Готовый перевод One Piece The Ship of Lust / Корабель хтивості: Harry Potter I'm James Potter.

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Гарри Поттер: Я Джеймс

Поттер.

Книги и литература

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Nathe07

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Синопсис

Эдвард считается самым многообещающим наследником дома

Ротшильдов, очень могущественной европейской династии; однако

он умирает в раннем возрасте 15 лет, спасая жизнь обычного

ребенка. Для многих было бы несчастьем встретить такую ​​судьбу,

когда у вас есть власть контролировать мир, но для Эдварда это

было не так, поскольку он никогда не был счастлив, несмотря на то,

что его считали супергением.

Когда он подумал, что это конец, он перевоплотился в младенца по

имени Джеймс Поттер. Имя, которое он очень хорошо знает, так как

в своей прошлой жизни он тайно прочитал книгу под названием

«Гарри Поттер».

----------------------------------------------------------------

(P)(A)(T)(R)(E)(O)(N) Ссылка:

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Широкая аудитория

Chapter 47: Flower hair

Thursday, September 28, 1971.

"Today's the big day, gentlemen!" announced Sirius, who had woken up

with more energy. They had woken up about 30 minutes earlier to plan

the final details of the prank so that nothing would go wrong.

"Rabastan has no idea what's about to hit him..." said James, looking

sleepy, but energetic.

On the coffee table rested three vials with a purple-colored liquid, "That's

a lot of it. Maybe we can increase the number of victims," commented

Lupin. If anyone heard him, they would think he was planning an attack.

"Before that. James," said Sirius, glaring at his friend.

"What?" said James, playing dumb.

"Show us how you plan to mix the potion in the Slytherin boys' cups,"

Sirius said seriously. The whole mission depended on this last step

because if they got it wrong, no one from Slytherin would drink the

potion.

"Oh, that... wait," said James, opening his trunk and looking for

something. Everyone, including Toby, was watching him intently. Despite

his aloofness, James didn't mind Toby watching his prank plans.

After a few seconds, he presented them with a very long, voluminous

cloak, woven from a strange fabric of a silvery gray and shimmering.

"No..." said Sirius gawking at the cloak, "You don't have it...damn it."

Peter also watched with an amazed expression at James' cloak. The only

ones who didn't understand what it was all about were Lupin and Toby.

James smiled slightly, pleased at the reaction of Sirius and the others.

Seeing Toby and Lupin's confused expressions, he quickly pulled his cloak

over his head so that it covered him completely. He vanished.

"You lucky bastard! How come you never told me!" exclaimed Sirius in

amusement.

"That's the first time I've ever seen an invisibility cloak!" shrieked Peter in

amazement.

James pulled down the hood of the cloak so that his head seemed to float

in the air, "It's a family relic or something..." said James.

"What do you think, Lupin, Toby?" he asked, looking at the two boys who

had so far not spoken.

"That's great... Now I remember my dad talking about an invisibility

cloak," said Lupin, recovering from the initial shock.

"That's amazing," said Toby, who couldn't believe James' head was

floating. His shock was greater than anyone in this room since he hadn't

experienced much of the magical world.

"With this cloak, I will enter the dining room, and without being seen, I

will put the potion on the Slytherin bastards," said James, taking off his

cloak, and his body was visible again.

"With the potion under the cloak, you won't be able to mix it in the cups

without being seen. Minimally part of your hand will have to leave the

cloak," said Lupin with a hand on his chin.

"Yes. That's where you guys come in," said James, pointing to everyone in

general.

"We must create a distraction," said Peter with a bit of fear, but getting

the point.

"Creating a fight with that bastard Rabastan and his friends is my

specialty. When everyone is watching us, it will be your time to act," said

Sirius, who was the right person for this role.

They talked a couple more things and all headed for the dining room.

James followed them under the invisibility cloak. Many in Gryffindor

found James' absence strange but thought nothing more of it.

When they reached the dining hall they noticed that Rabastan and his

gang were already eating breakfast. Severus Snape was also standing near

them, with the two boys James had come across the day he had headed

to the library with Lily.

"I'll go get positioned, wait a few minutes," whispered James in Sirius'

ear, as he made his way to the Slytherin table.

Sirius, Lupin, and Peter sat at the table in the usual manner, doing the

deed. After about 5 minutes, Sirius got up and together with Lupin

headed to the Slytherin table. On the other hand, Peter headed to the

teachers' table. He was to get McGonagall's attention, as the witch can

stop the fight before it starts.

'I must ask him from page 45, paragraph 4...' thought Peter as he

repeated this several times in his head.

Rabastan was warned by Mulciber about this and quickly turned and

faced Sirius, "What do you want, Black? Get back to your table!" he said

in a threatening tone.

"Hey, take it easy, dude. Just wondering if you're gonna show us your

awesome flying skills today," Sirius said in a loud tone for all to hear

smirking.

"Shut your mouth!" shouted Rabastan angrily. The event where he fell off

his broom and was hit by the Whomping Willow was one of the most

embarrassing events of his life. The worst of all was that James Potter,

his arch-rival, saved him.

All the Slytherin students watched the two groups intently. It was the

common thing these days for these first-year students to clash and fight.

"They're fighting again...?" said Lily from the Gryffindor table, "Where's

Professor McGonagall?" she muttered, looking at the teacher's table.

When she saw Peter distracting the teacher, she knew something was

wrong.

"That spin you pulled in the air was amazing, even though it didn't do

much... What's it like to be attacked by a Whomping Willow?" asked

Sirius showing a real interest which made Rabastan angrier.

"I don't mean to tease you. It's just that few people know the feeling of

being beaten to a pulp by a Whomping Willow," he added quickly trying

to calm Rabastan down, even though it was all an act to annoy him more,

and it was working to perfection.

Lupin looked at Sirius with a strange expression, 'If annoying people was

a subject, Sirius would be the best student' thought Lupin.

"You bastard!" shouted Rabastan with no more patience and threw a

punch at Sirius in the cheek. Sirius felt some pain, but he didn't stand

still, he hit back at Rabastan, who recoiled a little.

"You hit like a girl, Lestrange!" exclaimed Sirius. Mulciber lunged at him,

but Lupin got in the way and unbelievably hit him back. A street fight

broke out in the Hogwarts Great Hall.

Everyone at the Slytherin table got up to watch the fight. Snape and his

friends did the same. The glasses of many were unprotected.

"Break it up right now!" shouted Slughorn angrily as he saw that the

school had turned into some sort of alley where bullies exchanged blows.

Sirius and Lupin sighed in relief. They were waiting for the Professor's

interference, as they were outnumbered. In addition to Rabastan,

Mulciber, and Avery, other first-year boys were about of joining the fight.

"You two get back to your table!" said Slughorn angrily. Sirius and Lupin

happily accepted his order. Luckily they were spared punishment. They

both had a bit of a bloody nose at most, and the same was true for the

Slytherin's.

"Amazingly, we didn't get punished," said Lupin, sitting down at the table

and being watched by everyone, a thing he was getting used to lately.

"Yeah, maybe he's tired of us always being the same," said Sirius also

thankful that he didn't get detention. Sirius wasn't planning on starting a

fistfight, but he wouldn't stand by while Rabastan beat him up.

Peter had already arrived. He managed to accomplish his mission,

otherwise McGonagall would have stopped the brawl before it started.

James had already accomplished his task. He emptied the three vials at

an incredible speed, now he was running to the Gryffindor common room

to put the cloak away and return to the dining room to watch the show.

'I have ten minutes before the potion takes effect' thought James as he

ran with a smile on his face. When he got to the common room he had to

wait for someone to come out before he could go in. He went to his room

and quickly put the cloak away.

In eight minutes, he walked into the dining room, with some sweat on his

forehead, "Hey guys, how are you?" asked James, sitting down at the

table.

"Better than ever," said Sirius, looking over at the Slytherin table. James

also turned his gaze, and a smile broke out on his face. Severus Snape

sipped his morning tea with his pale face and stoic expression.

"Rabastan, Avery, and Mulciber already drank. They looked very tired

after the fight and replenished their energy," said Lupin in a low tone and

with a strange smile.

The group conversed and laughed now and then in low tones as they

glanced at the Slytherin table. Lily noticed their strange behavior and

looked at them with judging eyes.

Finally, after a few minutes, Rabastan began to feel a slight discomfort on

the top of his head, specifically his scalp. He wasn't the only one, his

friends felt it too, and were touching their hair without understanding

what was going on.

A large number of flowers of all colors began to grow on the boys' heads.

Rabastan began to have pink flowers filled with bright beans. Mulciber

started to grow very strong purple flowers. Avery was a mixture of colors,

one part yellow, one part blue, and one part white.

The boys' faces turned to total incomprehension. Many people at their

table had already noticed the gaudy flowers on their heads. Worst of all,

the flowers kept growing, Rabastan grew a long multicolored head of

flowery hair down to his waist.

Sirius seeing his expression began to laugh out loud as he pointed at it,

causing the entire Gryffindor table to turn their attention to him.

"Are those flowers?" asked one girl looking at Rabastan, who despite the

distance from the table was very striking.

All the tables began to murmur noticing this strange occurrence. Many

laughed seeing the expressions of the arrogant Slytherin who wanted to

pull the flowers off, but couldn't, as it was their new hair and it was

painful.

"What the hell is this!" shouted Rabastan, plucking a purple flower and

feeling pain as if it were his hair.

The best part was not only that but many Slytherin students including

Severus Snape and his friends began to have the same symptoms. The

Slytherin table began to fill with colorful heads and screams of pain when

a student tried to pull the flowers off his or her head.

The Gryffindor table erupted in laughter and began shouting derisive

comments at the Slytherin table, making the Slytherin table even angrier.

'Sev!?' thought Lily, surprised to see Snape with a head of hair full of red

and yellow flowers. She had to control herself not to start laughing. It

was weird to see her friend with so many colors when he was very

gloomy.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 48: The Marauders

That day was the best for James, Sirius, Lupin, and for all Gryffindor in

particular.

For four hours, 90% of the first-year Slytherin boys had picturesque

flowers on their heads reaching up to their waists.

Rabastan was furious. He knew it was James and his group, but he had

no proof. At breakfast, he went furiously to the professors' table and

wanted an audience with Dumbledore, but he wasn't there at the time.

Even McGonagall could be seen smiling slightly in amusement at the

sight of the picturesque scalps. Also, since the flowers were harmless they

couldn't go to the infirmary and skip classes, so they had no choice but to

go to classes.

One of those classes was Potions, where they shared a class with

Gryffindor first years. An embarrassment that Rabastan and his friends

would never forget.

It was very amusing for Sirius to see Rabastan's usual haughty and

arrogant face full of colors and flowers, so he kept throwing taunting

remarks at the Slytherin, who was scowling all morning.

"Hey Lestrange!" shouted Sirius, suddenly, to get the other boy's

attention. Rabastan turned around, looking up. His hair full of flowers

and various colors gave his face a strange look.

"You look good with those flowers. Maybe you should get a perm!"

sneered Sirius, and the four boys dissolved into giggles as Rabastan

returned to his cauldron furious.

By the time the first period was over, the entire castle was buzzing with

rumors about what exactly had fallen upon the Slytherin boys. James was

very pleased with the outcome of his first big prank at Hogwarts.

'I must tell Mum and Dad,' he thought with a smile.

...

"Those damned Potter and Black! I'm sure it was them!" growled

Rabastan angrily in a dark corridor of the castle. He had to endure the

first class of taunts from all of Gryffindor. Now in a few minutes, he had

to go to another class, even though they weren't sharing with another

class, all the girls would be laughing at him.

"We must know how they did it. So they get punished. No, better get

them expelled!" shouted Rabastan angrily as pink flowers obstructed his

view.

"You saw how little importance the teachers gave it. I don't think it's

grounds for expulsion..." said Mulciber annoyed while sneezing because

he had a flower near his nose.

"Never mind, minimally a punishment... no, that will not suffice," said

Rabastan as he grinned evilly. Mulciber and Avery looked at each other

strangely, as the smile with a full head of hair full of flowers did not give

him an evil touch but rather a grotesque one.

...

"Today was a great day!" said Sirius slumped on the couch. His voice was

a little hoarse from spending all day laughing and mocking the Slytherin

boys loudly.

The group was in the Gryffindor common room which was empty, as it

was late at night.

"I wondered if Rabastan will be leaving Hogwarts?" said James with a

slight smile as he read the weekly quidditch magazine sitting on the

floor.

"We should tread carefully, who knows what he'll do for revenge,"

commented Lupin, who was doing late homework.

"T-that's right, they're going to want revenge!" said Peter shivering and

thinking internally that he mustn't get separated from the group as they

wandered the dark corridors of the castle.

"They don't know who they were, and even if they suspect us it's no time

to think about that," said Sirius, rolling his eyes and standing up straight,

"This is the day where our journey as professional pranksters began!" he

continued in a dignified tone of voice as if he was making a motivational

speech.

"Professional pranksters?" asked James, amused as he looked up from the

magazine.

"Exactly! It's the day when we complete our first official mission," said

Sirius.

'First mission?' thought Peter fearfully.

"Mm, let me think of a name..." said Sirius with a thoughtful look.

"A name...?" said the others as they started looking for a suitable name

for the group.

"How about the pranksters?" suggested Lupin.

"Very ordinary," said Sirius, shaking his head.

"The prankster lions?" asked Peter.

"You just add the lions to it, and it'll be obvious it's us or someone from

Gryffindor," said Sirius. James couldn't think of any names, it wasn't his

forte to think of good names.

"I know, stand up!" said Sirius, standing up enthusiastically.

"Since this day, we are The Marauders!" he added making it as if it was a

very important gala. The others raised their fists, then started laughing

because they thought it would be really weird for someone to see them

acting like that.

"Why The Marauders?" asked James, sitting down on the couch.

"These last few days we've been exploring the castle, its secret passages,

and stuff. In other words, we were marauding, and I'd say we don't have

very good intentions," explained Sirius with a slight smile.

The next few days, they were giving more importance to exploring the

castle to respect the new name of the group.

On the first Friday of October, James had finished his training with the

quidditch team and was left putting the equipment away, doing his duty

as props boy. The others wanted to help him, but he refused as

McGonagall had given him this punishment, and he had to fulfill it to

some minimal extent.

After finishing setting everything up, he began his walk back to Hogwarts

Castle to have dinner with his friends. The sky was already completely

dark, 'I never thought school would be so much fun' thought James as he

walked alone towards Hogwarts castle.

It had been a month since he had arrived at Hogwarts and made friends.

Not having friends was one of his regrets from his past life, although in

his childhood he was close to Emily and Gwen, because of age he

considered himself more like an older brother.

'I wonder what those two are doing,' thought James a little sad that their

relationship had drifted apart since he was chosen in Gryffindor and they

were in Slytherin.

James at that moment the attack of the masked wizards in the Quidditch

World Cup final came to his mind. Since he arrived at Hogwarts he

stopped training and reading new interesting and useful books.

Although he was fascinated by magic, most of his childhood was spent

reading books and practicing with his father in the training room.

Nowadays he found it much more fun to spend time with the Marauders.

Besides, his schedule was tight, he had classes until the afternoon,

quidditch training three days a week, and then he had to spend some

time completing homework assignments left by all the professors. If he

spent any more time practicing and reading new books he would be

hours and wouldn't be able to spend time with his friends.

Besides, he had a lot of time on his hands, so he didn't think much of it.

'I have time. Another day I'll look for a place to keep practicing and visit

the library...' thought James. It had only been a month, he had time.

Before he reached the dining room he was intercepted by Lupin, who had

a lot of sweat on his face. He looked like he had been running.

"Lupin, are you all right?" asked James, approaching his friend, who was

catching his breath.

"It's bad... James...!" said Lupin with difficulty.

"What's bad?" asked James with a bad feeling.

"Toby's in the infirmary, badly hurt!" replied Lupin, and James' brow

furrowed.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 49: Halloween

James and Lupin ran towards the infirmary. Opened the door abruptly

and noticed the stern gaze of Madame Poppy Pomfrey, the Hogwarts

Matron.

"Silence! Where do you think you are? Some people are resting," said

Poppy.

"Sorry..." said the two boys sheepishly.

"Is Toby all right?" asked Lupin, looking at the nurse.

"Yes, he's regained consciousness. The other two boys are talking to him,"

replied Poppy.

James and Lupin, hearing that he was already awake were relieved. As

they were about to go, Poppy stopped them, "Only two people can see

him at a time," she said in an irrefutable tone, so they had to wait.

"What exactly happened to him?" asked James, who didn't understand the

situation at all.

"He was the victim of a hex, specifically the puncture hex. Also, he had

several bruises on his back and arms," replied Poppy, "The kids are

getting bolder and bolder," she added in disgust.

'The puncture hex?' thought James as the anger inside him grew.

"We found him in the boys' bathroom. His face was unrecognizable. His

skin was all swollen, like some kind of allergic reaction or something.

Sirius and Peter carried him to the infirmary, and I went looking for you,"

said Lupin with fury hidden in his tone.

"Any word on who it was?" asked James, though a group of people were

already coming to mind.

"No... Sirius must be asking him about it," Just as Lupin said that the door

to the infirmary opened, and in walked McGonagall, who had been

alerted that a Gryffindor student was attacked.

McGonagall looked at James and Lupin for a second, "Where's the boy?"

she asked, looking at Poppy, who led her to where Toby was staying.

Within seconds, Sirius and Peter came out of where Toby was staying.

"Did he say anything to them?" asked James impatiently.

"Yes and no..." said Sirius as he started telling them everything Toby told

them. First of all, Toby couldn't see the faces of his attackers, as they cast

a charm on him that blocked his sight with a blindfold.

There was more than one attacker, he could hear about five voices. The

motive of the attack was to ask him about the flower prank that

happened several days ago. Who did it, and how?

The attackers wanted proof so they could blame the pranksters and have

them punished.

"Despite all the blows they threw at him he didn't say a word about us.

That's why they ended up casting the puncture hex on him..." Sirius

finished the story with a look rarely seen on his face.

The atmosphere in the waiting room of the infirmary was silent. All four

boys had conflicting looks on their faces. They all knew that Toby

suffered because of them since he was from their dormitory and

previously hung out with them.

"It's obvious it's about that bastard Rabastan and his stupid gang!"

growled Sirius after a few seconds.

"I think so too, but if we don't have proof they won't be punished," said

Lupin.

Just then McGonagall came out, "Professor, will they find the guilty

ones?" asked James, who didn't want them to get off so easy and receive

a punishment. Just like he did when he hit Mulciber and Avery with a

Flipendo.

"No promises, Potter, but we'll try. We can't let them freely attack

students when they go to the bathroom," said McGonagall, who was also

angry about this event.

The days went by. Toby had to stay all Friday and part of Saturday to

recover and be discharged. In the following days, the culprits of the

attack were not found.

James could notice the triumphant smile that Rabastan and his group

gave them, with Lupin they had to control Sirius so he wouldn't start a

fight every time he saw his arrogant face.

The marauders could do nothing. They were 100% sure it was Rabastan,

but they had no proof. The same thing happened to Rabastan when he

fell for the marauders' prank. Only this was not a harmless prank and was

a vicious attack by five people against one.

The only good news out of this was that one more person joined the

marauders, Toby. After the incident, Sirius saw to it that the boy rejoined

the group.

Sirius had felt too guilty, as he had always criticized Toby for his

cowardice and refused to join them when James invited him, but he

could see from this incident that Toby was loyal, and despite the beating,

he never gave them away.

James also valued this highly, as Toby did not say that they stole

Professor Slughorn's ingredients or that he possessed an invisibility cloak.

If Rabastan had known this he would not have kept quiet.

Monday, October 23, 1971.

Halloween week had begun. Perhaps because he was now so busy with

quidditch practice three nights a week, plus all the school homework and

marauder's night out. James couldn't believe that he had been at

Hogwarts for two months or so already.

At this time, they were unable to plan revenge against Rabastan and the

others for what they did to Toby. For one thing, because of the

homework, they gave him class after class, and for another, they couldn't

come up with any pranks that would equal or be better than the first one

they did.

The classes were getting more and more interesting now that they knew

the basics, especially the Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration,

Herbology, and Potions classes.

As for Charms for James, it was nothing interesting, mainly because he

was too far along in this subject. Just this week Professor Flitwick

announced in his class that he thought they were ready to start making

objects fly, something everyone was dying to practice except James.

The levitating charm (Wingardium leviosa) was already well mastered

and practiced. Thanks to this, he managed to get ten easy points for

Gryffindor.

As for Potions, although it was a subject he studied a lot like Charms,

Professor Slughorn took a different approach, and in his syllabus, he

taught potions that James had not made before, so he learned a lot.

On Halloween morning he awoke to the delicious aroma of baked

pumpkin wafting through the corridors. As he entered the Great Hall

followed by Sirius and the others, they could see the Halloween

decorations.

A thousand bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling, while a thousand

more passed between the tables, like black clouds, making the candles in

the pumpkins tremble. Food suddenly appeared on the golden plates, as

it had at the banquet at the beginning of the year.

"The following Saturday is the first quidditch match, right?" asked Sirius,

helping himself to a stuffed potato.

"Yes, this is the last week of training. We're up against Ravenclaw first

match," replied James as he grabbed a caramel-dipped apple.

"We're on?" asked Lupin.

"Well, I'm not playing, but I'm like one of the team," said James. He was

nervous for the first game of the year, but not that nervous since he

wasn't supposed to play and the responsibility wasn't on him.

That Halloween night was one of James' best days at Hogwarts. It was a

great party, and he had a lot of fun with the marauders and other

Gryffindors.

----------------------------------------------------

For every 150 stones I will upload an extra chapter :D

You can read 15 chapters in advance on my patreon.

Link: https://[email protected]/Nathe07

Chapter 50: Quidditch

As November began, the weather turned bitterly cold. The mountains

near the school turned an icy gray, and the lake looked like frozen steel.

Officially, the quidditch season had begun. This Saturday, the Gryffindor

team would play their first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor

versus Ravenclaw.

The Gryffindor captain, William had increased the intensity of training

this week, as it was the most crucial week, or so he said. Even though

James, wasn't allowed to play, he had to keep up with the team

members, something that was very tiring for him, as his physical

condition was inferior to theirs.

"Hey mate, we have to go to Astronomy class," Sirius said, looking at

James, who was slumped on his bed with his eyes closed.

Astronomy classes are every Wednesday at midnight as they have to

study the night sky through their telescopes. To James' bad luck a few

hours ago he had his quidditch practice and felt his whole body sore.

"I don't wanna..." said James wearily as he pulled the pillow over his face.

Sirius and Lupin looked at each other, they had to forcibly force James to

get up to go to class so they wouldn't be late.

Astronomy classes are held on the top level of the Astronomy Tower. The

tallest tower in Hogwarts Castle. James walked lazily feeling burning in

his muscles, 'That damn William,' he complained in his mind, as the

captain was making him follow the more advanced team members.

After star gazing for over an hour and the teacher explaining their names,

finally the class was over. James was able to go back to his dorm and

went to sleep without saying a word.

On Thursday he was able to rest his muscles, but not his mind in classes

where the teachers did not tire of giving him homework. Fortunately on

Friday, as it was the day before the game, William did not want to

fatigue the team members with too much training, and it was a training

with more tactical talk and about 30 minutes of practice.

The next morning dawned bright and cold. The large dining hall was

awash with the delicious aroma of fried sausages and the cheerful

conversations of everyone, who was looking forward to a good quidditch

match.

James was in a good mood, unlike the other days when he was very tired

and grumpy.

"Ravenclaw is the last champion. Are you confident of beating them?"

asked Sirius as he looked at James and ate his toast.

"A lot of the guys who won the cup last year with Ravenclaw, were

seventh years, and now the team had a very big turnover, so they don't

have as much experience. However, if they are going to have the

confidence of being the last champions. I think it will be feasible to beat

them," answered James, who knew all this thanks to William and his

tactical talks.

By eleven o'clock in the morning, the whole school seemed to be

gathered around the quidditch pitch. James as a prop, had the luxury of

being in the changing room with the team and was able to listen to

William's pre-match motivational talk.

When the team came out, James made his way to one of the seats next to

Sirius and the others. Instructor Hooch was the referee. The Ravenclaw

captain was new, and in the fifth year, you could tell he was very

nervous, as they had to defend the title, and most of the team were either

new players or inexperienced substitutes.

Hooch gave a long whistle with her dish whistle, and fifteen brooms rose

high in the air. The match had begun. The commentator who belonged to

Hufflepuff House started with his account and was very impartial, taking

his job seriously.

"The Ravenclaw captain took the quaffle, and there he goes... he's about

to... no, William the Gryffindor keeper and captain, manages to save the

shot, and Gryffindor gets the quaffle back,"

"GRYFFINDOR GOAL!" he exclaimed, and the screams from the stands

where all the Gryffindor students stood erupted in applause and cheers.

James watched with excitement and applauded as well. He was more

nervous than he thought. He was looking forward to being on the pitch

with his teammates that he had met and got closer to this last time.

'I want to play...' thought James with some jealousy as he watched them

fly.

The match continued, and William's reading was correct. The Gryffindor

team had a clear advantage against the new Ravenclaw players. The

scoreboard made it clear: GRYFFINDOR 50 - RAVENCLAW 0.

"Who knew it would be such a one-sided game! Gryffindor is crushing the

last champion!" the commentator exclaimed excitedly. The Ravenclaw

stand was silent and with elongated faces. They didn't expect their team

to be so bad. They were confident since they were the last champions,

but they were getting beaten.

On the other hand, the Gryffindor stand was the opposite, cheers,

applause, and lots of laughter, everyone thought this was their year.

Professor McGonagall also had a faint smile rarely seen on her face.

When the score was 70-20 in favor of Gryffindor, the golden snitch

finally appeared. Both Alex and the other Ravenclaw seeker saw it and

sped towards it.

The bad thing for Ravenclaw was that the seeker did not see that a black

ball was heading towards him at full speed aiming at his back. It was a

Bludger, the Ravenclaw beaters didn't have enough time to go to protect

him, as he had gone too far away to look for the snitch.

PAM!

A bang echoed throughout the stadium, and the Ravenclaw seeker was

hit. Luckily the Bludger didn't knock him off his broom, but it did cause a

lot of damage to his shoulder, allowing Alex to take the lead and grab the

snitch.

"Well done, Gideon!" shouted William, looking at the beater with a smile.

With a big smile, Alex raised his fist, and the entire stadium went silent

until Alex exclaimed, "I got the snitch!" The entire stadium exploded in

applause except for the Ravenclaw and Slytherin, who looked on with

disdain at everyone.

Hooch called the match to an end. Gryffindor won by 220 points to 20, a

crushing defeat and one of the biggest defeats in Ravenclaw's history.

With this great result, Gryffindor was first in the standings and

Ravenclaw second, although this is because Slytherin and Hufflepuff still

did not play their match. They would do it on Saturday of the following

week.

It was almost impossible for Ravenclaw to keep the second position. They

would most likely finish at the bottom of the table. That day in the

Gryffindor common room there was a big party in the evening.

None of the marauders felt like doing their homework, and they partied

all day. Even Toby usually wants to do homework so he doesn't get left

behind.

The following Saturday came and the Slytherin vs Hufflepuff match was

played. To the bitterness of all Gryffindor, the snakes won with a score in

favor of 180 to 80. However, they still had the lead and remained first.

After the first day was over, the scoreboard was like this:

[Gryffindor: 220

Slytherin: 180

Hufflepuff: 80

Ravenclaw: 20]

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 51: Death Eaters

The days after the quidditch date went by for James very slowly. Because

of all the tasks he had, although he was very capable and had a great

intellect, many tasks made him lazy, as in this life, he was not forced to

be perfect and developed a more relaxed character.

On the other hand, after witnessing the two quidditch matches his desire

to play increased noticeably. James had dreamed every day what the

match would have been like if he had been on the pitch.

Training with the team was just that: training. It couldn't compare to a

real game against another house.

'I want to play a real match...' thought James as he thought of some way,

but he knew it was impossible.

McGonagall had done enough by making it possible for him to have his

broom and train with the team. Besides, if he could play, he would be a

substitute, as William would choose Alex, a more experienced and more

established seeker.

"Where are you going? Class is here," Lupin said, stopping James by the

shoulder.

"You've been very distracted lately," Sirius commented as James

grimaced.

"There's nothing wrong with me. Come on," James said as he walked into

the classroom. Having so much quidditch practice and not being able to

put it into practice in an actual match was not a nice feeling, and he

would have to be like this until next year.

Today, they had a Defense Against the Dark Arts class. The marauders sat

in the back of the classroom. A few minutes later, the teacher arrived and

the room fell silent. Professor Antennae had a very strict and stern

personality, similar to Professor McGonagall, her presence alone was

enough to make the room silent.

The most striking thing was that Professor Antennae this time brought a

cage, or so it seemed, since it was covered by a black mantle. No one

dared to ask her what it was about.

"Let's call the list before we begin," she said as she took out a parchment

and started with the list. After a few minutes, she put the parchment

down on her desk and looked back at the class.

"In the previous class, we were looking at the Flipendo hex theory. Today

we will practice it," she began and saw someone raise their hand.

"Lily Evans," she added, giving her permission to speak and looking at the

red-haired girl.

"How will we practice it?" asked Lily. She knew from the books and the

lesson that the Flipendo hex could be felt as a blow to the chest and

knocked the target down, so it was a painful thing and couldn't be

practiced on other classmates as they would get hurt. Like the time James

sent Mulciber and Avery flying and knocked them unconscious.

Antennae smiled slightly, waiting for that question, "We'll practice with

this," she said as she pulled the black mantle off and uncovered the cage

and what was inside.

In the cage, several small-sized creatures could be seen. Each creature

was between six to fifteen centimeters tall, their skin was gray, and their

eyes were yellowish. The creatures upon seeing the light began to huddle

together and want to break the cages while having a slapstick grin on

their faces.

"Who can tell me which creature this is?" asked the professor seeing the

curious looks on the faces of all the students who began to get excited, as

they would finally have the long-awaited practical class.

Lily immediately raised her hand. Many more did as they knew what

creature it was.

"Jasmine Meadowes," said Antennae, looking at a girl with long straight

brown hair and hazel eyes.

"They are imps. They are found in Britain and Ireland. They say they

entertain themselves a lot by playing pranks and tormenting people they

come across," replied Jasmine.

"Correct. Imps live in wet or boggy areas, eat insects, and are not a

threat. They can be repelled quite easily by anyone. Usually using the

Flipendo hex to stun it and then throw it into a cage or bottomless pit,"

explained Professor Antennae.

"Now... I will call the first five people on the list and release the imp.

They must use Flipendo to send them back into the cage. The others will

watch and wait their turn," continued Antennae. If she brought imps for

everyone, the classroom would be in chaos, and it would be very difficult

to control the imps if they escaped.

In the classroom, there were numerous cries of "Flipendo!" most of them

were having a hard time since so far they only saw the theoretical part of

the evil spell and had little or almost no practice.

If the students failed and the imps headed their way with mocking smiles,

the teacher would stop them at the last minute, always keeping them

under control.

That was not the case for the marauders. James had taken it upon himself

to teach them the hex long before, and they practiced it in an unorthodox

way, as they used themselves as test subjects in unofficial duels.

The excuse they gave Slughorn that Sirius sent Lupin flying was not so far

off the mark. The other students saw this logically, as they all knew of

James' prowess with this hex, and it was very safe for him to teach it to

his group of friends.

So all five of them, even Toby, who learned the spell with less time,

showed a very good performance. James managed to send five devils to

the cage, which earned him a commendation from Antennae and 15

points for Gryffindor.

He was the first first-year student to earn points for his house from

Professor Antennae and a commendation.

...

One day in early December, James was eating breakfast in the large

dining room when the owl mail arrived. An owl flew towards him, but it

was not Shadow.

It was a medium-sized, white owl. In its mouth was a newspaper and it

had a bag tied to its leg. James looked at the owl and knew it was the

newspaper: The Prophet. He placed 1 Knut in the bag, and the owl

dropped the newspaper and resumed its flight. James was a subscriber to

the paper, unlike other students who were not.

He picked up the paper, and as he read the front page headline he

frowned. The news read as follows:

[Alarming Increase in Attacks on Muggles by a group calling themselves

the Death Eaters!]

In a dark and disturbing twist, a previously unknown group called "The

Death Eaters" has emerged from the shadows, spreading chaos and fear

among Muggles. From research, this is the same group that attacked at

the Quidditch World Cup final, murdering and tormenting a Muggle

family. However, this was not the end, reports of attacks on non-magical

people are slowly increasing, creating an atmosphere of apprehension in

the magical community.

Their attacks are at night and very difficult to detect. The only one that

wasn't was the one at the Quidditch World Cup. Every time they finish

with their attack they send a kind of dark mark into the sky, a bright

green skull with a snake protruding from its mouth, so if you see this

mark in the sky you should be very careful.

The Ministry of Magic authorities have issued warnings and have

intensified security in areas with the highest incidence of attacks, but the

question on everyone's lips is: who is behind these acts of ruthless

violence against Muggles?

The magical community is called to be on high alert and take extra

precautions as the Ministry of Magic works tirelessly to identify and

apprehend those responsible. Citizens are urged to report any suspicious

activity and to remain vigilant, at this time no wizards have been fatally

attacked, but anything can happen, so please be careful and do not act

recklessly.

The Prophet will continue to provide detailed and updated coverage as

more information comes to light.

Stay alert and stay safe!"]

'Shit...' thought James with an ugly expression.

"What happened?" asked Lupin, noticing the strange expression on his

friend's face who just passed him the newspaper to read. Sirius curious

about this walked over to Lupin and read along with him the news. Both

of their expressions were getting uglier the more they read.

"Those lunatics again," Sirius said, and Toby, who was paying attention to

his breakfast looked up in confusion, so Sirius passed him the paper.

Toby's face was the worst of all, a great fear came over him as he read

this news, "T-they'll catch them right...?" he asked, referring to the

Ministry of Magic who according to the news were already on the job.

"Of course, they must be a small sect or something like that. It's only a

matter of time before they catch them," said Sirius, who had already

heard stories of these people calling themselves the Death Eaters.

James knew this wasn't true, that this was something much bigger, to the

point that it would provoke a war.

'Still no Voldemort sighting...' thought James. It was time to resume

training. He had spent several months slacking off, though it wasn't

entirely so as he had classes and a lot of homework.

The problem in James' mind was how to practice and improve his magic.

There was no training room like the one his father had built at home.

Practicing spells in some empty classroom would be too dangerous, and

he could lose points or be punished if he destroyed something or Filch

caught him.

'I must visit the library first. It's time to read some new books,' James

thought.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 52: Defensive magic

Today's classes were over. James managed to turn Sirius and the others

away from wasting time and went straight to the library. Something the

marauders could not believe.

James under the guidance of his father before entering Hogwarts learned

and practiced martial magic referring to the forms of magic used

defensively and offensively in magical duels. He knows that Voldemort's

followers will not use clean means, and in combat situations, he may be

under unfavorable conditions.

'I must learn and practice more defensive magic,' thought James as he

entered the library for the second time at Hogwarts. There were hundreds

or rather thousands of books.

He didn't know where he would find the defensive magic books on so

many shelves, that it would take hours, so he decided to ask the librarian.

The librarian was a slender young woman with a very straight face. She

had black eyes and pale skin.

"Mm, excuse me?" said James, trying to get the attention of the woman

who was reading a book behind the counter.

"What do you need?" she asked in an irritated tone, looking up from her

book.

"I would like to know where the books on defensive magic are located,"

requested James.

The librarian, named Irma Prince, looked at him with a strange

expression. She could tell by James's face and height that he was one of

the first-year students or at most a second-year, so it was odd that this

one wanted to learn defensive magic which is a much more advanced

subject.

However, she didn't think much of it and answered vaguely, "Section

four, corridor six," she said as she turned her attention back to her book.

'Looks like Lily was right,' thought James a little disgusted by the

librarian's attitude. When he had first come with Lily to the library, Lily

had told him that the librarian was very lazy in helping the students find

the books they needed.

James started walking through the gigantic library. However, he didn't

know where aisle six was, rather from where do you count aisle one

from, left to right? Or from right to left? There was no signage.

With no other option, he decided to go into an aisle and search the books

to see if he could find anything.

'Alchemy, ancient art and science' read James the name of the book that

was hundreds of pages long.

'This isn't it. There are a lot of alchemy books...' thought James as he

pushed aside the bookshelf to go to another one. He kept looking but

couldn't find what he wanted. Books on ancient runes and magical

theory. Muggle studies. History of magic.

'Where the hell is corridor 6?' thought James with less patience as he put

the book back in its place.

"James?"

Hearing his name being called, James turned and saw a familiar blonde

girl. It was Penny Warrington, the girl he met months ago at the

quidditch world final.

"Hi, Penny," James greeted.

Since he entered Hogwarts he rarely spoke to Penny as they were both in

different houses, and James spent all his time with the marauders.

Besides Penny also had her group of friends. From what little he heard of

her she was one of the most popular girls in the first year.

"I'm surprised to see you here," said Penny, who was holding a book in

her arms.

"Why?" asked James.

"I come to the library regularly, and this is the first time I've met you

here," replied Penny, who had a very strict study routine and was one of

the freshmen who visited the library the most.

"The library is big. It's not the first time I've come here," said James lying

through his teeth. Lily had also treated him as lazy or so he saw that on

her face, when he told her that he never came to the library.

He's been reading magic books like crazy since he was eight. He could

take a couple of months off, right?

"Mm, if you say so..." said Penny, who didn't believe James much, as she

would have noticed James' messy jet hair, plus he was the person who

saved her life.

In the event where she almost died with her sister by a troll and was

saved by James, she couldn't think things through very well, because of

how nervous and terrified she was, but after that, she was able to analyze

everything better. Although it wasn't a nice memory to recall repeatedly.

Penny saw James use very advanced charms. Since she came to Hogwarts

she could understand more accurately how advanced they were. For

example, Expelliarmus also known as the disarming charm, usually this

charm is learned in the second year, and she could see how James had a

greater mastery than a beginner.

This made Penny interested in James, as he was not at all common. When

she heard about the incident where James used Flipendo on the Slytherin

boys she didn't think much of it, as she had seen him using more

advanced charms.

"Are you looking for a particular book?" asked Penny, changing the

subject.

Hearing this made James's little light bulb go off at the top of his head.

From what Penny said she comes to the library regularly, so she must

know where corridor six, section four is located.

"Yes, but I can't find corridor 6. Do you know where it is?" asked James

hopefully.

"Don't you know the library? I mean, if you're a person who's been here a

few times already, you should know that," said Penny, looking at James

with an expression that looked like a mix of a judging look and an

amused grimace.

'She caught me...' thought James, looking at the slight smile on Penny's

face.

"Well...you know the library is big, and I'm not very good at getting my

bearings," said James, lying through his teeth again.

Penny couldn't help but let out a laugh as she saw that James didn't want

to accept that he didn't know the library, "Okay, follow me," she said as

she took the lead, and James followed her.

"This is corridor six," Penny said. James knew it was the right thing to

ask her for directions, as he had gone too far, and it would have taken

him a long time to get here.

"Thanks," James said.

"It's nothing. I've got to go. I have to meet up with some mates from my

house to help them with something. See you," Penny said as she headed

to the table area.

'She's nice and helps her mates,' thought James with a strange expression.

Putting those thoughts aside, he headed for section four which luckily

was signposted in the corridor.

"Let's see, defensive, defensive magic..." whispered James, looking for

books that might help him.

"Here's one... Wilbert Slinkhard's Defensive Magical Theory. It might be

useful" James said as he picked it up and kept looking.

After searching for a while, James had several books and went to an

empty table to start reading them. In addition to the first book, he found

the following:

The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Practical Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Practical Defensive Magic and Its Use Against the Dark Arts

'4 thick books. Let's start reading and see which ones are the best,'

thought James as he opened page 1 of Defensive Magic Theory.

Since he would have to face dark wizards, the best thing to do was to

learn defense against the dark arts. The most powerful defensive charm

he managed to learn after much practice was: Protego.

Also known as the shield charm that protects the user with an invisible

shield reflecting spells and blocking physical entities.

This charm was one of the most advanced and most difficult for James to

learn. He has not even mastered it, as he was able to cast it successfully

relatively recently. The first time he used it in a real fight was against the

troll, and if it wasn't for the half-armored shield that managed to absorb

part of the blow, he would have died.

Time passed, and James read the book with concentration.

"Who the hell wrote this garbage?" muttered James, closing the book

with a frown as he read the author's name again to make sure he didn't

read any more of his books.

He read up to chapter ten, and instead of teaching you defensive magic,

the author tries to discourage the use of defensive magic. Having a

pacifist approach. For example, chapter three was titled: Reasons for non-

aggressive responses to magical attacks. Another chapter was entitled:

"Peaceful Response and Negotiation."

'Does he want me to stand still while a deadly attack is launched at me?'

thought James as he moved on to the next book titled: The Essential

Defence Against the Dark Arts.

'I hope it's not garbage...' he thought, opening to page one.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 53: Joker

An hour passed. James did not change the book. He realized that this

book was very good, so he decided to study it completely, before moving

on to another book.

In the first few pages, he talks about the history and nature of dark

menaces. Then, he goes into the recognition of basic jinxes, how to

identify them, and what countermeasures to implement.

He talked about counter jinxes, a type of counterspell designed to remove

the effects of a jinx or other dark charm. However, these were basic

curses such as the snot curse that gives the target a nasty cold and a

runny nose that could cause the victim to collapse if left untreated. The

counter jinxes were covered and explained in several pages.

'Even if I know the counter Jinxes, I can't put it into practice, as I would

have to have someone with the snot jinx...' thought James after studying

the theory for the counter jinx.

In addition to these topics, he talked about dangerous magical creatures

such as the Kappa, a Japanese water demon that feeds on human blood.

They were known to strangle humans who invaded their shallow ponds.

They were classified as XXXX creatures by the British Ministry of Magic.

Another example of a creature was a Hinkypunk, a tiny one-legged

magical beast with an appearance of faint blue, grey, or white smoke.

They had a propensity to lead travellers off their paths at night, into

treacherous swamps or wetlands in the guise of a helpful being carrying a

lamp. They also emitted sporadic screams and growls.

James was very fascinated by the subject of magical creatures, so far the

most extraordinary thing he had seen was the troll, 'What would it be like

to have a Kappa in front of you or a dragon,' thought James, imagining

the scene.

Thinking of magical creatures, the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts came to

mind. Rumour has it that there are a lot of magical creatures such as

trolls, giants, centaurs, and even unicorns.

Hagrid is the ranger. He must have a great knowledge of the forbidden

forest and its creatures' thought James, remembering Hagrid, a burly man

of about ten feet. The first time he saw him was when he took them

across the boats across the lake to Hogwarts castle and also because he

was one of the characters he got to know when he read the novel years

ago.

'Maybe I should visit him... he must have some very interesting stories to

tell,' thought James. Just outside the castle was the hut where Hagrid

lived on the edge of the forbidden forest.

From what he remembered from the little he read he was becoming more

and more distant and confused as the years went by, and he had more

and more memories, which made it harder to remember some things

Hagrid's personality was gentle and somewhat silly. He was the first

person to treat Harry nicely.

James was engrossed in his reading. He felt someone tap his shoulder,

again it was Penny, "It's time for dinner in the great dining hall," said

Penny in a low tone, pointing to the clock that was almost 7 PM.

"Thanks," said James, whose eyes were hurting from reading for almost 3

hours non-stop. He closed the book and stood up from his spot.

"I'll help you," Penny said as she helped James carry the rest of the books

to their place.

James nodded gratefully. He couldn't believe Penny was such a nice and

friendly girl. This was the third time she had helped him.

Usually, the girls he met were either bossy and angry (Lily), very

talkative and shrill (Gwen), or with a stoic look and few words (Emily).

"Will you be taking any books with you?" asked Penny as she walked

alongside James, who didn't know there was such a function in the

library, but showed nothing in his face.

"No, it will be impossible to study in the Gryffindor common room if my

friends are there," said James, shaking his head. Sirius would be very

unbearable, and they'd probably end up playing games or playing pranks.

"They're quite famous these days," commented Penny, referring to the

marauders as a whole.

"What, really?" asked James, who was unaware of this.

"Yeah, you guys did the flower prank on the Slytherin students, right?"

asked Penny, although she was 99% sure it was James and his friends.

"Is it that obvious?" asked James with a strange look on his face.

"Hahaha to me it is. The others, I don't know. I always see them getting

into fights with the Slytherin students, plus just before they started a

fistfight you weren't there, which was strange to me. How did you do it?"

asked Penny, very curious, although she knew James and his friends had

to see it, she didn't know how they had managed it.

"Trade secrets. I can't reveal our hidden cards," said James with a

mysterious smile. He wouldn't go revealing to everyone that the

marauders possessed an invisibility cloak and stole the odd ingredient

from a Hogwarts professor.

Penny let out a dramatic sigh, and an expression of dissatisfaction

appeared on her face, "Oh come on, did you join some exclusive mystery

club that you can't tell your best friend about?" she said, acting dramatic.

'Best friend?' thought James with an amused grin. On the trip to the great

dining hall, they spent the whole time bantering until they each went to

their tables.

"Mate, over two hours in the library, what happened to you?" asked

Sirius, looking at James like he was someone else. The other marauders

also looked at him as if they were looking at another James. However, if

they thought about it carefully, it wouldn't be unusual for James to spend

a lot of time in the library since he is a top first-year student.

The strange thing would be if he never visited the library, but since they

had never seen him go to the library during this time, they took it as a

strange occurrence.

"As the Potter heir, I have to set an example," replied James, acting

exaggeratedly like a pure-blooded boy.

"I don't believe a word of it..." said Sirius with a faint smile, "Anyway, we

have a mission today," he added in a serious tone.

"A mission? It's already late at night. What do you want to do?" asked

Lupin with a bad feeling. Toby and Peter also had a bad feeling when

they saw the slight smile on Sirius' face.

"Listen..." he said in a low tone, looking to the side to see that no one was

spying on them.

"It's time we claimed revenge for Toby. Those bloody snakes played dirty,

and now we're going to pay them back with interest," said Sirius.

'I don't want revenge...' thought Toby, but on the other hand, he wanted

to do his first mission with the marauders, as he had stayed away from

the group on the previous one.

"What did you have in mind?" asked James, who was already fully

focused on Sirius' words.

"I've managed to set up a meeting with the Joker," replied Sirius and his

grin was growing.

James, Lupin, Peter, and Toby looked at each other confused, and asked,

"Who is the Joker?"

"They don't know anything... Well, his identity is very secret, and he

always hides his tracks. The Joker is a smuggler. He has a clandestine

network in Hogwarts, where he sells prank goods, everything you can

imagine. Filch has been after him for a long time, but he's never been

able to catch him," Sirius explained seriously and in a low tone.

'A joke product smuggler?' thought James incredulously. He seemed to

have a great backstory and be a very important character since Filch

couldn't catch him after all this time.

"Wouldn't it be bad to interact with that person?" said Peter fearfully.

