Okay, so, I wasn't going to start posting this until I'd completed it. But, uni is about to get hectic, even more so than usual. And I have five chapters of this more or less done. So, because I won't really have time to write for the rest of the month, I've decided to post this now. As per usual, there won't be regular updates; my life doesn't allow for it at the moment.
Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter
Written for - Favourite Hogwarts House BC Challenge with 'childhood sweethearts', OTP BC Challenge using 'overwhelmed', The If You Dare Challenge with 'soulmates'.
Chapter One
Saying goodbye to his parents wasn't as difficult as he had been worrying it would be. There were no tears, on his part or his mother's. Though it was clear they were going to miss him, they only had encouraging things to say about the journey he was going to take and the experiences he was going to have.
"Do try to be good, love." His mother whispered in his ear as she hugged him, her arms like a vice around his shoulders. He hugged her back just as fiercely, his head burrowing into her shoulder. He inhaled deeply, trying to engrave the smell of her perfume into his memory.
"At least, try not to get detention until next week." His father grinned at him. He stepped around his wife to pull James into a hug that wasn't quite as tight as the one his mum had subjected him to.
"I'll try, but I make no promises." James grinned back. He reached for the handle of his trunk and pulled it out of the way as a stern looking woman strode past, her two children trailing behind her.
"That's all I ask."
A loud, piercing whistle rang out above the chatter of those gathered on the platform and James tightened his hand around the handle of his trunk.
"Best get a move on, mate, or all the good seats will be taken." His father smiled gently at him, wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders.
"I'll write you the day after tomorrow and give you a chance to settle in." Mrs Potter promised. She kissed James on the cheek one last time before he jumped onto the train, nesting her head in the crook of her husband's shoulder.
"See you at Christmas!" James called back, moving aside as a girl with dark grey hair and a boy with greasy black hair and a crooked nose got on. She smiled at him gratefully as she passed and he returned it slightly, ignoring the scowl the boy sent in his direction as he trailed after her.
"We're proud of you, Jamie!" His mum shouted and then she smiled at him. "Go and find somewhere to sit."
With a final wave, James started down the corridor, peering into each compartment as he moved, trying to find one that was either empty or looked like the people inside were also first years.
.
Luckily, he'd got on near the back end of the train and it didn't take him long to find a compartment with only one person sitting inside. The door was already open, so he poked his head through the gap and coughed lightly to alert the only other boy of his presence. He startled slightly and James smiled apologetically, taking a hesitant step into the compartment.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." The boy scoffed at this, but nodded his head in acknowledgement. "I was wondering if I could sit here. Everywhere else is full." That wasn't completely true, but James didn't particularly want to sit with a group of rowdy fourth years and the other boy didn't need to know.
"No, it's fine." He closed the book he'd been reading; a water marked copy of The Adventure of Martin Miggs, The Mad Muggle, and looked at James expectantly when he didn't move.
"Right, cheers." James muttered sheepishly, lifting his trunk onto the rack above the plush bench seats. He lowered himself onto the seat opposite the boy and stared out of the window for a few minutes before sighing. He glanced over at the other boy and found him watching him in mild amusement.
"I'm James. James Potter." James said, breaking the silence that had settled over them and he ignored the manners his mother had tried to teach him. There was no way he was going to shake hands with another eleven year old, no matter how Pureblood he looked.
"I'm Sirius." The other boy said as a way of introduction and James grinned, ignoring the eye roll that was sent in his direction. "I know. I don't know what my parents were thinking. The Blacks have a bad habit of naming their children just so they can torture them."
The grin dropped from James' face and he stared at the boy opposite him. Sirius noticed and he clenched his jaw before speaking.
"What? Don't want to sit with me now?" James shook his head to clear it and he blinked a few times, noticing the well hidden flash of hurt that crossed Sirius' face.
"No! No, it's just that before my mum married Dad, she was a Black. She's never… spoken kindly about them." He watched as Sirius relaxed against the cushions of the seat and gave him a small smile to show he wasn't going anywhere.
