MOMENTS

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Potters, Weasleys, or any other character you may recognize

Chapter 1

I had just gotten out of the shower when I hear my mother's angry voice downstairs.

"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER!"

I grinned to myself. So someone finally walked into my latest prank. Usually when my mum uses my full name that mean I'm going to be in trouble, but I was used to it. I'll been pulling pranks every since I can remember. I remember feeding my little brother Albus a Canary Cream when he was just one. I thought it was funny but apparently babies didn't like turning into canaries. Al wouldn't stop crying even after all of the feathers disappeared.

I got dressed slowly, knowing the longer I took to respond to mum the angrier she'd be. Wearing a simple pair of jeans and a Puddlemere United T-shirt I headed down stairs.

I had to bite my cheek to stop myself from laughing. Mum was standing in the living room with her hands on her hips and her face nearly as red as her hair.

I put on an air of nonchalance, pretending I couldn't see the big car parked in the middle of the living room where our table used to be.

"Hey mum, what's with all of the yelling? It's making your face all red and blotchy."

I leaned against the doorway causally as smoke practically began to steam out of my mum's ears.

"Wow look, I can see a vein in your forehead throbbing. That's so odd. You should get something to fix that" I continued. I know, I wasn't making it any better for myself, but honestly the best part of pulling a prank is everyone's reactions.

Mum balled her fist and visually swelled up. I waited nervous for the blow up. Mum closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes she no longer looked mad, just tired. That wasn't any fun.

"Do we have to go through this every year?" mum asked.

"Go through what?" I asked, "Getting ready for school?"

"James! I'm not playing games. Put this car back in the garage right now" mum said getting back some of her temper.

"Oh wow" I jumped back for emphasis, "there is a car in the living room!"

"James!" mum's voice got louder and she actually stomped her foot. I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

"What the hell?"

I turned to see my little sister Lily approaching. She was still in her pajamas. She was blinking like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "What's a car doing inside of the house?"

"I was just asking mum the same question" I told Lily. I leaned down and stage whispered "I think mum had one too many last night and drove through the house."

I watched as Lily's eyes widened. I couldn't hold it any longer. I started laughing, causing Lily to punch me in the arm.

"That wasn't funny" Lily pouted.

"You should've seen mum's face" I told her.

"Put the car back where it belongs before your father gets home."

Too late. I watched as the flames in our fireplace turned green. My father stepped out looking tired and covered in dust. Dad rubbed his eyes when he saw the car. Dad blinked, he turned his gaze to mum then finally me.

"How'd the emergency at the ministry go?" I asked.

Dad looked like he aged a decade since I saw him yesterday.

"You know I can't talk about it. Spare us the grey hair James, put the car back in the garage" dad said.

I wanted to roll my eyes. What's with everyone not reacting like I expect them to? What made it worse was dad patted me on the head as he started to exit the room.

"You know how long it took me to get the car in here?" I asked.

"We got two hours before we have to leave for Kings Cross so I hope you get to it."

"Whoa, what's the car doing in the house?" Al asked at my shoulder. The sneaky bastard, I didn't hear him approach.

"It magicked itself into the house" I said.

Al rolled his eyes. "Since the car is in the house doe s that mean we can use magic to get to Kings Cross this year?" Al asked.

"You're not still scared of riding in the car are you Al?" I teased.

"Shut up! I'm not scared of being in the car" Al said.

When we were younger and going to visit our cousin Dudley and his family one year I made all the doors of the car disappear as we were going down the highway. Mum was super pissed. Especially since AL didn't have his seatbelt on and he was leaning on the doors when they disappeared. Al fell out of the car. I got into a lot of trouble, it was lucky for Al that we weren't going fast. I couldn't help it then, it was accidental magic, but I swear Al's been afraid of cars every since.

Dad even got a new car but Al began to insist on sitting in the middle.

