'James.'

He could hear someone calling his name but was unwilling to pull himself up to a state of full consciousness in order to open his eyes and respond. The voice calling him was familiar but he couldn't quite place it. It was light behind his eyelids but he was not ready to wake up yet. He pressed his eyes tighter together to block out the light. What good were curtains if they didn't block out the light? He turned over in his bed and found that the light dimmed when he was on his other side. That was so much better. Maybe he'd drifted right back to sleep now.

'James.'

This was a new voice. It was lower than the first and it seemed a lot closer. He still didn't respond. He could hear his floorboards creaking as someone moved towards his bed.

'James,' called the new voice again as a pair of hands shook him. He grunted in response that time hoping that whoever it was would leave him to sleep. No such luck.

'You've brought this on yourself,' the voice told him and before James knew it he had been pushed off his bed. He made painful contact with the floorboards and groaned as he opened his eyes. His vision focused as he rolled onto his back from where he had land on his left hip and looked up to see emerald eyes twinkling down at him. Then they disappeared. James got to his feet angrily and bolted out of his room after the sound of running feet.

'Albus,' roared the seventeen-year-old as he tore down the stairs after his sixteen-year-old brother. He burst into the kitchen to find his brother sitting at the table looking too innocent as he ate his breakfast. His little sister, fourteen-year-old Lily, was sitting opposite him in-between their parents, Harry and Ginny Potter.

'Oh you're up then,' said Ginny looking up at her eldest son. 'You had better go and get ready or you'll be late.'

James huffed and then, with a last glare at Albus, left the kitchen. He went back up the stairs and began to get ready. It was September 1st and today James was going to take his last trip to Hogwarts for his final year. He was feeling slightly apprehensive about it. After all, this was his last year and he needed to come up with some completely awesome pranks. Not only that but after this year he was going to embark on becoming a professional Quidditch player so he had to be extra good when Captaining the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He began to throw his clothes on thinking that it would probably be a good idea to take some pyjamas to Hogwarts with him. Apparently, the rest of the lads in his dorm didn't appreciate him wandering around in his boxers like he did at home. Not that there was no one who objected around here. Lily was constantly telling him that she was seeing far too much for a little sister. Not that James was particularly bothered. It wasn't like he did it on purpose. He slept in his boxers and then wandered around in the morning. It could have been worse. He could have slept naked.

James packed quickly throwing in his new school books and his robes but neatly folding his Quidditch robes and putting his broomstick in his trunk with great care. It seemed to be a ritual he had done every year since he had made the team in second year. Everything to do with Quidditch was greatly taken care of but as for the rest of his school stuff it didn't matter if it got crushed up. As he closed the lid on his trunk he heard a hooting by the window. His owl, Icarus, had just returned from hunting mice. It took James some time to coax the owl into her cage so that she could make the journey to Hogwarts.

'It's our last year, Icarus,' James told his owl solemnly. 'We're going to cause some mayhem, kick ass at Quidditch and make sure that we leave Hogwarts with a lasting impression that can't be rivalled.'

James glanced around his bedroom as he set Icarus' cage on the top of his trunk. He caught sight of himself in the mirror. He was a mix of both his parents. His hair was dark brown and uncontrollable like his father's. James often raked his hand through his hair to make it even messier. His eyes were his mother's, liquid brown and he was nearly the same height as his father now with the same athletic frame that came from Quidditch. He had bigger biceps than his father because James played the position of beater. Albus played seeker and Lily played chaser and all three were on the Gryffindor team. James had been Quidditch Captain for Gryffindor last year as well and had got a lot of stick for having so many family members on his team. It wasn't James' fault that his family were all the best players. He could hardly form a second rate team now could he, he had explained to Professor Longbottom, his head of house, when he had been confronted by him.

'James,' his mother's voice called just then. 'Are you ready? It's time to go.'

'But mum ...' James began about to complain about his lack of breakfast.

'I've made you a bacon and egg sandwich,' Ginny interrupted him.

My mum is the coolest; James thought as he levitated his bags and then went down stairs to put them in car next to Al's and Lily's trunks. He jumped in the back seat beside his little sister and immediate leaned across her to punch Albus on the leg.

'Ouch,' Al reacted. 'What was that for?'

'For pushing me out of bed,' James told him grimly.

'That wasn't me,' Albus protested, the innocence on his face looking all too real this time. 'That was dad.'

