Madammarauder

Aboard the Hogwarts Express

Eleven years old, James Potter, lay in bed on a humid, rainy, Monday night on September 9. James pressed the light button on the side of his watch to check the time. It was 3:57 in the morning. The reason James was up at the odd hours of the night was because he was nervous about the next day being the first day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Finally, he found a comfortable position and fell into an uneasy sleep.

" James, dear, hurry up! Binky has made you breakfast." Mrs. Potter exclaimed from downstairs.

James woke up with a large, lazy yawn. Once again, he looked down at his watch. This time, it was 9:00 on the dot. James then remembered why he hadn't gotten a good sleep. Once again, butterflies filled his stomach at the thought of going to a new place where nobody knew whom he was, and vice versa.

" Rise and shine, James." Mr. Potter said joyfully, standing in the doorway of James' room. " I've got something for you." At this, James pulled back his covers and jumped out of his bed.

" What is it?" He asked, trying to see around his father's back.

" Now. Now. Don't get your robes in a wad." Mr. Potter said. Fighting his son back. He then pulled a large, burgundy and gold, velvet cage from behind his back.

" Dad! Is that my very own owl?" James asked in awe.

" You bet."Mr. Potterreplied, " But only if you write to your mother and me at least once a week."

" You have my word." James pledged, grasping the cage. He set the cage on his bed and pulled the cloth that was covering it off. Inside was a medium sized, snowy white barn owl. The beautiful bird was shocked by the sudden light, but he just hooted softly. "Thanks, dad." James said, giving his father a hug.

James walked down to the kitchen, pulling his trunk behind him, his owl's cage under his arm.

" Do you like your gift?" Mrs. Potter asked, watching James as he walked in, and immediately noticing the cage under his arm.

" More than you know." James reassured her, sitting on the other side of her. James reached for the bacon, and started to nibble on it.

" James. Are you okay?" Mr. Potter asked. Joining James and Mrs. Potter in the kitchen.

" I'm fine," James said with a sigh, " Just a little nervous, that's all."

" What's to be nervous about?" Mrs. Potter asked.

" I don't know. It's just what if I don't make any friends? Or if I don't make good marks?" James asked, looking up from his half eaten scrambled eggs.

" James, you know that if you do the best you can in your school work, then your mother and I will be very proud of you. So, you shouldn't be worried about that. Secondly, the most fun part about school is making your friends." Mr. Potter said. " I had a blast at Hogwarts. And the best times were spent with my friends."

" Really?" James asked. Mr. Potter nodded. "How about you, mum?" Mrs. Potter nodded as well. James was considerably relieved by this thought, but that didn't make his doubts go away.James finished his eggs in silence, thinking about what his parents had said, when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

" Master James?" squeaked the little house elf, Binky. James turned to Binky, " Yes, Binky?"

" Binky just wanted to let master know that he will be missing Master James very much." The house elf responded, tears pouring out of his huge eyes. His ears were drooping in sadness. Binky suddenly grasped James leg.

" Binky, I will miss you too." James said, patting the house elf's small head. " And don't forget that I will be coming home for holidays." Binky lifted his head up, his ears raising in joy, "Really?" He asked in excitement. James nodded, " Then I will have a feast prepared for whenever you come back." Binky promised, running back into the kitchen to prepare Mr. and Mrs. Potter's dinner. Both Mr. and Mrs. Potter looked at James, he just shrugged and grabbed his trunk.

" We had better be going." Mrs. Potter said., standing up, she took out her wand and zoomed her plates into the sink.

Lily Evans sat on her front porch in the swaying bench that she always sat at when she was troubled. Lily was incredibly excited that she was going to Hogwarts, but at the same time, she was very nervous.

" Come on, Lily." Mrs. Evans said, " We had better be going." Lily just nodded, standing up, she grabbed her trunk, and her kitten, Fargo, and loaded everything into the car.

" Mum, is Petunia coming?" Lily asked as her mother and father got into the car. Mrs. Evans, who was sitting in the passenger's seat, turned and shook her head sadly.

Petunia was Lily's older sister. Even though they were sisters, they were the best of friends. Until Lily got her acceptance letter to Hogwarts. Once Petunia found out that Lily was a soon-to-be witch, she completely shunned her. Now, Petunia wouldn't even look at Lily directly, Petunia now thought of Lily as a freak.

As Mr. Evans, Mrs. Evans, and Lily rode down the empty roads to get to King's Cross, Mr. Potter looked into the rear-view mirror, and saw Lilylooking out of the window with a single tear running down her cheek.

" I will miss you so much, Jamie." Mrs. Potter wailed, embracing James in a tight hug.