"Don't worry, he keeps all his deals, and it was very hard to be able to

contact him," said Sirius.

"So that's what you were doing those hours you were disappearing this

last week..." said Lupin, and Sirius nodded with a smile.

Then Sirius started telling them everything he knew about the urban

legend of the Joker at Hogwarts. He appeared four years ago, so at the

very least he's in 6th, as it would be very hard to believe that a student

just starting could plant a whole network of contraband.

The Joker has a very serious refund policy. If there is something wrong

he always refunds the money, showing himself to be a good salesman.

"I understand, but what is it you want to buy him?" asked James, looking

strangely at Sirius, as he seemed to idolise the Joker.

"We're going to buy him dung bombs. It's a stink bomb that gives off a

putrid smell," replied Sirius.

"Oh, that product is quite well known. I think it's from Zonko's joke shop

in Hogsmeade..." said James reminiscing, and Sirius nodded.

"And how many of those do you want to buy?" asked Lupin, and Sirius

held up a finger, "10?" asked Toby, "No, 100," replied Sirius.

"100 bombs-" Before Peter could continue to raise his tone, Sirius covered

his mouth, "Shhh," he said with a frown. He didn't want his plan to leak

out.

"It's better to talk in our room, come on," Sirius said as he got up from the

table, as everyone had finished eating.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 54: The holidays are

starting

"James...is this a good idea?" asked Lupin who was under the invisibility

cloak. Next to him was James and Toby.

It was already late at night and they had made their way to the meeting

point agreed upon by Sirius and the Joker. Currently Sirius was further

ahead waiting for the so famous smuggler.

The invisibility cloak at most could carry about 4 people under it, already

five was too many, so they played rock, paper, scissors and ended up

coming: Sirius, James, Toby and Lupin. Although Sirius would come

anyway, since he had the meeting.

James who always agreed with Sirius and any prank against Rabastan

and his friends, had a conflicted look on his face. Before coming here,

Sirius explained to them the prank and how to use the 100 dung bombs.

The prank was as follows: enter the Slytherin common room under the

invisibility cloak and once there fill the entire common room and the

boys' dormitories with dung bombs.

The problem was that dropping 100 rotten smelling bombs would leave

the Slytherin hall in an uninhabitable state with a smell that would linger

for several days. Also, they would be affecting all Slytherin students from

first year to seventh year.

If they are caught they will be very screwed, and the punishment could

be months of cleaning the trophy room or armor or worse. On the other

hand, they will make enemies of all the Slytherin students, though this

James doesn't mind so much. They will have the wrath of hundreds of

students not just Rabastan and the first years.

"I don't know...for now let's watch" James replied.

Lupin nodded slightly. He knew Sirius was already deep into this prank

and he was very stubborn. The only person who could talk some sense

into him was James, but if James agreed to the prank, it was impossible

for him and the other two to try and call it off.

Sirius found himself in a dark corridor. He was getting more and more

nervous and looked everywhere. He didn't want to be caught by Filch and

his damn cat.

'Come on, Joker... show yourself' thought Sirius. Finally after five minutes

he heard footsteps.

Sirius looked over nervously, ready to escape in case it was Filch. A

figure with a black cloak and a clown mask appeared. He walked calmly

towards Sirius who was examining him with his light eyes somewhat

nervously.

"Is that the Joker...?" muttered Toby looking at the clown-masked figure.

"I hope he doesn't try anything funny" said Lupin with wand in hand, the

Joker figure didn't give him a good feeling. James was also watching him

closely, ready to act in case he tried anything.

The conversation between Sirius and the Joker lasted about five minutes.

At one point a chuckle could be heard coming from the Joker. James

guessed it was due to Sirius' request for 100 dung bombs.

Finally, the Joker went back the way he came, and Sirius headed back to

where the marauders were under the invisibility cloak. Lupin had to stick

his hand out so Sirius could see them and get under the cloak.

They made it back to the dormitory without a problem, "Everything

okay?" asked Peter who was standing and walking in circles around the

room, clearly nervous.

"I don't know. Ask Sirius" said James as he put the cloak away in his

trunk.

"Quite a success. He accepted the order. The bad news is that he'll deliver

it to me after Christmas, in early January. Since it's a lot of stink bombs"

replied Sirius with a grin.

"How much will it cost?" asked Lupin.

"One Sickle and forty Knuts a unit. I'll pay for it. I'd rather spend the

money my mother gives me on these things" Sirius replied trying to

imagine his mother's expression if she finds out what he spends the

money she gives him on.

"What if the Joker is from Slytherin? When he's in her hall and a lot of

stink bombs start going off she'll know it was you" commented Lupin.

"Mm, it's true he'll know it's me, but he won't be able to say anything, as

he'll have to show proof and his identity will be out in the open and I

think he'll get a worse punishment than us if they find out he's the Joker"

replied Sirius who already had it all figured out.

"Besides, it's impossible for someone as cool as the Joker to be from

Slytherin" he added in a totally convinced tone.

...

Christmas was close at hand. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts

awoke covered in nearly three feet of snow. The lake was frozen solid.

James and Sirius were punished for using Wingardium Leviosa on many

snowballs and starting a snowball war with the Prewett brothers.

In the course of the war several innocents were hit by the snowballs.

Luckily the punishment was no big deal and they only had to spend an

hour copying 'I won't do it again' in McGonagall's office who every now

and then looked up from the papers she was correcting and looked at

them with exasperation.

"I'd say it was a draw" whispered Sirius as he wrote.

"A draw? Of course not! Look at your robe" said Gideon Prewett. Sirius's

robes were full of snow, clearly it was very difficult to beat the two

batsmen of the Gryffindor quidditch team.

After an hour they left McGonagall's office who gave them a warning:

next time they repeat the same thing it will be three hours writing

instead of one.

"It's getting closer and closer to the vacations" said Sirius walking down

the corridors full of icy drafts.

"Yes. I already want to go home" said James who had missed his parents

a lot in these months he didn't see them.

"I don't. I just want to rest and not have homework. I'll have to put up

with my mother's sermon" said Sirius with a grimace.

"Good luck with that. Lupin and Toby are staying at the castle, right?"

asked James.

"Yes, from Toby I can understand since he lives in an orphanage and it's

preferable to spend Christmas in a giant castle, rather than in a small

room and lots of kids bothering you... but from Lupin I don't understand."

"That's true..." said James thinking about Lupin. From what little he told

about his parents they seemed to have a good relationship, while

thinking about Lupin a couple of strange occurrences around Lupin came

to his mind.

Since they started Hogwarts there is always one day of the month, where

Lupin disappears and the next day he is late for classes or if it's a

weekend he doesn't show up for several hours. The excuse he gave so far

was that he was grounded or had a cold or something like that.

The others noticed this too, but Lupin was reluctant to give any further

explanation so they stopped asking about it.

These days James began frequenting the library and continuing to read

the defensive magic book. So the explorations with the marauders were

less.

The vacations began. Before saying goodbye to his friends, James invited

all the marauders to visit him. As expected, Lupin declined and Sirius

who wanted to spend two weeks fooling around with James, also had to

decline, as his family did not approve of the Potter Family as blood

traitors.

"Narcissa, that bitch. Has been feeding my parents information" explained

Sirius in a mournful tone, "Apparently, I've disgraced them enough. If I

go to your house it will only get worse. Sorry mate" Sirius said with a

long face. James didn't think much of it, it wasn't the first time he'd had a

friend with a supremacist family on the subject of lineage.

Narcissa Black was Sirius' cousin, she was currently a fourth year and

they had crossed paths a couple of times. She had an icy stare and a

haughty, arrogant expression. She was not a girl of many words. She

barely spoke to Sirius for family matters.

As for Gwen and Emily they managed to go to her house long ago since

she had saved Gwen and if the Shafiqs didn't let them go to the Potters'

house, they would be showing themselves very ungrateful.

Toby also refused James, as he did not want to leave Lupin alone,

although he was eager to see his friend's house. The only one who was

allowed to go was Peter who accepted with much enthusiasm.

"I'll send you owls! See if you can come up with any plans for our next

prank!" said James waving goodbye to Lupin and Toby.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 55: Christmas

When James got off the Hogwarts Express and saw his parents he had to

contain his excitement to keep from running up and hugging them. There

were a lot of eyes, and at Hogwarts, he came across as someone who was

a joker, and from what he heard from Penny along with the marauders

they were popular.

Besides, he didn't want Rabastan and his Slytherin friends to see him

lovingly hugging his parents and be teased later, as he might end up with

Rabastan stuck against the wall at Hogwarts and James with two weeks

of punishment.

They got into Fleamont's Peugeot 504 and the whole trip he spent the

whole trip telling them everything he did at Hogwarts. Especially about

the flower prank.

"That's a good one! I would have never thought of that joke," said

Fleamont, laughing loudly, "Pay attention, you're driving," said

Euphemia, who had also thought it was a great joke. Especially because it

was harmless. Otherwise, she would be lecturing James.

James didn't tell the part where he stole ingredients from a professor, and

according to his version they managed to get the ingredients "legally."

Arriving at Godric's Hollow, he could see how the whole town was

painted with snow and festive decorations. On every door and window,

Christmas garlands give all the houses a very charming and magical air.

As they passed through the main square, James could see that in the

center was a huge Christmas tree that seemed to reach the sky. He wasn't

too surprised as it was not the first time he had seen how picturesque the

town was at Christmas, but he still was very happy when he saw the

town with all the Christmas decorations.

When he got home he saw that everything was the same, the only

difference was the decorations. Lights, garlands, and the tree in the

center of the living room.

'It's good to be home,' thought James, entering the warm hearth. With his

parents, they sat in the armchairs in front of the fireplace which gave off

a very warm heat.

The family of three stayed for a long time chatting happily. James had

missed his father and mother whom he loved so much in this life. Later

that day, his grandfather arrived and had to repeat all the same stories,

but it didn't bother him at all.

'Almost two weeks break,' thought James as he yawned, already lying in

his bed.

The days passed quickly much to James' chagrin as he enjoyed the

company of his family. Besides spending time with his parents and

grandfather he also spent time practicing defensive magic, reading books,

and flying his broom.

He did all of this in the training room that his father had built. It was a

very large and high room that allowed him to fly without any problem,

although it did not compare to the Quidditch pitch.

As for flying, he practiced releasing the golden snitch and trying to catch

it, since he could not escape. It was a very effective training. The only

thing that didn't resemble reality was that there weren't two Bludgers

heading at full power towards him.

"Another fabulous catch!" praised Fleamont, watching as James took the

snitch taking a sudden turn.

"You will be one of the best seekers in Gryffindor history," he added as

James landed softly. As a father, he was very proud that his son was a

great talent at quidditch. He knew that he was given special permission

to practice with the team, which fueled his pride in his son even more.

"We can add a couple of Bludgers to simulate a real match," commented

Henry, who was watching everything with a big smile on his face.

"Not. It's good enough that I've let him chase the snitch while performing

those dangerous spins," said Euphemia in an irrefutable tone.

'I've already trained with Bludger's mom...' thought James as he put the

snitch away instead.

Even though Euphemia knew that James has already trained with real

Bludgers, she didn't want him to do it at home and have an accident

happen.

"Tomorrow your friend is coming, right?" asked Henry.

"Yes, Peter," nodded James, who was waiting for him to arrive to train

him and for the cowardly Peter to improve his flying.

The next day, Peter arrived along with his parents. Euphemia had them

come in for tea and to get to know each other, as her sons are friends.

Peter's parents seemed very nice, and despite being pure-blooded

wizards, they showed no dislike for Muggles, nor did they think they

were superior to others because of their lineage.

For the next three days that Peter stayed at the Potter house, they spent

the next three days flying in the training room, playing magical chess

where Peter showed talent. However, he could not beat James.

On Christmas Eve, James went to bed excited for the next day to come

and have presents and eat all kinds of food prepared by his mother. He

had already arranged to send presents to all his friends, including Penny,

Gwen, and Emily, although he had distanced himself from the latter two.

Early the next morning, his parents woke him up by bringing him

breakfast in bed, a cup of hot chocolate with milk, marshmallows, and

pumpkin pancakes.

"Merry Christmas, sweetie!" greeted Euphemia lovingly as she kissed him

on the forehead.

"Merry Christmas, champ!" said Fleamont, messing up James' hair

lovingly.

"Merry Christmas, Mom, Dad!" said James as he hugged his parents

tightly causing him to almost drop his hot chocolate on the bed.

Even though every Christmas had been this way, he still wasn't used to

how loving his parents were, so he hugged them so he knew it was all

real.

"Have a quiet breakfast, there are lots of presents waiting for you,"

Euphemia said in a happy tone, as she had seen many presents from her

son's new friends.

Hearing this, James ate breakfast in a hurry, as he was eager to open all

his presents. He went downstairs to the living room, where under the

Christmas tree was a large pile of presents wrapped in all sorts of colored

paper.

James picked up the package that was on top of the small mountain. It

was wrapped in shiny green paper and had a simple statement on it: 'To

James, from Gwen.'

'She's not that heartless,' thought James with a slight smile as he saw that

Gwen was still sending him gifts. What struck him as odd was that

Emily's name didn't appear, usually in previous Christmases they both

sent him a gift, and both Shafiq girls' names appeared.

He eagerly opened the green package. It contained a bracelet made of

fine silver, intricately worked to form delicate links. The silver shines

with a subtle luster, giving the jewelry a noble look. On the links could

be seen a message that James did not understand as it was printed in

ancient runes.

'I wonder what meaning it will have,' thought James as he moved the

bracelet closer to his wrist. When it was close enough it opened

automatically and was placed on his wrist. To take it off he only had to

think about it, and it came off easily.

The second one was smaller. When he saw the note, he knew it was in

the handwriting of his friend, Sirius. It read as follows: 'This is all I could

buy. Now my mother is giving me less and less money. Very stingy.

Because of the tradition thing and acting like a Black, blah, blah, blah.

Plus, I also need money for the prank you know... Sorry, see you soon,

Sirius Black.'

James let out a chuckle imagining Sirius as he was ranting and writing

the note. Opening it, he saw a case containing a fancy black magic

writing quill.

He opened more and more presents. From his grandfather, Henry; his

Potter uncles, whom he saw every so often; his friend Peter; from William

and other members of the quidditch team; even from Penny, who gave

him a book about quidditch and a box of chocolates.

'I was right to send her a gift,' thought James, as it would have looked

bad if he didn't send her a gift.

Then came the turn of the gifts from his parents which were many. For

one, his mother personally knitted him a red sweater. A gift that James

appreciated all the more since his mother made it with her own hands.

She also gave him a Falsoscope and a lot of sweets (dragees of all flavors,

chocolate frogs, sugar feathers, etc.)

On the other hand, his father gave him a completely custom-made

Puddlemere United uniform. Identical to the one worn by the pros, only

matching James' body.

"Isn't that great, son?" asked Fleamont with a smile as he saw the look of

excitement on James' face as he looked at the uniform.

"That's great!" nodded James, who already wanted to try on the uniform.

"In a little while you'll be flying in the Puddlemere uniform. Now tell me,

which present was the best?" asked Fleamont confidently.

"Mom's gift!" said James without a second's hesitation as he hugged

Euphemia, who accepted the hug and looked with a triumphant smile at

her husband.

After they finished opening the gifts, Henry arrived, and they had a

Christmas meal, with a plethora of dishes and delicacies. After the meal,

hot puddings followed for dessert.

In this way, Christmas came to an end, being one of the best Christmases

for James (like all the others since he was reborn in this magical world.)

----------------------------------------------------

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You can read 15 chapters in advance on my patreon.

Link: https://[email protected]/Nathe07

Chapter 56: Talk with Gwen

During the rest of the Christmas break, James' routine didn't change

much. He spent time with his parents, practiced his flying now dressed in

the Puddlemere United uniform, did the homework the teachers had left,

and continued reading the defensive magic book and putting spells into

practice.

One day before classes started, James returned to Hogwarts. He met

Sirius, who had already returned five days ago, as he wanted to leave

home as soon as possible. Peter arrived on the same day as him.

"Thanks for the gift, James. The homework planner is going to be very

useful to me! Sorry for not sending you a present..." said Toby when

James arrived in the Gryffindor common room. He could see him looking

a little embarrassed.

"You're welcome, it's okay. I hope it comes in useful," said James with a

smile patting Toby's shoulder.

"Can't send you anything because I don't have an owl. Here you go. Merry

Christmas," Toby said as he handed James a book. James wasn't

expecting this. He took the book. Its title was as follows: History of the

Quidditch League of Great Britain and Ireland.

"Oh, I've wanted to buy this book for a long time!" said James excitedly.

He could see that the book was used, but he didn't say anything. He knew

that Toby came from an orphanage, so buying a book would have cost

him a lot.

"Thanks, Toby!" he said with a smile, and Toby nodded sheepishly.

"By the way, where's Lupin?" asked James, sitting on the edge of the bed

as he opened the book.

"He told me he went to the library. Very nerdy. At this pace, he's going to

turn into Lily Evans two," replied Sirius, who was looking for something

in his trunk.

Lupin, unlike how lazy they were Sirius had a study routine, only

sometimes it faltered, as The Marauders explored the castle and had

"Missions", so he preferred to have fun with them, but he knew when to

say no and go to the library, without neglecting his study.

"At the end of the month was he back in the infirmary?" asked James,

looking at Toby who was the one who had stayed with Lupin. Sirius left

his trunk alone and looked at Toby as he was also curious before Lupin's

strange disappearances.

"Yes... one day before New Year's, he was in the infirmary all day," Toby

confirmed.

"What excuse did he give you this time?" asked Sirius.

"He said he was feeling sick. He had a bit of a fever," replied Toby.

"That's strange..." commented Peter, and they all nodded at the same

time.

"What's he going to do? Is he going to have a girlfriend? And that's why

he's running away without us seeing him," said Sirius in a strange tone.

They all shook their heads. Lupin always hung out with them or in the

library. They would have noticed something like that.

A conversation about what Lupin does when he disappears once a month

starts in the room. Sirius was coming up with many crazy and

implausible theories.

Just as Sirius was saying that Lupin had a strange disease and had to take

a potion or else he would die the door to the room opened, and in walked

the person they were talking about.

They all shut their mouths, and the room went silent, something Lupin

noticed as it was very strange for a boy like Sirius to shut up so suddenly.

"What's wrong?" asked Lupin with a frown and a somewhat angry tone.

He was almost sure they were talking about him.

"Nothing...we were talking about..." said Sirius, looking to James to help

him find an excuse.

"From the 1945 league final, where they played an English team versus

an Irish team," James said quickly as he showed the book to Lupin, who

snorted without believing a word of it and went to put away the books he

was holding in his hands.

An awkward atmosphere lingered in the room until Toby asked if they

did the homework the professors left and went back to talking normally.

The only one who kept quiet was Lupin, who after a few minutes lay

down on his bed and closed the curtains.

...

Monday, January 3, 1972.

Classes began, and so did Quidditch practice. James decided to dedicate

two hours a day to be in the library. He would like to dedicate more

time, but he couldn't. His schedule was tight, especially on the days when

he had classes and quidditch training.

On Saturdays and Sundays, he could dedicate more time since he didn't

have so many hours of classes and training.

At breakfast, there was the typical scene of hundreds of owls coming in,

bringing with them many letters. To James's surprise, Shadow flew past

the jam and sugar bowl and dropped a note on James's plate, who

immediately opened it.

[James (it said in very nice, neat handwriting):

Come to Classroom 11 today. After 5 o'clock at that time, it is empty. It is

located in the corridor that starts opposite the large oak entrance doors,

on the first floor of the castle. Do not be late.

Gwen Shafiq]

James the last thing he expected was a letter from Gwen summoning him

for a meeting later. The strangest thing of all was that she did it through

a letter when they saw each other every day in the corridors or the Great

Hall.

He looked towards the Slytherin table and quickly found a very striking

blonde hair. Gwen looked at him subtly before turning her attention back

to her friends.

'Is it so bad to talk to me in front of your house?' thought James with a

strange expression, although on second thought he had insulted Gwen's

best friend, so if Anastasia Nott saw Gwen talking to James it wouldn't

look good at all.

"What's wrong? Did Rabastan do something?" asked Sirius, ready for a

fight at any moment.

"It's nothing, don't worry," said James, stuffing the letter in one of his

pockets.

After the end of the day's classes, James broke away from the group and

began his search for classroom 11. Luckily, he had time, otherwise he

would have been late and would have had to put up with Gwen's anger.

'This must be it,' thought James, reading a sign that had Classroom 11

carved on it. As he walked in he could see Gwen sitting at a desk as she

played with her hair.

"You finally get here," said Gwen, acting annoyed.

"I'm sure it's still a few minutes to five," said James, looking at the clock

in the classroom, and sure enough it was 16:57.

"You can't keep a girl waiting. You have to be there 15 minutes before

the appointed time. It's basic etiquette," said Gwen, who wasn't planning

on backing out.

"Fine, fine whatever you say. Next time, I'll be fifteen minutes early," said

James, who knew that Gwen would not stop until she won the argument.

At this Gwen smiled happy that she had won, "What class do they teach

in this classroom?" asked James, curious.

"As far as I know, Ancient Runes, a third-year class," replied Gwen.

"Speaking of Ancient Runes, what does the writing on the bracelet

mean?" asked James, rolling up his sleeve and leaving his wrist exposed,

where he was wearing the silver bracelet Gwen gave him for Christmas.

"I had a hard time getting the message written in ancient runes," began

Gwen happy to see James wearing her gift.

"Since I had a hard time doing it, it will be your task to decipher the

message," she added with a smile.

'What kind of logic is that?' thought James, rolling his eyes.

"Don't make that face. There are ancient rune books in the library. Study

them and stop making jokes with Sirius Black," said Gwen, looking at

James with narrowed eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about..." said James, playing dumb.

"I'm 100% sure it was you who planned the flower prank," said Gwen

moving closer to James.

"Oh... that's a very high rate. The proof?" asked James with a slight smile.

"When we were kids, you always played pranks on Goyle and Crabbe and

they never caught you, although I think it was because they were scared

of you..... Anyway, I know you, James," said Gwen, who was sure it was

James and his friends.

James looked at Gwen. He knew he couldn't hide this from her, even

Penny could tell it was about them. Gwen was his childhood friend and

knew him best.

"Okay, you're right... Don't tell me that wasn't a good joke," James said

with a smile remembering the embarrassed and angry faces of Rabastan

and his friends.

Gwen laughed and admitted that it was very funny. Especially since she

didn't like Rabastan, who always wanted to start a conversation with her,

something she found annoying.

They were talking for almost a full hour, catching up a bit, as it had been

a long time since they had talked like that. James asked about Emily, but

Gwen didn't say much about her sister, just that they had drifted apart

since they were each in a different year and they were dealing with their

stuff.

"See you. Next time don't be late," Gwen said goodbye as she crept out of

the hall.

'Next time?" thought James.

----------------------------------------------------

For every 150 stones I will upload an extra chapter :D

You can read 15 chapters in advance on my patreon.

Link: https://[email protected]/Nathe07

Chapter 57: Werewolves

After he met with Gwen, James wasted no time and went straight to the

library. From one of the shelves, he took the book he was reading on

defensive magic and resumed reading.

He finished reading chapter twenty-eight and started with chapter

twenty-nine. The title of this chapter was as follows: WEREWOLVES.

It read as follows:

[A werewolf is a creature that normally resembles a human being, but

when the full moon is fully risen it becomes an uncontrollable, fearsome,

and deadly wolf. Many use the term lycanthrope to describe werewolves,

this is incorrect. Lycanthropy refers to someone who suffers from a

mental illness and fantasizes about being a wolf]

James knew that there were two opinions about the correct term. Some

authors said that both terms were correct, and others that lycanthropy

was not the same and could not be used to name a real werewolf.

Arsenius Jigger, the author of this book, preferred the latter and used the

term werewolf when referring to the condition of being a werewolf.

The chapter explained many things about werewolves. How they could

not choose whether to transform or not, and when they were transformed

they did not remember who they were and would kill even their best

friend if they had the chance. It also talked about the infection, how it

was transmitted, and ways to cure the wound, although it didn't cure the

disease of later transforming into a werewolf.

[The monthly werewolf transformation is extremely painful if left

untreated. It is usually preceded and followed by a few days of pallor and

ill health. When the person is transforming into a wolf, the individual

loses his human sense of good and evil. However, it is incorrect to claim

that (as many authorities on the subject have done) they suffer a

permanent loss of morality. Werewolves in their human forms, can be as

good and gentle as anyone].

'Werewolves have it rough,' thought James pityingly. There was no cure

for this disease. Besides this wasn't the worst of it.

Werewolves or werewomen are generally viewed with terror, disgust, and

distaste by magical society. People seem to think that even when they are

in their human form, the werewolf can pose a danger. It is not unusual

for people known to be werewolves to be shunned by society and

discriminated against within the magical world. It is very difficult for a

werewolf to get a job in the magical community.

This causes most to suffer poverty and end up exiled from society and

joining werewolf packs that commit crimes and continue to infect more

people.

James thought that the Ministry of Magic bore a great deal of

responsibility for this, as they did nothing to stop the oppression and

discrimination faced by werewolves.

He finished reading the chapter and was just short of finishing the book.

The last thing was a brief conclusion of a few pages.

'Book finished...' said James, closing the book.

Now, it was time to put what he learned into practice. Namely, the

defensive spells that the book explained. James found two very useful

spells that would serve in his arsenal of defensive magic.

One was 'Barriera Silence.' As the name implies it creates a barrier of

silence around the user, muffling outside sounds and preventing people

nearby from overhearing James' conversations or noises he makes.

This will serve him well with the invisibility cloak, as despite being

invisible his footsteps still create noise, and if he speaks other people can

hear his voice.

'It will be very useful for the marauders,' thought James with a slight

smile.

The only downside was that the barrier stays where you cast the charm,

it doesn't follow the user. So, if you go outside the boundaries of the

barrier you will be heard again.

'What better place than the library to practice,' thought James as he

opened the book to the page where he explained this charm. The

pronunciation, the intention, and the movement of the wand.

After 10 minutes where he went over everything, he took his wand and

said in a low tone so he wouldn't get kicked out, "Barriera Silence." He

pronounced the LEN and the RA more forcefully, dragging out the A.

James felt his wand vibrate subtly indicating that the spell was cast. He

could also visualize a distortion in the air around him. Still, he wasn't

sure if the spell had worked properly.

He looked around and could see the librarian in the distance, also several

students sitting diligently studying, 'Let's see how good the barrier is,'

thought James.

After a few seconds, where he plucked up his courage, he shouted,

"SHIT!" to his luck no one looked up in surprise and looked back at him

for the rudeness he had just said. The worst thing is that the library is in

complete silence, and it would be very embarrassing, but it was a good

way to practice and not want to fail.

'Phew... luckily it worked,' thought James somewhat nervously. After a

few seconds, he noticed how the faint glow around him disappeared. He

practiced for 30 minutes repeating the same process.

Casting the spell then cursing and trying to hold it for as long as possible,

to his bad luck on one of the last attempts the barrier just dissipated as

he was shouting the swear word.

"SLYTHERIN BASTARDS!" shouted James and his voice echoed through

the library. All the students studying quietly looked up startled by the

sudden shout, and looked at James in confusion.

'The spell lasted 3 minutes and 10 seconds,' thought James, ignoring the

stares he was getting. The breakthrough he had was good, as with the

first throw he lasted just a few seconds.

'With enough practice, I could make it to the hour. Besides it's not too

hard to improve the time...' analyzed James, who was still being watched

by all the students. They couldn't believe he now had a stoic look on his

face after shouting that.

"Hey you!" said a voice in a low tone that was holding back from bursting

out and shouting.

James looked up from the book and noticed the young librarian with a

frown on her face and a look he had rarely seen on her bored face.

"What's wrong?" asked James.

"What's wrong?!" she repeated what James said angrily, "You just shouted

out of nowhere, and because of you, I spilled tea on the book I was

reading!" she added, getting angrier and angrier.

"Oh, that... Sorry. Nothing magic can't fix," James said in a monotone.

Hearing James' poor apology, a vein on Irma's forehead could be seen

standing out, "It's forbidden to shout in the library! Get out of here! For

two days, you are banned from the library!" said Irma as she pointed to

the exit.

'Two days... I got off easy,' thought James as he quietly got up from his

seat. He knew how strict Prince was and thought he would have more

days prohibited from entering.

"Can I take the book with me?" asked James.

"No, out!" said Irma, becoming increasingly exasperated by James'

attitude. At the refusal, he grimaced with annoyance. He left the book on

the table and walked towards the exit quietly under everyone's stares.

"See you in two days," said James, waving to Irma as he left the library.

'That arrogant brat!' thought Irma angrily gnashing her teeth and

regretting giving him only a two-day ban.

The news of James cursing Slytherin's house in the library was quickly

broadcast throughout the castle, and he was now getting more strange

looks from everyone.

Sirius spent five minutes laughing uncontrollably at the news. Until

James was able to explain to him that he did it because he wanted to

practice a charm, and it wasn't that he wanted to draw attention to

himself.

This was only understood by the marauders. Everyone else thought

James just wanted attention. He also noticed the angry look on Gwen's

face, 'I'll have to explain to her that the insult wasn't directed at her...'

James thought he had to do it quickly before Gwen's anger escalated.

The next day he sent a letter to Gwen and Emily to meet in classroom 11

at the same time as yesterday. James thought that Emily would also

prefer to talk to him in this method and not draw so much attention to

herself, as almost the entire first year of Slytherin hates it.

He arrived fifteen minutes early to classroom 11 and waited sitting at the

professor's desk. After five minutes Gwen arrived looking at James with

an angry face, "Is it true you said that?" she asked about the topic of

James cursing Slytherin's house.

"Yes, but... wait. Just listen to me for five minutes, okay?" said James

grabbing Gwen's wrist, who was about to leave. She was not amused

when her house was insulted and even more so when it was her friend.

"Fine, speak," she said as she sat with her arms crossed where James used

to be.

'That was my place...' thought James.

James started telling her about the charm and that when he yelled,

'Slytherin Bastards!' he did so thinking of Rabastan and not her or Emily.

This calmed Gwen since she also disliked Rabastan, "A barrier of silence?"

said Gwen interested in the charm. Just at that moment, the door opened

surprising the blonde.

It was Emily who arrived on time. James smiled and walked over with a

smile, as he hadn't spoken to her in a long time.

"Hey, Emily! How have you been?" asked James, approaching the raven-

haired girl. At first, he wasn't too sure if Emily would accept his

invitation since when he talked to her a while ago she seemed very

distant, but luckily she didn't ignore him.

Emily didn't answer. She just looked at Gwen, who was scowling at her,

"Why is she here?" asked Emily in a low tone.

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Chapter 58: Aeromanteo

"Am I not allowed to be here?" asked Gwen in a hostile tone.

"No. I didn't mean that!" said Emily in a nervous tone, lowering her gaze.

The atmosphere fell into an awkward silence. James couldn't process

what happened.

'What's up with this atmosphere?' thought James, looking at Emily and

then looking at Gwen, who again had a look at a few friends.

"Why did you invite her?" asked Gwen, looking at James, who was still

silently shocked at the reaction of both sisters seeing each other.

"Can't I? I thought it would be nice to be together like old times," replied

James, feeling like an old man saying 'old times'. He had only heard such

a phrase said by his grandfather and his senior friends when they told

anecdotes from years ago.

"Besides, why are you talking to Emily like that?" asked James, confused.

He noticed Gwen's hostile tone towards Emily.

"It's none of your business," said Gwen in an angry tone as she walked to

the door. She pushed Emily without even looking at her and left.

"What the...?" muttered James in confusion.

"Hey, Emily, what happened between you two?" asked James,

approaching Emily, who was still looking at her shoes.

"It's none of your problem, James. Thanks for the gift..." said Emily in a

low and depressed tone as she turned around and walked back the way

she came.

James had a conflicted look on his face as he watched Emily leave. On

one hand, he wanted to stop her and ask her if there was anything he

could do to help, but he knew it was useless, this was the second time he

had asked, and neither wanted to tell her anything.

He couldn't deny that it annoyed and hurt him that they didn't trust him

to ask for help or minimally tell him the problem.

"Tsch, it's more fun to be with the marauders," James muttered in

annoyance as he walked out of the room kicking invisible stones.

Over the next few days, James never tried to meet with Emily again, nor

Gwen and he wouldn't accept a meeting with them either, as he ended up

getting annoyed with how mysterious they both were. He wasn't a

fortune teller, and if they didn't tell him it was obvious he would ask

what happened when they were getting along relatively well before.

When the ban on entry to the library was lifted, James headed there

resuming his routine, and continued practicing the charm Barriera

Silence.

The librarian Irma, when she saw him enter looked at him with a frown,

but said nothing, 'This time if the same thing happens, how many days

will it be?' thought James with a slight smile.

Training for this charm was better in the library, as it gave a more

serious atmosphere, and if he failed there were consequences, making

him take it more seriously.

After about 30 minutes of practicing and increasing the barrier time a bit,

he put this charm aside and moved on to the next one he found useful.

He opened the page where it was explained to read it again.

This charm is named 'Aeromanteo' and is distinguished by its simplicity

and efficiency in deflecting attacks, whether projectiles or spells. It can

replace Protego as it is easier to learn and cast.

Aeromanteo generates a current of air around the user, deflecting

projectiles and spells. However, not everything is so nice and rosy.

Although in theory, it is easier to use it in combat, it is more difficult

than Protego.

For one thing, unlike "Protego." which can be conjured proactively,

"Aeromanteo" requires a quick reaction from the mage. It must be cast at

the exact moment when a projectile or spell is about to hit the user. This

makes the mage's anticipation and reflexes crucial to the spell's success.

In addition, to successfully deflect an attack, the mage must generate the

airstream in the right direction. If the spell or projectile is coming from

the right, the mage must direct the airstream in that specific direction.

This adds an element of dexterity and fine control to the spell, which

implies that the magician must be aware of the direction of the

impending danger.

It also depends on the magical strength of the user, since, if the attacking

mage is more powerful than the defending mage, the air current will

prove insufficient to successfully deflect the spell, unless the attacker

restrains himself. It is also incapable of deflecting unforgivable curses, no

matter how much more powerful the defending wizard is than the

attacking wizard, although the latter is the same for Protego.

"Casting is much easier than Protego and causes me less fatigue... but you

need very good reflexes..." muttered James.

"Let's see... Barriera Silence," said James as he waved his wand, and a

barrier went up around him, "Now I can shout what I want for fifteen

minutes."

"Aeromanteo!" said James with intent and high pitch as he waved his

wand. Instantly, he knew the spell was a success. He felt a draft to his

right that lasted only a short time.

'That's easier than I expected,' thought James. Although this wasn't the

hard part of the spell, the really difficult part was having enough speed

and reflexes to cast it at the exact right moment.

During the 15 minutes that his barrier lasted he was casting the spell

non-stop creating air currents to his right, left, above his head, etc. If

anyone saw him screaming and waving his wand they would look at him

strangely.

Fifteen minutes passed, and James stopped shouting and waving his

wand as he noticed the barrier fading.

'I can cast many without getting tired unlike the Protego just by casting

five I'm already exhausted,' James thought. All that was needed now was

to put it into practice and get the necessary reflexes. The problem was

how.

First, he needed someone to cast spells that he could try to deflect, and

second a place to train without being bothered, or caught by Filch or

some professor and punished for destroying the classroom.

When they trained Flipendo with the marauders, they were used as

training dummies themselves, even so, when they were sent flying, they

created a lot of noise in the classrooms and almost got caught by Filch

and his cat.

Since Sirius, Lupin, Peter, and Toby were beginners their Flipendo's were

not as painful as James', so they could practice without hurting

themselves too much. Besides, it was fun to be sent flying and fall into

the desks, they had a good laugh.

'I have to think of somewhere in the castle where Filch won't get to,'

thought James as he left the library. However, he couldn't think of any

place where Filch wouldn't arrive. He thought about using the Barriera

Silence charm, but it was still too short-lived and couldn't hold an entire

classroom.

The dormitories were too small, and the common room was too crowded,

and if they did it at night they would create too much noise waking

everyone up.

'The forbidden forest? No, too dangerous. The outskirts of Hogwarts...?

Neither, we can be watched and I don't want them to see us practicing...

Besides I don't think the professors would like to see me fly off a

Flipendo,' James thought with a frown.

He got to the Gryffindor common room and couldn't think of anywhere,

the marauders were waiting for him, so he left it for later.

"Finally, you're here," said Sirius, waving him over to an armchair where

all the marauders were sitting.

"What happened?" asked James, sitting down between Lupin and Peter.

He noticed the excitement in Sirius' voice, which meant that a prank on

Slytherin was near.

"Today's the day," said Sirius, acting exaggeratedly, and everyone raised

their eyebrows internally wondering the day of what.

"Of what?" asked Toby.

"It's good of you to ask, my friend. Today will be the day where we get

100 dungbombs," replied Sirius as a wicked grin formed on his face.

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Chapter 59: One hundred

Dungbombs

James and Lupin looked at each other. They had forgotten about the

prank Sirius wanted to pull, how he wasn't talking about the Joker

anymore. They stopped thinking about it.

"Are we going to do that prank?" asked Lupin, not quite sure.

"Of course we are! Or do you have a better idea?" asked Sirius, with some

anger, as he had seen that the others were not very much in agreement

with this prank.

"If they catch us, we're screwed..." commented James, and Sirius looked

at him quizzically, as his best friend always agreed and was not one to be

afraid.

At that moment, a boy named Thomas with a dark complexion and short

hair, staggered into the common room and finally stumbled falling to the

floor, drawing everyone's attention.

James stood up and noticed that Thomas's legs were stuck together. He

recognized immediately that it was the Legs Together Jinx. He had had to

come hopping to Gryffindor tower.

Many of those, who saw this scene began to laugh, except for James, who

went over and performed the counter jinx. Thomas' legs parted, and he

was able to stand up, shaking.

"Thanks..." muttered Thomas.

"What happened?" asked James, helping him to sit on one of the couches.

James had known Thomas, as he was a first year, and they had high-fived

when he was almost grounded for ignoring the flight instructor's order.

"Rabastan and his friends," Thomas replied in a shaky tone, "I found them

on the way out of the bathroom. He said he was looking for someone to

practice his new jinx on," he added.

"Go talk to Professor McGonagall. He can't be casting jinxes while

someone wants to go to the bathroom quietly," suggested Lupin, but

Thomas shook his head and said, "I have no proof."

"You have to stand up to him, John!" said Sirius angrily.

"I'm Thomas..." muttered the boy, but Sirius didn't hear him and kept

talking.

"That fucker. He thinks he can do whatever he wants because his family

has some power," said Sirius, getting angrier and angrier.

'Some...?' thought James. Only a Black could say such a thing.

"Not everyone is like you or how James... I have to study. See you..." said

Thomas as he stood up and walked away.

Sirius followed him with his eyes and said nothing. James on the other

hand had already made up his mind, "Let's do it," he said, and Sirius got a

smile forming on his face as he listened to him.

Rabastan was casting jinxes on many Gryffindor students, Toby was one

of them, now Thomas, and tomorrow it could be another one. He had to

be put in his place.

If Rabastan hadn't been such a bully, James wouldn't play such a

practical joke on him, but he left him no choice.

"That's the spirit, man!" exclaimed Sirius, brutally patting James' back.

'Looks like there's no other option...' thought Lupin, but he was also

looking forward to getting back at Rabastan, though this time they would

be aiming for all the years.

Late at night, Sirius left the common room alone. However, he was

followed by James, Peter, and Lupin, who were under the invisibility

cloak. This time, Peter wanted to come along, as he was very curious

about the identity of the Joker.

When they left the common room, Sirius got under the cloak, as he didn't

want to run into Filch and be punished. When he was about to arrive he

came out. This time, the Joker arrived within a few minutes.

"H-hi... did you bring it?" asked Sirius somewhat nervously, different

from his usual confidence.

"Do you have the money?" asked the Joker. His voice was strange, very

low and distorted, plus the clown mask and the darkness that was in the

castle many students would get a fright if they saw him.

"Here you go," said Sirius, pulling out a small bag, which as it moved

jingled. The Joker weighed the bag with his hand, glanced at it, and put

it away.

"Aren't you gonna count it?" asked Sirius.

"I have my ways," he said without explaining much more. From one of his

pockets. He pulled out some kind of small bag. He opened it and stuck

his hand in starting to look for something.

"Mm, this isn't... where is... here!" he muttered as he withdrew a black

box about six inches long. He passed it to Sirius, who took it carefully

and within seconds pulled out another identical box again.

He repeated the process until Sirius had five boxes in his hands, "In each

box are 20 dungbombs, of the highest quality," said the Joker.

Sirius nodded without seeing what was in the boxes, as it would be rude,

and he trusted the reputation of the best smuggler of prank products at

Hogwarts.

"If you need anything else, you know how to contact me," said the Joker

as he chuckled in a low tone and started walking backward disappearing

into the darkness.

"How scary..." muttered Peter, who got to hear the Joker's laughter.

...

In the marauders' bedroom, five boxes could be seen lined up on the

coffee table and opened. Leaving tiny brown spheres, barely the size of a

marble, that fit comfortably in the palm of one's hand. Their simple,

unassuming appearance is deceptive, for when they burst they give off a

putrid, stinky odor.

The five boys stood watching with smiles at the boxes full of dungbombs,

"They'll have to bathe for months, and the smell will haunt them," said

Sirius with a big grin.

"I've never seen so many stink bombs together," commented Peter,

amazed at the great sight.

"There are still a few things missing before we act," said Lupin.

"What's missing? We just sneak into the Slytherin common room with

James' cloak and bomb them, easy," said Sirius.

"If we do what you say, all we'll get is easily caught. First of all, if we are

under the cloak, how will we throw the bombs without being seen by all

the people who are going to be in the common room? Secondly, if we

manage to figure that out when we leave the common room after

throwing 100 dungbombs, we will have a putrid smell and it will be easy

for them to figure out it was us," explained Lupin calmly, and Sirius

began to understand that it wasn't all that simple.

"Won't the cloak protect us from the smell?" asked Toby, to which James

shook his head.

"It's only an invisibility cloak. It won't protect against rotten smell..." said

James a little doubtfully.

"We'll do the following. Toby, Peter, and I will take care of finding a

solution for the smell problem so it doesn't affect us. James and Sirius

will look for the solution so that we won't be seen and we can throw the

dungbombs once we are in the Slytherin common room," said Lupin, and

everyone nodded in agreement.

'I thought he didn't agree with the prank...' thought James, looking

strangely at Lupin.

After talking about a few more things, they went to sleep, since it was

very late and tomorrow besides classes they had to start looking for

solutions so that the prank would turn out perfect and they wouldn't get

caught.

A week passed since the day they got 100 dungbombs.

The marauders' outings to explore the castle began to be less and less, as

they were absorbed in getting the answers to the two questions of the

prank. Plus James was spending time studying and didn't have as much

free time as he used to.

On the one hand, Lupin, Peter, and Toby were spending more time in the

library looking for methods that would protect them from the rotten

smell. They had already decided that they would do it through a potion,

which would have a longer-lasting effect compared to a charm.

The problem was to find a potion that was not something very used, and

they did not even know if it existed, so they spent a lot of time reading

potion books.

Sirius and James thought they had it easier, but so far they did not find

any method that would allow them to throw the dungbombs without

being seen by the people in the Slytherin common room, since for this

they would need to get out of the invisibility cloak.

Sirius suggested a Polyjuice potion. This potion is well known, it allows

the drinker to assume the form of another person. It is a complicated and

challenging potion that even adult witches and wizards struggle to brew

correctly.

James dismissed this idea quickly. He knew the potion, and it was too

much trouble, although he was confident he could make it, they needed a

lot of ingredients that were very hard to come by. They even needed

hairs from the person they were going to transform, which added another

problem to the matter, as they had to get hairs from three Slytherin

students.

And the worst part of all was that the potion must be cooked for a month

before use. Hearing this, Sirius rejected the proposal he had made as he

was unaware of this step.

James knew the answer was through a charm. Despite knowing many

charms, he knew none that would help him in this situation. Most of the

charms he knew were attack and defense. Then the typical ones like

Alohomora, Reparo, Lumos, etc.

"Looks like you have no choice but to visit the library..." said James as he

walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

James was already visiting the library and was reading more advanced

books on defensive magic. But since the assignment is both of theirs, he

won't be doing all the work by himself.

"Yes..." said Sirius with a grimace, as he wasn't a big fan of visiting the

silent library. Despite not going to the library regularly, Sirius was very

talented and good at most subjects.

He didn't see why he should visit it, and he didn't understand James, who

now visited regularly either, but everyone does what they want with

their time.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 60: Fumos

Before they could sit down, Professor Antennae stopped them, "Today

you don't need to sit. It's gonna be a pure practice class," she said as

waved her wand. Instantly all the desks floated up and headed for the

walls, stacking neatly and leaving the entire center of the classroom free.

Everyone hearing this smiled, glad that they wouldn't have to copy and

read. Most preferred the practical, one of them being Sirius, who had a

big grin on his face.

"What powerful charm will you teach us?" asked Sirius loudly.

"You must raise your hand to speak, Black. Stand round," she ordered as

all the students made a big round.

"It's not an offensive charm. It's defensive and very useful," she began.

James, hearing defensive paid much closer attention.

"The charm is called Fumos. It creates a defensive cloud of smoke that

hinders the opponent's visibility. It can have several uses: to escape, to

confuse the opponent, or to tactically reorganize if you are in combat.

Now, watch closely..." she said as walked to the center of the round.

"Fumos!" exclaimed Antennae as she made a circular motion with her

wand. Suddenly a large amount of smoke began to fill the entire room.

James' vision was obstructed, and he stopped seeing the professor. Even

watching Sirius was difficult.

A lot of commotion suddenly started to be heard from all the students

who couldn't even see the face of their classmate next to them. Out of

nowhere a huge blizzard arose and dispersed the cloud of smoke in

seconds.

James and Sirius looked at each other instantly, both with big smiles on

their faces. This was the charm they so desperately needed. If they

managed to create a cloud of smoke that covered a large space, they

could remove their invisibility cloak and begin the bombardment of the

unseen.

"That's great! Who would've thought we'd get the charm served on a

silver platter. It's destiny!" said Sirius excitedly near the marauders.

"All indications are that fate wants the Slytherin common room to smell

putrid," said James, amused.

"You guys have it easy...we still haven't found anything, and we've

already read hundreds of pages," complained Lupin.

"You handed out the homework," said Sirius.

"Silence!" exclaimed Antennae as she saw that all the students were

muttering, "Now, line up and practice," she added.

The next hour and a half of class was spent repeating the same charm:

Fumos!

James couldn't believe he had been such an idiot. This charm was found

in 'The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection' a book written by

Quentin Trimble that they were using in the first year for Defense Against

the Dark Arts.

How it was a book he would sooner or later read it he passed over and

didn't think there would be such a useful charm, as it would not only be

useful for banter, it would also be useful for a battle.

Though with a Ventus you could disperse the cloud of smoke like the

teacher did.

