James Potter stared out into the distance. He could see nothing but countryside and railway for ages; he couldn't believe that Hogwarts was on the other side of those tracks. And in a few hours time, he would be in the castle, like his father and grandfather before him.

"Getting nervous?" a voice crept up on James so hard, it made him jump.

"Yeah" James stuttered.

The man comforting him had black hair, which stuck out in every direction; a trait that has been passed down to his son. It was obvious to anyone watching that the two were father and son; but the two physical traits that they did not share, were the need for glasses, and a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt that was visible on the father's forehead.

"It was twenty years ago since I stood on this platform" Harry Potter said reminiscently. "Back then I didn't know what I was getting into. I knew nothing about the wizarding world; I didn't even know pictures could move until I was on that train."

"What" gasped James. "I saw that screeching Black painting since I was two."

"Which shows how much of a head start you have against me" Harry pointed out.

"James, it's five to" Harry's wife Ginny shouted.

"Just a second" Harry called back. "Now James, before you get on that train, and leave us all for half a year, I need you to understand something." He took a deep breath to collect his thoughts. "You are going to be compared with me a lot" he warned.

"Of course I am" James said proudly. "I'm the first son of the boy who lived."

"I want you to understand that having that background is going to make people have various expectations" Harry explained. "They're going to see you in a light that you might not want to be seen in. I know this, because I've experienced it. If at any point you feel overwhelmed, write me a letter, because I know what it's like to be in those shoes more than anyone."

"Yeah, yeah" James chuckled, not truly taking in what Harry had to say. "Anything else?"

"Only that if you end the year with a detention, you're going to make Auntie Hermione upset; but if you end the year without getting one, you're going to upset Uncle Ron, so pick your poison" Harry joked.

"Harry the train" Ginny screamed.

The station guard started to whistle, indicating it was time to leave. Harry grabbed James, and pushed him slightly into an open carriage. A few seconds later, the doors slammed shut by themselves. James ran into the next door compartment, and started waving goodbye to his family, before the train started moving, and quickly took off. It took less than five second for Platform Nine and Three Quarters to be replaced with the scenery James was staring at earlier.

"Do you think he's realised that this compartment isn't empty?" asked a boy nearby, very loudly.

James whizzed around, to discover that the compartment he had just entered had two boys sitting at either end.

"Sorry" he stuttered, his face blushing slightly.

"It's alright" the boy who shouted earlier said. "The name's Jackson."

"Pleased to meet you" James replied, as he took his seat next to the other boy.

He took his time to study Jackson. He was slightly shorter than him, but had bright red hair; not unlike his mother's. He had a smug look on his face, and was twirling his wand as if it was a toy.

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Jackson asked the other boy. "You were going to tell me your name, until you were so rudely interrupted."

He gave James a smirk as he spoke.

"Sorry" the boy replied in a nervous voice. "My name is Darren."

Darren had light brown hair, and was taller than Jackson, but smaller than James. He didn't look at anyone else as he spoke, but was instead distracted by multiple objects that were lying around his armrest. James noticed that a Chocolate Frog was opened; a frog leg was wriggling about, new words kept on appearing and disappearing on the packet, and a Famous Witches And Wizards card had been removed.

"Are you a muggle born?" James asked bluntly.

"No" Darren replied defensively. "No, I'm a squib. At least I think I'm a squib."

"Squibs are kids born by a witch, without any magical powers" corrected Jackson. "Muggle borns are wizards and witches born to muggle parents."

"What's a muggle again?" asked Darren.

"You're definitely a muggle born" James decided. "Don't worry, you'll get used to all the magical terms."

"You sound like you're a kid from the wizarding world" said Jackson. "And you still haven't given your name yet. So out with it, who are you?"

"Brace yourself" James prepared. "You're not going to believe it when I tell you."

"I can hardly wait" sighed Jackson sarcastically.

"My name is James Potter" declared James.

"And that's supposed to be impressive" snorted Jackson. "I have roommate called James Potter; is the joke that you have a really common name."

"Are you muggle born too?" James asked solemnly.

