"Please come in," said the elf named Slinky, motioning for James and the other two children to access the room.
In this new room was the birthday girl, Gwen, and all the children. James could recognize some of them as Goyle and Crabbe, but there were others he had never seen with Gwen's gang.
James noticed that in one corner stood Emily alone as usual, 'It must be because she's from another generation...or so I think,' thought James.
The two Bulstrode children quickly left James' side, wanting to be away from him and meet their friends.
Gwen who was surrounded by boys and girls noticed the door open and that it was James. Pushing everyone aside, she walked towards him with a slight smile.
"James, you're here, albeit a little late," said Gwen, a little annoyed at the tardiness.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Here, your present," said James more politely than with all the adults in the other room.
"Thank you!" said Gwen with a smile. Her attitude towards James after 3 months of getting together with him and Emily had changed a lot, compared to the first meeting they had.
Excitedly, she tore open the wrapping paper, an elegant black velvet gift box, adorned with gold thread embroidery. The box closed with a silk ribbon of a soft golden hue.
Gwen untied the golden silk ribbon and opened the velvet box, she could see a pendant resting on a pillow. The pendant was a midnight blue color that glowed with a soft light. It was adorned with inlaid gemstones that sparkled with every movement.
"It's beautiful..." said Gwen, lifting the pendant and holding it with one of her hands, a sense of serenity emanated from it.
"It has a very mild magic that generates calmness," commented James to let her know that besides being a pretty pendant, it has a magical effect, albeit a very mild one.
Gwen gestured to James to place the pendant around her neck, to which James agreed and quickly did so.
"How does it look on me?" asked Gwen.
"Good, it stands out with your eyes." nodded James, who was satisfied, as he accomplished something that in his past life he had not done: give a gift to his friend.
Even though Gwen was a bossy, screechy, and aggressive child, getting together 3 months in the square made James consider her as someone closer. The same for Emily, 'I should ask when her birthday is,' thought James.
"So you're Potter, huh?" said a female voice in a haughty tone.
James turned his head slightly and noticed a fat girl. Her cheeks seemed to encompass her entire face, her eyes were very small, and her neck was conspicuous by its absence. The most pathetic thing was her cupped hair which didn't suit her facial features at all.
Seeing her appearance, he instantly compared her to the vulgar Crabbe and Goyle, 'No, she's more vulgar...' thought James with a shocked expression. He never thought to meet a more vulgar person than Crabbe and Goyle.
"Oh, this is my best friend, Anastasia," said Gwen, introducing the fat girl.
'Best friend...?' thought James with a strange expression.
"Anastasia Nott," said the girl, emphasizing her last name.
"Family belonging to the Sacred Twenty-Eight, although the most important thing was that my grandfather, Cantankerus Nott wrote it" she added as she tried to stick out her neck to show her pride.
The Nott Family didn't belong to Godric's Hollow. They were old friends of Gwen's parents, and it wasn't the first time they had visited each other, thus Anastasia became Gwen's best friend.
'Why do all people brag about their bloodlines?' James thought with a roll of his eyes.
Most pureblood wizards were like that. In his previous life every time he attended meetings with important people it was the same thing. They all bragged about their families and how powerful they were, here besides that it was all about pure bloodline.
As a Rothschild, he didn't need to do such a thing, as everyone knew who he was. However, he wouldn't, as he thought that only idiotic people brag about their family name at every turn.
"Your family isn't included in the Sacred Twenty-Eight. I hope you're not mad about that, but it's because some people in your family are pro-muggle. I hope you'll change that," said Anastasia who was still talking. She was referring to Henry Potter, James' grandfather.
"Hey, the Potters are still a very old wizarding family..." said Gwen, afraid that James would make some bad joke to the fat girl. She knew that his temper changed when they insulted his family.
Even she learned not to talk about her family, as James' behavior could take a 180-degree turn and be a little scary.
"I'll keep that in mind." said James with an expressionless face, "I'll go say hi to your sister," he added as he walked to the corner where Emily was.
Gwen sighed in relief that Anastasia didn't get hurt and her dignity was still intact. She wanted to go with James, but the two Bulstrode children who arrived blocked her way and handed her presents.
"Hi Emily, why are you here alone?" asked James, sitting down in an armchair across from the raven-haired girl who was writing a notebook.
"It's my sister's friends," replied Emily looking up.
"Well, that's true, but shouldn't you say hi to me since I'm your friend?" asked James, acting hurt since she didn't even get up from her seat when he arrived.
"I'm...sorry..." replied Emily after a few seconds of contemplation.
"No need to apologize for that," said James, shaking his head, just kidding.
'Is this how mother felt when I wasn't socializing with anyone?' thought James, understanding his mother's feelings a little.
In the time he spent with Emily, he felt she was a strange girl. As a girl, she was too quiet, very different from her sister, who was the opposite.
Very shy compared to all the pureblood children, unlike them she doesn't flaunt her lineage. Supposedly, she got the same education and grew up in the same home as Gwen, but she doesn't show the arrogance of the blonde girl.
At first, it reminded him of himself or rather of his former self, Edward Rothschild. An apathetic and expressionless genius, always calm and serene. Maybe Emily was a genius, who was not happy like he was or in a situation similar to his, but that was not the case. He proved it after he had been with her for months.
For one thing, Emily's parents, despite being from an elite family, allowed her a lot of free time, unlike his former parents. And many other differences.
James could tell that pureblood children had a very spoiled life, his previous mother Elizabeth, who controlled his life and wanted to squeeze the most out of his talent was a rare case.
"Why are you looking at me so much?" asked Emily, covering her face with the notebook.
"It's nothing, by the way. When is your birthday?" asked James, putting those thoughts aside.
"November 9th," replied Emily in a low tone.
"Will you invite me?" asked James, as he wanted to give her a present like he did Gwen.
"No," replied Emily dryly.
James was surprised by the refusal, before he could inquire further as to why, Gwen arrived and interrupted them.
The whole birthday, he couldn't be alone with Emily to ask her about her birthday.
'I'll ask her tomorrow,' thought James, returning home after a few hours. Luckily, the adult wizards were kept in another room, not wanting to share a noisy room full of children.
In the following days, Emily always evaded the subject of her birthday and how they were with Gwen. James decided not to insist anymore.
On one occasion, when he found himself alone with Gwen, he asked her about it, and her answer was simple: My sister doesn't like to celebrate her birthday with a lot of people.
'Weird...' thought James, but after a few days, he stopped thinking about it. He didn't want to be a busybody in other people's family lives.