Chapter One: When It All Began

"James Potter! You better wake yourself up this instant!"

With a sudden jolt, James Potter's hazel eyes opened to face the morning sunshine streaming in through a nearby window. He had to blink a few times to force them to stay open for him to stay awake. He sat up in his bed and let out a huge yawn; stretching his arms high up above him. It took him a moment to realize where he was and what day had just begun.

Abruptly, a sharp knocking came at his door once again. "James Potter, if you are not awake and down here in three minutes you will not be going to Hogwarts this year!" a voice ordered sharply. James smiled as he recognized the voice as his mother's. Not at all to his surprise, she had become a nervous wreck; considering it was the day he left for his first year at Hogwarts. And when events like that were happening, his mother became very strict.

Drowsily, James crawled out of his bed and stretched once again. Though he was physically awake, sleepiness still overtook his mind; begging him to go back to bed. But he knew that wasn't an option; though he wanted to go back to sleep badly, his train left at exactly eleven o'clock. Any later minute that he wasted on sleep would surely make him miss it. Reluctantly, he changed out of his pajamas and threw on a t-shirt and jeans. Before heading down to face his mother, he checked out his look in the mirror. A skinny, eleven-year old boy stared back at him; his identical, glasses-covered, hazel eyes staring straight into his. Hopelessly, he tried to flatten his messy black hair, but it was no use; it stood up in different directions as it had always done. Stifling yet another yawn, he turned from his reflection, walked out of his room and made his way downstairs to the kitchen.

The sweet smell of pancakes accompanied the whistling of a teapot as he descended the steps to the first floor of his house. When he walked into his small kitchen, he could see the source of the smell sitting on a pan on the stove, ready to be flipped. On a burner across from it sat a fat teapot with flower patterns around its bulging middle; steam hissing from its upright spout.

Then, his mother came out from the living room; wiping her hands with a dishtowel. She was dressed in a white shirt and a long scarlet skirt that swept the floor as she walked. Her eyes were a hazel color that practically matched his own. Her usual shoulder-length brown hair was swept into a messy bun on the back of her hair.

"Thank goodness you're awake!" She fussed once she saw he was finally awake, "I was worried you were going to oversleep!"

"How could I possibly oversleep Mum?" he asked, cracking a smile as he made his way farther into the kitchen, "You wouldn't allow it today,"

"Oh I know darling," she said, putting the cooked pancakes onto a plate, "It's just that this is your first year at Hogwarts and I-"

"You're nervous, I know," James said dully, "You've told me that the entire summer... I get the idea..." The woman smiled as she placed the breakfast plate in front of him on the table.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop worrying," she assured him, absentmindedly straightening out her son's shirt.

"Mum..." James groaned, rolling his eyes.

"Alright, just don't roll you eyes at me," she snapped, turning away to start cleaning the dishes with her wand, "But you better eat up; we're leaving here at twenty to eleven," James looked at the clock and almost spit out his tea when he saw the time.

"But it's ten-thirty now!" he exclaimed incredulously.

"And your point is?" she asked, faking mock curiosity.

"I only have ten minutes to eat then!" he stated, as if it was illegal.

"Well if you had gotten up when you were supposed to you would've been ready!" she snapped. James rolled his eyes and muttered, "Mothers..." before starting to eat at top speed.

Before he had much time to think about it, James was finished with his meal and in his bedroom once again, making sure he had everything packed in his trunk. For the third time, James searched around his room to make sure he hadn't left any necessary items behind. Then, just as the clock was approaching the time of ten-forty, he walked over to his trunk to make sure everything that had to be in there was there. He had his robes, his books and his cauldron was packed neatly in-between everything else (his mother insisted she would pack); it looked as if he was ready. Finally, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his most important item, his wand. It was eleven inches, made of mahogany; and he felt it was truly the wand for him. He examined the long, thin, stick of wood with a smile on his face; he was itching to finally be able use it. Mr. Ollivander said that it would be good for Transfiguration and he was eager to test it out to see if it was true. Confident that he had everything, he grasped the handle of his trunk and dragged it out of his room and down the stairs.

