The next day James, didn't leave his house, he was too lazy to go to the square to continue his mission to invite Emily to his birthday. He still had days left to try.
His mother didn't mind him staying in the house all day reading books and playing with a snitch he got for one of his birthdays.
Another day had to pass for James to restart his mission. Thinking about it, he should have left yesterday, because Gwen would be in bed recovering from the bone-breathing potion.
'I hope she's not with her sister' James thought, as he reached the square. He did not see either of the two girls. The only ones he see were the boys, Crabbe, Goyle, and the others who were playing.
Goyle see James in the distance and panicked when their gazes met. With the other kids, they headed to a more distant area of the square. James didn't mind and went to lie down on the grass.
With the gentle breeze on his face and the comfort of the shade of the tree, he began to drift off to sleep. One of his new hobbies was sleeping.
"Wake up... Wake up!"
"Wake up, Potter!"
A shrill, bossy voice woke James from his warm slumber in nature. He opened his eyes in annoyance at being woken up and noticed two girls, one with blonde hair and one with black hair.
The black-haired one had very dark eyes and a stoic look as she looked at James. It was Emily.
The one with blonde hair had light blue eyes and a frown on her face. It was Gwen. James looked at Gwen's leg and noticed that it was in perfect condition.
"What do you want?" asked James in an annoyed tone at being woken up.
Gwen looked indignantly at James. She wasn't used to being spoken to like that, but this time she let it go and didn't start arguing with James.
"I came... to t-thank you" said Gwen slowly and with much difficulty.
"Oh, I'm surprised at that coming from you, Miss Pureblood" said James in an exaggerated, mocking tone.
One of James new hobbies was being mocking and sarcastic, even when it came to kids his own age.
"Another thing, don't tell anyone that I cried. I forbid it" said Gwen said Gwen, embarrassed because James had seen her cry.
"Fine, fine, whatever you say miss" said James lazily laying back down on the grass.
Gwen seemed pleased by James' affirmation and being called miss, although it was sarcastically.
"And one more thing, at my younger sister's request. I will let you two spend time together, but I will supervise you. I will not allow you to convey your ideals in favor of muggles to her" Gwen said.
James opened one of his eyes and looked towards Emily and Gwen. He was surprised at this, but it was beneficial for him, as he could invite Emily to his birthday and his mother wouldn't worry about him not having friends.
"It seems that after saving your life, you have something of a conscience" said James exaggerating his shocked expression.
"Shut up!" said Gwen indignantly. Emily hadn't said a word since she arrived.
The days went by, it was getting closer and closer to his sixth birthday. These days he would leave some time to go to the square and resume his meetings with Emily, eat chocolate frogs, and read famous wizard and witch cards.
The only difference was that Gwen was with them and made some rather rude comments, but James ignored her. The previous gang led by Gwen was very surprised to see their leader with their "mortal" enemy, but because of their fear of James, they didn't have the courage to approach.
Emily was very shy around her sister, different from when she hung out with James alone.
'It's time to invite her over' thought James sitting on the grass near him where Emily and Gwen happily eating chocolate frogs. It was only 3 days until his birthday.
"Hey Emily" said James.
Emily who was examining a card of a witch named Mirabella Plunkett looked up and looked at James, "What's wrong?" asked Emily.
Gwen who was reading what appeared to be a story raised her head curiously.
"In three days it's my birthday, do you want to come?" asked James.
Emily was surprised by the proposal, she felt happy as never had someone invited her to a birthday. The first thing she did was look at her older sister, "Do whatever you want" Gwen said with a snort, annoyed for some reason.
James had saved one of the Shafiq's daughters, it would be very rude of them not to let her go to their house, even though the two families had different ideals.
"Fine, I'll go" said Emily with a smile, a rare thing to see from her.
'Mission completed' thought James with a faint smile.
The next two days, Gwen was much more annoying and rude than before. James was already losing his patience, as he had a screaming girl for hours yelling or starting arguments over stupid things.
"What's wrong with your sister?" asked James lying on the grass, taking advantage of the minutes of quiet before Gwen arrived.
"I don't know...I think she's upset that you didn't invite her" said Emily with an unsure expression.
"To my birthday?" asked James in surprise to which Emily nodded.
'I'm losing my touch' thought James who wasn't able to read a 6 or 7-year-old, although it was because he wasn't even paying attention to her.
After a few minutes, Gwen arrived and continued to be shrill and annoying.
