Chapter Text
James wasn’t sure what he was expecting his afterlife to be.
Maybe some white fluffy clouds, some strange omnipotent being speaking wisdom to him perhaps.
Certainly not the Hogwarts express.
Merlin, Lily. Harry.
What had happened? Last thing he remembered, he was in the hall, preparing to… oh. Right.
James rubbed his temple. He had the worst headache.
Then again, getting hit by the Killing Curse wasn’t exactly going to leave him swimming in roses and daisies.
The bright green flash of the spell seemed to be baked into the backs of his eyelids. The light, the sudden, searing, all consuming white hot pain that had ran up his spine and infested his mind and Merlin,James couldn’t take it anymore and
He was here.
James looked around.
The chances of him surviving the spell were… not good. Perhaps this was some form of purgatory? Some form of the muggle Heaven? Lily had told him all about Christianity at Christmas and why it was celebrated. James was shocked to discover that the holiday was in fact just some guy’s birthday.
Or perhaps James’s consciousness had receded into a place it deemed safe in his memory, in a last ditch effort to save him.
Well that sounded significantly more depressing than he had anticipated.
Surely if this was an illusion, a spell, perhaps even a vivid hallucination on his part there would be some kind of slip up. Right?
Well either this was an entirely flawless spell, James was significantly more detailed in his hallucinations than he thought, or he was very much, not dead. That was alarming.
The cabin was almost a carbon copy of the real train cabin that he had ridden in annually for seven years. It was missing the scuff marks on the seat from Sirius’s boots however, and the stain from where Peter had spilled an inkpot all over James and his summer homework. It was missing the damaged rubber on the window ledge that Remus had caused by nervously picking at it every time Prefects had poked their heads in, the cigarette burns, the engraved initials on the door. R, S, J and P. Remus, Sirius, James and Peter.
Well. Perhaps it would be best to have a look around the train. If this was his afterlife, then he might as well know what it looked like.
The train began to move almost as soon as James stood up. Looking out the window, he could see practically a hoard of parents waving at the departing train, and a rather large number of children seemingly trying to crawl out of the train via the windows.
He didn’t see his parents. They had always waved him off. More evidence that this must be fake.
Just as he was opening the door however, he bumped into a boy.
James frowned and quickly stabilised them from falling to the floor.
“I am so sorry, are you alright mate?” He asked. Poor lad. Being as large as he was, James often would bump into things, dislodge items from surfaces without noticing and accidentally clobber smaller people when he wasn’t looking. Peter in particular had an awful habit of darting around James when nervous and had gotten whacked in the face more times than James would ever admit.
This boy was also rather small. Less in the way of an adult being naturally small, and more in the way of a child who hasn’t fully grown yet. A first year. With sandy blonde hair and freckled skin, heavy eyebrows and teary eyes he bore a striking resemblance to.. oh dear.
“Peter? What are you doing here? Did you die?” James blurted before clamping his mouth shut. Bollocks. Little Peter and him had not met until the Hogwarts express and even then, it had taken several months for Peter to warm up to James. He has been told he can be rather intimidating.
Peter looked at him as if he was insane. In all fairness, James would probably label any stranger who knew his name and started bombarding him with questions as mentally unstable too.
“Oh. Sorry. Um, you look a lot like a friend I know,” James said, lamely. Great job James. Gold bloody star.
Peter squinted his eyes at James. Must be before he got his glasses. James sighed. Peter had always been riddled with issues. I mean you would have thought that the sickness prone marauder would have been Remus with his Wolf but no. Apparently, the Wolf prevented any damage to Moony’s body and immune system. As a result he never got sick. Lucky prick.
“Its.. okay. Can you let go of me please?” Peter muttered.
James quickly let go of the boy’s coat and took a hasty step back. Best not to burn any bridges when he still didn’t know what was going on.
“Right. Sorry.” James bounced on his heels a little as they stood in the doorway awkwardly. “Uh… do you want to sit in here? I think the other cabins are mostly full?” He said, gesturing to the empty cabin. Peter gave him a half smile and nodded. They entered the cabin. James decided to sit down. Poor Peter was looking rather nervous and James was looming over him a bit. He was rather tall after all, always had been and.. wait a second.
James looked down at his hands. They were far smaller than the last time he had looked at them. And there were no callouses.
Had… no, time travel that far in the past was next to impossible, especially without a Time Turner. Wizards who had tried it had ended up ripping themselves to shreds by tearing their magical core.
But still…
He folded his hands in his lap and determinedly looked out of the window. He was not going to work himself up until he was alone. Then he could think.
The train sped past the empty English countryside, rolling fields and forests whipping past in blurs of greenery. The train ride normally took around twelve hours in total. The tracks were supposedly enchanted for faster speed and limited travel sickness. James was pretty confident that it was a boldfaced lie told to worried parents but hey. He may be wrong yet.
“So… whats your name?” Peter hesitantly asked. James hadn’t even realised that the boy had sat down in all honesty.
Right. Come on then.
James Potter was not known for being the most talented or the most mature but he’d be damned if he was not known for being the most charismatic.