James frowned at Albus trying to see if he was actually telling the truth. Al wasn't the best liar that James knew. He looked like he was being honest but then again, James thought, why would dad push me out of my bed. After all, my dad, the great Harry Potter, surely had better things to amuse himself with than pushing his oldest son out of his bed on his last day of school. James eyed his dad as Harry got into the car. Well, then again, James couldn't be sure that he wouldn't do it.

In no time at all, the Potters had arrived at Platform 9 and ¾'s. James felt immensely satisfied by the bacon and egg sandwich that his mother had provide him with and was looking around the platform trying to spot his friends or even cousins. His cousins were easier to spot being mostly tall with red hair. A shout from his mother pulled his attention away from the crowd.

'Now James,' said Ginny seriously, looking up at her eldest son, 'please try and behave yourself this year. I really can't be dealing with a bunch of owls telling me of all your wrong doings. Look after Al and Lily and please don't get in anymore fights with Zimmion Smith. I know he's probably as big a jerk as his dad but please, for me?'

James looked at his mother sympathetically.

'Oh mother,' he said with a smirk, 'you know fine well that I can't promise not to prank anyone because you know I'd break that promise. Just ignore the owls. After all, it's my last year I've got to have some fun. As for Smith ... I don't normally start the fights.'

Ginny looked at him for a long moment. She knew that she was asking a lot of James. It was in his nature to be a prankster like his grandfather and uncles before him. It didn't help that his cousin Fred Weasley was the same age and therefore a most accomplished partner. Not that James' other friends were whiter than white. Still she supposed at least James would do well in his exams, which was more than could be said for Ginny's twin brothers.

'Okay,' Ginny relented, 'but look after Albus and Lily.'

'Mum, don't I always?'

Ginny smiled before James gave her a quick peek on the cheek and then jumped aboard the Hogwarts Express. He walked down the gangway looking for a compartment that he could sit in. He was always one of the first there. His mum liked to be on time and his dad always said that being late could make them miss the train. For some reason James had the feeling that that had happened to his dad before. Yet even with all the questioning, Harry had yet to say what had happened and his Uncle Ron wasn't budging either. It was no good asking Aunt Hermione. There was absolutely no way she would tell him anything that he could possibly think was something cool to do. James grabbed an empty compartment in the middle of the train and settled down to wait on his friends arriving. He passed the time looking out the window, waving occasionally when people he knew went past, like his cousins Rose and Hugo or the keeper for his Quidditch team Nathaniel Wood. He stuck his thumbs up as his Uncle George passed with his cousin Roxanne and knew that Fred would be descending on him at any moment. The door slid open just then and he looked away from the window, expecting to see Fred but instead Sage Longbottom came into the compartment his blond curly hair a mess as usual.

'Hey Sage,' said James as Sage took a seat opposite him.

'Hey James,' Sage replied rubbing the end of his snub nose. 'Good summer?'

It's crazy, James thought, just how much Sage looked like his father, Professor Neville Longbottom and yet also looked like his mother Hannah Longbottom.

'Yeah, it's was pretty awesome,' James responded warmly to his friend. 'How was your summer?'

'Spiffing,' said Sage in a fake posh accent that made James' laugh. 'Anyways, what was with the surprised look when I came in?'

'I thought you were Fred.'

'You thought he was Fred,' said an outraged voice from the doorway and James and Sage turned to see an outraged, ginger haired, freckle faced Weasley standing at the door, mouth open. This Weasley was Fred Weasley, prankster extraordinaire, eldest child of George and Angelina Weasley, twin brother to Roxanne Weasley and, to his friends, something of a Drama Queen. James and Sage burst out laughing at his face and Fred Weasley grinned as he plonked himself on the seat next to Sage.

'Honestly mate,' said Fred to James, 'I think you need your eyes tested. They must be getting as bad as your dad's.'

'My eyes are perfectly fine,' James retorted with a grin. 'It's just that I saw your dad with Roxy and I assumed that you would shortly appear. So when Sage came in I turned round expecting you.'

'Ah and so Mr Potter reveals the simplicity of it all,' commented Sage with a grin. 'By the way where's Olly?'

James frowned and looked out the window again. The big clock said it was eleven. Olly had better get there sharpish or the train would off.

'Olly's always late,' Fred interjected as he swung his bag up onto the overhead rack. 'I wouldn't worry too much.'