"Hold the wand at a slightly upward angle! Not like that Macdonald,

higher!" shouted Antennae as she walked around like a military man

watching all the students wave their wands.

From the 50% of students, only a little smoke was coming out of their

wands. Other students managed to create a smoke, although they were

far from filling the room how the teacher managed to do it.

On the other hand, the top students were James, Sirius, Lupin, Lily and

Jasmine.

"Nice wand movement, Lupin," praised the teacher as she saw Lupin

finish the charm, and his figure was covered in smoke. James even

managed to make him and Sirius, who was closest to him disappear

through her cloud of smoke.

Every so often, the professor would generate a blizzard of air to disperse

all the smoke that was generated in the classroom so that the students

could continue to summon more smoke.

"That's all for today! Next week there will be a little test. You must cast a

curtain of smoke that covers a radius of 3 to 5 meters, from the point

where the spell was cast. Don't be lazy and practice," said Antennae in a

firm tone.

"We'll need more than five meters if we want to cover the entire Slytherin

common room," Sirius said to James as they walked out of the room.

"Yes, a week is enough," said James confidently, "Did you hear?" he

added as he looked at Lupin, Peter, and Toby.

"They better find the potion for a week from now. I'd recommend going

to the library," said Sirius with a smirk as he went with James to the

Gryffindor common room to practice Fumos.

The three marauders looked at the two with rolled eyes. In this way a

week flew by.

James and Sirius spent their time training in the dormitory and the

Gryffindor common room the Fumos charm. In those days it was very

common to see the room full of Fumos, not only by the two of them but

also by most of the first-year students who were practicing the charm

with fervor, for the Antennae test. No one wanted the strict professor to

reprimand them.

The marauders easily passed Professor Antennae's test, especially James

and Sirius, who managed to cover a radius of more than twenty meters,

which earned them 10 points each for Gryffindor.

Lupin, who showed great skill did not have the same result, as he was

spending his time in the library looking for a potion to protect them from

putrid smells.

"When will they find the damn potion?" said Sirius as he moved a pawn.

He was currently playing magical chess against James. As was customary

these days, both Lupin and Peter and Toby were in the library reading

potions books.

"Don't be impatient. It's a potion with a very strange effect. It must be in

a very peculiar and little-known book..." said James as he looked at the

board carefully. As expected James was winning. He was very good at

magical chess.

Sirius was getting more impatient every day about the subject of the

potion, as it was a crucial point. Otherwise, they would end up just like

Rabastan and all the others in Slytherin and also be found out as they

would end up with a putrid smell.

'There might not even be a potion with that effect...' thought James, but

he didn't want to tell Sirius this. First of all, who would create a potion

for such a thing? Only pranksters would.

Just as he was about to move a piece, a book fell straight onto the

chessboard crushing all the pieces and scattering them.

"Hey!" exclaimed James and Sirius in annoyance at the same time as they

looked up and noticed that it was their marauding friend, Lupin. Who

was smiling a triumphant smile.

"Look at the book," said Lupin, not caring about the angry looks from his

two friends.

James looked back at the chessboard. He could see that the book was

open to pages 145-146. The title on page 145 was as follows: Potion:

Olfacto Repellum.

[This potion protects the user from bad smells for X amount of time.

Difficulty level: beginner. Instructions: First of all...]

"That's great. Well done you, bastard!" said Sirius with a smile and a

strange way of congratulating his friend.

"I found the book by coincidence. It's very strange. It's only a few pages

long," commented Lupin.

James took the book and looked at the name which was as follows:

Peculiar Potions and Improper Uses by Armando Strange.

"Where are the other two?" asked James, noticing that Peter and Toby

were not in the room.

"They're already looking for the ingredients. They're not too difficult.

Peter went to the greenhouse and Toby to the Potions classroom. If we're

lucky, we'll have everything to brew the potion by today," replied Lupin

sitting down on a couch and feeling that he had done his part.

"You've worked hard my friend, a game?" said Sirius as he pulled out a

deck of cards. Lupin nodded happy that he wouldn't have to read any

more strange potion books.

As James watched Sirius and Lupin leave, he was thinking about Gwen

and Emily. The prank looked like it would be executed in the next few

days, and his two friends were from Slytherin and might suffer from the

stink bomb barrage.

He was thinking if he should warn them and on the day they decided to

do the prank send them a letter so they wouldn't be in the Slytherin

common room. The problem was that it would be exposed. He trusted

them both and knew they wouldn't tell on him or so he thought....

'They won't tell me anything. Why should I warn them? Their luck will

decide whether or not they are in the common room at that time,'

thought James, deciding not to tell them, still upset about the other time.

45 minutes later, Peter and Toby arrived. They nodded to the others to

go to the dormitory where they were shown various ingredients.

"Good job guys. Is everything there?" asked James as he checked the list

of ingredients in the book.

"No..." replied Toby and Peter with an ugly expression on their faces.

"We need Wiggentree Bark..." said James, reaching for the last ingredient

and looking at the table. He couldn't find it.

"Wiggentree Bark? What's that?" asked Sirius as his earlier smile

disappeared, as if his favorite toy had been taken away from him.

Lupin, Peter, and Toby shook their heads not knowing the answer. They

all looked at James, as they knew he was very good at potions and knew

information on many ingredients.

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Chapter 61: Difficulties

"The Wiggentree is a magical tree. That's where its bark comes from,

which is used to brew potions... As far as I know, the bark is generally

used for potions that give magical protection against dark creatures. I

didn't know it had such a use," James explained with a frown.

"Why the frown?" asked Sirius, concerned at James' expression.

"If they didn't find the tree in the greenhouses, it would be impossible to

find it anywhere else at Hogwarts," replied James.

"Professor Slughorn can't have the bark? From what you said it had

hundreds of ingredients," said Lupin, and Sirius nodded repeatedly.

"No. Once you remove the bark from the tree it is best to use it as quickly

as possible to brew the potion, as the fresher it is the more powerful its

effects will be. So Slughorn won't keep it as a normal ingredient,"

explained James.

'How does he know so much...?' wondered Toby in his mind in surprise.

"So... should we get another potion?" asked Lupin, holding a hand to his

forehead, as it seemed to indicate that he would have to resume his

routine of reading potions books.

"We can ask Professor Sprout. Maybe she knows something," suggested

Toby.

"That's a good idea. Besides, I don't think she knows about this potion. So

she won't be suspicious," said Sirius, agreeing.

Luckily, they didn't have to wait long to have Herbology class. The next

day in the second period, they went to the greenhouses.

"Today, we will practice with the spiky bushes. As you should know by

now these bushes if they get angry can throw thorns at people near them.

Who can tell me the best way to get rid of them?" asked Professor

Pomona Sprout.

Sprout saw Lily's hand go up instantly as usual but decided to give

someone else the chance since the redhead always raised her hand. On

the other hand, although James knew the answer he was too lazy to

answer it.

Toby plucked up his courage and shakily raised his hand, "Toby," said

Sprout, permitting him to answer.

"B-best to get rid of them from a distance using the charm Incendio,"

Toby replied, stuttering a little at first.

"Very well. Five points for Gryffindor," said Sprout with a kind smile, and

Toby smiled happily, as it was the first points he had earned for his

house.

"I hope you have done your homework and practiced the fire charm in

case you need it. Let's get to work," added Sprout.

Without further ado, they began the activity. In groups of two students,

they had to take care of the spiky bushes. The best way was to treat the

bush gently so that it wouldn't detect a threat and shoot its thorns at you,

which cause minor damage.

If the bush decides to attack it is best to move away and cast Incendio, as

once the bush detects a threat it can't stop attacking, so there is no choice

but to get rid of it.

James and Sirius paired up. As Sirius wanted to set fire to anything, he

purposely went rough with the bush, and it started throwing thorns at

him, which he luckily managed to dodge.

"Incendio!" exclaimed Sirius with a grin as he stepped back and pointed

his wand at the bush. From the tip of his wand came a jet of fire that

easily disposed of the bush.

"That's not the homework..." said James with a roll of his eyes. They are

supposed to treat the bush gently to safely remove its thorns.

"It's no fun to pull out some thorns. Let's get another one," said Sirius as

he walked over to a large shelf where there were several spiky bushes.

Professor Sprout could see this behavior in several male students who,

instead of performing the task, wanted to use the Incendio charm and

watch the poor bush burn.

"People who use the charm Incendio twice will be punished, they must

clean the greenhouses. Do your homework seriously!" said Sprout in a

loud and somewhat angry tone.

Sirius and several others, who were having fun with fire grimaced in

disgust but had no choice but to treat the bush gently and try not to let it

attack them.

The class was over, and several students who had used Incendio twice

had to stay behind to clean up the entire greenhouse, especially the ashes

after burning the bushes.

James, Lupin, Sirius, and Peter went outside and waited patiently for

Toby, who would be in charge of asking Professor Sprout about the

Wiggentree. Sirius was very nervous, as not finding the tree at Hogwarts

meant they wouldn't be able to do the prank, and he had already waited

a long time.

'Maybe the smell won't matter...?' thought Sirius, but he quickly put this

idea aside, as they would be very conspicuous if they had a putrid smell.

Plus it would be very difficult to remove, as we're talking about a

hundred dungbombs.

After ten minutes, Toby came out of the greenhouse with a smile, "Are

there those trees at Hogwarts?" asked Sirius impatiently as he approached

Toby.

"Yes. Yes there are," said Toby quickly a little uncomfortable at having

Sirius' face so close to him. At the affirmative Sirius, smiled broadly, "Let

him speak," said James as he pulled Sirius towards him and away from

Toby.

"The Wiggentree is guarded by the Bowtru..."

"Bowtruckle. A very small magical beast. They eat insects, have long

sharp fingers, are green, and look like a stick," helped James to Toby,

who was having a hard time saying the name of said creature.

"Yeah, that. The good thing is that there is a Bowtruckle Island at

Hogwarts! It's in the middle of the Great Lake. There is the Wiggentree

there and the Bowtruckle's that protect it and live there," Toby said with

a smile.

"That's great! We just have to go there and take bark off the damn tree,

easy," said Sirius with a big grin.

"According to Professor Sprout, they're peaceful creatures, but they might

try to gouge your eyes out if someone threatens their tree.... plus they are

very agile," said Toby, who disagreed that it would be easy.

"A Incendio will be enough," said Sirius confidently.

"If a Magizoologist heard you, they'd give you a beating," commented

James with a slight smile.

"Besides, if we cast an Incendio we can damage the tree bark. I'll take

care of the little creatures," added James, who was looking forward to

watching the Bowtruckle.

"How do we get to the island? We have to swim many meters, and it's

very cold," asked Peter, and everyone was silent in thought. A cold breeze

ruffled James' tousled hair as he thought.

"I got it!" said Lupin, and everyone looked at him waiting for him to

speak, "We can use the boats we used to get to the castle at the beginning

of the year," he added.

"That's right! With those boats we sail on the lake, where will they keep

them?" asked Toby.

"Somewhere on the shore, I guess. Or will the gamekeeper guard them.

His name was... Hagrid. I think," said Lupin.

"We should borrow them, then we'll give them back," said Sirius. After

deciding what to do next they went to lunch, as they had wasted a lot of

valuable time.

After finishing their lessons for the day they headed to the lake, in search

of the boats. It was very cold near the almost freezing lake, to their bad

luck the boats were not on the shore they were able to explore.

"What now?" asked Sirius with a frown.

"We'll visit him," said James.

"Who?" asked Lupin.

"To Hagrid," replied James with a slight smile.

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Chapter 62: Hagrid's Hut

Without wasting any more time, they started walking through the

Hogwarts grounds. First, they passed the greenhouses, then the Boxing

Willow, and finally they saw the small wooden hut that belonged to

Hagrid, on the edge of the forbidden forest.

A crossbow and a pair of gumboots were outside the front door, "T-this is

a good idea?" asked Pete,r shivering at the sight of the crossbow. Toby's

expression also looked frightened as he looked at the large crossbow,

which appeared to have some rusty blood on it.

In the eyes of many students, Hagrid was very scary, as he was somewhat

barbaric-looking and almost 10 feet tall. However, James knew that he

was a kind-hearted person.

"Don't worry. I have a feeling Hagrid is good-natured," said James as he

knocked on the door twice. As soon as he hit the door, they heard frantic

scratching and several barks.

Then a low, raspy voice was heard, "Down, Claw, down!"

Hagrid's big hairy face appeared as the door opened, "Mm? First-year

students?" said Hagrid with doubt and confusion in his eyes that were

barely visible.

He had been a Hogwarts warden many years ago, and this was the first

time five young students had knocked on his house door.

"Hi. Yes, we're first years. I'm James..." said James respectfully as he

introduced Sirius and the others.

"Nice to meet you guys. What do you need?" asked Hagrid, who had

taken a liking to James because of how respectful he sounded.

"We have heard many rumors about the Forbidden Forest and the

amazing creatures that inhabit there. Since you are the gamekeeper we

thought you would have many interesting stories to tell..." said James,

who had practiced this speech, to try to get Hagrid to like you. That way

they would get into confidence, and later they would ask him for the

boats, although he was also very interested in the subject of the magical

creatures that inhabit the forbidden forest.

Hagrid's expression changed to one of surprise at James' request, "If you

don't have time, we'll leave..." said James when he heard no response

from Hagrid.

"Oh no, of course not! I was surprised that someone would ask me to tell

them my crazy stories. It's not a common thing," Hagrid said, pleasantly

surprised, as it was nice to see that there were boys at Hogwarts who

were interested in his work.

"Come on in. Back Claw," he added as he struggled to hold an imposing

white Great Dane by the collar.

The marauders entered as they looked around the inside of the hut

curiously. There was only one room. Hams and pheasants hung from the

ceiling, a copper kettle boiled on the fire, and in one corner was a huge

bed with a blanket made of scraps.

"Make yourselves at home," said Hagrid, looking at the boys and releasing

the dog, who threw himself against Toby and began to lick his ears.

"Easy, easy..." said Toby, feeling tickled and petting the big dog.

"It's weird that he likes someone unfamiliar so much. Would you like

some tea?" offered Hagrid, and everyone nodded as it was very cold.

After a few minutes, everyone had a cup in their hands and were sitting

comfortably.

"Do you have any creatures in mind? There are a great many in the

Forbidden Forest. There are even parts I haven't gotten to," Hagrid said

fascinated.

"I've heard there's a tribe of centaurs. Is that true?" asked Sirius, very

interested in the subject.

"Oh, I guess it's impossible to stop rumors in the castle! Centaurs don't

like to attract the attention of humans, but I'll tell you about it..." said

Hagrid enthusiastically, as he told them how he met the centaurs and

that he even managed to get to have a friendly and minimal relationship

with them.

After that, they asked him about Trolls, Unicorns, and many magical

creatures. Hagrid happily told them all about his experiences and

adventures. Even for a moment the marauders almost forgot why they

were there.

"Whoa, you know a lot about magical creatures," said Lupin in

amazement, as Hagrid besides telling him about his encounters with

magical creatures, told them the characteristics of each one and what

things each creature liked.

"Yes. I've always liked them..." said Hagrid, scratching his big beard.

"Look at the time it is. It's getting dark already. Better get back to the

castle," he added as he noticed through the window that it was getting

dark.

'Has it been that long already?' thought James surprised. They had stayed

up listening to Hagrid's stories and hadn't realized it was almost dark.

"One last thing, Hagrid. Do you know Bowtruckle Island?" asked James.

"The island that's in the Great Lake? Yes, I know it. That's where the

sneaky little Bowtruckles are. Why?" asked Hagrid, curious.

"We were wondering if you could take us there in the boats, as visiting

the forbidden forest is very dangerous. We wanted to meet the

Bowtruckles," said James, looking at Hagrid.

"Mm, it's true that visiting the forest is very dangerous as they are first-

year students. It would be better to visit that island where there is no

danger..." said Hagrid while he had a hand on his chin, "It's fine. I don't

think there will be a problem. It's been a while since I've visited those

little devils" he added with a smile.

"Great!" said Sirius, and Hagrid thought he was happy to get to see some

very peculiar creatures, but that wasn't why.

"We'll do it tomorrow when your classes are over. See you," Hagrid said

as he opened the door and said goodbye to the boys. He had liked this

gang, plus they were Gryffindor like he was.

"Well, it was easier than I expected. Although the tea was awful," said

Sirius as they walked towards the castle.

"While someone distracts him, I'll take the bark," said James. He felt kind

of bad about lying to Hagrid, but they had no choice.

"Next time, we'll bring him something to eat and also for Claw," said

Lupin, who had liked Hagrid, and it was rare for an adult to like him.

The next day, after the school day they rushed to Hagrid's hut, who was

already waiting for them with two boats ready on the shore.

James got into one boat with Hagrid, and the other four got into the

remaining boat. When they reached the small island, they could see the

only tree that was the Wiggentree, in addition to serving as ingredients

for making potions, the wood was used to create wands.

The Bowtruckles were very small and shy. They hid behind the leaves of

the Wiggentree, and as soon as you approached the trunk you could see

how they positioned themselves ready to attack with their long, sharp

fingers.

Hagrid came prepared. He brought with him woodlice, crustaceans that

live in trees. They were a favorite food of the Bowtruckles, all this he

explained to the boys very enthusiastically.

While he was feeding the little magical creatures and Sirius was asking

him many questions to distract him, James took advantage and with a

very quick Difffindo charm cut the bark and kept it in his robe.

The Difffindo is a charm used to cut something with precision, very

useful for this occasion and deadly for other occasions.

After that, he concentrated on the lesson Hagrid gave them. The

Bowtruckles stopped showing so much caution but did not let them touch

them as there were too many of them, and they did not fully trust them.

After a 20-minute lesson, they left the island. They thanked Hagrid very

much, for taking them and teaching them and returned to the castle

going as fast as possible to the Gryffindor common room.

"Finally, we have everything!" said Sirius already in the dormitory and

everyone cheered happily to be able to finish the potion already.

"Hagrid is good at explaining. He'd make a great professor," commented

Toby.

"Yeah... come on, James. Get everything you need out and get to brewing

that damn potion," said Sirius. James nodded. From his trunk, he

removed all the necessary tools and started with the brewing of the

potion while using the book as a guide. He had already read it these

days, so he was confident, plus it wasn't a difficult potion.

Finally, after a while, an orange liquid was in a glass vial. The potion was

finished. James rested it on the coffee table next to the boxes of

dungbombs that were still in the same place.

"Dungbombs, check. Potion, check. Invisibility cloak, check," James said

as he pulled his cloak out of his trunk and rested it on the coffee table.

"Okay, marauders, let's get dinner. Last dinner before the best prank yet,"

said Sirius with a smile.

Besides dinner they toasted, obliged by Sirius, who was very dramatic.

After that they talked about who would infiltrate the Slytherin common

room and went to sleep, looking forward to the next day.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 63: Bombing I

Wednesday, January 26, 1972.

That day, the marauders woke up excited and nervous, as it would be the

day of the group's second big prank. They had already decided that they

would do it after classes were over since that would be the time when

most Slytherin students would be in the common room.

However, their main target is Rabastan Lestrange and his gang. So once

the class period is over, they should follow him, and once he enters the

common room start the bombing. They couldn't pull the prank and have

Rabastan be somewhere else at that very moment.

They also wanted to stink bomb his dorm, so once inside the room, they

should find his dorm, and the best way was to follow him.

As for the marauders who would infiltrate and execute the prank there

would be three: James, Sirius, and Lupin. Even though the invisibility

cloak would fit four people, it was very uncomfortable and would be very

risky when the Slytherin common room was in chaos.

Peter preferred not to enter the lion's den, where all his enemies were. He

was afraid, so he sighed with relief when he learned that he wouldn't

have to follow the others.

On the other hand, Toby, although he was afraid to enter the common

room where all the Slytherin students were, was eager to enter, but

James, Sirius, and Lupin had a better command of the Fumos charm than

he did.

At the end of the class period, James, Sirius, and Lupin ran to find the

invisibility cloak and then began searching the castle for Rabastan. They

searched for twenty minutes and found no trace of him or his gang.

"Where the hell is that guy when you need him?" asked Sirius, annoyed

under the cloak. Whenever he wants to be quiet he crosses him, and now

that he wants to find him, he's nowhere to be seen.

"We haven't looked in the library yet," said Lupin, and they started

heading for the library.

As they were passing the sixth floor, Sirius suddenly stopped them, "Look

over there!" he said, pointing his finger. James and Lupin could see their

victim entering the boys' bathroom.

They quickly walked and entered the bathroom just before the door

closed. They could see Rabastan choose one of the ajar doors, enter, and

carefully close. The three boys under the cloak could hear the muffled

sound of the lock.

"Don't tell me he's going to shit...?" asked Sirius in a low tone looking at

the door where Rabastan stood behind. With no choice, they had to wait

patiently for him.

Within seconds there was a loud and spontaneous concert of sounds

coming from the bathroom stall where Rabastan was.

James, Sirius, and Lupin had expressions rarely seen on their faces. On

the one hand, Sirius wanted to burst out laughing and bombard him with

stink bombs right then and there. Lupin had an uncomfortable expression

and James had an expression as if he witnessed something he shouldn't

have seen or rather heard.

"What the hell did he eat to shit so loudly?" asked Sirius in a low tone

holding in his laughter.

Rabastan's farting continued for almost a minute until it was finally

ceasing. The chain was heard and the door opened. Rabastan's expression

was stoic as if nothing had happened there.

'This shameless...' thought Sirius angrily for some reason. Rabastan

washed his hands quietly and walked out of the bathroom while being

followed by three people. Luckily for the marauders, he went straight

towards their common room.

Rabastan began to descend a series of stone steps until he reached the

depths of the dungeons. He walked a little further until he came to a

stone wall adorned with a portrait of a snake.

"Disgusting," growled Sirius.

"Pureblood," said Rabastan, looking at the portrait which slowly opened

revealing a passage leading to the common room.

The boy entered. James and the others hurried before the portrait closed.

They walked tensely and watched intently. Finally, they had the Slytherin

common room in front of them.

The room was dungeon-like with rough stone walls and ceiling, from

which hung round, greenish lamps with chains. A fire crackled under an

elaborately carved mantelpiece, and several Slytherin lounged around it.

James was the first time he had ever seen a common room of another

house, and was glad for the day he was selected to Gryffindor. The

atmosphere was very gloomy and depressing, with the walls rocky and

everything a dull green color.

The atmosphere was quiet, although there were many students since

classes were over. Everyone was quiet, very different from Gryffindor.

"I'm glad I broke the family tradition," whispered Sirius. Glad he didn't

have to live in this common room. To his delight, he could see at a table

his cousin Narcissa next to some friends chatting quietly.

James sighed in relief when he didn't see Gwen or Emily anywhere.

"Come on. Rabastan's on the move," whispered Lupin, and they began to

follow him, careful not to bump into anyone.

The three of them followed him somewhat tense and with their eyes wide

open. If they were discovered they would be in trouble.

Rabastan went up to his dormitory. However, James and the others didn't

go in with him. They just stared at the door.

"Barriera silence," whispered James waving his wand, which was a bit

difficult as he had the cloak over him, luckily he managed to cast the

charm which encompassed the three boys and a bit more.

"What a convenient charm. How long does it last?" asked Sirius in a

normal tone.

"More than fifty minutes," replied James.

"As soon as Rabastan comes out, you two will cast Fumos, and I'll start

the bombardment. Follow the plan," said Lupin as he took out the potion

and took a sip, then passed it to Sirius, who did the same, and lastly

James.

With everything ready, the three of them stood silently staring at the

door. The corridors weren't very big, with two Fumos spells they could

easily fill them with smoke. Lupin was already holding a pair of

dungbombs in both hands, ready to act, a little sweat could be seen on

his forehead.

After almost fifteen minutes, the handle moved, and the door slowly

opened, revealing the face of Rabastan, who was talking to Avery and

Mulciber.

"We must find a good Jinx in the library and test it on those stupid

Gryffindor boys," said Rabastan with a slight smile, remembering how he

tested a Jinx on a Gryffindor boy a few days ago.

"Fumos!" exclaimed James and Sirius at the same time. From their wands,

a large amount of smoke began to pour out. At first, the cloak held it

back, but this was short-lived, it began to seep out from underneath

quickly, allowing them to remove the cloak, as they would not be seen.

Before Mulciber could answer his friend, he saw a scene that puzzled

him. A large amount of smoke filled the corridors within seconds, "What

the hell?" he exclaimed. Rabastan and Avery had noticed it too.

Lupin, who had already removed his cloak, threw the first dungbomb in

the direction of Rabastan and his friends. Although he couldn't see them

because of all the smoke, he had already prepared himself and knew

where to aim.

The small sphere hit Rabastan's face, who couldn't see it. He only felt a

small blow on his forehead.

BOOM!

To Rabastan's bad luck, after the bomb hit his forehead it exploded. A

pungent and disgusting smell entered the nostrils of the boy and Mulciber

and Avery, who were standing close by.

"What the fuck is this smell?" cried Rabastan in confusion. The smell even

made him gag, it was so horrible. However, he didn't have time to think

and kept cursing.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Lupin threw three more stink bombs, hitting the three Slytherin boys and

causing the smell to coalesce and multiply. The smell of the stink bombs

entered Rabastan's room and began to spread throughout the hallway.

James, Sirius, and Lupin had heavy-duty plugs in their noses. They

couldn't be knocked out after dropping a couple of stink bombs.

"Who dares!" shouted Rabastan knowing this was a person's action. It was

not a good idea to open his mouth, as the putrid smell entered him.

'This is for Toby, you bastard!' thought Sirius, joining in the barrage.

BOOM!

BOOM!

The bombardment continued, many of those stink bombs entering

Rabastan's dormitory which had the door open.

"Run!" shouted Mulciber as he tried to get to the common room. The

room was no longer habitable. Despite the smoke that covered the entire

hallway, it wasn't too difficult to guide himself as there weren't many

possible paths.

"Cof, cof!" coughed Rabastan repeatedly after leaving the corridor and

reaching the common room. Besides him, Mulciber, and Avery there were

two more boys, who had to run out of the room because of the foul smell.

The behavior of Rabastan and the others drew the attention of some

students in the common room who looked at them strangely.

Rabastan looked down the smoke-filled corridor. The smell had luckily

not reached here. His expression turned ugly when he saw that out of the

white smoke came a small brown sphere. Luckily this time it didn't hit

him.

However, this was not all, a large amount of small brown spheres started

to come out of the smoke thrown at a great speed, reaching different

parts of the common room.

This was just the beginning.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 64: Bombing II

"Mm, what is this?" wondered a boy, who was sitting quietly reading a

book. On his table, a small brown sphere fell and rolled until it collided

with his book.

As the pale-skinned boy was about to pick up the small sphere, it

exploded releasing one of the most unpleasant smells the boy had ever

smelled in his short life. In addition, a thick, brown smoke quickly spread

through the place.

This didn't just happen to him. In a matter of seconds, several dungbombs

exploded in the Slytherin common room, which went from silent and

calm to being engulfed in screams and a curtain of foul-smelling smoke.

"Let's hurry. Let's take advantage of the smoke from the bombs!" shouted

Sirius as he ran under the cloak. As he emerged from the hallway that

was still heavy with smoke, he smiled a wicked grin as evil smile as he

took in the scene before his eyes.

The brownish-transparent smoke generated by the dungbombs was still

visible. It wasn't like the smoke created by Fumos, so he could watch as

the Slytherin students screamed, coughed, and tried to escape to

somewhere safe.

"Fumos!" exclaimed James and Sirius again.

When the smoke came to cover them they pulled back the cloak and

began the bombing. They both had a bag full of dungbombs. James just

in case, threw Fumos again, to make sure no one could see them.

"Let's have fun, guys!" exclaimed Sirius as he threw five dungbombs at

once.

At that moment, true chaos broke out in the Slytherin common room.

Dozens of dungbombs hit every corner of the common room. Many hit

the students in the face and exploded leaving them with a foul smell.

James was throwing stink bombs masterfully, although he couldn't see

through the smoke, he could be guided by the screams, to make sure he

hit the snakes.

The smell of the dungbombs, besides affecting everyone present, clung to

the curtains, seeped into the crevices of the furniture, and wafted

throughout the room.

Many girls shrieked angrily. However, they had to keep quiet. Otherwise,

the smell would end up coming in through their mouths.

The brown smoke and Fumos smoke created a scene where no one could

see anything, making it difficult to escape from the common room or go

to the dormitories. On the other hand, the boys' dormitories were no

longer a place to pass through, as they were filled with a putrid smell.

'I hope I hit Narcissa in the face,' thought Sirius as he continued to throw

bombs. He still had plenty of them.

The three of them moved together, and James had the invisibility cloak

ready, as they had to tread carefully now that everything was chaos and

they didn't have much vision.

As they dropped more bombs, the smell coalesced and got worse and

worse, to the point that many students were coughing a lot and had red

eyes from all the toxic brown smoke.

"Cof, cof, cof, cof, cof," Rabastan coughed, kneeling on the floor, there

was no place where the foul smell did not reach. He wanted to flee

through the portrait, but because of the smoke, he couldn't find it. At

first, he covered his mouth and nose, but it was impossible to breathe. He

already felt his whole being contaminated inside.

Some older students tried to cast charms to clear the smoke and be able

to find the culprit or minimally escape since the smell could not get rid

of, but when they managed to dissipate the white smoke, more smoke

appeared out of nowhere and the process was repeated, they even

became targets of dungbombs.

"Shoot that one. He wants to disperse our precious smoke!" said Sirius as

he saw a student making a great effort to cast a spell.

The poor student got six stink bombs all over his body, then disappeared

through the brown smoke.

"These caps won't hold out long," said Lupin, noting that he could smell a

bit of stench.

"Just five more minutes," Sirius said without stopping waving his arm and

throwing dungbombs, practicing for the day he had to make the

quidditch team.

After a frantic five minutes, the bombing ended. Every corner of the

Slytherin common room was infected by a foul smell, no furniture was

spared.

The three culprits put on their invisibility cloaks and began to walk

through the smoke that still lingered, looking for the exit. After a few

minutes, they managed to find the exit. It was easy to get out as many

students were leaving as quickly as possible.

James as he left the common room, could see a large number of Slytherin

students outside with disgusted faces. Some affected them worse,

coughing non-stop with red eyes and nasty expressions.

'Will they be okay... right?' wondered James, looking a little surprised at

everyone's faces who looked like terminal patients in a hospital. Lupin

had the same surprised look on his face as James.

How there was a large amount of smoke, they couldn't see how the

dungbombs affected the Slytherin students. They never thought it would

be that bad. They didn't calculate that the fusion of 100 dungbombs

would create a new, even more disgusting smell.

The three boys looked at each other with worried faces. They quickly fled

the scene under the invisibility cloak. No one said anything on the way

they had to get to their common room as quickly as possible.

Arriving at the portrait of the fat lady, they waited for someone to arrive

and say the password. They could have come out of the invisibility cloak,

but they didn't want to leave any proof that they were outside at the time

the attack happened.

After five minutes a tall girl said the password and entered through the

hole. They took advantage of this opportunity and followed her. Without

stopping they went to their dormitory, where Toby and Peter were

waiting for them.

"Did everything go alright?" asked Peter as he noticed the door open by

itself. Out of nowhere, James, Sirius, and Lupin appeared.

"Yes..." said James as he closed the door. Holding up his invisibility cloak,

he noticed that it didn't permeate any stinky smells.

'That's weird... it should have a foul smell...' thought James in confusion

as he sniffed his cloak, but it was as if nothing had happened to it. It was

better for him anyway, since he wouldn't have to wash it or anything.

"It was..." said Sirius as he pulled his nose plugs out of his nose and threw

them away from him.

"Amazing!" he shouted then started laughing. Even though he saw the

Slytherin students red-eyed and coughing a little, he knew it wasn't very

serious. Toby had had worse done to him, though it was just Rabastan

and his gang.

"It was frenetic..." said Lupin, feeling his heart beating fast.

"You should have seen Rabastan's face," said James with a faint smile.

Knock, knock, knock.

As they were talking about how the prank went off perfectly, someone

knocked repeatedly on the door. James got up and opened it curiously.

"Guys, it's urgent! Something really big has happened in the Slytherin

common room!" shouted a boy that James and the others recognized. It

was Ben Ray, a first-year Gryffindor student.

'Did the prank spread that fast?' thought James in surprise.

"Oh... What happened?" asked Sirius, pretending to be interested.

"I don't know the details, but there are a lot of people heading to the

Slytherin common room. Let's go," Ben said, waving his hand, and they

all followed him. Sirius previously told them about the incident in the

bathroom, but now Ben took it upon himself to tell them about this

incident.

As they left the common room, James could see many people from all the

houses, heading in the same direction as them. He had a bad feeling. It

had only been fifteen minutes since they had left the Slytherin common

room, and already there was so much commotion, it wasn't a good thing.

Lupin noticed this too and his expression became more worried. The only

one walking with a slightly victorious smile was Sirius, who was pleased

with his creation.

As they reached the corridor near the snake portrait a large crowd was

blocking the view, not letting them see what was going on.

"Excuse me, excuse me, thank you. Let me through," Sirius said as he led

the way for the marauders and Ben.

As they reached the front of the crowd they could see that the snake

portrait was open and there were a large number of professors:

McGonagall, Slughorn, Sprout, even Madame Poppy, who had a very

furrowed brow, but the person who caught James' attention the most was

an old man with white hair and a big beard. He had crescent-shaped

glasses and light blue eyes.

'The headmaster?' thought James.

"This is not good..." whispered Lupin in James' ear.

'Maybe... did we go a bit too far?' thought James as he looked at the

Slytherin students with pale faces and red eyes. Every so often more

students came out. Some are in a better state than others.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 65: Full Moon

That day that everyone thought was about to end and would be like any

other in the castle was quite the opposite. The Slytherin common room

was infected by a putrid smell and filled with brown smoke.

As the portrait was open, the smell drifted into the corridor where

everyone was watching the scene. Many frowned at the horrible smell

and held their noses. Luckily Professor Antennae with her wand

summoned a current of wind that carried the smell through the open

windows to the outside.

Dozens of Slytherin students were red-eyed, nauseous, and dizzy from

being in the center of the putrid smell. Madame Poppy, with the help of

other teachers, took them to the infirmary.

James luckily did not see among those students Gwen and Emily. It

seemed that they had somehow been spared. The ones he could see were

Rabastan, who had a very pale complexion and vomit in his mouth. His

friends Mulciber and Avery, were the same way.

Sirius wanted to laugh at this but decided to keep quiet and not draw

attention to himself, as he knew that if they were caught they would be

in a lot of trouble.

Then the professors along with Dumbledore cast a spell that made a

bubble appear on their heads and all over their bodies, and they entered

the Slytherin common room.

After about ten minutes, they came out with many Slytherin girls

including Gwen and Emily, who also had bubbles covering their entire

bodies, protecting them from the horrible smell.

This group of girls managed to take shelter in their rooms, saving

themselves from the dungbomb attack.

"Well done, everyone. There are no students left inside the hall and

dormitories," said Dumbledore in a calm tone.

"Now, let's go back inside and try to make the common room as good as

new," he added as walked through the portrait with the other professors.

They spent an hour inside the room, casting cleaning spells and such to

try to make the Slytherin common room habitable. It was difficult, as the

smell had infiltrated the walls, furniture, etc.

"There is only a very faint smell left, which will go away over the next

few days," said McGonagall with an annoyed face as she stepped out of

the portrait hole.

"We must find the perpetrators! This incident is unacceptable!" shouted

Slughorn angrily, as he rarely did. It was normal since he was the head of

Slytherin house and the common room of Slytherin was attacked by

dungbombs.

"There is an inspection to be done in each house, Dumbledore!" added

Slughorn, looking at the old headmaster, who seemed to be in his world

as he examined an object in the palm of his hand.

"Slughorn, whoever it was. It had to have been a Slytherin. Who else has

the password?" said McGonagall.

"Why would a Slytherin attack his own house and leave it in such a

condition, Minerva!" said Slughorn, sounding very frustrated.

McGonagall was silent. The Potions professor had a point. Although the

girls' dormitory was spared, many of them were affected as they were in

the common room studying or talking to friends. It didn't make sense that

it was a Slytherin, as it left their common room with a putrid smell that

should linger for days.

"Still, let's say they got the password somehow. How did they get into the

house unseen and start the attack?" asked McGonagall doubtfully. It was

rare for a student from another house to enter someone else's common

room and not be noticed quickly, as it was prohibited.

"There are many ways they could have used to go unnoticed, such as a

disillusioning charm," said Slughorn in annoyance.

"Using Fumos or Nebulus, it stands to reason that they could have carried

out the attack," said Antennae, joining the conversation.

"Exactly! We must interrogate the other houses!" said Slughorn, returning

to the attack.

"Settle down, colleagues," said Dumbledore. His expression always

remained the same, neither exasperated nor angry.

"Look what I found," added the old man with some amusement as he held

out his palm to the professors. In Dumbledore's palm was a small brown

sphere.

"That's a Zonko product," said Slughorn in disgust at the sight of the

dungbomb.

"Yes. I wonder how many of these must have been used to create that

toxic cloud," said Dumbledore with a strange smile.

"We should ban all Zonko products!" suggested Filch, who was standing

near the professors. Many prankster students used Zonko products which

caused a lot of trouble for him and his cat.

...

Sunday, January 30, 1972.

Several days passed since the dungbomb prank, and it was the only thing

that was talked about in the Great Hall, the corridors, and even in the

classrooms, where many teachers had to give punishments so that the

students would be quiet.

The dozen Slytherin students who were taken to the infirmary were all in

good health by now, needing only a day to recover, as it was nothing too

serious.

The perpetrators were not found. The only clue they left was the small

dungbomb that didn't explode because it was faulty. Besides that, there is

no trace of them.

Many Slytherin students were outraged, especially the girls who had to

bathe many times to get the rotten smell out of their bodies. Many of

them from wealthy families, gave galleon rewards to people who

provided any evidence that would help find the perpetrators.

Peter and Toby were scared to death in case they were found, but luckily

that didn't happen, and the anger subsided.

With each passing day Sirius, one of the main perpetrators, became more

arrogant as he heard the crazy rumors about them. They even had a fan

club, which fed his ego even more.

"We have a fan club! Should I join?" asked Sirius, lying on his bed lazily

and with a big grin.

"Don't shout that stuff outside the dormitory," Lupin said with a frown.

"I know. Anyway, no one thinks it was us. Everyone thinks it was older

students, using complicated charms. The invisibility cloak is our best

weapon," Sirius said with a chuckle.

Lupin huffed in annoyance. He was in a bad mood, and talking to Sirius

was only making it worse. If they had followed Sirius' plan (entering the

common room without potions, or the Fumos charm.) They would have

been caught by now and would have been grounded or expelled.

"Where are you going?" asked Sirius as he noticed Lupin heading for the

door.

"Eat," he replied dryly and impatiently as he walked out of the dormitory

and slammed the door shut.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Sirius with a confused expression.

"Hey you, let's go to dinner," said Sirius, throwing a pillow that hit right

in James' face.

James found himself reading the book: The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-

protection. He didn't want to skip a charm like Fumos which was very

helpful.

As for the prank, he wasn't as enthusiastic as Sirius. He didn't like that

there were so many students going to the infirmary as much as they only

had to go for one day, he thought it got out of hand.

James didn't calculate that the combined smell of 100 dungbombs would

merge and create something worse, making several Slytherin boys dizzy

and nauseous. Besides, the only ones he disliked were Rabastan and his

gang, there were other kids he didn't know, and he wasn't prejudiced

against them.

Gwen and Emily were his friends, and they were both from Slytherin, so

there could be people he liked in the house and not be like Rabastan.

'Well, there's nothing I can do now...' thought James as he looked at

Sirius.

"Is it already so late?" asked James, closing the book and throwing the

pillow back at his friend.

"Yeah, come on," said Sirius, standing up and fixing his hair.

"And the others?" asked James, noticing that it was just him and Sirius in

the room.

"..." Sirius looked at James weirdly as Lupin shut the door abruptly. As

for Toby and Peter, they were doing homework.

After a delicious dinner, they went back to the dormitory, except Lupin,

who again said he was feeling sick and headed for the infirmary. James

and the others wanted to join him, but he flatly and with little patience

refused, so they left him alone.

"Same again?" asked Peter as he walked back with the others to the

Gryffindor common room.

"All day today, he looked bad, and his mood was terrible. He must be

feeling bad..." said Sirius, not too sure about this.

When they got to the living room, James and Sirius had to get on with

their homework for tomorrow, Monday. Peter and Toby had already done

it, so they set about playing a game of magic chess.

After writing more than two scrolls in full, James went to bed. Lupin had

not yet returned, but they were used to it, so no one talked about it.

James was sleeping peacefully in his comfortable bed, until at one point

he opened his eyes abruptly and woke up.

"Phew... it was just a nightmare," he muttered as he opened the dark red

velvet curtain. The nightmare was that he found himself in the

Rothschild mansion and was once again living his routine life controlled

by his former mother, Elizabeth.

It wasn't the first time he had this nightmare. He usually started having

these dreams when he moved away from his mother and father.

Feeling his mouth dry, he grabbed a glass of water from his bedside table

and quietly hydrated himself as he looked out the window. It was still

night.

'Today, there's a full moon...' thought James as he looked out at the

beautiful white, oversized moon.

'Wait... Full moon!' thought James as he set the glass down abruptly on

the bedside table and looked out the window at the moon again.

A crazy idea flashed into his head. His friend, Lupin, disappeared once a

month for the whole night, an occurrence that seemed very strange to the

marauders. No matter how much they questioned him, Lupin said he was

sick and went to the infirmary.

Lupin would show up the next day looking pale and unhealthy as if he

was knackered. That would last for a couple of days until he was back to

normal.

James could see by the moonlight coming through the window that

Lupin's bed was empty with the curtains open.

'Don't tell me Lupin...' thought James with a surprised look.

'He's a werewolf?'

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 66: A Lupin Day

The information he had read in the chapter: Werewolves explained this

clearly. In short, a monthly transformation when there is a full moon and

the person in the next few days is in poor health, as it is painful.

'No. I can't jump to conclusions...' thought James. He had to make sure of

this first. The previous times Lupin disappeared, he didn't pay attention if

they were full moon nights.

Still, it was a very valid theory, as it would explain why he disappears

right on full moon nights and his subsequent condition.

'If the next month, he disappears on another full moon night, he's most

likely a werewolf...' thought James as he went back to bed. Falling back

to sleep cost a lot more, as he had a lot of thoughts in his head about

Lupin.

If his theory is true, where did he go to become a werewolf? The

forbidden forest? James doesn't believe in this possibility. It is almost

impossible for Headmaster Dumbledore not to know about Lupin's

condition. Besides, it would make sense since they say that Dumbledore

is a very flamboyant wizard.

...

Monday, January 31, 1972.

In the Hogwarts infirmary, a brown-haired boy lay on one of the beds

sleeping. His complexion was pale and he looked like he had had the

worst night of his life.

His eyes opened with difficulty, revealing brown irises. The boy looked at

his surroundings with confusion, "How did I end up here?" he asked in a

low, doubtful tone.

"With Professor McGonagall, we brought you here after your

transformation was over. It's best to sleep in a comfortable bed," said a

soft voice next to her. It was Madame Poppy, the Hogwarts nurse. If any

student heard her they would be surprised, as her tone was very kind,

compared to her characteristic strict tone.

"Thanks..." said Lupin in a low tone, but before he could say anything

else, he felt a great pain all over his body. He clenched his teeth tightly

and endured it, anyway, he was used to it. He had had worse nights.

"What time is it?" asked Lupin in a weak tone. He didn't want to miss

breakfast under anything in the world. The best way to regain his

strength was to eat, and a lot of it.

"There's still time for you to eat breakfast... but I don't like the look of

you. It's crazy to think you can start a whole day of school like this," said

Madame Poppy, looking at Lupin's pale complexion and dark circles

under his eyes.

She felt very sorry for this little boy, who was only in his first year of

school. That's why she was so kind to him.

"I'm fine. I want to go" said Lupin a little uncomfortable. He wasn't used

to adults who knew about his condition being nice to him. The only

adults who treated him nicely were his parents.

Poppy sighed but said nothing. She made him take something before

letting him go, a remedy that tasted cold and strawberry. Drinking it

made Lupin feel better and regain some of his energy.

Lupin hurried to the Gryffindor tower to change into his uniform as

quickly as possible. To his luck, when he entered the dormitory, none of

the marauders were awake. He didn't want them to look at him strangely

again and have to give explanations or rather excuses.

In a few minutes, he changed and went out again, his destination: the

Great Hall.

When he reached the doors of the Great Hall, he heard a voice addressed

to him with a hostile and mocking tone, "Where is your little group of

idiots?"

Lupin turned his head with a frown. He wasn't in the mood, and even less

so when he had to go through a full moon night. He noticed three boys. It

wasn't Rabastan and his gang. It was other Slytherin boys.

He recognized only one of the three boys, Severus Snape. A thin boy with

pale skin, a big nose, and greasy black hair. He recognized him because

Snape was very arrogant in potions class.

Lupin didn't like the greasy-haired boy either. He had had a few run-ins

with him in Potions class. Although Snape, looked like a scrawny loner

with no confidence, his tongue was sharp and acidic, plus he was very

good at potions (as much as Lupin didn't want to admit it which made

him act arrogant.

The other two boys, one with very short black hair and one blond, he

didn't know. All the first-year Slytherin students hated the marauders. He

couldn't remember everyone's name.

After the flower prank, where most of the Slytherin's first years were

affected, the hatred of the Slytherin boys towards their group increased,

as James and Sirius made fun of them and were the main suspects.

As for the stink bomb prank, hardly anyone believes it was them. The

only one was Rabastan, but again, he could do nothing to prove it.

Lupin huffed in annoyance and decided to ignore the boy, but the boy

stepped in front of him, barring his way.

"What do you want?" asked Lupin, clenching his fists. His aggression was

higher after a full moon night.

"I don't want anything. I just like it here," said the boy with a wicked

grin.

When Lupin took a step to the side, the boy did the same, not to let him

pass. Snape and the blond boy watched the scene with a faint smile

amused.

"Bastard, move!" shouted Lupin angrily, something rarely seen from him.

With great force, he pushed the boy who almost crashed into the door of

the Great Hall. Luckily he managed to recover and regain his balance.

He, Snape, and the blond boy took out their wands. Lupin did the same.

He was at a disadvantage, but at least he would take one with him.

Thanks to James, he had learned useful charms for dueling.

"What's going on here?" said a male somewhat husky voice, coming from

behind Lupin.

Turning his head, he could see a boy much taller than him. He looked

like a wall compared to his lanky body. Lupin could recognize him

immediately, William Turner. The captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch

team, is one of the most popular people in the school.

Next to him also stood another member of the team, Alex Shaw, the

team's seeker and seventh-year student. He was taller than William, but

his build was slimmer but very athletic.

"Why are you blocking the way?" asked Alex in a cold tone, looking at

the Slytherin trio in front of him.