"Hey Gwen" said James interrupting the blonde girl who was annoyed at being interrupted.
"What?" asked Gwen.
"Do you want to come to my birthday?" asked James in hopes of being quieter from now on.
"Mm... your birthday..." said Gwen with a thoughtful expression.
"It's okay. I can come on that day. Since you insist" she added with a haughty smile, although her tone hid happiness.
James couldn't believe that this girl was so shameless, luckily from now on, she started to be calmer.
Finally, the day of her sixth birthday arrived. In addition to his family, Gwen and Emily attended, something that made Euphemia very happy. Even though she knew they were from the Shafiq Family it didn't bother her at all.
Thanks to his family his birthday was perfect, the presents were the least of it, what he appreciated the most was spending time with his parents, grandparents, etc. Unlike the other birthdays, he had his two "friends" if he could call them that.
James couldn't believe how easily Gwen could irritate him, it was strange for a girl to be so annoying. Emily on the other hand was the polar opposite.
"Hey, where's a house elf? I want more food" Gwen growled wiping crumbs from her mouth with a napkin.
"We don't have house elves in my house" replied James dryly.
His mother did not at all like having a servant or rather slave attending to her orders 24 hours a day.
"Typical blood traitor..." stammered Gwen.
"What did you say?" asked James.
"Nothing" said Gwen quickly and looked away.
Despite being sisters they were very different. Emily had very black hair and dark eyes, her personality was quiet, tolerant, and low-key. On the other hand, Gwen was blonde with light blue eyes, her personality was bossy, grumpy, and very talkative, and she liked to be the center of attention.
The worst of all about Gwen was her almost extreme classism. James tried not to get angry as he knew she had been brainwashed by her parents. As for Emily about this subject, she didn't talk much and seemed very tolerant, but on a few occasions, James could see that she thought of muggle-born people as inferior, albeit in a more hidden way.
His birthday was over and what he was most looking forward to came. The books, plus the reward his mother told him about.
"Here you go" said Fleamont placing the two books he promised James on top of the library table.
"And this is the reward I named you earlier" said Euphemia as she passed a book to James who took it eagerly.
"Thank you!" said James as he read the title of the book which was as follows: The Healer's Handbook written by H. Pollingtoniou.
'This will be useful' thought James excitedly. He had seen his mother's magic as a healer, she could heal deep cuts in an instant.
"It's late already, better study tomorrow" suggested Euphemia noticing James' excitement.
"Just one hour, please" James requested to which neither of his parents could refuse.
The next days, and weeks, James spent most of his time reading the new 3 books at his disposal. He had never studied anything with so much excitement.
The most interesting of all was the standard book on spells, grade 1:
[Charms differ from Transformation spells in the following way: a charm adds certain properties to an object or creature, while a transformation spell will change it into something different. The most basic charms are not difficult to break, and many of those that you learn as a young wizard you will master in a matter of days or even hours]
'Hours... if I want to defeat Voldemort I will have to learn them in less time' thought James who was confident. In his past life as Edward in everything he was taught, he was a genius. Also, there was an important difference, he liked magic. In contrast, before he was forced to study, and yet he was still considered a genius.
[Some charms will be ineffective on large creatures such as trolls, whose skin repels all but the most powerful spells.]
'Trolls...' thought James curiously so far he had not managed to see any fantastic creatures, he knew they existed and were a great number. Dragons, Phoenixes, Unicorns, etc.
[The Levitatory Charm (Wingardium leviosa) is one of the first spells that young wizards and witches learn. With this incantation, a witch or wizard can make things fly by waving the wand. The incantation is a great way to test your magical skill, your control of the wand, and, above all, your patience].
This was just an introductory excerpt of this incantation.
'I can already do something similar...' thought James remembering that he managed to levitate a large stone. Only with the wand it will be much more powerful and he will be able to lift heavier things with more ease.
He also eagerly studied the book 'Filters and Magic Potions' which is mostly about basic potions. There are several recipes for potions, with each step and it also talks about other topics such as the properties of opal and how it can be used in potions.
Potions were made from ingredients with magical properties and by step-by-step manual processes similar to culinary ones, so they required the necessary utensils, practical skills, and, of course, some knowledge of the recipe or formula for the potion.
On the other hand, the book his mother gave him covers magical remedies for common ailments and includes a chapter called "Contusions, cuts and grazes"