-1Chapter One: The First Day At Hogwarts

James stood, staring at the massive scarlet train engine and frowned. He was wondering how exactly he was supposed to deal with his trunk and find pretty girls at the same time when someone ran into him from behind.

"Oh, sorry." Came a petulant girl's voice. James turned around to see a short girl with flaming red hair wheeling her trunk away, arguing with a small, black-haired girl. He watched her leave and thought musingly to himself, Hmm…she's not bad…a bit rude, really, but…

"James, are you going to stand there staring at whatever it is that you're staring at, or are you going to get on?"

James' mother gave him a little push. He nearly tripped over his case. "Mum!"

"Well, when you stand there staring into space, you're going to get run over." Elias Potter ambled up and slipped an arm around his wife's shoulders. "Katherine, is he ready?"

"Almost." Katherine said, leaning against Elias.

"I'm right here, you know." James huffed.

"We know. Now, James, you be good, all right? And don't-" his father said sternly, but there was a slight twinkling in his eyes. "-get into any trouble, especially on your first day. All right?"

"Yes, Dad." James said, excitement rushing through him. He really was going to school on this magnificent train! A school for special people, like him. James bounced on the soles of his feet, hardly able to contain himself.

His mother gave him a hug and kissed his cheek. 'Have fun, sweetie." she said, grinning, as James wiped off his cheek furiously, glancing around to make sure no on had seen that display of obvious affection. "Mum..!"

The train whistle blew and steam billowed from the intimidating scarlet engine. James said goodbye to his parents and clambered onto the Hogwarts Express just in time.

As it started to chug away, slowly gaining speed, James stood and waved through the doors until he could no longer see his parents. Then, dropping his arm, James looked around. The tiny, cramped corridor had different compartments on either side, filled with chattering older years and nervous looking first years. He dragged his trunk noisily behind him, looking for an empty compartment when at last he arrived at one near the back. There was only one lone figure in it, and he looked fascinating to James. Slumped down in the seat, he was on the shorter side, with longish, black hair and dark, intelligent eyes. He was playing with a small gold ring.

"Hello." James said, opening the door.

The boy looked up. "H-Hello." he said uncertainly, as if he wasn't sure he was being talked to.

"I'm James Potter." Crashing into the seat opposite, James thrust out a hand to the boy.

The boy's face lit up as a grin crossed his features. "I'm Sirius." he said, shaking his hand firmly. "Sirius Black."

"Nice to meet you. So, are you a first year, then?" James asked, as he sank down in the rather comfortable seat, linking his hands behind his head.

"Yeah." Sirius said. "Although I-"

They were interrupted by the compartment door sliding open. A small, delicately featured girl with deep, rippling red hair peered in. James recognized her as the one who'd accidentally run into him back at the station.

"Hello." she said in a small, musical voice which James found quite pleasing. "May I sit here? The rest of the train is full."

James was about to offer her the seat next to him, but Sirius stood up first. "Take mine." he said, moving over to sit next to James.

"Thanks." The girl slipped inside, dragging her trunk in along with her. She stowed it above the seat without any trouble and then turned and sat down in the seat. She didn't look too happy to be there, and scooted over so that she was pressed against the window, staring out at the countryside flying by. James was horrified to see tears starting to well up in her eyes. He leaned forward.

"Hey," he said. "I'm James Potter. This is Sirius Black."

She didn't turn her head. "Lily Evans."

James was about to ask her something else when the door to the compartment again slid open. This time the visitor was a small, scrawny boy with overlong, ink-black hair, black eyes, and a sallow, pallid looking face. He had already changed into his too-large Hogwarts robes.

Without paying attention to either James or Sirius, he strode across the small space and sat down facing the girl. She sniffed, wiping at her eyes. "I don't wanna talk to you." she mumbled.

"Come on, Lily." the boy pleaded. "Why not?"

She shifted closer to the window, obviously trying to hide her tears. "Tuney is mad at me. She hates me because we saw that letter from the headmaster, Dumbledore."

James listened with rapt attention. Who was this little dirt bag of a person? He looked as if he had been half starved.

"It doesn't matter, Lily!" the boy was saying, his whole face lighting up with elation. "Lily, we're going to Hogwarts! It's finally happening! We've been waiting for this!"

Lily gave a swipe to her eyes and then nodded, a small smile appearing on her lovely face. "Yes, we are."

"Slytherin is the best," the boy continued excitedly. "You better be in there-"

"That's terrible!" James interrupted. They both turned to stare at him. "Slytherin is a terrible House to be in. It's all full of dark wizards. If I was in Slytherin, I think I'd leave, right?" He snickered, nudging Sirius.

