We Have No Time To Stand And Stare

DEDICATION: To Jonathan, the true Bill Weasley of our time. You had no time to stand and stare… You were more than family, more than a brother, you were a true friend. Miss you loads, wish you could read this.
 
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PART ONE – “Clumsy Beginnings”
 
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James Potter was never the most patient of children. This was a fact that many of his acquaintances could agree with. He was hyperactive even as a baby; keeping his parents and nanny up at all hours.
 
When he grew up to be a toddler and learned to run, Anna and Harold Potter regretted letting him have full reign of the house. A full five floors high and with literally hundreds of chambers, James was allowed full reign over them all. He spent many of his long, childhood days exploring and mapping the ancient building.
 
He never had many friends when he was small; the status of his parents alienated him from most normal children. The one contemporary he got to see on a regular basis was one James wouldn’t have minded not seeing. Ever again. Lucius Malfoy was not his best friend at all, and that was a severe understatement.
 
Whenever his parents and the Malfoys got together for a ‘do’, Lucius would be dragged along to their manor; smirking all over his pointed little face and tossing his blonde ringlets; smiling benignly and causing all the women to go gooey over him. Lucius was the model child. Lucius was the perfect child. In James’ opinion, Lucius was a stuck-up, moronic git.
 
Not like he’d admit this to his parents. When his parents were around he would smile wanly at Lucius, all the while plotting how he could get revenge on the conceited brat.
 
Despite his upbringing, James remained a polite, but roguish individual. Perhaps it was his refusal to follow polite society, which drove his mother to insanity. Or perhaps it was his unerring habit of hanging out with the servants. They never did have house elves; believing that paying, and paying well, for service was a much for acceptable way of doing things. It still drove Anna Potter to distraction that James preferred to hangout with the ‘riffraff’ of the servants.
 
James didn’t care in the slightest. He preferred the servants. They treated him as a human and not a primped up Chihuahua. Besides, they always showed him all the coolest magic. His parents weren’t very liberal in their use of magic; using it when necessary and in James’ opinion that was a waste. The cooks and cleaners were always using magic; to animate the tools and peel the potatoes and set up the fire. To top it all off, they were very much enamoured with the little bright-eyed boy and always helped him with his schemes to embarrass Lucius; who in their eyes was a pompous jackass like his parents. James didn’t quite know was a jackass was, but he liked the sound of it.
 
The one thing James enjoyed every year was the annual trip to Diagon Alley on his birthday. They’d leave the large, drafty Scottish manor and travel down by muggle transport to muggle London. Anna and Harold Potter taught James how to mix into the muggle world, and in his eyes it was a very interesting place to be; especially for a burgeoning prankster like himself. James was once allowed to buy something from a muggle shop and came out with a book which remained James’ favourite over the years; a book on highjinks, mischief, tomfoolery and pranks. James vowed one day to try them all out on Lucius Malfoy.
 
His one other favourite item in the world was passed down to him from his father; who told him it had been passed down to him from his father, who’d got it from his father etc. etc. James had wonderingly donned the cloak; yelling in excitement when he realised what it did; turn him invisible. At the bestowal of this incredible gift, James had grabbed his father around the neck and hugged him tightly; vowing in that moment to pass it down to his son.
 
On the morning of his eleventh birthday, James had woken up feeling completely different; like he’d just entered a completely new world. He’d hopped out of bed without even getting changed and run downstairs to see his parents sitting very sombrely in the sitting room; his father holding an envelope on his lap and his mother close to tears. Fearing at once the worst, James had stepped forwards nervously; worry plastering his face.
 
He’d had no reason to worry. The letter was an acceptance letter to Hogwarts. His mother had haltingly explained that it was the best school for witchcraft and wizardry in the country; next to Prentice and possibly Durmstrang. She was crying openly then and James wanted to know why she was crying. He hugged her and she explained it was because she was so proud and happy. His father had just given him a clap on the back and a friendly smile; stating he’d always wanted James to go to Hogwarts.
 
They took Floo powder down to London that day; appearing in Diagon Alley. James loved Diagon Alley; adoring the tiny shops filled with magical items that could do anything. His favourite of all the shops was the Quidditch Supplies shop, although he was quite taken with Eeylop’s Owl Emporium, as owls were his favourite type of bird. This time the shopping had been fairly directed; they focussed on getting everything on the list that Hogwarts had sent.
 
