I know parents are on Platform 9 3/4 when the Hogwarts Express leaves on September 1st. Do they also wait on the platform when the train returns with students for holidays?
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1Is your question whether they are waiting on the magical side of the barrier or whether they are in the train station at all?– Mary MLCommented Jan 26, 2017 at 5:56
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1I know Hermione's parents are shown picking her up outside the barrier (which they probably can't cross) at the end of OotP.– Mary MLCommented Jan 26, 2017 at 5:58
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1Related: scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/110418/…– ibidCommented Jan 26, 2017 at 6:04
2 Answers
No, they wait in King's Cross station on the Muggle side of the barrier
He, Ron, and Hermione passed through the gateway together.
“There he is, Mom, there he is, look!”
It was Ginny Weasley, Ron’s younger sister, but she wasn’t pointing at Ron.
“Harry Potter!” she squealed. “Look, Mom! I can see —”
“Be quiet, Ginny, and it’s rude to point.”
Mrs. Weasley smiled down at them.
“Busy year?” she said.
“Very,” said Harry. “Thanks for the fudge and the sweater, Mrs. Weasley.”
“Oh, it was nothing, dear.”
“Ready, are you?”
It was Uncle Vernon, still purple-faced, still mustached, still looking furious at the nerve of Harry, carrying an owl in a cage in a station full of ordinary people. Behind him stood Aunt Petunia and Dudley, looking terrified at the very sight of Harry.
“You must be Harry’s family!” said Mrs. Weasley.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Chapter 17
Harry read and reread the letter from Sirius all the way back into King’s Cross station. It was still clutched tightly in his hand as he, Ron, and Hermione stepped back through the barrier of platform nine and three-quarters. Harry spotted Uncle Vernon at once. He was standing a good distance from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, eyeing them suspiciously, and when Mrs. Weasley hugged Harry in greeting, his worst suspicions about them seemed confirmed.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Chapter 22
Uncle Vernon was waiting beyond the barrier. Mrs. Weasley was close by him. She hugged Harry very tightly when she saw him and whispered in his ear, “I think Dumbledore will let you come to us later in the summer. Keep in touch, Harry.”
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Chapter 37
There is also a much longer passage at the end of the fifth book which shows the Dursley, Weasley, and Granger families all waiting on the Muggle side of the barrier.
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1Thanks ibid thought I had read it in the books but could not recall which ones then i also found in the Order of the Phoenix book last part of Chapter 38 members of the Order waiting on the other side of the barrier when the trio went through to talk to the Dursley's who were waiting in the station. That would have been fun to see in the movie version. Commented Jan 26, 2017 at 21:13
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@dean1957 - I didn't include the passage from OotP because it was too long for this format.– ibidCommented Jan 26, 2017 at 21:15
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I would think so. How would students get to their homes otherwise? Imagine taking a bus with an owl and two trunks while wearing a cloak.
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1I thought one of the books had mentioned they waited on the other side of the barrier, or I might have read it on a fanfiction site and thought it was from one of the books. Commented Jan 26, 2017 at 5:29
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Parents don't need to be on the platform in order to give the students a ride home, they can meet them after the students exit the platform. Commented Feb 4, 2017 at 3:15