Ickle Firsties
Chapter Two – The Hogwarts Express
James was beside himself with elation. It was September first. The day he was leaving for Hogwarts. He was to board the Hogwarts Express at eleven o'clock from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters at Kings Cross Station. There was only one problem.
It was nine fifteen.
"Mum, can we go yet?" asked James for the umpteenth time. He was checking his watch every few seconds now. It was going so slowly he could have sworn it had stopped.
"James, we'll be an hour and a half early if we leave now," his mum answered patiently. She was trying not to laugh out loud at the sight of him. He was sitting on top of his trunk right next to the door, and clutching his new wand (Mahogany, eleven inches, pliable) so tightly that it looked about to snap.
"But we're taking the Muggle- whatever it is- cab thing, right? Aren't those supposed to be really slow?" He looked so hopeful!
"I think you'll just have to sit tight until ten thirty," said his mum, smiling sadly.
Feeling slightly dejected, James opened his trunk and retrieved the Standard Book of Spells, Grade One, and immediately immersed himself in it.
***
They stood between platforms nine and ten. James was looking around anxiously, as if to see some sign of how to get onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. He thought he saw a very stern woman and her son carrying an owl, but one minute they were there, and the next, they were just… not there. Gone.
"Dad, how do you get on there? To Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, I mean?"
"See that barrier," said his dad, pointing, but keeping his voice low all the same. "Right between platforms nine and ten?"
James nodded.
"All you have to do is walk right through that barrier."
If this would have sounded strange to anyone else, it made perfect sense to James. In fact, he thought it was positively ingenious. Perhaps it was because he had grown up in the wizarding world, and travelling through fireplaces and hurling yourself through what appeared to be a solid barrier seemed like perfectly sensible things to do.
At any rate, James embraced the idea and said, "See you on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters!" to his parents, and ran headlong into the barrier.
There was no crash. Nothing. It was like he had run through air. But he had closed his eyes when he had started running, and he kept them closed and kept on running. He could only assume (as he had his eyes shut) that he had been about to run onto the train tracks, because a strong arm was flung in front of him.
"Take it easy, there, sonny," said the owner of the arm, a tall man with graying hair and very kind brown eyes.
"Ah- okay- thanks- sorry," he panted.
The man smiled. "It's okay," he said. "It is instinct to close one's eyes when one is running through something that looks so solid. You just have to know when to stop."
"Yeah, thanks," said James, after regaining some breath. "Thanks a lot."
At that moment, his parents emerged, his mum with the trolley that held his trunk. James checked his watch. Ten fifty-eight.
He ran forward and gave each of his parents a hug. His dad gave him a few Galleons and some Sickles.
"What's this for?" asked James. "You know I've already got money, in my trunk-"
"Oh, it'll come in handy," said his dad, winking at him.
Just then, the scarlet steam engine anchored on the tracks gave a loud whistle. James gave a last smile to his parents, and joined the throng of students boarding the train.
***
It didn't take long for a new student to figure out that most of the compartments were quite full, nearly all of their occupants older students who had known each other for quite a long time and were gabbling excitedly.
At last, James found a compartment with only one other occupant, and took a seat kitty-corner from him. Once again, to suppress his boredom, he took out a book (A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration) and began to read.
The book couldn't hold his interest for very long, however, and he soon found himself shooting sideways glances at the other boy in the compartment, who was also reading. Then he noticed that the other boy was doing the same thing to him.
"What're you reading?" asked James at last. The boy turned to glance at him, and James finally got a good look at him. He was really very handsome, with a rounded face and dark brown, almost black hair, which was short enough so that one could say that he needed a haircut, yet long enough that you got the distinct impression that he wanted to keep it that way.
"One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi," said the boy, rolling his eyes. "And you?"
"A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration," answered James, rolling his eyes back and grinning. "I'm James, by the way. James Potter."
"Sirius Black," said the boy.
Then, the door to the compartment slid open, and a plump witch driving a cart piled with sweets appeared. "Would you like anything to eat, dears?" she asked.
"Er- hang on one second," said Sirius. He opened his trunk and began fishing around for some money. James, however, now understood why his dad had given him some extra money.
