“My hand shaking, I shouted, “Expecto Patronum!” A weak silver hedgehog appeared, and quickly faded. My dad made me learn how to cast a Patronus because of his problems with them. The dementor sucked the happiness out of both of us.”
The story of James Potter II, Harry Potter’s son.
Chapter 1
“Mr. Potter.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know what you have done?!”
“Um… Well I just blew up the Slytherin commons and now it’s wet, but nothing that big.”
That’s me. And I am not HARRY Potter for those of you reading, I am James Potter II, his son. James Potter was my grandfather. It has been great having my dad be the famous Harry Potter. We get to enjoy more little things, such as treacle tarts. The hard part is that our weekends are taken up by Quidditch or signing at Diagon Alley. But before we get to the blown up Slytherin commons room, I need to start where we left off.
I’m riding the Hogwarts Express, the same one my dad rode for seven, no, five years. Of course, the Train is a lot older than him, but it became a tourist attraction after the defeat of the Dark Lord. But it is still being used for and to the way to Hogwarts. In my cabin are Teddy Lupin, Victoire Weasley, Frank Longbottom, Rose Weasley and Xavian Lovegood. Of course, these were all my dad’s friends’ children. Weasley, Longbottom, and Lovegood. We were forced to play with each other because our weekends were taken up by them. They each were famous, but since I was Harry’s son, I always got the most attention. Now, let me fast forward to when we got there.
When we arrived, we all left our compartments. The train looked like a normal train from the outside, so it could blend in. Platform 9 ¾ was blown up by Indian terrorists. Reconstruction of the Platform had started but not yet finished. From the inside, it was luxurious. Everything was made out of gold. The curtains were made out of gold silk, the walls were solid gold, the flooring was golden tiles, and the seats were made of gold fabric. Hogwarts was the best place I’ve ever been, almost. Nothing compares to home, I mean nothing. You know that feeling you get at home, but you can’t describe it? That’s why I like home. My dad always used to say that Hogwarts was his first real home, but now that Dudley was on his own, his house was way better. We go there every month, this was partially because Dudley didn’t know how to take care of his 6 year old daughter named Juliana, who was, ironically, a witch. (My dad thought this was funny considering their family history). I don’t know why he finds it funny, I don’t bother reading his books about his life. I can learn them from a firsthand account. Not those biased books such as Reeta Skeeter, Rita Skeeter’s own child. Okay, back to topic now. His second home was the Burrow, where he practically spent all breaks. We go there every Christmas, but I personally find it crowded. Not boring, just crowded. It still looks like the old Burrow, but a lot larger. With more money comes more… land. Mrs. Weasley wanted to have a bigger house than the one she lived in. The Burrow has expanded into an eight by nine miles piece of land, which has 72 square miles, FOR A HOUSE. Then, there was another 166 square miles of mowed grass. With the very extended family, including the Delacours, Potters, Weasleys, Grangers, Hurgelsons, etc. There are about 100 people there on family reunions and 30 people normally. A house, even extending 72 square miles, for a house, looks like it is giving birth with 30 people inside.
When we reached Hogwarts, we entered the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall was the new headmistress. She had taken over Dumbledore’s seat.
“The four words of this year are: Sporcle, Gawp, Finnigan, and DUMBLEDORE!!” Everybody cheered at the last word. Everyone knew about how Dumbledore had kept He-who-must-not-be-named. Now he was honored as Order of the Morgan, even higher than Order of the Merlin. All of a sudden, I turned back to the table and gasped. The table was now filled with bowls of mashed potatoes, chicken, and foods I didn’t even recognize. The glasses were filled with pumpkin spice or butterbeer. The mood became festive, and everyone was filling their plates with food.
McGonagall said, ”Don’t try to take any food, our spells will tell us if you try to sneak food out. People always want a little… erm… midnight snack.”
To my left, Frank Longbottom, my friend and a third year said, “Someone will always try to take food out, make sure it isn’t you. Doxies will move in and then destroy your place. Then they have to clean it out and that costs House points and a few Galleons.”
I moved around, sitting next to people who had to see the famed James Potter II, Harry’s son. People kept asking me to sit next to them. In the end, I sat next to Teddy, Victoire, Rose, and Darwin. Darwin was my friend, he was a first year (just like me) and he didn’t just like me because of fame. That was one of the downsides of having a famous dad, everyone wanted to be your friend in order to share the fame. He didn’t know that I was famous when we first met. We became best friends, comparing our favorite Magick cards, the best card game around.
When we were all finished eating, more food appeared. The desserts included treacle tart, steak and kidney pudding, tripe, and a few more varieties.
“What is this?” I asked, poking at a jelly like dessert that kept jiggling.
“That’s Jumping Jon’s special, broccoli gelly.” answered Darwin. I frown. “Oh, I keep forgetting you’re Wizard-born. Broccoli is a vegetable and jelly is like treacle tart, but with no flavor.”