"W-we were just about to go in," said the boy quickly as he turned and

walked into the Great Hall, along with Snape and the blond. They were

intimidated by the aura of two older and most popular students in the

school.

"Are you alright?" asked William with a friendly smile compared to

before.

"Yes... thanks," said Lupin, putting his wand away and trying to calm his

anger.

"It's nothing. You're James' friend, right?" he asked, and Lupin nodded.

"If you're his friend, you're ours too" added William as he brutally patted

Lupin's back and started walking.

'How much strength does he have...' thought Lupin in pain.

"By the way, where's James?" asked Alex, who seemed a bit more

reserved than William.

"He's still sleeping..." replied Lupin a bit uncomfortable, as it was the first

time he was talking to these two older boys. He also noticed a lot of

stares when they entered the Great Hall, even more than when he was

with James and Sirius.

"Would you like to have breakfast with us?" offered William.

Lupin was silent in thought, then after a few seconds, he agreed. They

had helped him and they were James' friends, so he didn't see the point

in turning them down.

Together with William and Alex, they sat in a place where there were

several older students. Which made Lupin's breakfast more

uncomfortable. He was the only first year.

"Who is he?" asked a red-haired girl looking at Lupin.

"He's a first year, a friend of James, his name is..." said William.

"Remus Lupin," added Lupin, noticing that William didn't know his name.

"They keep getting smaller and smaller," commented a stout boy.

"Shut up, don't bother the first-year boy," said a girl reprimanding him.

Lupin ate his breakfast amidst the conversations and laughter of the older

students. Luckily after a while, they forgot him and he was able to have a

quiet breakfast, although it was a bit uncomfortable.

Just as he finished breakfast, the marauders arrived. They greeted him

normally and this time they didn't ask him anything about his

disappearance.

'It's better this way...' thought Lupin. The only thing he felt was a weird

look coming from James, but when he looked at him again, he was

talking to Sirius as usual.

"Hey, James! Come here, sit down. We need to talk about quidditch!"

shouted William, calling James, who had no choice but to sit with his

captain.

William was a crazy quidditch enthusiast and knew a lot. The only

person who could follow their conversations on the subject without

getting tired of it was James, so they often spent the whole time talking

about historical matches, tactics, etc.

"You're always bothering him with your quidditch. Leave him alone," said

the redhead, pulling James towards her and starting to argue with

William. James with a poker face was in the middle.

'He's even popular among the popular...' thought Lupin, looking at James,

who started eating his breakfast as if he didn't care about the discussion

of the older students.

Lupin took advantage of this moment and left. He still had some free

time before the first class.

The day passed normally for Lupin. Only that his body felt more sore

than usual. What most caught his attention and worried him was the look

that James gave him. The moment he looked at him, the black-haired boy

averted his gaze.

It was difficult for Lupin to hide his secret, especially from his dorm

mates. He had prepared excuses beforehand, but if they were smart

enough they might realize that something was wrong.

The one that worried him the most was James, as he proved to be very

knowledgeable and seemed to be a walking encyclopedia. Whenever he

was asked about a potion, a charm, or an ingredient, he always answered

by being very precise and detailed.

'Did he discover me...? No, no, impossible' thought Lupin shaking his

head. In the conversations they had that day with the marauders, James

acted normally, even with him.

So, it should be his imagination. Luckily, after class, James had to go to

quidditch practice, which from now on was earlier as it was getting dark

faster.

After that, Lupin did homework, played the odd game with Toby and the

others, and went to bed early, as he was very tired.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 67: Mysterious room

James' theory about Lupin grew even stronger. Clearly, Lupin was weak

and low on energy. If you watched him a little, you could easily tell.

However, he would wait another month. He must not rush. Then, he will

converse with Lupin to hear from his mouth whether he is a werewolf or

not. As for his position, he doesn't care that Lupin is. He has no

discriminatory thoughts against werewolves.

As for why he will confront him when it is certain that Lupin wants to

keep it a secret, it is simple. It is because they are friends. His mother has

told him that friends should trust and help each other, plus he thinks it

must be very lonely for Lupin to have to hide the secret, so he wants to

give him a hand.

James was currently exploring the castle. The strange thing was that he

was alone. No member of the marauders was in sight.

His objective was to find a classroom that was empty and hidden enough

that it would be hard to find, and he could train without being caught by

Filch or another professor.

The castle was big, very big. It wasn't the first time he had explored just

looking for such a room. At first, he thought of Classroom 11, where he

met Gwen, but it would be too easy for Filch to find them.

James looked at the map he held in both hands. It was a recent creation

of the marauders when they were out exploring the castle.

'This map is garbage...' thought James, looking at the ugly layouts, the

ugly handwriting, and many more flaws. If a cartographer saw this map

he would set it on fire without hesitation.

They still had more to learn before. They could try to draw a good map

that would cover the whole of Hogwarts and do it correctly.

He rolled up the map and put it in his tunic. He knew it would be of little

use to him. It was not the first time he had gone out in search of such a

classroom in which to train. He was getting less and less hopeful of

finding such a convenient classroom.

He was now walking down the seventh-floor corridor, or so he thought as

it was very difficult to guide himself through the huge castle.

'I just need a place to practice my magic and not be found. Damn it. It's

not that hard. Maybe I can find some training dummies like the ones in

the training room at home...' James thought grumpily as he walked down

the hallway.

James stopped and looked at a huge moving tapestry where there was a

group of eight trolls each with a club, and a little person was trying to

teach them to dance ballet. The trolls were wearing the uniform that

ballet dancers wear. Only the bottom part and the slipper were a very

strange sight.

James stopped looking at the strange tapestry and kept walking forward.

'No. If I keep going this way, I'll go through the area I already explored

yesterday...' thought James as he turned around and went back to the

place where the tapestry with the trolls was.

As he was about to reach the window he stopped abruptly, 'No... I think

I'd better go that way,' he thought, scratching his cheek, turned around,

and resumed his previous path.

'For a good place to practice, I need a large classroom... maybe I should

go to the dungeons, though I'm likely to cross paths with the Slytherin

guys...' thought James.

Again, he paused. This time, he pulled out the second-hand map they

made with the marauders. Maybe it could be of some use to him in this

situation.

'Then I'd better go the other way...' thought James, turning around for the

third time in a row. Luckily, the corridor was empty. Otherwise, he

would have looked like an idiot for turning around so much.

However, as he started walking, out of the corner of his eye he noticed

something wrong.

In front of the troll tapestry was an empty stretch of wall, but now there

was a shiny wooden door.

James looked at the wall with caution and surprise. He rubbed his eyes

gently. He was sure there was nothing there just an empty wall.

'Since when do doors appear out of nowhere on walls...?' thought James,

slowly approaching the door.

It was the first time he had noticed this happening in Hogwarts castle

despite being a magical castle, he had not seen such a thing until this

moment.

James slowly reached out, grabbed the tin doorknob, and slowly turned

it, opening the door. Seeing that there was nothing dangerous, he

decided to enter.

He entered a large room in which flickering torches burned like those

that illuminated the dungeons eight floors below.

In one corner, James discovered perfectly aligned magical dummies,

much like the ones he had at home. In the center of the room, a large,

open area designed specifically for magical duels was spread out. The

floor was marked with magical lines delineating safe boundaries and

penalty areas.

Subtle but efficient lighting focused on the dueling area, allowing every

move to be visible. In another corner was a room with several couches

and a couple of bookshelves with many books.

"What the hell...?" muttered James with his mouth hanging open.

The room was perfect for practicing. It was very large and had everything

he needed there were even books, which after glancing through. He could

see that they were books on offensive and defensive magic.

James thought about going to look for Sirius and the others, but he didn't

know how exactly this mysterious room worked. He couldn't miss the

opportunity to practice, since if he left he might disappear when he came

with the others.

'I'll train on my own today. Tomorrow I'll come and try to find out how it

appeared...' thought James while with a Wingardium Leviosa, he moved

the mannequins towards the center of the room.

The only thing magical about the dummies was their defense. They had

great durability, and no matter how many spells you cast on them they

would not be destroyed. They could not attack you, but they served to

enhance your offensive charms.

Two hours passed. In addition to practicing his offensive spells to

improve his mastery, he also spent about thirty minutes to read quietly

one of the magic books that were on the shelves.

It was much more comfortable to read in an armchair in a private room

all to yourself, 'It could be the marauders' lair...' thought James with a

faint smile as he was slumped on the couch comfortably.

This room was better than the library. On the shelves were all the books

you needed. You didn't even have to look for them on your own. You had

a comfortable couch and you could make whatever noise you wanted.

'I wonder what face they'll make when I show them,' thought James,

standing up and putting the book away.

On the other hand, no one knocked on the door. In itself, the hallway was

already uncrowded, but James believed that the room had some special

power and was harder to find.

This thought was because he passed by the empty wall several times and

saw no door. He left the room and walked out, but after five minutes, he

returned. The wooden door was gone.

'Mm, it's time for lunch now. I'll investigate better tomorrow or maybe

tonight,' James thought as he made his way to the Great Hall. He still

didn't plan on telling the marauders about this. He wanted to know the

exact method of making the door appear.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 68: Strange method

That night, James did not return to the strange hallway where the door

appeared, as he was studying a new book on defensive magic in the

common room, so he did not have time to return.

The next day, after classes and his quidditch training, which was getting

more intense as the second match was less than a week away, James

returned to the seventh floor.

He looked at the empty stretch of wall where the wooden door used to

be, "Mm, what now?" muttered James.

He didn't know why the door appeared out of nowhere in the wall. He

had a few suspicions. The first would be that it would appear at a specific

time, from his robes he pulled out a pocket watch, 'It's 15 minutes until

it's the same time as yesterday...' he thought as he waited patiently.

James didn't take his eyes off the wall. He wanted to keep an eye out for

any change, no matter how small.

To his chagrin, fifteen minutes passed, and nothing happened. James

shook his head. He didn't hold out much hope for this theory, as it would

be very easy to find it if you only had to pass by at a particular time.

The second theory was the one James was most confident in. It was

simple. The secret room provided whatever one required of it.

James trusted this, for when he entered the room there was everything

he was looking for: magical dummies, books on offensive and defensive

magic, and a large place to practice. It was too much of a coincidence. If

he had come across a simply spacious, but empty room, he would not

think of this reason.

'I want a large room to practice magic. With magic dummies and books

on offensive and defensive magic,' James asked in his mind while looking

at the wall, seconds passed, and nothing happened.

James repeated this thought several times in his head while staring at the

empty wall, but nothing happened. He tried several methods: closing his

eyes, waiting a few minutes, and opening them, but nothing appeared

either. He turned his back to the wall and looked at the tapestry of the

trolls, while he thought about what he needed. When he turned around

the wall was still empty.

Twenty minutes passed, and the ideas were running out. Luckily, no one

was passing through the corridor. It was desolate.

James with a frown, began to remember everything he did yesterday in

this hallway. The only different thing he did was go back and forth like

an idiot because he was kind of lost.

'Wait... It won't be half-turning, right?' thought James with a strange look

on his face.

With nothing to lose, he gave it a try: he turned around sharply as he

reached the window beyond the empty stretch of wall, then turned back,

this walk he made, thinking about what he needed.

When he made the third run, it appeared. Again, he could see out of the

corner of his eye the wooden door in the previous empty stretch of wall.

'What a peculiar method...' thought James in disbelief that it worked. He

never thought something so random would work. The crazy thing is that

he found the door by pure chance.

James eagerly walked in and noticed the same room as yesterday. There

was only one difference, on a small table there was a magic chessboard

with its pieces ready to start the game.

Noticing the chessboard, James smiled broadly. With this, he was assured

that his theory was true. Unlike the first time he entered this mysterious

room, in addition to being able to train, he asked if there was a

chessboard, to see if it was true that he met the requirements of one.

However, James did not enter. He closed the door and returned to the

Gryffindor common room.

It was not long before dinner, and although the corridor was not very

busy, now and then a stray student might pass by. So he will return at

night when everyone is asleep, and it is forbidden to wander around the

castle.

He does not want someone to find the door by chance and know about

the secret room, because as long as someone is using the room, the door

will still be there. Someone perceptive will notice that there used to be

an empty stretch of wall, and now it is occupied by a door, so he or she

will know that something is wrong and might try to get in.

At 22:00, the entire student body was inside their respective common

room. During this time it is forbidden to wander around the castle or its

exterior. Failure to comply with this rule will be penalized with the loss

of points for your house.

James heard that there were students who had even lost 50 points for

getting caught, which made them the pariah of their house, as it is very

difficult to recover from such a loss.

The marauders had already broken this rule countless times, but thanks

to the invisibility cloak they were not caught. Although several times

they came close to being caught by Filch and his cat.

If they had been caught every time they went out, Gryffindor would have

negative house points and they would be hated by every student in the

house.

"Are we going exploring today?" asked Lupin without taking his eyes off

the book he was reading.

Even though he knew they were violating an important school rule,

Lupin liked exploring, as he was one of the most enthusiastic about

mapping out all of Hogwarts.

He knew his skills were poor when it came to designing a map, but he

was learning and getting better every day.

"I'll pass. I'm tired," Sirius said, yawning and stretching. He had fallen

behind on several tasks and had spent the entire afternoon devoting

himself to completing them.

"Are you sure about what you're saying?" asked James with a slight smile.

"Mm, what do you mean?" asked Sirius as he put away a piece of

parchment he had been working on today. They all looked at James

curiously. They knew he had something on his hands.

"I found something very interesting today, and I was planning on coming

back tonight," said James, acting mysteriously.

"Spit it out," said Sirius impatiently.

"It's a surprise. Only those who come exploring today will see it," said

James with a smile seeing Sirius frowning.

"Fine... I'll go," Sirius said with no other choice. He'll have to postpone his

sleep, if only for a few hours. The others were also very expectant

wanting to know what James meant by his discovery.

At about 23:00, there were only the marauders in the common room.

With no monkeys on shore, they searched for the invisibility cloak and

left the common room. James had already told the location to Lupin, who

had the best bearings.

Luckily, they weren't too far away, as the Gryffindor Tower was also on

the seventh floor. How it is almost impossible to use the invisibility cloak

for five people James was the non-invisible person.

This was for one simple reason. James knew how to use the

disillusionment charm, which allowed him to disguise himself with his

surroundings making him acquire the exact color and texture, turning

him into a chameleon.

James would quickly activate the charm if he heard strange movements.

Luckily, they had no trouble and reached the hallway in a few minutes.

Sirius and the others took off their cloaks and looked at James.

"Is this it?" asked Lupin a little doubtfully.

"This is... Barnabas the Nutcase," said Toby as he looked at the tapestry of

trolls in ballet uniforms and punching the poor little man.

"How do you know that?" asked Sirius.

"I read it in the book History of Magic..." replied Toby.

"This idiot appears in a history of the magic book?" commented Sirius in

disbelief.

"Guys... if Filch comes he'll catch us easily," said Peter, who not having

the invisibility cloak on him felt unprotected.

"That's right. Where's what you wanted to show us?" asked Lupin, looking

at James, and everyone listened intently.

"There," James replied simply, as he pointed his finger at an empty wall.

They all followed James' finger and noticing the empty wall, looked at

him strangely again.

"It's just a wall..." said Sirius.

"For now it is. Look at me," said James as he started on the strange

method for the hidden room to show itself.

He started walking under everyone's watchful eyes, stopped abruptly, and

went back the way he came. This he repeated three times.

In the process, the marauders looked at each other with weird faces. They

thought their friend had lost a screw or been bitten by a strange bug.

James finished the third lap. Sirius and the others paid no attention to

the wall that was barely visible because of the darkness. They were

staring at their friend in silence, uncomfortable to speak.

"Dude... Are you sick or something?" asked Sirius.

"Look at the wall again," said James. Again they looked at the wall,

thinking James just wanted to tease them, but what they saw surprised

them.

"A door...?" asked Toby as he rubbed his eyes. He was sure that seconds

before he had seen that the wall was empty.

The others were also staring at the door gaping and somewhat suspicious.

"W-what is this?" asked Lupin, looking at James.

With an enigmatic smile, James looked at the marauders and with a

graceful gesture opened the wooden door. A soft creak echoed in the air

as the door was opened to reveal a large room lit by a plethora of

torches.

"Welcome to my abode," James announced, holding out his arms as if

presenting a secret treasure.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 69: James vs Sirius

As Sirius and the other three were about to walk through the door, James

blocked the way, " Hold on. I need to try a few things. I'll close the door,

and I want you to try to open it," James said without further explanation

slamming the door in their faces.

Sirius, Lupin, Toby, and Peter looked at each other with strange faces.

James first welcomed them into his abode, and second, he slammed the

door in their faces.

'This guy...' thought Sirius as he reached out and tried to open the door.

However, no matter how hard he pushed it wouldn't open.

"Why won't it open?" muttered Sirius as he tried harder, but it was

useless.

"Let me try," said Lupin, as he tried, but he too failed to open the wooden

door.

After a minute, James, noticing that no one was coming in, opened the

door and noticed his friends looking at him.

"Come on. What are you waiting for? Come in," he said as he looked left

and right for Filch and his cat.

When they entered, James closed the door. By doing this little

experiment, he was able to verify that no one could enter while he was

using the room. He doesn't know why this is. Maybe because it's the room

he asked for and not someone else's.

"What do you think?" asked James with a smile as he noticed the

dumbfounded expressions of his friends.

At first, they were surprised by the sudden appearance of the door in a

previously empty wall. They had only seen a large room on the other

side.

Now, they could see how large the room was. On par or larger than the

Gryffindor common room. A huge central space is ideal for magical duels,

a part where there were shelves with several books and sofas to read

quietly.

There were also two small tables, both with two magical chess boards

and their respective chairs.

"How is there such a big room...?" asked Toby with a surprised expression

written all over his face. The wooden door didn't look that big. He never

imagined there would be a room bigger in size than the classrooms.

"It's amazing..." muttered Peter as he looked at each area closely.

"How did you find such a room? Besides, it's just what you were looking

for..." said Lupin suspiciously. He knew James was looking for a room

where he could practice, but so far he hadn't managed to find anything. It

was too much of a coincidence that such a perfect practice room would

appear behind that magical door.

They all looked at James waiting for his answer. With no other choice, he

told them in a nutshell how he stumbled upon this mysterious room by

accident and a lot of luck.

"You lucky bastard!" shouted Sirius as he grabbed both of James'

shoulders.

"This room is perfect! It's the new Marauders' base!" he said, excitedly as

he started shaking James.

"Yeah, yeah, easy," said James, escaping Sirius' grip, "Now, let's get

started with practice," he added, pulling out his wand and walking

towards the center of the room.

"How about a duel, Potter?" asked Sirius with a smile as he drew his

wand and positioned himself in front of James several feet away.

"That's what I was looking for, Black," agreed James also with a slight

smile. Finally, he would be able to put his new defensive charm

Aeromanteo to the test.

Lupin, Peter, and Toby looked on in excitement. They had long wondered

how a showdown would go between Sirius the heir to House Black, and

James the heir to the Potter family, who knows a great many charms.

The three of them were leaning more in James' favor since he taught

them Flipping, but they never saw him in a duel. So they didn't know

what could happen in a match against Sirius, who is also very talented

and comes from one of the oldest pureblood families.

Both James and Sirius bowed slightly in respect. Then, they raised their

wands like swords in front of them.

Both coming from pureblood families they knew the basic etiquette of

formal dueling.

"On the count of three," said Lupin.

"One... Two... Three!" he exclaimed.

Sirius acted immediately, "Flipendo!" he shouted, and a loud pop was

emitted as a dazzling flash of light shot out from his wand in James'

direction.

The offensive charm Sirius was most proficient in was Flipendo which

ironically was taught to him by James. He knew a few others, but they

weren't as useful as Flipendo, plus he had practiced it a lot, in case he

encountered Rabastan and his gang.

James watched the flash heading his way intently. He was quickly

calculating where he should effectively cast Aeromanteo.

Sirius' speed was no match for his father, who was an experienced

duelist, so it was easier to react to his speed.

When the flash was seconds away from hitting him, he quickly

exclaimed, "Aeromanteo!" The wand moved gracefully, tracing a pattern

in the air as a stream of air attempted to form around him. However, he

miscalculated the timing. The Flipendo impacted hard on his left

shoulder.

James was pushed backward, stumbling a few feet before coming to a

firm stop. Luckily, Sirius wasn't a Flipendo expert. Otherwise, he could

have been sent flying many feet.

'Aeromanteo?' thought Lupin, Peter, and Toby doubtfully as they watched

James being pushed back by Sirius' charm.

Sirius also found the unfamiliar charm James used strange but didn't

think too much of it.

'I must get closer. That way my Flipendo will have more power,' Sirius

thought as he closed the distance demonstrating great speed.

"Flipendo!" shouted Sirius again pointing at James.

Being closer, it was harder to react, and more reflexes were needed, still,

James tried. As the charm was about to hit him, he exclaimed again,

"Aeromanteo!"

He didn't manage to deflect the charm completely, but it was close. He

aimed at his shoulder again and managed to hit only half of his shoulder,

almost managing to deflect it completely.

This time he took fewer steps back. Sirius realized that James was putting

a new charm into practice and was only defending himself. This annoyed

him and made him frown.

As the heir to House Black, he had great pride even though he didn't

share his family's supremacist thoughts.

'Well, enough practicing,' thought James, noticing Sirius' annoyed

expression. He would have plenty of time to practice. He was now in a

formal duel and had to show proper respect.

Before Sirius could angrily cast another Flipendo, James acted with

lightning-fast speed.

"Expelliarmus!" he shouted as a dazzling flash of scarlet light shot from

his wand and shot toward Sirius.

Sirius couldn't react to the incredible speed of the red flash. When he was

hit his wand flew high out of his hand. Not only that, he was pushed

several meters backward, until he tripped and fell on his backside.

The atmosphere fell silent. Lupin, Toby, and Peter could not believe that

the duel was over so quickly. Sirius only cast two charms, and James

needed one to defeat him.

What surprised the three of them and Sirius himself the most, was that

James used the Expelliarmus. A charm they would not see in their first

year.

Also, this charm is supposed to only disarm the opponent, but James

managed to push Sirius back several steps. Achieving the same effect as

Sirius' Flipendo, which further emphasized the difference in strength

between the two.

James with a disarming charm achieved two effects in one. Disarm and

push.

What they didn't know was that James held back. If he cast Expelliarmus

at full power, he could have sent Sirius flying, as it is one of the most

mastered spells in his arsenal.

'How does a second-year charm know...? I didn't know the disarming

charm could push you back several feet,' thought Lupin, looking at James

in amazement. The other two were having similar thoughts.

"Are you okay?" asked James, approaching Sirius and giving him a hand

to stand up.

"James..." said Sirius as he accepted the hand and slowly stood up.

"That was amazing! How many charms up your sleeve do you have,

bastard?" said Sirius enthusiastically. James sighed in relief. He thought

Sirius as heir to one of the noblest and oldest houses would be angry

since he lost, but it seemed he wasn't that narrow-minded.

"Some..." replied James, scratching his cheek.

"We've got all night. Hey you, guys. Come on!" shouted Sirius, calling out

to the others who came over.

"Let's have a battle royale!" he suggested, and they all agreed. The only

rule was that they could only use charms that they all knew. Otherwise,

James would have too much of an advantage.

Several Hours passed. Besides having fun in a battle royale casting

Fumos, Flipendo, and other charms, they practiced more seriously.

Sirius even started reading the standard spell book, grade 2 by Miranda

Goshawk. Heading straight to the chapter where she explained the theory

of the disarming charm. He couldn't fall behind James.

James on the other hand with Peter's help practiced Aeromanteo. Peter of

all the Marauders was the weakest, so his Flipendo charm was easier to

deflect than Sirius'. This allowed James to keep improving his

Aeromanteo cast and Peter to keep improving his Flipendo cast.

"Guys..." said Toby, calling everyone over.

Sirius, who was putting theory into practice with a magic dummy looked

over at Toby. James and Peter, who were attacking and defending also

stopped facing each other and turned their heads towards him.

"What happened?" asked Lupin, emerging from a cloud of smoke.

"It's 5:12 in the morning..." replied Toby as he looked at an antique clock

that was next to the bookshelves.

"Shit! Has it been that long already?" asked Sirius, who had visible dark

circles under his eyes.

They all had sleepy faces, but they had had a lot of fun practicing,

dueling, and trying new spells.

'Only two hours to sleep...' thought James regretfully as he prepared to

return to the dormitories.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 70: Flipendo Tria

Monday, March 14, 1972.

A month and a half had passed since the marauders began using the

mysterious room as a base and practiced a large number of offensive and

defensive charms. Performing duels against each other, either 1vs1, 2vs2,

or all versus all.

Besides practicing, they also read in the rest area, where there were many

books on the subject and comfortable sofas. The bad thing is that they

would spend the whole night there, and the next day they would fall

asleep in class.

Many professors like McGonagall or Antennae did not like at all that five

students fell asleep in their class. For the first time, all marauders had a

punishment at the same time.

The good thing was that they didn't lose house points, but they were

warned that if they fell asleep in class again in addition to the

punishment they would be penalized with house points. Five people

losing points at the same time would be very bad news for Gryffindor.

So they had to stop practicing on weekdays and only do it on weekends,

including Sunday, and hold off on Monday so as not to fall asleep in

class.

The only one who kept practices on weekdays was James.

James in addition to practicing and improving on his defensive charms

(Aeromanteo, Fumos among others), was dedicated to improving his

already learned offensive charms.

He wanted to take them to a new level. For example, the Flipendo charm

has a more powerful version which is: Flipendo Duo. This is twice as

powerful as the normal one, knocking the target down with greater force.

There was even Flipendo Tria and Flipendo Maxima.

Another charm that has a more powerful version is Lumos. Its advanced

version is Lumos Maxima which produces a blinding flash of bright white

light much more powerful than Lumos.

For a battle, it would serve to blind the opponent for a few seconds,

although for this you must close your eyes. Which wouldn't do much

good unless you have sunglasses.

For guidance and to know how to improve these charms this month he

read a book entitled: Extreme Charms, written by the witch Violet Stitch.

The charm Lumos Maxima is covered in chapter thirty-two, and the

Flipendo duo in chapter thirty-five.

On the other hand, two Quidditch matches were played during this time:

Gryffindor vs Slytherin. The most expected and the most tense match,

since both houses have a great rivalry.

To the sadness of all Gryffindor was defeated by 190 to 90. Slytherin was

losing by fifty points down, but their seeker managed to get ahead of

Alex and catch the golden snitch. Many Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and

Hufflepuff said that the Slytherin student committed a foul, as he pushed

Alex, but the referee did not call it.

This made James and the others have to put up with the constant taunts

from Rabastan and the other Slytherin boys. Sirius already wanted to

start a new prank or repeat the 100 dungbomb prank.

The Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw match ended with the Badgers winning. The

match ended 180 to 50. The standings were like this:

[1° Slytherin: 370 points.

2° Gryffindor: 310 points.

3° Hufflepuff: 260 points.

4° Ravenclaw: 70 points]

There is still one game left, but there is little hope since Slytherin is

facing one of the worst Ravenclaw in history, who in two games did not

reach a hundred points.

No one believes they can beat Slytherin, who is a steamroller, as they

beat a great Gryffindor and a Hufflepuff, who is not playing badly at all.

James was currently alone in the training room late at night.

This is because it's a weekday, and there are classes tomorrow, so Sirius

and the others don't want to stay in training all the time and go to class

without sleep. Unlike James, they don't have the obsession to be

practicing every day.

If it were up to James he would do the same as the marauders, but he

knows that shortly he will face Voldemort and Voldemort in the Harry

Potter novel will kill him for some unknown reason.

Unfortunately, he does not want to die at a young age, so he must

become as powerful as possible.

The attacks by Voldemort's followers had already begun, it was not yet

known who was behind it all, and it didn't escalate much, but little by

little the attacks on Muggles were increasing, and at any moment they

could change their focus, and start attacking wizards.

"Flipendo Duo!" shouted James, pointing at a magical dummy. From his

wand came a red light at high speed.

The Flipendo Duo hit the dummy with impressive force, knocking it back

more meters than the base Flipendo. The room filled with the sound of

the blast of energy and the crackle of the dummy being pushed back by

the force of the spell.

'I wonder how much pain it will cause...' thought James. He could feel

the force of the charm was greater than normal and the dummy pushed

back more meters, but he didn't know the damage it would cause to the

object or person.

The base Flipendo felt like a heavy blow to the chest or like getting hit in

the head with a frying pan or so the people who were hit described it.

'Like the hit of two frying pans...' thought James with a question mark on

his face.

James knew that the base Flipendo and duo in terms of offensive magic

was no big deal. The pain it caused was resistible. He was able to

withstand two Flipendo throws from Sirius. In time he managed to knock

Mulciber and Avery out thanks to them crashing hard into the wall.

Against a Death Eater, a dark wizard with experience and power, it won't

be very effective, but for formal duels and use at Hogwarts it's fine. His

real target was the Flipendo Tria.

This Flipendo did have a much more effective use in real battles, or so

James thought since he never fought dark wizards.

The Flipendo Tria looked like a small tornado. According to the book

when the hex is unleashed a swirl of bluish energy materializes from the

tip of the wand, expanding and taking the shape of a small tornado. Its

strength and power far surpasses its two predecessors, but that's not the

best part.

The distinctive feature of this spell is its ability to keep the targets in the

air for an extended period (the more mastery you have, the longer time)

not only throws the targets but also keeps them suspended in the air as if

they were trapped in a magical current.

In addition, the tornado can catch several targets at once. They will

experience the physical impact of being thrown into the air with great

force and will be trapped in the vortex, causing them to lose their wands

and be knocked out in the process.

'This jinx will be very useful if I face several enemies at once' thought

James as he read the book explaining the spell. Unlike Expelliarmus it

will be able to encompass many people at once knock them out, and even

trap them in the tornado without their wands.

Before going into the reading and practice of this new jinx, James looked

at the clock and made an ugly expression. It was almost six in the

morning. The dark circles under his eyes were visible. It had been several

days where he had stayed up so late. And he had to wake up at 7:30 to

go to breakfast and then to class.

Somehow, he managed to stay awake in class and not get grounded, but

what he was hearing was minimal, and he was falling behind on his

homework.

'I'd better sleep...' thought James as he made his way to a corner of the

huge room. There was a very spacious double bed there, complete with

Puddlemere United sheets.

As the room put everything he needed, James thought ¿Why not stay

overnight here?

This way, he won't waste time going to the Gryffindor common room.

This means more rest time, and every minute counts when you have less

than two hours of sleep.

The fire from the torches went out magically, and James collapsed on the

bed without even covering himself, falling fast asleep.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 71: Responsible partner

James slept peacefully in a double bed. The room was completely dark.

There were no windows to let in sunlight. Because of his drool, he

opened his eyes with difficulty.

"Mm... Why is it so dark?" stammered James. As his brain slowly kicked

in.

'What time is it...' he thought as he got out of bed. The torches flared

again allowing him to observe the clock in the distance. He had to focus

his eyesight well to manage to see the time.

"Shit! It's already past nine!" shouted James as he stood up and began to

change at light speed. With his wand, he quickly grabbed everything he

needed for class today.

With a book in hand, he carefully left the room. Even though he was in a

hurry, he couldn't leave abruptly and found that someone was just

passing by, and since there were classes there, it was most likely Filch.

'I don't hear anything...' thought James, opening the door and starting to

run towards Classroom 1 on the First Floor. That's where the first-year

transfiguration classes are held.

Since he already knew he was going to sleep in the secret room, he didn't

bring his invisibility cloak with him. Otherwise, he would have to take it

to his dormitory.

'Of all the subjects I have, why do I have to be late for Transfiguration...?'

thought James standing in front of the door to Classroom 1. He could

hear McGonagall's stern voice delivering the lesson.

James was seriously thinking about whether he should go to the

infirmary and create an excuse that he was sick or something, but

Madame Poppy would find out that he was perfectly fine and he would

be in more trouble.

'Maybe I should cast a Jinx on myself?' thought James and then shook his

head. He preferred to take responsibility for his actions.

James without further thought, grabbed the doorknob and opened the

door, which made a slight squeak. McGonagall stopped talking and

looked at him. All the students looked at him as well.

James stared at McGonagall's stern face. An awkward silence reigned in

the classroom. He didn't know whether to walk slowly to his seat or wait

for the professor's punishment.

"James Potter, do you know what time it is?" asked McGonagall.

"9:35 professor..." replied James.

"Exactly. More than thirty minutes since class started. May I know why

you are so late?" asked McGonagall again.

"I overslept..." replied James, scratching his tousled hair that he didn't

have time to fix even a little bit. He didn't even have time to eat

breakfast, so hungry was he.

At James' response many snickered under their breath, something

McGonagall didn't like at all, "Silence!" she bellowed, and not a fly was

heard to fly.

"Go sit down. After class, we'll talk," sentenced McGonagall. Many

including James, were surprised that he hadn't been punished

immediately and lost a few points.

Afraid that McGonagall would change her mind, James began to walk

hurriedly to the back to sit with Sirius, "Not there!" raised McGonagall's

voice.

'Did she get cold feet?" thought James as he looked at the professor.

"You will sit here. In the front row," said McGonagall, pointing to an

empty seat. Knowing that if he said anything he would be in more

trouble, he obeyed and sat in front of everything, next to Lily Evans, who

even her friends didn't want to always sit in front of everything, so she

sat alone.

McGonagall made this decision for several reasons. First, she knew that if

James was in the background he wouldn't pay attention, and his friend

Sirius always distracted him. She knew of James' talent in

transfiguration, a talent she rarely saw. So she wanted to guide him as

best she could and have him take advantage of his talent.

Lily glanced at James and looked ahead without paying any more

attention to him.

"Let's pick up where we left off. We were talking about the

transfiguration spell: Avifors. Can someone be so kind as to explain it to

our classmate James?" asked McGonagall in a satirical tone.

"Lily," said McGonagall, looking at the redhead's raised hand.

"The Avifors spell transforms small objects and creatures into birds,"

replied Lily as usual. McGonagall nodded in satisfaction, glad that she

was paying attention to her explanation.

"Correct. You should note that the spell is seen as a Jinx when used to

transform certain creatures into birds. This spell is the most complicated

spell we have seen so far. Now turn to the appropriate page in your

books, and after reading carefully, practice with these stones," said

McGonagall as she waved her wand lightly.

Five stones began to appear in front of each student, "If you have any

problems, let me know. I will help you. Now get to work," she added.

James' eyes were heavy. He lazily opened his book to a random page:

'The zombie inhabits only the southern part of America. It can be

recognized by its grayish color and rotten smell...' James read and

realized something was wrong.

He looked at the cover of the book and realized the problem, 'This is not

the transfiguration book,' he thought as he pushed aside the book which

was Quentin Trimble's defense against the dark arts.

The blackboard had little detail unlike the book and he had no idea about

the Avifors spell. He looked at Lily and noticed that her attention was

completely absorbed by the book. Her green eyes moved quickly

following the lines of text, 'What is that reading speed...' thought James,

somewhat surprised.

Lily noticed James looking at her and looked at him, "Do you want

something?" she asked.

"No, nothing," James replied, dropping her gaze. Although he wasn't on

bad terms with her, he also didn't have the confidence to ask her and

read the book together.

Lily noticed James' book and realized that the cover did not belong to the

transfiguration book. She quickly identified it as Trimble's book.

After a moment's thought, she sighed inwardly and moved the book to

the center of the table. Close to both of us.

"You can read if you like," said Lily as she brought a hand to her mane

and slid the red locks, which fell over her face behind her ear.

"Thanks..." said James as he leaned in close and began to read the book

along with Lily.

Their shoulders bumped slightly, and their faces were quite close, but

neither gave it any thought. They were both engrossed in reading the

theory of the Avifors spell.

James had to turn his attention to something to keep from falling asleep,

and what better than this transfiguration spell that looked like fun. After

several minutes, he finished reading and started practicing with the

stones.

Lily also started practicing with the stones. They were the first to move

on to practice. After saying "Avifors" and failing, they both went back to

reading the theory in the book.

"Mm... I have to emphasize the first syllable..." muttered Lily in

concentration.

"Yes. Then quickly you have to say 'vi' and 'fors' softly, but without

wasting too much time," muttered James. They both nodded and

returned to their stones.

Thirty minutes passed, and the class came to an end. In addition to

pronunciation, James and Lily discussed the correct wand movement,

and both contributed very useful observations. This allowed them to be

the only ones with a breakthrough on the stones, although they still

didn't get to turn them into 100% birds.

McGonagall watched the two with a slight smile. She knew she was right,

putting James next to Lily. They could both benefit from each other's

talents and help each other practice more effectively. Plus James

wouldn't be distracted, since Lily doesn't waste time in class.

On the other hand, she noticed how Sirius Black drove Peter Pettigrew

crazy, playing with rocks using Wingardium Leviosa, among other things.

'I must find that boy a responsible partner...' thought McGonagall,

watching Sirius with a frown.

"Thanks for letting me read the book," said James as they all put their

things away and started to leave the classroom.

"You're welcome. Your suggestions helped me so we're even," Lily said as

she said goodbye to James and left with her friends.

"James Potter, come here," McGonagall said from her desk as she noticed

James wanting to slip away with Sirius and the others. With no other

choice, he went towards McGonagall's desk.

"Sit down," said McGonagall as a chair appeared near James.

"Where to start..." she added as closed a book.

Fifteen minutes later, James came out of the classroom with a happy

expression that was hard to observe because of the dark circles under his

eyes and the sleepiness he had. Amazingly McGonagall didn't punish him.

No week cleaning trophies or armor, no less points for his house.

She only gave him a lecture that James listened to attentively, as he

agreed with the wise professor on several things. For example, paying

attention in class and stopping falling asleep.

McGonagall noticed that James was paying less attention in class and had

dark circles under his eyes, and the quality of the homework he was

handing in had dropped.

James had to give her some excuses, since he couldn't tell her that he

found a secret room and was spending until six in the morning there

when he should be in his bedroom.

So, from now on, he won't be so late in the secret room practicing. He

will set a fixed schedule so that he can get at least six hours of sleep.

When the curfew starts at about ten o'clock at night. He will go to the

secret room. He will be able to practice for about three hours, which will

allow him to sleep for about six hours.

He doesn't usually stay up until six in the morning every day, rather he

has an irregular schedule.

'Is this luck because my birthday is coming up?' thought James as he

hurried to the next class or he would be late again.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 72: Birthday at Hogwarts

Sunday, March 27, 1972.

Today is James' birthday. It had been two weeks since he started to have

a more controlled routine that allowed him to sleep better. So he stopped

falling asleep in class or being on the verge of being late, and his

homework was back to the same quality as before.

When he thought McGonagall would not punish him he was wrong. Ever

since that day he was late, McGonagall in every Transfiguration class

makes him sit in front of everything. Away from Sirius and always next

to Lily Evans.

His performance in class indeed increased, and he got more points for

Gryffindor, thanks to the fact that he was next to a responsible person

who doesn't waste time in class, but it wasn't as much fun as being with

his friends. And now, since he practiced and read so much, he could only

be with the marauders during classes and the occasional free hour.

However, it wasn't that bad, since it was only in Transfiguration classes.

So he could resist it without a problem. He wasn't the only one affected.

Sirius also started having to sit with Mary Macdonald on McGonagall's

orders.

James upon waking up that day, got presents from his parents and all the

marauders even Lupin. Which surprised him, as previously at Christmas

he had not given him a present.

On the subject of James' theory about Lupin being a werewolf, he

decided to postpone the discussion with his friend. Last month, the same

thing happened again, and he was almost certain that was what it was all

about, but with training in the secret room, he didn't have time to think

about how to face Lupin.

So he decided to wait for another full moon. To be 100% sure that his

friend was a werewolf. It was only three days until this month's full

moon.

After Sirius and the others sang him an off-key happy birthday song, they

went to the dining hall. On the way some first-year Gryffindor boys

congratulated James.

"In the afternoon, we have to go to Hagrid's hut. Does he know about

your birthday?" asked Sirius as he sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"No. I didn't tell him," replied James, as he hadn't had the chance to tell

him. In this last little while the gang had become good friends with

Hagrid and were visiting him more regularly.

"Maybe he gives you some dangerous magical creature," said Lupin,

knowing that Hagrid liked many powerful creatures, no matter how

harmless they might seem.

Joking and talking about what they would do on the day to make James'

birthday different, the mail arrived. Shadow dropped two letters near

James and asked him for something to eat for his work.

After feeding him, James opened the first letter. It was about his father

wishing him a good birthday and little else. It wasn't a very long letter.

The second letter was much longer. More than three times as long as the

first. It was a letter from his mother. It was a very affectionate letter,

besides wishing him a happy birthday and telling him that she loved him

very much, it said many more catchy things like that he was the best son

and that since he came into her life, she was always happy, among other

things.

James read the letter with a slight smile. His mother was always very

loving. Besides showing it to him daily, she also wrote him letters to

show it. As it was the first time he was away from home, the letter was

much longer.

As he read the letter in concentration he did not notice someone

approaching from behind. The others didn't notice either because they

had started a heated conversation.

In a second, someone snatched the letter from James. He quickly turned

around and frowned when he saw who it was. It was Rabastan Lestrange.

The Slytherin boy turned away from James to be at a safe distance so

that the letter couldn't be taken out of his hands.

"Oh, what have we here... I didn't know it was your birthday today,

Potter," Rabastan said with a smirk, as he began to read the letter. To his

left and right stood Mulciber and Avery as bodyguards.

James stood up and looked coldly at the Slytherin gang, who were

getting more unbearable by the day. After passing them on the Quidditch

board they always wanted to make fun of them or any Gryffindor.

At the beginning of the year, James considered the enmity fun, but now

he had had enough and wanted a quiet school life so he could devote

himself to his training.

Sirius and Lupin stood up and already had their wands in their hands.

James stopped them and shook his head. They had acted impulsively

before and ended up grounded for a week or more.

"Give me the letter, Lestrange," James said, holding out his hand. To the

surprise of many his tone showed no anger.

As expected Rabastan did not obey and continued reading the letter.

Gradually a wide grin formed on his face, and he began to laugh out loud

drawing the attention of many people.

"Haha! Who would've thought you're a mommy's boy, huh, Potter?" said

Rabastan, trying to hold in his laughter.

"Why don't we show everyone how loving your mother is? My son, you

are the light of my life, and every day I feel lucky to have you..." said

Rabastan in a loud tone for all to hear, as he held back his laughter.

"Remember that wherever I am and whatever happens, I will always be

your biggest fan and your unconditional support. I love you to infinity

and beyond. Hahaha," continued Rabastan until he could not take it

anymore and burst out laughing. Mulciber and Avery also started

laughing, and most of the Slytherin table did the same.

The other tables could hear a lot of giggling, "What's wrong with her?

She's too sweet..." said a Ravenclaw boy as he laughed. If his mother was

like that, he would die of embarrassment.

"I think I'm gonna puke from all this love..." scoffed one boy as he acted

like he was throwing up.

"Poof... he was acting tough on the train, but he's a mama's boy," sneered

Anastasia Nott as she ate and laughed.

Next to Anastasia stood Gwen, who was looking at Rabastan with a lot of

hatred. She would not tolerate James being made fun of.

"What's with the corny line?" asked Rabastan. He was happy that almost

every table was laughing at James.

Sirius looked every which way with a vein in his forehead and a furious

look on his face. The only table where there was little laughter was

Gryffindor, but the occasional chuckle could be heard.

'This son of a bitch...' thought Sirius looking at Rabastan angrily.

Sirius and the other marauders looked at James worriedly but were

surprised to see that he had a stoic look on his face and was just staring

at Rabastan. As if the laughter of the entire dining hall wouldn't affect

him at all.

"What's going on here!" shouted McGonagall approaching the center of

the problem. She was having a quiet breakfast, and from one second to

the next the whole dining room erupted in laughter. It was very

annoying.

With McGonagall's intervention, the laughter from the tables began to die

down, but everyone was still giving James mocking looks.

"Nothing, Professor. I was just wishing you a happy birthday. Happy

birthday, the light of my life," Rabastan snorted as he threw the letter

towards James. The letter didn't get very far and landed near his feet.

James bent down and picked up the letter. He could see that it had some

spittle on it, most likely from Rabastan laughing so hard.

"Back to your seats," said McGonagall, seeing that James and the others

were still standing.

"Wait, Lestrange," James said in an icy tone, not even listening to the

professor.

Rabastan turned slightly with a smile but paid no attention and kept

walking. It was useless to try to fight if there was the stern Professor

McGonagall.

"I didn't know that the great old Lestrange Family bred cowardly heirs,"

James commented, and this time Rabastan stopped and looked angrily at

James. Everyone was surprised by James' icy tone, instead of being angry

or embarrassed, he seemed monotone and emotionless.

"I challenge you to a duel," added James in a loud and clear tone. How

the dining room was silent, everyone could hear it.

Rabastan was shocked. He did not expect to be challenged against a duel,

"What, are you scared? Relax. There will be a professor," said James

when he heard no answer.

He had made a mockery of his mother's letter. It was unacceptable to let

such an offense pass. He had to teach her a lesson, so that he would not

mess with her again and that no one else would ever think of making fun

of his mother again.

"Shut up, I'm not afraid!" cried Rabastan indignantly.

"Then why don't you accept? I didn't know that Slytherin House was full

of cowards. Go talk to your little pureblood friends," said James

disdainfully as he turned and walked to his seat.

Before he could sit down, Rabastan shouted, "I accept!"

A cold smile formed on James' face. It was only seen by Sirius, Lupin,

Peter, and Toby, who felt shivers. They looked at Rabastan like a dead

man.

"Oh, a duel! Let me join your conversation!" said a squeaky and excited

voice. It was Professor Filius Flitwick who teaches Charms.

"As you know, unsupervised dueling is forbidden at Hogwarts, as it can

be very dangerous. So I propose that you use the Dueling Club room. I

will supervise you along with your Heads of House. What do you think?"

he asked, looking at James and Rabastan.

As far as James knew, the Dueling Club was a club created a few years

ago. It was led by Professor Flitwick, who was a champion duelist when

he was younger. Students who went to his office could see a rack full of

trophies to prove this was real.

They both nodded agreeing with the professor. Then talked about the

dueling schedule. It will be in two days at 6 pm, in the Dueling Club

room.

McGonagall didn't agree much internally, but she had to agree, as both

parties were in agreement.

James chose Sirius as his second, and Rabastan chose Mulciber.

A second is a wizard or witch, usually a true ally, who will act as a

replacement for the duelist if necessary. It is only a formality and they

will only fight in your place if an accident occurs. For example, if you get

injured, get sick, etc.

After concluding with all the details of the duel, the dining hall returned

to normal. Everyone was talking about the duel and debating who would

win.

James left the dining hall for the common room. He told the others that

he had some late homework to do.

"Will he be okay?" asked Toby worriedly as he ate his breakfast. Usually,

he never felt anger towards boys who picked on him and called him a

mudblood, but seeing Rabastan make fun of his friend's mother, he felt a

lot of anger, something rare for him.

"He must want to beat Rabastan to a pulp at this very moment.

