Claustrophobia

*For a recap: see posts with label "Henry's Story"*

The world around Henry was consumed by the scene, which was taking place in front of him. Crowds of people, ranging from crying toddlers to old ladies waving farewell to their children, stood in front of an enormous steam engine. Massive huddles of kids were lined up, ready to board the magnificent train. Hordes of people surrounded them, fishing for a quick last glimpse of their loved ones. Henry found himself caught, like a salmon swimming upstream, in a current of bustling strangers. His heartbeat echoed inside his head, and he suddenly felt dizzy. A blurry haze veiled his sight, and he struggled to remain upright as the swarms of people closed in on him from every direction, sweeping him up into the monstrous throng. He started to topple over, but caught himself with a firm grip on his cart. His eyes closed as he fought to keep a grasp on the compact, airtight world around him.

Henry was abruptly jerked back into consciousness by a sound from directly above him. “Lad, are you all right? You look faint.” Called the voice. Henry felt a hand on his shoulder. The fog hindering his vision began to lift as the man above him cleared his throat. Henry shakily turned his head upward to face the fellow who’d woken him from his sudden sickness. A pair of golden eyes stared back down at him from a broad, angular face, dominated by wrinkles and a short, white beard. It seemed, to Henry, that the old man standing above him couldn’t possibly be any younger than his grandfather.

“Well, Mr. Talbot. I’d say you had best hurry, or there’s a fair chance you’ll miss your train.” Henry took a glance around him to find that he and his senile companion were the only two people not huddled in front of the train. Henry started to shuffle off in the direction of the train when suddenly a thought dawned on him.

“Wait, Mister, how did you—“ But the man didn’t seem to hear him, as he was already too far in the opposite direction. How does someone that old walk so fast? Out of the corner of Henry’s eye, though, he could swear he saw the man give a wink. 

A sudden and mysterious wind

*For a recap: see posts with label "Henry's Story"*

Henry stared down at his ticket, completely and utterly befuddled. 9 ¾, what bloody sort of a joke is this? He ranted silently. It seemed so silly and pointless, but looking down at his watch and seeing that he only had a quarter hour before the train should leave, he decided to continue on. After just about navigating the entirety of King’s Cross Station, Henry lost himself standing between platforms nine and ten, tightly grasping his ticket in his left hand and steering his cart with his right. He dropped his left arm to his side when a sudden and mysterious wind plucked the ticket directly from between his fingers.

            “No! My ticket!” he exclaimed frantically, jumping after the fleeing slip of paper. Strange stares followed him around platform ten as Henry chased after the elusive ticket, his cart screeching after him. Running directly at the barrier between the two platforms, he was finally able to snatch it up in his left hand. Alas, his triumphant smile was fleeting as he realized he was about to collapse into the massive barrier. His feet stopped too late, and he tumbled face first into the barrier. But the impact never came.

Meet the Talbots

For a recap, view posts with label "Henry's Story"

A few hours later at the Talbot house…

“Sorry, Henry,” Gregory Talbot replied apathetically, “but I am just too busy to see you off. Unfortunately I must get this in to my boss by the end of the week. Ask your mother; I’m sure she’d love to accompany you to the railway station.” Through his whole defence, Henry’s father hadn’t bothered to look up from his computer. They’d never been close, but Henry had hoped that maybe just this once, his father would take a break from work to spend some time, however short it may be, with his son. And so Henry slumped away, dejected, in search of his mother. He found Melissa Talbot curled up on the couch in front of the television, watching reruns of Dr. Who.

“Mum, will you drive me to the railway station?” Henry asked.

“Henry, dear, I’d be delighted to.” She replied gladly, instantly putting him in a much better mood. She jumped to her feet and skipped outside, keys in hand. Henry followed shortly after. On the way out the door, Henry ran into his younger sister. He took a deep sigh, for however small she may seem, Leah Talbot was a force to be reckoned with, and Henry wasn’t getting away easily. Although she was as petite and delicate as a flower in appearance, she prides herself on being the most stubborn child to have ever walked the earth.

“Mum, are you taking Henry to wizard school? I want to go with! I want to go with! Mummy, you must let me go with you!” before Leah could slip any farther into an unrelenting torrent of whining, Melissa retired and agreed to allow her to come with. Henry recalled being in a similar situation with his obnoxiously persistent sister; and of what he remembered, it didn’t end well. Better to give in, Henry thought, then to waste an entire hour.

After sixty minutes of sitting in the backseat, trying to tune out the off-pitch sing-along to Rihanna’s “We Found Love”…

Oh, Irony, Henry mused to himself, we could have spent an hour convincing Leah to stay home; but instead, I must endure an hour of her horrible taste in music. As soon as the car rolled to a stop in front of King's Cross Railway Station, Henry jumped out, more than eager to leave his mother and sister to themselves. Henry dragged his school supplies as quickly as his legs could carry him inside. Once out of sight of his deranged family, he could finally relax. He leaned up against a wall and collected his bearings. Breathing heavily, he checked his cart to be sure he hadn’t dropped anything. Finally, with everything accounted for, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his ticket. In large print, centred on the ticket, it read: Platform 9 ¾

           

Bethesda

Henry had touched the magic; he had felt an abandoned chamber of his soul, reopened. He couldn’t believe he’d never felt it until now; it had always been there, just out of reach of the muggle boy he’d thought he was. As he stepped out of the wandshop, back onto the street, he was overwhelmed with a sense of possibility. This wasn’t a curse, but a gift, something to be cherished and used. Suddenly Henry was glad he was going to Hogwarts; he couldn’t wait a second more.  His wand’s aura, caged in its ash wood shell, pulsed with temptation, the world only an arm’s reach away.

