1 September 1971
This morning, when I woke up, I felt funny. Not funny as in ha, ha. I felt something tingling through my body. I looked around my room for a source of the tingling sensation. Black wallpaper, dark oak chest, trunk at the foot of my bed and red bedcovers. All normal. Glasses on the bedside table, muggle clothes neatly folded at the end of my bed, my owl in his cage and black carpet. Still normal. I could not find one thing out of place. I put my glasses on and looked again. I noticed my Hogwarts train ticket on my bedside table. Ahhhhh, Hogwarts. It was the first of September! I leapt from my bed and raced downstairs to the smell of pancakes. I couldn't wait for the sorting later that day. I grinned at my mother and she put three pancakes on my plate and said, "You'll need a lot of energy today, James. " I started eating and my mother served my father and herself some pancakes. When she was done, she handed me a rectangular package. "Write in this every day so that you'll remember Hogwarts forever." I smiled again, and put the package next to me on the table.
We ate quietly for the next half hour. When we were done, my mum and dad stood up and walked outside. I got my trunk and owl then I followed them. When they stopped, I gripped my dad's hand just as he disappeared. I went with him, spluttering as we stopped. I'll never get the hang of disapperation.
We landed outside King's cross station 5 seconds before my mum. We stopped between platforms nine and ten. I saw a young boy in black with greasy hair. He looked pathetic. My dad followed my line of sight and said, "Steer clear of him. He's Severus Snape. The whole family is shifty. They take pride in being strong Slytherins. His mother has always had a fascination for the dark arts so watch out." My mum nodded and took my hand. "Come on darling. You want to get good seats don't you?" I nod and start a run at the barrier.
The platform is loud. The air is filled with hoots of owls and the crying of kids to young to attend Hogwarts. I wait for my dad before heading towards the train. I say last goodbyes, hugging my mum and letting my dad slap me heartily on the back. "I'm not going to say be good" he said "But take care. I want you back home in one piece!" I laughed and let him help my trunk on to the bright red Hogwarts express.
I moved slowly down the train until I found a free compartment. Well, I thought it was free. Sitting in the compartment was a boy that must have been my age. He was tall and dark. His hair was medium length and he looked pretty preoccupied. I ruffled my hair nervously. "Um", I said, "Would you mind sharing?" He winked and nodded. Not long after I sat down, a small, chubby, mousy haired boy came in. His face was twitching like a rodent. He didn't even ask. He just said, "I'm Peter Pettigrew." I smiled weakly and said "James Potter." The boy beside me said "Sirius Black" and returned to staring out the window. Peter jumped. "Black! Aren't your folks big You-Know-Who supporters?" Sirius grimaced and said, "If we end up friends you'll find that I'm not really a Black. It's just my name." I already liked Sirius.
We were in the middle of discussing house groups when another boy came in. I noticed Sirius' head flick towards the door. He smiled at the new comer and stood up. "Hello new bee! Are you in first year too? I'm Sirius, this is James and that one is Peter. You can sit with us if you want." The new boy smiled and said "I'm Remus Lupin. I'd love to sit with you. Hello everyone! Yes, I'm a fellow first year." The rest of the train trip went fast. We talked about everything we could think of: Quidditch, houses, parentage and life before Hogwarts. When the train stopped we were all excited and had all decided that we wanted to be in Gryffindor. Of course, my family are strong Gryffindors, the Blacks are Slytherins and the Pettigrews are Hufflepuffs.
We followed a man called Hagrid onto boats and to Hogwarts. It was amazing! Finally we arrived at the great hall. I saw the sorting hat and smiled. I watched the muggle borns stare at it with horror. I was waiting for it to start singing. When the song was up, I clapped it along with the rest of the school. Sirius was one of the first to be sorted. He took a while. I watched anxiously. After about a minute, the hat said 'Gryffindor!' I saw my classmates get sorted one by one. A pretty girl called Lily Evans was Gryffindor. Remus was Gryffindor too. Frank Longbottom, Gryffindor. There were loads of Gryffindors. We got to the 'P's. A boy with a squashed face called Luke Parkinson got Slytherin. Then Pettigrew got Gryffindor after 3 minutes. Then finally it was my turn. I walked up confidently, ruffled my hair and put the hat on. It had touched my head for five seconds when 'Gryffindor'. I chucked the hat off and strolled down to the Gryffindor table. I was clapped on the back by the Head girl, Molly Weasley and went to join my friends.
The feast was amazing. The food was in league with my mum's. The trifle was the best. My mum had been right. I had needed energy. I was shovelling down the food, trying to eat all I wanted before it disappeared. When it did go, I felt contented. Albus Dumbledore stood up and said something I wasn't concentrating on. Then I saw people get up around me and followed suit, following the crowd towards the Gryffindor common room, where I got changed and unwrapped the book my mum had got me. It was red leather, with a lion woven on the cover. There looked to be enough pages for two years. Then I sat on my bed and wrote in this diary. And, as they say, the rest is history. So see ya reader, till next time.
James Charlus Potter
8 September 1971
Sorry that I haven't written for some time.1 week in fact. I worked out that if I write once a week, this book will last me for the next eight years, including this year. So this week I had incredible fun being able to use MY wand. Of course, I've used my dad's since I was tiny but…? I guess it feels different. The whoosh you get when you perform wingardium leviosa perfectly when you could never do it with a different wand. Now I know that it's true that you can never perform as well with another's wand.
I've met the sweetest girl. I recognised her at once from the sorting. She's in all of my classes. Her name is Lily and it suits her perfectly. She has long, flowing red hair and beautiful eyes. I don't think she likes me. I sat next to her in potions and she turned her nose up and marched over to the next table with a Slytherin boy. I don't know why she'd want to be friendly with him. Lily is obviously a muggleborn, otherwise she would've been told about the Slytherins. I feel a need to tell her all about everything, to protect her.
Within the next few days, I learnt more about Lily. After much staring, I gathered that the boy she sits next to is Snape and he fancies her. I decided that I'm going to get her to go out with even if I turn 40 before it happens, even if I die trying. No way is that Snape boy getting my Lily Evans.
I discovered that, at Hogwarts, amazing food isn't a treat like it is at home. We get awesome kippers, scrambled eggs and pancakes every morning. It's awesome! It turns out Sirius never gets food this good, his brother always got priority back home. I asked him why and he didn't say a word. Maybe it's because of that muggle friend he's forever going on about? It'll need more investigation.
Remus is really smart. He is saving my life with homework at the moment. How could I know that we were supposed to read our textbooks before we arrived? I've almost finished reading them and then I'll be caught up with it all. The head girl, Molly, doesn't seem to like me playing exploding nap in the afternoons. I think she's happier now that I'm reading instead. Not for long though. Like I said, I'm almost finished. Just A history of Magic left. I heard from one of the other Gryffindors that it's really boring. Maybe I won't bother…? Who knows?
I've received a letter from my parents. It just asked about sorting and the train. It was pretty boring. I told them about my friends and used this journal to help answer questions. I've just sent them my second letter, telling them about my first week. I reckon I'm faring pretty well. Some kids need a letter from their parents once a DAY! (Including Peter.)
Peter Pettigrew is as much of a coward as he looks. His mother was a pretty good witch but he hasn't inherited her talent. I don't even know how he got in Gryffindor. I think he's a true Hufflepuff. He blushes all the time, never speaks up and is a bit of an idiot. If someone asks him a question, he'll look around, hoping someone else will respond. Who else would do that but a Hufflepuff?
Anyway, I'm almost at the end of my page for this week, so sayonara!
James Charlus Potter