"Do you have everything now?"
"Yes, mum."
"Are you sure you have everything James?"
"Yes, mum."
"All your school books? Telescope? Wand? Owl?"
"Yes, yes, yes and yes. Mum, I have ever-"
"Clean underwear?"
"MUM!"
James looked up through his glasses at his mother with cheeks burning with embarrassment. It was to be his first ever day at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry and he was plenty nervous enough; the last thing he'd want was someone to hear his mum talking about his clean underwear! Mrs Potter looked down at her only son lovingly and in her eyes were tears of happiness. She spread her arms wide, gave a little cry of joy and was about to bend down to embrace her son in the tightest hug he'd ever have in his life – James looked prepared to run – until she was interrupted by a heavy hand on her shoulder. Mr Potter, James' dad, had come to say goodbye to James. His face was rather red and sweaty from having to take James' trunk and owl cage to the scarlet train that stood motionless behind them.
"Soon time to go, son." He said happily. He was taking his leave a lot better than his mother. With one hand, he held onto James' scrawny shoulder – his other hand preoccupied with trying to restrain his wife from hugging their son to death. "Have fun, do well and...promise me one thing?"
James quirked a brow, but guessed what was coming.
"Promise me you won't get into trouble."
In James' mind, he didn't really think it fair of his father assuming that it was him that got into trouble. It was just trouble always followed him, no matter where he went! Just last week, James had managed to get into trouble by "accidentally" cursing the neighbour's pet Yorkshire terrier, Bubbles. He sniggered inwardly, remembering the sight of it all, the look on his neighbour's face and her sobs and screams...and of course, what Bubbles looked like stuck on top of next door's chimney. Mr Potter gave a small grunt, awaiting his son's answer. Snapping out of his thoughts, James smiled in what he thought was an innocent manner and hid his hands behind his back, crossing his fingers.
"Father, I solemnly swear that I won't get up to no good." He said sweetly while all the while thinking in his head how much he couldn't wait to use that whole bag of dungbombs that he had secretly stored in the corner of his school trunk.
"That's my boy." Mr Potter said, ruffling James' already messy hair. Mrs Potter smiled and began to wipe her eyes with the corner of her handkerchief. Hogwarts express let off some smoke, engulfing platform nine and three quarters and all who inhabited it at present. A few of the pupils' younger siblings giggled happily and started playing around in the steam. All three Potters turned to look at the large clock that hung on the platform wall beside the iron wrought gate that separated platform nine and three quarters and the muggle world of Kings Cross station. Its loopy fingers pointed out the time of ten to eleven. James could feel his body begin to shiver with excitement; very soon he'd be boarding the train that would take him to Hogwarts, the place he had dreamt of ever since he was a little boy and his father and mother would tell him stories of their time at the magical school. He looked up expectantly at his parents.
"I guess I should go now...find a seat quickly." He said, hardly able to contain the anticipation from his voice. His parents nodded, though his mother looked rather reluctant. She kissed him goodbye on the cheek, her watery eyelashes tickling the leg of James' glasses; his father ruffled his hair once again.
And with a nod of the head, James bolted to the nearest door of the train and ran in. The gangway was choc full with pupils of all ages, some dressed in their school robes, some in wizarding clothes and some in muggle attire, running around looking for friends and seats. Some were even carrying such things as books, cases, owl cages and a few girls walked around with cats in their arms. James felt a sudden twinge of fear deep within his stomach, fluttering like he'd had a bowl of butterflies for breakfast that morning. He had only just realised how many pupils were actually attending Hogwarts, and amongst the vast throng of people, he knew no one. He was lonely and new, and no one was there to help – to show him the ropes, so to speak.
Gingerly, he picked through the stuffy gangway, peering through each compartment window in search of a free seat. At last, he found an empty compartment, and sliding open the door, walked in and sat down beside the window overlooking the platform brimming full of parents, children, trunks and animals. He spotted his parents in an instant, making their way through the crowd up to his window. He opened it up and with some difficulty, poked his head through the small gap to greet his parents.
"Oh, my little Jamie –"started his mum.
"MUM! Don't call me that!" James' cheeks scorched crimson, his eyes darted around in case someone had overheard his mother calling him Jamie. His father laughed heartily.
"Yes, dear, don't call him that. He's grown up now...going to Hogwarts." Said Mr Potter, putting his arm around his wife's shoulders.
