September 1, 1971. Kings Cross Station, platform 9¾. Late Morning.
James Potter
Pardon the language, but James was so bloody excited! He had been waiting for this day for practically his whole life. He was finally on his way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His head was filled with exciting stories his parents had told him of their days at Hogwarts, and even more exciting visions of his future adventures. James had been so preoccupied in his own thoughts, he almost didn't hear his mother calling out his name as he began to board the Hogwarts Express.
"James Potter! You get back here right now and say goodbye to your father and me!" James fought the urge to groan as he turned around to see his mum and dad standing on the edge of the platform. James dropped his trunk on the train and walked back over to his parents. Fleamont and Euphemia Potter loved their son very much. For many years, they thought they could not have children, even though they had tried. The Potters were pleasantly surprised when Euphemia found she was pregnant with their first and only child. They pretty much spoiled James growing up; they had the money to do so. It was just, at times, they could be a bit much for the boy. But he loved them nonetheless. As he got closer to them, James could see tears in his mum's eyes.
"Don't cry, mum. I'll be back for christmas holiday!" he reassured her as she pulled him into a tight hug.
"I know, love. I'll just miss seeing you! You promise to write us every day?" She pulled away and grabbed his face as to look him in the eyes.
"I promise!"
"Oh, come off him Mia! He's not going away permanently!" His father said, winking at his son, "He's old enough to be on his own and he'll be back soon enough!"
"I know Monty, I'm just going to miss my boy is all!"
James walked over to his father to say their goodbyes, and he crouched down and put his hand on his shoulder. "James, have a blast at school. I know you'll make me and your mother very proud. Just a few tips," Oh no. Here comes the lecture, "watch out for Peeves, he can be pretty tricky, when you tryout for the Quidditch team, just remember to stay confident and that it runs in your blood. Something else to remember is that, while I know you'll be sorted into Gryffindor, a person's house doesn't say everything about them. I've known some horrible Gryffindors in my time, as well as some wonderful Slytherins. Just remember to stay true to you. And tell headmaster Dumbledore I say hi!" He pulled him into a tight hug, and just as James felt a tightening in his throat, they pulled apart and his father gave him a slight push towards the train. "Have fun, James! Write to us soon, my boy!"
James waved to his parents as he grabbed his trunk and made his way into the compartments. As soon as he entered the car, he was met to a wall of sound. Students, in robes such as his own and others with coloured ones, were jumping from compartment to compartment, greeting friends they hadn't seen since the end of last term, and yelling at old enemies. James, being a first year, was completely overwhelmed. He walked up and down the aisle, struggling to find an empty compartment. He finally found one where only one of the seats were occupied by a boy with long black hair. James slid open the door and poked his head in.
"Alright if I joined you?" He said, half asking, half informing.
"Not at all!" The boy replied as he twirled his wand between his fingers. James grunted a "thank you" as he set his luggage above the seats. He sat down across the way from the boy. His face was framed by the hair that drooped down to his shoulders. His robes, unlike James's, seemed to fit him perfectly, and his wand was almost matching his hair in colour and ancient runes adorned its surface. There was a brief moment of silence as we both sat and examined each other. James broke first.
"My name's James. James Potter." he extended his hand. The boy took it.
"Potter, eh? Sirius Black, fellow pureblood." James shook Sirius's hand reluctantly after hearing his surname. Black means he's a Slytherin. James tried not to show his discomfort, but apparently, he didn't do the best job. "Ah, don't worry. I'm not like the rest of my prejudice family. I'm the...black sheep if you will, pun intended." Sirius's statement eased his mind slightly and made him chuckle. James supposed he seemed better than his predispositions of the Black family.
"I assume you're aiming for Gryffindor, yeah?" Sirius asked with a mischievous grin.
"Yeah, both my parents were when they were here. You? Slytherin, right?"
"Screw that! I heard you can ask the hat to sort you into the house of your choice. Gryffindor is the one for me, mate!" James let himself visibly relax. Just then, the compartment door slid open to reveal a very pretty first year girl. Her hair was the colour of fire, and her eyes, as green as the Slytherin crest, pierced James as if she were casting a spell right then and there. She was quite possibly the prettiest girl James had ever seen.
"Is it alright if we join you? Everywhere else is full." Merlin! Even her voice was beautiful!
"Yeah!" James said, a bit louder than he had meant to. James gave Sirius a look that he hoped communicated that the redhead in front was his. Sirius could have her friend.
"Thank you! Sev and I have been searching, but it seems everyone got here long before we had!" She moved in to reveal not another pretty girl, but a boy with bags under his eyes that were almost as dark as his greasy hair that rivaled Sirius's in length. His eyes, which framed a hooked nose, seemed to be as dark as his robes. When he and James made eye contact, they both exchanged polite nods. "I'm bit new to all this! I'm the first witch in my family, as far as I know!" James just smiled at the girl. He couldn't help but think of how pretty she was, "My name's Lily Evans." She said as she, much to the chagrin of James, sat down next to Sirius. Her friend Sev, sat next to James.
James extended his hand, "James Potter. It's a pleasure, Lily." In some of the best few seconds of his life, she grabbed his hand and shook it. He nodded over to Sirius, "This bloke is my," James decided to try the term, "friend, Sirius."
"Sirius Black. Don't worry, I'm not like the rest of my gity family. Muggle-borns are fine by me!"
