Chapter 1: A Rough Start
Author's Note: For the first time but certainly not the last: I do not own anything to do with Harry Potter. As of 8/26/16, this is edited to put Ted in Hufflepuff (nothing major) and for just overall weirdness. I swear, I was just scanning for someone's eye color and ended up picking at the whole document. Subsequent chapters may also get the spruce. Enjoy & perhaps review? Thanks.
It was a Sunday, the 1st of September. London was gloomy and drizzly as it often was and not too far away King's Cross Station was buzzing with a strange influx of people you didn't see every day. Now these people tried their best to appear as common as the Muggles around them on the platforms, but some things were simply impossible to hide. Say for example, being in the company of an owl or toad or toting an oversized school trunk that seemed to be plastered with moving pictures. Or, to go one further the fact that there was a stick like object protruding curiously from your back pocket. The witches and wizards at King's Cross on this morning really just hoped that any overly suspicious bystanders didn't look too close or take these objects too seriously.
A family of five with two parents, two sons and a daughter walked briskly through the throng guilty of carrying three such oversized trunks and two owls thankfully asleep in cages. Each child also carried what appeared to be a common broomstick and the young daughter's wand was ostentatiously tucked behind her ear, protruding from beneath her long auburn hair as if she really didn't care who noticed it. Aside from these items the family did not draw any particular attention to themselves. They were all dressed casually in jeans, jackets, and jumpers or tee-shirts. Each one of them seemed to know exactly where they were going and aside from the raven-haired father and red-haired mother, who both frequently glanced at their watches, they all appeared calm and business like.
As the family approached the gap between platforms nine and ten, their pace slowed considerably, but they did not stop. Approaching the barrier in stride, the two dark-haired boys and their father walked straight towards it and through to the other side with two of the trunk-laden trolleys. They were joined seconds later by their mother and younger sister, who had closely followed with the last trolley. Finally they did stop. It was impossible to not stare (even for a just a moment) at the stunning, gleaming scarlet train now in front of them, despite the fact that they had all seen it before. White smoke billowed about and the engine seemed to strain with anticipation over its imminent journey.
Now that they were all together again the family took off once more, walking hurriedly along the platform searching for either someone or a group of people. The apparently older son, who was a bit taller than his brother, waved to or greeted many of the children they passed enthusiastically and was now beginning to become annoyed that he wasn't able to stay and chat with them. Under the watchful gaze of his mother however, he told each of his peers that he would catch up with them later and so dutifully followed his family to nearly the end of the immense train. There the family finally came upon what they were looking for in the form of another small family. It soon became apparent, due to the many red heads and vague resemblances, that the two families were definitely related.
"Alright there Ron?" inquired the raven-haired man, smiling as he approached the group that include two parents and two children.
The taller, red-haired Ron turned and smiled back and said in reply, "Alright Harry. Say, what took you lot mate? It's less than 10 minutes to eleven it is."
Harry laughed and said "Bloody parking mate, every time it seems to take longer."
The red-haired woman rolled her eyes and hugged the brown-haired woman next to Ron in greeting before saying "You're so tactless Ronald! Like we were trying to be late? How did you ever agree to marry him Hermione?" she joked.
Hermione smiled and patted Ron on the shoulder before replying kindly, "Well he has his moments."
Harry looked at Ron and shrugged as if to say he wasn't particularly sure what the problem was this time but it must have been something. Ron coughed uncomfortably still puzzled about what he'd said wrong now and changed the subject. "Yes well let's get these trunks on the train Harry, what do you say? We don't want this lot to get left behind. Merlin knows what kind of ideas they would come up with. It would be worse than flying cars," he said earnestly.
Ginny groaned deeply and noticed the mischievous smile that had automatically appeared on the face of her eldest child.
"Who flew a car? Wait... and they flew it to Hogwarts? Dad, Uncle Ron it wasn't you was it? And yet come to think of it... a flying car… it makes sense. Who else would think to make a car fly besides Granddad Arthur?" asked the hazel-eyed James, as he babbled ecstatically and quickly forgot all about being annoyed. "Al," he continued to gush, turning towards his brother, "Are you hearing this?"
Albus Potter was also intrigued and chipped in pointedly with, "Why in the name of Merlin haven't we ever heard this story before?" He then shared an amused looked with his ginger-haired cousin Hugo, whose eyes were practically boggling out of his head that's how enthused he was about the subject.
Hermione looked almost as scandalized as she had been on the day it had happened. She couldn't believe Ron had finally mentioned it to the kids after all these years. Now she and Ginny could be almost certain that James, Hugo, Albus, and in all likelihood their cousin Freddy as well, would hijack a flying car sometime in the future, whether they had to make it fly themselves or not. The two red-headed cousins Lily and Rose stood silently by; astutely noting the annoyed reactions of their mothers, the intrigued reactions of their male cousins/brothers and the apologetic smirks of their fathers as the two men hastily put the three Potter children's trunks and brooms on the train. Lily thought a flying car sounded lovely, but wondered wouldn't it get hot up there quickly? Being closer to the sun and all? If she was ever riding in a flying car she would bring Chocolate Frogs, some cold butterbeers and perhaps a book. Rose on the other hand, doubted she'd ever get into a flying car. Like her mother she had never been particularly keen on flying, even on a broom. If Lily or someone else did manage to convince her however, she would definitely bring a book... probably two.
