James

A thin, deep hazel-eyed boy grinned widely as he rushed out of an innocent looking wall at the beginning of the platform. His hair was tousled mischievously, giving him an appearance of someone who just woke up and attempted to give his hair an overall look of symmetry. His eyes lit up like two great lanterns upon seeing the great wonders lying in front of him. His imagination grew mad – this was it. He was finally going to Hogwarts. He smiled, displaying a set of straight, white teeth and unconsciously messed up his hair even more. He was driven apart from his unfulfilled dreams by the appearance of his parents, who, similarly to him, emerged out of the wall behind him. They beamed at him and grasped him by his shoulders, one guardian at each side. He looked up expectantly at them, to which they've replied with a reassuring nod and led him on.

They continued up the platform, passing by dozens of students who evoked the chaos on the platform. They were screaming, laughing, packing their trunks, talking to their parents and contributing to the overall hubbub present at the platform. Owls could be heard screeching, cats meowing, rats squiggling, all increasing James' ecstatic amazement. However, the most epic view was of the shiny, black train, steaming up like countless fire pits and whizzing loudly, signalling its departure time. James found himself to constantly turn his head, engulfing as many wondrous sights as possible. His parents led him further down the platform, smiling knowingly at his astonishment. They led him to the back where, amongst countless others, he packed his trunk along with his brand new grey screech owl which he named after his favourite Quidditch player, 'Parkin'. Stuffing the trunk in impatiently, he then turned to his parents.

'Now, you be good,' his mother said, tears glistening in her eyes, 'Make sure you –'

'Send an owl at least once every week, I know,' broke in James, rolling his eyes knowingly.

'And–' sobbed his mother.

'Comb my hair, brush my teeth, listen to the teachers and try not to hex anyone. Have I missed something, mum?' James listed, grinning at his parents.

'Oh honey, I cannot believe he is so grown up already!' his mother exclaimed, burying her head into his father's shoulder. He winked at James roguishly. James Potter's mother cried at least once a day ever since he received the Hogwarts' letter.

'Well, it's about time for you to be off, kiddo,' his father said, tapping his wife on the shoulder comfortingly, 'Train's bound to leave any time now,'

Upon hearing the words, his wife sobbed hysterically and clutched James to her, squeezing the breath out of him. Taken aback, he imitated his father's actions feebly and looked up to him questioningly.

His father mouthed, 'She'll come around,' after which he pulled her away from James, tousled his hair and embraced him caringly, his wife still sobbing at his shoulder. Pulling away, he glanced at James emotionally and gestured him to get on, waving his hand when James pointed direction of his other, slightly more emotionally invoked parent,

'And James!' his father shouted as he walked in the direction of the train's entrance, 'Remember, if you won't get into Gryffindor, I'll disown you!'

James laughed cockily, casting one last look on his parents : his mother now resulted to taking out her pink handkerchief, blowing her nose loudly and smiling at her son weakly, waving. James climbed up the steep stairs and stood by the window, waving at his parents as the train started pumping, a roaring rumble coming out from the inside of the monster. He continued in saying farewell until they vanished out of sight as the train took a sharp corner and sped up, the rumble now fully audible, the sound ringing in his ears until he accustomed himself to the noise. As he now delved further into the wagon, the anticipation increased beyond the limit due to his realization that the dream he has been imagining had finally come true.

Hogwarts was awaiting for him. Finally, a time for him to prove himself and show his boldness and braveness had come. For the last month, he had been counting days on his calendar, longing for the long-awaited date of 1st of September. Lost in his thoughts, he did not spot a dark haired boy, who similarly to him, had a blank sight, both boys lost in their imaginations. They impacted, heads crushing into each other as James stumbled over the boy, resulting in both of them landing on the floor of the corridor.

'Well... That's one way to say hello,' murmured James, rubbing his forehead as the other boy grumbled, copying his actions and moaning with pain, 'Sorry 'bout that. Didn't see you there,' he added, offering him a helping hand.

'That's quite all right,' the other boy mumbled, gratefully accepting his hand, rising up, his long hair swirling in mid air. James pulled him up and casted a long look at the stranger, noticing his black, houseless tie.

'Hey, you're a First Year too, aren't you?' he said excitedly, his eyes growing big, 'Hi, my name is James. James Potter,' he added, pure pride singing in his voice.