Sirius, however, just looked resentful and gloomy. "All of my family ended up in Slytherin." he grumbled unhappily.

"Merlin's beard," James said, astonished. "You don't seem like a horrible person."

Sirius smiled back at him. "That's because I'm not. Well, not really. What House do you want to be in?"

James grinned and pretended to be dueling someone with a sword. "Gryffindor, of course! The bravest! My dad was in it, and I expect to be in it too!"

There was the smallest of noises from the black-haired boy across from Lily. James glared at him. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No," said the boy, although there was a small sneer on his pale face. "It's just that the Slytherins are intelligent, whereas the Gryffindors are just some supposedly brave-"

"Well, considering that you're neither," Sirius drawled, smirking. "-where do you think you'll go?"

James gave a roar of laughter. The boy's face reddened and his skinny shoulders slumped.

Lily stood up then, dislike etched deeply across her face. "Let's find a different place to be, Severus. Come on." she sent a look of loathing at James and Sirius as she passed. James, on the spur of the moment, stuck out his leg and tried to trip the boy called Severus. He stumbled, but to James' disappointment, did not fall.

James turned back to Sirius, who mouthed the word "Snivellus!" to him.

"Bye, Snivellus!" James cried loudly. "Have a good time in Slytherin!"

There was no reply. Lily and the boy Severus had either gotten out of hearing range, or were ignoring him.

Sirius was laughing. "James," he said, his dark eyes filled with amusement. "I think you and I are going to be really good friends."

James nodded in agreement. He grinned as if the two of them were already old friends.

The rest of the train ride was otherwise uneventful. As the sky darkened, and their destination grew nearer, James, as well as Sirius, could be found with their faces pressed against the cool glass, desperate for a glimpse of the castle. They had long since changed into their black school robes and were now eagerly anticipating their stay at Hogwarts.

"I think I saw something!" James cried, turning his head sideways against the window. "Something light!"

"Where? Lemme see!" Sirius pushed James aside and peered out of the window. "I don't see anything."

"It's over th-" James broke off as the train suddenly emerged and before them stood the massive, imposing black castle of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The castle was intimidating. That was James' first thought. The second thought mostly revolved around the fact that he had never seen such a grand building. The castle was black at this time of night, it's turreted walls and towers looming over the train like a monster. Its many windows, tiny from James and Sirius's distance, were all lit up and flickering, an eerie yellow and orange glow in the pitch darkness. Next to the castle, a dark, churning lake was frothing and spilling along the bank. James could have sworn he saw something move in it.

The next second the train had stopped and there was a jumble of movement and a babble of excited voices and James and Sirius stood up and looked at each other eagerly.

"Leave your baggage on the train. It will be taken care of." a brisk voice instructed. The source, James could not see, but he and Sirius did as they were told and left their trunks where they were. As they squished their way out into the throngs of people still left on the train, James turned to Sirius and said "Where do you reckon you'll be put?"

"What house-oof! you mean?" Sirius responded, grimacing as a fifth year girl elbowed him in the stomach. "I dunno. Probably Slytherin." His face grew slightly red. "Although if there's anything I can do not to be put in Slytherin, you'll bet your you-know-what I'll be doing it."

James chuckled. He could see the doorway off the train a short distance away. Now, if only he could reach it…

"Ouch!"

James had misjudged the distance. He slipped and fell down the steps off of the train and landed in a heap on the cold stone floor of the station.

There was the sound of laughter. James looked up to see Lily Evans and her friend, Severus, hurriedly covering their mouths to hide their grins. James felt his face grow hot, and still snickering, the two ambled off.

Gritting his teeth, James clambered to his feet, brushing off his robes. Sirius hopped off the train and landed with a small thunk on the ground beside him.

"Buncha goody two shoes." Sirius muttered, glaring after Lily and Severus. "Come on, James, let's go."

"Where?" James asked, looking around.

"Er….there, I think…" Sirius sounded unsure of himself as he pointed.

James looked to where he was looking and felt a surge of alarm followed by a feeling of slight terror. An enormously tall man with a long, rugged beard was waving his arm enthusiastically. James guessed that he had to be at least ten feet tall. He was huge, not just in height, but all around.

"Firs' years over here!" the giant called. "Firs' years over here!'

"Who is that?" James whispered frantically to Sirius.

"I have no idea!" Sirius hissed back, seeming just as frightened.

The two boys walked over with the rest of the first years to the huge man. He beamed down at them, his face surprisingly pleasant beneath the bushy beard.

