Harry Potter and the Bucket List

Year 1 - 2

Beta: Cloudy

(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*

Come September 1st Harry and I were as ready for Hogwarts as we could be. We had read through our books—twice—and impatiently waited for the first day to arrive. To call us excited would have been an understatement. Harry was practically frothing at the mouth at the idea of being able to try out for Quidditch. Even if first years weren't allowed their own brooms, there was no rule explicitly saying they couldn't try out. Most just didn't make the cut.

In between the prepping for Hogwarts and managing my alliances as Enáretos time flew by.

On September 1st Harry and I were up before dawn with our enchanted suitcases packed. Kreacher made us an extra yummy breakfast before Sirius even had the chance and promised he would stop by Hogwarts to pick up any urgent letters—Kreacher had been the one to send out my letters as Enáretos all these years. I couldn't exactly start using Hogwarts owls, could I?

Once breakfast was done Sirius Apparated us to the platform.

It was glorious.

A shining scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, ten o'clock exact. Sirius had a hand on each of our shoulders, and he leaned in between us to say, "You sure you're both ready?"

"Paddy," we whined.

"'Cause I can hold you back a year. Remus is perfectly fine to keep tutoring you—"

"Paddy!" we cried out. I let go of my suitcase, it stood perfectly upright on the paved walkway. I turned around to properly hug him for all he was worth.

"You trying to snap my spine now, Rosie?" Sirius teased, giving me a tight hug in return. Harry shifted from foot to foot between as Sirius got the hint and pulled him into our embrace.

"Love you," I told him with all the sincerity I could manage. "Promise to take care of yourself and Uncle Moony."

"I promise," Sirius said, but I didn't wholly believe him. He was a man child at heart, after all. I ordered Kreacher to make sure there was no alcohol in the house while we were gone and Kreacher assured me he would make sure of it.

"I'll write as soon as I get sorted," Harry promised him.

"I expect it," Sirius said in return. "Now off you two go."

We pulled back, each of us grabbing our suitcase. There was a compartment where other children were piling their own suitcases. Thankfully ours was enchanted for extra storage, durability, lock strength (mandatory if I was going to be a Slytherin), and light-weight. Not cheap by any means, but it was well worth it when we could easily slide our suitcases into the compartment and not have to worry about it in the slightest bit.

Harry brushed back his curly dark hair out of his eyes. Remus had tried cutting it, but it always grew back the next day. "Let's go find a seat."

"Okay," I agreed. I followed behind him and onto the train, staying close. We found an empty compartment somewhere in the middle of the train, and we took opposite seats from each other. We had a carry-on expandable bag that we used to pull out our entertainment and wands.

We weren't allowed to use our wands since retrieving them. Not that such a rule really stopped us. The Ministry only monitored homes with Muggles in them, not homes with magical adults. Despite the fact I was able to perform wandless magic, having a wand was like switching the difficulty from nightmare mode to easy mode. A real breath of fresh air. I never wanted to go without again.