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.
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.
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