Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2024 June 22

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June 22

Hogwarts Express

I have a copy of J K Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone printed in 1997 and another edition "published in September 2014". The penultimate leaf of the later volume includes this information:

There are other fractional platforms at King's Cross station (try seven and a half for a trip to wizard-only villages in Europe).

On the concourse yesterday I looked down the length of platforms 7 and 8 but didn't spot anything unusual. Do the books make reference to fractional platforms other than 9 3/4, where it was business as usual yesterday? 89.240.112.24 (talk) 12:41, 22 June 2024 (UTC)

These platforms have been closed as a result of BREXIT! Even wizards can't handle the confusion... Try gate 7 1/2 at London City Airport for hourly departures of quddiches to the Black Forest and other destinations. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 14:04, 22 June 2024 (UTC)

The publication of the Harry Potter novels, and especially their unexpected popularity leading to much Muggle curiosity about wizard affairs, caused great consternation at the Ministry of Magic. As a result, major changes have been made to those processes revealed by J. K. Rowling so that the Muggle world would not learn more. I find the recent reappearance of a steam locomotive, of a type that was last seen in 1965, very significant, and its supposed back story most suspicious. I mean, who - in this ecological day and age - is going to build a brand new coal-guzzling museum piece? However, to go any further would be WP:SPECULATION. See also JKR's Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide for further information on London King's Cross. -- Verbarson  ^talk_edits 22:20, 23 June 2024 (UTC)