“Who would eat that? I eat wizard foods.” I asked. Darwin shrugged and took a bite of treacle tart. By the time dessert had finished, 16 people had thrown up, 12 had turned into frogs, and 8 people had been breathing fire (courtesy of Fred and George Weasley’s Joke shop). Of course, the fire set the tables aflame but with a few aguamenti, the fires were easily put out.
McGonagall looked unsurprised, she just said, “It’s time for the Sorting!” This stopped all the commotion, except for the burning fires on the Slytherin tables.
“Aqua Eructo!” shouted Kunok, the Head of the Slytherin’s, who have become a “civilized bunch” according to his dad. “Now, with no further interruptions, let’s begin the Sorting!”
Everyone burst into cheers, except the first years. Darwin and I just sat there, wondering what House we would be sorted into. We both wanted Gryffindor but we were not sure what we would be Sorted into. The Sorting Hat was on a stool that magically appeared. Everyone waited for the Sorting Hat to start singing, but it didn’t. Talking starts again, all about the same subject: What happened to the Sorting Hat? Rose said, “What happened? Will we be Sorted? What if we can’t? What if we have to leave this year? What if we can’t start? What if we have to start next year?” Leave it to Rose to find the worst case scenario.
“Enough with the what-if’s” I told her.
“Everyone, calm down!” Headmistress McGonagall said. “The Sorting Hat seems to be out of function, we will be Sorting everyone by the old tests!” The whole Hall erupted in groans and mutters.
“Test?!” everyone shouts, but none louder than the first years. McGonagall whacked her table with her wand, which had turned into a ruler. Everyone quieted down, the smack was magically amplified. “I wish for all non first years to leave the hall, when they are finished testing, you can come back in.”
“What do you think the tests will be like?” I asked Darwin and the rest of the others. They all shrugged. So far, the Sorting Hat had always been enchanted according to Hogwarts, a History.
“A book has failed her for the first time” whispered Teddy.
“Shut up” Rose said but she turned very red in the cheeks.
Instead of a test on a paper, they made an illusion of a situation, and based on how you acted to that situation, they placed you in your House.
“Potter, James” called out Professor Neville. I walked up, with butterflies in my stomach, and almost threw up a few times. But I got there.
Neville got straight to the point, “The test consists of three parts. In each part, you will need to react to the situation. The way you react will determine your House.” His face softened, “Ready? Remember this is not real.” I entered the room.
What I recommend for taking the Hogwarts House test: Don’t. Even when you have a wand and know a few spells, you’re most likely to go crazy. The first part is a real test. Like a write-on-a-scroll test with a timer that explodes if you don’t finish. It just has questions like, “What would do in this situation?” with a video picture on top. Some of them were about saving people, a no brainer. Others were about what flavor of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans you would prefer. I finish, barely. They give you 30 minutes to complete a 340 question test. Thankfully, they let us use Quick-Notes pens, which were related to Quick-Quotes Quills, but they were pens, and they just wrote what you said. So, instead of my hands being sore, my mouth was. They then gave me a break, about two minutes, which I used to drink water.
Tips on Part 2 of the test: Don’t even. Even with your wand and knowing a few spells, you’re most likely to go even more crazy. The second part of the House test was a simulation. They made things called semblances, which are actually illusions, made by a spell. This spell was illusio, which creates a semblance of your liking. I remember the time my dad cast one. The spell was hard, so hard my dad went unconscious for a few days. Of course we could have always bought a house elf, but my dad felt as if that was unjust. He had been fighting for elf rights when he was in Hogwarts. Back to the simulation. On my right hand side appeared a girl. On my left hand side appeared a dementor. The girl cried out, but I was paralyzed with fear. Dementors were the worst, after the fall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Dementors were put back in Azkaban, but not as guards, they were in prison. Now semblances guarded them. My hand shaking, I shouted, “Expecto Patronum!” A weak silver hedgehog appeared, and quickly faded. My dad made me learn how to cast a Patronus because of his problems with them. The dementor sucked the happiness out of both of us. The world turned black, and the only thing I thought was, “Is this real?”
I woke up in the hospital wing. I saw on the table next to me get well cards from Darwin, Teddy, Victoire, and Rose. Along with them were a variety of treats. I started eating a Chocolate Frog. That made me feel better. Surprisingly, I wasn’t injured. Only my head hurt. Madame Pomfrey (the other Madame Pomfrey’s Daughter) saw me and said, “Good you’re awake.” She looked uncomfortable. “You….um….. have to go see Professor McGonagall, she needs to tell you your House and what class you’re supposed to be in.” My heart stopped, and then I groaned. I had forgotten that classes started the day after the Sorting.
I walked up to the Headmistress’s Office. The gargoyles immediately sprang up and reveal the hidden staircase. I walk up the stairs and open the door…