The wand place – run by that creepy Mr. Ollivander – was James’ favourite experience of the day. The wild-haired man with the creepy silver eyes that seemed to follow him everywhere had first of all tried him with a swishy willow wand, ten and a quarter inches long. He’d got a little spark out of it but it’d been snatched out of his hand instantly. The wand maker shook his head, mumbling something about a connection to the wand before passing him a holly wand, eleven inches. Mr. Ollivander watched him expectantly and James felt stupid; waving the wand in the air. Nothing happened and James could almost swear that Mr. Ollivander looked disappointed. He’d finally been handed a mahogany wand, eleven inches long with a dragon heartstring. James gave it a wave and felt a tingle rush through him and he felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. The wand sparkled then shot forth a jet of red and gold sparks into the air. Mr. Ollivander smiled and clapped and James had grinned as the wand maker wrapped up the wand and passed it over to him as his father passed over the thirty galleons.
 
“That’s a very powerful wand, Mr. Potter, be very careful with it,” Mr. Ollivander had warned as they had left the tiny shop. James had felt a little thrill at this knowledge and had nodded fervently. After that, they rejoined his mother who had the pile of school books (and, as James noted dismally, a couple of extra for him to read as extracurricular material.) Then it was on to Madam Malkin’s to have his robes fitted; then to the Cauldrons shop which was near the Leaky Cauldron where they stopped for lunch; followed by a visit to the apothecary’s where they picked up the basic potion ingredients required. After a quick ice-cream from a small café – the name of which James couldn’t pronounce but began with an f – his father disappeared and James sat at one of the tables on the terrace of the café; swinging his legs and chatting with his mother.
 
His father eventually reappeared; grinning all over his face and holding something behind his back. James had become increasingly suspicious and his mother started to laugh. James narrowed his eyes. He’d never enjoyed people laughing at him. His suspicion quickly changed to surprise when a brightly coloured box with holes in was placed in front of him on the table. Bright blue eyes wide with excitement, he opened the box; his fingers trembling. In the bottom of the box, curled up in the hay, was a tiny, silver and white tabby; no bigger than Harold Potter’s fist.
 
Letting out a squeal, James lifted out the small kitten and hugged it to his cheek. It let out a small mew and wiggled in his grasp before starting to purr. A small, rough pink tongue darted out and gave its new owner a tentative lick and James squirmed and laughed. James beamed up at his parents and gave the kitten’s head a stroke. The kitten purred in delight and rubbed his hand enthusiastically. James looked up at his father then up at his mother and grinned. “Thank you,” he said; placing the kitten gingerly back in the box. “I’m going to name her Anna,” he added; softly. His mother hid a brilliant smile behind her hand and his father rubbed his shoulder gently. James just grinned in delight. He was going to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, he was eleven and his parents had given him the best day of his short life so far and he was leaving for Hogwarts that afternoon… There was nothing that could mar this experience.
 
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The one thing that could mar the experience was sat in front of James in the carriage; arms folded and grey eyes narrowed in annoyance. James sighed and shuffled; his feet barely reaching the ground. He ignored the petulant glare from Lucius Malfoy and busied himself with playing with Anna; who at the moment was attacking a small piece of string. His parents had brought him to the Hogwarts’ Express; showing him how to get through to Platform 9¾ and tearfully leaving him on the train for Hogwarts. He was now stuck in a carriage for the entire trip up to a different part of the country and Hogwarts with someone he despised and hated more than anyone else. Someone who was already a fourth year at Hogwarts and was making sure James knew it.
 
“You do know your cat is male, don’t you?”
 
James’ head shot up at Lucius’ dry, scathing comment and he blinked at the scowling platinum-blond boy. “Of course I do,” James said flippantly; brushing back his unruly black hair, irritably. Lucius raised an eyebrow and said nothing; not asking the unspoken question, ‘then why did you give it a girls’ name?’
 
Surreptitiously checking to see that Lucius wasn’t watching, he quickly lifted up Anna’s back leg to look and glowered. Lucius was right. Damn. As always, the condescending, mindless, bottom-dwelling, insufferable git was right. Completely absorbed with his thoughts, he was unaware that someone had watched him looking at his cat’s rear and was now chuckling in the doorway. A light cough brought both Lucius’ and James’ attention and both looked up to see a lanky, tall boy with serious dark eyes and disorderly black hair which put even James’ tumbling mass of black hair in a good light. Lucius looked at the intruder once before his gaze slipped back to the window; bored.
 