"Al, Lils go get ready for school. Your mum is going to have breakfast ready by the time you're out of the shower and have your bags packed" Dad called as he walked up the stairs.

"No breakfast for you James until this car is back where it belongs" mum said.

"Seriously?"

"You better get to it" mum added.

Normally it wouldn't be hard to summon or banish objects. The thing with getting the car in the house was making sure it didn't break anything. I had to move the table, a couch, and an armchair into the backyard in order to make room for the car. I'm sure I'd be expected to put those back as well. I didn't want to send the car back into the garage only to see that that motor stayed in the living room. I shivered at the image of mum's reaction to me permanently staining her carpet.

With a groan I began to put the car back where it belonged.

When the car was back in the garage, and I checked to make sure it still worked, dad joined me in the garage.

"You're seventeen now" dad said starting his lecture.

"I know" I replied.

"I don't want to see you in front of the Improper Use of Muggle Artifacts Office" he continued.

"You won't"

"Or in court because of some magical catastrophe."

"I won't do anything dangerous dad, I promise."

"Let's aim for few detentions this year."

"How about I promise not to get caught as much this year."

Dad shook his head.

"Oh come on dad. You know what it's like to be at school for months with nothing to do but school work. Pulling pranks is the best way to relieve all the stress" I said.

"Get a girlfriend"

I rolled my eyes. "Girls are more stressful than schoolwork. They always want to know what I'm doing, when I'm doing it, who I'm looking at, why I don't ever have any time for them, if their butts look fat in pants, if I think they'd look better with blonde highlights or pink stripes." I shook my head remembering when Charity Nelson slapped me because I said yes those pants did make her butt look fat.

Dad sighed, he knew I was right.

"I know you want to play Quidditch professionally, but you need to get serious. Life isn't all fun and games. How about the two of us make a deal?"

"What kind of deal?" I asked.

"Get Es or better on your NEWTS and I'll help you get a flat when you finish school" dad said.

I raised my eyebrows waiting for the catch. "Seriously? All I have to do is get Es?" it seemed too easy. I know the NEWTS hard but I don't have a problem with my grades. "You aren't just trying to kick me out of the house already, are you? Jeez you and mum already have the house to yourselves while we're at school."

Dad rolled his eyes. "Less letters home, better grades, that's the deal."

Dad held out his hand and I shook it.

"I don't want to seem like I'm nagging but you'll need the grades for whatever you decide to do after Quidditch" dad said.

"After Quidditch? Dad I'm going to be so good I'll still be playing when I'm eighty."

Dad laughed, "You still haven't broken your mother's record for most points scored by a single person in a single game" dad pointed out.

That was a record I'd been trying to break since I made the team my first year. I was the youngest player since my dad and I set out that day to break every school Quidditch record I could.
"I'm going to invite you both to the match when I break it" I replied.

I gave both my parents a quick hug before entering platform nine and three quarters. I stopped and talked to everyone I knew, my friends, my Quidditch team, aunts, uncles, cousins. I put my trunk in my usual compartment and then when to go find my cousin Fred.

Fred and I were the same age, he like to pull pranks like me, and the best part is his dad owns the number one joke shop in the world. We were never lacking for supplies or new ideas.

When I found Fred he was chatting with two girls on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. I was too busy checking the girls out that I almost didn't notice the shiny new badge Fred was wearing.

I punched him in the shoulder.

"What the hell?" Fred said.

"That's what I want to know. What the hell is that?" I said pointing to the offensive badge.

Fred snickered. "I have no idea what McGonagall was thinking either. Head Boy," he shook his head, "dad was so disappointed."

Yeah it was definitely time for McGonagall to retire.

I went to my usual compartment. There are so many Weasley/Potters we usually take up two compartments. Of course we all come together at the beginning of the train ride but disperse to see our friends and catch up. With Fred being head boy, Lucy Weasley would likely be head girl, Al is a prefect, so are Rose, and Roxanne we might only need one compartment this year.