"What've you got?" he asked, showing her three Galleons and a Sickle.
"Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, Chocolate Frogs, and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans," replied the witch.
"Argh!" cried Sirius suddenly. "I can't find my money!"
"It's okay, mate," said James. "I'll get you something. But you'll owe me." He grinned.
"Alright," said Sirius, who looked as though no one had offered him something this nice in about five years. "Thanks."
"Er, three Pumpkin Pasties, a Cauldron Cake, eight Chocolate Frogs, and one package of the Every Flavor Beans," ordered James.
"Right you are, dears," said the witch. James paid her, and she left.
"Sho," said Sirius thickly, his mouth full of Pumpkin Pasty. "What houshe do you reckon you'll be in?"
"Dunno," said James as he spat out a green Every Flavor Bean. "Yick. Sorry. I think my brother was in Raven-thing though, so I guess that's where I'll be. My mum was in Puffybuff or whatever it is, though. I forget where my dad was."
"Yeah," said Sirius. "I think I'll be in Slytherin, at least all the rest of my family was. I'll probably get wiped off the family tree if I'm not," he added, and gave a hollow laugh. "My mum says Regulus- my younger brother, he's two years off of me- is a true Slytherin, but she's never said anything about me. Regulus was always my parents' favorite. How old's your brother?"
"Eighteen. He just got signed to the Alnwick Aviators, you know, the Quidditch team."
"Quidditch player, eh? You should hear our house-elf talk about Quidditch. 'Barbaric sport, positively barbaric. Stupid fools, probably Mudbloods, too, going around on their broomsticks and hitting each other…' He's right old, too, Kreacher. Hopefully one of these days Aunt Elladora will come around and-" he made a swift cutting motion across his throat.
James raised his eyebrows. "You're not serious."
Sirius nodded. "Dead serious, mate. It's an honor. All of Kreacher's ancestors have their heads up on plaques in the downstairs hallway. Creepy, but Kreacher deserves it. He's a right pain in the-"
"You're pure-blood, then, I'm guessing."
"Yeah," said Sirius grimly. He put on a high-pitched voice. "To be a Black is an honor, not a privilege. See that Mudblood scum? Filth. Absolute filth. You are lucky to belong to the House of Black. Yeah, right. Got a lecture on that- only about three hours longer, mind- because I was playing tag with the Muggle kid across the street."
"Ouch," James said sympathetically. "We're pure-blood too, up until my great-great-great-great-grandmother or something, but my parents don't really give a darn whether someone's Muggle-born or not."
After that, they quickly got off the subject, as it seemed to make Sirius a bit uncomfortable. They spent the rest of the trip talking about their favorite Quidditch teams, bands, and daring each other to eat a mottled brownish-green Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean.
***
By the time that the train was within five minutes of its destination, it was raining sheets outside, and the occasional bursts of thunder were so loud that it made several students jump. Then, at long last, the train pulled into Hogsmeade station, and students began to disembark.
As one older girl pulled her cloak a little more tightly around her, she said to her friend, "I feel so bad for the first-years! I wouldn't want to be crossing the lake in these conditions!"
"What'd you reckon?" James asked Sirius as they got off the train. "D'you really think they'll make us cross the lake? Don't tell me they're making us swim!"
"Doubt it," said Sirius. "More likely we'll have to row a boat or something. Just hope we don't have to use a spell- I'm no great shakes at magic yet."
"Neither am I," said James, recalling the "reparon" incident as he put up the hood of his cloak.
"Firs' years!" called a very loud voice over the crowd. "Firs' years ov'r this way, please!"
Sirius and James followed the sound, and were almost immediately confronted with a man every bit as large as his voice. He must have been at least nine and a half feet tall, with a bushy black beard and eyes that were positively tiny in comparison with his face.
"Firs' years!" he continued to call. "Ahright, got ev'rybody now? Okay then. My name's Rubeus Hagrid, an' I'm the keeper of the keys and grounds here at Hogwarts." He was explaining this while walking them to the edge of a large lake. It was black in the stormy weather, and it looked frighteningly deep.
