Chapter 1 - Birthday Presents.
James Potter woke up on the morning of his twelfth birthday feeling very excited. Today he was going to meet his friends in Diagon Alley and he was going to get a new broomstick. His parents had been so proud that he'd been picked for the house team that they'd agreed to buy him a new model 'Silver Arrow' for his birthday. His old 'comet 100' just wasn't fast enough for the Gryffindor house Quidditch team, especially for a chaser.
He got out of bed and dressed hurriedly in Jeans and a T-shirt. He took the stairs three at a time (only just resisting the urge to slide down the banisters; his mother would have killed him, birthday or no birthday). He didn't even bother to try and tame his messy black hair. He'd been asked countless time whether he knew the meaning of the word 'hairbrush' but he simply couldn't make it lie flat. People just didn't believe him when he told them it just grew like that.
He found his parents and Cara (his little sister) having breakfast. His mother's round frame was bustling about making a fried breakfast and fussing about the state of the toast. She turned to greet him as he came in; the dark eyes James had inherited were sparkling merrily. Cara gave him a wide smile as he approached. She was nine, with long black hair like James' (but more than a little tidier) and they had the same dark, almost black eyes. Her eyes held the same sparkle as his mother's and although they were quite close in age there had been very little sibling rivalry. On the contrary, they were very close, and James loved her more than just about anything. He blushed and squirmed as his mum and Cara kissed him and wished him a happy birthday (although he was secretly quite pleased) and he beamed as he sat down and ate a proper breakfast. A fry up was a real treat; it was saved for special occasions in the Potter house.
He got very few presents that morning (some sweets from his grandparents and an affectionate nip on the ear from his owl Selene among other things) as he'd be meeting his friends in Diagon Alley later that day and his dad was going to buy him his new broomstick. His dad had even taken a day off work to join them on their shopping expedition. Jonathon Potter was an Auror (a dark wizard catcher) for the Ministry of Magic. With his messy black hair, tall, thin frame and mischievous smile, he didn't look the type that evil dark wizards would be afraid of, but looks can be deceiving. Jonathon Potter was actually a very powerful wizard. Fortunately, at that time, Aurors didn't really have much to do. Most of the Dark Wizard Grindelwald's few remaining supporters had been stamped out and James' dad could afford to take a bit of time off.
James waited impatiently for his mother to finish styling her curly hair, pacing the front room, fiddling with the pot of floo powder. Finally, she and Cara joined them in front of the fireplace. James had never really enjoyed travelling by floo powder. He had broken his glasses countless times and he always felt dizzy and disorientated for ages afterwards, but it was the best way until he learned to Apparate. This time he took off his round, black wire framed glasses and tucked them safely into his pocket before taking a pinch of floo powder and throwing it into the fireplace.
"Diagon Alley." He said clearly into the fireplace (if you weren't clear you never knew where you'd end up) before stepping in. He briefly felt a familiar warm tickling sensation before he started spinning out of control through the dark Floo network. He strained his eyes as he slowed down, passing several different fireplaces until he finally saw the familiar toothless grin of Tom the innkeeper and The Leaky Cauldron, the dim pub and entrance to Diagon Alley. He sat at a nearby table and waited for everyone else to appear, cleaning his glasses, because even in his pocket they had got very sooty, fortunately his hanky had stayed clean. Cara appeared first, giggling happily. She loved travelling by floo powder and she always enjoyed trips to Diagon Alley.
His mum was the next out and she immediately pulled out her huge brush and started brushing away the soot, complaining all the time about the state of James' hair. Fortunately, before James could protest, his dad popped out of the fire looking even sootier, with his hair even messier and his glasses smashed.