"Oh." Sobbed Mrs Potter. "Just be a good boy, look after yourself, make us proud, and if there's any trouble, you write to us straight away!"
James laughed. "Mum, I'll be fine. Don't worry. And I'll write to you! Every month."
"Every week." Corrected his mother. "Or every day, if you want, my little wizard. My window's always open for owls."
James opened his mouth to say something, but before his words even got a chance to make themselves heard, another voice appeared, coming from behind him. Bumping his head on the wooden pane of the window, he extracted his head and looked over his shoulder. Standing in the doorway was the sickliest boy James had ever seen. His skin was sallow, his black hair was dirty and, though James knew it wasn't the boy's fault, he couldn't help but notice his rather large hooked nose. The boy's black eyes glared rather disdainfully at James's feet, which were standing upon the seat so as to reach the window. James gave him a rather lopsided grin, his eyes moving down to look at the large beaten book in the boy's matchstick arms. He opened his mouth, revealing a set of crooked yellowing teeth.
"I said, may I seat here as the other compartments are rather full?" he asked.
"Oh, yeah." Answered James, rather taken aback by the boy's sudden presence. The boy went to sit opposite him, the book still in his arms as though it was precious treasure to him. James turned back to his parents, after giving the lad an apologetic look.
"I must go now." James said plainly. "I have company."
"Oh, a new friend! I knew you'd fit right in, James!" said his mother, wiping more tears from her hazel eyes. Mr Potter, reached into his pocket, retrieved a small velvet bag and passed it on to James through the window. He gave his dad a bewildered look but took the bag none the less.
"A little something for you. In case you get hungry on the trip there." Smiled his father.
Eagerly, James undid the small cord and opened the bag, revealing a rather good amount of silver sickles. He smiled, his eyes wide with wonder. All them sickles, just for him to spend on food and whatnot on the way to Hogwarts. Pleased, he turned back to the window with the certain feeling that the boy opposite was craning in his seat for a view of what was in the bag. Perhaps if he was friendly enough, James might buy something to eat for him – perhaps.
"Thanks mum, dad!" he said in a rather breathless voice. The smile on his parents' faces grew immensely. With a wave, James slid onto the seat to sit down, not bothered to close the window. The boy just stared out through the window, glancing askance every so often in James' direction. An awkward silence was about to settle between the two, James could feel it. So, he cleared his throat and decided to make the most of having a fellow first year alone with him and thought it best to give potential friendship a shot.
"My parents just gave me some sickles." He said weakly.
"How nice of them." Replied the boy, though he didn't sound like he meant it. He turned to look at James and sniffed. With a thin finger, he carefully pointed at Mr and Mrs Potter while still trying to keep his book in his hands.
"They're your parents?" he asked. He looked very uninterested as though talking to James was a tedious chore.
"Yeah." James had run out of words to say to him. After a while, he added, "where are yours?"
Suddenly, a strange turn came over the boy. He shifted awkwardly and looked down at his feet, his expression a picture of sadness.
"They didn..." he stopped and pondered a better word. "...couldn't...they couldn't come."
"Oh."
That awful silence blanketed the compartment for a while, plunging the two boys into deep thought of one another. After a while, Hogwarts express' breaks gave a whistle and another gust of smoke emitted from it, blanketing the platform from sight until it dispersed away.
"What did you say your name was again?" asked the boy, starting James a little; he hadn't had expected the boy to talk.
"I didn't." he replied truthfully. "I'm James Potter."
"Severus Snape." Introduced the boy and turned back to the window. "You're from a wizarding family, aren't you?"
"Ye-es." Said James cautiously. He remembered his father telling him about a group of pupils in Hogwarts back when he was a child that would hate pupils that were muggle-born. James didn't really understand why anyone would hate them; there was nothing all that wrong with their kind at all! He began to wonder if Severus was one of these wizards that thought different. But all Severus did was nod.