"Great Ron," said Ginny, taking advantage of the fact that her brother was now done loading the trunks to kick him in the shin.
"Bloody hell Ginny," howled Ron, as he hopped up and down on his other leg and shot her a dirty look. Hermione and Harry both grimaced for his sake but they didn't stop the feisty red-head from attacking, as they knew it was futile and potentially dangerous for their own health. The Potter/Weasley children all grinned, as watching Ginny and Ron fight was always terrific entertainment.
James however, could not be entirely distracted and even as the train whistle blew, signaling that it would pull away from the station in exactly two minutes, he would not let the idea of a flying car lapse. "I want to know the bloody story," he began insistently as his mother stopped fighting long enough to hug her children, niece and nephew. After saying their goodbyes and shoving owls into the hands of their appropriate owners, the adults shooed them onto the train, telling them to have a good semester, to above all behave and naturally... to kick some ass at Quidditch. James Sirius hung off the train, still earnestly insisting to hear the story even at the last possible second. "Bloody tell me! Uncle Ron... what kind of car was it? Dad... how long did it take you? I need details!" he yelled, even as the scarlet engine picked up speed.
"Watch your language James Sirius Potter and don't you dare try this! That's goes for all of you boys!" yelled Ginny crossly for the entire platform to hear. Harry and Ron merely shrugged at him and waved goodbye, noting that the crestfallen James eventually ducked inside the train.
When his parents, aunt and uncle were no longer in sight, James turned away from the train window feeling rather put out. This was something he would have to figure out on his own then, or with the help of his other cousins, thus further affirming that adults that were, as always, no fun. Albus and Hugo stood in the corridor with him almost as disappointed, but not quite. "Looks like a real Weasley/Potter mission," suggested Al and Hugo nodded solemnly in reply. James also nodded his assent, still wishing that he could fly a car through the Scottish countryside right now. He sighed heavily and began walking up the train, owl and broomstick in one hand and dragging his trunk with the other. James fondly wished he could go sit with his friends and Quidditch teammates at the moment and tell Freddy right away about the prospective of a flying car. But unfortunately, he had his first ever prefects meeting right now.
Over the summer when his Hogwarts letter had come, it had felt different to him right off the top. It had been heavier than Al and Lily's letters combined and had just looked extra bulky. James had opened it curiously, only to promptly see an object flashing red and gold fall to the kitchen floor. Upon retrieving the badge, James had gleefully discovered he was now the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, despite only being a 5th year. Looking back only the few weeks, James still considered that moment the proudest of his young life. He was a Quidditch captain for Gryffindor just like his mother and father and grandfather had been in their days at school.
Teddy Lupin (who was arguably his hero), had been a Hufflepuff Captain. Better still, his Uncle Charlie, his Aunt Angelina and his best friend Trevor's dad had also been Gryffindor Captains. You could say he had been practically destined to have it. Preoccupied by the glorious badge, James had carelessly thrown the envelope and the rest of its contents aside. He had figured it was just the usual new book list and perhaps a congratulatory note on being named captain, but nothing more. Disinterested in such mundane things at that moment, the eldest Potter child had jubilantly dashed off to find his father, to show him the badge before Harry had had to leave for the Auror office. Harry had been very pleased, but admittedly a surprised. He knew of course that James was Quidditch obsessed and a brilliant Chaser, with parents like himself and Ginny it was only natural, but his first instinct said that perhaps his son was still a little young for this new responsibility.
Harry had of course been a sixth year when he was captain and despite winning a Quidditch Cup that year, he hadn't exactly been much help to the team by having detention during the final match. After the war, Ginny had become the Gryffindor Captain for her seventh year. The more Harry considered it though, he remembered that Oliver Wood had actually been the captain as a 5th year when he had first joined the team, so maybe it wasn't too out of the ordinary. Angelina had of course been a 7th year and he was also pretty sure that the troll-like Slytherin git Marcus Flint had been a 6th year. He wasn't sure however about that old pretty boy of a Ravenclaw Roger Davies... or even when Cedric himself had taken the helm for the Hufflepuffs. In recent years Harry had seen his godson Teddy become Hufflepuff captain as a 6th year and do a terrific job, winning two consecutive Quidditch Cups. Harry had had to laugh as he'd recalled how Teddy had been just as proud and excited as James was now to have that badge.
As a reward for this notable achievement, Harry and Ginny had easily agreed on getting James a new broom for the upcoming term, sitting down with him one night to see what he liked. Now it should be mentioned that James Sirius Potter was nobody's fool, and so when someone said they would like to get him a new broomstick, whatever he wanted, he didn't let the opportunity go to waste by any means. He knew his parents had tops Quidditch connections (because for Merlin's sakes they were both ridiculously famous) and he was honor-bound to use this fact to his advantage. James, the super-fan that he was, already read every available issue of Which Broomstick andhis two favorite Quidditch magazines cover to cover. And every time he went into Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, he spent hours in Quality Quidditch Supplies. The only other store that could possibly measure up in his opinion, was his Uncle George's place Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, where he and Freddy kept themselves stocked on the latest pranks. Yes, it was safe to say this fifteen year old definitely knew his brooms, whether they were older than this Great Aunt Petunia or they hadn't even been released for sale yet.