"Okay, now, no more'n four to a boat!" Sirius and James managed to get into the same boat, along with a kid with greasy black hair and a hooked nose and another kid who looked like he could use nothing more than a good night's sleep. All four of them were feeling rather nervous at the prospect of crossing a fathoms-deep lake during a vicious thunderstorm, though not all of them were showing it.
At this point, Hagrid tapped the side of his boat with a pink umbrella, and the small fleet began to glide steadily across the lake.
"What's your name?" James asked the boy with the hooked nose, who was perhaps the most frightened one among them.
"S-severus Snape," stuttered the boy, shivering from a combination of cold and nerves, never taking an eye off the pitch-black sky above them. "What's y-yours?"
"I'm James, and this is Sirius," said James. He then turned his gaze on the other boy in their boat. "Who're you?" he asked him. But he never found out who the other boy was, because at that moment, lightning shattered the sky, followed immediately- or perhaps nearly at the same time- by an ear-splitting crack of thunder. Severus Snape let out a very audible whimper and hunkered down in the boat.
"Snivellus," James whispered to Sirius, and they both cracked up. Their fun was disrupted, however (and maybe this was a good thing, as Severus had heard them and was beginning to look murderous in spite of his fear) by the gamekeeper.
"'Kay, we're almost there now- righ' 'round this bend here- welcome to Hogwarts School!"
"Oooooooooooh," chorused the first years. "Wowwwwwwww!" And it was for good reason, too, because the castle looming in front of them was unlike any they had ever seen- and probably ever would. It covered several acres of land, filling space with wall upon wall, room upon room. There were turrets and towers to fill even the most demanding adventurer's needs, and with one look, you could tell what didn't need to be said. You could live your entire life in this castle, and never know all of its secrets.
Soon enough, they reached the edge of the lake and stepped out of their boats. Another quick glance around could tell you that the grounds could be just as interesting as the castle itself; there were plenty of trees to plop down under in better weather, a dark forest filled with magical creatures (though the first years didn't know this yet) that looked at least as menacing as the lake, and a large willow tree near the edge of the forest. It was this tree that peaked Sirius's interest. He stood staring at it for a bit, and saw one of the forest's trees sway in the wind, close to the tree. And- was it just his imagination?- he saw the willow tree hit it back. He pondered this for a moment, until James pulled on the sleeve of his robes and dragged him along so that they were in line with the rest of the group.
"James," said Sirius. "That willow tree near the forest. Did you see it?"
"Yeah," replied James, gazing around at the walls of the room they had just entered. "So?"
"A tree near it sort of- swayed. In the wind. And the willow tree hit it back."
James stared at him. "You're delirious, Sirius," he said finally (AN: And I did not mean that as some sort of weird rhyme. I pronounce Sirius SIReeus. Not SEEreeus.). "You're tired, hungry, and cold. Trees don't hit other trees." But even as he said this, he had trouble believing it. There was a definite aura of magic in this place, and something told him that maybe it could be possible for trees to hit other trees. Unlikely, yes, but possible.
"What?" cried Sirius suddenly.
"I didn't do it!" James said automatically.
"No, not you," said Sirius. "Him." He pointed to the fourth boy that had been in their boat. "He was staring at us."
The boy was now chewing his lip nervously and avoiding their gaze.
"Git," said James. He was about to add something much worse, but they had reached the top of the stairwell they had been walking up, and a stern-looking witch with her hair in a tight knot at the back of her head was standing next to Hagrid.
"Thank you, Hagrid," said the witch. "I'll be taking them into the preparation chamber."
"Righ' you are, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid, and set off through a door to the right of them.
"Well, first years," said Professor McGonagall, leading them into a stone room. "The Sorting shall begin momentarily. I suggest that you take this opportunity to freshen yourselves up a bit."
Most of the first years were looking nervous at the prospect of a Sorting Ceremony, but James didn't care what the Sorting Ceremony held in store for him. He was just happy to be there.
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AN: Thank you sosososo much to everybody who reviewed!! Coming next chapter: Remus, Peter, and a new Sorting Hat song! I hope you'll excuse my bad poetry…. Please review!
--Juli