"Then you'd know all about the Black family." He spoke. "Seems there'll be one joining us this year." Severus nodded over at a direction upon the platform. James squinted and tried to find the person he was talking about. Of course he had heard of the Black family – dark wizards, that's what they were notorious for being. They seemed to delve deeply into the dark arts and the thought of a Black joining him in his year seemed rather terrifying yet intriguing at the same time. After a while, James spotted what Severus had nodded at. The whole family seemed to have come to say goodbye to their fellow relative, and it was pretty obvious whom it was that was attending Hogwarts this year. One was a young girl with icy blonde hair, while the other was a tall boy with black hair; the family seemed to make more of a fuss of the girl than the boy. James squinted harder, the better to see their faces, but to no avail. Perhaps he could get a better view of them once they had boarded the train, which they were doing without even a second glance at each other.
The clock struck eleven exactly, and Hogwarts express gave a shrill whistle as its old wheels began to turn. James turned to the window to wave his last goodbyes to his parents as the train began to move out of the platform, slowly at first and then gained speed. Before he knew it, platform nine and three quarters was nothing more than a blur and countryside fell on either side of them, the train rocking steadily on the rails as it made its way to their destination. It wasn't long before the two boys picked up another conversation, mostly about which houses they'd like to be put in and Quidditch. James had to admit, he wasn't liking Severus all that much, but he knew not to be ungrateful and tried to make the most of the fact that he wasn't technically alone any more. He had made some sort of acquaintance.
Severus seemed to desperately want to be put into the house of Slytherin. He constantly talked of all the "great" wizards that that particular house had turned out, of the sheer dignity and pride of being a Slytherin, not to mention all the respect one would get with the serpentine badge embroidered upon one's robe. He even knew the history of Salazar Slytherin, and as he recited it to James, he tried to look interested by nodding his head and "Oh?"ing and "wow"ing in what he thought was the right places. He knew the kind of wizards and witches that went to Slytherin...
A large glassy lake replaced the countryside outside by the time the old witch with the food cart came past their compartment. James was feeling particularly hungry; he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, and by now, that felt like ages ago. Taking his bag of sickles, he bought as much sweets as he possibly could – pumpkin pasties, liquorice wands, fizzing whizzbees, chocolate frogs, every flavour beans and an assortment of other sweets – and brought them back to the compartment, dropping them clumsily onto the seat next to him. Hungrily, he opened up a pumpkin pasty and bit into greedily. Severus watched him, licking his lips lightly. With a pumpkin-covered smirk, James grabbed a chocolate frog and threw it towards Severus.
"You look hungry." He said thickly through a mouthful of pasty. "Help yourself!"
And so, the both of them spent the next ten minutes chewing away in happy silence at all the food James had bought. The compartment door slid open and peering in was squat little boy with beady watery eyes. Despite his plump figure, he had a very rat-like face. He blushed bashfully as he saw the two boys.
"Excuse me, can I sit with you...please?" he asked, or more like squeaked.
From the corner of his eye, James could see Severus propping up his feet onto the seat beside him as though signalling to the boy that the answer was purely no. The boy looked like he was about to cry. With a rather guilty pang, James moved what was left of the food closer to him, making enough room for the boy to sit down. Upon seeing this, the boy smiled, whispered a thank you and plonked himself down.
"I'm Peter, by the way." He said, eyeing the sweets beside him. "Can I have some beans please? They're my favourite sweets."
"Sure. Have a bag." Said James, tossing a bag of Bertie Botts over to him. "I'm James and that there is Severus."
"Eese oo eet oo." Said Peter while shoving handfuls of beans into his mouth at the same time. He was meant to say "pleased to meet you" but James would never really know that.
The pupils were getting restless, and that was to say the least. They were beginning to stream from their compartments and into the gangway, running around, playing games and mixing with everyone else. The prefects and Head Boy and Girl did try their best, but were clearly outnumbered so no one listened to them. From the quiet comforts of their compartment, James, Severus and Peter could hear the frantic screams of a girl and the bark- like laughter of a boy quite near them. Curious, James shifted the door open and peeked outside, followed by his acquaintances. The two Black children that he had seen on the platform stopped right in front of them, the boy holding a wand high in the air, waving it slightly. The girl stood with her hands planted firmly on her hips in a determined manner, and she would've been rather pretty had her face not been contorted with an angry pout.
"Give me my wand back this instance!" she screamed.
"Oh come on, sissy, all you have to do is jump to get it!" teased the boy.
"Give it back NOW! And my name's not sissy! It's Narcissa!" she screamed, her voice becoming hoarse. "Give me it or...I'll tell your mum!"