“Hi,” the messy boy in the doorway said; grinning at James nervously. Despite his anxiety James found himself smiling back. “We… That is, Remus, Arthur and me… We were wondering if one of you wanted to join us in our carriage. Only if we don’t fill it up soon we’ll get stuck with a girl and… Really… Yuck… So, if one of you could…” James watched as the other boy fidgeted and his gaze slid over to a bored and disinterested Lucius Malfoy. He grinned up at the taller boy.
 
“Sure, why not,” he said easily; smiling as the other boy grinned. James picked up Anna and the bag with his robes in and followed the taller boy down the passage and into another, identical carriage. James smiled nervously as he entered the carriage; anxiously pushing hair out of his eyes again to look at the occupants of the carriage. The lanky boy who had come to get him put a reassuring hand on his arm and started to introduce them all. First of all he pointed at a short, scrawny boy in the corner who had flaming red hair and a somewhat sombre smile.
 
“This is Arthur Weasley, actually a fifth-year but… He has an unhealthy obsession with all things muggle.” Arthur scowled at him briefly; looking up from a small book in his hands. James caught the title and blinked; puzzled. ‘Man and Machines: A Wizard’s Guide to Muggle Mechanics.’
 
James shook his head and his gaze moved to a shy, skinny brunet in the corner; looking pale, tired and worried. “This is Remus Lupin,” the taller boy introduced before swinging around and sitting opposite Remus; tossing a grin at James. “And I’m Sirius Black,” he finished; holding a hand out to James. James shook it politely, and took the empty spot; dropping his bag on the floor and settling Anna next to him; back in her box. He didn’t quite know how the others were going to react to the cute little fur-ball.
 
Sirius smiled back at James and then looked across at Arthur and Remus. “And, boys, this is… This is… This is…” Sirius frowned. Arthur looked up expectantly; dropping his book to one side and Remus arched one eyebrow; looking amused.
 
“Siri, please say you asked him his name before inviting him in,” Remus said; his voice strained but face betraying the humour he felt at the situation. Sirius immediately looked chagrined and spread his arms in apology.
 
“Sorry,” Sirius mumbled; then turned to James. “What’s your name, then?”
 
James blinked at the abrupt question. “James Potter.”
 
“James Potter?” Arthur piped up; now thoroughly interested. “My friend knows you… Says you’re always pulling stupid pranks on him… He says you’re a real idiot.”
 
Remus looked horrified that Arthur had blurted this all out, Arthur shrugged and Sirius looked interested at the ‘pranks’ part.
 
James’ eyes narrowed. “I suppose you know the master of all gits, Lucius Malfoy.”
 
Arthur looked a little affronted and frowned. “He’s not a git… You just don’t give him a chance…”
 
“Oh here he goes,” Sirius sighed. “Perfect Lucius. Wonderful Lucius. If I hear anything more positive I’m going to barf.”
 
James laughed and Remus covered his mouth with his hand. Arthur looked completely insulted and jumped off his seat; head held high as he stormed out of the apartment.
 
“Sirius! Now we’re going to get a girl are you crazy?” Remus sighed; rubbing his hand over his forehead in amazement at his friend’s stupidity. Sirius looked ashamed again.
 
“I opened my big trap again, didn’t I,” Sirius bemoaned. James laughed and patted Sirius’ arms companionably.
 
“Lucius Malfoy more than deserves it. He really is an insufferable git,” James said darkly; his face shrouded in annoyance.
 
Sirius raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “I think there’s a story here. Do tell.”
 
James raised an eyebrow. “There’s nothing much to tell,” he started; softly outlining all the encounters with Lucius in his life. Sirius raised his eyebrow at the mention of James’ home life and Remus sighed pensively.
 
“Must be nice having a real family,” Sirius muttered wistfully when James had finished and both Remus and Sirius had agreed that Lucius deserved nothing more than being strung up by his underwear and being killed by a savage pack of Manticores.
 
“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” Remus mumbled disconsolately as James turned to the taller boy; one eyebrow arching in interest.
 