"You must say that quite a lot!" James teased, having recognized the echo in his phrasing.
"Well, when your family's got a reputation as bad as mine, you gotta learn a few things." He turned to the boy sitting next to him, "And your name is?"
Sev shifted in his seat and, when he finally spoke, was barely audible, "Severus Snape."
"If that's not a Slytherin sounding name, I don't know what is!" James half-joked, hitting him in the arm with his elbow. Sirius sniggered along.
"What's wrong with being a Slytherin, huh?" Asked Severus, defensively. He sounded like he was holding back tears.
"Oh nothing!" Sirius teased, "Just that they're basically all conceited, little pureblood arseholes!" The two boys laughed again. James was beginning to like Sirius even more, and his dislike for Severus continued to grow.
"Hey! Lay off him you two! From what Sev has told me, Slytherin seems like a great house!" Lily jumped to the defence of her companion.
"Lily!" Said Severus sharply, "back off!"
"Oy, mate!" James said, "She's trying to help you out! Show some bloody appreciation!"
"Watch your mouth!" Retorted Lily.
"My apologies." James said, sarcastically. "This," he pointed to Severus, "is typical Slytherin behavior, Evans. Cocky, whiny, and sniveling! You want to be in Gryffindor, with us!"
"Hah! Gryffindor's perfect for arrogant know-it-alls like you, Potter!" Severus fired. His voice still charged with the danger of crying. "And Slytherins do not whine or snivel! We excel and intimidate!"
"Then what are you doing right now?" Prodded Sirius, his wand slowly pointing at Severus, "You're not very intimidating with all that sniveling you're doing, Snape."
James came to a realization "Oy! That's what I'll call you, Snivellus! Snivellus Snape, the sodding git of a Slytherin!" He and Sirius burst out laughing.
They both began chanting, "Snivellus Snape, Snivellus Snape."
"Cut it out!" Yelled the ever-beautiful Lily Evans. James and Sirius kept on chanting, seeming not to have heard the seething girl.
Soon, Snape's sniveling gave way to crying and he ran out of the compartment. Lily stood up and began to run after him, but stopped at the door. She turned around to face the two boys, who were still snickering, "You two are bullies. I hope you know that." She gave them one last disgusted look before turning to leave.
"Oh c'mon, love! You know he deserved it!" James called after her as he and Sirius continued laughing. After a few seconds, James turned to Sirius, "You're not so bad, mate. I think we're going to be fast friends."
Before Sirius could respond, the compartment door flew open. James turned with a smug smile on his face, "Miss us already, Evans?" But it wasn't Lily that was standing in the doorway, instead there was a rather lanky looking fellow with two rather nasty looking scars running diagonally across his face. His thin, light brown hair almost covered is blueish-grey eyes. His robes informed of his status as a first year. James felt slight disappointment that he was not Lily Evans.
"Hate to break it to, mate," the boy said, offering an apologetic smile, "but whatever you did to that poor girl, she's not coming back."
"Bah!" James exclaimed as he waved his hand dismissively.
"However," the boy continued, "that does leave vacancy in this compartment, no?"
"Yeah," This time it was Sirius who spoke up, "come on in!" The lanky boy with scars on his face smiled and made his way inside of the compartment.
When he was all settled, he turned to face James from his spot on the bench next to Sirius and stuck his hand out, "The name's Remus Lupin, prospective Gryffindor."
James took Remus's hand in his own, "James Potter; that makes two of us."
Remus nodded and moved his hand towards Sirius, "Make that three; Sirius Black, pleasure."
Something clicked in James's head, "Wait a minute, Lupin? As in Lyall Lupin, the famous ghost hunter?"
Remus chuckled softly to himself before answering, "Yes, and no. My father is indeed Lyall Lupin, but he was not a ghost hunter; ghosts were alive at some point, my father searched for poltergeists and Boggarts and such: things that were never alive. It's how he met my mum actually. On one of his searches, he got rid of a Boggart that was after her. She was right surprised, being a muggle and all."
"Ah!" Said James, "She must've been thrilled to learn more about the wizarding world. Muggles are so easily excited!" Something in Remus's face darkened, though the two other boys didn't seem to notice. James was curious however about the boy's childhood, "So what's it like, then? Living in the muggle world?"
Much to James's and Sirius's delight, Remus went into a description of day to day muggle-life. Things that had seemed trivial and commonplace to Remus completely shocked the two purebloods in front of him. Soccer? Sounds like a ruddy boring sport, what with no flying or balls trying to kill you or anything. When Remus showed James a picture of his family, he was shocked to find that no one in the portrait was moving.
"Oy! Why isn't anyone moving?" James shook the photo a few times before passing it over to Sirius.
"'Course not! That's magic that they don't have." Said Sirius, taking the photo. He smiled at it before handing back to Remus, "Fascinating the ways that muggles get along without magic. Plus," he began with a mischievous grin colouring his face, "it drives my mum crazy when I speak of anything non-magical." Sirius pulled out a tiny speaker and a tape. He set it on the floor between the seats, pointed his wand at the pair of objects, and said "Engorgio!" The speaker grew to proper size and Sirius slipped the tape into the reader, "Check out this awesome muggle band I listen to. They're called The Beatles." The rest of the train ride was filled with laughs, sweets, music, sleeping on Remus's part, and the beginning of great friendships.