The boy laughed. "Oh yeah! Is that really going to make me give you back your wand? I'm always being told of by dear mumsy, what's one more row?"
The girl, known as Narcissa, glared at the three boys that stood watching the whole scene as though she had only just noticed they were there. Her mouth twitched into an angry grimace.
"Well? Don't just stand there! HELP ME!" She ordered. Peter squeaked with fright and scrambled back into the safety of the compartment.
The boy turned to look at them. Taken aback by the girl's rudeness, James opened his mouth then shut it then opened it again, finding it difficult to find the proper words. In the end, he ended up saying "Er excuse me...give that wand back to the girl...er...please." The boy just laughed at James.
"Just stay out of this if you know what's good for you, OK?" Laughed the boy and went back to taunting Narcissa. Something heavy fell on James' foot with a deep thud. He grimaced and recoiled his foot away from the offending object that happened to be the beaten book that Severus had been holding so close. Upon its leather cover was the swirly inscription, "Grimoire Darke Art."
Severus had whipped out his own wand and had aimed it quickly at the boy's hand.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Yelled Severus and the wand shot out of the boy's hand. Narcissa quickly made a grab for her wand from the floor and pulled a face at him. Turning to face the boys, she flashed Severus a brilliant smile.
"Thank you ever so much." She said, and then glared at James. "And you? Thanks for nothing!"
James ignored her comment, but sneered at her back as she left for her compartment. His mind was buzzing with curiosity after what he had seen. That spell was pretty amazing, even for someone who had lived seeing spells happen all the time. He wondered how Severus knew such a spell and if he'd had practise since his aim was pretty fantastic. All Severus did was pocket his wand and pick his book up quietly, not making a fuss at all as though he had used expelliarmus a thousand times. The boy stood right in front of him, looking down with coldness in his eyes.
"You!" he said this, poking his chest. "You keep that abnormally big nose out of my business from now on, because if you don't, I'll curse you to the next world!"
And with that, he strode off down the gangway. James stood there and watched him go. He was always brought up to always know someone before judging them, but with that boy he couldn't help it – he seemed like quite the horrible git and James was hoping not to have to talk to him again.
Characters and basically anything that has to do with the wizarding world is © to J.K.Rowling.
"Yes, mum."
"Are you sure you have everything James?"
"Yes, mum."
"All your school books? Telescope? Wand? Owl?"
"Yes, yes, yes and yes. Mum, I have ever-"
"Clean underwear?"
"MUM!"
James looked up through his glasses at his mother with cheeks burning with embarrassment. It was to be his first ever day at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry and he was plenty nervous enough; the last thing he'd want was someone to hear his mum talking about his clean underwear! Mrs Potter looked down at her only son lovingly and in her eyes were tears of happiness. She spread her arms wide, gave a little cry of joy and was about to bend down to embrace her son in the tightest hug he'd ever have in his life – James looked prepared to run – until she was interrupted by a heavy hand on her shoulder. Mr Potter, James' dad, had come to say goodbye to James. His face was rather red and sweaty from having to take James' trunk and owl cage to the scarlet train that stood motionless behind them.
"Soon time to go, son." He said happily. He was taking his leave a lot better than his mother. With one hand, he held onto James' scrawny shoulder – his other hand preoccupied with trying to restrain his wife from hugging their son to death. "Have fun, do well and...promise me one thing?"
James quirked a brow, but guessed what was coming.
"Promise me you won't get into trouble."
In James' mind, he didn't really think it fair of his father assuming that it was him that got into trouble. It was just trouble always followed him, no matter where he went! Just last week, James had managed to get into trouble by "accidentally" cursing the neighbour's pet Yorkshire terrier, Bubbles. He sniggered inwardly, remembering the sight of it all, the look on his neighbour's face and her sobs and screams...and of course, what Bubbles looked like stuck on top of next door's chimney. Mr Potter gave a small grunt, awaiting his son's answer. Snapping out of his thoughts, James smiled in what he thought was an innocent manner and hid his hands behind his back, crossing his fingers.
"Father, I solemnly swear that I won't get up to no good." He said sweetly while all the while thinking in his head how much he couldn't wait to use that whole bag of dungbombs that he had secretly stored in the corner of his school trunk.
