Oh my, I appear to have written something xD This is going to be just a random little oneshot series I thought up, centred around James, Fred and Roxanne whilst they're at Hogwarts, along with an original character called Todd. For those two reasons I doubt I'll get many readers, as people hate OC's and quite a lot of people hate the next generation characters but meh, I wanted to write this so I did :3 Fred and Roxanne, who are twins, are the same age as James. Also, the entire thing is just gonna be a bunch of oneshots, with no overall plot to them, so it'll probably jump around through the years quite a bit. I'm crap with update schedules too so they're probably won't be one xD

I have nothing against gingers?

Disclaimer: I own nothing, other than Todd :3

-8-

Year One: Meant to Be

James is eleven years old and is both simultaneously excited and irritated beyond belief.

On the one hand, he thinks as he drags his trunk behind him, owl cage in one hand, following in the wake of his cousins, looking for a compartment, he's finally going to Hogwarts, a place which, from the stories told by his multitude of relatives, is quite simply the greatest place on earth, where never-ending opportunities for making mischief make themselves apparent. Even better still, opportunities to make mischief without the overbearing presence of his mother and Grandma Molly to worry about.

But on the other hand, there's that, he thinks, as an irritated scowl overtakes the excited look he was wearing as yet another gawking face presents itself. Because while he has the dark brown eyes of his mother and the dark auburn hair of his Grandma Lily (auburn, not ginger, he thinks to himself), he still has his father's face, his father's untameable hair, his father's horrible eyesight.

In other words, it's not difficult at all for the rest of the train's occupants to guess, correctly, that he's the son of the famous Harry Potter.

He's just about to snap at what he's guessing is a third-year, a Hufflepuff judging by the robes she's already changed into, to just take a goddamn picture when he hears Fred and Roxanne from some ways away cheerfully informing him, in complete sync, that they've found a compartment and that he should get his butt over there already.

Settling instead for sending the third-year one his dirtiest looks (and growing up with Victoire, he has a whole repertoire of them), James quickly makes his way down to the compartment and inside.

It's only after he's sat down next to Fred, with all his luggage away, that he realizes there's someone else in the compartment with them.

He's another first year, short and stringy, probably no taller than James himself, with light blue eyes, strawberry blonde hair and smattering of freckles across his face. He's also muttering what sounds like 'Oh my God' under his breath and it takes James a second to realise it's not because he's sharing a compartment with the son of Harry Potter, but rather because of that mornings edition of the Daily Prophet.

"Something shocking gone off, then?" it's Roxanne, seated next to the boy, who asks, obviously having overheard his mutterings too.

The kids head shoots up and he looks shocked to see three extra people in his compartment. Had he really not noticed them coming in?

"What?" the boy glances down at the newspaper and seems to understand what she's getting at, "Oh, I dunno, I haven't actually read it yet. But look!" he exclaims, and suddenly he's up close to Roxanne, sticking the paper in her face, "They're moving! Actually moving! And this here!" and all James can do is stare as the boy, practically overflowing with excitement, flicks through the paper and comes to stop on a story he recognises as one his mother had mentioned this morning at breakfast, about a baby dragon being hatched in some reserve or other, "A dragon! As in an actual fire-breathing, 'rawr, rawr' dragon!"

And at the sight of this strange boy, practically straddling a completely bemused Roxanne, whilst shoving the Daily Prophet in her face and making dragon noises, James feels his irritation slip away as he and Fred just laugh at the completely bizarre sight. The kid glances up at them then and his face breaks out in a grin and James instantly knows he's the kind of person who loves to make people laugh.

Fred, having gotten himself under control, speaks up next with a grin, "So, I take it you're Muggleborn then?"

"Yep!" the kid says with a grin of his own, throwing himself back into his seat, and suddenly he's clutching at his at own shoulders and his voice has turned dramatic, "There I was, middle-child, cold, alone. Outcast. Knowing something was different but never knowing what. Never knowing that this super secret society was waiting, holding my super secret destiny all along." His dramatic façade suddenly drops and he throws the newspaper in the air, though James has no idea how he managed to keep hold of it through all his dramatic shoulder-clutching, and he cries, "Gaah! I'm so excited!" he coughs into his hand then, once, and he's completely composed.

James can't help it, he laughs again. He's never met anyone this dramatic before, and that's saying something, growing up with the family he did. "You're not very normal, are you?" he asks, smile still on his lips.

"Nope, but from the look on your face, I'm guessing that's a good thing, right?" he returns, "Oh, I'm Todd by the way. Hi!" he says, stretching his arm out as far as it would go and waving as if they hadn't just been sat in the same compartment as one another for the past twenty minutes.

"Fred Weasley," his cousin introduces himself, "And that's my sister Roxanne. Well, at least I think she's my sister, I mean, girls are supposed to be all dainty and lady-like, but Roxanne here is just so violent and brutish-" he cuts off suddenly when a smirking Roxanne's thrown shoe misses him by inches.

Todd giggles, actually giggles, and turns to James, "And you?" he asks.

"James Potter." He says and is absolutely delighted at the complete lack of reaction to his name.

"A pleasure to meet you, James Potter. Now, I just have to ask, have I missed out on some magical primary school, because you three seem awfully chummy with one another. And I would be very sad if I got to the magical school of magicalness only to be lonely and alone."

"You didn't," says Roxanne with a giggle, whilst fastening her shoe, which she had obviously got back at some point, "James is Fred and mine's cousin."

Seeing Todd's hopelessly confused face, James decides to take pity on him, "Their dad's white, he's my mums brother."

"Ah," says Todd with a little nod, "That explains it. It also explains your rather magnificent ginger hair." He says to the twins. And then suddenly he freezes and James is beginning to wonder whether he wasn't so much a dramatic person, but rather a bipolar one.

"What are yo-" James begins but Todd's already speaking.

"Oh my God," he says, his hand coming up to his head and turning to look at each one of them in turn, "We're all ginger. It's like it was meant to be."

Todd looks as if he's just had the greatest epiphany known to mankind. Fred and Roxanne laugh. James' eye twitches.

"It's auburn!" James insists vehemently.

"Just accept it James, you're ginger." Todd informs him, with much more solemnity than the conversation requires.

And despite the fact that Todd, helped by his cousins, attempts to 'move him past his denial phase into acceptance' for the rest of the train ride (occasionally interspersed with family stories from both sides, random dramatic outbursts from Todd and the, apparently invaluable, 'lessons from the natives.'), James could already tell they were going to be best friends.

-8-

Yes, it was all rather horrible and really very short, I know xD You're all going to hate Todd, aren't you? I hope you don't, I like him :3

No idea when the next chapter will be. Maybe y'all could drop me some suggestions? xD

Thanks for reading and please review~

HNH

EDIT 23/12/11: Just changed a couple of things that were wrong~