The Next Generation - Harry Potter

James Potter

I lay on my four-poster, staring up at the ceiling. "Was I really In Hogwarts?" Was I finally in this school that my father had talked about so often, even reminiscing about. He talked about it a lot. All about his friends and quidditch and the professors. I sighed slightly and got dressed to go down to an early breakfast in the Great Hall. As I was filling my plate with rashers of bacon, eggs, toast and any other breakfast food you could think of, a great hooting noise sounded from above, reverberating off of the high stone walls. A huge cluster of owls flew through the arched windows, dropping letters and parcels of sweets or forgotten belongings to their owners. I pushed the juice jug out of the way as a handsome tawny owl made a dive towards where I sat, a large, lumpy parcel tied to its foot. I excitedly untied the parcel and ripped it open. The tawny pecked annoyingly at my plate so I threw it some bacon and it took off again, narrowly avoiding the milk jug. I gave my attention back to the odd parcel and nearly choked on my toast. It was a velvety cloak that was stitched with silver moons and stars. Dad's invisibility cloak. There was a note attached to it, 'Open in the dormitory!' was written in his messy scrawl. Oops. I suddenly realised why. Everyone along Gryffindor table was craning their necks for a look at the package, whispering frantically and gasping. I hastily shoved it back into its wrappings and stuffed it into my bag. My friend next to me (Liam Finnigan, who I had met on the train) looked awestruck. Before he could say anything though, Professor McGonagall came round with our timetables. I scanned quickly through it and saw that I had Flying lessons first with Slytherin house.

A warm breeze blew through the courtyard as Madam Hooch, who had greying hair and piercing yellow eyes, ordered us to put one hand over our brooms and say "up". Everyone did as she said, including a shocked looking Gryffindor whose broom narrowly avoided her nose as it shot upwards. Some people's came faster than others. Mine took a few impatient 'up!s' before it decided to budge. "Not so much like his father then!" sang a smirking and hard-faced Slytherin girl, Violet Parkinson. All of the Gryffindors, including Liam, laughed very hard when her broom hit her squarely in the face.