“I’m James! James Potter,” He gave Peter a charming smile. Whats your name?”
Nailed it.
“Peter Pettigrew.” Peter said, tucking his feet up timidly and fiddling with his fingers.
Peter had never been the boldest or the most popular of the marauders. That honour fell to Sirius. However, after a few weeks of constant interaction with them, he was far more confident than this.
James internally sighed. If this was a hallucination then he surely would have depicted his friends as he remembered them best.
Great. Wonderful. Fantastic.
Reliving his teenage years was not something James ever intended on doing, nor did he ever have any desire to do so. But alas. Lady luck must have gotten sick and tired of him.
Very well then. Mission ‘Get the marauders to be the Marauders again’ is a go. Smalltalk time.
What did eleven year olds talk about again?
“So Peter. What house do you reckon your going to be in? I’m placing my bets on being a Gryffindor.”
God he was out of practice. This conversation was… stiff at best.
“Hm? Oh I’m hoping for Ravenclaw. Maybe Gryffindor. I don’t think I’m brave enough for that though,” Peter mumbled.
”Well you know what they say. The bravest thing you can do is admit to your own faults,” James smiled. “Besides, Gryffindor isn’t just the brave house. Courage, Chivalry, Determination. All that good stuff. You seem plenty chivalrous to me mate.
Peter gave him an owl eyed look and a hesitant smile.
This was good. James grinned. Making his friends smile was priority number one.
The trolley lady knocked politely on the door.
“You gonna get something mate?” He asked Peter, rummaging around in his bag for his coin pouch that he surely brought. Surely. At the very least his Mum would have remembered to pack it, possibly with a scolding note about forgetting things.
“No. I didn’t bring any money with me… should I have?” Peter frowned, anxiety creeping into his features.
James grinned and pulled his hard earned coin pouch out of his bag. Honestly. When was the last time he had gone through this bag? He could have sworn there was a stale naan in the bottom somewhere.
“Nah it’s alright mate. Maybe bring some Sickles next year but you’re gonna be fine. Want anything?”
Peter blinked, slowly. As if he couldn’t believe what was being offered.
“Yes.. yes please.”
“Anything in particular? Sugar quills? Bertie bots every flavoured beans? A pumpkin pasty?”
Peter looked rather bewildered by the options.
“Uh… i.. well um..” he stuttered.
James felt his expression soften. God he was a sucker for kids.
“How about i just get a selection of stuff I like, and you try a bit of everything, and decide what you like, yeah? I have been assured by a reputable source that my taste is exquisite,” If by reputable he meant his Dad.
“Y-yeah.. thanks James,” Peter smiled, less nervous this time, with relief baked onto his face. Progress.
James ordered. Now, he may be cheating a little to gain some friendship points early on. But getting Peters favoured confectionary was harmless enough, right?
Yeah. A few chocolate frogs were not going to impact the kids life.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
The train pulled to a stop soon after they had finished eating. They were rather full, and James insisted on clearing the absolute mountain of wrappers into a single shopping bag to make it easier for the trolley lady to clean up. A Sainsbury’s bag which peter had taken as an emergency sick bag. James may have splurged a little. James’s head was spinning like a top from the intense feeling of déjà vu he got as they exited their cabin. Peter seemed to retract into his shell as floods of children surrounded them, all scrambling out of the train, desperately trying to locate their friends.
“F’rs years! ‘Irst years o’er here!” A booming voice rang out over the platform. James smiled, relaxing a little. Hagrid was the perfect introduction for Peters Hogwarts experience.
James sighed as Peter was practically knocked over by a group of first years who were running to the half-giant. Mulciber and his goons. Admittedly he was biased but they still looked just as hob-goblinish as he remembered.
“You alright?” He asked, brushing Peters front free of invisible dust.
“Y-yeah. Are we supposed to go over there?” He queried, pointing over to where Hagrid was herding First year’s onto boats. Those boats looked like an accident waiting to happen. Had they ever been replaced?
“Oh, yeah. Lets go.”
L
The boats were just as unstable as James had predicted. They swayed this way and that, and he couldn’t help but pull Peter away from the edge when he tried to lean over.
Merlin, children were so much more reckless than he remembered.
Then again he too was a child the last time he did this. Being a father really put a stop to erratic behaviour.
Oh Harry. James sighed. He really really hoped Harry and Lily survived.
Lily would raise him well. She was such a fantastic woman. And mother, Merlin, she was brilliant.
He was shaken from his musings when an awe filled gasp spread around the boats as the castle came into view. It was beautiful.
The turrets twisted up towards the sky, lights blinking in and out of sight as they pulled up to the shore. The sky was an inky black canvas and the castle was its crowing glory.
He had missed her. Hogwarts truly was his home away from home. The war had taken so much from them, yet all his fondest memories remained safe within the castle.
Maybe another try wouldn’t be so bad. He was always told he peaked in school after all.
A redo could only go well. Right? He could stop Sirius suffering so much, prevent the Prank, even save Peter from the fate that awaited him.
Whats the worst that could happen?