Unbelievably, he managed to do it legally," said Lupin.

They had all been friends for several months and were getting to know

each other better every day. At this time it wasn't hard to realize that

James feels a great affection for his family, and his attitude might change

if someone made fun of that.

"He still didn't get it. The duel is in two days," Peter said.

"Really Peter? Do you think Rabastan has any remote chance? In a few

seconds James can finish him off," commented Sirius with a slight smile.

He wanted to see the moment when James sweeps the floor with the

arrogant Lestrange.

At Sirius' comment they all nodded, even Peter after thinking about it a

little better. They had sparred with James personally this last time in the

secret room. None of the four of them could beat him, or even make him

sweat.

They even pitted the four of them against him alone, and even then they

couldn't beat him. He was a prodigy at dueling.

"What's the matter? Are you worried about your new friend?" asked

Jasmine as she ate her breakfast and looked at Lily.

"That Slytherin boy's attitude is despicable," said Lily with a frown.

Rabastan had annoyed her before, and she had noticed that he often

picked on others just because of his lineage.

"I hope James wins. Rabastan is hateful," Khanna commented, and her

friends were surprised, as her friend always disliked boys and was not in

favor of any of them least of all James, who seemed conceited to others.

The day continued smoothly after that. The only thing James felt were

the mocking looks of many people. However, he acted as if it was

nothing, hiding his anger perfectly.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 73: Humiliation I

Tuesday, March 29, 1972.

The day of the duel arrived. In these two days, the rumor of the duel

between James Potter vs Rabastan Lestrange spread.

Two boys from pureblood families. On one side, the Potter Family is

considered blood traitors due to their egalitarian stance towards Muggles,

half-bloods, and Muggle-born wizards. However, it is still a very old and

wealthy family.

On the other hand, the Lestrange Family, who unlike the Potters are part

of the Sacred Twenty-Eight and are not considered blood traitors. This

family believes in the notion of pureblood supremacy, despising Muggles,

Muggle-born, and half-bloods. This family has even produced a Minister

of Magic during the 19th century.

As the event where Rabastan mocked James was crowded, the duel

spread quickly. All the first years were very excited and already wanted

to see the duel.

The older students were not as excited, as they thought that two first-

year students did not have a large arsenal of spells to cast in an

interesting duel, but they did look forward to seeing the clash of two

pureblood families, especially Gryffindor vs. Slytherin.

At breakfast that day many were talking about who would be victorious

in the duel. Most were picking Rabastan as the winner. Although James

had a reputation as a gifted pupil, it was the same for the Slytherin boy.

After listening to Rabastan reading the letter from James' mother, no one

thought that a boy who received so much love could be good in a duel.

Besides, the Lestrange Family's reputation was flashier than the Potters'.

So almost everyone sided with Rabastan.

So did most at the Gryffindor table, even though they knew how good

James was at subjects and was always winning points. They didn't think

he could beat Rabastan. However, that didn't mean they would cheer for

Slytherin's house.

"Damn traitors," Sirius snorted as they walked towards the dueling hall. It

was fifteen minutes before the duel was to begin.

"I didn't think they'd doubt James after he knocked out Mulciber and

Avery that time," commented Lupin a little quizzically.

"They must think I'd attack them from behind. Besides, Rabastan has also

proven to know more advanced hexes," said James, who wasn't upset at

all.

For James, his victory was a certainty. The real question was: How many

hits must he give Rabastan before he defeated him?

"Anyway, thanks to you, I'm going to get rich," said Sirius with a smile

resting an arm on James' shoulder.

"Did you end up gambling. Is it reliable? Rather, is it legal?" asked Lupin

suspiciously.

"Yes, it is reliable. Many older students have gambled. As for legal... it's

best to stay out of those issues. Do you want to know how many bet on

you?" asked Sirius, looking at James.

"How many?" asked James curiously.

"Only thirty percent," he replied with a big smile, looking at James like a

gold mine. How now his mother was sending him much less money,

because he disgraced her last name, it will do him good to get so much

money easily and safely.

"So little faith in me?" asked James in surprise. He had thought he had a

good reputation. He won points for the house several times. He had

special permission to train Quidditch and have his broom, and many

even linked him to the flower prank which was a much talked about

topic.

"It's not that they don't have faith in you, but Rabastan has a great

reputation in his house. Even though he didn't have special permission

when it comes to quidditch, I hear he's good at almost every subject and

especially dueling, as the Lestrange Family prepares their heirs very

well..." explained Sirius.

"How do you know all that?" asked Toby with a strange look on his face.

"Don't forget I'm the Black heir..." said Sirius with a grimace.

As they reached the dueling club room, they could see a lot of people

already waiting. The professors, Flitwick, McGonagall, and Slughorn

were already there chatting. Even Professor Antennae was there.

The room was very large, with a highly polished floor that reflected the

light of the torches. The main area where the duel would take place is

marked with a series of circles on the floor, which serve as boundaries

and regulators of the duel. Surrounding this area are ascending tiers that

provide comfortable seating for spectators. The platform for the

supervising professors is strategically elevated to provide a clear view of

the entire space.

The bleachers were gradually filling up. As there was still time before the

next quidditch match, this particular duel between two pureblood

families was well attended.

"Whoa... it's much bigger than the secret room. Next time you have to ask

for a room like this," said Sirius in awe, as this was his first time visiting

the Dueling Club.

The marauders wished James luck and went to the stands where the

Gryffindor students were, who didn't seem very enthusiastic, except for a

few first years.

"Why did you drag me here?" asked Lily, annoyed looking at Jasmine,

who was holding a sign that said Slytherin sucks.

"You're no fun at all. There won't be another event like this. Besides, we

have to support our house, there's not much faith," replied Jasmine.

"Whatever..." muttered Lily as she looked with some concern at James,

who was already on stage. She had heard the rumors and that everyone

thought Rabastan would win.

James approached the center of the room where Professor Flitwick and

Rabastan were already standing with a haughty smile on his face. It was

obvious that he heard the rumors of the duel, and everyone was betting

that he was going to win.

"Today two first-year students will face each other in a friendly duel!"

began Flitwick, looking at the stands with excitement. He always liked

the part where the commentator introduces the duelists.

"On the right side, Rabastan Lestrange of Slytherin!" he introduced as he

pointed his hand at Rabastan.

The Slytherin students in the stands cheered and clapped enthusiastically.

"On the left side, James Potter of Gryffindor!" the Gryffindor stand

cheered loudly, especially the marauders, but they failed to catch up in

power to the opposing stand.

"Very well, students. Respect the rules we agreed on earlier. First a

formal greeting," said Flitwick, looking at Rabastan and James, who were

facing each other staring at each other.

James and Rabastan shook their heads vaguely, neither had any respect

for the other. Then they raised their wands like swords and waited in

silence. The atmosphere in the stands was also quiet and they watched

expectantly.

Professor Flitwick started counting down, "Three... Two... One... Duel!"

"Furnunculus!" shouted Rabastan with incredible speed. From his wand

came a golden light.

"Aeromanteo," said James calmly as he waved his wand with agility. A

stream of air covered his face and deflected Rabastan's attack.

"That damned one! Using such a nasty hex!" growled Sirius indignantly.

If the hex hit James, it would cause a large number of large pus-filled

pimples to appear on his face.

Rabastan's face showed surprise. He didn't know the charm James used to

evade his hex.

Before this hex, James realized that Rabastan wanted to humiliate him

instead of winning the duel by being as effective as possible. However, he

could not blame him. His objective was the same.

"Tsch, Impedimenta!" he shouted and this time from his wand came a

turquoise light with a faster speed than before.

The Impedimenta was a charm that slows down the target. It was very

common in duels.

"Whoa, he even knows how to cast an Impedimenta. He's very talented

the Lestrange boy!" said Slughorn in surprise. This charm was a third-

year charm.

The other professors watching the fight nodded in agreement, except

Antennae, who found what James performed even more amazing.

As a professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, she knew the

Aeromanteo charm very well. Few people used this charm to defend

themselves. Learning it was easy. The problem was that you needed huge

reflexes to make it effective in battle, so many preferred not to use it and

opted for Protego, although this was more difficult.

James, again without moving from the spot, cast Aeromanteo and

deflected Rabastan's attack successfully. The strange thing for everyone

was that he did not attack. He just stood still patiently waiting for his

opponent to decide how to attack.

'This bastard!' thought Rabastan angrily. For the next few minutes, it was

just Rabastan attacking from all angles. However, none of his attacks

were successful.

James didn't even move a step since the duel started. Rabastan had

already run out of ideas. He even cast two spells at once, but James

managed to deflect them.

"Is this all the Lestrange Family has?" asked James with a cold smile and

clear disdain in his tone. Everyone in the stands gradually fell silent,

shocked at the contempt that James' voice exuded.

"I guess they didn't spend much time training you," he added, looking at

Rabastan as if he were a useless weakling.

The professors, especially McGonagall were surprised by the personality

James was showing. She had always seen him as somewhat lazy and laid

back with his group. She had not noticed such a side to him.

Before Rabastan could explode and cast another spell, James shouted,

"Flipendo!"

Rabastan narrowly dodged the Flipendo, but before he could do

anything, another Flipendo came, and this time he was hit. He rolled on

the ground and quickly got up.

"Just one Flipendo? Ha, that's not-

A Flipendo interrupted him and sent him rolling again on the ground.

Luckily, the Flipendo wasn't that painful, and he was able to quickly get

up off the ground.

'His magic is weak. I must find an opening and finish him quickly,'

Rabastan thought furiously.

However, no matter how much he wanted to look for an opening he

couldn't find one. James' Flipendos kept coming, and they all hit him. He

rolled a couple of times and struggled to his feet, only to be hit again

after a few seconds.

"Get up, Lestrange! Show me your blood supremacy! Flipendo!"

exclaimed James with a cold smile, sending the Slytherin boy rolling

again.

Rabastan's appearance was a mess. His hair was disheveled and dirt in it

from rolling on the floor so many times. His clothes weren't spared either.

His Slytherin robes were wrinkled and dirty.

Everyone in the stands, even the professors, watched with incredulous

faces. It was obvious that James was humiliating Rabastan in front of

everyone. Many looked at James as if they were looking at a new person.

No one knew this part of the boy's personality, who always seemed

relaxed and joking.

The only ones who seemed to know about it were Gwen, Emily, and the

other kids who shared James' childhood at Godric's Hollow.

Gwen watched the duel with a faint smile. Happy at the humiliation

Rabastan was receiving. Emily had a poker face but also seemed to enjoy

Rabastan's suffering.

The other Godric's Hollow boys seemed to have frightened faces as if they

were remembering things they kept long ago in their minds.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 74: Humiliation II

"We have to stop this humiliation!" exclaimed Slughorn, watching as

James continued to roll Rabastan with simple Flipendos.

"We can't. Rabastan still has his wand and keeps getting up," said

Antennae coldly. The other professors could do nothing in the face of that

logic. Besides Rabastan only looked dirty he had no serious injuries.

"Remind me never to joke about his mother," said Sirius with sweat on

his forehead. The marauders nodded repeatedly.

'He's humiliating me...' thought Rabastan, ashamed and at the same time

furious. His appearance was a mess. He noticed hundreds of stares at

him.

"FUMOS!" he shouted angrily as a cloud of smoke covered him and began

to billow over the area.

'Useless...' thought James with contempt.

"Ventus!" exclaimed James, pointing his wand at the cloud of smoke.

A gust of wind dispersed the cloud of smoke within seconds leaving

Rabastan in sight, and he began to be pushed backward. With all his

strength he resisted the powerful wind until it finally stopped.

'Ventus...?' thought Antennae with slight surprise on her face.

"Phew... phew..." breathed Rabastan with difficulty.

"I guess those are all your abilities..." commented James as he tapped his

shoulder lightly with his wand, totally unconcerned.

James' objective from the beginning was to humiliate Rabastan in front of

hundreds of eyes. The pride of the pureblood supremacists was very high.

Receiving such humiliation will be a great psychological blow to him.

That was why his Flipendo was very weak. Not because his magic was

weak, on the contrary, he restrained himself from sending him flying

several meters and ending the fight quickly.

"What did you say you, bastard!" growled Rabastan, who managed to

catch some breath.

"Don't you understand...? Besides being weak, you don't have much of a

brain," said James with disdain and being heard by everyone, who was

dumbfounded by his attitude.

'This is the James I always talk to about Quidditch!?' thought a

dumbfounded William, who was in the Gryffindor stand.

Many people who knew James were also gawking. James' aura was

different from his usual self.

'Humiliate him more James!' thought Gwen, who enjoyed watching

James show off.

"Come on, attack me," said James, stretching out both arms and with a

smile on his face.

James' grin gave Rabastan the creeps as he hesitated. He had attacked

dozens of times, and none of them worked, "Flipendo!" said James again.

This time Rabastan felt a different pain when he was hit by the Flipendo.

It was much stronger! Instead of rolling, he went flying many feet until

he landed on the hard ground.

His whole chest felt as if he had received a hard punch that knocked the

wind out of him. His back ached from the hard landing. Somehow he

managed to hold his wand tightly and slowly got to his feet.

But this time James didn't leave time for him to get up quietly, "Flipendo

Duo!" he shouted, and a red flash shot straight at Rabastan.

The impact sent Rabastan flying into the stone wall. This time he did not

have the strength to hold his wand. The instant he was hit by the spell

his wand slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

The thrust was so hard that as he crashed into the wall he felt a great

pain in the bones of his back.

"Tsch, garbage," muttered James, turning around and walking towards

the marauders. All that could be heard were their footsteps until

Professor Flitwick shouted the result of the duel.

"James Potter of Gryffindor wins!"

After that simple sentence, the entire Gryffindor stand began to shout and

clap like crazy. Many started chanting James' name. No one had much

confidence that he would beat Rabastan.

But not only did he beat him. He also humiliated him, and at no point

was he on the verge of losing. It was as if an adult and a child were

facing each other. James smiled awkwardly at the cheers, returning to his

relaxed attitude.

"Well done, you bastard! Forgive me if I ever made a joke about your

parents or anything!" said Sirius resting his arm on James' shoulder.

Everyone in the Gryffindor stands despite being shocked at how James

acted, congratulating him and clapping happily. Rabastan and his gang

weren't the only ones annoying Gryffindor. Slytherin students from other

years were also very annoying and arrogant since they beat them in the

Quidditch match.

Because of this, most Gryffindors were happy to have one of them beat a

Slytherin from a large family and see the long, serious faces of the

Slytherin stand, who quickly began to leave the room.

"Well done, James! That arrogant Lestrange bit the dust, literally!" said

Gideon, laughing loudly as he patted James' shoulder hard.

"Easy brother. You're going to hurt him," said Fabian with a smile as he

patted James' back hard.

Gideon and Fabian were brothers. They were both of the Prewett Family.

A family of pureblood wizards included among the Sacred Twenty-Eight.

However, they were not arrogant, nor blood supremacists like the

Lestranges or other families.

Both brothers were part of the quidditch team. Both were Beaters. At this

time when James joined the team they treated him very well, although

they played the occasional prank on him.

"Let's party!" exclaimed William, and everyone cheered as James was led

away to the Gryffindor common room.

Besides being happy that a Gryffindor swept the floor with a Slytherin,

most of the 30% who bet in James' favor were from Gryffindor. So many

were very happy to win so much money.

On the other hand, the students from Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin

who had gambled had long, depressed faces.

An impromptu party in the Gryffindor common room began. Some

students who were studying quietly had to leave grumbling. They were

brainiacs who weren't paying attention to school events.

Gideon and Fabian arrived a little later. At one point along the way they

swerved and disappeared, something James noticed and thought was

odd.

"Here, James! You won it fair and square," said Gideon, tossing him a

small jingling bag.

James took the bag with a raised eyebrow. As he opened it a golden light

almost blinded him. It was dozens of galleons.

"How much money is in here...?" asked James in surprise.

"100 galleons. Not one more, not one less," replied Fabian as he sipped

butterbeer with a triumphant look as if he had won the lottery.

"Were they so confident that I would win...?" asked James doubtfully. He

knew about the clandestine bet thanks to Sirius, and that most were

leaning towards Rabastan. So, it would be a very risky move to bet so

much money in his favor.

The marauders knew of his magical abilities, but the others did not have

this knowledge.

"One person gave us information about your abilities..." said Gideon,

winking at Sirius. James noticed this movement and looked at him with

narrowed eyes.

"Don't look at me like that. Thanks to this a lot of Slytherin lost a lot of

money. You should see the faces of all the pureblood heirs who bet," said

Sirius, justifying himself.

"Even Toby bet," he added.

"It's true," nodded Toby, scratching his cheek.

James was surprised that Toby, who seemed like someone who followed

the rules would bet on something illegal. On second thought, it made

sense. After all, he is a member of the Marauders.

"Me too," said Lupin and Peter. It would be foolish not to bet on James,

when you know his victory is certain and when they can increase their

money several times over.

The sudden party was over after an hour. The people who had decided to

trust Sirius and bet on James were extremely happy to triple or more

their money.

James was also happy he won 100 gallons for free, and he was also able

to relieve his anger by teaching Rabastan a lesson. These two days, he

was furious. He had to restrain himself on the same day not to go and

attack Rabastan.

James didn't mind being mocked or called a blood traitor. It was a term

that didn't affect him at all, one might even say he accepted it, as he

would rather be a blood traitor than a supremacist who sees Muggles as

animals.

What he could not tolerate was his mother being openly mocked.

Euphemia most likely spent a lot of time writing the letter and sent it to

him with love, and everyone in the great dining hall was laughing at her

words of love handwriting.

"You surprised me at the duel. I didn't think you could act like that," said

Lupin, sitting on the couch near James. A little further away were Sirius,

Peter, and Toby who were playing a game of explosive snap.

"I won't allow them to make fun of my mother..." said James shamelessly

as he read a boring chapter of the history of magic.

Lupin looked admiringly at his friend. He knew his temper could change

when someone messed with his family, but not as much as it was in the

duel.

"You okay?" asked James without taking his eyes off the book.

"What? Yeah, sure. Why do you ask?" said Lupin a little surprised by the

sudden question.

"No reason... you just look a little pale," said James as he looked for a

moment at Lupin, and their gazes met.

"It's nothing. Just have some more butterbeer... I'm going to sleep now,"

said Lupin trying to act as natural as possible, but some nervousness

showed in his voice.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 75: Mystery letters

Since the duel, James' reputation increased considerably. Before his

popularity was because he had top grades in various subjects and was

involved in one particular event or another (throwing Flipendo at two

Slytherin students, saving Rabastan from the Whomping Willow, etc.),

but now everyone looked at him differently.

Rabastan and his gang stopped bothering him and the marauders. No

matter how much Sirius threw acid comments at Rabastan about the duel

he didn't react. James didn't mind the new stares. He was used to his

group being conspicuous among the first-year students. A couple more

stares didn't bother him, though they weren't just a couple of stares.

As for Rabastan, he had better not bother him anymore or he would

again challenge him to a duel. It was obvious that Rabastan would refuse

him, but not accepting a duel would leave him looking like a coward and

would be another hard blow to his foolish pride.

Spring had sprung a few days ago. Now there was much more sunlight

and fresh air after the long winter.

The second term had ended, and the Easter vacations began, which

would last for a week. The students could go home, but unlike Christmas,

many decided to stay at school. One of them was James.

This was because of all the homework the teachers gave them. All the

marauders stayed in the castle. The common room wasn't as crowded as

on normal days, and it was better for them.

"How boring! Why do they give us so much homework when it's

supposed to be a short vacation?" complained Sirius as usual, as he lazily

leaned his face on the table.

"Stop complaining and keep reading," said Lupin.

"Mate, it's five chapters. That bloody ghost wants us to do a five bloody

chapter assignment," said Sirius indignantly.

"After that, we have astronomy homework..." stammered Peter, who

looked like his soul had left his body. Unlike James, Sirius, or Lupin. He

was having a much harder time keeping up with school.

Sirius was just lazy. James was a training nut so he had more limited

time. Lupin was very organized and had a very well-planned study

routine. Toby was in a similar situation to Peter, only he excelled in

Herbology.

Toby was gaining confidence in Herbology classes, and since it is

something he enjoys he was becoming one of the top students in the

class.

"The homework is endless... What about you? That book. I don't

recognize it," asked Sirius, looking at James, who was reading an old

book.

"I've already finished my report on the five chapters of History of Magic.

Tomorrow I'll do the Astronomy homework. As for your question, it's a

book that was on the shelves in the secret room," answered James, while

showing him the title of the book which was: Secret Duel.

Sirius didn't pay much attention to the book. What he did care about was

that his friend had already finished the report, "Please let me copy your

report! That's what friends do, right?" asked Sirius with pleading eyes.

"Okay...'" said James with a roll of his eyes.

"Thanks! I'll copy it later," said Sirius happily, as he closed the boring

book and put it out of his sight.

"Me too...?" asked Peter shyly.

"Yeah, no problem..." replied James, and Peter closed the book as he

thanked him with a smile.

'These guys...' thought Lupin, shaking his head.

"A book that talks about dueling?" asked Lupin, looking at the old ochre-

colored book.

"Yes. It features several charms and potions that can be used defensively

and offensively in duels. Plus the odd tactic or two," replied James.

"No one first year can beat you in a duel..." commented Sirius, looking

strangely at James, who kept wanting to gain more knowledge of the

same.

"Well, new information could come in handy sometime," said James as he

went back to reading the page where he left off.

The short Easter vacations passed slowly. They were not as much fun as

they had hoped and could hardly plan any pranks on the level of stink

bombs or flowers. On the one hand, because of all the homework the

teachers left them with, and on the other because of James' training and

studying which took up some of his time.

Another person who stayed for this Easter week was Lily Evans and also

her group of friends (Jasmine and Khanna). James was able to watch on

a few occasions as the redhead was studying all day and driving her

friends crazy.

She even talked to him about Transfiguration homework. During this

time, because McGonagall always sat them together, they ended up

becoming like study buddies or something.

With the conversations he had with her, he found out that she was

already studying for exams, 'She sure is enthusiastic... Her friends must

be having a hard time' James thought. The smarty pants nickname Sirius

gave her wasn't so wrong after all.

James was alone in the secret room late at night, practicing both

defensive and offensive charms. Since it was a vacation, he decided to

increase his practice time. Which brought great benefits.

"Flipendo Tria!" exclaimed James. From his wand, he unleashed a spiral

of bluish energy that turned into a small tornado. As it reached its

destination, three magical dummies were caught at once, and he held

them suspended in mid-air for a while.

'That's not all bad...' thought James. There was room for improvement,

especially in the duration and size of the tornado so that it could catch

more enemies. Plus the three dummies were pretty close together, and it

wouldn't always be like that on a real battlefield.

James sat on the ground with several thoughts in his head. The main one

was that he needed to put all these spells he was improving into real

practice. He needed a duel that would be a real challenge.

Unfortunately, none of the marauders were proving to be a challenge,

and he could barely use charms from his arsenal. He could beat them

with an Expelliarmus after just a few moves. No Flipendo Tria was

needed. And he didn't want to hurt them either.

Nor were they a challenge on the defensive end, perhaps if they attacked

him all four together, but he managed to defend himself anyway.

A solution to this was presented to him by little Professor Flitwick. After

his duel in the next day's charm class, he proposed that he join the

dueling club.

There was only one problem: the schedules coincided with his quidditch

training. Under no circumstances would he stop going to quidditch

training to go to the dueling club.

'Go into the forbidden forest and fight strong creatures?' thought James.

With his invisibility cloak, he could get out of the castle without being

caught, and he could go into the forest. Thanks to the stories Hagrid told

him, he managed to find out what creatures were to be found there. Also,

he had defeated a stronger-than-average mountain troll.

'No... it's still a reckless action for now...' thought James, shaking his

head.

Without concluding anything, he moved on to his next current problem.

The subject of Lupin.

He was already sure that Lupin had monthly werewolf transformations,

as he always disappeared on a full moon and was weak and pale the next

day. He could ignore it, but he didn't want to, and somehow he wanted

to help his friend, but he didn't know how to face him and start talking

about it.

If out of the blue, he tells him that he knows about his lycanthropy he

might get the opposite effect and make Lupin defensive, "Ugh... it's

complicated I better keep practicing,' thought James standing up.

...

Monday, April 11, 1972.

The first day of the third and final term began. James was with the

marauders having breakfast as usual in the Great Hall. Just then the mail

arrived, and Shadow threw two letters near him.

The first letter he opened read as follows:

[James Potter of Gryffindor house. We are expecting you today at

19:00hs in the disused classroom on floor seven.

DC]

A question mark formed on his face. Who the hell was DC? It looked like

he was being summoned for a job interview or something.

'Is this some kind of joke?' thought James suspiciously. His prime

suspects were Rabastan or another Slytherin boy. After all, he had

humiliated them too much in the duel, mocking pureblood supremacy.

He closed the letter and put it away. Then, he would think about whether

or not to attend such a suspicious meeting. He opened the second one,

and what he read left him more confused than before.

[James Potter of Gryffindor house. We are expecting you today at

19:00hs in the disused classroom on floor seven.

SD]

'First DC and now SD? The message is the same in both letters, minus the

strange firm,' thought James puzzled.

"What's with that face?" asked Sirius as he noticed James looking

strangely at the letter he was holding in his hand.

"It's nothing," James said as he pocketed the letter. He had already

decided to go to the disused classroom on the 7th floor. Although it

looked suspicious he didn't think anything deadly could happen at

Hogwarts.

Besides, if it was Rabastan or other Slytherin students wanting to attack

him it would be for the best. He was looking for opponents to put the

charms he learned into practice, so he would come out on top either way.

'I hope they're stronger older students,' James thought with some

expectation. If it was someone in his year or a year older they would be

wimps.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 76: Clubs

It was five minutes to seven in the evening. James was already heading

up to the 7th floor to the disused classroom. He was alone. He had his

wand ready to pull it out at any moment just in case.

'We'll see who sent the two mysterious letters,' thought James, looking at

the old wooden door of the disused classroom.

As he was about to open the door, he heard a couple of voices that

seemed to be in a heated argument. One voice belonged to a man as it

was low-pitched. The other voice was higher pitched and sounded

female.

'Should I go in...?' thought James. He decided to go in. After all, they had

summoned him there.

The classroom was in poor condition. There was a lot of dust, poor

lighting, and many stacked desks. Shelves filled with old books and lots

of cobwebs.

Near the center of the classroom, he could see the two people arguing.

They were a blond boy and a black-haired girl. The boy seemed more

relaxed and had a friendly smile. The girl, on the other hand, seemed to

have a stronger temper.

What surprised James the most was seeing Gwen behind the black-haired

girl. As always his friend had a haughty look on her face. Behind the

blonde boy was a girl with short hair and a stoic face.

'What is Gwen doing here? And why are there people from so many

houses gathered here?' thought James confused. He was ready for combat

after being summoned to this disused classroom, but it didn't seem to be

the case.

What most caught his attention was that the blond boy was in a

wheelchair. He had never noticed it before, and it was something

striking. The boy was wearing a Hufflepuff uniform. The girl behind him

was also from the same house. On the other hand, the girl next to Gwen

was from Ravenclaw.

Everyone hearing the door looked towards James, who didn't know how

to proceed in such a situation.

"Oh, we were just talking about you," said the black-haired girl as she

approached James with a confident smile.

"About me? Did you send me those strange letters?" asked James with his

guard lowered, since there was Gwen there.

"First, let me introduce myself. My name is Erika Rath fifth year. I'm from

Ravenclaw. Nice to meet you, James Potter," said the girl with a smile, as

she stretched out her hand.

"Nice to meet you too..." said James with a strange look on his face as he

waved at Erika.

"Don't beat me to it, Erika. Hi, Murphy McNully. The next best

professional Quidditch commentator in the magical world. Nice to meet

you," said the blond boy, as his wheelchair moved on its own and arrived

near James.

"A pleasure," said James, now accepting Murphy's handshake.

"You must be wondering why we summoned you here and what we

want," said Erika with a slight smile as she saw James' confused

expression.

James nodded slightly as he looked at Erika. He found it strange that two

older students wanted to talk to him. He looked at Gwen, but Gwen

hadn't said anything, just watched silently.

"The two of us, we come on behalf of the Dragon Club to give you an

invitation to join the club," Erika said with a confident face, as she

included Gwen.

"Chiara and I, we come on behalf of the Sphinx Club. We want you to

join us," said Murphy, who didn't want to be left behind.

"Dragon Club...? Sphinx Club...? What's that?" asked James with a more

confused expression than before. At least now he knew that DC stood for

Club Dragon and SC, Sphinx Club.

Hearing this, everyone in the classroom put on surprised expressions,

except Gwen, who seemed to be expecting this, 'It was possible that he

does not know anything about the clubs....' sighed Gwen as she shook her

head.

Erika, who had a confident attitude before, didn't know how to proceed,

"You don't know anything about the three big clubs?" she asked.

"Mm, they don't ring a bell. Are they clubs like the dueling club?" asked

James.

"No! Well, actually yes, but there are important differences," said Erika as

she thought about how to explain to James. She hadn't come prepared for

this.

"Let me explain," said Murphy, clearing his throat.

"The three big clubs are exclusive clubs led by Hogwarts students

themselves. There is the Club: Sphinx, Dragon and Hippogriff. They are

over a hundred years old since their inception..." began Murphy patiently

explaining.

After about 20 minutes where he told him all the history of the three

clubs his explanation ended, "That's all," he said as he caught his breath.

James processed the information in his brain. They were very exclusive

clubs. You couldn't join the dueling club that anyone could join.

Instead, in these three clubs you could join them only if the current

members agreed and decided to send you an invitation. From what he

told you, they are very famous among all Hogwarts students, as they are

over a hundred years old.

Each club is looking for new members with specific skills or great talent

in those areas. For one, the Sphinx Club specializes in Transfiguration,

Astronomy, Flying, and Quidditch.

The Dragon Club specializes in Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts,

Potions, and Dueling. As for the Hippogriff Club, he doesn't know, as he

wasn't invited by them.

'Whoa...' thought James with surprise at the incredible history these clubs

had.

They were founded in 1800 by three students: Skylar Flame (Sphinx),

Margaretta Ironbark (Dragon), and Olin Oakwood (Hippogriff).

According to the story Murphy told him, the three were best friends and

were part of a single club, but for some reason, they fell out and ended

up splitting up. Each of them created a different club and dedicated

themselves to the areas of study they liked the most.

"Are you part of the dragon club?" asked James, looking at Gwen.

"Yes... I joined several months ago," replied Gwen a little awkwardly, as

she had still been talking to James since that incident.

"It's such an honor to receive the invitation to our club! Besides, rarely do

freshmen get to have an invitation," commented Erika.

"I see..." said James. It was certain that because of his duel against

Rabastan, he had caught the attention of these exclusive clubs. He had

wiped the floor with an heir of an ancient pureblood family.

"The Sphinx Club, it's perfect for you. You can learn a lot about

Quidditch, Flying, and Transfiguration. You like Quidditch, right?" said

Murphy, though he already knew the answer. He had done some research

on James before coming to convince him to join his club.

When he arrived he didn't think there would also be the Dragon Club

wanting to steal their new member, so he had to take the initiative.

"Don't listen to him! Dragon Club is the one for you. I know what I'm

saying. Your dueling skills are very good. If you join our club you can

improve. There are many exclusive books in our library," Erika said

quickly.

A heated discussion began between Murphy and Erika. Both want to

convince James to join their club. Each told of the benefits they could

bestow on him.

How the clubs had few members, when they decided to invite a new one

they took it very seriously if they had to compete with another club.

"Which one will you join!?" they asked in unison after ten minutes.

"Mm... What are the schedules? I have quidditch training on Monday,

Wednesday, and Friday," asked James.

"There is no schedule. We get together when we want to. We're not like

those silly clubs that have to be on a schedule," Erika replied with

contempt for the normal clubs. Murphy nodded agreeing with her.

'That's good...' thought James. He never thought that his previous

problem would be solved without having to do anything. The problem

with normal clubs was schedules, but now he didn't have that problem

anymore.

"Well, what's your choice?" asked Erika.

Silence reigned, and everyone looked at James. Gwen was staring at him

with a frown. She seemed to want to say something to him through her

mind, though she couldn't.

'You better pick our club or else...' thought Gwen. She had already been

angry when James was chosen in Gryffindor, but she couldn't blame him,

as that was up to the sorting hat.

After a few seconds of contemplation, James replied, "Club Dragon," A

slight smile formed on Gwen's face as she heard his response.

"Good choice, mate!" said Erika, brutally patting James' shoulder, who

looked like he was getting used to such treatment.

"May I know why?" asked Murphy, sighing in defeat.

"I indeed like quidditch, but I already have the Gryffindor team for that,

and I'm more into Defense Against the Dark Arts and dueling," James

answered honestly. He already had William and the others to talk about

Quidditch to exhaustion.

Besides, if the Dragon Club had dueling in their specialties it meant they

must have friendly duels between them, and it was just what he was

looking for to test his new offensive and defensive charms. To gain

experience.

Murphy respectfully said goodbye to everyone and left along with his

partner who hadn't said a word since James walked in. The only different

thing he could observe was the slight frown.

"Today is already late. Can you come to the club tomorrow? There will be

a welcome party for you. They are special occasions when there is a new

member," said Erika.

"Okay. Where?" asked James.

"I'll pick you up-

"I'll do it. You can wait for him with everyone already there," interrupted

Gwen.

"Okay. It's already dinner time and I'm starving," said Erika, who unlike

Murphy didn't look too neat, to say the least.

"See you tomorrow, James," Gwen said goodbye quickly and without

giving James time to try to make conversation.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 77: Dragon Club

The next day after classes, James met up with Gwen, and they started

heading to the Dragon Club meeting place.

To James' surprise, they left the castle and started heading towards the

secondary quidditch pitch.

"Where are we going?" asked James curiously. He had thought they

would have a room inside the castle similar to the dueling club.

"You'll see," said Gwen without further explanation. The journey passed

in awkward silence. After about ten minutes of walking, James noticed a

quaint and well-kept small building in the distance.

'Do they have some sort of cabin to themselves?' thought James in

surprise as he observed the small building.

As he arrived near the entrance he could see two sculptures of dragons.

One statue was of a Hungarian Horntail considered the most dangerous

of all dragons. The other sculpture was of a species of dragon that James

was unfamiliar with. He did not know all species to the letter.

"Do you understand now? The three clubs are very different from the

others," said Gwen with an air of haughtiness as she was one of the

exclusive members of the Dragon Club.

"Yeah... you didn't want to join Professor Slughorn's club or something?"

asked James.

"That's another thing... let's go inside. They must be waiting already," said

Gwen as she opened the door.

As they entered, James was surprised by the size of the room. It didn't

look that spacious, but about twenty people would fit in there without

any problems. There were already people gathered, "They're finally

arriving! We've got everything ready," Erika said with a big smile as she

introduced all the members, so James could meet them.

There weren't many. There were only nine with him there would be ten.

There were from all the houses, a strange thing to see, but the house that

had the most members was Ravenclaw. To be exact four, then two from

Slytherin, two from Hufflepuff, and one from Gryffindor that James didn't

recognize.

The only person he recognized besides Gwen was the other Slytherin girl,

Narcissa Black. The cousin of his best friend Sirius. The bad thing is that

from what Sirius said they didn't get along very well.

When Erika introduced Narcissa she barely nodded and didn't even look

at James. It seemed she didn't approve of him being in the club.

"Let's start with the party. Then we'll show you all the facilities of the

house," said Erika as she invited James to sit down, and without any

other choice, he started drinking tea with all these strangers.

The word "party" was very different from the "party" they had regularly

in the Gryffindor common room.

In Gryffindor, parties were loud and rowdy. In the Dragon Club, on the

other hand, everyone drank tea and chatted quietly with an air of

elegance. James hadn't had such an elegant tea party in a long time. Last

time, he most likely did it as Edward Rothschild, something he didn't

like.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Gwen as she sipped her tea

elegantly.

"Nothing in particular... I just thought they had said that the Dragon Club

specialized in dueling," James replied after a few seconds.

"Yes, in addition to having lots of books, we have an area-

Before Gwen could finish, she was interrupted by Erika, "Shhhh...! He'll

soon find out," she said with a mysterious smile.

After about thirty minutes and a very quiet party, it was time to show

James the other facilities of the house.

In the main dressing room, where they were now, there were four doors,

each of a different color of wood. First Erika led James to the nearest

one. As they passed through the door a smaller room than the previous

one came into view, filled with shelves of scrolls and books.

"Welcome to the library! Each shelf is divided by section. Defense Against

the Dark Arts, Potions, and Duels," said Erika as she pointed to each large

bookshelf.

"The books can only be read here. If you take any you will be expelled,"

Narcissa said in a cold tone. James nodded, then was shown to an area to

study and read quietly in one of the corners, where there was also a

fireplace, though it was turned off.

"Next area! This is the room for important meetings. Especially when we

want to introduce a new prospective member and vote," said Erika. There

wasn't much to see, a long table of expensive material and surrounding

chairs. There were already ten chairs, so James had his place.

"Next!"

Next was a potions room. Once inside, they were greeted by the distinct

smell of magical ingredients and fresh herbs. The space is medium-sized

and well-lit, with walls lined with shelves filled with glass vials.

In the center of the room, there are five solid oak work tables, "The

potion-making tools you have to bring your own, but you can use the

ingredients here," Erika explained, as she showed him that in one corner

of the room was a storage room full of carefully labeled and stocked

ingredients.

"If you steal ingredients, you will be expelled," Narcissa said coldly.

'I suspect she wants me expelled...' thought James, looking at the blonde

girl who had the air of a cold princess about her.

"Now, let's go to the best room," said Erika, as she led James to the last

dark oak door.

"The dueling area!" she introduced as she entered the room. It wasn't as

big as the dueling room where he had his confrontation against Rabastan,

but it was just enough and necessary, as there weren't many people.

The floor was sturdy and also had circles delimiting the dueling area.

Magical torches lit the place perfectly, and there were two small

bleachers, for others to watch the duel.

"Can you have duels without being supervised by professors?" asked

James. The Dueling Club was supervised by Flitwick.

"We are not supervised by professors, but we can have duels. Perks of

being a century-old club" replied Erika with a smile.

The tour of Dragon House ended, and each member went about their

business. Some went to the library others chatted in the main hall. James

decided to go to the library, but he still wasn't confident enough to

challenge someone to a duel or practice in the dueling area.

Gwen was also minding her own business, and they didn't talk much

more. Sometimes she would look up and scowl at James, who was

engrossed in reading a new book.

"Hey," said Gwen, lightly tapping James' shoulder man.

"What's up?" asked James, looking up.

"I want you to show me that defensive charm you used against Rabastan.

Aeromanteo, I think it was called," replied Gwen, crossing her arms.

'She sure is good at ignoring previous problems and ordering things...'

thought James.

"There are dozens of Defence books here. I'm sure they explain it

somewhere," said James as he didn't want to play private tutor.

"It's going to take me ages to find it. Besides, it's better to learn it from

someone advanced. I'd rather get straight to the practical stuff," said

Gwen without giving up.

James looked at Gwen with rolled eyes. He knew the blonde girl wouldn't

give up until she got what she wanted. She always acted that way when

they were kids.

"Fine..." said James, closing the book.

"Let's go," said Gwen in a tone that hid happiness, and headed to the

dueling area.

Before heading back to the castle, they were in the dueling area

practicing Aeromanteo, or rather James teaching Aeromanteo to Gwen.

Gwen was talented. She quickly understood the theory behind the charm.

The main problem was getting the reflexes necessary to block an attack

in time.

To practice Gwen's reflexes, James would cast a simple Vermillious

charm on her. This charm is one of the most basic. It allows you to cast a

stream of red sparks from the tip of the wand. It is harmless and perfect

for practicing Aeromanteo, as its speed is adjustable depending on the

caster.

"Slow down, James!" said Gwen angrily and frustrated at not being able

to deflect the Vermillious.

"If I slow it down, you won't improve your reflexes. Remember, you must

generate the air current in the right direction. Direct the current in the

specific direction and at the right time," said James, who had no plans to

fulfill Gwen's wish.

"Tsch, it's okay. Attack," growled Gwen, getting on guard.

"Vermillious!" exclaimed James. This time, he aimed for Gwen's left

shoulder.

Gwen waited and waited, until the red sparks were close to her,

"Aeromanteo!" she exclaimed. This time, she manages to get the air

current to deflect the red sparks in their entirety.

"I did it! Did you see? It wasn't that hard," said Gwen, puffing out her

chest with pride.

"Vermillious!" exclaimed James suddenly and without warning. This time

the red sparks had a higher speed, and how Gwen was showing off she

couldn't dodge the red sparks.

"Hey, I wasn't ready! Besides, I'm sure you increased the speed,"

complained Gwen as she wiped her Slytherin robes repeatedly.

"You should always be alert on the battlefield, missy," scoffed James with

a smile.

"Vermillious!" yelled Gwen indignantly, pointing at James.

James with an Aeromanteo deflected the attack and yawned. Gwen

started chasing him while throwing Vermillious at him. James dodged

them or deflected with an Aeromanteo.

At one point Gwen stumbled. James put aside his joke and rushed over,

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Vermillious!" exclaimed Gwen with a mischievous smile aiming at

James, who this time failed to dodge or deflect the attack.

"I win," said Gwen with a victorious smile.

"That's playing dirty!" said James indignantly at such an act of cowardice.

"You should always be alert on the battlefield, missy," said Gwen

mockingly mimicking James' tone.

"Isn't it?" added Gwen, as she approached him. She reached out her hands

towards the sparks on James' robe and began tapping delicately to

disperse the red sparks.

"Thanks..." said James a little surprised by Gwen's sudden gesture of

kindness.

"You're welcome..." whispered Gwen as she looked up, and their gazes

met.

"Let's keep practicing," she added after a few seconds as she moved back

to a more distant position.

"Okay..." nodded James after a few seconds.

"And don't think about increasing the speed, until I tell you to," Gwen

said in a tone that sounded like an order.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 78: Last big prank I

A week had passed since James joined the Dragon Club. When he told the

marauders the news he realized that it was a famous club at Hogwarts.

Sirius, Lupin, and Peter knew all three clubs. The only one who didn't

know about them as well as James was Toby.

Joining the club was a wise decision on James' part. He could go

whenever he wanted, and if he didn't go nothing happened. A nice bonus

was the library which had books he didn't find in the secret room or the

Hogwarts library.

However, the best of all was the dueling area. Besides practicing with

Gwen, he was able to practice with Erika, who was very friendly, albeit

with a quirky personality.

Unfortunately, he did not have real duels with Erika, but she helped him

to improve several charms such as Aeromanteo. Erika's casting speed was

very fast. James could deflect 3 out of every 10 Vermillious she threw at

him.

"Good job, you managed to deflect four out of ten Vermillious today,"

Erika praised James, who was sitting on the floor sweating. They had

been practicing for almost two hours non-stop. He couldn't believe how

Erika couldn't get tired. Even the last few Aeromanteo, he was having

trouble throwing them correctly.

"We should add more rest time..." complained James. Even William

wouldn't make him train that long without stopping.

"Stop complaining, don't even use full speed. I could even use non-verbal

magic and it would be much harder," said Erika, and James grimaced.

"Another thing. When you learn Protego in the future, will you still use

Aeromanteo?" asked the girl, looking strangely at James.

Erika knew Aeromanteo was very difficult because of the reflexes part.

Although useful especially when you don't know how to cast Protego a

charm from higher years at Hogwarts, but once you know how to cast

this charm, Aeromanteo will become useless, as Protego is much more

effective.

Just by casting Protego an invisible shield covers a larger area than the

Aeromanteo which must be cast at the right time and in the right

direction.

'She's kind of right, but I already cast Protego...' thought James as he

thought about how to answer her.

At first, he learned Aeromanteo, as the fatigue it gave him was less as

opposed to Protego, but as he gets older and continues to practice

Protego this problem could be solved, making Aeromanteo less useful.

James, however, is not so much in agreement with this. Aeromanteo's

main advantage is how easy it is to cast and how little magic fatigue it

causes.

If James had been casting Vermillious for two hours on Erika and she

could only use Protego, she would most likely not have achieved such a

feat, as it causes great fatigue.

On the other hand, James managed to cast Aeromanteo, although he

faltered in the last minutes, he managed to cast it even though he failed.

Therefore, in a long battle, he will be able to continue defending himself

if he has great control of Aeromanteo. He could use Protego first and

Aeromanteo later.

James explained this point to Erika, "Mm, you have a point, but what

duel could last an hour or two?" asked Erika doubtfully.

"I don't know..." said James, scratching his head. He hadn't thought of it

for an official duel. He thought of it as a war and prolonged battles where

you face several enemies without rest.

"Well, never mind. Tomorrow we'll continue practicing. I'm hungry," said

Erika, grabbing her belly that was making a strange noise, "See you," she

added as she quickly left towards the big dining room.

James didn't care much about Erika's strange personality. He got used to

it in the last few days.

He could tell that Erika was a fan of the Marauders, although he didn't

know they were called that. This he knew, because she wears a necklace

in the shape of a miniature dungbomb.

James curiously asked her why she had such an ugly necklace, and she

told him that she thought the dungbomb prank in the Slytherin common

room was hilarious. So she bought this necklace, and according to her the

rules were made to be broken.

'Could it be that she created the fan club...' thought James with a strange

expression. He remembered that Sirius had said there was a fan club.

James also started to head to the castle. It was late, and they would most

likely all be at dinner. As he arrived in the main hall he noticed only one

person, Narcissa Black, was concentrating on writing on a parchment.

Of all the people in the Dragon Club, Narcissa was the only one who

looked at James with disapproval. Most likely because her cousin Sirius is

his best friend and is against his family's supremacist ideals.

James walked to the door and did not say goodbye. He knew it would be

useless, as he would get no response. As he reached the Great Hall, he

could see that the marauders were eating at the head of the Gryffindor

table.

"Hey, what pranks are you guys planning?" asked James as he sat down

across from Sirius and next to Toby. When he sat down, the marauders'

chatter stopped, and they were silent.

"We can't plan any pranks if you're in that club all day..." said Sirius,

hiding his anger.

Since James joined the club, he started spending less time with the

marauders. He was practically going every day to the club except the

days he had quidditch training.

Then at night, he would continue his practice in the secret room and was

usually alone, as the others started to get bored with practicing so strictly

every day, the nightly explorations of the castle decreased as well.

Compared to the first months of the first year, where James was literally

with them all the time, now he spent very little time with them. For this

reason, he also began to put off talking to Lupin.

Add to all this the time that had to be spent studying and doing

homework, so there was almost no marauder activity, no exploring, and

no pranks.

"Well, today we can explore the castle or plan a prank or two," suggested

James as a plate appeared in front of him.

"Aren't you going to the secret room?" asked Lupin with a raised

eyebrow.

Lupin also wanted to go back to night explorations or minimally

exploring in the afternoon after school, but with James practicing at

night or going to quidditch practice or his new club it was impossible.

"I won't go. I can give up some free time," James replied. It wasn't bad to

give himself a break every so often.

