Read All the Things: The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters

Oh, it looks like Corrie caught up to me in the book! Her previous post was also about chapter 6, so I will try to keep this one short. I'm still aiming to finish reviewing this book chapter-by-chapter by the end of the month, so need to get cracking!

Chapter 6 - The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters

We begin the chapter back at the Dursleys, where Harry quite foolishly waits until the very last minute to ask his uncle if he would drive him to London on September 1st so he can catch the train to Hogwarts. Makes me wonder - what if Vernon had been his usual nasty self and said no? What would Harry have done then? I suppose he could have written urgently to Hagrid and asked him to come pick him up from Privet Drive? Also, I wonder how the specialist doctor managed to remove Dudley's tail?

At King's Cross Station, Harry is faced with the problem of actually locating Platform 9 3/4. I love this scene - it makes so much sense that the platform would be hidden from Muggles and yet still be in such a busy and public place. It does make me wonder though, and I'm sure others have spoken about this before, but what happens if a Muggle were to casually lean against the divide between platforms nine and ten? Would they fall through to Platfrom 9 3/4? And how do the other Muggleborn kids know how to find it? Can their parents go onto the platform with them - I can't remember if it's ever specifically said that Hermione's parents see her off or pick her up?

Pottermore has lots of extra information about this scene and I don't want to give too much away, but I will mention some: there are a number of other magical platforms at King's Cross to other wizarding destinations and before the imposition of the International Statute of Secrecy in 1692, witches and wizards could choose any mode of transport to arrive at Hogwarts!

Hogwarts here I come!

In this scene we also meet the Weasleys for the first time. I think it's safe to say that the Weasleys are a fan favorite - I don't know a single person who has read the books that doesn't like them. We don't learn a lot about them initially, but it is clear that they are all redheads and there are at least 5 Weasley children. Mrs. Weasley makes an off-hand comment about not remembering which platform they're leaving from, which I find extremely hard to believe because she's undoubtedly done this many times before, but I suppose it serves as a way of confirming to Harry that these people can help him in this moment.

Fred and George help Harry with his luggage and we have another 'fanboy' moment in which they recognize Harry based on his scar - how is Harry's scar so famous? Presumably only 4 people saw Harry after the immediate fall of Voldemort - Hagrid, Sirius, McGonagall and Dumbledore. So who told the world about his scar?

We get some great descriptions of the Weasleys here and they are done in such a simple way, just one or two sentences and you already get a sense of what kind of people they each are: Percy is pompous and studious, the twins are obviously jokers, Ron is kind of reserved and Ginny is dying to be included in their adventure of going to Hogwarts.

On the train we find out that Ron has two other older brothers, Bill and Charlie and that, being the youngest boy, he has inherited many of their things. Probably the most notable ones are Scabbers (Percy's old rat) and Charlie's old wand. Scabbers is important for obvious reasons, but the wand is also interesting because of what we learned at Ollivanders shop: the wand chooses the wizard. So, this begs the question, how could the Weasleys have possibly thought that Ron would be able to perform solid magic with a wand that hasn't chosen him? As we move through the book, is it really any wonder that he is not so adept at casting spells? Also, why did Charlie readily give up his wand for a new one? Sure, this one is old and battered and has the unicorn hair sticking out, but surely it would have still worked for him? I guess this was JK Rowling's way of showing us that the Weasleys are, for lack of a better word, poor but it doesn't really make much sense...

We are introduced to some more key characters. Both Hermione and Draco are un-likeable from the moment they're introduced: Draco insults both Harry and Ron's parents, while Hermione is a goody-goody know-it-all. I also found her surprisingly tactless when speaking to Harry about how famous he is - I would have thought her, of all people, would have more maturity than that.

Hermione also mentions something quite interesting:

I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and they've all worked for me.

How is this possible? Under-age witches and wizards are not allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts! Doesn't she have the Trace on her?

Finally, we arrive...somewhere. The first years are picked up by Hagrid and taken up to Hogwarts castle across the lake on small boats and we are left wondering how the rest of the students get to school. Trevor the toad is finally found, Hagrid knocks three times on the castle door and the school year can properly begin.