Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Chapter 31: Going Back to Hogwarts
James received his Hogwarts letter, surprised that the summer was nearing an end. Often that summer, he took out his old broom and spent hours flying around the back yard. He would zoom between the trees and practice his dives. With each day his speed and precision improved. He found an old Snitch boxed up in his closet and practiced chasing it. He wouldn't quit until he grabbed it, sometimes taking hours to catch.
One evening he came in a few hours after dark. His mum had Perchy warm his dinner and she sat with him while he silently ate.
"You're getting faster, you know?" Marianne commented.
James looked at her curiously. "Pardon me?"
"On your broom, catching the Snitch," she replied.
"I didn't know you were watching me," he said, picking at his food.
Marianne looked at her son wistfully. "You look so much like him, you know that?"
James shoved a fork load of potatoes into his mouth, trying to avoid where the conversation was heading.
His mum ignored him and continued, "Your father played on the Gryffindor house team." She paused, suddenly remembering something. "Wait here," she ordered. She hurried out of the room as James tried not to think about the awkward silences that had filled the house for a few months.
A few minutes later his mum returned carrying a long box wrapped in brown paper. She hesitated at the doorway, then approached her son and placed the package in front of him. She sat down in the chair next to him and watched as he studied the package.
"What's this?" he asked.
She cleared her throat and then said, "Last spring, your father came home with this package. He had a huge smile on his face - he honestly looked like he was a child, he was so excited. He said he wanted to give this to you. He wasn't sure exactly when - maybe for your birthday, or before you started your second year, or even if you made the house team. Either way, he wanted you to have it." Seeing James' hesitation, she urged, "Go on, open it."
James took a deep breath, summoning his courage and tore the paper off. He carefully opened the box and gasped at what he saw. "A Nimbus 1900! I didn't think these were coming out until next year."
Marianne smiled at her son. "You know your father. He was well connected at the Ministry. He said he knew someone who knew someone that was making the new models. This is one of the prototypes."
James stared at it in awe, admiring the polished handle and the straight, even twigs. James noticed something below it and lifted up the broom, seeing an envelope. He pulled it out and opened it, his heart speeding up at the familiar handwriting.
Dear James,
Congratulations on your new broom! I saw the prototype and knew I had to get one for you. After all, we can't have a Potter flying around on an old Comet 130, can we? I know you are planning on trying out for the house team during your second year. Knowing you, if you set your mind to it there will be no competition. Just know that either way, I am proud of you and all of your accomplishments. Your mother and I are constantly amazed to have such a wonderful, charming son.
Love,
Dad
James felt a knot in his throat as he stared at the letter. He put it back into the box and stared at his plate for a few minutes.
His mum held her breath, hoping that he would finally be able to let out some of his grief and speak openly about it. "James?" she asked. "What did the letter say?"
After a moment, he pushed away from the table and said in a tight voice, "I'm tired from all that flying, and I have that essay for Potions I have to finish this summer. I think I'll head upstairs." He left the room without looking back at the package or his mum.
Marianne propped the broom up by the door but everyday after that it stood there untouched. James still flew around on his old Comet 130. When he wasn't flying he was reading his textbooks. It was an excuse to stay in his room avoiding the worried gaze of his mum. Every so often he would receive a letter from Remus, Peter, and Frank. He even received letters from Marlene and Alice expressing their condolences and sadness. James was surprised and a little disturbed not to have received any letters from Sirius, his best mate.
On September 1st, Marianne was ready to continue the tradition of dragging James out of bed before he overslept, but to her surprise he was carrying his trunk and owl down the stairs early. "Do you have everything?" she asked.
James looked down at his things and nodded. "Yes, I'm ready to go." In fact, he was ready to head back to school. Even though the end of the year had been difficult he felt more comfortable staying there with his friends rather than staying at home where he saw constant reminders of his dad. "Shall we?" he asked.
