A/N: I'm not going to waffle for ages... i'm just here to say hi and remember to R&R! Constuctive criticism is appreciated, although it is to be remembered that my beta reader is a perfectionist! (Eihwaz: Muahahahahahahahahaaaaa) I have spent as little time as possible on the years until seventh year... rating will probably go up... um... hope you enjoy it! Lourdaise

In Possession of the Drawing Pin

James

Chapter 1

I stared impatiently at the ticket barrier and tried to ignore the noise of my mother's voice, droning in the background. I had given up trying to interrupt - clearly, she would say what she had to say however long it took. Whether it meant I missed the school train to Hogwarts or not - a scenario that was increasingly likely looking as time went by - she was not one to voluntarily stop talking, especially when she was 'impressing something upon me.'

I watched as student upon student leaned against the barrier and slipped through into the magical world - others, many of whom I guessed to be new like me, hurtled at the barrier with closed eyes and a grimace. Nobody would ever catch me doing something like that - I had an image to preserve, however unlikely it looked that I would not collide with that unmistakably metal machine, however unwilling I was to just stroll on through. I was James Potter - and that meant I was the king of chilling, the one who didn't stress. At least, not outwardly.

A boy with black hair caught my eye as he sauntered towards the gateway to platform 9 and 3/4. He turned at the last minute to wave to someone I wasn't quite tall enough to see, and saw me. His eyebrows raised and he sniggered as I quickly exaggerated my expression of boredom and rolled my eyes.

I realised that Mother was waiting for me to say something. "Look, it'll be fine," I said irritably. "Don't worry about me so much!"

"I'm not worried about you," she exclaimed, exasperated. "I'm worried about your teachers!"

"Oh, come on," Dad said - I flashed him a grin of thanks. We help each other with Mum. "I'm sure they're perfectly capable of dealing with a few pranks. You'd better go, James - shall we come?"

"No, no," I said hastily. "I'll write," I promised, pushing my trunk round in front of me as I began to head to the barrier.

"Yes, well - be careful who you make friends with," Mother said anxiously. "And behave!" she called as I leant against the barrier, raised one hand in acknowledgement - and dismissal, but she needn't know that - and they disappeared from sight.

The other side of the gateway was a different story. There were no muggles - non-magic people - at all, just anxious parents, harassed students and an entire menagerie of animals; largely, I noticed, owls. I saw a couple of older boys with their wands out, looking ready to dual on the platform, and watched carefully. That could be me soon, after all. There was no sign of the black-haired boy, and nobody else I knew was there. After all, my parents had raised me in a muggle neighbourhood - I had an understanding of magic, and of course flying, but thanks to them, I had no useful contacts. It was something I deeply resented at that moment, as I watched a group who were clearly new like me, but had already formed a pack to terrorise the rest of us. Well, once I had established my own ring, they wouldn't ever beat us, I vowed. But until then...

I hauled my trunk onto the train, into an empty compartment, and slumped in the seat by the window. If there was nobody to talk to, I would just have to check out the other students visually.

Most pupils that I could see didn't fill me with excitement. There was a boy with pale brown hair and wide grey eyes standing just a couple of metres from my carriage with his father. Not far from him, a podgy, short boy with muddy brown hair was eyeing the mob I had spotted warily. Amongst them, I could see no friends for myself. My parents had drilled into me, if nothing else, a hatred for the dark arts - and these kids, if incapable of anything more than a mild hex now, emanated darkness. Particularly a boy at the back with greasy, slimy hair and pale skin caught my attention. He raised his head as I watched him and looked across. I shivered. Maybe not all those boys were so innocent even now.

So. That was the boys I could see. Most of the platform was blocked from view by the wall of gossiping fifth and sixth years, and parents. I turned my attention to spotting girls.

A couple of girls that looked to be in my year were visible. One had long brown hair tied back in a ponytail - she was, I supposed, reasonably attractive, but nothing special. The other held no appeal for me at all - too blonde, too pale, no sparkle. I sighed. This was supposed to be the most exciting school in the country - the best wizarding school in the world! - and what had happened so far? I had seen one potential friend and lost him, and seen a couple of uninteresting girls. Where was everyone else? It was nearly time to go.

I heard a teacher shout to the prefects to come to the front carriage - the barricade of people broke up to reveal other pupils. Two heads of black hair caught my eye, but neither was him. Both girls turned as the five minute warning was announced, and I began to feel more hopeful. These two - twins, perhaps - looked more promising. My gaze roved on, over abandoned trunks and tearful parents, searching - and then I paused. A flame of red hair had arrested my eyes. Now this was more like it. The girl, whose hair was held back in a long braid, was not pretty-pretty, or even, correctly speaking, beautiful, but her bright green eyes, as I focused on them, seemed to sparkle with a quality that I was not used to. It was deeply alluring.

My eyes followed her - my first target.

"Think she's hot, do you?"

I jumped. The boy with the dark hair was watching me, laughing silently. "Well... you know..."

"Yeah, I can see where you're coming from. It's the eyes... Mind if I sit with you?" He plonked himself down opposite me before I could answer. "I prefer the more malleable type, myself. Leave the pranks to me."

