This work is co-authored by me, Satirrian, and another person who prefers to use the pseudonym Sam. You may also find it on archiveofourown . org under the author HogwartsSchoolOfWitchcraftAndWizardry.
The Marauders Mark II
Sam Satirrian
Chapter One: The Bully-Who-Lived
As James Sirius Potter walked through the barrier between platforms nine and ten, he tried to think of five different ways to trick Albus into believing there was a fifth Hogwarts house. He had to make it believable. It was kept secret because— no, no, his memory was wiped— wait, there's a world-wide conspiracy—
James' train of thought slowed to a halt. He couldn't ignore the mounting whispers any longer. His father squeezed his shoulder.
Is that him? he thought he heard. Harry? The Harry Potter?
Who's that next to him? Is his son going to Hogwarts?
Did you hear that, honey, Harry Potter's son is going to Hogwarts!
Daddy, daddy, who's that boy over there? The one next to Harry Potter?
James tried to tune them out. He loved his dad. He really did. But right now he hated him. Really, having a famous parent should have been amazing. It should be brilliant. Yet look at him. He was Harry Potter's kid. He would bet five galleons that half these people didn't give a flying snitch about his own damn name. Sometimes it just was too much. Teddy was smart to have run ahead.
He felt a gentle touch on his arm and turned to see his mother stepping onto the platform behind him. James tried to smile but the loud whispers coupled with his nerves turned it into a weak twitch of his lips. He must have looked more nervous than he thought because his mother gave him a sympathetic glance and moved to stand next to him, placing a hand on his back and giving him an encouraging nudge forward.
"You're gonna love it there, James," his dad said.
"So you've been saying for the past three hours," James griped.
"That's because it's true," he grinned back, ignoring his son's whining.
Ginny interrupted. "Oh, let up on him, Harry. He's practically shaking out of his skin."
"Am not!"
Harry stopped walking and crouched on one knee, looking into James' eyes. "I wish I could go with you."
James was distinctly uncomfortable and tried to look anywhere but directly at his father, the whispers suddenly heightening into a white noise in his ears. "It's my turn now, Dad. Stop stealing the moment." He wasn't even sure if he was joking or not.
Harry laughed and stood up. "I think you're going to be fine." He stretched to ruffle James' messy hair.
James dodged out of his father's reach and a smile finally broke through. The train whistled, making them all jump.
"You'd better run, James," his mum said, pushing him toward one of the train doors.
James paused for a moment, then quickly turned back and gave his mum a tight hug. Then he pulled away, picked up his heavy trunk, and called back to his parents, "I'll mail you soon!" He saw them wave goodbye, then faced forward, lugging his trunk into the doorway of the Hogwarts Express and wishing suddenly that Teddy hadn't left him to fend for himself. Some people just didn't realize that eleven year olds had very little upper body strength. And to think that James had kept his secret about snogging Victoire behind the shed for the entire summer! Ungrateful idiot.
He huffed in annoyance. Or was it the weight? By the time he had gotten the trunk up the stairs, he was sweating and panting. He paused, wiping his forehead, and looked around, trying to decide which way to go. James chose to head to the back of the train, picked up his trunk, and marched ahead, looking forward to finding some quiet. It wasn't long before the dreaded gawking began. As he walked along the aisle, shocked gasps and whispers snaked into his ears. He kept his head high and straight as a few people looked through their windows and stuck their heads out of their compartment doors to get a better look at him. Wait, not him. Harry Potter's kid.
There was no escape, was there? Quickly, he peered into the very last compartment of the car, and found it blissfully empty. He moved inside, dragged his luggage in behind him, and slammed the door shut. He dropped into the seat with a sigh. Finally, some quiet. He sat there and caught his breath. A moment passed, and the train whistled for the last time. With a lurch, the train set off. Because his compartment was on the opposite side of the train from the loading platform, he couldn't wave goodbye to his parents again. No real loss there, he tried to tell himself. He stretched out on the seat and stared out the window.
Very soon, the smog-filled skies of London fell behind, bringing the fields and forests of the countryside into view. As James stared out the window, wondering how he could convince anyone that the name Potter was just a coincidence and of no relation to the famous Boy-Who-Lived, the gentle rocking motion of train lulled him into a trance.
He must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew a bunch of screams and a loud crash came from the front of the car.
Less than a minute later, someone's boot kicked down his sliding compartment door. This someone promptly tripped and landed on her face on the floor in front of him. She must have been used to it because she hopped up, and stuck out her hand to shake.
"Hi!"