"That's probably because there isn't anything nice about them." Sirius said sourly, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. He glanced around the compartment warily, as if trying to decide whether they'd be overheard or not. "My parents aren't so bad and I do love them. But my cousin Bellatrix is horrible."
"My dad always says that you should judge a person based on 'who they are, not what they are'. So unless you want to, I don't know, go around killing Muggles or something, I don't have a problem with you being a Black."
"That's awfully kind of you." Sirius said sarcastically and James let out a surprised laugh.
"I do try." Sirius snorted and James grinned. "You don't, do you? Want to run around murdering Muggles?"
Sirius stared at him for a few seconds and the then shook his head in exasperation. "No, Potter, I don't want to murder any Muggles. And if I did, it wouldn't be because they're a Muggle."
"That's reassuring." James commented, his lips twitching again. "So, if you're a Black, does that mean you're going to be in Slytherin?"
The other boy grimaced but quickly did his best to hide it. "It's expected of me. My family is rather focussed on tradition and blood purity, in case you hadn't noticed." He pulled a face, deliberately letting James see this time.
"But do think you'll end up there?" James wanted to know. He could already tell that Sirius was going to be his friend and if he ended up in Slytherin then it would make things difficult. Gryffindors weren't supposed to like Slytherins, after all.
"Probably. Being in Slytherin is a privilege, after all, and Blacks are the most privileged of all." He said this as if it was fact and James bit back any protests he had.
"Yeah, but do you want to be a Slytherin?"
"Why would that matter?" Sirius asked, genuine confusion causing his eyebrows to pull downwards into a frown.
"My dad says that sometimes the Hat takes your opinions into consideration. So maybe it will listen to you." James tried not to sound desperate, but he was determined not to lose the only friend he had made. Even if Sirius did end up in Slytherin, at least he'd do it having considered other possibilities.
"I suppose if I had to choose, I'd pick Ravenclaw. If I did end up there, I wouldn't be a complete disappointment to the family, at least. I wouldn't have to deal with Bella, either." James felt a small bubble of hope swell up in his chest and he fought to bite down the smile threatening to emerge.
"My mum was a Ravenclaw. She's always going on at me about how great it is." James said, pushing the sleeves of his jumper up and leaning back against the seat.
"My cousin, Andy, is a Ravenclaw and whenever she sees me, she tells me it's the best thing that's ever happened to her."
"Your cousin's name is Andy?" James questioned dubiously, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses.
"It's short for Andromeda. I told you; Blacks name their children purely so they can torture them." Sirius smiled faintly. "She's always been my favourite cousin. Bellatrix spends most of her time making fun of me. Narcissa never speaks to me and I don't need to spend any more time with the others to know they're all horrible. Andy was the first Black to be a house other than Slytherin in over a hundred years. My parents hate her for it, but she's always stood up for me."
James made an encouraging noise, not entirely sure what to say. He'd grown up without any extended family; his father had an older brother who lived in Austria and his mother didn't talk to any of her family, except for batty old Aunt Celia.
"Anyway, where do you reckon you'll go?" Sirius asked suddenly. His hands fiddled with his shirt sleeves and he looked at his fingers as he waited for an answer.
"That one's easy." James said smugly. "I'm going to be in Gryffindor."
Sirius scoffed. "Who'd want to be one of them?"
"Who wouldn't?" James countered with a scowl. "Gryffindor is the best of all the houses. My dad said so!"
"So? My dad says Slytherin's the best house and that's a lie." The hope that had been growing in James' chest diminished at this.
"My dad doesn't lie! You're not even going to be in Gryffindor, anyway, so what does it matter to you." James demanded heatedly. Sirius stopped short and blinked a few times.
"It doesn't, I suppose. Sorry." James gaped slightly at the apology before smiling.
"S'alright. I'm sorry too." Sirius returned the smile and ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head when a few strands fell into his eye.