'Yeah but never this late,' Sage commented also looking out of the window with a frown on his brow. As he scanned the crowds he caught sight of some rather familiar, spiky Aquamarine hair that belonged to someone standing waving to someone on the train.

'What is Teddy Lupin doing here?' asked Sage looking round at Fred and James who both looked puzzled and joined Sage at the window.

'I have no idea,' said James and then proceeded to open the window in order to talk to Teddy. 'Hey Ted, shouldn't you be at home with your wife?'

Teddy Lupin turned round to see the three boys watching him out of one of the compartment windows. He smiled at them and then made his way closer to the train in order to be able to speak to them.

'Hello you three,' he said with a smile. 'My wife is at work and me, being the kind gentleman that I am; I promised my older cousin that I would take my little cousin to the station.'

'Oh Olly's here then,' said Sage in relief. 'Cutting it a bit fine aren't you?'

Teddy coloured slightly.

'Well, we had a bit of slow start this morning.'

Fred laughed.

'Clumsiness get in the way again?' he asked Teddy.

Teddy rolled his eyes. He had the unfortunate problem of inheriting his mother's clumsy genes. Although luckily, he had also inherited both his parent's brains and, even more luckily, had not inherited his charm from them. No, he had inherited his charm from his grandmother Andromeda, who was a very charming woman.

Just then there was a loud whistle and Teddy took a step back.

'Behave yourselves, you lot,' he called as the train began to move. The three young men sat back in their seats as the train gathered sped and eventually left the station. Fred's brow creased into a frown.

'So where is Olly?'

'I'm right here,' said a voice as the door slid open to reveal the last quarter of their quartet, a tall young women with a large amount of tumbling black curls, pale skin and a pair of deep blue eyes that seemed to sparkle as she smiled at her best friends. Olivia Black, known to her friends as Olly, looked like her mother, Kerr, who looked like her father, the one and only, Sirius Black. The only difference was the eyes. Kerr had her mother's moss green eyes and Olly had her father's deep blue eyes. The only problem with Olly was that nobody knew who her father was and the only person who knew wouldn't reveal the great mystery.

'Olly,' they all chorused loudly delighted to see her as she slipped into the compartment and then sat down next to James.

'You thought I'd miss the train didn't you?' she asked with a small laugh as she chucked her bag down next to her.

'Certainly did,' James told her. 'Why did Teddy drop you off?'

Olly and Teddy were cousins or, rather, both their grandparents had been cousins, which now meant that Teddy and Olly third cousins or something of the sort. It was quite confusing but luckily anyone who knew the Weasley/Potter extended family definitely knew how to keep up with it all.

'Oh mum's abroad at the moment with work,' Olly told them shaking out her long hair, 'so I've been staying with Teddy and Vic for the last few days. I tell you something Teddy's eating habits leaving something to be desired. Marmalade covered eggs, yuck!'

The three boys laughed at Olly's screwed up face.

'Grandma,' Olly continued, 'said that his father used to eat marmalade covered eggs at school and that neither my grandfather nor your grandfather, James, could ever understand it. I tried them. They were definitely icky.'

'Olly,' said Sage with a sigh. 'Icky is not an actual word. Vile is an actual word.'

Olly turned to look at Sage with her eyebrow slightly raised. Everyone knew what Sage was like and that was nothing like his father, brains wise. Yes, Sage was occasionally forgetful and sometimes a little clumsy and yes Herebology was his best subject but he was rather intelligent. Something he had taken from his mother. He was excellent at all his subjects and also did tend to study quite a bit. It had been no surprise to anyone therefore that he had been made a prefect. James, Fred and Olly had all been bypassed in the perfect department and the Head department too although James was Quidditch captain. The other Gryffindor prefect in their year was Fred's twin Roxy, who was as much like her mother as Fred was like his father. Roxy had also made Head Girl along with Ravenclaw Brett Wells. James and Fred had an extreme dislike of Wells because of the amount of times he tried to hit on Olly. Their dislike had increased when Ginny had told them that Wells was Cho Chang's son and eventually became loathing after he cheated on their little cousin, Lucy Weasley.

'Anyway,' said Olly brightly ignoring Sage's comment and looking between James and Fred, 'I suppose this means we're actually related now.'

James frowned and Fred looked confused.

'What means were related?' James asked.

'Teddy and Victorie getting married of course,' Olly said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. 'Victorie is a cousin of both of you and Teddy is my third cousin or something like that so now we're cousins.'