"Good..." said Sirius with a slight smile. The others were also happy that

their pranks would finally return.

"What shall we do?" asked Peter. They could either explore the castle or

plan their next big prank.

"Both. First, we'll plan the prank. Then when it's curfew we'll continue

exploring," replied Sirius in a low tone so no one else would hear them.

The marauders ate quickly and went to their dorms. Since they would be

talking about their next big prank it was best to be cautious and not have

anyone overhear them.

"Okay, brainstorm. This will be our last big prank of the year. It has to

live up to the other two," Sirius said as he held up a journal.

Since the first prank, Sirius started to write a diary of the marauders. In

this diary, he explained all the pranks they played and the process.

According to him, it will be an invaluable object in the future and a bible

for future pranksters who follow in their footsteps.

"Who will the prank be aimed at?" asked Lupin.

"Slytherin of course," replied Sirius instantly.

"Rabastan and his gang don't bother us anymore. Since the duel against

James, they've kept quiet. Will we continue to target their group?" asked

Lupin.

"Mm..." Sirius was thinking. It was true what his friend was saying. Ever

since the duel Rabastan didn't even face them or try to bother them

anymore. His pride had been trampled, and he had become a quieter and

more shy person.

'Pranking him won't be as much fun as it used to be...' thought Sirius a

different target came to his mind.

"What about Severus Snape? In Potions class, he's very arrogant and

thinks he's superior to everyone," Sirius said. He had seen the greasy-

haired boy's behavior and didn't like it.

Despite the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin, Sirius didn't want

to target people he didn't even know and hadn't teased him before. This

was as long as the prank was on a smaller scale, as the dungbomb prank

involved the entire Slytherin common house.

Lupin, Peter, and Toby nodded, agreeing with what Sirius said. In the

Potions classes, they shared with Slytherin, Slughorn several times chose

the groups, putting students from both houses in one group.

The professor was doing this to improve the relationship of both houses

so they could work well as a team, but it wasn't working very well.

Peter was the unfortunate one who had to share a class with Snape.

When the class was over, he complained the whole time to the marauders

saying that Snape kept telling him hurtful and derogatory remarks, as he

wasn't very good at Potions.

With this Peter was aiming for James and Sirius to decide to play a joke

on him and calm his frustration, but since James was mostly busy they

couldn't do it.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 79: Last big prank II

"I vote yes. We should take Snape down a peg," commented Peter,

clenching his fist. He would finally get his revenge. Sirius, Lupin, and

Toby agreed.

"What about you?" asked Sirius, looking at James, who so far said

nothing.

"I don't know... It seems too much to make it the main target," replied

James doubtfully.

Snape's tongue was indeed sharp and arrogant. James could see it on the

Hogwarts Express when he said he wanted to be in Gryffindor. However,

James realized that Snape was not a boy who picked on or mistreated

others like Rabastan and his gang, who would cast hexes on Gryffindor

students or make derogatory comments because of lineage.

Snape was simply arrogant because he was so good at potions.

"Are you serious?" asked Sirius, getting up from his spot and looking at

James quizzically. The others were also surprised by the presumed

refusal.

"Don't tell me it's because of that know-it-all?" by know-it-all Sirius meant

Lily Evans.

Some time ago James started sitting in Transfiguration with Lily, though

this was because of McGonagall. So their relationship improved, and they

helped each other in Transfiguration homework.

However, their relationship went no further than that of study buddies.

James didn't consider Lily a friend, as they didn't talk much after

McGonagall's classes. If they did talk at all, it was about homework and

nothing else.

Sirius had seen Lily talk to Snape several times, plus he saw the two of

them on the Hogwarts Express together, and they seemed like friends

since before they entered Hogwarts. That's why he suspected that James

didn't want to play a prank on Lily's friend.

"Of course not. We're talking about pulling the last big prank of the year,

and you want to pull the prank on an unpopular, shady guy? You should

think bigger, gentlemen," James said, standing up and speaking with an

air of grandeur.

If he wanted them to stop targeting Snape he had to convince them with

a good speech.

"What's on your mind?" asked Sirius, who no longer sounded annoyed

and was very attentive to what James was saying as were the others.

"What do we call ourselves?" asked James without answering Sirius'

question directly.

"The Marauders," replied Lupin, not understanding where James was

going.

"We did two big pranks where the whole castle talked about it for days.

We even have a fan club, but no one knows who pulled such pranks," said

James.

Sirius the more James talked the more excited he got. He seemed to

understand what his friend was getting at.

"We must make everyone know our name, and every time there is a

really good prank, they think of that name," said James.

"That's right! We must sign our work!" exclaimed Sirius excitedly. He

even seemed more excited than James.

Sirius had chosen the name of the group and even had a journal with the

name where the process of all the pranks was described. The fan club

didn't even have a name, as no one knew the identity of the group or if it

was just one person.

If everyone knew the name the marauders would become like an urban

legend within Hogwarts similar to the Joker, or surpassing him.

"The name should be cast in the grass and be impossible to remove!"

added Sirius, getting more and more excited.

The next prank was decided. Although no one was the target, if the next

morning 'The Marauders' appeared written on the lawn everyone would

be talking about them.

"It's a good idea, but besides writing the name of the group we should put

something related to the two previous pranks. So that people would

notice," said Lupin, who had liked the prank. It would be a good farewell

to the first year at Hogwarts. And they wouldn't hurt anyone.

Peter looked a little annoyed, as he wouldn't get his revenge, but quickly

joined in the heated conversation.

"Underneath the name, we can draw in smaller size flowers and stink

bombs," suggested Peter. That way everyone would know that the

previous pranks were the work of the marauders.

"I like that," said Sirius, writing everything down in the journal.

"It's going to be hard to draw on the grass," commented Lupin. It would

be one thing to write in giant letters that would already take hard work

add to that drawing it would complicate the prank even more.

"I'll take care of the drawings," said James, who knew how to draw.

Besides, drawing a couple of flowers and a sphere won't be too

complicated. Hearing this the others nodded.

"Where on the lawn will we write? It should be eye-catching. I want

when everyone wakes up to see it," asked Sirius, and everyone was left

thinking.

"On the quidditch pitch," suggested Toby, and James looked at him with

a frown to him the quidditch pitch was sacred.

"I know you love quidditch, but I have a reason!" said Toby quickly as he

noticed the look on James' face.

"What is it?"

"We can write the name a day before the quidditch match between

Slytherin versus Ravenclaw. That way, the whole school will see it during

the match" replied Toby scratching his cheek.

"You're a genius, Toby!" exclaimed Sirius with a big grin, as he grabbed

him by the shoulders and shook him roughly.

"That's a great idea. Since Slytherin will come out champions at least we

can sour them a bit with the message," said Lupin.

Already everyone at Hogwarts was tipping Slytherin as quidditch

champions, even James. It would take a miracle for Slytherin to lose to

the worst Ravenclaw in history.

William the Gryffindor team captain wanted to be positive, but he knew

it was a near-impossible feat. First of all, they would have to win by

many points and depend on Slytherin losing by a landslide.

"What do you say, James?" asked Sirius.

"I agree," replied James. Even though he believed the pitch was sacred,

he would rather spoil Slytherin's celebration, even if only a little. Plus

this way the prank will be highly visible since everyone in the school

attends the matches.

"In addition to the name of the group, we could put up a message that

says Slytherin sucks! Imagine their faces as they fly, and they have to see

that throughout the match!" said Sirius with an evil grin.

"Maybe it'll break their concentration, and they'll end up losing," said

James, agreeing with Sirius.

"When is the date of the match?" asked Sirius, looking at James.

"Gryffindor will play their match the second weekend in May. Slytherin

will play it the following weekend," replied James.

"Good. We have a month to plan everything," said Sirius, nodding his

head and noting the date in the diary.

They then continued to talk about the prank for several hours, leaving

the scouting for another day. The first way they came up with to write on

the lawn was to use Incendio. This way they would burn the grass, and

after the fire was extinguished it would be black, contrasting with the

green grass.

After thinking about this, they discarded the idea of using Incendio. It

was too dangerous since they would be setting the grass on fire, and it

would be very difficult to control it and put it out instantly.

If they did it wrong they could cause the whole Quidditch pitch to catch

fire and be in serious trouble. In addition, they would have to cast a lot

of Incedio charms.

The safest and most effective way they could come up with is to use

magic herb seeds. Then they could use a charm or potion to make them

grow and make the signature look big.

The problem was that they needed a lot of seeds. They would have to

steal a large quantity from the greenhouses. They decided that the next

day they would visit the greenhouses and see if this plan was feasible. If

not, they would have to find another way to write on the lawn.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 80: Terraforma

"Damn. We're screwed!" growled Sirius sitting on a couch in the

Gryffindor common room.

Only the marauders were in the room, as it was almost midnight, and

they were all asleep.

"What shall we do now...?" asked Peter, and everyone automatically

looked at James as he always had some solution for everything.

Today, they visited all the greenhouses, but the seeds there were limited

it would be impossible to steal them and not be noticed by the professors.

They also tried going to the secret room and trying to ask for seeds, but

for some reason, it wouldn't fulfill their request. Maybe they were asking

for too many seeds.

"Mm..." James found himself thinking of another way to accomplish

writing in giant letters on the lawn. Everyone was looking at him

expectantly.

"Maybe... Find a spell to dig up the soil and shape the grass. Leaving it

brown where the letters are formed," he replied after a few seconds of

contemplation.

"That's a good idea. What spell exactly?" asked Sirius impatiently.

"I haven't the slightest idea..." said James, who didn't learn such a spell,

as it would be useless for a battle.

"We should go to the library and start looking," suggested Toby.

"No, it's better to go to the room of requirement. If you ask, it will give

you the books and save us time," said Lupin, and they all nodded, asking

for books did work. At that very moment, they headed for the secret

room that they had called the Room of Requirement since it fulfills your

wishes to a certain extent.

James used the method of turning around three times. This time asking

in his head for charms that cover earth magic. As they entered the room

they could see a simple bookshelf with several books, a small round

coffee table, and some couches.

"Let's get to work, gentlemen. The night is young," Sirius said as he

grabbed the first book and began to read it.

Two hours passed. They each read a book. To their bad luck, no one

found a useful charm. They were either too simple or too complicated.

As Sirius was about to complain, Toby spoke up, "I think I found

something," he said, and everyone came over and looked at the book he

was reading. The charm was as follows:

[Terraform:

This charm is of intermediate difficulty. It allows mages to modify the

earth superficially. It affects only the upper layers of the earth, avoiding

deep excavations.

To ensure that the shape created remains, the mage must perform an

additional charm after sculpting the earth. This charm seals the landform

and prevents it from returning to its original grassy state for a specified

amount of time.

Warning:

Excessive or improper use could adversely affect the health of the soil.

Users are advised to be cautious and considerate so as not to cause

irreparable damage.

Wand movement...]

Then, the book explained the specific movement of the wand. The correct

pronunciation and a few more tips on how to cast the charm correctly.

"This is what we were looking for!" exclaimed Sirius enthusiastically.

"The Room of Requirement saved us a lot of time..." commented Lupin. If

they had gone to the library it would have taken days. If they had this

room when they did the 100 dungbomb prank it wouldn't have taken so

long to find the book with the damn potion in it.

...

Thursday, May 12, 1972.

It was three days until the Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff match and about ten

days until the Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw match which would be the last

quidditch match of the year.

It was getting closer and closer to summer, the days were getting hotter,

and the sun was getting stronger. It was also very close to the exams, and

now most of the students were studying and revising.

William, the captain of the Gryffindor team looked like a mummy,

besides killing himself training (figuratively speaking), he was also in a

very important year at Hogwarts and much more difficult than the

previous ones.

Lily Evans, it seems, increased her study hours, as she spent all her time

in the library or the Gryffindor common room reading her notes or a

book. Even James saw her reading while eating breakfast.

Toby, Peter, and Lupin also started studying with much more emphasis,

only leaving time for the last big prank.

James had more limited time. Besides studying he had to keep training

and reading advanced books to get stronger. He also had Quidditch

training. And lastly, he had to leave some free time for the joke.

Somehow, he managed it. Mostly by putting studying aside, as he was

very smart and knew he would pass anyway.

The only one who seemed out of place was Sirius, who was all day

talking about the prank. He was very confident in his intelligence and

knew he would pass so he spent time on the prank.

"Listen to me, James. We have to put a hex on the grass or something...

Oh, I know! We can make the grass smell putrid, that way they won't be

able to concentrate, and they'll score very few points," whispered Sirius

near James with an evil grin.

James who had some free time decided to fool around with Sirius.

"That's a good idea...! Should we contact the Joker again?" whispered

James. They could buy a lot of dungbombs now that they had over 100

galleons between the two of them.

The two continued talking and exchanging different ideas that they

would never put into practice as they chuckled under their breath.

Lupin looked up from his book and rolled his eyes, "Shouldn't they be

studying?" he asked in exasperation.

"Don't be a spoilsport, Lupin. The exams are far away. You should be

fine," said Sirius. As for Toby and Peter, he thought it was fine for them

to start studying now since they weren't as smart as the three of them.

"If you don't get a good grade, your mother will keep sending you

vociferous letters..." said Lupin, trying to convince Sirius.

"Tsch, you're right," grunted Sirius, getting up and grabbing a book from

the stack next to Lupin.

"What are you going to do?" asked Lupin, looking at James, who had a

thoughtful expression.

"Mm. I'll go wander around for a bit," said James, getting up and waving

lazily as he walked to the exit of the common room. He had already

studied a complicated Defense Against the Dark Arts book. As for exams

he wasn't worried.

By wandering, he meant going to the dragon club, but he didn't explicitly

say so, as he noticed that the marauders were a bit annoyed that he spent

so much time at the club.

'Finally, I'll be able to study in peace...' thought Lupin, looking back down

at the book and his notes.

James upon arriving at the clubhouse, noticed that there weren't many

people. This was usually the case since there was no specific schedule to

keep. As for his relationships with the club members, they didn't improve

much.

He only interacted with Erika, Gwen, and a guy named Bob from

Hufflepuff, who had a few conversations and dueling practices. As he

entered the main hall, he noticed Narcissa Black to his bad luck.

'Why is she always there when I come in?' James thought with a barely

visible grimace, whenever he was reading in the club library or the

potions room, he always felt the cold stare of Sirius' cousin.

On the table where Narcissa was sitting were a large number of books

and parchments. She was studying for exams.

James headed for the library. A Ravenclaw boy was reading at a single

table and another table by the window Gwen was reading.

From one of the shelves, he took a book titled 'Updated Counter-Curse

Handbook' and walked over to where Gwen was sitting and sat down

across from her. He opened the book to the page where he had left off

and began to read silently.

Fifteen minutes later, Gwen looked up, and looking at James, said, "Now

won't you say hello to me?"

"I saw you concentrating too hard on the book," replied James, turning to

the next page. He was almost certain that, if he interrupted her reading,

Gwen would have been annoyed anyway.

"That book isn't a first year. Shouldn't you be studying for exams?" asked

Gwen.

"I am up to date. I'll study later. Right now, I'm reading as a hobby,"

replied James.

"If you have so much free time. Have you deciphered the message on the

silver bracelet yet?" asked Gwen, looking at James with narrowed eyes.

Hearing this, James grimaced slightly. He had completely forgotten about

that matter. It had been several days since Gwen had been telling him to

start trying to decipher the message on the silver bracelet she had given

him.

He didn't have time on his hands to start studying ancient runes.

If it had been anyone else he'd send it to hell, but he couldn't do it with

her.

"I'm on it... it's harder than I thought... you are a genius to be able to

write such a message," lied James, trying to praise her so she wouldn't

find out.

"You're lying," said Gwen, who didn't let herself be cajoled by the praise.

"That's rude," said James, trying to sound indignant and angry.

"Then look at me," said Gwen as James was watching the scenery out the

window.

James looked at her and their eyes met, "When you lie, you don't look at

me. Plus, your fingers on your right hand gently tap the table," Gwen

added as she explained the reasons why she believed James was lying.

'What the hell...?' thought James, surprised by such a revelation. Even he

didn't know that he gently tapped the table when he lied.

"I'm right, aren't I?" said Gwen with a slightly triumphant smile as she

noticed James' shocked expression.

"How do you know that?" asked James with a raised eyebrow.

"Watching you. How else? That's not the point! You'd better get to

looking up the meaning of the bracelet," growled Gwen.

"Fine, fine. I will," said James quickly. He could only backtrack now that

his lie was uncovered.

"Hey, James!" greeted a voice. Turning his head, he noticed it was Bob

the third-year Hufflepuff boy.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 81: Discussion

"Bob! How are you?" greeted James with a smile. After Gwen and Erika,

Bob was the closest person to James from the Dragon Club.

"Good. Hi Gwen," Bob said as he looked at the blonde girl who didn't look

at him and had a slight frown on her face.

Seconds passed, and Gwen didn't respond. Bob scratched his cheek and

asked, "Hey James, do you want to go practice a little in the dueling

room?"

Practicing with Bob a third-year student (more fourth than third), was

very beneficial to James, but as he was about to speak, Gwen spoke in a

cold tone, "He can't. We're reading."

"Oh well... sorry for interrupting. See you," Bob said quickly and

embarrassed as he walked out of the library.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you treating him like this?" asked

James with a frown, looking at Gwen, who looked as if nothing had

happened. He noticed the contemptuous tone in Gwen's voice.

"Don't you know? His family is Muggle," Gwen replied scornfully looking

at her nails.

James didn't know about this information. He hadn't spent that much

time with Bob to learn about his family's origins. He had forgotten about

this part of Gwen's personality.

"So what's wrong with his family being Muggle?" asked James, trying to

control his anger.

"Ugh... same conversation again," said Gwen, sighing with irritation.

"What did good old Bob do to you to make you treat him like that?"

continued James, trying to talk some sense into his friend.

"He didn't do anything to me! But that's not the point. We're two different

kinds of people," said Gwen, trying not to raise her voice. By different

kinds of people, she meant that she as a pureblood was superior to a

mudblood. People who are a disgrace to the magical world.

"If he is an inferior person. How did he get into the dragon club? Wasn't

it an exclusive club? Tell me, the other pureblood students who don't get

into any of the three clubs are they inferior to him?" asked James.

Gwen frowned at this question. James had a point, but she wasn't

planning on agreeing with him. "I only get into the club because of Erika

and her Ravenclaw friends. They're moralists who think we're all the

same" Gwen replied.

James couldn't believe how biased Gwen was making such cheap excuses,

"Do you listen to the idiotic things you say?" asked James, getting angrier

and angrier.

"Don't say I'm talking nonsense! You and I are superior people to them.

Why can't you see that? Just look at our talent and theirs. The answer is

clear!" exclaimed Gwen, getting up from her seat and glaring at James.

"Not true!" exclaimed James, also getting up from his seat and scowling

at Gwen.

"Then name me a mudblood who is on par with us!" demanded Gwen

irritably.

"Come on, speak up!" insisted Gwen at James' silence.

"Lily Evans, she's superior to many students from pureblood families!"

replied James. The first person that popped into his head was the red-

haired girl.

In an instant, the air grew thicker. Gwen, feeling angrier for some reason

repeated the name in a different tone, "Lily Evans?" she muttered slowly,

her lips speaking the name with fury and a hatred she hadn't felt before.

The Ravenclaw boy who was reading stopped his activity and watched

the fight as if it were a spectacle. He didn't mind them raising their

voices. He preferred gossip.

"Who is she?" asked Gwen in a low, cold tone looking at James.

"I told you! A person who outranks many heirs of pureblood families,"

said James still angry and not noticing Gwen's change.

James angrily closed the book put it on the shelf, and walked out of the

place angrily, leaving Gwen at the table alone.

Gwen couldn't believe she had been left alone especially when she had so

many more questions about Lily Evans. It was similar to the time she

walked out of classroom 11 and left James alone, but now it happened to

her.

Two days passed since the argument between James and Gwen, and since

that day they stopped talking to each other. If he was in the dragon

clubhouse they ignored each other and did not practice together

anymore.

James, these days was in a very bad mood. He didn't like that discussion

at all, especially because of Gwen's position, who was one of his first

friends and whom he valued very much.

Another problem came to James' mind these days. Lupin, and his

lycanthropy. He didn't know how to approach him to talk about it, which

put him in a bad mood. All the attempts to talk about personal problems

with his friends ended badly, and he didn't want to fight with Lupin.

Luckily, today was the day of the match: Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff. There

was a great atmosphere at breakfast in the large hall. The day was sunny

and without a cloud in sight, perfect weather to send off the last

Gryffindor quidditch match.

Minutes before the start of the match, the stadium was already packed.

The Gryffindor crowd was cheering and chanting without stopping for a

second. If they could get a good result they could have minimal hopes of

winning the coveted title.

On the other hand, the Slytherin stands were booing and whistling at the

top of their lungs. The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw stands were quieter, as

they couldn't win the championship at this point.

"Come on team! If we win by a good score we'll pass Slytherin and have a

chance to win the championship!" cheered William in the locker room as

they were about to leave.

James was there with the whole team, even though he would not be

playing. Fabian and Gideon Prewett had exasperated faces. It was 15

minutes ago that William was giving a motivational speech.

"They know the plan! Axel will try to catch the Snitch when we have a

good points lead, in the meantime don't take your eye off the Hufflepuff

seeker," said William, looking at Fabian and Gideon.

"Yeah..." said the brothers vaguely.

'This is my last chance...' thought Alex, gripping his broom tightly.

The strategy was to get the snitch once they had a good amount of

points. It was a risky strategy, but if it went well they could overtake

Slytherin by a large amount of points and increase the chance of them

not catching them.

"Let's go!" said William excitedly walking out of the locker room.

"YES!" they all exclaimed in unison as they walked out onto the pitch and

were cheered by all of Gryffindor. James then went to the stands with the

marauders and watched the match nervously.

With the referee's whistle, the match began. Gryffindor didn't mind

conceding goals as long as they were up on the scoreboard. Fabian kept

looking at the opposing seeker.

William was having a great match, as the batsmen were not so attentive

to the chasers, he had to save many more quaffles than usual, and none

of them escaped him. Earning a lot of applause from the Gryffindor

stand.

Thanks to William's incredible saves they managed to take the lead on

the scoreboard, "Don't take your eye off him!" shouted Gideon to his

brother while he was heading for a Bludger.

The score was increasing in favor of Gryffindor. However, Hufflepuff was

on their heels: 10 to 0, 20 to 10, 30 to 20, and so on.

'Good... it's better if the snitch doesn't show up,' thought James without

taking his eyes off Alex.

To his bad luck a shout was heard, "Look at that! I think it's the snitch!"

exclaimed a Gryffindor boy.

It was indeed the golden snitch which was very difficult to track with the

eyes because of its incredible speed.

"Don't catch it yet!" shouted William in the direction of Alex, who flew

with incredible speed to the snitch.

They needed more goals. Every goal was a higher percentage for

Slytherin not to pass them when they beat Ravenclaw. No one believed

the eagles could beat the snakes.

Between Fabian, Gideon, and Alex they tried to stop the opposing seeker

by getting in his way or throwing an angry Bludger at him.

"Damn, he's sneaky!" cursed Fabian as he saw his Bludger being dodged

by the skin of his teeth.

Time continued to pass and it was getting harder and harder to try and

stop the opposing seeker as he was being helped by his team. He wasn't

alone.

"William at this rate, they'll catch the snitch!" shouted Gideon urgently.

He knew it would be more dangerous if they kept playing with fire.

"One more goal!" said William, refusing to end the match.

All of Gryffindor screamed in fright and covered their eyes when they

saw that the Hufflepuff seeker was about to catch the snitch. Toby had

his back turned. He didn't want to see.

Lupin clutched his robes tightly. Sirius wanted to look calm, but every

time, he sighed calmly because the opposing seeker missed giving him

away. Peter was biting his nails and trembling slightly.

As for James, he noticed that his heart was beating very fast, something

unusual for him, not even against the Slytherin match did such a thing

happen to him.

"GRYFFINDOR GOAL!" shouted Murphy McNully with excitement in his

tone. Even though he was from Hufflepuff he was very professional at his

job, as he wanted to be the best quidditch commentator.

"With this goal, Gryffindor reaches 110 points! An unbelievable score!

Wait, look! HUFFPELUFF GOAL! Chaser Ryan doesn't stand still and

attacks immediately. 110 to 100! In favor of Gryffindor!"

"Do it, Alex!" shouted William. It was time to end the match.

At the go-ahead a smile formed on Alex's face. Finally, he could act and

not stand on the sidelines trying to defend the snitch. A race began

between Alex and the rival seeker.

In a moment two Bludgers were headed for them, one to each of them.

Alex managed to dodge by the skin of his teeth. However, it was not the

same for the long-haired Hufflepuff boy. The Bludger barely touched the

tip of his broom, but it was enough to knock him off balance.

This small slip, served to Alex managed to get ahead and catch the snitch

spinning to avoid crashing. Alex raised his fist and with his broom flew

high for all to see.

"The golden snitch was caught by the Gryffindor seeker, Alex!" exclaimed

Murphy and all of Gryffindor was filled with cheers, applause, and

whistles.

"End of the match: Gryffindor 260 - Hufflepuff 100!"

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 82: Magic Rooting Potion

William lunged at Alex almost tackling him, "Well done!" he shouted

enthusiastically as he shook his hair roughly. The other members of the

team also went to hug Alex.

"What a fabulous match! They wiped the floor with Hufflepuff!"

exclaimed Sirius excitedly.

It was a great party in Gryffindor that day. The chances of winning the

title had increased by far. Besides, Slytherin had a big responsibility on

their shoulders. They had to win by a landslide, and although Ravenclaw

plays very badly, nerves can play a dirty trick.

The league standings were as follows:

[1° Gryffindor: 570.

2° Slytherin: 370.

3° Hufflepuff: 360.

4° Ravenclaw: 70.]

The Slytherin team before catching the snitch must score fifty points to

catch Gryffindor. With that tie result, Slytherin would win since they won

their confrontation against Gryffindor.

They will have to make a strategy similar to that of Gryffindor in this

match. Only with fifty points. They can already catch the snitch. The

chances for Gryffindor to win the title were still low, but there was more

hope than before.

The next few days there was a more tense air in the halls of the school.

Most of the Gryffindor students when they met someone from Slytherin

would try to get on their nerves, especially the members of the quidditch

team.

They also started treating the Ravenclaw students with a lot of

enthusiasm, to see if they get a miracle and manage to play a little better.

If they continue at this pace it will be a stain on Ravenclaw's quidditch

history. They will be remembered as the worst team.

...

In the marauders' dormitory, a nightly meeting was taking place. It was

getting closer every day to the Slytherin match which would be the end

of the quidditch league. It was also an important day for the Marauders.

It would be the day when the whole school would know the name of the

group of pranksters who pulled the flower prank and the dungbomb

prank.

His firm had already decided. On the grass of the Quidditch pitch in giant

letters, they would write: 'The Marauders.' Below in smaller size, they

would draw a pair of dungbombs and the flowers that emerged on the

heads of the first-year Slytherin students.

And lastly, a message that reads, 'Slytherin sucks!' This way they could

continue to taunt the snake house and could even distract the Slytherin

players in the match as they will have to observe such words throughout

the game.

The Terraforma charm polishes the earth and shapes it into letters. They

had already practiced it during this time and were confident that they

could firm up their work the night before the match.

The current problem was that the professors or the headmaster might fix

the turf and make it grow back, erasing the message. None of them knew

if there was an incantation to make the grass grow back, but they could

not be confident. Since there would be all the professors and the

headmaster himself, it was certain they could fix it.

"The ingredients of this potion are very rare, it's used for something

else..." said Lupin, looking at the open book on the coffee table. They had

found a solution to this problem: the Potion of Magic Rooting.

This potion is generally used by Herbologists to give special properties to

the soil. One of the effects it has is that it protects the soil for a certain

period. Just what the marauders need so that no one can reverse the

message they write all over the lawn.

"Yes, plus we'll need more than one vial to cover a large area..." said

James with a hard expression.

"It's the only thing we found! We won't find anything else these days.

Time is limited. We have to get the ingredients any way we can," said

Sirius in a serious tone.

Everyone was silent. It seemed that this potion was the only one that had

the desired effect of protecting the message, "Well... read the ingredients"

said James, looking at Toby.

"Two measures of standard ingredient. Two berries of mistletoe. One

Cooked Mandrake... Two leaves of poisonous Tentacle..." read Toby and

gulped.

"Lastly ten fairy eggs," he concluded.

"The only thing we have, and it's easy to get are mistletoe berries and the

standard ingredient..." said Lupin with an ugly expression.

"I-I heard that the scream of a mandrake when it's dug up is deadly..."

said Toby, shivering.

"It's not much of a problem. We put on earmuffs, and the problem was

solved. I'm more worried about the poisonous Tentacula. What's that?"

asked Sirius. The name poisonous didn't indicate anything good.

As usual, they looked to James for the answer. At first, he didn't know

what this magical plant was all about, so earlier he went to the library to

investigate.

"It is a poisonous plant that expels poison from its shoots, and its spikes

are deadly. It is one of the most dangerous plants, and older students

start studying it at Hogwarts," James replied, and Peter shrieked in fear.

"Why is everything deadly in this potion...?" whispered Lupin with a

strange look on his face.

"W-we can't, guys! It's too dangerous. Besides, we have to go to the

forbidden forest to look for the fairy eggs!" said Peter, stuttering and

scared.

"We don't have to go to the forbidden forest..." said James.

"What do you mean?" asked Toby.

"In the orchard, Hagrid has behind his hut there are Fairies. Don't you

remember he showed them to us?" replied James.

"That's right! Problem solved. Let's go there and get the fairy eggs," said

Sirius with a smile. They usually visited Hagrid on weekends. They

already had the confidence to ask him for some fairy eggs.

"What about the Poison Tentacle...?" asked Peter, who was still not quite

in agreement.

"James and I will take care of that. As for the Mandrake, we'll go

tomorrow night. James will cast a Silencio Barriera charm, and we'll take

it out. Then we'll stew it right then and there to shut it up," Sirius

explained seriously. Devising a plan to get the ingredients as quickly as

possible and have the potion ready.

In the end, they decided to take twice as many ingredients so they could

have more potions since they needed to cover a large area of land. Lastly,

they would look for the fairy eggs in Hagrid's hut.

"Sleep well, gentlemen. Tomorrow will be a long day..." said Sirius as he

went to bed.

'A day where we will visit greenhouses with deadly plants...' thought

Peter and Toby fearfully.

There were seven Herbology greenhouses at Hogwarts. So far the

marauders only visited two greenhouses: one and two. From three

upwards are for more advanced years and therefore more dangerous

magical plants such as the poisonous Tentacula, among others.

The next day at dusk, when everyone was already sleeping or staying

awake while studying in the common room. The marauders slipped away

in the invisibility cloak in the direction of the greenhouses.

It would be the first time they had ever left the castle late at night, it was

forbidden, and if they were caught they would have a worse punishment

than if they were caught in the castle corridors.

Peter did not come on this mission. He was too afraid of this dangerous

mission. Anyway, only four people could go under the cloak. So, no one

said anything to him. He only earned a little displeasure from Sirius, who

didn't like cowards.

"Don't step on me Toby," complained Sirius as he felt someone step on his

expensive custom-made robes.

"It wasn't me," said Toby, sounding a little indignant.

"It was me, sorry," apologized Lupin.

"Shh! Someone's coming," said James in an alert tone, and stopping.

Sirius bumped into his shoulder.

"Ouch..." said Sirius in a low tone as he touched his nose.

"Sniff over there, my treasure. They may be hiding in a corner," It was

Filch, talking to Mrs. Norris.

Mrs. Norris is Filch's pet cat. She has yellow eyes, a scrawny, skinny,

skeletal body, and grayish fur.

The four boys held their breath and watched as Mrs. Norris passed close

behind them, sniffing. Sirius had his wand in hand, rather than be caught

he would rather cast a Fumos and run away from Filch.

The invisibility cloak couldn't be beaten by Mrs. Norris's sniffing, "Looks

like there's nothing... let's go to the next corridor, my treasure" Filch said

as he walked away.

"Why do you call your cat treasure?" asked Sirius with distaste.

"I don't know. Let's keep going," said James as he started walking again.

They made it out of the castle successfully. It was a clear night with very

few clouds. The light of the crescent illuminated the dark fields of

Hogwarts.

"We'll go into greenhouse three first. Hopefully, everything we need will

be there," said Lupin as they began to march.

Luckily, the greenhouses were closer than Hagrid's hut. The greenhouses

were next to each other, just a few meters apart, numbered 1 through 7.

When they arrived in front of the greenhouses they removed their

invisibility cloak, as Filch couldn't reach this far. There was a sign with

the number 3 somewhat rusted. The greenhouse was surrounded by

battlements giving it an antique look.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 83: Greenhouses

"Locked..." said Lupin, trying to open the greenhouse doors.

"I got this. Alohomora," said Sirius, pointing his wand at the door.

A barely visible yellow light came from Sirius' wand as it reached the

door the sound of the lock moving could be heard. Lupin tried again, and

this time, he was able to open the doors.

Without wasting any more time the group of four boys entered. The

lighting was very poor. Only a little could be seen thanks to the light of

the half-moon that created a dim and gloomy atmosphere.

Shadows twisted around potted and magical plants of all kinds. Some

plants have even developed bioluminescent properties at night, filling the

greenhouse with a soft, ghostly glow. Instead of the daytime bustle, the

nighttime sounds of the greenhouse are more subtle.

"How creepy..." whispered Sirius with a slight smile. He enjoyed doing

night scans.

"Lumos," said James, and the tip of his wand lit up. The others did the

same.

"Me and Lupin will go that way. You guys go down that path," suggested

James, and they began their exploration of the greenhouse in search of

Mandrakes.

Fifteen minutes passed, and there was no trace of Mandrakes. On the one

hand, it was difficult to find them since they were underground and only

their green leaves were visible. On the other hand, it was difficult to

search with so much darkness and be careful that no poisonous plants

attacked them.

"Look James!" called Lupin as he pointed in a direction. Red sparks could

be seen high up in the greenhouse, as if from a flare.

"That must be Sirius and Toby. Come on," said James as they headed that

way.

"Here they are. Let's get started as soon as possible," said Sirius, pointing

to a pair of Mandrakes sleeping peacefully under the ground.

James from his cloak pulled out a wallet made of leather that his parents

and grandfather had given him for his birthday. He opened it and

unbelievably pulled out four earmuffs, passed three to the others, and put

on his own.

"What a convenient gift," Lupin commented, but no one heard him as

they had earmuffs. Sirius looked at the wallet with envy. He couldn't

believe how James' parents agreed to gift such an object to his friend.

In this wallet, his parents placed an undetectable extension charm. This

allowed a large number of objects to be carried inside.

In addition to the earmuffs, he took out a magic cauldron, two flasks of

distilled water, and two larger flasks to place the cooked Mandrakes in.

He poured the water into the cauldron until it was full, then set the water

to heat and in the meantime stood in front of the Mandrakes.

"Silencio Barriera!" exclaimed James as he waved his wand, and a barely

visible barrier encompassed an area around the Mandrakes and the four

of them.

It had been several months since he had learned the Silencio Barriera

Charm. The barrier had lasted more than two hours and covered a

perimeter of several meters.

James looked at Toby, and they both nodded. They each headed for a

Mandrake. Without further thought, James grabbed the roots tightly and

pulled it away revealing a human-like creature that was crying and

screaming as if it was being killed. Luckily, no one heard its cry or they

would be dead or lying on the ground unconscious by now.

Without a second's hesitation, James threw the ugly creature into the

cauldron where the water was already boiling. Toby did the same.

The group of friends watched as the Mandrakes were stewed in the

water, while still crying and kicking with their tiny root arms. James

with a wooden spoon, began to stir to maximize the extraction of its

magical properties or so said the book that explained how to cook a

Mandrake effectively.

After almost twenty minutes, the process was over. James filtered the

mixture and stored the stewed Mandrake in the magic jars. "Ready," he

commented as he took off his earmuffs.

"I felt a bit sorry for them," said Sirius, taking off his earmuffs and

passing them to James.

They all looked somewhat amazed at Sirius, as it was rare for something

to give him grief and more so a bug as horrible as the Mandrakes.

"Did I say something weird?" asked Sirius, not understanding the strange

looks.

"No, no... By the way, won't Professor Sprout get mad when she notices

that two adult Mandrakes are missing?" asked Lupin.

"She'll be mad, but it's not our problem as long as she doesn't catch us,"

replied Sirius with a slight smile.

"That's true. Besides, we're learning about Mandrakes much earlier. If she

finds out she'll be happy," James commented.

'What kind of logic is that...' thought Lupin and Toby looking strangely at

James.

'Let's go to greenhouse four. I don't think the Poison Tarantula is here,"

said James as he stuffed everything into his leather wallet.

"Why do you think that?" asked Lupin.

"The Mandrakes are seen in the second year. The Poison Tarantula is too

dangerous for second-year students. They must have them in another

greenhouse," replied James.

"Makes sense. Let's get going," nodded Lupin.

As they reached the door to greenhouse four, again Sirius cast Alohomora

and they entered. This time they didn't split up, as if a Poison Tarantula

attacked them they would be screwed for several reasons besides the

deadly poison of the plant.

The four advanced in a simple formation. Two facing forward and two

backward as they walked backward. Because they were slower and more

alert, it took them longer to explore the greenhouse.

Unfortunately for the group, they found nothing after thirty minutes of

exploration. So, they moved on to Greenhouse Five.

"There! Those two look just like the picture in the book!" exclaimed Toby

as he squinted to get a better look, but the darkness didn't help.

They all looked up at the two plants resting in a pot. One next to the

other. James kept his distance. He didn't want to get close and be

attacked by the moving vines with deadly spikes.

"Shit. Why are there two so close to each other?" cursed Sirius.

The Poison Tentacula behind its many leaves has a giant eyeless head

with fangs, but because of the darkness and the surrounding leaves. It

wasn't visible. It also had many large vine-like appendages that acted as

arms.

The vines were quiet. As if they were sleeping and harmless.

Sirius made an ugly expression. Now, he wasn't so sure about

approaching and fighting the poisonous plant, "Come on. We've got their

backs," said Lupin, nudging Sirius.

"Remember, we have to use Diffindo to cut their vines. Once we cut it off

we will use Wingardium Leviosa to put them in a safe place to remove

the leaves," said James in a serious tone, looking at Sirius.

The Cutting Charm (Diffindo) is used to cut something with precision. It

is usually taught in the second year, but James had taught it to the others

in the Room of Requirement before. As for James, he had already learned

it before he started at Hogwarts.

"I don't see very well. It's going to be hard to defend with Aeromanteo..."

said Sirius doubtfully. The only light that helped them were Lupin and

Toby's Lumos. Aeromanteo has to be cast at the right moment which

makes it difficult and more so having poor vision.

Also, that they didn't know what the speed of the creepers was, "Don't use

Aeromanteo. I'll take care of the defense for both. Just try to use Diffindo

when the plant stretches its vines," said James.

Using Aeromanteo with such low visibility was very dangerous and more

so when the plant had a deadly poison, and they didn't know its speed.

So he would use Protego to protect both of them.

"What enchantment will you use to protect us?" asked Sirius with

seriousness in his tone.

"Just trust me, mate," said James with a smile, and patting Sirius'

shoulder.

"Okay," Sirius nodded without a second's hesitation. This surprised

James. He was going to tell him that he would be using Protego but

decided to joke a bit to lighten the mood. He didn't think Sirius would

agree so easily.

Sirius considered James his first and best friend since he arrived at

Hogwarts, if there was one person he trusted it was James. Even more

than his family (except for his uncle and cousin Andromeda), as

unbelievable as that sounded.

The two began to walk slowly. Approaching the two plants that seemed

quiet and harmless. They couldn't shoot them right away, as they needed

them to stretch their vines so they could cut them and bring back the

leaves.

When they entered the perimeter of the two plants it seemed as if they

had been alerted to the presence of intruders. Their menacing arms

moved slowly until in an instant four vines launched themselves at James

and Sirius who were startled by the sudden attack.

'Shit! What's that speed?' thought James in surprise. The speed was on

par with Erika a fifth-year student. He never thought they could be that

fast. He had underestimated them.

Luckily he hadn't decided to try to defend himself with Aeromanteo or he

would have been screwed.

"Protego!" exclaimed James, conjuring an invisible shield that covered

both him and Sirius. The four angry vines hit some sort of barrier that

blocked them.

Sirius wore an expression of surprise and horror. He almost didn't count

it he thought. Without James' Protego, he couldn't have defended himself

not even Aeromanteo would have worked for him as he didn't have such

fast reflexes.

However, Sirius didn't stand still and counterattacked, "Diffindo!" he

exclaimed with determination aiming at a vine. From his wand came a

light blue light that cut the vine with precision.

James also managed to cut another vine with Diffindo, "Let's move back!"

said James as he and Sirius moved away from the range of the vines.

At a safe distance, they used Wingardium Leviosa to move the two vines

towards them and remove their leaves from a safe place.

"Phew... that was close," said Sirius, sitting on the floor and wiping the

sweat from his forehead.

"Yes..." said James with a frown.

He underestimated the speed of the Poison Tarantula. If he didn't have

Protego they would be in dire condition. Maybe he could have tried to

use Aeromanteo and managed to deflect a creeper, but Sirius wasn't as

skilled as he was at that enchantment.

Besides, it wasn't just one vine, he would have had to deflect two vines

and each one was aimed at different places on his body. Which rendered

Aeromanteo useless, unless he had perfect nonverbal casting and reflexes

allowing him to cast two Aeromanteo quickly.

"Are you all right?" asked Lupin and Toby worriedly. Seeing how

dangerous the Poison Tarantulas could be they realized how reckless they

were being.

"Yeah, thanks to my friend's Protego, it went perfectly," said Sirius with a

big grin as he rested an arm on James' shoulder.

"That's amazing, James..." said Lupin. Although he was getting used to

James' prowess at offensive and defensive incantations, plus James kept

practicing, so it wasn't so crazy that this one was so advanced it was very

rare for an 11-year-old student to know Protego. There were adult

wizards, who couldn't even throw a protego as fast as James.

Toby was also looking admiringly at James. He knew Protego was an

advanced defensive charm.

"Luckily, I was able to react in time..." said James with a slight smile,

calmed down by Sirius' attitude.

"Right. Let's pick up those damn hard-earned leaves," said Sirius as he

looked at the vines that despite being cut off still had slight movements.

After removing the leaves being as careful as possible they left the

greenhouse with the invisibility cloak. Thus ending their most dangerous

nocturnal excursion so far.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 84: To work

Friday, May 20, 1972.

The day of the final prank had finally arrived. Friday night, after dinner,

the marauders headed to their room. After curfew, they would have to

sneak out of the castle and head for the quidditch pitch, as tomorrow was

the Slytherin match.

The potions had already been brewed by James. They managed five

flasks full thanks to getting more ingredients than they needed.

The next day of their excursion to the greenhouses there was some

commotion, as Professor Sprout was angry about the theft of two

Mandrakes and the damage of two Poison Tentacles.

"Well, gentlemen. Let's toast before we begin the final mission," Sirius

said in an eloquent tone, as he grabbed a mug of butterbeer.

Lupin looked at the five glasses full of butterbeer resting on the coffee

table and asked curiously, "Where did you get them?"

"From the Prewett brothers. They smuggle them to students who can't go

to Hogsmeade. Since I'm their friend, they gave me a discount," Sirius

replied with some pride.

James and the others each took their mugs and stood up, "Here's to the

last prank of the year and those to follow," said Sirius with a smile and

raised his mug.

James with an amused look in his eyes exclaimed excitedly, "To the

Marauders!"

"To the Marauders!" they all exclaimed in unison as the mugs clinked

with a joyous clink, and the aroma of butterbeer filled the air.

It was past eleven o'clock at night. When there was no one left in the

Gryffindor common room. The marauders emerged under the invisibility

cloak. This time all five of them were under it which made the trip a bit

uncomfortable.

Since they had to leave the castle, James didn't want to take any chances

and preferred to go under the cloak.

"Ouch, don't step on my foot!" complained Lupin.

"Then walk faster," said Sirius, defending himself.

"It's because it's dark, you idiot," growled Lupin.

"Can we take off our cloak now?" asked Toby, who was very

uncomfortable.

"Yes. I think so.." replied James.

As they took off their cloaks they could see that they were only a few feet

away from the quidditch pitch. As they arrived they could see the huge,

very well-manicured lawn.

"Imagine the faces of those snakes when they see the message at the

match," Sirius said with a slight smile.

"Alright guys, time to make our mark on this pitch," said James with a

grin.

"Time to get to work!" said Sirius enthusiastically.

"Let's make sure it's accurate and well done..." said Lupin in a serious

tone, but with excitement.

James quickly settled everyone in. They would write first: The.

He would take the letter "T." Sirius and Toby would take the "H." and

Peter with Lupin would take the "E."

Minutes passed as they used the Terraform charm to shape the earth. The

manicured lawn was getting worse and worse because of the charm.

"Phew... done," muttered James as he looked at his finished work, even

though it was only one bloody letter and there was still a lot of work to

be done.

It took him almost twenty minutes to complete one letter, as it was a

large size. The others as they worked in pairs managed to finish in fifteen

minutes and were now resting a bit, as it was tiring to spend 20 minutes

casting a charm non-stop.

After resting for about ten minutes, they went on to write: Marauders.

Each one was dedicated to one letter, to make the work faster.

"Yes it is tiring," muttered Sirius with sweat on his forehead. He had

finished writing the letter 'U.'

"Only four more letters to go..." commented Toby as he sat down on the

grass. His clothes were full of dirt as was everyone's.

"James, you rest. You need to get your energy back for the drawings.

We'll take care of the four missing letters," said Lupin, approaching

James.

"Well, thank you..." said James as he sat down to catch his breath. After a

few minutes, Lupin and the other three got down to business.

James looked out over the field. A few hours ago, it was very even and

manicured, and now it was a mess. He looked up at the night sky where

the stars could be seen. There was not a cloud in sight.

'It's a nice night...' thought James with strange feelings, he never

imagined that going to school could be so much fun. The night breeze

gently moved his jet hair. He watched his best friends hard at work, now

and then Sirius would shout something at Lupin or Toby.

James remembered his past life as Edward Rothschild, an expressionless

and lonely genius with no friends. He had changed a lot in this time.

'It would be nice if we could stay this way forever...' thought James in a

strange mood. He knew that as time progressed the danger from

Voldemort and his mad followers would increase.

He would no longer be able to devote as much time to these things.

Maybe it would be his last joke.

The hours passed, and finally, the marauders finished their work. James

had already drawn the stink bombs and flowers under the group's name.

Then in smaller print, they left a message to Slytherin.

"Well done, guys. I have to take a shower," said Sirius, satisfied to see

that everything went well.

"Now all that was missing were the potions," said Peter, as James from

his handbag withdrew five vials and handed one to each marauder.

Following the trail of letters they left behind, they poured the magic

rooting potion onto the ground. Luckily, they had enough and even had

half of one vial left over, which they used to reinforce some parts, as they

had no other use for this potion.