"What if you're not in Gryffindor? Where would you want to go?" James scowled at that idea and scuffed his shoe against the train floor, watching with disinterest as dark fields flew passed the window.
"I will be. But, if I'm not, I don't suppose Hufflepuff would be too bad, nor would Ravenclaw."
"But not Slytherin?" Sirius said in amusement, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled.
"Definitely not."
"What's so special about Gryffindor, anyway?"
"What isn't? Gryffindors are brave, loyal, daring, and they get to go on adventures no one else could dream of." He declared and then let out a giggle.
"I guess that doesn't sound too bad. Maybe I'll break the tradition." Sirius conceded with a laugh. "Do they fight dragons?"
"All the time! My uncle Arnie used to be a dragon tamer in Hungary and Dad tells me loads of stories." James said, leaning forward. "D'you want to hear one?"
Sirius rolled his eyes, but leant forward nevertheless. "Go on then."
.
An hour and three stories later, James and Sirius were howling with laughter, James' chest heaving as he tried to control his breathing. Opposite him, Sirius was wiping tears from his eyes with his shirt sleeve. Neither of them noticed the two people standing in the door until one of them coughed. Both boys jumped slightly and glanced sheepishly at each other before turning to look at the newcomers.
"Sorry to bother you, but I think this belongs to you." It was the girl from earlier, closely followed by the same greasy haired boy. She was holding something out to James and when he realised what it was, his hand immediately jumped to his trousers pocket. "You dropped it earlier. I've been looking for you so I could give it back."
"Thank you." James said gratefully, reaching out so she could drop the watch into his hand. "It belonged to my grandfather." He murmured, almost as if to himself. He then stood up and carefully placed it in his trunk.
"That's alright. I just thought I'd better give it back to you. I'm Lily Evans, by the way."
"James Potter, and this is Sirius Black."
The other boy remained silent, glaring at the two new friends from beneath his hair.
"What house do you think you'll be in?" Lily asked curiously, sitting down to perch next to James. The boys grinned at each other and James lifted an invisible sword.
"'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad."
The greasy haired boy scoffed softly and James aimed a dark glare at him. Lily shot a warning look in his direction.
"Got a problem with that?"
"No." The boy sneered. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy."
"And where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" Sirius said quickly, immediately coming to the defence of his new friend.
The boy flushed slowly as James laughed loudly, his head thrown back until it rested against the back of the seat. Lily was slow to react, careful to hide the small smile from her companion but Sirius noticed and grinned at her.
"Come on, Severus, let's go back to our own compartment." She eventually said, looking at James and Sirius in what appeared to be vague dislike. She stood up and moved back over to the door, pulling it open. The boy stalked passed her, glaring at them over his shoulder as he headed down the corridor. Lily turned on her heel, closing the door behind her. Before she could shut it completely, James' voice stopped her.
"Oi, Evans! You never said where you wanted to go."
She smiled slightly. "Gryffindor doesn't sound too bad, does it?"
.
The trolley lady came soon after Lily and the boy had left and the kind, middle aged woman pushing it smiled at them as they bought their sweets. James dropped his armful of chocolate frogs, sugar quills and pumpkin pasties on the bench seat, collapsing down next to them. Opposite him, Sirius did the same and they grinned at each other before digging in.
"Hey, James, do you mind if I nick a chocolate frog?" Sirius asked, already reaching forwards.
"Not at all." James answered, holding one out with one hand and rummaging through the pile in search of a box of Bertie Bott's with the other.
"Cheers." Sirius went to grab the packet, his fingers brushing against James' hand and both boys froze in shock.
James had been told stories about what it was like to meet your soul mate all his life. His parents had been lucky enough to find each other and had taken great joy in telling their only son about how everything they'd known had changed.
The stories didn't do it justice, in James' opinion. The compartment, which had been varying shades of grey, white and black, was suddenly overwhelmingly bright. Colour was everywhere and for some reason, James found that he knew the names of all of them even though he'd never seen them before.