Before that blessed letter had arrived from Hogwarts, he had already spent most of his summer with his sights firmly affixed on the Smoke Streamer 7, a prototype broom just starting being manufactured by the Firebolt Broom Company. James already had a Firebolt 4, a model only two years old, and last year he had scored 72 goals on it in 6 games. But it was the urge to get the newest, most advanced broom that had driven Harry Potter's son to suggest this nearly impossible buy. His mother had actually become quite a bit peeved when he'd suggested the Streamer, which was something he considered totally off base. Really, so what if there were only ten of them made in all of the United Kingdom at the moment? Had they thought he was going to make this easy on them?
"Harry, it's impossible to get that broom and he knows it! Your son has absolutely no concept of limits. He's trying to take advantage of our position as friends of the manufacturers just so he can inflate his image at Hogwarts!" Ginny had ranted. James had to chuckle at the mere memory of it. For two days, simply the thought of his request had started a vein twitching in his mother's temple, that's how upset she had been. Of course, it was only funny now because Ginny Potter had eventually calmed down and agreed to try and get the broom. And the young star Chaser didn't exactly expect it to materialize for him right away, as it would have if they'd popped on down to Quality Quidditch Supplies of course, but if the order did come in time for their first match against Slytherin... all the better. In the meantime, he would continue training on his "old" Firebolt 4. And if he really considered it though... James honestly had his new position as a Gryffindor prefect to thank for his new broom. Even more so than his place as Quidditch Captain.
See what James hadn't noticed in his envelope on the first go, was another gold and red badge that gave him even more privileges and responsibilities. His sister Lily, now a second year, had chosen to open her own letter while James was running around the house showing off his Quidditch badge. Unable to mind her own business, as usual, she had also perused the contents of James's open one (because unlike Albus's letter it was already unsealed). "James!" she'd yelled exasperatedly upon discovering the prefect's badge, "James get back in here, you've got to see this! You've gotten another badge you bloody git. Really... what were Flitwick and Neville thinking?"
James, who had been in the next room showing his mother, Albus and Teddy (who had stopped in for his 4th breakfast that week) the badge, had strutted back into the kitchen looking confused. "Well it must be an extra copy in case I lose this one," he reasoned casually, and then finding this idea to be quite funny he'd added, "Because we wouldn't want anyone to forget after all that I'm in charge now would we?"
Lily had looked scathingly at her older brother in that moment, sometimes he could be such an ass it was a miracle to her that he had so many friends. "No you bloody ponce, it's something else and why they gave it to you makes no sense to me. It should be Jonah's really! He's saner at least," she'd replied, holding the disk out for him to take. The eldest Potter child had taken the badge grudgingly, truly expecting it to be a double captain's badge, but after seeing a "P" on it instead of a "C" his brain had frozen in shock.
Al had just come into the room behind James, still eating a piece of toast and wondering what Lily was making a fuss about now. Upon seeing the looks on both of his siblings faces, he had said interestedly, "What is it James?" After not receiving a response, Al had frowned and unceremoniously plucked the badge from his brother's fingers. "Wow," he had finally managed to say, the badge's significance sinking in to the point where he'd dropped his toast on the stone floor. After stooping down to retrieve the toast and brush it off, Al had looked at Lily, who had simply been shaking her head and looking at James as if she had never seen him this way before. Like a possible authority figure.
"What will the guys say? Honestly though… what does this mean for me and Freddy? We have eight pranks planned for the first 3 weeks of school alone," James had finally said aloud. He had looked at his younger brother as if Albus was one of those Seers who could tell him how this changed his life.
"Well, I'm sure you and Freddy can still keep the Marauders close to your hearts and prank away if you want. You'll just have to be a bit more discrete about it though. Unless you want your fellow prefect girl to have the burden of taking points from you," Al had said bracingly, retrieving his own letter from the table.
"No I suppose we won't want that," agreed James and he'd seemed heartened. Just because he had the responsibility of punishing others now, it didn't mean he had to stop getting into things himself. This would probably make him a bloody hypocrite. But in the short term he could definitely handle that. And this had no real effect on his favorite pastime of late night snack runs in the Invisibility Cloak, except that he might have less opportunity to make them on nights where he had to patrol the corridors. All and all he suddenly saw this whole prefect thing maybe working out ok. Provided his male friends weren't too peeved about getting passed over of course. James considered it wrong to step over his mates just for some stupid badge.
The younger Potter children had then noticed a sudden change in their brother's expression that made them quite sure that James was already over this shock in no time. He seemed intrigued with the idea of being a prefect, as it simply added to his public image, his versatility. "Mum," James had yelled at that point, "Come see this", as he'd looked at both of the new badges fondly, holding them up side by side to compare.
"James Sirius, you know I've already just seen your captain's badge and its wonderful love really, but there's only so much staring at it you can do. I know because the moment I got mine is still burned into my memory as well. Honestly, it's probably been the same design for centuries! I promise I won't forget what it looks like any time soon or what it feels like to have it and neither will your father," Ginny faux-lectured good-naturedly as she'd come into the kitchen.
