章 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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