Chapter 103: Back to King's Cross
James was riding in the back seat of his father's Peugeot 504. The destination was King's Cross station in London. Next to him was Shadow in his cage, resting quietly, oblivious to the occasional potholes that Fleamont failed to avoid.
James was looking out of the window deep in thought. The sky was full of gray clouds. It looked like it might rain at any moment.
James wasn't thinking about his friends or the pranks he wouldn't be able to pull this new school year, or the fact that this year he would finally start playing on the starting quidditch team.
He was thinking about a much more serious and depressing topic. Voldemort and his crazy followers called Death Eaters. Because of these lunatics, he can't have happy and carefree school years.
Instead, he must train like a madman and become powerful enough magically speaking, to be able to protect himself and his loved ones. And above all to defeat Voldemort.
On this vacation, James kept up with all the information from the most important newspapers in the British magical world. He averaged it out and every week or so there was news about the hooded attacks. Nothing good.
The Prophet. The most famous and prestigious magical newspaper disappointed James because instead of reporting regularly, it took two or even three weeks to provide updated coverage as they had promised months ago.
The reason for this delay? It's not too hard to figure out why if you have two fingers on the pulse.
As it is the most famous magical newspaper used by British wizards and witches, if there are new attacks every week, it would only show the incompetence of the Ministry of Magic, as they can't catch this group of terrorists. The Ministry will not like it at all if its image is so badly affected and it loses the trust of the people.
'Maybe they'll stop reporting shortly...' James thought grumpily.
His grumpiness was because while he was having breakfast today, an alternative newspaper reported that two relatively important Ministry wizards had gone missing.
According to this newspaper, these two missing wizards were behind the Death Eaters, and all indications are that they are in the other world, i.e. dead.
James took this information with a grain of salt, as this newspaper is not well known, and cannot believe the information one hundred percent. However, knowing the dark nature of Voldemort and his Death Eaters, this information is true. It was strange that so far they have not killed wizards.
'From here, the war between Voldemort and his followers against the Ministry will only intensify...' thought James with a slight frown.
For every day that passes, the Death Eaters will have fewer scruples, and in addition to targeting the Muggle community, they will ruthlessly attack the magical community that opposes them.
This year, James will have to devote much more time to training. On top of that, he has to add classes, training, and quidditch matches, spending time with the Marauders, and he almost forgot about having to spend time at the Dragon Club with Gwen.
'There's also Emily and the whole Lupin lycanthropy thing...' thought James clutching his forehead. There were too many things to do, and the day only had 24 hours.
James could already sense that this year would be much more stressful than the first, and he must prioritize training. Although he enjoyed learning and training different powerful charms, doing it too much could become tiring.
'If I organize my days well. I should have time for most things...' thought James not too sure about this.
It's almost certain that the marauder pranks will be over. He will prioritize spending time in the library and in the secret room to practice. Studying and practicing. Hard work and talent. That's the formula. According to his former mother Elizabeth.
"What's the matter, sweetie? Why the look on your face?" asked Euphemia, turning her head and noticing that James had a frown on his face and a worried expression.
"It's nothing, Mom. Just a little tired. I didn't sleep very well," James replied.
"Oh, are you nervous? This year will be your debut on the team. I'm sure you'll do well. Remember to practice your charms when you get to Hogwarts," commented Fleamont without taking his eyes off the road.
"I'll practice them. They'll come in handy. Thanks," said James in a grateful tone.
His father and grandfather had spent the entire vacation creating and perfecting charms to improve James' contact lenses. And they had succeeded.
Contact lenses were a Muggle invention and very useful, but they weren't quite perfect. The lenses could only be worn for eight hours a day, and each pair lasted between one to three months.
Then you had to buy new ones, and every longer period you had to go to the eye doctor again for a new prescription, as your eyesight might have worsened.
However, Henry and Fleamont managed to create charms that eliminated these disadvantages and made contact lenses perfect. For one, they created a comforting charm. A magic spell is applied to the lenses and can last 24 hours instead of just 8 hours, making contact lenses free of eye fatigue.
They also created a more advanced charm of continuous adaptation allowing the lens to continually adjust to the physiology and changing needs of the wearer's eye. Eliminating the need for regular exams and prescription updates. Although it was a bad thing for muggle eye doctors, James will never have to visit an optician again.
Lastly a spell of duration. As the name suggests, it increases the durability of the contact lens, eliminating the need to replace them every few years. Instead of lasting one or three months, it can last for years, and not need to buy another pair.