James and Fred stared at her for a moment and then glanced at each.

'Yeah whatever you say Olly,' said James slowly in a teasing tone.

'I think she's off her rocker, mate,' Fred stage-whispered to James with a big grin on his face and Olly slapped him neatly on the shoulder, playfully.

'What was that for?' Fred said clutching his shoulder as though it had actually hurt and putting on a shocked expression. 'You could have seriously damaged by beating arm.'

James, Olly and Sage all rolled their eyes.

'Drama Queen,' they chorused together.

'Am not,' Fred stated.

'Are too,' James retorted.

'Am not.'

'You so are, mate,' Olly said firmly.

'Am not.'

'Sorry, mate,' said Sage to Fred who looked at him imploringly, 'I'm with them on this one.'

'Traitors,' said Fred and then stuck his tongue out before he laughed. 'Ah as if anyone could damage my beating arm.'

He then flexed his arm and kissed his bicep. Olly gave him a withering look. Fred was the Gryffindor Quidditch team's other beater. The team was really made up of Potters and Weasleys. Albus was the seeker, Lily was a chaser and so was Roxanne. Olly was the third chaser and Nathaniel Wood made up the seventh member of their team as the keeper. It was no wonder James had been accused of favouritism. One rejected student even went for Professor McGonagall who came down to the try-outs and said that Potter had picked the right people for the job.

'I wish I could play Quidditch,' said Sage sadly.

Sage was the only one out of the four of them that couldn't play Quidditch. It wasn't because there were no spaces on the team but simply the fact that Sage could not keep his feet either side of a broomstick, something he had inherited from both his parents. The thing was he absolutely adored Quidditch, maybe not as much as James who was pretty much obsessive but he did love it. No one had been as gutted as Sage when he found out that he couldn't fly in first year. It had been his first time on a broomstick, growing up in the Leaky Cauldron didn't exactly give one room to practice, and he had had a disastrous time but luckily, his father always said, he had never broken anything. Apparently, Neville, during his first flying lesson, broke his wrist. James, Fred and Olly, however, had been flying and playing Quidditch since they were old enough to crawl. Needless to say, they were good.

'Don't worry about it Sage,' said Olly kindly chucking a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans at him. She always seemed to have heaps of boxes of the sweets. 'You're good at a lot of other things that we aren't.'

Now it was Sage's turn to wear the withering look.

'Name one thing you aren't good at Olly?'

Olly opened her mouth to speak but then paused and looked thoughtful. The three boys waited for her to say something. Olly always came up with an answer for everything, even if she didn't really know the answer. It was a habit that a lot of people found irritating but Sage, Fred and James just found plain amusing. At least she admitted when she was wrong.

'I'm not good at staying out of detention,' Olly told him triumphantly. 'I'm absolutely no good at Arithmancy. I'm not very good at collecting Chocolate Frog cards. I'm not good at not punching Smith. I'm definitely no good at remembering that I am, in fact, a girl.'

That one made the boys roll around laughing because the truth was it was kind of true. Olly didn't act like your typical girl. She was perfectly happy to get her hands dirty and had even learned how to fist fight from her mum. She didn't have girl friends, apart from being friendly with James' sister and female cousins and whenever she had a fight it was against a boy be it Smith, Davies or Bletchley. The only girl she ever fought with, and technically you could only call it an argument, was Kaiya Zabini who was a couple of scales short of being a dragon. Olly and Kaiya were chalk and cheese, James thought. Olly was definitely the cheese. Yum, cheese. Where Olly was tall, pale with a lot of dark hair, Kaiya was petite with straight, sleek blonde hair and large champagne coloured eyes that went well with her hair giving her an almost golden glow. Most of the year hated her. She was a stuck up, snooty, little cow. If she hadn't been then she would have been gorgeous. Her personality totally ruined her looks and James had told Sage that last years as perfect it was up to him to warn the ickle first years about Kaiya Zabini.

'Okay Olly I have to give you those ones,' said Sage with a grin.

'Give her what ones?' asked a voice and the four looked up to see James' little brother Albus standing in the doorway looking the spitting image of Harry with his hands tucked into his pockets.

Never mind Al,' said Olly standing up and ruffling his hair affectionately which was something she often did to James. 'What are you doing here anyway?'

Al rolled his eyes as he slid the compartment door shut again.

