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 basically belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Chapter 5: A New Friendship
James had arrived at Platform 9 ¾ early that day. His father had to get to the Ministry early for work that day but he still wanted to take his son to the station and say goodbye. His mother was working at St. Mungo's as a healer and had to go in for an emergency so she could not be there. Mr. Potter had wanted to get something special for James' first year at Hogwarts. He had wanted that to be a new broomstick but unfortunately first years were not allowed to bring broomsticks. After thinking about it for several days he realized something and ran to the attic in search of his idea. At the platform he handed the package to James.
"This is something my dad gave to me while I was at Hogwarts. I found many uses for it although I should caution you not to get into too much trouble. Your mother would curse me into next week if I encouraged you to misbehave," he added with a wink.
James smiled and opened the package. It looked like an old cloak. It was thin and silvery. He was about to try it on when his dad stopped him.
"I would wait a bit before trying that on. It might startle people and it may be better for people not to know you have it," whispered Mr. Potter.
"What do you mean," started James when he suddenly realized what the cloak could be. "Dad! Is this what I think it is? An invisibility cloak?"
Mr. Potter nodded with a grin. He looked a lot like his son however he had brown eyes and his black hair was not messy like James' was. He and his wife could not figure out why James' hair stayed so untidy. They had tried every spell they could find to tame it but with no success. James didn't seem to mind the disarray on top of his head so his parents finally gave up trying to fix it.
"I can't believe it! An invisibility cloak! You're actually giving it to me?" James asked.
"Yes. It has been in our family for a long time. They are pretty rare, so don't lose it. You may want to pass it on to your son one day," added Mr. Potter.
"Thanks, Dad!" James grinned at him. He and his father had always been close. James had been a handful as a child, finding ways to cause mischief wherever he went. It was a source of unending frustration for his mum, however Joseph Potter was rather amused by James' antics.
They realized the time was coming for Mr. Potter to head to work so he helped James get his trunk and owl onto the train and then said goodbye. Mr. Potter then disapparated with a loud pop and James was left alone on the platform.
He sat down on a step to one of the cars looking out at the platform. The platform was pretty deserted since it was still early. After about 20 minutes, he heard a few voices from the barrier. A lady and her son had just walked through. She was snapping at the boy about something and the boy was looking rather bored. He had slightly long black hair, much neater than James'. As the lady continue to rant at him the boy turned his gaze around toward James. He smirked and rolled his eyes in the direction of his mother. She noticed this and slapped him across the face before storming back through the barrier, leaving the boy alone on the platform.
James approached the boy to see if he was all right. The boy had an angry look about his dark eyes as he looked back at the barrier. He noticed James approaching and suddenly the anger disappeared and he smiled.
"Sorry about that. The old hag doesn't know when to quit sometimes," he sarcastically said.
"Old hag? I'm sorry, I thought that she was your mum," James started before he heard the boy bark out a laugh.
"The old hag IS my mum!" he replied.
James tried to suppress a chuckle. "I see. Well, I might as well introduce myself. I am James Potter, first year student at Hogwarts." James held out his hand for the boy to shake.
"I am Sirius, Sirius Black. I am also starting my first year." As he shook James' hand he noticed the expression on James' face change slightly. "Yes, my surname is Black. I get that look a lot when I meet people. Needless to say, I am not thrilled that my family is a group of fanatical pureblooded freaks!"
At this, James grinned. "I'm sorry. My parents have mentioned your family before and not with respect. I apologize for judging you so quickly."
"Apology accepted. I think I've heard your family mentioned a few times as well. Something about blood traitors. I think they're all a bunch of idiots - my family, that is, " Sirius growled.
They spent the next hour getting to know more about each other and found they had many common interests such as Quidditch. They also discovered that they each had an affinity for pulling pranks. Sirius loved to prank his little brother Regulus, who was the pureblooded apple of his mother's eye. James had a few cousins who constantly annoyed him. He had pulled a few good pranks on them. The two boys quickly became friends.
"Do you know what house you'll be in?" asked James.