"No Mum this one's different," James had replied and he had given it to her then, expecting her to be even more shocked than he had been. James was currently on pace to get more detentions with Freddy than all the males in the last three generations of the Potter/Weasley clan combined, and that was saying something. All the disciplinary letters from the Headmaster in just four years had already given Ginny Potter quite a few grey hairs at the age of 38.
"P?" Ginny had murmured, looking from the badge to each one of her kids in turn. "But P stands for…for prefect," she'd mused as the possibility suddenly dawned on her, "James this is a prefect's badge! And it's yours…that's fantastic. I'm so proud of you and your father certainly will be too. Goodness, to think I would ever see this day! It's even more surprising then when your Uncle Ron became a Prefect. Merlin knows our family had never expected that one! I don't know who to owl first. Ted come look at this! James is a Prefect now too." After that she'd walked out of the kitchen to look for a quill and parchment in order to write a note to Grandma Molly and Granddad Arthur proclaiming yet another family success story.
He had shown Teddy the prefect's badge in the dining room, as the lanky 22-year-old had been finishing his sausages. Teddy had been just as intrigued by the concept of James Potter II "The Prefect" as Albus and Lily. Because while he was older than them all, he was still young enough to understand the problems the badge could create. "Hmm what will your boys think about this I wonder? I remember we took the mickey out on Trevor's brother Landon for ages when he got one. Terrible shock to the lazy old stiff," he'd chuckled fondly. "But now look at him, he's a well-disciplined Quidditch star. I really can't see where his being a prefect falls into the picture there though. Not really. Well congratulations Jamesie, no matter what anyone thinks it looks like you've one-upped all of us old timers for sure. Plenty of Quidditch captains, prefects and even Head Boys and Head Girls in this family, but no one I can think of ever did both. Why even Vic was a prefect, then Head Girl and a Quidditch player to boot... but she was never the team captain," he'd pointed out. Then, seeing the mix consternation and even deeper pride now on the younger wizard's face, Ted had chuckled again and given James a brotherly clap on the shoulder.
"I can see I've given you lots to think about," he'd teased, rising from his chair and winking at Lily and Al, "But I must eat and run! I'll be back for dinner though, probably with Vic I think. See you later." And before James or his siblings could react further, he'd Apparated away to work.
Of course James had already spoken to his friends before this train ride about receiving both badges... and it turned out that they were more than pleased over it. Apparently none of them, even Jonah, who Lily had made a point of mentioning, wanted either badge. As they had put it, Quidditch captain would have been nice, but who wanted to be the bad guy who got everyone up for those early morning training sessions? Not only that… who wanted to be the Prefect charged with patrolling the corridors and dealing with snotty little 1st and 2nd years. Or, even worse, entitled 6th and 7th years? They would rather be hanging out in the Room or wherever instead.
James was admittedly relieved that his friends had taken the news well. But it also struck him as a bit sad that they were all so lazy that they didn't welcome any responsibilities. Not that he was terribly stoked on those aspects of being a prefect either, it was that just he could actually see himself growing to enjoy the influence he would have on the students, the Slytherins in particular.
He had walked half-way up the train by now, with his brother and cousin still behind him looking for all their friends. The Gryffindor students had this sort of new tradition forming where they would clump together their compartments on the train into a row. They found it made it easier to find each other that way when some issue invariably arose. James, Albus and Lily were pretty close, as far as siblings went, and their cousins also pervaded each of the Potter's friendship circles. Freddy Weasley, only son and firstborn of George Weasley and Angelina Johnson, was a 5th year like James and his younger sister Roxanne was a 2nd year like Lily. Rose, Ron and Hermione's eldest, was a 4th year like Albus and her brother Hugo was 2nd year like his cousins Roxanne and Lily. The only other two Weasley's left at Hogwarts were 7th year Lucy, Percy and his wife Audrey's second daughter, and also Louis, who was entering his 6th year. The blond youth was Bill and Fleur's youngest child and only son.
All of the Potter/Weasley cousins were Gryffindors. It was however debated, (sometimes heatedly) whether or not some of them should have been Ravenclaws, particularly Lucy and her older sister Molly or Rose. Naturally, this overload of family in one house could have either created turmoil between the cousins or brought them closer together. It had luckily ended up being the latter outcome. Because when you shared dorms, played Quidditch and took the same classes together, it turned out your bond as family became even stronger. This was something the cousins' parents were reasonably relieved about.
James Potter was guilty at the moment of dawdling. He figured, late as he was already, perhaps by the time he made it to the head of the train the meeting would be over and that Heather could just fill him in on the details later. So, suddenly deciding that this was as fine an option as any, he started actively looking for the other Gryffindors along with Al and Hugo. "Well they aren't in any of these," said James, now cheerfully popping his head in and out of compartments as they walked.
"You're stalling because you don't want to go to your prefect's meeting," said Albus knowingly, picking up on his brother's stunt right away, "What's the matter James? You think it'll be too boring or... are you afraid that they'll say they sent the letter to the wrong Gryffindor?" Hugo snickered at Albus's joke, but then stopped abruptly in case James had found it offensive. Hugh was a bit of a wimp and he knew that even though James was his cousin, that didn't necessarily mean the older boy wouldn't take a swing at him and then choose to apologize after it was all over.