'I'm sorry Mr. Davies...' thought James, remembering the kindly old man who owned the optician's shop. He would not be visiting Mr. Davies anymore, at least not for a long period.
He was currently wearing his contacts. His father had taken care of putting all the charms on the pair of glasses.
They finally arrived at King's Cross at fifteen minutes past ten. It was still forty-five minutes before the Hogwarts Express left. Fleamont got a trolley to load the trunk, and they entered the station.
They had to cross platform 9¾ which was between Muggle platforms nine and ten. They had to walk to the barrier, it wasn't painful, but it had to be done carefully so that no muggle would notice their disappearance.
The family of three walked stealthily and disappeared without being noticed by any muggle. Nothing went wrong.
James found himself back on platform 9¾. When he looked up he saw the Hogwarts Express, a scarlet steam locomotive billowing smoke on a platform full of wizards and witches accompanying their children.
James and his parents started walking towards one of the train's intermediate carriages. Since it was still more than half an hour before departure, it wasn't too crowded.
He tried to look for any of his friends but found none. He didn't see Gwen or Emily either.
He said goodbye to his parents telling them that there was no need for them to wait until the train left, as they would be waiting for a long time.
'He's growing more and more every day,' Euphemia thought emotionally, remembering that the previous year James had seemed very dependent on them.
Euphemia gave her son a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead. Fleamont said goodbye sliding his fingers through James' unruly hair and messing it up slightly.
After the farewell, James began to wander the aisles of the train in search of an empty compartment. It wasn't hard to find, as it wasn't crowded.
He entered the compartment and arranged his trunk and Shadow. He left the door open, as he wanted his friends to find him. Then he sat down by the window. As he was alone he kept thinking about Voldemort, his followers, and what would be the best route to continue his magical training.
This year in addition to defensive magic and Occlumency, James has a lot of time to devote to Transfiguration. To achieve conjuration and be able to use it in combat, both defensively and offensively.
While James was thinking about his things and looking out the window, a boy entered the compartment while reading a magazine with one hand and pushing his trunk with the other.
Moving a heavy trunk with one hand, while reading a magazine with the other and not looking ahead, is not a great idea. The boy banged his shin against the seat.
"Ouch!" groaned the boy in pain, as he instinctively let go of the trunk to grab his leg, another bad decision. The trunk fell straight towards his foot, crushing the tips of his toes. Luckily his shoes were able to cushion some of the weight.
"Damn it!" cursed the boy now clutching his foot in pain.
"Wuerek!" a dark green toad hopped off the boy's shoulder into James' lap, who had stopped thinking about complicated things and was watching the boy and the toad curiously.
The boy had messy, dirty blond hair that reached his shoulders. He had pale eyebrows and bulging eyes that gave him a permanently surprised look.
He was already wearing his Hogwarts robes, so James could tell that he belonged to Ravenclaw and was not a first-year. At most, he would be a third-year or second-year student.
The robe wasn't entirely clean. It looked as if he had been rummaging through the bushes looking for something. It did have a different aura than average.
"Wuerek!" the toad shouted, and James looked down. He noticed the toad's big eyes staring at him.
Toads were one of three animals that Hogwarts students were allowed to keep as pets. James didn't care much for them, preferring an owl or even a cat a thousand times over. Toads were not a very fashionable animal and even less so for girls.
"Don't be rude, Flappy," said the blond boy as he settled his trunk with a wince.
"His name is Flappy?" asked James redundantly, but he found it hard to believe that a toad would be called that.
"Yes. I hope in the future, he grows wings and can fly to the moon and meet the moon toads," replied the boy matter-of-factly.
'A toad with wings...? Flying to the moon and meeting moon toads...?' thought James with a raised eyebrow and looking at the boy in front of him strangely.
"That's great... I hope he makes it someday," said James, not knowing exactly what to say. He took the toad in his hands and handed it back to its owner.
The boy, hearing what James said, put on a surprised expression. It was the first time someone at Hogwarts had been kind to him and his Flappy Toad. It took him by surprise.
"Thanks! Did you hear Flappy? James Potter believes in you. You should get your wings as soon as possible," said the boy after a few seconds putting his toad on his shoulder like a parrot.
"Wuerek!"
"Have we met?" asked James.
"No, but I know one of the most popular students in my year. Otherwise, I'd be a rubbish reporter," replied the boy with a proud smile for some reason.
"Xenophilius Lovegood, nice to meet you. You can call me Xeno."
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