The whistle of the Hogwarts Express let out a piercing shriek, signaling its impending departure.
On the train platform, a small boy of 11 years jumped nervously at the sound, accidently trodding on his little brother's toes in the process.
"Ow, James!" the boy yowled angrily.
James Potter turned to look at his younger brother, who's eyes were already brimming with tears, "Sorry, Al. Didn't mean to."
Albus Potter, a rather frail boy of 8, was immediately swooped up by his mother, Ginny.
"Don't cry, Albus. Don't," she said soothingly, "your brother didn't mean any harm," she shot her eldest son a sharp and meaningful look.
"Yeah, it was an accident," James said, doing his best to look remorseful.
He wished his dad were here to defend him, but Harry Potter was off with Lily, the youngest of the three Potter children. They'd gone to say hello to James' Uncle Ron, who's son Hugo was Lily's age.
In a few years, they would be headed off to Hogwarts together. James himself was in the same class as several of his cousins. He had already seen the twins, Fred and Roxanne, board the train after a hasty goodbye with Uncle George and Aunt Angelina.
From where he was standing, James could also see his cousin Louis saying goodbye to Uncle Bill and Tante Fleur.
While James quite liked Fred and Roxanne, they were very energetic and fun, he couldn't stand Louis. Louis, James felt, was obnoxious and pretentious, not up for any kind of fun.
He was especially bad at Quidditch, which was James' favorite sport. James had grown up watching his mother play for the Holyhead Harpies, and while he'd never seen his dad play, he'd been regaled with stories of Harry's own great skill on the pitch countless times.
James was already looking forward to his second year at Hogwarts, when he would finally be eligible to try out for the Quidditch team. He thought he'd rather like to be a Chaser like his mother, although his father seemed to think he had the makings of a great Seeker, just as he had been.
Another whistle pulled James out of his daze, and he felt a firm hand settle on his shoulder.
He looked up to see his father, the legendary Harry Potter, looking down at him with a smile.
"Well, Jamie," Harry said, "it looks like it's time for you to go. Please behave, your mother and I will not be happy if we receive disciplinary owls of any kind."
He wrapped James in a big bear hug, "I'm going to miss you so much. You're going to do amazing."
Ginny gave James a quick embrace and a peck on the cheek, "I am so proud of you, Jamie. You're so grown up now."
Her voice cracked slightly, and James, immediately uncomfortable, disentangled himself from his mother and turned to his younger siblings.
"Bye, Al," James high-fived his little brother, taking care to be gentle. "Stay out of my room or I'll hex you."
"James!" Ginny frowned disapprovingly.
James ignored her and turned to his younger sister, "See ya, Lily."
Lily turned away from her brother, her face set into a deep frown. Earlier that morning, James had stolen a piece of toast from her plate, and she'd refused to speak with him ever since.
James turned to board the train as his father called out to him, "Write us if you need anything! And Teddy will be there to help you out too!"
Waving his hand as a gesture of acknowledgement, James finally boarded the Hogwarts Express.
The train immediately lurched forward and chugged off, pulling away from the platform.
James meandered down the train corridor, looking for a compartment to sit in. He saw all of his girl cousins sitting together in one, and quickly shuffled by.
Lucy spotted him and waved, nudging her sister Molly as she did so.
Molly was in her fourth year, while this was only Lucy's second year. Despite them being sisters, they were not in the same house. Molly was a Gryffindor like her father Percy, while Lucy, like her mother Audrey, was a Ravenclaw.
Privately, James didn't want to see much of either of them. They were both very nice, but complete know-it-alls.
James had mentioned this to his father once who, through stifled laughter, made some comment about apples and trees.
Dominique, Louis' sister and a third year, was in the compartment as well. Unlike Louis, she was very friendly, and quite a good Quidditch player. She was the Gryffindor beater and there was already talk of her playing professionally.
James didn't see his cousin Victoire or his brother Teddy anywhere, and figured they must be at some prefect related event.
He quickly bypassed his cousins' carriage. They liked to baby him and he was not a baby anymore. As of today, he was a Hogwarts student.
Eventually, James found Fred and Roxanne, and happily slid into their carriage. His mood deflated a bit when he saw that Louis was also in the carriage.
"Hey, Fred. Hey, Roxanne," James cheerfully flopped down.
"Louis," he nodded coldly.
"Bonjour, James," Louis smirked.
"You know I can't understand French," James scowled at his cousin.
Louis rolled his eyes, "'Bonjour' means 'hello', James. It's simple."
"You could've just said 'hello' then."
"Or you could've-"
Louis was cut off by Roxanne, "Ahem, aren't you going to introduce yourself to our guest, James?"
Roxanne gestured to a small girl sitting by the window, who James had not previously noticed.
She had a wide face and beady rounded eyes. A long straight nose and broad mouth filled out the rest of her face quite nicely. Her head was buried in a book, which she briefly looked up from to greet James.
James studied the girl with a mixture of confusion and sidain. She didn't look like anyone he knew. Most of his family was either ginger or blond, with bright blue eyes and rounded red cheeks. Even James, with his dark hair and eyes, had a cheerful quality about him. This girl did not. There was nothing readable or distinguishable about her.
"I'm sure she already knows who I am," James shrugged. "You do, don't you? I'm sort of famous."
The girl didn't look up from her book, "Yeah, I know. You're James Potter, right?"
James leaned back, grinning, "In the flesh."
The girl paused a moment before looking up, a frown on her face, "Aren't you going to ask my name?"
"Oh," James had completely forgotten to ask. "I guess. What is your name then?"
The girl snapped her book shut, "Forget it."
"No, tell me."
"No."
"I really want to know."
"You don't care."
"That's not true!"
"Well I'm not telling you anyways."
"Listen-."
"It's Rebecca," Roxanne interjected. "Her name's Rebecca Sims."
Glaring at Roxanne, Rebecca jumped from her seat and began to gather her things.
"Are you seriously leaving right now?" Louis asked in amazement.
Rebecca didn't respond, only storming away in a huff, her book still tucked firmly under her arm.
"Sheesh," James raked a hand through his hair. "I wonder what her problem was?"
