And the terrible things that Ms. Rowling describes as being abroad in the green and pleasant land of England read like a grim echo of events in our own post-9 \/ 11 , post-7 \/ 7 world and an uncanny reminder that the Hogwarts Express , which Harry and his friends all take to school , leaves from King 's Cross station -- the very station where the suspected London bombers gathered minutes before the explosions that rocked the city nine days ago .