"Is dad coming to the station?" James asked as he met his mother in the hallway.

"No, he was called into work early today," she told him, a hint of an apology in her tone.

"Oh," James said, a little disappointedly, "That's okay..."

"Don't worry, he'll probably send you a letter when you get there," she assured him, getting ready to leave the house, "Now are you sure you have everything?"

"Yes mum," he replied.

"Are you positive?" she asked.

"I'm positive mum,"

"All right then, let's get going," She opened the front door for her son and allowed him to walk out first with his trunk. James felt one of the last summer breezes blow across his face; bringing the faint scent of the summer that still lingered in the air. The morning sunshine was beating down on him; despite how early the day was. He dragged his trunk down to the sidewalk and waited for his mother while she locked up. Once she joined him, James asked, "How exactly are we getting there?"

"The Knight Bus," she replied, "I've never traveled on it before, but some friends of mine say it's quite convenient. Let's see... they told me all I had to so was stick up my wand and it should come... well let's have a look-see..."

She pulled her wand out of her pocket and held it high in the air. James looked around to see if anyone was watching them, but to his relief, no one was. He had opened his mouth to ask his mother what was going on, but he couldn't get the words out quick enough. Before he could speak, a large, purple, triple-decker bus came out of nowhere with a loud crack. It came skidding around the corner and then bolted straight to them. As it sped to them, mailboxes and lampposts leapt out of its way to avoid its crazed driving. The bus came to an abrupt halt in front of James and his mother; leaving James stunned with his mouth hanging open. That had to be the most bizarre bus he had ever seen; even in the wizarding world.

Suddenly, the door snapped open and a man popped out. He was wearing a purple conductor's uniform that was the same color as the bus. There was a toothy grin on the man's young face. "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard." He said loudly, his voice ringing in the calm street, "Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Brian Janset and I'll be your conductor this morning."

"Hello, we just need a trip for two to King's Cross Station," his mother told him politely.

"Oh! First year at Hogwarts, eh?" the man asked, noticing James' trunk and younger age, "Yeah, you're not the only one going there miss; I haven't seen the bus this crowded in a long time. All right... two people eh? Well it's eleven sickles each so..." James tuned out of Brian's calculations to examine the bus when it was still. Up close, he could see that on the windshield, it had gold, glittering words that spelled out "The Knight Bus".

"All right James, lets get on board; we don't want to be late," his mother hurried him. Dragging his massive trunk, James walked up the stairs (with a little bit of difficulty) and looked around the bus. There were various kinds of chairs clustered together; where James could see many other teenagers seated with their school things. Once he and his mother found a seat, Brian announced that they would be leaving soon. For some reason, many of the people on the bus moaned and groaned. And when another sharp whip sound rang through the air once again, James knew why. The bus seemed to have taken off with tremendous force, throwing him and everyone else on the bus backward.

When James stood up again, massaging his head, he looked out the window to see that they were no longer on his street; they were now speeding somewhere in London. They seemed to be cutting through the traffic that the muggles were causing without a problem. He looked around to see that everybody else was also forcing themselves off the ground; muttering about how the bus should be changed for safety reasons. After about ten minutes of nonstop, hazardous driving, the bus halted to a sudden stop once again; this time, in front of King's Cross Train Station.

"King's Cross Station!" Brian called out as everyone stood to leave, "Thank you again for riding the Knight Bus!" Grumbling, more than half the people on the bus made their way as quickly as they could to the door; as if nervous the bus was going to take off again while they were still on it.

"Convenient... ha! That wasn't convenient!" James' mother complained as they were the last ones to leave the bus, "I'm going to have to have a talk with my friend Layla..." Tired of dragging his trunk, James put his luggage on a trolley and pushed it as he walked. Soon, they reached the area between platforms nine and ten. James looked around, as if expecting to see a sign that told them where to go.

"How do you get to Platform 9 ¾?" James asked, suddenly realizing his mother had never told him how.