'Rose was patrolling the train and tripped over Scorpius' bag,' he said with a huff. 'They are having a huge shouting match and I couldn't be bothered to stick around to see what they said.'

'When are they going to admit that they are head over heels for each other?' asked Sage who, as a co-founder of the "when will Malfoy and Rose Weasley admit they like each other" betting pool was more interested in their latest argument that poor Al was.

'Hey,' said Fred slowly as though suddenly realising something as he turned to look at Sage, 'why didn't you go to the almighty prefect carriage, almighty prefect?'

The look on Sage's face was so comical that everyone else in the carriage burst out laughing.

'You forgot again didn't you?' said James as the laughter finally died down.

'I hope Roxy doesn't kill me,' said Sage getting up hurriedly and disappearing out of the compartment to find Roxanne to apologise.

'Maybe maim,' Fred shouted after him, 'but I don't think she'll kill you, Sage.'

They all laughed again.

'So you got prefect did you?' Olly asked Albus spying the prefect badge on his robes. 'That's you and Rose prefects for Gryffindor. Bet your parents are proud.'

Al nodded with a slight smile. He wanted to be Quidditch captain next year as well when his brother had left. He knew he no hope of getting Head Boy, not with Scorpius Malfoy in his year. Al had surprised the whole family when he became firm friends with Slytherin and Weasley enemy number one, Malfoy. Luckily though, Scorpius was a lot nicer than any of the previous Malfoys and in fact most of the Weasleys/Potters quite liked him except maybe Ron and George who were still apprehensive.

'So who is that now in your family that's had the prefect badge?' Olly asked turning to James and Fred. 'Victorie was a prefect and Head Girl, Dominique was a prefect, Louis a prefect and Head Boy, Molly a perfect, Rose and Al are now both prefects.'

James and Fred both grinned.

'Well at least I got Quidditch captain,' said James. 'You and Fred are the hopeless ones. Neither of you have had any badge.'

'True,' said Olly with a grin, 'but I'm not breaking tradition. Nobody in my family as had the perfect badge. Not even my Gran.'

She looked at Fred.

'How come this all turns down to me?' asked Fred his outraged expression back on his face. He pointed to Olly. 'Anyway she's a liar. Teddy was a prefect and Head Boy and she's related to him.'

'Yeah,' chimed in Al, looking at Olly, 'and wasn't your Uncle a prefect too.'

Olly shrugged obviously completely unbothered. James put his arm round her shoulder in a one armed squeeze.

'Just like our Olly,' he said with a grin. 'She wouldn't be bothered if all of us had been made prefect and she hadn't.'

Olly was saved from answering when Sage came back.

'Still alive then,' said Fred with a trade mark Weasley grin. 'I'm surprised you know. Those Weasley women have a temper on them.'

Sage scowled at him.

'What is it?' James asked.

'I couldn't find Roxy,' said Sage a little miserably. 'I found bloody Wells instead. Started shouting at me that I am a complete idiot just like my father and that I was useless and he had no idea why McGonagall made he a prefect since I couldn't even remember my own name half the time.'

'Why the little ...' growled Olly and James together as they both leapt out of their chairs starting towards the compartment doors, their intentions clearly marked up the expressions on their faces and the wands that were now in their hands.

'Whoa calm down guys,' said Al leaping in front of them. 'You can't go hexing the Head Boy on your first day back.'

'Can too,' stated Olly crossly. Neville was her godfather and if anyone insulted him or Sage they had to answer to her or James or Fred and if they happened to get all three then Merlin help them. They probably wouldn't make it out alive.

'Will too,' said James.

'No hold it a minute, guys,' said Fred. 'Al is right.'

James felt his mouth drop open as he turned to look at Fred. Fred said something sensible. What kind of alternative universe had he been sent to? Fred was sensible? Fred was the idiotic one of the group. He never said they couldn't do things because of the consequences, that was Sage's job.

'No need to look at me like that,' said Fred a hurt expression on his face. 'I'm just saying that I've got a great idea to prank him so we can get him back.'

'Oh that makes more sense,' said James plonking himself back in his seat.

'Loads more sense,' said Olly taking the seat beside him.

Al heaved a sigh of relief and sat down next to Olly. He had tried to stop James and Olly hexing someone before and it hadn't turned out well. James had put him in a full body bind and then covered him with the invisibility cloak and then had forgotten where he had put him until Sage had tripped over him.

'So what's the plan?'