Good luck, James Sirius Potter
At 6:25 a.m. this morning, I woke to the sounds of my sister yanking her drawers to assemble an outfit for the day. Today is my not-so-baby sister’s first day of high school, and for some reason, she wanted me to be the one to drop her off. I haven’t been around to drop my sister off at school for the first day in four years since I have consistently been away at college during those moments. However, I got to cross that milestone with her this early morning, and I felt myself reminiscing the way a parent does in one of those typical car commercials. You know the one, where the teen is asking for the keys after getting their license, and once they’re sitting in the driver’s seat, they turn into a baby. That’s how I felt, and my sister totally called me out on it.
I imagine Harry James Potter feeling the same way as he, too, took place in a milestone of his own. J.K. Rowling confirmed this morning that today is James Sirius Potter’s, Harry’s first son, first day at Hogwarts. Yes, Harry and Ginny Potter woke early to make sure James had everything packed in his truck, that his owl was tucked away, and that nothing had been forgotten on his shopping list. The family traveled together, with a young Albus Severus and Lily Luna, to King’s Cross, where Harry had the opportunity to do what Molly Weasley did for him so many years prior. Harry got to tell his son about how to get Platform 9 3/4, crossing through that barrier with James, to watch his son’s face when he first saw the Hogwarts Express.
Harry watched as James tentatively stepped onto the train and searched for an open compartment. Thankfully, James wasn’t alone since Teddy Lupin, who would be going into his last year, joined him, aware that James was nervous for his first year. James waved off to his parents and his siblings as the train pulled out of the station at 11 o’clock and settled in for the ride.
Just as James left this morning for his next adventure and disappeared out of Harry’s sight, so did my sister. She told me about her nerves because the school is so large, and there are so many kids, and I insisted she would do just fine. Both Harry and I were forced to watch someone so important to us turn around and vanish in an instant. For Harry, James left on the train with Teddy, and for myself, my sister strode off into the big high school with one of her best friends and never looked back.
Today is a big day for a lot of us. I may never feel as close to Harry as I do now on this September 1. For James and my sister, on the other hand, the two of them are heading straight into a new beginning, filled with new stories to greet Harry and me at the dinner table soon.
Good luck, James Sirius Potter. McGonagall is cursing under her breath currently, awaiting your arrival, and desperately hoping you’ll be far more behaved than your father.