'Sirius,' the other boy grunted, still massaging his forehead.

'Yeah, I'm serious about this,' said James, offended. He was not going to let anyone take the mickey out of his family, particularly not anyone of the same age. The other boy looked at him, corners of his mouth twitching,

' Yeah, I'm also deadly serious on the fact my name is Sirius,' he said, grinning loudly.

'Oh,' said James, surprised. He made a fool of himself, so he just decided to go along with it, 'As in serious Sirius?'

'Seriously Sirius,' the other boy said, offering a handshake.

'Well, it's seriously nice to meet you, Sirius,' said James, accepting the gesture and laughing loudly. They continued together in search of an empty compartment, playing puns with their names ('So what, you make pots?). Suddenly, James stopped by one of the compartments as if he was struck by a lightening.

'Come on, this one's not empty either,' said Sirius, tugging him by the shoulder before casting one look at his newly met acquaintance. James was walking on the sunshine, his mind blank. 'Oh,' he added mysteriously before glancing over his shoulder at who happened to be the object of James' interest.

The compartment was empty aside from one person sitting in the very corner, staring out of the window. James could honestly say he had never met anyone quite like the person. It was a girl of sea of long, light-catching red hair that was smartly flung over her shoulders. James was entwined by her eyes – deep, green eyes, eyes of the forest that he just lost himself him, eyes that were now looking out of the window mind absently.

'I'm on fire,' whispered Sirius straight into James' ear. James elbowed him and flung open the doors of the compartment with much more force than necessary and paraded inside, his eyes still clinging onto the girl. She didn't take note, either too absorbed by her thoughts or simply ignoring the newcomer.

Sirius rolled his eyes, strode into the apartment and pushed the seemingly stunned boy onto the neighbouring seat. James finally escaped from the trance and grinned at Sirius nervously, attempting to peak at the girl every moment possible. His companion sighed frustratingly and attempted to make a conversation with the unusually silent boy next to him, 'So... What's your favourite Quidditch Team?'

Unknowingly, Sirius had just released an avalanche, for the one thing James Potter adored more than anything was Quidditch. He was completely obsessed with the sport, packs of posters stuck up in his bedroom, wizards soaring through mid air, performing astounding acrobatic sequences that led to a spectacularly scored point or leaning out on the extreme edges of the broom in their chase of the tiny, walnut sized golden ball.

'Without a doubt, Montrose Magpies. I adore their style of play, I think that Fabius Watkins is the absolute top Chaser in England. Seriously, (he grinned at Sirius playfully) I'm still angry he didn't get picked into the National team again,' James went on, describing every single player of his favourite team. He even went as far as giving Sirius their dates of birth to which his companion yawned exaggeratingly.

'How about you, Mr. Solemn?' asked James but before Sirius was able to return with an equally satisfying pun, their conversation was disturbed by the compartment's doors sliding wide open. An average height boy walked in, his greasy black hair shining in the lamp's light, his crooked nose protruding from the rest of his white, sallow face. He rushed through James and Sirius without sparing as much as a glance at the two boys and sat opposite the red haired girl, immediately involving her in an agitated conversation. James stared at him in mocking disbelief and leaned over to Sirius, whispering, 'I'll bet you a galleon we could hang baubles off of his nose,'

Sirius snorted and answered in a hush voice, 'Give the guy a break. Just buy him a bottle of shampoo,' James laughed but attempted to cover it up with a very badly imitated cough. In the end, he sounded like a choking chicken.

'Anyway, I'm a Stinger myself,' said Sirius, returning to their previous conversation.

'No. No, honestly?' said James in disbelief, 'Wimbourne Wasps?

'Yeah. Despite their terrific last season, they can really play a good game if they want to,' said Sirius, eyeing the newcomer. '

Well, they haven't played a good game in over ten matches so –'

James suddenly paused and turned all of his attention towards the greasy haired boy, 'Slytherin?' he said out loud upon overhearing part of their conversation. The boy eyed him suspiciously, his black eyes glaring at him coldly. Unbothered, James added, 'Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?'

Sirius frowned, the smile present a few seconds ago now completely wiped off his face, 'My whole family has been in Slytherin,' he murmured, blushing.

'Blimey,' said James, taken aback, 'and I thought you seemed all right!'