"You just need to walk through the barrier between platforms nine and ten," she replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Er... you just... walk through it?" James asked uncertainly.

"Yes, you just walk through it," she repeated, "Oh come on; I'll do it with you." She grasped the luggage trolley with him and said, "On the count of three, we'll run through it together, got it?"

"Got it," James said, holding on to the cart more tightly.

"One... two... three!" James and his mother began to run at top speed towards the seemingly solid brick wall. As they drew closer and closer to it, James' heart pumped faster and faster; what if his mother was wrong and they collided head first into it? But there was no time to back out, because as the thought entered his mind, they were too close to stop. James closed his eyes and involuntarily prepared himself for the blow; but he found himself waiting longer and longer for it to come. He finally opened his eyes to see that the cart halted to a stop; on the other side of the barrier.

James looked around to see that they were no longer at King's Cross (or it didn't seem like it), they were actually on Platform 9 ¾. Many other families accompanied him and his mother on the platform; bidding farewell to their children that were also leaving for school. Across from him sat a scarlet, steam engine; labeled with the words "The Hogwarts Express". James couldn't suppress the grin that came onto his face; he was finally going to Hogwarts.

"Alright, the train will be leaving any minute," his mother said briskly, "So you should get going," Then her face softened up and her eyes filled with happy tears. "I'm going to miss you," she whispered, hugging him like only his mother could, "Have fun and be good, okay?"

"Alright mum," James muttered, hugging her back, "Just stop crying... you're embarrassing me..." After she gave him a kiss on the forehead, James took his trunk and made his way to the train. Anxious to go on, he almost bumped into a boy who was also hurrying to go on the train.

"Oh... sorry..." James apologized, drawing back to let the boy through.

"Don't worry... go on," the other boy said, motioning him to go through.

James smiled and walked on the train; just as it started to whistle. He leaned out a nearby window and waved goodbye to his mother. Tearfully, she waved back; smiling proudly. Gradually and slowly, the train started to pull away from the station; making his mother grow smaller and smaller till she was finally out of sight. James felt a weird swooping feeling in his stomach; there was no turning back now, he was finally on his way.

When he turned away from the window, he suddenly realized that he had to find a compartment to sit in. He saw that the front compartment he was currently standing in was fully occupied, so he made his way to a door that lead to the other compartments. He pushed open a door with one hand and made his way through, holding the door open for a boy who was going the same way as he was.

"Thanks," the boy said, following him into the compartment. James recognized him as the boy he had almost ran into while getting on the train. He had dark eyes that matched the black hair that fell around his face. He was about the same height as him, so he assumed that they were in the same year. "Are you looking for a compartment to sit in too?" the boy asked as they crossed the already full compartment.

"Yup," James said, opening another door for the both of them, "Care to join me in finding one?"

"Why not?" the boy replied, "I really don't know anyone... yet,"

"Well I'm James Potter," James said, grinning.

"Sirius Black," the boy replied, nodding his head towards James, "So you don't know anyone else either?"

"No, not really," James told him as they walked, "I think I have an older cousin who goes here, but I really don't talk with him often,"

"Yeah, I think I have a few cousins that go here," Sirius added thoughtfully, "But I never really talk to them... they kind of bug me actually..."

They continued to talk as they made their way further down the train. Most of the compartments were full; meaning they both had to go farther and farther. James felt as if has hand was about to fall off from dragging his trunk; he wish he could just drop it somewhere. But though it took them a while, James was just glad he had someone to talk to. Sirius was very good company; and it was a bit comforting to know he wouldn't be sitting alone for the entire trip.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, they reached a seemingly empty compartment towards the back. Once they realized they could sit there, James dropped his trunk with a loud thump in the middle of the passageway; massaging his aching hand.