"Alright, let me tell Perchy we're leaving. I had her pack some food for your trip." She headed into the kitchen and spoke with the house elf, grabbing the bundle of food. When Marianne passed the back door she paused, surprised to see that the Nimbus 1900 was no longer propped up by the door. With a glimmer of hope she realized that James must have packed it in his trunk. She smiled and met her son by the door. "Okay, we're all set," she said. "The driver should be waiting outside."
They walked outside, the driver grabbing James' things and packing them into the car.
Once James and his mum stepped through the barrier at Platform 9 ¾ he saw Remus standing by the train. James turned to his mum and told her he was okay getting on the train. She saw that he was anxious to start his journey, so she gave him a tight hug and tearfully left him there.
"Remus!" he called. The werewolf turned and smiled as James approached.
"James! It's great to see you! How was the rest of your summer?" he asked.
"Alright. How was yours?" asked James.
Remus, not believing James, realized that he didn't want to go into the subject of his father. "Oh, my summer was alright." He leaned closer and whispered, "The transformations were terrible as usual, but I muddled through them locked in the basement. Anyway, it's great to be back. Now I get to finally join everyone on the trip to school."
James smiled and nodded, remembering that the previous year Remus had been absent due to a full moon. "Speaking of missing Marauders, have you seen Sirius?" James asked, looking around.
"No, I haven't but I just got here," he replied.
"Have you gotten any letters from him this summer?" asked James.
Remus shook his head, "No, and I thought that was strange. He told me he planned on owling me this summer."
"I haven't gotten any letters, either," muttered James.
"That's odd," said Remus. "I remember he told me that he planned to send you a letter as soon as he got home. He was upset that he didn't get a chance to see you before you left last year."
"Hmmmm," started James. "Maybe he's on the train. He got here early last year."
They boarded the train and searched the compartments, having no luck finding Sirius. They did come across Alice and Marlene. James looked around, hoping to spot Lily. They told her that they hadn't seen her since the beginning of summer when they had returned from school.
James and Remus finally found Peter, who was sitting with Frank Longbottom in a compartment. James greeted them and found out that they had not seen or heard from Sirius or Lily. James was beginning to worry that they would not be coming back to Hogwarts.
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"Lily?!" called her mum. "Sweetie, are you up yet?" Hearing no answer, she knocked on the door and opened it, surprised to find Lily curled up under the covers. "Lily! I can't believe you're still in bed. We have to leave in 20 minutes!"
Her dad stepped into the room and sat on the bed. "We know you're awake Lily. Dawdling will not make us change our minds. Remember our deal?"
Lily grudgingly turned over and gazed up at her dad. "Do I really have to go, Dad?"
Harold smiled at her and said, "Yes, sweetheart. We've talked about this. It's time to get up and get dressed."
Lily slowly pulled herself out of bed and took as much time as she could getting herself ready. Her mum made sure her trunk was packed and that Lancelot, her owl, was in his cage. Her dad packed up the car and made his way back into the house, surprised that his youngest daughter was still not downstairs.
"Lily!" he called. "Enough is enough! It's time to go!"
Petunia wandered into the foyer curious about the commotion. "She still doesn't want to go?" she asked.
"No, but she's going," he firmly stated.
"But why send her there? She doesn't want to go and learn that odd stuff. She should be here with me, with us, and be normal," Petunia whined.
Harold turned to Petunia and said, "I know you're going to miss her, but Lily has to do this. She has to learn how to use her gift."
Petunia snorted then glanced up the stairs, seeing her sister slowly making her way down. Petunia approached her and felt a rush of sympathy. She hugged her tight and whispered in her ear. "Don't worry. It's only a year, then you can stay here and go to school with me. One year, that's all!"
Lily looked at her hopefully for a moment before her mum rushed by, saying they were going to be late if they didn't hurry. Lily gave Petunia one last hug goodbye before being herded into the car.
Getting her to Platform 9 ¾ was done in amazing speed for she was very close to missing the train. With two minutes to spare Lily hugged her parents with tears in her eyes and reluctantly made her way through the magical barrier. One of the prefects noticed her late entrance and rushed to help her onto the train before it sped off. As Lily made her way down the corridor she heard a squeal and turned to see a blur of blond rushing at her, grabbing her into a tight hug.
