NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9: Chapter 9:
Chapter 9:
Harry knew his godfather well enough to suspect otherwise. And sure enough, a few minutes later they were rocketing up into the sky, doing flips and barrel rolls with wild abandon.
"Better than a Portkey, eh, Harry?" Sirius cackled like a madman.
"Loads better!" Harry laughed. Sirius chucked off his own helmet and Harry did the same, allowing the wind to flow freely through his hair. It wasn't quite the same as zooming around on his Firebolt, but he felt a similar rush of euphoria. He hoped that Sirius would be around for a long, long time to share such thrills with.
"You didn't have work today, Uncle Sirius?" Harry inquired as they began the descent into downtown London. He'd long been curious what Sirius was up to in his new life, and was eager to learn more about him.
"Work?" Sirius guffawed. "As if I would let any job tether me down! I'm living the bachelor life, my boy, and enjoying every minute of it!"
"Never gonna settle down and start a family, then?" Harry asked lightly.
"I'd like to see the woman who tried to pin me down," Sirius chuckled. "Poor James was too smitten with Lily to realize how restricted he'd be with her."
"He seems happy enough," Harry shrugged.
"Yeah, well, to each their own I suppose," Sirius scoffed.
They touched down moments later in the King's Cross parking lot, swerving in and out among Muggle pedestrians who gave them no more than a passing glance and disapproving look at the noise. They rejoined James, Lily and Dahlia inside the station, Lily impatiently tapping her feet as Harry and Sirius approached.
"I'm sure those helmets stayed on for the whole ride?" she asked suspiciously.
"Of course!" Sirius chuckled, hastily attempting to straighten his windswept hair as Harry did the same. Lily just rolled her eyes and turned to lead the way towards Platform 9 ¾ as her husband surreptitiously high-fived his best friend and his son.
After checking that the coast was clear, the family passed through the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10, emerging on the station platform housing the Hogwarts Express. Harry smiled in spite of himself at the sight of the iconic red locomotive, spouting steam and preparing for its long voyage north.
"Ah, there's Dale!" James said jovially, waving and approaching a balding man across the way. Harry watched as his father shook the man's hand and spoke animatedly with him for a while, not recognizing him at all.
"Mum, who is that?" Harry wondered aloud.
"Hmm? Oh, that's Dale Greengrass," Lily replied. "He's a well-regarded member of the Wizengamot. He's helped your father with some political battles over the years." Harry spied Dale's two daughters, Daphne and Astoria, skulking behind him; the former was already dressed in her school robes, prepared to board the train for her own first year.
Harry marveled at the way James glided regally across the platform, greeting fellow Ministry employees and engaging them in conversation. It was clear that James was well-liked and respected by all, with only a few exceptions – Harry spied Lucius Malfoy with his wife and son, frowning in James' direction.
Harry wondered how much of a foothold Lucius had managed to make in the Wizengamot with the likes of James Potter running interference on his schemes…
A whistle sounded overhead, and Lily swore under her breath. "Harry, it's time to go!" she said, pulling her son in for a tight hug. "Don't forget to write. I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too," Harry muttered into her arm, and he meant it. Lily had been every bit the doting, loving mother he'd always dreamed of, and it would hurt to be apart from her for several months.
"See you soon, kiddo," James said, returning to give his son a firm slap on the back. "Try not to get into too much trouble."
"And if you do, make sure you don't get caught," Sirius winked, ruffling Harry's hair. "Send the caretaker our warmest regards; he's an old friend."
Harry turned at last to Dahlia, who sat atop the luggage cart, regarding him curiously.
"Any parting insults for the road?" he asked her sarcastically.
But she surprised him by engulfing him in a tight hug, nearly knocking him over. "You'd better write," Dahlia sniffled, the reality of her brother leaving her finally setting in.
"I will," said Harry. And with his trunk in one hand and Bandit's cage in the other, he boarded the train, watching with a pang of sadness as his waving family disappeared out of sight.
Another year at Hogwarts awaited him, but this time he was actually leaving something behind – a bittersweet feeling he'd never experienced before.
Harry trudged through the narrow corridors of the train, searching for an empty compartment.
He passed by Malfoy, who was already surrounded by older Slytherins, and quickly moved on, not wanting to get into a fight before even arriving at the castle.
He nearly asked to join a group of first-year girls, including Lavender Brown, Susan Bones and Tracey Davis, but decided not to after they giggled at him.
Harry was about to give up and ask to join a group of older students, when he came upon a compartment with only three first-years inside. He froze at the sight of Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, already making their introductions to one another.
"Looking for somewhere to sit?" Ron asked, spotting Harry. "We have some room."
"Erm…" Harry stammered. Part of him wanted to back out, to leave them be. He didn't want to disrupt the harmony of their trio, knowing how important Ron and Hermione had been to him in his first timeline and not wishing to take that away from Neville, who would also be in need of close friends.
But curiosity got the better of him – not to mention wistful longing at the prospect of seeing his old friends again. "Sure, thanks."
Harry stowed his trunk in the overhead compartment, and set Bandit's cage down next to another beside Neville – a cage, he realized, that contained a very familiar, snowy-white owl.
"Is this your owl?" Harry asked, bewildered, as his old friend Hedwig blinked up at him.
"Sure is," Neville said proudly. "This is Snowball. She flew down and landed on my head at the apothecary in Diagon Alley."
********
If you enjoyed this chapter and wanted to read more you can go and support my PAT_REON you can read around 15 or 30 and even 50 advance chapters there depending on the tier.
Here's the link: https://patreon.com/August_Writing?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Or just type August_Writing, it will just pop out there