The New Lily & James

Prologue Part I

The chipped, rustic old bricks of Platform 9¾ could barely be distinguished through the haze of bluish black smoke that erupted so alarmingly from the front of the Hogwarts Express. Adding to the confusion were the hundreds of people rushing all over in different directions, some shouldering their way through the crowds with a rather vicious air, while others were barely managing to prevent themselves being engulfed in a sea of black-robed students, their frazzled looking parents clinging desperately to their trunks with a look of hopelessness in their eyes. As the doors of the train slid open, there was a general rise in volume as students shrieked in excitement, some bolting straight through the doorway and whipping out their wands as soon as they were out of their parents' eyeshot. Others were more reluctant, having to steel themselves before stepping onto a platform while maintaining an air of confidence and trying not to seem too much of any easy target for loose wands. A few were teary, so terrified at the prospect of a year away from home that they were barely a decibel away from hysterics.

Such was the level of chaos surrounding the platform that barely anyone noticed as five more people emerged from the barrier. First was a tall, skinny boy with messy black hair, hazel eyes and glasses, who was grinning with anticipation and began to navigate his way through the crowd with incredible ease and assurance, occasionally shouting a greeting or two before striding off to store the luggage before the final goodbyes. Behind him was a tall, slim and very pretty woman with fiery red hair and glittering brown eyes, who was chatting animatedly with a young boy who seemed to be the black haired boy's younger brother; he certainly looked similar, apart from his startlingly green eyes and rather less cocky ambience. The final two to pass through the barrier were a tall, thin and pale man with messy black hair, green eyes and glasses - indeed, a larger version of his youngest son, except for one difference... the lightning shaped scar, which, despite being hidden beneath his fringe, was still visible on his forehead. Clutching his hand and walking with her head held high and an expression of great anticipation was a little girl with fiery red hair as bright as her mother's, whose name was Lilly Potter.

'... and is it true that the post arrives at breakfast, delivered by all the owls? Do they really just come flying in and drop the letters on your lap?' she asked breathlessly, trotting to keep up with her father's long strides. 'Is it true, Dad?'

'Yes, Lilly, it's true,' said Harry wearily - or at least he tried to be. The truth was he was more nervous about sending his only daughter off to Hogwarts than he had been about anything in a long time - this was worse, if possible, than sending Albus, who had been as terrified as if they had been shipping him off to live in a giant village for a year, and not a school. James had been the first, so that had had been difficult, but they had always known James would be able to handle it, he was so world weary and street wise. Lilly had still believed in Santa Claus until she was ten.

His wife hung back to wait for them, an amused smile on her face.

'Still got a million questions, Lilly?' she laughed, swinging her daughter into her arms for one last kiss. 'Don't you want any of it to be a surprise?'

Her daughter allowed her mother two swift kisses and then wriggled out of her grasp, sliding back to the ground with dignity. She looked up at her mother with disgust, her brown eyes disdainful.

'Sure, if I want to get murdered. James said anyone who doesn't know what's going on gets picked on.'

Harry growled under his breath and scanned the crowds for his oldest son.

'I'll be having a word with him,' he muttered, but he suppressed a grin. Despite what he said, it was James's teasing that would make the transference easier for Lilly - he had no doubt at all that she would be more scared than ever if he suddenly came over all reassuring. She had Albus for that, who had given in to the urge to puff out his chest as he said 'Don't worry, Lil, I'll look after you.'

Albus ran up to his father and gave him a hug. Harry knelt down and mussed up his son's hair, grinning into eyes so similar to his own as Albus smiled up at him.

'Don't worry, dad. I'll take care of Lilly.'

'I know you will,' said Harry. 'Just keep that brother of yours in line, won't you? Teach Lil a few good hexes if he gets out of place.'

Albus gaped in delight.

'Are - are you actually giving me permission to hex James?' he asked, barely able to believe his own good fortune. A mischievous grin spread over his face, making him look remarkably like his brother at his most troublesome.

Harry foresaw an immediate danger and hastily backtracked.

'That was a joke, Al... a joke!' he called, as his son trotted over to his mother to say goodbye, deliberately feigning deafness. Harry sighed as his oldest son came loping back over, his hands in his pockets.