James stared at her. She seemed like a tornado of chaos. He couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. When he finally calmed down enough, she had seated herself across from him, smiling broadly, completely unoffended.
She wore a bright green muggle t-shirt with a picture of a car on it, blue jeans, and an orange bandanna tied around her braided brown hair. Her skin was dark and her eyes were bright.
"You need some help?" James chuckled.
"Yeah, I do. I need someone to be the lookout, like, right now."
Her American accent threw him for a moment. "The lookout?"
"I need to go steal my bags back from the compartment I was in before. I'm, like, completely sure that the seat came to life and ate my lunch."
"Seriously?"
"Nah, but definitely sounded awesome, right? I had you going there!"
"Hey, this may be the Hogwarts Express, but none of the seats eat things. At least in recent years."
"Aw, c'mon." She was smirking now. "I could be telling the truth!"
"I'd believe you if you said your trunk turned invisible. That actually happened last year. It was all over the news."
"No way!"
"You're right. Never happened."
Surprised, she burst out into loud laughter. "I like you— uh, what's your name?"
James looked at her uncertainly. Would she know who he was? He should just tell her. Or maybe lie. No, get it over with. Lying would be too annoying to keep up. He should just tell her. He sighed and hoped for the best.
"It's James Potter."
"James," she said slowly, as if testing it for quality. "James. Jamie. Jim. Jimmy. Jim-bo. Jimothy?"
"James," he emphasized, "Just James."
"Jamie," she finalized.
"I'm going to kill you."
"I'd like to see you try, Jambo."
"But I can't kill people until I learn their names."
"Well, it's Diana. Call me Dai. I like to give people a sporting chance."
They shook hands. James realized that this strange girl, Diana, must not yet know the legend of his father. It was unbelievably freeing. "Well, Dai, why'd you feel the need to kick my door in?"
"Because I am a super secret assassin, Jimmy, duh!" She karate chopped the air between them. Even after only knowing Dai for five minutes, James resigned himself to being called any nickname imaginable. "Because some people don't listen when someone tells them not to scare a snake," Dai continued.
James felt understandably confused.
"What?"
"Okay, okay, so I brought my pet snake, Charlie, to school with me and I wanted to bring her out of her cramped cage so told the other kids in the compartment not to freak out. Guess what they did?"
"They freaked out?"
"They freaked out," she yelled. "They scared poor Charlie so bad that she shot back into her cage and won't come back out! Then they kicked me out for scaring them, those wimps."
"Seriously!? How dare they!"
"I know, and she's not even venomous," Dai grumbled, sulking in her seat.
At that moment someone gingerly knocked on the sliding door that was barely staying upright, seemingly by pure luck. The interrupter glanced toward it. It was an older student with some bad acne, bushy eyebrows and a badge pinned to his robes that said Prefect.
"It's time to put your robes on, we will be reaching Hogwarts soon," he paused, considering the barely attached sliding compartment door, "Do I even want to know?"
Dai smiled. "That depends. You'll have to be inducted into our secret society of awesomeness first. If you survive the training you might possibly be able to— "
The Prefect left.
"Huh," said Dai, "What's his deal?"
She made eye contact with James and they burst out laughing. Once they had calmed down again, James reminded her that she needed to get her robes from her trunk. Her brow furrowed.
"How should we do that?"
"We could just walk in, you know."
"But that's boring, it needs to be exciting, memorable!" She jumped to her feet, hands on her hips, and began pacing.
James smirked. "I think you've left an impression already. I mean, how many first years get kicked out of a compartment and break down a door?"
She paused, thinking. "Two."
"Two?"
"Yes. Me, and now, you. Get up, we're breaking down another door." She grabbed his arm and dragged him up.
James halted just outside their broken compartment door. "Are you kidding me? We can't just break down a door without a plan."
"We do have a plan! Break the door." She pulled him further down the hallway.
James stopped, running a hand through his spiky black hair. "Okay, okay. Um, I'll open the door, cause a huge distraction, you sneak inside, grab your stuff, then we're out, easy."
Dai stopped and turned to him sheepishly. "Maybe you're good for something after all. I forgot we actually needed something from them."
After that, Dai directed him toward the compartment she was tossed out of earlier. James was thinking of a distraction. He glanced at his reflection in a window. Well, duh.
"Ready, set, GO!" Dai whispered.
James lifted up his foot just like Dai must have done with James' door, and slammed it down onto the plywood surface. Immediately it felt like every single one of his toes broke in half and he clutched at his foot, letting out a hiss between clenched teeth. The door remained stubbornly intact. James shot an annoyed look at Dai.
