James Potter and the Veil
Chapter Two
"I promise, Lils." James said for the tenth time.
"You better!" nine year old Lily crossed her arms, sending a pang through James's heart. Lily could look so much like their mother. For such a simple action, it caused so much hurt.
A loud thunk brought both Potters' heads up to see their godbrother Teddy Lupin putting his trunk down next to James's. "Ready to go James?" the thirteen year old smiled. James nodded his head and returned the smile. "He'll write, Lily. If he doesn't I'll toss him into the lake with the giant squid."
"Is there really a squid, Teddy?" Lily asked with wide eyes.
"There is."
James didn't comment on whether or not there was or wasn't a squid in the lake outside of Hogwarts. Personally he didn't believe his godbrother but…if he said there was no such thing he'd never hear the end of it from the Third Year.
"Albus! Arthur! Let's go!" Molly Weasley shouted as she entered the room. "Get your things to the car, boys. Lily, dear, come on." She took the nine year old's hand and led the kids outside to an old green car. It'd been years since 'The Ford Angela Incident' and Arthur had finally convinced Molly to let him get another magical car. She agreed as long as he kept it locked in the shed outside and made sure none of the children came near it without supervision.
Arthur's Muggle obsession had managed to rub off on Albus. He wasn't nearly as fascinated by common Muggle items, but he still enjoyed them. Finally the two came out of the Burrow and climbed into the old car.
Teddy helped James put his trunk into the back of the car before putting his own in. They then followed Albus into the backseat of the car, Lily not far behind them.
This car, like the previous one Arthur had had, was charmed to be much larger than it looked. So there was plenty of room for one teenager and three children to sit in the backseat without sitting atop one another.
The car ride to Platform 9 ¾ was a dreadfully long one for James Sirius Potter. He continuously ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit he had unknowingly inherited from his father and his grandfather. Teddy elbowed him a couple of times and gave him an encouraging smile each time. James would simply nod and return his hand to his lap. He tried to tune into the conversation Lily and Albus were having, but his thoughts kept returning to Hogwarts.
Finally the car came to a stop at the train station.
Everyone exited the green car and headed towards the entrance, Arthur carrying James's trunk and Teddy carrying his own since he was 'too old' to have help carrying his trunk.
Once they'd walked through the barrier, James's nervousness reached another peak. He'd been here two times before to see Teddy off in his first and second year. Why was this one so different? Then his nervousness started to make sense.
What if he wasn't in Gryffindor? Sure, being in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff couldn't be that bad. But if he was in Slytherin…. Teddy was in Gryffindor, as was Victoire Weasley. Victoire was Bill and Fleur's daughter who was a Third Year like Teddy was. His grandparents even told him his mother, father, father's parents, Aunt Hermione, and his uncles were all in Gryffindor. If he wasn't a Gryffindor….
"You'll be fine, James." Arthur whispered in his grandson's ear after seeing his face go a bit white.
James swallowed around the lump in his throat, "What if I'm not in Gryffindor?"
Arthur shrugged, "That doesn't matter. We'll still love you, no matter what."
"Promise?"
"Promise." Arthur nodded with a small smile before clapping him on the shoulder.
"Don't forget to write," Molly said as a loud train whistle blew from the scarlet red Hogwarts Express.
"We won't." Teddy and James said in unison, grabbing their trunks. Lily gave them both quick hugs, as did Molly. Arthur just smiled and waved. Albus said a verbal goodbye.
The two made their way through the crowd of parents and students to the train and waited in line in front of one of the many doors to the train.
"Teddy?" James nudged his godbrother.
"Yeah James?"
He paused, "What if…what if I'm not in Gryffindor?"
Teddy rolled his eyes, "That's what you're worried about? Merlin, and I thought you were worried about getting kicked out because Hogwarts made a mistake—"
"What?" James half-shouted in panic, causing multiple students to turn and look at them.
"Joking, joking!" Teddy insisted as he gave an apologetic smile to the eleven year old. "If you're not in Gryffindor…then our Quidditch team will dominate you. Come on, don't be silly. You're James Potter! Your whole family was in Gryffindor. Don't worry about it, Jamesie."
Before James could respond, they moved through the line and boarded the Hogwarts Express. He pulled his trunk along behind him, following Teddy. Teddy eventually found his friends and said, "See ya', James." He saw the look on James's face and whispered, "I can't be here to hold your hand, mate. Just find someone who looks like they don't know what they're doing—those are always the First Years. Sit with them. Alright?"
James gave a quick nod and watched as his godbrother disappeared into the compartment. With a shaky breath, James moved down the train looking for someone who fit the description Teddy had given him. He eventually found a girl alone in a compartment.
Sliding the door open he asked, "Care if I sit here?"
She looked over at him, smiled, and nodded her consent.
"Thanks." He said, entering the train compartment. He managed to put his trunk up above the seats and sat down.
"I'm Ash Carter." She introduced herself. Ash had electric blue eyes and black hair that looked blue when the light hit it.
"James Potter." He returned. She nodded in recognition, but didn't say anything about his fame from his father. This, James was grateful for. "First Year?"
"First Year." She confirmed, "You?"
"Yeah."
Ash looked as if she was going to say something else but then the compartment door opened again and two more students entered. One a boy, one a girl. The girl said, "Everywhere else is full do you mind?"
"Not at all." Ash smiled and James nodded. The two placed their trunks above their heads and sat down. The girl sat beside Ash and the boy sat down beside James.
"I'm Juliet and this is Caleb." The girl said confidently.
"James and Ash." Ash stated to the two newcomers.
An awkward silence broke out. James really wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't great meeting new people…something he'd only had to do a few times in his life luckily for him.
"Anyone like Quidditch?" Ash questioned, raising her eyebrows.
Instantly James smiled, he liked her already.
The two began talking as if they'd known each other their whole lives. Their discussion traveled from Quidditch to Chocolate Frog cards to anything else besides Hogwarts. It was a bit of an unspoken agreement that they were both nervous yet excited.
James learned that Ash wanted to play Chaser professionally when she was old enough. "Me too." He'd laughed. Juliet didn't seem to care about their conversation and talked to Caleb. After hearing a few talks, James found out Caleb was Muggle-born. The three others began explaining things about the Wizarding world to him, like Quidditch and Chocolate Frogs.
Once Caleb was more or less caught up to speed about James and Ash's favorite topic, the four began a group discussion about what spells they hoped to learn. James didn't want to talk about Hogwarts because he reminded him of his fear of being placed in Slytherin, but he actually didn't mind talking to these three.
"I can't wait until we learn about Animagi." Juliet shared excitedly, "But I heard that's not until Third Year. My parents are both Animagi." She bragged. James could live without the bragging, but he figured she was just over excited.
"What's an Animagi?" Caleb questioned, clearly confused.
"Someone who can change into an animal at will." Ash explained patiently. "You've got to be registered, too."
"Wouldn't that be brilliant? To be an Animagus?" James mused. Suddenly a thought occurred to him, "We should do it."
Ash gave him a cheerful smile, "That'd be wonderful, James. But I think we should at least wait until we can do more than send sparks out of our wands."
He spat out his tongue, "Just saying! I wonder what I'd be…."
I really want to apologize for how long it's been… I suddenly had some inspiration. I've re-planned out the entire story, though. Enjoy.