I sat up straighter. "Pranks, you say?"

"Yeah..."

"Got any ideas yet?"

His eyes began to gleam as well. "Sirius Black," he said, holding out his hand.

"James," I responded. "James Potter."

"Right," he said. "As I was saying..."

We had the compartment to ourselves for most of the journey. It transpired that Sirius, too, did not know anyone here.

"At least not anyone I want to know," he said sourly. "There's Marcius Malfoy and his crowd - you might know of his father?"

"Yes," I said carefully. "Yes, a bit."

"Hmm. He and his brother, Lucius - every bit as bad as their father, and grandfather before that. Nasty pieces of work. Slytherin from top to toe."

"How do you know him?"

Sirius' face closed. "My parents... know his. So tell me, which house do you reckon you'll be in?"

"Oh, Gryffindor," I said confidently, but I was bemused by the abrupt change of subject. There was clearly something behind this secrecy. I would find it out soon enough.

"Yeah..." he said hopefully. "Yeah, I'd like that too."

I was one of only a few, I discovered as we waited for the sorting, who were not under the impression that we had to go through a test to be sorted. My father had told me enough about the Sorting Hat and its songs for me not to be nervous about that aspect.

"You will all come and sit on this chair when called, place the hat on your head and wait for its decision," a woman who had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall told us when the hat had finished this year's song to a round of applause. "Then you will leave the hat on the chair and go to the appropriate table. Any questions?"

"Yes," I said. Sirius and I had agreed this on the train. "What if it sorts us wrong?"

"It won't," she said with an air of finality.

"But if it did? How would you know?"

"I think you will have an idea already of where you should be, Mr..."

"Potter."

"Mr Potter. If it sorts you somewhere where you do not expect to be, please talk to me about it later. All right?"

I stared at her for as long as I dared, and then shrugged and nodded. "'kay," I said.

"Thank you," she said coolly. "Right. Anderson, Chloe," she called, and one of the dark haired girls I had seen on the platform went to be sorted.

"Ravenclaw!" sang the hat after a pause.

"Attley, Eric!"

"Hufflepuff!"

And so on. I waited impatiently for my turn. Sirius was lucky being so high in the alphabet - "Gryffindor!" was the verdict for him - but I had to wait ages. I saw the girl with the red hair being sorted; Lily Evans was her name. She too went into Gryffindor. I watched jealously as she slid into the seat opposite Sirius and he leaned forward to talk to her.

"Potter, James!" At last, I thought as I paced towards the chair. About time.

"Yes, it is hard being so far down the alphabet," said a voice in my ear. "You've got quite a temper in here, I see." I grinned. True enough. "Yes... quite a brave little thing. Another Potter, I see? All your forerunners were Gryffindors... is that where I should put you?" Yes! Yes! "You want to be a Gryffindor, do you? Well, your wish is my command. GRYFFINDOR!"

Sirius raised his hand in a high five as I collapsed into the chair next to him. "Excellent," he said. "I knew we'd be in the same house."

"Do you two know each other, then?" said a voice to my left. I turned to see the boy with the pale brown hair I had spotted earlier.

"A bit. James Potter," I said, holding out my hand. "And that's Sirius Black."

"I'm Remus Lupin." We shook briefly. "Pleased to meet you."

We - Sirius, Remus and I - talked for the few minutes that it took to complete the sorting. I was intrigued. Remus seemed fairly reserved, although undeniably friendly and humorous. He too expressed an interest in jokes and mischief - one for the crew, I decided. Things were not going badly, considering; already I had a gang of three. All I needed was a couple more boys and this Lily Evans as my girlfriend, and I would be fit for ringleader of the year group. Better me than that Marcius Malfoy, after all.

There was a noise of a chair being dragged back and Albus Dumbledore, our headmaster stood up. The hall fell immediately quiet - I could see why. Already I felt an instinctive awe of him. He cleared his throat and beamed round. "I'd just like to say a few words of welcome to the new first year," he said cheerily. "Those words are - eat, drink and be merry!"

The plates in front of us filled spontaneously with food. I was reminded of Limony, our elf at home, and ignored a pang of home sickness. That was the last thing I needed, I thought determinedly as I reached to help myself to food.

Sirius and Remus were both digging in happily too, as was the stocky boy I had seen on the platform earlier who was sitting opposite Remus. Lily Evans was staring in amazement at the plates. "Are you okay?" I asked. It's never too early to impress, after all.

She glanced at me. "Well, yes, I guess, only... How did all this food get here?"

"You mean you don't have a house elf?"

Her eyes narrowed. Wrong thing to say, I cursed myself. "No," she said haughtily. "I don't."

Muggle born, I surmised and was interested. "So how do you get food?"

She was scornful. "We 'muggles' have ingenious things called ovens that you put food in. We don't all rely on servants and magic words." With that she turned pointedly to the girl next to her and launched into conversation.

Sirius sniggered beside me. "Not the best start, mate," he said. "Already put your foot in it!"

"Oh, shut up," I said. "Doesn't matter to me what she thinks of me. It's her loss."

He nodded. "Wise decision," he agreed. "Like I said, find someone more malleable."

Remus smiled but said nothing.