Sirius sighed; passing one hand irritably through his mess of black hair again before turning to look out of the window. “My mum died,” he said gently; avoiding James’ concerned gaze. He was surprised when James’ hand closed over his own and gave it a small squeeze and turned to see clear, blue eyes like water trained on his own.
 
“I’m sorry,” James whispered, and for the first time in his life, Sirius believed the words and believed James meant them.
 
“So’m I,” Sirius returned; smiling sadly. Remus just watched quietly; a gentle smile playing on his pale face.
 
The rest of the journey was spent chatting and exchanging tidbits about Hogwarts while Remus slept in the corner. James learned of Sirius’ life; growing up in Yorkshire in a small village; he learned how weird it was to grow up in a community of muggles and to have to go to a muggle school. Sirius in return listened to James’ tale of living in a purely wizarding world. Both became firm friends in that long journey and James understood why his parents made him ride the train all the way from London instead of just taking the train nearer his home to Hogwarts. Sirius knew more about Hogwarts than James did, as his parents had always thought he would go to Prentice, and so James listened attentively as Sirius enthusiastically told him about the four houses (Slytherin – a bunch of losers, Ravenclaws – a bunch of brainiacs, Hufflepuff- a lot of duffers and Gryffindor – a bunch of people who didn’t look before they leapt.) James had been surprised at Sirius’ brief explanation and had wondered if Sirius had wanted to be in any of the houses. Sirius had rolled his eyes and explained how he wanted to be in Gryffindor as his whole family had been Gryffindors. Remus, who had woken up at this point, was dejected because most of his family were Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. All three declared rather fervently that they did not want to be in Slytherin.
 
Fortunately another person was not pushed into the carriage with them, which was all well and good as Sirius remarked; any girl would have been freaked out when they got changed into their robes, which they did just before the trained pulled to a stop. Feeling increasingly nervous, James held the box with Anna to his side and laughed as a soft snoring sound came out of the box; his little tabby was asleep.
 
James and Sirius watched, side-by-side, on the platform overlooking Hogwarts in openmouthed amazement as all the older years swept past them and Ogg, a grumpy looking, scruffy, grey-haired man ordered all the ‘FIRS’ YERS’ to line up by him. James joined the line; standing nervously behind Remus and noticing a bulky boy standing talking softly to a bored looking Lucius Malfoy and a very pretty blonde girl who was almost hanging off Lucius’ arm. Sirius noted his glance. “That’s Narcissa Argali, very pretty, very snobbish,” he introduced gently; his voice dropped to a cautious whisper.
 
“Very pretty?” James teased.
 
Sirius didn’t even blush; showing no signs of embarrassment. “Well, that’s what everyone else says, anyway.”
 
Remus and James exchanged a look which plainly said ‘OK, Sirius, WE believe you, thousands wouldn’t.’
 
Sirius was about to protest when someone knocked into him and he clattered to the ground. Looking like he was going to murder whoever pushed into them; Sirius clambered to his feet and glared furiously at the miscreant. A dark-eyed boy, thin to the point of looking almost anorexic with shoulder-length black hair that looked unwashed and could almost rival James’ in terms of scruffiness, stared back at him; challengingly.
 
“Well aren’t you even going to apologise?” Sirius demanded; looking outraged. Remus and James immediately flanked Sirius, making Sirius look more threatening. The other boy didn’t seem to care. He merely sniffed and turned aware; folding his arms.
 
“That’s Severus Snape,” a gentle voice whispered from behind the trio. They turned to see a girl with shocking red hair blinking at them; smiling.
 
“Another Weasley?” Sirius asked; his brow furrowing with thought. The girl blushed.
 
“Ah… no. I’m Molly. Molly Williams,” the girl introduced; tossing her bright red hair back and smiling at them. Sirius shook her hand solemnly.
 
“Absolutely spiffing to meet you,” he said; tossing a wink at James who immediately broke in and grabbed her hand too.
 
“Fantastic,” James added. “What an honour.”
 
Remus followed; rolling his eyes to the dusky sky. “I don’t know them,” he said glibly while the girl laughed and turned away.
 
“I’m a fifth year at Hogwarts. Perhaps I’ll see you around,” she said softly; grinning as she walked away.
 
