Chapter Seven: Platform Nine and Three-Quarters
James' last few weeks at home could not have gone by slower, for some reason every day for the remainder of James' time before leaving for Hogwarts felt like an eternity. Every day that went by, he mentally counted down the steadily shrinking number of days that remained until he could finally go to Hogwarts just like his parents, and like Teddy.
In order to relieve his frustration at the slow passage of the days before he too could go to Hogwarts, James started taunting his brother with the stories of all the adventures that he thought he was going to have. Of course, that wasn't exactly the way that he put it when he told them to his brother.
"And every morning I'm gonna go to the Forbidden Forest and fight off a gang of murderous Werewolves!" James bragged to his brother, ignoring the fact that doing so would be rather difficult considering that Werewolves only appeared during the Full Moon. "And then I'm gonna…" it went on and on for hours, during which time Albus generally was reduced to running from the room in fury. Of course, that left James lonely most of the time as there was really no one else to talk to.
More than once he had considered sending an owl to Andrew, asking how his summer was going, but unfortunately he had forgotten to ask the other boy for his address, and he didn't trust his new owl's ability to find him without more information than just a name. Once or twice he had considered asking his father where the Knights lived, but he hadn't been able to swallow his pride and admit that he'd forgotten to ask something so simple.
So instead, he spent most of the remainder of the summer trying to find anything that could possibly take up his time and fill those endless hours until September 1st. At times, he got so bored that he even forgot that he was supposed to be mean to his brother, and instead started actively seeking out something to do with Albus. Of course, such sibling-bonding-time was invariably followed by more teasing from James, which meant that Albus was rather distrustful of James towards the end of the summer.
"Hey Al, you wanna go play some Exploding Snap?" James had asked one morning, only to have Albus angrily grumble "Yea right, so you can throw the cards in my face right before they explode again? No thanks!" and then stalk off, leaving James alone on the landing.
Finally, the morning of September 1st arrived, and the Potter family set out for King's Cross Station. Even though he had never been there before, James had heard all about the entryway from Teddy Lupin, and was determined to prove how cool and tough he was by running straight at the barrier without flinching on his first time.
However, when they arrived at the wall, James was not so sure. Despite what everyone had told him, the wall looked completely solid. What if they were pulling a fast one on him? What if they wanted him to slam straight into the wall to make him look foolish? "Alright James, you want to go first?" his father asked, to which James nodded slowly and pushed his trolley towards the wall.
Lining up with the wall in front of him, James took a deep breath. Was it really worth it to take it at a run? What if it really was a wall, he would probably break every bone in his body trying to run through that thing! But still, he had said that he wasn't going to be afraid of the barrier, and if he backed down now and took it slowly he would just look like a coward. He had no choice but to take it at a run, and hope that everything worked out for the best. After all, a broken bone was better than a shattered reputation.
Swallowing nervously, James broke into a run towards the barrier in front of him, closing his eyes as the sheer brick wall rushed up to meet him…bracing himself for the impact. But the bone-jarring impact that James had been waiting for never came, as James passed right through the wall. Opening his eyes, James let out a quiet shout of excitement when he saw the Scarlett Engine ahead of him. He had done it! He had actually done it! Now all of his fears about slamming into the wall seemed stupid and childish, of course it wasn't really there!
A few moments later, his father came through the barricade, leading a trembling Albus who was holding his arms out in front of him as though to ward off a blow of some kind. "Hey Al, look out for the second wall!" James cried out, and his brother immediately shielded his face again before realizing that James was messing with him and glaring menacingly at his older brother.
"So, you weren't scared at all?" his father asked, although something in his tone of voice gave James the impression that he somehow knew about James' last minute hesitation. However, he was never going to admit to such shameful fears, and replied "Nope, it was easy! I'm not a pansy like Al."
He was spared having to listen to his brother's retort as his mother came through the barrier at that moment, carrying a violently protesting Lily, who was still insisting that they were going to slam into the wall and die. James and Albus both found this terribly funny, and were laughing hysterically while their parents tried to calm their sister down.
Once they finally had Lily convinced that she was safe and fine, both of James' parents turned their attention to him. Though he was eager to be off, he could see that his parents had something important to say, and that he would regret it if he tried to rush them.
"James," his father began, "this is a big day for you. You're going off to Hogwarts, where you're gonna make new friends, and learn all sorts of new things. But you're also going to be on your own. That means that your mom and I won't be there to make sure that you eat right, and do your homework, and study, and behave. But we trust you to do the right thing, OK?"