" Mum," James said, looking around to see if anyone at the station was watching. " I will miss you too, but please don't call me Jamie." James begged, patting his mother's back. Once Mrs. Potter had released him, Mr. Potter gave him a hug as well, but he wasn't as emotional as Mrs. Potter. He might have been, but considering that he was a man, he didn't want to show it. "Good-bye, James."

" Bye, dad." James said, returning the hug. James then turned to board the train, " Oh, James."

James spun around quickly. " Remember that if you need anything, you can just write." Mr. Potter said. James just nodded and turned to get on the train.

After several minutes of searching, James finally found a compartment with only two occupants. James decided that neither of them looked like Slytherins. So, he opened the door, "Do you mind if I sit in here?" The two boys, both surprised from the sudden entrance, shook their heads. James smiled, "Thanks."

" My name is Remus Lupin." One boy said, standing up to help James with his trunk. This boy had short, brown hair. He wasn't much shorter than James. Remus looked nervous when James entered, but loosened up considerably. " What's your name?"

" Sorry. My name is James Potter." James said, shaking Remus' hand once they had placed the trunk down.

" My name is Peter Pettigrew." The other boy said, standing up to help James with his owl's cage. This boy was a few inches shorter than James, and he had very short, sandy blonde hair. Once he had placed James' owl down, James shook his hand just as he had done with Remus.

" That is a nice owl you have there, James." Remus complimented, walking over to look at James' owl. " What have you named it?" James hadn't thought about what he should call the owl.

" I don't know." James said truthfully. Remus opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted when someone slid the compartment door open.

" Hey, do you mind if I sit in here? Everywhere else is filled with Slytherins and such." James, Remus, and Peter all shook their heads, " Not at all." James said. The boy smiled, revealing white, straight teeth. The boy had dark, black hair, and blue-gray eyes. He was actually about the same height as James. The three boys walked over to helphim with his luggage. The boy, once again, smiled. " My name is Sirius Black."

" My name is Remus Lupin." Remus said, shaking Sirius' hand.

" I'm Peter Pettigrew." Peter said, shaking Sirius' hand as well.

" And I'm James Potter." James said, shaking Sirius' hand as Peter and Remus had done.

" Potter." Sirius said, " That name is familiar. Do your parents work in the Ministry?" James nodded. " How about your parents?" James asked.

" No." Sirius said, " As much as I hate to say it, but they are both Death Eaters."

" What's a Death Eater?" Peter asked, looking over at Sirius.

" It is what they call Voldemort's followers." Sirius said. Both Remus and Peter flinched at his name. His name didn't affect James, considering that he heard it listening to his father's conversations so often. " Do any of you have any brothers or sisters?" Sirius asked. trying to change the subject. James and Remus both shook their heads. " I have an older sister." Peter said.

" I'm an only child." Remus said.

" You're lucky." Sirius said.

" Why do you say that?" James asked.

" Well, I have two older brothers, and one younger sister." Sirius said, " My sister is the only one in my family that I get along with. The rest of my family are cold-hearted. And either Death Eaters, or soon-to-be death eaters." Sirius said, seeing the worried looks on the other boys' faces, he added quickly, " But don't worry, I am one of the few nice ones in the family." The boys sighed.

After quite a while of talking, Remus rummaged in his bag for something.

" Wizard's Chess, anyone?"

Lily sat in her compartment, playing with Fargo, waiting for someone to join her. Suddenly, Fargo jumped off of Lily's lap, and ran up to the compartment door, scratching it. As Lily picked the kitten up, the compartment door opened to reveal two girls.

" Hello. Are these seats taken?" One of the girls asked. Lily shook her head.

" Great!" The other one said with a grin. " My name is Gabrielle Turner. And this is my twin sister, Abbigail."

" Hi." Lily said, " My name is Lily Evans. " I don't have a twin, but this is my kitten, Fargo." Lily said, cuddling Fargo in her arms.

" AAAWWWW." Abbigail said, walking over to pet Fargo. Abbigail had dark, brown hair that was about shoulder length. She had beautiful, hazel eyes and sophisticated looking glasses. " He's so cute."

" What's his name? Fargo?" Gabrielle asked, walking up to pet Fargo as well. Lily nodded. " So. You two are twins?" Lily asked, " But you don't even look alike."

" I know." Abbigail said, " We are fraternal twins."

" Most people think that just because we are twins means that we have to look alike and be the same way. But, believe me, we are the most unalike people you will ever meet." Gabrielle laughed.

" Abbigail, could you hand me Fargo's toy mouse?" Lily asked, pointing to a small stuffed animal next to Abbigail's foot.

" Please. Lily, call me Abbi." Abbi said, reaching down to get the toy.

" And, you can call me Gabby." Gabrielle added.

" What year are the two of you?" Lily asked, sitting down between the two girls.

" We are both first years." Abbi responded. Lily smiled, " Me too." Lily also smiled inside, happy that she had already found two new friends.