James raised an eyebrow at Hugo and then looked peculiarly at Albus, trying to decide whether it had been a straight up joke or a real slight. Did his brother truly think they had sent the badge to the wrong Gryffindor? That he didn't deserve to be prefect as much as the rest of the other fifth year boys in their house? Pranks aside, he was a decent student. "I am not afraid," said James stubbornly, "That's my badge and somehow or another I've earned it. What is it Al, you still reckon I can't possibly be a Prefect? I'm sure Lily agrees. You can go and have another laugh about it with her then! I'm sure you've done so already," He looked at Albus defensively and Hugo just stood there gawking uncomfortably, towering over Albus's shoulder.
"Hold on James. Why not just take it easy? Merlin. For someone who is such a joker, you have such a limited sense of humor when it comes to yourself. Lily and I both think it's well deserved and that you'll be a fine prefect, because we know our brother can do anything he sets his mind to," replied Albus smoothly.
"Really?" said James backtracking stupidly, "Well um… thanks… if you really mean it that is." The elder Potter looked embarrassedly at the train floor and scratched the short hairs on the back of his neck, wondering how stupid he could get to so accuse his always steadfast brother. Maybe he was transferring some of his own doubt onto Al. He would be a good Prefect, no sweat.
"I do. We do," replied Albus steadily and he continued to gaze seriously at his brother from behind his square-rimmed spectacles. James (and every else who mattered) knew that Al's silver, squared off glasses had become just one of the many subtle touches he had created in order to differentiate himself from their father.
Both Potter sons loved their father. But sometimes it was hard, particularly with him being the greatest wizarding hero of all time and obviously because they looked so much like him. They both had his trademark untidy Potter black hair, his thin, pale face and his skinny build. Albus Severus also had his uncanny emerald green eyes and wore glasses. When Albus grew taller, there was no doubt that he would be mistaken for his father all the time, at least at first glance that is. Thankfully the scar was not genetic, although sometimes it felt like it was. James and Albus had both been out shopping with their mother before and had strangers automatically stare pointedly at their foreheads. As if looking for something. When they had been younger the boys had experienced confusion over these incidents, but now (after really having learned about his role in the war) they just found it exasperating. Apparently some people were too dumb to realize that they were clearly too young to be Harry Potter.
Sometimes James still didn't know how Al stood it. He was even a Seeker like their Dad had been. James knew that if he wasn't a Chaser, or if he didn't have perfect vision and hazel eyes to set him apart, he would probably go crazy thinking about the endless comparisons people could make. But Al was tough and sensible; he had grown far less sensitive after his first 3 years at Hogwarts. James was sometimes disappointed that his brother wasn't the same gullible youth who he'd convince that he was going to be a Slytherin, because now he was much harder to tease. At the moment though, James understood that it was himself that had been acting sensitively about the prefect's meeting. Al had just been behaving like his usual astute self. This realization embarrassed James further, despite him only being in the company of family, and he promptly decided to try and make the meeting after all.
"I think I'll be going to that meeting now boys. Be good chaps and put Aether and my trunk in the appropriate compartment when you find it won't you?" he asked. He handed Hugo the handle of the trunk (after successfully wedging his broom inside it) and the cage in which his male Northern Spotted owl was still sleeping. Albus was unable to carry either, having his hands full already transporting his male tawny Pollux and his own sizable trunk.
"Sure thing Jamesie," said Hugo, grinning now that the tension appeared to be past. Albus shrugged and nodded his assent as well. So with his pet and his belongings well taken care of, James took his leave of the two boys and trotted up the train more quickly than before.
Outside the compartment that he had been instructed to go to, James paused momentarily to ruffle his hair just so. It might have appeared hopelessly vain to a stranger, but James did it not only to look cool, but also because it calmed his nerves. Upon opening the compartment door every head turned in his direction and the Head Boy promptly stopped speaking. Feeling himself go a bit hot under the collar James said, "Err sorry I'm so late. I got held up." He quickly sought out a seat in order to get off the spot. Thankfully, one was available and waiting for him, next to his good friend Heather Ramsden, a fellow Gryffindor fifth year and new prefect. Heather smiled amusedly at his embarrassment (like only a true friend could) as he took the seat under everyone's continued scrutiny.
"Ah Potter, we were just wondering about you," said Mickey Robards, the new Head Boy, cheerfully greeting him. Mickey was a 7th year Gryffindor and a real sport, so James knew the popular 17-year-old would be a great Head Boy. Mickey's father Gawain Robards had actually been Harry's first boss at the Auror office all those years ago before James had been born. Of course things were a bit different now. Harry was Head Auror and Gawain Robards, getting on in years, had retired from active duty several years ago to the best of his knowledge. James also knew that Mickey was the youngest in his family, having had his older brother and three sisters already graduate from Hogwarts. The Potter children had even met Gawain Robards a few times and personally, Al and James had both agreed that the man was totally serious and even a bit scary. But Mick wasn't much like his old man. In fact before becoming a prefect, he had even helped James and Freddy with several of their finer pranks. This knowledge actually gave James a sudden odd hope for himself, if the fun-loving Mickey could be elected Head Boy what was to say it couldn't happen for him two years from now?