Sirius made a small noise of surprise and James snapped his attention back onto his new friend. The boy's hair was black, which given how dark it had been, wasn't really surprising and his eyes were grey with a hint of blue around the pupils. James found himself staring and tried to shake himself out of his daze, but wherever his gaze fell there were more colours to look at. The bright green fields outside the window had a certain charm to them and he spent a few minutes with his face close to the glass, trying to drink as much in as he could.
"D-did it happen to you, too?" Sirius asked quietly a few moments later, staring at James intently.
"Yeah." He breathed back, meeting Sirius' look with his own. "Yeah, it did."
"What the bloody hell's going on, Potter?" He wondered warily and James felt his mouth drop open.
"You mean you don't know about-?" He was cut off by Sirius' annoyed glare.
"Of course I know what it means. That we're… soul mates." He whispered the last part, as if it had only just occurred to him.
"Yeah, I guess we are." James was still shocked; it hadn't been expected, but he'd also been hoping for this day to come for as long as he could remember. His parents' stories had always sounded too good to be true and he had always wished that one day he'd be able to see that they weren't.
"How can you be so calm about this?" Sirius demanded, his eyes wide in panic. James reached out to grab his hand and pretended not to be hurt when the other boy shrank away from him.
"It's not that bad, is it? Why are you so scared?" James knew he'd hit a nerve when Sirius stopped short and glared at him fiercely. He was about to apologise when he felt a tentative hand grab hold of his and wrap around his fingers tightly.
"I'm not scared." Sirius muttered angrily and then he moaned and threw his head backwards so he was staring at the ceiling. "My parents are going to kill me. No one in my family has met their soul mate in four hundred years and of course mine is a bloke."
He sighed heavily and lifted his head to glance at James, offering him a wry smile. "Breaking traditions indeed, eh?"
"So you're not… worried… anymore?"
Sirius didn't answer that question and instead shot him a levelling look. "I'm not a poof, just so you know."
James hadn't even considered that possibility and he stared at the boy in front of him for a few seconds before speaking. "Neither am I."
"But aren't soul mates supposed to be, I don't know, in love or something?" Sirius asked hesitantly, picking at his fingernails and staring out of the window as he waited for an answer.
"I think we can be whatever we want. I'm pretty sure there aren't any rules about this." James said, watching Sirius' face carefully.
"So, we don't have to…" Sirius trailed off nervously and James was quick to shake his head.
"Nah. My grandmother's soul mate was her sister, so no, we definitely don't have to do anything. We can be friends." James was uncertain and he glanced up at Sirius. "Right? Being friends with me wouldn't be so terrible, would it?"
"I don't know." Sirius teased. "I'm beginning to regret letting you sit in here. You're clearly nothing but trouble, Potter."
"Yeah, yeah." James grumbled. Outside the window, the fields were slowly turning into buildings, rows and rows of red brick houses appearing seemingly out of nowhere. "C'mon. My dad said that as soon as the houses started to change into our robes."
"I bloody hate these things." Sirius complained as he pulled his trunk from the rack, tossing it unceremoniously on the seat and then opened it. From his position James could see that the trunk was lined in a dark green with silver threads shimmering from the overhead light. The Slytherin house crest was visible on some of the things piled neatly beneath Sirius' robes and he scoffed derisively at them before slamming the lid shut.
James focussed on getting his own robes out after that and pulled them out of his trunk quickly. A photo of him with his parents caught his eye and he paused to smile at the three waving figures standing in his living room. Behind him, he could hear Sirius cursing as he tried to tug the robes on over his shoes. Hiding a grin, he concentrated on changing into his robes, toeing his shoes off before pulling the material over his legs.
Just after he sat down again, watching in amusement as Sirius struggled to push his trunk back onto the rack, a voice echoed through the compartment. Both boys stopped moving in order to listen. "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."
"This is it then, I guess." James said as the train started to slow down. Sirius nodded and pushed passed him into the corridor with a laugh.