TFTSA Chapter 1:School & James
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I am but a slave to HP and the muses.
Summary: [AU MWPP] What if Lily Evans never came to hogwarts? How would that effect the relationship that essentially saved the world? what happens to the misfits who were never allowed to go to school? What if two misfits were no longer misfits? At least in the fashion we know it to be. This is a tale of what never was but of what could have been.
There is something to be said for summer. The sky is infinite. The day stretches on but in the most positive way. The mundane tasks of chores just don't feel as heavy in the warm weather. Summer meant possibilities of long naps, playing outside, general merriment, adventures and a break from learning. Well for a select few summer was all those things but the last one. Summer marks the beginning of Dumbledore's pet project of his own school.
Standing at the gate of Dumbledore's "school", James could not help but question the sanity of the great wizard coming to greet him.
"Welcome to school, James." Dumbledore announced to him as he strode forward to grasp James' left hand with little response. "I hope you will enjoy your time here. Tomorrow you will be able to floo here from your house. But the first time someone arrives they must be escorted in. I know you enjoyed your fly over. You are a flyer James. It must be in your blood. But these are dark times James. Safety over enjoyment seems prudent. It is important to keep the young safe. Either way it's great to see you when you aren't in trouble."
"Aren't I though Professor? When Sirius, Peter and I came to you to see how we could help you, learning some more isn't really what I had in mind." James replied despairingly. "I can understand that you are disappointed that Peter isn't here too but really isn't punishing me by making me rebuild this house for you a little extreme?"
The structure of the school looked questionable at best. It seemed to be more of a squatter's house than that of a school. At a quick glance, James counted a main floor, an attic, 7 windows (2 cracked, 1 outright broken) and a hole in the roof big enough to see the sky through. The pair began to walk as James continued to rant to Dumbledore of the unfairness that Sirius was allowed to investigate into the dark occurrences using his family connection while he was stuck wearing a tool belt in the middle off nowhere. He only realized his surroundings when he took a second to catch his breath.
He could only speak a "gawah?". James was keep shocked by the abrupt change in surroundings.
The overall grungy appearance was exactly what Dumbledore wanted. Much like the mirage over Hogwarts, this private school was masked by an illusion. Underneath, it was actually a very typical school not dissimilar to the local school. The school consisted of a series of classrooms including arrival room(several fireplaces and safe apparition points) play center, a large gymnasium and a potions lab.
This was the most exclusive school for magical tutoring. The only trick is that almost every student would rather not fit the criteria to be part of the student body. These were the people who could not get into the bigger magical school for various reasons. It ranged from lack of finances to the elderly to the label of monster to of course the stigma of blood purity. In the summer months it acted as a safe haven of learning to those who could not receive it in the other months of the year. This is the special borderline project or as known to the students Dumbledore's class of the freak's freaks.
"James you are so young sometimes. You are not here to build a house but instead to impart the knowledge that the fine educators of Hogwarts have instilled in you. Here you will be the teacher. You will find that these students are much more appreciative of their professors' efforts than you or your friends could claim. Please hand you wand over to Susie she settle the manner of your clearance to arrive here." He paused to allow a fumbling James to pass his wand to woman behind the front desk. It was probably a good thing that James failed to see a lovely girl with emerald eyes standing in the corner of the office watching his clumsy attempts. It would have only made it worse. "Excellent we shall continue on. We'll come back to get your wand at the end of the tour".
Thus the pair was off again to explore the modest school. James was guided through the halls seeing this classroom or that student. Occasionally a student would come to greet Dumbledore but at seeing James' glazed expression felt best to leave. He felt wholly unprepared for the startling turn of events. James Potter turned from mischief maker into (he shuddered to have this thought) a professor.
As James came to this startling revelation, Dumbledore continued to inform him of the logistics of the school. James was always more a visual learner. The professor's words were going in one ear and out the other. "The school has 50 classrooms. Each has….. The student body is approximately 78 this year… The school was created nearly 9 years ago." Really James was more interested in the people attending than the details of the school. In the guided tour, James saw a toddler floating off the ground independently, an old man with hybrid of a crane and wand. He also saw a flash of red feathers or perhaps hair. He supposed it could have been Fawkes, he was one of Dumbledore's companions. James had a fondness for the color red.
