Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.
The next three weeks seemed to pass at a slow pace. When his parents weren't looking, James tried out a few spells from his textbooks, until he was caught and Harry took away his wand for the remainder of the summer. Angrily, James had slammed his bedroom door closed, threw himself on his bed, and grabbed the Charms textbook.
One of the beginner spells was to create light. He moved his finger in a loop, said, "Lumos," and stared expectantly at his finger. No light appeared at the tip of it.
With a snarl of frustration, James threw the textbook on the floor, feeling very much like he would like to have a full-blown tantrum.
"Wandless magic only works when it's extremely needed," his godmother explained when he asked her. "Otherwise you have to practice quite a bit in order to master it. Why do you ask?"
They were outside in the yard of the Burrow, where James' grandmother had insisted on holding a reunion before all of the children returned to school. James cast a glare toward his father, who seemed to be getting yet another dressing-down from Uncle Percy. Ginny was nowhere in sight.
"Dad took away my wand," James muttered. "Why's Uncle Percy mad now?"
Aunt Hermione turned to follow his gaze. "Your father's behind on paperwork again," she said. "It seems that if I'm not there to hold his hand –"
"Hermione," Ginny said sharply from behind them.
"Oh, come off it, Ginny," said Uncle Ron as he joined them. "We all know Harry was only promoted because the Auror Department was useless with him as Head." He turned to James and added, "Your father was a fine Auror, Jamie –"
"No, he wasn't," said James. "You caught Lestrange. You should've been made the Head, not Dad."
He heard, rather than saw, his mother inhale sharply. Ron had jerked back, his eyes wide and spots of color in his cheeks. Hermione stepped closer to her husband, grasping his shoulder tightly until he got his breathing back under control.
"James, it's best if you don't bring up that case," Hermione said quietly.
He lowered his head and nodded toward the ground, guilt twisting at his stomach. He didn't know much about the case; only that after catching Lestrange, Ron had promptly quit the Aurors and accepted George's offer to work at the joke shop.
"But that does remind me," Hermione continued. "There's a girl starting at Hogwarts this year. You don't have to be friends with her, but should she ever need help, I'd like for you to provide it."
When he raised his head, she was looking at him with soft brown eyes.
"Can you do that for me, James?"
"Er, yeah," he said. "What's her name?"
Surprisingly, it was Ron who answered. "Phoenix. I doubt there'll be any problems, she seems the type to handle them all herself, but she might need some… assurance sometimes."
"Is this one of the Muggleborn students?" asked Ginny curiously. "I thought there was a program for them now."
"There is," Aunt Hermione said, nodding, "but Phoenix is a half-blood. She already knows about the magical world."
James was still confused, but he smiled at his aunt and assured her, "Don't worry, I can help."
Moreover, he was curious why this girl was a special case, and why even Uncle Ron was invested in her. Like his father, James was drawn to any mystery, and Aunt Hermione had just personally handed him one. He would be remiss not to use this situation to his advantage.
Finally, the first of September arrived and the Potter family set out for King's Cross Station. Since Grimmauld Place was only about twenty minutes away, Harry wanted them to walk there, to James' chagrin. Despite the cool air that morning, he showed up at the station with a light sheen of sweat. Even he didn't know if it was from the walk or if it was due to nerves.
By the empty feeling in his stomach, he thought it might be the nerves. Not to mention, none of his family looked similarly affected from the walk.
When they reached the barrier, James stared at it dubiously. It looked very solid to him.
"How're you supposed to get through it?" asked Al, his brows furrowed.
"You run at it, like this," said a very familiar voice.
James caught only the flash of a smile and blue hair before Teddy ran past them and straight into the wall, disappearing in only moments. He blinked, wondering if that really just happened.
"I'm pretty sure that was my godson," Harry said, also blinking.
Grinning, James positioned his trolley and waited for a crowd of Muggles to disperse.
"James, wait, one of us should go with you," Ginny protested as he got ready to run.
"No need, Mum!" he called over his shoulder. He'd always done things on his own.
Then he glided through the brick wall and appeared on another platform entirely different from the other side of the barrier. Here, people were dressed in strange and outlandish clothing, whether they were trying to pass as a Muggle or they were wearing robes. Thick steam coated the platform, but he could still make out the gold letters on the scarlet train: The Hogwarts Express.