There wasn’t time for any more banter. The grumpy man – Ogg – led them to the edge of the midnight-blue lake and they were instructed to get into small, black boats in fours. James found himself in a boat with Remus, Sirius and this short, squat boy with curly brown hair and glasses who briefly introduced himself as Peter Pettigrew then shut up; his chubby cheeks red with panic and nerves. Sirius spent the entire ride trying to push them out of the boat and James did his best to hold onto the box with Anna in as the boat tilted.
 
“Mr. Black, will you please stop your shenanigans,” Ogg finally cried; his unshaven face crinkled in annoyance. Sirius smiled angelically and apologised; ‘accidentally’ knocking Peter out of the boat as he sat down.
 
“Mr. Black!” Ogg was on his feet, rocking his boat in the process and freaking out Narcissa Argali who was perched unenthusiastically in the same boat as Ogg. The whole frightening thing was resolved when a slimy tentacle deposited a shivering Peter back into the boat and the whole thing was smoothed over as Peter declared the entire experience as exciting.
 
The actual approach to Hogwarts was silent as they gaped, openmouthed, at the architectural intricacies and formidable spires stretching up to the heavens. The whole area was dark and the windows sparkled with a magical glow of light. James was struck with the size of the building. He’d never expected that kind of magnitude, that sense of magic... That sensation of finally coming home after a long holiday.
 
They were met in the hallway by a twinkling-eyed man with a chestnut beard splotched with grey that was tucked into his belt. His hat was skewed and he introduced himself as Professor Albus Dumbledore, the newly appointed headmaster of Hogwarts. At this introduction, Narcissa let out a huge gasp and screamed. “You’re the one daddy always talked about – you destroyed the evil wizard Grindelwald!”
 
Dumbledore smiled indulgently, and then faced them all; his eyes twinkling merrily. As James caught his gaze, the black-haired boy swallowed; in those seemingly innocent depths he caught the impression that this wizard could be very powerful and it scared him slightly. However, no-one in Dumbledore’s presence could remain sorrowful for long; the wizard’s smile was infectious and soon everyone was smiling as they were led up the sweeping, white steps. He paused in front of the main doors and his gaze fixed not on them, but on a spot on the furthest wall.
 
“I’ve never done this before,” he muttered mostly to himself; but James smiled a little, comforted in the knowledge that he wasn’t the only one feeling clumsy, awkward or out of place. Dumbledore coughed and started on a speech that they all got the feeling he’d spent hours memorising.
 
“Welcome to Hogwarts. The start of term banquet will begin shortly.” He paused and bit his lip. “Uh… Presently you’ll be sorted into your houses, which will tell you where you’re going to sit and who you are going to be with for the rest of your life at Hogwarts. While you are here, your house will be your family. You will learn with your house, eat with your house, sleep with your house, and relax in your house’s common room. Each of the four houses has produced outstanding wizards and witches, and I have no doubts that you will all add to that number. We have a competition at Hogwarts. While you are here, your triumphs will earn you points, any rule breaking will lose you points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will win the House Cup, a great honour and I hope each of you will become a credit to your individual house. The Sorting will begin after we enter through these doors. Whether you become a member of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin, I know each of you has great potential and we will help you fulfill that potential here.”
 
Dumbledore let out a smile and a sigh of relief; winking at the sea of rapt faces. “Now, who’s ready to be sorted?”
 
He was met with a tentative nod from most of them and spread his arm. “Let’s go then!”
 
Nervous, they entered the hall in pairs; staring in wonder at rows upon rows of unfamiliar faces. James walked in silence next to Sirius; with a shivering Peter and subdued Remus ahead of them and Lucius Malfoy and a surly Severus behind. They gathered at the front; wide-eyed as they looked at the row of teachers sitting forebodingly in front of them. James swallowed as a middle-aged, lithe witch placed a dirty hat on a stool in front of them and he felt himself staring at it. He wasn’t alone; all the first years were staring at it in bewilderment and for a few seconds the hall was silent. Then the hat suddenly twitched and James let out a startled gasp as the brim opened wide, almost like a mouth, and then began to sing.
 
James listened in wonder to the song as it outlined the story of the four founders, and realised it was all in rhyme. From these more poetic descriptions, James found himself wishing more and more that he would be in Gryffindor. Or, if not, Ravenclaw seemed the next decent house.
 