"Job done... Next year will be much better..." commented Sirius in a

different tone than usual.

"You have to pass your exams first, and I don't see you studying too

hard," James teased with a slight smile.

"Shut up. I'll be studying seriously starting tomorrow," Sirius said with a

yawn.

After shaking the dirt off their robes and shoes, so as not to leave a trace

that would leave them in evidence, they headed back to the castle in a

weird mood, almost forgetting to put on the invisibility cloak.

Upon returning to Gryffindor Tower, they all went straight to bed. They

were very tired as they had been writing giant letters for hours.

'I wonder what the face of the Slytherin team will look like...' thought

James as his eyelids slowly closed, and he fell fast asleep.

That night, he slept a few hours and had a strange dream. He found

himself on the quidditch pitch itself. The strange thing was that the

whole place was destroyed, there were only two people, him and a tall

figure that he couldn't see his face for some strange reason.

The tall, black-robed figure made a swift movement with his wand and

out came a flash of green light heading toward him at an incredible

speed.

Before the flash hit him, he was awakened by Sirius' excited shout, "Wake

up, James! Let's get some breakfast!"

Sirius had opened the curtains of James' canopy bed and was hitting him

in the face with his pillow.

The thumping of the pillow caused James to open his eyes in annoyance.

Also, how the curtain was open, the light from the hot sun was hitting

him in the face, "Don't bother!" said James irritably, taking the pillow

from Sirius and hitting him back.

"It's a good thing you're awake, mate," said Sirius, moving to the next

bed, Toby's.

"Wake up, Toby! Let's get some breakfast!" said Sirius, repeating the same

process as before.

James sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed his eyes. He could see that

Lupin and Peter were also sitting on their beds with sleepy faces. Clearly,

Sirius had woken them up.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 85: Slytherin sucks!

Saturday, May 21, 1972.

James and the others headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. The

fivesome had dark circles under their eyes, yet their expressions hid

excitement. They wanted to see the reactions of the entire school when

they appreciated their work.

James had several croissants for breakfast with pumpkin juice and an

apple, "Look, there are very few professors..." said Lupin in a low tone,

looking at the professors' table.

Normally, there would be most of the professors eat breakfast alongside

the students, but now only two professors can be seen, Professor Sprout

and professor James don't know.

"Have they noticed by now...?" asked Sirius with a slight smile.

"Maybe... they must be trying to fix it before the match starts," replied

James. As he took a sip of the pumpkin game.

"Will they be able to fix it...? If they manage it, we'll have been working

all last night for nothing," commented Peter doubtfully.

"The potion must be doing its job, let's hope..." replied James.

The group had breakfast conversing in low tones, wondering what

expression the professors must have put on their faces when they saw the

message and the grass in such a condition.

The other tables were noisier than usual, as it was the day when the

Quidditch championship would be decided. Many older Gryffindor

students tried to cheer on Ravenclaw and even got flags to cheer them on

today.

When it was twenty minutes before eleven o'clock and the match was

about to start, the poltergeist Peeves entered the dining hall with a

wicked and mischievous grin as usual.

Peeves is the most famous and troublesome poltergeist at Hogwarts. He

drives Filch and many students crazy, as he is always causing chaos and

practical jokes.

He is a small, black-eyed man with a wide, evil face. He wears a green

coat, bow tie, and blue pants, "Shit, it's Peeves!" warned Sirius. Whenever

the poltergeist appeared in the Great Hall, it was always to create chaos

and start a food war or something.

Everyone at the tables eyed Peeves warily ready to take cover before he

threw a plate, dungbombs, or whatever he had planned.

"Attention, little brats! Rumors run wild! The quidditch pitch has been

desecrated!" said Peeves in a booming, laughing voice.

"The quidditch pitch?" asked a Slytherin student.

"Desecrated?"

"Who's he calling a brat?"

Many questions began to be asked at all the tables confused. It was the

first time Peeves had acted this way.

Many began to worry about such news, especially at the Slytherin table.

They didn't want the last quidditch match to be canceled when they were

so close to the title.

"If you want to know, go see for yourselves, you lazy bastards!" shouted

Peeves as he began bombarding everyone with water-filled balloons.

Peeves didn't discriminate between houses. He just targeted people at

random.

"Aeromanteo!" exclaimed James, managing to deflect a balloon that was

heading straight for his face.

The balloon that James deflected went straight into Sirius' face which

exploded and drenched him in water, "Don't deflect it at me!" complained

Sirius.

"Sorry..." said James, trying to hold in his laughter, "Let's get out of here,

quick," he added as he fled the great hall. All the students began to flee,

heading towards the quidditch pitch.

James proficiently used Aeromanteo to deflect Peeves' water balloons. At

one point, he noticed that he had a person behind him, close behind him.

Thanks to her striking red hair, he knew it was Lily Evans.

James said nothing and allowed Lily to stay close to him. This way the

redhead was saved from being doused from head to toe by Peeves. Lily

knew that when the shelling started the best thing to do was to get closer

to James. She had seen him in the duel against Rabastan deflecting

attacks easily.

As for her, she didn't have much real practice in defensive charms, so she

had little choice.

As they left the dining hall Peeves kept chasing them, until they were

heading out of the castle towards the quidditch pitch.

"Thanks...'" said Lily a little embarrassed for using James to protect

herself.

"It's nothing. You can use me as a shield anytime you want," joked James.

He thought Lily would frown at the joke, but she didn't.

"Mm... I'll take you up on your offer. You'd better not regret it in the

future," Lily said with a slight smile.

As for the marauders, only James and Lupin were spared, "Let me dry

you," said James, looking at Sirius, Peter, and Toby.

"Dessicatum," said James, flicking his wand. From the end of the wand

came a jet of hot air directed at Sirius. His hair and robes dried after a

few seconds.

He then did the same for Toby and Peter, who thanked James, "Where

did you learn that spell from?" asked Lupin. He knew James was

interested in spells that were useful for a duel.

"My mother uses it to dry clothes, and she taught it to me," James

answered honestly.

"James... Can you use the charm on me?" asked a voice that belonged to

Jasmine. Lily's friend who didn't have the idea to use James as a shield.

"Me too... please," said Khanna, a little embarrassed.

"Yeah, sure," nodded James, and within seconds he dried Jasmine and

Khanna.

"Thanks," said Jasmine and Khanna as they touched their hair which was

completely dry.

"What a convenient charm," said Lily, who had analyzed James' wand

movement.

"It's very useful. You should learn it," commented James. The group of

five boys and three girls started walking towards the quidditch pitch.

James was explaining to Lily how to learn the charm, the wand

movement, and the correct pronunciation.

Arriving at the stadium, there was a lot of bustling and murmuring.

Usually, it is always like that, but this time it was different than usual.

The marauders looked at each other with complicity and went to the

stands where all of Gryffindor was.

The bleachers were at a good height that allowed them to see the whole

pitch and the six hoops. James upon reaching the stands, could see the

'work of art' they had created yesterday.

Much of the manicured turf was torn up. The dirt formed large letters.

The main message was in the center and read as follows:

[THE MARAUDERS]

Underneath this title was drawn in dirt two spheres and some strange

brown flowers. Finally, there was a message in a letter not as large as the

first message. It read as follows:

[SLYTHERIN SUCKS!]

"The quidditch pitch is ruined!" exclaimed a voice indignant at such an

occurrence.

"Who are the marauders?" asked a Hufflepuff girl curiously.

"They're not from Slytherin..."

All kinds of questions were being asked in all the stands of different

houses. Many are curious about the identity of this group of pranksters.

Others are indignant and complaining that they had to be caught and

punished, and others laughing at the prank.

The Gryffindor tier began to shout and hurl taunting comments at the

Slytherin tier, reminding them of the dungbomb attack on their common

room. A shouting war began between the two rival houses, one of who

was shouting and throwing acid comments was Sirius along with the

Prewett brothers.

"It was them, those damned Black and Potter!" cursed Mulciber and

looked at Rabastan, who was silent and sitting comfortably.

"It's true. At first, I didn't think they could sneak into our common room,

but seeing Potter's abilities..." said Avery, but quickly shut up as he

noticed Rabastan's furious glare at him.

"I told them countless times, but they wouldn't believe me, you idiots,"

muttered Rabastan in a cold tone.

"Silence, please!" said a calm voice that incredibly was heard by the

whole stadium even though its tone was low. It was Albus Dumbledore.

The headmaster of Hogwarts, who was sitting in the middle stands along

with the other professors.

The hubbub and verbal warfare between the Gryffindor and Slytherin

stands gradually died down, "Thank you, dear students. I can see your

enthusiasm for today's match. As you may notice there is a great message

written on the quidditch pitch..." commented Dumbledore in a peculiar

tone.

"Unfortunately, this group of pranksters were very prepared and poured a

potion that protects their particular message, so we have no choice but to

play the match with the pitch in this condition," said Dumbledore, and

the whole Gryffindor stand exploded in applause, and happy shouts as if

they had won a match.

"Calm down, calm down... without further ado, let's start with the

exciting match we have ahead of us," added Dumbledore, and a few

seconds later the Slytherin and Ravenclaw teams entered the pitch.

The Slytherin players, as they stepped on the letters written by James

and the others had furious looks on their faces. Never had one group

screwed them over so much in a single year. First, the flower pranks that

hurt the first-year male students. Second, the 100 dungbombs that were

thrown in the common room hurt all the years, and finally this insulting

message towards their noble house on such a special day when they

would lift the prestigious quidditch cup.

The match began. The Prewett brothers started chanting, "Long live the

Marauders! Slytherin sucks!" all of Gryffindor joined in, even the

Marauders themselves.

Sirius had a grin from ear to ear. He loved them cheering for his group

this song made the Slytherin team furious causing them to make a lot of

mistakes they normally wouldn't make. Plus, they were seeing the same

message written on the grass.

Unfortunately, the Ravenclaw team was very bad and Slytherin managed

to score 60 points, and then their seeker got the snitch without much

trouble, winning the match by: 210 to 50.

With this result, Slytherin was crowned champion with 580 points,

leaving Gryffindor in second place with 570.

The Slytherin stands were wild with joy. However, the Gryffindor crowd

was not silenced and kept chanting the same thing trying to ruin the

award ceremony which was only a few meters away from where the

message was.

James could see Alex leaving the Quidditch pitch with a long face. As he

was about to go after him, someone stopped him by the shoulder.

"Don't do it..." said William as he pointed to a girl who started to follow

Alex.

James nodded. No one else wanted to see the Slytherin team lift the cup,

so they began their walk back into the castle.

"Tsch, Ravenclaw sucks. They were the last champions and they didn't

even win a match. They fall apart," Sirius said in annoyance.

"Yeah. At least they would have tackled someone or something," nodded

James, who was slumped. He didn't like seeing Slytherin raise the cup at

all and seeing the team members with sad expressions.

This was Alex's last year, and he didn't make it. How Alex personally

trained him to improve as a seeker. He considered him a sort of teacher

and friend at the same time.

"Let's get to studying and forget about this," said Peter, trying to change

the depressing atmosphere. They all nodded, unbelievably only by

studying something super boring like the history of magic could they

forget about this.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 86: Restricted Section

The days went by, and it was getting hotter and hotter. The exams were

getting closer and closer. Approximately ten days.

For this reason, the marauders put aside the pranks and explorations and

spent all day studying. James stopped going to the dragon club. It was

useless as there was no one to practice with since everyone was studying

24/7.

He was still fighting with Gwen, after finishing the Slytherin vs

Ravenclaw match, he could feel Gwen's furious look in the Great Hall.

James guessed that this was because Gwen must have realized that he

had caused the dungbomb prank in the Slytherin common room. Luckily,

since they weren't speaking to each other, he was able to save himself

from her screams.

James, on the other hand, enjoyed the exam period at Hogwarts. They

had been given a whole week to devote to studying, so they no longer

had lessons. Sirius didn't seem to enjoy it as much as he did, even though

he was very smart, in some subjects he had relaxed a lot causing him to

be in a foul mood.

Lupin, Peter, and Toby were also nervous, but unlike Sirius, they had

started studying much earlier. As for James, he wasn't worried. He would

pass without a problem.

In Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and Transfiguration

he was very good. Not to be conceited, but he had a lot of knowledge in

these disciplines. Just brushing up on some theoretical concepts would

suffice.

This allowed him to dedicate more study time to subjects he didn't like so

much and was a bit behind in, such as History of Magic and Astronomy.

One day late at night, when everyone was already asleep including the

marauders, James was staring at the ceiling of his bed. He couldn't fall

asleep, 'Should I go to the secret room to practice?' thought James as he

opened the curtain and heard Sirius snoring.

'He sure is trying hard...' thought James.

He slipped out of bed grabbed his precious cloak, wrapped himself in it,

and disappeared.

Without another thought, he cautiously made his way out of the

dormitory, down the stairs, across the common room, and through the

portrait hole.

"Who's there?" shrieked the Fat Lady. James said nothing. He walked

quickly down the corridor.

'Where will I go...?' thought James stopping. He didn't want to practice

he had already practiced a lot. Suddenly an idea popped into his mind.

The Restricted Section of the library. He had never been in there. He

could read anything he wanted, even books not normally found in the

library and dragon club.

'Maybe I'll find a book on ancient defensive magic or something,' James

thought and started walking again while adjusting the cloak around him.

The library was dark and ghostly. It reminded him of the night they

explored the greenhouses. James turned on a lamp to look at the row of

books. The lamp seemed to float on its own in the air giving it a creepy

air.

The Restricted Section was just at the back of the library. Stepping

carefully over the rope that separated those books from the others. James

lifted the lamp to read the titles.

They didn't tell him much. Some books had faded gold lettering that

formed words in languages James didn't know, 'Maybe I should start

studying ancient runes and the odd language...' James thought with a

grimace.

Other books didn't even have titles, there was even a book that looked

like it had a bloodstain on it. Finally, he found a book in better condition

and his language. The title was as follows: Phineas Bourne's Most Potent

Potions.

James propped the lamp on the floor and picked up the book. He sat

cross-legged on the cold stone floor and began to read. He liked potions,

so this book might come in handy.

'Mm, let's see... Some of these potions have effects almost too frightening

to think about,' James read and made a strange expression at such a

description.

Twenty minutes passed. James had an increasingly odd expression on his

face. He thought he would find very useful and powerful potions, but

most of the recipes in this book were dangerous, controversial, and

arcane. On top of that, gruesome illustrations showed the effects of such

potions.

One of these illustrations was a woman. The horrifying thing was that her

hair was a giant, hairy, long-legged spider. It reminded James of the

flower potion that turned your hair into flowers only this potion turned

your hair into a giant spider.

'Disgusting...' thought James, looking at the hideous illustration. He

wondered how Rabastan would have reacted if instead of flowers he had

a giant spider on his head for hair. For some reason, he thought the

Slytherin boy would prefer the spider to the pretty flowers.

In addition, there was information on potions of slow-acting poisons and

other deadly poisons, there was also a laxative potion that caused very

powerful diarrhea.

James had a disgusted expression. He would never use such potions

(laxative and giant spider) for pranks. He closed the book and put it back

in its place. He only read a few pages, but he could already get an idea of

the recipes that would be in there.

He started looking for a book again. On a shelf, there was an interesting-

looking one, a large, black, and silver volume that caught his eye.

However, as he was about to pick it up, the book next to it caught his

attention more, it had a light red color, and unlike the other one, it did

have a title: Incantation to Protect Your Mind. A Practical Guide to

Countering Legilimency.

James had read a book about Occlumency. A branch of magic that

involves closing the mind to counter the opposite branch, Legilimency.

He had practiced Occlumency at a very beginner level. So that the

Sorting Hat couldn't enter his mind and see memories of his past life,

though he didn't know how much power the hat had and if it could

navigate that deep. He preferred to be cautious and prepared.

What he did at the selection ceremony was to empty his mind, especially

his memories of his past life as Edward Rothschild, and leave his new

memories unprotected.

It was always in his mind to keep improving in Occlumency, but he was

too busy. Today it was time to continue on the path of Occlumens. It

wasn't a nice feeling that a wizard you don't know can read your mind.

'Well, let's hope it's better than the book my parents gave me,' James

thought as he opened the book to the first page.

[Introduction:

In the pages that follow, we will explore the intricate mysteries of

Occlumency. An ancient discipline that allows one to close the mind

against outside penetration. Although considered an obscure branch of

magic, Occlumency is a valuable and essential skill for those who seek to

safeguard their thoughts and emotions against the arts of Legilimency...

Chapter 1: Fundamentals of Occlumency...]

An hour passed as James read in concentration in the silent, dark library.

He finished reading two chapters and he also put a lot of emphasis on

each one.

In a nutshell, chapter one talks about mental clarity, and how to learn to

empty your mind and reach a blank state of mind. It also talks about

controlling intense emotions and staying calm under pressure.

This chapter was what James had already learned. Blank your mind so

they can't read your thoughts or minimally the important thoughts you

want to hide.

Chapter 2: Basic Occlumency was much more interesting and useful. It

explained the steps to build your first mental shield. This shield will act

as a first line of defense against Legilimency, blocking attempts to intrude

into your mind.

James was able to defend himself against the Sorting Hat because he

knew beforehand that it would try to browse through his memories to

find out which house to put him in. Thanks to this, he put his mind at

ease when he placed the hat on his head. However, if a Legilimens

decides to enter his mind without warning he will be exposed and would

not be able to hide anything. So building a mental shield was essential.

'These days I will start practicing. I must build my first mental shield

however I can...' thought James as he closed the book and put it back in

its place. It had already been a long time. He had to go back and sleep

the hours that were necessary for a good sleep.

As the very name of the book indicated, there were practical exercises to

get better at Occlumency.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 87: Exams I

The week of exams began. Most professors separated the exams into two

parts: theory and practical.

"Why does the first exam have to be Transfiguration...?" asked Toby

nervously as they ate breakfast.

"The transfiguration formula is influenced by body weight..." muttered

Peter as he read his summaries.

"Don't think of it that way. Look on the bright side. It will be over quicker

than we thought," said James, trying to calm his two friends down.

"Easy for you to say. You're the best in the class..." said Peter, and his

hand went to the next sheet.

"Whatever you say... remember the wand movement is a sort of L shape

before you make a mini circle," advised James, and turned his attention

back to his rich breakfast.

"Won't you review?" asked Lupin, looking at James quietly eating his

breakfast. Everyone at the table was eating breakfast as they were

reviewing before going to the exam. The only one who wasn't with his

notes was James.

"No. I'd rather relax before going to the exam table," James replied. It

would be pointless to try to study now on such short notice.

When breakfast was over, they began to make their way to Classroom 1

along with the other first-year Gryffindor students. Most of them were

silent, showing their nervousness.

Professor McGonagall was already waiting for them. The classroom had a

different layout, there was more distance between each desk. This is so

that no one could copy their classmate.

"Sit down, quickly," said McGonagall in her usual stern tone. When

everyone was in their seats the professor began to take roll call, making

sure that all the students were present.

"Good, no one was late. As you can see, there are some new pens on your

desks. You will use these pens to take the theory exam. The pens are

special. They are enchanted with an anti-copying charm," explained

McGonagall.

'Is there a charm for copying...?' wondered James. It hadn't occurred to

him to use magic for such a thing, but it wasn't anything crazy.

"The exam will be divided into two parts, theoretical and practical. In

each part, the maximum you can get is 50 points, to pass you must have

a score of 70 points between the two parts. You will have 45 minutes for

the theoretical exam, without wasting any more time let's start with the

theoretical part," said McGonagall as she waved her wand, and the exam

papers flew to the students' desks.

'She's more benevolent than I imagined,' thought James.

You could be very good at theory and get a perfect score of 50 points and

in the practical part with 20 points you'd be good enough to pass or vice

versa.

The theory exam was easy for James. The first question was about the

transfiguration alphabet, which consisted of 26 characters. He had used it

with Lily to teach Toby and Mary a transfiguration charm.

It also asked about the transfiguration formula. And about The theory of

transfiguration spells, they saw during the year: Ignitum Mutatio, Avifors,

and Mutatio Mouseum.

'I don't think I'm forgetting anything,' thought James as he looked at his

exam with a smile. He was pleased with his work.

James got up from his seat and walked over to McGonagall's desk which

was watching everyone, checking to make sure no one was cheating,

"Professor. I'm finished," he said as he handed her the exam.

"Oh, still 15 minutes to go. Don't you want to check it some more?" asked

McGonagall.

"It's okay. I already reviewed it," said James, and McGonagall took the

exam and rested it on her desk. After James, the pile slowly filled up.

Second to finish was Lily, followed by Sirius, Jasmine, Lupin, etc.

"Time," said McGonagall in a loud and clear tone. The professor waved

her wand, and the exam papers began to fly towards her.

"No. I'm missing the Avifors charm!" squealed Peter. He wasn't the only

one bemoaning not being able to finish the exam.

"Good. Listen carefully. The practical part will be about the charm

Ratónum Mutatio. It's the last one we saw in previous classes. You will

have three mice to transform into snuffers. Keep in mind that the more

attempts you use the fewer points you will get. You will also be assessed

on the shape of your snuffbox," explained McGonagall in a serious tone.

"Only three attempts?" complained one student.

"In lessons, we had five attempts."

" Professor, I'm afraid of mice!"

"Silence! In forty-five minutes, you must hand in your snuffbox. I will be

watching you, do well," said McGonagall, and three small mice in their

cages appeared at each desk.

Ratónum Mutatio was a spell that transfigured a mouse into a snuffbox.

James' advice to Peter at breakfast was about this charm.

James had already practiced the Transfiguration charm with Lily. So he

was very relaxed.

He opened the cage, and when the curious little mouse came out. He cast

the charm, "Ratónum Mutatio," said James, waving his wand in an L

pattern and giving it a sudden twirl.

The little mouse gradually began to turn into a golden snuff box. The

transfiguration was flawless. The mouse's fur melted and contracted,

forming the exquisite texture of the box. The mouse's tail became an

elegant hinge, and its ears were molded into a decorative clasp.

"Splendid," praised McGonagall, taking the snuffbox and examining it

carefully. The students who heard the stern professor's praise were

gaping at James.

McGonagall opened the snuff box and noticed a polished and gleaming

interior. The quality was exceptional, "That is the best charm Ratonum

Mutatio I have ever seen by a first-year student. Twenty points for

Gryffindor," said McGonagall with a slight smile.

"Thank you, professor. It's thanks to your guidance," said James, pleased

at the success. McGonagall nodded in satisfaction and took the snuff-box

back to her desk.

James, as he had finished was allowed to leave the classroom. He knew

that his first exam had been a success. In the practical part, it was

obvious that he would get the maximum score because of McGonagall's

comment. As for the theory he was sure he would achieve 40 points

minimally.

Waiting for his friends, James began to think about Transfiguration and

all that this branch of magic encompassed. Ever since he started reading

magic books he didn't read about Transfiguration, for the fact that it

wouldn't do him any good in combat. However, he realized that he was

very wrong.

For example, he could turn the mouse into a knife or something sharp

and then use Wingardium Leviosa and throw it at his enemy. Or if there

are many mice turn them all into sharp knives and then start throwing

them like crazy.

The variables and ways to use them were endless. Indeed, the more basic

uses of Transfiguration are not as useful in combat, plus they are much

harder to learn, compared to a Flipendo or Expelliarmus which has

immediate utility in a fight.

Also in a fight, it could be counterproductive to have to carry small

objects to transform them into something more dangerous. However,

there is Conjuration. The art of conjuring things. James didn't know

much about this art. He had seen his father conjure a chair out of thin air

among other things.

From what he understood it was a subject seen in the last few years at

Hogwarts, but if he mastered it he could conjure knives out of thin air

and employ them in combat.

'I have a long way to go to achieve conjuration...' thought James with a

grimace. In this case, he wasn't as far along as he was in Charms or

Potions. He was on par with a first-year student.

Just then Sirius and the others came out. They began to head for the

common room as they talked about the exam. The last exam of the day

today would be in the afternoon so they had a couple of hours free that

many would use to review.

Sirius told James about McGonagall taking points off a student because in

all three of his attempts his snuffbox had mouse whiskers on it.

As for the other marauders, they thought they would pass, and although

they didn't do it perfectly like James, they managed to transfigure the

mouse into a cigarette case. Toby and Peter used all three attempts, but

they made it.

The second and final exam of the day was Herbology with Professor

Sprout much to the relief of Toby, who liked this subject. As with all

Herbology lessons, the exam was held in greenhouse 1.

80% was a practical part, and 20% was an oral part where Professor

Sprout asked each student about the magical properties of a certain plant

or magical fungus they saw during the year.

They had to handle the spiky bush without using Incendio because if they

used it, it subtracted points, and if they set fire to three bushes, they

would fail. James succeeded, Sprout asked him, what was the Dittany?

"Dittany is a powerful healing and restorative herb and can be eaten raw

to heal superficial wounds," answered James, who remembered the

answer in the Thousand Herbs and Magic Mushrooms book.

...

"Ugh... it's only the first day, and I already want to die," said Sirius

sprawled on a couch. He just wanted to complain as usual, since he did

well on both exams.

"Don't complain, we only have one exam tomorrow. The bad thing is that

it's History of Magic," said Lupin.

The first year had seven subjects. The exams were divided between the

five days this week.

"I have two," commented James, who was setting up a tower of exploding

playing cards, something relatively dangerous, as if they fell they would

cause a slight explosion.

"Will you be taking the Flight exam? It's not obligatory," asked Toby,

looking at James like he was crazy.

Flying classes from the second year onwards would be voluntary.

Students could choose not to attend. James had decided to keep signing

up for flying classes in later years, as Madame Hooch was a great

instructor and gave very good flying tips that were useful for quidditch

matches.

"I'm not the only one. Some Gryffindor students will. Besides, since I

want to sign up for next year, I have to pass the exam," replied James.

"What do you say, Black? Tomorrow afternoon we go. It's only an hour,"

added James without taking his eyes off his card tower.

"Oh, a flying exam... sounds like fun, let's do it!" replied Sirius with a

smile. He was confident in his flying skills just like James, plus he wasn't

losing much by going.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 88: Exams II

The History of Magic exam was the most boring of all. They were cooped

up in a hot classroom for an hour and a half writing endlessly about

wacky old wizards and events from hundreds of years ago.

When the ghost of Professor Binns told them to put down their quills and

roll up their parchments, James couldn't help but rejoice with the rest.

"My wrist hurts from writing so much," said Sirius, complaining as usual.

"My head hurts," said Peter, rubbing his forehead. He wasn't very good at

memorizing. He had to pound himself these days to get all the

information stuck in his head.

"It's hot. Let's go to the lake," suggested James, and the group walked out

of the castle and plopped down under a tree.

"We already have the whole day off. Tomorrow is Charms and Potions.

It's going to be hard," commented Lupin, who was looking at the celestial

sky relaxed.

"Speak for yourself. I have a flying test in the afternoon," said Sirius with

a grimace. He was regretting saying yes to James. The problem was that

it was too hot.

"Don't tell me you're backing out, Black?" asked James with a smirk.

"Of course, I'm not! I'm a man of my word," said Sirius.

In the afternoon, James and Sirius started heading towards the quidditch

training ground. There the Flying exam would be held. When they

arrived they noticed that there were students from all the houses.

As the subject of Flying would no longer be compulsory from the second

year onwards, very few students were attending the exam. James could

see Rabastan, Mulciber, and Avery in the corner.

He also recognized Penny in the Ravenclaw uniform and Amos Diggory

from Hufflepuff a boy he met at the Quidditch World Cup final. His

parents were friends with theirs.

"Hey, how's it going? Want to have a flying duel?" asked Sirius in a

teasing tone towards Rabastan and the other two. Sirius put a lot of

emphasis on the word duel.

Rabastan scowled at Sirius. Then his gaze settled on James, who watched

with a mocking look. The Slytherin boy snorted coldly and walked away.

"Don't push your luck, Black," said Mulciber in a threatening tone,

following Rabastan.

"Oops, how scary. Look at me tremble," Sirius scoffed as he acted scared.

"Be careful, Black. Your father is on the Hogwarts council. He might

expel you," warned James in a loud and overacted tone.

"No! What am I going to do now? Should I apologize!?" said Sirius with a

frightened expression. After a few seconds both he and James burst out

laughing.

Everyone who was there for the test watched Sirius and James in

disbelief at what they were doing. They were the only first years who

were encouraged to make fun of Slytherin boys who belonged to

powerful pureblood families all the time, even though the two of them

were purebloods too.

"Silence everyone," said Instructor Hooch, arriving on the field promptly.

"The test will be easy. As long as you've put in the effort in the previous

lessons. First, call the broom, mount, and take off quickly and nimbly.

Then you will do ten laps of the field, and you must land correctly. Come

on, each to your broom!" explained Hooch quickly.

"Just ten laps, easy," said Sirius, and James nodded in agreement.

They all walked over to the brooms that were on the grass and waited for

the instructor's signal, "Remember, don't compete with each other. Focus

on doing the laps as fast as possible and without crashing. Now!"

exclaimed Hooch.

At Hooch's shout, everyone shot off after mounting their brooms. As

expected James was the first to finish the ten laps, having a speed and

handling superior to most. Behind him, he was followed by Rabastan,

Sirius, and Amos.

This was normal, since James, unlike the others, trained three days a

week during the whole year with the Gryffindor team, so he had

improved a lot. After the flying test, James and Sirius returned to the

Gryffindor common room.

Except for James, the other marauders went over Charms and Potions.

As for James, he was studying Astronomy. He was confident in Charms

and Potions so he preferred to emphasize a subject in which he was not

as advanced.

At night, while everyone was sleeping soundly, James again went alone

to the Restricted Section of the library, but this time he carried a large

amount of parchment. He had an objective: to copy the entire book on

Occlumency.

This way you can take the book home with you. As to whether or not it's

legal, he doesn't know. Anyway, he broke a lot of Hogwarts rules this

year one more wouldn't hurt anyone.

He decided to take a copy of the book with him, as he would be returning

to Hogwarts in two months and wanted to continue reading and studying

the book to further advance in Occlumency. So he spent two hours in the

library in near darkness copying the book by lantern light.

Then he went back to his dormitory and went to sleep. The next day the

first exam they had was Charms with Professor Flitwick.

It was easier than first expected James. The theoretical part was simple,

questions about the different charms they saw during the year. The

practical part was very easy. Professor Flitwick called them one by one

into the classroom, to see if they could make a pineapple tap dance on

top of the desk.

The only thing they had to know was how to control the levitation

charm, something James had been able to do since he was 8 years old. It

was a very poor test for his taste, although he understood this was

because he was self-taught and got a wand before he was eleven.

The other marauders also passed the practical part easily. How they had

practiced more complicated charms with James in the secret room, it

wasn't a challenge for them. They even thought it was too easy.

"What one pineapple tap dancing on top of the desk? I could make ten

pineapples do it!" said Sirius with disappointment.

"Yeah, I shouldn't have worried so much about the exam..." commented

Toby with a strange expression. It was the first time this had ever

happened to him on an exam.

"It's normal. We practiced with him crazy from training for hours more

complicated charms," said Lupin, and by crazy he meant James.

"Hey!" said James, indignant at being called crazy.

"It's true. From what I heard a lot of people had a hard time getting it.

Only we found it easy," Toby said with disbelief in his tone. He never

thought he would say such a thing.

"Well, they have a point..." nodded Sirius. James rolled his eyes as

everyone seemed to agree that he was a training maniac.

A few hours later, they headed to the dungeons to begin the potions

exam with Professor Slughorn. Worst of all for many of the Gryffindors

was that they had to take the exam alongside Slytherin students.

In addition to a tedious theory exam where they were asked about very

particular potion ingredients among other things. They had a practical

exam with a more advanced difficulty than the Charm exam.

They had to prepare the potion: Antidote against Common Poisons. As

the name implies it counteracts common poisons, such as creature bites

and stings. It had a beginner to moderate difficulty level.

"It's always useful to have on hand. Especially if you know you'll be

mixing some poisonous ingredients," Slughorn said as he explained the

guidelines for the exam.

The exam lasted two hours. Mostly because of the potion which had a

long preparation time. James, despite having practiced and studied

potions with his father before coming to Hogwarts had not brewed this

potion, so it was a good experience for him with an acceptable level of

difficulty.

The week of exams ended with Astronomy and Defense Against the Dark

Arts assessments. In Astronomy they had to use a map of Jupiter and

name several stars. For some reason, Sirius was very good at this subject.

James thought it must be because his name was the same as a star.

As for the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam, it was half practical and

half theory. The theory included questions about many dark creatures,

such as imps, ghosts, witches, vampires, zombies, etc. The practical part

involved using various charms they had learned during the year in a

variety of situations, such as using Flipendo against the imp, among

others.

"Finally, no more studying over!" exclaimed Sirius happily, stretching out

on the grass, "You can cheer up a bit Peter. You'll stop having your panic

attacks at night," he added in a joking tone.

"I don't know... now I'm more nervous. We have to wait a week to find

out the grades," said Peter, rubbing his hands together.

"Just relax. We can't change anything anymore," said James, lazily lying

on the grass with his eyes closed.

"In a week Hogwarts ends..." said Lupin in a strange tone.

"Just missing grades and the end-of-term party," said Toby in a strange

mood. This had been the best year of his life for as long as he could

remember. He was just an orphan living a normal life, but now he was at

a magical school and had made some good friends.

"Do you want to depress me? Next year will be better. Won't it James?"

asked Sirius, looking at his best friend, who was still with his eyes closed

lying on the grass.

"I hope so..." said James, opening his eyes slightly and looking up at the

sky. He didn't know if the budding war would explode and the conflicts

would escalate, managing to affect Hogwarts.

On second thought, Hogwarts with Dumbledore the most powerful

wizard alive considered by almost the entire magical community would

be the safest place, but he couldn't take it for granted.

"Why does everyone sound so depressing?" asked Sirius.

"What are you guys doing for summer vacation?" asked Toby, trying to

change the subject.

"My parents wanted to go touring in France..." answered Peter.

"I don't think so much. I'll try to read to be more advanced next year,"

said Lupin vaguely.

"Go watch Puddlemere United games with my family and practice flying,"

replied James. He would also train a lot, but he didn't want to be called a

training maniac again.

"I'll have to put up with my mother's lectures and who knows how many

stupid high society meetings..." replied Sirius with a grimace.

"It would be best if I could go for a few days with my Uncle Alphard," he

added.

The marauders continued to lie on the grass overlooking the lake as they

talked about what they could do on their vacations before starting their

second year at Hogwarts.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 89: End of year party

The week in which James and the others had to wait for the exam grades

was strange.

Mainly because they didn't have to do anything and had a lot of free

time, James tried to take advantage of it and kept practicing different

defensive spells like Aeromanteo or Protego.

Sirius and the others as they had nothing to do joined James in the secret

room and continued with their duels: 1vs1 2v2 or all versus all. James

started practicing Protego by having his friends attack him.

He also continued to study and put into practice the advice in the

Occlumency book, but progress was slow. He was not depressed, as he

knew that Occlumency was very difficult. It was not as simple as a charm

that you could learn in a matter of days.

As for the Dragon Club, he didn't attend too much. First of all, because it

wasn't mandatory, and on the other hand, he didn't have people she

trusted to practice on. The only ones were Erika, Gwen, and Bob. With

Gwen, he stopped talking to each other after the fight. Bob seemed more

reluctant to talk to him since Gwen despised him, and as for Erika, she

was a very busy student.

"Fumos!" shouted both Sirius and Lupin. A large cloud of smoke filled the

entire dueling area. James watched as the figures of his two friends

disappeared in the cloud of smoke.

They were currently having a duel: James versus Sirius and Lupin. When

two Fumos were thrown, James calculated that he would need two

standard Ventus to completely disperse the cloud, but before he could do

so he was attacked.

"Expelliarmus!" shouted Sirius from within the cloud of smoke.

"Petrificus Totalus!" shouted Lupin also from within the cloud of smoke.

From both clouds of smoke James could see two flashes coming out, one

red and one purple.

"Protego!" exclaimed James, waving his wand quickly. An invisible shield

managed to protect him from the attacks of Sirius and Lupin, who clicked

their tongues in annoyance.

His strategy was a good one. The cloud of smoke made it harder to react

as out of nowhere came a flash heading your way. Also, the speeds of

both had improved a lot compared to months ago.

However, James controlled Aeromanteo very well. A defensive charm

that relies entirely on reflexes. He was able to block both attacks by using

Protego.

Practicing Aeromanteo, also served to increase his reflexes and have a

greater reaction when using Protego.

'I can play that game too...' thought James with a slight smile as he threw

Fumos and hid in the cloud of smoke just like his two friends.

A gigantic cloud of smoke covered the entire dueling area. Toby and

Peter, who were watching intently, had no idea where the participants

were.

After a few minutes of tension, seeing that neither Sirius nor Lupin

wanted to act, James decided to make his move.

"Ventus duo!" exclaimed James, and from his wand came a powerful

wind that dispersed the clouds of smoke and exposed both Sirius and

Lupin.

Sirius and Lupin were struggling to stay on their feet and not be pushed

by the powerful wind. In this position, they could not fight back and

were defenseless.

When the wind died down and they were ready to continue the fight,

James had already sent a Petrificus Totalus that managed to petrify both

of them.

Sirius and Lupin's arms and legs stiffened and fell to the ground like a

board. They were hard as a rock, only their eyes were still moving.

James walked over and looked down. Sirius and Lupin's expressions were

stiff, giving him a very jokey look, "Well played, you've improved," he

said with a slight smile.

Sirius was rolling his eyes like mad. He wanted him to release them from

the jinx. "Finite," said James, pointing his wand at both of them.

Suddenly their arms and legs were free, "Ugh.... The protego is too

broken," complained Sirius, standing up and massaging his numb legs.

"We need to aim for the weak point of the shield... or so I think," said

Lupin getting up and wiping the dust off his robes.

After having several duels, everyone went and sat in the couch area.

Similar to the Gryffindor common room.

"What do you say we have one last prank?" asked Sirius, who was bored.

"No more time. In two days it's the end-of-term party, and after that, we

get our exam notes," replied Lupin, shaking his head.

In the pranks they played they needed days and even weeks of

preparation, before going into action.

"I'm not saying to make a prank as complicated as the previous ones. You

know, a more normal prank, like Peeves' pranks, throwing water balloons

at girls, stuff like that," Sirius explained vaguely.

"Peeves' pranks always end badly. We'll end up punished, well there's not

much time for punishment anymore, but we could get house points taken

off," said James, joining the conversation.

"Slytherin still in the lead?" asked Toby.

"Yes... by thirty points they pass us...'" replied Sirius grumpily. Thanks to

winning the quidditch championship, Slytherin was winning the house

cup. Otherwise, Gryffindor would be first.

"Well, they're already champions, right? I mean, there are no lessons

anymore. So we can't earn points to beat them," said Peter dejectedly.

"Yes... The only way is if some Slytherin student violates some rule and

gets house points deducted," replied James with a frown. It was very

difficult for such a thing to happen, and if for some reason it did happen,

that Slytherin student would be beaten by everyone in his or her house.

They all sighed with disappointment, it was so close to the house cup, but

unfortunately, Slytherin won it for another year in a row. They would

have to put up with their celebrations at the party.

...

Two days passed. The marauders and the Gryffindor first years headed to

the end-of-the-year party that night. When they arrived the Great Hall

was relatively full.

The full table was that of Slytherin, who were laughing and chatting

happily, rare to see in their daily arrogant expressions. The Great Hall

was decorated in Slytherin colors, in green and silver, to celebrate the

triumph of that house winning the cup.

A large banner displayed the Slytherin snake covering the wall behind

the teachers' table. Professor McGonagall had her usual stern expression,

but she looked angrier than usual. As head of house for Gryffindor, she

was very unhappy about losing the house cup by such a small margin,

but there was nothing she could do about it.

James sat at the Gryffindor table with the others, and they chatted

without as much animosity as the Slytherins. Headmaster Dumbledore

arrived a few moments later, and the conversations stopped.

"Another year gone!" said Dumbledore cheerfully, "I'm going to disturb

you with old man talk before you can eat the delicious delicacies.

Hopefully, your heads will be a wee bit fuller than when you arrived...

You now have all summer to clear your heads before you start next year,"

continued Dumbledore as he looked at all the students with a broad

smile.

"Next up will be to award the House Cup, and the points earned are as

follows. In fourth place, is Ravenclaw with 392 points. In third place,

Hufflepuff with 395 points. In second place, Gryffindor with 425 points.

And in the first place is the winner of the cup... Slytherin with 455

points!"

As Dumbledore finished speaking a storm of cheers and applause erupted

from the Slytherin table. James could see how Rabastan and his gang

were banging the table with their goblets. Not a pleasant sight to see.

'If only I hadn't lost the 30 points...' thought James regretting being

punished so many times.

"Congratulations, Slytherin on winning yet another House Cup!"

congratulated Dumbledore as a golden goblet appeared on the professors'

table and he handed it to the Slytherin seventh-year annual prizes who

wore proud smiles.

"Tsch how noisy," Sirius ranted as he began to eat amidst the Slytherin

festivities.

The party, taking out the feasting and jeering from the Slytherin students,

was fun. They had a good time and ate delicious food. It would have

been an unforgettable night if they had won the house cup, but

unfortunately, that was not the case.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 90: End of first year

The exam results finally came in. To the relief of Peter and Toby, who

were the most nervous, they all passed with good grades.

James, as he expected got a perfect score in Transfiguration, Potions,

Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Charms. In the other subjects, he

managed to score no lower than 90 points.

These incredible marks allowed him to become the best student of the

year in his year taking into account the four houses.

Suddenly, his cupboards were empty. James already had everything

packed in his trunk. The other marauders also had their luggage ready to

go home.

James and all the students received notes warning them not to use magic

during the vacations, 'How annoying...' thought James with a grimace. If

he obeys the letter he will have to devote himself to flying his broomstick

and reading books.

'I have to practice at Grandpa's house...' thought James, who didn't plan

to go two months without casting spells.

"Two months without magic. How will I live?" asked Sirius regretfully.

Toby looked at him strangely. He thought it was a short time. Besides,

they didn't need to use magic to live day to day. At least he did, since he

always lived in the Muggle community.

James and the others left the dormitories and the castle with the other

first-year students. Hagrid was already there to take them on the boats

across the lake.

They then boarded the Hogwarts Express, but not before saying goodbye

to Hagrid, "Bye, Hagrid. See you in two months," said James, and the

others also said goodbye.

"Goodbye, boys. Enjoy your vacations," said Hagrid a little sadly, as he

patted James' hand which almost knocked him over.

Generally, Hagrid's years at Hogwarts were spent minding his own

business, talking a bit with Dumbledore and the odd professor. A bit of a

loner you might say.

However, this year was different. Since he met James and the others his

hut was visited regularly, and the boys listened attentively to his stories

and especially to information about magical creatures, something Hagrid

liked to tell, as he would like to be a professor of this subject at

Hogwarts, although he didn't tell them this.

"See you soon, Hagrid!" said Sirius, dodging Hagrid's pat and running

towards the train.

During the trip on the Hogwarts Express, they chatted and laughed,

remembering the best jokes of the marauders and many other things,

meanwhile, the countryside landscape was getting greener and less wild.

They ate chocolate frogs, dragees of all flavors, sped past Muggle towns,

took off their wizarding clothes, and put on normal robes. Finally, they

got off at platform 9¾ at King's Cross station.

'It was a good year...' thought James in a strange mood as he walked with

the others towards the solid wall to break through.

He was finally able to fulfill one of the regrets of his life as Edward

Rothschild: going to a normal school (though he didn't know he would

end up going to a magical school).

"Careful, James," said Lupin, tugging at his clothes. James, who was

absorbed in his thoughts came back to reality. He noticed that right at

the barrier there was a guard, who only let two or three people through

so that they wouldn't draw attention to themselves by bursting out of a

solid wall and alarming the Muggles.

After waiting a few minutes in line, everyone was on the other side,

"They have to come home in the summer," said James as he pushed his

cart.

"I'll go!" said Toby in an excited tone. It would be the first time he would

be going to a friend's house in the summer. At Christmas, James had

invited him, but he couldn't go because he didn't want to leave Lupin

alone.

"Me too!" nodded Peter enthusiastically. James' practice room was great,

they could fly and play lots of things without fear of a Muggle seeing

them.

"I can't..." said Lupin without explanation. James said nothing. He knew

the reason why he couldn't go home. One of the things he couldn't

accomplish this year was to talk about Lupin's lycanthropy, he always put

the subject off, and later he didn't want to argue with his friend.

"I wish I could go... but I doubt my mother would give me permission,"

said Sirius dejectedly, looking towards a middle-aged woman with a

dignified bearing and a deep frown on her face.

"I have to go now, bye," said Sirius, saying goodbye hurriedly and

heading in the direction of the woman, who as soon as she saw Sirius

started to rant with an angry expression.

'Poor...' thought James and the others as they saw Sirius with his mother,

who seemed to be angry for some reason that only pureblood extremists

would understand.

"Bye, James!"

"See you, Potter!"

James was surprised that Gryffindor boys he barely knows were waving

goodbye to him with a smile. He quickly returned the gesture a bit

incredulously.

"Why are you making that face? Ever since you crushed Rabastan in the

duel your reputation increased rapidly," Lupin commented with a slight

smile.

"They only salute me because I made them a lot of money," said James.

After searching for a few seconds he could see his parents. At the sight of

them, he felt a strange feeling, not like Sirius, who seemed unhappy to

see his mother. On the contrary, James was very happy to see them.

It had been many months since he last saw them. He continued to

communicate through letters, but it wasn't the same. If it had been up to

him, he would have run out and hugged them both very tightly, but he

could not. He was with his friends, and even though they had already

seen the letter Euphemia sent him, he was still a little shy.

He noticed that his parents were having a conversation with Peter's

parents. James cleared his throat and spoke, "There are my parents, do

you want to meet them?" asked James, trying to act normal.

"Yeah, sure. I still don't see my parents," replied Lupin.

"Yes. I have to thank your mother for the present she gave me for my

birthday..." said Toby shyly.

As Peter's parents were there, the whole group started walking.

Euphemia, who was chatting happily, noticed out of the corner of her eye

a particular mess of messy jet hair.

A broad smile formed on her face. She knew immediately that it was her

precious son. When she saw him, she felt an enormous happiness.

Euphemia rushed to her son with a big smile, "James, look how much

you have grown!" exclaimed Euphemia as she began to give him repeated

kisses on his cheek and forehead.

For Euphemia, it had been six endless months without being able to see

her beloved son. She had missed him so much. At first, she wanted to

control herself so as not to embarrass herself in front of his friends, but

she could not.

"Mum... I've missed you too," James said with difficulty because of the

repeated kisses on his forehead that Euphemia was giving him. However,

it didn't bother him. He would never mind the parental love shown to

him by his mother.

Lupin, Peter, and Toby watched this scene with strange expressions. It

was rare to see James so docile. It didn't cross any of their minds to make

the slightest mockery of this. They didn't want to end up biting the dust

like Rabastan.

