Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
Chapter 3: Road to Hogwarts
It must have taken him at least an hour to make it to the King's Cross Station.
He never had many chances to wander around the massive metropolis, so he got lost a few times, and there was no one to ask for directions either.
He now had a plan to make it into Hogwarts, albeit not a great one.
"I wish Hermione were here with me...she could probably have thought of something better."
As he expected, the station was completely devoid of people or animals of any kind.
However, everything else was still there, the shops were filled with goods, and the trains were in place, waiting for someone to drive them.
He entered a sports clothing store and started to look around for something specific that he would need.
"There it is."
Harry went to one corner of the shop that had a lot of different bags.
He picked up one of the school bags and placed it on his back.
"Sorry, but I need to take this," he said to the absent shop owner. He didn't like stealing, but didn't have any other choice now.
He then went to one of the several kiosks of the station, which contained all sorts of snacks and beverages he would need for his trip.
Harry filled his bag with chocolate, candy, chips, some sandwiches, several cans of cola, and two big bottles of water.
When he put the bag back on, it was fairly heavy, but he could handle that much.
He walked a very familiar path for a while until he stopped at Platform 9¾.
"This will work," he reassured himself before walking quickly towards the wall.
He made it through the barrier and arrived at the platform that took people to Hogwarts every year.
"Yes!" Harry cheered. Had this not worked, he had no idea how he could have accessed the secret platform.
His happiness was lessened a bit when he saw the train missing.
"That's too bad, I was kinda hoping to drive the train to the school… oh well, walking it is."
All he had to do now was to follow the tracks, and he would arrive at Hogwarts… eventually.
"The train ride is six hours...how long is it going to take on foot?" He wasn't very good at math.
"At least I have enough supplies." He decided that this much should be enough. And even if it wasn't, Harry was already used to going hungry.
Harry took firm hold of his bag, jumped onto the train tracks, and began his trip.
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He must have been walking for hours, and all he could see around him were mountains, grass, and trees.
Harry decided that now was a good time to stop for some rest and a quick snack.
He took out a can of cola that, unfortunately, was room temperature since he could not find any cold ones.
Harry opened it up and took a sip.
"Blehhh!"
He spat out the liquid.
"What is this?" He wondered as he glanced at the can.
The cola tasted off-putting, and it had no fizz in it, like it had been left open for hours.
"Could it be spoiled?" That seemed very unlikely, considering that this was being sold at one of the busiest stations in the world.
He still checked the date of expiration and confirmed that it was perfectly fine.
Harry threw the can out and picked another one. The moment he opened this one, he did notice the lack of fizz the moment he opened it.
He took a small sip and promptly spit it out.
"It's the same, it tastes off."
The flavor was still there, but it was very mild, like someone had mixed it with water. However, there was something else mixed in there... something that made it taste very unpleasant.
"I'll just drink the water." For once, he was glad that water tasted like nothing to begin with, so there was no foul aftertaste.
He then took one of the sandwiches out. It was a simple cheese and ham one with some mayo and a slice of tomato.
Harry was a bit distrustful now and took a very small bite, which he promptly proceeded to spit out.
"The food too?"
Like the cola, the flavor was different from what he expected. It didn't taste right, so he opened the sandwich and examined the contents.
There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the ingredients at first sight, but he got his nose close and smelled it.
"It doesn't smell like anything at all."
He could not understand how there could be no smell whatsoever. In the end, he decided to eat the sandwich anyway. He needed to eat something, and the worst that could happen was to get a bit sick.
After the very unsatisfying meal and some rest, Harry continued with his journey.
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"I wish I had learned that Tempus spell that I have seen Hermione use a few times."
He didn't have a watch either, so he had no way to know how long he had been walking, but he felt that it should have been getting darker by now, and yet the sky was as bright as it had been when he came out of the Ministry.
"More strange things," Harry muttered.
However, even if the sunlight showed no change, he was getting very tired already, so he decided to grab something to eat and sleep a little bit.
After another disappointing meal, this time consisting of a tuna sandwich and a chocolate bar, Harry then realized his oversight in not taking anything that could be used to cover himself.
He had no choice but to lie on the grass, next to the rails. He used his bag to rest his head while covering himself with his robes.
"At least it's not cold today."
Harry closed his eyes and went to sleep.