"Lily!" cried Alice. "I was afraid you weren't going to come! I'm so glad to see you!"
Lily smiled at her friend, feeling the butterflies in her stomach starting to settle. "Hi Alice."
Alice grabbed Lancelot's cage and led her into a compartment where Marlene was waiting.
She got up and exclaimed, "You found her! I can't believe it!" Marlene grabbed Lily and crushed her as they hugged. "Where've you been?! Why didn't you answer our owls?"
Lily hesitated and looked nervously at her hands. "I was running late this morning, and I'm sorry about not writing."
"WHY didn't you write us?" prodded Marlene.
"Marlene," snapped Alice. Lily saw them exchange a glance where Alice warned Marlene to keep her mouth shut.
"It's okay, guys," said Lily. "I'm sorry I didn't write. I just…well, erm…I just needed some time to collect my thoughts after what happened."
"Oh," said Marlene. "Well, okay. Were you able to remember anything?"
Lily gazed out the window as the train made its way out of London. "No, not really. I remember things from the very beginning of last year so I remember our being friends. I remember things I learned in class. Things are blank when it comes to other things - people, events…."
"What do you mean?" asked Alice.
"I can remember how to transfigure an apple into a ball, but I can't remember sitting through the class learning it," she replied. The other two girls nodded.
As the train made its way to Hogsmeade Lily gradually felt more like herself as she chatted with her two best friends. She didn't tell them about the deal she made with her father about dropping out of Hogwarts after the year ended. She thought it best not to upset them. Even though she still had a sense of dread of what was to come she felt a glimmer of hope starting to form, making her think that with Alice and Marlene by her side she would be able to make it through the year.
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James, Remus, and Peter sat impatiently through the sorting, waiting for the feast to begin. When Professor Dumbledore finally waved his hands the students plunged toward the mounds of food that suddenly appeared on the plates before them. James couldn't help but remember how Sirius had made it his mission last year to make sure every platter was empty. He continued to wonder where his best mate was and if he would ever return to Hogwarts.
At first James was still worried about if Lily would be returning. He saw Marlene and Alice enter the Great Hall before the sorting and he again asked if they had seen Lily. The girls told him that she was there but was in the bathroom. James returned to his seat and kept glancing nervously up the table where Lily was supposed to be. Right after the first years made their way to the front of the hall, James finally saw Lily sneaking to her seat. He sighed, both in relief at finally seeing her and in frustration at having to wait to speak with her.
As soon as Professor Dumbledore made his yearly announcements he released the students for the evening. The students all herded toward the doors in a mass of confusion, trying to push their way to the exit. James tried to hurry through to catch Lily but by the time he made it to the exit he couldn't see her. He followed the prefects up to the common room, learning the new password, and sat on the couch by the fire watching Remus annihilate Peter at wizard's chess.
A little later he heard the portrait hole open behind him and heard Marlene's loud laughter as a group of girls entered the common room. James turned around and his heart leapt seeing Lily smiling with her friends. He stood up and strode toward her with a hopeful grin and touched her arm, stopping her.
"Hi Lily!" he said.
She froze, the smile fading from her face as she slowly turned toward James. She glanced at his face, seeing his hopeful smile. Her eyes widened for a brief moment before she simply and blandly replied, "Hi Potter," before turning and walking up the stairs to her dorm.
James felt his heart drop a bit, disappointed by her lack of happiness to see him.
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A/N: Ok, so second year has officially begun. Won't have as many chapters as first year but there will be some notable occurrences. Quick reminder that I realize what JKR said about James being a Chaser. I found that out after writing this and I am not going to change James from a Seeker to a Chaser in this story.
Thanks to my latest reviewers: DobbyGrl, sweetie513, Golden Phoenix, MysticalMacaw, Watermelon!, and itsme63.
Next chapter: Quidditch tryouts. Hmmm, I wonder what exactly happened to Sirius…