded, pushing aside the oddities for now, "Could you tell me how to get there? My guide-" Kiku looked over his shoulder, "Well, he has not shown up."

"Aha~" the man laughed lightly with a smile touched upon his features, "Truth be told, the reason I knew you were lost, boy, is because here you are standing, with the Platform right behind you!"

This exclamation sent him into a wheezy fit of laughter, and the wife slapped his shoulder.

"Now that's just cruel, Thomas! The boy must be a first-year and if you've got no one to help you, it's a scary thing!"

Kiku had not heard the wife's scolding. In that moment he had whipped around, only to come face-to-face with a brick wall. Was this man -Thomas- fooling with him-? But then he saw it. A small sign that he had missed before, by some miracle. A plastic plaque inscribed "Platform 9¾" hung up and out of his own reach.

"Dad, we're going to miss the train!" the boy suddenly exclaimed, and both parents were brought to attention. The mother quickly approached Kiku.

"Come here, Hon," she ushered, to which Kiku moved away from the wall.

"Alright, here we go, Steve," Thomas patted his son's back, and the two of of them were set, as if ready to run a foot race. Kiku stared in shock. The boy's trolley clattered as the boy pushed forward, his father running right behind him, and Kiku flinched when they suddenly passed right through the wall!

"Did you see that?" The wife asked Kiku. He nodded. "Okay, that's what you have to do to get to Platform Nine And Three Quarters. Hurry now! We've only got a minute!"

Having no time for protest or questions, Kiku ran himself at the wall, and the wife followed him. Kiku hardly noticed that her hands were pressed to his shoulders, as if to steady him. It was shocking, passing right through the wall. Absolutely nothing happened, aside from a complete scene change. The platform they were now on was empty, except for Thomas hurrying his son onto the train. The Conductor was giving the last call, chased by a loud echoing tweet of the train whistle.

"AAAALL ABOARD!"

"Go, go!" The wife shouted ahead, "WAIT! WE'VE GOT ONE MORE!"

It was an antique train, Kiku saw, painted red and black, and embellished in gold. A brief glance behind him confirmed it. On a sign bolted to the brick high up, Times New Roman digits read, "9¾".

The Asian felt like he was moving mechanically, despite the rush he felt. One by one his belongings were passed up to him, and he was ushered into the train cabin. The Conductor stopped him though.

"Ticket?"

Kiku's hands flew up and he reflexively patted himself down. He found it in the pocket of his jacket, thankfully. He handed it off, the tall man snipped it with a hole punch and returned it. Kiku stepped into the narrow hall passage on the left side of the cabin. He slowly dragged his trunk behind him. Tama and the rest of his things had been stored in the side compartments of the train. He hoped that Tama would be okay.

Making his way along, he peeked into the large windows of the private cubicles in the cabin. This whole setup was very extravagant. The first cubicle he passed was full with a maximum occupancy of four persons. They were all older students chattering among themselves. A few glanced briefly to meet Kiku's gaze, but he shuffled on quickly. The next cubicle had two boys, both young. They seemed to be making casual conversation. They too, paused to look at Kiku. These students were younger than him, he realized. They also were wearing their uniforms already.

The train jolted suddenly, and Kiku stumbled, catching himself on the wall beside him. The door slid open suddenly.

"Hey, come sit in here," one of the boys stuck his head out, "I think all the other spaces are full already."

Kiku accepted the invitation and awkwardly shuffled into the cubicle with the two of them. The second boy made room for Kiku to sit. He passed a "thank you" in between breaths and settled down. The two boys seemed to be fascinated by him. He figured it was because he was Oriental.

"Where do you come from, Mister?" the second boy asked, "I couldn't help hearing your, uh, accent."

Right away Kiku was a little embarrassed. The first boy, who had strawberry blond hair elbowed him hard.

"Bloody hell, Pete, y'don't just /ask/ someone that! Geez, you've got no /manners/!" He spoke exasperatingly and emphatically. The brunette boy winced, rubbing his arm. The fair-head turned back to him.

"Sorry about that. My name's Chauncey. Chauncey Higgins. He's Peter McDallen, or Pete, for short." The boy named Chauncey extended a hand politely. Kiku knew his parents had raised him well. He was hesitant to shake, but he bowed a little and accepted his hand. Again, he felt embarrassed, but this time because of his own name.

"I'm Honda Kiku-," he nodded. He addressed himself as was custom in Japan, last name first, out of habit. "Pete-san was right though. I'm not from England." Chauncey's brows arched.

"Really? Where're you from then, Honda?" (It was then that Kiku realized his mistake in flipping his name around, but he let it slide.)

"Japan."

Chauncey's eyes were huge.

"You're from /Japan/?" This surprised expression quickly relaxed though, as he slouched in his seat a little, "Huh. I thought Hogwarts only enrolled students from the UK. So you're in the exchange student programme then?"

Kiku nodded, even though he had no idea what he was talking about.

"Nice. That's really cool. So you're from Gakuen then?"

