James Potter and the Sword in the Stone

James Sirius Potter was dreaming. So far it was a good dream. It was his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Headmistress Minerva McGonagall was watching as he tried out for the Quidditch team. He was going to be a Seeker, just like his father Harry had been. He would have to be to live up to his great name. James was racing after the golden Snitch as fast as he could. It seemed like it would get tantalizingly closer, and then further away when he was almost upon it. He kept inching forward on his broom, hand outstretched. He was almost there!

"Potter!" a ghostly voice said from above him.

At the sound of the voice James slipped forward too far. He fell face forward off his broom, grasping at thin air. James sat up quickly in his bed, and cracked his head against something hard.

"Bloody hell!" his "cousin" Teddy Lupin exclaimed, falling to the floor and clutching his head.

Teddy had been leaning over him and when James sat up their heads had collided. "What were you standing over me for, you git?"James said, holding his forehead.

"I was trying to scare you! I didn't think you'd sit up like that!" Teddy said, getting to his feet.

"Well that explains it. You weren't thinking!" James said.

"Why you little-," Teddy started to say, coming towards him.

"James! Teddy! We're going to be late if you don't hurry!" James' mother Ginny called from downstairs.

With a laugh, Teddy said, "Your mum sent me to get you up. We have to get to King's Cross Station before the barrier closes."

James quickly got dressed at the reminder of his first year at Hogwarts. He followed Teddy downstairs into the living room. The Potter's house was nice, but it was simple. Even though his father was an Auror, and therefore made pretty decent money, he preferred to live in comfort and not extravagance. The smell of breakfast was coming from the kitchen, so they followed it.

"There you two are! You're going to be late for your first year, James!" Ginny said as they walked in.

"Sorry, mum," James mumbled as he sat down.

"Why are you going with us, Teddy?" James' brother Albus asked from across the table. Albus was a year younger than James, and he looked very much like their father. James, on the other hand, was a mix of his father and mother. He had brown hair and brown eyes.

"He wants to say goodbye to Victoire," Lily said quietly.

She was sitting beside James, eating. She looked mostly like their mother, but James heard his dad saying she looked like his grandmother one time. The one Lily was named after. After seeing pictures Harry had shown them, he agreed. Only she was missing the green eyes. Hers were more of a brown.

Teddy was eighteen now as of April, and this was the first year he wasn't going back to Hogwarts. Victoire, who he was dating, was two years younger than him. Apparently they had gotten closer at Hogwarts over the years. Teddy had been in Gryffindor, but Victoire was in Ravenclaw. Teddy was a Metamorphagus, like his mother had been. He lived with his grandmother, which was his mother's mother. He visited the Potter's often, though, which was why they considered him to be a cousin. Teddy had no set hair color. He could change it at will, and he often did. However, James had seen it be black or ginger the most.

"You're not going to snog her in front of us again, are you?" Albus asked disgustedly.

"Course he is!" James said, making kissing noises. Even though Teddy was about eight years older than James, his cheeks turned slightly red. His relationship with Victoire was something the Potter boys didn't fully understand, but Lily seemed to quite well.

"Leave him alone!" Lily said firmly as Albus joined in with the noises.

"James, Albus, leave Teddy alone," their father, Harry, said, coming into the kitchen.

He kissed Ginny on the cheek and sat down with them. He was wearing wizard's robes since he had to go to work at the Ministry after he saw James off. Harry's hair was, as always, untidy. And even though he was getting on in age, the scar on his forehead was clearly visible. James didn't know the full story, but he had been told about how his father had defeated Voldemort. Harry had said that he would tell him everything about it when he was older and ready.

"Someday you two will be snogging girls as well. Then your sister and cousins can make fun of you," Harry said with a smile.

"Yes, well, let's not rush that now," Ginny said disapprovingly.

"Mum, you had a crush on dad when you were like James' age," Albus said.

"That was very different," Ginny said with a laugh.

After they had all eaten breakfast they piled into the Potters' car and headed to King's Cross Station. The car was slightly cramped with Teddy in it, but the Potters didn't mind. The ride seemed to take forever for James. He wanted to go to Hogwarts so much, but when he thought about it he grew nervous about not knowing anyone. Once James' things were out of the trunk, they proceeded to go inside. His parents had let him get an owl to take with him to Hogwarts. His dad said he had had an owl, and therefore wanted James to have one too. That was fine with him since he didn't want a cat.

The other choice was a rat, but his dad seemed to have a thing with rats. The owl was squawking at the jostling of the cage as he was lifted out of the car. James had named it Hermes. His Uncle Percy had given him the idea. He had told James a big story about how Hermes was a present for being a prefect. That was about all he remembered from it, though.

As they approached the barrier that was at Platform 9 3/4, James grew slightly more nervous. What if he couldn't get through? Then he'd never be able to get to Hogwarts. He remembered the story his dad had told him about his second year. Him and his Uncle Ron hadn't been able to get past the barrier and had taken a flying car. Well, James didn't have a flying car, so he wasn't sure what he would do. He'd have to go somewhere like Durmstrang!

"James! Hey, James!" a girl's voice yelled from behind him.

Oh, great, James thought. His cousin, Molly Weasley, was also in her first year at Hogwarts. James didn't particularly care to hand out with Molly. She always followed the rules and when one of her cousins or her sister Lucy broke one she was the first to report them to their parents. Uncle Ron said she reminded him of his Uncle Percy. Percy was still pompous, but he had somewhat outgrown his feeling that he was better than the rest of his family. Molly, however, took every opportunity to show her cousins up.