"You gotta use your core. Push with your full weight!" Dai demonstrated a few kicks.
James steeled his nerves. This was going to be harder than he had expected. James lifted his foot again, and this time, he successfully kicked the sliding door open.
Inside the compartment, three girls glared at him with annoyance and confusion, so he placed his hands on his hips, and announced loudly, "Hi everyone, I'm James Potter! Yes, that's right, Potter, as in the Harry Potter." The girls' mouths dropped open.
It was painfully obvious when Dai rolled into the compartment, but the first years were still so confused and so completely awestruck by James that they didn't pay any attention to her at all. She pulled her luggage off the seat onto the floor, causing a loud thump. To cover the noise, James spoke again.
"Yes, my father defeated Voldemort seventeen years ago at the very place we're going!"
Dai slid her snake's cage off the seat, put it under her arm and began inching out of the compartment. Once she was in the clear, James spoke one last time.
"You won't be Slytherin! You'd have to like snakes for that." He ran out before they could understand what he meant.
James and Dai collapsed into their compartment, laughing maniacally. Dai dropped her trunk and placed her cage on the seat.
"What was that about?" she asked. "They acted like you were some celebrity!"
"I happen to look like some wizarding savior from a few years back. Everyone always makes it too big of a deal."
Dai frowned a little bit. "Know how that feels."
James was surprised but forgot for the time being as a female voice announced throughout the train, "We will be reaching the station in five minutes. Please change into your robes. Your trunks and cages will be taken to the castle separately."
Being reminded of the reason for their impromptu adventure in the first place, they split up to put their robes on. Dai returned and James had to laugh again.
"You're supposed to put the tie on, and clasp closed the black robe."
"That's stupid," Dai declared, effectively ending the conversation. Although, James secretly thought she didn't know how to tie the tie, so she had simply ignored it.
The remaining minutes were passed with discussions of what the new year would be like, and James found he had to explain what the Houses were. Dai said she wanted to be a Slytherin, just so her snake would feel more at home.
James didn't know what to say to that, but he was worried. He wanted to be a Gryffindor, and he doubted he'd be put in Slytherin, anyway. He just hoped they ended up in the same House. Dai was the only person James had met who didn't compare him to his dad. Plus, she was fun.
Before long, the train rolled to a halt in Hogsmeade Station.
James felt like his stomach was tying itself into knots. He had zoned out after clambering into the boat— only taking in his first glimpse of Hogwarts with a sort of glazed amazement— too worried about losing his first real friend to another House. James jumped in surprise when Hagrid knocked loudly on the huge doors. Dai turned to him and grinned, "Finally, you've come back to us. I thought you were lost to Mordor."
"Us?"
"Yeah, us." She pointed over her shoulder, "that's Kelly and that's Sammy. They were in the boat with us."
James blinked. "Right. Yes, I knew that. Sorry, I'm just a little stressed."
Sammy was a tall girl with long brown hair and a warm smile. "It's no problem."
Kelly's blonde hair shook as she snickered.
"Okay, let's do this!" Dai called, as the giant doors to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry seemingly opened of their own accord. At first, James thought no one was there. Would they have to find their own way to the Great Hall? Then he looked down.
A tiny man with wispy white hair and green robes was standing in front of him, looking amusedly at the group.
James whispered to Dai, "Are all the professors this short?"
Dai shrugged.
"Hello, Professor Flitwick," Hagrid, the friendly half-giant with streaks of white in his bushy mane of hair, greeted. Hagrid often visited the Potter home, so James knew him well. They hadn't yet received the chance to catch up.
"Hello, Hagrid," replied the small man, giving an amused chuckle when half the first years jumped in surprise. Turning to the first years, he said, "Let me be the first to welcome you to Hogwarts, young students! I am the Deputy Headmaster, and I will escort you to the Entrance Hall."
With those words, he pointed his wand towards himself, gave it a swish (or was it a flick) and rose above the floor, allowing all the new students to see him properly.
"C'mon, yeh firsties," Hagrid rumbled cheerfully. Turning to Flitwick, he said "I'll be off, I need to take care o' the thestrals."
As he walked back the way they had come, James, Dai, and the other first years followed the tiny floating professor into the castle. He led them through various corridors and up and down staircases until they ended up in a small room. James didn't know where. He had lost track of how many turns they had made.
"What now?" James asked.
"Hell if I know," said Dai.
"Of course you don't. Why did I even bother?"
"You like the sound of my charming voice."
"I think I'm going to miss the sound of silence. Already, I'm losing the memory…"
Dai punched his arm.
