Disclaimer: These characters and locations belong to JK Rowling, and, unfortunately, not to me
"Ugh," said little Albus Potter as he woke up to the bright sunlight coming through his window. He wasn't especially fond of waking up so early, stupid sun… But then he remembered what today was. Today was the day that he would be going to Hogwarts for the first time in his life.
You see, Albus was not your average eleven year old boy. He was a wizard, and where do witches and wizards go to learn magic? Why. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry of course! There was no finer school in all the world.
Albus was incredibly excited. He had been waiting to go to Hogwarts for as long as he could remember. All of his family had gone there: His father, mother, and his many aunts and uncles. As his many of his cousins were older than him, they were already attending, but now, it was his turn.
He got up and put on his clothes. He still had a lot to do before he could leave. He had neglected to pack his trunk the night before, and now he regretted that poor decision. Many of his things were located in odd places throughout his room, so it took him a good half an hour to pack it all up. He had his new books, robes, a cauldron, potions ingredients and all sorts of things that he would need throughout the school year.
His favorite thing though, was his new wand. It was 12 and a half inches and made of oak. In the center there was a unicorn hair, which gave the wand its power. He was very excited at the prospect of learning different jinxes that he could use on his older brother, James.
Once he had all his things together he went downstairs to look for some food. It was only around 9 o'clock, so he still had plenty of time before his family would go to King's Cross Station in London. When he got to the kitchen he saw his mother standing before the stove and his father reading his morning newspaper at the table.
His mother had long red hair and freckles all over her face and arms. Albus thought that she was very pretty. His father looked a lot like Albus himself; skinny with jet black hair and bright green eyes. The only physical difference between the two of them other than their age, was that unlike his father, Albus did not wear glasses and on his father's forehead was a scar shaped like a lightning bolt.
As Albus entered the room his parents both looked at him with smiles on their faces.
"Ready, Al?" asked his dad.
"Yeah, my things are all packed," he answered with an even bigger smile than his parents.
"Are you excited? You're going to have loads of fun and make all sorts of new friends," said his mother enthusiastically. Before he could answer, though, someone else shuffled into the kitchen. A small redheaded girl walked in, rubbing her eyes sleepily. It was Lily, Albus' younger sister. She walked over to the table and climbed onto a chair, looking a bit confused as she had just woken up.
"Hey, Lils. Tired?" he asked.
She nodded sleepily and asked their mother, "What's for breakfast?"
"I'm making pancakes with eggs and sausage," she answered happily.
Albus' stomach grumbled at the sound and smell of the food cooking. He was suddenly feeling incredibly ravenous.
"Hey, Al? Can you go to wake up James?" Dad asked. Albus looked at his father in a way that clearly said, "Do I have too?" In response to that face, his father laughed as he said, "Don't worry, the food will still be here when you get back."
Dad knew him very well.
With a glance over to the stove and all the glorious food that was piling up next to it, Albus left the kitchen to wake up his older brother.
James was going to be in his second year at Hogwarts and had been telling Albus about it all summer. As much as Al looked up to James, he was still sometimes very annoyed with him. Generally speaking the Potter family got along great, but sometimes James did some really stupid and crazy things that earned him many lectures from their mom and dad. And, yeah, many of those times Albus might have been just a little bit involved. The most annoying thing about James was the fact that he was the most difficult person on the planet to wake up. It could take a very long time, and all Albus really wanted was to go back downstairs and stuff his face.
But he didn't.
He went to the end of the hallway in the second floor to the door covered in posters of quidditch teams and bands that James liked. Looking at the quidditch players flying around on the posters reminded Albus of the fact that he wasn't allowed his own broomstick until second year. The thought made him sad because he loved flying. He wasn't so much into the sport aspect of the broomstick, he just loved to be in the air.
He opened the door and saw James drooling on his pillow. It was disgusting. After a good 10 minutes of prodding, poking, and, yes, yelling, James finally got out of bed and began walking slowly to the kitchen. Albus raced past him in an effort to get to the food as fast as possible.
When he got back downstairs he wasn't disappointed. His mother was a fantastic cook and always made plenty of food. There were stacks of pancakes, a big bowl full of eggs and a plate of sizzling sausages. By the time that James got himself all the way to the kitchen, Albus was already on his second pancake.
"So, we'll be leaving in about half an hour boys. Make sure you have everything and that you don't leave your rooms a mess," said dad.
"Yeah, yeah," replied James, although he still wasn't very awake and clearly wasn't completely in the world of the living yet.
And, so, half an hour later, right on time, the Potters left for King's Cross.
In the car on the way to the train, James finally woke up all the way. As soon as that happened, he wouldn't shut up. He went on and on about the lake and the giant squid and the ghosts and teachers. When he started talking about the four houses, Albus started getting worried.
What if he didn't get into Griffyndor like the rest of his family? What if he ended up in Slytherin instead? James would never let him live it down. As they arrived at the station Albus began to get more and more nervous and started to wonder if he was really ready to go yet.