THC, Hufflepuff, Round 1, Year 1, Standard.

Prompt: 1st September

Word count: 788

This was it. After all of the waiting, the first of September has arrived. This was going to be the greatest day of young James Sirius Potter's life. He just knew that Hogwarts would be even more amazing than anybody could have possibly explained. Of course, the eleven-year-old was mildly upset that his Hogwarts years wouldn't be quite as interesting as his father's had been. But not everybody can rescue a friend from a troll, defeat a dark wizard a couple of times, start up a secret army, and attend lessons all in a mere six years. James just wasn't sure he would be able to commit to that level of hard work.

James dragged his carefully packed trunk down the stairs with a look of glee on his face. "I'm ready! Let's go!" he announced.

His parents didn't seem to share his enthusiasm.

"James! You are late!" his mother told him off.

With a roll of his eyes, he grabbed the deliciously - but slightly cold - pancake and took a bite. "Mm, thanks!" James didn't even bother to dodge the light tap around his ear. His parents didn't care about his time keeping today as long as he made it onto the train in time. They had 44 minutes left to get there.

"Did you pack everything?" his Dad inquired as he picked up James' trunk.

James nodded at the same time he shrugged. "Al packed it for me."

Ginny shook her head with a pained look. "James…"

"C'mon Mum! We don't want to be late," the guilty eleven-year-old stated before picking up Lily and walking out of the door.

"We're going by Floo!" his father called after him.

James and Lily laughed as they returned to the house.

James had tried to get away from his family as quickly as possible, but his attempts were futile. His mother used to be a professional Chaser and easily cornered him. It was easy enough to dodge his father and brother, though he did make sure to say goodbye properly. The only person who didn't have to try to get his attention was little Lily. Her eyes looked like an ocean as she attempted to not cry. She still didn't understand the momentous adventure he was about to embark on and only focused on the fact she wouldn't see him until Christmas. James knew she'd understand eventually but that didn't make it less difficult to simply walk onto the train.

"Time will fly, Lil. I promise."

"Just… go next year?"

"That's not how it works."

Lily sniffled. "I won't tell if you don't."

"That's..." He paused. He didn't want to repeat himself. "I have to go when I'm eleven on the first of September… otherwise, I can't go."

"You'll be eleven next year too!"

James shook his head. He almost wished her arguments were better. He kissed her forehead and gave her a long hug. "I'll write to you."

His little sister nodded. "I'll draw you a picture."

"I'll hang it on my wardrobe."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

James smoothed out her hair before ruffling his brothers and hopping onto the train. "Later, family!" he called before going to find a compartment.

His journey was starting! He was going to have the best adventure ever. Today was the first day of the rest of his life!

"Hey, Squirt!"

"Teddy? What'd you want!"

The older boy scoffed. "Nice to see you too."

James huffed slightly. He had forgotten about Teddy. The older boy had always been cooler than he was. This was going to make things a little bit more challenging. It wasn't like the eleven-year-old could pretend he didn't know the older student - everybody knew their connection.

"Going to give me some helpful tips?" he asked.

Teddy grinned and sat down. "Stay with me and even the professors will love you."

Having his Godbrother at Hogwarts would have its challenges… but also its benefits.

"Teach me everything."

By the time that James Sirius Potter had arrived at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he had learnt only a portion of what his Godbrother knew. However, during his years, he would end up learning even more than the older lad and become more popular. Until then though, the eleven-year-old almost blended in with the other students. After all, you don't want everybody to know that you want the attention, you simply need to stand out just enough to be noticed but not too much to seem desperate.

The habit of introducing himself with his full name was difficult to change. Being just 'James' almost felt wrong, like he was hiding part of himself, part of his identity. However, the knowledge that nearly everybody knew exactly who he was helped. No point wasting his breath.