James Potter reached into the pocket of his robes again, feeling for the miniature broomstick inside. He smiled to himself as he thought of how he had asked their house-elf to perform a Shrinking Spell so he could smuggle his Cleansweep, his most prized possession, into Hogwarts. The spell would wear off in twenty-four hours, and he, James Potter, would have broken a rule within a day of entering the most prestigious wizarding school in the world. He really was a genius, he thought.
Suddenly, he heard a noise at the train compartment's door. It was the food trolley, piled with delicious sweets and snacks. After some thought, James decided on some Cauldron Cakes. He had a few Muggle chocolate bars in his trunk, purchased from the little confectionery at King's cross, so he didn't get too many.
The door opened again and a boy walked in. He was thin, with black hair and an expression that James couldn't quite figure out. James looked at him curiously, and decided he was another first-year.
"Hello," he said.
"Hello. Can I sit with you?"
Well, could use with some company, he thought.
"Sure," he answered. "I'm James. James Potter." He leaned back in the cracked red seat as he said this.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sirius."
He didn't mention his last name, and James wondered why. Maybe he was Muggle-born. However, this thought was dispelled almost instantly, when Sirius pulled out a few Knuts and asked for some Chocolate Frogs, smiling at the lady who pushed the trolley.
"Is this your first year at Hogwarts?" She asked them.
"Yes," they said, almost in unison.
"Nervous?"
"Not at all," replied James, with his usual air of arrogance. Sirius hesitated for only a fraction of a moment before answering in the same way.
"Well, have a good year," the lady said, smiling at them once again before moving on to the next compartment.
There was a silence. James felt quite awkward, but didn't let it show. He reached into his pocket again and felt his broomstick for about the hundredth time before he attempted to make conversation. "Know what house you'll be in?"
"Not really."
"I'll probably be in Gryffindor. My whole family is."
"Gryffindor?"
"Yeah. Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!" He made a dramatic hand gesture, which caused him to almost topple over as the train went over a turn. Sirius laughed. This was someone he could make friends with, he thought.
"What if you don't get Gryffindor?" He asked.
"Well, the other houses are okay, but I want to be able to play Quidditch. Don't you?"
"First years can't play Quidditch. They can't even bring brooms, James."
He laughed mischievously. "Can I tell you a secret?"
Sirius started to answer, but James cut him off. He was never able to go more than a few hours without boasting about the trouble he got into. "I got my broom to shrink so I can sneak it in!"
"What!"
"I did! Look," he said as he pulled the tiny broomstick out of his pocket.
The other boy looked amazed. "How will it go back to the size it was?"
"The spell goes away after a while. And anyways, if it doesn't, we're allowed to do magic when we get inside the school, so I could fix it."
Sirius thought he rather liked James. "What position do you want to play?"
"Chaser. I play at home, and I'm damn good. What about you?"
"Well, I, like the good young wizard I am, followed the rules and left my broom at home, but I would be a Seeker."
"We could both be on the Gryffindor team! James Potter, professional Chaser!" He flung his arms out wide, nearly hitting the window.
"Sirius Black, the Seeker of the century!"
James stopped suddenly. Black? The Blacks were one of the old pureblood families. So were the Potters, but the Blacks were different. They wanted the Wizarding community to be exclusively pureblood, nearly all of them were Slytherin, and were thought to be involved with Dark Magic.
But Sirius didn't seem that way. Didn't he just talk about being on the Gryffindor team? Didn't he just smile at the trolley woman, who was a Squib? He decided to hold his judgement about Sirius. After all, a person isn't defined by their family.
Sirius noticed that he let slip his last name, and sat tense for what felt like an eternity, cursing himself, watching James. He knew the Potters were also a pureblood family, but they were more accepting of Muggle-borns and half-bloods. Not at all like his family, who had nothing but harsh words to say about those who married Muggles or even Muggle-born wizards. Would James still want to be his friend?
James started the conversation again, interrupting his thoughts. "Want a Cauldron Cake?"
"Sure. You can have a Chocolate Frog."
They ate the sweets in silence. James was thinking of everything he would do at Hogwarts, while Sirius couldn't take his mind off of the Sorting. He was worried. Worried about what house he would go to, worried about leaving Regulus alone with their parents, worried about making friends. Soon, the train stopped, and a prefect led them off of the train and into small boats.
"What if I accidentally push Sirius in the water?" James wondered, out loud.
The prefect gave them an unfriendly look. "Don't even think about it."
"Then I would accidentally drag you in with me," Sirius replied, in a tone James rather liked. He decided Sirius could be a friend, regardless of who his family was.
"There's a giant squid in there," the prefect warned.
"Even better. We could fight the squid. Right, Sirius?"
"Yes!"
"Armed with nothing but our bare hands, protected with nothing but our courage."
The prefect gave them a condescending look. "Clearly, you're Gryffindors."
And in that moment, Sirius decided he was.