Excitement bubbled up inside James. He knew what was awaiting him at the end of this journey: a dorm full of the same colors as the train, red and gold, and hopefully acceptance, too. Gryffindor, here I come, he thought.
His family emerged from the barrier, Al's eyes squeezed shut as he held tightly to Harry's hand. James poked at his younger brother.
"Hey, Al, take a look at this!"
Al opened his eyes and gasped. "The Hogwarts Express!" he exclaimed.
Immediately, afterward, however, his expression fell and his bottom lip pushed out in a pout. He kicked at the ground, glaring at the ground.
"Mummy, Mummy please, can't I go too?" Lily begged.
"You have to wait three more years, sweetie," said Ginny. "Then you can go."
Al glanced up at Harry, his own eyes wide and pleading. "What about me? It's only a year."
"Exactly," Harry said wryly. "It's only a year."
James stepped back from the trolley, giving his father room to pick up the trunk. As Harry carried it to the train, Ginny pulled James into a hug and placed a kiss on his forehead.
"Be good. Win Neville that bet, you know he doesn't make much as a professor. Oh, and don't play too many pranks –"
"Mum, when have I ever played a prank?" James said, rolling his eyes.
She bit her lip. "And don't get into too much trouble," she finished quietly. "Enjoy your time at Hogwarts, Jamie."
He grinned at her. "Of course I will, Mum. I don't have an insane maniac after me, do I?"
"No," she said, sweeping his black hair from his face, "but you are the oldest son of Harry Potter. A lot of expectation is riding on you, Jamie, more so than it is on Al and Lily. You'll have to prove you belong in Gryffindor just as much as anyone else."
After a moment, James nodded. He knew that already. More than likely, the newspapers had already been printed: James Potter sorted into Gryffindor! It had been determined from the moment he was born.
Harry returned and gave James similar advice, concluding, "I know you don't have any friends –"
"Gee, thanks, Dad," James said bitterly. Unlike Al and Lily, he didn't have a cousin the same age as him, so he was usually left on his own when Ron and Hermione brought their children to visit.
Harry winced, his expression pained. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."
He pushed a hand through his own black hair and then bent down to James' level. His hands fluttered, like he wasn't sure what to do with them, and then he pulled James into a hug. James tried not to stiffen in the short embrace.
James cleared his throat and stepped away. "Well, I'm off. I'll see you later, yeah?"
"Don't forget to write," said Harry. "Of course you'll be in Gryffindor, but I'd still like something to frame."
"Yeah, 'course I will," James responded automatically.
Then he turned to say goodbye to his siblings. Tears were pouring down Lily's face and he held her slightly away so she wouldn't get snot on him. Al clasped him tightly, his head burrowed into James' chest and hiding his splotchy face. James gently pushed him back and punched Al in the shoulder.
"See you later, squirt," he said, grinning widely.
"Another year, and then I'll be at Hogwarts, too," Al said fiercely.
James laughed. "They won't know what to do with two Potters in Gryffindor!"
After one last hug and piece of advice from his mother, James leaped aboard the train just as the warning whistle went off. He leaned out the door, waved to his family, and then went to find his future. This journey could determine the next seven years of his life.
Harry stood at the end of the platform, watching the train fade into the distance. Ginny was beside him, her hand still raised in farewell.
"We messed up, didn't we?" he murmured.
Slowly, Ginny lowered her hand. She didn't look at him as she asked, "You don't think he'll be in Slytherin, do you?"
He wished he could scoff at the question, but instead, all he could say was, "I don't know."
His chest tightened as he remembered another boy, very similar to James, with the same streak of independence and charming smile. Sometimes it was very hard to differentiate them, even now that James' eyes were blue instead of brown.
Turning around, he spotted his younger children with Bill, Fleur, and Louis. Bill's expression was hard as he stared at Harry, and Harry looked away, his shoulders slumping. He knew he deserved the disappointment.
AN: I decided to cut it off here because the next chapter introduces a lot of OCs.I also wanted to establish the Weasley kids' ages as of 2015:
Bill x Fleur: Victoire (15); Dominique (12); Louis (9)
Percy x Audrey: Mary "Molly" (13), Lucy (13)
George x Angelina: Frederick (9); Roxanne (7)
Harry x Ginny: James (11); Albus (10); Lily (8)
Ron x Hermione: Rose (10); Hugo (8)