It was obvious that Darren wasn't from wizarding decent, as he had abandoned the conversation, and was staring into the moving picture of the Famous Witches And Wizards Card. But Jackson seemed far more comfortable in his surroundings, as if he was already used to wizarding culture.

"I don't know" shrugged Jackson. "My parents dumped me at an orphanage when I was born. My parents could be aliens for all I know."

"You've got a Famous Witches And Wizards Card" James noted, and snatched the card Darren was holding. "They're currently doing the Dumbledore's Army series. My dad was their founder and leader."

Jackson took the card off James, and held it close to his face.

"Zacharias Smith" he read aloud. "Described by some to be the cruellest Hufflepuff since the conception of Hogwarts; Zacharias was most noteworthy for abandoning his post during the Battle Of Hogwarts, going as far as to knock over first year students in his efforts to escape."

"Zacharias Smith?" James Gasped.

"Sounds like your dad raised a really inspirational army" Jackson said sarcastically.

"Of all the people he could have gotten, it was Zacharias Smith" muttered James.

"Harry Potter is the first name on the back of this list" Darren re-joined the conversation, having examined the back of the Chocolate Frog packet.

"Yeah, I think I get who you are" Jackson noted. "At least your dad anyway."

The door to the compartment then opened. James was expecting the trolley witch, who his Uncle Ron kept on telling him to look forward to; but instead a rather tall young woman with long brown hair, around the age of everyone else, had just entered the room.

"Sorry to cause a fuss" the girl said loudly. "But do you mind if I sit here with you?"

"You took your time, trying to find your seat" Jackson joked. "We left London fifteen minutes ago."

"Well if you must know, I did find a compartment at first, but everyone inside were Formula One geeks."

"Formula One" muttered James drearily.

For the longest time in wizarding history, quiditch was the only popular sport. Every other muggle sport was disliked, as they didn't involve broomsticks in any way. James went to a muggle primary school, and he never knew what the appeal of football was, since there was no way to fly, and you weren't able to use your arms.

However one muggle trend that wizards on mass did get on board with was driving cars. Despite being created by muggles, and being less convenient at travelling than apperating, many wizards began using cars as their main transportation. In fact it was reported that loyal Death Eater Wilkes, had secretly kept a flying McLaren before his death.

Most wizards considered cars to be a passing trend, but to their surprise, it persisted on in wizarding culture. When the new millennium hit, several car loving wizards had discovered the muggle sport of car racing, and vowed to bring the spectacle to wizards' homes. Formula One was still a cult series compared to quiditch; but it was the first time in history that a muggle sport got wizarding support of any kind.

"I don't blame you running away, if you had to listen to F1 geeks all train ride" James scoffed.

"Yeah, I'm muggle born, and even I think car racing is really dull" Jackson agreed.

"I only care about football" said Darren meekly.

"Just wait until you play quiditch" James replied enthusiastically. "Nothing beats proper sport."

"Are you boys going to be gentlemen, and ask the lady her name?" the girl sulked.

"Sorry" James apologised.

"Who are you lassie?" Jackson asked rudely.

"I'm Bella Gorren; youngest daughter of Ryndar Gorren."

"No way" James gasped. "Your dad is the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"Wow, the second child of a celebrity that neither of us know" Jackson spoke in an unimpressed voice.

"You must be muggle borns then" Bella noticed. "I've never met a muggle before; have you heard of a conputer? I heard that muggles…"

"Is the girl going to be a lady, and ask the Men their names?" Jackson asked irritably.

"Sorry" Bella squeaked. "Who are you?"

"The names are Darren, Jackson, and the one and only James Potter" James introduced everyone.

"No way" screamed Bella. "Your Harry Potter's son?"

"Absolutely" boasted James.

"I feel we need an education in all of this" Darren muttered.

"Oh yes" Bella pleaded. "Please explain everything to us."

"You already know who Harry Potter is" argued Jackson.

"But I'd love to hear it from the source" Bella explained.

James grinned to himself. He was very proud to be the son of someone so brave, heroic and famous. He had heard the stories of his father's adventures nearly every night. The one that stuck out most right now, was when he, Ron and Hermione first met on the Hogwarts Express. He could sense the feeling, that the friends that his father forged seventeen years ago, he was about to forge now with everyone sitting down with him.

