On September first, Harry woke up at nearly six o’clock in the morning and was much too excited to go back to sleep. His stomach twisted with excitement and nerves as he threw on his clothes and gathered the things from his room that he would need. After a glance at the sun streaming in his window, he made his way downstairs to where Eileen was preparing a large breakfast.

“You’re up early! You must be quite excited about today,” she said as she put a plate of pancakes and bacon in front of him. 

Harry wished he could skip breakfast and go straight to Hogwarts, but it would be hours before they left. “Yes, I can’t wait. Severus says the feast will be spectacular! Will I need anything for the sorting?” 

So far, he hadn’t gotten Eileen or Severus or even Lily to reveal anything about the sorting ceremony. Yesterday, he had come into the kitchen and told Eileen that Severus had told him about his sorting and he wanted Eileen to tell more about it in case Severus had been bluffing. Eileen had simply raised an eyebrow and given Harry a “nice try” look. Later, Severus had said the attempt might have worked, if not for the fact that Eileen had sent Severus to drop off some soup to a sick neighbour.

While Harry picked away at his breakfast, he watched Eileen shrink down his and Severus’ school trunks and stick them in her pants pocket. Harry was still completely fascinated every time he saw anyone do magic.

When Severus came to the table, he was wearing a green sweater and jeans. He looked excited, but not as much as Harry. Severus had already been to Hogwarts and knew what to expect.

“Mum, how are we getting to the train station?” Severus asked, as he accepted his breakfast plate and began eating. He was watching his mother carefully as she flicked her wand, and the dishes began to clean themselves.

“Lily’s mum is going to bring us. It’s a lot easier than explaining the Floo network to them,” Eileen said with a laugh.

By the time Harry and Severus finished breakfast, brushed their teeth, and checked the house a few times to make sure they weren’t forgetting anything, it was ten o’clock. When Harry heard the Evans’ car pull up in front of the house, his heart started fluttering. He looked at Severus and was relieved to see that he wasn’t the only one grinning like an absolute fool.

“Alright, let’s get moving!” Eileen said, pushing Harry and Severus out the front door and towards the car. 

Severus and Harry got into the backseat with Lily, while Eileen took the front seat with Lily’s mother. The sun pouring into the car raised Harry’s mood even higher as he felt the engine roar to life. 

“I can’t believe my Lily-Pop is already going back to school! It seems like she just got home!” Lily’s mother sighed as she started driving towards the train station.

“I know what you mean. It seems like Severus only came home long enough to sleep over, and it’s back out the door. And Harry has only been with us a week and now he’s on his way out, too,” Eileen said.

When they arrived at the train station, Eileen enlarged their trunks onto a trolley and began wheeling it towards the platforms. Harry found the look on Lily’s mother’s face hilarious when she watched the trunks seemingly appear out of nowhere.

The train station was about as crowded as Harry expected. There were people rushing around, the sound of children laughing, babies crying, and trolleys being pulled in various directions. Occasionally, a train whistle could be heard nearby and would result in people taking off in that direction.

“Eileen, I can’t find platform 9 3/4 ,” Harry said as he located platforms nine and ten, but found nothing in between. He wondered if this was part of the test to see if you were smart enough to go to Hogwarts; find the train and you can go to the school. If that was the case, then it looked like he was in for a disappointing ride back home.

“Oh, you have to go through the wall between Platforms nine and ten. Come along, now,” Eileen said, steering them towards the brick wall. 

Harry found himself wondering if he had heard her correctly; she wanted him to run into a wall? Wanting to make sure it wasn’t a prank of some sort, he politely insisted that Severus go first. Severus merely shrugged and took off running towards the wall…and suddenly he was gone!  Lily went next, and disappeared just like Severus had.

“Alright, Harry. It’s your turn,” Eileen said, giving him a soft shove.

Harry took a deep breath and began jogging towards the wall. Before he could reach it, he closed his eyes and braced himself for an impact that, thankfully, never came. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the middle of a crowded platform. Parents could be seen hugging and kissing their children farewell. Children were towing around trunks on trolleys, and older students were helping younger students get their trunks onto the train.

It didn’t take long for Harry to find Severus and Lily standing happily by the train. Just a few moments later, Eileen and Lily’s mother came onto the platform. One of the older students quickly rushed forward and helped Eileen and Mrs. Evans load their trunks. Once everything was securely on the train, Eileen turned to Severus and Harry and pulled them both into a long hug and kissed them on the head. Harry hugged Eileen back, expressing how thankful he was to her for taking care of him and treating him like he was her own son.