"Stop fussing Metria, the kids are just fine, oculus reparo," he muttered the last words under his breath while tapping his glasses with his wand, they fixed instantly. Of course, his mother didn't stop fussing, but she did transfer it to her husband. "Look at the state of you, honestly, would it kill you to comb your hair? What did you do on the way here? How did you get so dirty?" "Metria, stop fussing! Come on, we've got shopping to do." He glanced over at James who was staring at his watch pointedly and tapping his foot. Cara was laughing at him, she always found James' impatience amusing. James glared at her and she stopped laughing temporarily, until she realised he was joking and started again, even harder than before. James joined in; her giggles were contagious. She was still giggling uncontrollably as her dad tapped the third brick to the right above the bin outside the Leaky Cauldron, but she stopped abruptly and gasped as she watched the wall dissolve into the archway entrance to Diagon Alley. James privately agreed with her. No matter how many times he'd visited Diagon Alley in the past, the magical entrance to this amazing place never failed to take his breath away.
They stepped through the archway and James headed straight for 'Quality Quidditch Supplies' as he always did, as it was his favourite shop. His mother called him back as she always did, as they needed to go to Gringotts (the wizarding bank) first. In order to get to their gold, they would have to travel through a maze of caves deep beneath the streets of London. James hated this ride. A goblin put them into two carts and they set off at high speed, rattling along an invisible track, pulled by an unseen force. First this way then that way, circling, zigzagging, turning innumerable corners, James' head spun. Cara's hair was whipped into his face, but they were moving too fast for him to brush it away. She was laughing madly, a little speed demon, she would be a great Quidditch player, she loved visiting Gringotts, but it always made James feel slightly queasy, though he never told anyone. He always wondered why they didn't notice, he always went a little green around the gills; it must have been really obvious. He supposed they were just being delicate.
So, with their moneybags jingling, they left Gringotts for the cobbled street outside. They had a lot of shopping to do.
James had a lot to buy for school (though not as much as last year. He went to Flourish and Blotts to buy his new schoolbooks and some ink and parchment. He bought some new potions ingredients too, as he was running a bit low. He was just about to ask his dad if they could go and buy his broomstick yet when he spotted his friends sitting outside old Mr Fortescue's ice cream parlour. They all waved to him as he approached, dragging a reluctant little sister along with him (she'd gone shy). He introduced his parents to Remus Lupin and Sirius Black (they already knew Peter Pettigrew). He also introduced Cara, who'd gone uncharacteristically quiet. She blushed when Sirius smiled at her. He sat down with them, and his parents took their leave. Cara stayed however, and sat at the end of the table, very quietly.
Soon they were all sat with ice cream sundaes, enjoying the sunny weather, chatting happily about their summer holidays and thinking of new ways to cause trouble when they got back to school in a fortnight. They were having so much fun that James even forgot about his new Silver Arrow for a while. His friends had all brought him presents; a set of biting teacups from Sirius, a new chess set from Remus and a box of assorted sweets from Peter. He grinned broadly as Cara shyly handed over her present,
"I was going to wait until you got your new broom, but I thought maybe you'd like it now." She said, in an almost inaudible whisper as he unwrapped a pair of shiny new tail twig clippers. James' smile became even broader (if that was possible) and he grabbed her and gave her a huge hug. His friends laughed, as Cara turned an interesting shade of shocking pink. She saw the funny side however and laughed along with the rest of them. A few minutes later, reminded by Cara of his new broomstick, he dragged all of them into Quality Quidditch Supplies to meet his parents. He came out twenty minutes later, feeling elated, carrying his new Silver Arrow.
"Keep Cara busy." He whispered to Sirius. He chose Sirius because Cara seemed to like him. She allowed him to steer her back to the ice cream parlour while James snuck off to Eeylops owl emporium. He wanted to buy Cara an owl. He picked a small, fluffy one. It wasn't very expensive, and James knew Cara would think it was cute. It was really, it looked a little like a feathery tennis ball, and it was very affectionate. He hooted rather cheerfully as James paid for it.
He found his friends and Cara back at Fortescue's ice cream parlour, chatting to Mr Fortescue's son, Florean. He was about eighteen, and very clever, especially in the area of the history of magic. James made a mental note to get some help from him when he had problems with his homework in the future. He set the cage with the little owl down in front of Cara grinning, "This is your birthday present." Cara looked astounded, "But it's not my birthday until next month." "Yeah, but I'll be away, and I thought you'd like this early, now you can send me as many letters as you like!" She was speechless, and this time it was her turn to give him a huge hug and his turn to go red.