"Hold on to your hats, it's going to be a doozy" James smirked.

James then went into a deep conversation about how his father as a baby, survived the killing curse from Lord Voldemort, was forced to live with his muggle relatives for the next eleven years, got accepted into Hogwarts, and how he battled Voldemort for Philosopher's Stone.

"Oh my gosh" Bella shrieked. "I never knew Harry Potter defeated Voldemort in his first year."

"Beaten, not defeated" James corrected her. "That was only the first of many encounters dad had against him."

"Oh please don't say there's any more of this" complained Jackson. "You've been gassing for two hours."

"I only talked about Dad's first year" replied James.

"Does your story end with the bad guy being defeated?" asked Jackson.

"Yes" James admitted.

"Then we can continue this conversation on the way back" Jackson declared.

"But we don't go back until Christmas" Bella pointed out.

"Exactly" Jackson bellowed.

James was disappointed with Jackson's response. He had hoped to impress him with his father's exploits, but Jackson remained as cynical as he was before.

"How about you Darren" James asked. "Do you want to hear about my dad and the Chamber of Secrets?"

"I'm sorry" Darren apologised. "I got lost the moment you mentioned that he went to Hogwarts."

"That's the school we're going to now you idiot" chuckled Jackson.

"What?" Darren gasped. "I thought the school was called Gringotts."

"That's the name of the bank" Jackson corrected him in the tone of someone explaining that the sky is blue.

"I'm so confused" Darren whimpered.

"Did you not go to Diagon Alley to do your shopping?" asked Bella comfortingly.

"I think so" answered Darren. "Professor Longbottom took me there to buy my wand and books."

"You went to Diagon Alley, and you still forgot the name of the school" Jackson chuckled darkly. "How did you find your way onto the platform again?"

"You had to help me" Darren replied bitterly.

"If I hadn't seen you staring at a brick wall for ages, you wouldn't be on this train now" Jackson said.

"Do you not know much about the wizarding world?" James asked sympathetically.

"Nothing" Darren cried.

"What's the point of buying all those books if you weren't going to read them?" teased Jackson.

"I was too busy playing football" Darren explained. "I needed to finish the Junior Summer League."

"Why would you want to do that?" asked Jackson. "We've just been introduced to a brand new world, and you were too busy sticking with your football."

"What houses do you think we'll be in?" Bella asked enthusiastically.

"Gryffindor of course" replied James. "House of the brave and steadfast."

"Here we go again" muttered Jackson.

"Everyone knows that Gryffindor is where all the bravest come from" boasted James.

"Was your dad a Gryffindor by any chance" asked Jackson.

"Absolutely" James said proudly.

"Now there's a surprise" Jackson replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes to Bella.

"You shouldn't be making any jokes at Harry Potter's expense" she scolded him.

"Cheer up" protested Jackson. "I was only having some fun. I do agree actually, Gryffindor does sound the coolest."

"What's a Gryffindor?" asked Darren.

Jackson sighed, whilst James and Bella tried to explain to Darren how the sorting ceremony works.

"At the end of today, we'll all be sorted into our new houses" James finished off.

"It would be really cool if we're all sorted into Gryffindor together" Bella said dreamily.

"I suppose so" Darren muttered.

James spent the next hour trying to teach Darren some of the basic concepts of the wizarding world, that didn't exist in the muggle one. He surprised himself with how effectively he was able to do this, as he never thought that he got anything useful from muggle schooling. Bella was equally fascinated, as she never had any experience with the muggle world at all.

"We use flu powder to get places usually" she explained. "I've never been to London until today. I never knew muggles wore such silly clothes."

"We are wearing these clothes now" Jackson sighed.

"I bet you can't wait to get out of them, and wear something normal" Bella grinned.

James somehow predicted this, as Bella was already dressed in her wizarding robes. As the train got ever closer to its destination, the boys temporarily kicked Bella out of the compartment so they could get changed themselves.

