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All is Quiet at Hogwarts, Part 1
James Sirius Potter could not wait until he got to Hogwarts. Unfortunately, the train wasn’t moving quite as fast as he would have liked it to. So, while he joined his friends in a game of exploding snap, each round was punctuated by a growl as he wondered how much longer it would take.
Oliver and Rhys, his two best friends, indulged him at first, until finally, after hours had passed and the trolley had come and gone, they had had enough. Oliver finally threw a deck of cards at his friend’s head and told him to stop complaining.
James took it good naturedly, before throwing the deck back at his friend, and the boys soon found themselves in an all-out-war, Rhys trying unsuccessfully to break up the throwing contest.
Sufficiently distracted, the boys were surprised when the train finally pulled itself into Hogsmeade Station, but pleasantly so. James was the first one out of their compartment, his friends following closely behind.
“Hey Albus, don’t fall into the lake!” James shouted when he saw his brother, making his way to Hagrid with the other first-years. Albus didn’t turn around but James could see his brother’s shoulders tense so he knew that he had heard him. Smirking, he walked with his friends towards the castle, comforted by the familiar visage of glittering lights and towering turrets. He had finally made it!
--
“What house do you think Al will end up in?” Oliver asked James after the sorting hat finished its song, the first student making their way up to the little stool.
“Gryffindor,” James answered without a thought. While he had ribbed his brother continuously about being sorted into Slytherin the whole way to King’s Cross that morning, he wasn’t actually serious. He knew his brother was a Gryffindor, just like him.
“Potter, Albus,” Professor Flitwick, Deputy Headmaster called out. The hall went silent as James rolled his eyes. The same thing had happened when he got sorted. Sometimes it was really cool having your dad as the guy who defeated Voldemort, but other times it was hard to live with. He never really knew if people were paying attention to him because they liked him, or because of his father.
That wasn’t the case with Rhys and Oliver however. He had run into them about halfway through the train ride in his first year, after he had escaped a group of students that seemed only interested in his name. Both boys were muggleborn and had been relating some of their funnier stories with accidental magic when James barged in before politely asking if he could sit with them.
They agreed of course, and James was enthusiastic when they seemed more interested in him than his father. Ever since then, the trio had been inseparable.
“Gryffindor!” the sorting hat yelled, as everyone in the room applauded. Grinning from ear to ear, Albus walked over to the table and sat next to his brother who had been waving him over. Albus was still a little miffed about the teasing, but he was so ridiculously happy about his sorting that he let it go and listened to his brother as he pointed out all of the teachers.
“Who’s that?” Albus pointed towards a tall, black-haired man with pale skin.
“I don’t know,” James frowned as he eyed the man. He looked familiar but he couldn’t place where he had seen him before.
“He’s probably the new Potions professor,” Oliver chimed in.
It turned out, Oliver was right. Professor Flume was introduced to the students shortly after Headmistress McGonagall delivered her welcoming speech. Most of the students simply looked over before eagerly pouncing on their food. James, however, couldn’t stop peering over at the man throughout the meal, sure he had seen him before somewhere.
--
The meal ended, and the boys made their way up to Gryffindor Tower, following the prefects. James grinned and waved at Teddy as they left the Great Hall, the Head Boy leading his Hufflepuffs towards the kitchens.
James couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face as they finally made it into the tower. It was his home away from home and it felt good to be back. For the moment, his musings about the mysterious new professor faded as he showed his brother around the common room, before heading up to the boy’s dormitories.
“It’s so good to be back,” Rhys said as he jumped onto his bed and stretched out. Oliver and James agreed as the latter pulled out his exploding snap deck.
“Ready for another round?” he asked.
“As long as you don’t try to throw it at my head again!” Oliver retorted.
“You did that first!”
“Excuses, excuses,” his friend responded before gathering around his bed to play. The trio started their game with relish as the other three boys from their year milled into the room. It soon became a six-player game as the third-year Gryffindors laughed and giggled throughout the night.
Rhys was the first one to quit, with Oscar following soon after, both boys claiming they needed their rest for classes tomorrow. Oliver was next, before finally, the remaining boys gave up their game for the night and clambered into their beds.
James was just drifting off to sleep when he remembered Professor Flume. Wondering if knowing his first name would help him remember where he knew him from, he pulled out his father’s old map he had nicked before they left for King’s Cross.
Unfolding the parchment, he whispered the magic words and watched in wonder as the map filled with little dots of all the people in the castle. Eyeing each floor, he looked, but after thirty minutes of searching he couldn’t find the professor.
‘Odd,’ he thought. ‘Maybe I’ll try again later.’ He was just closing his map, however, when he noticed a figure on the map traveling through the Forbidden Forest. There he was! Augustus Flume. ‘But what is he doing out there?’
The name still didn’t ring a bell as James watched the figure move through the forest. He wasn’t sure what the professor was up to, but he was certain it couldn’t be something good. Going to sleep that night he made a decision. He would tell his friends what he found in the morning, and together, they would investigate it. He smiled a little at the thought, remembering his dad’s stories. He hoped his dad would be proud he was following in his footsteps. Meanwhile, the figure in the forest continued his search, unaware of the suspicions already cast upon his actions.
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