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?).

[McGonagall's Cat]

Lily and Freddy had returned to the Great Hall just before the bell sounded.

"Why didn't you tell me you'd already owled Dad about Duke?" Lily grumbled as she stood behind her brother, annoyed beyond reason.

James swallowed the last bite of his sandwich, then turned toward her looking confused, and asked, "What?"

"I just went up to the Owlery to send a note about what our dear cousin did in Herbology this morning, but it appears you already have..." her voice carried a tone that, when perfected, would send chills down the backs of her future children. Lily, as oldest, was used to being the star, the first to share the juiciest tidbits of news with her parents. The thought that James had beaten her to the punch had obviously slammed her sibling-rivalry gene into overdrive.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Lily. Ask Phillip or Sean or any of us... We had Charms right after Herbology, and since Professor Longbottom gave us extra time to finish the test, we had to run to get to Charms on time."

Phillip, while nodding, quietly added, "As though he'd even notice if we were late... or there at all."

"And then we were all starving, on account of cramming through breakfast for the test, and came straight here after class," Allen confirmed as he dipped a final bite of chicken into the little bowl of tapioca pudding beside his plate.

Still looking miffed, she challenged, "Then where's Prometius?"

"Huh?"

"You know, your owl... the one it took you forever to bother naming," she snapped. "He usually sits beside Cassandra. She was perched where I always keep her, but he was nowhere to be seen."

The boys echanged concerned looks.

"He's not there again?" James asked, obviously worried.

She glared, "Right, like you don't know."

"No really," James retored. "He wasn't there the last time I tried to send something."

Freddy snorted under his breath, "Ten minutes ago..."

James glared at Freddy, but continued undaunted. "When he wasn't there then, I promised I'd spend more time with him. But this test has kept me busy. I thought he was feeling neglected, or didn't really know me well enough, or something."

Carson looked puzzled. "That was a couple days ago...."