"Honey..." said Fleamont, trying to bring his wife into the real world.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I got emotional," said Euphemia with a giggle letting

James off the hook.

"Mum. Dad. These are my friends..." said James as he introduced Lupin

and Toby, since Peter they had met.

"Nice to meet you," said Mr. and Mrs. Potter with a smile, happy to see

that James had managed to make friends.

"M-Mr. and Mrs. Potter, thank you so much for the presents on my

birthday!" said Toby gratefully, besides James and the other marauders,

they were the only adults to give him a present.

"It was nothing, dear. You must visit our house for the vacation," said

Euphemia with a kind smile. James had told her that Toby lived in an

orphanage, so she felt sorry for the kind and shy boy.

Just then Lupin's parents arrived. His father's name was Lyall. He seemed

a shy and intelligent man. He looked a few years younger than James'

parents. From what little Lupin told James, his father is a wizard and in

the past worked at the Ministry of Magic.

As for Lupin's mother, her name was Hope. She is a woman with light

brown hair and is very kind. That impression was given to James when

Lupin introduced his parents.

James knew right away that Lupin's parents cared about their son as did

his parents. It was obvious that they knew their son was a werewolf, and

yet they still loved him and were not prejudiced against him, or so James

thought after meeting them and from what Lupin told him about them.

After chatting for a while and the adult couples got to know each other,

Peter's family said their goodbyes, and the same went for the Lupin

family.

The only person left to arrive was Toby's matron, who waited nervously

feeling guilty about having to keep Euphemia and Fleamont waiting, who

said they would stay and wait with him. James agreed.

Just then a tall woman with a mole near her mouth arrived, about 30-40

years old, "Are you ready yet?" asked the woman, looking at Toby and

not greeting the Potters.

"Yes, Matron..." replied Toby meekly.

"You must be Toby's caregiver! My name is Euphemia Potter, a pleasure.

My son is a friend of Toby," Euphemia introduced herself patiently.

"Caroline is my name..." said the woman with little patience. James

seeing her respond that way to his kind mother, felt like pulling out his

wand and throwing a Flipendo Tria at her.

"In the summer, Toby wants to come home to spend time with his friend.

Can he?" asked Euphemia.

"P-please, Matron," said Toby nervously.

"No need to clarify, we will pay all his expenses," said Fleamont, joining

the conversation.

For the first time a faint smile formed on Caroline's ugly face, "Oh, it's

great for the boys to spend time with their friends! Of course, Toby can

spend several days with your son. Just call this number, and we'll get in

touch," Caroline said enthusiastically.

"That's good to hear. See you in a few days, Toby," said Euphemia, saying

goodbye to the boy who smiled at Caroline's affirmative.

"Survive a couple of days with that ogre," muttered James, close behind

Toby, as he followed his parents.

"Yes, of course! Bye, James!" said Toby enthusiastically.

"Hurry up, boy. We don't have all day," said Caroline, turning around and

walking towards the door.

James, as he walked in the direction of his father's car, told them

everything that happened in these six months cheerfully.

The first year at Hogwarts came to an end.

----------------------------------------------------

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Link: https://[email protected]/Nathe07

Chapter 91: Talk with mom

Sunday, July 3, 1972.

It had been a few days since James had returned home and started his

vacation. Today, he and his family had gone to a Puddlemere United pre-

season game.

The game was won by Puddlemere with a good margin, so James was in

a good mood after returning home. He missed spending time with his

parents at Godric's Hollow.

Plus, it was relaxing not having to do homework for History of Magic,

Astronomy, or other subjects James didn't like so much.

The only boring thing was being alone and not with his friends, the

marauders. He had gotten used to living with them in the Gryffindor

dormitories and common room. In a week or so, Peter and Toby would

be coming to spend a few days at his house.

After completing his daily hours of study, James lay on his back on the

couch in the living room of his house. He was reading a Quidditch book

entitled: Beating the Bludgers: A Study of Defensive Strategy in

Quidditch. Written by noted author Kennilworthy Whisp.

Whisp was an English author and quidditch expert. Known for having

written several quidditch-related works, including the best-selling book

"Quidditch Through the Ages."

'It would be very interesting to meet Whisp and talk quidditch... and get

an autograph too,' James thought as he turned the page.

"Sweetheart, would you like something to snack on?" asked Euphemia,

looking at James.

James stopped reading his book and looked at his mother, "What's on the

menu?" he asked curiously.

"It's good of you to ask. For one thing, we have a delicious banana plum

pudding or some cupcakes. Which do you prefer?" asked Euphemia.

'Mm... it's been a long time since I've eaten mom's cupcakes...' thought

James as he decided what to choose.

"The cupcakes, please," he replied after a few seconds.

"Good choice, little boy," said Euphemia with a proud smile that her son

was polite and knew how to say please and thank you. Besides, she had

heard that James was the best freshman and had excellent grades, which

made her feel more proud of her son.

"I'm not a little boy," James muttered in a low tone. However, Euphemia

came to hear him.

"You'll always be a little boy to me," said Euphemia with a loving smile,

"What's the matter? Are you worried about something?" she asked as she

noticed something odd on her son's face.

"Eh? No, I'm fine," said James, surprised by the sudden question.

"Come on. Don't be shy. You can't hide from me that something is

bothering you. I'm your mom," said Euphemia, sitting on the couch and

putting James' head on her lap.

James looked at his mother's face from above. He realized it was

impossible to escape. Somehow, she realized that he had concerns about

something.

'If Gwen knows when I'm lying. It's not unusual for mom to know I'm

worried about something...' thought James with a strange expression.

"Okay, but don't get mad, okay?" said James.

"Don't worry. Just tell me," Euphemia said in a calm tone, as she stroked

James' hair gently.

'Where to start... I guess the day I find out,' thought James, as he began

to narrate to her the facts of when he first began to suspect that Lupin

was a werewolf.

He told her that Lupin disappeared once a month, and the next day, he

was pale and skinnier than usual. After that, he noticed that he would

disappear on a full moon and began to suspect that he was a werewolf.

Euphemia's face remained almost the same. Only a hint of surprise could

be seen on it which she quickly hid. Her son was confiding in her by

telling her about a problem. She would not make a scene because his

friend is a werewolf.

Like James, Euphemia felt sorry for Lupin and his family, as it is very

difficult to have to live with such a condition. She felt that Hogwarts

especially Dumbledore was kind enough to let him attend and have a

normal life.

Although James didn't 100% know if Dumbledore knew about this fact, it

was common sense that he did, as Lupin should disappear with the help

of the Hogwarts staff, and Euphemia thought the same.

"I understand... So, you don't know how to face him and talk about it,

right?" asked Euphemia with a complicated expression.

She didn't think the problem James had was so complicated, although she

felt sorry for Lupin, she also felt concerned for her son since he shares a

room with a werewolf.

"Yes... Whenever I want to talk about more personal things with my

friends, I end up fighting," nodded James with a downcast expression. It

was like this with Gwen, Emily, and even Toby after several weeks they

got back together.

"Don't be sad. The most personal topics are difficult to talk about and end

well, you must be patient until that person decides to open up with you,

and above all that you are willing to be patient..." answered Euphemia in

a calm tone.

"I understand," said James.

"As for the subject of your friend Remus, it's complicated..." said

Euphemia, not knowing where to start.

"You're not prejudiced against werewolves, are you Mom?" asked James

worriedly, though he was almost certain his mother wasn't that kind of

person.

"Of course not. I'm just worried about you, but if Dumbledore and the

school staff know about it they must have already taken steps to make

sure they're safe. If you want to talk to him and give him your support as

a friend, you must do it from a safe place," Euphemia said in an

irrefutable tone. She would not allow James to do something stupid to try

to be with Lupin in his werewolf form, even though she knows her son is

smart, as a mother she must set the boundaries.

"Of course," James said quickly.

"Well, to talk to Remus and not end up in an argument I don't think it

would be very difficult," commented Euphemia.

"Really?" asked James in surprise. As much as he had turned his head a

thousand times, he couldn't find a way to talk to Lupin and not have it

end badly. Mainly because to be touching on such a personal and difficult

subject could make Lupin angry or shut down.

"Yes. You should just talk to him alone and tell him that you suspect he is

a werewolf, tell him in a good way without an accusatory tone. If he sees

that you have goodwill and with all the evidence you got he will admit

it," Euphemia explained.

"That easy?" asked James again.

"Yes. He has most likely been a werewolf for years. If he sees how his

friend is willing to help him, he'll have no reason to argue. He'll even be

grateful to you," replied Euphemia.

'Makes sense... Werewolves are very discriminated against. He might feel

wary at first, but when he realizes I want to help him, he'll be grateful,'

James thought as he nodded his head, and Euphemia looked at him with

a smile.

"Problem solved?" asked Euphemia.

"Yes, thanks, Mom!" exclaimed James as he hugged Euphemia.

"You're welcome, sweetie. You get stronger every day," said Euphemia as

she happily accepted James' hug.

"I'm sorry..." said James awkwardly.

"It's all fine. One last thing. When you start the new school year you

should immediately talk to Lupin about this and have him tell you that

the Hogwarts staff is aware of his situation," Euphemia said in a serious

tone.

"Huh? Yes of course. Dumbledore almost certainly knows," said James.

"I think so too, but you must make sure and let me know as soon as

possible. Otherwise, I will personally go to the school," said Euphemia

with a frown.

There was a 1% chance that Dumbledore and the Hogwarts staff were not

aware of Lupin's condition, and if that were the case she would not allow

James to be sleeping with a werewolf who sneaks out on full moon days

so as not to hurt anyone.

Although she doesn't think this situation is very possible, they are not

100% sure that the Hogwarts staff knows about Lupin's condition, so she

must make sure, as a mother she puts her son's safety first.

"All right. I'll do it," James said obediently. He understood that his

mother wanted to make 100% sure that Dumbledore knew and had the

proper safeguards in place with the Lupin issue.

"That's good to hear. Now get some rest. The cupcakes will be up in a

little while," said Euphemia, getting up from the couch and heading to

the kitchen.

----------------------------------------------------

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Link: https://[email protected]/Nathe07

Chapter 92: Optical

A few days after the talk with his mother, James was calmer about the

Lupin issue and was flying his Nimbus 1001 in the training room.

He continued with a training routine for both quidditch and offensive

and defensive magic. According to his father, he didn't have to worry

about the trace charm as long as he was in the practice room. Fleamont

explained to him that he had put some special charms on the room to

make the tracking useless whenever he used magic there.

When he was done training and studying, he spent time flying and

practicing different quidditch moves while chasing the golden snitch.

This relaxed him, and he was able to clear his mind a bit.

To add to the difficulty at this moment his father, Fleamont, and his

uncle Charlus Potter were acting as beaters and throwing the bludgers at

him.

Euphemia reluctantly agreed to this. James had to convince her for many

minutes, telling her that it is for practice and in future official matches to

avoid accidents, as he will be more versed in dodging bludgers.

Both Charlus and Fleamont were hitting the bludgers without holding

back. They knew how competitive quidditch was, so if James wanted to

shine he had to train seriously.

James saw the angry bludgers heading straight for him as he swung his

broomstick sharply, dodging both bludgers in the nick of time.

'Phew... that was close,' thought James as he continued his run towards

the snitch.

Generally, turns are used to dodge one bludger, not two. Dodging two

requires greater speed and much more precise calculation, as the

bludgers are aimed at different points.

'Dangerous...' thought Euphemia with a frown as she watched James

dodge the bludgers. How she was the best healer whenever James

practiced she always watched him to heal him as fast as possible if he

took a hit or something.

James stretched out his arm and opened his hand. He was about to grab

the snitch. However, for some reason, he failed to calculate the distance

between his hand and the snitch.

With a surprised look on his face, James didn't let it beat him before the

snitch flew away. He pulled out his remaining hand on the broom and

grabbed it quickly.

"You're great, James!" said a dark-haired boy as James landed with a

slight frown.

"That turn was spectacular. You should learn from him. Oliver," Charlus

said with a smile, looking at his son.

"Yes, father! When I get into Hogwarts, I'm going to be the best chaser

ever!" said Oliver excitedly.

Oliver Potter was one of James' cousins. He was a couple of years

younger than him. He was James' favorite cousin, as they both shared a

passion for quidditch, and their uncle Charlus was very close to the

family.

"Thanks...'" said James without paying much attention and looking at the

snitch in his hand.

"What happened? I thought you were about to catch the snitch with your

right hand, but you missed at the last second and had to use your left

hand," commented Henry, who as a spectator could notice this detail.

"My eyesight... it's blurrier than before," said James, rubbing his eyes. A

few days ago, he started to feel that his eyesight was getting a little

worse, but he didn't think much of it.

"Mm, let's do a little test," said Euphemia, approaching her son. After

about five minutes, where she conjured up a couple of letters and

numbers, they finished the test.

"Looks like we'll have to go buy some glasses..." commented Fleamont in

a strange tone.

'So Harry, did he inherit bad eyesight from me...?' thought James with a

frown. For a quidditch player, it was no good to have glasses.

There were several disadvantages to wearing glasses in a quidditch

match. First, the fragility of the glasses would make them easily break in

the middle of hectic match action, especially if you took a hit or fell off

your broom.

The second is limited vision. Players need to have wide peripheral vision

to anticipate moves and plays.

Third, the glasses could slip or come off during aerial maneuvers. And

finally, quidditch matches are played in a variety of weather conditions.

Rain or snow could affect vision, creating a disadvantage.

'Not good at all... still, there are magical solutions I can apply to the

glasses or too...' thought James.

"Don't worry. There are several charms you can use to keep the glasses

from being a hindrance in a match," said Henry, who saw James' concern.

"Should we go to Diagon Alley? There is no magical optics in Godric's

Hollow," commented Euphemia.

'Magical optician...?' thought James with a strange look on his face. How

Godric's Hollow was a town where many wizards lived, there were stores

with Muggle facades, but which sold things from the magical world.

However, he never thought there would be a wizard-only optician's shop,

mainly because the glasses were the same as the Muggle stores.

As for a wizard learning a muggle profession, it didn't seem entirely

strange to him, as Hogwarts had a subject entitled: Muggle Studies.

"First thing tomorrow morning we'll go. What do you say, son?" asked

Fleamont, looking at James, who was still silent.

"We can go to the opticians here. It doesn't matter that it's muggle..."

replied James. The only difference might be the lens designs. Wizards are

more extravagant than muggles. And as for him, he prefers normal

circular glasses.

"Oh, we can do that too," nodded Fleamont.

The next day, they went to the optician's shop in Godric's Hollow. It was

a small shop, but very neat and clean. In the window, they could see

many designs of lenses.

The name of the shop was: Davies Opticians. Mr. Davies, the owner of the

store, was also an eye doctor and was the person, who was in charge of

performing the eye exam. After a couple of tests that were more

professional than his mother's, Mr. Davies determined that James had

myopia. Myopia is characterized by clear vision up close, but blurred

vision far away.

According to Davies, myopia can worsen over time, and some people may

experience a gradual worsening of their myopia. So he advised James

and his parents to come in for another exam eight months later to see if

their nearsightedness had worsened or stayed the same.

"Mr. Davies," James called.

"Yes, tell me, boy."

"I'm starting on a soccer team next year, and having glasses will be a

disadvantage as they may fall off while I'm running or defending. Is there

anything that can be done?" asked James, half lying, as he played

quidditch.

His parents looked at each other in surprise. They didn't think their son

would try to find a muggle solution to the problem, as the most effective

thing to do would be to use charms to reinforce the glasses so they

wouldn't fall off or something like that.

"Oh, yes. That's a frequent problem. There are two solutions. For one

thing, you have the glasses with laces," said Davies, standing up and

picking up a pair of glasses with some leather laces.

'How ugly...' thought James. If he wore such glasses with ugly laces, he

would be a target of ridicule at Hogwarts.

"I know they are not very aesthetically pleasing," said Davies with a

chuckle, "But they are very useful. The laces are adjustable to suit

different lengths and are effective in sporting activities so they won't fall

off you."

"And the second one?" asked James, who seemed to be waiting for a

specific answer. Rather than wearing glasses with cords, it would be

more practical to wear charms on his regular glasses.

"Contact lenses," he replied as he went to look for said object.

'Contact lenses?' thought Fleamont and Euphemia confused. They didn't

know about this muggle product. James smiled slightly. This was what he

was looking for.

Davies placed a small-sized white case made of sturdy plastic. The

container had two lids one red and one blue. Mr. Davie opened both and

revealed two very small transparent circles floating in a liquid that

looked like water.

"What are these?" asked Fleamont with his muggle curiosity awake.

"They're my contact lenses," said Davies as he took off his glasses and

took the clear-circular lenses carefully. Looking at himself in a small

mirror on the table, he placed the lens on his right eye and then placed

the other lens on his left eye.

"I can see perfectly now. Like when I didn't need glasses," said Davies

with a slight smile.

"Really!?" asked Fleamont with a surprised face. He didn't know of such a

muggle invention. With this, all the problems of a quidditch player were

solved.

Davies in ten minutes told them all about contact lenses. It was an

invention that had its good years, but it was only in the 1940s that

plastic contact lenses were introduced, making them more comfortable

and accessible to a wider audience. It didn't seem strange to him that in a

remote village like Godric's Hollow, there are still people who don't know

about such a majestic invention.

'Muggles are not to be underestimated,' thought Fleamont, who was

delighted by such a useful and practical invention.

After talking some more and deciding that James would have contact

lenses and normal circular glasses, they left the store. They would have to

wait a few days for Davies to fill the prescription and get all the glasses

ready.

James left Mr. Davies' store happy. He didn't know exactly when contact

lenses had been created, luckily they were advanced by this time.

The contact lenses solved all his problems for quidditch. Even the most

difficult one which was about limited vision in terms of field of vision.

With the contact lenses, he would have his peripheral vision back.

However, there were some care and disadvantages to be done while

wearing contact lenses.

They must be cleaned regularly with a specific product. The main

problem was that it had a daily duration. According to Davies the

recommendation was to use contact lenses for about 8 hours and have a

short lifetime of about three months maximum. Then you have to buy

another pair.

James will try to solve these problems with the magic and help of his

parents. Trying to make them last all day without any discomfort and

have a useful life of more than three months.

Three days later James had his circular glasses with the necessary

magnification and three pairs of contact lenses that would last him about

9 months. Each pair of contact lenses was not cheap. However, for the

Potters it was nothing.

"Can you see better?" asked Fleamont somewhat skeptically.

"Yes, perfect. It's just like when I have the glasses, but they cover the

whole eye," said James with a smile.

"Let's put them to the test," said Fleamont and started flying around the

practice room as James chased the snitch and his father threw bludgers

at him. Unlike last time, James saw perfectly and managed to catch the

snitch after a while with no misses.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 93: Talk with dad

Over the next few days, James wore the contact lenses, and they were

almost perfect.

If you wear them for more than eight hours, you will feel a dry or

irritated sensation that gets worse the longer you go over eight hours.

Although eight hours is a good wearing time, James wants them to last

twice as long. About 16 hours without uncomfortable sensations or

eyestrain.

Luckily for him, his father took this problem very seriously and began

research to magically fix these contact lens imperfections.

So, he just has to wait while his father looks for a solution. These days he

also continued his practice of Occlumency in the evenings. The book he

copied from the Restricted Section was much more extensive than the

one he was taught at home.

He was still trying to build his first mental shield. It was much harder

than he imagined, despite the guidance in the book. Since the vacations

started (about 14 days), he practiced every night, plus at Hogwarts, he

had already practiced a few days. However, he noticed a slow

progression, but progression nonetheless.

'At this rate, I'll achieve my first mental shield in about one month...'

thought James as he put away the scrolls and went to sleep.

Another area of study he began to give attention to was Transfiguration.

He was planning on studying the entire second-year book before entering

Hogwarts, minimally the theoretical part. Then at Hogwarts, he could put

it into practice.

...

Saturday, July 16, 1972.

James was up early that day. After breakfast, they headed out with his

family to watch another Puddlemere United pre-season game. Today, his

uncle Charlus and cousin Oliver were in attendance.

'Tomorrow is Sunday, July 17...' thought James as he walked into his

house after watching the game.

"What's the matter, son?" asked Fleamont, noticing James' odd

expression.

"It's Gwen's birthday tomorrow," James replied after a few seconds.

"Oh, the blonde Shafiq girl. She has a strong personality," commented

Fleamont, remembering the bossy, screaming blonde girl who spent time

with James years ago.

"She was adorable in her way," said Euphemia, joining the conversation,

"Do you want to go shopping for a gift?" she added.

"The problem is that I argued with her..." said James as he sat down on

the couch and began to tell them about the whole argument he had with

Gwen at Hogwarts.

When James finished recounting the argument he had with Gwen, the

room fell silent, "It's a complicated subject..." said Fleamont. He knew of

the purist ideals of most pureblood families.

Pureblood families that did not discriminate against Muggles, half-bloods,

or Muggle-born were not many.

"I'll leave it up to you, honey. I'll go cook something for lunch," Euphemia

said and quickly left for the kitchen. She had already given James some

advice about his relationship with Lupin. Now, it was Fleamont's turn.

'Traitor!' thought Fleamont as he watched his wife flee. Then he noticed

James' expectant gaze on him as if he was waiting for some good advice

so he could solve his problem.

Fleamont cleared his throat and said, "As you know, the Potter Family

always had an egalitarian stance on blood purity. Even your grandfather

when he worked in the Wizengamot wanted to help muggles fighting

during the First World War. That's why we were excluded from the

sacred twenty-eight."

"Yes, many pureblood wizards my age called me a blood traitor," nodded

James.

"Exactly. I went through the same thing myself in my Hogwarts years.

However, not all pureblood families are extremists. There are the

Prewetts, the Weasleys, the Longbottoms, and the odd one or two others,"

began Fleamont.

"Yes. I know," said James a little impatiently.

"On the other hand, there are a vast majority of pureblood families who

consider themselves superior to wizards who were born of muggles and

half-bloods. One of them is the Shafiq family. Clearly your friend Gwen

was influenced by that thinking for as long as she can remember," said

Fleamont.

"Yes... she became my friend because I saved her. Otherwise, she would

still be calling me a blood traitor," said James with a grimace.

James wanted to befriend Gwen and the other children many years ago.

Their first meeting didn't go very well, as Gwen called him a blood traitor

and showed a hostile attitude at all times. Only after he saved her did she

put that attitude aside.

As for Emily, she never showed that attitude, and they became friends

while reading chocolate frog stickers.

"That may be. You have to keep in mind that her thinking was formed

when she was a little girl. When she saw that you were someone good

and who helped her, she decided to put aside her supremacist ideals and

didn't care that you were from a family with different ideals than hers."

James nodded understanding his father's point, "But with the thinking of

half-blood or muggle-born wizards, we will never agree and will always

end up fighting," said James.

"Your Uncle Charlus, who did he marry?" asked Fleamont.

"With Aunt Dorea," answered James.

"Exactly. Which family did Dorea belong to?" asked Fleamont again.

"To House Black..." answered James as he thought about many things.

Dorea Potter or née Dorea Black. She is the wife of Charlus Potter and the

mother of Oliver, James' favorite cousin.

"Your uncle is a man who loves many muggle things. On the other hand,

Dorea, when I met her at Hogwarts was a nut for pureblood ideals. Even

so, they managed to become friends and then got married. Both of them

were able to agree, although it was difficult," said Fleamont with a smile.

"They must have argued a lot," said James.

"Rest assured. The two of them were patient and kept arguing until they

agreed. Although Dorea doesn't adore muggles, she no longer hates and

despises them as she once did," said Fleamont.

To the surprise of many, Dorea by marrying into the Potter Family was

not removed from the tapestry of the Black family tree which was a

family that was against blood traitors and was one of the most extreme

families.

"So... should I send her a gift and a letter so we can reconcile?" asked

James hesitantly.

"That depends on you. On how much you care about your friendship with

Gwen and if you want to remain friends with her," replied Fleamont.

"Thanks, Dad," said James gratefully. He had found this talk with his

father very helpful.

"You're welcome, champ. Think about it for a while and let your mother

and I know if we need to go shopping for the gift for Gwen," said

Fleamont with a smile as he messed up his son's hair. Then he left the

kitchen and left James to think.

After almost thirty minutes of thinking, James decided to buy Gwen a gift

and send her a letter to try to reconcile. Gwen along with Emily were his

first two friends, so James valued them very much. He had to try to save

the relationship.

With Gwen at the dragon club, he had had a great time, and it reminded

him of his childhood days when they spent afternoons with Emily in

Godric's Hollow Square.

As for Emily, it was more complicated, since, she was more distant and

didn't seem to want to talk to him. Only the time he sent her the letter to

meet in Classroom 11, but it went all wrong.

Also, for some reason she didn't have an owl, and he couldn't

communicate with her. He used to communicate with Emily through

Gwen's Owl, but now he couldn't, as Gwen always evaded the subject

when James asked her about Emily.

The only option would be to try to talk to Emily when they start their

second year at Hogwarts.

After telling his parents, they went shopping for a present for Gwen at

Godric's Hollow. He bought a medium-sized Hungarian dragon stuffed

animal with a very funny face and a fancy eagle feather. Along with the

two gifts he sent her a letter wishing her a happy birthday and a message

to try to reconcile.

'Let's hope it works...' thought James, folding the letter.

The next day besides being Gwen's birthday. It was a different day for

James as Toby was finally coming to spend a whole week at his house.

His mother had already contacted the nasty woman, who was looking

after Toby, and they had agreed that today they would meet.

The bad thing was that the orphanage had some rules, so Toby couldn't

stay the whole vacation with them. He could only stay a maximum of 7

days, but it was better than nothing.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 94: Gwen's Birthday

Gwen Shafiq photo.

----------------------------------------------------

Sunday, July 17, 1972.

County Wiltshire in southwest England.

Surrounded by extensive grounds one could see a majestic residence with

walls that seem to be very old. This was Shafiq Manor. Where Gwen and

Emily moved several years ago, leaving their mansion in Godric's Hollow.

Compared to their previous mansion, this one was much larger and with

much more extensive gardens. The main entrance is marked by an

imposing wrought iron gate, flanked by stone columns supporting a

classical pediment.

The driveway meanders through manicured gardens landscaped with

flower beds and elegant fountains.

In addition to being the current residence of the Shafiq Family, there

were other prominent pureblood families currently living in Wiltshire

County.

In one of the many rooms of Shafiq Manor, stood a blonde woman next

to a blonde girl much like herself, only she was much smaller, as if she

were a small version of herself.

They were mother and daughter, Lysandra and Gwen Shafiq.

Gwen was looking at herself in the mirror in front of a large ebony and

ivory dressing table. Lysandra was standing behind her and calmly

combing her daughter's blonde hair.

"You look beautiful," Lysandra said in a calm tone as she rested the comb

on the counter and looked at her daughter's reflection. Remembering her

younger days.

"Thanks..." said Gwen without paying much attention.

"You seem to be with your mind in the clouds. You'd better come back to

earth when the guests come," commented Lysandra in a serious tone.

"Yes, I'm sorry. Why does that Lestrange boy have to come? I don't like

him," said Gwen with a frown. It annoyed her that he always wanted to

talk to her, and after seeing him tease James, she hated it.

"His name is Rabastan. I don't want you to display that behavior with

others. The Lestrange Family is very old and respected. They originate

from France and have branches in Britain that are important. With that

you can realize their great status and power that in the future may come

to rival House Black," said Lysandra.

"And what does that have to do with me?" growled Gwen in a low tone.

"Gwen Irene Shafiq! It has a lot to do with you. If you get a good

relationship with him it will be beneficial to our family in the future. Do

you understand?" asked Lysandra in a repressive tone as she made eye

contact with Gwen through the mirror.

"Yes, I understand..." replied Gwen, looking down.

"That's good to hear. You wouldn't want to involve your sister in this,

would you?" said Lysandra in a cold and very different tone than usual.

"No! I'll be nice to him. Is that okay with you?" asked Gwen nervously.

"Yes, that will do. The Lestrange boy seems to have a favorable opinion

of you, as long as you don't appear apathetic it will suffice for now.

Finish getting ready and come down in fifteen minutes to greet the

guests," replied Lysandra as she walked towards the door and out of the

room.

Gwen, who was looking at the door where her mother had left, clutched

the fabric of her dress tightly, her fingers clenching helplessly in the soft

fabric.

After a couple of minutes, she sighed helplessly and finished getting

ready to go downstairs to greet her friends and guests.

Her birthday was much like the last few years. She received many

expensive gifts. She was the center of attention, and everyone wanted to

talk to her. Worst of all, she had to act nice to Rabastan because her

mother was watching her.

Not so much, though, as there was a very arrogant boy, who annoyed

Rabastan and seemed to care nothing for him. Neither etiquette nor being

liked by others. He seemed to be there to annoy the other pureblood

boys.

"You've received a lot of presents this year, Gwen," commented Marcellus

Gwen's father, looking at the large pile of presents that made a mountain

on the floor.

"Yes..." said Gwen, who didn't look very happy.

"What's wrong? Is there anything you didn't get? We can buy it

tomorrow," said Marcellus, who was spoiling Gwen very much.

"It's not that, father. Then I'll tell Slinky to take all the presents to my

room," replied Gwen without explanation.

Just as she was about to go to her room, her mother entered the room

with two presents and a letter, "What's that? More presents?" asked

Marcellus with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes... From James Potter," replied Lysandra, reading the recipient of the

letter.

'From James!? I thought he wouldn't send me a present this year,'

thought Gwen as a smile formed on her face. She quickly walked over to

her mother.

"Can I have it?" asked Gwen impatiently, as she extended her hand

towards her mother.

After a few seconds, Lysandra with a conflicted look, handed her the two

gifts and the letter. Gwen hurried to her room with a smile.

Lysandra and Marcellus looked at each other and sighed helplessly. At

first, they let Gwen join James Potter for the fact that he saved her, but

they didn't see it in a good light, as the Potter Family was considered

blood traitors by supporting muggles, half-bloods, and muggle-born

wizards.

Although an old and respected family, the Potters always supported

muggles and what they considered mudbloods.

Gwen, when she got to her room locked the door and sat down on her

double bed. She decided to open first the present that had a red wrapper,

'It's very soft and squishy...' thought Gwen as she tore the red paper.

It was a cute stuffed Hungarian dragon. Unlike the real dragon which has

a menacing expression, the stuffed animal had a kind and somewhat silly

expression.

"What a silly face, it's cute," Gwen murmured with a smile as she looked

at the stuffed animal. After some thought, she hugged it tightly and

sniffed it.

'Ah... James' smell, he must have wrapped it himself,' thought Gwen as

she sunk her face into the soft plushie. After a few seconds, she withdrew

her face with some embarrassment and opened the second gift that

seemed smaller.

It was an eagle feather that had her name neatly written on it, "It's James'

handwriting," Gwen murmured with a smile. She had seen James'

handwriting on several occasions. She couldn't get it wrong.

With incredible speed, she opened the letter and began to read it. After a

few minutes, she lay down on the bed with the letter in hand and a silly

grin on her face. Minutes passed, and she kept reading the letter over and

over again.

Gwen felt a strange feeling. For most of her birthday day, she was not

happy, but two simple gifts and a letter made her day, making it

completely better.

Compared to the expensive and extravagant gifts she was given, they

didn't seem like much of a big deal for James' gifts. However, Gwen gave

them a higher importance and considered them to be the best gifts.

'I wonder what he's doing...' thought Gwen, hugging the stuffed animal

tightly and not taking her eyes off the letter.

...

James was showing his room to Toby, who was gawking at the whole

thing. He never thought a boy could have such a big room to himself.

"You sure are a big Puddlemere United fan..." commented Toby as he

noticed all the Puddlemere United decorations in the room.

"Of course. It's the best team in England," James said proudly as he

adjusted his circular glasses. As his contact lenses were still 8 hours old,

he preferred to wear them when training, practicing with the broom or if

he went out to watch some quidditch match or something like that,

meanwhile at home he used the normal glasses.

Toby was surprised when he saw James arrive wearing glasses, but he

didn't say anything, internally he thought they looked good on him.

"Now, let's see in the room you'll be staying in these days," said James.

"What!? I'll have a room all to myself?" asked Toby, very surprised.

"Of course. Follow me," said James as he took Toby's suitcase and headed

for the next room.

"It's not very spacious, and it's kind of empty," said James, turning on the

room light and setting the suitcase down next to the single bed.

"No... it's great. I never had a room to myself," said Toby in delight

looking at the room. He always had to share a room with other boys,

even at Hogwarts, although at Hogwarts it was a very spacious and

luxurious room compared to the orphanage dormitories which had bunk

beds in very small spaces.

James scratched his head in embarrassment. He forgot for a moment that

Toby was from an orphanage, and for him, this room would be more than

fine.

"How do you put up with that orc? She's disgusting," James asked, sitting

up in bed. By orc, he meant Caroline. The matron of Toby's orphanage.

"Mistress Caroline isn't so bad when you get to know her, although her

attitude can be misconstrued," Toby replied as he started to put his

clothes away in the closet. He didn't have many clothes. He had brought

everything he had, as he would be staying for a week.

James could tell that the clothes were somewhat worn and didn't seem to

be Toby's size.

"Mm, if you say so. I thought the matron was the old lady with the kind

smile in the picture you have on your bedside table," James commented,

as he pulled a golden snitch out of his pocket and began to play with it.

Toby, who was putting away the clothes stopped, and the place went

silent, "Oh, sorry. I saw the picture, and my curiosity got the better of

me," said James apologetically.

"No, no need to apologize," said Toby, snapping back to reality. He had

put the photo out for all to see. It wasn't James' fault that he had seen it.

"The one in the picture is Grandmother Diana. The old matron of the

orphanage... She was the one who raised me for as long as I can

remember, but she died five years ago," Toby explained in a sad tone.

"I'm sorry," said James, and the atmosphere in the room fell into an

awkward silence as Toby continued to take out his few belongings. What

made James most curious was that Toby pulled out a very fat worn black

book and a necklace with a small cross on it.

James recognized the thick book as The Bible. The book contains texts

considered sacred by various religions, mainly Judaism and Christianity.

"Do you believe in God?" asked James curiously.

"Yes. Grandma Diana always read the Bible to us at the orphanage,"

replied Toby with a slight smile looking at the old book.

"Are wizards Christians? At Hogwarts we celebrate Christmas and Easter,"

asked Toby, curious.

"Mm, you could say that most wizards are. At least in England, but in the

magical community there isn't as much religious devotion as in the

muggle community," replied James as he passed the snitch between his

fingers.

James believes that the crazies in the extremist pure families would

consider their ancestor's gods rather than the God of some religion.

"What about you?" asked Toby, looking at James.

"What about me?"

"If you believe in God," Toby specified.

"God..." muttered James with a blank stare and stopped playing with the

snitch.

If he were his former self, i.e. Edward Rothschild, he would say that he

would not believe in the existence of God. Especially in the belief of

Christianity and Judaism: an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent

god.

If God had unlimited power and had total knowledge of all things, past,

present, and future, why were there so many misfortunes and injustices

in the world?

However, he now had a dilemma as he reincarnated in another world.

The problem is that neither in Christianity nor in Judaism is there a

belief in reincarnation. It is not a common feature of the religious

tradition. It would have to be another type of religion or God that allows

reincarnation in the sense that the soul is reborn in another body and

another world.

Is there any religion with that characteristic? James doesn't know. His

old family, The Rothschilds were more of Judaism, as the founder of the

Rothschild dynasty was of Jewish origin.

"James?" asked Toby, seeing that his friend remained silent, and with a

blank stare.

James snapped back to reality. Luckily at that moment, a shout came

from Euphemia alerting them that the food was ready, so he didn't have

to answer the question.

While eating they talked about what they were going to do this week.

Peter would arrive a couple of days later, at the moment he was in Paris

on vacation with his parents. As for Sirius and Lupin, James is keeping in

touch through letters.

Unfortunately because of Sirius's family, it is very difficult for them to see

each other during the vacations. James was thinking of asking his Aunt

Dorea for help since before she was a Potter, she belonged to the Blacks,

but his Uncle Charlus told him that he was no relation to Walburga

Black, Sirius's mother, who was a pureblood extremist.

'Yes they are extreme...' thought James with a strange expression.

Already the population of the magical world didn't have many pureblood

families. They were in the minority compared to half-bloods and muggle-

born wizards. House Black is one of the most extreme.

For example, the Shafiq Family despite having some supremacist ideals,

let Gwen and Emily get together with James, who comes from a family

considered a blood traitor, although his case is somewhat special since he

saved Gwen.

James is sure, that if he saves Sirius and Walburga Black finds out she

won't even thank him and won't let Sirius come to her house or him go to

his, showing that they have a more extreme stance.

----------------------------------------------------

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Chapter 95: Jealousy?

James was awakened by the rays of sunlight streaming through his

window. He looked at the clock hanging on his wall and noticed that it

was later than usual.

'Ugh... I shouldn't have stayed up so long reading that damn book,' James

thought, rubbing his eyes lazily.

After Toby got home, he didn't have as much free time for his study

routine, so he started reading more in the evenings.

'Weirdly, Mom hasn't woken me up,' thought James, standing up and

stretching lazily. He took off his pajamas and headed for the door, but

before he did he noticed that on top of his desk were two letters.

'Must have been left by Shadow,' thought James, sitting up and opening

the first letter.

As it was summer, he always left the window open. This way Shadow

could come and go freely.

'It's from Sirius,' thought James with a slight smile, imagining the way

Sirius would rant about his family in this letter.

[To James.

How's your summer going? Mine is getting worse and worse.

As I told you last week, I had to attend some stupid party Bellatrix threw

with her husband celebrating, I don't know what. It's amazing, isn't it?

That the harpy's husband is Rabastan's older brother, although I think I

told you that already.

Back to the main subject. It turns out that yesterday, I had to attend the

birthday of a girl from the Shafiq family. I think her name was Glen. If

I'm not mistaken...]

'It's Gwen...' thought James, reading the letter with a strange look on his

face. So far Sirius and the others were unaware of his friendship with

Gwen and Emily. This was not unusual, as they never saw him talking to

them at Hogwarts. Only once at the beginning of the year did he talk to

Emily, and it went unnoticed.

[As you can imagine, I was forced by my nice mother to attend said

birthday, according to her to make good connections. I had to put up

with fat Anastasia talking about her grandfather and her stupid list for

four hours. You can imagine the rest of the meeting... The only good

thing was to make fun of Rabastan, who is still as shy since that duel. It

seems that the latter reached my mother's ears, and now I am grounded.

Thanks to my younger brother's help I can send you this letter.

Anyway, I just wanted to tell someone about my hardships. How is

everything going there? Have Toby and Peter arrived yet?

Greetings, Sirius Black.

PS: When you answer me, send the letter addressed to my brother

Regulus Black, as my mother is intercepting the letters sent to me.

]

'He's got it tough...' thought James with a faint smile. He wasn't enjoying

his best friend's misfortune. He found it funny how Sirius narrated the

events. It seemed to amuse him to get on his mother's nerves, and despite

carrying out her order to go to the birthday to make good connections he

did quite the opposite and teased Rabastan endlessly.

James picked up his quill and began to write a response. He made a few

jokes about Anastasia Nott and Rabastan and then told him that Toby

had arrived and what activities they planned to do. He told him

everything very succinctly, as he didn't want to depress Sirius, who was

grounded anymore.

After he finished writing the letter he put it aside and opened the second

one. To his surprise, it was about Gwen or Glen according to Sirius. He

was surprised as he didn't expect Gwen to answer him so quickly.

Usually, when she is angry, she is very proud and slow to respond to

show her displeasure and anger.

How does he know this? Previously when they sent letters to each other

with Gwen before starting Hogwarts, they had some trivial discussions

and he noticed this characteristic of the blonde girl.

[Dear James:

I got your two gifts yesterday. I liked the stuffed animal with the silly

face and the pen is also very nice.

As for what you talked about in your letter, I agree with you. We can talk

about it like civilized people without fighting. We are not children

anymore. I don't want our differences to ruin what we have.

I've been thinking a lot, and I thought it would be good to talk before we

start Hogwarts, in person. I would say in Diagon Alley when we go

shopping for books and stuff to start the new year. I know an ice cream

shop that has fancy and tasty flavors.

When the time is right we'll settle that issue, that's all. How are you

enjoying your vacation?

Sincerely, Gwen Shafiq.

PS: Yesterday I met your friend Sirius... He has a very strange behavior

for the heir to House Black. The good thing was that he annoyed

Rabastan all the time, and thanks to that I didn't have to talk to him

much.

]

James was very surprised by Gwen's letter. He couldn't believe it had

turned out so well to have sent that letter. He didn't think that Gwen

would be so willing to reconcile after that argument especially since in

the letter she wrote: 'I don't want our differences to ruin what we have.'

With this sentence, he could tell that Gwen, like him, considered their

friendship equally important. This was valuable to James, as he could tell

firsthand that he was not the only one who cared.

'It's true, our differences can't ruin our friendship' thought James in a

strange mood as he wrote a letter to Gwen.

When he finished, he left the two letters on the table and started

downstairs heading for the kitchen. How Shadow wasn't in his room he

must be somewhere in Godric's Hollow exploring or something.

When he got to the kitchen he noticed his mother and Toby cooking

together. His mother was playing with Toby and smearing him with some

flour as a joke.

"No fair! The way I came out right," said Toby amused.

"No, young man. Look closely. Instead of a circle, it looks like an oval.

Try again. You have a talent for cooking. James had a hard time getting

the shape right," Euphemia instructed, and Toby nodded and tried again.

"Oh, James. Good morning. You finally wake up. You get sleepier every

day," Euphemia said with a smile, looking at her son.

"Good morning, James," greeted Toby without turning around and

concentrating on the kitchen.

"Good morning..." said James.

"Go sit down. You'll be tasting your friend's food in a little while," said

Euphemia as she turned her attention back to Toby so he wouldn't make

a mistake.

"Right..." said James sitting down in one of the chairs and watching his

mother and Toby cook happily. Without realizing it, James had a frown

on his face as he watched this situation.

'I should be there...' thought James with feelings he had never felt before,

jealousy.

His mother always paid attention to him, and he was very attached to

her, but now on the second day Toby had arrived, it seemed like he no

longer existed.

'No... what am I thinking,' thought James, shaking his head. He couldn't

be that selfish. He knew that Toby came from an orphanage. It was

obvious he never had a mother figure. The last one must have been the

former matron Diana, who died several years ago, and this one took care

of all the children in the orphanage.

The moment Toby and Euphemia put the food on the table, James tried

to hide his jealousy as much as possible. He didn't want Toby to notice,

for if he did it would cause Toby to feel bad, and he didn't want that.

"Where's dad?" asked James as he ate what Toby made.

Euphemia sighed in annoyance, "He's locked in his study looking for

charms for your contact lenses. He seems to take your upcoming career

as a Gryffindor seeker very seriously," she replied, shaking her head.

Fleamont wanted James to be able to play Quidditch without any

problems. James doesn't have to think about whether or not he wears the

glasses for so long. So he took the subject very seriously.

'Thanks, Dad,' thought James gratefully.

"Is it tasty?" asked Toby, looking at James with sparkling eyes.

"Mm... the taste is very rich. The shape is approved, in conclusion, an 8

out of 10," replied James, nodding his head, pleased with the food.

"Oh, congratulations. James is always a very strict judge," said Euphemia

with a smile and clapping slightly.

"Thank you!" said Toby with a smile.

After they finished eating, their grandfather arrived through the chimney

using fluffy powder. Henry was carrying a large stack of books. He

greeted the three of them briefly and went to Fleamont's study.

His grandfather, like his father, also took the issue of James' quidditch

debut very seriously. So he helped Fleamont to find ways to improve the

contact lenses so that James wouldn't have any problems.

'Thanks, Grandpa,' thought James again gratefully.

----------------------------------------------------

You can read 15 chapters in advance on my patreon.

Link: https://[email protected]/Nathe07

Chapter 96: Invitation from Sirius

The days at the Potter House passed. With three days to go before Toby

had to return to the orphanage, Peter arrived.

The situation of his mother paying more attention to Toby than to him

was repeated several times in those days. However, James did not want

to show it to his friend, so that his friend would not feel bad.

It was not the same with his mother. He started to distance himself in

some things like for example in the goodnight kisses, he told her that he

was too old for those things.

It was childish, he knew, but he couldn't control it. Somehow, he had to

show that he was annoyed and upset, and he didn't plan to take it out on

poor Toby, who was such a God's bread.

On Sunday afternoon, July 24, Toby and Peter left James' house. That

same evening, James was about to go to bed, got up from the couch in

the living room, and said goodbye to his parents while yawning.

"Pause it," said Euphemia, giving Fleamont, who was too hooked

watching TV a slight smack. A few months ago, he bought a color

television and a movie player both muggle inventions.

Movies were also a muggle term and were something that left both

Fleamont and Euphemia fascinated. In the span of one to three hours, at

most an exciting story was told all with moving pictures. They could not

believe how muggles accomplished such a feat without magic.

Right now, they are watching a very new movie that was very successful

in the muggle world called The Godfather.

After pausing, Euphemia followed James to his room.

"You don't need to come with me, Mother," James said. Euphemia looked

at him with narrowed eyes but decided to follow her son silently to his

room.

"Look at the state of your bed. Let me put it back in order," Euphemia

said, looking at James' messy bed. Since she didn't have her wand handy,

she put the bed together manually.

"Like new," nodded Euphemia.

"Thanks..." said James.

"Will you continue to act distant?" asked Euphemia, looking at her son.

"I don't know what you're talking about..." replied James without making

eye contact with Euphemia.

"Oh, come on. All of a sudden. You don't want goodnight kisses anymore,

and you don't even hug me anymore. You think I didn't notice?"

"You didn't seem to mind too much," James said with a bit of annoyance

as for the previous few days, Euphemia pretended like nothing had

happened.

"It didn't. You know about Toby's situation. He's a very kind and good

boy," said Euphemia.

Euphemia treated Toby differently, unlike Peter or another friend of

James, being more like a mother to him, as she felt very sorry for his

situation. She noticed James' attitude but did nothing, as she didn't want

to argue with her son while his friends were at home.

"I know," James said with a conflicted expression. He didn't want to feel

jealous but he couldn't control it. Luckily with Toby, he continued to act

the same as always.

"Notice how you treated Toby well as usual. You're a nice boy too,"

Euphemia said as she quickly hugged James so he couldn't escape.

"It hurt me that you are so cold to me. I hope you can understand why I

acted that way. To me, you will always be number one," added

Euphemia.

"I'm sorry..." said James, feeling worse and worse. He felt jealous of his

friend, who never knew his parents, and also made his dear mother, who

just wanted to make Toby a little happier by treating him differently feel

bad.

"Don't feel bad. It's normal to feel jealous from time to time. Your father

was very jealous as a teenager," Euphemia said with a smile,

remembering old times. James nodded feeling better. It was the first time

he felt jealousy.

...

The vacations went by faster than James would have liked. James

continued with his usual routine, practicing martial magic, flying in his

Nimbus, reading the Occlumency book, and reading the Transfiguration

book.

Just when he thought his vacations would stay the same, a surprise