On September First, Harry woke up at nearly six o'clock in the morning and was much too excited to go back to sleep. His stomach was twisting with both excitement and nerves as he threw on his clothes and gathered the things from his room that he knew he would need. Harry took a second to watch the sun streaming in his window before he made his way downstairs to where Eileen was preparing a large breakfast.
"You're up early! You must be quite excited about today," she said as she put a plate of pancakes and bacon in front of Harry. Harry's stomach was jumpy but he was still a little bit hungry. But Harry just wanted to skip breakfast and go straight to Hogwarts but it wouldn't be time to leave for a few more hours.
"I can't wait to get to Hogwarts. Severus says the feast will be spectacular! Will I need anything for the sorting?" Harry asked, still attempting to get either Eileen or Severus to reveal anything that could tell him what to expect of the sorting ceremony. Perhaps if she mentions anything specific he might need, Harry would be able to figure it out.
Harry had even made an attempt with Lily while she was over but nobody revealed a thing. Yesterday, Harry had also come into the kitchen and told Eileen that Severus had told him about his sorting and he wanted Eileen to tell him more about it in case Severus had been bluffing. Eileen simply raised an eyebrow and gave Harry a 'nice try' look. Severus had said the attempt might have worked, if not for the fact that Eileen had sent Severus to drop off some soup to a sick neighbour.
While Harry picked away at his breakfast, he watched as Eileen shrunk down his and Severus' school trunks and stuck them in her pants pocket. Harry was still completely fascinated every time he saw anyone do magic.
When Severus came to the table, he was wearing a green sweater and jeans. He looked excited but not as excited as Harry. But that was probably because Severus had already been to Hogwarts and already knew what to expect.
"Mum, how are we getting to the train station?" Severus asked, as he accepted his breakfast plate and began eating. Severus was watching his mother carefully as she flicked her wand and the dishes began to clean themselves.
"Lily's mum is going to bring us. It's a lot easier than explaining the Floo network to them," Eileen said with a laugh.
By the time Harry and Severus had finished breakfast, brushed their teeth and checked the house a few times to make sure they weren't forgetting anything, it was ten o'clock. When Harry heard the Evans' car pull up in front of the house, Harry's heart started fluttering excitedly. He looked at Severus and was relieved to see that he wasn't the only one grinning like an absolute fool.
"Alright, let's get moving!" Eileen said, pushing Harry and Severus out the front door and towards the car. Severus and Harry got into the backseat with Lily while Eileen took the front seat with Lily's mother.
The sun was pouring into the car and seemed to only bring up Harry's mood as he felt the car engine roar to life. "I can't believe my Lily-Pop is already going back to school so soon! It seems like she just got home and is already on her way back!" Lily's mother sighed as she started driving towards the train station.
"I know what you mean! It seems like Severus only came home long enough to sleep over and it's back out the door and Harry has only been with us a week and he's on his way out now too!" Eileen said.
When they arrived at the train station, Eileen enlarged their trunks onto a trolly and began wheeling towards the platforms. Harry found the look on Lily's mother's face hilarious when she watched the trunks seemingly appear out of nowhere.
The train station was about as crowded as Harry expected. There were people rushing around, the sound of children laughing, babies crying and trolleys being pulled in various directions. Occasionally, a train whistle could be heard nearby and would result in people taking off in that direction.
"Eileen, I can't find platform 9 and 3 1/4," Harry said, as he located platforms 9 and 10 but there was no platform in between. Harry wondered if this was part of the test to see if you were smart enough to go to Hogwarts; find the train and you can go to the school. If that was the case, then it looked like Harry was in for a disappointing ride back home.
"Oh, you have to go through the wall between Platforms 9 and 10. Come along, now," Eileen said steering them towards the brick wall. Harry found himself wondering if he had heard her correctly; she wanted him to run into a wall? Deciding he wanted to make sure it wasn't a prank of some sort, he politely insisted Severus go first. Severus of course shrugged and took off running towards the wall and suddenly he was gone. When Lily went behind him, she disappeared just like Severus had.
"Alright, Harry. It's your turn," Eileen said, giving Harry a soft shove towards the wall.
Harry took a deep breath and began jogging towards the wall. Before he could reach the wall, he closed his eyes and braced himself for an impact that, thankfully, never came. When Harry opened his eyes, he found himself in the middle of a crowded platform. Parents could be seen hugging and kissing their children farewell, children were towing around trunks and trolleys and older students were helping younger students get their trunks onto the train.
It didn't take long for Harry to find Severus and Lily standing happily by the train. Just a few moments later, Eileen and Lily's mother came onto the platform. One of the older students quickly rushed forward and helped Eileen and Mrs Evans load their trunks onto the train.
Once the trunks were securely on the train, Eileen turned to Severus and Harry and pulled them both into a long hug and kissed them both on the head. Harry hugged Eileen back, expressing how thankful he was to her for taking care of him and treating him like he was her own son.