He realised abruptly that the song had finished, and wished wistfully that he could remember the words as the hall erupted into cheering.
 
“So we’ve just got to put on the hat,” Sirius whispered to James. “Weird.”
 
“When I call your name, you will come forwards and try on the hat,” the witch said as she unfurled a long scroll. “It will then tell you which house you belong in.”
 
James watched, fearfully.
 
“Argali, Narcissa.”
 
The first years watched, hearts in mouths as the slim blonde approached the stool, daintily sat down and had the hat placed on her head. There was a moments pause.
 
“RAVENCLAW!”
 
The Ravenclaw table on the far left abruptly broke out into applause and Narcissa primly walked over to the Ravenclaw table; brushing past James and Sirius who were stood at the edge of the line.
 
They watched in fascination as “Astor, Carol” became a Hufflepuff and then Sirius swallowed as “Black, Sirius” was called. Looking pale, Sirius looked at James helplessly and James gave him a shove. Apprehensively approaching the stool, Sirius sat down and the witch placed that hat on his head.
 
“GRYFFINDOR!” The hat bellowed moments later. Despite having sounded displeased with all of the houses earlier, Sirius looked quite pleased as he grinned and headed over to the Gryffindor table.
 
James watched in even more apprehension as “Bones, Christopher” approached the stool, becoming a Hufflepuff. Sirius was in Gryffindor… He crossed his fingers and hoped for the best.
 
“Crabbe, Alan” was made a Slytherin; “Crowther, Liz” a Ravenclaw. James felt sick to his stomach as more and more students went up and the crowd of first years stood up dwindled.
 
“Evans, Lily!”
 
A curly red-haired girl clambered up to stool and James caught for a second a flash of green eyes and blinked.
 
“GRYFFINDOR!”
 
Grinning, the redhead bounced down the steps and James could only watch in jealously. What if he got put in Hufflepuff? Or, worse, Slytherin?
 
“Goyle, Steven!”
 
“SLYTHERIN!”
 
“Harper, William.”
 
“RAVENCLAW!”
 
“Lestrange, Jack!”
 
“SLYTHERIN!”
 
More and more children filed up and James blinked as the witch called out “Lupin, Remus” and he watched more attentively as Remus ascended the steps; dropping to the stool and clenching the edges nervously; his knuckles going white. The hat was taking a long time to decide and James caught a quick glance between Dumbledore and a young, blonde witch perched three chairs down the table. Shrugging, he turned back in time to watch the hat shout “GRYFFINDOR!” and a relieved Remus take the hat off and pass it back to McGonagall and put it on the next person. (“Longbottom, Frank!” who also became a Gryffindor.)
 
James fidgeted as the group diminished some more as “Moon, Helen” became a Ravenclaw, “Nott, Avery” a Slytherin, “Oliver, Ellison” a Hufflepuff and “Parkinson, Gareth” became a Slytherin. He realised his name was coming up soon and could only watch in trepidation as “Perks, Annabelle” became a Hufflepuff. Then it was Peter Pettigrew’s turn. The chubby boy pushed his glasses up his nose and climbed the steps; his eyes wide with fear. He closed his eyes as the hat descended on his head and a long, long moment later the hat shouted “GRYFFINDOR!” Relieved, Peter relinquished the hat and the witch ruffled the scroll.
 
“Pomfrey, Linda,” the witch called and a smiling brunette, her hair in pigtails, climbed the steps. The hat declared Linda a Hufflepuff and James knew that he was next.

”Potter, James.”
 
The words hung stiffly on the air and James felt a small twinge; looking upwards in shock his gaze locked with the tiny blonde witch Dumbledore had exchanged a glance with earlier. Looking away and brushing the feeling aside, James climbed the stairs wishing he wasn’t as nervous. In this state of nerves there was no way he was going to be chosen as a Gryffindor!
 
He blinked nervously; a small rush of warmth when he realised Sirius and Remus were actually clutching onto each other in hope. That gave him a rush of courage and he smiled as the hat dropped down onto his head.
 
