Chapter 1: The Black Cauldron

It was in the mid autumn of 1985. Young Harry Potter was five years old and had already begun Year One of Primary School.

If you've read my other stories, you'll recall that he was living a secret life at his home at 10 Newcastle Road in Liverpool, with his parents, Lily and James Potter, his godfather, Sirius Black, and god-uncle Remus Lupin. His god-cousins, The Tonks Family, would drop by every once in a while as well.

But also keep in mind, this was before he met Hermione or even the Weasleys. He didn't meet Hermione until he was seven and she was eight. The Weasleys didn't come into the picture until later.

But you may also recall a certain tradition that falls in my stories.

Well, today was Friday, October 11, 1985. Harry was especially excited, as his family would be taking him to the cinema after school to see a rather special film that was opening that day. This would be the first Disney film he'd ever see on the big screen, and one of the first films overall. That film was Disney's 25th animated feature, The Black Cauldron.

It had already opened in the United States during the summer, to little box office intake. Thus, it seemed Harry had already seen the trailers on television and James and Sirius thought this would be a good starter film for him. But Lily didn't seem too sure about it.

"James!" she cried. "How can you even think of taking my baby to see this?! He's only five! It'll likely frighten him!"

"Spoken like any stereotypical mother of the 80's," James retorted.

If you're confused by Lily's sudden change in behavior, compared to her more laid-back attitude in my other stories, remember; a fun-loving attitude takes years to develop. Especially after you've just had your first child and were nearly attacked by some psychotic killer before he was completely erased from existence by a narrator who shall remain nameless…

I'm a bit of a sucker for darker humor.

Anyways, later that afternoon as the school bell rang, Harry grabbed his rucksack and ran out the school doors, where his parents were waiting for him by the family car. But keep in mind, this isn't the Rolls-Royce limousine. This is a maroon Ford Escort Sedan, with all the same charms on it. They wouldn't get the Rolls-Royce until later. Harry spent the whole ride home bouncing up and down in his seat, even though they weren't going to the movie until the evening.

Once evening came and everyone was prepared, Lily took Harry by the hand and led him outside to the car, where James, Sirius, and Remus were waiting. James was waiting in the driver's seat for Lily to join him, but she had other ideas.

"You ride shotgun, Sirius," she instructed. "I'm going to sit in the back, where I can hold my poor baby's hand."

Naturally, this made Sirius gag, but Harry, being a five year old, was more fixated on seeing the film. They drove to the Plaza Cinema at 13 Crosby Road, North. As everyone got out of the car, Harry looked amazed at the bright neon lights, but Lily noticed him standing in his tracks.

"You'd better take him by the hand James," she advised.

"Yeah," James agreed. "Or else he'll think it's someplace where they keep the girls."

"James!" Lily scolded.

"I'm kidding, love," James laughed.

James and Lily each took Harry by the hand and led him into the cinema, where Harry was even more mesmerized by the snack bar. Sirius seemed mesmerized by the sweets they had, but Lily grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Don't give him any ideas, Sirius," she insisted.

"Oh lighten up, Lilyflower," he teased.

"Hey!" She demanded. "Only my husband may call me that."

"Whatever Lils," James shrugged. "The four of us will split a bar of chocolate, or whatever. Harry will be perfectly fine with his own popcorn."

"Alright," Lily decided. "But I'm still holding his hand and carrying him out of the cinema if he cries."

The group soon entered the cinema and sat down, with Sirius on the left, then James, then Harry, and Lily on the right. Once the light dimmed, she began to gently clutch his hand, but Harry didn't notice and was too busy eagerly awaiting what was going to happen.

Once the film began and the Walt Disney Pictures logo shows, Lily's face became doubtful.

"Do you really feel that logo is necessary for a film like this?" She whispered to James and Sirius.

This resulted in shushes from the three Marauders, while Harry still marveled at what was in front of him;

It was the opening scene with the narrator, while the black mist revealed the Black Cauldron, as ominous music played over it.

Here, Lily began to clutch Harry's hand tighter, but he still didn't notice. To Harry, this scene was a good segue into the next one;

It was the scene where they met Taran, the film's protagonist as he went on his quest with the oracular pig, Hen Wen. It was a very quiet, peaceful, earthly scene, with a fair segue into the next part;

The reveal of the Horned King's Castle and the Horned King himself. The castle seemed mysterious, but the Horned King was just ominous. His figure was like a silhouette of the Death Eaters that roamed Britain years ago. His voice didn't help much either. It was more like a whisper compared to the hisses of the Dark Lord Voldemort.

Lily was tempted to shush me there, but by now, she let go of Harry's hand.

"It's not going to get any scarier, is it?" She asked, getting more shushes than last time.

And she wasn't kidding. Soon enough, it was time to meet the hairy little Gurgi, who didn't seem to make the scene any funnier.

"He's no funnier than a house elf trying to punish himself," Lily muttered, hoping to avoid the shushes.

When the dragon-like Gwynthaints flew in, Lily could tell that this was supposed to be scary, but sitting in the audience with four boys, she realized they were going to be more fascinated than scared by this.

It also didn't help that it was followed by the scene in which Taran found a magic sword. This made Lily mutter,

"Oh no. We're not going back, are we? You just had to give the boy a sword."

Naturally, this resulted in the whole audience of only a few dozen people shushing her. By this point, Harry was literally glued to the cinema screen, eagerly anticipating more action with the sword.

While watching the rest of the film, Lily could tell that her boys were going to be such boys about the whole experience.

By the end of the film, Sirius and Remus came bursting out of the cinema with huge grins on their faces, while James and Lily each took Harry by the hand. James also seemed to have a huge grin on his face, but Lily remained straight-faced… for a while.

She now saw that Harry was imitating his father's big goofy grin and she began to burst out laughing. But she noticed that James was now smirking at her and she tried to get all straight-faced again.

"What?" She asked.

"I knew it," James smirked.

"Knew what?" She retorted.

"That you and Harry wouldn't find it scary at all," he replied. "Isn't that right, Prongslet?"

"Brilliant, Dad," Harry agreed.

"James!" Lily tried to scold. "Don't encourage him by using that name!"

"Come on," James teased.

It was at this moment that Lily realized there was no winning here.

"Fine," she sighed. "You win. But I get to choose the next Disney film we take him to."

And just what was the film she chose? Well, that's for you to find out in the next chapter…