G. Lippert - James Potter and the Curse of the Gatekeeper

"Albus," Ginny's voice called from downstairs, "James, it's time to go."

James grabbed Albus' new robes and a handful of clothes from the closet, stuffed them into the trunk, and slammed the lid. If Albus got to Hogwarts without a clean pair of underpants, it was his own fault. James grabbed the handle and lugged the trunk toward the door, meeting Albus as he came back.

"Is that my trunk?" Albus demanded.

James pulled the trunk past him, into the hallway. "Just get the owls, will you? We're going to be late."

"I wasn't done packing!"

"Well, I guess you're done now, aren't you?" James said, feeling suddenly angry. "Dad and Mum are waiting. What, did you decide you don't want to go to school after all?"

Without answering, Albus collected the owls' cages rather noisily and followed James down to the car.

As the family arrived at King's Cross station, James tried to lighten the mood.

"Just think, Al, by tonight, you'll be all settled in, sitting in front of the giant snake's head fireplace and drinking a flagon of Butterbeer with your new snakey mates."

Albus scowled and opened the car door, stepping out into the fog of the parking structure. James followed.

"Can I push a trolley at least?" Lily asked, displaying her best pout.

"I'm sorry, Lily," Harry said, piling the trunks and owl cages onto two trolleys. "They're rather heavy, and we're in a hurry. You'll be seeing Hugo in a few minutes, though. If all goes well, Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron will be joining us for lunch as soon as the train leaves. Won't that be nice?"

"I don't want lunch," Lily said petulantly.

The family entered the large doors of the station and threaded through the commuters, attracting some curious stares as the owls hooted and fluttered their wings. Lily followed her parents, whining idly about her desire to go to Hogwarts with her brothers this year instead of two years from now.

"I've been in the Slytherin common room," James said to Albus as they approached the platform. "Ralph showed me. Zane's even been in the girls' sleeping quarters. It's kind of like a five star hotel in Middle Ages Transylvania, if you know what I mean. You'll love it."

Albus turned to look at James. "I won't! I won't be in Slytherin!"

"Give it a rest, James," Ginny admonished.

"I only said he might be," James said defensively, grinning at Albus. "There's nothing wrong with that. He might be in Slyth—"

He saw his mum's warning expression and fell silent. Feeling a little peeved, he took the trolley from her, glanced over his shoulder at Albus, and then pushed forward, running toward the partition. Just as it had last year, the partition seemed to dissolve. He flashed through it and pulled the trolley to a stop on platform nine and three-quarters. It was as crowded as it had been the last time he'd been there, although the mingled fog and steam made it hard to see everyone. Out of the dense mist, James could hear the chug and hiss of the Hogwarts Express, and for the first time all morning, he felt a bit better. Without waiting for the rest of the family, he pushed his trolley through the crowd toward the sound of the train.

"James!" a voice called out. James glanced around and saw his Cousin Lucy standing next to Uncle Percy, who was apparently lost in animated conversation with a man in a pinstriped cloak. Percy's wife, Audrey, stood nearby, holding Lucy's sister's hand and looking over a schedule of departures.

"Hi, Lucy," James said, pushing the trolley over to her. "I didn't expect to see you here. What's going on?"

"We're on our way back already," she shrugged. "Daddy got a call. There was some sort of magical disturbance in Wandsworth and the Ministry needs him back. At least we get to go home for awhile. Where's Albus?"

James gestured back the way he'd come. "Albus is still in a snit. He's been grumpy ever since the Burrow."

Lucy nodded understandingly but said nothing.

"Well, I better get my trunk on board," James said. "We're already late. See you, Lucy."

"Bye, James," Lucy replied, then added. "Keep an eye on Albus, all right?"

James felt a tiny twinge of guilt at that. He nodded. "Sure, Lucy. I'm his big brother."

Lucy smiled and waved. James turned and ran toward the train, pushing his trolley. As he met the porter, he saw Teddy Lupin moving through the fog with Victoire at his side, lost in hushed conversation. Satisfied that his things would be loaded safely onto the train, James trotted to catch up to them.

"Hey, Ted, Victoire," he called.

They stopped near the station, but Victoire continued talking, her head close to Ted's.

"It's time," she said, her face serious. "I do not wish to spend the year away at school with this secret between us."

"It isn't between us, Vic," Ted said reasonably. "You know your parents aren't ready to know about us. Your mum already thinks I'm a bum waiting to happen. Give me some time to arrange things in Hogsmeade. Once I've proven I'm serious…"

"To whom do you need to prove yourself?" Victoire asked, stepping back and placing her fists on her hips. "My parents, or yourself?"

Ted rolled his eyes. He glanced at James. "This is what it's like dating a girl whose family I've known all my life," he said. "They know me too well for my charms to work on them."

"Your charms work just fine," Victoire sniffed. "In fact, if it wasn't for your charms, you wouldn't even have this problem."

"Sorry to interrupt," James said, raising his hands, palms out. "I just wanted to say hello. I'll just fade away into the mist again."

"Wait a minute," Ted said, his face growing thoughtful. "I've got an idea."

Suddenly, he grabbed Victoire and hugged her to him. She resisted for a moment, but then he kissed her, and she relaxed. Slowly, she dropped the handbag she was carrying and wrapped her arms around Ted's neck. James took a step backwards and looked around nervously.

"Er, like I said—" he began but stopped as Ted held up a finger, still kissing Victoire. Finally, he broke away and looked aside at James, smiling crookedly.

"You saw that, right?" he asked.

"I don't think I saw anything but that," James replied uncomfortably.

"Good. Now do me a favor."

Victoire looked at Ted, her arms still around his neck. "Teddy, no…"

Ted's smile didn't waver. "Go tell everybody what you saw."

"What?" James blinked.

"Just tell them. Say I came to see Victoire off, and you saw us snogging right here on the platform. Say you interrupted us and I told you to shove off. It's the juiciest bit of gossip on the platform this morning, and you get to be the one to share it. It'll get the word out about us and we won't even have to say a thing," he turned back to Victoire. "Happy?"

She tilted her head haughtily at him but smiled. "You're a rogue," she replied.

Ted shrugged. "I'm simply good at coming up with reasons to kiss you. So what do you think, James? Are you up to the task?"

James grinned. "I learned how to lie from Zane. I'll make it as juicy as possible."

"Excellent," Ted replied. "And just to make it as realistic as possible," he made his face stern and looked at James, "shove off, will you? I'm busy."

With that, he kissed Victoire again. She grinned and giggled, pushing away from him playfully. James turned on his heels and trotted back into the crowd. After a moment, he saw his family gathered with Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione near the train. They were all looking back toward the station. James followed the direction of their gaze and saw Draco Malfoy standing with his wife and son near the partition. Draco nodded curtly in their direction, and then turned to his son. The son had the same sharp features and white-blonde hair. He glanced toward James, seeming to recognize him. After a moment, the boy looked away again, as if bored.