Why Can't Parents Apparate With Their Students to Platform 9 3/4?

Question

With Platform 9 3/4 in King's Cross Station, it means all the magic people have to take the effort to dress as muggles (according to the International Statute of Secrecy) and somehow make it to King's Cross Station without revealing themselves (meaning they can't just use apperition and appear wherever they want in King's Cross).

Considering the number of people who will need to do this every year, at least twice each year, and that they will be interacting, at least minimally, with muggles, this creates an unnecessary risk of tipping off muggles something is going on. (Not to mention all the people walking through a wall into Platform 9 3/4!)

They have to have a track that is for their use only (or at least parts of it, since they don't want muggle trains pulling up in Hogsmeade or near Hogwarts). Why didn't they either create their own station in London or create a place for apparition so there would be no interaction with muggles for all the Hogwarts students and their families?

Answer 1

My guess is that if parents wanted to apparate directly to the platform they could, but a few things are drastically reducing the number of families who do. First, there is the difficulty of apparition to begin with (Hermione says something along the lines of plenty of wizards don't bother; I was looking for the quote last night but didn't find it). Then take the fact that children can't apparate, at least below seventh year for the most skilled and somewhat older ones, so they'd need to side-along, and on top of that add luggage. A family with one child and at least one fairly skilled parent could probably manage, but remember, most witches and wizards aren't skilled enough and have multiple children. That said, I would be somewhat surprised if the Malfoys didn't apparate there, they wouldn't be caught dead in the middle of so many filthy muggles.

Answer 2

1. You need empty space to apparate, you can't apparate to an occupied spot. Not too many of these on the platform
2. Not everyone can apparate (Most don't bother)
3. As students are not allowed to apparate (except seventh years), their parents will have to use side-along apparition, which looks like a rare talent given Ron's comment in book six (Can't find it now, but he was amazed when he heard that Dumbledore used it)
4. Luggage
5. The danger of splinching

Answer 3

I always wondered this, but presumably platform 9 and 3/4 is too tight a space for witches and wizards to apparate into with ease. I also think that it would look pretty suspicious if so many Hogwarts students and their families are all getting to platform 9 and 3/4 via kings cross station all at the same time, it would become very congested and muggles would clearly be able to see that something was going on. So I wondered whether there are other stations in the UK which have a barrier between platforms 9 and 10, that when the pass through it, it transports them to platform 9 and 3/4 in London. Obviously there wouldn't be many of these barriers, probably 5 or 6. At least one each in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Obviously London would be the obvious place to have a barrier and also the most recognisable place for the real train to depart from as we know there to be several magical establishments within the city, eg. St Mungo's, the Ministry of Magic, Diagon Alley etc. There would perhaps be a barrier placed somewhere in the North West of England as well, Maybe in Manchester or Liverpool, then there would be a barrier at two opposites of the country. But still that seems a lot of people for only 5 barriers. Take into consideration that the only other wizarding families that are said to use the Kings Cross barrier are the Weasley's and Hermione when she arrives and leaves with them. I presume that there would also be 3 or 4 other barriers dotted about the UK.

Answer 4

Let's start with children being unallowed to apparate until they've reached their seventh year. Then, not every family of every Hogwarts' student is pure-blood. Take Hermione and her muggle-born family for instance. They wouldn't be able to apparate. I should also mention that apparating with all that luggage along is harder. And where would you apparate? Right onto the platform? This will make a tricky issue when it becomes crowdy since the platform isn't really huge. Not every wizard can apparate and wants to.

Besides all this, the question to why did Rowling choose such a way of getting on the train is unknown. Indeed, having a different way to get to school without risking being noticed by muggles can exist in HP universe and probably does but few know of it and definitely not us.