Before anyone else arrived in our compartment I began to prepare for the prank Fred and I would pull later. This was our last year and Fred and I planned on making this the best year ever. We wanted to go out with a bang.

I caught up with my Quidditch team. I'm captain, again. I've been captain since my fourth year so there really was no surprise there.

First we used a spell that made the whole train plunge into darkness. Excluding the head cab of the train, we didn't want the driver to freak out and cause us to crash. Anyway so the whole train was dark as if it were filled with Peruvian instant darkness powder. Girls and first years were screaming their heads off.

Then Fred and I conjured up mice and sent them scurrying throughout the cabs. The mice weren't real. We didn't want them to bite anyone. They were sugar mice that we bewitched to last longer. Then we added in chocolate frogs, cockroach clusters, and jelly slugs. Since people couldn't see that they were candy, they were freaking out. Somebody in the cab next to us were screaming their head off. Fred and I were laughing so hard.

"FRED! JAMES!"

My cousin Lucy stood in front of us with her hands on her hip. She used her wand to light up the compartment. Sure enough there was a head girl badge on her chest.

"Hey Luce"

"How's it going?"

"Filling the train with rodents and bugs, are you guys mature or what?" Molly looked similar to the way mum looked this morning.

"Rodents and bugs? We have no idea what you're talking about" Fred said.

I turned on the light in the compartment and picked up a chocolate frog. "Want one?"

"No!"

"You don't want our gift" Fred pouted. "We bought candy for everyone on the train."

Lucy huffed "I can't believe you made head boy"

"Me either" both Fred and I replied. We grinned at each other.

"At least turn the lights back on in all the other compartments" Lucy said and she stormed out.

"Lumos is such an easy spell" Fred said.

I shrugged my shoulders.

We turned the lights back on. It took a moment but now that everyone could see they were no longer freaking out.

"Enjoy your snacks, free of charge thanks to the master pranksters" Fred and I told the train using sonorus.

Later on the train ride I was hanging with Fred and the other guys from our year when I heard a loud voice outside of my compartment.

"Have any of you seen James? He's not in the compartment with his family?"

I froze.

All the guys looked at me. That was Laney Daniels, the most annoying girl in school. I didn't have my invisibility cloak with me, it was in my trunk all the way at the other end of the compartment.

"Sorry mates, I gotta go."

I knew Laney would be making her way through all of the compartments, and I did not want to spend the rest of the train ride listening to the hundred and one things Laney Daniels did on her summer vacation.

I raced my way down the corridor and ran into a girl who was exiting her compartment.

"Sorry" I said hastily. I looked behind me to see Laney exiting a compartment. "Hide me" I pulled the girl up and into the compartment she just exited.

"What the—?"

I let out a sigh of relieve when I was safe.

"James what are you doing? And why do you have a death grip on Ali?" my cousin Rose said. I looked around this compartment was filled with sixth year girls.

"Oops." I let the girl go. "Sorry" I apologized again. "I'm hiding from Laney Daniels."

Laney is also a sixth year Gryffindor.

"Oh" the girls said in understanding. They all shared a room with her, they knew better than anyone that she belonged in the psych ward of St. Mungo's.

"We'll hide you" a blonde with big blue eyes said, and she patted the seat next to her.

"Thanks" I sat down.

"Why don't you just tell her you don't like her?" the girl Rose called Ali asked.

"I tried, multiple times." I replied. "I'm just so irresistible."

"What you are is full of yourself" Rose said as she got up and headed for the exit.

"Where are you going? You aren't going to go get her are you?" I said panicking, ready to make my exit.

"I'm going to tell her I saw you in the loo, and when she heads back there you can leave our compartment and go back to your friends" Rose stated.

I stared at her for a second.

"Did I ever tell you you're my favorite cousin?"

"Liar."

Thanks to Rose's plan I spent the last thirty minutes of the train ride Laney free.