"That's my boy." Mr Potter said, ruffling James' already messy hair. Mrs Potter smiled and began to wipe her eyes with the corner of her handkerchief. Hogwarts express let off some smoke, engulfing platform nine and three quarters and all who inhabited it at present. A few of the pupils' younger siblings giggled happily and started playing around in the steam. All three Potters turned to look at the large clock that hung on the platform wall beside the iron wrought gate that separated platform nine and three quarters and the muggle world of Kings Cross station. Its loopy fingers pointed out the time of ten to eleven. James could feel his body begin to shiver with excitement; very soon he'd be boarding the train that would take him to Hogwarts, the place he had dreamt of ever since he was a little boy and his father and mother would tell him stories of their time at the magical school. He looked up expectantly at his parents.
"I guess I should go now...find a seat quickly." He said, hardly able to contain the anticipation from his voice. His parents nodded, though his mother looked rather reluctant. She kissed him goodbye on the cheek, her watery eyelashes tickling the leg of James' glasses; his father ruffled his hair once again.
And with a nod of the head, James bolted to the nearest door of the train and ran in. The gangway was choc full with pupils of all ages, some dressed in their school robes, some in wizarding clothes and some in muggle attire, running around looking for friends and seats. Some were even carrying such things as books, cases, owl cages and a few girls walked around with cats in their arms. James felt a sudden twinge of fear deep within his stomach, fluttering like he'd had a bowl of butterflies for breakfast that morning. He had only just realised how many pupils were actually attending Hogwarts, and amongst the vast throng of people, he knew no one. He was lonely and new, and no one was there to help – to show him the ropes, so to speak.
Gingerly, he picked through the stuffy gangway, peering through each compartment window in search of a free seat. At last, he found an empty compartment, and sliding open the door, walked in and sat down beside the window overlooking the platform brimming full of parents, children, trunks and animals. He spotted his parents in an instant, making their way through the crowd up to his window. He opened it up and with some difficulty, poked his head through the small gap to greet his parents.
"Oh, my little Jamie –"started his mum.
"MUM! Don't call me that!" James' cheeks scorched crimson, his eyes darted around in case someone had overheard his mother calling him Jamie. His father laughed heartily.
"Yes, dear, don't call him that. He's grown up now...going to Hogwarts." Said Mr Potter, putting his arm around his wife's shoulders.
"Oh." Sobbed Mrs Potter. "Just be a good boy, look after yourself, make us proud, and if there's any trouble, you write to us straight away!"
James laughed. "Mum, I'll be fine. Don't worry. And I'll write to you! Every month."
"Every week." Corrected his mother. "Or every day, if you want, my little wizard. My window's always open for owls."
James opened his mouth to say something, but before his words even got a chance to make themselves heard, another voice appeared, coming from behind him. Bumping his head on the wooden pane of the window, he extracted his head and looked over his shoulder. Standing in the doorway was the sickliest boy James had ever seen. His skin was sallow, his black hair was dirty and, though James knew it wasn't the boy's fault, he couldn't help but notice his rather large hooked nose. The boy's black eyes glared rather disdainfully at James's feet, which were standing upon the seat so as to reach the window. James gave him a rather lopsided grin, his eyes moving down to look at the large beaten book in the boy's matchstick arms. He opened his mouth, revealing a set of crooked yellowing teeth.
"I said, may I seat here as the other compartments are rather full?" he asked.
"Oh, yeah." Answered James, rather taken aback by the boy's sudden presence. The boy went to sit opposite him, the book still in his arms as though it was precious treasure to him. James turned back to his parents, after giving the lad an apologetic look.
"I must go now." James said plainly. "I have company."
"Oh, a new friend! I knew you'd fit right in, James!" said his mother, wiping more tears from her hazel eyes. Mr Potter, reached into his pocket, retrieved a small velvet bag and passed it on to James through the window. He gave his dad a bewildered look but took the bag none the less.
"A little something for you. In case you get hungry on the trip there." Smiled his father.
Eagerly, James undid the small cord and opened the bag, revealing a rather good amount of silver sickles. He smiled, his eyes wide with wonder. All them sickles, just for him to spend on food and whatnot on the way to Hogwarts. Pleased, he turned back to the window with the certain feeling that the boy opposite was craning in his seat for a view of what was in the bag. Perhaps if he was friendly enough, James might buy something to eat for him – perhaps.
