Katherine Greenwood: The Hidden World #9

Instructions

Katherine's POV: The train had been moving for a while, and I was starting to feel a little less nervous. I sat quietly in the compartment with Lily, James, Albus, and Rose, listening to them talk while I looked out the window. The scenery outside changed as the train traveled farther away from London. Buildings became smaller and less common, and soon there were fields and trees stretching as far as I could see. I had never been on a train like this before, and I kept finding myself looking out the window whenever something interesting passed by. "Have you ever been on a train before?" Lily asked me. I shook my head. "No. Not like this." She smiled. "You'll get used to it." I nodded and looked down at my hands. I was still trying to take everything in. Everything about today had been strange. The hidden platform, the magical train, the castle I was supposed to attend, and the fact that I was apparently a witch. I still wasn't sure how I felt about that last part. Then there was a sudden knock on the compartment door. A witch stood in the doorway, pushing a small cart filled with all sorts of colorful packages, boxes, and jars. "Anything from the trolley?" she asked. I stared at the cart. I had no idea what most of the things were. Lily immediately sat up. "Yes, please!" James and Albus started looking through the sweets, while Rose smiled and picked out a few things. I watched them curiously. "What is all of that?" I asked. Lily looked surprised. "You've never had any of these?" I shook my head. "I've never seen them before." She smiled. "They're wizarding sweets." I looked at the cart again. "What are they?" James picked up a brightly colored box. "These are Chocolate Frogs." I blinked. "Chocolate frogs?" "They're chocolate," he explained, "but they can actually move." He handed one to me. I looked down at the box in my hands. The picture on the front showed a frog made of chocolate. I carefully opened it, expecting an ordinary chocolate frog. Instead, the chocolate frog suddenly jumped out of the box. I gasped and nearly dropped everything. The frog landed on the seat beside me and immediately tried to hop away. Everyone laughed as James quickly caught it. "They do that," Lily said, laughing. I stared at the chocolate frog in James's hand. "It's alive?" "Not exactly," Rose said. "It just moves." I looked at it again. "That's strange." "You'll get used to it," Albus said. I wasn't sure I would. James handed it back to me. "Try it." I hesitated before taking a small bite. It tasted like chocolate, but I was still distracted by the fact that it had just jumped out of the box. "It's good," I said quietly. Lily smiled. "Look inside the box." I turned it over in my hands. "Why?" "There's usually a card inside," James explained. I carefully looked inside the empty box and found a small card tucked underneath the wrapping. I pulled it out and turned it over. The moment I saw the picture, I froze. It was a photograph of a man with messy dark hair and round glasses. I recognized him immediately. "Wait," I whispered. "That's..." I looked up at Lily. "That's your dad." Lily smiled. "Yep." I looked back at the card. At the top, it said Harry Potter. Underneath was information about him that I didn't completely understand yet, but one thing was clear. Harry Potter was famous. Very famous. I looked from the card to Lily, then back at the picture. "He has a card?" I asked. "Of course," James said proudly. "Dad's got one." I stared at it in amazement. "But... he helped me at the station today." Lily smiled. "I know." I looked at the card again. "I didn't know he was famous." Rose laughed softly. "A lot of people know who he is." I looked down at the card. "Why?" James and Albus exchanged a glance, and Lily smiled. "You'll probably learn about him at Hogwarts." I looked at Harry's picture again. The man on the card looked almost exactly like the man who had helped me earlier. It was strange to think that the kind person who had helped a nervous girl find a hidden platform was apparently someone important enough to have his own Chocolate Frog card. I carefully held the card between my fingers. "Can I keep it?" Lily laughed. "Of course. It's yours." I smiled and carefully placed the card in my bag. I already knew it was going to be one of my favorite things I had brought with me. Lily then handed me a small package covered in bright colors. "Here. Try these." "What are those?" I asked. "Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans." I looked at the package suspiciously. "Every flavour?" "Every flavour," Lily confirmed. "Even strange ones." "What kind of strange ones?" I asked. Rose laughed. "You don't always want to know." I carefully picked one that looked like it might taste like fruit. I put it in my mouth, expecting something sweet. For a second, I just chewed. Then my face changed. I quickly covered my mouth. "What is it?" Lily asked, trying not to laugh.