The Marauder Days: Year 1

Chapter 1, Part 2: Like Father, Like Son

Disclaimer: Everything Harry Potter was created, and belongs to J.K. Rowling (boweths to her) The very few things that are of my creation in this fic belong to me, I guess.

A/N: Sorry these first three parts are going to be a little short! I'm just using them as short intros for three of the Marauders. I'm not doing one for Wormtail, since I'm totally blank on an intro for him.

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"JAMES POTTER!" His mother yelled in desperation. "How many times do I have to tell you not to play with that Snitch in the house?"

"Hm...I dunno..." James said, following the small Golden Snitch across the living room. He ran ahead of it, jumped on the couch, and made a wild leap for it. He missed it by five inches and fell to the ground.

"James, stop!" Mrs. Potter yelled, running after him. James jumped up and continued his pursuit of the Snitch, which was now hovering above a lamp. In an attempt to catch the Snitch, James sent the lamp falling to the floor. CRASH!

"Stupefy!" The Snitch froze in midair and fell to the ground. Mr. Potter lowered his wand and set his cloak on the arm of the couch. "I see James found my Snitch again..." He said, chuckling.

James looked like a miniature version of his father: untidy, jet black hair (which had an annoying habit of sticking up in the back); and was rather scrawny looking. The only thing that James had that wasn't his father's was his mother's brown eyes.

"Hi, Dad! You're back early!" James picked up the Snitch and gave it back to his father. "I found it in the attic...Again. You should find better places for hiding it."

"Hi, Honey. Glad you were able to come back early." Mrs. Potter said, hugging Mr. Potter.

"Me, too." He kissed her lightly on the lips.

James made a face and said in disgust, "Get a room!"

Mrs. Potter laughed and pulled away from her husband. "What made you come back so soon?"

"The guy slipped up. We were able to catch him before plan!" Mr. Potter said cheerfully, picking up his cloak. He gave his wife another kiss before going upstairs for bed.

He started up the stairs then came back down, pulling something out of his pants pocket.

"I can't believe I almost forgot!" He laughed as he handed his son a letter. "I saw the owl on my way in and I took the letter," He smiled. "I'm so proud of you..."

James looked at the letter and smiled. It was a letter from Hogwarts. He ripped it open and read aloud: "'Dear Mr. Potter, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Included in this letter is a list of school supplies and-'"

He stopped. His mother had burst into tears and was giving him a big hug.

Mr. Potter smiled and said, "Let's go to bed. We have a big day ahead of us. And I'm-" He threw the stunned Snitch in the air and caught it, "-going to hide this again!" He finished, winking at James. Though Mrs. Potter didn't like it, Mr. Potter liked to hide things around the house (preferably his old Quidditch Snitch), and let James tear the house apart looking for whatever he'd hidden.

"Okay. I'll be up in a few minutes. I've got to repair this lamp." Mrs. Potter said, looking at the shattered lamp and pulling her wand out.

James and his father climbed the stairs and James turned the corner to his bedroom. As he was closing the door, he saw his father pull the attic door open.

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James ran up the stairs, his arms dangling with bags from Diagon Alley. He threw the bag on his bed, not caring that fragile potion vials were in one of the bags. All he wanted to do was start the search for the Snitch his dad hidden the night before.

He peeked out of his room to make sure he wouldn't be caught climbing into the attic. The coast was clear, so James quickly pulled the attic door open and pulled the ladder down. He scrambled up the ladder, and pulled the attic door up, careful not to lock it.

The only light in the attic was coming from a small window on the far side, making it hard to navigate the many boxes and trunks near the door. James stumbled over a small trunk.

'Might as well start looking. He thought, rubbing his now bruised arm and looking at the small trunk.

James opened the trunk and gasped at what was inside.

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A/N: Another bad place to leave off, I know, but you'll find out what's in the trunk soon enough!