As James' family turned around, Molly came running up to them, her parents and sister trailing behind her. Lucy, who was two years younger, held her mother Audrey's hand shyly. Molly had reddish brown hair and dark brown eyes. Her features resembled her mother's, mostly. Lucy had ginger hair like the other Weasley's. She seemed to be more like her mother in personality. Audrey tended to be rather shy around the rest of the family, and Lucy as well.

"James, we just got back from Romania yesterday! Look at my dragon skin boots Dad got me!" Molly said, pulling up her Hogwarts robes and showing him. Lily was amazed at them, but James was not impressed. Uncle Percy was always going on vacations, and Molly and Lucy usually came back with something nice to show for it. Percy was a high official under the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"How was Romania, Perce? Is Charlie doing alright?" Ginny asked.

"He's fine. I tried to convince him to spend a little less time with dragons and a little more with a woman like you told me to, but he would have none of it," Percy said exasperatedly.

Ginny rolled her eyes and said, "They're so dangerous! Remember the Horntail Harry had to go against in the Triwizard Tournament? That thing was vicious!"

"Just be thankful he's not like Hagrid. When he starts keeping baby dragons as pets in his house, then we'll have a problem," Harry said with a laugh.

"Well, shall we go through the barrier? Molly already has her robes on, but I see James hasn't changed yet," Percy said, motioning for them to begin walking again.

"I'll put them on once I'm on the train, Uncle Percy," James told him, walking beside his father.

"This is bollocks! I want to go to Hogwarts!" Albus began to whine to his parents.

"Next year, Albus. Besides, you'll be able to go through the barrier and see the train. That should be enough until next year," Harry said as they arrived at the barrier between Platform 9 3/4.

"Besides, you'll probably end up in Slytherin anyways. Meanwhile, I'll be in Gryffindor!" James said proudly.

"I will not! Do you really think I'll end up in Slytherin, Dad?" Albus asked, concerned.

"Even if the Sorting Hat put you into Slytherin, Albus, it doesn't mean that you'll go bad. You don't have to end up like the Malfoy's. Remember what I told you about my godfather, Sirius Black? His family was as dark as they go and he ended up in Gryffindor," Harry told him.

"Well, this is it. Who wants to go first?" Percy asked.

"I'll go first so I can find Victoire. Good luck, James," Teddy said, running for the barrier.

"Do I just . . . walk right in?" James asked uncertainly after he'd gone.

"Do it at a run. You'll be fine. We'll follow you through to see you safely on the train," Ginny said.

With a sigh, James braced himself and faced the wall. He ran at it, eyes closed. Right when he thought he would hit the wall, though, he just kept going. Finally, he opened his eyes. He was on the other side of the barrier, standing next to the scarlet train that was the Hogwarts Express. There were witches and wizards of all kinds around. There were older students returning, and new students beginning. Teddy was already on the other side of the room with blonde haired Victoire Weasley. She always seemed to stand out in a room. That was probably because she was about one-eighth Veela. Her parents were standing close by, with her blonde haired sister and brother beside them.

James watched as the rest of his family came through the barrier. "There's Luna and the Scamander twins," Ginny said.

James followed her gaze to a small woman with strawberry blonde hair. She had a dreamy look on her face. He had almost forgotten that Luna's twins, Lysander and Lorcan, were in their first year as well. They both had the same shade of hair that Luna did, although the expressions on their faces were slightly less clueless.

"Why do they have to be in their first year, too?" James wondered aloud.

"James, be nice. Don't judge them by how they look or act. Sometimes the weirder ones end up being the most loyal of friends," Harry told him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Ginny had walked over to them, and was now in conversation with Luna. James and his siblings reluctantly followed. "Hi, James. Lovely day, isn't it?" Lorcan said.

"Yeah, lovely day," James said.

"Hope to get into Gryffindor, eh, James?" Lysander said happily.

"That's right," James said, puffing his chest out slightly.

"Mum was a Ravenclaw and dad was Hufflepuff, so it could go any way for us, really," Lysander said thoughtfully.

"Well, I'm not worried about it. Wherever the Sorting Hat puts me is where I belong," Lorcan said.

James looked at Lysander, suppressing a smirk, but he seemed to notice nothing funny about what he had said. James had never really been around Lorcan and Lysander for too long at one time. He had always assumed the two were the same because they were twins. But Lorcan seemed to be like his mother in personality more than Lysander. Perhaps Lysander was like his father, Rolf Scamander. He seemed to be smarter than his twin. Finally, his mum and dad were done talking to Luna.

"It's time to get onto the train," Ginny said.

"Watch out for nargles. When I was at Hogwarts, they would hide some of my things," Luna told them.

"What are nargles?" Albus whispered to James.

"I have no idea," he whispered back.

"Oh, my oldest son is leaving for Hogwarts!" Ginny exclaimed and hugged James.

"Mum, you're not going to cry, are you?" James asked.

"No, no, I won't embarrass you."

"have fun, James. But not too much, mind you. If you have any problems, Hagrid said he'd be more than happy to help you out," Harry said.

Hagrid was still Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, and he taught Care of Magical Creatures as well. He was about eighty-eight, but since he was half giant his life span was slightly more than the average human. James hugged his parents both one last time, and said goodbye to his siblings. He walked towards the train by himself, since the twins and Molly were finishing saying goodbye to their parents. With one last wave at his family, he walked onto the train.