Harry then began to think about what would give away a similar prospective student from the general riff-raff whose footfalls flooded the floor of the station. He himself had a large trunk, but anyone could be carrying one of those for any reason. The cauldron that took up a non-insignificant amount of space on his cart though, that would be something relatively unique. While there could perhaps be several reasons to own such a cauldron, someone his age owning one and being at this station at this time, likely implied they needed it for the same reason.
Harry scans the crowd for the next twenty minutes before he sees someone with a cauldron like his own, although he is taken by surprise initially to see that it isn't a child his age pushing the cart, but a man in his mid-thirties. Harry perhaps until recently would have called him tall, but upon meeting Hagrid, that word has taken on a new meaning, so instead he's simply taller than average. His hair is light brown and wavy, and he is wearing what appears to be a comfortable t-shirt with a picture of a skull on it, with one side being red, one side being blue, and a lightning bolt down the center. Next to him is a pretty woman of similar age, who has very bushy brown hair, although it is quite a bit darker than her compatriots. Standing with them however is a young girl around his age, who Harry presumes is their daughter, as well as the actual owner of the cauldron. She has the same bushy hair as her presumed mother, although in the lighter color of her father, and is wearing a t-shirt and jeans. She seems to be holding a very in-depth conversation with her parents about something and doesn't seem to notice Harry watching on.
Harry seizes this opportunity and tries to subtly follow them in hopes that they know how to properly board the platform. This plan immediately fails however when Hedwig lets out a loud hoot, and the girl's attention is turned towards the owl.
"Oh! Such a pretty owl!" The girl says, making her way over to Harry. "What's their name?" She asks, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"H-her name is Hedwig, she was a birthday present," Harry says, stumbling over his words slightly.
"Oh! Well hello Hedwig, you are a very pretty girl. Oh, and where are my manners? Hi! I'm Hermione Granger, what's your name?" The girl, now identified as Hermione, says, holding out her hand for a handshake.
"Oh, I'm Harry, Harry Potter." Harry says, trying his best to shake her hand. Her eyes widened when he said his full name, as though she recognized it, although how she would Harry was unsure.
"It's nice to meet you, Harry. I guess you're going to Hogwarts too?" She says, pointing to the cauldron on his cart. Seems she had the same idea about scouting out other students.
"Yeah, I'm a bit nervous honestly. This is all so new," Harry says, feeling vulnerable. All the effort he'd been making over the past hour to be confident seems to have drained Harry more than he realized, as soon as there was an outlet for this nervousness, it seems it escaped from him like air in a balloon.
"Oh, me too. My parents aren't magical, so we had no idea I was until my letter came. Then Professor McGonagall came and told us that I was a witch and took me to Diagon Alley to get my school supplies. She answered all sorts of questions for me, and even told me about some other books I should get beyond the required readings. I've really liked Hogwarts: A History, which talks about the school and everything about it," Hermione tears off speaking incredibly quickly. Thankfully Harry doesn't have much trouble keeping up, but begins to suspect that this might be her coping mechanism for her worries. Maybe if they stick together they'll both be less nervous.
"Hermione! Slow down! You're going to overload the kid!" The man says, smiling brightly at his daughter. "At least introduce him to us before his head explodes."
"Oh, sorry. I'm just so excited, Mom, Dad, this is Harry. Harry these are my parents David and Rose Granger," Hermione says, blushing a deep red before motioning to the two adults.
"Pleasure to meet you both," Harry says, trying his best to put on a normal smile. His nerves were really starting to get to him, and while Hermione's brief information dump had been a welcome reprieve from his anxieties about the situation, it was not enough for him to truly relax.
"If you don't mind me asking, where are your parents? Surely they'd want to see you off." David asks, looking around.
"Well, my aunt and uncle brought me here, but they're honestly just excited that I'm leaving," Harry says honestly, slumping down. His excitement at leaving the Dursleys had hidden one terrifying reality from his mind. If he didn't have them to go back to once the school year was over… where would he go?
"Well, that's not good at all! I'd give them a piece of my mind if they were here." David says. "Regardless, I believe you two need to get to your platform. Now… how do we get there again?"
Hermione perks up at what Harry figures is an obvious ploy to get her to explain something. "Oh! We have to get to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, to do that we need to walk through that pillar there. It's been charmed so that only magical people can make their way through, so I'll be alone from this point on. Well, I guess I'll have Harry with me until we get ON the train, but that's not quite the same," Hermione says, losing her momentum, and a good deal of her excitement once she realizes her parents can't come through.
Rose wraps her daughter in a hug and says: "I know we can't go any further, and maybe that's just what you need right now. Your father and I love you very much, and we know you're going to do great. This is going to be your first steps as your own woman, and your father and I are so absolutely proud of you. Now, you're going to go to this big fancy wizard school and puff your chest out and say 'I'm Hermione Granger! I'm the Best!' Can you do that for me honey?"