"Harry, get up!"

His alarm was still blaring from within his room. Outside the boy's bedroom, Lily gave James an exasperated look, her arms crossed. James grinned at her and knocked, pushing the door open after a moment.

Harry knew he should be excited to go to Hogwarts. He was, really. But he didn't want to leave home, either. He would miss his parents and Sirius and Remus. He buried his head under his pillow, ignoring the loud beeping of his alarm clock and the gentle pleading of his parents.

His dad sat on the edge of Harry's bed, turning off the alarm and pulling the pillow out of Harry's grasp with gentle hands. "C'mon, kiddo. You don't want to miss the train."

"There's no need to be worried, sweetheart. You'll love it."

"And you'll be writing us every day, you won't have time to miss us."

Lily rolled her eyes at her husband. "Let the boy live a little, too, James. One letter a week."

Harry finally sat up, giving a reluctant chuckle at his parents. They pulled out this debate at least every other day. Harry had pretended to be annoyed with it, but it was sweet to see how much they cared. It made him want to leave even less. "So I really won't see you 'til Christmas?"

His dad gave him a smile, the war between his joy and sadness present only in his eyes. "You won't even notice the time pass." James reached a hand behind him and Lily took it in hers, squeezing lightly. "Now, let's finish getting you packed so we can head out."

.

Lily loaded Harry's trunk into the overhead compartment above the nearest empty seat. When she caught back up with them on the platform, Harry was wrapped in James's arms. She knew James was crying. Lily looked down at her watch. "Just two more minutes, Harry."

As the two broke apart, she gave James a quick, worried look. He forced a grin and nodded. They turned back to Harry. "Alright. Be good. Write us. Learn all you can. Please, don't get in too much trouble," she added with a look toward James.

"Have fun, though. Make good friends. Enjoy your classes. We'll see you back here in December."

Harry gave them each one last, tight hug before boarding the train. He made his way into his compartment but walked straight to the window and waved at his parents again. He hoped they'd be right about Hogwarts, and he hoped that Christmas wouldn't feel too far away.

.

A/N: Written for Advent Calendar Day 22: (item) Alarm;

Writing Club – Showtime 38: (plot point) Saying goodbye; Count Your Buttons A5: Everybody Lives!AU;

Writing Month and Dragons: wc 427