"So Potter, we just assigned patrols and Miss Ramsden has agreed that the two of you will do it together on... I think it was Tuesday and Thursday nights? Yes, excellent. I'm getting the hang of this. Anyway, does this suit you alright?" asked Robards, rambling and breaking into his power fantasy.
James spared Heather a brief glance, marveling in the fact that she was confident enough to volunteer the both of them for certain nights. He also wondered how, as a lowly 5th year prefect, she had managed to score patrol for them on two nights that weren't on the weekend, but it never the less pleased him. "Suits me fine Mick. Anything else important?" he responded casually.
"As a matter of fact yes there is," cut in the Head Girl snottily. Antila Davies was a Ravenclaw and just as serious as she was intelligent. Clearly, Headmaster Flitwick had been covering all his bases by appointing the more rule-oriented Davies as Mickey's fellow head. As an aside, James supposed that Antila was pretty. Except well, she had this sort of severe nature that was off putting. She also didn't seem too concerned with attracting a boyfriend, wearing both her hair and uniform very plain and rarely being seen outside the library. Not that James preferred his girlfriends all glammed up…but Antila was just standoffish at her best.
James blinked innocently up at the girl. "Yes Antila, what else can I do for you as a dutiful Gryffindor prefect at your command?" he asked coyly. All around the compartment the other prefects, including his cousin Lucy, began snickering and Mickey, for the sake of his new position, was trying his best to maintain a straight face behind Antila's back. Next to James, Heather squirmed with silent laughter. She already knew that James hadn't meant it as a joke, but she could also plainly see that that really didn't matter to Antila. Unlike everyone else, the eldest Potter's face was completely neutral and he maintained a politely interested gaze at the now peeved Head Girl. What did it say about one's humor when you got laughs when you weren't even trying... he wondered.
"Listen Potter, I don't need your flippant attitude standing in the way of having a smooth year alright?" she threatened him, "I just wanted to add that your point taking privilege is not something to be used lightly. I see or hear about you abusing it, and I will be in Flitwick's office getting it taken away from you faster than you can get up and down a Quidditch pitch on your broomstick!" To hammer home her point, her brown eyes narrowed pointedly. The seventh year then wheeled around, red in the face, and said, "I guess that goes for everyone else too!", before sitting down huffily and folding her arms across her chest. James was shocked and wisely realized that now probably wasn't a good time to boast that he was getting an even faster broom.
Silence reigned as 21 pairs of eyes remained fixed on Antila, until Mickey decided that this meeting was definitely over. "Ok," he said, clearing his throat and loudly clapping his hands to get everyone's attention back, "I think that we've made everything err… clear. We Heads will be in touch with the complete patrol schedules written up very soon. Lastly, please remember to guide the first years to their appropriate Common Rooms tonight and inform them of the current House password, which you should have received in your letters over the summer. If you can't remember the first password... or any of the subsequent passwords for the month of September, please ask Antila or me to verify them on the way out. I spent a few hours I'll never get back memorizing them." He grimaced ruefully, despite the attempt at humor, and looked like he personally couldn't wait to flee the tense train car.
Unfortunately, fate had it they were not really home free. Everyone began to rise and the first group was nearly out the door, before Antila managed repress her anger enough to say to Mickey, "Tell them about the thing with their badges."
Mickey looked apologetic upon realizing what he'd forgotten and quickly darted in front of the door. "Sorry people, one last thing. It has been explained to Antila and me that all our badges this year have a new feature. By the end of September, you will all receive the next month's passwords through a Protean Charm worked into your badges. Keep in mind that the person who sets these passwords is Headmaster Flitwick himself, so the message will come straight from him," he explained quickly, before pausing for breath. Older prefects murmured excitedly, but Mickey's was not finished. "This new experiment will cut down on both time-consuming meetings like these, which are frankly a hassle to schedule, and will also reduce the need to write down the passwords somewhere where they can be seen by other Houses," he continues logically, "Certain staff have apparently been complaining about the blurring of House lines via guests in Common Rooms that are not their own, whether invited or not. So keep that in mind, pass it along to your friends, the ruddy guests part not the password thing I mean, and umm meeting dismissed." Finally having performed his duty, the Head Boy sighed and stepped away from the compartment's exit. The elder prefects continued to beam over this new plan, but the fifth years just shrugged it off because they had never even experienced the old way.
As James filed out past Antila she glared at him, and he glared back, almost stopping to have it out with the opinionated Ravenclaw right there. "Don't Jimmy," hissed Heather from directly behind him, as she psychically prodded him out into the corridor. James kept shooting glances back at the prefect's compartment as the two Gryffindors went to find their friends, so Heather likewise kept a hand on his back. She had known James since their first ride on the Hogwarts Express, when James had almost beaten the crap out of a 5th year bloke who was hitting on his cousin Dominique. Heather recalled that the guy had been quite large and very stupid because he hadn't backed off after Dominique had declined a date with him no less than five times in 3 minutes.
