Chapter 1 - Beyond Platform 10

“You can't be serious,” I stammered to my mother.

“I'm THIS serious,” she replied with a sly smile. She held up a train ticket. Just ONE train ticket.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My mother was planning on sending me to my grandmother's house for the year, from September through June. It was August fifteenth, and she hadn't told me until now!

“But where will I go to school?” I asked nervously.

“St. Martha's,” she replied with a wide smile. "It's an all-girl's Catholic school, from your grade until girls almost in college. It's a highly reputable school; I'm sure you'll be very happy there."

“But... doesn't that cost money?” I asked.

“Of course it does... we're paying half of your tuition, and your grandma is doing the rest. She's really looking forward to you staying with her, sweetheart.”

I groaned. This was a trap I knew already there was no escaping from.

~~~~~

“Taylor! Taylor Anne Winthrop!” shouted Mum. Putting down the book I was reading, I wandered into the front hall.

“What is it?”

“Look,” she exclaimed, “at what we got again!”

She was holding up a thick letter, closed with an elegant stamp.

I didn't say anything.

“We've been getting one a day! And you know what day today is, right?”

“The... the fifteenth?”

“It's Sunday, Taylor. I swear, whatever advertisement this is, it's desperate to get to you.” She stared at the envelope for a long time. “Maybe there's an address I can send a complaint to somewhere in here,” she murmured, ripping the envelope open. I was a bit worried. I was only eleven, so I took everything my mum had to say for solid truth, and she had told me to be careful about opening up strange letters like this.

“Dear Taylor Winthrop, you have been accepted...” she murmured, and I saw her eyes scan the letter. She cleared her throat.

“It's an ad for a fake school,” she told me, seeing my questioning eyes. “Don't worry.”She looked in and out of the letter.“No return address. Ahem. No matter.” She dropped the letter in the garbage.

~~~~~

September 1st came quickly, with brisk weather. At ten o'clock that morning, my mother hurried me into the car and we rode down to King's Cross train station.

“All right sweetie. You have everything? I packed a few pounds for you, in case you need to buy lunch or dinner. You'll be fine. The train will come at 11:30, Platform 10. You watch out for yourself, all right Taylor?”

“Yes, Mum,” I said, feeling homesick already despite the fact that I resented her sending me to my grandmother's.

“I love you,” she said, gathering me in a teary hug. And she left me at the station.

Sighing, I stared at my ticket and headed down towards Platform Ten.

~~~~~

It was ten-fifty when I reached the platform. The place was packed, but despite this, a pair of identical twins, both redheads, who looked a few years older than me, were goofing off and pushing each other around to the extent that I felt a bit nervous. But that was nothing compared to the shock I felt as one of them knocked into me and I fell straight through the bricks of wall at Platform Ten.

I looked up, shaken, my baggage lying on top of me. The twins ran past me, laughing and shoving each other.

Did I just fall through...? I must have been imagining it. But I know I didn't imagine it when I looked up and saw this sign:

“Platform 9 ¾”.