Platform 9 3/4

[slumber]

So watching the HP movies start to finish beginning with the Christopher Columbus (was that actually his name?) ones yesterday (Side Note: I am so annoyed all over again at the way SS/PS ended--the Slytherins had won the House Cup and were CELEBRATING, the banners ALL OVER THE GREAT HALL, and then their ex-Gryffindor Headmaster starts awarding an INSANE AMOUNT OF POINTS TO GRYFFINDORS TO MAKE THEM WIN. Sorry, that is NO WAY to teach an entire school of impressionable young minds ANYTHING, except that yes, no one likes you if you're in Slytherin and no matter what you do the entire year to earn points, you don't get rewarded if three students decide to go on a rule-breaking lark and defeat evil one of seven times--who decided defeating evil was worth those points anyway? When Harry and Ron did the troll in they got what, five points apiece? That's ridiculous, that is.), and I just started wondering:

How does Platform 9 3/4 work?

We know you basically have to run into a wall and you emerge on the other side on a completely different platform, but the one thing that's always been a hallmark of JKR's world was how so many of the things that Harry experienced at the beginning of the story were later explained in greater detail, to show that they were part of the bigger picture and not just a one-time thing.

The Leaky Cauldron was hidden in the same way Grimmauld Place sort of was (I think)--normal people saw both buildings on either side of it, but those who knew what to look for could see it too. The Floo is obviously one of the more common means of transportation, and the Portkeys were useful as plot device as well. Even Dumbledore's Deluminator made its appearance as early as the first chapter, and the Vanishing Cabinets were another form of magical transportation that we saw on two separate occasions.

Is Platform 9 3/4 a version of the Vanishing Cabinets or is it its own kind of magic? It doesn't seem to be like the Cabinets in that it doesn't exactly pop up in another place altogether--when Harry and Ron took the Ford Anglia to go to Hogwarts, somehow they managed to pick up from King's Cross and onto the Hogwarts Express tracks and caught it in no time. So... how does this magic work? Does it lead to a different location in the same area, like underground, maybe, where wizards can go?

More importantly, is this magic only applicable to Platform 9 3/4? Where else did we see this in HP? What other ways could wizards use it? Getting into the Ministry of Magic involved a variety of clever ways that wizards could cross over from the Muggle world into the magical, but do any of those include whatever was used for Platform 9 3/4?

Also, is that the only way anyone could access the Hogwarts Express? Gotta admit, it's easy enough to believe that Muggles could very easily ignore it when a boy runs straight into the wall and seemingly disappears, but. Can you imagine September 1? How many students at Hogwarts must be at King's Cross that day doing the same thing within a concentrated period of time and not be noticed?

I don't know. What do you think?

Comments

[ant-power.livejournal.com]

I started rewatching them yesterday too, and I had EXACTLY the same thoughts about the House Cup! In CoS as well there are a lot of Slytherin-bashing moments. It makes me think no wonder they turn out the greatest number of dark wizards when people treat them like that! They're constantly told they're mean and evil and undeserving of any sort of recognition for their efforts, of course when some guy comes along and is all like "hey, evil is awesome", you're going to sign up with him!

And honestly, the Philosopher's Stone really wasn't that well protected if a bunch of first years could get to it.

And Hogwarts should have a better screening process for their teaching staff. I really don't think Hagrid should've got the Care of Magical Creatures job, he wasn't even a qualified wizard, just a friend of Dumbledore's.

I always took it as Platform 9 and 3/4 as being sort of like Grimmauld Place, as in the space exists between platforms 9 and 10, but the wall is there as a barrier to keep muggles and stuff out. I had the same thoughts about September 1, all these people with owls and weird clothes and stuff crowding around and then suddenly vanishing, you'd think there'd be some magical way onto the platform so you wouldn't have to go through the rest of the station.

[slumber.livejournal.com]

BASICALLY RIGHT?

There was such a huge departure in terms of storytelling between CoS and PS too--but PS was the first so I guess it had to be done. But yeah, I think the first couple of years Dumbledore had godawful taste, but it picked up some later on at least.

It's just interesting re: Platform 9 3/4 because it doesn't quite move the same way that Grimmauld Place did (like with the buildings separating) but I guess it could be a variant of that charm. I mean yeah Grimmauld Place was protected by the Fidelius Charm but the Leaky isn't--or at least it's protected by some sort of looser form of the Fidelius or something. IDK.

Kind of looking forward to Friday, not gonna lie. :D

[onlysayitonce.livejournal.com]

I kind of figured the inconsistency between 9 3/4 and Grimauld Place was related to different directors and the more fleshed out description in the book. But what I associate more with 9 3/4 is the way that the wizarding tents worked, where they had much, much more space inside than out through magical expansion. I'm not sure if that's right, but it would explain why both magical and non-magical people could walk between platforms 9 and 10 without noticing any strange time or distance passing, but then entering the (presumably small) wall or pillar leads to an entire platform.

I guess that kind of assumes that magical expansion of space is primarily working in the same way. With Grimauld Place the charm would kind of be working in the opposite way, to reduce the space that Grimauld takes up until someone is open to the Fidelius and can see it. In that case the Leaky would work in a similar way, but to see the expanded space you'd just have to have magical blood, I suppose.

This is why I always wish JKR had expanded on her magical theory and been more scientific about things. Fics that explore magical theory are my favourite.

I'd also assumed that most families aparate their children to the platforms - and the reason the Weasleys don't is because they have far too many children under the legal age to side-along them all. I could be wrong though.