Originally, James had been silently watching the exchange from a few feet away, letting the strong-willed Dom deal with the loser by herself for a while. But then the stupid oaf had eventually grabbed her arm to prevent her from walking away, causing James to finally lose it. Heather remembered watching the then tiny James from the window of her compartment, as he had confronted the other boy fearlessly on his cousin's behalf. Of course, she had not met him at that point and they had not been sorted, but at the time it had struck Heather as a very Gryffindor thing to do and that she would be lucky to have a friend like him. Heather was a Muggleborn, but she had already read about the four houses in Hogwarts: A History, just to be prepared.
Anyway, Young James had been hopped up to the point of bursting and had promptly doubled the older boy over with a punch to the side of his face. The fifth year had quickly gone for his wand after that first hit, but had never managed to utter a spell in James's direction. A furious Dominique had cast a full body bind spell on him, while restraining her younger cousin at the same time. Eventually, James had calmed down a bit under the watchful eye of Dom, who had then begun lecturing him in what had sounded like to Heather at the time, French. It had indeed been French, and of course it made sense to her now, because she had quickly learned that Dominique and a few of his other cousins had French blood. In that moment, after moving the hexed oaf into empty compartment next door, the angry blonde had then instructed James to go into another compartment and sit down before he got into more trouble.
The nearest one had been occupied by Heather, another girl and some random boy. James had sat there after his cousin had left him alone, looking sulky and twirling his new wand between his fingers. Heather Ramsden had been unable to control her curiosity. So the first thing she had ever said to James Potter was, "I bet your wondering how you could have used that thing instead of your fist."
James had looked up at her from across the compartment at this outburst and had suddenly smiled. Heather doubted to this day that she would ever forget that first experience with a James Potter smile. It was the first thing that had made her realize that the wizarding world was really where she was meant to be. "Yea it would have been useful," he'd admitted thoughtfully, "That jerk deserved more than a punch." The other girl present had frowned at this and then suddenly gotten up and left them. Heather remembered that James had said then, "Well she must be headed for Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff then. Because I've never met a Gryffindor or Slytherin who couldn't stand to hear about a fight before... if I'm being honest."
Heather had smiled back at him then and the other boy had said, "You've got that straight Potter."
She remembered perking up at the name Potter, but it hadn't meant too much to her then, she'd only read it while skimming her new history books. "Harry Potter," she'd said randomly.
James had scowled momentarily at that before saying, "He's my father." Then turning to the boy he'd replied, "You look familiar, haven't I seen you around before? Say at a couple of Puddlemere United games and perhaps once... at my house?" That last part had sounded sort of random to Heather. Who didn't know like everybody who had been to their house?
The sandy-haired stranger had grinned and risen from his seat to shake James's hand. "I'm Trevor Wood, youngest son of Oliver Wood. You know... he's the Puddlemere coach and also an old friend of your father's. I was with him when your father gave us a tour of your house last summer. I saw you in the yard on your broom doing loop the loops. As a matter of fact, you flew right past the window I was looking out of. At the time, I swear you looked back at me. You're one hell of a flyer let me tell you... that's a fact!" he'd said enthusiastically.
"You're Oliver Wood's son? Man, he's like a Puddlemere legend! I remember watching him at the end of his career and I swear... your old man almost turned me into a Keeper! Except being a Chaser is sooo much better. I guess I can't help it that I like scoring goals better than blocking them. Anyway, I'm James Sirius Potter so now we're officially introduced. And sorry, for you know...not doing it that day. Dad gives random work colleagues tours all the time and eventually I stopped giving a damn," James had said, shaking Trevor's hand.
"No worries mate, we didn't stay long. Some stupid dinner engagement if I remember correctly. And well, I'm glad of you being a Chaser, because I'm a Keeper. So now we won't have to compete against each other at tryouts. I don't really know how it came about, me being a Keeper, but I guess it's hard to avoid it when you live with two of them," Trevor had joked earnestly.
"Who else is a Keeper then besides your old man?" James had asked interestedly. Heather had noticed his eyes light up almost as soon as Trevor had introduced himself. Any bystander could've noticed that these two were bound to be fast friends going forward.
"My older brother Landon is. He's a sixth year now and on the Gryffindor team," Trevor had explained, "Dunno how I'll be on the team myself this year, given his ridiculous talent, but it's worth a shot."
At that moment, Dominique had returned with Teddy Lupin, her sister Victorie, their cousin Freddy and another young girl. After raising more of a fuss over the fallen boy, who it turned out was some Hufflepuff duffer, Victorie had had Teddy deal with getting the kid out of the other room and put right. At that point she, Dominique and Teddy had left the young group alone in the compartment. Freddy had introduced his new friend as Keira Morley, a first year like the rest of them. The group had bonded over the rest of the journey, which had included Exploding Snap, a lively Quidditch debate (of which everyone but Heather already had an opinion of), snacks off the trolley and eventually a reenactment of James's fight by the insatiable Trevor.
After all being sorted into Gryffindor later that evening the group had been friends ever since, with the inclusion of another girl Rigel Wicklow, and another boy named Jonah Henley. The septet was very close. Four of them played on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and they all did reasonably well in their classes. The first four summer vacations had been filled with over-night visits (usually at the Potter's), picnics, swimming trips, pranks and Quidditch matches. At the moment, only two members of the group were romantically involved with each other, as Trevor Wood and Rigel Wicklow had started dating at the end of last year. None of them knew if the romance was fated to last, but they certainly weren't sweating it just yet.