"Finally!" Sirius exclaimed, throwing up his arms in relief, "A compartment to sit in! I was starting to believe we'd be searching for a seat the entire trip!" James laughed as he put his trunk on the overhead rack. When he wondered where he should sit, he realized that they weren't the only ones in the train car. Sitting near the corner of the car sat a boy with light brown-colored hair; peering out the window as the mountain scenery rushed past. He had light colored eyes that went with his light colored hair. In James' opinion, the boy looked a bit fair and peaky, as if he was a little unwell. Nevertheless, James thought it would be good to be friendly.

"Hey," James said, sitting in the seat across from the boy. The boy looked at him and smiled; as if glad he was the first one talking. "I'm James Potter," he said, offering his hand to shake.

At first, the boy seemed a bit hesitant to shake his hand, but he shook it anyway. "Nice to meet you," he said, "I'm Remus Lupin,"

"Making new friends without me James?" Sirius joked, leaning over next to James from the seat behind him. He turned towards Remus and said, "I'm Sirius Black, who are you?"

"Remus Lupin," he repeated, smiling once again, "I imagine you two are first years too?"

"Yup," Sirius replied dully, "I know already I'm going to hate being a first-year though. It's always the younger years that get picked on unfortunately... I can't wait till were in our second year at least... not that I'm going to let anyone pick on me of course,"

"Oh yeah?" James said with his eyebrows raised, "And what exactly will you do about it of someone does pick on you?"

"Hex them of course," he said, grinning mischievously as he flourished his wand from his pocket, "No one can get away with cursing me if I can help it. I can't wait to learn a few good ones..."

"But which class would teach offensive hexes like that?" Remus asked curiously.

Sirius shrugged, "Maybe charms," he said thoughtfully, "But even if it isn't taught to us, we can always look it up in the library, can't we? I mean... I'm not one that's too much into books or anything, but if it's about something like that..." He smiled mischievously again, causing the other boys to laugh.

"What are you two looking forward to at Hogwarts?" Sirius asked inquiringly.

"Quidditch," James answered immediately, smiling, "I want to be able to be on the house team in second year so badly,"

"I'm not sure what I'm looking forward to," Remus answered truthfully, "Just glad to be going there at all I guess,"

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, a bit suspicious.

"I mean, it's just a good school, you know?" Remus explained swiftly, "Glad I got accepted, that's all,"

"Yeah, I'm grateful I'm going there too," Sirius added, "My parents wanted me to go to Durmstang originally, but I didn't want to; it's too cold, and too much dark magic too. Luckily, my mum thought it was too far away, so I got to come here," He beamed proudly.

James, Sirius and Remus spent the rest of the trip talking about all different things, anything that just came to their minds. James had a good time talking to the other two boys. They were all pretty different, but it was as if there was one thing in common that tied them together. This one, unknown similarity was what made James enjoy the time they spent getting to know each other.

As time passed by, and as miles of different scenery passed in the window, the sun sank lower and lower into the sky till it finally melted into dusk. Before they knew it, they were changing into their Hogwarts uniforms; getting ready to get off the train.

"I hate these uniforms," Sirius grumbled, tugging on the sleeve of his robes, "They're so uncomfortable... how am I going to last seven years wearing these?!"

As the steam engine finally slowed down to a stop, the sky had gone completely dark; looking like black velvet above the earth. Tiny stars were sprinkled throughout the sky; winking down on the Hogsmeade station. Above them, a crescent moon was cut out in the sky; casting a milky moonlight wherever it shone. James had never seen such a night sky like the one he was looking at that moment. As James, Sirius and Remus stepped off onto the platform, they heard a loud, booming voice ring throughout the nighttime air.

"Firs' years!" it called, "Firs' years this way!"

"Hey! That's us!" Sirius announced unnecessarily, looking for the source of the call, "But where do we go?"

"It's that giant guy over there!" Remus yelled over the chatter, pointing to a large man at the end of the platform. He was holding up a big lantern up above the crowd as he beckoned to everyone and continued to yell, "All firs' years over here!"

"Are you ready?" James asked the other two excitedly. They nodded, smiling from ear to ear. Slightly nervous, but in high spirits, the trio pushed their way through the crowd; ready to see the first view of their school.