'Dad, where's the others?' he asked, frowning.

'They should be here any minute,' he said, glancing over at the barrier. As he spoke, a gangly red haired man with a young boy on his back and a little girl clutching his hand staggered through, laden with so many trunks and bags that he seemed about to collapse. Harry laughed and ran forward to take some as Ron grinned weakly at him.

'Hi,' he said, as his son slid off his back and ran to talk excitedly with Lilly, and the girl began to peruse her shoulder-bag. 'I swear, this doesn't get any easier... and now we've got Hugo's stuff as well as Rose's, lugging all this rubbish along is a bloody nightmare, all the way from the car.'

Harry laughed as Hermione came through, looking anxious. When she saw him her face broke out into a smile and she kissed him on the cheek swiftly before glaring at her husband.

'Ron, did you count the bags?'

'Yes,' he said, obviously restraining himself from snapping at her.

'Did you label everything?'

'Stitched them and used Identification Charms,' he said patiently.

'Did you -'

'Hermione!' he exclaimed. 'I did EVERYTHING, alright?'

'Did you get Pollyanna's cage?'

Ron closed his eyes and groaned. Hermione clicked her tongue, but the sparkle in her eyes said she was doing it as much to annoy Ron as she was to get organized.

'I'll go back in a minute,' he said, as Harry tried not to laugh. 'I just want to say hello to everyone - hello!' he said, as Lilly barrelled into him and squeezed him around the midriff in a strangling hug.

'Hi, Uncle Ron!' she said excitedly. 'Hi Aunt Hermione, hi Rose! Hugo was just telling me about his new owl, can I see her?'

'I'll go and get her, shall I?' suggested Ron, and ran back through the barrier before Hermione could speak.

They were now all congregated around Rose and Hugo's trunks - James had packed all the Potters' things into the train and he, Albus and Ginny had drifted over as well. After initial greetings and Ron's eventual return from the Muggle station, the train was belching even more smoke and whistling as the last few students ran on board.

'Bye Mum, bye Dad!' yelled Albus, and after James had kissed his mother and hugged his father, they ran together to their compartment. Rose followed, her head buried in a book as she watched amusedly as her little brother sobbed into his mother's leg. Lilly walked up to her father, for the first time showing signs of nervousness.

'I'll be okay, won't I?' she asked, her cheeks as red as her hair. It seemed this was a very important question to her, extending to every part of her fears and worries - house selections, making friends, her grades, her brothers...

'You'll be brilliant,' he said firmly. She beamed up at him. 'Albus'll look after you. And I know James teases but he's your big brother and he'd rather have someone put the Cruciatus Curse on him than have anyone mess with his little sister. 'Cept him, of course, but you just give as good as you get, okay? That goes for everything.'

She burst into tears and threw herself at him, hugging him so hard around the neck he couldn't breathe, but he hugged her back. His little girl, his youngest child... the last of his kids to go to Hogwarts...

Ginny came up and patted her back.

'Give your mum a kiss,' she said pleadingly, a look of false desperation on her face. Lilly giggled tearfully and kissed her mum.

'Bye, Mum. I'll write every week, I promise.'

'You better,' said Ginny, her eyes welling up as her daughter started off towards the train. Harry put his arm around her as Hugo wrenched himself away from his parents and stumbled off towards the train after his cousin.

The doors slammed shut and five faces appeared out the windows amongst the hundreds of others waving and shouting to their parents. Two redheads, two black-heads - one bushy brown - as the train started off into the distance, they all retreated into the train and disappeared as it went further and further away.

Hermione and Ginny were both crying now. Ron looked at Harry nervously.

'It's their turn now,' said Harry, shrugging.

Ginny sniffed.

'Yeah... that's what frightens me the most... their turn to do all sorts of dangerous things and get themselves killed...'

'Don't!' shrieked Hermione. 'They couldn't possibly get into as much trouble as we did back then.'

'Yeah, it's impossible,' said Ron, rolling his eyes.

'Never,' grinned Harry, and they all disappeared through the barrier once again, their children setting off towards the school where it had all begun.