Heather wasn't thinking that this situation was exactly like the one from the day they had met, James wasn't going to actually hit Antila, but it was similar in the fact that he was utterly wound up. The young witch was now leading the way, because she had been to their compartment before the meeting whereas James had not, thus making him useless as a guide. She couldn't help but be distracted however by the fact that he was still slowing them up with the constant stops to look behind them for Antila. Every time she felt him hesitate Heather would give his shirt front a mighty tug, both to keep him moving and also to emphasize to the young hothead that arguing (any more) with the Head Girl (before classes even started!) would be extremely stupid.
"I can't believe that wench!" James was muttering darkly, "She never even leaves the bloody library. I hope she gets lost on her first patrol because she only knows the routes to her classrooms. Ha! I'd like to see her find the kitchens or…or catch kids making out behind that statue of Gregory the Smarmy. She'll be a hopeless, miserable Head Girl. Mark my words, I hope the Head's bedrooms lock her out and she has to sleep in the hallway…" He stopped ranting as they halted outside a particular compartment and automatically reached for the door. It was the one their friends were in, he knew it because the blinds were down with one of them colored scarlet and the other gold. It was something that just reeked of Freddy's creativity.
Heather however, pulled his arm back before he could open it and turned him around to face her. She noted the fifteen-year-old boy's chest was still hyperventilating with agitation beneath his flimsy tee shirt, his face was flushed bright red and that his fists were balled up at his sides in frustration. "Jimmy… please relax. Don't go in there all worked up. You'll get Trevor and Freddy worked up just as bad, Keira and Rigel will eventually want to go and slap the bitch around and Jonah will want to have her sacked before the Opening Feast touches those gold plates. You need to calm down before we tell them. Then maybe... we can all assess this rationally," she suggested.
"Heath! What would be wrong with all that? That crazy bitch needs a bloody reality check," James hissed obstinately.
Clearly, boys are dense she thought, as James stood there with his muscular arms now folded over his chest and frowning. "Oh for Merlin's sakes breathe Jimmy, she's just a silly girl who is drunk on her newly obtained power. It's more everyone else's fault that it is yours anyway, we were the ones laughing. She'll cool out eventually... and even if she doesn't...you'll only get the better of her by keeping your head," argued Heather. James scowled. He slowly exhaled and un-balled his fists, but kept his arms folded, admitting that she had a point without ever saying a word.
Heather looked him over and took in his distinctly cool Muggle-ish dress. His t-shirt was white, featuring the Puddlemere United crest in navy blue and the team's other emblem of two crossed gold bulrushes on it as well. His blue jeans were a tight fitting dark wash with distinct wear marks on them where his legs normally gripped a broomstick. His jacket was to die for, made from the dark green hide of a Romanian Longhorn dragon and embellished with pale gold buttons that may or not have been real horn from a Longhorn. It was lined with a soft puffskein fur and charmed to fit him just right. Heather also knew that its soft fur lined pockets were magically expandable, because she had seen James put things as big as a school book or a Quaffle in them before. It was his most favorite piece of clothing, a birthday gift from his Uncle Charlie three summers ago, with a matching dragon hide wallet to go with it. Completing his ensemble today were green canvas trainers, no doubt to play off the jacket, and his standard black belt made of Hebridean Black dragon leather. With little opportunity left before he was relegated to his school uniform and because of the rainy day, it only made sense that he was wearing the prized jacket now.
James bobbed up and down impatiently on his heels and drummed his fingers against his arm as they both remained folded defensively. "There! I've relaxed… can we go in now? By the way, what's with the whole Jimmy thing today? You know I only allow like two of those a day so people don't think I'm going soft," he joked.
Heather shrugged unapologetically. She knew James didn't approve of the nickname Jimmy outside of his family and his six best friends, and even then... he preferred they use it sparingly. Personally, she called him Jimmy right now because she knew it distracted him a little bit. And anything that kept him distracted while he was angry was a good thing. "So float me a loan on Jimmies," she teased coyly. The tone surprised her. It was easy to be playful around James, but that had been...practically flirty.
"Oh, I just might be able to do that. You know why?" he rebutted, quirking an eyebrow at her teasingly.
"Ok why?" she asked, curiously observing the sudden seriousness that had appeared in his hazel eyes. The subtle flirt wasn't throwing him as well, was it?
"Well because when you call me Jimmy, I don't know what it is… but it doesn't make me sound like someone's cuddly pet Crup like it does when everyone else says it," he offered up matter-of-factly.
Oh. Heather was a bit startled by the sincerity of this statement and she quickly tried to decide whether this was really true... or if he was just being dramatic. She concluded however that maybe it was true. While Jonah never called him Jimmy at all, the other girls besides her said it affectionately and Fred and Trevor always did so mockingly. "Well… I guess that's a compliment so thanks… Jimmy," she replied, now feeling corny for saying it again. James grinned charmingly at her, waved off the thank you and finally opened the compartment door to join their friends. The Muggleborn, doing her best to shake off the weirdness, followed.