Sirius smiled unconvincingly, 'Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got a choice?' James smiled proudly, imitating to lift up an invisible sword which he then slashed across Sirius' face,

'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad,' The newly met boy made a sound that could either be taken as a jeer or an extreme case of dragon pox. James discouraged the former and retorted, 'Got a problem with that?'

The boy looked at him coldly and replied, 'No. If you'd rather be brawny than brainy –'

'Where are you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?' put in Sirius maliciously. James burst out with laughter, the greasy haired boy blushing slightly. The girl, a red frown visible upon her face as well, rose up furiously and stared at James angrily. He didn't look away, returning the stare, something else visible in his eyes.

'Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment,' she said, looking away and exiting the compartment, accompanied by James' and Sirius' squeal attempts to imitate her voice. The boy called Severus got up and followed, only to stumble upon James' purposely placed leg. '

See ya, Snivellus!' shouted James as the boy left, waving at him sarcastically.

The rest of their journey continued without further disturbances if not counting a small, plump-looking boy barging in. Welcomed by James' and Sirius' bewildered stares, he blushed and backed out of the compartment, apologizing squeakily, his apology accepted with a roar of laughter from both of the boys. When the sweets cart stopped by their doors, they both purchased a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans and gorged themselves in them, pulling silly faces upon meeting unpleasant flavours. Feeling the train slow down and the Hogsmeade Station sliding into their view, they scrambled off their seats and began the monotonous job of pushing through the crowd of students, all eager to get off the train. James came up with an idea of screaming 'Security, make way!' behind the long line of students, to which Sirius quickly caught on, speeding up their venture and causing them to nest off the train ferociously faster. Stumbling down the steep stairs, they both casted long, ludicrous yet amazed looks around the platform, surrounded by neatly arranged houses of thatched roofs and white walls.

The darkness fell quickly, limiting their line of sight. Soon, both of the boys were swarmed by the wave of students emerging from the train, this time their 'Security' plan not working. Avoiding being trampled on, they stuck together and pushed through the seemingly never ending packs of students. The familiar sound of hundreds of students chattering excitedly was pierced by a deep voice of a man coming from the end of the platform, 'First years, over here please!' James and Sirius hurried through the oncoming groups of students blindly only to meet a curiously contrasting view: a small, broad shouldered man holding up a lantern ended up to be the source of the noise. He was accompanied by the largest man James had ever seen, a man possessing an enormous head covered in long, shaggy hair and wild, uncontrolled beard.

'Bloody hell, and I thought you were hairy, Sirius,' joked James, patting his friend on the shoulder as they made their way over to the two men. Sirius didn't reply, he merely messed up his hair and squinted his eyes, imitating the strange man. James exploded with laughter, groups of students looking at him curiously. 'Don't worry,' shouted Sirius hastily, 'He got dropped as a baby,' he explained, granting apologetic looks to the students.

'Everyone here now?' the smaller of the men shouted, glancing over the group of first years, all displaying different emotions; from fear to amazement to nervousness. Both James' and Sirius' face shown only one : amusement. The man nodded approvingly and turned around, gesturing the students to follow. The enormous man joined him shortly, after beaming at the students warmly. James and Sirius were one of the first ones behind him, the red haired girl and her black haired companion on their right.

'Make sure you won't get squashed by the giant,' James whispered to the boy called Severus, 'Although, on the second thought, nobody would really mind, would they?' Sirius backed up the comment with a silent snort of laughter. Severus eyed James coldly and was about to retort back before being pulled away by the girl, who pushed them further down into the crowd.

They reached a shore filled with numerous boats, waves silently beating against the wooden bows like a hammer gently forcing nails in. Behind them was a deep, pitch black forest, leaves rustling against the gentle wind coming in from the north. James could have sworn he saw something slithering between the trees but as he blinked, the illusion was gone.

'Now, no more than five in a boat! Do you hear, no more than five!' the leading man shouted, his deep voice spreading amongst the students. James and Sirius both rushed towards the nearest boat. James caught the stare of a red haired girl looking at him hence he smiled widely and gestured her to their boat. She put her head up high and walked off to the opposite end of the shore.

'Next time, mate,' grinned Sirius, snapping his fingers at him as his eyes lingered on after the girl. To their amusement, the giant decided to get on the same boat as them. The boat swayed alarmingly as he slid on, flushes of water flying inside the boat. He gave them both a warm smile as they stared at him, attempting not to burst out laughing. James tried so hard he received a nasty pain in his stomach.