Sirius frowned and said, "My parents expect me to be in Slytherin. The family has always been in Slytherin for as far back as we can trace. I would rather be in Gryffindor. They sound like they have more fun and get more respect. What about you? What house do you expect to be sorted into?"
"Gryffindor, I hope. My dad's side of the family has always been in Gryffindor. My mum's side is mainly Ravenclaw, but they sound like a bunch of bookworms," answered James.
By this time other students were starting to pass through the barrier and make their way onto the train. James and Sirius continued to chat and look at the students as they passed by. As 11:00 approached they were about to head back onto the train when Sirius noticed James' attention directed toward the barrier. He followed his gaze to a familiar red-haired girl who was standing about 10 feet away. She was looking at the train and then up at a lady wearing an odd-looking hat with a vulture. The lady barely acknowledged her before walking to a boy who was struggling to get his trunk into one of the cars.
Sirius looked back and James and noticed that he was still staring at the girl with his mouth agape. Sirius chuckled and poked James in the arm. "She's pretty, eh?"
That seemed to wake James up because he looked at Sirius and said with a slight grin, "I saw her first." As he said this he heard a happy shriek and noticed the girl running toward them. James wasn't sure what to do. Why was she running toward him? His first instinct was to grab her and hug her however she passed right by him and hugged Sirius.
"Sirius! Hi! I am so glad to see you. I felt so lost as soon as I got here. I am so glad to see a familiar face," she said with a smile.
"Lily, it's great to see you, too. Did you enjoy the rest of Diagon Alley?" Sirius asked her. James' heart dropped. He couldn't believe that she hugged Sirius. They knew each other? Was she his girlfriend?
"I had a great time. Got all my school supplies and some extra books to read as well," she said and turned to James. "Oh, I remember you! You're the boy from the bookstore who wouldn't talk! Potter, right?" She smiled at him.
James' heart leapt to his throat and he tried to speak but could only croak out a sound and nod. He could sense Sirius trying to suppress a chuckle next to him. Lily stared at him for a moment. James started to feel panic creeping into him as he felt his ears reddening. Why couldn't he speak?!
Sirius decided to put him out of his misery and rescue him. "Do you need help getting your luggage onto the train, Lily?" She nodded and gave him another bright smile. He and James grabbed her trunk and Lancelot's cage and carried into one of the cars. As they were walking down the corridor Lily spotted Alice in one of the compartments.
"Alice! It's me, Lily, from the wand shop, remember?"
"Lily! Yes, of course I remember you! Do you want to come sit it my compartment?" Alice asked.
"Sure!" Lily replied. Sirius and James loaded her things into the compartment. Sirius realized that his trunk was still on the platform. He excused himself and dragged the gawking James out of the compartment.
"Why did you drag me out?" asked James.
"I couldn't leave you alone in there with them, mate. I was afraid you would turn into stone just standing there staring at her. Every time you look at her you freeze," he chuckled.
"I did not! I wasn't frozen when I helped her with her things! You talk like I was scared or something!" James spat back.
"Whatever, mate. Just help me with my things, all right?" Sirius asked. "Do you reckon you know how we will be sorted into our houses?" He asked, hoping to switch to a safer subject than Lily.
James took Sirius' cue and shrugged his shoulders. "My cousin told me they perform a spell and whatever house colors your hair turns will be where you are sorted," started James. He noticed as he said this Sirius' eyes widened as he reached up toward his well-coiffed hair. "Of course, as I may have mentioned earlier, my cousin is basically full of crap so I have no idea how we will be sorted." Sirius looked slightly relieved.
After they reboarded the train James led him to the compartment where he had stowed his luggage earlier. There was a short, pudgy boy with blond hair sitting in there. He squeaked out a hello and asked if it was okay that he sit in the compartment with them. He seemed awfully twitchy. Sirius and James looked at each other, shrugged, and said that was fine with them. They learned that his name was Peter Pettigrew. As the clock struck 11:00 the train began to move out of the station. Their journey from Platform 9 ¾ had begun.
Next chapter: How does Sirius embarrass James on the ride to school? If you want to see the next chapter then leave a review!