Disclaimer: Any characters that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling, not me. I wish I had created them, but she is a much better writer and deserves the well-earned credit.

James Potter awoke as the first rays of sun reached in through his window. Blinking sleep from his hazel eyes, he glanced at his clock, which read 6:03 am, September 1. That was all it took for him to remember what today was as he shot out of bed, eagerly running to get ready. He was starting school today, he was finally going to Hogwarts!

Of course, James had grown up knowing he would go to Hogwarts, but finally the day had arrived. He couldn't wait to ride the Hogwarts Express, to make some new friends, to get sorted, and to get to explore Hogwarts! Hopefully he would be into Gryffindor, like his father, though Ravenclaw, like his mother, wouldn't be too bad. He knew he wouldn't end up in Hufflepuff – he didn't have anything against Hufflepuffs but he knew he was better than that. And if he ended up in Slytherin… well, he didn't want to even consider that happening. Needless to say, James was very excited.

By seven o'clock, James was bouncing down the stairs with his trunk, which he had just finished packing. He was dressed in muggle clothes – he would change on the train – and he'd even tried to comb his unruly black hair, but quickly given up. He placed his trunk by the front door and ran to the kitchen to get a few pieces of toast from Calpurnia, his family's house elf. Toast in hand, he quietly slipped back up the stairs. Walking past his room, he poked his head quietly into the next room. He was greeted by the sight of his five-year-old sister Madeline, still asleep in her bed. Her black hair was splayed out over her pillow, her face peaceful and content. James longed to wake his sister, to play with her one last time before leaving but he decided to let her sleep.

Turning his back on his sister, he ran back down the stairs and out the back door to the broom shed. Retrieving his broom, he took off into the air. James knew he wouldn't be able to play Quidditch on the house team as a first year, but he loved to fly. It was always a good way for him to get his energy out, and this morning a good way to calm down his excitement. Staying low, James weaved among the trees of the forest behind his parents' house, time passing quickly as he flew.

By 9:30, James' parents were awake and dressed, as was his sister. Stepping to the back door, her gently-curling blonde hair cascading down her back, James' mother, Margaret called to her son to come in and have a real breakfast before leaving. Regretfully, James flew to the broom shed and dismounted, putting his broom away until he returned home from school. With a parting glance to his broom, James turned and ran into the house where his mother met him with a large hug.

"I can't believe you're finally going to Hogwarts," she said. "It seems like it was yesterday when your father and I first told you about Hogwarts. The house is going to be so quiet without you around. I'm going to miss you so much."

"C'mon Mum, I'll be back for Christmas break. Besides, I'm going to learn so much!" James said eagerly. He tried to pull out of his mother's embrace, but she wouldn't let him go.

"Let the boy breathe Margaret," James' father said with a chuckle as he came up behind his wife and son, holding Madeline's hand. "He'll be back soon enough. And when he does, you'll probably wish he were back at school, rather than causing havoc around here."

Margaret gave a watery smile as she released her son, straightening his glasses as she did so. "I suppose…" she murmured. "Well, let's go have breakfast and then head to the train station."

"Yay!" James cheered, "Come on Maddie!" He grabbed his sister's hand and giggling, they led the way into the kitchen.

Elsewhere in the world, a young girl was asleep in her bed, her red hair cascading over her pillow. Her mother stood in the doorway to her room, studying her youngest daughter who was still sleeping peacefully. As the clock digits changed from 9:29 to 9:30, she sighed and crossed the room to wake the girl.

"Lily…" she said gently as she shook the red-haired girl. "Lily… time to wake up. You've got a train to catch."

At these words, Lily's eyelids flew open to reveal bright, emerald eyes. "What time is it?" Lily asked.

"Nine-thirty," her mother responded. "But don't worry. You packed your trunk last night. All you have to do is get dressed and eat some breakfast. Then we can get going and we'll still have plenty of time to get to the station. I'm going to go downstairs now. Don't go back to sleep – you hear me?" she warned her daughter, who was notorious for trying to sleep as long as possible.

"Yes Mum. Don't worry, I wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep today. I'm so excited!" she exclaimed as she hopped out of bed.

"Alright," her mother said with a laugh. "Come downstairs with your trunk once you're dressed."

"Okay Mum!" Lily Evans cried, pushing her mother out the door, eager to start her day.

At 9:30 on the dot, Severus Snape's alarm clock went off. He got out of bed quietly and dressed before going downstairs with his trunk. He headed to the kitchen. After getting a bowl of cereal, he sat down at the table, which was already occupied by his mother and father. They ate breakfast in silence. Around ten o'clock Severus stood up and brought his bowl to the sink.

Turning back around to the table he asked, "Can we go now? I'd like to get to the station a little early." Although he didn't say it out loud, he was hoping to meet Lily Evans at the station and sit with her on the train ride. His parents nodded their agreement. In silence, he led the way to the car. The silence was uncomfortable, but Severus knew his parents were doing their best to not ruin his first day of school with their usual fighting and he was grateful.

"Sirius Black, are you up yet?" a voice screeched up the stairs. "It's almost time to leave. If you miss the train it would serve you right!"

With a sigh, Sirius rolled over in his bed, his black hair sticking up all over the place. So typical of his mother to not even bother walking up the stairs to wake him. His clear blue eyes glanced at the clock. Ten o'clock! Geez, he was running late! Sirius quickly got out of bed and got dressed before hastily packing his trunk, throwing everything he needed into it sloppily. Then dragging his trunk behind his, he rushed down the stairs. He was met at the bottom of the stairs by his mother, her black hair hanging lank around her face.

"There's no time to eat anything anymore. Outside, now. We need to get going if you want to make the train. It would serve you right if you missed it, but I don't want to deal with you for another year."

"Fine," Sirius replied. He hadn't expected any differently. "But let me say goodbye to Reg."

"Quickly!" his mother shouted behind him as he rushed back up the stairs. Storming into his brother's room, he came to a halt when he saw the boy was still asleep. He turned to go back out quietly without waking him.

"Going to leave without saying good bye?" a sleepy voice asked from the bed.

"I thought you were still asleep. I didn't want to wake you." Sirius explained with a guilty grin.

"Sirius!" his mother called from below.

"It sounds like you need to go," said Regulus, his voice still half asleep.

"And it sounds like you need to go back to sleep." Sirius retorted.

"I will as soon as you leave. Have a great year at school. Make sure you end up in Slytherin and don't forget to write!" Regulus advised his older brother.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll see." Sirius said reluctantly. "I'll see you at Christmas!" He turned on his heel and rushed back down the stairs to his impatiently waiting mother. He was finally getting out of here.

Author's Note: This is my first story, as well as my first chapter. I hope you liked it. I really want to improve as a writer, so if you could please click the review button and let me know what you thought, I'd be really grateful. Constructive criticism is always welcome. And it's always nice to know that someone liked what you wrote. ;)

Also, in case you're wondering, I'm going to try and make my story follow the books as much as possible, so there'll probably be quite a few characters and scenes that you'll recognize. I hope you like it!

Thanks!