First Year

Just The Beginning

"I hold in my hand," he began. "The wand of Voldemort, which has killed so many helpless people to this date." He held it up high enough so everyone in the hall could see it. "It will never hurt anyone again," he said, and threw it in the fire that was behind him.

That was the day Harry Potter's nightmare ended. The day his whole life changed. It was the day he destroyed Voldemort and brought about the end of the second wizard war. That day seemed so long ago now, as he waited for his wife and children to come down the stairs, pleased that their world was now free of the evil that he had known for so long.

"You guys, hurry up or we're going to miss the train!" he called up the stairs of their summer home at Number 12 Grimmauld Place in London. He didn't like the idea of moving into the home that had haunted him since he was fifteen, but was convinced when his wife became pregnant and they could no longer live with her mum and dad through the summer holidays.

Now the house was barely recognizable. Sirius's mum's portrait was no longer hanging in the entrance hall, and the house was no longer dark and gloomy. The whole Order of the Phoenix had helped clean the house from it's hateful memories, and now it was a home that his wife and two children loved to visit over the summer.

"We'll be down in a moment, Harry," the red head replied from upstairs, and Harry sighed.

"I know what a minute is to you, Ginny," he laughed, and watched as his wife walked out of the bathroom to the top of the stairs to stick out her tongue. He stuck out his tongue in return, making Ginny laugh.

"Oh, real mature, Harry," she said with a roll of her eyes. "What a fine example to set for your children. Honestly, act a little more like a father."

"Ha, ha," he said in a sarcastic tone. "But really, Gin, we have to go. We're going to be late, and then Sirius won't be able to catch the train."

"I'm ready, Dad!" a boy exclaimed, jumping down the stairs two at a time in his excitement. His black hair was sticking up all over, just like his father's, and his brown eyes were sparkling, just like his mother's. "Can we leave soon?"

"As soon as your mother and sister come down," Harry replied, catching his son at the last step. "So, is my star looking forward to his first year at Hogwarts?"

"Dad, you know I am," Sirius muttered, freeing himself from his father's grasp. "I can't wait to turn a rat yellow! Uncle Fred and Uncle George taught me the coolest spell—"

"Sunshine daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow," Harry interrupted lazily. "It doesn't work, son. Your Uncle Ron tried it in his first year… and all it did was shoot out a white spark. Don't listen to anything your crazy uncles tell you, alright?"

"But…," Sirius murmured, obviously a bit disappointed. "I was going to try that one out on the train. Now what am I going to try?"

"Try Windgardium Leviosa," he replied, watching his son's eyes spark again. "It makes things fly. Here, watch me." And with a flick of his wand Sirius's trunk came flying down the stairs, almost knocking over the young redhead. His daughter looked almost exactly like the woman whom she was named after, what with her eyes an almond shaped emerald green, and her hair a bright red.

"DADDY!" Lily yelled, getting caught by her mother, who threw a glare toward her husband.

"Aww, I'm sorry my flower," he replied, catching his beautiful baby girl in his arms as well. "I was just showing your brother a cool spell that I learned in my first year--"

"With the help of Aunt Hermione, I'm sure," Ginny laughed, walking down the stairs at last. "You and Ron were hopeless. Poor Hermione, I'm surprised she did so well in school what with her doing your work all the time!"

"Hey, if I was so hopeless then how come I passed my seventh year," he replied. "Hermione wasn't there to help me then, now was she, Dear?"

"Why wasn't Aunt Hermione with you, Dad?" Sirius asked, curiosity boiling in his young brain. "I thought you all were in the same year?"

"We were, but I… got… held back a year," Harry answered. "I actually graduated with your mother, who was a year after me."

"Why?" Lily asked.

"Never you mind," Ginny broke in, "it's not important. Now come on, your father's right, if we don't hurry we will miss the train."

They never told Sirius or Lily about Voldemort or the horrible things he did while he was in power. They didn't want them to know about Harry's terrible past, in fear that it might change the way they looked at their father.

"If we do, then we can just travel by flying car, right Dad?" Sirius exclaimed, looking up at his father.

"Yeah, hey, Gin, can't we just--"

"No we can't!" Ginny bellowed. "You got into a lot of trouble for that! And you missed my sorting, didn't you, Dear?"

"Yes, Love," Harry replied, kissing his wife on the cheek. But as she walked out the front door Harry turned to his two kids and whispered, "It was rather fun, though."

"HARRY!"

"Coming, Ginny," he called, Lily and Sirius both laughing behind him. Harry spent the next ten minutes loading their trunks into the car. He couldn't wait to get back to his home at Hogwarts.

Ever since the end of his seventh year he'd lived at Hogwarts as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. When he and Ginny got married she moved in with him, as did their children. So Sirius had already spent half his life at the school, as did Lily. But they loved it, and Harry loved it, too. It was his home, and had been since he was eleven years old.

"Sirius," he whispered to his son as Ginny and Lily loaded the final trunk into the back. "Can I speak with you for a second?"

"Yeah," Sirius said, wiping the sweat from his brow. Together, the two walked back over the house, where Harry pulled out a small package and handed it to Sirius. "What's this?"

"This is… well, I should say these are… gifts," Harry replied. "I got them when I was at Hogwarts, and I thought that they should be handed down to you… and your sister, when she comes to Hogwarts. But don't open the package yet. I don't want your mother to know I gave them to you. One's… well, one is something that was given to me by Albus Dumbledore when I was in my first year. It was my father's, and he wanted me to have it. So Dumbledore passed it on to me."

"Why couldn't—?"

"Not important," Harry interrupted. "But it was my father's. Take good care of it, okay?" He watched as Sirius's head nodded, and then continued. "The other is a map, which also belonged to my father. It'll look like a piece of parchment when you first look at it, but when you hold your wand against it and say 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good' the parchment will transform into a map."

Sirius gawked at him, then whispered, "You're giving me… a map?"

"Yes," Harry smiled. "A map of Hogwarts and all the people in it. But remember that no on, besides your sister, can see it. So, after you're finished using it, point your wand against it and say the words 'Mischief Managed'. It'll clean itself of all its contents."

"Thanks, Dad," Sirius whispered, stunned, and gave his father a hug.

"One more thing," Harry added, pulling away for a moment. "Never let me see you using them. I don't want to have to confiscate them, alright?"

Sirius nodded and laughed as his dad winked at him. Harry patted Sirius on the back and watched as he hopped into the car along with his little sister.

It only took a few minutes for them to reach Kings Cross Station, and when they did Harry gave Sirius some money for sweets off the trolley and told him to share with his cousins. Sirius agreed and ran off to the train, while the rest of his family turned and went back home, where they would floo back to the castle.

It only took him a few minutes to find his older cousins, who were all sharing a compartment near the end of the train. He joined them, and kept his promise with his dad by buying them all sweets off the trolley.

"Anything off the trolley, Dears?" the woman with the trolley asked the little family. Instantly, Sirius got up and bought them all Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, and many other sugary snacks.

It was when Sirius handed the woman the money that his eyes fell on the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her white blonde hair was sleek and touched the middle of her back with no problems. She had a pretty, pointed face with dark eyes that held a small spark. Her smile that she gave the woman with the trolley lit up the whole train, and his stomach did a little flip as her hand reached forward to grab a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans.

Her eyes fell on him a moment after his fell on hers, and the smile she was giving disappeared in a heartbeat. He didn't know why, but she seemed to be glaring at him, as if she hated him for some bizarre reason. At the sight of his smile she turned away in a huff and slammed her compartment door shut. He didn't have a clue why she disliked him, but at the moment he didn't care. All he cared about was getting to know her and that wonderful smile.