James Potter woke up on the morning of his twelfth birthday feeling very excited. Today he was going to meet his friends in Diagon Alley and he was going to get a new broomstick. His parents had been so proud that he'd been picked for the house team that they'd agreed to buy him a new model 'Silver Arrow' for his birthday. His old 'comet 100' just wasn't fast enough for the Gryffindor house Quidditch team, especially for a chaser.
He got out of bed and dressed hurriedly in Jeans and a T-shirt. He took the stairs three at a time (only just resisting the urge to slide down the banisters; his mother would have killed him, birthday or no birthday). He didn't even bother to try and tame his messy black hair. He'd been asked countless time whether he knew the meaning of the word 'hairbrush' but he simply couldn't make it lie flat. People just didn't believe him when he told them it just grew like that.
He found his parents and Cara (his little sister) having breakfast. His mother's round frame was bustling about making a fried breakfast and fussing about the state of the toast. She turned to greet him as he came in; the dark eyes James had inherited were sparkling merrily. Cara gave him a wide smile as he approached. She was nine, with long black hair like James' (but more than a little tidier) and they had the same dark, almost black eyes. Her eyes held the same sparkle as his mother's and although they were quite close in age there had been very little sibling rivalry. On the contrary, they were very close, and James loved her more than just about anything. He blushed and squirmed as his mum and Cara kissed him and wished him a happy birthday (although he was secretly quite pleased) and he beamed as he sat down and ate a proper breakfast. A fry up was a real treat; it was saved for special occasions in the Potter house.
He got very few presents that morning (some sweets from his grandparents and an affectionate nip on the ear from his owl Selene among other things) as he'd be meeting his friends in Diagon Alley later that day and his dad was going to buy him his new broomstick. His dad had even taken a day off work to join them on their shopping expedition. Jonathon Potter was an Auror (a dark wizard catcher) for the Ministry of Magic. With his messy black hair, tall, thin frame and mischievous smile, he didn't look the type that evil dark wizards would be afraid of, but looks can be deceiving. Jonathon Potter was actually a very powerful wizard. Fortunately, at that time, Aurors didn't really have much to do. Most of the Dark Wizard Grindelwald's few remaining supporters had been stamped out and James' dad could afford to take a bit of time off.
James waited impatiently for his mother to finish styling her curly hair, pacing the front room, fiddling with the pot of floo powder. Finally, she and Cara joined them in front of the fireplace. James had never really enjoyed travelling by floo powder. He had broken his glasses countless times and he always felt dizzy and disorientated for ages afterwards, but it was the best way until he learned to Apparate. This time he took off his round, black wire framed glasses and tucked them safely into his pocket before taking a pinch of floo powder and throwing it into the fireplace.
"Diagon Alley." He said clearly into the fireplace (if you weren't clear you never knew where you'd end up) before stepping in. He briefly felt a familiar warm tickling sensation before he started spinning out of control through the dark Floo network. He strained his eyes as he slowed down, passing several different fireplaces until he finally saw the familiar toothless grin of Tom the innkeeper and The Leaky Cauldron, the dim pub and entrance to Diagon Alley. He sat at a nearby table and waited for everyone else to appear, cleaning his glasses, because even in his pocket they had got very sooty, fortunately his hanky had stayed clean. Cara appeared first, giggling happily. She loved travelling by floo powder and she always enjoyed trips to Diagon Alley.
His mum was the next out and she immediately pulled out her huge brush and started brushing away the soot, complaining all the time about the state of James' hair. Fortunately, before James could protest, his dad popped out of the fire looking even sootier, with his hair even messier and his glasses smashed.