"I'll see you boys next summer! Be good! Harry don't forget to take your potions until they're gone and Severus keep and eye out for him," Eileen said as they boarded the train. "I want both of you to write often! Oh, and here are a few galleons to get some treats off the trolley."
Harry and Severus waved happily to Eileen as the train began pulling away from the platform. It felt so nice to know that someone cared for him and actually wanted to hear from him during the school term.
Harry knew his relatives would have told him not to write and try not to come home the following summer. Of course, it would no longer be necessary to come up with an excuse to avoid the Dursleys now. The thought of not have to see them again brought a wide grin to Harry's face.
Harry and Severus made their way into an empty compartment while Lily went off with a couple second-year girls to talk about their summers. Severus was showing Harry some potions from his second-year potions textbook when the door opened to reveal a kind lady with the treat trolley.
"Anything off the trolley, dears?"
Once they had chosen a few treats, Harry and Severus made their way back to their seats and continued to flip through the book. When the compartment door opened again, Harry found James Potter standing in the door with the boy called Sirius and two other boys Harry couldn't recognise. One boy had a rat-like expression and gave Harry a creepy feeling. The other boy looked much more down-to-earth and reasonable than his friends, in fact, he looked like he wanted to be somewhere else.
"Ah, it's you! The kid who looks like me; you lucked out there. You can come sit with me and my mates. You'll soon find that some wizards are better to hang around with than others," James said, looking over Harry's shoulder and scowling at Severus before turning his attention back to Harry. "I'm James Potter, I can help you there."
The rat-faced boy watched the exchange with an unsettling smirk on his face. The other boy seemed annoyed with James' words but didn't say anything. Sirius seemed indifferent to the whole thing.
When James stuck out his hand for Harry to shake, Harry simply stared at it for a few seconds before coolly replying.
"I think I can figure it out for myself, thank you."
For a second, James was unsure how to react to the rejection but he turned around and left with a look of frustration and confusion on his face. Sirius seemed confused by the rejection but the down-to-earth boy actually seemed amused by the exchange. The rat-faced boy gave Harry a smile that turned his blood cold and sent shivers down his spine before followed the fuming James Potter away from their compartment.
Harry wondered if anyone had ever turned him away from anything in his whole life. Soon Severus and Harry were left alone in the compartment once again.
"You didn't have to do that, Harry," Severus said, eyeing Harry carefully.
"He was being a jerk. I have no patience for people who think they're better than others for whatever reason," Harry said, thinking about his cousin and once again comparing him to James Potter. But the fact that James actually accepted the rejection without throwing an almighty tantrum, told Harry that he was slightly less spoiled than Dudley. At least James didn't appear to be someone who would throw himself on the ground and throw a tantrum.
Severus and Harry spent most of the train trip going over the textbooks and eating the treat they had gotten from the trolley.
Halfway through the journey, Severus asked Harry about his parents and how they died. Harry told Severus what Hagrid had told him, though he wondered if Hagrid had left any details out just to protect him. When he was finished, Harry could see the devastation in Severus' eyes about the idea that Lily would die; especially so young.
"But why didn't you die when he tried to kill you?" Severus asked as he glanced curiously towards the scar on Harry's forehead.
"Nobody knows," Harry said with a shrug, wishing he was able to give a better answer than that. He was sure Dumbledore knew but telling Severus this wouldn't be helpful because the Dumbledore in this time probably wouldn't know. "All I know is, people tend to stare at my scar once they figure out who I am and they act like I'm some celebrity because of it. My parents died, I would rather be a nobody with living parents than a famous person with dead ones."
Severus nodded and patted Harry on the shoulder.
"I promise I won't treat you special because of that. And you won't have to worry about people pointing and staring at you in this time... Or maybe not as many people. Once the school finds out your last name, they will try and figure out exactly how you are related to James Potter. It's a well-known fact that James is an only child; they will want to know where you came from."
"Fun," Harry said, rolling his eyes in annoyance.
"But it'll probably blow over in a few days once people become more occupied with homework and classes," Severus said with a shrug as they began changing into their robes.
"You think so?" Harry asked nervously.
"Well, the rest of the school might forget; James might take a little longer to drop it," Severus said with a roll of his eye. He was obviously referring to his flattering nickname.
After a few more minutes of talking about Hogwarts and what to expect, the train came to a stop; they had finally arrived! Harry Potter was finally at Hogwarts!
As they exited the train Harry noticed that Hagrid, looking much younger, was standing close by with a large lantern calling for the first years to follow him. Harry glanced nervously at Severus who simply motioned for Harry to follow Hagrid.
"I'll see you inside," Severus said as Harry followed behind the other first-years. Harry was relieved to see that he wasn't the only nervous person in this group. This was it, there was no going back. In just a few moments, Harry was going to be sorted and he'd finally be able to start his magic education, despite everything his relative had done to try and stop it. If it wasn't for the fact that they'd have no clue who he was, he would send them a letter shoving it in their faces.