Harry Potter boards the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9¾.
In Rowling’s fictional world, the platform is hidden between platforms 9 and 10 at London’s King’s Cross railway station. Wizards reach it by walking through the barrier between the ordinary platforms, then board the train for Hogwarts on 1 September.
The platform number became one of the most recognizable details in the Harry Potter series. King’s Cross has embraced the association with a Platform 9¾ shop and a luggage trolley installation designed for photographs. The real station’s platforms are arranged differently from the book’s description, so the story’s exact layout is imaginative rather than a literal map.
The fraction symbol is part of the official form: “9¾,” not “9.75” in ordinary prose. The platform is a fictional magical location, while the London station and Hogwarts Express references connect the fantasy setting to real British travel.