"I'm Hagrid, Hogwarts' gamekeeper. We're gonna go 'cross the lake to get to the castle. All righ'? Everyone, follow me!"

He motioned to them and then set off along a somewhat rocky embankment to the billowing black lake. Small, four-person boats were all neatly lined up on the shore. James eyed them a little nervously, then squared his shoulders and marched down to the first boat he saw and climbed in. Sirius climbed in after him.

They were followed by a tall, thin young man with short, pale brown hair and pale blue eyes. There were dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept well in a while.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked in a tired voice.

James and Sirius shook their heads, and the boy slipped down into the boat. Almost immediately after he had done so, another boy appeared. This one was short, and small, with lank blonde hair, watery blue eyes and what seemed to be somewhat elongated front teeth.

"C-Can I come in?" he chattered nervously. "A-All the other boats are f-full…"

"Get in." James said, not in an unkind way. The boy gave him a grateful smile and stepped into the boat, causing it to rock precariously. He sat down quickly. "I-I'm Peter. Peter Pettigrew."

"James Potter." said James loftily. He jerked a finger at Sirius. "And this here is Sirius Black."

"Nice to meet you." said the brown haired boy. "I'm Remus Lupin." He yawned widely and exhaustedly. "Pardon me." he said, covering his mouth. "I haven't been sleeping well lately."

James wasn't paying attention. He had just caught a flash of red hair in the next boat over. Lily Evans was sitting with Severus again, along with two other people, a girl with short brown hair and a man with blonde hair and green eyes. Severus, James noted with glee, looked distinctly uncomfortable at the other two people's presence. He was fidgeting slightly, playing with the hem of his oversize robes.

With a sudden lurch, the boats started to move forward. James caught the edge of it, and peered over the side. The lake was too dark to tell what was beneath its inky black depths.

The boats glided closer and closer towards Hogwarts until they bumped against the opposite shore. James gratefully clambered out of it; he had never been one for sailing.

They stood now, at the bottom of a small hill, on top of which the imposing Hogwarts Castle towered. The gamekeeper, Hagrid, led them up the hill and to a set of massive oak doors, which were open wide, light from inside spilling out onto the grounds. A tall figure stood by them, hat tipped to the side.

"All righ' there, professor?" Hagrid called.

The figure stepped forward. "Yes, thank you." Her voice was low and curt. "I will take them from here."

"All righ'." Hagrid waved cheerily and disappeared beyond the doors. The woman turned and whisked after her, calling back behind her, "Follow me, please."

The first years all trundled into the corridor. James was looking in fifteen different places at once. The castle entrance hall was enormous, with elaborate stone walls and hundreds of different paintings hung on either side. A set of stone steps were positioned a little while away, leading up into the most complex looking sets of staircases that James had ever seen. Across from the main stairs, there was another set of giant oak doors. These ones were shut tightly.

The woman turned around. Her face was narrow and pointed, her raven black hair pulled tightly into a knot at the base of her neck. A pair of spectacles were set on her nose, and her hawk's eyebrows were pointed low.

"I am Professor McGonagall." she said, and there was a small titter from the crowd, which she silenced immediately with a single look. "I am the Transfiguration teacher here at Hogwarts. While you are at this school, you are expected to maintain a sense of dignity and respect to those in it. Understood?" Her dark eyes glinted in the candlelight. There was a murmur of consent and head nodding among the first years; most were too terrified by the professor to speak out loud.

"Great, just what we need." James whispered to Sirius. "An old, mean hag."

Sirius snorted with laughter, but hastily turned it into a cough as McGonagall's eagle eyes snapped in their direction.

"You will be led into the Great Hall in just a few moments." Professor McGonagall went on, still glaring at James and Sirius. "There, you will participate in the Sorting Ceremony to determine which House you will be in. Afterwards, you are instructed to go sit at your designated House table, after which your prefects will tell you what to do from then on."

There was a great booming noise and then the massive oak doors slowly creaked open.

A jolt of eager anticipation shot through James' spine and he was unable to keep a grin from appearing on his face. It seemed as if his new friend was feeling the same, for as James turned to look at him, Sirius looked back, his smile wide, his eyes filled with expectations. Then his face fell slightly.

"What if I get into Slytherin?" he muttered to James urgently, as the crowd of first years slowly made its way in through the doors. "I can't-I don't know what I'll do."

James patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Sirius. No matter what House you're in, I'll still be your friend. Even if you are a weirdo."

Sirius smiled and they stepped forward into the Great Hall.