“Yes, yes… Hmm…. Powerful… You’d do well in Slytherin, born prankster… Decent mind too, yes, very sharp… A willingness to work at things too… Brave, oh yes, plenty of courage… You’re a puzzle, you are, and you have qualities for all four. I’d say Slytherin – you are strong and Slytherin would help you become stronger – but you have a desire for Gryffindor… A strong desire for Gryffindor… I think… Yes… That would probably be best… GRYFFINDOR!”
 
There was a huge amount of cheering as James felt the hat being lifted off. Startled but pleased he moved down the steps; grinning madly at Sirius and Remus. Pleased, he sat down opposite them; aware of one of the older students clapping him on his back and he smiled; finally feeling somewhat at home.
 
Ten minutes later and the remaining students had been seated. Dumbledore had prepared a very small speech; he delivered it flawlessly and then clapped his hands. James watched and grinned as the food appeared on the plates in front of them but blinked as a shriek issued from the person next to him. Turning, he arched an eyebrow and saw it was the girl with the startling green-eyes.
 
“Let me guess, muggle parents?” It was Sirius who spoke first; laughing gently. The girl frowned.
 
“Muggle – oh! You mean non-wizards… Yeah… They’re ever so proud to have a witch in the family,” the girl said distractedly; staring at the plate. “My sister, Petunia, she’s not so chuffed… This magic stuff is great!” She blinked, suddenly noticing Sirius, Remus and James. She blushed slightly and stretched her hand across the table. “I’m Lily Evans,” she said softly; startling Remus who turned a funny shade of crimson at being addressed directly.
 
“Remus Lupin,” he said softly; shaking her hand. Sirius shook her hand next.
 
“I’m Sirius Black, and this,” Sirius paused in his introduction and flicked his head in James’ direction, “is… something Potter.”
 
“Hey!” James protested; instantly scowling. Lily laughed and then coughed at James’ expression. James turned and glared at Sirius; his eyes narrowed and bright blue dimmed to a more threatening azure. “I don’t forget names like you do, Sirius Blatt.”
 
Sirius opened his mouth to protest but suddenly got that James was teasing him and he grinned suddenly; openly. “OK, I deserved that… Lily Evans, this is James Potter.” A devilish grin crossed his face. “Your future husband.”
 
James opened his mouth in instant protest and savagely lashed out; kicking Sirius square in the calf. Lily, however, didn’t rise to the bait. Instead she raised an eyebrow demurely at Sirius.
 
“I see. And you’ll be his best man I suppose,” she said flatly. Sirius, nursing his leg, winked cheekily.
 
“Of course. And you’ll have… one son. I’ll be his godfather, of course,” Sirius continued airily.
 
“But of course,” Lily said; her tone still indicating she was amused. “I suppose he’ll have James’ messy hair and my eyes?”
 
“Exactly!” Sirius exclaimed.

”When you’ve all finished deciding my future!” James protested; his face starting to go pink.
 
“What’s he going to be called, then?” Lily asked; inclining her head to one side and muffling a laugh with her hand.
 
“Oy, Jamie-boy, what’s your dad’s name?” Sirius asked suddenly.
 
“Harold,” James replied distractedly before gaping. “And don’t ever call me Jamie-boy.”
 
“Whatever you say, Jamie-boy,” Sirius said soothingly. “Then, Lily, his name will be Harry Potter and he’ll be in Gryffindor. Naturally.”
 
James stared at the three in amazement. Remus was laughing so hard he couldn’t speak and Sirius and Lily were giggling at the ludicrousness of it all.
 
“I can almost see it now,” James said grouchily; folding his arms and losing his hunger. That just made the three laugh harder, but for a second in his minds eye James could see it… A short, scrawny black-haired boy, green eyes, glasses…
 
“Glasses!” The sudden thought made James freak out and he quickly started searching in his pockets before blinking and sighing in relief.

”Glasses? Huh? James old boy, are you all right?” Sirius folded his hands and looked over as James lifted up the small box with Anna inside. Lifting up the lid, he shifted Anna to one side and pulled out his glasses where he’d put them for safekeeping when he’d got on the train. Dusting off the straw and quickly shutting the flaps, James thought for a second, reopened the flap and dropped a bit of chicken inside before closing it up and nestling the box by his side again.
 
