James watched the other kids board the train, lingering behind with uncertainty. He was getting a headache; between his mother's sobbing, the train's whistling, and the general noise of the platform, it was getting unbearably loud. He wasn't sure why he felt this way; normally, loud noises soothed his ears. But today, he wasn't feeling them.

Maybe it was the nerves. Maybe he was just so nervous because he would be starting at a new school with new friends who might not even like him.

James shook his head slightly. He was James Potter, he would be fine. He would be the best Quidditch player to ever grace Gryffindor House. Ever. No one would even come close to competing with him, he would be that good.

"Take care, alright?" his mother said tearfully, giving him a fat, sloppy kiss on his forehead.

"Mom, stop," James grumbled. "You're embarrassing me."

"Oh, stop, Jamesie!" his mother cried. "We won't be seeing you until Christmas!"

"Our little boy, off to learn magic!" his father was beaming at him. James gave a weak smile back. "Now, Euphemia, James is right. He'll miss the train if we keep him here."

At that, his mother let go of him, giving him a wet smile. "Our little wizard," she sniffed, before hugging him one last time. "Your father is right, do go on. Don't let me keep you here."

James freed himself from her embrace. "Bye Mum," he said, squeezing her hand. "Bye Dad." He rolled his cart down the platform towards the nearest entrance.

It was crowded on the platform, and his luggage wasn't making it any easier to get through. Between his owl, his trunk, and his broomstick, he was bumping into people left and right.

"Sorry!" he said to a short, redheaded witch. His attention was on her; he didn't notice he had bumped into someone else.

A tall, regal-looking man stared down at him, his steely eyes boring into James. "Watch where you're going," he said to James, who shrank back just a little bit. "Consider yourself lucky I feel patient today."

"Sorry, sir," James said meekly, and hung his head slightly. He unloaded his trunk and carried his belongings down the train and into an empty compartment. He sat down, looking out the window.

The man had shaken him; he had not known wizards to be like that. That cold, or unwelcoming. Everyone he had ever known had loved him. It just didn't make sense.

"Can I sit here?"

James turned away from the window to look at the compartment door. A dark-haired boy with bright grey eyes lingered uncertainly in the doorway, waiting for an invitation to come in.

"Yeah, sure," James said. "I'm James, by the way. James Potter." He stuck out his hand as the boy sat across from him.

The other shook it. "I'm Sirius," he said, and gave a strange sort of spasm.

James raised his eyebrow. "Uh… are you alright?" he asked.

Sirius smiled. "I'm fine," he said. "It's just that I usually bow when I meet someone. It's kind of a family habit, I guess."

James could think of a person he had just met who would ask their child to do that. "Say," he started, looking out the window. "That wouldn't happen to be your father, would it?"

Sirius followed his gaze. "Yeah, that's him," Sirius said. "Real nice guy. How could you tell?"

"We've… met," James said, smirking. "Threatened me a little bit."

"Ah," Sirius nodded. "Sorry."

"No worries," James laughed. "As long as you're not like that."

"Nah, I'm not," Sirius grinned.

The compartment door opened again; this time a sallow-faced boy came in with a redheaded girl who looked like she had been crying.

"But we're going!" the boy said breathlessly. "This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!"

James turned away from their conversation. He had no interest in coming between whatever was going on with those two.

"You'd be better in Slytherin!" the boy told her.

James let out an involuntary snort. The newcomers turned to look at him.

"Slytherin?" James asked. "Who'd want to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" he turned to address Sirius, who had stopped smiling.

"My whole family have been in Slytherin," Sirius replied grimly.

"Blimey," James said, surprised. "And I thought you seemed alright!"

Sirius smiled. "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

James grinned and pantomimed swinging a sword. "Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad," he said, puffing his chest out.

The sallow-faced boy made a small tch. James turned to look at him.

"Got a problem with that?" James asked, staring the boy down.

"No," the boy said, sneering slightly. James could tell he didn't really mean it. "But if you'd rather be brawny than brainy-"

"Where are you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" Sirius cut in. James laughed heartily; he had a feeling he and Sirius would get along nicely.

The girl, who James had not given much attention to, sniffed, looking at James and Sirius disdainfully. "C'mon, Severus, let's go find another compartment."

"Oooooo…" Sirius imitated her lofty voice. James sniggered, sticking his foot out as the boy stood up and left the compartment.