"Thanks mum, dad!" he said in a rather breathless voice. The smile on his parents' faces grew immensely. With a wave, James slid onto the seat to sit down, not bothered to close the window. The boy just stared out through the window, glancing askance every so often in James' direction. An awkward silence was about to settle between the two, James could feel it. So, he cleared his throat and decided to make the most of having a fellow first year alone with him and thought it best to give potential friendship a shot.
"My parents just gave me some sickles." He said weakly.
"How nice of them." Replied the boy, though he didn't sound like he meant it. He turned to look at James and sniffed. With a thin finger, he carefully pointed at Mr and Mrs Potter while still trying to keep his book in his hands.
"They're your parents?" he asked. He looked very uninterested as though talking to James was a tedious chore.
"Yeah." James had run out of words to say to him. After a while, he added, "where are yours?"
Suddenly, a strange turn came over the boy. He shifted awkwardly and looked down at his feet, his expression a picture of sadness.
"They didn..." he stopped and pondered a better word. "...couldn't...they couldn't come."
"Oh."
That awful silence blanketed the compartment for a while, plunging the two boys into deep thought of one another. After a while, Hogwarts express' breaks gave a whistle and another gust of smoke emitted from it, blanketing the platform from sight until it dispersed away.
"What did you say your name was again?" asked the boy, starting James a little; he hadn't had expected the boy to talk.
"I didn't." he replied truthfully. "I'm James Potter."
"Severus Snape." Introduced the boy and turned back to the window. "You're from a wizarding family, aren't you?"
"Ye-es." Said James cautiously. He remembered his father telling him about a group of pupils in Hogwarts back when he was a child that would hate pupils that were muggle-born. James didn't really understand why anyone would hate them; there was nothing all that wrong with their kind at all! He began to wonder if Severus was one of these wizards that thought different. But all Severus did was nod.
"Then you'd know all about the Black family." He spoke. "Seems there'll be one joining us this year." Severus nodded over at a direction upon the platform. James squinted and tried to find the person he was talking about. Of course he had heard of the Black family – dark wizards, that's what they were notorious for being. They seemed to delve deeply into the dark arts and the thought of a Black joining him in his year seemed rather terrifying yet intriguing at the same time. After a while, James spotted what Severus had nodded at. The whole family seemed to have come to say goodbye to their fellow relative, and it was pretty obvious whom it was that was attending Hogwarts this year. One was a young girl with icy blonde hair, while the other was a tall boy with black hair; the family seemed to make more of a fuss of the girl than the boy. James squinted harder, the better to see their faces, but to no avail. Perhaps he could get a better view of them once they had boarded the train, which they were doing without even a second glance at each other.
The clock struck eleven exactly, and Hogwarts express gave a shrill whistle as its old wheels began to turn. James turned to the window to wave his last goodbyes to his parents as the train began to move out of the platform, slowly at first and then gained speed. Before he knew it, platform nine and three quarters was nothing more than a blur and countryside fell on either side of them, the train rocking steadily on the rails as it made its way to their destination. It wasn't long before the two boys picked up another conversation, mostly about which houses they'd like to be put in and Quidditch. James had to admit, he wasn't liking Severus all that much, but he knew not to be ungrateful and tried to make the most of the fact that he wasn't technically alone any more. He had made some sort of acquaintance.
Severus seemed to desperately want to be put into the house of Slytherin. He constantly talked of all the "great" wizards that that particular house had turned out, of the sheer dignity and pride of being a Slytherin, not to mention all the respect one would get with the serpentine badge embroidered upon one's robe. He even knew the history of Salazar Slytherin, and as he recited it to James, he tried to look interested by nodding his head and "Oh?"ing and "wow"ing in what he thought was the right places. He knew the kind of wizards and witches that went to Slytherin...
A large glassy lake replaced the countryside outside by the time the old witch with the food cart came past their compartment. James was feeling particularly hungry; he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, and by now, that felt like ages ago. Taking his bag of sickles, he bought as much sweets as he possibly could – pumpkin pasties, liquorice wands, fizzing whizzbees, chocolate frogs, every flavour beans and an assortment of other sweets – and brought them back to the compartment, dropping them clumsily onto the seat next to him. Hungrily, he opened up a pumpkin pasty and bit into greedily. Severus watched him, licking his lips lightly. With a pumpkin-covered smirk, James grabbed a chocolate frog and threw it towards Severus.