Kiku broke a small sweat. For a youngster, this kid was extremely knowledgable!

"Yes."

"Wow, that's so awesome!" Pete kicked his feet excitedly, "A foreigner student, I never would've imagine I would meet one!"

Kiku had to smile. It was flattering.

"So, what grade are you both in?" The Asian "exchange student" questioned.

"Me 'n Pete are first-years," Chauncey answered, picking at some dirt under his nails. "We haven't been sorted into our Houses yet."

"First years?"

"Mhm," Pete's voice chirped, "What about you?"

"I'm a fourth-year," Kiku swallowed, suddenly anxious about how on earth he was going to get caught up in his classes. "What's this talk about houses?" Chauncey looked up.

"Oh, it's nothing to sweat over, don't worry," he picked a fleck of dirt, "Every year Hogwarts has an entrance ceremony to ring in the new school year, and that's when all the new students get sorted into their Houses. They're like dormitories, but they're special dorms named after past students, or something, I guess."

"You seem to know a lot about Hogwarts, Chauncey-san," Kiku noted, "Are you sure you are a first-year student?"

"Huh-?" The freckle-faced child looked up. "Oh. The only reason I know that much is because my older sister attends Hogwarts too." This made the Asian's brows rise.

"She does?"

"She's in the cubby behind you. You probably saw her when you walked in here. She was the one with the wild curly dirty blond hair." Kiku quickly thought back on it. Yes, he had seen her. She had been laughing very hard for some reason. "Yeah, she always had a lot to tell us about school whenever she was able to come home for school breaks. She's a year-seven now. The Sorting Hat put her in Slytherin."

Slytherin? The name sounded evil to Kiku for some reason. Well, maybe it was because he thought of a snake, and snakes tended to be labeled as evil animals. Kiku wondered how well the House name suited her. Chauncey shivered. "I hope I don't get put in Slytherin."

"You don't want to be with your sister?"

"No!" He squeaked, which made Kiku jump, "Are you crazy? Why would I wanna be in the same House as my /sister/?" He made a face, disgusted, and Kiku had to will himself not to laugh. A typical brother-sister relationship, he supposed.

"What about you, Pete-san?" He smiled, looking to the quiet boy, "Do you have any family in Hogwarts too?"

Pete looked up from the window he had been peering out of this whole time. He had such a timid look in his eyes that it troubled Kiku a little. Did Chauncey really hurt him that much?

"No," he stuttered a bit, "I'm the oldest."

"Really?" Kiku did his best to sound fascinated, for Pete's sake. Well, he /was/ fascinated, but he wanted to try to lift his spirits a bit too. Pete nodded, lifting a very brief half-smile.

"Yeah. I got a little sister. She's three."

Kiku's heart melted a little bit at that. "I'm sure you are a great onii-san."

"What's an "onii-san"?" Pete asked, rubbing one of his eyes.

"Big brother. It means big brother, in Japanese," the older student translated.

"Oh sweet!" Chauncey yipped, jumping up in his seat, "Candy cart!"

Kiku peeked out the window, and sure enough, a lady pushing a cart of confectionary items was advancing towards their door. The lady slid the door open and asked in a sugar-sweet voice, "Would you boys fancy something to eat~?"

"You bet!" Chauncey dug into his pockets for money that his parents probably had given him. Kiku reached for his own wad of bills, but Chauncey put up a hand and stopped him. "I got it, friend. It's on me today." Surprised, Kiku sat back down, and instead eyed the cart, seeing all sorts of candies that he had never seen before, or heard of. "What do you want, Pete?" Chauncey looked over his shoulder. Pete drew his eyes away from the window again.

"Chocolate frogs would be okay."

"I'll take four frogs," Chauncey picked four small boxes, adding on to his growing stash of candy loot. When all was said and done, there was candy everywhere. Kiku was sure that this much candy would rot their teeth. Chauncey seemed to be chewing on some kind of taffy. Pete was fumbling to open the box of one of the chocolate frogs. Kiku remained, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Chauncey seemed to notice this because he stopped eating.

"What's the matter, Honda?"

"Oh-" he stiffened, "No, I just don't have much of a sweet tooth."

"Aw, really?" The freckled face scrunched a bit, "Man, you should've said so sooner. I wouldn't have bought so much junk then." He looked around, seeing they were all but blanketed in the stuff. This stressed Kiku even more.

"No, no, Chauncey-san, I can take some off of your hands. Thank you, Chauncey-san. It was very thoughtful of you," he spoke earnestly, as he began to huddle his own stash of the candy in all politeness. He made a mental note to spread out how often he would eat from said stash. He picked up a small box and looked it over. "Every Flavor Beans", it read. Curiously, he peeled it open. They looked like ordinary jelly beans. He poured some out onto his hand, and without a second thought, he popped them in his mouth. Pete dropped his chocolate frog.

"WAIT-!"

"DON'T—!"

Kiku instantly regretted it.

Fortunately there was a lavatory in the train cabin.

Unfortunately he only made it to the window across the hall.