The Marauders: Year Four

Malfoy at King's Cross

Malfoy at King's Cross

Despite Sirius's wish that the weekend would last forever, like most good things it had to come to an end. Sirius and Remus went with Peter and James back to Diagon Alley on Sunday afternoon and the boys wandered about, and they got most of their supplies for Hogwarts - including Remus's uniforms, thanks to James helping out with the money to be sure Rey had a set of robes that covered his ankles. They bade their farewells and gave each other boyish hugs and slaps around the back and Sirius and Remus watched as James and Peter took it in turns to floo home from the Leaky Cauldron.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do on the Express!" Sirius called out, last moment before James stepped into the emerald green flames.

"Pretty wide margin you've given me," James grinned and he disappeared.

Summer seemed to disappear after that. The days went by so quick that August seemed to come and go with very little fanfare. Peter turned fourteen without his father or sister acknowledging the day - but he got three owls from Remus, Sirius, and James. He hugged the letters to his chest and read them over about a hundred times, tucking them under his pillow with care. It was the first good dreams he'd had all summer - the dreams he had of running through the woods with the other boys, free...

On 1 September, Peter went to Platform 9¾ alone for the first time. He took a muggle cab to King's Cross and loaded his trunk onto a trolley. He pushed it inside, feeling surrounded by a wide world that was swallowing him up as the trains roared into their platforms, muggles running about, trying to catch their outbound rails before they were left behind. Not a single one noticed the oversized teenage boy that ran into the barrier and disappeared.

It was easy to find James, whose weepy-eyed mum was attracting attention all over the Platform. "Mummm..." James was complaining as Peter walked up, pushing his trolley along, "Don't, alright, just stop it... stop... I'm fourteen and a half, please. You're embarrassing me."

As they boarded the train, James complained, "I hate when she does that... blimey... smothering me like that..."

"I'd do anything at all in the world to have my mum smother me like that again," Peter murmured.

James felt horrible. He didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything at all. They got aboard the train after leaving their trolleys for storage, and walked down the hall to their usual compartment, which was blissfully still empty by then. It felt good to sit in the familiar space, even in the silence of James guilty feelings.

James stared across the Platform to where his parents stood, Charlus had insisted on coming to Platform 9¾, despite being in hiding. Dora had fought him on it as hard as she could, but he'd been sitting in the Potter's motorcar first thing that morning, very proudly announcing that he'd figured out how to make it go invisible so they could get out of the house without the death eaters, who always hovered about somewhere near by, wouldn't be able to see them leave to go to King's Cross. He'd looked so excited... the new, horrible dragon scales on his face had even seemed to gleam with the excitement... that Dora had finally been unable to refuse him. Charlus had always been an adventurer, a risk-taker, and it was murder, keeping him locked up like they had been... nearly a year in quarantine, the poor man needed an outing... and the car was invisible, after all... so along he had come. James stared at him out there, waving.

James waved back.

He looked over at Peter. Peter was staring miserably down at his trainers.

James took a deep breath. He needed to cheer Peter up, so he looked around the compartment for some sort of inspiration. HIs eyes landed on the carved initials on the wall, Sirius's wand work. What would Sirius do if he was here? James thought. He'd find some way to distract Peter, probably something funny. Some funny joke spell or... or something...