"Stop fussing Metria, the kids are just fine, oculus reparo," he muttered the last words under his breath while tapping his glasses with his wand, they fixed instantly. Of course, his mother didn't stop fussing, but she did transfer it to her husband. "Look at the state of you, honestly, would it kill you to comb your hair? What did you do on the way here? How did you get so dirty?" "Metria, stop fussing! Come on, we've got shopping to do." He glanced over at James who was staring at his watch pointedly and tapping his foot. Cara was laughing at him, she always found James' impatience amusing. James glared at her and she stopped laughing temporarily, until she realised he was joking and started again, even harder than before. James joined in; her giggles were contagious. She was still giggling uncontrollably as her dad tapped the third brick to the right above the bin outside the Leaky Cauldron, but she stopped abruptly and gasped as she watched the wall dissolve into the archway entrance to Diagon Alley. James privately agreed with her. No matter how many times he'd visited Diagon Alley in the past, the magical entrance to this amazing place never failed to take his breath away.
They stepped through the archway and James headed straight for 'Quality Quidditch Supplies' as he always did, as it was his favourite shop. His mother called him back as she always did, as they needed to go to Gringotts (the wizarding bank) first. In order to get to their gold, they would have to travel through a maze of caves deep beneath the streets of London. James hated this ride. A goblin put them into two carts and they set off at high speed, rattling along an invisible track, pulled by an unseen force. First this way then that way, circling, zigzagging, turning innumerable corners, James' head spun. Cara's hair was whipped into his face, but they were moving too fast for him to brush it away. She was laughing madly, a little speed demon, she would be a great Quidditch player, she loved visiting Gringotts, but it always made James feel slightly queasy, though he never told anyone. He always wondered why they didn't notice, he always went a little green around the gills; it must have been really obvious. He supposed they were just being delicate.
So, with their moneybags jingling, they left Gringotts for the cobbled street outside. They had a lot of shopping to do.
James had a lot to buy for school (though not as much as last year. He went to Flourish and Blotts to buy his new schoolbooks and some ink and parchment. He bought some new potions ingredients too, as he was running a bit low. He was just about to ask his dad if they could go and buy his broomstick yet when he spotted his friends sitting outside old Mr Fortescue's ice cream parlour. They all waved to him as he approached, dragging a reluctant little sister along with him (she'd gone shy). He introduced his parents to Remus Lupin and Sirius Black (they already knew Peter Pettigrew). He also introduced Cara, who'd gone uncharacteristically quiet. She blushed when Sirius smiled at her. He sat down with them, and his parents took their leave. Cara stayed however, and sat at the end of the table, very quietly.
Soon they were all sat with ice cream sundaes, enjoying the sunny weather, chatting happily about their summer holidays and thinking of new ways to cause trouble when they got back to school in a fortnight. They were having so much fun that James even forgot about his new Silver Arrow for a while. His friends had all brought him presents; a set of biting teacups from Sirius, a new chess set from Remus and a box of assorted sweets from Peter. He grinned broadly as Cara shyly handed over her present,
"I was going to wait until you got your new broom, but I thought maybe you'd like it now." She said, in an almost inaudible whisper as he unwrapped a pair of shiny new tail twig clippers. James' smile became even broader (if that was possible) and he grabbed her and gave her a huge hug. His friends laughed, as Cara turned an interesting shade of shocking pink. She saw the funny side however and laughed along with the rest of them. A few minutes later, reminded by Cara of his new broomstick, he dragged all of them into Quality Quidditch Supplies to meet his parents. He came out twenty minutes later, feeling elated, carrying his new Silver Arrow.
"Keep Cara busy." He whispered to Sirius. He chose Sirius because Cara seemed to like him. She allowed him to steer her back to the ice cream parlour while James snuck off to Eeylops owl emporium. He wanted to buy Cara an owl. He picked a small, fluffy one. It wasn't very expensive, and James knew Cara would think it was cute. It was really, it looked a little like a feathery tennis ball, and it was very affectionate. He hooted rather cheerfully as James paid for it.
He found his friends and Cara back at Fortescue's ice cream parlour, chatting to Mr Fortescue's son, Florean. He was about eighteen, and very clever, especially in the area of the history of magic. James made a mental note to get some help from him when he had problems with his homework in the future. He set the cage with the little owl down in front of Cara grinning, "This is your birthday present." Cara looked astounded, "But it's not my birthday until next month." "Yeah, but I'll be away, and I thought you'd like this early, now you can send me as many letters as you like!" She was speechless, and this time it was her turn to give him a huge hug and his turn to go red.