"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes" a voice echoed throughout the train. "Please leave your luggage in your compartments, as they will be taken up to the castle separately."

"We're almost there" Bella squealed excitedly.

"I don't want to leave my luggage behind" Darren spoke up, the most panicked he's been since James met him. "I've got important stuff in here."

"Don't have any choice I'm afraid" James told him. "Don't worry, I don't remember father telling me that anything got stolen by the train people."

"If you say so" Darren said unsurely.

A few minutes later, the train finally began to slow down, and proceed to a halt. James and Bella rushed to the window to take a look outside. Hogsmeade Station read the sign stretched along the platform.

"Oh my gosh, we're finally here" Bella said in awe.

The four of them left their compartment, and got off the train. Darren was looking around in awe, whilst Jackson was left relatively unimpressed.

"I've seen bigger train stations" he noted.

"Who's that?" gasped Darren.

James turned around, then grinned. Approaching the station was a half giant, half human; who was friends with his father for many years.

"First years follow me, first years follow me" Rubeus Hagrid called out.

"That's Hagrid" James explained. "C'mon, let's go."

James ran towards the giant, whilst the others followed. By the time they reached Hagrid, there was already around twenty students surrounding him; though it didn't stop Hagrid from recognising James in an instant.

"James" he greeted eagerly. "I swear you've doubled in height since I last met you."

"It was only dad's birthday" James complained.

"Aye, so it was" Hagrid muttered.

"The train's fully cleared Hagrid" one of the station hands said.

"Right" Hagrid grunted. "If that's everyone, then we better make a move on."

By this point, James estimated that there were between thirty to forty first years along with Hagrid. They all walked a good distance before they reached Hogwarts Lake.

"Can you see it?" Hagrid asked. "The finest school in the world."

James could only agree. He had seen Hogwarts before in photographs and paintings, but it was something else to see it in person.

"Oi James, stop gawking and get in" Jackson interrupted James, who staring out into the distance.

"Sorry" James apologised.

Jackson was referring to one of the many boats, which was left stationed by a jetty nearby. James, Darren, Bella and Jackson all shared one to themselves.

"You're the footballer Darren, you row" Jackson ordered.

"I've never rowed a boat in my life" Darren protested.

Before their argument could be resolved however, the boats began moving by themselves. The oars just lifted up in the air without human input, and began to row the boats as well as a professional.

"I suppose that's one way of ending a debate" Jackson chuckled.

Darren however was staring at the oars rowing the boat by themselves. His mouth was left hanging open in shock.

"Don't gawp too long, or the giant squid might attack you" James teased.

"There's a giant squid" Darren shrieked, being snapped away from the oars.

"Wow, I didn't know that" said Jackson eagerly.

He then leaned his head over the boat, and began scanning the lake for any sign of life; though the boats reached shore before he could even catch a glimpse of a fish.

"Better luck next time" James said smugly, as Jackson moodily left the boat.

"Just a bit further" Hagrid told everyone.

They all followed him through Hogwarts grounds. James could barely believe that he was here, his heart was beating faster than it ever had in its life.

"Lots of space for a football match" Darren noted.

Hagrid stopped when they reached the castle's front door. He knocked on it twice, the noise echoing loudly throughout the grounds.

"He's big though isn't he" Jackson muttered.

"He's half giant" James whispered to him.

"Giants exist?" Darren gasped as quietly as he could.

"You really are clueless" Jackson teased.

The front doors opened up. The man who opened it looked like he was in his fifties. He had brown, but greying hair, and wore a pair of circular lensed glasses which covered his green eyes. The most curious thing to James however, was that he wasn't wearing any wizarding robes. It appeared to him that he was dressed more like a teacher from his muggle primary school.

"Are these all the new students Hagrid?" the man asked.

"Indeed they are Professor Lee" Hagrid replied.

"Who else does he think we all are?" Jackson muttered under his breath.

"Thank you Hagrid, you take your place for the feast" Professor Lee instructed. "I'll take things from here."

"Good luck everyone" Hagrid wished everyone, before he entered the castle.

"Follow me students" Professor Lee ordered.

"It's time" James said excitedly. "It's finally time."