"You look hungry." He said thickly through a mouthful of pasty. "Help yourself!"
And so, the both of them spent the next ten minutes chewing away in happy silence at all the food James had bought. The compartment door slid open and peering in was squat little boy with beady watery eyes. Despite his plump figure, he had a very rat-like face. He blushed bashfully as he saw the two boys.
"Excuse me, can I sit with you...please?" he asked, or more like squeaked.
From the corner of his eye, James could see Severus propping up his feet onto the seat beside him as though signalling to the boy that the answer was purely no. The boy looked like he was about to cry. With a rather guilty pang, James moved what was left of the food closer to him, making enough room for the boy to sit down. Upon seeing this, the boy smiled, whispered a thank you and plonked himself down.
"I'm Peter, by the way." He said, eyeing the sweets beside him. "Can I have some beans please? They're my favourite sweets."
"Sure. Have a bag." Said James, tossing a bag of Bertie Botts over to him. "I'm James and that there is Severus."
"Eese oo eet oo." Said Peter while shoving handfuls of beans into his mouth at the same time. He was meant to say "pleased to meet you" but James would never really know that.
The pupils were getting restless, and that was to say the least. They were beginning to stream from their compartments and into the gangway, running around, playing games and mixing with everyone else. The prefects and Head Boy and Girl did try their best, but were clearly outnumbered so no one listened to them. From the quiet comforts of their compartment, James, Severus and Peter could hear the frantic screams of a girl and the bark- like laughter of a boy quite near them. Curious, James shifted the door open and peeked outside, followed by his acquaintances. The two Black children that he had seen on the platform stopped right in front of them, the boy holding a wand high in the air, waving it slightly. The girl stood with her hands planted firmly on her hips in a determined manner, and she would've been rather pretty had her face not been contorted with an angry pout.
"Give me my wand back this instance!" she screamed.
"Oh come on, sissy, all you have to do is jump to get it!" teased the boy.
"Give it back NOW! And my name's not sissy! It's Narcissa!" she screamed, her voice becoming hoarse. "Give me it or...I'll tell your mum!"
The boy laughed. "Oh yeah! Is that really going to make me give you back your wand? I'm always being told of by dear mumsy, what's one more row?"
The girl, known as Narcissa, glared at the three boys that stood watching the whole scene as though she had only just noticed they were there. Her mouth twitched into an angry grimace.
"Well? Don't just stand there! HELP ME!" She ordered. Peter squeaked with fright and scrambled back into the safety of the compartment.
The boy turned to look at them. Taken aback by the girl's rudeness, James opened his mouth then shut it then opened it again, finding it difficult to find the proper words. In the end, he ended up saying "Er excuse me...give that wand back to the girl...er...please." The boy just laughed at James.
"Just stay out of this if you know what's good for you, OK?" Laughed the boy and went back to taunting Narcissa. Something heavy fell on James' foot with a deep thud. He grimaced and recoiled his foot away from the offending object that happened to be the beaten book that Severus had been holding so close. Upon its leather cover was the swirly inscription, "Grimoire Darke Art."
Severus had whipped out his own wand and had aimed it quickly at the boy's hand.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Yelled Severus and the wand shot out of the boy's hand. Narcissa quickly made a grab for her wand from the floor and pulled a face at him. Turning to face the boys, she flashed Severus a brilliant smile.
"Thank you ever so much." She said, and then glared at James. "And you? Thanks for nothing!"
James ignored her comment, but sneered at her back as she left for her compartment. His mind was buzzing with curiosity after what he had seen. That spell was pretty amazing, even for someone who had lived seeing spells happen all the time. He wondered how Severus knew such a spell and if he'd had practise since his aim was pretty fantastic. All Severus did was pocket his wand and pick his book up quietly, not making a fuss at all as though he had used expelliarmus a thousand times. The boy stood right in front of him, looking down with coldness in his eyes.
"You!" he said this, poking his chest. "You keep that abnormally big nose out of my business from now on, because if you don't, I'll curse you to the next world!"
And with that, he strode off down the gangway. James stood there and watched him go. He was always brought up to always know someone before judging them, but with that boy he couldn't help it – he seemed like quite the horrible git and James was hoping not to have to talk to him again.
Characters and basically anything that has to do with the wizarding world is © to J.K.Rowling.