James stifled a small laugh, trust him to do the right thing? That was about as smart as trusting Uncle George with a box full of explosives. Still, he supposed that he would have to convince his parents that he would, or else they might not let him go.
"I promise dad." James said, beaming and trying to hide the malicious glint in his eyes. However, his father must have seen James' thoughts etched on his face, as he replied "Yea…I thought so. Just try not to get in too much trouble James. And please, please just do all your work."
James nodded again, and started to turn away but a hand grabbed him on the shoulder and spun him around. It was his mother, and she was staring at him, teary-eyed as she said "Oh! My little baby is going to Hogwarts!" His mother then proceeded to grab him in a hug and weep about how much he'd grown up.
"I remember…don't you remember…when he was so small, he always used to be afraid of thunderstorms. What if there's a thunderstorm while he's at Hogwarts, and I won't be able to help him…my little Jamie-kins"
James was aghast; there were people on the platform! People who were going to be at Hogwarts with him! And his mother was now making a big spectacle out of the whole thing, as if a hug wasn't bad enough!
Trying furiously to extricate himself from his mother's grip he said "Mum I haven't been scared of those since I was five! I'll be fine, now can you please stop, people are looking!" Finally, James managed to pull himself away, and his mother had calmed down some.
"Promise you'll write us often!" she pleaded as she kissed James goodbye, to which James rolled his eyes and said "Yea, sure thing mum. At least once a week, how's that sound?" However, quietly, he thought that there was no way that he was writing more than once or twice a month.
"Have fun sitting at home Al!" James said as he gave his brother one last hug, and punch, goodbye. And, stopping only to tell his sister not to cry over him every day, he took off before his parents could try and stop him again.
Once he had gotten onto the train, James began to look around for a compartment. It didn't take him very long before he spotted Teddy Lupin's bright tuft of blue hair sticking out from the crowd, and he rushed over to where his Godbrother was standing talking to two of his friends. "Hey Teddy!" James called out as he approached his Godbrother and his two friends.
Teddy at first seemed rather shocked to see James, but then it seemed he remembered why James was on the train. "Hey James, you managed not to get yourself killed by your parents! Nice job, my Grandmum said your parents were complaining that they were ready to murder you after a while." Laughing at his joke, he added, "Guys, this is my cousin James Potter. James these are my mates Jay Carpenter and Andy Mandarin." James didn't know why Teddy always referred to them as cousins, but then again they were practically family.
Teddy's friends, at least in terms of appearance, could not have been more different. Jay was tall, light-skinned, and had a short crop of blonde hair. Andy on the other hand was tan, muscular, and had a long mane of brown hair. Neither of the two boys seemed very interested in James, and only glanced at him for a moment before returning their attention to Teddy.
"So, are you having trouble finding a compartment or something?" Teddy asked, "I'd have thought that, you being you, you'd have kids fighting over who gets to sit with you." At first, James had no idea what Teddy was talking about. But as comprehension gathered his heart sank like a stone.
"You mean I can't sit with you?" James asked in a small, hurt voice. He had thought that Teddy viewed him as cool, as one of his gang; and that he would be able to hang out with Teddy and his friends at Hogwarts. Now, he was being shunned…cast aside, by his idol.
"James, you have to make your own friends…friends your own age, at some point." Teddy told him, not realizing how much hurt he was causing the small boy. "Go on, I'll see you at the Castle. Oh, and try not to mention your name until after the other kids start talking to you. Trust me, you don't want the hassle."
James nodded half-heartedly and turned away from Teddy and his friends, continuing to walk along the train's narrow corridor. The train was starting to fill up now, and would be pulling out of the station soon. James hoped that he would be able to find a compartment before the train left; otherwise it'd probably be filled up everywhere.
Andrew and Jay, why was Teddy hanging around with losers like them? James was far cooler than either of those two saps! "Buncha jerks!" James muttered to himself as he swung open the door to and empty compartment and went inside. "If anyone wants to talk to me," James grumbled as he sat down, "Then that can come and talk to me themselves!"
In all fairness, Teddy was right, James really did need to make his own friends, but James didn't see it like that. He saw it as Teddy abandoning him for someone else, just because they were older than he was! It was like being betrayed!
"I'm just as much fun to be around as they are." James grumbled to himself as he crossed his arms and stared out the window angrily.