James was brought out of his thoughts when a teenage boy turned the corner. "Ah Remus. James this is Remus Lupin. If our little school was to have a head boy, Remus would be the one." Dumbledore said proudly. "James is a Hogwarts student looking to assist this summer."
"Thanks Professor." The tired teen replied bashfully "Nice to meet you James." He said with a little wave. Now up close, James could see that Remus had bags under his eyes and a general air of calm. "Nice to meet you too Remus."
"Yes I believe that the two of you are the same age. Had Remus entered Hogwarts I'm sure you would have been in the same year…." Dumbledore continued on with the description of their curriculum. The two teens looked at each other and shrugged in the typical teenage nonchalance. James saw nothing wrong with Remus, he rather enjoyed his laid back vibe. It was an instant friendship over a bond of boredom.
After a few short moments, Remus interrupted "Professor, I'll have to leave you to your tour. It's time for me to go meet Lily."
"Oh of course Remus. Go along. And remind her I'll be in to assess her skill level by the latest tomorrow afternoon." Remus was off with a silly grin aimed at James' face of agony. "As I was saying, this school provides individual training as well as group classes…." And James was off again into dream world. It wasn't that he didn't respect the professor nor was it that he wasn't interested in the school. But it was more about James and that way that he understands things. He learns through visuals. It was the reason why he was better at flying than divination. It's about a clear goal rather than the unfocused future.
"Well James I think that concludes the tour for today. I will be expecting you here at 9 o'clock sharp. Earlier if you want breakfast here. I am leaving you in charge of the children's class. It ranges from the ages 2-6. I figured you would fit most comfortable with their humor, short attention span and general attitudes." James and Dumbledore enjoyed a laugh over the statement. It fit James perfectly to handle the young children. He wasn't even close to ready to help someone with their magical development. He could however teach the toddlers what his mother taught him before Hogwarts. It seemed like a good compromise. They bid farewell at the end of a long tour. The professor was off to evaluate the magical capabilities of the new students while James was given the rest of the day off to talk to his mother about what to do with the children.
He had the floo powder in his hand after he realized that he came to the school on his broom. The last time he remembered his broom was when Dumbledore shook his hand so he retraced his steps to the gates of the school. He broke out into a quick jog to reach past the gates. But before he could get to that spot, he (finally!)encountered the flash of red he saw earlier and the green eyes that saw him in the office. She was striding back to school holding his very own broomstick.
"You've got my broomstick. Thank you" he said as he approached her
"How do I know that this is your broomstick? You could be a young buck just trying to steal a valuable right from under me."
"Well the initials on the handle are J.P. My name is James Potter. And I would only know about that if it was my broom." She opened her mouth to refute that statement. But he pressed on. "Plus if it wasn't my broom it wouldn't respond when I call it. UP!"the broom snapped into his hand.
"Eck!Your broom moves fast." Lily jumped at the sudden movement. Despite the fact that she had been attending these summer programs for the past 4 years, she still remained pretty much a muggle. She could recognize that broom for the type to fly not sweep but was still uncertain of the behaviour. "I guess you can't beat with that logic."
"Yea me and this broom go way back. Anyways thanks a lot. You saved me from more walking. I think I walked around the school 5 or 12 times." James wasn't really looking forward to the ride home but he didn't dare take his beloved broomstick into the floo network. The risk of breaking was enough to make it worth a few swore muscles.
"Physical exercise is very important."
"I can agree with that." He looked at this new girl, she maintained a fair distance from him. She looked about his age. Along with every other person she had met, he was struck by her most astonishing feature that is her hair. To James it was a glorious mane of Gryffindor pride. "But everything in moderation right?" He finished his thought
She laughed. "Sure. Well good day to you James Potter." She turned and began to walk away from him.
"Wait!" he called out. "I don't know your name. You must be magical to know about broomsticks. Are you a student at the school?" his brain crunched trying to put a name to her face or even place her.
She made it easier for him. She turned her head to him still walking away and said "Lily Evans. I'll be seeing you."
AN: Alright. That's chapter one. I hope you liked it. Haha and by you I mean the 2 readers that I know have read it. It was nice to get a review. And see it did motivate me to write. It only took me a couple hours from start to finish. So if people want to have more then please review. I had pretty much abandoned this story until that first review. So this chapter is dedicated to LazyBoyGilmore& Freakiness!I hope it didn't disappoint.