“I’ll see you boys at Christmas! Be good! Harry, don’t forget to take your potions until they’re gone, and Severus, keep an eye out for him,” Eileen said as they boarded the train. “I want both of you to write often! Oh, and here are a few galleons to get some treats off the trolley.”

Harry and Severus waved happily to Eileen as the train began pulling away from the platform. It felt so nice to Harry, knowing that someone cared for him and actually wanted to hear from him during the school term. His relatives would have told him not to write and try not to come home the following summer. Of course, now it would no longer be necessary to think up an excuse to avoid the Dursleys. The thought brought a wide grin to Harry’s face.

Harry and Severus made their way into an empty compartment while Lily went off with a couple of second-year girls to talk about their summers. Severus was showing Harry some potions from his second-year textbook when the door opened to reveal a kind lady with the treat trolley.

“Anything to eat, dears?”

Once they had chosen a few treats, Harry and Severus made their way back to their seats and continued to flip through the book. When the compartment door opened again, Harry found James Potter standing in the door with the boy called Sirius and two others Harry didn’t recognise. One had a rat-like expression and gave Harry a creepy feeling. The other boy looked much more down-to-earth and reasonable than his friends; in fact, he looked like he wanted to be somewhere else.

“Ah, it’s you! The kid who looks like me; you lucked out, there. You can come sit with me and my mates. You’ll soon find that some wizards are better to hang around with than others,” James said, scowling at Severus before turning his attention back to Harry. “I’m James Potter. I’ll help you figure it out.”

The rat-faced boy watched the exchange with an unsettling smirk on his face. The other boy seemed annoyed with James’ words, but didn’t say anything. Sirius seemed indifferent to the whole thing.

When James stuck out his hand for Harry to shake, Harry simply stared at it for a few seconds before coolly replying, “I think I can figure it out for myself, thank you.”

For a second, James seemed unsure how to react to the rejection. Sirius seemed confused by the exchange, but the down-to-earth boy actually seemed amused. The rat-faced boy gave Harry a smile that turned his blood cold and sent shivers down his spine before following the fuming James Potter away from their compartment.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Severus said, eyeing Harry uneasily.

“He was being a jerk. I bet no one’s ever turned James away from anything in his whole life. I have no patience for people who think they’re better than others, for whatever reason,” Harry said, thinking about his cousin, as well as James Potter. But the fact that James actually accepted the rejection without throwing an almighty tantrum, told Harry that he was slightly less spoiled than Dudley.  

Severus and Harry spent most of the trip going over their textbooks and eating the treats they had gotten from the trolley. The train was approaching Hogwarts when Severus asked Harry about his parents and how they died. Harry repeated what Hagrid had told him, though he wondered if Hagrid had left out any details, to protect him. When he was finished, Harry could see that Severus was devastated by the thought of Lily dying, especially so young.

“But why didn’t you die when he tried to kill you?” Severus asked as he glanced curiously towards the scar on Harry’s forehead.

“Nobody knows,” Harry said with a shrug, wishing he was able to give a better answer. He was sure Dumbledore knew, but telling Severus wouldn’t be helpful because the Dumbledore in this time period probably wouldn’t know. “People tend to stare at my scar once they figure out who I am, and they act like I’m some celebrity because of it. I would rather be a nobody with living parents than a famous person with dead ones.”

Severus gave a nod and patted Harry on the shoulder. “I promise I won’t treat you special because of that. And you won’t have to worry about people pointing and staring at you in this time…or maybe not as many people. Once the kids at school finds out your last name, they’ll try and figure out exactly how you are related to James Potter. It’s a well-known fact that James is an only child; they’ll want to know where you came from.”

“Fun,” Harry said, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

“But it’ll probably blow over in a few days, once they become more occupied with homework and classes,” Severus said as they started to don their robes.

“You think so?” Harry asked nervously.

“Well, the rest of the school might forget; James might take a little longer to drop it,” Severus said with a roll of his eye. He was obviously referring to his flattering nickname.

After a few more minutes of talking about Hogwarts and what to expect, the train came to a stop. They had finally arrived!  

Night had fallen. As they exited the train, Harry noticed that Hagrid, looking much younger, was standing close by with a large lantern, calling for the first years to follow him. Harry glanced nervously at Severus, who simply motioned for Harry to follow Hagrid.

“I’ll see you inside,” Severus said as Harry followed behind the other first-years. 

Harry was relieved to see that he wasn’t the only nervous person in the group. This was it. There was no going back. In just a few moments, he was going to be sorted. He’d finally be able to start his magic education, despite everything his relatives had done to try and stop it. If it wasn’t for the fact that they’d have no clue who he was, he would send them a letter, shoving it in their faces.

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