'Everybody in?' the other man roared, himself in a boat with four other students, 'Don't look to the sides, sit up straight! Now, forward!' he exclaimed, the boats rushing off the shore without use of any force. As they moved through the dark waters of the lake, the giant gurgled,

'Yer all pret'y excited, aren't ya?', his black eyes looking down at them happily, 'Not a thing like Hogwarts, ther' isn't,' he added, his large hands stroking his wild, entangled beard.

James glanced at Sirius, winking at him conspiratorially . Suddenly, Sirius gave a truly artistic moan before sliding down to the bottom of the boat, faking agitated spasms all over his body. James forced himself to look horrified, while deeply amused on the inside. The giant glanced at spastic Sirius with panic.

'Blimey, what's wrong with 'im?' he blurted as Sirius began the act of rolling across the boat, his hands slapping the bottom of it.

James had to admit his friend did indeed put up a pretty convincing act as he shouted, 'No idea,' , making himself look just as panicked as the poor giant. 'Help him!'

The giant appeared truly startled and lost. He raised his hands up helplessly and began to poke the boy with extreme tenderness. Sirius now resulted to breathing in loudly, his croaky voice on the point of breaking. The giant was on the verge of shouting for help when Sirius suddenly rose up, screamed 'Gotcha!' and exploded with laughter. The giant froze, his hands in mid air, only to follow their amusement and pat them both on their backs, resulting in knocking the air out of both of them.

'Nasty little buggers,' he managed to murmur before giving himself over to another roar of laugher, 'Ya all got me good this time,' he said after a while, when they all managed to calm down. James and Sirius glanced at each other proudly.

'Name's Rubeus Hagrid, trainee of the Hogwarts' gamekeeper,' he bellowed, extending his hand out. Both of the boys shook hands with him, feeling like a bird enclosed in a cage upon his grasp, 'That man o'er there is Ogg, he's the Keeper of Keys,'

The boys nodded positively, wide smiles still displayed upon their faces. They reached a grey, sharp edged cliff to which they had to bow their heads in order to pass. In an instant, a truly magical view appeared to them. At the other side of the lake which shimmered with the reflection of dazzling stars, stood an enormous castle built upon a great hill. The castle was gigantic, bigger than anything James had ever seen in his entire life, with dozens of towers surrounding the great, stone walls perched with thousands of windows, all of them alight brilliantly. James and Sirius both opened their mouths with admiration. The castle was even more majestic than his father had been telling him, truly a school of magic.

'Ah, the sight ne'er gets boring, don't it?' commented Hagrid. James attempted to reply to no avail, merely wordless grunts escaping his mouth, himself still too amazed with the view. Judging from the silence, Sirius was in a similar state too. Hagrid chuckled knowingly, nodding his great shaggy head at them.

They reached a stone set of stairs by which the boats stopped, inches from crashing. 'Now, everybody out!' bellowed the man named Ogg as he left his boat, other students following clumsily. Hagrid gestured for them to get out first before he too staggered out of the boat, ignoring the amused looks of other students. James and Sirius smiled too, not at the giant's awkwardness like everybody else but at prospect of reaching the castle any moment now. They followed Ogg and his assistant up the stone stairs built upon a great, grassy hill that led them to a vast courtyard. Even in the immense darkness, various mysterious sculptures could be seen due to torches being evenly spread around the walls, the flames flickering in the lazy gusts of wind. The students, James and Sirius amongst them, chattered excitedly as they made their way over to the huge oaken doors across the courtyard, only to come to a sudden halt as Ogg gestured them to wait, himself lifting up great, brass handle placed on the door and knocking three times, the sound bouncing off the stone walls of the courtyard, filling their ears with resonant ringing. For a moment, a wall of students stood by the entrance doors, impatiently stepping from one foot to another, exchanging nervous glances and casting frightened looks at the giant.

James himself was thinking of the moment he would himself step into the Great Hall, described in so much detail by his father during the cold, wintery nights that James spent upon his father's knees as his guardian sat down in his favourite armchair by the fireplace, re-telling many of the adventures he shared with his friends during his time at Hogwarts. But most of all, James was thinking of the mysterious red haired girl, the way she glanced at him angrily, her great green eyes meeting his. Remembering the abrupt conversation, he felt a sudden jolt in his stomach. The feeling was unnaturally new to him and James Potter did not enjoy being ridiculed. He was pulled out of his thoughts with a loud creak of the doors opening, revealing a brightly lit hall behind them, torches ablaze upon the walls, undisturbed by the rushes of wind.

