James Potter could not wait to get on his first train to Hogwarts.
His parents, Fleamont and Euphemia, had narrated so many tales of their time at the school, and to James, Hogwarts had only ever seemed like a place taken out of a perfect dream.
So when his eleventh birthday (and Hogwarts letter) arrived, one could only imagine his excitement at finally getting to go to the castle.
He had had utmost fun when he and his parents went shopping for school supplies, tirelessly trying on more and more robes, getting a wand and a cauldron, buying more bags from Gambol and Japes' than his little arms could possibly carry, and munching on huge cones from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour at the end of their shopping trip.
For him, September the first could not come quick enough.
James had been to platform nine and three-quarters on more occasions than he could count, sometimes to see off his cousins, and sometimes simply because he had begged his father to take him. He had often imagined how it would feel to step onto the train, to enter a world of almost-independence and more magic. All his fantasies had been beyond excellent, and getting the real deal was somehow even better.
Waving his parents goodbye, he set out to find an empty compartment. He passed one with a group of Ravenclaws in it, a few with older kids, and then finally reached one which contained a face he recognized and very well liked: Sirius Black.
The guy was sitting with his sisters, Narcissa, Bellatrix and Andromeda, out of which the first two were saying something to him, undoubtedly teaching him 'the proper Black etiquette', while the third one could not care any less about such a thing. James severely doubted that they needed to do that: Sirius must have had enough lessons at home.
Deciding to save Sirius, James opened the compartment door, saying, "Howdy, fair maiden! Let the brave knight rescue his princess from the horrible weasels!"
Sirius looked up in astonishment and then broke out in a huge grin. "Ah, brave knight!" he said in a futile attempt to sound girly. "Come to save me at last!"
Narcissa was staring at Sirius with open disgust. "Don't you dare, Sirius, don't you—"
But she wasn't paid any heed to, for the princess had escaped with the knight, away, away from her horrible captors.
. . . . .
That was the only incident on the train that was worth mentioning, though Sirius and James did meet that hideous greasy-haired boy, and his sidekick, a small girl with long red hair.
The duo got into the boats, as directed the giant of a man who had introduced himself as 'Hagrid'. If they thought that the Lake was beautiful, it was nothing compared to what lay in front of them when they entered the Great Hall.
Millions of lit candles floated about in mid-air illuminating the huge place. Four tables were arranged vertically, old students looked at them, all sporting identical welcoming smiles (well, all except the Slytherins). They teachers sat at a table in front of the Hall. James looked up to see the beautiful starlit sky, as though there were no roof. Ghosts drifted about, passing through tables, or people from time to time.
A woman, who had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall put a stool in front of James and the other first-years, on which she put a pointed wizard's hat.
James jumped back as the hat began to sing.
He didn't really care enough to pay attention to a talking hat's song, or what McGonagall said, so when a student (Abbott, Estora!) was called out, he was a bit curious about what would happen next. She walked toward the stool, where McGonagall placed the Hat on her head. After a moment or two, the hat shouted- "HUFFLEPUFF!"
There was a huge roar of applause from the Hufflepuff table. Estora walked toward her new house, smiling shyly, and was greeted by the other Hufflepuffs.
"Oh," said James to Sirius. "So that is the sorting ritual. My parents always made it out to be something more complicated."
He got a grunt of acknowledgement in response.
Soon after, Sirius's name was called. Barely had the Hat touched the top of his head, when it shouted- "GRYFFINDOR!"
The whole hall seemed to have caught its breath—Sirius was the first known Black to be ever sorted into a house other than Slytherin. James glanced toward the Slytherin table—everyone's mouth was agape in astonishment, and Narcissa and Bellatrix were staring disgustedly at Sirius.
Soon, time caught up, and the Gryffindor table broke out in applause. Cheers and whoops could be heard, and Sirius disappeared into a crowd of enthusiastic Gryffindors.
"Attention!" called out McGonagall. Once the Hall was comparatively quieter, she continued. "Next we have… Catchlove, Greta!"
A small brown timid girl walked sat on the stool, and it was a while before the Hat announced- "RAVENCLAW!"
The Sorting Ceremony progressed, and soon it was James' chance. He walked toward the stool, feeling quite jittery, but being quite careful to not show it.
McGonagall placed the Hat on his head. The Hat had just touched his head when it shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Beaming, James joined the cheering Gryffindor table, shook hands with the Gryffindor prefects, and turned to Sirius, still smiling.
"Congratulations, mate" he said. "You're free—it's what you wanted, right?"
"Eh," replied Sirius. "Though I may get a howler tomorrow disowning me, and the constant wrath of Narcissa, Bellatrix, Mother, Father, basically my whole family, I'm pretty happy."
Soon the Sorting was over, and Dumbledore, who, somehow James hadn't noticed till then, stood up.
"To all First-Years: welcome! To all our old students: welcome back! Now as in the start of each year, a few rules need to be shared…. The Forbidden Forest is strictly off-limits, or so to say, forbidden. To anyone who is stupid enough to venture there, he is sure to die a very brutal death on the hands of the various magical creatures who call it their home. No student should be seen outside their respective House Towers after ten p.m., and if caught, there will be consequences. That's all, so—nip, nip! Tuck in, everybody!" He said, as food magically appeared on the table.
Every kind of food James had ever laid eyes upon seemed to be somewhere on the table. Sirius and James exchanged a look of delight before they dug in.
They ate and ate until it felt like their stomachs would burst, and then ate some more.
Finally, the dirty utensils vanished, and Dumbledore stood up again. "Prefects will lead the first years to their dormitories and will pass on the general instructions. Others, I trust that you can find the way on your own. Good night!"
There was a clatter as everybody sat up to disperse, signaling the end of that night, but just the beginning of young James Potter's life.