Journey To Hogwarts, old - thread closed Options

[evlpez]

Okay folks. I know many of you have no care to explore 'ships and alt universe stuff, but I wanted to get something else moving in our brains.
Here is a short installment of an AU story about James Potter, son to Harry and Ginny. This is all that is written so far.

Rather than chapter-long installments, let's try just a few paragraphs at a time and see how it develops.

The story begins with James' first ride on the Hogwarts Express. I see James as a bit of a loner, coping silently with being related to a celebrity and unsure about his own place in the world. He is more mature than his age and is intelligent, brave and has a darkness about him. (He isn't evil or bad, though.) I see a bit of a 'young Remus' in this James. I have written in one baby brother, but there may be up to 5 children in the Potter family, considering Ginny's experience with a large family and Harry's feelings about having a different, lonlier childhood.

JOURNEY TO HOGWARTS

James Potter sat in an otherwise empty compartment of the Hogwarts Express, looking out the window and eagerly waiting for it to pull away from the platform. He could barely sit still. He felt only a twinge of guilt at his hasty good-bye to his parents, having felt awkward as always standing there with one of the most famous wizards in history. He needed to get away and be by himself on this train before he was bombarded by cousins and other curious people. He loved his cousins, but he always felt a little different from all of them. Not better, but something about being who he was had made him… alone. He preferred being alone at important times like this; important to him, anyway. His first trip on the Hogwarts Express, this was the beginning of his journey to become someone. To make a name for himself that wasn't automatically followed by 'the son of Harry Potter'. He glanced at the cage he had set on the bench opposite only moments before. His new owl, a young brown Tawny, stared back at him. He still hadn't given him a name, despite his mother's prodding.

"Just pick something, James. He's just an owl, not your firstborn child," she had said that morning while juggling a breakfast pan with her wand hand and his baby brother with the other. His father intervened as he took baby Albert off her hands.

"Now, now… this isn't just any owl. It's his owl. James will name him when he needs to. It's important to some people, Gin. This little guy is going to be more than just his owl, he'll be a friend." James smiled at his dad then. He understood. He understood a lot of things about James that his mother just couldn't, not that she didn't try.

James' new owl hooted, reminding him of a penny whistle. It was such a different voice than Hedwig's. James smiled. His father had known that this owl should be as different as he could be from Hedwig.

Continue, introducing at least one new character, maybe a Weasley Cousin (one of the twins' kids?).

[bakbam]

After lunch the five of them made their way to the library to work on the two new reports they had from their morning classes. The boys had book strolled out on the table. They were all working hard.

The Library doors swung open. Serena and Penelope ran up to the table where the boys were sitting.

"James, I have got to tell you something," Serena had yelled a little louder than she should have.

The Librarian hustled to the table with a very angry look spread across her face, "I suggest that you either keep quiet or I will have to give everyone of you detention. My detentions are not enjoyable. There are some very dangerous books in this library and I will make sure you have to dust everyone of them."

Serena bent down close to the table and whispered, "Geez she is friendly. I will tell you later," She looked over her shoulder at the table with Duke and his smug friends, "I don't want to get her detention." The girls left the library.

"What was that all about?" Carson asked

"My guess is it had something to do with Duke." Philip shook his head and started to read again.

"I am not going to worry about Duke. I want to go to that Quidditch match and I suspect McGonagall won't let us go if any of us get into trouble," James had forgot he hadn't told the others about the match yet.

"Quidditch! What do you mean us?" Sean had finally lifted his nose out of the book to join in the conversation.

"I forgot I have not told you," James felt a bit foolish for forgetting. "Dad sent me five tickets to the Quidditch World Cup qualifier match between England and Italy. He said I could take whoever I wanted."

"How are we going to get out of school?" Carson said excitedly.

"You forget that dad is close to McGonagall. He is going to talk to her about letting us leave for the weekend. I just hope your parents will let you all come," James looked from face to face to see what everyone thought.

Philip was the first to say something, "well my folks won't care. They don't even know what Quidditch is."

"All of you need to send a owl and ask if you can come. I will send one to dad and tell him I would like all of you to go with me. We will have to stay out of trouble. If Duke found out about us going he may try something to ruin it for us." James pulled out a blank parchment and started the letter to Harry.

Dad
I have asked my roommates to come to the game with us. They are going to write home to see if it is going to be ok with their parents. They are Philip McKenzie ,
Carson Bones, Allen Smith, and Sean Wiles. Who all is going besides us.

Tell mum I miss her.
James

"Do the rest of you have your letters wrote yet?" James was ready to go, "Good lets get them sent and get to our next class."

On the way from the Owlery James noticed Professor Jacobson in an empty classroom. James grabbed Philip and pointed in the room. The Professor was in the far corner. He was pulling items out of a wardrobe. He apparently got as much as he needed out of the way. He climbed in and shut the door behind him.

"Did you see that?" Allan was in shock.

"It must be some sort of secret passage or something. Aunt Susan told me to be careful about things like that. She said one year a boy got lost for weeks. When they found him he had almost lost his mind." Carson seemed worried.

James let out a small laugh, "That sounds like the boy that my uncles pushed in the vanishing cabinet when my dad was in his fifth year." James could tell that Carson was nervous, "I don' think it is that sort of thing. I think it is a good hiding place for something."

"Hiding place! What would he want to hide?" Allan asked.

Philip took one last glance at the room number before they continued down the hall, " That we don't know... Yet."

The boys stopped and stared in silence at Philip.