James Potter stood on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, staring at the scarlet engine of the Hogwarts Express one last time as it steamed and hissed. Students were hugging, waving, laughing—and somewhere in all that noise, James was silent. His trunk was already levitating behind him, and his robes were slightly rumpled, but he stood frozen, soaking in every second of his final moment as a Hogwarts student.
Albus and Lily were both chattering nonstop beside him, while Rose flipped through a new novel Hugo had picked up for her. But James? He smiled, wide and carefree on the outside, but everyone who knew him—really knew him—could see the quiet ache in his eyes.
No one said anything, though. They respected it.
That evening, after they all arrived at Grimmauld Place, the whole family was in for the summer. Even Nova had returned from the Shard Vault with Fred and Alicia, clutching a small green frog plushie and laughing as she ran up the stairs, thrilled to be in a house full of chaos again.
Grimmauld Place transformed almost magically into a home. George and Angelina had turned the kitchen into an all-out celebration zone, complete with fireworks that exploded into dancing letters spelling "NO MORE SCHOOL... FOR JAMES!" Nova giggled every time the fireworks spelled his name in sparkling red letters.
James was relieved to be done with school, yes. But something in his chest felt... hollow.
He pressed a palm to the cool glass and smiled faintly, remembering the final thing he'd done before leaving Hogwarts: in bold lettering across the Gryffindor common room wall, he, Brigid Thomas, Dylan MacMillan, and Zara Cornor had carved:
"Here we lived. Here we laughed. Here we learned. And here we left a piece of us.
— James, Dylan, Brigid & Zara"
The golden letters gleamed above the fireplace, permanently enchanted. He hadn't told anyone. But he'd made sure the engraving had a permanent charm—they weren't going to be forgotten.
The summer days passed like melted honey—lazy, slow, and warm.
Nova played Exploding Snap with Fred II and Roxanne, giggling so loudly that Molly threatened to cast a Silencing Charm on the entire house. Percy and Audrey arrived with Lucy and Oliver; Dominique and Louis spent hours making ice charmed drinks that exploded into temporary moustaches; and Victoire floated around brushing stardust into her little sister's hair while Teddy sat beside her, flipping through magical photo albums of past Hogwarts years.
James often wandered out into the back garden with his owl and a stack of books, pretending to read while actually daydreaming. He tried hard not to seem sad—but Rose caught him one night.
. She just plopped down beside him. "It's weird, huh? Not going back."
"Kind of freeing," James said. "But kind of like... I don't know. Like I left my wand arm behind."
Rose grinned. "That was poetic. You should write Hallmark cards."
James snorted. "Maybe I will. Less dangerous than chasing dark wizards."
"You okay?" she asked, plopping down next to him.
"Yeah," James said. "Just... weird, not having Hogwarts to go back to."
"You'll be brilliant wherever you go," she assured him. "But... yeah. I get it."
Everyone had gathered in the large, mismatched kitchen of Grimmauld Place. The smell of eggs, toast, and burnt sausage filled the air. Kreacher was grumbling over the stove, spatula in hand. Ginny was trying to make sure Fred didn't burn the toast while Alicia charmed cutlery to set itself.
Fred grinned. "Owls are coming!"
James, Rose, and Albus immediately leapt from their seats. Al's elbow caught his plate and launched it spectacularly into the air. Eggs flew. Sausages somersaulted. Ginny shrieked. Kreacher howled.
"Young master ruins perfectly fine sausage!" Kreacher scolded, waving his spatula like a weapon. "Ungrateful brats! Kreacher cooks for hours!"
Ginny rounded on Albus. "AL! You have five seconds to clean that mess!"
Albus shrugged. "Owls, Mum."
"OWLS don't matter if you don't get to read them because your mother STUNS you into next week."
Kreacher muttered furiously while levitating the sausages back into the pan with a few more curses under his breath.
Finally, the owls swooped in.
Their hands trembled, and James looked at his letter with wide eyes. Ginny was still scolding Albus.
Rose opened hers and smiled. "All O's. Except for History of Magic. I got an E."
Hermione visibly twitched. "That's... perfectly acceptable! Just... surprising."
"Mum is gonna pretend it's fine, but I bet she's dying inside," she whispered to Hugo, who gave her a dramatic bow and muttered, "Still a genius, my lady."
Albus read his. "Eight O's, one A in History of Magic... and an E in Potions. I survived," he muttered. "I can die in peace."
Harry ruffled Al's hair. "You got more than I did."
"And more than Uncle Ron," Al added, grinning.
"Watch it," Ron muttered through toast.
Everyone was now staring at James, who still looked frozen, staring at his letter. Fred got fed up and snatched his letter. As soon as he scanned the letter, his mouth fell open. He looked at James and back at the letter, gaping.
"All O's," he said after a minute of silence. "Ten subjects. Ten Outstandings."
The kitchen exploded.
Hermione bolted to her feet, running around the kitchen. "TEN! He got TEN! JAMES, YOU GOT TEN O'S!" She grabbed a teacup, threw it in the air, and cast a charm so it floated around like a balloon. "He's going to change the wizarding world!"
Everyone started laughing.
"The Minister of Magic didn't even jump like this when she got all Os in NEWEts," George said, howling with laughter. Which made Hermione come to her senses, she congratulated James and turned red.
Harry blinked. "That's... more O's than Ron and I got. Combined."
Ron grunted. "Don't rub it in," which made James finally smile.
Later that night, Ginny stepped into James's room. He was packing away some things, a little too quickly, like he wanted the task to distract him.
"I didn't get to say it earlier," she said. "But congratulations."
James smiled. "Thanks, Mum."
She walked closer, then sat on the edge of his bed. "You've grown up so fast. Sometimes I still see the tiny thing who couldn't pronounce 'Quaffle' right."
James laughed. "Qwapple."
Ginny chuckled, then went quiet.
"You're really okay with leaving Hogwarts?" she finally asked.
James hesitated. "Yeah. I mean, it's time, right?"
Ginny looked at him gently. "I know you, James. You loved it there."
He bit his lip. "Yeah. I did. I miss it already. But... I also want to start doing something that matters, you know?"
"You mattered there."
"I really wanna be a professor at Hogwarts," James said
"You can, but after 20," Ginny said with a smile, "What will you do until then?"
"Maybe. I want to protect. Like Dad did. Like you did. That's why I want to be an Auror."
Ginny smiled, eyes glistening. "You always protect people. Even when you don't say it."
He reached over and hugged her tightly. "Thanks, Mum."
Ginny clapped James on the shoulder proudly. "Knew you could do it."
Later that week, James sat with McGonagall at the Ministry, discussing his options.
"You'll make a fine Auror, Potter," she said. "But if you still want to teach at Hogwarts one day... You know the age rule."
"I'll come back," he said. "Eventually."
"You will make a great Professor, Potter, as long as you don't continue pranking us and teach the kids to do the same," She said with a smile.
"If I do, then Hogwarts won't need to miss any troublemakers," he said, laughing.
James received his acceptance to Auror training after passing the interview and written exam. Then came the training. He pushed himself harder than ever before, and within weeks, he got the letter:
"Congratulations. You are now a certified Auror."
Everyone threw a party. Even Kreacher made special pudding.
Alicia watched Fred and Nova playing wizard's chess with Hugo while Roxanne and Lily teamed up to prank George by turning his ears blue.
Nova looked happy. Unburdened. Like a child.
James, standing by the window again, smiled as he watched the chaos of cousins and friends fill the room with noise. He was in deep thought.
Summer was golden indeed.
And yet, the clouds on the horizon—whatever time and fate had planned next—were waiting.
But not tonight.
Not during The Golden Summer.