"See ya, Snivellus!" Sirius called after them.

James turned to him, grinning. "That went well," he said.

"We've started already?" Sirius said, disregarding him. James looked out the window. King's Cross was long gone; now they were going through the green English countryside. James felt a pang of guilt in his stomach; his parents had probably waved to him and he hadn't noticed.

"I should've said goodbye to my parents," James said, watching the hills pass by. "I'll have to write them a letter."

"I'm glad I didn't say goodbye to mine," Sirius said, smirking. "But I suppose I should have said goodbye to my little brother. He'll miss me. I hope."

"You have a sibling?" James asked, his eyes widening. "I've always wanted a sibling. A younger brother that I could play Quidditch with."

"Pssh, it's not all that great," Sirius replied dismissively. "It's fun for about the first five minutes, and then it sucks."

"Oh," James said. "But it's kind of lonely, being an only child."

"Oi, I'd love that," Sirius said. "My parents suck. 'Slytherin this, Slytherin that'."

"Ah," James said, trying not to be rude to his new friend. "Well, my dad's like that. But with Gryffindor, y'know?"

Sirius nodded.

...

The rest of the train ride went by quickly. Not many others came to join James and Sirius in their compartment. James had a feeling this had something to do with the redheaded girl.

It was nearing sunset; the sky had faded to a burnt orange, shedding its last rays for the day. Sirius had left the compartment a few minutes ago, so James was alone.

The English countryside had slowly transformed into the mountains of Scotland. James didn't know where exactly Hogwarts was, but his father had said it was located in the mountains. That meant they were drawing near to it. A spark of excitement fluttered about in his stomach; this was it. This day would decide his fate for the next seven years. He was really here. Well, almost.

"Hope you didn't miss me terribly," said Sirius regally, stepping back into the compartment.

"No, it was heaven without you," James replied, smiling. "Go back out."

"No way," Sirius said, sitting down. "You're stuck with me until we get to the castle."

"Yeah," said James. "Who knows, I might be stuck with you for the next seven years."

"Oi, imagine that," Sirius laughed.

"Unless, of course," James started slyly. "Some terrible accident was to befall you…"

Sirius feigned astonishment. "Don't tell me you're plotting anything, Potter." he said, looking betrayed.

"I'd never dream of it," James said, rolling his eyes.

Sirius let out a bark-like laugh. Then, he looked at James stoically. "Can you believe this is it? We're really off to Hogwarts."

"It's crazy," James said, sighing. "It feels like only yesterday my parents were telling me about it."

"Can you imagine it?" Sirius asked, gazing out the window. "We're going to learn magic. Real magic. Not the accidental stuff."

"Real magic," James said absently. Now a large black lake was growing visible on the horizon. Behind it, a majestic stone castle.

"Look at it," Sirius said breathlessly. "It's so beautiful."

"So beautiful indeed," James remarked, sighing. "I can't wait to meet my new roommates."

Sirius looked at the floor. "Me too," he said halfheartedly. "But I'm probably going to end up as Slytherin anyway, so I bet they'll all be my cousins."

James frowned. "Don't say that!" he said. "I don't think you would be a Slytherin."

Sirius smiled. "Thanks," he said. "I don't want to get in with that lot anyway. Bunch of Dark Wizards, y'know? Followers of You-Know-Who."

"Yeah," James said. "Nasty bunch."

"Nasty bunch," Sirius said, standing up abruptly. "Oh! I forgot to mention it. We need to change into our school robes."

"Right," James said, unloading his trunk from the overhead baggage carrier. "We should probably do that."

James put his robes on quickly. They still carried the smell of Madame Malkin's. He reloaded his trunk and turned to Sirius, whose robes had green lining. He was grimacing.

"This sucks," Sirius said, holding up a sleeve. "I wish we had just bought regular black robes."

"Sorry, mate," James said, wincing. "Green is such an ugly color anyway. I'm sure there's some spell to chan-" he was cut off by the sharp jerking of the train, which had pulled to a stop. James looked out the window. It was fully dark now, and the lake had grown even bigger. On the other side: Hogwarts castle.

Thanks for reading guys! I did borrow some stuff from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, so the Snape and Lily scene was taken from there. The next chapter will also be James, as a heads up. It will also be the Sorting Ceremony.