Professor Flitwick chose this time to speak to the group of thirty or so students. "Now, in a moment, I will lead you into the Great Hall, where you will be Sorted into one of the four Houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Being part of a House is a wonderful opportunity if taken advantage of. Your House will be like your family while at school. There are certain rules you must all abide by. Following them may gain you points, but breaking these rules will cause you to lose points. The House point system is setup to offer rewards for good deeds, and penalties for misdemeanors. The rules will be further elaborated on by the Headmistress. Now, if you all understand, I will go see if it is time for the Sorting."
Flitwick lowered himself back to the ground, and swept through a door on the opposite side of the room that James hadn't noticed. Looking around, James realised that half the students seemed to be in a state of complete panic.
He heard someone scoff. James turned to see a bulky boy with light brown hair and a prominent chin leaning against the wall with an air of superiority.
"Do we need to be Sorted if we already know we're going to the best House?" he drawled, rolling his eyes.
James crossed his arms. "And how do you know where you'll be placed?"
"I know where I'll be placed. It's the same House as my father, a war hero."
Coldly, James asked, "And who is your father?"
"You've probably heard of him. He's very famous."
"Oh?"
The boy shook his head condescendingly, "I thought you would have recognized me since I look just like him, but I suppose you must be an ignorant Muggleborn. My father is—"
"Is your father Harry Potter?" James butted in, his voice full of fake excitement. "I heard his son was coming to Hogwarts this year!"
The boy was caught off guard. Awkwardly, he started to say, "Uh, no, not exactly…"
But James wasn't done. "Wow! That's so cool. Imagine your dad being the Boy-Who-Lived! I couldn't do it."
The boy was glaring now, cheeks flushed red with embarrassment and anger.
Clapping him on the shoulder, James walked away with a few last words. "Looking forward to the year, eh, Potter?"
He walked over to the other side of the room, joining Dai, Kelly, and Sammy. Another boy was hovering protectively around Sammy, but otherwise wasn't speaking to anyone. Dai didn't say anything about the exchange, but she could tell he was furious.
No more than a minute later, there was a high-pitched shriek from the big-headed boy. "Augh— That was horrible! My father warned me about those bloody things!"
That heralded the entrance of "those bloody things," also known as the gray Hogwarts ghosts. James realized that one of them must have passed through the boy and grinned vindictively. He felt much better now.
One of the ghosts, in Medieval clothing complete with a ruff, broke off from his conversation with a portly, jolly-looking ghost, and scanned the sea of first years, seemingly looking for someone.
"Wow, ghosts!" Dai called. "Where're my salt rounds?!" She laughed at her own joke. A few people looked at her strangely.
Finally, the ghost seemed to find what he was looking for and floated over to James.
"Harry Potter!" the ghost greeted. "What have you done to your hair? And I thought you wore glasses? Nevermind, the living change so frequently! It's so good to see you again!"
James could do nothing but stand there awkwardly. Did this ghost really think he was his dad?
The ghost laughed. "Oh, I know who you are, James! You look more like the your grandfather than you do your father, truthfully."
James sighed in relief. He moved to respond when Dai suddenly jumped, as if she got dashed by cold water. "Wait, I know that name! He's the dude who killed the other dude and saved the thing!"
James glanced at her nervously.
"He's cool," Dai said.
"You're lame," James responded.
"Your face is lame."
"Wow. Great comeback."
An unholy roar of pure fury came from across the room. "YOU'RE HIM? YOU'RE HARRY POTTER'S SON? YOU LITTLE— YOU'VE PLAYED ME!" And the rude boy from earlier charged across the room straight for James, ready to throttle him.
James backed against the wall, watching his incoming, inescapable doom. It was like having an angry troll run toward him. There was no escape. But just as the boy was about to reach James, he froze in place, one arm outstretched, face forming an ugly snarl.
A voice squeaked "Fighting already? Ah well, time for the Sorting!"
Professor Flitwick was back, and his wand was pointed at the frozen boy. James edged along the wall, heading toward Flitwick and the open door. The friendly ghost told James he would see him at the feast, and followed the other ghosts through the wall into the Great Hall. Dai and the rest of the first years followed James' lead, leaving only the rude boy stuck in the corner. Flitwick unfroze him with a wave and told them all to get in two even lines. The professor spared a moment to look at James resignedly. With a minute of shuffling, the group of children somehow managed.
"Ready?" Professor Flitwick asked. "Let's go!"
They followed the deputy Headmaster through the door to meet their fate.
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