“Either I’m crazy… Or what was that all about? Does your box need chicken to survive?” Sirius blinked; his dark eyes bright with humour and to his side Remus was grinning almost reluctantly – almost as if he didn’t want to smile but couldn’t help it around Sirius. Sirius seemed to have that effect on most people…
 
James gave his glasses a halfhearted wave and settled them on his face. “I needed my glasses,” he said softly; smiling as everything came into focus. “That’s better,” he commented.

”And the box?” Remus prompted.

”Is a very pretty box, don’t you think?” James asked impertinently; a mischievous grin crossing his face. Sirius looked outraged for a moment but then a slow smile crossed his face and he looked at James squarely.
 
“I think I can tell… you and I are going to be very good friends,” Sirius said; his tone serious for once. James nodded once.
 
“I think so too,” he said smiling. “Only if you like cats, though,” James added seriously.
 
“Cats? Why?” Sirius looked confused. James levelled a glare at him. “Yes, I do like cats,” he said softly; puzzled at James’ quick grin. “What’s the grin for?” Sirius asked suspiciously; his eyes narrowing.
 
“Nothing,” James said; feeling more content than he ever had before. “Nothing what-so-ever.”
 
--------
 
After the banquet, the Prefects for their appropriate house had led them up to their dormitories. During the long trek, everyone had marvelled at the moving pictures and James had noticed that Severus Snape was a Slytherin. Remembering the way he’d treated Sirius, wasn’t the slightest bit surprised.
 
James had been pleasantly surprised at the bedroom; a round, agreeable room with five beds. Their belongings had been brought up earlier and James smothered a laugh as Sirius claimed the bed in the middle. Remus grabbed the one to the left, and James the one to the right; leaving Peter Pettigrew and Frank Longbottom to fight over the other two beds.
 
James cleared his throat and turned to the others. “I… Uh… Need to know if any of you have a problem with cats,” he mumbled; while looking at the others. Four puzzled heads shook a no and James finally grinned in relief; placing the box on the bed and lifting open the flaps.
 
“Good,” James said in relief; reaching in and pulling out Anna; scratching her head as he deposited her on top of his bed. He dropped the box underneath the bed and gave it a kick to get it out of the way. “This is Anna,” he introduced; feeling vaguely foolish. “But it’s a he,” he added; feeling even more idiotic.
 
Sirius stared as the kitten started to walk round and round in a circle before dropping down onto the bed. It washed itself and then looked up; almost glaring at Sirius with large, amber eyes. Sirius grinned.
 
“Dude, that’s the cat you were checking out its rear and…you named a male cat Anna?!” He exclaimed; starting to chuckle. Remus managed a small smile and Frank and Peter started to giggle helplessly.
 
“It was my mother’s name,” James muttered crossly as Remus made a soft comment about the ‘checking out its rear’ part of Sirius’ exclamation; finally dropping down onto the bed and stroking Anna’s silky fur. He got a severe case of déjà vu, or perhaps he’d seen it in a muggle film sometime, whatever the cause he wasn’t surprised when all four of the boys started exclaiming that Anna was a very good name for a cat.
 
The five boys got ready for bed then quickly; clambering into bed four minutes before lights-out. Whether it was from fatigue from the journey or the Sorting or what, they didn’t know, but Frank, Remus and Peter were the only ones asleep as the bell rang out and lights all over the school were put out. Whatever the reason, Sirius and James were the only ones still awake and, even though they weren’t supposed to talk, Sirius winked across at James.
 
“So,” Sirius whispered, trying to keep his voice as low as possible, “do you think you’re going to like it here?”
 
James blinked; quickly removing his glasses and placing them on the chair next to him before he responded. He grinned at Sirius; the action barely visible in the moonlight but visible all the same.
 
“I think I’m going to like it here, very much.”
 
Sirius grinned in response. “Me too… Hey, what do you think of the teachers, though, they –“ He frowned as he got a soft snort in response and realised that James was drifting off to sleep. “Good night, James,” he said softly, smiling, before turning over and falling asleep himself.
 
“’Night, Sirius,” James mumbled back sleepily.
 
“’Night John-boy,” Sirius responded just as blurrily.
 
“What?” James was sleepy, but Sirius couldn’t have just said… Weird…
 
“Muggle joke,” Sirius explained; but whatever the joke was James wasn’t conscious long enough to hear him for the ship of dreams had claimed him for another night. Whatever it was would have to wait till the morning, and whatever it turned out to be, James was ready for it.