'Thank you, Ogg,' a stern voice sounded from the doors, concealed from James by Hagrid's massive back. As the wave of students began to flow into the warm insides of the Entrance Hall, the giant stepped aside, allowing a tall, strict looking woman to emerge from behind the doors, swiftly gesturing them all to enter. A silky emerald hat, decorated with a glistening hawk's feather stuck to the edge of it was placed upon her brown haired head, wise green eyes scanning them from behind her spectacles that gave her an astounding resemblance to a cat. Her lips were drawn together in a sign of impatience as she hurried them up, inviting them to a small room in the left corner of the hall. James overheard countless voices speaking excitedly in loud voices from behind an enormous pair of wooden, masterfully carved doors on their right as he followed the crowd into a tiny room, exchanging excited stares with Sirius on their way.

'Very well,' the woman said after all of the students had gathered round her. James was immediate to realize that she was a teacher whose limits were not to be tested; he made a mental note to himself and smiled at all the opportunities of mischief that were about to unfold.

'Welcome to Hogwarts!' the woman continued, 'My name is Professor Minerva McGonagall. The Sorting Ceremony which is to determine your future housing is about to begin. Would you please be so kind to follow me in a straight line and stay together until your name is called out. Now, no dawdling!' she concluded, spinning on her heels and leading them to the previously seen set of carved doors.

'Oi,' Sirius' voice sounded in his right ear as they were upon to enter the greater of two rooms, 'She's missing whiskers,' he added disappointingly.

James chuckled as the great wide doors opened noiselessly, displaying a grand hall. Four long tables were stretched across the entirety of it, now filled with hundreds of students sititng on both sides of them, shamelessly staring in the direction of the newcomers. At the further end of the hall was a long, horizontal table filled with members of staff. James had only glanced at it, spotting a tall, bearded wizard with a starry hat who appeared to hum to himself happily, a large elder with a huge belly and a moustache that gave him an appearance of a walrus and a nutty looking youngster, no older than thirty, gazing at the ceiling in silent wonder.

It was only seconds till James joined his delight as he looked up and stared at the ceiling. Or its lack. The walls of the hall stretched out into an abyss as they disappeared beneath a starry, cloudless night that hung over the students as they made their way over to the front of the hall. Sirius tapped James on the shoulder and pointed a falling star that was crossing the sky above, leaving a glorious, golden trace behind.

Although it was held to be a typical Muggle belief, James closed his eyes and muttered stubbornly, 'Gryffindor' with all his heart, awaiting the moment he would sit amongst the students of scarlet. Reaching the low stairs that led to the Staff table, they stopped abruptly, welcomed by a three legged stool covered by an old, once black hat that was ripped in several places. Professor McGonagall gestured them to wait while she made her way over to the stool, flung out a long piece of parchment from her sleeve, extended it and said, 'As I call out your name, please take a seat,'

James snorted sarcastically. A hat? An old worn out hat was supposed to be the judge of his worthiness? He shook his head in disbelief, a disappointed grimace stretched across his face. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and exclaimed loudly, 'Abbery, Alicia!' to which a small, terrified looking small girl trembled towards the stool, her two long ponytails bouncing off her back as she walked. The teacher carefully placed the hat upon her head then moved away. To Sirius' surprise, the hat came to life, two small patches glancing around the hall knowingly. After a while, it bellowed, 'GRYFFINDOR!' the sound coming from a long, linear rip across the entirety of the clothing. The table on the far right exploded with cheers, the girl happily jumping off the stool and rushing towards the table, relief painted upon her face.

Three more students were called out, a tall, grim looking boy who was sorted into Ravenclaw and two blonde girls that could be twins, both chosen to join the Hufflepuff Table. As Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly, James heard a nervous gulp coming from behind him. He turned around and noticed that his newly met friend's face was a deep shade of green, his eyes determined to look forward. Before James was able to cast a questioning look, he was stopped by a aggravating announcement of the next student. 'Black, Sirius!'

All copyrights go to J.K Rowling. Very happy with this chapter, enjoy and please leave reviews, always of help!