            Henry saw a girl waving at him from across the cobblestone pavement—one of his friends from his old muggle school, Bethesda Abrams.

What on Earth is she doing here? Henry wondered skeptically. As Henry already knew, Bethesda Abrams had always been—and always will be—the most hopelessly desperate, senseless, uninspired girl in the entire world. But no one’s been known for their diligent efforts as much as poor Bethesda. She ran to where Henry was standing as fast as she could, nearly falling out of her shoes to find someone she knew. Her frizzy, vermillion hair bounced with every unintentionally exaggerated stride.

“Henry,” she gasped, struggling for breath, “I just saw you coming out of there.” Cough cough “And I wanted to” cough “say hi.” She was waving her hand like a lunatic, as if he couldn’t see her right in front of him. No use trying to pretend I don’t know her, Henry resigned, mourning his reputation.

“Hi, Bethy.” I am done for; no one will ever talk to me again, “I haven’t seen you since last term. What brings you here?”

“Same as everyone else: looking for supplies for school. I’m so nervous; I hear the Headmaster sometimes turns students into fish if they get on his nerves, and he keeps them all in a bowl in his office. You don’t think it’s true do you, Henry?” she begged franticly.  It’s going to be a long year.

*note that this content was not authorized by the author or publisher, and is simply from my imagination*

Wand-Buying for Beginners

--Based on the world of Harry Potter--
*note that this content was not authorized by the author or publisher, and is simply from my imagination*

Henry strolled slowly into the wandshop. You wouldn't be able to tell he was a wizard just by looking at him, but his blue eyes held more secrets than just a propensity for magic. Once inside, Henry was glad he'd left his non-magical parents at home; this new, frightening world of magic and wizardry would have only set them apart farther. It'd been at least thirty years since the death of Lord Voldemort, and in the years since that fateful day, Ollivander had decided to take a long break, leaving his wandshop temporarily in the care of his great-niece, a young witch named Claudia. Claudia was not the wisest of witches, but she did have a young, naive flare that, as family, Ollivander could not turn away. She didn't know what she'd gotten into when she'd decided to run the wandshop.  Henry's first glimpse of the witch was sprawled out on the floor after she'd run into him and dropped the stack of wandboxes she'd been carrying.


"My goodness! I'm so sorry, sir. I didn't see you there. Here, let me help you up." Claudia extended her hand to him to pull him up off the cold stone floor. Henry gratefully took it and started to stand up. On his feet again, Henry started to browse around the store, his eyes trying to loop around endless shelves.
"Sir, why don't you let me assist you." Claudia stated plainly. She walked across the shop to a row of shelves in the back that looked identical to all of the others and snatched up an enormous stack of boxes. The massive pile rose up over her head, blocking her face and causing her to sway with every step. She finally got to the front of the store, and set them down on her desk, the top three falling over inevitably. She didn't bother to pick them up off the ground, but started to open the top box, pulling out a stick that Henry assumed was a wand. 
"Try this one out: eight and a half inches, beechwood and phoenix feather" She commanded, duly handing the wand to Henry. Henry took it in his right hand and swooshed it in the air a bit, but sadly nothing happened.
"It's not worki--" Henry was abruptly cut off by the witch,
"Then it's not meant for you. Great Uncle Ollie always says that the wand chooses the wizard, and I suppose maybe that's true, but I say that it's like trying on shoes. If one wand doesn't fit you, there's always another one out there that will." Wands choosing wizards, trying on shoes, possessing magical powers: it was all making Henry's head spin. 
"Try this one, it's hippogriff feather and ash." She instructed, giving Henry the wand before he could process her request. He did the same as he had with the wand before, except this time, instead of nothing, the tip of the stick began to glow. Claudia smiled, "That's the one." she announced grabbing the wandbox to look at the inside. 
"That would be ten galleons please." she hummed. Henry, confusedly grabbed about 60 pounds from his wallet-- his mother had insisted he take at least 120 pounds since they didn't know how costly magical items would be. Claudia frowned, then after examining the money for a minute, came to a conclusion. 
"Sir... um Mr..."
"Talbot, I'm Henry Talbot" he informed her.
"Mr. Talbot, I would suggest you acquire some wizard currency before you decide to keep shopping here. Most vendors do not accept muggle money. I will make an exception for you just this once, but you'd best stop by Gringotts soon; they will most likely be able to convert this... paper to wizard coins." She then handed him back an extra five pounds change and his newly-bought wand.